Hi-De-Hi Campers!
I”™m sitting in my lounge watching Nirvana”™s headline set at Reading Festival in 1992 on DVD. The heavy fuzz of Kurt”™s guitar, the chaotic nature of their live show and the screaming, unruly crowd is a far cry from my pleasant, family-friendly experience in the Dorset countryside at Camp Bestival last weekend.
My weekend, which was interrupted by shifts working for Oxfam, started with a midnight set by the exceedingly talented comedian Tim Minchin on Friday night in the Big Top. Minchin accompanied by a piano ran through a short but well received set of songs including an expletive-ridden attack on the ”˜mutherfucker”™ Pope Benedict XVI. But the highlight came at the end when Minchin was on the brink of doing the unforgivable by forgetting his words during an encore. Minchin”™s saving grace came in the form of a random trumpet player in the audience who started playing along and then was beckoned on stage by Minchin which turned into an electrifying 10 minute jazz improvisation with both performers showing off their formidable playing capabilities.