7 replies to this topic

[theampersanddevil]

Never went this year, interested to see what people thought of it. Improvements, best acts ect ect.

You know the drill people.

[Mcscotty]

theampersanddevil, on 09 August 2011 - 01:34 PM, said:

Never went this year, interested to see what people thought of it. Improvements, best acts ect ect.

You know the drill people.

It didn't start well.  Arrived about 1.15pm (opened at 1pm) and had to queue for 2.5 hrs to get in!  Oh, and it was pouring with rain the whole time  

The problem was security.  I think there were 4 dreels with two guys checking each, unloading trolleys and having a quick look and feel of everything. For some reason they were taking mallets from people (you could buy them at the Cosy Camper inside!).  I wasn't aware of any mallet wielding maniac last year and surely tent pegs are more dangerous anyway    They need to rethink the entrances and if they want security that tight, then they need to employ way more of them!  People were having to queue for about an hour for re-entry too.

We were in family and by the time we got in, space was very limited.  Managed to get a spot on a slope near the entrance (lucky as it turned out). Only problem inside were the lack of toilets.  Way fewer than last year and only 5 in our area of the campsite.  Of the 5, 2 didn't lock but were otherwise ok.  The ones closer to the arena were a bit rank though, weren't emptied near often enough.


Improvements

Best thing was the removal of the bar from Black Isle tent to a separate area to the side.  Freed up loads more space and avoided the congestion that usually happens plus the back was opened up so anyone outside could still hear and see.

There were a few new things this year but I didn't see any of them so can't comment.  A folk stage and Jock the Reaper as well as more arty stuff.  Slow motion tennis was quite funny, though just saw it on the passing.

Madame Fifi's dance tent was moved into the heart of festival which was great - I like a bit of salsa and usually it's quite a hike.


Negatives

Fewer toilets inside the arena too.  All the ones from the side of Garden stage gone to make way for BBC Alba it seemed.

Hothouse stage moved further away to make way for Jock the Reaper (dance music), not exactly a negative but seemed pointless.

Litter - plenty bins around the food areas but the litter in the Garden Stage area was awful.

Queuing to get back into the campsite on Friday night!  In the rain again.  Tempers were on edge by this time, instead of people being happy after a good day.

Noise from Mothers Ruin after hours, it was booming so loud could feel the vibes through the ground and even earplugs did no good.  Never been that loud before.


Music

Who I can remember seeing and liking - James MacKenzie and the Aquascene, Skerryvore, Anna Calvi, Frank Turner, Texas (great voice and good rapport), Endor, Stetsonhead (mostly), Webb Sisters, Roddy Hart & the Lonesome Fire, Newton Faulkner, CW Stoneking,  pretty much everything on The Potting Shed and KASSIDY!  They were great and should have been on the Garden Stage as it would have ended with a bang instead of a whimper - heard Deacon Blue didn't go down too well, though they looked ok on tv.

Who I wished I'd seen too after catching them afterwards on BBC Alba - Vintage Trouble, The Staves, Emile Sande, The River 68's, Teddy Thomson, Rachel Sermanni.


Other thoughts

Definitely need to re-think who appears on the Garden Stage.  Pretty sure loads of folk just set up base there for the day and a large crowd is no reflection of who's on.

Heard someone say "I don't think this festival is about the music" and quite a few folk on Bella's facebook page have said "The Dangleberries were the highlight of the festival"    Think those comments are very telling and why it will probably always sell out now regardless of who is booked.

Actually I think Bella could almost be two festivals, one for music and one a fun fair for the kids, there are so many now.  Not that I'm against kids, they have a great time, it's the teenagers that are a pain in the ass.


Next Year

They need to sort out entry, it's totally crazy to wait that long to get in.

They need to be prepared for rain, especially when it's forecast. They put some straw on the entrance but some also in the worst areas would have helped. It dried out pretty well on the Friday/Saturday but rain was back in force from Saturday night through to Sunday. Some poor folks were flooded out by morning and it was nice and muddy leaving.  Was up early to try and avoid getting stuck in the car park.

While there was enough good stuff to keep me happy during the day you need a decent headliner to finish - and if it needs to be a blast from the past, please let's have Simple Minds or The Cult. Imagine The Cult on the Garden Stage lol, that would be great.  Heard they were good at IOW this year  

Overall had a good time, saw some good stuff, and the only thing that really p'd me off was the 2.5 hours queuing to get in.  Did I mention that already

Edited by Mcscotty, 09 August 2011 - 07:18 PM.

[Floplexter]

I posted most of this on the other thread, but...

