GIGS IN AUGUST 2006

THE EDEN PROJECT, ST.AUSTELL (25TH AUGUST)

LADYTRON & GOLDFRAPP

And so The Eden Sessions 2006 sold out their four concerts, filling the 6000 capacity venue on every occasion. I wonder why they don`t hold more gigs there with this kind of response, it`s a great venue for live music and whoever set up the sound tonight was on top form. Set right in the base of the pit, away from troublesome neighbours, the stage was set up facing away from the domes in the amphitheatre to maximise the audio experience. The audience slowly made it`s way down, some dressed poorly as animals with faces painted, (which looks even more stupid on adults than on children), while others were clearly not going to spend £30 to entertain the band`s whims.

One of the key factors with The Eden Sessions is always the weather; there`s nowhere to hide when the rain comes down and tonight was no exception. Shoulder to shoulder, 6000 strangers `enjoyed` a communial shower frequently throughout the evening`s performance, but this didn`t put a damper on their spirits and as the daylight began to fade the support band were introduced by an eco-ranting compere from the venue.

Ladytron strode on stage, dressed all in black, the three girls taking the frontline with the men at the back. Large keyboards, with names such as `Cleopatra` and `Ulysses`, were their main instruments and produced loud industrial music that would`ve been at home in an 80s Berlin disco.

Led by the beautiful Helen Marnie (from Glasgow) and Mira Aroyo (from Bulgaria), Ladytron pounded away in almost Kraftwerk/Eno electronic beats, that seemed dated at first, but soon became hypnotic and almost enjoyable. Certainly some of the audience seemed to be getting their rocks off to it, but Marnie and her friends left me mainly cold. An ideal situation for cold and bleak sounding music - at the bottom of a cornish clay pit.

And so we come to the main event; Goldfrapp. After a short wait for latecomers to barge their way past the rest of us and get better views nearer the stage and another eco-message from our sponsers, Alison Goldfrapp finally walked onto the stage to the cheers and wolf whistles that these events attract. With a marked improvement in the sound quality, she launched into a greatest hits package that soon had the audience warmly nodding their heads and trying to show who was her biggest fan by means of arm waving. There was little else you could do as the word `sardine` sprang to mind.

Everything seemed to be going as expected and then suddenly the backstage curtain fell to reveal four bikini clad dancers with wolf heads on, (cue more wolf whistling from the Roger Whitaker fans in the crowd), that quickly took over the stage to accompany Alison and the band`s performance. It was almost as if the concert had been turned up a notch and there seemed to be a warmth radiating after this point.

The lighting had a dramatic impact and worked brilliantly to enhance Goldfrapp`s performance, but the strobes were tiresome after a while and we moved further away from the stage to gain a better viewpoint of the whole spectacle, and to rest our weary ribs from the elbows of the righteous.

Clearly a seasoned performer nowadays, Alison Goldfrapp put on an excellent show that had so much more entertainment than a live gig has normally. The spectacular nature of the venue was surely made for a performer of this theatrical bent, where the music becomes almost secondary to the visuals that explode across your retinas. Truely a memorable performance.

(Photos by Johnny Echo Echo)