Kendal Calling 2010

[muddybob]

I've read a lot of the posts on this thread with interest. My experience of the festival was probably different from most as I had a baby and a toddler with me and generally stayed away from all of the crowds, noise and late-night madness. I actually found the security extremely friendly and helpful (They never once searched us to discover the bottles we'd stashed in our pushchair!) and they held the crowds back for us so that we could enter the main arena without risk of being crushed.

We were camped in the campervan field and it was very civillised! (Although this might be due to the nice people who were camped around us rather than any forward planning) Clean-enough toilets and no litter at all. I thought the toilets in the main arena were clean too.

The real ale WAS on the expensive side but good quality, and the food prices were reasonable ish.

I thought the organisers had gone to extra efforts to make it more of a 'festival' this year rather than a series of musical acts and I really enjoyed the walkabout and street performers (especially the Mexican Karaoke!)and the art work around the site. A massive improvement on 2008 when I swore I'd never go back! Really enjoyed the King Blues (even though our children slept through them).

I'm glad that we weren't camped in the 'noisy' camping fields though as I was upset and angry to see the amount of rubbish that had been left strewn about. How can people be so disrespectful?! I cannot imagine what goes through their heads. As mentioned previously, perhaps handing out binbags would help? Perhaps the bin bags would then be blowing around too!

With reference to an earlier post, I think the lack of recycling facilities was due to the fact that the waste management was being run by the K9 team who sort through all the rubbish themselves. For people who are used to seperating out all their own waste it can seem odd to just chuck it all in together.

I do have to have a bit of a grumble about the statement in the programme "2006 - Back when Cumbria was crying out for a live music event to define the summer..." Erm? What about Brampton Live, Solfest, Maryport Blues Festival, Lake District Summer Music? A bit cheeky of you! Just because you hadn't been to any of them at the time...

Anyway, my experience was a positive one and I'll definately try to make it back to Kendal Calling next year.

[Tango]

Kendal seems to be one of those festivals that do like the feedback and will listen to what people are saying.

I think the ID-ing thing is definitely one thing that is simple to do, and can be done at the checkpoints upon entering. Theres also plenty of security/policing around to walk about the site and just do on the spot checks.

The beer? Yes, it was pricey but would making this cheaper affect the ticket prices? they should have used kegs as opposed to selling cans, or found some way of getting the prices down (i think the majority of us would pay an extra £10-£15 or so for the ticket and have cheaper beer, no?) so people wouldnt rush to their tent between sets and blast through 2 or 3 cans before the next set.

Staff? they need to know their shit more. We were asking for directions to the Welfare tent and we just got pointed in the direction of other staff and told to ask them.

But I think Kendal will address this for next year, like I said if they want to grow theyll listen to feedback. They have done so in the past!

[Havacuppatea]

Good - We enjoyed it & were allowed to park next to the tent due to my sprained ankle - which was a really nice touch. Plenty of late night action - even on the Sunday night / real ale beer good

Bad - Alcohol fuelled - not always a good thing

Filthly - shortage of bin emtpying - but primarily caused by some of the dirty buggers attending

NO CIDER - WTF. They may have sponsored the event but Brothers pear perry is not cider - to pay £3.60 a bottle for this with no apple cider / scrumpy alternative was just plain daft.

Toilets - a bit iffy / Urinals a bloody disgrace

Why where 50% of the Emporors field toilets removed very early morning on the Monday?

Emporors field was supposed to have it's own entrance - what happened there? It was a fair walk.

Site lighting was terrible - Emporors field had very little & the walk back through the main camp site was in total darkness.

Not a good or bad vibe - all a bit flat really

Bottom line (I'm an old fart so will try & factor that) - it was a 'young' festival with drink the drug of choice - all a bit too boozy for us. The place was filthy. That's not a fault of the festival - the ramshackle nature of the organisation & the toilets are & need improvement. We would go again but this would be driven by the music in a particular year - not the fact it's a great festival vibe irrespective of the music

[Kevin_gillett]

Friday, stuck at home because my back has gone (am 27, it's not meant to happen so young!) ... a week ago the tent was pitched at Kendal Calling

Was my first Kendal Calling, and my friends first festival, overall we both enjoyed ourselves.

Seems to be a big split between peoples experiences, we may have got lucky with whereabouts we camped as it was relatively quiet (been noisier in regents at summer sundae as an example). The walk to the arena showed big differences regards the litter, and with that assuming noise/younger more irresponsible.

