The Prodigy, and Pendulum rock the crowds at Global Gathering

Being a regular attendee to rock and indie music festivals a la Glastonbury, Leeds, and V etc it was with some excitement and also some fear, in that I didn’t know what I was letting myself in for, when I accepted the assignment to attend Global Gathering for eFestivals. Being someone who has never even been to a rave I decided to take along a friend who was, to put it mildly, a bit of a dance nut, for some guidance as to which acts to see.

Travelling around Stratford Upon Avon I was taken aback with how beautiful the area was, however this was soon shattered when we entered the Long Marston Airfield, to the left of the entrance are the remains of a long ago abandoned air museum with various decaying, rotten, airplanes from a long distant past, behind some very rotten wire meshed fencing. We where guided into the car park which doubled up at some time in the past as a football pitch, maybe they still played football on it but judging by the state of the posts it looked like a long time since a ball had been kicked between them.

We head to the ticket office to collect our tickets / wristbands, to get there we had to walk along what I presume was either a very old road or one of the old runways, this was covered in rubble & crumbling surface, when the various security jeeps or police vehicles sped passed they caused a huge dust cloud to blow up in the air & wishing we had brought some breathing PPA along with some sheets to protect our now dusty clothes we made our way along to the ticket office.

We passed the temporary police station, yes a temporary police station, now maybe they don't have much crime in Stratford Upon Avon but we saw far to many police to count along with at least fifteen police vehicles, this was over policing on a massive scale. If you live in Stratford Upon Avon I can only apologise if you where a victim of crime as all your police force where at Global Gathering making sure we behaved ourselves.

We get our wristbands very quickly & enter the arena, upon entering we are told by the steward we cannot bring the cans of cider in we are drinking, as they are the wrong brand, to what is being sold inside!!! So our cans where promptly dumped into the bin provided, we are then stopped by the police and asked if we had any illegal substances we would like to hand over, we didn't and were then searched. Some unlucky souls where then escorted to the huge police tent where there where many sealed rooms which I assumed where for strip searching, ouch!!!!

We enter through the VIP area where there are tables & chairs covered by witches hat type roofing, there is also spa area where for free you can take advantage of the Jacuzzi or hot spa tubs, bathing costumes and lockers are provided, there was quite a queue for this facility so we didn't actually manage to partake, but those who did seemed to have a great time. The VIP toilets are of the trailer type as opposed to the portaloos, which where a blessing however there where long queues to use these all weekend.

On entering the site I staggered by how close the small stages are to the main stage, and watching the main stage was a struggle to hear against the smaller tents particularly against the Fantazia Dubstep stage which tried its hardest all weekend to compete against the levels of the Main stage.

The main arena is not a very attractive site, with wide roads / runways running though the middle of stage areas, but I guess you don't go to a dance festival to enjoy the surroundings.

All the stages are branded with various products ranging from cider to dance label brands & although looking very commercial I had to say there wasn't that much commercialisation by the organisers. There is no merchandise stall for example, if there was it was very well hidden, there is a very large fun fair element but even this was far away enough from the arenas to not be intrusive.

Our first serious band of the day was to be The Prodigy who headlining the Main stage but where due to finish at eleven which I thought was early considering the majority of stages stayed open until two.
The Prodigy where their usual hyperactive selves, half hour late getting on stage, they rip through Breathe, Firestarter, Invaders Must Die & Smack My Bitch Up. Keith Flint & Maxim regularly square up to each other as though they are dance gladiators about to go into battle, Maxim even runs through the crowd using the railed corridor created between the VIP circle & the main arena.

Pleased with the great set just witnessed we make our way to the Godskitchen tent where David Guetta is playing some chart tunes I actually knew & even spun his own hit single Love Is Gone. Next up a quick run to the nearby Global tent to catch a band I have been trying to see for a while now Pendulum. Having only heard the singles alone I thoroughly enjoyed their set, the lights where fantastic, the crowd where up for it and even my dance friend enjoyed their set. Lead singer Rob Swire leaps of the stage with no cares for his own safety high into the air without even looking where he will land, highlight of the set was definitely Propane Nightmares.

We end up in another tent with a DJ playing whose name I don't remember and dance the night away until three when we decide to call it a night.

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