R.E.M. - Loch Lomond
18th June 2005
The Supports
It has to be said that, in advance, the support acts for Loch Lomond filled me with indifference. Overall though the four other bands surpass expectations slightly.
ABERFELDY had been described to me as being 10 times more twee than Belle and Sebastian, a reputation that they fail to live up to. They're a bit more boisterous than that - but not by much. Their 25 minute set is long enough but the sound is absolutely crystal clear. As Steve said though, not rock as you know it (and they're probably proud of that.) A slight plus.
AMBULANCE LTD threaten to be the most interesting support of the day but are totally sabotaged by the murkiest sound I've heard in a long time. The opening couple of numbers, a brooding instrumental is one, are way more interesting than the only song I've heard, thejangly 'Stay Where You Are' (which follows shortly afterwards), had suggested . But they lose their way quickly after that because there's very little you can hear properly, before a minor fightback on the last song. It's a disappointment. (NB After hearing some of the LP on the web, I have bought it - mainly thanks to 'Yoga Means Union' the opening instrumental.)
Next up are THE ZUTONS and in the course of their 45 minutes they prove to be the perfect festival band, really getting the crowd going. They're very, very good at what they do but not really my sort of thing. It's an enjoyable enough set though and the sound is, once again, excellent. A definite plus.
Final support band are FEEDER (yawn). It's not that I hate them, just that they're such an oh-so ordinary rock band, which probably explains their success. Six years on, they play a totally different set to their support to REM at Stirling, but once again I'm a bit underwhelmed. Playing what they should be doing to keep my attention, essentially a greatest hits set with the singles from the new album thrown in, they only scrape a plus as they are also hampered by a poor sound. They fill their time pretty well with the opening double act of 'Come Back Around' and 'Just The Way I'm Feeling' (two of their best songs) suffering a bit. But just as boredom threatens to take hold late on (they've still only really got 2 songs - the fast one and the slow one) 'Buck Rogers' and 'All By Myself' are rousing set closers to save the day.