Not once was either of us searched, had nothing to hide even if they did mind, and saw no trouble at all throughout.

I'd been really ill most of the year, and was a bit apprehensive about drinking/attending, after only being off tablets/haivng no hospital visits for a week and a half.

I got more into the festival spirit, and discovered more as the festival went on, mostly on the Sunday, this being down to myself mostly so no fault of the organisers, i just wish i had been that relaxed earlier on, i will be back though.

No problems with any of the bands or performers, Lancashire Hotpots rounded it off brilliantly too for me.

Danny Fontaine and the horns of fury were a great surprise, calling out tent also (always like it in this kind of tent/stage)

Wasnt paying that much for a can though, stuck on the Brothers but only as there wasnt any other choices on that. had hoped the Holy Quail would have had a good cider on

Was disappointed with a couple of the food stands, for the price the quality was really bad, especially then compared to some others which was really good, no-ones fault really, know for future what to avoid on a personal level

A lot of competition for festivals now, and at the end of the day i chose Kendal Calling over Summer Sundae this year based on the line up, and the acts certainly didnt diappoint me

[goonerming]

Apologies if someone's mentioned this but I haven't been on here for a few days and don't have the time or patience to read through 3 pages of the thread!

People have complained about the price of lager but said the price of the ale was fine. I was fairly drunk for the majority of the weekend but I'm pretty sure the bar to the left of the main stage was selling pints of Tuborg (i.e. slightly stronger Carlsberg) for £3.50, the same as the ales. Although not exactly the best lager in the world I thought that was a decent price for a festival.

[Trinity]

As a family of 5, kids 10 & 11, youngest of 6, we had a ball! Massive thanxs to the guys at the ladybird tent, my son wanted to adopt some guy there as his stepdad. Everything was spot on really but the throwing of beer cans around the main stage, made it scarey to take our kids closer. I aint gotta clue but maybe let alcohol into the main arena and def a bit of weed!!! May make the whole vibe a bit more mellow. The older hippies, like myself loved it! Badly Drawn Boy!! My advice... Let the sweet smell go and arrest the MR BOOZYE"S!. You gotta attract the oldies aswell as the youngsters! There were some well behaved groups of youngsters aswell. My son couldn't believe he met superman 3 times??? To be honest... best festie so far! fantasic venue, just make security get rid of the idiots and nxt year will be buzzin ( r u lovin it?)

0

[SharonStoned]

Oh, and Sharonstoned - your daughter got Soni tickets for a fiver? That is a bargain!

[llcoolphil]

The older hippies, like myself loved it! and nxt year will be buzzin ( r u lovin it?)

[t2t]

Not the ones I spoke to!

[LOCHLAND5]

Hi Kendal callers please could some one help?

On entering the gates on Friday morning I was greeted by a feather waving fairy !!!!!! She shook the feather in my face then said " do I see a hippopotamus "

Who was she?

Was it a curse ?

Was it festival good luck?

Is it normal ?

Is it narjartee's girlfriend?

Please fans can you explain !!!!

[dpw]

Review Here

http://citylifers.co.uk/2010/08/04/review-kendal-calling-2010/

[jamjar]

Another review here but it's the photo gallery here that I love.

What a weekend, we loved it and will be back for more next year! Do sort the quiet camping out next time pleeeease.

[beergut100]

Not the ones I spoke to!

[eFestivals]

there's no use in griping on here.

there is you know. The organisers read what is said here, are able to take on board what is said, and change things if they feel they need changing.

[beergut100]

there is you know. The organisers read what is said here, are able to take on board what is said, and change things if they feel they need changing.

Edited August 10, 2010 by beergut100

[eFestivals]

your post has made me chuckle ..... I wasn't trying to suggest that they should implement every suggestion that anyone might make, and it's precisely why I finished with saying "and change things if they feel they need changing".

Every festie organiser has a vision of what they're trying to achieve with their festival, and while circumstances might change the slant on that over the years (because it might find success in a part that wasn't the original vision - there's certainly some fests that have changed to meet the audience), they're all hopefully wise enough to know that they can't please all of the people all of the time, and so shouldn't try to.

[cals]

56 Y.O. over here

Aside from the number of peeps who wanted to adopt me as their dad, had a belting weekend, mind you, did have decent neighbours.

