T in the Park

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T in the Park

July 15, 2010 by Adam

I successfully survived my first ever music festival & have recovered from the experience. I have to say that it is one of the most fun things that I have ever done. It all started on Thurs when I got up early to catch the 7 am ferry to Scotland. My friend Daniel that I was going with had to reschedule his boat til Friday, so I was meeting the rest of the crew for the first time at the terminal. They were a great bunch of people from Northern Ireland…all from the Protestant side of things here. I was especially pleased to have them be so welcoming to a random Alabamian to keep me entertained and from getting lost/confused until Daniel showed up the next day. Of course, they took a liking to my accent, and most of the first day (and a good bit of the whole weekend) was spent playing the let’s get Adam to pronounce different words game. When they were asking me if it was annoying me, I realized that this was one of the things that I would really miss. I have to say that I do enjoy the attention that I get for being a unique Southern among all the Irish of the island. After a couple of bus rides, we ended up at the site and made our way through the line to get into the festival. It was quite a line…30,000 people come early to camp on the Thurs night & the total festival attracts around 90,000 for the weekend! We just spent the evening hanging around our campsite after we got all the tents set up. We used the Northern Ireland flag to mark our spot, which became quite controversial in Scotland thanks to all the Catholic-Protestant troubles. Didn’t expect it to carry over to Scottish people though. Also prob didn’t help that this was the weekend for the Orange Marches when tensions are higher…and of course, the ones I were with singing Unionist songs.

Friday, we got up and were eventually joined by Daniel & one of the boy’s friends from Glasgow. He had jumped on our bus without a ticket at the last minute and managed to find a cheap ticket that night and eventually find us by only looking for the flag! Rain started on Friday, which quickly turned everything into a muddy mess. It also meant that we jammed 9 people into one tent when we were hanging out before the music started. The first show we caught was Florence + The Machine…the one I most wanted to see. She really is a phenomenal singer. Her album is called Lungs & it is a good title cause she really can belt it out. Best song was her new one Heavy in Your Arms, which is featured on the Twilight Eclipse soundtrack. After that, the group split and I went to see the Black Eyed Peas. They were amazing as well. Good show mixing up their songs with Fergie and will.I.am’s solo stuff.

Saturday was by far the best day in terms of music. Heavier rain that am really turned everything to a mucky mess…thank goodness for my rainproof cowboy boots! We saw tons of great music including Paolo Nutini, The Coral, Stereophonics, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Mumford & Sons, and Eminem. All were great! I was surprised by Rodrigo y Gabriela, a Mexican guitar duo that I hadn’t heard of before. Both of them, but especially Gabriela, plays a guitar like nothing I have ever seen before. Mumford & Sons was the highlight of the weekend for sure. Their show was mind-blowingly good, and we were right at the front of the stage. Check out my fav song of theirs to hear how good they are. Only downside to their show was this Scottish girl who tricked me into letting her wear my hat & putting her on my shoulders for part of the show. When it was over, she ran off with my Alabama hat! I was not very happy, but at least I spread around Crimson Tide-ness. After Mumford, we caught the end of Eminem, which was his most popular songs. He was good, but I’m not really a fan. I much prefered the folk sounds of Mumford. I like them before their show, but I have been obsessed since seeing them…listened to the whole album 3 or 4 times since getting back home on Mon.

Sunday was the craziest day of the festival as we tried to just fit in as much as possible for the last night. Bands we saw included: Babyshambles, The Cribs, Jay-Z, Bombay Bicycle Club, and Kasabian. These were spread all across the site, so we were constantly running around, whereas Saturday everything had been in two venues right beside each other. We jammed out all night and had a great time regardless of the fact that by this point we were quite disgusting and smelly. It was a terrific party night and a great way to close out my festival experience.

Monday, we got up and packed to leave. We had intentions of bringing out tent back, but in the end (like most people who camp at T) couldn’t be bothered to do it and just left it there. We then started the long journey back to Belfast, which included laying on the concrete at the Glasgow bus station for 4 hours! We literally looked and smelled like homeless people. I did learn some interesting things about festivals. First, the bathrooms are horrid/putrid. Honestly worse than the nastiest things I have seen on the farm! Smell was so bad that I couldnt even enter or walk by without gagging. Thank goodness they got cleaned once a day and thats when I learned to always go for a visit! Secondly, there is so much music that you can’t squeeze it all in! I had intentions to see other bands, but they would be scheduled at the same time and far apart. Plus, it’s always good to see some new stuff, so I still feel like I got the best possible experience. Lastly, you get pretty nasty not showering for 4 days! I changed clothes a couple of times and would wipe off with baby wipes. Between the mud, people throwing cups of drink & worse at shows, and just general dirt, I was a sight & smell to behold by the time I got home. Bre said I literally looked homeless, rated my stench on a scale of 1-10 as a 9, and said she could smell me 6 foot before I got to her. Feel sorry now for all those people who had to sit by me on the way home and understand why we were all getting stared at on Monday!

I did miss out on the Orange craziness in Belfast, but I am confident that I made the better choice. T in the Park is a memory I will never ever forget! Plus, the riots happening here in the aftermath of the 12th also makes me feel better! Tomorrow is my going away party, and I am already packed up to move out on Friday. Staying with Daniel that night and he is taking me to the airport Saturday, which I am very grateful for with all the stuff I have to lug! Will update on the going away festivities and the trek home, plus some wrap up posts over the next few weeks.