What Rocked and What sucked.........

[gorfield]

oh.. and james were not on long enough

[Lowther Calling]

No draught larger/cider

 

 

There was in the real ale tent! £4 a pint

[tinpottery]

First time at Kendal, overall a fun weekend. Felt main stage was trying too hard to be diverse (I know that sounds daft but, for example, The Horrors slot was just weird). Think line up dependant I'll be there next year. Nice to go to a festival and not feel old (At the tender age of 26, had I gone to Leeds this year I'd probably be known as "Grandad") and the majority there seemed to have the right attitude. 

 

Rocked: 

 

Public Service Broadcasting- Incredible performance, so pleased they clashed with Elbow made for a nice sized crowd. Witty, charming, beautiful; these guys are a different class. I think their style restrains them a bit; they deserve to be so much bigger than they are. The highlight of the weekend.

 

Beardyman- The most talented individual I think I've ever seen at a festival. Gob-smacked at times during his performance. 

 

Leaving straight after Snoop- No queues and in a nice clean bed by midnight on Sunday (only queued for an hour getting in on Thursday too, very impressed). 

 

The Vaccines- Thought they did a decent job as headliners, good fun (although the lead singer can be a bit cringeworthy at times).

 

Stage designs- Woodlands,  Jagerhaus, Glow and House Party were all very well designed and really added to the festival's unique feel. The Big Birthday bit by the lake was an incredible location, the most beautiful part of a festival I've ever been to (despite the mud). 

 

GMF- Great fun and a good singalong. 

 

Bondax- Crowd were loving it, very talented DJs.

 

Mr B Gentleman Rhymer- Stumbled across this guy, very entertaining and did a great job performing to a packed House Party. Really funny and very likeable.  

 

JJ Rosa- Incredible singer and musician, has a real nice commercial sound and could see her doing very well over the next few years. 

 

Sucked:

 

Billy Bragg- Jeeeeez that guy likes the sound of his own voice. The "lets drop the debt" song sounded like something David Brent would come up with. 

 

Toilets: Time to invest in some longdrops. Simply put there wasn't enough toilets in both the arena and campsite.  

 

Friend having her bag stolen- she was in a one man tent, someone reached over her as she slept and took it. Horrible. Only positive from the story is we found her camera that the scumbag dropped nearby the morning after. 

 

Mud- Amazed I didn't fall over. Like to consider myself a fit person but I was shattered after a few hours walking through it.  

 

Indie Disco DJs- Don't get me wrong I had a good time there, but there is only so many times you can get away with playing "Not Nineteen Forever" and "Scummy Man". 

 

Fuse ODG- Got dragged along to this. Guy has a nice message and all but it was rather cheesy. 

 

They smell in our tent each morning- That can be blamed on a diet of burgers and real ale! 

 

Meh:

 

Snoop Dogg: 20 minutes late, half his set he sang other people's songs and actually said the phrase "Do you love me?". It was fun in parts but it was all a bit novelty for me; disappointing given the clear talent of the man. 

 

Lancashire Hotpots: Mates absolutely loved it; just the same joke over and over for me.... 

 

Soapbox comedy: quality of the acts was all over the place, but in fairness Justin Moorhouse and Seymour Mace were very very good.  

[t2t]

Billy Bragg- Jeeeeez that guy likes the sound of his own voice. The "lets drop the debt" song sounded like something David Brent would come up with.

But then again,I thought that "Uncle Bill" was in the "Rocked" category...

just proves that we're all different

Edited August 4, 2015 by t2t

[Ruth1980]

I’ve been to Glastonbury and Leeds a fair few times but this was my first ever time at Kendal Calling and overall it was brilliant. 

 

Loved:

 

Friendly people – from stewards to fellow campers (The Shire), everyone we met was absolutely lovely.

 

Real Ale Bars – good selection and beer was kept really well

 

GMF – happened upon this by accident and it was one of the festival highlights

 

Jägerhaus – as above!

 

The little stage by the lake – one of the nicest places I’ve ever danced

 

The size – enough variation but not too big that you feel like you’re missing out on anything

 

Seafret – these guys were utterly brilliant

 

 

Didn’t love so much:

 

Lack of water points in the arena – this could have been really dangerous if it had been hot. £2 for a bottle of water is ridiculous

 

Mud – I know that this was out of the organisers’ control but more could have been done to the walkways (chippings/metal walkways etc.)

