Yes, I know it’s a bit after the event, but it’s not often I get out and about these days.
My son (now 15) wanted to go to this event, which was only a few miles away from where we live. being under 16, someone had to go with him. That’d be me..
It was originally billed as a two-day event (Sat/Sun) with separate tickets for each. We got priority tickets as we were “local”, which was a good job as they sold out instantly. They later added a “dance” night on the Friday as well.
We went for the Sunday tickets, as Catfish and the Bottlemen were on the bill – on the main stage, a few hours after the dreadful Little Mix. Dancing cucumbers?
They later added 21 Pilots to the Sunday bill, as well, but managed to clash that with the 1975..
It was so rammed that the only way to see Catfish was to “infiltrate” the crowd before the previous act.. so we ended up watching Jax Jones before Catfish. Surprisingly entertaining, with lots of guests and mad inflatables on stage.
I have to say that Catfish and the Bottlemen were the highlight for me. Never seen them before, but they were well-rehearsed and slick, and the audience were obviously well into them. I can see why.
Then off to the McDonald’s “free” nuggets experience. Weird. But hey, free nuggets. And a queue.
Lots of face-stuffing later (noodles, and a footlong chilli dog. Jeez. Expensive. AT least the water was free.
Had a go on the big wheel. Lots of photos (*)
Toilets were a hassle, but could have been far worse. Not keen on pissing against a wall in an open bit of field..
Ok, moving on, we had to do the infiltrating thing again in the indoor stage to get a decent view of 21 Pilots. That meant enduring Dave’s Set (nightmare), and 2 Door Cinema Club (Excellent). The crowd was crammed in, and they were throwing beer (I hope it was beer). How that didn’t erupt into violence, I have no idea.
I’d seen 2 Door Cinema Club on TV before, but they were really good live. But 21 Pilots were amazing (My son’s favourite band). The “Drum-surfing” was crazy, and right next to us, too. (He surfed the drumkit and himself into the crowd, and started playing IN the crowd. WOW!
By the time they finished, we were way too late to watch “The 1975“, but hey, you can’t have everything.
On the shuttle-bus (no parking on-site), I realised that my phone SD Card was corrupt. No photos. Bollocks. But memories, yes!