It was another stinking hot day, but im not complaining. The traffic was a bit pants on the way down, so by the time i got to Mark n Anges place i was beyond roasting. Had to make a pit stop here and visit two lovley mates of ours. From here a quick 20 min drive to Wickham.
As i pulled up to the gates, Mike and his daughters were there with a warm greeting. I parked by his, then off we plodded, but as we crossed the road we were nealry ran over by two waving loonies....twas Hev and Rob. So we all piled down together.
While waiting for the others, we had a nose around the festival site dishing out flyers. It was a well layed out festival, with some good stalls, and food stands. The outdoor stage was huge, and extremely pro looking. So the festival team deserve a pat on the back.
After dishing out the flyers, and having a quick pint from the beer tent (i thought id best offer support to the local brewery...polite aint it) we went back to the camping area to find the others.
It didnt really take that long to get set up. Rob had actually beaten us all to it, he was already settled in. He had a tent that Lawrance Of Arabia would have been jealous of.
The heat was getting pretty uncomfy, so a wander to the festival site was made to investigate the refreshments and stalls. Lizzy had that cheeky grin on her face.......shiny thing shopping was a success.
A couple of more ales went down nicely. Then back to the camping area to start getting ready. Set lists were discussed, light meals and plenty of fluids were consumed and a bit of time to relax in the shade.
Come 7.30 it was time to get down to the backstage area. We managed to unload while The Fold were still performing. They sounded really good.
The drum kit was put together outside The venue which was inside the hall. We were playing more or less at the same time as the oystyboddle. However, the hall was chocker. At one point an anouncement was made outside that no more were allowed in because it was just heaving with music fans packed in to see the Bluehorses.
Cabbage Train kicked of the evenings onslaught, and by the end of the first number, everybody is dripping in sweat. The healthy supply of bodies in the crowd wearing Bluehorse t shirts made sure that Witch In Wedlock had a loud responce for the chorus. Many of the new faces even joined in.
Billy Boy was soon blasting out of the speakers, however Mr Health & Safety had the sound turned down a touch. Nothing to drastic. Blackleg then came in to keep the pace up.
Then a miracle....one of my all time favs tracks from the past was soon making the speakers shake. Hoedown Reels is a Bluehorses classic, and tonight was back on the set, and going by the amount of jumping and dancing going on....it was a huge success.
Nightvisit, Gravel Walk and new track Crow On The Cradle kept the pace up, then Ostara made sure that the sweat was still pouring from everyone. Another old classic was played for the first time in ages....Old Haslams Bits, a real dancy, jumpy, sweaty track that rally impressed everyone.
Barbara Allen, Bigger Gun, Skyclad and Twmbarllwm finished off the nights gig. The temparature on stage must have been outragious, Everyone, including the crowd where dripping from one hell of a live set. It was one of the best set lists the band have played, helped by ithe inclusion of Hoedown Reel and Haslems Bits being included. The reaction was very positive.
It was as usual, a brilliant performance by Britains finest live band. As usual many a new fan were made. They held a packed hall against the oystyboddle, and proved yet again, that this band are always going to deliver the goods at any festival or venue and give the crowd what they want.....a bloody good time.
We had to take the gear down at a rapid rate, and this well oiled Bluehorse machine did just that. We piled the gear up outside, loaded the van then just sat there and collapsed and chilled and talked away. It was still bloody hot even late at night.
We eventually staggered off to find some grub and drinks. Then wandered back to the camp site. We stayed up late talking the hours away, then bodies started to filter away to bed, leaving myself and Jay gassing away till 5am armed with fags and a cooler box of beers.
Didn't sleep long, i was sleeping outside on my air bed. Manged to make a coffee on the camping stove. Soon after Nic surfaced. tired bodies crawled out of the tents to the smell of coffee being made.
We all chilled for a few hours, then hit the food stands for breakfast and shopping. Then back to the site, packed up and that was it.
It was a great weekend, a huge success for the band and great time was had by us all being together.
The festival itself i cant recommend enough. With a couple of minor changes, the festival team have a huge success on their hands and i wish them well, they deserve it.
Now its back to recovery, before we do it all again this weekend.
