You know I’m really pleased that the people we took to Hydro-Connect didn’t take the money and run! Here is Sophia J. Smith with her well-crafted comments on Hydro-Connect 2008 - Mark

It was Monday 1^st of September 2008 and Hydro Connect festival was over for another year.

Thanks to Rock sell-out, I had been there and done it and left.

Arriving back to England I was a mess: wearing front row bruises all over my arms and only damp socks as footwear, I was grieving the loss of the tent and muddy boots I had to leave behind due to my hurried exit from the rain swamped campsite on Sunday. As I turn my attention to the present blog, all I can do is denote the highs, the lows and the spaces in between of this amazing event.

On first impressions, the location is just beautiful. The site is surrounded by the rolling green hills so wild they appeared have escaped civilization. At the rear of the campsite was the murky watered Loch Fyne that seemed to creep further than eternity. The Castle which provided the grounds for the main site events added to the mystical feel of it all: this was a truly unique venue for a festival.

This on arrival, but fairytales and romantic backdrops aside, I was faced the cruel reality of trekking to the campsite. There was long and uninviting trail to get there (very-long-and-muddy-trails-back-and-forth were a re-occurring theme here), and this was undoubtedly the biggest downside to the event. This was true especially by Sunday, when the conditions became so wet and messy that even the most hardened festival goers would have sold their souls for a warm bath. This being part and parcel of the festival experience did not bring down the mood, and moral was high on arrival to the campsite, the Scots were so friendly they even helped me put up my tent!

Downbeat comments aside: I will move onto the music and festival highlights.

The opening night stood out as the best: Welsh Old schoolers and seasoned crowd pleasers the Manic Street Preachers turned out to be a must-see. Vocalist James Dean Bradfield and Nicky Wire commanded the stage, helped by the sing-along nature of songs such as the epic “If you tolerate this then your children will be next”. It was Friday the festival had begun: we all sang along and it was great.

Following the Manics were headliners’ Kasabian. Dismissed by many as faddy Oasis-style “lad rock”, but still they were received on the main stage by a massive roar from an anthem hungry crowd. They were triumphant amongst the chanting and raging youth who held on to every musical note they spat out, and with their explosive flashing encore, they were undoubtedly one of the weekend’s biggest treats. They sounded great: “L.S.F” and “Club foot” stood out as major crowd pleasers. They also looked great; by this I mean lyricist Sergio Pizzorno taming his screeching guitar wearing red skinny jeans. Front man Tom Meighan even told the adoring crowd how great they were by pronouncing that they had “pissed all over Creamfields”. Apparently the hard-core dance kids didn’t take too well to the rock four-piece headlining at their festival then. The troops really were on fire here though and Kasabian came and left like caged animals.

Bloc Party’s set on Saturday was another highlight, musically brilliant. The crowd seemed to be thankful for the well known single “Two more years”, and though the audience response was a little mixed as a band they gave us all in entertainment: Matt Tong seemed to be possessed by the drumming devil, so hard did he beat his drum sticks that they snapped at one point.

The only glitch for me personally was that they sounded almost too polished and sounded a little clinical: towards the last few songs I am ashamed to admit that did find myself drifting back to Paolo Nutini’s drunken, raw and croaky singing from his set earlier that night and realizing that it touched me more.

Overall, the general vibe of the festival was a good one and if I was to describe it simply I would say it was very laid back. The crowd was lacking in atmosphere at times. By this I mean that there could have been more singing in the rain dancing in the dance tents, but on the flip side there are advantages to being in the crowd at a chilled out festival: it was easy to get to the front row and you always get a good view of the acts, and little pushing and shoving meant you could really concentrate on listening to the music.

On Sunday my Hydro experience was over, all I can do now if give some good advice for the lucky people who go in 2009.

Firstly, remember you’re going to Scotland, so unless Global warming really does take over (which hopefully it won’t thanks to Green festivals such as Hydro!) it will be very cold and rainy so don’t forget your wellies! Last piece of advice is this: enjoy the music above all because if this year’s line up is anything to go by, you will be spoilt for choice.

MP3: Manic Street Preachers - If You Tolerate This
MP3: Kasabian - Club Foot
MP3: Bloc Party - Two More Years
MP3: Paolo Nutini - Jenny Don’t Be Hasty

- Sophia