If you follow me on Twitter, Instagram or are a regular reader of my blog then you probably already know that I spent last weekend at T in the Park. If you don't know what T in the Park is let me fill you in its Scotland's largest music festival that takes place the second weekend of July every year, it recently moved home from Balado to Strathallan. Let's get the bad out of the way first with it being a new site there were a few teething problems at the festival with narrow roads leading to and from the festival, lots of delays, queuing and the roads had a one way system which made getting an ambulance or police to someone difficult with a long wait. A bus I was on had to wait over an hour for an ambulance for a man who had a seizure which isn't great. The site was on the small side for such a big festival with not much space between stages making for a fight through the crowd to get to where you wanted to go but saying all that over the weekend you could see that the TITP team were actively trying to sort the problems, hopefully come next year the festival wont seems so disorganised. Once in the arena the real fun began and I had an amazing time with my friends - I even braved the big wheel which is a big step for me!
Friday was a fun start to the festival when we arrived it was cloudy but dry so we grabbed some cider and wine then made our way to the main stage to catch some of The Wombats, we also saw Hozier. As Rudimental took to the stage my friends and I headed to the big wheel, this was a big deal for me as I'm scared of heights as we stood in the queue I got more and more nervous by we couldn't how many times it went round and most people were going round twice. I could deal with twice so we stepped into our carriage and I gripped on for my life at first I couldn't look out but I'm glad I did it was scary but the view was gorgeous, I counted as we went round SIX TIMES! After coming of the big wheel I was glad to have my feet on solid ground and we made our way over the slam tent for a dance then went to see Sam Smith play the main stage in the evening and he was so good, I've seen him before and didn't love him but this time he was great. His voice just melted over the crowd and he played a cover of Amy Winehouse and Elvis as well as his own hits. We also caught a bit of Fat Boy Slim in the packed King Tuts Wah Wah tent and it was insane, there was so much energy and everyone was having a great time. Lastly we ended the night seeing Kasabian headlining the main stage and they never disappoint I've seen them live a few times and they always put on a good show.
Saturday saw massive queues and chaos to get into the arena but once in it turned calmer, after grabbing a few drinks we caught a little bit of Seasick Steve before exploring the festival. A few of my friends got their face painted and went on a ride before my friend Sam and I went to see Marina and the Diamonds in the King Tuts Wah Wah Tent, Marina looked and sounded amazing. From there we headed to the main stage to meet my friends Janelle and Toni and catch Years and Years set by this time the rain was on but that didn't dampen our spirits, we then caught George Ezra at the main stage and he sounded brilliant. With the rain still trickling down -you know that annoying stop start light rain - we went to see The Vaccines play the BBC Three/Radio 1 stage and they were great I don't think I stopped dancing the entire set! After the Vaccines we grabbed a bite to eat, I had yummy fajitas and spicy wedges washed down with a rain diluted cider lovely. Soon the rain became heavier and the tents were full so we caught a bit of Alt-J on the Radio 1 stage, I've wanted to see Alt-J for a while now but feared they'd be a little boring and they were which is a shame as I do like their music but they just aren't the most exciting live band. We finished the night by seeing Twin Atlantic headline the BBC Three/Radio 1 stage and the guys were bloomin' brilliant, I feel like each time I see them they get better and better. They interact well with the audience and the whole set was packed with energy, they are brilliant live and it's good to see them so high up the line up.
The traffic queues on Sunday trying to get in were the worst from the weekend but once off the bus it was the easiest day for getting into the arena. We started the afternoon by seeing James Bay, he was excellent and can I just say he has cheekbones for days! After James Bay we and what felt like the rest of TITP made our way over to the BBC Three/Radio 1 stage to see Catchfish and the Bottlemen and they pulled possibly the biggest crowd of the weekend (if not one of them) it was uncomfortably busy and made worse by the heat after that we went to see Paloma Faith and she looked fabulous and sounded great. The last act we saw before heading home was Stereophonics who played the main stage, the crowd was packed and it was a lovely evening with the sun beginning to set they played a great set filled their classic songs and new songs they ended on one of my all time favourite summer songs 'Dakota' it was the perfect ending to the weekend.
My friends and I had a brilliant time at T in the Park as did everyone we bumped into over the weekend, the festival got a bit of a hard time by fans and the press over the weekend as it hadn't run as smooth as it did in Balado, it's former location. But I've been going to T in the Park for 6 years and it didn't put me off going back again next year it just needs a few tweaks. I've seen so many negative things about T in the Park since the festival took place and I'm not saying it was perfect, staff needed better training, the roads and buses needed better management and the arena needs to be bigger and better laid out, but other issues like drug taking and stampedes are down to the people, it's the people who choose to act like that and do these things. People need to take responsibility for their actions and not blame the organisers, us festival goer need to look after ourselves and the other festival goers.
