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Few bands are more tailor-made for a sunny summer festival than Spiritualized. While many bands struggle to convey their sound as well when they leave the comfort of late-night sets in bars and clubs, Spiritualized has no such problem, as the proved this afternoon on the TD Music Stage.

Decked out in alternating black and white outfits, the band hit the stage a few minutes late, which gave anyone who wanted to catch their set enough time to make it to the stage. And for those who didn’t want to catch their set… well, they probably heard it anyway; the band’s noisy, distorted guitars and keyboards resonated practically across the island. And while Spiritualized can write as beautiful a ballad as any band, those noisy guitars are what their live set is all about.

Playing a mix of selections from Songs in A&E, and their older albums, Spiritualized provided the Virgin Festival crowd a solid, if not spectacular set. Backup vocalists added a nice touch, particularly to the band’s more gospel numbers, and their look and their vocal style - think stoned Supremes - provided an interesting contrast to the rest of the band’s rock and roll look and sound.

While their set might’ve benefited from a couple more older cuts, the band turned A&E songs that sound less inspiring on record into engaging live performances, their rendition of lead single Soul on Fire sounding especially good. Spiritualized may not have quite the appeal to headline, or fill the main stage, at such a high-profile festival, but as a late-afternoon performance on a hazy summer day, they work perfectly.

Posted on Saturday, September 6th, 2008 at 7:13 pm by Luke Adams and is filed under VFest2008.

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