Kendal Calling 2012

[kaytee...]

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Edited August 1, 2012 by kaytee...

[Jacko450]

Do you have to be called Tim to get an invite or something?

[ramragon]

Youve got a year to get that deed poll application in jacko !

[Superscally]

Sorry...but compared to Dizzee and James, who absolutely smashed it, they were pony.

The ultimate litmus test though is whether you'll be there next year...which I undoubtedly will! (to see The Vaccines, The Manics, Super Furrys, Wind-Up Birds, Jimmy Cliff, Squeeze etc etc)

[DVG81]

This was my first Kendal and I think it will be the last, It didn't feel all that intimate to me as I get the impression from reading on here that it did in previous years. With it being a 'small' festival I was hoping for a more relaxed experience, Although I did not arrive until Saturday morning I had already heard of the numerous thefts and the 2hour+ queue to get onto site on Friday, £10 to park the car which was 100% increase on prior year is a but ridiculous if unable to print one online. I also hoped the toilets would be plentiful and hopefully a bit cleaner with less and perhaps more civilized people using them.

I suspect they were cleaned as often as in previous years but with a much larger number of people using them.

I think the intention is to increase the size and indeed prices of this festival as can be seen over the past couple of years and yes it is still a decent price but all of a sudden when you add car parking and early entry etc it is getting towards the bigger festival prices but without the organisation and facilities and in my opinion line up to justify it.

I had a decent time and was good to experience but I think that if I am attending a smaller festival and sacrificing some of the lineup of the bigger boys then I want to be compensated with ease of entry, minimal trouble/thefts around the site and plenty of reasonably clean toilets to choose from.

That said, James were class and the Real Ale tent was awesome

[LOCHLAND5]

Dissing Maximo then anticipating the Vaccines who are SO shit it's unbelievable???

[rabid]

I had a decent time and was good to experience but I think that if I am attending a smaller festival and sacrificing some of the lineup of the bigger boys then I want to be compensated with ease of entry, minimal trouble/thefts around the site and plenty of reasonably clean toilets to choose from.

[LOCHLAND5]

This has to be one of the highlights for me , I didn't think James would play it

[Mr_Grump]

Maximo were poor as a headliner to kick off the weekend.....

[Flaminglippy]

Dissing Maximo then anticipating the Vaccines who are SO shit it's unbelievable???

Edited August 2, 2012 by Flaminglippy

[Jacko450]

Im a huge huge Maximo fan but it did seem they just lacked that ''Edge''

I have no idea what the means does anyone understand?

[DrNic]

People with kids, have you ever tried solfest? Much more chilled out than KC and loads of free stuff for kids to do. Also -you can park next to your tent, a real bonus with kids. Oh and did i mention the short queues for clean toilets? The line up isn't great but the facilities are fantastic. Not so many idiots either!

Our first time at kendal this year, with 2 kids ages 5 and 7, Don't get me wrong we are not faint-hearted and been to loads of festivals over the past 18 years. Solfest last year with the kids and the facilities were much better than what we found at kendal.....

Edited August 2, 2012 by DrNic

[LOCHLAND5]

People with kids, have you ever tried solfest? Much more chilled out than KC and loads of free stuff for kids to do. Also -you can park next to your tent, a real bonus with kids. Oh and did i mention the short queues for clean toilets? The line up isn't great but the facilities are fantastic. Not so many idiots either!

Our first time at kendal this year, with 2 kids ages 5 and 7, Don't get me wrong we are not faint-hearted and been to loads of festivals over the past 18 years. Solfest last year with the kids and the facilities were much better than what we found at kendal.....

[DVG81]

anybody have the setlist for James?

[ramragon]

I considered solfest several times, plus I agree that the line ups not everything but its gotta have some appeal to me and the family. Including transport costs,spending money and ticket costs I reckon youd be looking close to 500 for the 3 of us, no way I could justify that to watch the waterboys, adam ant and big country !

[Jacko450]

One thing I did witness and dont know if anyone else did but here goes...

On the sunday all day to the right of the sound box at the mainstage, there was a group of Id say 40+ women and a few blokes. Well they were selling pills and kept asking everyone ''5er for some pills mate'' and they were clearly pilled up. We then realised they had a little boy with them, must have only been 8? He just had to sit and watch while Im presuming his mum and dad sat and smoked weed and took pills.

There was one of the group who was absolute blasted, jumping around literally allday which I dont mind at all but she kept falling onto me and my friends.

At one point she told her mate to her bag, while she bent down and pissed in it :/

She then sat around in bra and knickers.

Please say someone else saw this?

[LOCHLAND5]

One thing I did witness and dont know if anyone else did but here goes...

On the sunday all day to the right of the sound box at the mainstage, there was a group of Id say 40+ women and a few blokes. Well they were selling pills and kept asking everyone ''5er for some pills mate'' and they were clearly pilled up. We then realised they had a little boy with them, must have only been 8? He just had to sit and watch while Im presuming his mum and dad sat and smoked weed and took pills.

