Review: Temple House Festival 2011

Friday

Arriving early on Friday we quickly set up camp and went to look around the main arena area. But it was closed. We asked when we could go in and were told in a few minutes. Off we went to the campsite. Back again an hour later, still closed. Another hour later…yep, still closed. Finally just after 6.00pm we were allowed in; while this may not seem too late the first bands were due on at 4.00pm. The constant to-ing and fro-ing lead to many festival goers just giving up and deciding to stay in the campsite leading to a very empty arena.

First act we caught were Monaghan natives, The Flaws, on the main stage. While the band gave it their all, their set just lacked atmosphere, something which would be repeated throughout the weekend. With less than thirty people in attendance the tent felt uncomfortably empty. Despite the lack of crowd those in attendance and the band themselves seemed to greatly enjoy the set. Immediately after, we ran over to the Music Maker Tent where Shouting at Planes had just finished their set at the same time as The Flaws. Again this was something that was to be repeated throughout the weekend; acts were constantly finishing their sets at the same time on both stages leading to silence and aimless wondering around the arena.

Next up on the main stage were The Walls with their unique two man live show comprising of three members of the band projected onto a screen. The unusual nature of the performance drew in a curious crowd and in particular captivated the many children in attendance.

Ireland’s latest (and arguably best) rock bank The Minutes gave a commanding performance and were probably the first act of the weekend to draw in a good crowd. The Minutes probably would have had a much larger crowd but unfortunately their slot was moved to an earlier time to accommodate Ryan Sheridan’s switch from the acoustic stage to headlining the second stage. As organisers failed to notify the crowd of this change many arrived near the end of the band’s set annoyed they had missed one of the stand out bands of the festival. Special mention should go to their sound engineer who is probably responsible for attracting the crowd by setting levels to as loud as comfortably possible ensuring stragglers were drawn in.

As cold air began to spread through the night, Fighting With Wire took to the main stage. Having never seen them before, I was blown away by their full on high energy performance. Definitely an act I’ll be looking out for more in the future.

The day’s headliner’s Ash played to an excitable crowd of young and old. One of the best things about Temple House is how child friendly it is; the front row comprised of young children singing along beside fans in their late forties and all ages in between. For me this was the performance of the weekend, with their huge back catalogue of melodic hits and larger than life stage presence, Ash are every inch the perfect festival headliners.

After a long first day it was time to head back to the campsite for what was the coldest night in the history of the world ever. As a seasoned festival goer I’m well used to cold nights under the stars but this night….there just weren’t enough layers in the world!

Saturday

After finally getting to sleep on the coldest night in the history of the world ever, the sun began to make the temperature more bearable, just then the campsite was awoken by the sound of reggae blaring across the silent Sligo hills at the ungodly hour of 7.00am. (Thanks for that shower workers!) Thankfully ear plugs were at the ready to drown out the unwelcome sounds of Bob Marley.

It was back to the main arena in the early afternoon to see some more acts. Around the site running orders had appeared over night, although they would have been more useful 24 hours previously.

It became clear that some of the earlier bands had very little, if any experience playing to crowds of any size. While I agree it is important to give a chance to new bands starting out, having so many young performers who had virtually no experience was unfair to both them and to the paying crowd.

The first act to impress on Saturday was the Dublin based Land Lovers, part of the Popical Island collective. With their fresh sound they were a treat to all those who had made their way to the arena early in the day.

Venturing to the Bandwagon TV Stage, we planned on seeing Sanzkrit, however the previous group Layne County were still playing. Due to their rather cringy lyrics and the likelihood we would burst into laughter at any point we thought it best to trek back to the main arena.

Preacher’s Son drew a large crowd for their set, mainly due to the monsoon that appeared to be happening outside causing many to run for shelter. Following on were Miracle Bell, who were the first act since Ash the previous night to attract a crowd to the barrier.

The newly reformed Kerbdog took to the main stage to a crowd who clearly were elated at the revival of the group. Over on the Music Maker stage The Danger Is captivated all those in attendance with lead singer Niamh’s angelic vocals. It was a pleasure to witness the smiles and dancing of both young and old.

Bandwagon TV’s headliners, Henrietta Game, attracted a small but vocal crowd who demanded an encore from the alternative folk band. After witnessing the sing-along from the crowd for the repeat performance, we certainly regretted missing the whole set.

Back on the main stage Whipping Boy burst out with lead singer Fearghal McKee’s face painted like a Sligonian Braveheart. While the adults in attendance stared in awe, this was the only time during the weekend it seemed the children just weren’t interested. Definitely one for the adults only.

While headliner’s Stereo MCs played the main stage, Mike Joyce of The Smiths gave a DJ set in the Music Maker Stage. We found it impossible to leave his set as each song was better than the last. Playing hits from Iggy Pop, The Rolling Stones, The Strokes and yes, The Smiths, Joyce became the highlight of Saturday. Also, you truly have not lived until you have seen a member of The Smiths dance passionately to the C & C Music Factory classic “Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)”.

Sunday

Saturday’s freezing temperatures were joined by persistent downpours and wind on Sunday. Emerging from the tent it appeared by the many empty spaces a lot of people did not last the night and set off early to enjoy the comforts of central heating and brick walls.

Indie rock band Sweet Jane gave a mellow performance to a rather subdued crowd. Although early in the day, it was clear the crowd were either sheltering in the campsite or gone.

The only non covered stage, the acoustic stage in the walled garden is likely to have greatly suffered due to the unseasonably bad weather. The few who braved the torrential rain were treated to a relaxing set from Damien Nash and what can only be described as an enchanting performance from Dubliner Rhob Cunningham.

At this point we made the decision to catch the last train back to Dublin. The previous days’ weather had left us with colds and we didn’t think sticking around for Aslan would be worth the sacrifice of our health and sanity. While packing up in the campsite many more of our fellow downtrodden festival goers had clearly made the same decision.

It pains me to have to complain about Temple House as it is a festival with so much potential and I sincerely hope next year it returns to top form, but there is just so much room for improvement.  The venue itself is just perfect for a festival, but the lack of crowd was detrimental to the atmosphere this year. A festival is made by the atmosphere. Last year a weekend ticket to the festival was €79, this year €120. This huge mark up for the festival is likely to have put off many of last year’s attendees. In addition to this, while the headliners in particular are an improvement on last year, many of the other acts were just not good enough to warrant the price tag. When compared to other small festivals such as Indiependence, Sea Sessions and Castlepalooza, the price and the content just do not match up. A huge mistake by organisers was holding Temple House the week before No Place Like Dome, which takes place in the same venue, appealing to similar music fans and for the recession friendly price of €79.50. There are many simple things like informing the crowd of stage changes and times that should be in place next year. Oh and the Mad Hatters, while I’m sure they were nice to children, adults do not really appreciate grown men dressed as rabbits cursing at them.

There are also many positive features to Temple House; it is probably the most child friendly festival in Ireland. The security are better than at any other festival I have attended, always friendly and professional. The layout of the festival means no long walks from stage to stage or from the campsite to the main arena. There are no long queues, a wide selection of food stalls, a chilled out crowd and pretty damn clean portaloos (let’s face it, that is important).  The arts trail and activities such as archery and hula hooping (yes, hula hooping!) provide a fun and different alternative to music. I’m sure I will go back to Temple House at some stage; I just hope some improvements are made to ensure it is continued success for many years to come.