In The City: Day Three

It’s over. Done. Finito. Thank God for that. What a series of days. Have we learnt anything? I guess. Are we better off? I suppose so. Yesterday was long and painful. Whoever was asleep during the conversation with (Pink Floyd drummer) Nick Mason, major props etc. It’s not he was boring, anything but, however you could excuse anyone on the last day of this festival for being sleep deprived.

By the time Nick Mason takes to the stage it’s becoming quite apparent that other areas of the media are using these amicable platforms, whereby famous people speak openly and honestly about a variety of issues, and turn them into press conferences. En bref, there seems to be more attention drawn to the ruminative response to a Pink Floyd reunion question than to the candid philosophising taking place in the other 59 minutes of this key-note event. The fatigue seems to have created an air of frivolity and disregard – coincidentally, the disposability of pop music is a reoccurring topic throughout the day.

It’s unfortunate as for a music conference where people revaluate the state of the industry and it’s many branches, everyone appears to have lost the plot. A local radio DJ has decided to discuss the ‘vinyl revival’ with Mason and in turn reveals a vinyl to the stunned audience. Mason’s jaw drops to the floor as if it were the first artefact of his generation that he has laid eyes on since he sold 200m copies of Dark Side…Questions come in thick and fast about the Floyd, something we need as much as another gentrified music publication dedicating an entire issue to such a cause.

Just as last year Same Teens and our fine selves had as event on at Nexus Art Café. Check back here or the Same Teens website at a later date for a review the bands including a stellar performance by Black Daniel (apparently).

Elsewhere, Brighton computer wizz Ital Tek proved to be an easy highlight. Whilst Glasser and Spectrals drew bigger crowds elsewhere Dry Bar got schooled in how to make breakneck pace IDM loaded with great sounds and ideas. Having being around for several years a craft has been honed; it wouldn’t be surprising if this boy became bigger than many of his Planet Mu contemporaries.

New Yorkers Yuck dabbled in nostalgic territories for much of their show, scrap that…New Yorkers Yuck dabbled in nostalgic territories for ALL of their show. It is possible that it won’t be long before we dream of the music which soundtracked life under Major but for now it comes across as rather whimsical. With the exception of final track and new single Rubber, (out next week as I’m lead to believe) the set leaves little impression that the band are capable of escaping well tread territories.

I wish I could say that the excellent Porcelain Raft and the ‘not as good as the previous day but still decent’ White Ring drew the festival to a drowsy close. To think that this music marathon came to an end through the sheer exhaustion of everyone involved would be an apt conclusion. I’d love to state honestly that the two groups offered differing lullabies at the end of which I let a taxi take me home as I gazed out at the bright lights of a city I love. The reality is that I got drunk in a pub until 8am following an electrifying set by Murkage at the Night&Day - hence this report being filed in so late.