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home » festivals » Endorse-It In-Dorset » Endorse-It In-Dorset 2008
Dreadzone leave Endorse-It breathless as festival climaxesEndorse-It In-Dorset 2008 reviewThursday 14th August 2008 Sunday, cider hangover, and Hobo Jones & the Junkyard Dogs on the mainstage early with some special guests, wearing dresses and a bin lid solo, what more could you ask for? The arena is traversable, so a breakfast on the roof of some wagon with a vista of the site, including watching tractors towing a few people's cars in and out!  Oh it's a bit muddy but worse where heavy plant and cars have been driving over it, however, here in the arena it's not too bad, but we do end up wearing those giant mud boots. After a while on the 'naughty step' for last night's shenanigans I buy a skirt to salute the ladies, it's only £2.50 from one of the cheap clothes shops. The number of men in frocks is amusing though, and it's good to see so many prepared to join in, although some appear to enjoying it a little too much! The bar opens, it's psycho-billy Sunday so I go in search of a flat top, eventually finding the hair salon, but my hair's a bit too wild and they have scissors not clippers in a tent with no electric. So we wander about, do kids tent stuff, watch a few bands on the Wreckon Stage, we go to Axe Factor, but it's a rave instead. Really enjoy a dance about to Vibronics, and more boogie-ing about in the sun, with a singalong with the best festival band around Back To The Planet, and a bit of saxophone flavoured Ed Rome, before the psychobilly tunes kick in.  Wild green girl and Optic Nerves, scorching white double bass lines and psychotic grins from Luna Vegas, and Nigel Lewis & The Zorchmen are a right treat, the latter should have headlined, Choppy hits fat slap bass notes that must blister and Daddy Is A Vampire is just rippin'. Ginger Meadham hits the skins with passion and it's my highlight of the weekend. Alabama 3's entertaining set drags me away from Fabulous Penetrators, a lost child, the site design means never for long, means a wander about until she's found in the comedy tent watching a clown murder perpetrated by Hacksaw and Lobotomy. Back to the DD Stage for the magnificent Highliners with 'On the Benny Hills' and 'Henry The Wasp'. Before more sweaty dancing to Dreadzone with all the favourites "Arrrhoy!!" with 'Captain Dread', 'Little Britain', and 'Iron Shirt', I've seen them a lot this summer but they are damn good! A perfect end to a great weekend. And, what other festival can you wander through a crowd full of the bands who have played over the weekend, and have a chat to the musicians. The main stage bar seems a bit edgy and full of old school revellers and plastered folk, so we buy our beer, (there's still barrels left, yeah!) and wander up to Wig On Disco for a groovy dance about about and a chat outside on the hardened mud, friends come by and we say our goodbyes. Eventually we realise our legs are wobblin' and we're yawning a lot – exhaustion hits us, and after a day on our feet we're ready for bed, we swing by the bar for a last beer, the place is still quite busy, and we head for the tent. We've had a wonderful weekend and danced 'til we dropped, it's been terrific. We pack up the next day, and have no trouble getting off site. We say our goodbyes unable to leave quickly, we don't want such a great weekend to be over. The guys take the fences down in the time it takes us to pack our tent. I've seen far less trouble than last year, there's still been some battered people, (why do people take off their face drugs, they don't seem to enjoy it much) but there's less of the in yer face trashed folk of previous years. With the festival growing into a proper festival attracting a wider audience, I guess there's had to be a few changes. The main one being the visible security guys, looking much more 'professional' and pretty much in the background, occasionally visible looking in the arena tents. Last year I did find out they couldn't cope - with some traders saying they wouldn't be back after intimidation and thefts, least all that has gone. They spent their time dealing with casualties in the festival in the main, checking on people's welfare, in a nice way, most of whom had had too much to drink. The music was great, not a hint of bland indie rubbish, and we get a CD to remember it all with - brilliant. The whole site was amazingly clean. The loos have been way too clean for a punk festival, and the food and drink was all delicious. Old school but without the trots or the trash or the trouble! Endorse It in Dorset has cemented itself as one of my family's favourite festivals, an inexpensive, small, family friendly festivals, with buggies still able to cope with the mud. The family camping did seem a bit too out of the way, but the bonus of that is less drunk randoms rolling up, and being at the top of the hill meant it was less muddy, and it was well served with toilets. A big thanks to the organisers and LGO and everyone concerned with putting on this well set out, entertaining little festival. I noticed how hard everyone involved in setting it up, and continued to work all weekend to keep the place running smoothly. The mud didn't put people off, it wasn't deep or sticky, and even in a wet year we enjoyed the weekend, what a friendly atmosphere, see you next year.  review by Scott Williams photos by Karen Williams
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