truck festival

The Didcot Rotary Club have barely sold their first pasta salad when the pink punk insanity of THE GOG christens the Market Stage. Mid afternoon, still no rain, and the lilting tones of festival blaggers MONKEY SWALLOWS THE UNIVERSE bring out the same warm fuzzy feeling as the rural brew. Having decided to meet a milkmaid and live on a farm forever, EMMA POLLOCK declares herself a worthy candidate as she blesses the Barn Stage with sweet songs from her debut album. Truck princess PINEY GIR flirts her way onto the main stage with a wink and a grin – and does her country girl thing while the local lads stare at her stockings. Meanwhile over at the Trailer Park things are far from trashy thanks to PARIS MOTEL. Twenty minutes of Amy May and the elegant orchestral pop just isn’t enough. The true stars of Truck arrive on Saturday evening: right from the start BLOOD RED SHOES are phenomenal! Laura-Mary and Steven are genuinely surprised at the frenzied support they’re given, and Steven ends their electric set by jumping into the crowd and being carried away at shoulder height – just like royalty.

SUNDAY 23 SEP After bacon rolls and a cuppa courtesy of the Steventon locals, Truck’s knack for unearthing future stars continues with SKY LARKIN, who shine through the drizzle with an immaculate performance of spiky pop. Similarly, BABY GRAVY bring the barn to life with their new wave of the old wave of the new wave… or something. Leading charismatically from the front Iona is like a Slits star in the making - expect her to split the band and do a Gwen Stefani next year. FONDA 500 bring surreal twists with Simon Stone feigning grumpiness and abusing the congregation throughout their electro-pop treats. Elsewhere CHRIS T-T is sticking the knife into Billy Bragg with his contemporary political edge. For the umpteenth Truck in a row, THE SCHLA LA LAS show gets switched to the main stage where they out-polka dot The Pipettes and throw some of their own dodgy moves. Meanwhile in the barn, THE ROCK OF TRAVOLTA almost burst their internal organs with their heavy instrumental plodding: clad in black they sure do look the part. The Truck party continued into the night in typically eclectic fashion. Some fella had his locks shorn on stage during the Electric Soft Parade set, dedications were made to girlfriends, and the vicar continued to serve tea. Finally, just as loyal Truckers had become accustomed to the farmyard smells along came headliners IDLEWILD with a stinking set and an insipid display. Oh yeah, there are always a few turkeys at Truck.