 

Getting out of the car park yesterday – 3 hours for a small festival is insane – needed some stewards to co-ordinate traffic

 

Being charged for a lanyard – paying so much for a ticket you’d think you had a bit of a right to know what was on and when without being charged an extra £6

[Joy division Oven Gloves]

Rocked :

 

The Membranes in Tim Peaks, John Robb is pure adrenelin, get these boys the Mercury Prize !

 

Kate Tempest in the Calling Out, I ventured alone to this one and it was well worth it, a mesmerising half hour

 

British Sea Power in the Woodlands, great venue for them and a great set, came back to the camp pissed with a branch over my shoulder...

 

James as always, Misty Miller, GMF, Preggo's, Black Rivers, Billy Bragg, Black Honey, Boxed In

 

Snoop's tourbus rocking up at the site of the stage

 

Got on to the Emperors Field in half an hour at 10.30am thursday, sounds like a result having heard all the scare stories

 

All the site staff we came across, from barstaff, to security, to the car park guys on Monday, were bang on, up for a laugh, and added to the feel of the place

 

Felt to be a lot more elbow room in Emperors Field 2 than where we were camped last year

 

Sucked

 

The tragedy in the campsite on thursday night wasn't good news to wake up to

 

Not a lot else really

 

The Mud, obviously. Didn't rain near as much during the day as last year, but the mud felt worse. It was a tow with two pints of real ale in hand rushing up to the Woodlands and Calling Out !

 

Vaccines, saw them at Doncaster Dome a couple of years ago and it was mental, felt a bit too 'grown up' on Friday night

[neato]

Snoop's tourbus rocking up at the site of the stage

 

That was a downside for us! It all got too much for me managing to get about so we was trying to leave. He stopped all traffic around the site to get his tour bus in

[rudebhoy]

Good - 

 

- Tim Peaks Diner - can't believe no-one mentioned this! A great little venue with a fantastic atmosphere particularly late at night

-Jagerhaus 

- the venue down by the lake (forgotten the name of it)

- Prince Fatty & Horseman 4 hour set - my highlight of the weekend

- The Vaccines

- Sunshine Underground

- British Sea Power

- Billy Bragg

- Less Than Jake - brilliant at getting the audience going

- Clint Boon

- Real Ale for 4 quid a pint, or 4 pints for £15 was pretty decent value

- Everely Pregnant Brothers - saw them in one of the small venues (can't remember which) on Friday afternoon, and it was just a great laugh, everyone really enjoyed them. 

- Traffic system on the Friday - got in very quickly late morning after reading horror stories from Thursday

- General vibe was great, very few dickheads compared to some festivals

 

Bad - 

- No lanyards left for sale by Friday lunchtime

- Kaiser Chiefs - Ricky Wilson really is an irritating sod. 

- SFA - boring beyond belief

- The kangaroo burger that nearly killed me on Saturday night

- toilets - did they ever get cleaned? 

 

 

All in all though, had a brilliant weekend!

[MickeyMo]

Rocked

 

Blossoms on Thursday - although the sound wasn't great at the front

James - sound was better near the middle. I may be wrong but I think they missed a verse from Laid, thinking they were about to be told to finish.

The Everly Pregnant Brothers in the House Party on Friday - had the crowd jumping, laughing and singing.

Kate Tempest on Friday - possibly my highlight of the festival. Stunning delivery and the audience lapped it up.

Gaz Coombes to follow KT - love the latest album and he didn't disappoint.

Jesca Hoop in Chai Wallahs on Saturday - a beautiful voice that blended perfectly with those of her backing singers.

The Membranes - 'secret' gig in Tim Peaks on Saturday night. My other possible highlight. Energy, energy and more energy. A scorching set to a packed shed.

British Sea Power on the Woodlands Stage. The perfect setting for them. An adoring audience and Noble crowd surfing with a bottle of whisky.

Billy Bragg - Tank Park Salute was so much more poignant for being sung just down the road from where his dad was based in the war, working on tank development.

The soul DJ in Tim Peaks on Sunday - a happy crowd enjoying joyous tunes

Pete McKee's Devo t-shirt worn whilst DJing at Tim Peaks.

The Rhubarb gin at the tonic water place. The only drink that distracted me from the real ale all weekend.

 

Sucked

 

Taking 90 minutes to get through the grounds to the car park on Thursday midday. I don't remember it being as bad at that time last year.

Similarly two hours to leave the grounds on Monday around midday. Something needs to be done about stewarding that a bit better.

Being unaware that Super Furry Animals had replaced Kodaline.

