Metropolis Festival once again delivered a fantastic few days of music, art and more at the RDS. Organisers Pod and Hidden Agenda not only met last year’s standard but far surpassed it, with a noticeable improvement in delivery, aesthetic, and organisation. The weekend was heavily characterised by an air and an atmosphere of pure joy and excitement, and there is little one can extract to criticise.
One might question how sensible it was to include an art exhibition based around balloons. By Saturday the Andy Warhol installation had seen its silver balloons burst by festival goers – an installation less sensitive to the intoxicated may prove more fitting for future years. The Repeal Project installation too was somewhat difficult to find, and while this might have been intentional, it might have been nicer to see something on a larger scale.
Despite this, the Industries Hall was a wonderland, fitted with ceiling-high flower installations and luminous seating. The enormous disco ball in the courtyard outside served not only as a wonderful photo opportunity but also a meeting point, making it incredibly easy to find that lost friend. More toilets were provided this year, a wise move meaning far fewer queues. The stage in the Shelbourne Hall was fitted with a large background installation that lit up during performances, framing the artist on stage and creating entrancing light-shows, making it difficult to look away.
As for the music, the audience were treated to some of the best sets I have witnessed in a while. Arriving a little late on Friday, my evening was started by Mall Grab in the Serpentine Hall, with a set living up to all previous I have seen. Solomun played shortly afterwards in the Shelbourne Hall to a full and enthusiastic audience. Having never seen the DJ live before he quickly became one of the most-talked about acts of the weekend. Solomun made tremendous use of his time slot, the audience only getting larger from start to finish. The night finished with Moderat in the Main Hall. Their set began with complete blackout of the hall, with a notice projected on the backdrop warning that this would be a “very dark show” and that the use of flash photography should be limited. The set was nearly flawless both in vocals and synth. Coupled with the astounding lighting, the performance proved a memorable way to bring Friday to a close.
Exhausted yet excited the following day, many festival-goers returned alongside a greater number of one-day ticket holders, making Saturday’s crowd significantly larger. Shura played many tracks from her most recent album Nothing’s Real in the Main Hall early in the evening. The UK singer-songwriter sounds just as good live as she does in her recordings.
Yet it was The Sugarhill Gang, who took to the same stage shortly after, who played a set I shall never forget. They were, for me, the highlight of the weekend. Self-proclaimed as “the world’s first successful rap band”, full of charisma and energy, the gang played a set that took the audience right the way the band’s career, beginning in the 1980s. Playing a mixture of originals and covers, The Sugarhill Gang sang Purple Rain in tribute to the Prince, bringing tears to my own and many other’s eyes.
Set times in the Shelbourne Hall were changed on Saturday, and this proved fortuitous. With Kormac filling the 5.30pm slot, this pushed Fatima Yamaha to a later time that was far better suited to his performance.
Crystal Castles, who played just before him in the Shelbourne Hall, provided another highlight of the weekend. The lights on stage flashed rapidly on and off, making one almost forget where the band were. Having seen them before in the daytime, Crystal Castles are undoubtedly more entrancing and mind-blowing to see and hear in dark or indoor performance environments. Their set was one of the festival’s best, both in terms of music and light work.
Closing the festival, Grace Jones and Booka Shade clashed, so the festival split into two large groups. Jones’s performance was a full-blown show of music, dance, and outrageous costume. A male pole dancer, rippling with muscle and covered in body paint, climbed, swung and hung across the stage throughout the performance, a chorus of screams and some tears audible right until Jones exited the stage.
Over in the Shelbourne Hall, Booka Shade kept even the most tired of festival goers on their feet until the night ended. Using one of his best-known tracks as a motif throughout the set kept attention levels high and allowed the audience to really engage with the performance.
Ultimately, Metropolis is a tribute to the art of well-thought out stage times, and credit must go to the production team. An impressive and thoroughly enjoyable weekend from Metropolis Festival, my hopes are again high for next year.
