Dores, Loch Ness, 12-14 June 2009

The Prodigy (Photo - Ryota Mori)

SEARCHING for the a perfect place to pitch the tent, me and my friend had to stop and put sun cream on – which delighted us – and the weather stayed warm and sunny for the majority of the weekend. Only on Saturday was there the odd shower, which wasn’t enough to send us running for cover.

It wasn’t just the weather that was unexpected, the music also surprised me. I really enjoyed the Flaming Lips – a band I wasn’t that keen on seeing. When the band came out followed by dancing teletubbies my attention was immediately hooked, as was the rest of the crowd, I imagine. Of course the headlining bands, such as Basement Jaxx and the Prodigy, were amazing – which didn’t surprise me.

In between bands I took the opportunity to use my new wellies and go search the stalls and other tents – one being the Bollywood tent. I didn’t know it then but this would turn out to be where I would spend a lot of my free time, relaxing on the sofas and listening to the DJ (who wasn’t playing Bollywood music….).

All too soon the first night was over and it was time to head back to the tent and fall asleep to the sound of dance music being played from every possible direction. But that didn’t stop me from sleeping; I’d used up all my energy dancing. I didn’t think that Saturday could get much better, but how wrong could I have been?

After a rain shower in the night I anxiously opened the tent expecting to see black clouds above. To my surprise the sky was blue and the temperature was mild and getting warmer by the minute. After a quick trip to get some breakfast (at one of the many breakfast vans) I headed to the main arena.

By mid-day the music tents were ready to begin playing again and as I had had a great night before I was wanting to get back into the swing of things as soon as possible. First stop the Clash tent, where Annie Mac – a popular DJ amongst Radio 1 listeners – was playing. After dancing to the whole of her DJ set I needed a break and there was no better way to relax than to sit in the sun and watch an amazing Just Jack perform.

As they day went on, the hype was building for Dizzee Rascal and Basement Jaxx, and myself and friends secured a space so we had a good view for what we were hoping were going to be two of the three best performances of the weekend (the third being the Prodigy). And they didn’t disappoint.

After a great two days, would Sunday be a let-down? Surely not – after all, Sunday was the day of the Prodigy, the headlining act for the whole weekend. With no other plan for the day I sat on the hill and watched bands come and go from the main stage, and occasionally wandered into one of the many tents for a dance.

When it was finally time for the Prodigy the excitement was unbearable. It seemed like all of the 35,000 people had come to see the band, and so they should have – they were the highlight of the weekend.

With nothing left to do but go home, RockNess had made my first festival experience an unforgettable one.

© Beth Ray, 2009

Links

• RockNess