Line up for 2024....

[ShuMart]

1 hour ago, gooner1990 said:

 

My issue on Saturday was I got pissed and then that triggered off doing other 'things' which then led to a very unproductive Sunday and a rough Monday......the thought of a four day bender at a festival filled me with dred! 😄

 

I enjoyed 2021...was always keen to go back but as I do Glastonbury and Truck each year plus other things in life finding the a/l for it is tough (as i've found out again!)

 

Hopefully the good weather forecast holds out.........aiming to get there 3-4pm on Thursday after I've met my mates on the A303.

Its only Tuesday, by Thursday you will be bang up for it

[Flaminglippy]

Massively, massively regretting decision not to get tickets this year.

 

Have a fantastic one everybody going. 

 

Buying tickets as soon as they go on sale for 2025!

[gooner1990]

16 hours ago, ShuMart said:

Its only Tuesday, by Thursday you will be bang up for it

 

Should be ok now....! 🙂 

[p.pete]

First time at this - what are the acts that people have seen loads of times before but always put on a good show?

[gooner1990]

50 minutes ago, p.pete said:

First time at this - what are the acts that people have seen loads of times before but always put on a good show?

 

Richard Ashcroft

 

Dutty Moonshine Big Band

 

Dub Pistols

[p.pete]

My own are - btw, 'we didn't ask', I hear you say! - Gaz Brookfield and Sharon Shannon (only actually seen her once, but round festivals lots so looking forward to catching again)

[Skelts]

4 hours ago, p.pete said:

First time at this - what are the acts that people have seen loads of times before but always put on a good show?

The Barefoot Bandit always put on a good show. They’re local lads (Exmouth) and playing the Bimble Inn at 6 on Friday 

[p.pete]

44 minutes ago, Skelts said:

The Barefoot Bandit always put on a good show. They’re local lads (Exmouth) and playing the Bimble Inn at 6 on Friday 

Excellent.  Bimble Inn timings still seem fairly thin on the ground - 6pm friday might work nicely in between the other two I mentioned!

[Skelts]

41 minutes ago, p.pete said:

Excellent.  Bimble Inn timings still seem fairly thin on the ground - 6pm friday might work nicely in between the other two I mentioned!

Also check out the lottery winners who will be on the main stage when you’re en route to the big top

[Quark]

Right then, how was it for everyone? I went into this year's fest with relatively low expectations; there was nothing on the lineup that had jumped out at me, and work and other nonsense had given me no time to get round to making an exploratory playlist. It was pretty much going to be a chance to spend a few (rare) days with my brother, drink some cider and eat some food and chew the fat, and catch what happened to be on.

 

Got to Honiton about 3pm to meet up, straight onto site with hardly a queue. Straight through the gate, no queuing there either, and found a decent big pitch for us both up the hill from the campsite traders. Quick set up and we were done. Easiest start ever.

 

Within 10 minutes of having the tents up and cracking the first tin we'd been joined by a fella looking for his mates' tents. Looked lost so we offered him a tin and het joined us for a natter for 10 minutes or so. First of a lot of what Skip would call his "nice one geezer" moments. Thursday flowed the expected pattern of wandering, getting some food and getting pretty oiled. Both of us needed to let off a bit of steam so Thursday was our night to really sample the available ciders.

 

Musically was some really pleasant surprises. Levs acoustic was great, love the new arrangements and looking forward to the full acoustic tour in Jan. The Scratch were nuts, all the good reviews I'd heard were bang on. Lottery Winners did what they do and sounded good with it, clearly having a blast. Was a wee bit disappointed by Fat Freddys Drop tbh, wasn't bad but didn't capture me like I expected. Caught a bit of Pokey Lafarge (decent) and Saw Doctors (sounded solid but not a band I'm really into) and the over for Richard Hawley. Bro bailed as he was knackered but glad I hung around. Someone I'm aware of but never really listened to, and he was bloody good.

 

Sat started with a bit of Wilswood Buoys (ok) and then over for the tail end of Pet Needs (really should have done the whole set, they were great) and stayed for Thea Gilmore (also bloody good). Bro wanted to see Nick Parker & The False Alarms so wandered over, and soooooo glad we did. Fantastic set, great blend of humour and great music. Bit of The Longest Johns on the way up to the Tea Tent, and down for Dutty Moonshine. Bugger me they were good, rarely see the entire main stage crowd involved like that. Fantastic show. Got the first half of Grace Petrie (solid) and then camped out at the main for Inspiral Carpets, New Model Army and Richard Ashcroft. IC and NMA were both decent but really surprised by how much I enjoyed Ashcroft...thought he smashed it. Joined the throng heading over to Fripp and Toyah and ended up having a stupid amount of fun. No right to be that enjoyable tbh.

