I decided not to lug my chair around today and also to have lunch before going to the arena. Caroline went off early to watch the ballet and we met up at 2 and camped out in the comedy tent for most of the afternoon. 1st up was Sam Campbell, who was ok and the Rosie Jones. Chris didn’t think he was going to like her much but then he ended up laughing more than me and Caroline! I was quite amused !!! The next few acts were pretty good, although Grace Campbell ( who I believe is Alastair Campbells daughter, no relation to Sam – previous comedian) was not so good, maybe we are a bit too old. The funniest one was probably Nina Conti, a ventriloquist, who puts masks on members of the audience. So funny. She does it so well. The image here is of Lucy Beaumont whi was pretty good.
We wondered around a bit until the next act and this band was pretty cool. Pretty chilled with influence from Andalucia and and South America to create a fusion of indie and folk….(I stole that bit). Worth a listen. I even spotted a charango! Ben has made one since he returned from Peru.
Next up was one of Caroline’s main events (maybe Chris too) .. good old Rick Astley. A little demanding on the audience at times but pretty entertaining.
Chris showed me how to use the “live” setting on iPhone photos and it can creat GIFs and is pretty good at capturing a moment, as you can see here!
Next up were Keane and I legged it down towards the front. I remember we had arrived back from Spain in 2006 when they were winning at The Brits and being quite impressed. So I was really looking forward to hearing them and they did not dissappoint. They have a great back catalogue of tracks and he can certainly sing.
London Grammer were up next, but they are great for chilling out to, not necessarily a great act to liven up a Saturday Night Headline slot. So we wondered about, saw a covers band in the “Trailer Park” who seemed to be having an argument.
Caroline wanted a bit of disco dancing, so we went, on a roundabout route, to the disco shed… where they were playing Drum and Bass , we are far too old for that. I then checked out what was happening in the comedy tent as they have good “end of evening” stuff on sometimes. They had an act, DJ and dancers, called Guilty Pleasures. Nothing too dodgy as it turned out, just playing pop singalongs and good old dancing tunes. Just what we wanted….. It was quite a late night for us, well past midnight!
Last Day
Travelled even lighter today, just hat and phone. Chris and Caroline went off to see some dancing and we met up a bit later. I nipped into the Second Stage and a bunch of children were on the stage, they looked so young I had to look them up to see if they were a local band covering for someone else, apparently they were from New York. Pretty good grungy indie though.
On another note, Sue had finaly tested clear. Unfortunately if she got the train she wouldn’t have got there until late afternoon, I’m not sure Duran Duran is quite worth that effort
The main event of the afternoon was The Darkness. Caroline and I got down the front so that we got a good view. As it turned out it was a good decision as what a showman. The front man, Justin Hawkins, must be in his 40s now, what a showman he is. They are originally from Lowestoft, so quite local. He speaks in quite a posh accent even when saying MotherF***** which was quite amusing as he referenced his mother a few times who was sitting demurely at the back of the stage.
At one point he came into the crowd playing his guitar riding on the shoulders of a rather large bloke , as you can see he got really close! They put in a fantastic show. A good move to get up close to the stage.
We moved to the Second Stage to see ASH. We were all up the front for this one. Pretty solid set, and a good sized crowd!
Meanwhile the sky got really dramatic! Again.
Last up was Duran Duran. Chris found a seat in the stands at the back as his back was suffering a bit. Caroline and I followed suit. It was good to get a view as hopefully the pictures show. In contrast to the very fit Darkness singer, old Simon Le Bon (that’s french apparently) was looking a bit portly. His voice faltered a bit but was on the whole pretty good. I have seen them before on Southampton Common.
A good way to finish the festival. A real shame Sue couldn’t make it as the weather was great and the line up fab. Thanks to Caroline and Chris for putting up with me and looking forward to Victorious!