T in the Park Diaries - AmatrArt

It might be nearly all gone and forgotten by two weekends ago over 100 artists, 80,000 people, and our good selves descent upon Strathallan Castle for Scotland's biggest music festival; T in the Park!  Once again we recruited some of the finest talent playing across the T Break stage over the weekend to keep a T in the Park Diary for Scottish Fiction.

On Saturday in the T Break stage the job of opening up fell to Glasgow five piece AmatrArt.  The band grabbed the ear of the judges with their pop laced wavey synths, and we caught up with Josh from the band for their T Diary.

Friday 10th July

Our slot was at 12:10pm on the Saturday morning so if we were leaving from Glasgow that would have meant we’d have to leave ridiculously early.  Luckily enough for us Jonathan's folks live in Comrie - about half an hour from the new site - and there was a few acts we wanted to see on the Friday including Jessie Ware, Hot Chip and The War on Drugs.  So we decided to head up on the Friday stopping off there to drop off all the gear.

We sadly missed Jessie Ware as it took some time for us to work out where we were to go to get our artists accreditation.  The rest of the night was pretty good though.  We left before the headliners to get back to Comrie at a decent time where we sat up and had some beers before heading off in the morning.

Saturday 11th July

As we were the first on, and you were to arrive a few hours before your slot, we arrived super early.  The site looks quite bizarre at this time as there’s hardly anyone about.  A few security folk and stage crew.  It also confirmed that the new site was indeed much smaller which could mostly be considered a good thing except from the occasional crush we experienced.  We had a few hours to kill before we were scheduled to play so there was quite a lot of waiting around which we mostly filled by drinking the free beer!

The stage was very impressive and was by far the biggest we’ve played on.  At a lot of the gigs we play it’s unusual to have more than one monitor mix between the band but here we had a dedicated sound guy who's job it was to control the monitor mix for us as well as the guy who did the sound out front.  That was really sweet and the gig was the best sounding for us yet.

The boys from Catholic Action informed us that a bigger stage suits our sound which was nice of them.  The gig itself was super fun, we were all pretty much smiling the whole way through it and we hope it will be the first of many festival gigs.

After our set we watched Catholic Action and then headed over to the BBC Introducing tent to catch Pinact.  Both bands were really good and it was cool to see lots of folk at each of their gigs.

By this time we were all already pretty shattered so afterwards we sat behind had the BBC Introducing tent had some beers with the bands and chilled.  The weather was still pretty decent at this point so were able to utilise the fancy beach chairs they had outside.

Later on we went to see St Vincent who was very impressive.  Probably the best guitar player in the world just now and the choreographed dance moves were pretty captivating.  The sound was quite muffled though and there was probably less people there than were at her ABC show last year which was a bit of a let down but nothing to do with her actual performance which was probably the highlight of the day (except for playing of course!)

We then went to see Alt-J who sounded great but no one could really consider it a very energetic or exciting live performance.  We finished the night catching Ded Rabbit at T Break who in contrast to Alt-J were very exciting.  It was a really nice end to the weekend.

Then began the epic that was getting out of the car park.  We left before the majority of folk but were stuck in the car park for well over three hours.  It wasn’t until half 3 in the morning that we eventually got moving.  It wasn’t all bad though, we helped push cars through the mud, told ghost stories and had dance offs with fellow festival goers.  We’re looking forward to hopefully making a return at some point in the future!

T in the Park 2015 Review - Friday

With this year being the first in 18 that T in the Park has not been held at the beloved Balado site, I think it's far to say that the question on everyone's mind as they set off for Strathallan Castle is what would the new site be like?

And it's a question with many nuances, for example what will the drive up (and later home) be like, how will parking be, what will the layout of the stages be?  It's also a question that will provide different answers to different people, so for the purposes of our T in the Park reviews of each day, I'm going to focus on the music on offer, while saving my observations on the new site for a separate blog post later on.

Which means heading straight to the Main Stage to catch the band opening the festival and at the same time bagging the ceremonious honour of being the first band to officially play Strathallan Castle.  It's perhaps no surprise to see the polished synth-pop trio Prides adorning the Main Stage.  It's a trajectory they have been on for a while, and what with their debut album The Way Back Up  also released today (10th July) it feels like the stars are aligning for the band.

The crowd who have gathered at the front of the Main Stage get it.  Prides are here for a party.  And you know what, despite the early slot, despite the light drizzle, and despite the distinct lack of festival atmosphere, that's exactly what they achieve.  With tracks like Higher Love,  opener Out of the Blue,  and set closer Messiah  getting the full sing-a-long treatment, the obligatory balloons, and the crowd jumping and clapping along, it's a great start to the festivities.  What I particularly liked about Prides billing was that it was a Scottish act opening the Main Stage (something which was repeated with The LaFontaines on Saturday).  For the three guys on stage, who have collectively been to T in the Park 22 times between them, to open Scotland's biggest music festival, whether you like Prides or not, it shows the festival recognising the talent on it's own doorstep.

Next up it's over to the King Tut's Tent to see The Twilight Sad play practically the same booking they had last year.  With the success and rejuvenation that Nobody Wants To Be Here And Nobody Wants To Leave  has had for the band, it's perhaps a no-brainer to bring them back for another run at the festival crowd. 

Opening with There's A Girl In The Corner  lead singer James Graham is deep into his focused on-stage performance.  Throwing himself about with the belief of a man who knows his band and his music were built for stages like these and bigger.  Much of the set comes from the aforementioned album, but there's always a special place reserved for the ear-splitting I Became A Prostitute,  and the anthemic Cold Days From The Birdhouse,  which closes the set. 

Perhaps ear-splitting isn't the best description in this particular case, as the noise levels do seem - perhaps forcibly - reduced compared with past Sad gigs I've been to.  Such is the case with festivals slots however, and in all honesty it doesn't take away from what is a impassioned performance.  I had the pleasure of speaking with James afterwards and he extolled the virtues of letting your music do the talking.  As the tent got busier and busier during each track it's clear a lot of people are listening to what The Twilight Sad have to say.

