Best Concerts of Sziget 2016 #2: The Last Shadow Puppets

For about five fractions of a second I was planning to pen a super objective review which would make no reference whatsoever to the slightly subjective points below, but there’s absolutely no fun in that so I gave up immediately and I will therefore, in random order, very much insist on:

• how in my (not so humble) opinion Alex Turner is by far the best song writer of his generation, both when it comes to melody and lyrics. I sometimes spend restless hours, days, weeks trying to decide which he does best, I re-listen to the entire Arctic Monkeys, Last Shadow Puppets and solo catalogue and then give up and listen to the whole thing all over again just for fun.
• how in my (not so humble) opinion having them play from 7 PM was frankly ridiculous- also, newsflash this is the last time I complain about programming for a few months, time to be either very sad or very jubilant- but they made the best of it because they’re cool like that coastal air which gets girls to reflect.
• how in my (not so humble) opinion there are few things more entertaining in today’s music than these two guys posturing, bromancing and referencing whatever cultural tidbits caught their eyes as of late. They are taking not taking themselves seriously very seriously indeed. (This sounds almost as muddled as an Alex Turner award acceptance speech, I am clearly under the influence here.)
• how in my (not so humble) opinion that silk dressing gown Miles was wearing was extremely fetching and made you want to own it,  wrap yourself in it, recline on some decadent sofa in a seaside villa and sip whiskey while waiting for Alex to write that next perfect song of his.
• how in my (not so humble) opinion after several days of being treated to lip syncing divas, soulless thumping and oversophisticated performance acts it was refreshing bordering on redemptive to have some people come with a real band, complete with strings and all, and really excited background singers too. There was that one guy reaching fits of delighted hysteria in a spotless suit as Alex and Miles were making joint love to the microphone stand, and honestly, can you blame him? Of course you can’t.
• how in my (not so humble) opinion those fireworks lying in wait for the end show were on the verge of blasting off each time Alex was wielding his guitar dangerously close to the edge, but politely refrained because they did not want to ruin his hair.
• how in my (not so humble) opinion I have rarely seen so many happy to ecstatic grins in the audience at a Sziget concert, also, the crowd was absolutely ridiculously well mannered,  politely dancing around your glass of cider (which you otherwise completely foolishly placed on the ground) so as not to tip it over and moving sideways to allow you to focus your shot. That’s what it’s like when a rascal and an arctic monkey play at being gentlemen and it rubs off.
• how in my (not so humble) opinion there’s nothing wrong with Alex Turner looking plast..I mean, moderately confused on stage. The whole business of modern pop and rock music is basically a surreal fever dream, any person in their right mind will either go totally bonkers or become just odd enough to remain sane. 
• how in my (not so humble) opinion it was a pretty nice touch to have Budapest written onto the drum kit, testament to at least someone in the crew being aware of where in the world they happen to be playing and why. The next natural step would be to realize it went down gloriously well, come back, and do it again. 

Many Things You've Come to Expect- Sziget Day Five

I am guilty as charged: sometimes, even during a concert I quite like, if there is a lull in the proceedings, I take out my phone with the rather weak excuse that someone might be looking for me. Generally, a large number of people might be looking for you at any time on Sziget, and they will either find you accidentally, or not find you at all because the coordinates you gave them exist in some iteration on the other side of the island as well and they'll go there, wait a little, get distracted and end up at a pantomime performance or such.

So when I notice no one is looking for me with despair I might perhaps browse the interwebs, just in case there is something of interest there. So yesterday I found an article about how Sziget is an international utopia of friendship and understanding that Hungary in particular and the world in general sorely needs. And then I found another article about how going to concerts makes you happy- according to a study made by those pesky British scientists who investigate all the phenomena of the known and unknown universe. So I promptly slipped my phone back and went on swaying to the music with a grin. In the breaks between songs, about a dozen languages would float towards me- each break a differently made up dozen.The music was great, I clutched a cold cider in my hand- I'm in a week long utopia, I said, and I am happy.