 

Kicked off Sunday with the Doonicans Sunday Service, arguably the best of their shows I've seen. Some new material, new faces and some new schtick. So much fun. Went our separate ways for a bit, saw 3 Daft Monkeys on the main as I love them and they were playing some of their  new stuff, then mooched until the Dub Pistols did what they do and smashed the main stage. Never get boring for me. Watched most of the Poppies, a band that passed me by but were thoroughly enjoyable. Had a bit of a mid afternoon lull so headed to the tents to do a bit of early stage packing up and grab a few tins in the sun, then down for Stornoway and This Is The Kit (both solid) before The Damned. Who were inform and suitably ridiculous. Clearly a band with no f**ks left to give, but still turning in a really good show. And then the Levs, who just did what they do. Worked out I'm up to around 20 times I've seen them now. Maybe one day I'll get bored.

 

The rest of it? Apart from that bit of drizzle on Thursday that didn't even warrant a waterproof, it was glorious. Food was all good, only had one meh (not even bad) meal all weekend from the spice village stand by the big top. Curry shed topped the charts (think they got three visits out of me) with strong mention to buddah bowls, the garden shed up by the tea tent, and the Sri Lankan place. The wall of chairs was still there but I found it noticeably better than previous years, much easier to navigate through. And considering it's sold out, it never felt overcrowded. Easy to get around, and the only remote pinch points were heading to the Big Top for Fripp and Toyah after Ashcroft, and back to camp after Levs. And the vibe....oh my the vibe. Juat so nice. Had so many chats with random people and groups, yer man giving out free hugs as always. Just lovely. Not a single dickhead all weekend.

 

Loved it.

[Skip997]

Nice review there cheers.

 

Nothing about the Little Big Top though, the venue that used to get me through the weekend.

 

Don’t think I’ll ever be at BD again as I’ve lost my free in

[Quark]

1 minute ago, Skip997 said:

Nice review there cheers.

 

Nothing about the Little Big Top though, the venue that used to get me through the weekend.

 

Don’t think I’ll ever be at BD again as I’ve lost my free in

 

Yeah, don't really spend anytime at LBT tbh. By and large it's not the music I'm after at BDs and it's not my brother's scene at all.

[spg]

7 hours ago, Skip997 said:

 

Nothing about the Little Big Top though, the venue that used to get me through the weekend

Gary clail was solid with great vocal still and joined by a quality brass player too. Mr Bruce was his usual high energy. Raggae tip did what you'd want from them, Utah saints too. I probably caught a few bits from others, but my mind fails me a bit

[Skip997]

5 minutes ago, spg said:

Gary clail was solid with great vocal still and joined by a quality brass player too. Mr Bruce was his usual high energy. Raggae tip did what you'd want from them, Utah saints too. I probably caught a few bits from others, but my mind fails me a bit

Cheers 

[justanotheronethen]

10 hours ago, Skip997 said:

 

Don’t think I’ll ever be at BD again as I’ve lost my free in

 

You are Simon Friend, aren't you

[Quark]

9 minutes ago, justanotheronethen said:

You are Simon Friend, aren't you

Don't think we'll likely see him on stage again. Every time I hold out a bit of hope he'll pop up, but gradually accepting that's prob not gonna happen. Dan's doing a sterling job tbf

[justanotheronethen]

8 minutes ago, Quark said:

Don't think we'll likely see him on stage again. Every time I hold out a bit of hope he'll pop up, but gradually accepting that's prob not gonna happen. Dan's doing a sterling job tbf

Same. Dan has fitted right in and adds a new energy live. Weirdly I've ended up seeing him live in 6 different guises - in Watercress (supporting the Levs), solo, with Rev Hammer, in the Wonder Stuff, in Celtic Social Club and finally with the Levs. I've become an accidental stan!

 

I hope Simon's doing OK. I'm still holding out for the Seismic Survey tour to be rescheduled from a fair few years back 😁

[Quark]

@gooner1990 how was the booze comedown in the end?!  I was nowhere near as bad as I thought over the fest, but coming straight back into more manic busy time at work this week hasn't helped my mood too much! Although not drinking much on Sunday helped.

[RandomBunny]

On 8/20/2024 at 9:08 AM, Quark said:

Right then, how was it for everyone? I went into this year's fest with relatively low expectations; there was nothing on the lineup that had jumped out at me, and work and other nonsense had given me no time to get round to making an exploratory playlist. It was pretty much going to be a chance to spend a few (rare) days with my brother, drink some cider and eat some food and chew the fat, and catch what happened to be on.

 

Got to Honiton about 3pm to meet up, straight onto site with hardly a queue. Straight through the gate, no queuing there either, and found a decent big pitch for us both up the hill from the campsite traders. Quick set up and we were done. Easiest start ever.

 

Within 10 minutes of having the tents up and cracking the first tin we'd been joined by a fella looking for his mates' tents. Looked lost so we offered him a tin and het joined us for a natter for 10 minutes or so. First of a lot of what Skip would call his "nice one geezer" moments. Thursday flowed the expected pattern of wandering, getting some food and getting pretty oiled. Both of us needed to let off a bit of steam so Thursday was our night to really sample the available ciders.