Roll on next year

[beergut100]

your post has made me chuckle ..... I wasn't trying to suggest that they should implement every suggestion that anyone might make, and it's precisely why I finished with saying "and change things if they feel they need changing".

[parklife]

It was my 1st time at KC after having done a lot of festivals over the last 10-12 years. This was the smallest festival I've attended in a long time but I can say that the weekend was great and 90% positive. I loved the layout of the arena, the relaxed atmosphere, the variety of acts and genres. The food was good, beer was slightly over-priced but that's what you have to expect from a festival. The fancy dress was brilliant as well.

Security - I thought was a lot less strict than every festival I've been too, no checks were made on my bags on entering the campsite or arena. Not sure if i have a very honest face?! Excellent medical cover tho, lots of St Johns around.

Food - Great selection, the beef creole was amazing! As a couple of suggestions for next year maybe a chinese outlet and possibly a sandwich/baguette outlet as well.

Drink - Again couldn't fault the selection available maybe the price was a bit expensive but as I've already mentioned it obviously keeps the ticket price down. Great selection of mixers as well, well chuffed there was soda as my girfriend drinks mainly wine & soda, without the soda she'd be hammered in no time! Service and staff were great, never queued once to get a drink.

Sound/Layout - Great sound for all the bands, layout was almost spot on. Maybe need bigger tent for the soapbox next year.

Toilets - Not quite enough toilets in the arena or campsite. Well there may of been enough but not clean ones. The toilets in both the arena & campsite need to be cleaned much more often. Also something needs to be done for screening the urinals off from the public gaze please!!! The real biggy for me are the toilets, it's the ONE thing everyone relies on. lineup/sound quality/toilets everything else is up to you how you enjoy yourself. More cleaning of the toilets for next year please and screen off the urinals.

Rubbish - maybe a few more bins required in certain areas, but some people are just downright dirty and disgusting. why can't you wait or hold on to a finished (or half finished) plate of food and put it in a bin provided?????!! This is a beautiful setting and home to lots of wildlife - treat it right!!!

People - I did wonder where most of the people were half the time, it was only for the headliners that the main stage got really busy. I felt particulary sorry for Stereo MCs who tried so hard to get the crowd going, for what was a great set. Generally tho most people were great and seemed to be having a good time. I would support the no under 18's rule and better checks of ID.

Campsite - Most room ever for a festival. However lack of lighting and signs didn't help. Improve the lighting and signs for next year.

Bands - A fine balance between getting bigger name bands and growing the festival too large. Best bands for me all weekend were The Parlotones & Wave Machines both played absolutely stunning sets in the Calling Out stage. Decent line-up overall tho. Good Job. Would love to see Reverend & The Makers, Miike Snow, Ali Love, Delphic, Friendly Fires, James Yuill, Sunshine Underground, The Temper Trap. Two Door Cinema Club next year. Oh and Muse would be awesome!! Just put them as special guests & don't tell anyone ha ha.

Reading this back it sounds slightly negative but it's not meant to be, just a few key improvements and KC would be a perfect festival. It's only in it's 5th year and already is better than other festivals that have been going a lot longer.

[beergut100]

It was my 1st time at KC after having done a lot of festivals over the last 10-12 years. This was the smallest festival I've attended in a long time but I can say that the weekend was great and 90% positive. I loved the layout of the arena, the relaxed atmosphere, the variety of acts and genres. The food was good, beer was slightly over-priced but that's what you have to expect from a festival. The fancy dress was brilliant as well.

Security - I thought was a lot less strict than every festival I've been too, no checks were made on my bags on entering the campsite or arena. Not sure if i have a very honest face?! Excellent medical cover tho, lots of St Johns around.

Food - Great selection, the beef creole was amazing! As a couple of suggestions for next year maybe a chinese outlet and possibly a sandwich/baguette outlet as well.

Drink - Again couldn't fault the selection available maybe the price was a bit expensive but as I've already mentioned it obviously keeps the ticket price down. Great selection of mixers as well, well chuffed there was soda as my girfriend drinks mainly wine & soda, without the soda she'd be hammered in no time! Service and staff were great, never queued once to get a drink.

Sound/Layout - Great sound for all the bands, layout was almost spot on. Maybe need bigger tent for the soapbox next year.

