End of the Road 2019 - Friday - Pottery, Spiritualized +

Pottery
Kicking the festival off for me was Pottery, an all-male five-piece from Montreal (and no, I didn't go see them just because they're Canadian). With every one of them contributing on vocals I quite enjoyed their set in the Tipi Tent. Even intra-song they kept things interesting with shifting tempos and enough musical changes to keep me guessing and earn that "genre-defying" label.

Flamingods
A last-minute addition to the bill I wasn't familiar with them but had heard some applaud the announcement. Despite my open mind I couldn't really get into them as they seemed to be jam-band that just wandered rather than leading me to any musical heights. When their finale seemed to be winding down I turned to leave and did not look back when after a few moments pause they picked back up into more of the same.

Spiritualized have apparently been gazing into the galaxy for ages, as have I, and yet I've never caught a glimpse of them. Friends were pumped for this and I'll admit there were moments of grace and beauty, as J. Spaceman guided the journey via his guitar from his seated position. Across from him was a line of guitarists which layered all on top of each other. Furthermore there were three women raising their voices to the heavens while performing synchronized shimmies, and a drummer. It was quite ethereal and worked under the stars of the late summer evening. Familiar with I'm Your Man it stood out though the rest seemed to all come back around in a similar vein. The most disappointing part was that they closed on a long-winded take on a gospel song that did not pack much punch.

Someone from the Green Man Festival had post that Jockstrap was a standout for them which is why I ducked out of Spiritualized to give them a try. Wasn't worth the two minute walk over to the tent for a smorgasbord of "art" that was all a load of crap. Nobody needs a multi-minute flute solo, the very reverbed rap of the lead female singer hit no marks, meanwhile the four-piece string section went essentially untouched. The final straw was when they played for about 30 seconds before being cut out completely and returning to the flute. What a load of shite.