Music > Live Reviews

Classic Ibiza @ Blickling Hall

by Lizzoutline

13/08/16

Ibiza, man. What does the word conjure up for you? White sands? Tanned stunners? Dancing at the Cafe del Mar? Glowsticks til dawn at Manumission? Hot, heavenly, heady days and nights? Absolutely. And last night we celebrated our memories and love for that treasured haven at where? Blickling Hall. Natch.

The Blickling Proms happen annually, and are perhaps better known for having classical acts, as you’d expect. You know, bring your fam, enjoy the fireworks. This year, however, they’ve tried to bring something a little different to the 1616 National Trust property, reportedly haunted by one Anne Boleyn. Tonight we have not sand but grass between our toes, and we’re about to stir Anne from her spectral sleep.

The weather is balmy, the vibe is ultimate chill. Parking’s easy, there are no queues and the toilets are well posh. There’s a pizza stall, a cocktail bus and a wine vendor. Big groups of mates, couples and family groups have set up their blankets or gazebos and are settling down with a picnic and a beer. Everyone looks incredibly happy. There’s plenty of day glo body paint, and I spot one woman who’s the spitting image of Kelly from This Is England ’88 which is just perfect.

We start the proceedings with a chill out set to, ironically, warm us up. Tonight we’ve got the 22 piece (by my count) Urban Soul Orchestra onstage, and boy if they aren't a bunch of beautiful young people, led by founder, director and conductor Stephen Hussey. Not only that, but DJ Goldierocks, internationally renowned for her skills on the ones and twos is here too. And it’s just so gently delightful. Tracks played beautifully by the orchestra include classics like Teardrop, At The River, Bittersweet Symphony, Children and Barber’s Adagio for Strings. Arms waft lazily in the air, and we sing along as quiche and olives are eaten. Goldierocks follows up with a half hour DJ set of bangers, and the feeling in the air slowly starts to heat up. Glowsticks are snapped. Picnic equipment returned to cars. We strap ourselves in and we're ready for the off.

Onstage is total babe Goldierocks in a sequinned robe, three incredibly gifted and engaging singers and the orchestra, which comprises of brass and string sections, two drummers, an electric guitar and keys. We’re all pumped. When the first few notes of Right Here Right Now begin, there’s a cacophonous roar from the crowd, and so it begins. An hour of crazed dancing, green lasers crossing above our heads, massive grins, and a big big collective love in. The orchestra plays with huge energy and joy, the three singers compliment each other brilliantly, taking turns to take lead vocals and Goldierocks, although mostly hidden at the back, assuredly holds down the riddims. The sound quality is absolutely clear and loud and the balance between the electronic beats and the orchestral instruments well balanced.

From what I can tell, the tracks played run chronologically, starting with Lost Frequencies and ending with Calvin Harris. And this here is my one, tiny criticism of the night. The age of the crowd is roughly 30 - 50. Original crew, yo. So the problem as I see it is that all the tracks that get everyone going completely mental are in the first 30 minutes of the set..Insomnia, Sing It Back, One More Time, Born Slippy (special mention for the drum-off during that one) and Music Sounds Better With You. People are going UTTERLY INSANE for that shit. It's bouncy and brilliant. But there's a definite downward slope in energy as time passes, and instead of building to a crescendo we slump a little. Modern classics like Titanium and Rather Be just don’t quite cut it with this particular audience, as us oldies don’t hold them so dear to our hearts. I can understand the chronological concept but really I think they should have stuck to the absolute original classics. I crave hearing 9pm (Till I Come), Higher State of Consciousness, Sweet Like Chocolate and Hey Boy Hey Girl, to the extent that I'm tempted to start shouting out requests. Inappropriate . But I feel a little sad that we are clearly so ready to go even more bonkers but are stymied by ultimately not loving or knowing off by heart those more up to date tracks. “We want more” brings the whole gang back onstage for a reprise of Right Here Right Now, which is great of course but hey, hadn't we already had that one? Josh Wink would've been the way to end with a band in my opinion. So yeah, chronological is cool, but maybe go the other way..newer songs at the start working towards the really special ones towards the end?

The glowsticks are starting to fade and so are we as we stumble back to the car, happily knackered, and get offsite within five minutes. Everything about the event was managed beautifully and professionally, so nice one Blickling. This was truly a night to remember - a little slice of Ibiza in the Norfolk countryside on a summer evening with love all around me. And I reckon Anne Boleyn was all hands in the air on Blickling's roof. She bloody loves it.

Now who's got the number for the afterparty rave?

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