Live Review: First Aid Kit - Bestival ‘A spellbinding sunset performance from the Swedish sisters’
FIRST AID KIT
BESTIVAL
[2018]
First Aid Kit are currently touring off of the back of one of the finest albums of their career and festival appearances this year have been kept to a minimum. Tonights performance showcased just why they deserved that ‘special guest’ labelling on the lineup.
★★★★★
As the sun began to set behind Lulworth Castle the Swedish sisters emerged onto the stage with their backing band. With her heart-shaped sunglasses on Klara burst the pair into the aptly titled ‘Rebel Heart’ followed on by ‘It’s A Shame’, two brilliant Fleetwood Mac styled tracks from their unbelievable latest album ‘Ruins’.
Part of First Aid Kit’s appeal is in their always impressive live shows, since seeing them take the stage at last years Glastonbury and a few years prior to that Isle Of Wight, they’ve just constantly improved. Their sets cycle various albums, they’re constantly shifting setlist’s and implementing surprising covers into their performance and today is no different when the duo perform a spine-tingling cover of Kate Bush’s ‘Running Up That Hill’.
You could call their fluid concerts, dexterous, as both Klara, Johanna and in fact, the entire backing band adapt to their mix of genres effortlessly. One second you’re witnessing an unplugged and stripped back ‘Hem Of Her Dress’ featuring trumpets and a chant that has the entire festival shouting along to. Next, it’s full-on rock as the girls jump around the stage whipping the hair and each shredding away on their guitars during ‘The Lion Roars’.
One powerful moment see's the sisters going electric on protest song ‘You Are The Problem’ which see’s an emphatic Klara calling for an end to victim blaming, “the blame and shame belongs to the perpetrator… no more fucking excuses!.” She’s right of course, and if you want to read more on the story of that song then click here.
The main appeal of the sisters, however, will always be those blood harmonies as they beautifully combine for an outstanding vocal performance. No matter what instrument or song they play, their incredible vocal ability and emotion-filled lyrics will always touch part of you deep inside. A fact well proven when they play ‘Fireworks’ the 50’s style doo-wop which could bring a tear to your eye.
As the pair finish on a dramatic and pulsating ‘My Silver Lining’, the crowd giving them a well earned, heavy round of applause before one fan even goes that extra step further, throwing a much-deserved bouquet of flowers at the sisters. It may have been six years since Klara and Johanna graced Bestival but on Saturday night it felt like they’d never left. Here's to a shorter gap next time!
Setlist:
Rebel Heart
It’s A Shame
King Of The World
Stay Gold
The Lions Roar
You Are The Problem Here
Hem Of Her Dress
Running Up That Hill (Kate Bush cover)
Wolf
Emmylou
Fireworks
Silver Lining