We queued for an hour and a half in the rain on Thursday afternoon to get in, but it wasn't such a big deal. In fact, after an hour, the kids asked if we could come again next year.  That was about 2.30, but by 5 when we went back to get some stuff from the car there was no queue at all.  Bit annoying to have the peg hammer removed, but it was an old one, so not that fussed.  I saw someone near me using one anyway, so I suppose it was down to personal honesty.

After pitching the tent on Thursday we went down and did all the "kiddie" rides as there were no queues anywhere.  Had some good food and craic and watched some of the ceilidh bands at the Black Isle tent.

The rest was superb. Highlights for us- The Phantom Band, Admiral Fallow and then Kid Canaveral (instead of Texas) on the Friday night- each were totally brilliant, with Admiral Fallow shading it from KC and that only because Louis came down to sell t-shirts at the side and he signed two of my daughters' t-shirts, making their day. Hoodja were excellent, CW Stoneking sublime, Dry the River a delightful surprise, We Were Promised Jetpacks raucously brilliant and we finished with Roddy Woomble instead of Deacon Blue or Kassidy, and he was totally brilliant, backed by some very accomplished musicians. We caught the second half of Frank Turner and really enjoyed that, but didn't really enjoy the randomness of Guillemots. We were on our way to the Dangleberries when we heard them and then thought "nah" and turned around.

When we went to the Hothouse for the Phantom Band, Ed Sheeran was on and that was ridiculously stowed out with screaming teens.  Couldn't get near the place.  Happily thinned out for the Phantoms, though the pumping dance beat from the Jock the Reaper could be heard quite loudly in the tent when Admiral Fallow etc were playing.  And yes, the dance music seemed to go on and on much later than last year.

Overall, the rain didn't come into it. It was brilliant.  Our 12, 11 and 7 year old girls had a superb time too.

Only one minor complaint- the "family" zone seemed to have more than its fair share of youngsters intent on heavily drinking all day long and the pile of cans etc by their tents was terrifying. Didn't spoil the weekend, though, especially after the guard told them to be quieter on Thursday night, which they did.  The toilets were stretched a little thinner as there was a whole new section in the Hielan' Fields, with another free Folk Stage, which we saw a few good acts on.  The toilets in the art/craft area were a lot less busy and a lot cleaner.  As it was, over the three nights, I didn't have any major issues with any of the toilets I used, though early Sunday morning, my wife had a pretty grim one.

In terms of organisation etc, we didn't have any problems though I see others did.  The staff/security we encountered were incredibly helpful- one of the guys on the tower came down Sunday morning and handed me three plastic macs for the kids as I was getting the tents down in the rain.  We got out early - on the dot of 8 o'clock on Sunday- and had no problems.  Other than the drunken litter louts, who really were more of an aesthetic annoyance than anything, it was fine.

We did think there were a lot more groups of drunken teens wandering around than there were last year, but we didn't cross paths and didn't have a problem.

For Scots bands, it was terrific musicwise and there was enough other stuff to keep us happy during the day (even the Rooty Tooty Big Swing Band or whatever they were called).  To be honest, we weren't at the main stage much at all.  

Food etc as always was tremendous- we also listened to one of the authors in the Prose Bed, which was really interesting and also the debate on the future of music in the Verb Garden, which was also really fascinating.

In the end, the initial disappointment over the headliners was irrelevant to us as a family- we saw four of our favourite acts in the Phantoms, Admiral Fallow, Roddy Woomble and Kid Canaveral and left the place soaked but grinning like idiots.

Debate is already on over going next year or trying somewhere else.

[perthperson]

Had a great time.  Weather could have behaved better, got madly wet on the Thursday putting the tents up, soaked, phone died.  Got everything all dried out Friday and Saturday, even phone started working again, then got very very wet on Sunday packing up .... but that's the joy of camping and at least it was good weather for the actual 2 music days.

Spent a lot of time as expected in the Kids Field with the 3 year old, which was great, the puppet show was the favourite of all.  The Site as usual was beautifully decorated.  Didn't see half as much music as normal but got to see my 2 must sees - Vintage Trouble and Raghu Dixit - who were both fantastic.  Also Teddy Thomson, Pantom Band and odds and sods at the Potting Shed stage and one or two other things I can't remember now. Didn't got to any of the debates this year, usually go to at least one.  Had very nice food from the Argyll food stalls, would also have had a pizza if the queue had been shorter because they're yummy.

There certainly didn't seem to be a big number of toilets this year, though I must say I was pretty lucky with the ones I visited. Luckily I managed to avoid them on the Sunday as I thought they might be bad.  

