Sad Girl Summer closes out All Points East weekend one in a wonderfully supportive fashion
My own feet are about to kick me in the face in rebellion of more walking as we head back to All Points East for day three. Luckily, they let me off when they heard the music again.
Another wildly different crowd for Mitski’s All Points East on Sunday, with a mainly female crowd (the rest being dads and boyfriends). I can’t lie, it was a nicer and more supportive environment, naturally. No drunken louts or anyone even drinking for that matter.
But what’s a festival without a lout? So I took one for the team and made good use of the shorter bar queues. Just kidding.
The Sad Girl summer lineup had the festivalgoers smiling.
Ethel Cain’s Cirrus vocals floated around the East stage along with the dust after three days of no rain. The atmospheric setlist had the audience swaying and singing along with eyes closed. The moodiness served as a release for some pent-up darkness on a delightful summery afternoon.
‘’It’s been a long time since we played in one of London’s beautiful parks,’’ she smiled as fans were already dreading the end of the performance and eager to soak in the most from every sense they could. The smooth cover of ‘Bette Davis Eyes’ injected further excitement before then closing up a wonderful set with the all-time favourite, ‘American Dream’
People struggled to find a way in for Suki Waterhouse over at the CUPRA North Arena. A set bursting at the seams including ‘To Love,’ ‘Moves,’ and ‘Blackout Drunk’. She’d played Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour the night before and recognised two fans at the front who had been to both shows – even Suki is blown away by the level of support she garnered.
I was relieved that people knew the words to her biblical cover of the Oasis masterpiece ‘Don’t Look Back in Anger.’ I’m unsure she’ll be continuing the same in her US shows in October, though, after saying, “I played that one at Coachella and let me tell you, it didn’t hit the same.”
Beabadoobee strutted onto the stage like she owned the place (which, let’s face it, she kind of did). Fresh off her number one album, she treated us to a set that was part victory lap, part time machine to the early 2000s. “10:36” had the crowd singing louder than karaoke night at a silent disco.
Arlo Parks has thrived into an unstoppable force on the stage as she contented for the crowd against TV Girl. A high-energy performance with a soulful arrangement caused the crowd to erupt in awe. As classics like ‘Hurt’ were adapted to fit the festival mood, she commanded the stage and the vibe. Fans were not disappointed and she may have even won a few newcomers.
Your favorite indie-country-rock hybrid, Mitski, delivered a 24-song set that was more packed than the central line at 5:30 on a Tuesday. Her sophisticated compositions had the crowd silent at times as they gazed with amazement at what they were witnessing.
That could have also been down to the fact crawled around the stage like a dog during “I Bet on Losing Dogs” (method acting at its finest). However, it was her ability to turn off her mime and theatrical performance that grasped everyone’s attention.
After showing her affection to the fans and thanking everyone for the opportunity, she returned ‘back to character’ and was excused to go as rogue and enchanting as physically possible.
Her spellbinding performance closed what was one of All Points East’s finest weekends, both in terms of lineup and atmosphere.
You could overhear the conversations of praise for the festival on the way out as it stands firmly as London’s behemoth festival.
Now, I’m off to rest my legs until we do it all over again next weekend.
See ya there.