Camp Bestival 2019 – REVIEW

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CAMP BESTIVAL 2019 REVIEW

Graham Tarrant

Camp Bestival is often described as the ultimate family festival, for kids big and small, from 8 months to 80, and it’s easy to understand why.

For the little ones, children’s TV royalty Mr Tumble, entertained with his catchy singalong and slapstick set, Mister Maker brought his favourite shapes and moves, and Shaun the Sheep came with his own Vegetable Orchestra and farmyard frolics.

There was so much else for the whole family – from Rak Su showing why they won the X Factor, to Lewis Capaldi who will surely be a headliner in in future years due to size of the crowd, Scottish charm and melancholic hits.

Dads squeezed into their now ill-fitting t-shirts to sing along to Ash, Shaun Ryder’s Black Grape and the Human League. Shed 7 made the fateful mistake of uttering the words no fan of revival music likes to hear, namely “Here’s a song of our new album’– the audience shivered despite the sun, wanting more of their 90’s gold.

Nile Rodgers, Chic, and Sister Sledge rolled back the years with their timeless disco hits and good times. During Sister Sledge’s slot, they tested who truly was the greatest dancer and no one could hold a candle to young Rupert’s smooth moves in front of a sell-out crowd.

As well as the main stage, there was also such a wide mix of entertainment for all other family members across the site. From Napalm Death’s ear-splitting head-banging set in the Big Top, Vengaboys arriving on their party bus, Mr Motivator’s energising session for the fitness bugs, to The Cuban Brothers hilarious (if somewhat inappropriate) funky acrobatics and breakdancing on stage.

The theme of the weekend was Superhero’s and Jess Glynne came on stage with pyrotechnics to her No. 1 hit ‘Hold Me Hand’– dressed as her own idol, Cher.

Spectacular fireworks over Lulworth Castle brought the weekend to a close.

After leaving the magic of the festival, the outside world feels very Black and White – without the colourful fields painted with a bright hullabaloo of sequins, glitter, inflatable, and colourful flags, everything feels beige in the surrounding fields of Dorset.

In addition to the music, Camp Bestival brought even more enchantment across the site this year.  There was so much else to see, that you could visit for the weekend and have a great time and not even visit any of the main stages. The Wild Tribe area offered drumming circles, leafy adventures, and an escape from any technology and computer screen, Sleep Retreat provided free yoga workouts to recover from the hedonistic previous night, and a feast of food stalls where you could eat something different for the next month, provided you didn’t venture to the world’s biggest bouncy castle afterwards.

This is all without mentioning the Caravanserai, which can only be described as a festival itself within a festival. Aerial performers hustled high above the quirky mix of ramshackle caravans, Wurlitzers, carnival DJ’s and Victorian fairground rides among other curiosities and oddities.

Fortunately, the sun shone on the crowd all weekend and the superhero theme was warmly received, with all family members getting into the spirit and squeezing into costumes.

Full credit must go to Rob Da Bank and Josie’s superhuman effort for coming back again this year and hosting the incredible party in the south.

Roll on next year’s Camp Bestival – let’s hope the party continues for many more years to come.

Review and photos: Graham Tarrant

 

5 Bucket-List Festivals to do Before You Die

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The festival market has exploded in recent times.

You can now party anywhere in the world, in any temperatures, any setting, at any altitude. Which is great, because there is so much competition that festivals are falling over themselves to get your attention and wow you.

Many idyllic escapes now exists so here are our five favourites.

Epizode, Vietnam

epizode.com

After three much-talked about editions, there a special and unique atmosphere has now been created at Epizode that has quickly made it one of the most respected and essential experiences in the year. The carefully curated week-long showcase is a cultural spectacular that runs around the clock and makes you the lead role in a one-of-a-kind film, and it all unfolds on the blissful beaches of Phu Quoc, an island paradise hideaway off Vietnam’s West coast with a soundtrack from returning favourites and exciting new names such as Ricardo Villalobos, Apollonia, Loco Dice, Lehar, Lilly Palmer, wAFF, Guti, Nicolas Lutz and Craig Richards as well as plenty of Russian and Asian artists.

