Dreadzone and Waterboys dazzle at Tartan Heart

I'll be honest, I was slightly less inclined to go to Belladrum this year after the cold and rain of last year. Having said that, Dreadzone, Pete Wylie, Sergeant, Lemonheads, Edwyn Collins, and the Waterboys were all on the bill, and we had such a good time at the Wickerman that it would just be wrong to leave it a month to another festival, so I decided to go back.

And man, am I glad that I did go! Despite the always treacherous three hour drive up the A9, despite a lack of signs through Inverness, despite some threatening looking dark clouds, despite all that we still made it and made it in good time and even some sunshine. Things were looking promising and it was all gonna be good.

First things first: Belladrum is a beautiful location - a couple of miles out of Beauly, the drive out there north from Inverness is magical from the outset, hugging the coast of the sparkling Moray Firth as you head towards the mountains, always with the promise of spotting some dolphins escorting you on your way.

The festival itself is situated in the grounds of an estate, and the main stage, the Garden stage, is in a near-perfect natural amphitheatre, surrounded by hundred year old trees with grass banks providing organic seating in front of the stage, all topped off by a beautiful wicker heart lit up in the dark. There are quiet and family campsites, complete with a horse and cart collecting the rubbish, and this year the organisers had thoughtfully provided metal sheeting around the gates of the campervan and caravan site so the likelihood of needing to be towed out by a tractor was much diminished.

So, new tent put up, beds made up, cup of tea had, scene set and it was off to Bella '08.

On Friday afternoon I was strangely drawn to the smallest stage first, called the Potting Shed; it's no more than a large sized garden shed with one side cut off to make an improvised stage. Improvised being a special feature of this temporary arena as most of the weekends music was turn up, book a slot and play. To be honest I don't even know the name of the first band that I saw. They were all sporting military fatigues and playing a great selection of folk rock to a couple of hundred people. After that I wandered over to see highland favourites, The Vatersay Boys. They didn't disappoint, opening with 'The Kiss from The Last of the Mohicans', covering 'Caledonia', and as if they couldn't do anymore to make me happy, The Pogues too.



Orkestra del Sol who I'd never heard of before this festival grabbed my attention with the sounds wafting from the Venus Flytrap tent. They were awesome. I only caught the last couple of songs but I will never forget the sight of the tent emptying as hundreds of people danced out of and around it in a huge conga, that and the crazy man with the giant French horn type instrument. They are described on their MySpace site as having all the swagger of a Balkan wedding band, the vibrancy of a Caribbean festival and the flair of a Latin ballroom. Need I say more? Check them out if you get a chance.

Around teatime I decided to check out Edinburgh's answer to Arcade Fire in Broken Records. They did not disappoint and stick out as something different from the bland mainstream of music. 'A Good Reason' was the stand out track from a band to look out for in the remainder of 2008. Into the evening Jefferson Starship descended onto the main stage. In a bizarre experience the rockers form the 60's performed to the teenyboppers who had booked their places for Scouting later on. Still as the youngsters were given a lesson in folk rock the crowd seemed to take it all in especially 'Maybe for You'.



Later on, I stuck my head into the Hothouse Tent for a bit of Idlewild, who I know I am supposed to get excited about, but I just can't. And then there was Scouting for Girls on the Garden stage, who everyone seemed to love, but who I also heard described, after some fairly suspect and shameless plundering of more talented musicians' crowd pleasers (specifically Elvis' 'Can't Help Falling In Love' and The Proclaimers' 'I'm Gonna Be 500 miles', as "a karaoke band". Whatever, the crowd was happy and went back to the campsite singing away.

Saturday dawned dank and dreary and it rained for much of the morning. We drank lots of cups of tea and ate lots of bacon rolls and by lunchtime the rain had eased off, so fully layered and waterproofed and wellie-booted up, absolutely prepared for the worst the weather could chuck at us, we headed back into the arena. It was time to savour some of the other festival delights and in an ever-increasing, totally unexpected and hugely welcome sunshine, with layers coming off one by one, we spoke to a man playing a didgeridoo, we watched a giant Scotsman on stilts play the bagpipes and ran away v quickly when his 'pantomime dog' rolled over and started 'pee-ing' on the audience.

I avoided the kiddies area for most of the weekend – I dunno why but in my experience my kids are better behaved if I don't succumb to their demands and I bribe them with the promise of glow-sticks and one ice cream per weekend instead. And having spent hours there last year, I felt it was more important this year – particular as they get a wee bit older – that they spent time soaking up the music than anything else, particularly since the weather was turning out so fine.

From what I did see, the kids area looked really good – story telling and craft tents, face-painting, the very welcome presence of the Highland Real Nappy Network and an ice-cream van. There was even a crèche for 3-5 year olds, which might reduce the need to push a buggy with one hand and try to carry squishy disposable beer glasses in the other, although, it has to be said that Tartan Heart is one of the few places where this is actually almost socially acceptable.



One place I went back to on more than one occasion was the Food from Argyll area, where I had the best salmon bap I have ever tasted, whether at a festival or not, and the kids later had the best macaroni cheese we have ever had too. Maybe I am getting older but there is a lot to be said for quality produce like this at festivals - I got food poisoning from a very dodgy salmon meal at a festival several years ago and have been wary of festival food ever since, but this food area absolutely put every bad burger and jumbo sausage joint in the history of catering to shame.

But back to the music. In the absence of a festival-stealing set from A3 like Bella last year or the Wickerman this year, it is fair to say that Dreadzone more than stepped up to the mark and were, in my opinion, the band of the weekend. They were absolutely on fire and the audience loved 'em, and mine weren't the only kids getting' on down to rhythm and bass from the 90s on their parents' shoulders. I have said it before and I will say it again but this is the great thing about festivals – your kids get to experience (in a much less addled way obviously) the music that shaped their parents' lives – and it must be amazing for them to experience something as powerful as Dreadzone's passion for politics and dance and dub at such a formative age. Apart from them sound performances were put in by the following up and coming Scottish bands; Sergeant, AtticLights, Punch and the Apostils as well as established bands like Cold War Kids and The Lemonheads.



I only saw the end of Pete Wylie but I heard most of his set and he sounded great, finishing with a climatic version of 'Sinful', my all time favourite Wylie tune, to a delighted and even tuneful crowd. I then had to split my time between Edwyn Collins and The Waterboys; Edwyn Collins' set started off brilliantly, although I was slightly distracted by my children attacking a harmless hippy and making him entertain them.

Then it was back to the Garden stage for the rest of The Waterboys. They put on a good show, 'The Whole of the Moon' putting in an early and crowd-pleasing sing-a-long appearance, and finishing with a really tight mash up. And then in perfect synchronicity with the start of the impressive End of Festie Fireworks, Mike Scott graciously thanked his fellow musicians.



So all in all Bella 2008 was an awesome weekend, the weather was great and really made it the success it was - oh yeah, and the hard work, commitment and dedication that the team behind it put in justifies the growing reputation of a successful family fun-time weekend.

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