Pendulum bring their set to Milton Keynes
The Australians headlined Tribes Unite Festival at The National Bowl.
Photo: Derek Bremner
Tribes Unite was a very fitting title involving the very best in the Drum and Bass scene, being headlined by the legendary Australian electronic-rock group Pendulum.
The National Bowl in Milton Keynes played host to a very diverse, all-encompassing festival for one of the UK’s favourite subcultures. Mixing the ravers and the moshpitters to create a very unique experience in a day where the party never stopped.
The festival had five stages, each bringing forward some great acts, keeping the upbeat and at times psychedelic atmosphere. The unapologetic vibes and hard-hitting beats flourished with acts throughout the day, all bringing their unique twists.
On the Main Stage, you had the veteran of the scene Wilkinson play an array of the classics, including the hit Afterglow, the crowd truly feeling the music and screaming the lyrics.
With Andy-C also on the Main Stage, at times dropping a more edgy style. Remixing songs like Last Resort by Papa Roach and even dropping a cover of War Pigs by Black Sabbath, a fitting festival tribute to the recently passed Ozzy Osbourne. This once again really angled into the name of the festival.
Other acts included Joey Valance & Brae, who would later join the headliners on the Main Stage; the hip-hop act had great crowd energy, often inciting moshing and pits. They had great energy and really used their time on stage well.
The main support of the day was Pendulum side project, Knife Party. With Pendulum members Rob Swire and Gareth McGrillen, who performed the more typical electric sound rather than the more rock-influenced music which would come shortly.
The never-ending party was headlined by the iconic Pendulum. An act that constantly has its deserved plaudits for their live performance and, from the first song, you can see why. They opened up with a song off their new album, Napalm, joined on stage by the earlier performers Joey Valence and & Brae. A hard-hitting tune with a very catchy hook was a great way to open the set and set the tone for the rest of the performance.
Followed swiftly by the very memorable Propane Nightmares, which felt very nostalgic after growing up in the 2000s and hearing this everywhere. And many of the crowd also felt it, as it launched the thousands in the National Bowl into a wild frenzy. My friend, who was with me and not very familiar with their work, turned to me in excitement and said, “I know this one”.
The rest of the set was filled with all-time classics, including Come Alive, Watercolour, and The Island, Pt. 1 (Dawn). With their soon-to-be-released album Inertia — their first in 15 years — they played the freshly released single Cannibal featuring Wargasm. However, the highlight of the show was from another new song from the album, Halo, featuring metalcore legends Bullet For My Valentine.
The two-stepping performed by most of the crowd very quickly turned into head-banging, with lead singer and guitarist Rob Swire belting out the harsh vocals as if he were Matthew Tuck himself. A very impressive feat with the crowd putting on the biggest circle pits the National Bowl has seen in years.
Pendulum took full advantage of their pyrotechnics budget with high amounts of flames on the stage, with very entrancing lasers and spotlights lighting up the sky. Their silhouetted presence on stage created this infrared heat map on the screens behind them, captivating the audience.
Pendulum closed the set with Witchcraft and Tarantula, sending the crowd home with the reminder of their mastery of their heavy drum and bass sound.
The National Bowl has no doubt had a very enterprising summer of music with festivals like Reggaeland and Bludfest. Tribes Unite was undoubtedly another very successful festival with headliners Pendulum adding their names to the glorious history of performances at the iconic venue.