Saturday 30/08/08 Bloc Party, Spiritualized @ Hydro Connect Festival, Loch Fyne, Inverary

Your Sound Stage opens for the weekend with Emily Scott, who brings dreamy Celtic tunes with her double bass, guitars and banjo. ‘Radiator’ and ‘Watching Them’ help ease away the Saturday morning hangovers. The Oyster Stage hosts Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band. “Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, We’d like to thank the Duke for letting us play on his lawn”, Conor playfully announces before leaping into songs from his latest solo album. ‘Sausalito’, ‘NYC’ and ‘I Don’t Wanna Die’ are played as he fools around and dances around during, looking and sounding like Ryan Adams. An interlude of“I got a ****ing new microphone” in-between songs being a prime example. Closing his set with ‘Milk Thistle’ he asks “Do you have Ballads over here, oh I believe this is where ballads are from actually”.

Spiritualized take to the Oyster Stage in what can be described as a U formation as lead singer Jason Pierce stands side on to the audience. Mist rolls perfectly in from the loch as he sings 'Soul on Fire’ adding to the effect of the touching gospel-esque tune.
Guitars and Other Machines stage sees Glasvegas play a set including ‘Daddy’s Gone’ and ‘Geraldine’ which now seems as common as the muck in the campsite, but they have loyal fans, who love every note that’s played. 

Over to Grinderman and Nick Cave’s darker persona is evident as he whips up a frenzy  screaming “Won’t somebody touch me?”, moving his snakes hips like a sexual beast, he sings ‘Grinderman’ and ‘No Pussy Blues’. His performance is as devilish as Lucifer himself especially during ‘Get it On’ where he sings “He drank panther piss/ And ****ed the girls you're married too”. 

Turin Brakes hit the Guitars and Other Machines Stage with a greatest hits style set which included 'Fishing For A Dream', 'Pain Killer' and 'Oblivion'. A cover of Chris Isaak’s ‘Wicked Game’ gives an unusual crowd sing along session which is followed by ‘Underdog’, leaving the band to be speechless. Gomez bring their ‘Bring It On’ 10th anniversary tour to the festival. Playing a rare performance of the album from start to finish, the band seem relaxed and appreciative of an eager crowd as ‘Get Miles’, ‘Whippin’ Piccadilly' and ‘Bubblegum Years’ are played. Connect festival witness something special tonight and hang on to every note as the band say “We won’t ever do this again”.

Headlining the Oyster Stage tonight is Bloc Party, and a party is exactly what you get. Opening with new track ‘Mercury’ and moving through a flurry of beats and rhythms in the shape of ‘Banquet’, ‘2 More Years’ and ‘Positive Tension’ where the crowd delight at shouting “So ****ing Useless" with Kele, who is sporting a fetching red kilt. Showcasing only ‘One Month Off’ from the new album Intimacy, its enough to show where the direction of Bloc Party is heading, the track goes down a storm. An encore of ‘Flux’ sees the use of a green lazar show and heightens the exhilaration of the track. The band return for a second time and burst into ‘She’s Hearing Voices’ as Kele dives into the audience singing “Red pill, blue pill/Red pill, Blue pill/Milk of amnesia”. The crowd is wild, the security is flummoxed and the show is ended in style.

As the music stops its time for some comedy from Phil Kay in the Speakeasy Tent, playing ditties of his day at the festival on guitar to a packed out tent. While the Unknown Pleasures tent hosts Club Noir’s late night program of Cabaret, striptease and Ballet.

As the rain starts to fall heavily, the campsite seems to be disappearing before your eyes as tents wash away or sink into the mud. No surprise that many campers are leaving on the Sunday before the festival is due to end.

CLICK HERE to see all the action from Hydro Connect in stunning pictures.