Pitchfork Music Festival Paris was brought to a massive, climactic close, courtesy of Jamie xx, Four Tet, Caribou, Jungle, Tune-Yards and many more performing last night (Saturday 1 November, 2014).
The final of the three day alt-music extravaganza at the Grande Halle De La Villette in Paris began with an early start from the mesmeric Jessy Lanza, before an impressive crowd gathered to be enchanted by the enigmatic pop-noir of future queen of 2015, Charlotte OC. See her while you can before she gets massive.
The rising alt-music showcase continued into the early evening with Tobias Jesso Jr, Kwamie Liv and Movement, but the evening's first true highlight came with the unhinged insanity Foxygen. Punk, blues, soul, grunge and everything else collided in a chaotic and pulse-racing set, with frontman Sam France terrifying the audience as squawked and rolled across the stage with total abandon and no care for his own safety. With the swagger of Jagger and more than a passing likeness to Iggy Pop's shirtless madmen routine, France left Paris breathless, and raised the bar for all that followed.
Luckily, what followed was Tune-Yards, who brought tribal beats, eccentric energy and one hell of a live spectacle. Fine tuned and choreographed, but pumping with a sense of wild freedom, seeing the incredible 2014 album Nicki Nakk brought to life in such vivid technicolour and genre-crossing vim really does make for proof that this is one of the most inventive and exhilarating acts on the road right now. Go see Tune-Yards, at all costs.
Then came some of 2014's most victorious champions when Jungle brought their incredible Mercury-nominated self-titled album to Paris, making the Grand Halle erupt in a relentless rave with their inescapably feel-good modern soul - taking the absolute best elements of soul and dance from the last 40 years, and sending them racing into the future. It's one hell of a rush, and seeing the thousands present arm in arm and out of their minds to 'Busy Earnin' and 'The Heat' is a memory that will stay with us for years to come.
The celebration continued with a little help from Caribou, as Dan Snaith and co's blissed-out, psychedelic electronica caught everyone in its grip and locked them in a dreamy haze of dance. With a career-spanning set that culminated in a sea of balloons falling down upon the crowd, Caribou proved with the right sound and the right spirit, summer never really ends.
Paris raved well into the early hours, as Four Tet led a one-man dance Odyssey before Jamie xx and Kaytranada rewarded those with the most stamina with brilliant sets, before the full stop on Pitcfork Paris 2014 arrived some time after 5am. One of the last great festivals of the year was certainly one of its best.