1699

This year’s Keynestock was another fitting example of how to keep a field of 1000+ students entertained. Face painting, an eclectic selection of musical acts, a barbecue and, of course, a steady supply of Pimms, ensured all attendees had a smashing time.

Increasingly I have come to regard Keynestock as being primarily about the people, whilst there are always interesting and talented student acts that play the festival, what makes Keynestock special is seeing all your friends enjoying themselves in the sunshine. Keynestock is a great way to unwind and celebrate after a traumatic few weeks of exams.

This year proved especially interesting for me, as by some bizarre quirk of nature, I received a phone call the day before the festival, asking if I would like to be on the judging panel. Here is a snippet from the telephonic conversation.

“Do I get free drinks?”

“I’ll try and swing it for you”

In the end I managed to wangle my way to two complimentary burgers, and the lack of free drinks was no big issue, as naturally I didn’t want alcohol to disturb my enjoyment of the musical acts. Being a judge also entitled me to a purple wristband and a heightened air of self-importance, which I enjoyed, perhaps a little too much.

The highlights of the bill were for me the metal bands, even though it’s not the style of music I usually enjoy, the energetic, cathartic nature of acts like Inertia and Arundhati Riff really got my blood pumping. I also enjoyed the up-beat ska tinged style of Harvey Hyde and the Hecklers and Kieran Mcgrath’s atmospheric, 40-smokes-a-day vocal cords and Dylanesque harmonica playing.

The way we decided the winners was basically a heated argument which at certain points never looked like being resolved. The other judges were from Kent Rock Soc and also Jamie Stephens the erudite, music know-it-all, student media manager. Though the final placings were effectively decided by compromise, the bands we chose fully deserved recognition. The Keynestock 2009 top three were:

1. Bardo Thodol

2. Harvey Hyde & the Hecklers

3. Corduroy Fashion Threat

However, I don’t think its necessary to get too concerned about one band being better than another band. Music is not a competition; there is no Olympic event for a guitar solo, mouth watering as it sounds. Every band or musical act that played Keynestock deserve credit for taking part in a thoroughly enjoyable mini festival. I had a fantastic time, and would like to thank the organizers for making it so.

Listen to the winners here : http://www.myspace.com/bardothodolnoise