16 July 2022 (gig)
17 July 2022
Set in the backdrop of Finsbury Park on a summer’s afternoon; Community Festival, run by Festival Republic, was an indie-pop lover’s wet dream. The somewhat nostalgic line-up included The Wombats, Nothing But Thieves, Pale Waves, and a few more; with the iconic Two Door Cinema headlining Main Stage from 9pm.
The ‘festival’ was set across two stages, featuring some up-and-coming bands and new alternative artists on the smaller ‘N4 Stage’. One of which was: Daisy Brain, who combines his love of Britpop and Grunge with an emo melodic streak to produce songs based on his Gen-Z experiences, including his addiction to minecraft.
The event ran 11am-10:30pm; and for those of us that were there for the full day, it involved a lot of sitting in front of Main Stage whilst listening to Radio X through the enormous sound-system (and spending a small fortune on food & drinks). The amenities were good enough, but the only seating to be found outside of the VIP area was the floor and a lonesome park bench. Given the location was the same for Wireless Festival the weekend before, the usually-green grass of Finsbury Park, had been transformed into a literal stomping ground, featuring discarded vapes and dust, so picnic blankets are advisory.
Considering the line-up; I was surprised to see that the average age of the attendees was well under 30. The 45,000-strong indie-loving crowd were a friendly bunch, with a penchant for crowd surfing and throwing beers. Behind the mullets, tashes, piercings, laddered tights and colorful hair was a joyful crowd, who screamed the words to almost every song that blared through the main stage speakers. Their energy was electrifyingly conductive.
Top two highlights for me were definitely: The Wombats’ drummer, Dan the Man, who took a flying lemon to the face like a champ, but commanded the stage with his cool, calm & ready-to-rock presence; and Two Door Cinema Club. They were dressed in smart suits and kept speeches to a minimum, but blew the proverbial roof off with their set of straight bangers - opening with the enigmatic I Can Talk and closing the show with the evocative What You Know. It was utterly brilliant.
If Festival Republic is reading this and looking for feedback: I’d say it was great, but missing pezzaze / lacking a certain je ne se quais - maybe an area with hammocks to chill out, or some interactive entertainment? There’s only so many times we ride the Waltzer.
For me, seeing Two Door Cinema Club in a London park on a sunny day was well worth the ticket price of £45. Overall; I had a superb day out and would definitely recommend Community Festival to a friend if they like the genre of music.
