Cup of delight

(Morning Star, Wednesday 13 July 2005)

FESTIVAL: T in the Park
Kinross

KIRSTIE MAY has no complaints about an enthralling festival that is blessed with sunshine - except for the odd spot of arrogance.

ANOTHER year, another scorching hot cup of T in Kinross. In stark contrast to the south's rain-sodden Glastonbury, the sun shone down on 70,000 punters in rural Scotland, as the great and the good of modern music gathered to impress.

As was clear at King Tut's Tent, Suzanne Vega has more talent evident in one song than many of this weekend's acts have in their entire back catalogue.

Vega's sincerity and intelligence shines through to the delight of her crowd. High points are Luca, her understated tale of domestic violence and classic closer Tom's Diner, after which the audience leaves forever changed.

'Razorlight are a major draw but singer Johnny Borrell is the very lowest form of rocker.'

The Main Stage will have seen some overblown rock cocks-of-the-walk in its time and here's another - Chris Cornell, former Soundgarden frontman and now the voice of sludgy rockers Audioslave, previously known as those guys from Rage Against The Machine.

In a set that is largely devoid of sentiment and smarts, the band, at least, pay respects to former glories, Cornell rolling the refrain from Black Hole Sun around briefly and closing with RATM's Killing in the Name Of.

A change of crowd, greets Britpop's renaissance men Embrace. Starting with the recent Ashes and pulling in the Chris Martin-penned Gravity and oldie Come Back to What You Know, the Macnamara brothers' live set seems characterised by a slight smugness - perhaps as a "fuck you" to the wise-arse record company exec who dumped them from their label three years ago.

And smug they have every right to be, whereas their Main Stage successors The Killers exude self-satisfaction for no discernible reason.

The songs that Brandon Flowers's crew bring with them from Vegas are accomplished, starting out with tale of murderous youth Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine and ending on anthemic All These Things I've Done.

But their attitude - "we're the all-conquering Yanks" - is less than deserved, given their relative newcomer status. Time and that difficult second album will tell if the Hot Fuss is all hot air.

Over on the NME Stage, Mike Skinner's Streets give the chavs something to talk about. But the feeling that we're left with is that it's the last day of summer term and the unhinged PE teacher is covering the final lesson of the day.

Brendan Benson, however, lights up the X Tent. Now better known for his own work than his collaborations with Jack White, the singer/guitarist kept the crowd warmed up, despite a mid-set lights out.

Main Stage headliners the Foo Fighters own T in The Park Saturday from the second that they come on to In Your Honour. A refreshing mix of all-out rocking and laid-back cheeriness gives Dave Grohl the edge and leaves enough room for drummer Taylor Hawkins to front on Cold Day In The Sun. They round off with a triumphant Breakout.

That Nine Black Alps are allowed to bring their nihilistic Nirvana cast-offs to T on Sunday can only mean one thing - quality control on the Radio One/NME is at a low. Luckily, Eagles of Death Metal are at hand to administer the sweet rock and Josh Homme makes a winning bid for frontman of the weekend with his colourful banter.

Razorlight on the Main Stage are a major draw indeed. But singer Johnny Borrell is the very lowest form of rocker, believing that, by sheer dint of his being onstage, he has the right to spout all the crass old rock 'n' roll cliches. Grow up, Johnny.

'The Tears have all the charm of their former incarnations and none of the pomposity.'

Cliches abound, too, with the arrival of Snoop Dogg but they are more of the bling 'n' bitches variety. His run-through of Pharrell Williams and Justin Timberlake collaborations just shows how little he offers in the way of original craft. But the pantomime onstage is worth the earache, with an entourage comprising burly security men and short-skirted honeys.

Another frontman preoccupied with the female of the species is Queens of the Stone Age's Josh Homme, back for more on the Main Stage and displaying all the hallmarks of the cocky rock star - including weaving Here Comes the Sun into an otherwise characteristically menacing No One Knows.

If Homme is a great rock frontman, then surely the greatest of all indie frontmen is Echo and the Bunnymen's Ian McCulloch, his staggering outsider chic hardly diminished by the passing of time.

The humour and class that the Scouser brings to King Tut's is invaluable. From the career-defining Killing Moon - to late 1990s rebirth Nothing Lasts Forever, which neatly segues into Walk On The Wild Side for an amusing and oddly touching aside, Echo deliver a set that thrills and chills in equal measure.

Interpol, New York's own Echo for the 2000s, are a pleasant if derivative follow-up, while Hayseed Dixie wow an overspilling crowd at the new-for-2005 Futures Stage with their trademark banjo AC/DC music. Their Highway To Hell is a perverse treat and the Duelling Banjos finale is an inspired choice, not least because the sound of the mimics resounds round the site for the remainder of the day.

While the Main Stage hosts Green Day and old timers The Prodigy haul their tired act over the Radio One/NME Stage, the X Tent sees magic unfolding. The Tears have risen phoenix-like from Suede's ashes and, like Doctor Who, they've got all of the charm and guile of their former incarnations - but none of the pomposity.

Weaving a spell over the small but riveted crowd, the all-new Brett 'n' Bernard show is a fitting end to one of the most enthralling T in the Parks to date.