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Description: Eclectic music festival also featuring performances from Santigold, King Charles, Fanfarlo, Mumford & Sons, Delphic, Mystery Jets, S.C.U.M and many more.
Let down: Little Boots summed up the day
If the punters returning to Field Day on Saturday after the mud bath and monumental bar queues that characterised last year’s event were hoping to get some good karma for their loyalty, they’re still waiting.
Storm clouds loomed through the morning and eventually dumped all over the crowds in Victoria Park.
But spirits were still high thanks to a juicy dance line-up that combined the likes of hot indie-pop band Mystery Jets with dubstep and electro heavyweights Rusko and Erol Alkan.
The problem was working out where they were playing and then actually forcing your way into the arenas. It was virtually impossible to get hold of set times without traipsing around each tent looking at the boards outside, which itself became impossible when an apocalyptic downpour washed them away and show times were shared only by word-of-mouth.
As the rain belted down, trying to get anywhere beyond the periphery of most of the tents became a lost cause, as revellers packed in like cattle, which had further consequences on the range of workable dance moves.
So a mediocre performance from Little Boots was endured by a capacity audience waiting for Erol Alkan, and mud wrestling became a requirement for the fans of Four Tet.
Easiest to just stay at the main stage in the rain then, where an emerald-suited Santigold performed the best of her fantastic debut album to an appreciative few thousand fans. She kept the crowd shaking for a full hour, despite a sound system not fit for a school disco.
Dubstep guru Skream followed and should have been a real highlight, but his set was out of place with the poor open-air sound system.
Over to the Adventures In The Beetroot Field stage, where Mystery Jets also suffered the restrictive arm of Tower Hamlets’ sound police but managed to brighten up the end of a disappointing day with their best indie romance from album Twenty One and some appealing, if samey, new tracks.
Sadly, the weather and sound meant even the talent on display couldn’t prevent Field Day from being damp and doomed for the second consecutive year.
Details are correct at the time of publication - please check with venue before booking.
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