Music & Mayhem In the Mud

Now we definitely love the sunshine and coming from a country where it shines pretty much all the year round, living & breathing the outdoors was part & parcel of our weekends. So, having landed in London, we always looked forward to summers in the hope & expectation that when it came to enjoying a slice of the great outdoors, that the weather would be kind & considerate, especially at the clutch of park based & other festivals that we have come to adore over the years. However, with the unpredictability of the so-called British Summertime having rained on many a parade, the Glastonbury festival a prime soaking suspect, gay pride park parties also having their fair share of dampening downpours, we have come to expect that the weather would play a significant part in success & popularity of these outdoor events. Indeed, this year has already proven another one of those, reach for the brolly summers, recent outdoor excursions to London Pride & Summer Rites leaving us wanting for the heat & sunshine we so miss from South Africa, but with Lovebox looming, we were hoping for something a little different, not least that it was our first visit and in captivating company too, the question remaining, did the weather dominate or the event enthral?

Having heard so much about Lovebox from last year, especially the Sunday which had more & more of a gay influence than ever before, when the prospect of partying in Victoria Park presented itself to us, we grabbed it with gusto, the weather the last thing on our minds, rather that captivating company were to going to hold and the magnificent music on offer in the forefront of our thoughts. And with a line-up that included the likes of The Scissor Sisters, Blondie, Kelis, Robyn, Boy George & Marc Almond, the gay perspective gained even more prominence with the involvement of clubbing brands Circus, Horse Meat Disco & Trailer Trash along with scene stars Jodie Harsh, Kris Di Angelis, Tom Stephan, Jim Stanton, James Hillard, Mickey Most & Jonny Woo, just to mention a few. So, when the phone call came through saying “…Matt, get a Lovebox ticket for Sunday, we’re going…” we were booking a place in these prolific park proceedings without the slightest consideration for the climate. However, as the day drew closer, it was clear that we would perhaps been doing more wallowing in the mud than marvelling at the music, but how did our first Lovebox experience actually turn out? and were we left in a mucky mess or in festival fulfillance?

Wobbled By The Waltzers

Sunday started with sunshine and the hope that it would be reaping its resplendence on the righteous, yet the reality was that, having been soaked for a significant slice of Saturday, Victoria Park was sure to be much more of a mudbox, yet the prospect of dressing for the occasion not finding our favour, the only compromise being the selection of some heavier trainers to ward off the weather. With plans for our liaison with pals Steve Pitron & Celso Moura sorted and a 3 p.m. arrival agreed, we were however cautious of being caught on route by  the now famed “Porridge Woman” (Alyson), although with assurances from Steve that she was waiting in the park, we felt pretty safe as we reached our tube station destination. But we should have known better, as a Pitron ploy led us straight into the amorous arms of Alyson, sending us screaming up Mike End Road, a large crowd of onlookers surely wondering what the heck was going on. However, with a truce called, we made it intact to the park, the Pitron posse swelling to six with the arrival of Pabs, entrance formalities soon over and we finding ourselves sinking into this fulsome festival, also sinking into the inevitable mud box that was Lovebox.

It was then a case of finding our bearings among the myriad of stages, stalls & stands, the temptation to dive on one of the many fairground rides by Alyson, met with resistance by the rest of us, rather the call for refreshments in the VIP area our aim. However, with the mud & sweeping showers taking the focus off the real reason for our Victoria Park visit, the conditions clearly playing a part of many people’s minds, some wearing wellies, others wrapped up in waterproofs, we skirted most of the mud that we could, arriving behind the main stage & to our exclusive arena entrance relatively intact and ready to start savouring a succession of stage appearances as well as other entertainment offerings. And, with refreshments in hand, it was back out into the mud mix of this Lovebox festival, deciding to get those fairground rides out of the way, although following a relatively sedate wheel spin, it was the next that was to claim the first Pitron posse victims, the man himself having to grace his earlier than expected exit, having been well & truly wobbled by the waltzers.

Lovebox? More Like Mudbox!

With Alyson & Jess shooting off to catch Blondie on the main stage, we soon found ourselves heading towards what was to become out highlight of this Lovebox festival, as arriving at the Circus stage, we were met with two guys literally diving & wallowing in the mud, a massive impromptu circle formed around them as they played to the crowd and caked themselves from head to toe. However the Circus showing was every bit as entertaining, Kris Di Angelis treating us to a sparkling set that was taken to the next level when he was joined by an eight piece orchestra on stage, simply superb. But with this mud never that far away, we somehow began to lose the will for lasting the Lovebox distance, even liaisons with familiar faces & friends Andrea, Stephen, & Muir not enough to keep is captivated with Circus, a trek back across the park in search of the girls eventually bearing fruit, although with a dash to catch Kelis also signalling towel throw in due to a medication moment, we left a rain & mud splattered Victoria Park to reflect on an outing that had much promise but fell short of expectations.

There is no doubt that this reflection on Lovebox is very much a personal account of our experience, although as a festival there was much on offer on this third of three days, the stars, the shows & the stages that should & could have grabbed our attention. But, as great a time we actually had, not least in the company we kept, there was no escaping the fact that the weather played a significant part in proceedings, the phrase “damp underfoot” being somewhat of a underestimation of just how slippery & muddy the park was. Yes we had fun on the fairground rides, yes we were entertained by the Circus stage & peripheral showings, but we really didn’t do Lovebox the justice it deserved, rather finding ourselves being bogged down by the mud, sometimes literally, so as a result, wandering aimlessly around the park and not able to hang our hat on any particular happening. We highly suspect that scores of people felt the same, while others had a marvellous time making the most of the magnificent music that was no doubt on offer, but we cannot say with conviction that we walked away fulfilled with this festival, while we can definitely confirm that we ended up in a mucky mess leaving us to wonder whether Lovebox will be on our cavorting calendar next year. (DISCO MATT)