SXM Festival, St Martin

sxmfestival.com

This festival took a year off in 2018 because of the devastating hurricane that wrecked the Caribbean island. Now it is back, bigger than ever, with the whole island’s infrastructure having been rebuilt. Stages are on beaches and jungle clearings and are truly beautiful. This year Zip, Axel Boman, Apollonia, Fumiya Tanaka, Traumer, Francesca Lombardo, DeWalta, Enzo Siragusa, Archie Hamilton, Guy Gerber, Marco Carola and more all played so expect more of the same in 2020.

Envision Festival, Costa Rica

envisionfestival.com

Envision is a four-day wellbeing and music festival held on a beach on Costa Rica’s Pacific coast with the rainforest as a dramatic backdrop. Lee Burridge, Bedouin, John Acquaviva, GRIZ, Sabo, Tycho, Nicola Cruz, Trevor Hall and many more will all play, and there is plenty of yoga, natural remedy workshops and astrology to enjoy next to the music.

Groove Island, Island of Catalina

grooveisland.com

Groove Island is a game changing, truly one of a kind new event in the paradise of Catalina Island. It takes place on September 27th – 30th and offers a wealth of music, activities, great accommodation and plenty more, zip wires, a gold tournament, the worlds largest ballroom dancing hall, a wine mixer, hiking, natural beauty on the mountains bays, beaches and sea. and DJs include Andrew Rayal, Mark Knight, Shiba San, Chus & Ceballos and many more.

Burning Man, Las Vegas

burningman.org

There is no line up for Burning Man but anyone who is anyone from the worlds of house and techno play. It goes down in a sandy Nevada desert which becomes huge pop up city where money is replaced with bartering and art installations litter the site, which also features giant stage structures such as the iconic Robot Heart. This is one culture gathering that genuinely changes peoples lives.

Four Tet, Sven Vath, Mr Scruff, Pearson Sound, Willow, Dungeon Meat and More Line up for Motion Bristol’s 10th Season

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The first wave of names for Bristol’s 10th season of In: Motion events has been revealed. The award winning party has now been serving up big scale raves in a raw warehouse for a whole decade and once again they offer plenty to get excited about between now and Christmas.

Brands and labels like Drumcode, Bugged Out’s 25th Anniversary, MK Presents Area 10 and Wum Disco Club welcome DJs such as Four Tet, Pearson Sound and Eclair Fifi, Sven Vath, Paul Oakenfold, Mr Scruff, Dana Ruh, Green Velvet, Maya Jane Coles, Steffi, Pan-Pot, Nicole Moudaber, Sub Focus, Camo & Krooked, Shy FX, Problem Central and many more.

Further announcements will crop up over the next few months as In:Motion landslides into its tenth season, firmly remaining a spearhead of UK nightlife.

Pre-sale tickets are live at the In: Motion website.

Terminal V Adds 10000 Capacity Space ‘The Hangar’ Plus More Names

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‘The Reckoning’ from Terminal V is all set to be the largest Halloween rave Scotland has ever seen at Edinburgh’s Royal Highland Centre on Saturday October 26th.

It has just been announced that the rave now takes place over a third party space with an additional 10000 capacity, so the total goes to a whopping 20000 people. The new interconnected space will allow for even more lights, lasers, special visual effects and unique new stage designs to add to the unrivalled experience of the whole thing, making this potentially the biggest Halloween rave in Europe.

The second wave of names announced to play  include Âme, Annie Mac, Bontan, Horse Meat Disco, Jamie Roy, Krystal Klear, Laurent Garnier, Luciano, Maceo Plex, Sally C, Rennier Zonneveld, Stephen Brown, Theo Kottis, Michael Bibi plus 1 very special Terminal V favourite who will be announced 1st week of August. These artists join the already announced Ben Klock, FJAAK, Marcel Dettmann, DJ Koze, Gerd Janson, DJ Seinfeld, HAAi, Red Axes, DJ Tennis, Alan Fitzpatrick, Skream, Hot Since 82, Frazier & Rebuke, so you can be sure of an unforgettable night.

Folk By The Oak 2019

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With being the first time attending Folk By The Oak I wasn’t too sure what to expect as I am so used to a lot more rock music than folk. Attending the festival I entered the grounds of Hatfield Park which is just North of London. The site is filled with grasslands and woodland areas. Entering the festival was really quick and first thing I saw was a huge selection of food and drink vendors from roast pork and stuffing rolls to vegan cakes and tea to freshly made lemonade. There were gazebos and tents with people chilling on their chairs and blankets with picnics. Folk By The Oak had 2 stages which was the main stage and the Acorn Stage both showcasing some amazing acts throughout the day.

