Isle Of Wight Festival 2017 Part One - Strong And Stable

Thursday 8th June

So here we go again, my 2nd visit to the Isle Of Wight. Actually that's not strictly true. I went on a family camping holiday in the mid 70s when all an 8 year old me was bothered about was seeing the dinosaurs at Blackgang Chine. (Insert your own Rod Stewart/dinosaur joke here and when we get to the end of all this blogging I'll tell you why you're wrong). 2nd visit to the Isle Of Wight Festival is what I mean courtesy of the magnificent and insanely generous Bang Bang Romeo. At least last time I could carry things. This year I came complete with hernia which is odd 'cos I never bloody do owt. Still, I'm 49 you know.

So when the IOW line up was announced I was let's say a little less than enthralled. Main stage only had 2 must see acts for me (and I missed one of them), Big Top and The Hard Rock stages looked a lot healthier and then Lord Of The Zone, Mikey Jonns, announced the This Feeling Jack Rocks line up and it became the festival to be at. The This Feeling stage became a festival within a festival with the cream of the upcoming crop spread over 4 days. 

But we'll come to that. My IOW didn't get off to a brilliant start. 7am Thursday found me stood in the pouring rain outside my local polling station waiting to put an X next to Mr. Miliband's name. That done I waited for TV's Chris Walker to pick me up and begin our journey. TeamBBR were heading down in three (it became four) waves this year. No histrionics this time. Made our ferry with time to spare, an uneventful crossing, a drive straight to the right gate (A4 if you must know) at the festival site, picked up our many wristbands, parked and ventured in. I picked the same spot we camped at last year as Chris and his good lady Sharron headed for their teepee, or tipi if we're going to be historically accurate. 'It's only a five minute walk' they were reliably informed. It turned out to be on the other side of the island. We parted with plans to meet up that night at the Big Top. I didn't see them again till Saturday morning.

So after a mixed bag of weather the sun was finally shining but the wind did seem keen to whisk my tent away to fairer shores. Accommodation finally sorted, although it looked neither strong nor stable to use a parlance of our times, I had a nap. I'm 49 you know, plus there was no access to the arena area til 5pm.

If the tent looks wonky it's 'cos it is

I woke up to find it raining. Not just raining. We're talking biblical forty days and forty nights stuff here. Torrential doesn't even cover it. I unpacked the poncho, grabbed a bag full of cans and braved the elements. No main stage this evening but Big Top and This Feeling both had bands on, bands on my must see list. Past one lot of security, then another, and another with my bag of cans (this will become relevant later) and got to the Big Top. Sex Pissed Dolls had just started. Now I like to think I'm open minded as regards music, we can't all like the same thing etc, but I just don't see the point in the Sex Pissed Dolls. So, head down in the driving rain and straight on to This Feeling for my first find of the weekend. I'd never heard Plastic People before tonight. Rock/funk quality tunes with a singer who has to be heard to be believed. Lazy music journalists will tell you that guitar music is dead and there are no good new bands coming through. They are so wrong it's laughable. Check out any band on this list and you'll see why.

Time to brave the rain again as The Alarm were on at the Big Top. The Alarm weren't cool in the 80s and still aren't cool now.

They are one of my favourite bands.

Ever. 

As with a lot of uncool bands though a zealous following has lead to over 5 million sales worldwide. Also check out the story behind the band The Poppy Fields and see how Mike Peters called out the music business and media on it's preconceived perceptions. (The film Vinyl is based on this story). Tonight they are magnificent. Mike Peters still has that gruff Welsh delivery that I fell in love with way back in '83. Their tunes are still epic tales of love and hope in the face of a loveless and hopeless reality. Mike and his wife Jules (playing keyboard tonight) are both cancer survivors. He set up the Love Hope Strength Foundation to raise awareness and funds to benefit fellow sufferers. He dedicated the song 'Time' to those people tonight. It was as moving as it was powerful. I fell in love with them just a little bit more tonight. 

It all starts to go a bit wrong now. It was whilst chugging on a can as I danced and sang to '68 Guns' that a security guard collared me and told me I wasn't allowed cans on the site. I mentioned the lack of information about this anywhere, the three security check points I'd already passed, the fact that vendors were selling soft drinks in cans and told him in no uncertain terms he wasn't taking them off me. We agreed that I could keep them but if I had any on me on site over the next few days they'd be taken off me. I say we agreed. I lied. 

I'd brought my phone this year to liaise with the second wave of the travelling Bang Bang Romeo crew. My plan was to just have it turned off until Friday afternoon when they were due to land, Ever tried ignoring your phone and leaving it off for 24 hours? I can't do it. It's why I left it at home last year. My phone was just about dead already and had not done the job I'd intended for it. Still, I had my trusty camera. Full battery it had reliably informed me on Wednesday evening. It too had lied. 

So had the rain eased off? No. Visibility was about 20 yards. I was a 6'5" bloke in a bright orange poncho with a bright orange hat on and Chris and Sharron still had no chance of spotting me. As I wandered back to This Feeling I caught sight of Starsailor's James Walsh who kindly agreed to be on one of the last pics my camera would take that weekend. Starsailor were on at the Big Top later. He looked happy. I looked like a soaking wet bloke in an unflattering hat/poncho combo who's phone has just died, who's had a run in with security and can't find his mates.

So I was back at This Feeling to catch Grimsby band Mint, infectious guitar laden psychedelic pop with serious hair thrown in. They are a great live band and definitely one to catch. (Quick plug -  see them at Doncaster Leopard June 24th). At least musically my night was going well. Mint clashed with Starsailor and I felt given James had agreed to the photo I really should catch their set. The plan was to catch the end of it after Mint had finished. The rain now was just ridiculous. The site starting to churn up into every festival goers nightmare. I had visions of the Armageddon that was Leeds Fest 2016. I stayed where I was telling myself it was OK 'cos I could hear Starsailor and had seen them recently. Ish. I was entertained by Shambolics and Blackwaters before the rain finally got fed up of it's kill them all mission. 

Mint

Razorlight were due on at the Big Top. I was never a massive fan, probably in the most part due to the ludicrous ramblings of Johhny Borrell. Still, they did bang out a good tune and I decided they were worth a tramp through the mud for. Strolling onto stage and going straight into In The Morning was always gonna work. Sadly I found it all downhill from there. For someone so outspoken in the past Borrell had very little interaction with the crowd, the songs got a bit samey and my sodden body wanted it's sleeping bag.

The last photo my camera managed

I wandered off to treat myself to churros and hot chocolate and got accosted by a Sky News reporter asking me about the election results. 'Tell me what they are and I'll let you know'. 'Hung parliament' he said. I waxed lyrical about my mistrust of exit polls giving 1992 as a prime example and gave my views on Theresa May and her campaign. 'You can't say that on TV' I was told then he asked how old I was. 'I'm 49 you know'. 'Yeah we want someone younger' and he promptly walked off. 

I trudged back to my tent and had a ridiculously restless night as the churros and hot chocolate gave me the worst acid reflux ever. Still, the sun comes out tomorrow.