Music Story

08 January 2009 07:13 BST

Braving the elements at Field Day 2008

inthenews.co.uk's Jamie Reid heads to this year's Field Day safe in the knowledge that it can't rain at the same summer festival for two years in a row... can it?

Saturday saw the Field Day festival return for the second year in a row, and while bad organisation and lack of facilities threatened the festival's inaugural outing in 2007, the elements did their best to dampen partygoers' spirits this year as torrential rain and strong winds had you asking whether it was actually late November instead of late summer.

But as revellers flocked to east London's Victoria Park for the second instalment of one of the capital's newest festivals, the acts scheduled to perform in the tents must have been licking their lips as attendees crammed in to avoid the best of the British summer… but those who may not have originally highlighted some of the more left-field acts in their free programme may have got a pleasant surprise.

Among the highlights had to be Simian Mobile Disco, who played to a packed dance tent and wowed the crowd with a spectacular light display and a scintillating set. Another undercover crowd pleaser was the Arctic Monkeys DJ Matt Helders, who drew crowds to the curiously named Adventures in Beetroot Field tent and had a sweaty mob jumping around for just short of an hour.

For those hearty enough to brave the elements there was a variety of acts on offer, and despite the (again) questionable sound system and the Mystery Jets pulling out at the last minute, the line-up was strong enough to please most. Laura Marling, the 18 year-old folk singer, who possesses one of the most enchanting voices you're likely to hear this year, was the stand-out performer on the Converse/Eat Your Own Ears stage.

Les Savy Fav took to the main stage during one of the day's biggest downpours, and despite lead singer Tim Harrington's desperate sun-dance; the heavens were well and truly open for the majority of their set. However, the ever-entertaining frontman did not disappoint and despite the damp conditions proceeded to cavort around the stage like a man possessed, before trashing it and jumping into the crowd for a good old-fashioned stage dive!

The Foals brought proceedings to a climax with their headlining performance, and were great; but with crowd pleasers such as Cassius and Balloons and their single Mathletics they were always going to be. You can't help but feel with festivals such as Field Day that are still in their infancy, the joy is in the chaos and the unpredictability of the line-up; the discovery of a new band or act that you may not have been aware of at the start of the day or simply the innocence of the festival itself. It certainly remains one of, if not, the friendliest events on the festival circuit.

Yes there will be complaints about the queues for the toilets being too long again. One of last year's major problems had been corrected though, as you could get to the bar within in a minute or two, which was in sharp contrast to the previous year. However, judging by some of the grimaces on the faces of those in the line for the toilets, you could be forgiven for thinking that some would have preferred the queue lengths to have been the other way round (inthenews.co.uk would like to take this opportunity to thank the organisers for the hospitality passes provided!). Although in all seriousness, this is a problem you feel will have to be addressed next year if Field Day is going to be taken seriously.

However, this festival has to be given another chance to get things right; its potential is too great and it's clear that it is put on by people who love music over profit margins, and there's not many of those left these days! Had the weather been better this year there would have been a lot more smiles on revellers' faces as they poured out of the park and onto one of the many after parties connected to the event. However, this is where inthenews.co.uk signed off for the day as it made its way to The End in Tottenham Court Road to let its hair down, content in the knowledge that 2009 will be third time lucky for Field Day.

Jamie Reid