T in the Park 2002 (artist's impression)
| T in the Park, 7-8th July 2001, Babado by Kinross |
T in the Park 2002 (artist's impression) |
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As ever, our arrival at Kinross was delayed by
a stop at the local rubber goods emporium. Wellies, for goodness
sake. So we arrive just in time to encounter loads of people
coming out at the end of Rhubarb's set. I still know nothing
about them, but they're not from round these parts - Inverness
I believe. Maybe it's a ruse to put the 2 northernmost bands
in the country on first so they get there on time? Nero
are second on the bill and play an energetic set -their sound
is still forming and a variety of styles are detectable, but
full-on punk-pop seems to be what they're best at - though it
may be the familiarity of single 'Skin and Bones' , there's no
denying that this plus "Ooh Ooh Ah" and "Oak"
are bona-fide buzzsaw guitar classics. The usual festival problems - trying to help out a journalist stranded at the gate without a pass, if you must know - mean our missing both Stupid Acting Smart, Biffy Clyro and Laeto, and as if to compound whatever sins we committed in a previous life, we catch a couple of minutes of the excreable Dandy Warhols on the main stage, albeit via the giant screen. Still, could be worse, we could have been buried to the neck in Balado's special formula mud - well, it looks like mud - and forced to watch The Strokes, so mustn't grumble, eh? So it's back to the recently-christened Secret Tent, where the cream of Scottish talent are doing their thing to variable crowd sizes. The tent has been expanded to twice its size of last year, which on first thought would appear to be a good idea as a couple of times the tent was full to bursting, albeit inexplicably at times. Unfortunately this has more of an adverse effect as the tent becomes a dosshouse for 'tired' campers who lie around at the back and the cavernous qualities of the makeshift arena must have given the bands appearing the impression of opening for The Warm Jets at the SECC on a wet Tuesday. |
| Fortunately, audience size or profile
are no barriers to ballboy. Gordon
Macintyre will play any time any place, anywhere - yes, even
in the Wee Diddy Tent, and many of the audience will have only
seen the 'band' as a solo act. Although Gordon's lyrics make
many of the songs and allow them to stand up proudly in acoustic
form, the 3 additional members lend an altogether different angle
to the songs with a massive sound which is almost of stadium-esque
proportions - and managing to fill the cavernous recesses of
T's 'Unsigned, Unseen' Tent is no mean feat. Gordon, when not
leaping tall buildings, 'is a master at dealing with hecklers
- his day job as primary school teacher surely standing him in
good stead - and he leads his merry band through the usual variety
of impossibly-entitled songs such as "All The Songs On The
Radio Are Shite (Except Mine". They end with "Donald
In The Bushes With A Bag Of Glue" and the audience clap
along, just like they will for Coldplay 28 hours later. Hang
onto that thought. A wander round the arena brings us one Webb Brothers tune, conveniently their 'hit', and a glimpse of Muse, complete with daft hair, on the main stage. The 'washing' of the sound ruins... ok, bad example. But the thing about playing to an outdoor arena of this size is that you're susceptible to the elements and your fans may not see you at your best. Conversely, since 90% of the audience at the main stage appear to be completely off their faces and intent on testing the cleansing properties of the local mud, that this may not be so much of a problem as you'd think. James are next up on the big stage and the are, well, James - with a back-catalogue of snappy hit singles they're the identikit mid-bill festival band, foresaking much of the new material they guinea-pigged on their last Scottish tour. "Sit Down" sings Tim Booth, but not even this audience are daft enough to fall for that . |
|
 They are indeed The Snare |
Spare Snare are in the big wee tent, and since the running orders are somewhat ahead of schedule (we find out later that Laeto played all their songs really fast, which may have had something to do with it) we miss both the talkie bit at the start of "Launch" and any explanation for Jan wearing a jacket and specs. Though we suspect that this may be in homage to the Proclaimers, more of whom later. The Snare play a charmingly ragged set, due more to the dodgy equipment than their traditional 'shambling' - in fact, they're quite the pro rock band these days. Unfortunately "Say My Name" is rather obscured by feedback, but the set comes together for a rockin' "We Are The Snare" and the closing pairing of "Troubles" and "Bugs' shows that the Snare are back, and here to stay. The aforementioned Proclaimers are still in Tent Two, but sadly for what seems like half the attendees of T in the Park, whoever put Lulu on the main stage to such great effect last year was clearly at lunch when this year's lineup was concluded. Hanging around in the 20-deep crowd at the doors to the tent is as close as anyone gets to the returning brothers' singalong cabaret. We take refuge from the elements in the Ceildh Tent for a while where Koda are doing that ceilidh thing in a pretty non-traditional way - tartan and shortbread are nowhere to be seen in a completely feelgood atmosphere rememiscent of Hogmanay at Hampden Park. Although the band rather ruin things with a Dolly The Sheep-perfect take on Runrig's version of "Loch Lomond". |
 It's not just the rain that drives us
to the Cafe Tent - The Bathers are
playing. Most of the acts here are acoustic and while this would
work well for soloists such as Scott Macdonald, stripping down
a sound like that of The Bathers to a 3-piece is a tricky one.
Strong songs, yes, but the atmospheric feel of the recorded work
is lost a little. The same can be said of Zuba
who would presumably be a mix of the Bhundu Boys and Johnny Clegg
with a full band.Again, some decent tunes lurking just below
the surface.One of those "you come and see something mainstream
if we come to the Talent Stage" deals follows and David Gray is before us on the big screen,
doing a couple of hits for us. Mercifully (i.e. the deal is concluded
early) he's not all he's cracked up to be, giving us the workmanlike
pop of "Babylon" before murdering an undeserving Soft
Cell classic. Oddly enough, in the great DJ Wars, McSleazy
(I assume) is giving loving care to an old Depeche Mode number,
bringing it up to date rather more effectively than Basildon's
haircuts'n'heroin ensemble might have managed. Bendy
Toy is the other protagonist in this ear-splitting
pact and entertains us with selections from his new e.p. "Fantastic
Chicken" is out in a week and if you don't buy it you can
count yourselves as soooo passé.Apparently Paul Weller is doing some cover versions too, songs made famous by a band called The Jam. Weller even seemingly bears a passing resemblance to the singer in said band, but there the similarities end. In an act of mercy, the aging Grandfather of Noel, as he's known, is confined to a tent rather than being let loose on the main stage. In a pre-arranged move, dozens of police officers are stationed around the tent to ensure than no unsuspecting punters can gain access. King Tut's WahWah Tent has been the target for much criticism during the first day, with fans of Turin Brakes and Lambchop complaining bitterly about the quality of the sound (though anyone who saw Nelly Frittada's performance on telly later on would have prayed for a bit of feedback and a faulty mike). It may be this which delays the Divine Comedy's set by a good 15 minutes, but they're worth the wait. Well, just. A decidedly odd mix of tunes are the main complaint, albeit brilliantly performed. There are a couple of tracks off the decidedly Before They Were Famous 'Liberation' album, plus a handful from current long-player. "Love What You Do" as opener is fine as is the catchy dirge that is "Bad Ambassador", but apart from "Generation Sex" there are precious few hit singles here. "Sweden" and a rather overblown "ReGeneration" end the set, but surely "Alfie" and "Something for the Weekend" will be saved as the traditional festival closets? The house lights come up as if to emphasise Neil Hannon's contraryness... or maybe the licence only runs til 11pm? Mind you, there's still time to catch the end of the Stereophonics set on the main stage. Or we could beat the rush from the car park. Well, what would you have done? |
