Over on Cypress Hill, next to the T Set enclave for competition winners, Snow White’s legs were badly in need of a shave. A giraffe walked by, with a gorilla on a lead. Burly lads in pink tutus were dragging sledges full of provisions up a dusty slope. Two girls dressed as computer game characters (Pacman, it seemed) were chatting to another girl dressed as Bubbles from Little Britain. Four Glasgow lasses, grass skirts a-fluttering in the light breeze, were reimagining Perthshire as Hawaii. A Smurf wandered by, clearly lost.
It must be Fancy Dress Friday at Balado, and the inhabitants of the event’s legendary campsite are already well into the swing of things. Several hours before the arena gates officially opened, some 50,000 enthusiasts were limbering up for a weekend of full-on merrymaking, pitching tents, refining costumes, stocking up on supplies, practising their singalonga-Kings-Of-Leon chanting.
In the backstage hospitality area, meanwhile, the rock stars were arriving. Franz Ferdinand, hot off a flight from Sweden, were amongst the first arrivals. Drummer Paul Thompson had his mum and dad in tow, deputised on babysitting duties for his two young sons. Soon they would have kiddie-company, in the gurgling shape of the young sprog of Idlewild frontman Roddy Woomble. TeamFranz had a lot to think about: they were to perform a song with Scotpop legend Edwyn Collins on the BBC’s hospitality area stage, a cover of Josef K’s Sorry For Laughing, with Josef K’s Malcolm Ross joining them on guitar. After a few run-throughs, and with the Red Bull aerobatic display planes swooping overhead, this indie supergroup duly delivered a spine-tingling performance. Collins, still recovering from the after-effect of a stroke, was greeted with huge whoops of delight from the gathered roadcrew, media and artists. A truly special moment, the kind of thing only T can do…
Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ Nick Zinner chatted with The Mars Volta. Dundee’s The View, as close as T gets to local heroes, were partying in the scorching afternoon sunshine ahead of their headline slot in the King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut tent. Edith Bowman roved about, BBC3 camera crew in tow. And then, around teatime, from outside the genteel surroundings of the dressing rooms, a roar went up. The gates were open. The crowds were surging. The bands were on.
Forget – momentarily – the buffalo burgers, sushi and vegetarian stovies on sale at the Healthy T enclave. Ignore the delighted screams from the adventurous early birds making use of the onsite fun fair. Slather on a final dollop of sunscreen. The rock’n’roll fun has begun. T in the Park 2009, we have lift-off...
