The second and final day of Forbidden Fruit had a noticeably larger audience than the day before, suggesting that Sunday’s headline acts of Primal Scream and Chic proved bigger draws than the previous night’s offerings.
After briefly checking out the highly-rated Canadian electo outfit Austra (8/10) and a slightly unenthusiastic Everything Everything (6/10), as well as one or two of the delicious culinary delights on offer, the first real port of call was Chic.
Wow, what a show. Nile Rodgers, the band’s guitarist and leader, was on top form – constantly smiling and cajoling the audience into having just as much fun as he was. Since being diagnosed with aggressive cancer two years ago, Rodgers made a conscious effort to try to play more shows and play on more records. Well, his band were the undoubted highlight of Forbidden Fruit 2013. Oh, and he co-wrote the biggest song of 2013, in Daft Punk’s ‘Get Lucky’. Not a bad return on the his invested effort.
Watching Chic live is almost like going through a strange Back To The Future style journey through musical history, such is the monumental body of work that Nile Rodgers has contributed to popular music over the course of the last 35 years. ‘We Are Family’, ‘Like A Virgin’, Bowie’s ‘Let’s Dance’, as well as a CD version of ‘Get Lucky’ piped through the PA system, were among the hits that got the best responses from the throngs. (9.5/10)
I had intended to catch some Four Tet, who were over in the Undergrowth Stage while Chic were playing, but there was no way anyone was leaving. Sorry about that Four Tet, next time maybe.
Primal Scream, the last band of Forbidden Fruit this year, took to the stage a little after 9.30pm and churned through a selection of some of their most recognisable work of the last 20+ years. The thing about Primal Scream, especially at a festival, is that if you’re not overly-familiar with their work (as we suspect a few weren’t) you can still enjoy it because you’ve been hearing these tunes in nightclubs and on the radio for half your life. Bobby Gillespie, too, deserves a mention having utterly perfected the ‘rock frontman’ act – a true focal point for a sonically impressive band. (7/10)
