Kaiser Chiefs
Sigur Rós
Eden Sessions, Eden Project
Review by Lee Trewhela
SO THE Sessions 2013 started with the fun one and the mindblowing one.
With far more of a festival feel this year, the 6,000-plus gig-goers at Saturday and Sunday's Sessions could enjoy music across the site and a myriad of food (indeed, one of my Kaisers' party had three, yes three, dinners).
The line-up before Leeds' finest Britpop homage took to the stage was probably the best yet at Eden – some of Cornwall's best acts cut it in the Mediterranean Biome and on the Main Stage including Lily & Meg, PJP Band, Kezia and Brother & Bones, the latter in particular gaining some new fans with their intense performance.
After a Lush-lite set from Thought Forms (dark guitar mangling never works well in the sunshine), The Computers, from Exeter, transformed the mood with their preacherman rock'n'soul thang, proving they can do it just as well on a big stage as in a sweaty dive.
California's Deap Vally won't change the world but they will have a damn good time trying.
There's not a lot more to guitarist/singer Lindsey Troy and drummer Julie Edwards than Suzi Quatro does White Stripes does Led Zeppelin. But denim shorts-wearing girls rocking out will always win.
The party continued with Tom Tom Club – old folk bringing the silly funk, basically. We had legends in our presence – Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz, the rhythm section from Talking Heads, and, yes, they played those early hip hop-inspired quirky hits Wordy Rappinghood and Genius Of Love plus a Tina-fronted Psycho Killer for good measure.
As the Rattler flowed and the sun shone, there was no better band to make crowd go "wooooaaaahhhhh" in their inimitable way than Kaiser Chiefs.
How would they fare now songwriting drummer Nick Hodges has left? It's too early to tell as there were only a couple of new songs in their set, which lent heavily on the first two albums, Employment and Yours Truly, Angry Mob.
There were those irresistible hits – Ruby, I Predict A Riot, Oh My God, Never Miss A Beat – and Falmouth resident Ricky Wilson (almost unrecognisably skinny) is still a fantastic frontman – climbing the lighting rig, running through the crowd to sing from the viewing platform, and almost knocking himself out.
But he did a lot of that last time they headlined five years ago. I'll whisper it, because they went down a storm with the sell-out crowd, but they were a bit boring. We've seen it all before and the music really hasn't moved on since 2008.
But they know how to work a crowd and as a second member of the band has also chosen to live in Cornwall (keyboard player Peanut), I shouldn't slag 'em.
It all got a bit eldritch the following night, demonstrated by the amount of people wearing black and sporting strange facial hair.
Along with the Flaming Lips, who played a stormer two years ago, there was one band built to play the fantastical moonscape of the Eden Project.
Iceland's Sigur Rós, with their unearthly, panoramic sound, had all the ingredients to perform an unforgettable Session.
Before them (and a on a bill that included Willy Mason and Mwahaha) were the none-more-goth Daughter. The trio of guitarist/singer Elena Tonra, guitarist Igor Haefeli and drummer Remi Aguilella had cut-glass English accents despite those fittingly European names.
The music is an amalgam of Banshees, Joy Division and Cocteau Twins and though somewhat ill-fitted to daytime viewing rose to the challenge and by the end of their set, which included such foreboding treasures as Youth and Love, had won over the large crowd.
Sigur Rós didn't disappoint. Now down to a trio, the band was augmented by string and brass sections and the end result was beautifully apocalyptic – especially on the spellbinding choral of Varúð.
Equal parts hypnotic and punishing, the gig was heightened by a stunning light show – those green lasers, wow – and accompanying visuals.
Jónsi Birgisson's violated choirboy vocals rose above the biomes and at one point he held a note that was surely not humanly possible.
It's testament to their power that during the quiet moments of songs like Svefn-g-englar and Hoppípolla, the entire 6,500 crowd was hushed; apart from the couple next to me who having spent nigh-on £80 for tickets thought it would be great to chat throughout. I swore in their general direction, for which I make no apologies.
The heavenly nature of much of Sigur Rós's music was offset by the harder sound of new songs Brennisteinn and Kveikur. Almost industrial in nature, Sigur Rós became Rammstein with a feminine side.
Taking in the illuminated biomes, the devastating soundtrack and those wondrous lasers, it almost became too much to bear. Stunning.
Sigur Rós, you may well have usurped Rufus Wainwright, Pulp, the Lips and Spiritualised as the ultimate Eden Session.
A tough act to follow for The xx and Chic on Tuesday.
