T In The Park 2014

[mrtourette]

I prefer to rate a band on their live performance.....

Lots of "artists" sound good on vinyl due to production and auto tune....

[Comfy Bean]

I do my camping at the smaller fests these days so was only up on Sunday. Had a great day. No trouble, toilets in good order and never had to q at the bar. Well organised free shuttle bus back into Kinross again this year.

Music wise, we started with Rev and the Makers - excellent and finished with Disclosure who were good fun and seemed to have a big crowd dancing all the way through. Am still surprised I picked them over Arctics but going by the comments on here I`m glad I did. Main reason was I hadn`t seen Disclosure before.

Thought Franz were excellent. I only caught 20mins of Paul Weller ( wish I hadn`t ) before going to see King Charles who had a big crowd bouncing. Seen him a few times now and he deserves more than 30mins. Also thought Catfish and the Bottlemen were good. Was good to see King Charles wandering round the site. We had a blether with him in the Rum Bar. Can anyone remember which one of his tunes he played into with " Call me Al " ?

[Comfy Bean]

* Pure Speculation *

The folk we were staying with are not convinced we have seen the end of T at Balado.

They understand that Tennents own the land for the current site. Word locally is that they are still trying to buy more land to one side of the current site ( this is being denied by both sides ). If this was succesful then they would be able to have people camping above the pipeline but not need to drill down into that area for the stage rigs etc.

They reckon that it can only work out if they get this land as there is a quarry at the other side ?

Just to point out again, this could well be bull but it could give the site a " rest " for a year and if there is a grain of truth in it then moving would maybe force the hand of the potential land seller.

IF.....it`s true then look out for rumours of problems with the new site at the castle.

Has anyone else heard anything on this ?

My original thoughts on the move were that they were downsizing to save face. Was this the first year they have split weekend camping tickets into day tickets a couple of weeks before to try and shift some ? Don`t they normally claim it`s sold out ?

[kelliefo]

I got chatting to a lady who works for Glasgow council who was in talks with the woman who owns strathallen. It's only a year contract. It'll be back at Balado in 2016.

[Doug85]

Class weekend but not due to the lineup. Far too many clashes of bands of the same genre for my liking. The weekend was made by the fun me and the wife had in meeting random strangers in the arena chatting for a bit and then going off into the crowd never to see these people again. Thats what makes a festival so special for me: the ability to just have a beer with someone and share some common interests before parting ways. Met a random couple dressed in ghostbuster costumes and randomnly i was wearing my ghostbuster t shirt that day so we all got talking for the gap before paulo started.

We camped in Citizen T for the first time and i would highly reccommend it in the future to anyone, wasnt too wild and wasnt too quiet it was just right and we met some good friends who we camped next too, nowt better than having a few beers with them prior to going into the arena. There were no problems with tent robberies or anything like that in there just people there to have a good time and get on.

Friday:

The rifles- had a decent sing along

You me at 6- got quite bored and went to the bar

Haim- the wife loved them, and i warmed to them partially cos i was pissing myself at the faces the bassist pulled everytime she went into a riff!

imagine dragons- were not too bad actually, seemed to get a decent sing along with their proclaimers version.

ellie goulding/CHVRCHES- compromised with the wife to go see half of each enjoyed the latter and didnt mind the former although i did get chatting to someone in the crowd who told me shes a bit of a sl*g!

Ed Sheeran- was very good and he gave his all it seemed to me, one of my highlights

Biffy Clyro- after originally being devastated they clashed with pixies and not being a big lover of biffy i was won over by a fantastic perfomance, loved the set and the pyrotechnics. made the fact i missed the pixies epic set slightly better but still very annoyed at GE for this clash that could have been avoided!

Saturday:

The Stranglers- amazing set, loved it but such a shame was on so early

katy b- awful nearly put me back to sleep so went to catch the end of sophie ellis bextor- her new stuff was truly shite but enjoyed her retro part of the set and enjoyed watching a couple of bloked who were already w*nkered trying to have a very drunk dance off to which one of them face planted the floor

george ezra/twin atlantic- tent was too full so caught some of the latter and were decent, was around the time i saw 2 lasses slouched up against one of the map points next to healthy T, both of them off their face, security came to wake them up once they realised people were walking past taking pictures of them, i found it hilarious should have just let them sleep it off. funnily enough they just went back to kip when security walked away

clean bandit- only knew 2 songs other than that they were sub standard

john newman- he gave his all and i quite enjoyed his set actually but not usually my cup of tea

Rudimental- with no shame i absolutely loved them, was an apt time for them as i was just a bit tipsy enough to have a jump around

