Well, I’ve just got back from a rather good day in London, attending the second day of Hyde Park Calling. Despite less-than-ideal weather, the event was very good indeed.
Through the morning and much of the afternoon the weather was actually fairly dry, with only the occasional sprinkling of light rain. Not being familiar with most of the acts for the early part of the festival, we decided to stick with the main stage rather than messing around trying to move between the two.
First up was Micki Free, playing psychedelic blues rock. His set was fairly enjoyable, and it was nice to see how obviously he was enjoying himself. Next up were Arckid, who were decent enough, but nothing special.
Next up in the running were The Answer. Despite being perhaps somewhat derivative, and sounding more like a band from 1975 than 2007, they were very good indeed and played a splendid set. Following them were Jet, who were quite enjoyable. However, not far into their set, the rain began to set in, and while it was mostly only a light drizzle while Jet were still playing, around about when they were finishing it began to rain quite hard.
Fortunately, it was not long after this that we abandoned the main stage (missing all but the first two songs from Chris Cornell) to go and see Joe Satriani on the second stage, which was inside a tent. Satch played a fantastic set. Amazing stuff.
Once Joe Satriani had finished (just as the rain eased off), it was back to the main stage to see headliners Aerosmith. The band put on a splendid performance, with equally impressive musicianship and showmanship. That said, I’m not certain I didn’t enjoy Joe Satriani’s set almost as much.
I was very pleased that my fears that I would have to miss either Satch or Aerosmith were unfounded, and although it was disappointing that I had to miss Chris Cornell, getting out of the worst of the rain was enough to make up for it.