Walking into the Hollywood Bowl for the first time is one of those things that you don’t ever forget. With people as far as you can see down to the colourfully lit stage it’s just as you’re thinking it can’t get much better that you see the Hollywood sign up close and personal in the background. By the time you remember that you’re allowed to bring your own alcohol to a gig, you’re just about ready to up sticks and move to L.A. And so it was on August 29th as the Bowl once more played host to the World Festival. As the venue started to slowly fill up it was the multi-talented Matthew Herbert and company who really kicked things off. For one careful not to hog the limelight whilst performing (despite appearing in a rather fetching dressing gown and slippers outfit), Herbert often let his singer fill the stage, with the mellow vocals rising through the amphitheatre to greet any foolhardy latecomers. As the set went on however, and the sun started to sink in the cloudless California sky, Herbert’s enthusiasm grew and he became an increasingly excited character behind the keyboard, putting his heart and soul into complimenting the four-four bassline, whilst always measuring out each note with dedicated precision. By this stage the music was in danger of reaching a tempo where rising out of one’s slumped seating position might have become a real possibility, but before the unthinkable became reality the mighty Zero 7 took to the stage and enveloped us with their warm chilled-out melodies. On what must surely be the highlight of their current tour, they were joined on stage by the always effervescent Sia, who in the week previously had found time to play a set of her favourite tunes at The Standard club (Los del Rios – ‘Macarena’!), and the slightly more reticent yet no less talented Jose Gonzales. Playing a carefully considered mix of the new and the old – including a hauntingly beautiful ‘Destiny’ as the sun set over the Hollywood hills – the UK downtempo kings had the 18,000 strong crowd held rapt from beginning to end, ultimately wrapping things up with their re-working of ‘Crosses’. A performance like that was always going to be tough to follow, and so it was after a well-timed interval that the multi-national Gotan Project took to the stage, complete with a stunning visual set-up. Introducing a more punchy dance element to proceedings, the Gotan Project soon had many a head nodding and before long, people dancing in their seats and aisle-ways. The highlight of the set came with the awesomely choreographed appearance of two rappers on a huge screen behind the stage - the video completely in sync with the music coming from the stage. By the time the concert came to a reluctant close it was clear that those present had witnessed something a bit special. If there’s a better way to spend a Sunday night then I’m yet to come across it.