Getting knackered walking through all the gluey mud. The second time I went they had metal roads running from the arena to the far end of the campsite and it was much better.

The number of kids obviously on drugs seemed to be greater than previously.

It seems to be losing the feel of a small festival - we're undecided as to whether we'll be back next year.

[johnny-yen]

My first year at KC, after spending last 6 years at Glastonbury.

ROCKED:

James / Soul 2 Soul / Elbow / Sunshine Underground / Billy Bragg.

Meeting Tim Burgess on my birthday outside Tim Peaks.

Seeing some experimental artists in Chai Wallahs and Lost Eden stage. No idea of their names but stumbled across late Friday night.

Smallness of site. Everything can be reached in 10 mins max.

Friendliness of people.

SUCKED:

Traffic system to get in.

Mud made it hard going By the end.

£4:40 for a tin of warm lager.

Grandmaster Flash. What a disappointment. He just seemed to be playing records to me. Thought he was meant to be special.

Poor timekeeping of bands compared to timetable. Very few seemed to start and stop on time.

But all in all a great little festival and I will be back.

Edited August 4, 2015 by johnny-yen

[reecey boy]

rocked 

the membranes on sat night in tim peaks was mental and just brill

British sea power on the woodlands was awesome

bsb on calling out sat night were great even after the late start clashed with sea power though.

James on Thursday

and finally our lotus tenet in the deer lodge bone dry all weekend great people around us no knob heads

the 2 new big screens at the side of the main stage just went from small festival to large in 1 move for me a great addition.

 

sucked 

the traffic on Thursday getting in 2/3 hours come on its not Glastonbury t in the park was quicker

£15 for 4 cans of fosters stop taking the piss now and give us a fair deal.for those who dont drink real ale this is shocking.£3.29 in asda £15 at kendal theres making a profit and then theres theft .

 

other than that this was a great festival met loads of nice people didnt see 1 fight got loads of great memory's.But a change of venue for me next year . 

[ramragon]

And not seeing my mate Lippy all weekend , hope your coming back soon!

I'll second that ! I know he's a brummie and all that but it's not the same without bumping into him and his ever present stone roses t shirt ! Which seemingly did make an appearance at y not.

It's also amusing that his second favourite band, the furries made a surprise appearance when he wasn't there.

Come back next year, with the new addition in tow lad !

We've vowed never to mention his favourite band after the trip to the calling out scarred everyone who was there for life in 2012 haha

My list will be up later on

Edited August 5, 2015 by ramragon

[fumps]

First year there for me and my 20 strong crew, we have been going to festivals from the 80's and done pretty much all off them combined.

 

all in all it was a fantastic festival, we all had a great weekend. but the cost was beyond a joke which has sparked a close battle weather to do Glastonbury or Kendal now.....So far Kendal isnt holding up well.

 

Rocked:

the layout was in my mind fantastic, the zoned camping for kids, families and all in between was great & we thought that was a really well thought out idea. We often walked through the Wolf field & shuddered at what was going on in there, If I was that age its exactley where I would want to be. But I am so glad I'm not anymore lol

 

Lost Eden: By far the best part of the festival for me. Loved it up there. Me and the Mrs sat in the little seating area having a lovely romantic moment when the fireworks kicked off.....lovely big smiles & a moment I will never forget. 

 

Food: All fantastic Chilly cheese fries, Texas Smoker burgers & the Tampopo tent was what I lived on all weekend. great all round for us all.

 

Bands:

James- great although I only knew two of their songs, but just the right band for an opening set for me.

Elbow (Not a huge fan but enjoyed what I saw)

Public service Broadcasting- fantastic band & what a drummer!!!

Slamboree- they stole the show by far the best band we saw all weekend.

Aziz Ibrahim- Wasnt expecting what he delivered, great set.

Hyde & Beast- As good as was hoping for. belting band

Levellers- Love this band & danced till I hurt myself lol

Soul 2 Soul- Just class all the way through

Beardyman- Nothing short of stunning.....on way too early though

Jake & the Jellyfish- Cracking band & really should have played for longer

Soul Circle- Man this band should be on everyones playlist, cool funky & one of the best front ladies I've seen in years.

Sunshine Underground- Never heard of this band but I danced all the way through their set.

 

Free water coolers- Loved this idea because I suffer from migraines which are triggered from dehydration, everytime I walked by one I filled up the three bottles I was carrying & a little thing like that can litterally save lives.

And a big shout to everyone who did the Lost Eden area......just beautiful !!!

