Review: Global Gathering 2011

Britain's biggest dance festival Global Gathering took place last weekend in Stratford Upon Avon, and the line-up was probably one of the best out of all the European festivals this year.

We had been anticipating this one for a while, and with standard tickets priced at just £99 it was no surprise that thousands flocked to the site to enjoy a full weekend of partying.

Firstly we get to Global, park up and begin the trek to pick our tickets up and get a good camping spot in the VIP campsite. Arrriving quite late, in the dark, we were already feeling pretty stressed. And then, low and behold, we get all of our packed away alcohol taken off us at the campsite gate! Silly us for not doing our reading up, but this has got to be a first. Since when were you not allowed to take alcohol into the camping area of a festival?

We set up the tent in the rather packed out camping area and off we went to catch some acts. First stop was Eric Prydz. The set had a definite futuristic feel with a mesmerising 3D hologram appearing in front of the DJ stage, displaying an apocolyptic burning earth, retro cassette player, and haunting ghostly heads. Eric's staple electro house went down well with the crowd although it did feel like things never really got going on the music front. We were eager for more so next up came Annie Mac. As reliable as ever, chunky house and electro worked the crowd into a frenzy from the off.

Above & Beyond were a definite highlight of the weekend. The tent was absolutely packed and their set had a harder, more electro feel than their standard trance output. Stunning light and laser displays set the mood perfectly. It really was one of the must see acts of the weekend. Jaguar Skills replaced Professor Green who had to pull out due to an illness, and boy was he a great replacement. This guy was amazing. Everyone was lapping it up and we highly recommend going to see him if you get the chance.

We managed to catch the last 10 minutes of Underworld's set, namely 'Born Slippy'. Great to see a live singer on the big screens, the crowd reaction was truly a site to behold. Goosebumps!

A quick go on the waltzers where, being the only people on the ride, we ended up with near broken necks, and off we went back to the campsite to chat to friendly neighbours and drink some more. 3am seemed too early for a festival to finish up, especially a big electronic dance one such as Global. Fear not, as we had one more day to go. 

Saturday saw what was probably the hottest day in the UK to date -  and boy did we struggle. We even had to make a quick stop back at the car to get some much needed shade and peace. Saturday started a little later as we enjoyed some drinking at the campsite before-hand... may I add we bought a crate of cider for £45 from the campsite. That was nice hot 'mulled wine stylee' cider. Mmmm, delicious! We were also treated to a lovely shower in the VIP campsite, but listening to some neighbours the fact we had posher toilets and a shower for the morning didn't warrant the additional cost of £75 to camp in this area. There was however some great little areas you could go and chill, including a shaded tree house area which was packed full of people escaping the blazing heat.

For those more adventurous adrenaline junkie types there were an array of bungee style rides, which were extremely popular whilst we waited for things to kick off. Go karts were also available for the less crazy sorts. There was so much selection for food too but it's a shame no-one seemed to be wanting any. Zero queues for grub and booze though is a definite thumbs up for us.

Back to the music...

Carl Cox was gritty house at its best, relentless beats, tracks mixed seamlessly. The Carl Cox tent was packed throughout despite clashing with Chase & Status, who were one of the most popular Saturday attractions. We had tried to catch Chase + Status earlier but we had no chance. The tent was far too packed and we couldn't slip in. We hear they were epic and we're a tad gutted we missed their set.

Nero came next as fans packed out the tent area a good half an hour before he came on, a mission to get a good spot, but worth the effort. A flawless set, the live singer came on half way through top belt out Nero's hits, backed by some blinding visuals and light shows. Really pushing the boundaries of dubstep, the perfect act to finish off the weekend.

We stopped off for a cheeky half hour in the Godskitchen tent on the way back the campsite, and thank God we did! Attracting a much more varied crowd, from students to the more mature ravers, bouncy house with a more commercial edge; this was pure fun. Huge, colourful LCD screens and lighting gave a bizarre club-like feel to the tent.

A great shame Random Concept were not at Global Gathering this year. One of our companions was a big Random Concept fan, and as he's been to the festival six times thus far he said it was a great loss to the event. Not to fear, as the Hospitality tent made up for it with the likes of Andy C, Danny Byrd, High Contrast, Netsky to name but a few. Mostly we danced hard, and sometimes we were unsure who to. The choice of tents to visit this year was ample and there really was something for everyone. 

Sunday comes and we're gutted this isn't a three day festival. We pack early and make our way to the car. The exit of the festival can only be described as mayhem. It took us 2.5 hours to get out of the car park and another hour to get into second gear. We left pretty early too, so we've have no idea how long people were waiting behind us. Thankfully we had ample drink, food and cigs to get us through it. 

So there you have it. A great festival with a friendly up for it crowd and a line-up which is second to none. There's not much else to do apart from dance until the wee hours, but what do you expect from a huge dance festival like Global? But come on, surely next time I can take a can of coke onto the campsite?

Words: Chris White 

Tickets are no longer available for this event