2006 Festival Review Of The Year

United Kingdom | by Ross Purdie | 19 December 2006

Read any of the reviews of 2006 doing the rounds and they'll all proclaim what an 'amazing' year it was. To an extent they're right. Music was good, spirits were high, the weather was hot and Tom Chaplain did a stint in rehab. But compared to the last two euphoric summer seasons spent trawling festival sites, the view from this December afternoon looking back on 2006 is somewhat mixed. It's been, dare we say it, 'alright'. So let's start at the beginning.

Unlike the year before, the start of 2006 did not arrive on the back of an all-devouring tsunami, rather it begun with the release of that Arctic Monkeys' debut, which likewise destroyed all before it. We first heard it during Holland's Eurosonic festival (12-14 January), where we also first heard live shows from the likes of Disco Ensemble, The Hot Puppies and The Chalets. However, our highlights were watching Jose Gonzalez perform in a cinema and discovering the mighty Spleen United from Denmark.

Two other 'tastes of what was to come' arrived in the shape of the Camden Crawl (20 April) and the first ever Great Escape (18-20 May) festival in Brighton. Both provided a glimpse inside the new bands tents of the coming majors, with The Automatic, Wolfmother, Klaxons and The Fratellis all earning new admirers. Both events dripped with the sweat of summer anticipation, while Snowbombing (02-08 April) in Austria almost killed us before that summer had even begun. So far so good then.

It was only when we flew out to Coachella (27-29 April), near LA, that an eyebrow or two were raised. You may think it's difficult to find fault in a festival set in the middle of the American desert, surrounded by palm trees and some of the most beautiful looking people ever to converge in one place. The site was immaculate, strangers smiled at you, Kanye West danced to A-Ha tapes, crowd surfing was an unknown concept. In short, there was absolutely no atmosphere (apart from the near rioting when Madonna legged it by helicopter after five songs.) Was this a vision into the festival future?

We had to wait almost a month to find out and unfortunately at Hi:Fi (27-28 May) the answer was a depressing 'maybe'. Organisers had planned a two-leg event taking place in Newcastle and Winchester to replace the defunct Homelands. It boldly, but badly, tried to marry indie and dance music fans into one 'iPod generation' where skinny-chiefed mascara boys would boogie to Pete Tong as gurning 'Crasher vets checked out the latest dronings from Super Furry Animals. An arena falling down at the northern leg perhaps best reflected its lack of success. It rained, it failed, we're unlikely to see it again.

But why? Ok, Hi:Fi didn't have the best lineup in history but at the same time it was held on the May bank holiday weekend, traditionally the opening party weekend of summer. Plus, as a joint venture between the organisers of Reading and Leeds, Download and Global Gathering, the level of expertise and muscle behind the event was exemplary. Fortunately (unless you didn't get a ticket) T In The Park, Reading, Leeds and V all sold out in record time, while other early emerging festivals celebrated successful years, including Wychwood, Hyde Park Calling and Glastonbudget (which cheekily took advantage of Glastonbury's absence by providing an alternative, except for the fact that all its acts were cover bands!)

Without the focal point of the world's most famous festival, it was left to the remaining big five - V Festival, T In The Park, Isle Of Wight Festival, the Carling Weekend (Reading and Leeds) and Download - to share the spoils of the biggest touring names on the planet, slapping exclusive headline deals on Radiohead, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Coldplay, Muse and Guns N'Roses respectively. Ultimately, and not surprisingly, the major festivals stuck to the tried and tested formula of 'big bands in big fields' without trying to provide much of interest otherwise...