Chvrches – Live At SOS 4.8 Festival, Murcia Spain – May 6, 2016 – RNE Radio 3 –
Chvrches in concert at the SOS 4.8 Festival in Murcia Spain last week. Hard to imagine festival season is already kicking into gear. This season is promising to be a good one – between the Radiohead appearances and Lush on their reunion tour, it’s going to be an embarrassment of must-see riches I think.
So kicking off the Festival season in Spain this year is the SOS 4.8 festival. A lot of interesting bands, and a good cross-section of World talent (i.e. non-English singing bands) were on hand this year. I will be running as much as I can over the next few days, in case you didn’t make it to Murcia this year (maybe next, yes?).
I remember when Chvrches were just getting started and were gradually building a fanbase – they were a band on the rise, and it was exciting to see them grow by way of hitting the road and playing everywhere that would take them. Five years later, they are world-class act – crossing over between Indie and semi-mainstream, the trio have continued garnering critical acclaim for their work and are continuing to grow. All good stuff – and great to see. I don’t see this band as being complacent in their accomplishments – I think we are still in for a lot more surprises in the coming years. Just a guess.
Clearly, the audience at Murcia were happy to be there – enthusiastic and high energy; it made for a good exchange between band and crowd. And of course, the breathless (and a little chatty) Spanish Radio announcers were happily buzzed over the plethora of good vibes spilling over the stage.
Straight away – if you’ve been following any of the European festivals the past few years, you know that French, Spanish and Italian radio folk love to talk, sometimes right over song introductions – I think it’s a way of preventing bootlegging, but it’s also a distraction and, at times, annoying. But – and this is a big but; being able to listen to these bands in a live context, and so well presented mix-wise, the occasional banter can be more than forgiven. Besides, it adds to the overall sense of “big-event” when the announcers get excited as they invariably do.
So – bear that in mind while you crank this one up and enjoy the hell out of it.
More on the way.
