a wet Saturday at T in the Park is full of One Love & a triple whammy of headliners

T in the Park 2012 review

By Clare Sinclair | Published: Tue 10th Jul 2012

T in the Park 2012

Friday 6th to Sunday 8th July 2012
Balado, nr Kinross. Scotland, KY13 0NJ, Scotland MAP
£199 full weekend with Thursday camping

Daily capacity: 85,000

Where the rain held off for the Friday, it came back in droves on the Saturday. Everyone knew deep down it had been too good to be true, but spirits remained high upon entrance back into the soggy arena. Trudging through the mud and the rain to the backing of Shed Seven it was necessary to find shelter from the driving rain. The Slam Tent was even closed during the early part of the day due to the increasing rainfall and emerging mud swamp.

This year's arena had the addition of some cocktail bars to give a break from the traditional Tennents or cider choice, and it was here where many people chose to tuck themselves away until the bigger acts kicked off. One of the gems of festivals will always be the friendly 'randoms' you come across this year proved no different with a guy deciding to entertain our group with some excellent beat-boxing and rapping to the background of the cocktail bar's thumping bass that is the kind of entertainment money simply can't buy.

The rain couldn't and wouldn't keep the Scottish partiers from singing along with The Wailers, with 'One Love' turning into the unofficial theme tune of Saturday. If there were any band who could lift spirits, it's the reggae band formed by the legendary Bob Marley.

With the rain showing little sign of slowing down, it was time to brave the elements and head out to see another up and coming star as Emeli Sande hit the main stage. Thanking the rain soaked crowd for putting up with the wet conditions, she proved why she's becoming such a big hit sounding as good live as she does recorded, keeping up with the Bob Marley theme by playing a 'One Love/No Woman No Cry' medley before pleasing the crowd with 'Next To Me'.

Wading through the building mud to the NME stage to see Rizzle Kicks, every step proved doubly difficult as areas of the ground turned into mud lakes, while others areas were trudged up sticky mud; both as difficult as each other to walk through. And unfortunately once at the NME stage, the highly anticipated Rizzle Kicks were unworthy of the strenuous trek to see them. They had a decent sized crowd, yet standing further back meant the acoustics just weren't enough to hold interest, and most songs that far back were indistinguishable, meaning a trip back to some shelter was in order.

Jessie J held enough pull to get the crowd out again and into the gradually slowing rain a sea of yellow ponchos could be seen as they gathered for The Voice judge, who appeared looking glamorous as ever, clear raincoat over her crop top and giving a storming performance. Opening with 'Do It Like A Dude' which had all the girls singing along, before she also gave a nod to Bob Marley with a mix of hit 'Stand Up' and 'One Love'. However, all was not perfect with Jessie J's set, calling the crowd 'Edinburgh' but she was quickly forgiven as she played her biggest hits 'Price Tag' and 'Laserlight' before finishing up with the crowd chanting alongside 'Domino'.

Having never been a fan of Oasis, or the Gallagher brothers, I was dubious about seeing Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds on the main stage. Yet the growing mud swamp made a trek to the NME stage to see Two Door Cinema Club a muddy step too far. Gallagher appeared on stage under his new solo moniker having only formed last year following his acrimonious split from Oasis. Gallagher obviously knows how to please a festival crowd, playing some new material yet concentrating on the old 90s anthems the crowd are sure to know from the Oasis heydays. The crowd went positively crazy as 'Half The World Away' stirred memories, and the hits just kept rolling from there. Whatever brought a chorus of singing from the audience while 'Little By Little' and 'Don't Look Back In Anger' were as well received as to be expected. This was a set full of nostalgia, with Noel looking more relaxed in the spotlight now than when backing his brother.

Saturday had a triple whammy of headliners; the hugely anticipated The Stone Roses taking to the main stage, home-grown Calvin Harris in the King Tut's tent and David Guetta over at the NME stage. Having seemingly missed the Stone Roses epidemic in my youth, there held little appeal to see them in their newly reformed state, so it fell to a choice between Harris and Guetta. With the rain holding off, the French house producer and DJ won out, and what a good choice that proved to be. Squeezing down the side of the crowd it was clear the NME stage party people were ready to bounce the night away, forgetting about the rain and the mud for a gloriously long set. Opening with huge hit 'Titanium' Guetta looked every inch the cool superstar DJ as he held the audience in the palm of his hands. Mixing his own hits such as 'Without You' to the expected chants of excitable muddy revellers as well as throwing a bit of 'You've Got The Love' in there before closing off his brilliant set with 'I Gotta Feeling' leaving this crowd wanting so much more from Guetta. After a soggy and miserable start to the day, he proved the perfect antidote to perk up the spirits of the evening.

And so it was that day 2 of T in the Park had come to a close once everyone had struggled through the mud back to the tents/cars that is. Everyone could only hope that the rain would hold off for the final day.

review by: Clare Sinclair

photos by: Greg Forbes