Soul 2 Soul- caught the last 20 mins and was a bit underwhelmed

Pharrell Williams- my highlight of the whole weekend was when he did his N.E.R.D set as he smashed it, wasnt a big fan of his new stuff although it was a nice touch to bring out and dedicate 'happy' to a cancer survivor

Paulo Nutini- main stage was packed but i have never liked his stuff, the mrs had a good time though and i had a few random chats with some people

Elbow- Made this decision as soon as it was clear all the stages were open until late and that the crowd at CH was going to be massive, best decision we made as were 2 rows from the front and felt like an intimate gig, even the rain didnt spoil it. Walked back up at the end to hear what i thought was will smith shouting how much he loved scotland , this was then confirmed by the girls we camped next to, once i realised he hadnt sang or anything i wasnt arsed at all, id have been gutted if he did fresh prince

sunday:

Red Hot Chilli Pipers- very decent and very talented, nice way to start the day

Newton Faulkner- surprised me, a very talented lad

Reverend and the makers- enjoyed them, enjoyed their digs at radio one even though they were on the R1 stage and the sly dig at CH as well about real music

Sam Smith- very good, hes probably going to be a star unless his next album is shit

bastille- decided to have a pit stop for some bait and beer at this point as they were dreadful

paul weller- disappointed, expected much more from him so caught the end of above and beyond

Jake Bugg/Tinie Tempah- saw 5 mins of tinie tempah, knew it would be awful and he was, couldnt even give him longer than 5 mins and the wife agreed to let me see jake bugg who was fantastic apart from his lack of stage presence or charisma but v talented

Arctic Monkeys- a bit underwhelmed if im honest, expected more for the last ever headliner at balado, they didnt manage to distract a lot of people from wanting to know the world cup final score as i constantly heard people checking. AM live wasnt too bad tho and their classics worked but had far too many random songs in for my liking, seen them on an arena tour a few year ago that was much better

All in all a decent weekend but with far too many clashes and GE has truly shown he doesnt care too much about it so i wont be back next year unless there is an out of this world line up but cant see that happening considering CH is more than likely headlining again. I will be breaking my glasto duck (ticket permitting) next year and i dont want to give GE anymore cash. Shame but i will probably be leaving my T memories at Balado.

i do enjoy that campsite roar though, gives me chills thinking about it....

[PatsInThePark]

That's me starting to feel human again after that weekend.

For one of the first years ever most of my highlights are from the campsite banter rather than the acts I saw. I did see some brilliant acts though, personal favourites were LaFontaines, Calvin Harris, Rudimental and Paolo.

The biggest let down for me the full weekend were the Arctic Monkeys. They just seemed so flat. Where we were standing watching them everyone was just standing around talking and doing their own thing, nobody seemed to be getting in to them at all.

That said though, I still had an amazing time yet again, but must admit it was far from being my favourite year to date. Just felt like there was something missing this year and don't know quite what it was. (It could be that I'm not as young as I used to be, but I refuse to believe that).

My personal opinion was that they seemed to be cost cutting this year to save money for the move next year. Geoff has already came out and said it's costing them £2m, so that had to come from somewhere and the lack of headline acts on the other stages seemed to reflect that. Spoke to a few folk and heard that the crowds for Elbow and Disclosure were really poor. Even the campsite food stalls, entertainment etc. seemed to be thin on the ground this year and especially for those camped at the bottom of blue/yellow. Everything seemed to be down at the sunset strip.

I'll still end up going next year and see what the new site is like and if it adds or takes away anything from the festival. I have many amazing memories of Balado and met some great people over the years, but here's to the next chapter in my T life.

[Comfy Bean]

Talking about the food stalls......

No Gandhi`s Flip Flop this year ? Went in search of a curry and they were not in their usual spot ?

[Taz1708]

Absolutely fantastic weekend! Definitely want to do next year so long as it's a good line up!

Friday:

Haim- was really looking forward to them and they didn't disappoint

Dj Fresh - the less said about this the better

Alesso - brilliant, would have been better in a tent but still a really good set

Biffy - just incredible as always. Setlist was perfect

Saturday:

Twin Atlantic - good! Crowd wasn't the best though!

Rudimental - no where near as good as last year in the tent. I don't think they work very well on main stage. Was quite disappointed with them

Pharrell - superb! Loved every minute and he played a classic set.

Calvin - amazing as always! WILL SMITHHH!

Sunday:

Bastille - thought these guys were really really good.

Tinie tempah - ashamed to say that I really enjoyed his set and had a good laugh watching him!

