It’s Trinity. But forget punting and Pimms. Instead, picture this: a thousand students lounged on the grass, the sweet melodious sound of some edgy indie band floating across the summer breeze. Its forty years on, but the revolutionary fervour of ‘68 is still in the air.
This isn’t Woodstock; this is Wadstock. After last year’s mosh-pit fuelled fest, Wadstock 2008 promises to be as big as ever – and with a new and exciting line-up, the festival hopes to pull a huge crowd. Expect some of the biggest names from the Oxford indie scene, some of whom are not to be missed.
This year boasts a fully-loaded, twelve-hour stellar set; be sure to get there early so as not to miss Open to Alliances at noon. The two-piece, featuring Wadham’s Jack Flaherty (and his mate from home, who goes by the name of ‘Winks’), are sure to impress the early crowd with their awesome ‘folktronica’ – showcasing the twosome’s superb musicality and Flaherty’s excellent vocals.
Sitting fourth on the bill are four-piece Inlight, perfectly placed on the sunset slot with their beautiful, soaring, accomplished melodies, sure to stretch the sonic capabilities of the speaker system. Expect kissing couples and swaying hands to be washed over by lead singer Charlie Cooke’s powerful towering vocals for one final calm, chilled moment of the day.
Then it’s time to hold onto your picnic rugs for Figment, a band described by Venue magazine as, “The best bits of the Stones, the Stripes and the Stooges…stunning.” For once this is no exaggeration. It’s frantic, edgy, punky rock; you’d need to be earless to genuinely dislike them. It’s big, it’s brash, it’s indisputably tuneful, and if it fails to whip the audience into a mental crowd-surfing frenzy we’ll chew our own arms off.
Completing the whistle stop tour of the local indie scene are the Glitches, the first student band to get a headline slot at the Carling Academy, freshly signed to Hubris records, and ready to rock the socks off Wadstock with their jerky, foot stomping indie. Be sure to reserve whatever energy Figment have left you to dance like a maniac on a pogo stick to the driving bass of the enormous Ben Maling and the frantic, buzzing riffs of Michael O’Neill.
Along with this, take regular summertime favourites such as the Oxford Belles and the headliners DFO, add candy floss, a BBQ and a pretty cool cocktail bar, and you could well see the highlight of your Trinity at the end of first week. So bring along your deckchair and sunglasses, and let’s pray the weather can match the line-up.
If you don’t have a ticket, you’re probably not worth knowing. We’re going to be there. But then, we are Wadhamites.
