Belladrum, 8 August 2008

Tartan Heart Festival 2008 at Belladrum

HINDSIGHT is a wonderful thing, so after spending last year’s festival camping on somewhat of a slope and very close to my canvas-covered neighbours, I headed out to Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival early on Thursday evening to secure a prime spot for my trusty tent.

It seems that everyone else had the same idea! By 8pm on Thursday the campsite was full to bursting with brightly coloured tents, gazebos and sledges dragging supplies to and fro across the tufty grass. The air buzzing with the excited chatter of whether or not the sun would shine.

Regardless of the weather, the majority of the bands that I wanted to see were in the tents – however, as the sun continued to shine throughout the morning, I was starting to wish a few more of these musical treats were appearing outside on the majestic Garden Stage.

On reaching the Hothouse Stage it was clear that nothing was happening fast. The generator had decided not to play ball and they were running an hour or two behind schedule. This gave me a chance to wander round the small, but perfectly formed site.

Now, there are many things I love about Belladrum, and one of them is the size. It’s just the right size to be able to amble around and have a look at everything it has to offer. From the colourful clothing stalls to the climbing wall, the dinky little Potting Shed Stage to the ‘Cycle Your Own Smoothie’ stall, Bella appears to have it all.

Mixed in amongst all this organised mayhem are the random performers, stilt walkers and musicians who seem to appear around every corner and whose sole purpose is to make sure that people are having a great time. Don’t be surprised if shortly after seeing a band on one of the many stages, they will pop up a few hours later under a tree for an impromptu performance.

As with most of my days, lunch and dinner are always a highlight, so I took this break in schedule as an opportunity to refuel. I was pleased to see the return of the Argyll Fine Food tent, who seem to be leading the way in how best to cater at a festival. Now I’m no fan of oysters myself, but I was assured by my friends who took part that they were delicious.

With so much to choose from, my friends and I decided to share a few different dishes and managed to happily work our way through a lamb kebab with salad, macaroni cheese and a gourmet cheeseburger. All delicious, all reasonably priced, and no, they don’t pay me to write this!

So back to the Hothouse Stage where things were finally starting to happen and local boys Call to Mind kicked things off with an accomplished, if slightly short performance of their atmospheric tunes.

Next up were my favourite band of the moment, Frightened Rabbit, hailing from Selkirk in the Scottish borders. Their infectious tunes, and lyrics that would sometimes make your mother blush, brought the tent alive. Brothers Grant and Scott Hutchison, on drums and vocals respectively, along with two friends deliver a refreshingly vibrant wall of sound punctuated by Scott’s distinctly Scottish voice, Grant’s frantic drumming.
Their tendency to songs that sway between violent punk hoedown’s and perfect pop melodies, are all brought to life with heartbreakingly honest lyrics. If you buy any album this year, make sure it’s their new offering The Midnight Organ Fight.
Time to refresh with a quick Red Kite from the Black Isle brewery, before heading for the Grassroots Stage for an injection of quirky folk with Australian brother and sister act, Angus and Julia Stone. Apparently they had always wanted to call themselves The Stones, but alas by the time they had mastered their instruments, that name had already been taken!
With their distinctive vocals and their folky edge, their melodic set drifts from brother to sister. They seem to provide each other with more of a role of support than playing as an actual band, as they step forward one at a time to take their turn at singing their own songs.

After catching Jefferson Starship sing their 1967 hit ‘White Rabbit’ [technically speaking that was a Jefferson Airplane hit, not the later Starship – your pedantic Ed.], and not wanting to stick around for main stage headliners Scouting For Girls, I headed off to chill in last few rays of the summer sunshine before taking in my last band of the day, Scottish indie rockers Idlewild.

Once voted Scotland’s third best band of all time, they certainly lived up to their reputation with a storming set of greatest hits, dotted with a new song or two from their sixth album they are currently working on. They kicked off with the classic ‘When I Argue I See Shapes’ and ‘Roseabiliity’, and the crowd immediately launched themselves into an energetic dancing frenzy that lasted for the rest of the set.

They have been together for an impressive thirteen years now and it shows. They are like a well oiled machine on stage and in my opinion one of these bands who seems to come alive when playing live, with an energy that doesn’t always come across on their albums. Certainly a great way to end the live musical treats of my first day at Bella.

The beauty of Belladrum for me is that after the last reverberating hum from the amps has drifted out across the hills of Beauly, there is still plenty of fun to be had. The silent disco is a simple concept with a spectacular affect and one that has to be experienced to be believed.

Take a room full of happy festival goers, arm them with a set of wireless headphones, have two separate DJ’s playing two different types of music on two different channels and sit back and watch the utterly surreal spectacle unfold. A sweaty mass of revellers pulling shapes, throwing their arms in the air and singing along at the top of their lungs to what appears to everyone else to be complete silence. Certainly worth watching if not taking part!

So after a good boogie, which I have to say is not all that easy in your wellies, I headed off to my tent to try and get some sleep and think about all the fun I have had.

Belladrum in a nutshell; a stunning setting, friendly people, awesome music, good food, all wrapped up into a perfect bite size chunk.

© Fiona Carr, 2008

Links

• Tartan Heart Festival