EOTR 1

Wow, that was something special.  Early thoughts are that it was easily the best of my 3 EOTR's.  As ever, wonderful setting, great weather, good food and lots of memorable music.  Over the next few posts I'll post some some words and photos to describe my time there. 

I was pretty well organised before I went and gave pretty much everybody a spin before I went and didn't miss much that I planned to see but inevitably there are always regrets about bands you should/could have seen but when I considered what I missed and why I don't think I did too bad.

• Emmy The Great - I wanted to see her but she clashed with one of my must sees, Slow Down Molasses. Anyway she's on The Georgian Theatre on 24 September so I've got another chance to see her and I might just do that.
• Lanterns On The Lake - As above, a 3 way battle from hell.
• Laura Marling - Could have caught some of her show after the wonderful performance by our (almost) very own Leisure Society.
• A couple of the bands I saw said Big Deal (clashed with Tinariwen) and Wild Nothing (clashed with Josh T Pearson) were very good.
• Richard said Best Coast and Timber Timbre were brill and numerous people said
• The Mountaineering Club were excellent but they clashed with Sarabeth Tucker.  Actually I caught them doing  a little improv number with a London poet on the piano stage on Sunday.  More about that later.

And then there were the artists I wished I'd seen a bit more of - The Walkmen - They were one of my naps but I left their set half way through.   I should have either stayed or not gone at all because going to watch them meant I only got to see a couple of songs by She Keeps Bees.

Inexplicably I left the Joanna Newsom show after about  4 songs. In my defence I was cold, wet, too far back to get a decent view and on my 4th night at the festival I didn't have enough energy left to fight my way to the front. 

Don't be feeling too sorry for me mind because I've already bought tickets for next year (yes plural- Shamila's coming!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) and you wusses that aren't up for the 650 mile round trip to Larmer Tree Gardens are welcome to join me and Robin Hood at the new No Direction Home Festival, 8, 9 and 10 June 2012.