Connect Festival 2007 - Overview

An overview of the inaugural Connect festival

Connect Festival 2007 - Overview: Bjork was Sunday night's headliner.

Bjork was Sunday night's headliner.

United Kingdom | by Lyn Jolly | 03 September 2007

The first ever Connect festival is a massive hit with music lovers and Higland Midges alike as they both brave the rain to dance their wellies off...

The setting on Loch Fyne in Argyll is the perfect backdrop for three days of great bands, DJs, food and drink. The usual freaky festival sights are on show with people dressed in panto-style horse heads and more kilts than you can shake a stick at.

It isn't just Scots who’ve made the trip to the stunning site at Inverary Castle though. There are French, Australian and American revellers among the 16,000 people who have come to rock the loch.

The new boutique festival has heaps to offer over its three days with home grown talent in the shape of Teenage Fanclub and Mogwai giving the international acts a run for their money.

Primal Scream don't disappoint on the rock front. Bassist Mani threatens to beat up someone in the crowd who has aimed a drink at Scottish frontman Bobby Gillespie. Mani invites the rowdy reveller on stage for a square go, branding the tipple-thrower a "fucking coward."

Eccentric pop oddity Bjork has been at the dressing up box again, appearing on stage looking like Snow White on acid. The Icelandic songstress may be a touch on the weird side, but her set is definitely a fairytale for fans who go wild for her mix of old favourites and new tunes. She opts mainly for a subdued session, but when it comes to the crux she lets rip with her electro madness and the crowd bounce ‘til they can’t bounce no more.

Electronic pop/dance outfit Hot Chip are well worth the wait on Sunday night. The London lads build a belter of a set before signing off on a high with ‘Over And Over’.

As a newcomer to the Scottish festival scene, Connect fits in straight away. Everything from the delicious local delights like Loch Fyne whiskies and oysters to the good-natured stall holders are great.

Even local shopkeepers are happy with the event. One service station worker concedes: "Everybody has been really well behaved. They just seem to be here to hear some music and have a good time. We have not heard of any trouble at all.

"We've been pleasantly surprised to be honest. We weren't sure what to expect with thousands of music fans descending on the place."

The Duracell Powerhouse fights its corner well and kick-starts the after hours party at 11pm with some serious tunes in a battery-shaped tent. Pete Herbert, Lazersonic and Zak Frost are keeping the temperature up until 2am. Fittingly, most of the music is from the electric scene and the heaving crowds inside are certainly revved up.

One of the most bizarre sights of the weekend is the Silent Disco. Picture the scene: a giant gazeebo full of people hooked up to individual set of earphones bopping away - but no music actually filling the air around them. Genius.

One thing missing is the usual array of girls wearing next to nothing despite the weather. This may prove that this little gem of a festival does indeed cater for the more mature crowd.

Connect organisers believe it will be around three years before they financially break even with this new kid on the block.

Geoff Ellis, the man behind the event, says he’s lost money this time round but expects to be selling around 10,000 more tickets in the future - let's just hope he sticks around long enough to find out.