If I could choose the life I please then I would be a boatman...

With the festival season creeping up on us once more, I’m reminded what a miserable climate we are rewarded with for being UK residents.
As soon as Michael Eavis finishes trimming his beard the clouds begin to gather over the Bristol Channel and the only way left to get to Glasto is by boat.
No wonder we’re a nation of grumpy old f4ckers.

Despite it being the mother and father of all gigs, I have to confess to never actually having been to Glastonbury.
In my younger days, I always planned to go but something invariably got in the way - most likely the issue of the 1500 mile round trip.

Having been to the earlier T in the Park gigs, I always felt a sense of disappointment on the day as the gig, with its abridged sets, murky weather and generally mingin’ surroundings, never really lived up to the expectation.
The Fleadh and others were no different.
Sure, there were memorable moments like the first time my wife and I got together as awkward teenagers to the strains of Gillan and Wishbone Ash at Loch Lomond; or the time, again at Loch Lomond, when Deacon Blue, Runrig and Hothouse Flowers topped a particularly celtic bill, which was followed by a train ride across Rannoch Moor to Fort William and on to Arisaig where we embarked on what became known as ‘the long walk home’ to the east coast.
Yes, there were memorable performances like the time I saw Rory Gallagher near the end of his career, or the first time I saw Michael Marra in a tent on Glasgow Green.
There was the first time I ever came across Kevin McDermott and the last time I ever saw Frankie Miller, again, in a boozy marquee.
There was the time I saw the Pogues with the Chieftains and the buzz was unbelievable – who was going to sing? MacGowan? Strummer? Chevron? Stacey? In the end, from the main stage, the intricacy of the whistle, mandolin, accordion and citterns was so lost that I could have gone up there and played Sally MacLennane out of a bugle up me arse and nobody would have noticed the difference.
Never was a band more suited to a boozy marquee than the Pogues.
More often than not though, it was mismanagement and ego that really screwed things up with the bill toppers (Van Morrison springs immediately to mind - twice) offering up over elaborate and sterile sets.
The fringe performances from the booze tent or the smaller stage provided most of the highlights.

As Britpop and the stadium gig seized the baton in the great relay of musical fashion, the festivals became less interesting to me.
Even recent outdoor gigs and festivals, with only a few exceptions, never really did it for me.
The last time was Tartan Heart a couple of years ago where, despite a bill sporting Aberfeldy, Ricky Ross, The Proclaimers, Michael Marra and The Trashcan Sinatras mixed with some biblical rain, I left swearing I would never go to another festival. That was it, never again.
In spite of that, good old T in the Park was secretly conspiring to make a liar out of me. This year’s line-up, boasting REM & Counting Crows, two of my favourite bands, was a cert, how could I resist. I’d be there, knee deep in mud, dodging the flying pish filled plastic bottles, inwardly smirking at the puking teenagers and trying to avoid going to the toilet for three days. I’d be there but for the fact that I’m on holiday.
Is fate conspiring against me or is it just being my protector? Who knows? Maybe it’s for the best.

David Quantick’s recent piece in Q magazine pretty much puts it all in perspective.
For me, I guess it’s always going to be the small intimate indoor gig, the ‘whites of the eyes’ one that does the trick - like the King Creosote gig I'm off to next week.

Might manage a trip to the Wizard festival as well though…. Supergrass, the Damned, Alabama 3, McCusker / Drever & Woomble and Chris Helme (yes, he of Seahorses fame)… Could be worth the 20 mile trip.

In honour of the festival season, a few live recordings to whet the appetite of those who are brave enough to go.

The Levellers – Best Live - Headlights, White Lines, Black Tar Rivers
http://rapidshare.com/files/122246148/Best_Live__Headlights__White_Lines__Blac.rar

Ricky Ross tracks are all mixed up – running order is as shown on the cover
Ricky Ross - An Evening With Ricky Ross
http://rapidshare.com/files/122333548/An_Evening_With_Ricky_Ross.rar

Big Country – Brighton Rock
http://rapidshare.com/files/122172406/Brighton_Rock.rar

KT Tunstall – Live At The Old Fruitmarket
http://rapidshare.com/files/122251025/Live_At_The_Old_Fruitmarket.rar

World Party – BBC Radio 1 In Concert -1994pt1.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/122338375/BBC_Radio_1_In_Concert_-_1994_pt_1.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/122343154/BBC_Radio_1_In_Concert_-_1994_pt_2.rar

Kevin McDermott Orchestra – Boxed Set
http://rapidshare.com/files/122348013/Boxed_Set.rar

The Raphaels - Live.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/122356143/Live.rar

Neil Finn - Live – Portland 99.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/122362459/Live_-_Portland_99.rar

Maria McKee – Live Acoustic Tour 2006
http://rapidshare.com/files/122370245/Live_Acoustic_Tour_2006.rar

Glen Hansard & Margeta Irglova – Live In Washington DC pt 1
http://rapidshare.com/files/122378983/Live_In_Washington_DC_pt_1.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/122381896/Live_In_Washington_DC_pt_2.rar

Bright Eyes – New York Town Hall
http://rapidshare.com/files/122396924/New_York_Town_Hall.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/122387308/New_York_Town_Hall_2.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/122405598/New_York_Town_Hall_3.rar

Hue & Cry – The River Sessions 1987
http://rapidshare.com/files/122412055/The_River_Sessions_1987_Disc_1.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/122416665/The_River_Sessions_1987_Disc_2.rar

The Only Ones – The Big Sleep
http://rapidshare.com/files/122423209/The_Big_Sleep.rar


Enjoy

Hooli