2009 Reviews

[BT Rich]

I drove straight after work on Friday to the lovely Endorset, unfortunately I could only stay for the night as had to get back on Saturday to work on the dreaded HSE.

But what a brilliant festival - small enough to care and big enough to cope were my thoughts.

Everything seemed perfectly balanced, coped amazingly with the mud and after what I read from last year I thought the security were brilliant - very polite and kept it low key. The surrounding area is literally stunning and the festival had so much space available.

I loved the smaller stages and the close proximity of everything, basically Endorset is what festivals should be like!! non of this pretentious bollocks of big back stage areas and over priced booze and burgers, which is even creeping into some of the more hippy festivals.

Top notch and you will certainly take some beating this year, well done to all involved.

Will be making sure I am free for the whole weekend next year.

[kyjenni]

I had tickets for Endorse It to celebrate my birthday with a few friends. I managed to get some last minute press tickets for Big Chill as well so I split my time between both. Thursday - Saturday am at Big Chill, Sat - Sun evening at Endorse It then back to Big Chill late Sun and today.

Endorse It was my 10th festival this year (I need to update my signature!) and it was brilliant.

Ladies day fell on my birthday and I loved the outfits and effort everyone went to! Never before have I seen so many unique and individual people in one place which was really refreshing to see. Met so many top people and I've got lots of pictures and video which I will get posted as soon as I can. The toilets and bins were well serviced, lots of people were using their own renewable energy, hardly any litter was being dropped and I was more than happy to walk around in my bare feet.

I will definitely be back next year, thanks to Scott @ eFestivals for recommending!

Damn it, we shouldn't review it too highly, everyone will be wanting to go next year! So to all you lot who missed out this year, I wouldn't come next year, it was shite, the people were horrible, everyone's tents got robbed, the acts rubbish and they didn't even provide toilets.

[northernmonkey2]

Damn it, we shouldn't review it too highly, everyone will be wanting to go next year! So to all you lot who missed out this year, I wouldn't come next year, it was shite, the people were horrible, everyone's tents got robbed, the acts rubbish and they didn't even provide toilets.

[dis]

Amazing festival - i've heard many lovely things about this festi and yep they were all true, this tops my festival experience so far this year, (so far Knockengorroch/Cosmic Puffin/Guilfest/Bom fest- all blinding), but Endorse it has a special something which you ALL need to experience. I'll definately be returning next year.

Merv's set on Saturday night (Eatstatic) was spot on, it was foot stomping, arse kicking, and hearing Pharaoh live for the first time was the cherry on the cake! Kept my sober butt dancing for the whole 90 minutes yey

The sound was brilliant - seriously I spent the second half outside the tent (under the moon and stars) and the quality of sound was just like being at the front, and the projections were so static (apparently nothing to do with Merv so there must be a secret fan there somewhere!

Other highlights.... Hobo Jones and the junkjard dogs (brilliant both times I saw them), Subgiant, Power Steppers, Punk Kareoke (brilliant idea) - to name a few my mind has currently gone blank with happiness of such a brilliant experience, Tarantism, speaking to so many awesome and lovely people!

One downlight..... a few friends got kicked out (bands removed) for rolling a joint!

[Greenish]

it was an amazing festival. from the very start, getting a friendly tow onto site by the amazing farmer boys, and a warm welcome from the staff there.

I loved the size of the site, the variety of music, the friendliness, the loos were clean (except monday morning!) Particularly enjoyed the Blaggers, Hobo Jones, Attila the Stockbroker and the comedy on Sunday night.

Scrumpy Sunday / Ladies day was great but could have been improved by most of the ciders not running out before 5pm - I finished work in the kids area at 5 and was so looking forwards to a pint of Chedder Valley - only to walk to every pub and find none!! Even the pear perry was out!!

A village shop would have also been a big help to me - just for some basics like bread, milk, pasta.

[Shanga]

A village shop would have also been a big help to me - just for some basics like bread, milk, pasta.

[Greenish]

Hi Greenish, there was indeedy a village shop, run by the Scout Group, in the green containers by the main entrance. I think we'll get a bigger sign made up for next year

[sparky1888]

Wot can I say?First time we've been,and wont' be the last.I think we've finally found that special festival at last after trying loads of others.

From the helpful farmer convoy taken us to the entrance on Friday,evryone smiling all weekend,the friendly satff and vendors,and the awesome bands and sound sytems,it was all superb.

