There was mud. There was rain.

There were unforgettable performances. There were performances we’d rather forget.

Divas proved disappointing. The Boss was stopped short. A brat was bottled.

Tents were blown away. Wellies were ruined.

But, by God it was worth it!

As we bid a reluctant goodbye to three months of music, mud and mayhem, Gutter UK  bring our “Festival Season In The Gutter” to its conclusion. We’d like to say ”Thank You” for sharing the festivals of 2012 with us and we hope you have enjoyed it as much as we have!

We have loved reaquainting you with some old favourites and introducing you to some future friends, whetting your musical appetite with our previews and allowing you to relive your festival experience with our reviews of some of the best festivals on offer here in the UK today; I’d like to extend my deepest gratitude to my Gutter UK Team for their relentless dedication and hard work.

With rumours of potential line-ups and headliners already circulating for 2013(The Killers, anyone?) we are already counting down the days until we do it all over again.

‘Till next Summer, people . . .

Summer 2012 brought my first Wickerman experience in July.

Having tired of Balado’s T In The Park Festival; predictable and somewhat disappointing line-ups, the ever-growing ‘ned culture’ and a 80,000 strong capacity which has a detrimental effect on the campsite and portaloos, I was looking for something more . . .

Wickerman’s family-friendly atmosphere and eclectic line-up answered the prayers of this festival junkie.

Boasting one of the most impressive festival line-ups of the summer, it is difficult to pinpoint just ONE performance as my favourite festival moment; which is why I have narrowed it down to two!

Having followed Kassidy since their early days and been fortunate enough to meet and interview them for Gutter shortly before their debut album, “Hope Street” was released in 2011, I felt a mix of excitement and pride at watching them play the Summerisle Stage at Wickerman 2012. Their set was flawless and showcased perfectly why they are one of the best bands to emerge from Scotland in a long time; signature song (and my personal favourite) ”I Don’t Know” saw me swaying and singing along (with a customary beer in hand, obviously).

Just when I thought it couldn’t get any better, The View took to the stage.

Their zesty, sweaty slot saw the band storm through some of their biggest hits from “Wasted Little DJs” to “Grace” and several core-shakers in between! Kyle Falconer delivered as frontman with a contradictory hybrid of vulnerability and confidence that I never imagined possible but is one of the reasons I have taken The View to my heart.

Closing with “Shock Horror” whipped punters into a frenzy and had me dancing like I required medical attention with no thought or care for the children standing open-mouthed nearby that I was terrifying.

Till Wickerman 2013 . . .

My favourite festival moment of 2012 was the conclusion of Isle Of Wight Festival back in June.

The only reason my friends and I persevered through the mud, floods and high winds for three days was because the best acts were on stage last: Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds and Bruce Springsteen.

It was my first taste of Noel’s new material played live and as predicted it was brilliant! He shaped his set with just the right ratio of his solo material and the best of Oasis’ back catalogue and both charmed and enthused the crowd in equal measure, preparing us for Bruce Springsteen’s headline slot.

Although clashing with England’s European Championship match, Bruce owned the place. He is, by far, my consistently favourite act to see live.

For a man pretty close to collecting his pension, he puts his all in to every performance and doesn’t once waver throughout his ever-lengthening sets, and Isle of Wight was no exception! Not content with already being granted permission to extend his slot a couple of days before, The Boss refused to come off stage until the closing fireworks were done because “We were promised fireworks! I ain’t leavin’ till I see some!”.

Words simply can’t do justice to the atmosphere on that late Sunday evening where the crowd didn’t know whether to look at Bruce or the pretty lights in the sky as we were treated to an extended rendition of “Twist And Shout”.

Going to Download 2012 this summer was my first festival experience and the greatest weekend I could ever have hoped for.

Being surrounded by thousands of people who all came to hear the same bands and music as me reminded me of why I love metal so much.

Sharing this experience with my friends made it even more memorable as we waded through mud, got drunk and screamed the words to Machine Head’s “Halo”.

The whole experience was so inspiring for me and has made me even more determined to suceed as a musician so that I can have the opportunity to share the stage with some of the greatest bands of all time.

“Reality on its own is worth nothing; we have to transform it into culture”.(Villalobos)

Situated in the middle of Carron Forrest, Kilsyth, last weekend saw the return of one of the last remaining boutique festivals, the aptly titled “Doune the Rabbit Hole”, a play on Villalobos’s drug addled wonderland book featuring a quest to grant a child’s wish.  The prevailing vibe throughout was one of no restrictions – no security searches, no ticket barriers and certainly no pretention. Child and dog friendly, despite the wafts of pot and woodstock esque feel, the music presented a very mixed bag.

Unfortunately I didnt witness the Friday but was well informed that the hit of the evening was Aidan Moffat and Bill Wells, as a full band set up, with double bass and trumpet, accompanied by Wells’ stunning piano and Moffat’s succinct solliloquies.

Saturday was kicked off by much dreadlocked dancing to stoner rock band Dead Temple, who then lost the crowd due to a torrential downpour. We were then treated to Teen Canteen on the smaller stage, championed by the Vaselines and BMX Bandits, these 3 girls-1 boy sounded amazingly lofi, with 60s harmonies and a poptastic cover of Kylie’s “All the Lovers”. A pleasing contrast to the miserable rain.

