Kendal Calling 2012
Friday 27th to Sunday 29th July 2012Lowther Deer Park, Hackthorpe, East Cumbria, CA10 2HN, England MAP
£105 for weekend with camping - SOLD OUT
Daily capacity: 8,000
Last updated: Thu 19th Jul 2012
Saturday was a little bit overcast, but I had been warned about the famous changeable Lake District weather, and the warning was right. The weather seemed to change seasons each hour, but that was not going to get in the way of a good old shindig it was mainly a day of chilling on the grass banks at the back of main stage field for me, a beautiful natural amphitheatre surrounded by trees.
The Travelling Band started the day, a nice easy listening band that provided a great mellow background soundtrack for a great steak baguette from food stall 'The Butty Boys'. Next on was the very entertaining Juan Zelada, with his folksy blues kick starting the day, bringing people to their feet.
The View made the short journey down from Scotland to take the next slot, drawing the largest crowd of the day so far they put in a great performance. But, to this day I am sure not one person in the audience had a clue what front man Kyle was saying between songs! Never the less they really hit the spot.
As a torrential downpour set in I decided to go and check out the Soapbox stage, the tented comedy stage held me captive for an hour, I was powerless to leave as I was mesmerised by the Raphael Attar Variety Show, the duo had me in stitches with their own distinct brand of abstract comedy.
In the following 35 minute period the crowd demographic changed dramatically with most the nostalgic 30 somethings mainly being replaced by the younger sections of the crowd, all prepared to go 'Bonkers' to the man they call Dizzee Rascal. Having seen rascal only 3 weeks before give a slightly disappointing show at Wakestock, tonight was a completely different affair. Dizzee showed exactly why he was in the headline position with a performance worthy of any stage, drawing from his back catalogue including 'Fix up Look Sharp' and his huge collaborations 'Holiday' and 'Heavy' with Calvin Harris and Chase & Status respectively. The beats smashed into the crowd relentlessly like a freight train, leaving the crowd buzzing with a high energy rendition of 'Bonkers' complimented with some impressive pyrotechnics. The main stage closed with a bang, we wandered back towards our tent stopping at Chai Wallahs to sit down out side and enjoy the last 20 minutes of the festival circuit legends that are Dreadzone. They have Chai Wallahs packed to the rafters and 20 deep outside the tent. And true to form they leave everyone crying for more.
review by: Jamie Licence
photos by: Jamie Licence
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