NASS - Not A Sunny Session, but a good weekend

About 25 miles south of Bristol, on the A371 between Castle Cary and Shepton Mallet, the Bath and West Showground annually holds the Relentless Energy Drink, Action Sports Show, or NASS for short.

Whether you prefer drum and bass, dubstep, or metal and punk hardcore bands, there are plenty of bands and DJs there to enjoy. If you like skateboard, Inline skate or BMX, there is a huge indoor park for each of these, and more.

We arrived on the Friday night; there were no queues for the shuttle bus from Castle Cary, and getting on site was really easy. Everything was fine apart from the weather, as it was hammering it down. As soon as we entered the festival site, with our rucksacks still on our backs, we headed straight for the nearest shelter, a huge marquee which thankfully was the main stage.

Sadly we just missed Shy FX, but we were there in time to see Chiddy Bang, an alternative hip hop kind of band who played really well with loads of energy. I hadn't heard of them before but it seemed that everyone else had. They pulled quite a big crowd, who sang along with their arms in the air, great vibe. Chiddy Bang released their debut album earlier this year.

Next up was DJ Fresh. Fresh has been on the drum and bass scene since the nineties, but only last year did he put together the Fresh/Live sets he's playing recently. Comprising of a drummer, guitarist, vocalists and himself putting together live versions of his earlier works. It works. An amazing sound, a mix of dubstep and drum and bass with good energy and plenty happening - not a dull moment. The crowd they pulled filled the marquee. The rain kept falling but just added to the atmosphere; we were fine and dry in there in our own little world. The sound was good, loud and clear.

The rain kept falling on Saturday and all of the outdoor sports events were cancelled, so we headed indoors to the skate parks to watch stuff. It's one thing to see it on videos, but to see pro skaters or BMXers up close is another thing entirely.

Thousands of spectators surround the skate park and up on the balcony people wait for a place at the front to lean on the railing and look down on it all. The atmosphere in there was great, big cheers for big tricks. After a couple of hard slams on his first attempts, one of the BMXers did a double back flip, and the crowd went understandably mental. Thankfully it wasn't far to the bar, so we spent a while there watching the sports, and trying the different ciders.

The UKF stage was the first to catch our ears, so we popped in to have a listen. We entered at one end of a giant cow shed, and the decks were set up at the far end, with giant inflatable spikey things hanging from the ceiling and a bar down one side. A sign on the wall asking if you wouldn't mind washing your hands if you've been handling cattle, and a faint bovine smell. Only about 30 or so ravers were bobbing around at the front but it was still early, and it was great as we had a roof, loud drum and bass, and MCs that weren't too annoying.

Cars On Fire played on the Front stage in the early evening, with an energetic performance of rock/metal, followed by The Computers (from Exeter) with a blend of blues and punk hardcore, and the headline band While She Sleeps. All played really well, the sound was good and the crowd was loving it all.

Over on the main stage Modestep played an amazing set of live dubstep to a packed marquee, followed by the headliners Sum 41 from Canada. Sum 41 have been around since the nineties as well, and they must be popular but it wasn't my cup of tea. Maybe kiddies pop music was just a bit of an anticlimax after Modestep.

There were no bands playing at all on Sunday so we packed up and left in the morning. It's a shame the weather stopped the outdoor events, but there's an indoor skate park for the public to use and tarmac between the main arenas so it doesn't get too muddy. It was nice to have proper toilet blocks instead of the smelly portaloos of most events, there was rarely a queue at the bars and, all in all, it was a good weekend.

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