Electric Picnic 2010 - Fight Like Apes
Crawdaddy Stage, Sunday 5th September, 5.15pm
Describe in a tweet: Absolute carnage, total brilliance.
What Happened: Fight Like Apes make being in a band look fun. And dangerous. Bounding out inÌýsynchronised tracksuits (except for May Kay, who opts for a glittery black number), they immediately shift into overdrive, and rarely take their foot off the accelerator from there on in. How one group of people can have so much energy is quite beyond ATL at this stage, with May Kay and Pockets running around all over the stage like two hyperactive children in a playground.
It's high octane stuff, and it's surprising how familiar we are with many of FLApe's songs - 'Lend Me Your Face', 'Jake Summers', 'Hoo Ha Henry', etc...this is starting to feel like a greatest hits set. A smattering of material from their new album pops up throughout the set, sounding absolutely mighty alongside their more familiar counterparts.
But the real action frequently has little to do with the songs, FLApes being absolute masters of performance. Duelling with iron bars, leaping about all over the place, spitting water over each other (and the crowd), climbing over everything in sight, crowd surfing; if there's something to do, Fight Like Apes will do it. At one point, ATL is literally trapped beneath a tangle of Pockets and May Kay, half the band having decided to abandon the stage.
They finish off with 'Battleships', and by the end of the song, the entire stage has been trashed. If all bands were as fun as this, there's be no reason to do anything else other than watch them 24/7.
Electric Dreams: As Pockets sails overhead, and May Kay towers above us, we start to fear for our lives. It'sÌýexhilaratingÌýand reminds us that THIS IS WHAT IT FEELS LIKE TO BE ALIVE!
Ants at a picnic: It all feels like it's over too soon! I want more!
EP Rating: 9/10
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