Deborah McArthur has survived another adventure at T in the Park, but did she enjoy this year's line-up?
Wellies–Check. Rain jacket –Check.
And just as well as the weather wasn’t that great at T in the Park this year. However, it didn’t ruin it one single bit. In fact, for me, it made it better. Most years I’ve been at T it’s been dry, but this year in true festival spirit it poured down, and the mud was out in all its glory!
I started the weekend off with The Big Pink, a band I’m not that familiar with. I didn’t realise they are the band behind the hit “Dominos” but this will be a band I will definitely be looking into more. I loved the mix of electronic music and rock. It got me dancing and set me up for the rest of the weekend.
Paloma Faith was up next and she was amazing! At first when she stepped on stage wearing her sculpted red hat and black sequins frock I thought – “Great, she’s going to stand like a singer in an old fashioned club and sing at us for 30minutes,” but she didn’t. The interaction with the audience was fab, and she made her way across the stage like a true superstar. When her hit New York came on it sent shivers down my spine! Theatrical and thrilling – love her!
One act that I couldn’t possibly miss was Florence and the Machine. After missing out on tickets in May for her gig in Edinburgh there was no way I was missing her again! I fought my way through the crowd as far as people would allow me and got prepared to be blown away and I wasn’t disappointed. Her album “Lungs” is one of my favourites. The lyrics of every song are amazing and her chemistry when on stage is electric. I couldn’t take my eyes off her! The crowd around me was mixed and diverse, and this just shows that her music reaches out to everyone.
Friday night closed with the Black Eyed Peas and Muse. I made the decision to see the Black Eyed Peas, and I think that was the wrong decision. They didn’t live up to my expectations and the fact they kept addressing the crowd as either Glasgow or Edinburgh didn’t help. I was disappointed with their live performance, but I remember thinking this when I saw them on the X Factor; their performance was boring in comparison with their music videos. If only I had remembered this at the time, then I wouldn’t have wasted an hour or so watching them and from what I hear Muse rocked!! A lesson learned!
Saturday brought the amazing Vampire Weekend and Paolo Nutini. Both of these acts can’t do any wrong in my eyes. Both bring infectious lyrics and melodies that make me dance. The act I was most curious to see was Eminem. I’m not a huge fan but seem to subconsciously know some of his lyrics. I wasn’t impressed that he kept us waiting for 35minutes and started his set with “What’s Up Edinburgh,” but when he started all was forgotten. The crowd around me enhanced my experience; they knew every lyric and gave 100% to sing-along with him. The set was fast paced and energetic. The two tracks that stood out for me was “My Band” and “I’m not Afraid” I forgot how much I love “My Band” and hearing it live was superb. I came home and checked out the video again: makes me laugh so much! I find the lyrics to “I’m not Afraid” amazing. I really like this new track, and when the crowd were singing with Eminem it felt like they really were all holding strong and supporting him.
Before I knew it Sunday was upon us! I hated the thought that T was almost over.
My Sunday didn’t start off too well; I went to the main stage to be frightened by the noise coming from it in the form of Skunk Anansie; she could make my ears bleed. They were then followed by The View. On the radio or in a club, if The View come on I sing and dance and actually enjoy it (I even have one of their albums), but live they are not exciting to watch what so ever! In fact, paint drying is more interesting in my opinion.
Thankfully, next up was Dizzee Rascal, and he was phenomenal. The only word to describe his set was ‘banging!’ When he left the stage the crowd, including me, were screaming “one more tune, one more tune” and he didn’t disappoint. He came back on stage for his encore and finished with “Bonkers,” and that’s exactly how the crowd went. The place erupted, everyone was bouncing up and down from side to side, It felt out of control but was amazing. Definitely a highlight of the weekend for me.
Next was Biffy Clyro, and they were brilliant. First time I’ve seen them live, and it was more chilled watching them, but I enjoyed them playing live. They truly love performing. I can’t believe they have played T more times than any other band and this is the first time I have seen them play – well, it certainly won’t be the last.
But I am saving the best to last; in my eyes this man can do no wrong. He is a legend! Jay Z took the stage (OK, 10 minutes late, but at least he gave us a count down on the screen and for me that built up the anticipation even more and there is no way I am holding that against him). The tone of his voice and lyrical genius was amazing! He performed hit after hit, from 99 Problems, Empire State of Mind, Hard Knock Life to Encore. He is an absolute mega star, but he stood on the stage enjoying every moment of the crowd as though he had never had that reaction before. He made us swing an item of clothing in the air; I chose my zipper but some ladies decided the item they were going to swing were their bras, and who can blame them? He personally picked people out to thank them for their participation while he was performing! I was just jealous he didn’t pick me.
For me, T in the Park could have ended there. The weekend was jammed packed with outstanding music and possibly the best line up I have seen at T. Fingers crossed next year is just as good, if not better.
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