Kneecap
Wide Awake Festival, London
★★★★☆
The horizon at Brockwell Park in south London was dominated by a fluttering sea of Irish tricolours and Palestinian flags.
There was expectation but also a flicker of tension among the 20,000 crowd as they waited on Friday night for Kneecap, the controversial West Belfast rappers who were headline act, to emerge on to the main stage at the Wide Awake Festival.
The slight air of anxiety contrasted with the ebullient atmosphere that had greeted fellow Irish artist, the theatrical CMAT, who had strode the same stage just an hour before.
There had been a heavy police presence at the entrance to the park. Kneecap’s performance would be its most high profile since band member Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, who performs as Mo Chara, was charged this week with a terrorism offence for allegedly displaying a Hizbullah flag at a previous gig on the other side of London last November.
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As the crowd waited for the band on Friday, the main stage was cast in darkness apart from the image of a balaclava, Kneecap’s logo, which dominated the centre amid images of Celtic mythology. Slow, sombre Celtic music helped to build an ominous tone.
[ Kneecap’s Mo Chara appears on stage with tape over mouth after terrorism chargeOpens in new window ]
The mood lifted as the music became freer and louder and the band emerged, firing up the festival atmosphere. The crowd became even more uproarious as Kneecap launched into their opening track ‘It’s Been Ages (since we made the front pages)’, as images of newspaper headlines flashed across the 25-foot screen, an ironic nod to recent events.
“One big Fenian family,” said Mo Chara, as he eyed the crowd. “Twenty thousand people – we are so grateful. We [only] started this because we were unemployed.”
Later, he urged the crowd to “give me a tiocfaidh ár lá”. He was giving his legal team “a nightmare”, he joked.
Balaclavas and Celtic jerseys were prominent among the bouncing Kneecap fans. Dan Croy from Galway hoisted his pal Tom O’Connor on his shoulders to proudly display a Palestinian cap with the tricolour wrapped around his shoulders.
“Kneecap are at the forefront of freedom of expression,” said Croy. “They are moving the message of the people across an international audience.”
He complained about what he saw as “disgusting censorship” of the band, who have been relentlessly criticised in the British press and have had several gigs cancelled after a series of controversies over their outspoken views.
Not all the Irish in Brockwell Park wore green, but their accents gave them away.
“After hearing about all the band’s gigs getting cancelled, I felt an obligation to stand by them,” said Mary Ellen Saha, from Co Meath. “I’ve been living here for over 20 years so I wanted to give them a big fáilte romhat from London.”
It may have been an Irish night, but there were plenty of other nationalities present including a large contingent of British Kneecap fans. In a nod to some of the recent criticism of the band in UK media, Phil Parry from Nottingham was emphatic as he argued that art never sanctions death.
“Art is not murdering anyone on behalf of politics, unlike world leaders who are inciting and initiating violence on a daily basis,” he said. He said he was fascinated by Kneecap’s artistic exploration of working-class life through parodic lyrics and graphics.
The crowd chanted in support of Palestine during each pause in Kneecap’s energetic performance. At one stage, the crowd’s energy jolted Mo Chara into another ad hoc speech.
“You have no idea how close we were to being pulled off this gig,” he said.
The crowd gave a euphoric response. Then they booed when he alleged to them that people with power in Britain were trying to silence the band and prevent them from appearing at Glastonbury in June.
As the set ended, the band urged the audience to give their friends a big hug and realise how lucky they were not to be living in a war zone.
Then Mo Chara signed off with another playful quip. “Anyone know any good lawyers?”
The band donated their fee for the headline slot to Médecins Sans Frontières.
