The rain continues all night, I hold it in as long as I can but at 0900 I have to run for it. Still, I'm up in time for breakfast and get to have a nice hot shower. No-one believes that Michael Jackson is dead. I usually have big plans for each day, the clashfinder helping me to decide what is possible, but there are only a few things I'm excited about today. Lamb. Steel Pulse. Regina Spector.
FRIDAY
Bath Tub Ceilidh Band
Good morning they sing,
Playing Archer's-themed folk dance;
Small child is happy.
Ears dripping red blood,
Her shrieking is most painful.
Quick, run to the pub!1
Leatherbound guitars
Breeds a three-headed monster,
This man is too strange.
The sun appears once
For nice piano melodies
Adz isn't impressed.2
Cold beer and sunshine
Syncopating live dance hits,
Old tunes beat new ones.
It's an accident
and a crowd pleasing surprise
Is the souzaphone.
Emotions run wild
Though the speakers can't take it
Lamb make people weep.3
Reggae reggae dub
Dub dub reggae dub rastaman
They're from the Midlands!4
Fire Show
The last band on our stage is Eternal Taal, who are a great dance band with lots of drumming, playing banghra versions of everything, including a bit of Michael Jackson, natch.
Tonight it is our actual dress rehearsal. First we have the crazy Eddie Egal, who has the usual enormous flames, nearly naked ladies and fiery chainsaws. and fireworks. I manage to get myself assigned to the Garuda bird and my job is to walk in front of it after the fireworks, guiding it through the crowd and keeping them away from it's pecking beak. Oh and it breathes sparks about 4 metres in front of it, so I have to have eyes in the back my head too! Tonight though, they just go where they like and I have to run into the crowd shouting, because the bird isn't heading for the gap we'd created...
Some madness ensues, involving human Catherine wheels, fire swingers and more huge flames. The elephant gets stuck in the crowd and can't join in the fun. Then people with flamethrowers lead, or rather scare the crowd down to a man in a gyroscope who sets himself on fire.
After the show we wander down to Trash City which is utterly heaving. I can almost take my feet of the ground and let the crowd carry me through. We run away to the backstage bar.
A theatre bar fave
The freaks are all raving hard
Glenn, take me, I'm yours?
- 1. Seriously. Avoid at all costs, another shouty soul rnb faux retro nightmare.
- 2. But I am... she was very good!
- 3. Honestly. people are actually in tears when Lou Rhodes sings 'I can fly'...
- 4. Totally awesome and it's a big crowd, although the rest of the festival are off watching The Specials. Today's tallest man is played by All-Black star Jonah Lomu. I don't ask him to move!
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