Bluedot: Grace Jones shines at rain-hit festival

When she was booked to close Bluedot, Grace Jones would never have imagined she would perform while facing down both a diminishing audience and increasingly bad weather.

But that is where the ever-idiosyncratic star found herself on Sunday night, ferociously ploughing her own furrow under the gaze of the equally mighty Lovell Telescope.

Little wonder that she was delayed coming on stage.

"Blame it on the rain," she declared, striding across the stage almost half an hour after her scheduled arrival time, before adding: "But I do like walking in it."

It was a sentiment most of those who remained at the Cheshire festival had come to embrace themselves.

After all, torrential rain had seen cars towed from fields, camping plans abandoned and day tickets for the event's final day cancelled, as the organisers battled the elements to make it to the finish line.

Of course, it was never meant to end like this.

Three days earlier, a serene Tilda Swinton had joined composer Max Richter on stage to read from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights for what was an unexpectedly enthralling and intensely moving opening night performance under clear blue skies.

By Friday though, the cracks in the weather started to show, despite the strength and uniqueness of the offerings.

Few festivals do unique quite like Bluedot, as its mix of music, arts, comedy and huge heaps of science throws up the sort of moments that stay with you long after you've packed up your tent.

Where else can you find a main stage presentation by astrophysicist Professor Tim O'Brien which includes a "shout out at the front for the electromagnetic spectrum", a performance in mostly Welsh and Cornish by songstress Gwenno in which she claims to have the "largest congregation singing about cheese" ever at a festival, or a reworking of late 1980s children's TV favourite Knightmare that includes the claim that it is not death or torture, but word riddles that are the real evil in the world?

If ever an act was made for such a mixture, it was Friday night headliner Roisin Murphy, who worked her way through almost as many fine moves and outrageous outfits as killer tunes.

But even before the euphoria of her performance began to fade, the first real raindrops began to fall and there on, the weather took its toll, diminishing the main stage crowds and pushing people to the site's tented stages.

Not that size matters to everyone. Eigg resident Johnny Lynch's excitement at seeing more than his usual 100 or so island neighbours was such that he bounced on stage with his Pictish Trail outfit one minute early, declaring those 60 seconds "bonus time for us and you".

He used them widely, building on the good feelings already generated by Bluedot favourites Henge and the festival's usual, although this time slightly weather-worn and bedraggled, parade of maquettes, marching bands and mushroom-hatted revellers, to kick Saturday into gear with an array of well-crafted epic folk rock treasures.

His was not the only outdoor treat, preceding as it did a brutal Sorry and the swirling majesty of Tinariwen, but as the rain grew heavier, it was a case of one band's loss is another's gain.

TVAM at least seemed surprised by the numbers they had before them on the Orbit tent, as they delivered their excellent electro indie to "a much bigger crowd than we expected".

Others also benefited too, including the tremendous Emmanuel Sonubi, whose comedy came close to upstaging the following Nish Kumar.

That was, of course, until the Mash Report stalwart hit his stride and had the Mission Control tent whooping and cheering as he eviscerated the last 13 years of government in an expletive-laden and hilarious whistle stop set.

For the festival's third headliner though, an increasingly damp field must have felt a long way from California, and while Pavement persevered, their tremendous set played out to a crowd far smaller than they deserved.

The rain had, by that point, become biblical, forcing Bluedot's organisers to throw down metal walkways, mud-covering membranes and pile upon pile of wood chip in an effort to keep the site safe and the festival open.

The efforts, as great as they were, were only a partial success, meaning day tickets were cancelled and those with weekend passes who had left the site on Saturday to escape the rain were unable to return.

For those that remained, pushing on through was worth it, as while endurance and exhaustion were as much a part of Sunday as excitement and enjoyment, the rewards were manifold.

They came in the form of Robin Ince's rib-tickling meander through the Whovian universe, Adam Buxton's always brilliant festival favourite Bug, Teleman's indie pop delights and Young Fathers, who, a day after thrilling Latitude, proved even further why they are one of the country's finest live acts with a show that burned through the gathering evening gloom.

Inevitably though, it was Jones's headline set that was the most memorable of the day.

Battling the ever worsening rain, she powered through a set of her finest moments, giving glorious poses in striking costumes a staggering number of times.

And though the costume changes made for a somewhat disjointed performance, there was no doubting her power when she hit her groove, as in a pummelling Demolition Man or the ever wonderful Pull Up To The Bumper.

She was, as it turned out, an apt end to the weekend, an uncompromising supernova of talent burning bright and warming the dancing feet of those brave few who made it to the finale.

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