|
|
home » festivals » Endorse-It In-Dorset » Endorse-It In-Dorset 2010
it's a vintage year for Endorse-ItEndorse-It In-Dorset 2010 reviewThursday 12th August 2010 Set in fields the hue of scrumpy, golden and tanned in the sun, Endorse-It this year is distinctly punk flavoured (in memory of Malcolm Maclaren) although banjo bands, dance acts, reggae, and guitar bands along with local acts are also in attendance for a weekend of frock and roll. Despite the punk heavy bill the vibe this year felt more relaxed and upbeat than ever before. As the logo for the festival says - quality assured, and you can be assured it is. The punk theme meant the music choice had perhaps narrowed even more and the positioning of the open mic stage (a pimped up caravan) right next to the Bus Bar Stage (and of course the Endorse-It Bus) did mean half the time one of the acts playing totally drowned out the other. Another soundclash was to be found up at the Dance tent where the Purple Purge Crew had their own vibrant tent right beside them. No such problem with the Desmond Dekker (main) stage, Wig-On Casino, the other open mic stage which also housed Teasy Pleasy Burlesque, or the Comedy Stage. As long as you weren't trying to watch a band the noisy hubbub from the various tents added to the lively atmosphere of the festival which seemed much fuller with the better use of space leaving less empty areas.
The attendees seemed a varied bunch this year, the usual old school punks with their families, the festival regulars, and locals, joined by more teens, and more older folk, providing an even wider age range. There were much more people (blokes) prepared to get involved in getting into dresses on ladies day, some seeming to enjoy it so much they were still thus attired the next day. There was also an impressive amount thought put into dressing up this year with the 'Festival Queen Award' a close fought event. Okay, so Scrumpy Sunday resulted in a few casualties sleeping in the sun, but responsible drinking didn't lead to any trouble flaring, and I saw not a hint of trouble all weekend. That's not to say there wasn't any, unfortunately there was a spate of thefts from tents on the opening night, something that afflicts many festivals each summer. It's at this point I should perhaps mention the facilities, whilst remaining well stocked with loo paper most of the time and without hand sanitizer (take your own), they did get in a bit of state late in the night, although the ones that were less (or not) illuminated were the best option. However each morning, including the Monday, they were once again clean and tidy. So whilst not pristine all weekend they were working, not too far to get to, and never with a queue in front of them. On Sunday, the urinals provided frock wearing male festival goers the chance to use the line "Is this the ladies?" which after the thousandth time just isn't funny anymore.
The music was a lovely mix of festival strength punk, rock, ska, dub, dance and reggae with a scrumpy & (south) western flavour in parts too. For the music review of the weekend click here. This is the seventh year, and was surely the best one yet, with a classic vintage feel to it. A terrific atmosphere and more boys than ever taking up the chance to rock out with their frock out. A weekend of great scrumpy, and upbeat music with a much more punk flavour to remember one of punk's luminaries. For those that like their festivals more D.I.Y. and organic, sensibly priced, and without the more commercial trappings of other festivals I would wholly recommend it, or should that be I heartily endorse it!?. A big thanks to the organisers LGO, the stewards, the low key security, those behind the scenes, the bar staff, the caterers, the bands, the friends I met, and all of those who went, and you for reading this.  review by Scott Williams photos by Karen Williams 
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
eFestivals is 