After a brief bit of downtime, and the severe displeasure of having Duke Dumont attack my senses, I gathered again in the King Tut's Tent for Hot Chip.  I've not seen the band in a good few years - okay since they toured in support of 2008's Made In The Dark - so I was brimming with anticipation for this one.  So were thousands of others as the tent was suitably packed for one of the finest, and most consistent, indietronica bands of the last decade.

Yet while it was busy there was is a noticeable lull in atmosphere.  Personally I find it hard to pin that on the band, as they are flawless in their collective wizardry, and synchronized dance moves, dipping into their hit-laden back catalogue for tracks like Ready For The Floor  and I Feel Better.  No instead it feels like the crowd are - depressingly - gathering in anticipation of Fatboy Slim.  And then it hits me.  Over and Over  came out NINE years ago.  Whereas I was front and centre clubbing when the track dropped, for many 'newbies' in the crowd it was a hit from yesteryear.  God I'm old.  That feeling is forgotten though when the cowbell strikes and we all start to get "laid back".  The track is the band's opus and they use it to ignite the crowd into a frenzy with Joe Goddard shouting the infamous T in the Park chant from the stage.  He knows what he's doing that man.

Finishing their set - as they did at Glastonbury - with an incredible cover of Springsteen's Dancing In The Dark  which almost unnoticeably morphs into All My Friends by LCD Soundsystem is a stroke of genius.  At least to me and the other appreciative fans around me.  For many of the fresh-faced youngsters it's a tribute lost on them.  Cé la vie.

If the crowd at Hot Chip not appreciating the impromptu cover of the Boss annoyed me, then it was only a precursor to the feelings I'd harbour as we moved over to the BBC Three / Radio 1 Stage to catch American troubadours The War On Drugs.

With their album Lost In The Dream  earning plaudits the world over - the band found themselves rather bizarrely nominated for a Brit Award - their booking for the festival is well earned.  But while I applaud the DF Concerts team for snapping up the band, questions have to be asked about their scheduling between David Guetta and Afrojack.

The resulting quandary is a crowd made up of those looking to enjoy Adam Granduciel's tales of American woe, steeped in the traditions of Springsteen, Dylan, and Petty, those leaving from Afrojack, and those looking to get prime placing for headliner David Guetta.

Unlike in Hot Chip where the lack of appreciation seemed more generational than anything else, this setting is a straight up musical mismatch.  The apathy, and in some audible cases outright disdain, of large swathes of the crowd makes the whole set rather unenjoyable.  Which takes nothing away from the musicianship and professionalism of the band, who give it their all, either oblivious to the crowd or in defiance of them.  As much as I can pick them out highlights include Under The Pressure  and Red Eyes  both of which induce in me the vast potential of the open American highway.

Which brings me to headliner time.  A tough choice I'm sure you'll agree.  Guetta, Kasabian or Mark Ronson are the acts the festival organisers have booked for the main stages.  Luckily there's always another way.

I spoke already about how good it was to see Scottish acts open the Main Stage.  It was equally great to see Hector Bizerk being given the opportunity to close the Transmission Stage.  The band don't need any introductions around these parts, and in my mind this was lining up to be a highlight of the weekend.

Never ones to disappoint Hector delivered on expectations plus some.  From the moment Louie swaggered out on stage, casually mentioning to the crowd that this is indeed a headline slot at T in the Park the crowd are with him every beat, rap and bassline of the way.

Let's not pretend the tent was bursting at the seams.  It wasn't.  But Hector Bizerk shouldn't see this as a negative rather than a reality of festival puntery.  What should be more inspiring is those who came into the tent and left dyed in the wool Hector Bizerk followers.  Because on the strength of their set, anyone not already converted to the hip-hop band's music, was singing their praises after.

As for highlights?  Where to start.  Tracks Festival Boy,  Rust Cohle,  and Skin and Bone  from their latest EP are fresh and showcase the band in their current thinking.  Older anthems like Bury The Hatchet  and Colombus  also provoke en masse sing-a-longs making it hard to think when the band can ever drop these tracks from their setlist!  There's an unexpected treat as the band perform a 'festival' cover of Blur's Song 2  to the delight of the crowd.

And that is that.  Day one of T in the Park done.  Hector Bizerk have crowned a day of great music, but questionable crowds.

- Words by Neil Wilson / Pictures by Bill Gray

T in the Park Diaries - Schnarff Schnarff

Last weekend saw over 100 artists, 80,000 people, and our good selves descent upon Strathallan Castle for Scotland's biggest music festival; T in the Park!  Once again we recruited some of the finest talent playing across the T Break stage over the weekend to keep a T in the Park Diary for Scottish Fiction.

Sporting perhaps the most unique name of the weekend, not to mention the closest name to Thundercats character, Schnarff Schnarff topped the bill on the T Break stage on Friday night.  Myles Bonner from the Inverness quintet kept track of the weekend for Scottish Fiction.

Thursday 9th July

Tin the Park started a little early for Schnarff Schnarff when Thunder, Turtle and I had to head out to the campsite on the Thursday evening.  We waited in two hours of traffic, picked up our passes at West Gate and headed onto the shuttle bus which took us round twice and dropped us off at the West Gate.  We proceeded to walk for 30 minutes until we eventually found a free spot to set up camp for the band and all our pals.  We weren't going to staff camp when so many of our folk had bought tickets so we trekked until we found the sublime BLUE 1 section which ended up being class.  It was close enough to the atmosphere without having a paralytic person flatten your tent… like many sections.  We set up and then made our way back to Glasgow (half panicking that someone would nick our seven tents and gazebo!)



Friday 10th July

Full of excitement and some serious fear, I started the van as we set up on a convoy to Strathallan…  Not before getting a team picture obviously.