There was one of the group who was absolute blasted, jumping around literally allday which I dont mind at all but she kept falling onto me and my friends.

At one point she told her mate to her bag, while she bent down and pissed in it :/

She then sat around in bra and knickers.

Please say someone else saw this?

[DrNic]

Did anyone camp in emperors fields? was it worth the extra? Might give it a go next time....

[Zissou]

Right, as a 3 time KC attendee, here's my thoughts:

I think the complaints regarding toilets are possibly over the top and obviously all you KC goers have never been to T in the Park Yes, there weren't enough toilets, but I thought they were clean enough (god, I even found one in the quiet campsite on Sunday morning which had bog roll, running water and soap!).

We arrived at 4pm Friday and camping was rammed. There was definitely a problem with staff (campsite and arena) not having a clue. We walked round the campsite for 30mins looking for a pitch (for 2 modest tents) and were plain lucky as they opened the furthest field. We camped there and it was a great spot - loads of space and a quick walk to the wash facilities etc. Only problem was it was a longer walk into the arena.

Food stalls etc - definitely not enough in the campsite, but luckily I scoffed my face in the arena (nachos - epic!) and had BBQ's for the mornings.

Biggest thing that pissed me off was the map being wrong. We rushed in (literally running) to catch the start of Admiral Fallow, arrived at what should have been Calling Out and realised it wasn't). When we asked security they just said "sorry, the maps wrong" and didn't know where it was. Then spent 20 mins trying to find CO stage and eventually missed more than half their set (and they were the one band I really wanted to see. Poor stuff KC.)

Big plus points were the Elbow Ale (superb stuff at £3.50 a pint) and I discovered a few new acts who blew me away - namely King Charles and Hyde & Beast.

I didn't feel any tension, see any fights etc and actually thought it was a decent crowd. My mates brought their 8month old baby and had a great time!

I would come back - people just need to realise that anything that is good, and gets popular, will invariably "sell out" and lose some of its original charm and appeal.

[Paul ™]

I think the complaints regarding toilets are possibly over the top and obviously all you KC goers have never been to T in the Park Yes, there weren't enough toilets, but I thought they were clean enough (god, I even found one in the quiet campsite on Sunday morning which had bog roll, running water and soap!).

Edited August 2, 2012 by Paul ™

[Flaminglippy]

We're thinking (I say we, I mean me and I'll spend the next 12 months grovelling) of trying that Portmerion thing next year (in addition to KC). Looks like it won't attract dickheads

[Flaminglippy]

quantity means nothing if they are not getting serviced regularly enough.

[dannyfletcher]

The toilets were grim, but they were no different to any other festival i have been to, and that includes the smaller ones such as Bingley. The urinals however were absolutely vile and being out in the open it couldnt have made good viewing for women and children. They were overflowing, so you literally had to wade through p*ss to use them.

Overall i enjoyed the festival, and for the money we paid the lineup was brilliant. I dint bother with Maximo Park as ive seen them a number of times and they always dissapoint me. For me on Friday, the main stage belonged to Scrobius Pip.

Dizzee did seem to get a lot of people bouncing around, and am sure there were some converted people in the crowd. I didnt catch all of James' set, but wish i had as the last hour i heard was amazing.

There were some great acts in the Glow tent, but i tink there were some issues with environmental health, as on Saturday and Sunday night the bass was turned way down low. A-Skillz set started with a crammed tent, but when the volume was lowered the tent was half empty. If they cant ave such high volumes, just finish the tent early, starting it sooner.

I was really suprised by the high quality of food available. Made a change from the usual burger and chip stalls, and for the prices paid i was happy.

I was happy with the number of stges available, but the calling out tent just seemed to be dumped in a corner and as the map was for somewhere else completely and there were no signs it took me ages to find the thing. The only plus point was that i was able to get copious ammounts of free root brew on Sunday.

We arrived on the Thursday and waited about 45 mins to get in. Seemed they were really concentrating on people looking under 18. I did see one person turned away and then he was crying to his mum to pick him up. Dont know what for.

Id like to think that the thefts have been exaggerated. I think there was only 107 thefts reported at Leeds Festival last year and that is significantly bigger than Kendal.

I can see myself coming again, but think those long time Kendal lovers will continue to be slightly disappointed as it will continue to grow and lose the intimte charm that it used to have.

[Joy division Oven Gloves]

We're thinking (I say we, I mean me and I'll spend the next 12 months grovelling) of trying that Portmerion thing next year (in addition to KC). Looks like it won't attract dickheads

[ramragon]

We're thinking (I say we, I mean me and I'll spend the next 12 months grovelling) of trying that Portmerion thing next year (in addition to KC). Looks like it won't attract dickheads