 

Sucked:

Although I may not be popular for this but I thought Snoop Dog was utter pish. I have been a lover of Hip-Hop since the early breakdance years but that was a bit low rent for me. I ended up wondering off to the tent to have an affordable beer lol.

 

Prices: We effectionately renamed Kendall Calling "Pants down", the cost is silly for beer. charging over £100 for a crate of Fosters is beyond disgusting. We ended up using our age and walking in with booze. We used a few of our younger group as decoys which worked perfectly. I understand a festival has to make a profit but that was cringeworthy.

 

Chaos when arriving: We planned on arriving at 12:30 on Thursday, we pulled off the M6 at jct 39 at 12:20....got into the car park at 5:35. I'm a pretty chilled guy but even I was fed up & not in the festival spirit by the time we got there. mistakes happen but 5 hours to travel 2.8 miles.... I'd like to see someone argue their way out of that one. whoever organised the traffic system. sack em.

 

The bar staff having the same IQ level as a toadstool: I ordered a can of Fosters & waited 20 mins to get a Sailor Jerry's & Coke ......wtf ?

Got over charged for two drinks, handed over £20 got £6 in return when I pointed out her mistake in a nice friendly manor I ended up argueing with 4 bar staff who was making out I was trying to rip them off. After I asked them to add up the price of the drinks & add the change she gave me. it came to £15 ....I asked them If I had paid them with a £15 note.....at that point they all looked at each other blankly......I mean come on guys, its not that hard to use a calculator!!! And a simply sorry would have been nice after the crap you said to me....I didnt retaliate I just wished them a good weekend & never went back.

 

Taking the bottle caps off a bottle of water- this added to the disgusting amount of litter in the site, I need a regular supply of water to stop myself getting dehydrated. I bought a bottle & then re-used it whenever possible, I get one without a cap, you have to drink it straight away (Which isnt really what I wanted it for) and then throw the bottle away......serious lack of common sence there.

 

Conclusion:

The weather isnt something you can blame the event on, if it rains, it's going to get muddy & it did. but I had no issues at all, the only thing I can say is that I really felt for parents & people who struggle to get around but what more could they do ? I'm not sure but I dont see the weather as a negative, we had fun all the same.

 

apart from the odd niggle it was all in all a great festival, but costings are making it out of kilter. Going to Glastonbury is roughly £40 more expensive but taking a few crates of beer would balance it out and make it cheaper, added to that the free showers at Glasto does make it more tempting to go there instead. It is a great place but the prices are eye watering to say KC is one of the smaller events. 

[fumps]

My giddy aunt that was longer than I was planning to post lol

[efcfanwirral]

My giddy aunt that was longer than I was planning to post lol

Ah I'd never ever pick Kendal over Glastonbury if there's a chance.completely different league I reckon. Only on top of where possible.

Edited August 5, 2015 by efcfanwirral

[Al in Mayo]

Rocked

 

Super friendly people. Didn't meet one single idiot all weekend

Loads of space and lovely neighbours in the camper van field.

How easy it was to be at the front on the barrier for every headliner!

The line up, random bands, indie disco and musical bingo were all great.

Very do-able size in terms of going back to camp to get sorted for eve etc.

The compost toilets-huge improvement 'fragrance' wise on a porta loo

 

Sucked

 

The mud (literally sucking your welly off!) More tracking and wood chip needed for sure especially on the run from campervans to main site.

No lanyards by Friday lunchtime

No info on stage screen re Kodaline cancellation.

It was a shame no under 18s could even watch stuff in Bulmers arena-looked like like great fun!

Lack of loos in the main arena and woods area (even us ladies resorted to wild wee-ing once in the woods!

The disgusting amount of stuff left behind tents and rubbish blowing in the wind on Monday morning made a very depressing sight on site!

And obviously the tragic death and drug related incidents on Thurs eve.

 

and finally...highly peculiar...I have never, ever just been handed 4 wristbands on our way in-we were told to just put them on ourselves!

 

All in all a great festival which we are already planning our next year's holidays around

[halfpint]

Rocked

 

Super friendly people. Didn't meet one single idiot all weekend

Loads of space and lovely neighbours in the camper van field.

How easy it was to be at the front on the barrier for every headliner!

The line up, random bands, indie disco and musical bingo were all great.

Very do-able size in terms of going back to camp to get sorted for eve etc.

The compost toilets-huge improvement 'fragrance' wise on a porta loo

 

Sucked

 

The mud (literally sucking your welly off!) More tracking and wood chip needed for sure especially on the run from campervans to main site.

