Review: Love Saves The Day (Sunday)

Adam Burrows reviews the festival’s second day at Eastville Park

Perhaps unsurprisingly, considering what’s gone before, Sunday takes a little while to get going. Luckily Jus Now’s tropical rave cocktail is the perfect antidote for second-day sluggishness. A waist-winding blend of soca, dancehall, garage, jungle and dub, the Bristol / Trinidad duo inhabit a proud tradition of genre-clash soundsystem music that goes back to Smith & Mighty and beyond. Every track seems purpose built for outdoor dancing, not least their cheeky edits of Papa’s Got a Brand New Pigbag and The Burial.  By the time their set ends in a short blast of their own incendiary Tun Up, the sun’s out and the atmosphere is transformed from picnic to carnival.  

“Mate, I’m a bit lost”, says a man in the shadow of the big wheel, “can you tell me the way to Gloucester?” We’re fairly sure it’s somewhere beyond the Dance-Off Stage, a full-size boxing ring that forms the nucleus of a small rave. The DJ is Dazee (Ruffneck Ting / Dutty Girl), and not for the last time today the crowd reaction proves that – in Bristol at least – drum & bass will never, ever die. Things are a little less frantic over in the Paradiso tent, where the aching analogue tones of Ghost Culture recall vintage synth-pop from Kraftwerk to OMD. 

The event as a whole is so well planned that it’s almost beyond criticism, although one or two of the outdoor systems are a little underpowered.  There are no such issues on Teachings in Dub’s rig, which hosts a lengthy set from dub legends Channel One that may well have cause the River Frome to change its course. Meanwhile, reggae of a sunnier kind is to be found on the main stage thanks to Horace Andy & the Dub Asante Band. 

While his career goes back to the earliest days of Jamaican reggae, Andy’s ongoing collaboration with Massive Attack means he’s a Bristol legend too. It’s therefore surprising there’s not a bigger crowd for what is undoubtedly one of the day’s strongest sets. Spying Glass, Problems, Skylarking and Every Tongue Shall Tell – which Andy describes as his “favourite song” – are all highlights, but best of all is Man Next Door. First recorded by the late, great John Holt, it’s one of the genre’s greatest songs, and Andy’s sweet, tremulous falsetto makes him the perfect singer to convey its vulnerability. Matic Horns’ trombone solo is wonderful too: graceful and defiant in equal measures. 

By the middle of the evening, the options are beginning to pile up. It’s impossible to get in to the Cloud 9 tent for My Nu Leng, and thus begins a circular detour taking in bits of Shy FX, Daniel Avery, Azealia Banks and Wiley, all of whom are killing it in their own sweet ways. 

For our money, though, it’s Four Tet who brings the most love to Love Saves The Day. While Kieran Hebden is often thought of as a cerebral producer, his recorded output has become more closely allied with the dancefloor in recent years. He’s also honed his instincts as a DJ, and tonight’s joyous, expansive selection of techno, house, breaks and the odd curveball is as expertly sequenced as it is emotionally charged. He even finds time for a trio of jungle anthems after a tease so long it’s cruel. When the bassline from Valley of the Shadows finally does drop – followed by Incredible and Scottie in quick succession – the crowd, understandably, go mental. 

Hebden’s clearly peaked though, and as his set winds down there’s a riot going on at the nearby Apocalypso stage.  With well over a decade in the grime business Skepta has more than paid his dues, and deserves every bit of the success he’s enjoyed since That’s Not Me battered the charts this time last year. He also turns out to be the perfect act to bring the festival to a close, providing the ultimate one-more-tune moment with the aptly named Shutdown. In terms of lineup, atmosphere and organisation Love Saves the Day continues to hit all the high notes, and the new site at Eastville Park is a huge plus too. If you ever get lost on your way to Gloucester it’s well worth taking a look. 

Photographs by Hannah Burrows and Adam Burrows