Image courtesy of SOS Festival/Equipo Helmet
And so it came to pass, the 2010 SOS4.8 Festival took control of Murcia this weekend and some 48 hours it turned out to be!
Before we talk about the musical side of things, I think it only fair to comment on the general impression the event has caused and I think it's also fair to say the the third edition of the festival has been the best yet in terms of general organisation - in just three years, SOS4.8 has firmly established itself as one of the major players in the Spanish festival season.
The organising committee clearly learnt their lessons from the previous edition, where a huge increase in spectators was not well-catered for, resulting in an insufficient infrastructure in general; difficult accessibility and transitions between stages, long queues for basic needs (i.e. toilets and bars) and overcrowding for the main bands, Prodigy in particular. Many feared the worst when it was announced that there would be yet another significant increase in capacity for the 2010 event (from 25,000 to 35,000 per day), but any of those doubting Thomas's (myself included) who attended were made to eat humble pie.
A change in the stage layout made movement around the festival much easier, getting in was painless and perhaps most importantly getting served or "paying a visit" were stress-free activities, particularly on the main stage.
Before the powers that be get too carried away, we should point out a couple of areas were improvements are required. First of all, one which we at NME-Europe are sure they are well aware of already - the 'campsite'. Living in the city meant this was not an issue, but the general consensus seemed to be that it was nothing short of disastrous (there's even a Facebook group "I survived the SOS4.8 campsite"!). In their defence, they will probably say that it was set up at the last minute to satisfy the demand, but still there's plenty of work to be done there to justify the 30€ price tag and avoid another avalanche of complaints next year.
Secondly, the second stage. With the quality of act on show, at times it was a little over-populated and anyone who tried moving back a little to have a bit of breathing space found themselves enduring a conflict of sounds flying at them from both stages. Given that next year will almost certainly be as popular, if not more than this year, it will be interesting to see how this matter is dealt with. Dare I say it, a new location might be in order.
All in all, though hats off to SOS4.8, the 2010 festival has been staggeringly fantastic.
Now, on with the "important" bit; the music....
This was a big event for NME-Europe too. A little more than a year into our career, and despite having repeatedly punched above our weight to secure some interviews - special thanks at this point in time to Inkeys, Varry Brava, The Leadings, The Sunday Drivers, We Are Standard and Tindersticks for succumbing to our 'guerrilla tactics' -, we were nothing less than shocked to be awarded an official media accreditation for the event.
Those organising the media at SOS, and Barcelona's En Silencio, deserve real praise for allowing the minnows the chance to develop their projects (thanks to Marc and Pedro, who have been extremely helpful throughout).
This meant we had to take our first 'executive' decision - did we risk looking like 'hangers-on' in the press area, possibly bumping into our arch-enemies (the corporate NME) or did we maintain our usual posture, hit the tarmac - literally - and tell music it like it is. After deep thought, we went for the latter. Decision number two was even more difficult - with some many acts to see and such a small staff, who did we choose to cover? In many cases it was not an easy choice. Sometimes, we were able to take a decision based on the fact that we were more likely to see some bands again soon (that's why Mystery Jets got the nod ahead of We Are Standard, the latter will be back in the region in September), but choosing between Crystal Castles and Franz Ferdinand was an almost unfair task, whilst the unfortunate thunderstorm on Saturday afternoon which, by the way, almost forced a complete wipeout on Day 2 (the organisers had serious doubts as to whether it was safe to go ahead with all the lightning flying around) meant some 'must dos' coincided directly.
Here's the result....
Friday
Image courtesy of SOS Festival/Equipo Helmet
Other commitments meant the earliest the English half of NME-Europe could get there was three quarters of the way through their set. Nevertheless, that was enough to appreciate the warmth of the crowd and the excellent quality of their sound. The classic 'Do It' seemed to be a fitting start to the evening ahead.
Image courtesy of SOS Festival/Equipo Helmet
The Horrors (Estrella Levante Stage)The question beforehand was "would The Horrors fit in at SOS4.8?" Fantastic stage presence and an obliterating, often hypnotic wall of noise were the positives, but Faris and crew never managed to connect with the public and you get the feeling that Primary Colours is an album to be digested in the comfort of your own home. Indeed, they seemed to be a little out of sync with the rest of the bill (even admitting themselves that there was no other group they liked playing alongside them on Friday in an interview with the local paper La Opinion).
Los Planetas (Estrella Levante Stage)
Image courtesy of SOS Festival/Equipo Helmet
Image courtesy of SOS Festival/Equipo Helmet
Franz Ferdinand (Estrella Levante Stage)
Since their participation had been confirmed, it was clear that Alex Kapranos et al were going to be one of the main attractions of the festival. They did not disappoint, in fact they surpassed all expectations. Franz Ferdinand know how to play a festival and they produced an absolute blinder of a performance that will have those who were fortunate enough to witness it talking about it for many a year to come. One hour forty minutes (how often does that happen nowadays?) of relentless quality taking spectators on a Franz Ferdinand hit parade which spans their three albums. All the classics were there, 'Take Me Out', 'Do You Want To', 'Micheal', 'This Fire', 'No You Girls', 'What She Came For' and there was even time for a breathtaking team drum 'solo' on 'Outsiders' (I think - I was too delirious to take note!). In a nutshell, they were up for it, the crowd were up for it and the result was the best gig of the weekend (for me, at least).
That was enough for one night. Hot Chip were up next, but the prospect of an early rise on Saturday, meant I felt the need to pace myself ahead of Saturday's events.
Spain's Radio 3 were covering the event. You can listen to some of the concerts here.
See the full photo album on the NME-Europe Facebook page. You can read more NME-Europe articles about the SOS 4.8 Festival here.
Saturday's review to follow...
NC
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