Toilets - Not quite enough toilets in the arena or campsite. Well there may of been enough but not clean ones. The toilets in both the arena & campsite need to be cleaned much more often. Also something needs to be done for screening the urinals off from the public gaze please!!! The real biggy for me are the toilets, it's the ONE thing everyone relies on. lineup/sound quality/toilets everything else is up to you how you enjoy yourself. More cleaning of the toilets for next year please and screen off the urinals.

Rubbish - maybe a few more bins required in certain areas, but some people are just downright dirty and disgusting. why can't you wait or hold on to a finished (or half finished) plate of food and put it in a bin provided?????!! This is a beautiful setting and home to lots of wildlife - treat it right!!!

People - I did wonder where most of the people were half the time, it was only for the headliners that the main stage got really busy. I felt particulary sorry for Stereo MCs who tried so hard to get the crowd going, for what was a great set. Generally tho most people were great and seemed to be having a good time. I would support the no under 18's rule and better checks of ID.

Campsite - Most room ever for a festival. However lack of lighting and signs didn't help. Improve the lighting and signs for next year.

Bands - A fine balance between getting bigger name bands and growing the festival too large. Best bands for me all weekend were The Parlotones & Wave Machines both played absolutely stunning sets in the Calling Out stage. Decent line-up overall tho. Good Job. Would love to see Reverend & The Makers, Miike Snow, Ali Love, Delphic, Friendly Fires, James Yuill, Sunshine Underground, The Temper Trap. Two Door Cinema Club next year. Oh and Muse would be awesome!! Just put them as special guests & don't tell anyone ha ha.

Reading this back it sounds slightly negative but it's not meant to be, just a few key improvements and KC would be a perfect festival. It's only in it's 5th year and already is better than other festivals that have been going a lot longer.

[llcoolphil]

This was my third year at KC and I had a belting time! There were the negatives some of you mention, but these were more than outweighed by the many positives. I'm 45 llcoolphil (but not a bloody hippie ) and had a great time, as did the rest of my group (some older, some younger - from 28 - 48). I can't believe that some of you thought there was no atmosphere. I have consistently found this one of the friendliest festivals I have ever been to; though weirdly a small percentage of idiots always seem to turn up on the Saturday, presumably on day tickets. I agree the festival has issues that need sorting, but there's no use in griping on here. Why not join the Kendal Calling Facebook page an air your views over there? They seem to listen and genuinely try to improve things.

[llcoolphil]

Drink - Again couldn't fault the selection available maybe the price was a bit expensive but as I've already mentioned it obviously keeps the ticket price down.

[eFestivals]

(although I did hear about someone running away from a copper with a spliff once!).

then you heard wrong. They were too busy laughing to be able to run.

[parklife]

What is the point of keeping the ticket price down if its going to cost you £12 for 4 opened cans of Carlsberg?

[foodfinder]

Parklife, there isn't going to be a solution, only a balance.

For example (to quote poor lil cool phil who was particularly miserable that weekend)

''behaviour deteriorates - its what happens when you're young, drunk and stupid, we've all been there. And that puts off older punters from returning.''

Perhaps, phil, Carlsberg was deliberately priced to deter asbos from drinking too much. -Only an asbo would touch the stuff - and the grownups could drink exceedingly good real ale and real lager at reasonable prices. Asbos would never put 2+2 together would they? Read the whingers to understand this!! Incidentally, Coniston Bluebird £3.60 a pint in Coniston when I was down there last month.

As for retreating to their lair to top up on 80p supermarket lager between acts, surely they brought that into camp not knowing whether a can was 6p or £6. It was there to be drunk. Or did they go to get a joint? Perhaps there hould therefore be more intimate searching to clarify this?

Toilets? 8000 plus guests, artists, staff and the hoards of litterpickers (who were out early every morning picking up lagerlout rubbish), How can anyone ever provide enough toilets for that many people to enjoy home comforts? At least there were alternatives - £2 loos and superloos for those who really minded! So, no complaints there then or you would have used them! (but don't tell too many asbos with pocket money)

We had a great time and will leave the organising to the people who seem to know what they are doing. As the local newspaper said 'It gets better every year'

Looking at a loty of posters here the last couple of years, they go to festivals purely to get drunk or stoned. Read the names of some of these posters! Fortunately, only a very tiny proportion of festival goers are represented on this forum and the organisers should take that into account. I too am emigrating to Facebook!