We arrived after facing a few hours traffic but we were so buzzing that we couldn't care less.  Upon arrival at the staff car park at West Gate we found our crew member, Jamie Fleming, pissed-as-a-newt, sprawled out on a fold out chair and half a crate of ciders (he had arrived a few hours earlier than we planned). 

With everyone meeting up and getting their performer wristbands, we made our way across the mud to the heights of Blue 1 where everyone soon realised how important it was that we had set up camp the night before…  It was rammed! 

We sat down in the gazebo and watched our family and friends get cracked into the festival drink supplies while we watched as tee-totallers in anticipation for our biggest gig to date.  We don't drink before gigs usually so we weren't going to start now, even though I will admit, it was a very trying atmosphere to stay sober!  Class weather, everyone together, we counted down the minutes until we would headline the famous T Break stage!

We went to see Hozier, among other bands, while we counted down the time to stage time and then eventually separated from the TeamSchnarff to the band wagon so we could get our amps, guitars and drum breakables to T Break.

This wasn't an ideal situation as we moved the equipment from the van, trekked across the mud and then clambered onto a shuttle bus which proceeded to take us round the campsite to T Break stage which was, we found out, 200 yards from where we got on in the first place!  

We sat our gear down in the tent, met with John-Paul Mason and Craig Johnston from DF Concerts while downing free Highland Spring to calm the nerves.   The time flew backstage as we had interviews with Clyde 1 and Tenement TV.  We filled out our PRS forms, told the filters what tracks we wanted recorded and then were summoned to set up out stage after a great set from the lads from Dead Man Fall.

The stage was incredible was everything I wanted.  Great equipment, lights and it was big enough to roam about - something I do because I enjoy it and it helps me engage the crowd more.  I like to pick out the whites of people's eyes so I know they are listening!  In a flash, we were on-stage and it was time.

We opened the set with our set Desk  and the crowd who had decided to choose us over David Guetta, Mark Ronson and Kasabian got into it straight away.  The tent was not rammed by any means but it was busier than we can possibly have expected considering being relatively unheard of but competing with the Friday big headliners!   

It was incredible, we did ourselves proud.  Only had a few niggles in our 30 minute set but we all left feeling like we earned some new fans who, less face it, were probably there just because of our random name!  We hugged each other, got a photo with a few new faces who loved the set and then were ushered out of the tent with our gear, still high as kites from playing the amazing T in the Park!

That high that we had worked so hard for was quickly extinguished when some crossed wires led us to a bus stop which was no longer active because the roads are closed each night at 11pm (WE FINISHED OUR SET AT 10.50pm!) 

We weren't allowed to store our amps so stood in the pissing rain with £4,000 worth of equipment.  With no help anywhere, we were blessed to bump into our good pals Hector Bizerk who, along with the legends who work backstage at the BBC Introducing, quickly ran over to help us save our stuff.   Audrey from the Hector Bizerk emptied the back seats of her van and quickly filled her Fiat until everything was protected.  We begged for access to the staff roads and eventually managed to get to our Renault Traffic with our beloved equipment intact!  Audrey, you are a legend!

The feeling of being a T in the Park headliner had quickly dissolved when we were left in the rain BUT the excitement soon grew again once we had loaded our amps and gear, and sat, enjoying a cold beer as a quintet!  It finally sank in; we played FUCKING T IN THE PARK!

We met with the rest of the group, phoned our parents and loved ones and got clean on it into the early hours of Saturday morning.

Saturday 11th July - Monday 13th July

We camped, we drank, we sung, we shouted and we saw the most incredible bands smash T in the Park's first year at Strathallan.  Everyone was so up for it that the weekend was mashed into one big blur of bands, hilarity and fun!  It was just class. 

With the stress of setting up camp, playing such an important gig and then saving our equipment, we could now relax and have a complete blow out.  Wolf Alice, Catfish and the Bottlemen, Everything Everything and Annie Mac were stand-outs for me.  Here a picture of our bassist Thunder, our crew member Jamie, and myself enjoying the rest of our muddy, camping, incredible weekend.  It was that good that I am still coughing!

 

T in the Park Diaries - Be Charlotte

Last weekend saw over 100 artists, 80,000 people, and our good selves descent upon Strathallan Castle for Scotland's biggest music festival; T in the Park!  Once again we recruited some of the finest talent playing across the T Break stage over the weekend to keep a T in the Park Diary for Scottish Fiction.

Be Charlotte, a singer, writer, rapper, producer, and all-round talented musician, played the T Break stage on Sunday 12th.  Here's how the festival went for her.

Friday 10th July

So it’s the first day of T in the Park 2015 and it’s fair to say I’m pretty buzzing!  I didn’t really have a definite plan for today apart from pick up artist passes and see some friends headline the Transmissions Stage (casual, I know)…  I just couldn’t wait to get that festival feeling.

After a bit of driving around the new site we found the Production/Charlie Gate.  I collected my passes and received my artist wristband.  Now it did feel like T time!  First on my to-do list was to suss out the new site, to me it felt a lot more spaced out than Balado.  After this I made my way to the Media Village where I took part in a live interview with Tay FM talking about how I was feeling pre my debut T performance and caught up with some other familiar faces in there too.

Then the hunger was starting to kick in so went exploring for something to eat, there was quite a lot on offer but eventually settled on a margherita pizza.  It did cost £9 buuuuuut in the pizza's defence it was very tasty!

The mud by the way.  So glad I wore wellies!!!

Anyway…  Music wise I managed to catch a bit of Slaves who I absolutely loved.  Also Sam Smith was truly incredible, his voice is just insane live and he seems like such a genuine artist.  Very inspirational!

To finish off my first day at T I ventured over to the Transmissions Stage in the BBC Introducing tent to see my friends/faves Hector Bizerk headline.  I basically didn’t stop dancing from the moment they started till the end of their set.  I’ve seen them perform quite a number of times now in various venues all over the place but there was something special about this one.  It was the perfect way to finish my first day at T.



