‘This is like headlining the Pyramid Stage for us,” say an excited the Last Dinner Party as they open this year’s End of the Road festival. The band themselves might not quite pull off the feat of feeling like a headline act – their set of slick indie pop more serviceable than stunning – but they set the tone for a weekend in which afternoon performers and headliners feel fundamentally interchangeable: while many lunchtime slots at festivals can be a dead zone, here they are packed with zealous audiences. And the festival’s idyllic setting means that wandering around the glitter-strewn illuminated woods in the evening is magical. It’s unsurprising that a proposal takes place during an early hours DJ set.
On Thursday, Wilco follow the Last Dinner Party with a set that is equal parts stripped-back Americana, chugging grooves and squealing guitar freakouts. A gentle chorus of Jesus, Etc echoes out across the crowd, while a closing powerhouse rendition of Spiders (Kidsmoke) is a potent concoction of grinding krautrock and explosive riffs.