No lanyards by Friday lunchtime

No info on stage screen re Kodaline cancellation.

It was a shame no under 18s could even watch stuff in Bulmers arena-looked like like great fun!

Lack of loos in the main arena and woods area (even us ladies resorted to wild wee-ing once in the woods!

The disgusting amount of stuff left behind tents and rubbish blowing in the wind on Monday morning made a very depressing sight on site!

And obviously the tragic death and drug related incidents on Thurs eve.

 

and finally...highly peculiar...I have never, ever just been handed 4 wristbands on our way in-we were told to just put them on ourselves!

 

All in all a great festival which we are already planning our next year's holidays around

 

When I was waiting for Lucy Rose there was constantly a message on the screens about Kodaline cancelling and SFA animals replacing them....maybe they didn't do it later but definitely was there at some point.

[tjamest]

Glad to see the love for Sunshine Underground - not seen them for a few years but always great live.

[Al in Mayo]

When I was waiting for Lucy Rose there was constantly a message on the screens about Kodaline cancelling and SFA animals replacing them....maybe they didn't do it later but definitely was there at some point.

Ah ok...yeah in fairness I wasn't there at that time so I wouldn't have seen that

[ramragon]

We read the sign on the screens before the horrors as well, pretty sure between sets they looped the kodaline announcement and the safety warning about the tablets. Maybes you were just unlucky when passing that the other announcement was up

[Al in Mayo]

I did also spend a good deal of time looking at my feet, slipping and sliding and sticking in the claggy mud in order to avoid spending a good deal of time on my arse!

 

We've all been suffering from '...this time last week....' blues this weekend!

[Comfy Bean]

Rocked :

 

James

Being in Emperors so a short stroll to the car plus plenty of room even by the Saturday.

The security supervisor bloke with the beard on the gate to the arena thanking everyone every night on their way back in and shaking hands with me and the weans on our final way out. Great PR.

The line up. What can they do next year to beat that.

The folk. Company I was in and also the crowd in general.

The area by the lake. Never seen the lake before. DJ was knocking out some beastie boys when we were there.

The new improved woodland area.

George`s Korma in Ghandi`s flip flop plus that Seychelles place across from House Party.

My kids said the kids area was better this year.

Lots more that I can`t remember just now !

 

Sucked :

 

The q to get in wasn`t as bad as I was expecting as I had heard that it was taking hours before we arrived. 90mins though from the gate was pretty poor.

The mud. I would take that weather next year ( remember last year ) so how will the site cope with the extra numbers next year if we have worse weather. The walk down from the bar we had the efest meet at was mental by the Sunday. Saw loads of people fall. Dangerous.

The security guy on the main entrance ( thursday ) laughing as he poured out a young lad in front of me`s hip flask then tossed it back to him ( still laughing ). I know your not allowed hip flasks but it totally antagonised the fellas mates and caused a bit of an atmosphere when a few of us were q`ing behind with kids.

James not having enough time. Tim clearly had to beg the stage manager to do one more tune and after that they were supposed to do " on top of the world " which we never got. Probably a license thing but did all the headliners have to be off by 10.45pm ? Seems a bit early for a festival ??

Bar prices and choices are shit. Unlike the food which is excellent.

[Comfy Bean]

Oh...feeling very old when the main stage area emptied after Ella Eyre leaving a relatively small crowd for the super furries.

Ella Eyre and Snoop Dog seemed to have huge crowds ( especially Snoop ) will they book an Avicci / Guetta type button presser to headline next year ?????

 

And finally, having to tell the 3 young lassies who were camped next to us that Kodaline had pulled out. It was one of their birthdays and they were all chilling at the tent waiting on the " highlight of their festival " and on her birthday as well. They phoned home to confirm after I told them and 30mins later they were packed up and gone 

Edited August 10, 2015 by comfortablynumb1910

[LOCHLAND5]

 

And finally, having to tell the 3 young lassies who were camped next to us that Kodaline had pulled out. It was one of their birthdays and they were all chilling at the tent waiting on the " highlight of their festival " and on her birthday as well. They phoned home to confirm after I told them and 30mins later they were packed up and gone 

You nasty man they were in the middle of a birthday feast and having drinks it was all very civilised a proper educated birthday treat ! Then you go over on the ratch for free cider piss on their Nachos drop the bomb and then laugh at them packing up !

Your heartless Cnumb !

[Comfy Bean]

There is still a part of me that thinks I shouldn`t have told them...........now that would have been heartless.

Imagine the scenes when the Super Furries walked out