Other Saturday highlights included Sacred Paws, a female 2 piece, featuring ex Golden Grrrls drummer and Siouxie Sioux inspired punk vocals and guitar from Londoner Rachel Aggs. They were followed by the equally interesting The Rosy Crucifixion, who brought summery surf pop to an otherwise mud-sodden tent.

Saturday headliner King Creosote’s set featured Beta Band and Aliens covers and although much anticipated, didnt seem to ever get off the ground.

Sunday was peppered with highlights from the Second Hand Marching Band, who swapped their many members around to keep things interesting, backed up with heavy ceilidh style drums. Three Blind Wolves delivered a strong but singular styled set, which would benefit from a bit more diversity in its influence.

Olympic Swimmers were a major highlight, delivering one of the strongest sets of the weekend, beautifully set off by Susie Smilie’s impassioned vocals. Sharing drummers, the set of the weekend was then delivered by Malcolm Middleton’s “Human Don’t Be Angry”, and whether you’re an Arab Strap fan or not, this set proved Middleton to be one of the best guitarists and songwriters in Scotland.

Overall, the libertarian vibe and mix of artists made this an excellent festival for any laidback weekender.  Just remember your wellies.

The weekend brought one of the most anticipated and exciting music events that the UK has to offer; Reading And Leeds Festival 2012 with live performances from The Cure, Kasabian, Paramore, Bombay Bicycle Club, The View and Foo Fighters.

While thousands of revellers flocked to the festival braving a mixed bag of weather (as usual) I settled down on my couch for the best bits of what Reading/Leeds had to offer  (minus the mud but including a case of beer) . . .

Bombay Bicycle Club brought their own brand of indie/pop to Reading on Friday delighting crowds and kick-starting the party in style and Foster The People brought a slice of psychedlia to England all the way from Los Angeles creating the illusion of California sunshine in soggy Reading with a little help from material from debut studio album “Torches”.

The stateside success continued with punk/rock outfit Paramore bringing their sweaty, energetic set to Reading on Friday night all the way from Tennessee sampling material from all three of their studio albums. Frontwoman, Hayley Williams owned the crowd and showcased herself as one of the most exciting young frontwomen of our generation.

The anticipation for Friday’s headliners The Cure was palpable enough to taste and they certainly didn’t disappoint. With the bulk of their back catalogue shaping their headline slot, The Cure showed that the are a force still to be reckoned with and still have relevance on the current music scene having inspired many bands since including The Killers. Frontman Robert Smith is still wonderfully weird albeit a little old for the make-up of his 80s youth.

Saturday brought ‘band of the moment’ The Vaccines to the Main Stage at Reading in support of their forthcoming studio album “The Vaccines Come Of Age” due next month. Frontman, Justin Young delivered the set with an energy which seemed so electric that even he struggled to contain it and material from their hugley-successful debut, “What Did You Expect From The Vaccines?” dominating their set.

“The worst kept secret in music history” arrived in the form of Green Day who unveiled new material from forthcoming album, “iUno” as well as fan favourites “American Idiot” ” and “Basket Case” creating mass hysteria that the band are known and loved for; an undoubted highlight of the whole weekend.

Modern-day goddess, Florence Welch brought her machine for her slot which proved somewhat soggy due to a downpour of rain which did a lot to create hazards onstage but little to dampen spirits. Leggy Florence did everything to get close to her fans (much to the dismay of security staff) and delivered her storming set with a zest that should have meant an oxygen mask was an essential on her rider afterwards.

Kasabian brought the evening to a close headlining the Main Stage with the best of their back catalogue and a cover of both Fatboy Slim and The Beatles to mark the occasion. A band who rarely disappoint live but one I feel like play festivals so much that I can’t turn one on without seeing Tom Meighan swaggering about onstage doing his “Liam Gallagher gone nice” impersonation.

Northern Ireland’s Two Door Cinema Club brought a much-needed dose of indie pop/rock to the festivities on Sunday and the ideal antedote for the hangover that most festival-goers were undoubtedly nursing. Their energetic set gave fans a flavour of why they fell in love with the band initially and provided a little promotion for their forthcoming second studio album, “Beacon”.

Kaiser Chiefs did what they do best; whipped fans into a frenzy as a perfect warm-up for the main event. Although, a very likeable band with an infectious back-catalogue to boot, Ricky Wilson has the flair and energy required to hold an audience but not enough to ever surpass the “support slot” and headline.

Reading/Leeds come to an explosive climax last night with a phenomenal slot from US rockers, Foo Fighters with Dave Grohl warning early on that the band would be playing till the plug was pulled. With an extensive back catalogue, it would have been difficult for this set to be anything but what it was; a welcome trip down memory lane with one of most exciting live bands of the past 20 years. Frontman, Dave Grohl lived upto his “nicest guy in rock” image when he urged fans to “look out for each other” and “help anyone who looks like they need help” but was upstaged by his MOTHER after fans raucuously chanted “Dave Grohl’s Mum!” after singing “Happy Birthday” to Mama Grohl. “Breakout”, “The Prentender”, “All My Life” and “Learn To Fly” provided the soundtrack for an electrifying conclusion which Grohl called “the gig of his life” before telling revellers that this would be the last Foo Fighters show “for a long time”.

Never one to disappoint, Reading/Leeds carries the extra pressure of bringing festival season in the UK to an unofficial close as one of the last of the summer.

From the comfort of my couch, I escaped the rain and mud while still managing to enjoy some of the exciting live performances; TV highlights provided me with just a small slice of the festival . . . those who had the whole cake are very lucky indeed.