Example - thought I'd see example because I can't stand arctic monkeys and I'm glad I did. He put loads of effort in and put on a great show. Cracking set!

[Lor1]

How did the orange walk go???

[boabythebarman]

Absolutely fantastic weekend! Definitely want to do next year so long as it's a good line up!

Friday:

Haim- was really looking forward to them and they didn't disappoint

Dj Fresh - the less said about this the better

Alesso - brilliant, would have been better in a tent but still a really good set

Biffy - just incredible as always. Setlist was perfect

Saturday:

Twin Atlantic - good! Crowd wasn't the best though!

Rudimental - no where near as good as last year in the tent. I don't think they work very well on main stage. Was quite disappointed with them

Pharrell - superb! Loved every minute and he played a classic set.

Calvin - amazing as always! WILL SMITHHH!

Sunday:

Bastille - thought these guys were really really good.

Tinie tempah - ashamed to say that I really enjoyed his set and had a good laugh watching him!

Example - thought I'd see example because I can't stand arctic monkeys and I'm glad I did. He put loads of effort in and put on a great show. Cracking set!

[Doug85]

Btw the queues on thursday were fucking ridiculous as well! combination of heat, heavy bags and a unnecessary queue due to shoddy organisation made me well pissed off

[Lor1]

Btw the queues on thursday were fucking ridiculous as well! combination of heat, heavy bags and a unnecessary queue due to shoddy organisation made me well pissed off

[Chiefski]

* Pure Speculation *

The folk we were staying with are not convinced we have seen the end of T at Balado.

They understand that Tennents own the land for the current site. Word locally is that they are still trying to buy more land to one side of the current site ( this is being denied by both sides ). If this was succesful then they would be able to have people camping above the pipeline but not need to drill down into that area for the stage rigs etc.

They reckon that it can only work out if they get this land as there is a quarry at the other side ?

Just to point out again, this could well be bull but it could give the site a " rest " for a year and if there is a grain of truth in it then moving would maybe force the hand of the potential land seller.

IF.....it`s true then look out for rumours of problems with the new site at the castle.

Has anyone else heard anything on this ?

My original thoughts on the move were that they were downsizing to save face. Was this the first year they have split weekend camping tickets into day tickets a couple of weeks before to try and shift some ? Don`t they normally claim it`s sold out ?

Edited July 15, 2014 by Chiefski

[T-Bhoy]

Anyone else go up to the wee chill out set up above the cigarette shop for a time out?Spent about an hour up there drinking and talking to randomers sitting on the cushions.At first i though there would be a catch,like you had to pay or you had to buy something from the shop beneath,was nothing like that.Could freely walk up with your drinks and food.

[crazyguy]

Anyone else go up to the wee chill out set up above the cigarette shop for a time out?Spent about an hour up there drinking and talking to randomers sitting on the cushions.At first i though there would be a catch,like you had to pay or you had to buy something from the shop beneath,was nothing like that.Could freely walk up with your drinks and food.

[T-Bhoy]

Wasn't it just a smoking lounge, the smell would have killed me.

[T-Bhoy]

http://glasgow.stv.tv/articles/282714-t-in-the-park-goers-give-sleeping-bags-to-homeless-charity-the-invisibles/

Well done to all involved.Great cause.

[doe]

* Pure Speculation *

The folk we were staying with are not convinced we have seen the end of T at Balado.

They understand that Tennents own the land for the current site. Word locally is that they are still trying to buy more land to one side of the current site ( this is being denied by both sides ). If this was succesful then they would be able to have people camping above the pipeline but not need to drill down into that area for the stage rigs etc.

They reckon that it can only work out if they get this land as there is a quarry at the other side ?

Just to point out again, this could well be bull but it could give the site a " rest " for a year and if there is a grain of truth in it then moving would maybe force the hand of the potential land seller.

IF.....it`s true then look out for rumours of problems with the new site at the castle.

Has anyone else heard anything on this ?

My original thoughts on the move were that they were downsizing to save face. Was this the first year they have split weekend camping tickets into day tickets a couple of weeks before to try and shift some ? Don`t they normally claim it`s sold out ?

[uninspired_user]

Got told the que to get in for the Saturday was unbeleavable at half 1.

