T In The Park - 10/11/12 July 2015
Meeting my Guerrilla Media buddies Andy and Tino (Photographer Andy Laing and former Velveteen Saint Tino MacDonald) in Stirling, I am a wee bit behind schedule (due to daddy cuddles for my wee boy) and the lads are on already getting into the spirit of things by the time I arrive. Pleasingly we eat up the road quickly and any worries of traffic jams do not materialise. Defunct Aussie rockers JET provide the car tunes with their second album Shine On blasting and as we make our way towards Muthill or Mut-Hill as I once called it, Andy declares this cannot be the way based purely on the fact there is so little traffic. About 40 minutes later we find it was indeed the way but hey the detour had some plus points, namely a couple of Scotch pies from a local bakers.
Arriving at the site, the parking up and accreditation go smoothly and before we know it we are heading to the campsite to pitch the tent for the next 2/3 nights. The walking between the car park, campsite and festival site catches up with me and I get the all too familiar first day dead legs feeling before even hearing an artist. Thankfully the refreshments kickstart my mojo and before I know it, I find myself in the T Break stage catching Feeder front-man Grant Nicholas. Next up is a walk around the actual festival site and I am impressed with the compactness with all the stages/tents in relative close proximity. For me Friday is all about Kasabian but before the main event I make plans to take in upcoming Scottish band Dead Man Fall who I also manage to interview prior to their set. With Tino reviewing Sam Smith for the Daily Record I also take in his performance and his set does nothing for me (admittedly I am not a fan).
Meeting my Guerrilla Media buddies Andy and Tino (Photographer Andy Laing and former Velveteen Saint Tino MacDonald) in Stirling, I am a wee bit behind schedule (due to daddy cuddles for my wee boy) and the lads are on already getting into the spirit of things by the time I arrive. Pleasingly we eat up the road quickly and any worries of traffic jams do not materialise. Defunct Aussie rockers JET provide the car tunes with their second album Shine On blasting and as we make our way towards Muthill or Mut-Hill as I once called it, Andy declares this cannot be the way based purely on the fact there is so little traffic. About 40 minutes later we find it was indeed the way but hey the detour had some plus points, namely a couple of Scotch pies from a local bakers.
Arriving at the site, the parking up and accreditation go smoothly and before we know it we are heading to the campsite to pitch the tent for the next 2/3 nights. The walking between the car park, campsite and festival site catches up with me and I get the all too familiar first day dead legs feeling before even hearing an artist. Thankfully the refreshments kickstart my mojo and before I know it, I find myself in the T Break stage catching Feeder front-man Grant Nicholas. Next up is a walk around the actual festival site and I am impressed with the compactness with all the stages/tents in relative close proximity. For me Friday is all about Kasabian but before the main event I make plans to take in upcoming Scottish band Dead Man Fall who I also manage to interview prior to their set. With Tino reviewing Sam Smith for the Daily Record I also take in his performance and his set does nothing for me (admittedly I am not a fan).
Following a disastrous sleep or lack of sleep due to some wee delinquent shouting out repeatedly during the night “it's ur self/smell your maw”, I arise feeling somewhat jaded and make a bad call of heading to the car for fresh clothes. Fuelled by an Empire biscuit my sugar levels run out way before reaching the car park areas and finding the car proves a challenge I am not up to. Eventually I admit defeat and head back in to the festival site and make tracks for the media village. The attempted clothes change comes at a price as I miss the set by Irish quartet The Strypes. Thankfully the lads will return to Glasgow later in the year and I am delighted to get the chance to interview Evan and Pete from the band later in the day. Some fantastic news kick-starts the day with Tino’s review of Sam Smith being published in the Daily Record.
Saturday proves a busy day as I catch a number of artists including Seasick Steve, St Vincent, Paul Heaton and Jacqui Abbott, St Vincent, The Vaccines, Twin Atlantic, The Proclaimers, The Courteeners and of course The Libertines. I really enjoy Seasick Steve whilst I cannot take my eyes off St Vincent’s sultry stage show and feel the love in King Tut’s as Paul Heaton leads the rammed crowd in a euphoric rendition of ‘Caravan Of Love’. The energy in the crowd as The Libertines take to the stage is spine-tingling and with Tino interviewing The Proclaimers earlier in the day he is on a natural high as he shakes his tartan clad Jagger hips to their iconic tunes in King Tut’s. Even being nailed in the shoulder by a flare during The Courteeners opener cannot dampen my mood although the bullet-like impact nearly deems the Imodium from earlier inadequate. My only real disappointment from the day is not catching The Tijuana Bibles set with both Andy and Tino confirming my prediction the band would own it from the off.
Saturday proves a busy day as I catch a number of artists including Seasick Steve, St Vincent, Paul Heaton and Jacqui Abbott, St Vincent, The Vaccines, Twin Atlantic, The Proclaimers, The Courteeners and of course The Libertines. I really enjoy Seasick Steve whilst I cannot take my eyes off St Vincent’s sultry stage show and feel the love in King Tut’s as Paul Heaton leads the rammed crowd in a euphoric rendition of ‘Caravan Of Love’. The energy in the crowd as The Libertines take to the stage is spine-tingling and with Tino interviewing The Proclaimers earlier in the day he is on a natural high as he shakes his tartan clad Jagger hips to their iconic tunes in King Tut’s. Even being nailed in the shoulder by a flare during The Courteeners opener cannot dampen my mood although the bullet-like impact nearly deems the Imodium from earlier inadequate. My only real disappointment from the day is not catching The Tijuana Bibles set with both Andy and Tino confirming my prediction the band would own it from the off.
Sleeping like a log on Saturday night ensures I awake fresh and on it for the Sunday and with both the Stereophonics and headliner Noel Gallagher playing the main stage it is a day I have been looking forward to. With the hype around Wolf Alice following their Glasto appearance I decide to take in their performance and I am impressed with their grungy/rock sound and stage presence. Scottish band The View are a must and with Tino having previously toured with them he has shared a few stories over the weekend to add to the spice. Surprisingly, The View are introduced to the main stage relatively earlier by Gary: Tank Commander and attract a massive crowd as chants of “The View are on fire” echo between songs. The next couple of hours pass in a bit of a blur as I share a drink with the tank commander guy, get eyes on Subo once again, sing Del Amitri, and Abba songs with Kyle fae the View (failed miserably with More Than Words by Extreme) and chatted briefly to the coolest man in rock (Kelly Jones should you be in any doubt). In doing so, I miss Gerry Cinnamon but hear later his set went down a storm with a big crowd cramming into the T Break tent. As expected T veterans the Phonics sound dynamite with new track C’est La Vie going down well with the crowd. With rumours of a car-park shut-down at 10.30 to accommodate buses the Guerrilla Media boys make the executive decision to “bolt for the car” after Noel’s first three songs…shame as The Chief was sounding great.
Returning home in the wee hours it seemed like there has been a lot of negativity around the festival and I was gutted to hear someone lost their life. My own experience of the festival was largely positive as I met some fantastic new people, heard some great acts, took a few photos and interviewed a few artists. Inevitably with it being a new site there was always going to be some lessons to reflect on and improve on going forward. If I am back next year, it will take a bit of topping!
Words: Bazza Mills
Twitter: @bazzamills
Returning home in the wee hours it seemed like there has been a lot of negativity around the festival and I was gutted to hear someone lost their life. My own experience of the festival was largely positive as I met some fantastic new people, heard some great acts, took a few photos and interviewed a few artists. Inevitably with it being a new site there was always going to be some lessons to reflect on and improve on going forward. If I am back next year, it will take a bit of topping!
Words: Bazza Mills
Twitter: @bazzamills