Limp Bizkit in Finsbury Park 2003

United Kingdom | | 08 September 2003

Virtual Festivals Competition Winner's Diary!

I arrived at Finsbury Park at around 1:15pm, fully expecting the large crowds waiting at the entrance. I thought, 'surely I'm not late?' - the gates had only been open about 15 minutes and there were already several thousand people inside!

I'd arranged to meet the VF people to pick up my ticket in a local pub, so when I got to the station I called them for directions. The guy I spoke to said he was just across the road, so I went over and found him. He gave me a ticket, we chatted for a bit, and then I went in. Bizarrely I then got a call from the VF team who were apparently still waiting for me in the pub... they didn't have a clue who the bloke was who gave me the ticket, and I guess that will have to remain one of life's unsolved mysteries!

The first thing I noticed was the segregated section of people in the front of the stage, surrounded by barriers. I asked someone how to get in there and was told that only people wearing white bands could get in and that all of them had already gone! Just goes to show that early birds really do get the worm.

Anyway, I wasn't going to let that bother me. So firstly I went off to the good old smelly portaloos to relieve myself in advance of a long stint watching live music... I didn't want to have to miss any of the good bits just because of a painfully full bladder! I guess the advantage of using the loos early is that no matter how bad they are then, you just know that things can only get worse [how do you know that if this is your first gig? -Suspicious Ed]. Next I positioned myself in the front of the main non-wristband crowd section directly facing the stage, where I was to stay the rest of the day.

Nothing much really happened for the first few hours except (or should that be including) the first band of the day - This Girl. They were shortly followed by Biffy Clyro - would it be damning them with faint praise to just say that their first song was good?

Chatting to several groups of people standing at the front with me and getting to know them a bit, helped to pass away the time between the acts. It was nice to see that most people were really friendly and out to have a good time rather than cause the sort of trouble you sometimes hear about at big events like this.

Just after 5pm it was the turn of The Cooper Temple Clause. Their arrival heralded a plastic bottle throwing event that waged between the the back of the front section and the front of the main crowd section. All attention was away from the band on stage and averted to concentrating on trying not to be hit! Of course I was inevitably sprayed a couple times, and although I'm not sure what it was I got sprayed with, I frankly didn't want to know.

Anyway, it was clear that things were livening up. Some people from the main section were individually trying to get over the barriers to get into the front-of-stage area - almost everyone who tried it was caught by security and chucked out. I actually thought the view where we already were was good enough, but there you go.

Just after 7pm it was the turn of A. I was looking forward to them playing all their well known tracks and they didn't disappoint - I started jumping about and singing to 'Nothing' and the like, and some people around me were joining in, really getting into the spirit of things. I must say that at this point the crowd seemed quite subdued, but I later realised it was because they were obviously saving their energy for Limp Bizkit!

By now the crowds were closing in and things were getting tight. There was an interval of around an hour before Limp Bizkit got on stage. By this time it was difficult to move about, with everyone almost on top of everyone else. I was glad that I had staked my claim to a good position early on. I was really looking forward to them, and was still feeling fine after almost eight hours stood in approximately the same position. Maybe I was made to feel better by the constant references that the compere kept making to David Blaine stood in his box over the Thames right then...

The stage was being set with the most amazing equipment - Limp Bizkit clearly meant business!

Everyone was getting excited including myself, when on came Fred Durst and the band. The crowd suddenly started pushing towards the front. People were passing over on top of us, and it was getting very difficult to breathe - let alone dance. But I quickly realised that this is what it's all about...getting involved in the whole experience of a top metal band performing their best songs, and the crowd's reaction is a key part of it.

Anyway, I tried my best at jumping around and singing - the singing was never going to be any good at the best of times, and the force of the crowd meant that it was sometimes harder to come down than it was to go up!

Anyway with their last track I moved away towards the back to get a bit more space to dance, and I sure did jump around with the sudden escape from the crowd. However, at the same time that I was having fun I felt a bit distance from the action now. But having experienced the gig both near the front and from near the back of the main section I realised that both probably had their advantages and their disadvantages.

Overall I felt the gig lived up to my expectations. Both A and Limp Bizkit were excellent, but the crowd made it that much better - friendly, noisy, and enjoying the whole occassion, with no nastiness or violence.

The whole experience was pretty much what I hoped for, and it was certainly worth running across London at the last minute for the show... so thanks for VF for getting me out of bed, and thanks to the mystery stranger whoever you were (was anybody checking that David Blaine was still in his box at 1pm on Saturday??)[My money's on that Derren Brown character - Ed]