The more bugging part was that the utopia was heading towards it's closing stages, because, as the old gentleman in a wheelchair whom I met in the coffee queue said, he only has two problems in life, namely that Sziget (he called it 'this beautiful thing') will end soon and he won't live forever.  The Sziget beach lounge area by now looked like a scene from a post apocalyptic film depicting the last refuge of humanity's sole survivors and some of these survivors then headed into the wilderness, zombie eyed, with mis-shaped bags and oddly repacked tents. 

Before succumbing to horrible nostalgia, though, we still had plenty of things to see. First among them was twenty year old Norwegian Aurora's gig in the A38 tent. She'd come on my radar earlier in the year and I was very curious to see how her moody electro translates live. It's most definitely stereotyping working right here, but her songs give me the feeling that you're rambling in the primeval mists of some fjord at the end of the world and will soon meet forest elves. Aurora might be one of these forest elves herself, albeit one who comes across as incredibly charming, giggling with delight between songs as if surprised that people turned out for her at all. She notices some fans brought her small presents and flowers, and we are then treated to the sight of the poker faced security guard hoisting a bouquet of orange lilies on stage. Since you might be interested in the conclusion of the train of thought I began earlier: her music is double beautiful live, gaining even more breadth and punch, and definitely places her among Sziget 2016's best shows. 

Before checking out the Lumineers on the main stage, we make a pit stop at Golan's Europe Stage gig and find it a little timid by the band's standards: somehow the last couple of days have drawn people away from a venue which was very popular in the beginning and bands tend to feel discombobulated by the smaller, and spectacularly more tired crowds assembling in front of it. The Lumineers on their part ingratiated themselves with Budapesters by posting a lovely shot of the sun setting over the Danube on their Instagram account, and that is exactly how their music sounds: a by now somewhat faded snapshot of a pleasant holiday you spent years ago in Colorado, that you fondly remember every now and then and then forget all about it. Also, the band's cellist looked incredibly grumpy throughout the gig, as if she'd much rather spend her time back on a boat on the river sipping white wine or something. Hope we haven't done anything to upset you, Neyla.

At this point we decided it was time for our industrious co-photographer to do some field work on his own, and he was sent to report back on FIDLAR's A38 gig. The project might be called a success as he was delighted by the show and called it one of the best of the festival, also pointing out that the band plays some sort of punk and there were strange antics both on stage and in the crowd. 

All this while we were getting in the zone- there's no beating about the bush, The Last Shadow Puppets gig was the concert I for one was awaiting most eagerly, and will therefore be most subjective about it. I'll rush into the bad pun right at the beginning to spare you later horrors: they were everything I've come to expect. There was a lot of bromancing, a lot of posturing, a lot of loitering around the stage being superlative- there was also some crowd interaction from Miles, definitely the more seasoned entertainer and some walking around looking confused, puzzled and in want of a pint of something from Alex. And I totally understand that some might think they are just two spoiled brats from England treating the world to their fantasies of grandeur and there are suckers who buy into it. The reason why we buy into it, though, is very simple: it's the music. Good, honest, beautiful guitar music. Everything happening on stage might be a show, and for show: but the music wears it's heart on it's sleeve. 

And on this bombshell- Sziget ended. There was apparently an actual end show, it apparently involved a Dutch knob fiddler, there were fireworks too and we even had the time to check out Satellites playing a decidedly intimate set at the now almost ghostly Europe Stage. But Sziget had been over the moment the kind of music that festivals truly deserve had died out over the main stage. And it's for these singular moments that it's worth every penny, every suspicious toilet, every headache, every tired limb, every confused Brit asking for directions, every overcrowded alley and every dawn when the gates close and you feel sad a little. 

PS: Enthused over the success of his FIDLAR endeavour, our co-photographer was sent out into the night to check out Bullet For My Valentine (He now calls them Eardrums, What Are Those and Why Do You Need Them). Presently he claims this was not the best idea, they were awfully loud, very angry, and he's still scared a bit. 

