A reminder, first off, that the excellent Arbouretum will finally be playing Club Uncut, next Monday, July 27, at the Lexington on Pentonville Road. Full details here, if you’re interested.
A rare-as hen’s teeth solo set from Thom Yorke kicked off proceedings on the Obelisk Stage at midday.
The Radiohead frontman performed a set on guitar and grand piano, drawing on tracks from his debut solo album, 2006’s Eraser, a handful of Radiohead tracks, and some lesser-known tracks, including one new composition and a few seldom-played gems and fan favourites Yorke described as “left on the shelf”.
It’s an early start for everyone today, so not long after what seems like daybreak I am making my way down the leafy trail to the Uncut Arena to see Wildbirds And Peacedrums, about whom a I know as much as I do the internal working of the combustion engine. On my unsteady way, I notice a sign someone’s pinned to a tree that say I LOVE YOU MORE THAN MY RECORD COLLECTION, a declaration of affection so passionate it must be an exaggeration.
It’s perhaps a strange moment of symmetry, but earlier I was fortunate enough to catch some of Fever Ray’s set, also in the UNCUT Arena. Clearly, there’s some parity between Karin Dreijer Andersson and Natasha Khan. Both own a significant debut to Kate Bush, and both are convincing exponents of their own, fantastic interior world.