The xx close the Flow Festival after stepping in for Jonsi

Marina And The Diamonds and Girls also wrap up Helsinki bash

The xx closed the final night of the Flow Festival in Finland last night (August 15).

The duo, who were bumped up the bill to headline the Main Stage after Jonsi pulled out after his bassist injured his arm, admitted being humbled to top the bill at the event for their first trip to Helsinki.

“It’s such an honour to play the headline slot for you,” singer Romy Madley Croft told the crowd before adding: “Thank you so much.”

Advertisement

The band played an hour set which leaned heavily towards their self-titled 2009 Mercury Prize nominated debut album.

They also threw in a few bars of ATB‘s Number One hit ‘9PM (Till I Come)’ at the end of ‘Shelter’ and later covered ‘Do You Mind?’ by Kyla.

Introducing the track, Oliver Sim said: “Who saw MIA last night? I’m very jealous. This is a cover,” before admitting that he forgot the words after playing the track.

The xx played:

‘Intro’
‘Crystalised’
‘Heart Skipped A Beat’
‘Basic Space’
‘Fantasy’
‘Shelter’
‘Do You Mind?’
‘VCR’
‘Islands’
‘Infinity’
‘Stars’

Over on the Tent Stage, Marina And The Diamonds also topped the bill, performing tracks from her debut ‘The Family Jewels’

Advertisement

Speaking to NME.COM just minutes before she was due to go on stage she said: “It is my first European headline slot. I’ve literally only just got here but I’m mega excited because I’ve never been here before and I like playing festivals abroad because the crowd get so into it. I’m hoping there will be a few diamonds out there.”

The singer later told a huge crowd that she was due to play in Helsinki earlier this year but the volcanic eruption in Iceland prevented her from coming over.

“As you can see I am very happy to be here,” she declared early on. “So it is very sensible to raise a glass of vodka and cranberry juice to you all.”

Unlike her previous performances, the flamboyant singer was backed by her band for single ‘I Am Not A Robot’ before she went on to play ‘Numb’ and ‘Obsessions’ alone on the piano.

Earlier, Girls made their debut at the festival on the same stage, performing tracks such as ‘Lust For Life’ and ‘Laura’ from their 2009 LP ‘Album’.

Over on the Main Stage, Canadian electro star Caribou also broke his duck at the festival.

The singer spent a lot of the set performing extended drumming jams with his band as he played tracks from his recent album ‘Swim’ including ‘Kaili’.

You May Also Like

Advertisement

TRENDING

Advertisement

More Stories