A Tribe Called Quest perform their last ever show – Bestival 2017

After a night and days’ worth of on-off downpours the Bestival arena is a veritable swamp, we’ve sacrificed our trainers to the weather gods and spent a lot of time trying to avoid falling on our faces, but it’s off to the main arena we go for A Tribe Called Quest’s last ever show.

Following founding member Phife Dawg’s sudden death due to complications with diabetes in March 2016, the band decided to wind down their shows, with the finale right here at Bestival 2017. There’s a huge turnout for the hip hop legends despite the adverse weather conditions. Taking to the stage later than scheduled, Tribe kick things off with ‘The Space Program’ from last year’s release, but truthfully – it’s a bit of a mess. There’s something really fractured about the sound, the bass is muddy (excuse the pun) and it’s hard to distinguish all the different vocal layers vying for attention. To be honest, it sounds rushed and there are a lot of puzzled looks being exchanged in the crowd.

However, bouncing about under the Tron-esque visuals, the remaining members DJ Ali Shaheed Muhammad, MC’s Q-Tip and Jarobi White, seem to pick it back up and come together for an impressive run through of their career hits including ‘Excursions’ and ‘Find A Way’ with a little help from special guest rapper, Consequence. White is seen sporting a tributary jacket with a picture of Phife painted on the back and throughout the show the band and visuals make reference to their departed friend and bandmate. Old recordings of Phife’s parts were played over the top of the tracks, rather than covered by another member of the group – which seems fitting, he was part of their last show in a way.

‘Sucka Nigga’ and ‘Buggin Out’ see the crowd doing their best impressions of dancing (NB: as close to hip hop as a drunk, predominantly white middle-class crowd dressed head to toe in sequins and neon is going to get) and Tribe are now hitting the highs we hoped for. The smooth delivery of intricate lyrics is what ATCQ are known for, and it’s finally turning into an unforgettable show. Calling out for some crowd participation “Say we love A Tribe Called Quest’s Music… say do that shit, do that shit good…” the band have the entire Bestival arena on side, heading into the finale with their most well-known track ‘Can I Kick It’ and the almost sombre ‘We The People’. The refrain repeated across the site by both the band and the fans will go down as a moment to remember in music history, even if the show as a whole hasn’t been the high-energy performance we expected. Saying their final goodbyes to the crowd and their time performing together, Tribe are clearly emotional about this ending, Phife’s illuminated empty mic is the last thing we see – it’s a powerful goodbye to an important part of hip-hop history and a fond farewell to A Tribe Called Quest.

All photographs © A. McHardy – Do not use without permission

Flow Festival 2011 lineup changes

DOOM (previously MF Doom), ranks among the most highly-regarded MCs around. The masked hiphop villain has released several classic-status albums, such as Operation: Doomsday and MM… Food, and collaborated with Madlib and Danger Mouse, to name but a few.

Hailing from Yorkshire, Blawan is one of the hottest newcomers in electronic music lately. His early releases for labels such as Hessle Audio have earned the up-and-coming producer/DJ a steady following as one of the key artists to keep an eye on.

The new additions will take on the performance slots previously occupied by the artists who have cancelled their appearance, so DOOM will perform at the Main Stage on Friday 12 August at 9:15 pm and Blawan at Voimala on Friday at 11 pm.

The Main Partner for Flow Festival: Nokia 
In Cooperation: Helsingin Sanomat / NYT, JCDecaux, Radio Helsinki, Brand Factory, Diesel, Heineken, Marimekko, RGB, UPM Timber and Viinimaa.

Flow is supported by City of Helsinki Cultural Office and Ministry of Education and Culture.

Tickets: Tiketti www.tiketti.fi, tel. +358 600-1-1616
1 day 70 € (FRI / SAT available)
(+ booking fees)
Other ticket types sold out.
Age limit 18. On Sunday 2pm–6pm chlidren of 0-6 years allowed on site with parents.

Kanye West, Lykke Li and more for Flow Festival 2011

The eight edition of the festival sees the festival site expanding thanks to the new Kayam tent stage. The three-day Flow tickets will go on sale on April 11 at Tiketti outlets.

kanye westThe diverse cast of Flow artists thus far includes Kanye West, the king of new pop music, whose recent album “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy ranks among the most celebrated of the past couple of years.Q-Tip, the legendary MC from the pioneering hiphop group A Tribe Called Quest, makes his first appearance in Finland, the Swedish songstress Lykke Li showcases material from her career-boosting new album “Wounded Rhymes”, and the “Nordic Daft Punk”, Röyksopp, display their party-starting electro akin to last year’s successful release “Senior”.

Other Flow acts include post rock heroes Mogwai, sporting an audivisual stage spectacle, Iron & Wine, one of the most original acts in the contemporary folk/indie scene, futuristic pop wunderkind James Blake, and Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti, authors of the Year’s Best list topping album “Before Today”.

The new wave of indie rock is well represented at Flow by the likes of The Pains of Being Pure at Heart,MidlakeWarpaintTwin ShadowThe Dø and DestroyerJanelle MonáeMayer Hawthorne & The County and The Budos Band keep the Afro-American musical tradition well in place, whereas Sly & Robbie with Junior Reid are one of the most legendary reggae combos around. The traditionally strong club lineup at Flow this year includes Matthew DearHercules & Love AffairTensnakeJoy Orbison,Martyn, and Oni Ayhun, among others.

Finnish Flow acts include soul sensation Jo Stance, upcoming indie rock outfit French Films, electropop prospects Shine 2009, the internationally noted band Rubik, and solid Finnish jazz combo Jukka Eskola Quintet, debuting their expanded stage setup with strings. Teeth aka Matti Pentikäinen, gaining fast momentum in the UK club scene performs at the festival and has also composed the Flow Festival theme heard at radio spots.

The atmospheric Flow Festival area expands significantly with the new 5000 capacity Nokia Blue Tent. The total capacity of visitors, however, grows only slightly in order to make the Flow experience even more pleasant for the visitors. Another addition to the venues at Flow will be the centre for new circus hosting the experimental music bill to be announced later.

Flow Festival three-day tickets will go on sale on Monday 11 April at 9 am (GMT +2) at Tiketti outlets. More acts will be released in May, as will the tickets for individual days and two-day combinations.