All Points East delivers again
All Points East, the collection of day festivals held in East London’s Victoria Park, returned in 2019 with another series of big names and up-n-comers. Our editor Bobby headed along on a sunny Sunday to the final event of the year:
Befitting of a Sunday, there was a laid-back vibe to proceedings as the early afternoon acts took to the various stages, with punters stretched out on the grass, a cheeky lunchtime pint by their side, sun screen liberally applied. London’s own Eloise, a teenager who grew up in rural Normandy before moving to the big smoke and writing songs at the hip of her musical mother, was first up. Her acoustic ditties were jazzy and pretty and got the afternoon off to a bright start. Next up, Mathilda Homer‘s soulful sounds soared across the field and her stage presence was immediately disarming. “Oh my days!” she exclaimed at the conclusion of the opening number in what was her debut festival appearance. Judging by today’s showing, we’ll be hearing a lot more from both of these emerging artists and they’ll be rapidly climbing the bills at festivals such as this.
One of our favourite things to do at All Points East is to visit the JägerHaus. Ideally positioned twixt the two main stages, the JägerHaus offers an indoor bar, a sun-drenched backyard complete with DJ booth, an intimate gig space and an upstairs VIP bar with pub games and, of course, thirst-quenching Jägermeister cocktails. In amongst the hustle and bustle of a busy festival, it’s a haven to escape into, and watching a gig there feels like being part of something secret and special. If the early acts on the outside stages brought the chill, then Los Bitchos got the party started. They might be London-based, but it was easy to see why this all-female quintet have been described as The Shadows on a Tequila-fuelled trip to South America. The booze was Jägermeister rather than Tequila and we were in East London not South America, but you get the idea. Their show oozed energy and good times and was a total fucking blast.
Over on the North Stage, Snail Mail were initially hamstrung by sound issues onstage, but Lindsey Jordan’s post-grunge indie-rock soon cut through like a diamond. These were well-crafted songs that managed to be weighty and serious without feeling overtly earnest, Meanwhile, on the East Stage, Kokoko! offered something entirely different. A musical project bringing together a group of musicians from Africa’s Ngwaka neighbourhood, Kokoko!’s engaging electronic sounds fused with African and Arabic influences to bring one of the highlights of the day.
Back in the JägerHaus, Mush filled the stage with angular, lo-fi guitar indie pop, melody exhilaratingly meeting noise. After this impressive set, Steve Davies & Kavus Torabi dropped a DJ set to the crowd in the yard. Yes, Steve Davis as in that Steve Davis. Snooker loopy.
As late afternoon brought the long shadows to Victoria Park, Phosphorescent took to the stage. Alabama-born Matthew Houck and his band delivered something beautiful, cracked and fragile. Over on the North Stage, Ezra Furman offered swooning, sweeping rock’n’roll melodies, after which, Mac DeMarco combined his irrepressible slacker rock with his trademark cheeky attitude. Salad Days, as always, was singalong anthem and DeMarco, of course, was a total show-stealer.
As late afternoon politely moved aside for early evening, John Grant produced pure magic on the East Stage. Adorned in metallic blue face paint, his career-spanning set aimed right for the feels and never once missed its target. Queen Of Denmark was a magnificent way to close a triumphant performance.
Over in the JägerHaus, Welsh wonder Gwenno (pictured, top) dazzled a packed room with her intriguing style of psychedelic Welsh/Cornish electro-folk. Her introduction of one song as her “Fuck Farage” anthem raised the biggest cheer of the day. Next, Bill Ryder-Jones (pictured, above), filled the JägerHaus headline slot. He is releasing an alternative version of his critically-acclaimed fourth album, Yawn, later this summer which, taking inspiration from the Beach Boys, will be called Yawny Yawn and will comprise of only vocals and piano. As the final day of All Points East edged to its conclusion however, his performance was full-on electric in both senses of the word. As co-founder and former lead guitarist of The Coral, there has never been any doubt that this musician knows his way around an infectious, succinct tune, and so he proved to a beguiled crowd. It was a thrilling way to close another superb festival for the Jagerhaus. Cheers!
And so, as the curtains dropped on all other stages, tired feet and sunburned legs made their way to the East Stage for the main event of the day, a headline appearance from Bon Iver. Wearing headphones over a bandana, frontman Justin Vernon weaved his way through an eclectic back-catalogue and, excitingly, epilogued the show with an exclusive world video premiere of two brand new tracks. And with that, All Points East wrapped for another year. But, despite being sunbeaten and weary, there was still a spring in collective steps as crowds shuffled back to the tube. It had been, after all, a beautiful day filled with sweet sounds and likeminded people.
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Review by Bobby Townsend.
