Yesterday was spent outside in the cold but thankfully dry, Scottish weather surrounded by 60,000 other music fans at T in the Park. There was beer, music, queues, more beer, rubbish, food, music, more beer, more beer and even more beer. This was the first music festival I’ve been to since 1994, although back then I always managed to get a backstage pass, free entry, a place to pee without queuing, and access to the bands rider…. certainly the experience was a bit different, not just for the fact that I never worried about anything back then, at least nothing worth worrying about, but also because I was 10 years younger, with all that that implies.

So here I was planning to go to one day of a two day festival in the Scottish countryside. In 1994 and prior, I would decide on the day if I was going, organise an access pass, hitch a lift with the roadies, and just arrive. No plans, no hassles, no effort (it probably wasn’t quite as easy as that, but that’s what I remember). In 2004, I had organised tickets for the event and the transportation at the beginning of April (it sold out in May). We arrived at the bus station for our transport out to the site, about 1.5 hours from Glasgow, at the appointed time only to find a queue that snaked its way around Buchanan Bus Station – and which took about 55 minutes to make it onto a bus. After a frightening ride on a double decker bus on the freeway, we got to Balado only to have to queue again to enter the site. Queuing was actually a large part of the day. To get beer tokens, to get beer, to buy food, to go to the toilet, to get into some tents. Queue, queue, queue and just in case you forget how, more queuing.

By far the best part was the music. One of the hardest things to do when you go with a few people to a music festival is to decide where to go, whether to separate, where to meet etc. I managed to get to see the ‘Scissor Sisters’, ‘The Complete Stone Roses’ tribute band, ‘Franz Ferdinand’, ‘PJ Harvey’, ‘Mull Historical Society’, ‘Kings of Leon’, ‘The Pixies’ and ‘N.E.R.D’. It was a very full day. What I regret missing was Orbital (tent too full), Massive Attack and Chemical Brothers (both too late), but then again, you can’t do everything!

It was a brilliant day. Everyone was happy, if not a little too drunk – the sun even came out for a few minutes or so. It was quite a cool experience. Now by far, I wouldn’t rate it up there with sitting on the side of the stage in the Hordern Pavilion when Nirvana were playing, but it was an honest day out. A lot of fun, a lot of people, dirty, mucky and cold. But fun.

And that’s what it’s all about, no?

p.s. I took some pictures but they are not ready yet, I ‘borrowed’ a picture from The Scotsman, but then felt guilty so didn’t include it – you can find it here. And I also want to mention Speedie who I’ve been thinking of continually over the weekend. If it wasn’t for Speedie, I would never have seen the things I’ve seen, met the people I’ve met, or become half the person I am today for many reasons… I just wish I had had the chance to say thank you.