The Who, The Zutons, Razorlight, Ocean Colour Scene and Others at Hyde Park Calling

Festival Newbie's Review of Hyde Park Calling
by: Miss Sunshine

For someone like me who isn't heavily into music, Hyde Park Calling was a brilliant way to be introduced to the musical styles of several bands. It was also a less intimidating first taste of music festivals as opposed to, oh, say, the mudfest that is Glastonbury. Just for instance.

I had wanted to go to a concert in Hyde Park since I arrived in the country six years ago. But not having a babysitter meant that we couldn't go - until now.

Tickets were being sold at £42.50 on Ticketmaster so I bought the tickets off an Ebay seller for £30, only to discover that touts were selling tickets for that price at the entrance. Oh, well, Ebay's fun and it meant I had the tickets on me upon arrival.

We arrived at 3pm and after waiting for friends to find us we finally joined the queue at 5. The atmosphere was chilled out and friendly, a fair few brought (some very small) children and despite the decidedly un-British heat nearly every age group was well represented. It was professionally organised, surprisingly well catered, and very well policed.

In the next five hours we saw four different bands perform. The Zutons and The Who were undoubtedly the best of the lot. Personally, I thought that although The Who was the more polished act that night, The Zutons were the most fun.

All in all, it was a fantastic day out, my only regret being that I wore white shorts and sandals. Not the smartest choice of outfit for a patch of grass that hasn't seen rain in weeks and has been trampled by thousands of concert goers.

I would heartily recommend a Hyde Park Summer concert as an introduction to music festivals or just for a great day out in the sun. As London goes, it's reasonably priced, loads of fun and if you don't really like one of the acts it doesn't matter as another one will be up soon. Go get yourself a drink, something to eat, spread the picnic blanket and enjoy the company of friends. Or get squashed at the front so you can see the bands performing up close.

It's totally up to you.