T in the Park (Sunday 11th July)
It didn't rain (well unless you count Tennent's Lager) and unlike last year I got the chance to see a couple of new bands that I'd never heard of. Here's the story of the day ...
The queues as expected are a major improvement on last year's Saturday but it still takes 20 minutes plus to get in. First task is to find out who's on when (now if I'd only looked at my Sunday Herald before I went out.) The bad news is that HOPE OF THE STATES and PIXIES are a direct clash. Oh, well.
We have to pass the NME Stage to get to the information tent and there's a bunch of Clash wannabes on. They sound dreadful.
|
|
Turn's out it's RAZORLIGHT but on the basis of the single I own, their current
'smash' and the racket we passed, we opt for a band neither of us has heard of.
It's a toss-up between the X-Tent and the T Break stage and since the former is
closer we head off to see 12 GOLDEN VIRGINS. At least that's what they were billed as but the 12 seems to be a mistake. They're a pleasant surprise. We see about 2/3 of their set and the five or so songs are all quite varied from a quiet country one to a sweeping epic. Quite promising. We leave just before the end to catch Stellastarr* who have been moved between Saturday and Sunday several times as far as I can make out. More here. |
Steve leaves Stellastarr* before 'My Coco' to catch FRANZ FERDINAND. With nothing much else on when Stellastarr are finished I head off to see if my opinion of FF has improved any. My first encounter with them was as support to Interpol last year and whilst I was undecided on the strength of the music (half recycled early 80s stuff, half more intriguing) the clinching factor was my absolute desire to punch out the guitarist's lights. That might have been a realistic proposition at the Liquid Rooms but at T in the Park, I can't get close enough to hear them properly neer mind throw any punches. The problem with the sound came when the wind blew from the left, because the sound went with it and from where I was standing to the left, correspondingly dropped in and out. Note to stand towards the right of centre when we reach the Main Stage, later..
|
I'm not too concerned though and when Steve and I meet up again we opt for the OPEN. A lot of moody young men, playing sweeping moody rock, it's an OK way to spend 35 minutes but I can't say I'm too desperate to hear the records. (Mind you I said that about Idlewild ...) We take the chance to stock up on food before heading for the Main Stage and the real full-on T experience. Steve hadn't got much closer to Franz Ferdinand than I managed so we decide to take no chances and camp out at a decent spot in front of the Main Stage for PJ HARVEY and successive acts. More on Peej here. |
The Open |
And the, for the second successive year, I watch the KINGS OF LEON.
I can't say I'm a fan but they had surprised me somewhat last year. This time is no different. A ferocious opening is matched by what seems to be an almost constant golden shower of the sponsor's product. The crowd is packed where we are but I survive by thinking of the Pixies. Ultimately the set is pretty enjoyable - the bundle of new songs has the welcome effect of calming the place down a bit. A special mention though for the fathead standing just in front of us. Apart from launching cans of beer into the air, he seemed desperate to get filmed pointing at aforementioned cans as he spent the whole set with his finger pointing at the can in the hope of getting picked out by the cameras. Eejit.
Bizarre sight of the weekend was a small kid who couldn't have been more than 3 or 4 on his dad's shoulders, initially very close to us. He looked well into it, hands clapping etc, but must have been in real danger of catching a can but fortunately his parents saw sense and moved him from the killing zone further out wide later in the set.
Needless to say when the PIXIES arrived the older crowd was far better behaved. More on a blistering set here.
| I could easily have gone home at this stage - my back and neck were aching but Steve wanted to see the STROKES and, to be honest, I was interested to see them too. Whilst nowhere near the Pixies, they were pretty good, coming over well live despite being seriously pished. The big problem (apart from the truly obnoxious performance by Casablancas) was that the songs are so limited. The songs from the 2nd album (which I don't have) sounded a bit more ambitious and made me more interested in owning it. Mission accomplished then - probably. |
|
And that was it. Our experience was that the main stage was far busier than last year and coupled with the beer showers introudced an element of endurance for this old fart. So I can't see anyone persuading me to head back next year. But then I could be wrong.
