Having been recommended by a mate who had went to it last year, I knew I had to get my tickets sorted so I didn't miss out on this cracking looking festival. We were lucky enough to be press accredited for it so in the end it didn't matter. A big thanks to Jenn for accrediting us!
Coming off the motorway after only an hour or so on the way down from Glasgow, I was treated to some of the most stunning looking scenery I've ever seen. The twisting, narrow roads were an experience although I managed to get there in one piece, courtesy of one of my best friends Kathleen who was driving us. As we were camping on the Thursday the drive into the estate was a pretty quiet one. We got parked fairly close to the main entrance which was a lot closer than I imagined it would be and we were able to humpth all our stuff into the campsite easily. Once I managed to construct the tent, it was time to get the bevy opened and have a drink. After a while of chilling at the tent, I decided it was best that I went and did what I was there for... review the music.
As I didn't know what time the music started, I only managed to catch the end of The Orielles set and I'm disappointed that I missed the beginning. The English band had a decent crowd for being the very first act on at Electric Fields 2018. Their songs are very energetic and contain very catchy guitar riffs which you can't help but tap along to. Hopefully the band decide to come back to Scotland soon and I can enjoy a full set from them!
Next up on the Main Stage was Ezra Furman and his band The Visions. I must admit I hadn't heard of Ezra before seeing his name on the line up but I'm really glad I managed to see him. A set full of rock and roll songs which all had a meaning behind them. There is nothing better than hearing a song that means so much to somebody and this was exactly what the crowd were treated to. Although slightly eccentric at times, this was a set full of passion and the large crowd in front of the stage got more and more into it and by the end were wanting Ezra to carry on as he left the stage. Between songs the American frontman enjoyed good banter with the crowd - something that lacks at times from some artists. I would say that discovering Ezra was one of my highlights of the weekend and really look forward to hopefully seeing him and his band in Scotland again soon!
The penultimate band to take to the stage were English rockers Ride. As the night began to cool, from the off these guys instantly warmed up the crowd with their music. It was easy to tell that these guys were gigging in the 90s with their sound - not that there is anything wrong with that at all. They sounded superb. A wee bit of trivia about the band that I only discovered once I got home from the festival and started to write up this article - The bass player Andy Bell used to be in Oasis. How cool is that? Very in my opinion. Their set had great energy and had the crowd moving along with every song. Although some of the instrumentals went on for longer than they should have, it was great to see a band enjoying themselves and sounding brilliant. Good set lads!
Finally it was time for the headliners and a band I have wanted to see for years. As James took to the stage, the freezing fog descended on the Drumlanrig Castle Estate which dropped the temperature down to one of the coldest nights of the year. Although, the atmosphere was red hot from the buzz of the crowd in anticipation of the first song. Their set had a wee bit of an album tour set rather than a festival set - although this was nearly 2 hours of fantastic live music. Even though they had one or two false starts on a couple of songs, this was a great performance from James. They played plenty of songs from their new album but also played songs from across their 14 studio albums they have released. One of the highlights for me was the song Many Faces. The mass sing along from the crowd even though the song had finished made the hairs on my neck stand up, a truly moving moment.
My other highlight was being within touching distance of Tim Booth. Somehow before they started I had the opportunity be at the very front of the crowd. The crowd interaction from Tim and the trumpet player was class and made a lot of people in the front row very happy, myself included! Their set included a stripped down version of their massive anthem Sit Down which also prompted a massive sing-a-long from the crowd. Overall it was a fantastic band to have on the opening night of Electric Fields and left the audience buzzing for the next two days!
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