Monday Pleasures: New Names for Sziget 2016

I will be frank and admit I had two main hopes for the new Sziget line up announcement, which seemed to be pretty much in the cards based on the traditional beginning of year festival/concert schedule watch, namely The Last Shadow Puppets and LCD Soundsystem.  Both are returning after a long(ish) hiatus and kept filling their calendar with juicy spring/summer dates.

So my hopes were half fulfilled, though that’s not a completely correct assessment, because the prospect of Alex Turner and Miles Kane on the island is tantalizing enough in itself and has caused a case of whole day Cheshire cat grin unintelligible to the uninitiated. Miles Kane has of course graced the island before and gave one of the best concerts of the festival in 2014, whereas the Arctic Monkeys have sadly only made it to VOLT in the same year- because they were quite ridiculously in Japan during Sziget, which is something they should really avoid in the future.

The other big name for the indie crowd are Muse- technically of course Muse should be the number one name, but one cannot help but get the feeling that they are a bit past their peak of coolness, and the new album just falls on the wrong side of the paranoia/anthemic songs ratio. They should nevertheless still be a pretty spectacular headliner and an antidote to one of the yearly unmentionables- this time, the majesty of David Guetta is back to thump  minds and souls into numbness. Though I cannot refrain from the slightly evil thought that if you keep going to David Guetta concerts your mind and soul were most likely numb to begin with.

Róisín Murphy is a repeat offender on the island, but one cannot feel but delighted to have someone wrapped in shiny clothes and exciting accents to entertain us- plus her kids have the improbable names of Clodagh and Tadhg- yes I plead guilty to random perusal of Wikipedia, but the main point is that  Róisín is never boring. Bullet for My Valentine and Parkway Drive fall a bit off my map of interest, but I am always open to as many genres as possible being present on Sziget- the island is big enough for everyone to have their bit of well deserved entertainment.

The rest of the new names sounded a bit esoteric to me- there’s just too many bands out there these days and too little space in a lifetime to listen to people who are not Arctic Monkeys or ALT-J, so I decided to give them all a quick listen and come up with a first verdict as a result.

The Lumineers look like friendly local baristas and made me google The Courteneers, who are decidedly livelier, but the Lumineers should be able to pull off better heartfelt singalongs. I therefore pass them. Years and Years sound like an average British electro act with a slightly squeaky lead singer, probably because that’s exactly what they are. Borderline, at best.

I then discovered that I do know Jess Glynne, for her song Hold My Hand is often played as youthful shopping music in H&Ms, which is exactly where she belongs. To the borderline pack she goes with Years and Years. K.I.Z. is the yearly compulsory German acquired taste, but at least the rapping puts my language skills to test, so I pass them on grounds both of intriguing oddity and first chorus that actually stays with me after the one listen.

The Neighbourhood sound exactly like another band I can’t quite put my finger on, mostly because I don’t want to, plus the writing your name as a consonant cluster gimmick is really tiring by now. However, as a reward for spelling the complete version of their name the right way I might consider them if no other options are available and the beer queue is not too long, but a fail for the time being. (The Youtube autoplay sensed my despair, and after a couple of Neighbourhood songs, promptly jumped to Arctic Monkeys. Big Brother is listening and has good musical taste.)

Datsik has a song that features Snoop Dogg, but it’s not half as good as Snoop narrating nature documentaries, and he drops the base about a million times too often. Either he plays clips of Snoop explaining the feeding habits of the honey badger, or I mercilessly fail him.

Kovacs and Rico and Sticks are Dutch, and since everyone who is not Belgian on Sziget is Dutch, it is most natural that the organizers would cater to their needs. Kovacs is a bit of a mind-bend for a Hungarian speaker, for she’s a young lady with a rather classical jazz voice, which could go anywhere in the long run, she therefore receives a pass on the already invoked oddity grounds. Rico and Sticks on the other hand rap in Dutch. And here I rest my case. There is only one band in the world who can rap efficiently in a language originating from the Netherlands, and they are Die Antwoord.

To end the post on a high, do revel in some Miles Kane and Alex Turner being awesome separately pictures, as a warm up to this summer’s Miles Kane and Alex Turner being awesome together action.