Saturday 11th July

Today I decided to head through to T a little later.  I wanted to make sure my voice is at its optimum for my performance tomorrow, sometimes I have a tendency to get carried away and sing along a bit too much, so decided to give my voice a break for most of the day.

I left Dundee around 5pm to join in the second day of festivities at Strathallan.  The nice thing about my experience so far was that I was getting to share this moment with quite a few friends and tonight for me was all about Our Future Glory and Other Humans.  The lovely guys of OFG invited me to perform their last song with them and it was an absolute honour.  It was so lovely to watch both Other Humans and Our Future Glory put on an amazing show to a packed out tent.  I could feel their emotion and excitement, it was one of the best feelings to see them enjoying their moment so much.

So…the aim was to have an early-ish night in preparation for tomorrow but its now 3am and I’m just getting into bed.  Up in 5 hours.  Buzzing though.



Sunday 12th July

Good Morning!

Okay, today is THE day.  I’m actually playing T in the Park..  TODAY!!!! 

I had time for a wee slice of toast and a cup of hot honey and lemon before heading out the door.  We left Dundee around 9.30am just to give us plenty of time to load in/soundcheck.  I had the usual pre-gig feeling of excitement and nerves.  Soundchecks as they go are known for being quite a stressful process (well I think so anyway) but this one wasn’t too bad at all…  The sound engineers were amazing, very grateful for all their help!

We finished soundcheck about 12ish so I had just enough time to get changed into my T outfit and throw my hair up into its signature big bun, oh and put some glitter on my face (essential)!

I genuinely had no idea what to expect with having an early stage time, it’s difficult to predict what the crowd will be like or if you’ll have one at all.  I tried to not to think about this though and just focused on giving the best performance I’ve ever done.  Throughout the first song I could see more and more people filling the tent and by the end of the set the crowd were really involved and singing along… it’s a feeling I will never forget.  I loved every minute of being on that stage, I felt as though the whole tent was behind me and I could totally be myself.  So much so I even threw in a few unprepared Be Charlotte dance moves… I say unprepared I mean, I have been practising them for years!

After the set, I couldn’t quite believe what had just happened.  It was more than I could have ever dreamed of.  The whole moment didn’t feel real.  I was quite emotional when I came off stage, I didn’t really expect to be but I just felt so overwhelmed by the reaction from the crowd and so happy to be surrounded by such a great team.  After ditching the happy tears for a smile it was time for some interviews backstage with Tenement TV.

I spent the rest of today on a high, meeting lots of different people, catching up with friends and doing a few more interviews.  Towards the end of the day I was in the T Break tent watching one of my other favourite bands Crash Club when a girl came over and asked if I was Be Charlotte.  She said she was really nervous to come over but wanted to asked for a picture.  We had a lovely little chat.  It was a surreal feeling for me, that’s never really happened before!

WOW…  I must of said this so many times today but the whole day has been so surreal.

Much love to T in the Park, T Break, and everyone who filled that tent at 12.30.  I hope I kick started your Sunday with some damn good vibes.  This is just the beginning.

Be Charlotte x

Photo credits:
Robert Adam - T in the park on stage

Ruth Trotter - Promo Pic

T in The Park - Nine acts not to miss!

Boots have already trudged the ground, tent pegs and guy ropes put in completely inappropriate places, and cans of Tennents lager cracked open to the cries of "T IN THE PAAAAARK".  Yup, Scotland's biggest music festival is about to begin, this year in it's brand new home at Strathallan Castle.

While the site will be new, there's a few things that will stay as loyal fans to the festival have always known.  Food and drink will be plentiful, the weather will be unpredictable, and there will be over 100 acts playing across three days and six stages catering to all tastes.

There's some big hitters on the bill this year, but as always here at Scottish Fiction we have our eyes on the home grown talent, and so present to you our top tips of acts not to miss during this year's festivities.

Catholic Action

One of the hottest tipped bands about at the moment are Catholic Action.  Fronted by former Casual Sex, and current Pinact, member Chris McCrory the band are prolific with recent single The Real World  released via Fuzzkill Records.  Check them out on Saturday on the T Break Stage.

Man Of Moon

I was very impressed last month when I caught Edinburgh duo Man of Moon performing at the BBC at the Quay event.  Their single The Road  is catchy as anything, with chuggy guitars and crashing cymbals creating a steady pulse throughout.  The band are playing the BBC Introducing Stage on Sunday.



The Twilight Sad

The Sad of course need no introduction, and are primed to play their fourth T in the Park set to date in King Tut's Tent on Friday afternoon.  The band have progressed up through the stages, T-Break to BBC Introducing to King Tut's Tent, and of course this summer's festival appearances come fresh of the back of the critical success of fourth album Nobody Wants To Be Here And Nobody Wants To Leave. 

Stillhound

Exciting times surely lie ahead for Stillhound, a Glasgow foursome, who play only their second live gig to date on the BBC Introducing Stage on Saturday.  Their brand of artful, electronic pop harks to the soundscapes of Boards of Canada, but is more accessible with instant appeal making them potentially the discovery of the festival for you.

Pinact


The duo of Corrie Gillies and Chris McCrory released one of our favourite albums of the year back in May via Brooklyn label Kanine Records.  With a well-honed, energetic, and passionate live act, plus seriously infectious melodies and a raucous guitar/drum combo, Pinact are a band to lose yourself to.  They'll be on the BBC Introducing Stage on Saturday.

The Van T's

Another band with real promise on the T-Break stage are twin sisters Chloe and Hannah, better known as The Van T's.  Their grungey, garage rock style twists in surfer-pop, and reverb soaked '90's alternative rock for an altogether enthralling sound.  It's completely plausible to see The Van T's follow in the path of Honeyblood or PAWS, and their set on Sunday will be a good marker for that.

Hector Bizerk

Conflicted over whether to see headliners Kasabian or David Guetta?  It's not a problem for Hector Bizerk, who were a late addition to the bill and take up headliner duties on the Transmission Stage on Friday evening.  Guaranteed to be the top pick here at Scottish Fiction, their set can be guaranteed to be full of energy, sing-a-long raps, and body draining bounce alongs.  NOT TO BE MISSED.

