Messed!Up
Aaaaaahh… Finally back in Slottsskogen. It has been almost three years since the last chords of The Cure show, the final act in the forest in 2019, were heard at Way Out West. Something happened in between, not sure what, but at least now we´re back.
Way Out West has been around since 2007. The festival was started in a time when Swedes would still go to tent festivals, at least to some degree, so a festival without a camping site, centrally located in a major city was unheard of. Over the years some of the giants of music has been there. Or what about Neil Young, Prince, Kanye West, Lana Del Ray, Kendrick Lamar… The list goes on and on and on.
I have been every year except 2007 and 2012, when Prince played (great move to miss that…) and have seen the festival evolve. Now there are three main stages, but several smaller stages for DJ sets, panel talks and showcases. They take full advantage of all the nooks and crannies Slottsskogen may offer, it´s just a lovely site. Talking to some British guys, who were just blown away by the site (“it´s not green, it´s DEEP GREEN!”). I just had to realize that it is a unique festival site that should not be taken for granted.
If previous years, especially 2019, had problems with cancellations (Cardi B, Broken Social Scene, Snail Mail), that has not really been an issue this year (so far), except for Robyn cancelling. It was early in the year, but it was a major blow as that would have been excellent. Today (Friday) we actually got a nice extra band due to cancellations, when the great Porridge Radio was added to the lineup. However, the problem has rather been a little lack of those massive headliners. When Robyn cancelled, that void was never really filled. The main headliners are Tame Impala, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Chance the Rapper and Swedish Thåström. Excellent acts, no question about it, but the star quality of previous years is not really there. And the Robyn-cancellation meant that none of the main acts closing in the forest were female artistst, something Way Out West is always good with and proud of, and if calculating all the acts over the festival, I´m pretty sure there is at least 50/50.
The first act of the day was the highly anticipated Jamaican Koffee. I saw here at Roskilde Festival in 2019, and it was a less than stellar show. She was rather inexperienced then and gave a rather shaky impression. The Way Out West set was much better, but not witouht issues. Comparing to the 90´s and early 00´s, shows starting late was more common than the exception. That is no longer the case as the productions has become much more tight and professional, and it has been a blessing as delayed shows totally screws up the schedule. Koffee and her crew seemed to have arrived late so at the time they were supposed to start, they were still soundchecking and they started 20 minutes late. As the next band Black County, New Road were supposed to start 30 minutes later, it became a bit stressful.
However, when Koffee could start, she and her band really put on a great show. Full attack from the get go and her stage presence is much stronger than three years ago, and with a large band behind her instead of a DJ, the sound is rich and dynamic.
However, wanting to see Black Country, New Road, the hyped London-band, I had to leave early on. I thought. They were also 20 minutes late. Well, shit happens, and when they started, it was an interesting set. They are skilled musicians, swithing thingfs up and using flutes and other super weird (well, not really) instruments. It is a sizeable crowd, enjoying the show. At times they remind me of Bright Eyes, who will play on Saturday, or Okkervil River (who was one of the first acts I saw at Way Out West in 2008, still one of the greatest shows I´ve seen there). The setlist was heavy on the 2022 release, with Concorde as one of the highlights.
Swedish hero Tallest Man on Earth followed. He is one of those artists who seem to still be a bit bigger outside of Sweden, at least that has been the case. Maybe it is changing, but the crowd was not as big as I expected, but at the same time, not to shabby for being in the afternoon. Kristian Matsson is, as always, alone on stage, dressed in white, and with such energy and fills out the stage in an impressive way. It can be mentioned that another dude, doing a similar thing, Ed Sheeran, played at the arena Ullevi the same night. It is a big contrast, considering there were probably 60 000 people there, but Matsson would deserve a crowd of that size.
1904 comes early in the set, and he brings out Amanda Bergman from Amason on stage for I´ll Be a Sky and it´s just beautiful. In a later song, Anais Mitchell joins him and later on the great The Dreamer comes. It´s an excellent show, but maybe he could have had better prerequisites. It´s a rather unfocused crowd, everybody excited to be at a festival again. Well, he handles it well and put on a great show.
One of my main acts for the whole festival is Canadian electronic dude Dan Snaith aka Caribou. He has a long carrier, but it took some time to really take of. The 2007 release Andorra got some buzz, but it was with the hype around 2010 release Swim he became a major act. Pitchfork hyped the shit out of it, well-deserved of course, much due to hits Odessa and Kaili. The magnificent Can´t Do Without You took him to the next level, and one of my best memories is at Emmaboda Festival, where somebody ended a DJ-set with that song at five in the morning.
I was surprised to see him play at one of the two main stages. Last time at Way Out West, he played in the Linne´-tent, and I thought that would be better this time also. Boy, was I wrong! It was the perfect time. The rather small crowd in the beginning filled up fast, everybody dancing. It was just the concert many needed at the time.
He brought three musicians with him, and adding much live elements to all songs, letting live drums (actually two drums sets!) drive the songs. New Jade starts the show and Odessa comes as second song, really kicking things of. You Can Do It grows into a beast, and at times, it reminds me of LCD Soundsystem, in how he makes song grow and grow into large crescendos, and with interesting drum patterns. The monumental Can´t Do Without You ends the show, and Snaith seems genuinely happy. At times he takes a step back and lets the band do their thing and he just watches the crowd dance and having a great time. Excellent!
Amason is almost a superband, considering they have the amazing Amanda Bergman on vocals and members from for example Dungen and Pontus Winnberg (Bloodshy and Avant). They are, arguably, a slow burner. They have been building their success over time with high quality songs and professional, tight live shows. At Way Out West the crows is large, but not huge. I was expecting even more, especially at their time slot, the time when the sun goes down and everybody is happy.
Yellow Moon opens the set in a great way, and the set leans heavy on the 2015 release Sky City, with Älgen and Went to War. Bergman sounds just great. I honestly wonder if there is a better vocalist in a band in Sweden at the moment. I can´t come up with one at least. If you know one, call in on 1-800-123123. She can really carry the show in an impressive way, of course thanks to the rest of the band, but she is the extra spice.
Well, the plan was to see Yung Lean after that. Holy shit. There was not a chance in the world to even get into the tent. I arrived late, that should be admitted, but it has never been impossible to get in at least before. Probably the largest crowd ever in there. I “saw” a few songs before giving up. I only heard a fat base and kids screaming. But it was obvious that it was a big thing you the youngsters.
The last show for the night (for me) was Bikini Kill. The American band are legends, credited for being a part of creating the riot grrl-movement, but oddly enough, they had never played in Sweden. It was obvious from the (old) crowd that it was a long time in the waiting. And, there were probably no, absolutely no, overlap between the crowd at Yung Lean.
Starting of, it is punk. Two minute songs. Bam. Carnival comes early on, as does New Radio, but I have to admit I had no chance of catching all the songs. It was just such high tempo, moving from one song to another. The strongest moments are singer Kathleen Hanna´s speeches between songs about feminism, activism, and gender issues. Strong, important and much needed. Still angry, still hungry.
Passing by the Tame Impala-set on the way out, it was clear that it was an impressive show. Much visuals, lasers, extra everything. Large crowds, but as always at Way Out West, much of the audience were leaving, stressed in order to make it to Stay Out West. But more about that tomorrow!