[T-Bhoy]

It was, did a non camping weekend and had to wait nearly 2 hours to get in, nothing like the other 2 days

[Lor1]

It was, did a non camping weekend and had to wait nearly 2 hours to get in, nothing like the other 2 days

[Dr Baker]

So, farewell then Balado. Not a vintage year, in my opinion. In fact the weakest line-up since the first one at the site in 1997 and I say that having been to every one. The ditching of the Transmissions stage is partly the reason for that and it seems that GE is no longer interested in having a wide diversity of artists any more. This would be forgivable if we still had the Connect Festival to complement what we get at T but that's not on the cards and the likes of Belladrum & Wickerman dont have the budget to replicate that.

But I enjoyed quite a few things over the weekend.

Friday: Royal Blood - OK but only a couple of songs stood out.

Dan Croll - promising but lacks a killer song.

Chvrches - sounded great but I only saw half their set as I wanted to see

Wolf Alice - decent, hard-rocking band.

Manic Street Preachers - good set. Most of the hits & the best songs from the new album.

Pixies - fantastic. Loud & intense. Just as you'd want them.

Saturday: John Cooper Clarke - a legend. I'll never tire of his poems & jokes, even if heard before.

Chloe Howl - I've forgotten what she was like already!

The Jezabels - undistinguished

The Lafontaines - entertaining.

The Amazing Snakeheads - my highlight of the weekend. Raw, full-on & demented! Unforgettable.

The Human League - superb. 'Sound of the Crowd' is an all time favourite.

Paolo Nutini - only saw 20 minutes as the section of the crowd I was in were a pain, so went to see

Embrace - sounded good. Brought back memories of their previous shows.

Fat Goth - noisy bunch. Good fun.

Sunday: Model Aeroplanes - mediocre

Metronomy - superb. Some fine tunes & irresistably dancey at times

Medals - only because London Grammar pulled out.

Tame Impala - over-rated, I think.

Vigo Thieves - unexceptional

Franz Ferdinand - brilliant. A storming set.

Arctic Monkeys - curiously low-key. The festival setting doesn't suit them.

So most of the weekend spent in either the King Tut's or T Break tents, sometimes for want of something better. So I wont be getting an early bird ticket for 2015. I'll wait and see what the line-up and day splits are like next year.

[uninspired_user]

Thats gutting.Friday i was in within 5minutes.It down to stricter searches or something?

[uninspired_user]

That is unbeleavable £90 for a ticket and you have to wait 2 hrs

[Jasonbee]

Well my 1st T was amazing!

Friday:

CharliXCX - Decent opener... Knew few of the songs!

You Me At Six - Not my kind of music but they were a good live band, had the crowd rocking for so early in the day!

Haim - I enjoyed them so much never ever listened to them but they are so different it was great!

Imagine Dragons - Again i only actually like 2 of their songs but live they were amazing and crowd went mental for them!

Ellie Goulding - As a fan i thought she was just good... One of the acts i actually looked forward to seeing on the Friday but wasnt overwhelmed, not much happened.

Ed Sheeran - Favourite act of the day! Great voice, great songs and a great live performer.

Steve Angello - Rather bland for a DJ of his stature, didnt hear him getting the crowd going.

Saturday:

Kiesza- Really enjoyed her, like a few of her songs before the festival and fell in love with her wacky moves!

Duke Dumont - Seen about 30 mins and didnt enjoy it so left.

Katy B - Was good but nothing great.

Ella Eyre - Caught the end or her again was good but nothing special.

Clean Bandit - Surprise package of the weekend, always planned to see them at T but really didnt expect them to be as good as they were! Great live act!

John Newman - Always puts so much passion into every song he sings... Seen him a few times and he was on fire at T.

Rudimental - 2nd time ive seen them and 2nd time ive not enjoyed it. I watch them on the tv and think they will be great but didnt like it.

Pharrel - For me he was one of the highlights of the weekend such a special artistic human and bringing Pinky out brought tears to my eyes!

Calvin - 2nd time seeing him and 2nd time ive loved it! He has the crowd bouncing no matter how long or short the gig is the crowd are never stood still.

Sunday:

Inspiral Carpets - Never heard of them bit rubbish tbh ha

Reverend and the makers - Never heard of them but decent atmosphere

Sam Smith - The reason i saw them 2^ being right at the front for one of my idols was the highlight of my weekend, amazing singer, amazing voice, amazing song writer, amazing person, incredible live performer, loved him and seeing him again this sunday lol.

Chvches - Never heard of them but enioyed their stand in set for london grammar,,, great energy!

Above and Beyond - Same as Chvches!

Tinie Tempah - Incredible live performer!

Disclosure - Another one of my favourite artists and didnt disappoint at all and when they brought Eliza Doolittle and Aluna Francis out i was buzzing but when they brought Sam Smith out that was it atmosphere was even better than it was for the rest of the set! Great live act!