T-riffic

T in the Park was fab this year. Great atmosphere, great bands, great company (and the whole event featured a lot less neds than it did the last time I was there, 3 years ago). We were slightly concerned about the time it would take us to get there, given the 6-10 hour delays on the road up on Friday and advice not to drive etc, so we left a bit earlier (11:45ish). Lucikly we strolled straight up, arriving about 12:30ish and straight into a carpark.

Weather was ok on Saturday, and the site wasn't anywhere near the mudbath I imagined, although wellies were definitely the order of the day (luckily S managed to borrow a pair of hiking boots from A), especially for the 20 minute or so walk from the car park to the site. Got into the site then braced ourselves for the bar token queue. Probably waited about 30 minutes or so, but everyone was in good spirits and it wasn't too bad at all really. The one benefit of the big bar token queue is that you get served at the bar really quickly, so drinks in hand we set off for a stroll.

Managed to catch the very end of The Skids - was disappointed I hadn't seen more of them, cos they are a legend, but c'est la vie. Then headed off towards the NME stage (where we spent most of Saturday). NME was running a bit out of sync owing to Amy Winehouse not turning up, so caught some of Little Man Tate (who were not bad) whilst waiting for The Thrills, who were one of my "must sees" of the weekend and didn't disappoint :D.

Then headed off to the Main Stage to see James who were superb, then back to NME cos the atmosphere was better and the ground drier for sitting on. Lowlight followed with the atrocious performance of Babyshambles (wasn't a fan to begin with and they've gone down even further in my estimation). Then had a bit of a chill and some food, and we split up - S and I went to Pet Sounds to see Rufus Wainwright who was good and C and A went to Klaxons at King Tut's.

The original plan was that C and A were going to see The Killers headline and S and I were going to catch a bit of Brian Wilson at Pet Sounds and head off to The Killers, but Brian Wilson was so great we stayed right to the end and didn't see any of The Killers (I wasn't too fussed as had seen them a few months ago anyway).

After this came the dreaded lost in the carpark scenario. C and A had left before the end and texted to say they'd get us at the car (A had driven up and C was driving home). Only thing is C had moved the car and S and I didn't have a clue where it was to begin with (I hate the country - I lose all sense of direction in it), took us about an hour and a half to find each other, so at least we missed all the traffic getting out of the car parks, but poor S's feet were killing him cos A's hiking boots were a size too small.

Straight to bed when I got home, then back up to do it all again - just me and C this time. Didn't leave until 12:15 on the Sunday, but like the day before we strolled up without any traffic worries. Most of the acts we wanted to see were on the Main Stage, so luckily we brought folding chairs, cos the ground was a bit softer there, but had dried out nicely overnight. Caught the tail end of Avril Lavigne (wasn't interested so didn't pay attention). Then Goo Goo Dolls who were great, Paolo Nutini (played the same set as when I saw him a couple of months ago) and The Fratellis - didn't think the sound setup on this stage favoured either of them. Kings of Leon were up next, but I had already seen them and really wanted to see Ocean Colour Scene, although once again they were playing King Tut's and it was packed out and we couldn't get in, so parked outside for a bit, then grabbed a bite to eat and caught the very end of the Kings of Leon. They were followed by Scissor Sisters who were good but would have been better if there was less talking and more performing.

Headlining on Sunday were Snow Patrol, never been a huge fan of them, but they were great! They also managed to amass an impressive collection of shows/wellies which were thrown on stage (including one pair!) which was a huge crowd pleaser. The guy in the spidey mask climing the sound rigging also got more than one cheer.

Then off to find the car again - even though I had been really paying attention walking in I still didn't have a clue once it got dark, but all credit to C, even though she had had a few drinks she still knew exactly where it was. 20 mins to get out of carparks then straight down the road so not bad travelling time at all.

Highlights of the weekend - Snow Patrol and The Thrills were both superb, but my award has to go to Brian Wilson, who had the aptly-named Pet Sounds Arena absolutely buzzzing.

toodles xoxo