Get Loaded In The Park 2005

Get Loaded's arrival on the common is quite poignant too, given that for a while now Clapham has been at the epicentre of a dance music revival that has seen a plethora of spontaneous and innovative weekly and monthly parities pop up, not to mention the number of mini festivals that have been held here over the summer, stemming the tide of the genre's predicted demise. By reminding clubbers of all persuasions of dance music's hedonistic early 90's origins it feels as if Get Loaded is giving the region the pat on the back it deserves. A seal of approval if you like. It's also testament to the organisers that with stiff festival competition from around the country Get Loaded still sells out pretty sharpish, and even with an allocation held back to be sold on the day, for latecomers it's a case of lining the touts pockets or going home. For those inside however the line up provides an awesome mix of nostalgia and damn straight party time fun to look forward to.  The sun is shining too so there's simply no excuse not to enjoy yourself.  Well...scratch that, not everything is running smoothly!   

Fatboy Slim attracts the most attention on the day. So much so he's moved from his scheduled slot in the Southern Fried tent to the main stage. Despite the howls of derision from those that struggle for 30 minutes just to get into the tent only to find Norman Cook-ing things up elsewhere it's hard to see how the organisers have any other choice. Even at the main stage things are cramped and, halfway into the melee, looking back it's hard to tell where the sea of people ends. Stormin' Norman doesn't disappoint though. For any fan you know what to expect and as the sun disappears into the horizon everyone's locked into Fatboy's tough party rock dance mash up. 'Star 69' goes down a treat as always and a fantastic mix of Cream's 'Sunshine of your Love' has everyone stomping.

In order to accommodate Fatboy Slim however it's necessary to shave time off other performers and it seems as if Paul Oakenfold suffers the brunt of the compromise. Playing a set that barley lasts half an hour, Oakie begins promisingly enough but fails to build on the hype his name always generates, ultimately leaving the crowd somewhat disgruntled. Given that it's the second time this summer that one of houses UK founding fathers has delivered a far below par performance on the Common one hopes his reputation can recover from its current dangerous Dave Pearce path.

It's not all about the music however so a short trip over to the Get Loaded tent offers the promise of comical story tellings by cult hero Howard Marks. They're not your usual camp fire stories mind!  One particular favourite involves fake penis's that are so real they can pee, drug test urine samples and predictably enough urine samples of people who don't take drugs!!! The audience hangs on every word and there is plenty of interaction too which gives proceedings a pleasant informality. It's not long before feet start itching for some dance action again though.  

The Happy Mondays, still such an attraction after all these years, continue with material that simply refuses to age. Having played earlier in the summer in one of Global Gathering's gargantuan arenas with an equally large and impressive sound system, Get Loaded's main stage performance is only slightly hampered by the comparatively weaker production.  But lets not be pedantic, the Monday's still kick ass and remain a must see for all.

Throughout the day there are plenty of other early 90's live acts to keep the maturer than your average dance festival audience interested. Stereo MCs get 'Connected' with one and all and The Farm receive plenty of love for there set closing performance of 'Altogether Now'. It will be a surprise however if Get Loaded 2005 wins any awards as it did for 2004, given the congestion problems caused inevitably by a lack of planning. The sheer quality of the acts involved carry the event through, making a welcome contribution to Clapham remaining at the epicentre of dance music's renaissance.