Bluedot / Day 1: Hannah Peel

Well, it’s been a while. Three years, in fact, since the last Bluedot festival. But here we are, back on site, very much not slumming it as we install ourselves in our lovely tent, and get set for venturing out.

There’s only one act on this evening, but it’s one I very much want to see: Hannah Peel and Paraorchestra.

An ideal world would be a meritocratic one, and I love it when karma ensures that people as talented and hard-working as Hannah Peel are rewarded for both their efforts and abilities.

As it happens, the first time I saw Hannah Peel play live was at Bluedot, and I’ve seen her many times since: playing solo in Leeds; with John Foxx and the Maths; and with Will Burns in Belfast; and other occasions.

Also I’m my ideal world, it wouldn’t be necessary to have an orchestra for less able people, but God knows this isn’t my ideal world, so Paraorchestra are filling gap. Tonight, they were here with Hannah Peel, performing the album they recorded together, ‘The Unfolding’.

There’s little mileage to be obtained from being irritated by people talking at gigs, especially at festivals, although the bunch of Stevie Nicks style hippies nattering away in front of us made it hard to stick with that philosophy, but while I was focussed on the music - which was most of the time - it was sublime.

And Hannah Peel interspersed the tracks from ‘The Unfolding’ with two of her music box songs, covers of New Order’s ‘Blue Monday’ and Soft Cell’s ‘Tainted Love’.

All in, a tremendous evening.