News / / 25.07.13

LOVEBOX

Victoria Park, London | July 19th-21st

Lovebox is surely one of the most high-profile events to go down in London year-on-year. Famed for their exclusive bookings, eclectic curation and notoriously ritzy Sundays, expectations are always high and this year’s line-up did nothing but fuel the fire: D’Angelo playing his only UK festival, Lil Kim returning to the UK after a hefty 12 year absence (more on that later), and a borderline insane array of internationally celebrated DJs. Amidst the endless hoardes of vibrantly-clad revellers there was an unmissable feeling of anticipation for this three day run, Crack included.

If you were to scan the UK charts at the moment you might come across Breach nestled comfortably in the top 10. Jack is a perfect example of the underground/overground integration spearheaded by the likes of Jessie Ware and Disclosure. The crowd he pulled for such an early set was testament to his growing popularity amongst audiences everywhere. Jack is also a certified cheesy but colossal banger. Then came an early afternoon live set from John Talabot, whose 2012 LP ƒIN still emanates a sense of perfect vacancy and fragility while maintaining the ability to get people moving – just not quite as much as they would if it was a little later in the day. The moving hit full swing when Charlie Wilson hit the main stage. The Oklahoma 60-year-old put on a show featuring dance routines, a truckload of sequins and a mid-set costume change from a dangerously reflective shiny black suit to a modest turquoise number, all accompanying cuts like Beautiful, You Are and You Dropped The Bomb On Me. His live dates go in tandem with the Chic resurgence of prototypical summertime partying, and his disco stabs and airtight, simple melodies were nothing short of irresistible. Contrary to popular misconception – Wiley (@WileyUpdates) is a solid live performer. If by solid you mean 20 minutes of radio-clingy halves of singles before manic DJ backspins, then this guy is solid. Granted, his set was preceded by a tweet confirming he was doing this string of shows to avoid being sued (update: he’s just been sued) but his heart was in it right?

lovebox-2013-7

Seemingly equally irresistible is the indomitable rise of Julio Bashmore, whose crowd at the Noisey tent outstretched the big top and generated one of the best atmospheres of the day. The upbeat vibes were elevated to the point of ridiculousness when Jurassic 5 did their thing. Probably the happiest and nicest men ever to be this happy and nice, they brought that famously bouncy (and happy, and nice) sound. People bloody loved it, and rightfully so. Listen to What’s Golden played live in the sweltering East London sun and try and be turbo-observant and introverted – you’ll flop it, just like we did.

lovebox-2013-11

To have witnessed equal levels of glee you’d have had to check out Flying Lotus headline the Noisey tent. Playing tracks from all four studio records, raising the pitch of Rick Ross’s vocals on Hold Me Back (the line “I look in my fridge / My shit looking scarce” was a highlight) and slinking round from behind the turntables on occasion to spit ferociously as his alter-ego Captain Murphy, Lotus was on true top form. He took requests, urged beatmakers in the crowd to throw their CDs onstage, and pushed the curfew later than Lil Kim (stay with us, more on that still on its way).

Saturday was an equally spirited affair, with proceedings opened by Darq E Freaker, the grime revivalist treating the crowd to Ace Hood’s unadulterated colossal radio plaguer Bugatti as well as playing a cut from Danny Brown’s upcoming full length, which he produced. Then the current addiction to ‘turning up’ was satisfied once more by Atlanta mixtape host and runner up to Tim Westwood as shoutiest rap fan over the age 30, DJ Drama. 2 Chainz, Juicy J, Drake and all the molly-popping degeneracy you could ask for came together in one slightly manic DJ set. This was a more positive demonstration of the joys of rap music that many think is misleading the youth. The lavish, sensationalised lyricism and production was matched by an overactive and feverish crowd. One whole bloody day of turn up time.

For a change, we caught the much hyped Mancunian Bipolar Sunshine. His hazy melodies and misty production translated well to the live setting, and the crowd he pulled for such a tiny tent signalled big things afoot. D’Angelo’s one-off UK festival appearance had girls crying and people only slightly older than us talking like they were well old, just because they saw him the first time around. The show was hard to fault. Chicken Grease and Devil’s Pie were executed with world-class showmanship, while his vocals were flexible, distinctive and smooth. So, so smooth. With any luck these shows will travel the UK, because the D’Angelo live experience is one worth chasing.

To send off the middle day, Mark Ronson’s stage in association with Red Bull took the turn up philosophy to new heights. With Kenny “Dope” Gonzalez having delivered a masterclass earlier in the day, Ronson, Darq E Freaker, A-Trak, DJ Drama and Seb Chew had a track-for-track battle to close the stage down. Dizzee’s I Luv U, ASAP Ferg’s Shabba and the strip-club built, HudMo-produced Mercy from the G.O.O.D Music album proved to be highlights. All connoisseurs of the flagrant hip-hop smashes, this was a great way to send off what was certainly the most live day of the event.

lovebox-day2-2013-4

Sunday arrived, and we caught some of Zebra Katz’ glam-rap before being hypnotised by the light show and clean-trap beats of Purity Ring. Then came Moko’s set over on the Crack stage. This girl’s immense hype and distinctive image compliments her bone-rattling industrial soul-pop perfectly. Her tracks are catchy, infectious and sound like a hybrid of Grace Jones and MIA: impossible not to dance to, yet you wouldn’t want to hear them alone in the dark. After Kelis ran through her bangers, the wait began for Lil Kim’s first London performance in over a decade began. Earlier in the day her band had been seen sound-checking, and we were told we weren’t allowed backstage because Lil Kim had cleared the area, while she was tweeting every other minute about how excited she was. The kit was ready, the crowd was there and people were ready to bounce to Put Your Lighters Up in the summer air. Half an hour after her set was scheduled to start, a stage-hand grabbed a mic and announced it wasn’t happening. A major blow, and the fallout could well continue. But still, Kelis brought it, Goldfrapp were perfectly charming, and DJ Harvey’s RBMA-presented Discotheque was a constant source of hedonistic satisfaction.

Jon Hopkins’s headline set over at the Crack stage demonstrated that his forerunner for LP of the year, Immunity, is just as chilling, powerful and breathtaking live as on record. His set proved a pitch-perfect culmination to a line-up which saw Bristol’s Idles deliver a characteristically intense post-punk assault, Joey Fourr revel in his dreamy alt-pop hooks, and Hyetal thrive with the help of his hugely refreshing new three-piece live set-up. Due to a fortune of errors, Mykki Blanco was moved to an evening set, also on our stage, and made up for the lack of Lil Kim. Bitchier, ballsier and with some of the tightest hooks in the game; Kim should be quaking in her boots.

Lovebox Benjamin Eagle

Across three vivid and memorable days, Saturday stood out as truly exceptional. D’Angelo, the relentless vibes of Ronson and friends, and the fun-loving positivity of the Jurassic 5 reunion made sure of that. East London as a location of course means early finishes and busy public transport, but as three-day inner-city affairs go, Lovebox maintained its reputation as a brash, colourful knees-up with a diverse, contemporary and frequently thrilling bill. Props to sequins, Rick Ross and being hella happy.

 

– – – – – – – – – –

mamacolive.com/lovebox

Words: Duncan Harrison

Photos: Lovebox / Benjamin Eagle

CONNECT TO CRACK