Blog: Indie Tracks: Day One

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You find me today in an EXTREMELY good mood, also KNACKERED, slightly SUN BLUSHED and generally feeling like I've had about 20 brilliant nights out in the space of two days, for LO! this weekend i was the Indie Tracks festival. SYNOPSIS: GRATE!

I had to get up VERY early on Saturday to get the train to Derby. At the time I thought "Gosh, there are a lot of twee looking people on this train" but this was, of course, AS NOTHING to the amount of twee looking people i would see on OTHER trains... but anyway, I DISEMBARKED into Derby and immediately bumped into my friend RAY, and he, I, and HIS friend Becs wandered off to wait for our bus. IN THE PUB. HOORAH!

We whizzed off and were soon at the camp site, where we found LOADS of people I knew from different cities all in a field trying to put their tents up. As I reached the camping field I saw Mark From The Parallelograms laughing while Sam From Tasty was chased, girlishly, by a wasp. Things were becoming TWEE-ER! There were loads of other lovely people there but it's probably best if I don't REEL off lists of names or it will get like one of those "Wossname Begat So-and-so" pages from the bible, basically pretty much nearly EVERYONE i a) like and b) have met a gigs in the past five years was there. IT WAS BRILLIANT.

The Pattisons arrived and helped me set up the tent I was borrowing, and before too long we were all up at the main camp site. Very quickly I assumed my ATTITUDE for the weekend: GRINNING with a beer in my hand, stopping every five yards to say "OOh, hello! How are you?" as it felt like I knew AT LEAST half the people there - since I've got back i have found it difficult NOT to just start chatting to fellow rail users.

The site was the DEPOT and MUSUEM bit for the Midland Railway, which was an AMAZING place with steam trains and model trains and ALL SORTS whizzing around. It was fully open, so amongst the tiddly indie types staggering around you'd see slightly bemused families and LOTS of men in grey zip up jackets, clutching their sandwiches. It only ADDED to the loveliness of the weekend really, and the fact that most of the staff seemed to be really enjoying themselves only helped. The mood was JOLLY.

After watching Mr Pete Green be ACE in the church (there's a tin church - it's ACE) I went to catch a train to do a gig myself. On both afternoons people were doing completely unplugged gigs in the guard's van on one of the steam trains, and I boarded just in time to catch the end of The Bobby McGees. People changed over and I was just chatting to them when they train LEFT with (I hoped) most of the people who'd want to see me left behind. I knew we'd be back in 10 minutes, so in the meantime kicked off with a SPECIAL UKELELE SET, like SO:

I Did A Gig In New York

Boom Shake The Room

Yes, that was all I got through as there was a LOT of chatting - hey, people were TRAPPED with me, i was going to take advantage! We got back to Swanwick Junction Station and, happily, a whole load more people joined us, and I got the guitar on and did THIS:

The Peterborough All-Saints' Wide Game Team (Group B)

Being Happy Doesn't Make You Stupid

The Gay Train

It Only Works Because You're Here

The Fight For History

Easily Impressed

The Lesson Of The Smiths

It was, frankly, LOVELY. We had a bit of a singalong and there was YET MORE talking and it felt BRILLIANT. Miss Lola Pattison said at one point, very loudly, "I love this train!" and everyone went "Aaaaah!" for LO! She was not the only one.

We got back to Swanwick Junction with me not really ready to finish, so we HOPPED out onto the platform and I did the last song there. This was BRILLO because the as the train pulled out i shouted "TRAIN SOLO!" and they pulled THE WHOO-WHOO CHAIN. HOORAH!

That done it was back to wandering around looking at bands and bumping into people. Later in the evening we saw The Bobby McGees playing their main set in the church and they were BLOODY FANTASTIC. It was funny, it was EXCITING, it was enthralling and it was ACE - Jimmy GRABBED the room and did not let go, and i reckon most people in years to come will remember it as one of the BIG HIGHLIGHTS of the weekend.

Later still there was the How Does It Feel To Be Loved DISCOTHEQUE- I've wanted to go for years but have never managed it, and had thought maybe, after all this build up in MY MIND, it would only be disappointing. I WAS WRONG, it was like a GIANT WAREHOUSE RAVE complete with DJ, exhorting the audience to LARGE IT UP, but with The Indie Music. OH THE DANCING, OH THE FUN. I stepped outside at one point to TAKE IN THE AIR round the side of the tram shed - and that was ALL i was doing - and as I turned to look over the Derbyshire hills I thought "This is all just absolutely lovely"... and FELL down the side of a ditch, TWISTING MY ANKLE as I did so. It really really really hurt, and still does, but HEROICALLY i carried on in a VERY BRAVE WAY, and only mentioned it once or twice to nearly everyone.

Some more dancing later it was time to head home. It had been GLORIOUS weather all day and it only started raining gently just as I got to my tent. I didn't mind, everything was BRILLIANT.

posted 30/7/2007 by MJ Hibbett

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