Bicep may have been let down by a weak sound system but that did not stop the party. We ended the hottest day of the year on Friday on the beach for one of the hottest artists in the scene at the moment - Bicep. The Irish electronic duo cannot be defined by any genre but instead carved their own taking hints from techno, drum and bass and breakbeat throughout the night.
Andy Ferguson and Matthew McBriar on stage (Image: Mike Burnell) We arrived at the festival site in Madeira Drive quite late and headed straight for the bar - 25 minutes later we finally had a drink in hand and went to find a spot to spend the rest of the night. Looking around, the festival was full of young, successful types glammed up wearing sticky sequins on their forehead. The crowd earlier that afternoon (Image: Mike Burnell) Bicep walked onto the stage and got to work on the decks.
Not that anyone would have noticed, given the sound was so quiet. Crowds surrounding us were still talking easily amongst themselves and there was no need to shout to be heard. We could feel the bass but none of the intricacies of the duo's rich sonic tapestry.
It was as though we were standing in the smoking area outside a club. Snore-bital: The Argus reviews Orbital's gig at the Brighton Centre It had all the hallmarks of a noise limiter imposed to stop neighbours nearby from complaining. The crowd noticed this too.
Chants of "turn it up" began, but at least we could see the stunning abstract visuals on stage...
Our view of.