Photo Credit: Anna Leader
Words: Emily Howarth
Night two of this years Plymouth Summer Sessions saw Australian electro-rock band PENDULUM perform at Hoe Park on a rainy Friday night.
Normandie opened the day with their set which featured tracks like ‘Babylon‘ and ‘Hostage‘ helping to build momentum. Despite the early slot, they held attention well and set the tone for the day ahead.
Wargasm brought a shift in energy with their mix of punk, metal with electronic elements. The set was loud, fast, and chaotic. Their later on-stage appearance with Pendulum for ‘Cannibal‘ was an extra highlight.
Hot Milk kept the energy high with a confident, no-frills set blending emo, pop-punk, and
alt-rock with plenty of movement from front to back. A well-timed lead-in to the headline slot.
Pendulum then closed out the day on Plymouth Hoe with a headline set that was loud, tight, and well-received by a crowd that had been building in energy throughout the day despite the very very wet weather.
The band opened with ‘Napalm‘, setting a fast pace and making full use of the stage and production setup. The mix was clear, with the drums and guitars cutting through nicely alongside the electronic elements that are a huge part of their sound, something you don’t always get the luxury of at open air events. The set moved quickly into ‘Save the Cat‘ and ‘Propane Nightmares‘. Pendulum’s live setup remains distinctive in how it balances live instrumentation with electronic production, I’m a huge fan of a jamstick myself.
The visual production was great, with sharp lighting changes and strobe-heavy moments synced to the breakdowns and beat drops. One of the more talked-about moments from the night was the live performance of ‘Cannibal‘, featuring guest vocals from Wargasm. Other mid-set highlights included ‘Crush‘, ‘Granite‘, and both parts of ‘The Island‘.
By the time Pendulum reached ‘Witchcraft‘, ‘Self vs Self‘, and ‘Watercolour‘, the atmosphere across the crowd was great again despite not being able to feel my toes it didn’t matter because we were too busy having a good time.
For the encore, the band made the decision to bring back ‘Tarantula‘, a track they had publicly retired from live performances last year. While the decision to include it again was unexpected, the audience’s response made it obvious they made the right call.
For those already fans of Pendulum’s live show, this performance delivered what was expected: a strong, high-volume, and professionally executed headline slot. For newer listeners and first timers, like myself, it felt like a good overview of what has kept the band a consistent festival draw over the years.
Taped Magazine 