Giving Our Best to Bestival

Well, Ms. Harvey really delivered on Saturday - looking and sounding as amazing as ever and putting on a stunning acoustic set. She treated the suitably wowed crowd to fantastic new songs such as ‘Let England Shake’ and ‘The Last Living Rose’ (sparking rumours of a upcoming ‘English inspired’ new album) alongside die-hard favourites, like ‘C’mon Billy’ and ‘Down By The Water’ - absolutely unforgettable!

The same time that evening and splitting the Gaymers camp in two, The Cuban Brothers exploded onto ‘their’ stage! Beginning with Miguel Mantovani (Mike Keat) being carried on a throne through the crowd to said stage, they proceeded to add impossible amounts of energy and extravagance to a fiercely entertaining and crowd pleasing set.

(Incidentally, note must be made of the performance on Saturday afternoon of the mad Welsh ‘gangstas’, Goldie Lookin’ Chain - the fun-lovin’ Dorset ‘posse’ lapped them up!)

An overcast and rainy Sunday ensued, but spirits soared again thanks to some infectious disco from Candi Staton… a sea of ‘pac-a-macs’ defiantly grooved against the stunning backdrop of the castle. Other highlights of the final day were a cracking set from the returning Dub Pistols who unleashed their eclectic blend of Hip-Hop, Ska, and Breakbeat on the seemingly tireless crowd, an awesome set from Camp Bestival’s very own Rob Da Bank and 70s R&B/disco legends Chic, shaking their funky ‘thang’ one more time.

Not much time to recover before we do it all again at Leeds and Reading! It’s a hard job…

Dorset's Rock Daughter Is Coming...

The appearance of Dorset's own PJ Harvey is being hugely anticipated down at Camp Bestival - with a full day of sunshine, the spirits are high and the likes of Beardyman have really got the crowd going. Even more exciting than being able to watch Ms Harvey's only UK show is the fact that it's going to be a completely acoustic set...should be pretty amazing. Tomorrow's big attractions include 70s disco/RnB sensations Chic, the legendary Candi Staton and the returning Dub Pistols. Wrapping things up at the end of Sunday will be a major son et lumiere show...performance courtesy of the English National Ballet and music courtesy of the festival's own Rob Da Bank.

Dorset Set to Wake The Dinosaurs?

Well, Rhodri's on the Jurrasic Coast at the moment checking out the beautiful boutiqueness of Camp Bestival. 2008's 'Best New Festival' in the UK Festival Awards (dubbed 'Perfect' by The Flaming Lips, no less, last year) has some luxury accommodation going for it, though Rhodri's assured us he's going to be using his Millets 'festival special'.

Right now he's checking that the Gaymers cider is flowing...and looking forward to catching sight of the likes of Mercury Rev, Chic and the West Country's finest, PJ Harvey.

There's 'only' a 20% chance of rain tomorrow, looks like sun....so this bash is set to be a whole lot of fun...our tips for festival success are Ian Dury-esque rapper Roots Manuva, the lovely Miss Laura Marling and Southern soul legend Candi Staton (there's GOT to be a big chance she'll be making an appearance alongside Florence and the Machine when they cover 'You've Got The Love'...surely?!). Anyway, the fossils (and the younger crowd) will certainly be rocking this weekend!

Weekend fun at Latitude at Lovebox

So, that was all rather enjoyable. Latitude and Lovebox sponsorship all in one weekend.

So, the weather had its ups and downs (quite a lot of downs at Latitude), but on the whole from what we've seen and heard - you guys had a whole lot of fun getting into some amazing live music and sampling a Gaymers or few.

Highlights for us include the Thom Yorke set at Latitude and Groove Armada showcasing some new stuff as well as the classics to close yet another great Lovebox. Oh and the treehouse. We loved it and you most certainly loved it.

If you've kept an eye on the blog and Twitter you;ll have already seen some pics and heard a few things about what we've been up to - but as soon as we can, we'll stick up our "professional" photos on Flickr. In the meantime, check out what everyone else has been sharing on Twitter, Flickr and everywhere else on the web.

And we'll leave you with this fan recording of Thom Yorke debuting new song 'The Present Tense' at Latitude .

Bonus feature . Just before closing down, we stumbled on this . . . possibly the best mashup ever made - Nirvana V Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give Your Teen Spirit Up . We like.

Lovebox Loveliness...

Here's what you can look forward to tomorrow.....make sure you come! The Gaymers Stage and truly tree-rific (sorry) Treehouse in full cider-effect!