Miaoux Miaoux


Someone call Daft Punk and Pharrell.  Miaoux Miaoux has taken the 'sound of summer' mantle from them with his new album School of Velocity.  The new LP, out now on Chemikal Underground, was made with sun and good times in mind, and hopefully that's exactly what we'll get from the band's set on Sunday in the BBC Introducing Tent.  Prepare to dance, sway and vibe.

Monogram

Last but not least is Monogram, another electro-pop act from Glasgow who strive to make infectious tunes that extract dancing from listeners.  Fronted by Liam Rutherford, and backed with Gordon Skene and Ben Singer, the band have been working hard to bring their polished studio sounds to a live environment.  Catch them on Sunday in the BBC Introducing Stage to see how well they've managed it.

T in the Park Diaries - TeenCanteen

T in the Park bid #byebyebalado last weekend, as the festival moves to it's new home of Strathallan Castle in 2015.  To help us at Scottish Fiction document the last ever T at Balado, and to capture the experience of playing, we asked a number of bands to keep a T diary. 

TeenCanteen played the T Break Stage on a sun basked Friday.  Lead singer Carla had time to commit her thoughts to paper.  Have a read before she notices! 


Friday 11th July 2014

The day starts off early.  I get up at 6am .

1. Because I am looking after a cat called Angel who wants fed.
2. I'm starting to get a bit nervous - is it nerves?  I can't decide.
3. Phone starts going - little did I realise that it wouldn't stop all day.

Get up and feed Angel who immediately goes back to sleep but I can't. 

We had a practice on the Wednesday night in Glasgow and since then I've had over 24 hours to ruminate over what everyone keeps telling me will be 'our biggest gig to date'.  We've had a lot of congratulations and a lot of well wishes.  We've only just released our second single so not sure what sort of crowd to expect as we're still relatively unknown.  I think that's why I was surprised when we got selected to play.  Nevertheless we've practiced hard and tried to put together what we think will be a strong set - potentially this could be the first time a lot of people hear us.  So no pressure at all(!).

Decide I'll go for a walk as it's sunny.

Walk around Edinburgh - I'm the only one who lives here, the rest are all based in Glasgow. 

Head back home for some late breakfast and start to pack up my synth. 

My friends Hannah and Jenna are coming along.  We're being picked up at 3.15pm sharp from my flat.  Hannah and Jenna get here at 2.  Hannah practically falls in the door clutching wellies, cardigans, wet wipes,sun screen, plastic glasses and a box of wine.

"Can I whack this in your freezer?" 

Jenna shakes her head.  Hannah goes to T in The Park pretty much every year.  She is the girl who goes into the Slam Tent on the Friday night and doesn't appear again till Monday morning.  

"If you lose me don't worry.  I'll probably be in the Slam Tent and I'll have made a friend" 

Me and Jenna shake our heads. 

Decide we might as well have a glass of wine to celebrate and calm nerves - one of the TeenCanteen rules is 'one drink before the show' (that pretty much went out the window).  The other rule is 'don't screw the crew'. 

The rest of TeenCanteen pull up outside.

We all pile in the van.  Sita has brought her little brother and sister in tow.  It's stereo Pieracinni the whole journey there - they ALL love to sing and Kenny, our Tour Manager, has made CD for the journey.

Just as we pull into view of the peaks of the King Tut's Tent and the sight of the Ferris wheel Buster Poindextor's Feeling Hot Hot Hot  blasts out.  The Pieracinni's burst into perfectly timed harmonies.  By this point Hannah is pissed and ready to dance.  The sun is almost bursting out of the sky.  Stupidly I have decided to wear a vintage polyester seventies black jumpsuit.  I feel like I'm about to pass out from sunstroke. 

WE MADE IT!

Sita has brought along all her face paints and body glitter from clown and performance theatre workshops she does.  Naturally we all get involved.

Head along to T Break Stage to meet our rep Craig and drop off our belongings.  We're not on till 10.10pm and so have the whole day (we got there just after 5pm) to relax and catch some music.  We're all gutted we missed Haim.

We all split up and go separate ways - some to catch music, some to catch some sun and Hannah goes to the Slam Tent.  Everyone bumps into each other to see CHVRCHES play live.  The tent was packed, the synths sounded massive and Lauren's voice was note perfect.  We were all feeling good.


It was getting time for us to get ready for a sound check.  Hannah reappeared wearing a trilby hat that she did not have before.

"I made a friend.  He's called George."

I don't know whether she is talking about the man who gave her the hat or she thinks the hat is called George.  Either could be plausible.

Head backstage to do a quick interview with Tenement TV.  Realise the first time I came to T in The Park was with Debs.  She would have been 15 and I would have been 16.  That was 13 years ago.

Tenement TV and the T Break crew wish us luck.  We quickly form a circle and ask Mama Cass to watch over us and then head on stage. 

It's a big tent.  We've got a fairly decent sized crowd.  Start off with Honey  and notice a few people singing along to every word.  Finally start to relax.

It's over so quickly!  Something that has been built up for a few months that everyone tells you about and then BOOM!  Done and dusted.  It's like when the TV cuts out and goes to a tiny white dot in one deft pop.

POP.

Everyone sort of crashed after that - the anticipation of playing, the sun, having friends and family there, and the more than one drink before show rule being essentially abolished (quickly reminded the girls that that rule will firmly be back in place for next gigs - but no harm had been done, we all drink a lot of water.  SensibleCanteen). 

And that was that!

Back on the bus.  Amongst the Pieracinni's and Hannah and her new hat and back home to Edinburgh to feed the cat.

Pull up outside my flat.  Sita's wee brother pops in and throws up all over my bathroom.  Amanda goes back on the Saturday to reappear early on Sunday morning in Edinburgh.

"Can I crash?"

Later that day we go and meet up with the person who will be producing...  A TeenCanteen album!

