Friday 12th July 2013
T in the Park 2013 Programme
The Main Stage
Earlier this year, when I was still in York, my Dad phoned me up with the most exciting news. I was with my Gran and Aunt at the time so he said something to the effect of:
'Don't react or anything because your Mam doesn't know yet, but I've just got us tickets to T in the Park.'
I was so over the moon, I'd seen the line up and wished that I could afford to go. My Dad getting us tickets was like a dream come true. Needless to say I continued walking through Museum Gardens practically bursting with excitement!
So, a couple of weeks ago we travelled up to Scotland for what was my first ever festival. We had non-camping weekend tickets and were actually staying in Glenrothes because there was the closest hotel we could get. Nevertheless, we left on the morning of the 12th of July and were making good time - until we had a minor disaster in the form of a breakdown just outside of Jedburgh. After a two mile there-and-back walk searching for a new expansion tank cap, and several hours in the sun (FYI, not fun for a ginge) the RAC eventually got us back on our way.
In the end we made it to the hotel for around 5pm and were in a taxi by half past, as we'd missed our Citylink bus. Despite this, we made it to Balado Airfield without missing any of the acts we wanted to see. Before we did anything though, we headed to Healthy T where we got something to eat (Bolognese for me and Chicken Arrabiata for Dad, both with a cup of tea.)
Of Monsters and Men
The first band we saw were Of Monsters and Men in King Tut's Wah Wah Tent. I hadn't really heard of them until I was looking for bands in the line up we could see that we hadn't already heard of. As soon as I heard Little Talks I knew we had to see them. I think we were both surprised at the crowd's reaction to them, Of Monsters and Men were obviously bigger than we realised - and boy had we been missing out! They were so good live, and despite only knowing choruses and bits of lyrics here and there I really enjoyed their set. Definitely a band to see next time they're touring.
The Courteeners
Next, we headed over to the Radio 1 Stage to see The Courteeners. Now, I'd seen The Courteeners 4 times at this point, and my Dad had seen them 5 so we were really looking forward to it. Their set was great, they played everything I would have expected them to play in a festival slot, and even a Twitter request in the form of The Opener. It was almost everything I'd expected, a chance to jump about and sing along. But I was a little bit underwhelmed. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE them. But I think I would have preferred them in King Tut's, I think the atmosphere suffered a bit from being outdoors. Maybe it might have been better if we'd been closer. Maybe it was just that I'd had a long day by that point, or that my Dad was nicely tipsy while I couldn't find anything I like to drink. I don't know. Nevertheless, I enjoyed singing along at the top of my voice to one of my favourite bands - I mean, I challenge anyone to resist the crowd pleasing power of Not Nineteen Forever. And as always, I look forward to seeing them the next time they're at Newcastle's O2 Academy.
Mumford and Sons
Finally it was time for Friday's headliners, Mumford and Sons. To be honest, I was kind of tired by this point and I got a bit unnecessarily huffy with my Dad when he wanted to go and get another beer. In the end we went to get a coffee and a hot chocolate (as well as some donuts) and we watched most of Mumford and Sons' set on a bench a bit further back from the crowd. Dad isn't really a big fan of theirs, but I think they're quite good and I really enjoyed the songs that I did know. I loved seeing The Cave live, just because I remember the first time I ever heard it. (I saw the video on MTV Rocks one weekday morning when I was getting ready for school if you're interested...) Oh! And White Blank Page, because it's such a beautiful song.
Me and Dad.
I was really glad to be getting into an actual bed that night, but I really enjoyed day one of T, and I'll tell you all about day 2 very soon... x
Follow my blog with Bloglovin