Just about everyone seems to have moved over to the family camping side now, there was loads of space on the general camping side even though it was smaller than before.  The queue to get into family camping on the Thursday was crazy, they need to look at that.  

Liked the bar being taken out of the black isle tent, made it more roomy + less background noise if a quieter accoustic act on.  

Didn't go to see Kassidy, went to see Deacon Blue as my daughter was feeling nostalgic about them (but I'll see Kassidy at Loopallu)

Really enjoyed it, pretty likely will go back next year possibly with both grandchildren.

Oh and added bonus - I managed to avoid any sight or sound of the Dangleberries all weekend.  That alone made it a wonderful experience.

And extra bonus - thank you so much to Mr official steward Ampersand and Sara for helping me put the tents up - would have taken me ages doing it myself in the rain - hope you guys had a good time after your official duties were finished.

[theampersanddevil]

perthperson i must know that dangleberry secret. I've tried everything from set lists to avon skin so soft, nothing works, i always get attacked! Glad you enjoyed it. I'll not see you at loop. I saw kassidy at their secret gig in tuts supporting the ray summers and they were excellent, despite what the daily rag said. Might see you in a field somewhere next year, i've not looked at any yet.

[duncol]

7th Bella for us and we're definitely lovers of the festival and this year was no different with way more positives than negatives.

Negatives being lack of toilets in family camping, very few urinals in arena, no handwash or water in most toilets I visited either. There were however proportionately more toilets in Heilan Fields which did seem a bit strange.  Only other disappointing aspect was the 4½ hour wait in a line of traffic to leave car park on Sunday morning.

Positives as usual were the variety of music, choice of food and overall friendly atmosphere throughout the weekend.  We were even fortunate with few drunken teenagers or messy campers in our area unlike previous years.

Best musical acts for me were Teddy Thompson, Roddy Hart, Echo and the Bunnymen (Mac on fime form this year), Xcerts, Dry the River, Frank Turner, Rachel Sermani, Newton Faulkner, The Webb Sisters, Admiral Fallow and Wooden Box and a Fistful of Fivers.

The Potting Shed also had a good vibe about it anytime I was walking by and there were plenty of people watching the acts here so obviously not all about the main stages for a lot of people.

Agree with earlier posts that moving the bar out of the Grassroots was a good move as it ensured the quieter acts were not competing with the chatter from the bar area.  Also enjoyed the whisky shed and the cocktail jugs on offer and no queuing time at the other bars.

Also felt there was a good range of food stalls and kids activities on offer with friends' kids having a great time in the early part of each day.

We all had a great time and feel the festival offers good entertainment for all ages.  Our 18yr old son and his mates seemed to have an equally good time moving between stages and attending the comedy tent and visiting Mothers Ruin after the main bands had finished.

Roll on 2012!

[jamk]

This was my 1st Bella & attended with my 16 year old son.  We both loved it.

Negatives - didn't seem to have many toilets in family camping.  Wait to get in on Thursday was at least 1 1/2 hrs & that I think needs to be done differently, although we didn't have a wait to get back in with more gear so were fairly lucky.  We were away sharp on Sunday morning & didn't have a wait - 4.5 hrs Duncol that must've been hellish.

Other than that a positive experience all round.  Nice bunch of people there & lots of kids obviously having a ball.

The music suited us, we weren't attracted by the main stage headliners so saw neither.  Grassroots tent was probably our favourite stage.

Faves in no real order Admiral Fallow, Kassidy, Frank Turner, Roddy Hart, Dry the River, James Mackenzie & the aquascene, Echo & the Bunnymen were good this time, Polarsets, Newton Faulkner & the amphetameanies.  Surprise likes (because I hadn't heard them before) were Bronto Skylift (great noise from only 2 guys), Teddy Thomson, Ben Howard & Nathaniel Rateliff.  Enjoyed the comedy on Thursday night & a wee glass of fairtrade merlot was also very welcome.

Food was great at the Argyll stalls, pizza also looked good & seemed popular but the queue was always too long.  Black Isle beer excellent too.

We'll definitely be back.

[Adalias]

Who I can remember seeing and liking - James MacKenzie and the Aquascene, Skerryvore, Anna Calvi, Frank Turner, Texas (great voice and good rapport), Endor, Stetsonhead (mostly), Webb Sisters, Roddy Hart & the Lonesome Fire, Newton Faulkner, CW Stoneking, pretty much everything on The Potting Shed and KASSIDY! They were great and should have been on the Garden Stage as it would have ended with a bang instead of a whimper - heard Deacon Blue didn't go down too well, though they looked ok on tv.