But that's another diary entry for later in the year.

Happy and proud of all of us. Next weekend we're off to play Indietracks and Wickerman Festival back to back.  Jenna is coming too.  We've named this weekend the 'Girls on Tour Tour', the only exception being Kenny.  Our Tour Manager. 

Many thanks to those who came to watch us play and have supported us and listened to us over the last few months.

Love from,

Carla (And Sita, and Amanda, and Debs)

T in the Park Diaries - wecamefromwolves

T in the Park bid #byebyebalado last weekend, as the festival moves to it's new home of Strathallan Castle in 2015.  To help us at Scottish Fiction document the last ever T at Balado, and to capture the experience of playing, we asked a number of bands to keep a T diary.  Next up letting us read all their sordid secrets, have a rummage through wecamefromwolves' T diary...

The guys in the band took a day each.  First up it's guitarist Taylor White:

We were already excited about T by Thursday but before we hit the T Break stage we had a chance to warm up with our home crowd in Perth at The Green Rooms.  It would be a good chance to dial in our set and give non festival-goers a chance to see it. 

Support at the gig came from our good friend John Harkus, and the expansive sounds of Return To The Sun.  Their sets were great and we were glad to see a large turnout.  Soon the crowd was roaring and we were eager to play.  I entered the stage and as soon as I laid a finger on my pedal board my tuner fell apart.  Admittedly it was held together with masking tape, so I had it coming.  The set went well despite technical difficulties and there was a fantastic energy in the room.  The crowd singing Bastard Son was a highlight.  It wasn’t the smoothest, due to sharing tuners and an amp failure, but at least we got our bad luck out of the way before T! 

Unfortunately / fortunately we had been being plied with beer and were up for a final jaunt before T.  We were Loft bound!   Excessive consumption of alcohol probably wasn’t the best idea before an early start the next morning but fun times were had by all and the weekend was off to a good start.


Documenting Friday's antics, it's bassist Rob Whytock:

Friday was an absolute scorcher!  28 degrees on the mercury at 10am.  We woke with heavy heads after partying at salubrious Perth nightspot The Loft after our packed out TITP warm-up show the night before at Perth's Green Room.  Harrison, Taylor and I left Perth (city of dreams) to head to Glenfarg to meet Kyle, his girlfriend Nic and our manager Andrew. 

From there we headed to Artist Accreditation at the Festival site.  We collected our performer wrist bands and headed into the site to check out our venue, the T Break Stage.  One thing that struck us was the size of the tent, much bigger than it had been the last time I was at the festival as a punter!  In the delay to get in we had missed Vladimir's set which was a shame as I had been looking forward to hearing them on the big stage after catching them play before ourselves at GoNorth.  We grabbed a beer and settled in to watch the next band, Lyger and to get an idea of what the venue sounded like.  Pretty loud was the answer!  Lyger sounded great, a tight three piece that had the sparse crowd rocking.  We couldn't wait to get on stage due to how great the rig sounded!  We bumped into some of the Fatherson boys and Bruce Rintoul at the end of Lyger's set.  Bruce was doing the sound for Lonely The Brave who were the next band up.  Bruce produced Fatherson's amazing album I Am An Island  as well as being their live engineer.  He was also responsible for our last EP Paradise Place  and we're heading into the studio with him this side of winter to record our debut LP.   He is an incredible engineer and we were in for an aural treat as he had Lonely The Brave sounding huge!  They are a no nonsense rock band who sound like they are influenced by Pearl Jam amongst others.  Singer Dave Jakes sounds like a modern day Eddie Vedder with powerful baritone vocals and eschews convention by taking up position at the back of the stage. 

After this auditory treat we headed over the main stage to check out Haim.  They have some great songs but the main attraction for me was the weird and wonderful faces they pull as they play.  Bassist Este is the undisputed Queen of this!  Let's hope the wind doesn't change when they play!  After watching Haim, we all headed to check out the artist village and backstage areas.  On the way we bumped into Greg and Ross from Fatherson, they wanted to catch CHVRCHES who were playing in the King Tut's Tent so we tagged along.  CHVRCHES are a great band and the sound was quality, but I wish they had a live drummer.  We left near the end of their set to catch a bit of Ellie Goulding who is a guilty pleasure of mine.  After that we had some time to chill before Biffy so we went to check out the other stages as well as the VIP area and media compound.  After a few beers we took our place in between the middle barrier and control tower.

This was my 14th time seeing Biffy going back as far as the 2003 Leeds Festival.  The lads came out to a riot of shouting and cheers and an intro track which sounded like the three of them taking it in turns to scream.  They opened up with Different People, which along with Spanish Radio is in my opinion the best track from latest album Opposites.  They played a good mix of older songs and particular highlights were Questions and Answers (my all time favourite Biffy track) and 57.  They absolutely smashed it!  After Biffy we called it a night and headed back to Perth via Glenfarg for a triumphant nuggy sharebox and toffee sundae and to try and get some sleep before our early start and T in the Park debut!


Onto Saturday's diary, and it's the turn of lead vocalist and guitarist Kyle Burgess:

On the day of our show I woke up bright and early expecting to be hit by a wave of nerves.  Thankfully the nerves didn’t arrive but unfortunately neither did my voice as I struggled through my vocal warm up.  To my relief, with copious amounts of ginger tea with lemon and honey and an old friend from my metal band days, Difflam spray, my voice was improving.  I was SAVED!  After a quick shower and shave, I got dressed and was good to go.  This was all accompanied by a pre-made playlist of tunes, selected specifically for their vibe capabilities. 

We then got all the gear loaded into the van and waited for our friends to arrive to give them their guest passes, we were delighted we got given a bunch of passes from T to bring the people who have helped us every step of the way to our first appearance at T and they seemed to be pretty chuffed also! 

We got to T and headed through to the artist entrance to wait for our shuttle bus to the T Break tent.  When we got there, it was strange seeing the whole grounds of the festival empty - like some sort of ghost town - but it gave me a buzz in a 'calm before the storm' kind of way.  We then headed to the tent to load our gear on stage and were met by the warmest stage crew I’ve ever encountered at any show or on any tour.

