Elastica |
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Mon. August 28.2000 6:00 PM EDT |
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Elastica, Beck, Embrace Highlight Day Two Of Reading FestivalGomez, Super Furry Animals, Pulp also perform at three-day UK concert. by sonicnet.com's Doug Levy |
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Beck, pictured at an earlier show, played such hits as "Loser" and "New Pollution" on Saturday. (Scott Gries/Image Direct) |
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READING, England — Saturday morning rains didn't dampen the spirits of fans crowded against the Reading Festival's main stage, awaiting an early afternoon set from Elastica. But when the band,
Frischmann took a jab at current UK chart-toppers Travis by singing the chorus from "Why Does It Always Rain on Me" in a whiny voice before grinning and shouting, "Bollocks!" Elastica premiered one new song during their set, the blistering "No Good." Also included was their current single, "Mad Dog," and a cover of Trio's "Da Da Da," a crowd favorite. "It's really great to have them back," fan Louis Mallory, 25, of Brighton said. "They're definitely not the same band they used to be, but that's a good thing, I reckon. Justine rocks as hard as ever, and [keyboard player] Mew puts on a wicked show, even if she doesn't play that much." Following Elastica on the main stage were Super Furry Animals, who delivered a set showcasing tracks from their recent Welsh-language release Mwng, along with older hits, including the anthemic "The Man Don't Give a Fuck," which had the entire field of fans jumping up and down as they shouted along to the chorus. At the end of the set, the band's crew briefly walked onstage dressed in monster and gorilla suits. Next up were Gomez, who told the audience that the weekend's festival appearances would be the last shows they'd be playing for a while. The band's biggest hit, "Whippin' Piccadilly" (RealAudio excerpt), was the most rousing moment of its set. While Gomez rocked the main stage, Blur guitarist Graham Coxon packed the Radio 1 stage, treating fans to an aural assault of hard-rocking tunes from his two solo albums, 1998's The Sky Is Too High and this year's The Golden D. Coxon and his backing band sported T-shirts that said "The Röxöns." The guitarist clearly felt shy in the frontman role, peering timidly over the microphone as he thanked the crowd between songs, but he relaxed when it came to belting out such numbers as the near-speed-metal "Who the Fuck" and "Jamie Thomas." A Mutating Performance Beck followed with the same stage show he's been using for all his recent appearances, giving the audience such a varied presentation that it was almost like watching three different shows. During newer songs, such as "Sexxlaws" (RealAudio excerpt) and "Debra," Beck was in full funk-rock mode, shimmying about, tossing himself down on the stage and reveling in his wailing falsetto. "Did you know I have a seventeen-octave vocal range?" Beck said, before providing a demonstration. The singer ran through a score of hits, including "New Pollution," "Loser" and "Where It's At." The set also saw Beck perform a moaning blues harmonica, foot-stomping number, an acoustic version of "Nobody's Fault but My Own," and featured a turntable demonstration by DJ Swamp. At the end, Beck walked across the stage in a neon orange vest reading "Incident Commander" while he wrapped everyone in his path in yellow "No Parking" tape. Members of his band either froze into bizarre positions or rolled about onstage while odd noises resonated around the slightly bemused crowd. "I don't quite know what to say about all that at the end there," fan George Duncan, 28, of Manchester said. "It was a bit like watching an encore set up by Dali. But it's Beck, isn't it? He just is what he is. There's no one else like him, and I'd love him for that even if he didn't put on such a strange show." Zealous Fans Pulp headlined the main stage Saturday night, but for many fans the real treat was Embrace's headline set on the smaller Radio 1 stage, which featured the band's cover of the "Schoolhouse Rock" classic "Three Is a Magic Number," as well as the UK chart-topping hits "Come Back to What You Know" and "Save Me." While the band played, one overexcited fan climbed one of the tent supports that surrounded the stage, refusing to come down as he ignored increasingly infuriated security guards on the ground. Singer Danny McNamara's assurance to "hang on tight there, mate. We've only got four more to go," drew a cheer from the crowd. The band closed its set, and day two of the Reading Festival, with "Fireworks," its earliest hit, which was requested by a resounding cheer from the crowd when McNamara gave them a choice of encore. Meanwhile, an energetic and barefoot Jarvis Cocker led Pulp through a set dotted with long-awaited new material, including the songs "Mini" and "Sunrise," as well as older hits such as "Common People," "This Is Hardcore" (RealAudio excerpt) and "Something Changed." Day three was set to include performances from Rage Against the Machine, Slipknot, Ian Brown, Placebo, Blink-182, Stereophonics, and, although no one knew it yet, a surprise appearance from Tom Jones. (Contributing Editor Jennifer Elks contributed to this report.) |
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