Freeze Festival 2010.

What better way to end the festival season than London’s Freeze Festival; an ingenious combination of skiing, snowboarding and of course, a whole range of live music? The derelict hulk that is Battersea Power Station may initially seem a strange choice (it’s more scaffolding than building) but this colossal beast makes for one exciting music venue; allowing for not one, but two tents as well as a whole host of bars and even a cinema. Sunday’s main stage features a select line-up of dance artists but for those seeking something a little heavier or if you just want to see someone play an actual instrument, the Relentless ‘Energy Drink’ stage makes for a worthwhile visit, featuring such bands as Dananananaykroyd (high five if you can pronounce that) and headliners Skindred.



On CD, Shy FX’s take on Drum & Bass is earbleedingly painful; it’s the sort of music you often hear playing too loudly at the back of a bus. In short, it’s the sort of music you don’t usually want to hear at all. However, together with Stamina MC, the English Drum & Bass artist pulls off a surprisingly entertaining live performance. With the bass bordering on extreme, the appreciative crowd get a bit rowdy while Stamina MC has enough enthusiasm to rival Mr Motivator. This music may not be innovative or sentimental, in fact, it’s a little bit tacky, but with this much bass, it’s extremely hard to dislike.

There’s an impressive crowd building around the main stage for penultimate band of the night Hadouken! but once they succeed in drawing in their fans, they have a much harder time keeping them there. Perhaps it’s because their lyrics sound like the drunken ramblings of a chav (let’s face it; only a chav would say something as ridiculous as “It’s ugly like your sister). Whatever the reason, a quarter of the crowd have ventured elsewhere before their set is finished. On a more positive note, the music itself isn’t too shabby. ‘Mic Check’ is a particular highlight, while bassist Chris Purcell throws himself wholeheartedly into every song alongside vocalist James Smith who spits lyrics at the crowd with confidence and ease.



So, how does a Pendulum DJ set differ from a Pendulum live set? In reality, the music sounds exactly the same with the only notable difference being that the band members aren’t physically on stage waving their guitars round like mad cats. Luckily for us, they’re still present in the thumping bass and the pounding, rhythmic drum beats which make Pendulum such an invigorating live act. Crowd pleaser ‘Tarantula’ never fails to ignite the crowd while a vast amount of new album ‘Immersion’ is thrown into the mix with ‘The Vulture’ proving to be a new crowd favourite. Label mates Sub Focus are given a play too, as well as Pendulum’s notoriously catchy cover of The Prodigy’s ‘Voodoo People’ which ensures that the crowd go wild. Is a Pendulum DJ set really that different from their live performance? The answer to that is no, they are both bloody brilliant.