Immediately we were made to feel at ease by the stage manager Chris and his assistant Mike helping us get everything in place and secure, the monitor engineer Adam checking all of our preferences for our mix and the front of house engineer Rob ensuring everything was sounding great out front.  With all the bands they service throughout the day, it would be easy to forget the niceties but we had great banter and it helped us slip right into a comfort zone and a mindset that where we were comfortable on the stage, in the big (at that time) empty tent. 

After checking and setting everything up, we headed to our trailer to sink a few early morning beers (to follow on from a couple of cheeky gins in the van on the way there) and put on some tunes to start getting vibes up…  We then did a warm up together and tried to relax as much as possible before show time. 

At around 12:00 (20 minutes before stage time) I went up to give my guitar one final tune before we took to the stage proper and was slightly disheartened by the lack of bodies in the tent…  We knew it was early, and opening up the day was always gonna be a challenge, so I tried to remind myself this was nothing personal and dusted it of, vowing to give it just as much of a performance in appreciation for those who did make it down.  I went back to the trailer and we all had a wee chat about just that and all decided we were gonna enjoy this experience regardless of the crowd size. 

Show time.

We headed from the trailer to the ramp at the back of the stage, the crowd hidden by the curtain and had a little pre-show huddle.  We usually keep it simple and remind ourselves to enjoy it and give it our all.  We then ascended the ramp and were met by a crowd bigger than we had ever expected.  I won't embellish and tell you that the tent was rammed, that no one could move; it wasn’t, but it was a great attendance - hundreds had made it, there were no large areas of space - all bases were covered and it was a full feeling due to the energy of all those who had made the effort to be there.  We were later told by one of the T Break organisers John-Paul that the tent hadn’t been that full, or active the whole of the day before, so for opening things up we were really chuffed  We also found out from lots of people in the crowd throughout the day and texts from friends that there had been many more trying to get in to see our set but stringent security checks had meant some people had been queuing for hours to get in, missing our set.  Regardless, we were blown away by the crowd size and most importantly, their energy.  Clapping along, jumping, singing our songs back to us, bouncing in time to our breakdowns and having a proper dance at the end of the set to our final number… it was a joy for us to play for them all and we came off the stage knowing the job was a good ‘un! 

After the set we had a quick dry off and change, before we headed to see a small crowd of people who had waited to speak to us and some who wanted some pictures, it’s always bizarre when this happens to be honest, but I appreciate the support of anyone who enjoys our music and its a pleasure and a privilege to oblige.  We then did some interviews backstage, before packing up our gear and getting back on the shuttle bus to our van to drop off our stuff.
  We then headed to the media village to do a few interviews for some UK press and one Australian journalist, we hung there for a while then caught the end of a fantastic set by our pals Fatherson, in a rammed King Tut’s Tent before meeting up with all our friends to enjoy the day.  

We didn’t catch much more music due to buzzing from our set and tearing in about some well earned free beers but did see Twin Atlantic smash their set, The La Fontaines tear up the T Break tent and caught a little bit from The 1975.  We had hoped to see Bombay Bicycle Club’s performance as we are all fans however the heavens properly opened up and we all decided to make the most of our VIP access for us and all our friends by hitting the VIP bar which was like a big nightclub, covering you from the rain but with open sides to still see all the goings on outside, we had a few drinks and decided, with a house full of food, beer and warmth waiting for us (and with the rain unrelenting) we would get ourselves home and properly toast the day.

We headed home in our van and, followed by our friends in their cars (thanks to all the girls for driving all the drunkards!) headed back to the house to kick things off.  For thirteen people, the amount of booze was crazy, but in order to give us any chance of attending the next day at the festival, we didn’t quite finish it all and saved some for Wickerman!  We had some good food and we able to toast to an enjoyable milestone in the road for our band, thanking everyone of our team of friends and family who have helped us in various, invaluable ways along the way so far.  It was great to cap off such a brilliant day with people who mean so much to us, and honestly topped off a perfect day.


Back to Taylor White for Sunday's diary:

I think it’s fair to say that we all woke up feeling far from fresh following Saturday night’s celebration.  After a soothing snooze on the grass in the garden and a fantastic breakfast courtesy of Kyle’s girlfriend, Nic, we headed to T.  We had planned to get there early and catch as much as possible but the way we were feeling we were lucky to make it there at all!  I don’t think it was until we arrived back at Balado that day that the events of the previous day had begun to sunk in – we were all still on a high despite our hangovers! 

On arrival, we headed straight back to the T Break stage to catch our buddies Model Aeroplanes, who smashed their set as always.  Having done gigs with these guys years ago is it great to see them doing so well for themselves in the scene!

We then headed to the media village.  I would be easy to lie and say that this was for a never-ending stream of interviews but in actual fact we had, over the course of the weekend, discovered that it was by far the best place to grab a wee comfort break.  The phrase "I’m away for a quick media pee" is one that we were all familiar with at this stage! 

Rob and I also managed to head back to T Break to see Catfish and the Bottlemen play a rocking set – we had seen them at Stag & Dagger in Glasgow and couldn’t wait to see them again.  We were not disappointed. 

Next up on the agenda for us was heading to the King Tut's Tent to watch Tame Impala with our pal (not really) Newton Faulkner.  They were the only other band from Perth playing the festival, albeit on the other side of the world, so it was a pleasure to catch their set!

After their show we were all feeling fragile and a little bit broken so headed to the VIP area for a breather and a lie down.  We all really needed it! 

T in the Park Diaries - Call To Mind

T in the Park bid #byebyebalado last weekend, as the festival moves to it's new home of Strathallan Castle in 2015.  To help us at Scottish Fiction document the last ever T at Balado, and to capture the experience of playing, we asked a number of bands to keep a T diary.  Get ready to feel like a peeping Tom as we take a look into the pages of Call To Mind's T diary...

