By Carron Stacey, A Humdrum Mum

WHEN?: Friday 15 to Monday 18 November 2024

It’s been a week since the festival so it’s around this time that we have fully recovered and start to lament “this time last week…” As I write, this time last week, I was Day Raving at Bentley Rhythm Ace.

• Read on for reasons including Bentley Rhythm Ace, Kula Shaker and Lightning Seeds

Day Raving is the future, but more of that later.

This is the ninth annual (except covid year) of the 90s indie weekender (we missed the first one). There have been lots of comments this year about the line up being affected due to the 10th anniversary of Shiiine On bonus festival being held in Spring next year in Skegness.

We, in our group, are unable to make this so are ignoring it as if it didn’t exist. However the threat of the line up remains for the actual 10th Shiiine On next November at Butlins (for which we are already, naturally, booked up).

I do remember saying that if the line up isn’t good next November, I won’t be coming the year after. An easy threat to make two years in advance eh?

Personally the line up wasn’t as great this year. I think this is probably as I don’t like some types of music (see Starsailor, Embrace etc) and we have been spoiled some years. I know I’m ignoring it, but Skegness has Inspirals, Hooky, Wonder Stuff, Ash and these have been our saviours over the years.

However they haven’t got Terrorvision, Sheds, and these have been our highlights over the years. To kick off the weekend, and after making our inaugural bar in our lodge, we headed off to Reverend and the Makers.

I must admit that due to the excitement of the bar and seeing my friends again, I can’t recall much of this evening from this point on. But I do know that the crowd loved the Revs and after the year he’s had, it was really special for us and he was really engaged with the audience.

Kula Shaker followed as a new headliner. I’d already seen them at Victorious Festival the year before (good job really as I didn’t last the evening!) and they were amazing. It was a shame that I didn’t, but at least I didn’t have to put up with their rip off cover of the mighty Shire Horses’ Ta La.

A half-eaten Burger King later, I was sparko. On Saturday, an abortive sea swim at 10am made for a heavy head and a sinking stomach. A rest on the beach rocks helped and in no time, we were ready for our first Day Rave. I think we have Day Raved before but this was different. This is the future!

I fangirled Bentley Rhythm Ace by bringing along the rave flag I was bequeathed last year at their first Day Rave. (I had also got James to sign it at his EMF gig in Pompey in January.) The gig was awesome, as usual. I didn’t even need anything to drink! They love playing their music and seeing them so happy made the experience even happier. Up there as number 1 of the weekend so far.

Utah Saints U U U Utah Saints (go on, tell me you don’t do the same when you say their name) followed on the heels of their closing set the year before last. Absolutely banging and their energy pervades the audience as well. As Day Raves go, it couldn’t be better than this could it?

Not totally my thing, but I promised my bestie I’d see the Lightning Seeds with her. They always amaze me how many hits they have. I tried to work out in the summer at their festival performance at Victorious, how many hits is the minimum you need to live off for the rest of your life? Whatever it is, Lightning Seeds have triple.

Talking of the value of hits, I also think there’s an equation relating to how many duff songs will you put up with to get the one you love? For example, I know a good few Echo and the Bunnymen songs, but I will put up with a few duff ones just to hear Killing Moon. Tonight, Ian has the cameras off as usual. I’ve seen him twice before so I’m used to it. His voice for singing holds, the songs I know I loved hearing them. Him talking in between? I couldn’t understand a word of it. And he never played People are Strange, which is strange, but people are.

Some light refreshments later, we were split between chatting in the chalet, off seeing the BEST BAND EVER The Herbaliser Band and The Wedding Present. I love the Weddoes and apparently they were amazing, but I have seen them many times, so chose gossip.

We all came together (the only time in fact over the weekend) for Steve Lamacq’s indie disco which finishes around 4am. It is customary to dance like loons and get to bed around 5am after obligatory cheese and pickle toasties (my choice in the meal rota of the weekend).

Would it be unfair to say he’s hardly changed the playlist in the eight years we’ve heard him? He has added a few over the years like Libertines, Fontaines DC and Idles but the others are strictly 90s. Each year we think we see him pressing play on his Spotify playlist but no, he does play CDs. This year, with no technological hitches to make him late, he did change the playlist and had us all dancing like loons, as planned.

Ultimate favs like James’ Sit Down had us videoing our singing for our official Shiiine video, and Sultans of Ping’s Where’s Me Jumper? had us gesticulating wildly. Lammo did get cut short at the end so didn’t have time to tell us his John Peel tale and never even got time to play Teenage Kicks! We, however, did have time for toasties before bed.

Sunday saw Goldie Lookin’ Chain’s DJ set. We’ve seen them early on the main stage in the afternoon a few years ago, but this was Day Rave on another level. The acoustics were far better so you could hear every word. We absolutely love them and you just can’t beat them for enjoyment. Joint top for the weekend with BRA.

This year saw the first time a mental health charity (or any charity) had linked up with Shiiine On. We are extremely proud as being from Pompey, we were delighted to see Pompey’s Tonic Music for Mental Health. They have such a huge presence at Victorious Festival and it was wonderful to see them here too. With Terry Hall as the founding patron, and Dub Pistols’ Barry Ashworth (main picture above with Mr Humdrum) a patron now, James Atkin also graced us with a great DJ set in the Scoops ice cream parlour. Our Day Rave continued!

With spoken word from Leon the Pig Farmer, James had us all banging and meeting new friends. Barry took up the mantle afterwards but it was too much for me, so I left Mr Humdrum with his new friends. He actually won a Peter Hook book in the raffle!

The girls wanted to see Starsailor and Embrace, so after a quick dinner in the pizza place, they split off and we went back for a rest before the Fuzzbox Collective and the Dub Pistols. We were right in front of the trombone player and are currently waiting for his trombone cam feed to go live as we’ll be on it! Their energy whipped up the audience and we found our second/third/fourth wind in amongst their own banging tracks and superb covers of Under the Bridge, I Predict a Riot and old favourite, Peaches. It was, indeed, a Mucky Weekend.

As Barry points out, they don’t really fit into the genre, but we make them fit in. That’s why they’re booked again and again. It’s about us. Us and the music. Yes we can moan about Skegness and the line up being affected, but each year, when we don’t get to see all of our favourites, we find things we wouldn’t have otherwise discovered. We connect with new and reconnect with old friends.

We party, we rest and we do it again. But seriously, the best thing this year is the DAY RAVE! See you in Minehead 2025.

• Pictures via Facebook courtesy Welly and A Humdrum Mum. Tickets
• Read more from Carron at her blog A Humdrum Mum
• Have you seen any of these acts live? Let us know what you thought in the comments below
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