 

Musically was some really pleasant surprises. Levs acoustic was great, love the new arrangements and looking forward to the full acoustic tour in Jan. The Scratch were nuts, all the good reviews I'd heard were bang on. Lottery Winners did what they do and sounded good with it, clearly having a blast. Was a wee bit disappointed by Fat Freddys Drop tbh, wasn't bad but didn't capture me like I expected. Caught a bit of Pokey Lafarge (decent) and Saw Doctors (sounded solid but not a band I'm really into) and the over for Richard Hawley. Bro bailed as he was knackered but glad I hung around. Someone I'm aware of but never really listened to, and he was bloody good.

 

Sat started with a bit of Wilswood Buoys (ok) and then over for the tail end of Pet Needs (really should have done the whole set, they were great) and stayed for Thea Gilmore (also bloody good). Bro wanted to see Nick Parker & The False Alarms so wandered over, and soooooo glad we did. Fantastic set, great blend of humour and great music. Bit of The Longest Johns on the way up to the Tea Tent, and down for Dutty Moonshine. Bugger me they were good, rarely see the entire main stage crowd involved like that. Fantastic show. Got the first half of Grace Petrie (solid) and then camped out at the main for Inspiral Carpets, New Model Army and Richard Ashcroft. IC and NMA were both decent but really surprised by how much I enjoyed Ashcroft...thought he smashed it. Joined the throng heading over to Fripp and Toyah and ended up having a stupid amount of fun. No right to be that enjoyable tbh.

 

Kicked off Sunday with the Doonicans Sunday Service, arguably the best of their shows I've seen. Some new material, new faces and some new schtick. So much fun. Went our separate ways for a bit, saw 3 Daft Monkeys on the main as I love them and they were playing some of their  new stuff, then mooched until the Dub Pistols did what they do and smashed the main stage. Never get boring for me. Watched most of the Poppies, a band that passed me by but were thoroughly enjoyable. Had a bit of a mid afternoon lull so headed to the tents to do a bit of early stage packing up and grab a few tins in the sun, then down for Stornoway and This Is The Kit (both solid) before The Damned. Who were inform and suitably ridiculous. Clearly a band with no f**ks left to give, but still turning in a really good show. And then the Levs, who just did what they do. Worked out I'm up to around 20 times I've seen them now. Maybe one day I'll get bored.

 

The rest of it? Apart from that bit of drizzle on Thursday that didn't even warrant a waterproof, it was glorious. Food was all good, only had one meh (not even bad) meal all weekend from the spice village stand by the big top. Curry shed topped the charts (think they got three visits out of me) with strong mention to buddah bowls, the garden shed up by the tea tent, and the Sri Lankan place. The wall of chairs was still there but I found it noticeably better than previous years, much easier to navigate through. And considering it's sold out, it never felt overcrowded. Easy to get around, and the only remote pinch points were heading to the Big Top for Fripp and Toyah after Ashcroft, and back to camp after Levs. And the vibe....oh my the vibe. Juat so nice. Had so many chats with random people and groups, yer man giving out free hugs as always. Just lovely. Not a single dickhead all weekend.

 

Loved it.

Sounds like you had a great one! Similar here, despite being on crutches. Discovered some super new bands - Pet Needs were excellent, Longest Johns too. Other bands I saw were wonderful - Toyah and Fripp were hilarious fun. Levs as good as ever. Finally saw Dog 'Ole who were great. Bridget in the Bimbled rocked. But what topped it all were the people. Everyone was so so nice. Someone even gave me moonboot that they happened to have in their car as they saw me hobbling about! What a legend. It's such a nice festival. Oh and the fresh falafal stall by the Tiny Tea tent was superb!

[gooner1990]

On 8/22/2024 at 8:21 AM, Quark said:

@gooner1990 how was the booze comedown in the end?!  I was nowhere near as bad as I thought over the fest, but coming straight back into more manic busy time at work this week hasn't helped my mood too much! Although not drinking much on Sunday helped.

 

Sorry for the very slow reply...I took a break off this forum for a bit!

 

Was ok...I mean it wasn't just a booze comedown *ahem*

 

Was actually fine by the Thursday, didn't whack it as hard as usual though as was with two mates that are much older than me so that was probably a blessing in disguise.  Was generally in bed and asleep by 1-2am each night apart from the Saturday when the teenagers camped next to us decided to stay up till 5am!

 

Going on a bit of health kick now, been back at the gym, leaving other things well alone (deleted numbers from my phone), and going to cut down the drink...weekends are always the test though aren't they!

[Steve G]

Any Rumours for next year? 

 

Early predictions 

 

Levellers

Paul Heaton 

Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls 

[airwaves]

On 9/17/2024 at 4:52 PM, Steve G said:

Any Rumours for next year? 

 

Early predictions 

 

Levellers

Paul Heaton 

Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls 

Lankum would be an excellent fit for a high billing