Mainsquare

I have never been one for keeping secrets and last weekend in a small town in the North of France I was let into one of the European Music Festival scenes best.

Mainsquare Festival takes place over 3 days in Arras some 50km outside of Lille in the very North of France and this year it was celebrating its seventh year of existence.

Despite having headline acts such Muse, Radiohead, Lenny Kravitz and The Black Eyed Peas in previous years, the general consensus amongst organisers, locals, regulars and the French press was that Mainsquare has now undoubtedly come of age to rival Rock en Seine as France’s Premier Festival.

Everything offered was a wonderful alternative to how music festivals are traditionally scripted in the UK, yet with all the atmosphere and excitement we are so good at generating. And with ticket prices at 180 Euros for 3 days camping it is well worth the hour and a half drive from Calais.

Firstly the festival consists of only 2 stages, The Main Stage and The Greenroom Stage, and both are set literally 100 meters apart alongside each other in the old town square or “Citadel” of Arras. This works brilliantly because the stages are separated by a row of old buildings and clock towers that were the heart of this town before it became the scene of one of the largest battles of the First World War. Not once was the sound of one stage distorted by the other and this is a credit to not just the technicians but the fabulous unique and historic venue itself.

This close proximity only enhances the atmosphere as 30,000 people a day bustle into the square and make their way back and forth between the two stages. There were 45 acts playing over the three days and it is easily plausible to see a decent portion of each set.
In true French style – the pace of Mainsquare is a lot less frantic than how we approach festivals over here, perhaps in part down to the fact that no spirits are sold on site. Instead of drinking until they drop, the tendency is to enjoy a few afternoon beers or perhaps a few glasses of wine or champagne from the numerous “Bars au Vin” while they soak up the sun. Oh and that is something else that is unlike our own festivals…. Mainsquare Festival hasn’t had one days’ rain since its inception!!

Perhaps one downside of this laissez-faire attitude is that the French music fans are notoriously hard to please. This first became evident to me when Fred Durst gave his usual levels of passion and aggression during Limp Bizkit’s afternoon set on the first afternoon only to be met with a reasonably muted yet polite response from the crowd. Not what he or I was expecting.  In my opinion their set was just a little too early in the day, as both Queen Of The Stone Age and Linkin Park who followed them onto the Main Stage, had the crowd bouncing and well warmed up for the 3 main headliners on the Friday night.

Having been brought up listening to Oasis I was eagerly anticipating my first look at Beady Eye on the Greenroom Stage. Although the French crowd once again took some persuading I thought Liam and co. nailed this gig.  It pains me to say it as I am a huge fan of Noel Gallagher’s, but this seemed to me to simply be Oasis in another skin. Not the Oasis of the 90’s but like many of their albums from the past 6 years. There was a good mix of catchy indie tunes and classic Rock and Roll. Liam’s swagger had the crowd jumping by the time they had finished their first French gig.

As The Chemical Brothers headlined the Main Stage at 1:30am on the Friday night they seemed to be just the perfect pitch for the peaking French crowd. As much as I suspected it, the organisers later confirmed that what followed was one of the best performances in the history of Mainsquare, as classics such as Hey Boys Hey Girls and Block Rocking Beats bounced off the picturesque surroundings, all framed by a mind blowing light show and body shaking levels of bass.

All that was left was for Martin Solveig to wrap up the day on the Greenroom Stage as he smartly summarised the first day of the festival by mixing his Euro-Pop hits with the big hits of the all artists from day 1. It worked brilliantly.

The line-up for day 2 was as good as any I have seen at a festival this summer. Manchester’s Everything Everything grow in confidence and stature at each gig I see them at and showed mutual adulation with the relaxed and emerging crowd as they played the Greenroom Stage early on the Saturday afternoon.

Thereafter I was introduced to French favourite Yodelice, whose funky beats drew favour with his home crowd. In comparison Aloe Blacc struggled to live up to his billing to the extent that he played his hit single I Need A Dollar at the beginning, the middle and end of his set. A bizarre decision and one that only served to underline his 1 hit wonder potential.

In the heart day 2 with the sun beating down the mood of crowd was encompassed perfectly as first The White Lies played a surprisingly upbeat and energetic set, and then The Kaiser Chiefs, and especially talismanic front man Ricky Wilson, showed they were ecstatic to be back playing festivals by thrashing out all their usual classics, as well as some new material, to an excited and expectant audience.

At this point as much as any other during my time there I felt the soul of this festival. The weather was glorious, hangovers from the previous day had been galvanised, and the ultra-friendly atmosphere amongst the many nationalities of revellers was evident everywhere you looked. The people I spoke to from Italy, Spain, Britain, USA and beyond all spoke of their delight that they had found this pearl of a festival, and how excited they were by that evenings line up to come.
Arcade Fire wowed the packed Square, with a supremely talented and energetic set that was breath taking, before Kasabian blasted out their incredibly well rehearsed and well suited festival tunes, intertwined with a taste of their forthcoming album. Both combined enhanced the atmosphere of the 2 fold.

At any other time Saturdays Headliners (Moby on the Main Stage and The Shoes on the Greenroom Stage) would have been adequate, but to be honest they seemed to be a step too far on this particular evening. Both failed to hit the heights that the 2 acts prior to them had gone, though neither took the shine off a great festival day.
The French took laid back to new levels on the final day. On the Main Stage Bruno Mars and then Elbow seemed to capture the mood best with sing-along anthems as audiences swayed and danced along, enjoying the ambience but rarely getting out of 2nd gear.

In fact it wasn’t until well into the Sunday evening and after Portishead had churned out hits such as Glory Box and Sour Times that the relaxed festival goers found their feet again.

It was left to Coldplay to play their only French gig of 2011 to headline the Main Stage in the style to which they have now become so accustomed. The set seemed predictable and at times lacked the energy I would expected from such a well-practised headline act, but the French crowd loved it all the same and held their Zippo lighters aloft throughout.

On the Greenroom Stage it was a completely different story as dubstep DJ’s Magnetic Man used the superb surroundings and sound system to quite literally shake the crowds’ mood with indescribable levels of bass for a festival venue, before Underworld mixed elements of techno, house, drum and bass and pop music to spectacular effect to bring the curtain down on the festival.

The vibrancy and pace of Mainsquare Festival isn’t what sets it apart from any of the festivals of a similar size here in the UK. What does set it apart is that so many people can be brought together in such a small and unique setting as the Citadel of Arras and enjoy such an incredible line-up.

If it is good weather, fine food and the chilled pace of a French festival you are after but with a line-up, vibrancy and class as good as any I have found in the UK then Mainsquare is for you.
As I said, for this particular journalist, the secret is well and truly out of the bag.