Wide Awake Festival, Brockwell Park London. 27th May 2023

Gareth Crook
May 28, 2023
4 min read

Updated: May 29, 2023

I’m on the road again today. A little further afield this time, to a field (well, park) in London for Wide Awake Festival. Now truth be told I bought the ticket to see Ty Segal who has sadly pulled out (it was a while ago, I’m over it honest). I don’t know why he’s not here in Brockwell Park in Brixton, on what it has to be said is a glorious day, but I’m going to blame Brexit. That seems to be the issue for a lot of American artists at the moment and I’m always happy to have a dig at those morally corrupt Tory bastards for inflicting it.

Anyway with that out of my system, shall we talk about some music?

After missing A Place to Bury Strangers due to a crazy long queue getting in, first on the block is Model/Actriz who play dangerously dark post punk with a brutal disco beat undercurrent. It’s a scorching day and they’re playing under a greenhouse orning, no wonder they look hot. It’s like remixed NIN meets Selfish Cunt. The singer must be feeling the heat as he ditches the sun magnifying stage and joins us on the grass. The sound truth be told isn’t amazing. Fair enough it’s a festival, but it’s muddy, the sound not the grass. That said the bass rumble still sounds brilliant and it’s a great start to the day.

Gretel Hanlyn sounds lovely on the Windmill Stage, it’s just a shame the guitars aren’t a bit louder for the start of the set. The sound guy seems to clock this though and things get dialed up as the Punpkinsesque riffs get unleashed. She’s in a tent too which traps it all in nicely and keeps the sun off for a bit. Theres a definite 90s feeling that I’m here for, loud, quiet and yeah that voice sounds bloody good. I like the more shoegazey stuff but it all sounds good and probably better than I thought, always a nice surprise.

The other reason I’m here aside Ty Segal is Molchat Doma, who perhaps don’t make much sense in the sunshine, but are still amazing. Think dooming 80s goth with a drum machine and a man with a deep bassy voice singing in Belarusian. I’ve no idea what he’s singing about, but it doesn’t matter. It might to him to be fair, but he’s captivating all the same, stalking the stage in a black jumpsuit, dancing like he’s at a wedding in the 80s while someone plays a Flying V and those beats bounce around brutally. There’s some gorgeously atmospheric stuff in their catalogue and the set pulls from it all. Sparse haunting guitars lines to full on goth bangers. They easily set the bar for band of the day. If the apocalypse is coming, this is the soundtrack to the party at the end. Spasibo!

Viagra Boys come fucking close to matching them though. The sun is dropping but their pace certainly isn’t. They’re bouncy bastards. Guitars, keyboards, a sax, fucking bongos all pulled together by a tattooed madman on vocals. It’s down and dirty funked up fucked up rock and roll. He sounds like he’s on his last legs but in the best way possible. “It’s fucking hot up here, I’ve never experienced weather like this in England”. Stripped down to his pants for ‘Sports’ and doing press-ups, he’s very entertaining. If you can tear your eyes away from him, the two people doing sign language accompaniment are ace too. I’m sticking with Molchat Doma to top the pile today, but Viagra Boys really are the perfect festival band.

Lebanon Hanover aren’t what you’d think would be great at a festival, but I love this varied line up that Wide Awake have put on and I love and this band. They’re the only band I see today that I’ve seen before. The tent is packed. This warms my cold goth heart to see these purveyors of gorgeous goth so popular, although there is lot of chatter. You can move, but the arseholes are everywhere it seems. They sound great, but I’m used to watching them in dark northern clubs and they feel a bit out of place here. It’s not their fault and it’s still a great set, but it’s not as good as when I saw them last year in Leeds or Manchester. I think they baffle much of the audience. I hear one girl behind me say “it’s building up to something” on ‘Come Kali Come’. It is, but not what she thinks.

After a brief interlude watching Joy Orbison in another tent to try and warn up after the sun’s dropped. It’s time for Osees. I don’t really know this lot and it takes me a bit to get into them, but they play a mix of angular punk at a ferocious pace, infused with prolonged psychedelic lock ins. Walls of guitars, squeeky sounds, synth loops and two drummers!! I don’t know why, but it looks and sounds pretty cool. At one point it seems a guitar pedal and mic fail, leaving the singer scurrying around trying to find a fix while the rhythm section cover. You just know when they they get back into it, it’s going to sound amazing and as they kick back in it does. This is what I love about live music. Catching that unique moment, seeing a band roll with the punches and style it out. By the end of the set I’m smitten. Superb.

Well worth the trip down to London for a brilliant day with brilliant bands at a brilliant festival. Brixton is beautiful!!