My most notable acts were The Trials Of Cato a power-folk trio from Wales. I first heard of these guys from a family member who has seen then busking around the city of Cambridge so I made sure to check them out. The trio put on a fantastic performance with songs such as ‘Tom Paines Bones’ ‘Gloria’ ‘Haf’ and more. I will definitely be checking these guys out again when I can. Their album Hide and Hair is out now and worth having a listen to.

Another band I really enjoyed was the Acorn Stage headliners the Scottish band Elephant Sessions an indie folk band who infuse folk, funk and electronica together. They had the whole tent dancing to their music and I could definitely see them playing the main stage one day.

Another big thing at the festival was The Lost Words: Spell Songs which is a book for children to help learn lost words that are not used as often anymore. They had the book for sale and had an area which had little shows performed by a cast under some trees. Also a musical companion piece to The Lost Words was performed by a collaboration of folk artists on the main stage which was bringing nature back to life through the power of music, poetry, art and magic.

There was plenty of activities for everyone to enjoy including archery, bubbles, arts and crafts, wood carving and then stalls selling nic nacs.

The festival closed with Frank Turner and the Sleeping Souls a punk folk style band. They were a little confused as to why they had been picked to play the festival but were very happy to play. A great moment was when Frank mentioned that they usually get the crowd to do a circle pit but considering it was a folk festival they were to do a circle jig, which is probably the first one to be done at a show.

I will definitely be coming back next year to see what more delights Folk By The Oak can offer.

 
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Review and photos by Kane Howie 

Truck Festival Preview

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In just a few weeks time, Truck Festival is due to take place in Oxfordshire with being a sell out its sure to be the best festival of the year! The lineup for this year is by far one of the best we have seen. Summer Festival Guide has been covering the festival for the past few years and we think its great to let you know on who we think you should check out.  See below for the top bands to check out at this years Truck Festival!!

HOT MILK – Saturday-The Nest-13.15

 

YONAKA-Friday-The Nest-19.30

 

DODIE-Sunday-The Market Stage-19.00

 

DECO-Saturday-Truck Stage-14.15

 

STRANGE BONES-Sunday-This Feeling-20.45

MARSICANS-Friday-Truck Stage- 15.00

ALFIE TEMPLEMAN-Sunday-The Market Stage-14.45

We hope you liked some of the bands we chose. You can see the full line up and more information at the Truck Festival website https://truckfestival.com/ 

Have a Truckin time!!

Download 2019 – Slayer’s final UK show REVIEWED!

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Ahh, it’s that time of year again. The last stand of the big bands. With Black Sabbath, Aerosmith and countless others over the last couple of years doing their ‘final’ tours and including Donington as a must-do stop, we seem to have these epic/ sad endings coming thick and fast. Honestly though, given I’m about half a generation behind the curve of these bands, I’m pretty glad I’ve had the opportunity to see them at all. Tonight it is the turn of the mighty thrash merchants Slayer to bid us farewell, in their last ever UK show, and the Zippo Encore stage area is awash with black tshirts as far as the eye can see. This is hands down the fullest this arena has ever been in the whole of Download history, and I can see half a dozen kids-on-shoulders who have yet no idea how insanely lucky they are to be at this show, given that these guys have been playing for almost 40 years.

The stage is set with all the trappings you’d expect of metal royalty, pentacles, skulls, chains, fire… and the crowd are already chanting ‘Slayer’ in unison. Walking onto the stage with all the clear purpose and confidence of a band who have made performing live their home, it’s a sobering moment to think that we are about to see this for the very last time, that this is our metal history we’re saying goodbye to. We can’t wallow for long though, ‘Repentless’ is wild and immediately gathers a hot and chaotic mosh pit, before the band break into early track ‘Evil Has No Boundaries’. It’s certain that tonight we’re getting a history lesson.

We’re spoilt with a list of raw, furious shredding from ‘Disciple’ to ‘Seasons in the Abyss’ as pyro cannons shoot flames across the inside of the stage and inverted crosses burn in the darkening night. Rocking a ‘Kill the Kardashians’ tshirt, guitarist Gary Holt is ripping Donington a new one alongside Tom Arya and Kerry King in his signature belt chains, and as the first ominous notes of ‘South of Heaven’ shimmer across the arena, I feel actual chills. Slayer played at the first festival I ever went to – here at Donington for Ozzfest 2002 and those notes, that moment will be forever etched into my memory – now, alongside this one. As the band scream into the iconic ‘Raining Blood’, thousands of people are windmilling their hair and headbanging like their necks aren’t over 30 and going to be immobile by work on Monday, it’s a sight to behold.

