Saturday
Filling the Arc stage saw Jamie Lenman rouse ArcTanGent into wild outbursts. His incredible juxtaposing back catalogue left us guessing at what we were going to be witness to but it was unreal. From fan favourites to a ‘Tequilla’ provoked crowd and tracks like ‘I Ain’t Your Boy’ that mellowed down into sing along. Jamie Lenman revived crowd interaction and had us in the palm of his hand.
The beautiful Tall Ships took the afternoon into an elevated adventure with stunning inclines and distinctive lyrics that saw a blow up dinosaur in the audience having a whale of a time. ‘Ode To Ancestors’ saw every word sung out by the crowd before they proved again why the loop pedal is an incredible tool.
Dublin’s God Is An Astronaut created these stunning tracks from what at first listen is pure distortion and noise. Their ability to layer sound in this way is impeccable. From a fuzzy haze there seems to be this effortless and flawless talent that turns static into tempestuous songs. As they pull together these unruly sounds into remarkable pieces of music we are so fortunate to be able to witness such gifted musicians.
After checking out an ArcTanGent playlist ahead of the festival there was no way we were missing I Like Trains. The band stand out a little bit from the rest of the line up and are an essential breath of fresh air or melancholy. I Like Trains create just as much beauty in the pauses between sounds as they do with their intricate melodies. ‘Mnemosyne’ resonates in a captivating hook that had left us desperate to see them live again.
Festival headliners Mono create these stunning soundscapes, illustrating incredible landscapes in intricate and complex arrangements. Mono are a wonder that commanded admiration of ArcTanGent and are the pinnacle of all the impeccable bands we had the pleasure of witnessing last weekend. Mono ventured into a passionate and hypnotic set of elaborate patterns that roll into vociferous culminations. If you weren’t swaying with your eyes closed in a state of Mono sedation you were in state of awe. If it wasn’t for amazing silent disco afterwards we may have had to leave our numb bodies there.
ArcTanGent is quite possibly the best festival we have been to in a long time and we owe it all to Simon, James and Goc for having the incredible vision and capabilities to pull it together. Not only was the line up impeccable but we were surrounded by beautiful like minded people, in the cleanest camp site and arena we have ever seen. The wee touches made the festival even more perfect, from the clash finder and the map to the ArcTanGent logo and art work you found dotted about the arena or the random acoustic sets you could witness from the hammocks. ArcTanGent we love you and we will see you in 2015, congratulations on the second year of achieving something none of us will ever forget.
