Hove Festival: Day One [Festival Fever]

Hove Festival: Day One

Posted on June 24, 2008 6:45 PM
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Hove Festival Day One

On-site review by Katie Spain

We started off well; the flight was cheap, the sun was shining and we found wellies in a Norwegian supermarket. Our apartment is a short drive away from the Hove Festival site and the apartment owner seems nice enough, albeit a bit strange.

I guess a bit of scene setting is in order. Huge tree-topped granite rocks tower around us and the river to our left is dotted with boats. The sun is so bright it makes the whole scene look like a cartoon. The festival site is no less stunning... although the mud is beginning to blur the crisp, clean edges. Last year was a washout, this year (touch Norwegian wood) we’ve been treated to sun. I’ll save you the boredom of our afternoon though. Getting through the press area was fine (it took us an hour to find it), but when we join my brother to collect his general admission camping pass, there’s a wait to rival Christmas. Something needs to be done about the admission process. A wait is expected but when half the afternoon’s gigs pass by because you’re waiting for a manual one, by one system, your patience is tested. Luckily, the Scandinavians seem to enjoy the wait and the vibe is one of anticipation. There’s a different t coloured arm band for everything and although yellow means we can buy booze, I later purchase three without any companions beside me.

This brings me onto the next point; the beer ain’t cheap. Since my companions can’t get cash out of the onsite machine, I’m buying. “Ten Aussie dollars for a pint!” bellows my shaggy haired bro. We’ll pace ourselves then. After all, there’s five days to get through.

No one seems to know where the on-site press centre is. This language barrier is a biatch.

Beer price venting aside, this is one of the most idyllic, chilled out festivals I’ve come across. The human scenery (as they say) is absolutely top class. I’ve never seen so many beautiful people in one forest. It’s enough to make a hot blooded woman want to bag herself a Viking. Meow. Or should I say “Roar!”

For the record, we still haven’t found the media centre.

On to the music; the crowds aren’t huge yet but the response to the Shape Of Broad Minds on the main stage is a big one. Most people on site so far tell us they’re here to see Cool Kids and Jay-Z. It ain’t my cuppa but like I said, they’re lapping up the New York Hip-Hop like thirsty hounds. I’m here to see Santogold but although we head to the stage we’re supposed to be at, we somehow miss her. I’m gutted but the ‘Amfiscenen’ makes it all better. I assume the Norwegian word translates to ‘Amphitheatre’ because nature’s assets frame this stage with finesse. Dangerously steep inclines lead down to a stage decked with US band The Brian Jonestown and as we perch on the rocks, we watch an impressive set unfold before us.

Half the fun of being at a seaside fest in Norway is the Russian Roulette you play every time you order food. Sure, it’s pricey but after the grease and stomach upsets at Download the week before, the food here is of a very high and healthier variety. The portaloos are big; big enough for a little journo to fall down and I limit the liquids in a bid to avoid them. Mr whippy has been laying some brown ones and a close-up is not what the doctor ordered.

Other highlights of the day are the UK’s Teenagers and the big pink shed hosting hard Rock and Metal with couches for the people with blisters (me). Unfortunately, feisty Canadian sound-stormers Crystal Castles are cancelled. Later, when we get the wrong bus and end up at a ferry, a shivering but friendly official tells us that Hove is “All about the camping”. Something tells me he’s spot on too. Jay-Z has his good points but when a festival gets the vibe in the campsites right, it almost doesn’t matter what bands are on the bill.

Later, as we eventually make it back to the apartment, we vow to spend as much time with Norwegian locals as we do watching the plethora of US and UK bands featured on Tuesday. It’s a smorgasbord of Scandinavian fun; a troll however, I am yet to find.

By the way, there's a famous Australian here by the name of 'Tom'. All the norwegians know him... if he's reading this can he please approach the little Aussie journo with the flower in her hair.

Related links:
Hove Festival official site.
UK festival tickets.
International festival tickets.