So I hear that 'Inside Out' has decided to close its doors for the forseeable future.... That does sadden me !!
I remember the first one I ever went to was pretty random.. I was having a quiet night in when my phone went, it was a friend who convinced me to go.... we got there pretty late, tried to blag our way in, failed and had to pay !
When I got in there though I couldnt believe the atmosphere and also how young I felt lol.. I was only 18 at the time and my group of friends were a tad older but when I got in there and seen some of the 'veterans' of Inside Out jigging away I though it was awesome, but also a little creepy that a 40 year old was covered in fake tan dancing around with a mini-skirt, leg warmers, a boob-tube and bunny ears on.....
On the bill that night was Umek & Valentino Kanzyani and they were both superb, especially Kanzyani as he done his full set using vinyl which I wasnt expecting.....
After that night I was pretty much hooked for a while.. going to everyone that Mr RBS would allow . . Seeing the likes of P.V.D, Eddie Halliwell, Marco V etc etc was brilliant.. one of the most memorable sets I seen was actually Simon Foy in the play room, he played a set with almost every classic you can imagine, 'out of the blue' 'binary finary' .. It was excellent !!
BUT
Then came the neds.... Oviously Inside Out had always had the odd bam at it but as soon as they started booking 'Hard Style' Dj's it went totally down hill... now remember this is only my opinion but Im sure alot of people who went to inside out 4-5 years ago will completely agree with me that its totally different now, change is good sometimes but only if its a change in the right direction and for all the people who used to go, this was certainly a change in the wrong direction..
This has been why such a successful night has gone rapidly down hill and let down its faithfull followers .. It finally succumbed to the pressure of all these people some of who must honestly be 16-17 years old but still get in, that wanted nothing but 'Hard Style' .. If they wanted that Im sure they could find another night...
Hopefully IF Inside Out does make a return to the arches at some point it will have remembered that Inside Out is all about bringing quality 'TRANCE' to the glasgow nightclub scene ...
So goodbye for now Inside Out..... Please turn the lights off and take your neds with you on the way out :) x
For a long time now I have been trying to convince people that 'Rockness' is a far superior festival to 'T In The Park' .... Fair enough it might not have as good a line up for some people, but for other people a festival isnt just about what acts are performing.....
I have been lucky enough to go to the last four Rockness's and I have also been to T in the park three times and for me Rockness wins hands down....
Comparisons......
Rockness, the arrival - You arrive, get a quick search of your bag, hand over your ticket, recieve your band and boom, your in... I think the longest Ive ever had to wait in line to enter was about 20minutes.... The campsite is right next to the entrance and if you were to walk from one end of it to the other it would take about a 10 minutes so its not like if you want to meet up with someone its going to take you half the day to find them !!
T in The Park, the arrival - You arrive, have to walk about a mile or so (if your lucky), wait in line, (the times Ive waited to get in vary from 'for ever' to 'for ever and ever') but seriously Ive waited over 2 hours to get in.. You then hand over your ticket, get your band and finally you are in... Then its a case of finding a camp space that doesnt take to long to get to because it feels like your arms are going to fall off but also one that isnt to far away from the main arena.... To get from one end of the camp site to the other you will need a survival pack that consists of...
1. Enough food and water to last 24 hours...
2. A change of clothes...
3. Some form of protection from the vast amount of bams looking for fights...
4. A compas...
5. A map...
Im not even going to imagine how long it would take you to get from one end of the camp site to the other but you would be brave to try it !!
Rockness, the arena - The arena is only a brief walk from the campsite no matter where you are camped.... You go through one line of security and searches and thats you in.. As soon as you get past security you can take your smuggled drink out of your pants and enjoy what Rockness has to offer!! The arena has the main stage and a few tents which are not to far away from each other (seeing distance) .. It also has some food stands and bars, not to mention the Rizla Bus which is pretty good for a boogie and a breather from the madness that is the other tents....
The scenery as you approach the main stage is amazing, with the loch directly behind the stage and the trees and hills etc you would be happy to just sit back with a few drinks and take it all in......
T in The Park, the arena - Although T in The Park is in Balado, the arena is actually based in Peterhead which alot of people arent aware of.... Well it feels that way !!
When you get through the first security line there is a 10 minute walk waiting ahead for you, at the end of this 10 minute walk is another security line which there is most likely to be a large queue for.... Once you get through the security check with most of your drink taken from you you are greeted with a large site the equivelant in size to Glasgow city centre... Once you have consulted your T in The Park guide and found out what act's you'd like to see its straight to either the Main Stage, The NME stage or one of many tents.... Until last year the Slam Tent was a myth to me as I have never been able to find it !!!!
The scenery is basically what I can imagine a city dump to look like... That is all....
Rockness, the atmosphere - Rockness has a friendly, party atmosphere... Ive never seen a fight at Rockness... The sort of crowd who goes to this kind of festival are people who are just looking for a laugh, to get intoxicated and have a great weekend.....
T in The Park, the atmosphere - T in The Park has a decent atmosphere, if you consider walking through the camp site trying not to make eye contact with anyone incase you get ''chibbed'' .. Ive seen a few fights at T in The Park, one that involved camp chairs and flares, but lets not get into that.... In all fairness T in The Parks atmosphere is only spoiled by the idiots and bams that basically go looking for trouble.......
Rockness, the line up - This is perhaps the only thing that T in The Park has the upper hand in..... Although Rockness does try to appeal to most people there is always more dance/electronic acts than bands etc but when Rockness do book a band they get it right... People know before going to Rockness what kind of festival it is though so there is no point in going to it then complaining there arent enough acts that you like.... Rockness has had the likes of 'Fatboy Slim', 'Chemical Brothers' and 'Daft Punk' perform and they have always put on a fantastic show.........
T in The Park, the line up - You can never fault T in The Park for the line up.... Last year had the likes of Eminem performing, 1 of only 3 or 4 perfomances he was doing last year which was unbelievable.... T in the park does have everything for everyone.. But sometimes this can cause problems... eg, you are at the main stage seeing a fantastic band when suddenly you realise that another band you really want to see is on at another stage or tent... so although there are always fantastic line ups at T in The Park it can present major head aches when deciding who to go and see......
So anyway.... Im obviously a bit bias towards Rockness but in my own opinion it is withtin reason to be bias.... If you havent been to Rockness then get along this year and you'll see just how right I am !!!!!
