Jazzworld stage, Glastonbury Festival, UK

Friday 28 June 2002

Lamb pulled a huge crowd for their sunny afternoon appearance - their first Glastonbury performance was one of the highlights of the 1997 festival and they are becoming an essential part of the whole experience.

Their sound has changed quite considerably in the last five years into a more pop yet harder-edged direction, with the addition of a live drummer and guitarist.

The slightly odd pairing of sample whiz Andy Barlow and folk-rooted singer Louise Rhodes continue to produce their own unique blend of emotional balladry and dance beats, enhanced by their trademark, excellent double bass grooves. The crowd loved them and seemed to be enjoying themselves almost as much as the band themselves. The real pleasure of seeing Lamb at Glastonbury lies in how much they clearly love performing and how appreciative they are to the audience.

Andy and Louise share the job of front person. He switches between the sampler and the djembe when he's not at the front of the stage egging on the audience, and she is a captivating singer with a wonderful voice. The highlights of the set are definitely the older songs - two awesome love songs in the epic grooves of Gold and the overwhelmingly beautiful Gorecki.

Although lack of coherence in their set may suggest a band who are lacking a little in direction, at the high points when you let yourself get lost in their songs there really isn't a more perfect Glastonbury act.

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review:  Simon Jarvis

nicked from the 'Glastonbury 2002' official festival souvenir review, dated July 2002

read the review on the official Glastonbury site too!

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