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Guilfest 2006

Friday 14th to Sunday 16th July 2006
Stoke Park, Guildford, Surrey., England MAP
£85 for w/e, £95 with camping; days £40; under-16s £50, or £60 with camping, £25 any day.

Heavy traffic meant we got to the site a little later than we were hoping and so we missed Nizlopi and their short set and that song about JCBs that my daughter is rather partial to. In fact we also missed Morning Runner and really must get into the habit of taking the Friday off work and arriving there in plenty of time.

But it didn’t take long to get our wrist bands and the two journeys to the nearby car were fast, it wasn’t long until the tent was up and we were able to get into the arena. I’ve no idea why at 36 I needed a wristband to prove I was old enough to drink but I wasn’t going to argue the point.

The Lightning Seeds were on stage by the time we got ready to enter the arena and we could hear 'Marvellous' and 'Pure and Simple' and the crowd singing them back to the band at some volume. They tell us that music's great it doesn't let you down, not like footballers and they finish with '3 Lions'. It's possibly the last time they'll ever play live, so it was certainly a memorable end to a great career.

The arena itself was pretty busy and must have been close on the capacity of 24,000, the main stage packed for the arrival of The Wonder Stuff. Rattling off their hits ‘Circle Square’, ‘On the Ropes’, ‘Caught In My Shadow’, ‘Its Yer Money I'm After Baby’, the sing along anthems ‘Size Of A Cow’, ‘Don't Let Me Down Gently’ and ‘Unbearable’. They also showcase a few newer songs like new single 'Blah, Blah La Di Dah' and The Stuffies are rather tremendous! They sound tight and area perfect accompaniment to a few Ballard’s Brewery Ales at the rather costly £3.50 a pint although the plastic glasses were rather decent.

On the other hand it was the first time Embrace have ever headlined a festival in their 10 year history and despite Danny telling us they were proving everyone wrong. I’m not surprised. The new single 'Target' sounded just like all the other Embrace songs and only their biggest hit 'Comeback to What You Know' had the crowd howling along to it. But the band sound terrible! Can Danny sing? Has he got a sore throat or something? No idea we scarper fast to the second stage.

Fortunately Guilfest has something for everyone and so we head for Hayseed Dixie who are certainly popular but rather depressingly their set is totally identical to the one the week before at Cornbury. Even down to the conversation with the audience, word for word! And they say they can’t play any other way live cos they never know what they’re doing. Heh, this is identical! Their covers of AC/DC and other classics like 'War Pigs', 'Whole Lotta Love' and 'Duelling Banjos' are great as is the sprinkling of their own material and it’s a wonderfully warm night as they leave the stage to a loud ovation. They sure can play country!

So fired up after all that hillbilly ho down we head off to queue for the Silent Disco and end our night there skanking to ska tracks while most of the crowd appear to be listening to the other DJ. Even though we’ve been to these things a few times now, it’s still hilariously funny. The Rock Sound Stage is really hot and we wear ourselves out quite rapidly, and it’s not as much fun if there isn’t a load of you there together. So, after wandering the site for any signs of random entertainment and listening to a comedian who suggests a hijack of the silent disco airwaves, we make us of the late licence before heading off to the tent and sleep.