Shutting Donington down with ‘Dead Skin Mask’ and ‘Angel of Death’ is exactly the fire fueled, gut-punch of an ending I expected of Slayer, they are masters of their craft and Gods of the genre, that much is undeniable. With a final “Thank you for being here” and Tom Arya reluctantly leaving the stage, with what looks to be tears in his eyes, we in the crowd can only chant their name in appreciation and thanks. I think it’s testimony to their legacy that everyone is just still standing, still throwing horns into the air – instead of legging it straight to the main stage. This night is too important to so many, and I hope we gave Slayer the farewell they deserved.

© Photo courtesy of Download Festival, do not use without permission.
© Photo courtesy of Download Festival, do not use without permission.

Download 2019 – Slipknot REVIEWED!

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Ok. Confession time. I’m not a Slipknot fan. I am standing in a field full of Slipknot fans eagerly awaiting this much anticipated show. Flanked by overall-clad bodies, every face a grotesque mask (some quite obviously homemade), a through-the-ages tour of Slipknot’s style back catalogue, the excitement is palpable. Of course, this UK debut of the bands’ new masks is just a part of it, but the forums and news stories have been filled with ire towards the new choices – with many describing them as boring or thoroughly non-theatrical compared to previous iterations.

Indeed as the giant stage banner drops and the majesty of the stage set up is revealed – all industrial turbines and Mad Max-esque landscaping – frontman Corey Taylor appears in a black trenchcoat in place of a jumpsuit, and gives off a distinctly corpse dragged-from-the-river vibes in his bloated mask. Instantly I am reminded of the terrible ‘dream machine’ mask from the ultimate cheese-fest Bond movie ‘Die Another Day’, which levels on funny rather than creepy for me.

Sporting a more traditional Slipknot look, the rest of the band hit the stage in black boiler suits and their own new masks for an undeniably powerful opening trio of ‘People = Shit’, ‘(Sic)’ and ‘Get This’ with Corey yelling “This is where you fucking scream for me”. New release ‘Unsainted’ is a strong introduction to what we can expect from Slipknot going forward, as Corey screams “…are you happy to see Slipknot back in your beautiful fucking land? It’s amazing to be back HOME” to an almighty roar back from the Download crowd.

I’ll admit, they bring a great show – the pyrotechnics, the crazy percussion podium made of steel industrial hazard drums, the mysterious extra member who still hasn’t been revealed… and it’s clear the crowd are absolutely loving Slipknot’s return to Donington. Growling “…bunch of crazy motherfuckers over here. You feel good?” we head into a brutal assault of ‘Psychosocial’ and ‘The Devil in I’ while Corey muses “…this is the kind of Download I wanna see right”.

‘Duality’ comes with a side of the clown smashing up some of the stage set with a bat, and we’re treated to “something fucking special” which turns out to be a bit of a mishmash of ‘555 to the 666’ and ‘If Rain is What You Want’ at possibly the only time this weekend it isn’t actually raining. It’s kind of a shame to be honest, if there’s any band that the rain would have benefited in terms of atmosphere – it’s Slipknot. Regardless, the entire crowd is singing along in a rowdy chorus before going headlong into ‘Spit it Out’ for an arena-wide bounce… on the floor… before the song breaks and everyone goes absolutely berserk.

Corey leads out with a heartfelt speech on Download/the fans being family and making the statement “We are not their kind”, before heading into closer ‘Surfacing’, and a quick message to ‘take care of each other’ as they exit the stage. There may be thousands of raised horns in the arena, there may be a mass chant of ‘one more song’ but it’s clear as the house lights come up that the band are done for the night. Despite a bit of initial disappointment in the crowd, as the black video screens change to display ‘SLIPKNOT LIVE 2020’ a guttural roar of appreciation begins to ripple. Slipknot are coming back, and the sweaty hordes are abated as they head out into the night.

Photograph © Matt Higgs – Courtesy of Download Festival. Do not use without permission.
Photograph © Matt Higgs – Courtesy of Download Festival. Do not use without permission.

