Letters Have No Arms !: festival

Showing posts with label festival. Show all posts

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Ejekt Festival 2009

If you find yourself in Athens (Greece), I suggest you get down to the Olympic Fencing Centre (on the grounds of the old Athens airport) for today and tomorrow's EJEKT Festival. You can expect excessively made up (and freakishly tall) girls handing out complimentary cigarettes, lighters or t-shirts, overpriced drinks, burly security guards, hormonal teens in big t-shirts and even bigger hair! Sponsored toilets, people in silly hats, t-shirts with 'a message', glowsticks and throwaway cameras. Groupies, fans and stray dogs!

Ejekt 2009. Bring it on!

Royksopp & Lily Allen - Lily and the Robot (Dunproofin' remix)

Klaxons - It's not over yet

Echo and The Bunnymen - I've Read It In Books

Jarvis Cocker - Don't Let Him Waste Your Time

The Gossip - Standing In The Way Of Control (Soulwax Edit)

The Subways - I Want To Hear What You Have Got To Say

The Pixies - The Happening

Editors - An End Has A Start

Friday, August 22, 2008

Review: Benicassim 2008

Ok, I know I'm rather late with this, it being a month ago and all, but things have been hectic. To say the least. So let's just say it's a one month after the festival anniversary post. We've all had time to absorb, to digest and gain some perspective (and forget the lows, and remember the many highlights of those four amazing days)

Highlights:

The second half of Death Cab for Cutie's set, Sigur Ros, Sigur Ros' drummer, Yelle, Babyshambles, Black Lips, La Casa Azul, Hot Chip, the Oxfam tent (cheap coffee, free internet, friendly staff and of course, you know, a lot of worthy information!), the huge paella on the last night, CHEAP and cold beer (1 litre bottles of San Miguel) in town, the celebrity football (sans celebrities. I mean, c'mon, who was really expecting Pete to show up?) match, brushing our teeth in the 'showers' at night, cheap hot-dogs around the site, the 'piss here' sign, having coffee in a cafe in town every morning (and using their pleasant toilets to put in lenses/shave/brush teeth), 'Dick Man' (you know who you are), and all the other things I've forgotten (quite possibly because I took a whole month to post..!)

Two favourite overheard conversations:

"If anyone has a lighter, please make a bird sound"

"Uhm, excuse me, your hair is on fire."

Lows:

The walk from the camping to and from town and the beach, the toilets, being peed on during Sigur Ros (no, unfortunately I'm not joking), the cramped campsite (at least at CampFIB), the heat, the heat, the heat. And the walk. Did I mention the walk?

Next time we'll rent bikes.

My Bloody Valentine

Black Lips

Yelle - Ce Jeu

My Bloody Valentine - Soon
(sorry for the incomplete track. It's since been fixed!)

Go here for lots of other songs from Benicassim 2008 and here for more pics.

Thursday, August 7, 2008

Review: Standon Calling 2008

Standon Calling, it's held in the (beautiful) countryside about an hour outside London, it evolved from a birthday party, it's organised by the son of a Lord, it's limited to 2,500 visitors. How can it not be great?

Musical highlights:

Florence & the Machine, Dan le Sac vs Scroobius Pip, Johnny Foreigner, Glasvegas, Los Campesinos!, Super Furry Animals, Benin City, The Mae-Shi, Music Sounds Better With You in the Love Hotel...

Other highlights:

The location and scenery, the camp-site, the toilets (after experiencing toilets at other festivals, these were a revelation!), coconut and lemon cake (with coffee: a 'breakfast of champions') in the morning, the karaoke booth, the lanterns on the final night, the smell of the countryside, the fact that you could walk from your tent to any of the stages in about 2 minutes, the Master of Ceremonies (aka the dude with the cool beard) in the Lordship tent handing out shots of what was apparently a very fine whiskey, the Japanese theme and dress up on Saturday, the Love Hotel, the sun (when it came out), going weedleweedleweedle with our fingers behind our head during the SFA (you really had to be there to understand), picking apples from the trees near the manor, the bus stopping on the way to the site for people to use the cash machine, the carnival shop in Ware, chilli!, Los Campesinos! playing the opening of Pavement's 'Home', the taxi dude, the ride to Luton on Monday morning...

Lows:

the weather on Sunday, the airport like bag search upon entry, Mystery Jets cancelling

All in all a HUGE thanks to the organisers for putting on an incredible weekend. See you next year!