Our eighth Beautiful Days and goodness knows how many camping festivals and…miracle of miracles…the sun shone. Non-stop. For all three flipping days. Not since our first festival, Glastonbury 1995, has this ever happened. Hurrah!
Music wise the outlook was every bit as sunny and we somehow managed to catch…deep breath…The Deadlians, Millie Manders and the Shut Up, Misty In Roots (pictured below)
Terrorvision, The Mary Wallopers, Penguin Café, Peter Doherty (pictured below)
The Kairos, Girlband!, Panic Shack, a bit of Kid Kapichi, a bit of Sleeper, Kula Shaker (pictured below)
John Grant, Shed Seven, Sex Pistols featuring Frank Carter, Grandma’s House, Heavy Lungs, Young Knives, The Meffs, The Bluetones, a bit of Jon Boden and the Remnant Kings, Fantastic Negrito (pictured below)...who well and truly lived up to his name...
and The Levellers (from outside our tent and then up at the Tiny Tea Tent, as is traditional for the best view of the fireworks...and 'cos by then we were knackered with a capital K).
Peter Doherty was in fine form, fitter and happier
than he’s seemed in a long time and joined, on drums, by none other that Mike
Joyce from t’Smiths. Panic Shack were a riot (grrrl), John Grant really is the
Greatest Mother Fucker, Frank Carter’s settled into the shoes of Johnny Rotten brilliantly
and Fantastic Negrito more than justified the cost of the ticket on his own
(think the lovechild of Sly Stone and Prince raised by Ozzy in a blues club…sort
of). As always the entire weekend was pretty much a twat free experience (if only the rest of the world was eh?) and we even
managed a little sleep (an inflatable mattress and decent tent have proved to
be lifesavers over the past few years).
Given how many festivals have folded over the past few
years it’s heartening to see that BD still sells out year after year, even
before the line-up’s announced, but I reckon the combination of letting punters take in
their own food and drink coupled with decent, sensibly priced booze on offer at
the bars, toilets that are cleaned regularly (shout out to Andy Loos) and a sponsorship
free environment has a lot to do with it. As The Levs are behind the whole shebang too I wouldn't be surprised if they propped it up with some of their own dosh too.
PS: Sad to see that the bloke who normally has the hanging bar thingy wasn't there this year, nor were The Curry Shed (although I believe they've retired).
PPS: Getting onto the site seemed to have been a nightmare for most people. It took us over three hours instead of 35 minutes. That's something the organisers need to watch if they don't want to lose their licence. Having traffic backed up all the way to Exeter can't have gone unnoticed...
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