Download 2019 – Rob Zombie REVIEWED

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Forced once again to choose between the Zippo Encore and the Main stage for tonight’s grand entertainments – we have opted for Rob Zombie, master of the macabre and fringed outfits. Immediately upon turning the corner to the Zippo Encore stage it is clear that mistakes have been made. When Rob last played Download in 2017 the area was pretty jam packed but this year the arena is so ridiculously full th­­­­­­­at some people are actually almost standing in the shops at the back to watch. As much as I applaud Download for the booking – why oh why can’t we just have him on the main stage? He’s got the back catalogue, the energy and the showmanship to fill the main arena, never mind the sardine-can Zippo.

Anyway, aside from the spacing rant, Rob Zombie was an absolute highlight of the weekend, as expected. Rocking up with his signature screen boxes/dance podiums and immediately storming through ‘Meet The Creeper’ and ‘Superbeast’, Rob is resplendent leaping from box to box in as much fringed clothing as I’ve ever seen on a person. His style is sort of… the creature from the Black Lagoon, meets deep South in the 70’s, and I’m here for it. Anyone who can pull off such spritely moves in tight ass flares gets my respect to be honest.

Down the rabbithole we go with Rob for the iconic ‘Living Dead Girl’, as he yells “Good evening everybody, welcome to the Zombie show! Download, you ready to fuckin go?”. People are shrieking the lyrics all around us and throwing down some good old fashioned cyber goth moves for good measure. If you were gonna put a soundtrack to Vampire porn, this would be it – and Rob Zombie would have probably directed it to be honest.

Calling out “Everyone down here in the front, in your muddy shoes… jump jump” he rolls into the epic White Zombie track ‘More Human than Human’ and the crowd goes absolutely berserk. There’s nothing like a festival arena full of sweaty writhing bodies just dancing with wild abandon, it’s not something us Brits are usually especially practiced at but we’ll give it a damn good go, even in the rain and mud. Rob quips “Well we travel all around the world, and I must tell you… you win the award for the muddiest place on earth. I’m sure its cosy in those tents after the show… I’m sure when you’re sitting in those tents freezing you go… do I really wanna see these bands that fucking bad? And you guys just say fuck it, let’s get high and do this shit” as a set up to ‘In The Age of the Consecrated Vampire We All Get High’.

Manson clip backdrops herald Beatles cover ‘Helter Skelter’ and Rob turns stage side to ask “Can we keep playing? Do we have time?” eliciting a roar from a crowd who simply aren’t ready to end the night there. Rob muses “I was thinking the other day about Stone Henge. I believe I’ve solved the mystery. It’s one big landing pad for ufo’s” and calls us all to wave at an aeroplane passing overhead during ‘Well, Everybody’s Fucking in a U.F.O.’ whilst his guitarist rocks a flashing rainbow grille to grin at the crowd.

White Zombie (and Guitar Hero) classic ‘Thunder Kiss ‘65’ is punctuated with a little Ramones’ ‘Blitzkreig Bop’ for the “…punk rockers in tonight” and Rob heads down to the pit to meet his front row fans. Finishing up with the gut-busting ‘Dragula’ to strobing images from Rob’s ‘House of 1000 Corpses’ is unreal, there’s something undeniably visceral and sort of tribal about a Rob Zombie show. It makes you want to move, be part of the throng, takes you right into that horror movie realm. Honestly we could have gone another ten rounds with Rob Zombie and it still wouldn’t have been enough – so my message to you Download Festival: please book him for the main stage so we can headbang without the fear of breaking our faces on the person in front of us next time. Rob Zombie is undeniably rock royalty and deserves the throne.

© Matt Eachus 2019 - Photo courtesy of Download Festival
© Matt Eachus 2019 – Photo courtesy of Download Festival

PHOTOBLOG: Marshall Live 2019

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Our photographer Kane Howie went to Milton Keynes to check out Marshall Live at Arena MK. There were two stages at the event, the main stage and the Discovery Stage in which new and upcoming bands played and had the public vote on who they wanted to play the main stage that evening. Headlining the event was The Hunna with support from Yonaka, Barns Courtney, Keywest, Press to Meco, D_Drive, Rews, King Creature, Bad Touch and Thousand Thoughts. The night was hosted by Daniel P. Carter. Check out the photos below.

 
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