T in the Park 2012
Friday 6th to Sunday 8th July 2012Balado, nr Kinross. Scotland, KY13 0NJ, Scotland MAP
£199 full weekend with Thursday camping
Daily capacity: 85,000
There were unsurprisingly a number of people who decided to call it a day after Saturday at T; a combination of the rain, followed by the mud seemed to be too much for some people and stories of vans getting stuck proved too much for some who decided to flee the event. Heading up for the final day albeit a bit tired and weary the weather seemed to be holding out, something which seemed to be perking up everyone's spirits. However, the mud was even more difficult to wade through, which hadn't been accounted for when planning time. It was for this reason that unfortunately Rita Ora could only be heard as the long trek from the entrance to the NME stage took far longer than anticipated. It became clear that this day would take some forward planning and careful manoeuvring to make the most of the acts.
As a female, one of the issues with big festivals like T in the Park has to undoubtedly be the toilets. Let's face it, by day three the turdises are never going to be the nicest, and with the mud turning into large pools, a wait in that was less than appealing. One of the saving graces had to be the 'LadyWeeWee' facilities offered by WaterAid; selling 'P-Mate' packs enabling the females to use their own urinals since this is an unusual addition the facilities were much quieter, had practically non-existent queues and were impressively clean. Plus with profits going to charity, it helped the conscientious festival goer to give something back.
The pace of the afternoon changed dramatically with the arrival of Chase & Status; the drum'n'bass DJs Saul Milton and Will Kennard aimed to get the main stage jumping and bouncing along with hits such as Blind Faith, even bringing out earlier seen Maverick Sabre as he collaborated on Fire In Your Eyes. Hardened fans would have gotten a lot out of their set, yet most of their songs remain relatively unknown, except the bigger name partnership's such as 'End Credits' with Plan B also proving a popular hit during their set.
Catching the end of Elbow however just highlighted how wrong a decision I had made the band led by Guy Garvey proved exactly why they're firm favourites, ending their set with the anthemic 'One Day Like This' finishing off with the crowd chanting the chorus over and over.
And so again there came a choice for who to end the festival with; Kasabian, or Swedish House Mafia. With the Swedish trio of DJs having recently announced a split, and this being their last ever Scottish date, it seemed fitting to close off the weekend with them over at the NME stage. They most certainly pulled out all the stops for this performance; smoke machines positioned in the audience to create atmosphere, pyrotechnics and fire on stage and a powerhouse of their songs meant the Sunday night went out in true style. Recent hit 'Greyhound' was received well, but nothing could prepare for how crazy the audience would go when 'Miami 2 Ibiza' was played every member of the heaving crowd yelling the lyrics before jumping with a renewed energy. They even brought out the old school hits with 'Encore Une Fois' before holding up Scottish flags while remixing 'You've Got The Love with One (Your Name)'. And in keeping with the theme of the weekend, the song of the moment being Gotye's 'Somebody I Used To Know', they managed to mix that in before bringing their last Scottish date to a close with confetti blasted into the audience as 'Save The World' blared out, rain teeming down again but not a soul caring.
All that left was the obligatory lone piper playing 'Flower of Scotland', Geoff Ellis' closing speech to the chant of "here we fucking go" and a firework display before it was time to make the long trip back home. With adverts appearing everywhere for next years 20th T in the Park birthday promising to be a huge weekend, it's clear Ellis and organisers are already looking ahead to the future. After a good weekend, let's do it all over again. Just less mud next time, please.
review by: Clare Sinclair
photos by: Greg Forbes
Latest Updates
T in the Park
festival home page
festival home page
last updated: Wed 20th Apr 2022
Radiohead to headline the new three-day Glasgow festival?
happening in gap left by T in the Park
happening in gap left by T in the Park
last updated: Mon 28th Nov 2016
T in the Park announces it is to take a break
citing conditions put upon them by Scottish Government Ministers & ospreys
citing conditions put upon them by Scottish Government Ministers & ospreys
last updated: Thu 24th Nov 2016
T in the Park organisers consider hosting a new festival in Glasgow in July
but it won't be a T in the Park replacement
but it won't be a T in the Park replacement
last updated: Mon 21st Nov 2016
why raising the festival attendance age to 21 is not the answer
and will probably just make deaths from drugs worse
and will probably just make deaths from drugs worse
last updated: Thu 11th Aug 2016