Mudside Festival 2011 Review

Southside Festival 2011
Tuttlingen, Germany

After 4 hours of driving on the Autobahn we arrived in the middle of nowhere.
A small farming town over run by a festival 5 times it's size.

We were led to a parking area that covered fields and fields of green (soon
to be mud). The long walk up the entrance was filled with excitement, and
curiosity. The festival was alive and well starting the parking area. The atmosphere was full of energy. Everyone carrying their tents, coolers, and clothes needed for the 3 day event. By the time we got to the camping area we were overwhelmed. Now where can we find a space? The first band had hit one of the 4 stages 2 hours ago. We soon discovered from asking, and seeing ourselves there wasn't much room at all. Every square inch of the campsite had been taken. Mental note, arrive the night before next year. After an hour of walking around carrying gear on every available limb we found a crack. A hole between two tents just big enough for our small tent. This spot ended up being a life saver later on.

After quickly setting up, and treating ourselves to a Pils we headed for the entrance to the music stages. On the way as we walked down a runway for planes we noticed the madness around us. "this is crazy" was said at least 3 times before we entered the gates.

No time to spare Warpaint was setting up as we showed our festival wristband to the security.

Warpaint - Saw them in LA opening up for the XX last year. Their live show really bring out the music in full force. The rhythm section is powerful, and delivers a punch that they haven't captured yet on their records. Although the band was obviously jet legged, or just down right tired they grooved through a nice set that the Germans enjoyed. I feel like they could have benefited from a slightly different set list, but they left us wanting more with "undertow". They will be back.

Flogging Molly - One of the best things about these European music festivals is the variety. You can go from electronic to heavy metal, to folk within a stage or two.
We ran from the end of Warpaint's set to the energy that was brewing on the main stage. Flogging had the crowd dancing, and roaring to each anthem they sang.
This set is also of note because this is where the rain started. Less than 1 hour into the music the rain started, and didn't really stop for another 10 hours.
At first it seemed to ignite the crowd here, as we all were dancing and singing in the rain. Soon is became apparent that this downpour was going to change all of us.


Making it safely back to our tents, we regrouped as the rain belted the tent.
Only one act could get us our of our safety net, and into the storm.

Bright Eyes - Started at 12:30 pm. It was cold, and the rain only intensified before their scheduled slot. Someone we managed to get the energy, and willpower to force ourselves to run to their set. They were playing in a tent, that was one plus.
The rain had turned the grounds into mud at this point. We were screaming, laughing, and trying not to fall down as we walked into the entrance.
Our clothes were now soaked, shoes ruined, and pants full of mud. Bright Eyes made
these minor inconveniences. They treated us to a powerful performance that was met with a poor response. The band was on fire, clearly enjoying themselves, but sadly their energy was not matched by the crowd. Not to say the crowd wouldn't enjoy them but I felt they would give other festival performances greater less deserved responses.

Elbow - After what feels like days of rain Elbow set the next days seeing the clouds lift, and rain finally cease (at least for a moment). Guy's voice is perfect live.
His stage banter upbeat, this was the perfect band to receive the best weather.
When they closed the set with "On a Day Like This" it was celebrated by festival goers for multiple reasons. None of which that it's a great anthem.


Eels - Now in the same place we saw Bright Eyes the night before the Eels give
us a far less inspired performance, but get a far better response. First off this band sounds nothing like it does on record. I don't want to hear honky tonk from the Eels. We left disappointed in the set list, performance, and the crowd.

Arcade Fire - Strangely enough I've never seen this band live despite sharing an office with their management, and being a fan early on. They put on a great show as expected with great energy, and an outstanding visual display. The arcade movie theater set up went perfectly with the music. The video clips that played with the songs added to the music. Mountains Beyond Mountains was pedestal by blogged when the suburbs came out. I found it ok at first listen. Now after seeing it live it truly hit home. This track is a winner.


Portishead - It had been 12 years since I last saw Portishead. It was in Germany no doubt at another festival up north. They have only released one album since then, and have no doubts remained in the shadows. Beth usually says very little, as she did on this night, which only
adds to their mystic. Tonight they gave us a nice set list touching on a few songs from each album. The highlight being the slowed down version of "Wandering Stars" and "The Rip".
We were on the rail for this show, and Beth came down to give high fives, and hugs to the front row. I know I made some contact with her. I pointed to my P shirt, and she smiled. Love that lady.


Lykke Li
One of those performers I've been dying to see for ages (along with Robyn who I have yet to see yet). Finally in a smoked filled tent I find sanctuary from the rain, and bad music outside. Lykke is great live. The music has tons of percussion, and sounds even better live that on record. Her voice is so powerful live, and she is a performer in every sense of the word. She is not as good without her band though.
They truly feed off each other in a special way. Great set tonight filled with older hit songs to the new stuff. All of it sounds good live.