Even sitting in our tent just outside the entrance everything,from our neighbours chatting,to the people walking by,and the music was so enjoyable.

Finally thanks to absolutely evreyone for making the weekend so memorable,and look forward to seeing you all again next year(and for as long as it runs).

See ya

Sparky and Debs.

[bugarit]

i agree, the security was pretty low key after what i heard last year,

the kids area was really nice,

as was the pixie chill area (apart from at night when the big security

light was shining near it,. headache!)

for a 'hippy festival' there was a lack of vegetarian food, though a couple of places

did vegie burgers as an option..

the main thing that didn't do it for me was the sound, i could hear the 'music' fine way back at the camper,

i found it really painful in the actual music tents themselves, the best sound quality was definately at a distance away, the strummer area was hard to listen to too because of the loud music coming from near it,.

if the stages were further apart or even, dare i say, turned down a tad it would make a big difference i think.

another badish point but nothing to do with the festival,.

some guys on the top deck of the bus egged our children on to pour water over some woman sunbathing outside.. said woman then lost the plot & scared our children to the point where they didn't want to go back into the festival arena for fear of seeing her! she told them that they'd ruined her entire festival,. i'm glad for her, that it didn't rain!

we met some nice people & some very drunk people & over all had a nice time, the best bit for us would've been the kids area,

oh, & thankyou Mr Tractors

(& shame on you who left your tents & saucepans with stuck on beans that you couldn't be bothered to wash up ect & those who couldn't find one of the many bins around the arena, good luck to the clean up crew)

peace

Edited August 11, 2009 by bugarit

[HENRY'S PHONOGRAPH]

Yet again the Best weekend of the year. Us and all our mates had more laughs than last year and at least 8 of us were hospitalized with split sides in 2008! This festival only ever seems to get better. SEE YOU NEXT YEAR!

Henry's Phonograph and the 'We Aint No Rich Kids' mob.

www.myspace.com/henrysphonograph

[Tomska]

It was my first time and I enjoyed it, in a mellow low-key sort of way.

Pros: Very friendly vibe. Wonderful weather. Nice little site. Great beer & cider.

Cons: Veggie food was a little thin on the ground. Northern soul is nice, but a bit mellow for after-hours tunes (don't think I heard any Drum & Bass all weekend). And at the risk of being controversial, I thought the live music was a bit disappointing too: The headliners were great, but almost every other band seemed to be either a sub-par ska punk band (wasn't that done to death in the 90s already?) or a gypsy punk band of some description.

Hey-ho. We had a nice time - spent most of our time at the reggae bar for the tunes and good tea - but thought the festival was a little tame, to be honest. Roll on the Bestival madness...

[bugarit]

a little tame? bloody 'ell, i like them a little chilled myself but each to their own,

i found it a bit nasty at night for taking the kids around, ( they usually stay up as late as we do)

there were a lot of Ket' victims that couldn't put one foot infront of the other, the kids nearly got trampled several times!

anyway, i didn't know quite how to say it about the music myself, but i agree, there were

also a lot of rubbish cover songs played over the weekend, yawn (sorry),

& if you're going to do gypsy punk it should be these guys

http://www.raggedtrouseredphilanthropists.co.uk/

if they're there next year it would be the high light!

[5co77ie]

The eFestivals' review is now here:

http://www.efestivals.co.uk/festivals/endo...-overview.shtml

[franatic]

a little tame? bloody 'ell, i like them a little chilled myself but each to their own,

i found it a bit nasty at night for taking the kids around, ( they usually stay up as late as we do)

there were a lot of Ket' victims that couldn't put one foot infront of the other, the kids nearly got trampled several times!

anyway, i didn't know quite how to say it about the music myself, but i agree, there were

also a lot of rubbish cover songs played over the weekend, yawn (sorry),

& if you're going to do gypsy punk it should be these guys

http://www.raggedtrouseredphilanthropists.co.uk/

if they're there next year it would be the high light!

[franatic]

fantastic vibe this year excellent bands especially all the ska and reggae-keep it up -if people want folk or gypsy go to trowbridge or sidmouth.this festy is old skool and needs to stay that way.neither should it become a kids festival with designer trolleys full of damp whining kids-like larmer tree.i dont want to trip over peoples kids at one in the morning off my face(not on ket!).the kids should be in bed.leave em at home if you want to stay up all night!

[jo-ann]

Hi guys, I must say we had a great weekend. thanks to the farmers and their tractor rides. I must admit was a bit worried about how the festival grounds would be and was glad to see it was fine.

