Björk, Sea Power, Henge, Peaness, W.H. Lung and more, BlueDot Festival, 24th July 2022

A glorious, albeit drizzly day out at the gorgeous BlueDot festival kicks off with the wonderful Sea Power. That’s a lot of superlatives for an opening, but this festival and this band deserve it. It may have started lashing it down during their set, but these tunes can cut through it easily and all this water will probably perk up the trademark foliage that they have all over the Lovell stage. There’s also a young lad on his dads shoulders with a bubble gun who’s doing a stellar job bringing the festival vibes. ‘Green Goddess’ is one of my favourites off the latest album and sounds huge live. I’m jumping around so much I get lost in my rain poncho, as bubble boy reloads and grabs a second gun. What a legend.

The rain is torrential though, so it’s nice to take shelter at the Orbit stage to catch a bit of Stealing Sheep and the Radiophonic Workshop soundtracking the animated sci-fi classic La Planete Sauvage, which is honestly really cool and makes me want to watch the film properly again, although I’d love to have Stealing Sheep in my lounge when I do.

It’s then back out into the rain for some psychedelic electro space rock with Henge. They’re essentially a dancier version of the Ozrics, okay a lot dancier, with some wacky outfits and a good dose of pantomime. Don’t let the drummer dressed as an alien squid fool you though. They’re bloody tight, twisting through synth heavy bangers and proggy funk workouts. With songs like ‘The Great Venusian Apocalypse’ they’re utterly batshit and utterly brilliant. Processed nonsensical lyrics, squelchy synths, bouncy bass, I’m sold! Bubble boy is back as they play us a song to help save the planet and with a young kid dressed in tie-dye jumping around as the rave beats drop, it’s brilliant and they continue the good vibes post set with a 4 hour DJ set including ‘Hengercise’ at the Deep Space Disco, these aliens work hard!

The rain stops for A Certain Ratio, but I’m not that taken with them, certainly at first. They’re alright, kinda funky, a bit sparse. I was never a fan really, but they’re interesting enough to catch at a festival and it gets a bit better as the set goes on. Who doesn’t love a bit of cowbell. As things drift into Herbie Hancock levels of instrumental funk, they find the groove and it’s pretty great.

Warmduscher seem to have found the volume control and decided to crank it. They’re a bit of a marmite band, but I’ve not mind my mind up yet. Some songs sounds great, groove-laden bass hooks and foot-stomping drums, others just lose me a bit. The matching white jumpsuits are striking and the singer puts a shift in. I’m always up for some dirty bass distortion too, but I was hoping for a bit more live. Again the set improves as it ticks along, even if the weather stubbornly doesn’t until the very end.

The main stage is running ahead of time though, which means there’s time to grab another beer and sit on the dry grass inside the Orbit tent to catch a bit of Orlando Weeks. I did expect his set to clash, so it’s a bit of a bonus. I only catch the first half of the set, which is generally light and drifts, with Weeks’ beautiful voice twisting through the sweeping melodies. When they let loose though, they really climb fast through the gears unleashing some of the most epic stuff of the day. Can’t wait to see him again later this year.

I’ve got to rush off and find my partner in crime for Peaness though. Helpfully he’s bagged a spot on the barrier which is nice. Perfect for enjoying a spot of breezy indie pop that’s not afraid to show its teeth. Jangly guitars, big harmonies, it’s not quite my thing, but they’re good and it’s pretty infectious 90s indie disco, thanking us for filling the tent, even when it’s stopped raining outside.

W.H. Lung pack much more of a punch. Ferocious beats at the spine of a punky dance sound. Lots of cinematic synths and songs that sit the banger side of epic. The dual vocal harmonies give them plenty of depth from more europhic dance floor fillers to indie anthems. The lad singing reminds me of Perry Farrell for some reason but that’s a good thing and I am stood quite near the back. As the sound builds it’s impossible not to get swept up. I’ve heard the name, but never heard any of their records, so I’m gonna go with this as the surprise find of the day.

So to Björk, who’s the reason we’re here. She’s playing with the Halle Orchestra and it promises to be a bit special. I’m not going to pretend the viewing experience is great though. All the other stages close down so everyone is in front of the Lovell stage and it’s a bit uncomfortable. Worsened by annoying idiots who arrive late and think it’s okay to push aggressively to the front. Let’s not dwell on that though. She sounds amazing. As do the orchestra. She looks incredible too in a typically stunning hooded and flared gown, that’s both suitably sci-fi and oddly elegant. There’s a few songs I recognise and a lot I don’t. There’s some big gaps in my Bjork knowledge though. It matters not, this is a very different gig. With just the strings, everything is stripped back. You could almost hear a pin drop in places and the audience are largely respectful, which is impressive for a crowd this size. It’s a beautiful set and thankfully without a single raindrop. As night falls and the strings sweep, thousands of us are collectively transported. As we reach the encore she tells us “we wanted to challenge ourselves, so we’ve orchestrated some techno beats”, it’s sort of successful, but if nothing else it’s a lovely avant grade finale to a brilliant day. Even with the weather, it’s very chilled out and probably the nicest, certainly most gentrified festival I’ve been to. It’s my first time at BlueDot. I suspect it won’t be the last.