Loveboxed Out...

OK. We can't camp. But we want to stay. Please. What a top festival. Look, here's a cartoon-ish birds-eye-ish view to enjoy...........come tomorrow, please do!

Rockaoke has 'morphed'!

Nice outfits! These were the last pix from Latitude for Rhodri (just arrived - it's been sloooooow getting these images), he left a while ago for London's oldest park (nice bit of trivia there) and some Lovebox action - to include a trip to the treetops, where our bar is located!

Come into the Cider Garden at Latitude...

This looks very inviting from where we're sat...this is where Rockaoke is in full-effect...next post will show us exactly what's been going on with it (pix been promised by Rhodri)...before he heads off to Lovebox!

Not that we've...

...got an inflated opinion of ourselves!

Squeeze Pleeze...

Word(s) from our roaming man and woman in the field(s) at Latitude are that (a) Little Boots sounded amazing...but they didn't have a hope of seeing her as it was so packed and (b) Squeeze played out some of their wry Cock-ernee tales acoustic-stylee, which went down a storm with the packed tent. The PSBs were amazing too....an AV extravaganza no less, exploding glitter, giant orange cubes on heads, dancers dressed as, er, skyscrapers, etc. etc. Oh, and apparently, the main arena's closed for 'elf & safety checks at the mo'.. and there seems to be a bit of debate going on re. the drainage at Latitude vs. Glasto (diff. soil types, apparently! "It's like listening to a dinner party conversation in Hampstead", apparently!). Anyway, the final highlight from yesterday was Ms. Hynde and the Pretenders ripping through some classic tracks, while spraying her typically caustic wit around the arena..."please rain", "you're a bunch of pikeys", etc! (Pikeys? Hardly! I think someone should have alerted her to the previous conversation!). Anyway, Rhodri and Fiona are looking fwd to a fun-packed day....all set to end with a genuine diva of pop, the oh-so-scary but hugely talented Ms. Grace Jones at the Obelisk Arena! Click on that link for her at Bestival 2008, amazing...

Obscure Ashes+Music Reference

There's something of a neatness to the Ashes getting interesting yesterday and the appearance today of a band at Latitude that's inspired by an obscure cricketing mathematical formula. Appearing at the Uncut Arena, The Duckworth Lewis Method is comprised of Neil Hannon from The Divine Comedy and Thomas Walsh from the Dublin band, Pugwash. The name's taken from the formula used to settle rain-affected one-day matches and the boys will be playing songs about (what else) Pakistani batsman Javed Miandad, Shane Warne+Mike Gatting and a tribute to Test Match Special! The tunes will suit the laid-back vibe of Latitude and fans of Hannon's day job will enjoy the wordsmithery. Other big attractions today are Chrissie Hynde and her returning Pretenders, Kiwi pop songstress Ladyhawke and the pop masters that are The Pet Shop Boys (still basking from their Outstanding Contribution to Music from this year's BRITS). Other notables that the Gaymers boys and girls on the ground might be checking out are the mighty Squeeze, Bat for Lashes and post-punk Manc legends, Magazine (all at The Uncut Arena; do drop into the Gaymers Cider Garden as you head that way).

Tree Top Teaser....

....just been sent these pix of our Gaymers Tree House in situ at Lovebox...it looks great! Make sure you pop up when London's loveliest festival starts - grab a cider and soak up the view. Things are hotting up at Latitude too...the music starts tomorrow...looking forward to hearing back from Rhodri and Fiona about how the Cider Garden's going...

Off to Eden

Well, our summer Rock odyssey continues....Rhodri's rolling on down Cornwall-way to check out Oasis at the Eden Project tonight (all in aid of 'research' we're assured!). Meanwhile, we're all manic getting prepared for the double whammy of Latitude and Lovebox this weekend. Four days of sublime Southwold shenanigans starts this Thursday, while Lovebox kicks off in London's Victoria Park on Saturday. We're jumping between the two to make sure the cider flows and to catch as much of the musical action as we can. Excitement is mounting over watching Groove Armada play some new tracks live for the first time on Sunday at Lovebox - some of them sound ace (check out http://www.lovebox.net). The other big news from Lovebox is that Mark Ronson's joining his heroes Duran Duran on-stage on Saturday...should be fun. Finally, can we just ask exactly when did this part of Suffolk re-brand itself, American-state stylee, as 'The Sunrise Coast'?