Reviews / Bristol festivals
Review: Love Saves the Day 2016 – Sunday
I arrive at day two of Love Saves the Day in the middle of the midday heat, at a point where thousands of punters are soaking in the pristine weather conditions and taking advantage of the host of diversions on offer. I first get lured into Bump Roller Disco and only fall over twice despite not having worn a pair of skates in a decade.
The first person I see on the main stage is reggae stalwart David Rodigan, playing a selection of roots and dancehall, and is asking if any of the crowd were listening to tunes coming out of Kingston back in the 70s. He gets a muted response, because most of the audience in front of him were born well into the 90s and not quite attuned to his cultural references.
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Soundsystem vibes are well catered for by today’s event, particularly by the Brouhaha stage, which is hosted by Lionpulse and which sees an impressive cast of dub originators pass through, including Mad Professor, Manu Digital playing a selection of digital 80s reggae, and OBF. The award for deepest bassline of the day must surely go to RSD (Rob Smith of Smith & Mighty fame), joined by Joe Peng on the mic who sends some thunderous dubs out into the early evening.
On the opposite side of the site, Teachings in Dub is hosted by long-standing dub veteran Aba Shanti-I, whose massive system is ignobly squeezed into a corner behind the toilets, though this doesn’t deter the small crew of dancers taking in his six-hour set.
The Arcadia Afterburner stage (above) in the centre of the park is the most impressive to witness. Dubstep, grime and garage from the likes of Kahn, Amy Becker and NYTA clang out of the speakers into the late afternoon, before Goldie arrives to plays a set of jungle as the burners light up the early evening sky, casting a slightly apocalyptic glare over the revellers below.
In the few remaining hours of the festival, the normal momentum that would accompany a longer event condenses, and crowds rush to see their final sets of the night in a bit of a frenzy. Of these, Dizzee Rascal is by far the liveliest, and draws the largest chunk of the audience, who he has kept waiting for half an hour.
As an experience, Love Saves The Day in some ways feels like a mish-mash of divergent festival cultures, an event that risks lacking a coherent identity, catering as it does for such a broad audience. But owing to the strength of the lineup, which draws heavily on Bristol’s musical subcultures, it kind of works, and comes off feeling like a taster for the rest of the festival season awaiting in the coming summer months.
Read more: Review: Love Saves the Day 2016 – Saturday