Glasgowbury Festival 2013

That’s it guys, the final ever Glasgowbury has come and gone and I think it’s safe to say that we saw it go off with a bang! Two days and nights of hot sun, strong booze, great banter and the best musical talent that Northern Ireland has to offer.

So, after a brief detour down South and the world’s most specific sat nav directions, we arrived at the campsite on Friday with plenty of time to spare. After setting up camp and having a few homemade ciders it was time to investigate the arena.

Food-wise, there were two burger vans (plus one in the campsite), Jolly Pies, Gourmet Hot Dogs, Crepes, a Burrito Bar, Pizza, Dinky Donuts and Falafels. There was a Fresh Garbage stall, an Urban Jungle stall, temporary tattoos, an oxygen bar and swing ball sets galore, along with a picnic area to enjoy your food at.There were also 6 stages – Small But Massive Main Stage, G Sessions, Spurs Of Rock, Eagle’s Rock, G Spot, Generator Stage. There was also a Tech tent, balloon modelling and much much more.

So Friday kicked off at 6pm with acts on four of the stages. We caught Susie Blue (who you might recognise from our Local EP reviews in the past couple of months) who was a gentle start to the weekend with her soulful and heartfelt style. She had a lot of supporters and came out after the show to sell some merch.

Silhouette played the main stage at 9pm, the perfect soundtrack to the weekend as the scorching sun began to set over the scenic Sperrin mountains. As Shauna Tohill belted through latest single (and incidentally the soundtrack to the Discover Northern Ireland adverts) Can’t Keep Up, it was hard not to feel in the festival spirit and at least a little bit proud of being a part of such a beautiful and unique NI festival.

Glasgowbury veterans And So I Watch You From Afar headlined the G Sessions stage on the Friday and the massive circus style tent was full to bursting as the Belfast four piece raged through their largely instrumental set. Rarely does such music get the shear amount of respect as ASIWYFA always seem to command.To top off the first night, The Japanese Popstars headlined the Small But Massive stage, bringing the first and last ever Friday night at Glasgowbury to a suitable end.

After a night baking in a hot tent, the campsite rose early (or didn’t actually make it to bed in the first place) to another melter of a day. After a few morning drinks to get the party started, the Saturday started shortly before 1pm with Vanilla Gloom followed byPigsAsPeople in the Spurs of Rock tent. PigsAsPeople had a really great turn out for how early they were playing and their no frills approach got the Saturday off to a great start seeing one of the first crowd surfers of the day!

As per usual, our favourites The Wonder Villains and The Pocket Billiards were on top form, providing that light-hearted, well-loved atmosphere that has become a staple of the Northern Irish music festival.
The Wonder Villains chatted and jumped their way through a set of favourites including Peter and new single Blonde. While a few hours later on the same stage, The Pocket Billiards ramped up the energy with the kind of show that can only be performed by 11 people all giving it stacks at the same time.

Aside from our usual must sees it was Wyldling that truly stole the show at this year’s Glasgowbury, as Jilly St John jumped, stamped and posed her way through one of the most well received sets of the day on the main stage. A non-stop ball of energy, Jilly is a born frontwoman who just can’t stop moving and thus puts on a captivating show that you can’t take your eyes off. Stopping halfway through to take a photo of the crowd was as close to standing still that she got.  A definite highlight of the whole weekend.

A quick respite from all this was sought in the comedy tent, where Paul Currie had me howling with laughter and quaking with fear in equal measures. Resplendent in his blue 3 piece suit and white cuban heels and looking somewhat like a dishevelled Ron Burgandy.  He bounded his way through the audience, dragged people up, made people kiss his ducks, told jokes that only he cold make funny and finished it all off with a 5 man group hug dressed in a black tunic with ducks on the arms and spinning round like a human carousel.

Mid-day and there’s nothing better than catching some sexy rock n roll. I managed to catchTrucker Diablo who played a stonking set with hard riffs and thunderous chorus’s. The lead singer hulked across the stage in a commanding performance placed somewhere between James Hetfield and Phil Anselmo as the crowd was whipped up into a frenzy.  Devil horns high and moshing galore.   Trucker Diablo remind me of Metallica but without the frills, and I mean that in a good way.

As always, the Red Bull Generator stage was packed throughout the whole weekend with Belfast staples such as Johny Tiernan and Rigsy on the bill, but the surprise star on this stage was Shay Whelan. I’ve never heard of him before, but when a 13 year old climbed up behind the decks I was somewhat sceptical. However, when that 13 year old started doing some of the most impressive mixing I’ve ever seen, it’s safe to say I was hooked! He was super confident, playing tunes that were definitely older than him, but he was the best DJ of the weekend by far and I can’t wait until I see him again. A true star in the making.

The end of the festival is a partial blur, Finishing off my time in the Spurs of Rock with the foot stomping blues soaked “Good Suits and fighting boots” by The Bonnevilles, it was time to head to the main stage for one last hurrah! The Answer came, they rocked and they said good bye. Crowd surfing that security couldn’t begin to keep a track of, an amazing job by the lighting guys and of course the mountain in the back drop all tied together by The Answer’s back catalogue of songs that you end up dancing away and sing to whether you know them or not. The crowd was boisterous but in a good way, everyone was smiling and getting along. This might have been the end of Glasgowbury festival but to look around you’d think that everyone had just discovered something magical for the first time and they were damn sure going to enjoy it! Of course it could’ve been the drink, it could’ve been the altitude, but by the time Paddy Glasgow came on stage to his final goodbye, there might, just might have been a tear in my eye.

Million Dollar Reload graced the stage not long after, playing like a band that should’ve been playing on a much larger stage. Tattoos and Dirty Girls was the sing-a-long favourite and the perfect mix of sleaze and rock ‘n’ roll.

So that as they say is that, the end of an era, or the start of a new one if you listen to the guys at Glasgowbury HQ.  We salute you Glasgowbury and the hunt is on for a fest to take your place next year.

SmallbutMASSIVE