![]() ![]() Tau presented an interesting sort of declamatory progfolk, though I was more interested in the seated guitarist’s light hot scuzz in the instrumental bits than the slightly over-serious anthemic singing. Their pleasantly proggy riffs were certainly very Roadburny, but just as I would’ve at the real fest, I listened for a bit before wandering off to see what else was going on: without any major must-sees, today was mainly for figuring out how the event was constructed and how I’d approach it. ![]() But after all, a weird sense of confusion about the order of events is pretty standard in attending a proper festival.Īfter a surprisingly emotional welcome from organisers Walter and Becky, it was straight in to the Kairon IRSE! set, live from a storage bunker at the botanical gardens apparently, a gloomy space livened with coloured lights and incongruous bushes and plants. ![]() The ‘liveness’ of the live streams and even the exclusive sets, together with the chat comments running down the side meant that there was a sense of the collective experience, even if sometimes a bit dislocated, with people just starting on things you’d seen the day before, or reminiscing about something you were about to start watching. This was just right I think, meaning you could catch shows that clashed and rewatch favourites even several times over, but not forever… that gave a sense of urgency to each set, and a cohesive feel to the whole event, knowing it was all here but only temporarily. New things appeared at specific times, but you could go back to them later, though only until the following Tuesday. Like the festival itself, it appeared, measured out a hefty dose of mind-expanding musical offerings to a grateful congregation, and then was gone, leaving only (as always) the faint murmuring call of ‘will that set come out on vinyl?’ An online space featured music live streams, specially recorded sets, exclusive premieres, and random other bits and pieces that all appeared throughout the weekend. And most of all, I miss the annual ritual of Roadburn.įorced to cancel last year, and a full real-life 2021 event still impossible, Roadburn Festival went digital, and did a pretty impressive job of creating a sense of the famed event even while estranged from the physical. Even more so, I miss occasional music festivals, where the night of the gig expands in every dimension. But yes, I suddenly miss the regular outlet of an evening in the presence of amplified distortions. Of course there are more important things than music in times of crisis, injustice and death- but to put it like that misses the point, since music will always accompany and respond to those and all other aspects of life, dramatic or mundane. The international plague shutdown hasn’t ‘made me realise’ how crucial live music is: I knew that already, even if sometimes I wondered about how something generally positioned as ‘entertainment’ could occupy such a significant position in a lot of people’s lives, mine included. ![]()
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