I do however have a few grevances with the security. I have been attending this festival for the past six years and was very disappointed at their attitude. I accept the fact that they can search bags for such things as checking that no alcohol was not being bought into the site. When they start checking people's wallets, jackets and tobacco pouches, I think it is being taken too far. A friend of mine, who was pregnant, was also asked to lift her top! Wonder what was going to be underneath that!! In all the years I have been attending Endorse it, I have never seen any trouble, just people having a good time. Isn't that what it is all about?

I also missed the main stage, hope that it can come back next year!

Once again though, thanks for making it a fantastic weekend, we really did enjoy it.

[Dorset Bear]

I’m sitting here at work on a grim & wet “summer” day remembering better times.

We had a great time at the “Endorse It In Dorset” festival & the weather was kind to us which made life chilled & easy. Not many major names but the standard of the bands playing really was excellent and the festival had a very friendly atmosphere (possibly because of the lack of big-name-acts). The crowd were a mix of age groups, hippies, dreads, punks, rude boys & farmers – a “Chav-Free Zone” – and lots of smoking and drinking was done by all and with little or no fuss.

I was surprised to hear that people didn’t like the children being there as I thought it added to the friendly atmosphere and my girls (ages 3 & 6) loved the music and didn’t whine, cry or trip up any drunks.

I thought the Tent/Stages worked well – a great atmosphere inside the tent and good enough sound outside the tent for those that wanted a little more space.

The highlights for me were:

Dreadzone showed their class, looked as if they were really enjoying themselves and kept us all dancing late into the night.

Bosch Stacey – These brothers delivered a great dance session that picked me up after a long and tiring day and would give The Chemical Brothers a run for their money – I hope we see more of them in the future.

Zion Train, Subgiant & The Power Steppers all delivered some sweet dub and dance beats.

Ed Rome showed off his talent and I loved both the mixed style set and the great ska set. The Guns Of Naverone were so much fun & played all our favourite ska classics - my girls are still singing “Monkey Man”.

Pronghorn & Who’s Afear’d were real crowd pleasers and Hobo Jones & The Junkyard Dogs are a “must see” band playing their Skiffle/Punk fusion (“Skunk Rock”) complete with tea-chest bass and wash-board - although Wino Tyrone also “played” guitar & fiddle and I suspect many other instruments besides ... and by “played” I mean “played with a hammer”

Attila The Stockbroker was impossible to miss as he appeared to join in with any band that would let him on stage, and although I didn’t catch many of the punk bands, judging by the sore throats on Sunday morning, it sounded like they put on a good show too.

I left with a fistful of new CDs & bands to try out – I feel a mix-tape coming on. I would have bought more but some bands didn’t have any to sell and others sold out quickly – more stock next year please!

I also really enjoyed the small stuff that was going on - the open mike lounge & Strummerville campfire, Pixie-Chill, the scrap sculpture, The woodland area, the kids circus skills and “La Petite Discoteque” a full-on 70’s disco in a 3mx3m gazebo!

The security, from what I experienced, was reassuringly present but unobtrusive. The Ringwood beer was in excellent condition (good choice of brewery) and the Food was generally good and fairly priced – by comparison, last week I went to a “Good Pub Guide” recommended pub and was served sour beer and the Ploughman’s Lunch was £8.50!

Things that I would like to see for next year - & I’m being picky now ‘cus I thought it was ALL good;

1/ A little more veggie food – and I’m a card-carrying carnivore!

2/ A “corner shop” selling bread & milk etc – sorry Scouts but even people working on the event didn’t know you were there.

3/ Put a string of lights over the porta-loos – they were kept fairly clean during the day but got progressively worse during the night when people couldn’t see.

4/ More old sofas please – it was soooo good to sit in a comfy chair and chill for 20mins.

5/ More bins or more reminders to use the bins provided. There’s was no reason for any litter at all.

6/ A “child step” at the back of the tents by the mixing desk so that the younger kids can see what’s going on.

7/ Make “La Petite Discoteque” a permanent fixture!

A big thanks to the organisers, volunteers and bands for a memorable weekend, to the farm staff that ferried us through the mud on tractors, and to Mike Belgrave – I didn’t catch your show but you enthralled my kids for nearly an hour on Sunday night making extraordinary balloon hats and generally just letting them jump all over you!

I’d be happy to see a lot of the bands on next year’s bill and we hope to see you all again (as do my whining hazards to drunken mobility).