Hyde Park Calling 2006 - Sunday, Second Stage

United Kingdom | by Laura Foster | 05 July 2006

They say that indie and dance music have been closing the gap recently, and Kharma 45 are certainly helping matters. The Irish four-piece open proceedings on the 2nd day to a boiling crowd taking refuge from the heat. Their set is comprised of indie pop songs that are usually underlaid by soundscape samples. These samples usually work, but sometimes sound a bit too much.
Highlights included ‘Ecstasy’, which sounds like a mash up between a Euphoria compilation album and a rock band.

Waking Eyes kick out the jams from the get-go, gamely rocking out to a half empty tent. The songs are mainly good old-fashioned rock ‘n’ roll with the occasional driving indie song thrown in for good measure. They close with ‘Take It The Hard Way’, which isn’t so much a crowd-pleaser as a lesson in difficult time signatures which transforms into a jazz club jam complete with keys and trumpet, before morphing into yet another rock out.

Having locked themselves away for three years before deciding they were good enough to play live appears to have worked for Mobile, whose performance is tight and flawless. Theirs is a brand of catchy, anthemic pop rock that mixes the better elements of The Killers and Lostprophets, although not to the same heady effect. Their songs are promising, their performance is, at times, sterile. Perhaps they should lock themselves away for another three years to work on their charisma.

Casbah Club come onstage a man down, and despite having impressive credentials on paper (The Jam, Stiff Little Fingers, Procul Harem, The Cult, The Who), bore VF with their bland, standard dad rock. Ex-The Jam bassist Bruce Foxton still looks sharp and remains a showman, but the band are anything but exciting as they go through the motions in this uninspiring performance.

As the sun goes down, the Primal Scream party train comes thundering into town with ‘Movin’ On Up’, and what has been a fairly quiet and lifeless tent for most of the day suddenly becomes party central as the band rattle through hit after hit. To go from Kate Moss announcing your performance at the Isle of Wight Festival to headlining the second stage at Hyde Park may appear to be a step down, but if it bothers Bobby Gillespie, he doesn’t show it. “Is everyone having a good time? So are we!” he yells, as his rakish form prances around the stage.

Sonic masterpieces ‘Shoot Speed/ Kill Light’ and Swastika Eyes brings on a full-on rave, and everyone loses the plot. The most debaucherous party of the weekend closes with new hit ‘Country Girl’ and old classic ‘Rocks’, bringing the tent down. Everyone emerges into the twilight beer-soaked, sunburnt and buzzing from the set. Primal Scream teach the other indie kids how to produce a true dance floor hit and rock the joint like only they can.