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Last Saturday the Thames had a new boat in town. Curated by Green Man festival, this boat party had bands, DJs and plenty of rockin’ thanks to the choppy conditions (and the dancing of course.)
Boarding the balloon-laden Dixie Queen boat around 1pm, the atmosphere was already well under way to get the party started. Sailor hats and beards were donned as we sailed into the (slight) sun with the Green Man revellers cheering for their afternoon voyage.
Tom Williams and The Boat kicked things off upstairs, with their spritely indie-anti-folk pop offerings and a few rockier tunes to set the tone. Although the main hall felt like a distant cousins wedding due to the round tables, streamers and strangers, this wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Rather, it gave everyone the excuse to act like (decent) idiots and dance away to their hearts content – with some even going as far as putting a tie upon their sozzled heads.
The Moshi Moshi DJs provided the tunes for the first recess, choosing numbers such as the Gipsy King’s excellent cover of ‘Hotel California.’ If you weren’t in the mood for disco dancing, you could take a trip down stairs and join in the fun at the beard making station. The ‘best beard on board’ competition was running you see, which meant the most inventive and lavish beard won a pair of tickets to the festival itself in August. Pipecleaners, sequins, balloons and cotton wool made for some very fetching faces indeed – it was going to be a tough decision.
Three Trapped Tigers were the next band to take to the stage with most of the mateys making their way to the main hall. Bursting into their electric noise fest, the crowd were wooed by their ambient synths and frantic beats.
Outside, festival favourites The Holloway Jug Band were busy keeping the punters busy with their Johnny Cash covers complete with washing board, kazoo and plenty of gorgeous harmonies.
A set from The Green Man DJs continued the party once Three Trapped Tigers had finished their raucous of a set. There wasn’t long now until Field Music.
Easily attracting the biggest crowd of the day, the band burst into numbers from their latest release ‘Plumb’ – which has been a firm favourite with critics alike and it’s easy to see why. Their indie rock didn’t disappoint and gave for an awesome end to the live music.
Cliff Gloom finished things off with a DJ set comprising of Brit pop classics. After all that premium cider had been consumed, it came as no surprise to watch the sort of shapes the crowd were pulling.
Sadly, the voyage came to an end as we anchored at 6pm. This legendary boat party was a perfect start to the festival season and a perfect insight into the loveliness that Green Man will be providing in the coming months. We suggest you snap your tickets up sharpish!
Green Man festival takes place in Glanusk Park, Wales on 17/18/19th August.
See the line-up and grab your tickets at greenman.net