It is on this fine morning that I realise, not only are the toilets in the guest area flushable and have toilet paper, wooden seats and fancy pictures on the walls but, there are also hot showers! So the morning is off to a great start and not recognising any of the bands up first we try our luck with the main stage and Aiden. I have to say this is perhaps the poorest decision I have ever made. They are dreadful, playing weird goth, metal, punk rock they seem far too old to be trying to pull this off. I can’t even stay for one song,
After wandering aimlessly around the festival grounds questioning how Celtic on a scale of one to Celtic the Celtic baguettes really are, I stumbled upon Giant Drag. Annie Hardy is mid way through telling the crowd not to burn down each other’s tents or faces. What she recommends is to open the zip in someone’s tent just a little bit, stick your penis in and pee on them! They wont like you but at least they wont have to go to hospital. Intrigued, I stay. They sound very early 90s, a little like Alanis Morisette, but it is her cryptic, mildly disturbing jokes that really entertain me.
In search of the first great band of the day we make our way to the main stage. Having seen Wolfmother in a tiny Camden venue and loving them I wonder whether they’ll be as good in front of a crowd of thousands at 1.35 in the afternoon. Unfortunately I don’t think they quite pull it off. They get progressively better throughout their set but the energy they had the last time I saw them is certainly missing.
Finally the time has come. The moment I have been waiting for all weekend. I confess I am completely in love with Tilly and the Wall. Instead of a drummer this band have a tap dancer. Yes tap dancer! With microphones attached to a metal plate Jamie dances wildly along to the songs. Kianna and Neely sing, play guitar, maracas and stamp while Nick and Derek play keyboards and guitar. They begin as always with a sing-along song, and then head straight into their magical, musical universe. They sing of dancing and kissing and misguided first loves, with slight sadness yet a beautiful, hopeful daydream quality. In a cynical, crazy world they tell you to dance and sing along with the odd balls. I have never in my entire life seen a band have so much fun on stage. It was amazing, they perform with such an infectious energy it’s not hard to see why I voted this band greatest band in the world! You can therefore understand my excitement when Ben sweet talks the bouncer into letting me back stage! I camp out ready to assault the band as they leave, all prepared to act cool and try and get an interview. I am completely star struck. I begin babbling, professing my love and turning bright red. Very smooth. Nonetheless I now have a Polaroid of me and the band, the finest souvenir of all time!
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After that excitement, the next act had a lot to live up to. So luckily I then had one of my greatest discoveries of the festival. The Noisettes, fronted by the amazingly talented Shingai Shoniwa, who dashes around the stage howling and shouting, have such energy and soul that they managed to give me goose bumps. With Dan Smith on guitar and Jamie Morrison on the drums this east London punk rock trio completely mesmerized the crowd at the Carling stage. They are amazing.
Somehow during the course of the afternoon, we then saw a ridiculous number of bands; Spinto Band, Clap your hands say yeah and TV on the radio. All were entertaining but after Tilly and the Wall and the Noisettes they failed to get me excited. As the weekend approached it’s finale, all of a sudden it began to rain and in a pathetic failed attempt to stay dry, I decided to see the Raconteurs rather than Muse. I was bitterly disappointed. Nothing like the super groups of the past such as Cream, where amazing musicians came together forming a new 'groups' group, this band are nothing compared to the individuals. As a solo artist Brendon Benson is a genius and the White Stripes are one of the best and most distinctive bands around. The Raconteurs however are dull and unoriginal.
To save me from ending the weekend on a low point Tilly and the Wall play a second set in the comedy stage. I don’t want to go on too much about these guys but if you only see one band ever in your entire life please make sure it is Tilly and the Wall.
(To see more of Ben's amazing photographs please go to http://www.benbroomfield.com)
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