If the unbearable heat of the British summer was making life unpleasant for us ordinarily-dressed folk at Truck Festival, I can only imagine how the mini-hipsters were feeling in their jeans so tight that they looked like leggings, their immaculately unruffled shirts and their variously decorated lavish waistcoats. But despite the efforts of that most mysterious of deities, the Heat Wave, Oxford’s beloved Truck Festival was once again a resounding success. Small Oxford band Candy Says kicked off the festival in style on the Market Stage, accompanied by their mascot Candy, a manikin wearing a lei and holding a maraca. With the Velvet Underground-esque sound that one would expect from the band name, they charmed and intrigued all those Truckers who had arrived for the start of the day’s music.
The site itself was charming; Truck had paid close attention to their themed tents. From the outrageously Wild West saloon to the Caribbean themed bar to the large haystack filled farm-themed tent which was full for most of Friday as people sheltered from the sun, no detail had been spared. Furthermore, they kept true to their promise of a family-friendly environment, with pantomime shows for the kids. Tents from the Oxford Playhouse and a few other dramatic groups kept things interesting for everyone, while all the food was locally sourced.
Friday’s musical highlights came at the end of the day on the Market Stage, where Patrick Wolf performed a typically eclectic set. His 30 minutes included him forgetting some of the words, his harp failing to work and an extended discourse on Russia’s recent ‘gay propaganda’ legislation. A medley of ‘Bermondsey Street’ and ‘Magic Position’ was, he said, a song that was now about the situation in Russia, a place where “it’s now illegal for [him] to be [himself]”. Dry the River followed with a headline set filled with their usual poignant tragedy and elemental energy. Peter Liddle’s eyes glistened with hidden sadness and crazed genius but Scott Miller, who dubbed himself “the sweaty one”, got most of the crowd’s adoration. It was immediately obvious that the band’s new material, only heard previously at intimate shows in the Berkshire area, held all of the same trembling beauty as their debut album Shallow Bed, and we await the upcoming sophomore effort with eager anticipation.
The next day, welcome clouds covered the oppressive sun, and it was finally safe for even the palest of us to spend some time outside. Oxford’s own Marvellous Medicine played a frenetic set at the start of the day, and had many Truckers pulling out some of their most adventurous dance moves with the ska/reggae stylings that have become familiar to many Oxford students from balls and gigs at Cellar. The rest of the festival, however, was stolen by shoegaze. Up-and-coming psychedelic rockers Toy played to a packed-out Market Stage, whose audience included festival headliners The Horrors, standing right in front of us. The tenebrous rock giants have often been quoted naming Toy as their favourite band, and clearly they just couldn’t stay away from Tom Dougall’s gothic soundscapes.
Later on, as night gathered around the Truck main stage, the time was finally here. The Horrors played a show-stopping, weekend-stealing set full of their usual dark, enigmatic mystery. Lead singer Faris Badwan gazed down from the high stage, leaning on his microphone and looking like a dying Edwardian vampire as he veered between classics like ‘Sea Within A Sea’ and ‘Who Can Say’ and unsurprisingly impressive new material. After time out from touring, the band clearly relished being back on stage, and Badwan made it known that he was glad to be back before the melding chords of ‘Still Life’ signalled a heart-stopping end to a magnificent Truck Festival 2013.
