Like the cancelled Bloom Festival and Sunrise the year before, Big Chill organisers opened their facilities in the Words In Motion tent, where the Big Green Gathering folk decanted to after their festival hit problems, even if it was limited to a variety of talks on subjects as diverse as sustainability to time travel!

And as we’re on the edge of civilisation at these events, the highlight of not getting Wi-Fi connection was seeing The Leisure Society playing on the Castle Stage which included a folkish version of Gary Numan’s synth pop classic ‘Cars’ (by co-incidence, he was brilliant at the end of his latest UK tour at Salisbury the other week). The band were introduced as “ideal for a sunny afternoon at the Big Chill” and indeed they were.

After spending too long at the Somerset Cider Bus (again) Eric Truffaz takes the main stage with Sly Johnson (aka Sly The Mic Buddah, the beat boxer from Saian Super Crew) and they storm it with a mix of hip hop and jazz. Best of the set was Johnson’s composition ‘La Mouche’, a cover of Beatles’ ‘Come Together’ (a la McFerrin and even slipping into dub and d’n’b at times; you could say the rebirth of cool; this is a far cry from Eric’s partnership with Ed Harcourt of a couple of years ago in Charing Cross Road (see HERE for Arkhangelsk review).

By now the sun is scorching and at Rizzla Bar, Coyote is asking the question, “Is It Balearic?” Well, it’s hot, bangin’ and the cocktails are so we dump the wellies and dance.

And then its off to Mr. Scruff’s special Tea Tent to sample a couple of his recently released brews as discussed with Gilles Peterson a few months back (can recommend the Big Chill and the Organic And Fair Trade Breakfast brews).

Whilst at the Cocktail Bar it’s Bullion and The Strange Dreams Of Paul White with a mesmerising eclectic mix (must find out what the spaced out jazzy flute track was) and equally needing to see Fink on the Castle Stage (‘Sort Of Revolution’ being a highlight of the day, even as he admitted in his introduction that he’s not sure what it’s about). Could it be harking back to the ‘dawn’ of Woodstock that we heard about the day before with Michael Lang - see yesterday’s review HERE).

Or the ‘revolution’ I’m thinking about is more like a ‘Computer Complex’ in my case, as Luke Vibert would say “Oh! drat these computers they’re so naughty and so complex”; so its off to the bar!

Links:
www.bigchill.net
www.myspace.com/the micbuddah
www.myspace.com/saiansupercrew
www.myspace.com/bullionness
http://onehanded.ithinkmusic.com
www.myspace.com/paulmw
www.myspace.com/theleisuresociety
www.ClassicLPs.co.uk