Dores, 8 June 2008

Jyrojets

AS I tentatively peeked outside my tent on Sunday morning, the signs weren’t good. High winds and ominous black clouds make my heart sink and think for once that the weather forecast was going to be right. The wellies were going to be needed after all. Fast forward three hours, two bacon rolls and a cup of tea and I find myself sitting in the main area over-looking the picturesque Loch Ness, fishing my sunglasses out of my bag and liberally applying the sun cream. Don’t you just love the way the Scottish weather can change in a jiffy?!

So there I was, day two at my first ever Rockness Festival. So far, so good. Well, apart from the noodles, but I’ll get back to them in a minute.

Nestled in the valley overlooking Loch Ness, the festival site is without doubt the most beautiful spot in which to relax, listen to some good music and watch the world go by. As I wandered into the main arena just after midday on Sunday, through the colourful flags and signs fluttering in the wind, the poptastic riffs of Inverness’s own Jyrojets floated across the skies.

The first band on the majestic main stage boosted the energy levels for the long day ahead. Finishing their swaggering set with the catchy ‘Favourite Thing about Jane’, it is easy to see why they are being touted as the ones to watch in 2008. With their debut album out later this month, I see a great future ahead.

Due to the fact that the weather was so spectacular, it has to be said that I was loathe to spend too much time standing inside the sweaty tents, so much of my afternoon was spent watching the comings and goings on the main stage. After the Jyrojets I enjoyed the infectious banter and punchy tunes of Das Pop from Belgium, which is more than can be said for Red Light Company, who most certainly didn’t light up the stage.

Having a wander round the Rockness site there was a lot to take in, with loud music and thumping bass appearing to be escaping from every nook and cranny on site. There was a wide selection of chill out areas where hammocks, beanbags and sofa beds provided a welcome treat for our weary dancing feet. A host of different DJ’s took to the decks in these areas including DJ Yoda, Leatherhead and Boom Monk Ben who supported Fatboy Slim at his recent Inverness show.

The Rockness arena seemed to have everything you could ever need and a lot more besides. An inflatable church, complete with stain glass windows, provided a venue for an actual wedding (the happy couple got engaged at Rockness 2007). When people weren’t using it for their nuptials, it appeared to double as a disco church, though by late on Sunday the air was starting to escape a little, the steeple had deflated out of sight!

With my tummy rumbling, it was time to find some food. My saving grace on the food front was the Argyll Fine Foods tent, where they had stalls ranging from mussels and oysters to lamb kebabs and pasta dishes. Squeezed between the 300 burger and chip vans that seemed to dominate the food selection, it really was an oasis.

I plumped for one of the tastiest Venison Burgers I had ever had, complete with onions and rocket salad. After my less than satisfactory experience with the over priced (£6.50) and under-flavoured noodles the previous day, I was at last satisfied.

So it was back to the main stage to catch the very talented Henderson brothers who make up three fifths of the Cumbernauld rockers The Dykeenies. With only one album under their belts, their bracing guitars, punk-pop attitude and accomplished sound went down well. The Cribs were up next, a band I was looking forward to, and who I hoped would have their elusive fourth member with them, Johnny Marr from The Smiths.

Alas, not this time, but the indie rockers from Yorkshire played a powerful set, full of energy and enthusiasm. I think the problem was that the stage just seemed a little too big for many of these acts. More suited to playing smaller venues, none of them seemed quite ready to progress to a main stage at a festival, their sounds failing to fill the air or fully ignite the crowds.

After a few tunes from Birmingham’s finest, The Editors, I chose to watch Underworld, the headline act in the Clash tent, to round off my festival experience. Although Karl Hyde and Rick Smith have been performing together since 1980, they really hit the big time when their track ‘Born Slippy’ was used in the film Trainspotting.

To be honest, I found the performance a little underwhelming, in part due to the venue. The tent had open sides, which not only meant that there was little or no impact from the light display (apart from when they bounced off Karl’s gold sparkly jacket), sound was also carried from another parts of the arena.

Having said that, the crowd seemed to love it, the sea of thousands finding their groove to the masters of dance. ‘Born Slippy’ created an electric atmosphere, although the chants of ‘lager, lager, lager’ were taken a little literally as a sea of paper cups soared through the air. As I left the set before the end, I popped my head into the Skins Live tent to see The Orb. They had managed to create a better atmosphere with the tent sides down and sweeping coloured lasers adding to the mood.

I made my way over to the main stage to catch the last few tracks from Razorlight, who seemed to be going down well with the crowds. I thought they were a rather dull finale to an upbeat, sunny and vibrant festival.

So, my tips for surviving Rockness 2009?

• If you’re going to camp, pay that little bit extra for the VIP area. The smaller, quieter and much tidier area made for a fairly pleasant camping experience.
• Be prepared. Pack your wellies AND your sun cream and don’t take any notice of the weather forecast – anything can happen!
• Make sure your rucksack has wheels – it’s quite a hike from the car park to the campsite.

For those of you not brave enough to camp? Don’t forget your wallet and your camera. The food and drink doesn’t come cheap and you’ll most certainly want to snap a couple of shots of the view out over the Loch.

© Fiona Carr, 2008

Links

• Rockness