2009 Highlights

[fullfathom5]

Charlatans, Zutons & Idlewild all pulled off their headline slots in my view. Great weather, the staff chicken curry was rather tasty, Vinny Discoboots' bar team were top, and there was a really hot girl working for Bulmers. Roll on next year!

Edited August 19, 2009 by fullfathom5

[Tomisme]

David Thomas Broughton....... well, I guess it's just me but everyone is raving about him and I absolutely hated it! Guess he must be a Marmite act but I know I'm in the minority.

Edited August 19, 2009 by Tomisme

[chutney]

My highlights were:

the beat, the qemists, megadub, mr huson and pear cider in the sunshine. had a fab weekend with great people, including some e-festers. thanks everyone xx

[5co77ie]

mine are:

Frank Turner

Imelda May

Mum

Easy Star All Stars

Mr Plow

Sound Of Rum

Maybeshewill

Tietur

Kingsize

Tommy Womack

John Smith

The Domino State

Jim Jones Review

Mr Hudson

I wonder how many are Leicester bands?

Edited August 19, 2009 by 5co77ie
to ask question

[RichardH]

mine are:

Frank Turner

Imelda May

Mum

Easy Star All Stars

Mr Plow

Sound Of Rum

Maybeshewill

Tietur

Kingsize

Tommy Womack

John Smith

The Domino State

Jim Jones Review

Mr Hudson

I wonder how many are Leicester bands?

[diamondt]

Off the top of my head

Kid British

Megadub

Kingsize

Easy Star All Stars

Sound of Rum

New Beautiful South

St Ettienne

Edited August 20, 2009 by diamondt

[llcoolphil]

Ok a week on and suffering the post-SSW blues feel obliged to write a few thoughts about this year's festival.

I'll get my minor gripes out the way early. I wasn't keen on the Bulmer's cider exclusivity deal. Equally, Im not a huge cider drinker and losing the option for a couple of pints of 8.5% to tip me over the edge may not be a bad thing! And it keeps the ticket price down. My other gripe is that some of the write-ups in the programme were nonsense.

There are, however, plus points in abundance.

Bar prices and selection was fantastic. Cocktails again amazing at bargain prices again (Id still love the jug option back though!) and bar staff to a person warm and friendly and helpful - how many festivals have that selection of ale and let you have a taste before you buy? Vincent Discoboots' and The Orange Tree's efforts are to be truly applauded (when a member of staff will let you plug your phone in a socket to quickly get some charge in it so mum can ring son, you know bar staff want you to have a great time!!)

Staff across the site warm and friendly and helpful. The campsite staff were brilliant and I loved the way they stopped for a chat as they were wandering about doing their job. The girl checking wristbands on staurday and sunday had a quality line in repartee!

Complete wasters again did a fantastic job - like really fantastic job. I think all of us who do it right with bags and litter should be a bit more forthcoming with those who don't. It's not hard to chuck stuff in a bin (the right bin) - maybe a friendly word by all of us now and again would make that point to everyone whio finds it a challenge? Same with fag ends. The two smokers in my group of peeps managed to not drop one all weekend - even when our pleasured state might have meant otherwise. Maybe next year I'll wander round with film containers and remind smokers what to do with them?!! Be another excuse for random banter at least! Is there an argument for making 'glasses'refundable? Add 10p to the price that you get back when you take it back? Works well in other places.

I loved the expanded village, it was great place to chill out chatting in, watching the world go by. It'd be great if there was a way of keeping the area open later next year.

I loved the presence of the charity/message stalls. There feels, to me at least, like there is a really cohesive message that underpins SSW about the planet and the people on it and trying to love and look after each other a bit better. When you come from East Lancashire as I do, a place where it's suddenly become acceptable to elect fascists again, the prominence of the 'Love Music Hate Racism' stall is encouraging - though not as encouraging as the number of young people who bought into the message with a t shirt. Im not sure how SSW have managed it (and I mentioned it to Richard and he wasn't either!) but this was the most diverse crowd Ive encountered at SSW, possibly any festival - I reckon that for the first time at a festival, the majority of non-white faces may have been in the crowd rather than on a stage or working. Whatever SSW is doing to attract the local communities, it needs to keep doing it.

The music covered it's usual diversity of something there for most. Id like to see more dancey stuff next year (Dont get drawn into littlecar, leprekorn and diamondt's hippity-hoppity/grime requests mullarkey though Richard please! I tease) and some proper raucousness on the mainstage (maybe there was and I missed it), definitely more ska too - the sunday afternoon ska slot always gets the tent bouncing. But I saw some rerally good stuff again this year.

Phrased and Confused is an absolutely brilliant part of this festival. And I saw some quality comedy this year too.

But, again, the highlight for me was the people there. Had some brilliant chat's with people I haven't met (they may not say the same tbf!) and met some great new people at the efest meet - some I allegedly met last year but reckon people were making that up to confuse me. And met a couple of great e festers who weren't at the meet but had spotted the t shirt and stopped for a chat. But the festival really is made for me by reacquainting with old friends, some I see at other festivals, some I see just at SSW. Diamondt, Leprekorn, Michala, Steve, Helen (and the lads) - life feels lucky when you have these people to spend toime with again. Brilliant to meet Katie too and hope you'll be there next year. Man with a hat who I see every year - have you got on these boards yet? - always brilliant to see you at nearly every band Im at - a proper fixture in my SSW experience!

Richard and team - thanks, another brilliant weekend

[vegetableman]

One week after . . . .

OK, here we go. The best bands I saw were:

Friday - Oi Va Voi, Ash Grunwald, Beardyman, múm

Saturday - Yellow Moon Band, Jim Jones Revue, Hugh Cornwell, Charlatans

Sunday - Monotonix, Micachu and the Shapes, Easy Star All Stars, First Aid Kit

Somewhere, I've got videos of all these

And if I had to choose . . . First Aid Kit. 'This song is dedicated to the blond boy sitting on the barrel' LOL