BBC Introducing invited us to T in the Park to play their stage on the Sunday evening.  Having never been to Balado or any other previous T, I wasn't really sure what to expect.  As a band, we've been lucky to play at various festivals around the country before, such as Brew at the Bog, Belladrum, GoNorth, In The City, Rockness, and even over at Iceland Airwaves once upon a time.  It's fair to say though that T in the Park dwarfs all of those in terms of sheer scale.

Before setting off, we fuelled up in the cosy surroundings of The Glad Cafe, over on Glasgow’s Southside.  Cups of tea, scrambled egg and toast were consumed.  The Glad acts as something of a hub for us as pals, a place to catch up, talk nonsense and check out other bands on occasion in the venue.  We launched our album there back in April.

The drive to Balado was sound tracked by our own enthusiasm - general excitement, chatting about bands you saw on the TV highlights last night, bands you want to see, hoping for decent weather but then rubbish weather when we played (every band playing in a tent wishes this!).  The journey there flew past, nipping over the Kincardine bridge, through Yetts o' Muckart, Drum, then Balado.  A beautiful day.  The sun was shining over the site, which looked huge - the sheer size of it all on the drive down into Balado was something I hadn't expected and it took me by surprise.

Into the staff car park, we headed off to sort out our passes for the day.  The BBC Introducing stage was a few bus stops away, so we hitched a ride on the backstage shuttle bus, which did a loops around the outside of the festival over the weekend, getting staff and bands where they needed to be.

We popped in to say hello to the folks running things (tip to other bands: always be nice to your sound, lighting and other technical people, as well as your artist liaison and anyone else involved backstage - they invariably want to help you out and make your performance as good as it can be, and moreover they love to see you enjoy the experience of playing.  We absolutely pride ourselves on this aspect, and typically everyone we meet is brilliant), and with a handful of hours before we were needed back to set up, we went off to see some music.

CHVRCHES were just about to start playing a surprise set in the BBC Introducing tent, so we had timed it well and were able to catch most of it.  The Bones of What Your Believe was my tip for The SAY Award last month, and it was nice to see the band in a live setting (a first for me) – the crowd were fantastic as well.  This turned out to be the first of two appearances on the day for CHVRCHES, as they stepped in to replace London Grammar (who had to cancel due to illness) on the Radio One stage.

Hot-footing it over to the King Tut's tent, we headed to catch The Twilight Sad, one of the few bands we were all in agreement about getting down to see.  Maybe The Twilight Sad had an inkling of the German success to come later on in the World Cup final that evening (Andy from the band was wearing a Germany top).  It was great hearing them on a big stage, with the full force of a sizeable PA behind them - they sounded utterly epic.

We bumped into Vic Galloway during the Twilight Sad's set and once they'd finished we decided to venture outside in search of a cold beer.  Sunday saw the sun shine almost all day and well into the evening, in stark contrast to Saturday's driech downpour!  The pancakes from the stall in the background below were outstanding by the way.

Back over to the BBC Introducing area (while on the way trying really hard to keep the Kaiser Chiefs’ Ruby from crow-barring its way into my brain), behind the stage there was an interview tent.  On the wall within this there was space for each band to sign their name or put a message.   This had already been written on by the bands who had played BBC Introducing stages at Glastonbury and Radio One’s Big Weekend, with messages, lyrics and band logos, and a few choice drawings, so we added our own scrawls to it as well.

A wee seat in the sun for about half an hour leading up to our set was nice.  With no sign of rain, we were thinking the crowd coming to see us might be somewhat minimal, but by the time we headed in to set up on stage a crowd of 200 or so had gathered inside.  Likely 200 people who hadn’t heard us before, which makes for an exciting prospect.

One of the big differences for us with this gig was the TV cameras dotted around the stage and also down at the front - it was difficult to try and not notice them there.   For the first few songs the gap between the stage and the crowd barrier was filled with a handful of photographers snapping away.  I spotted a topless chap (who’d clearly had too much sun) busy clapping in and out of time at the back of the tent; he was having a great time.  These things made the first half of the set feel a little bit surreal.   The trouble with having a half hour slot is that you’re only really starting to get into it as the set begins to wind up – the time flies by – certainly with us, as much of our music builds up slowly, it sometimes feels a little forced when we have to squeeze things into 30 minutes.  The crowd were on good form and we really enjoyed playing for them.

Our bass player Andrew unfortunately couldn’t make it to T, so we had drafted in our friend Dave to help out.  He formerly played in Barn Owl and has recently been playing bass for our Olive Grove pals The Son(s).  It was great having him along – huge thanks for helping us out sir!  As soon as the set was done, we were keen to get our gear off the stage as soon as possible – the line up had been running like clockwork throughout the day, so we didn’t want to let the side down.

BBC Introducing is an invaluable channel for us in terms of national airplay, basically a modern-day John Peel in effect, and to be invited to play at T in the Park was a pretty humbling experience, even more so due to the exposure that has come with it.  Social media interest in the weeks leading up to T generated welcome attention, with Facebook likes, retweets, and even sales of our music benefiting from a halo effect.  Festival appearances seem to do that for bands in general, and we are very much indebted to the likes of Vic Galloway, who has been championing and playing our music for a number of years now, and Ally McCrae, who has supported us on the back of our last few single releases.

From 1 September, unfortunately the BBC Introducing show on a Sunday night will no longer be broadcast, which I find a little unsettling.  Granted there will be a BBC Introducing ‘slot’ during Huw Stephens' show throughout the week from 10pm - 1am, Monday through Wednesday, but it kinda feels a bit like the beating heart of new music at the BBC is fading a little.  Throughout the day the turnouts at the BBC Introducing and T Break stages only underlined what a pivotal role these mediums play in pushing lesser known often unsigned acts to the mainstream public.  So keep supporting radio shows and podcasts, keep listening to them, keep texting and tweeting in...  Ruby, ruby, ruby, ruuuby.