Well Folk Me Sideways!

Good golly gosh!

I've never been to a music festival before, but I finally made it to one this year. They say that you always remember your first time and phwoar! Cambridge Folk Festival 2013, what a way to take my festival virginity. Plenty of alcohol was consumed (to the point where the festival was drunk completely dry of cider) and lots of antics were had.

Particularly brilliant moments included befriending some Norwegians at 2am on Saturday morning, before wandering off to find a session happening (which my big bro was taking part in); a young magician about the age of nine wandering the crowds and wowing us with some pretty swish tricks and patter; crouched handstands; and a midnight kebab.

Musical highlights were:

Bellowhead were the band I was most excited to see for the entire weekend; and they definitely did not disappoint! (Well, maybe a little... They didn't play my favourite song)

Undoubtedly the group favourite for the weekend: Four Irish fellas playing some amazing tunes with banjos, mandolins, a bodhran and a fiddle at points too... Saw them twice!

Utterly astounding guitarist, best player I've ever seen bar none. Being just one fellow and a guitar, his set was a little avant-guarde at points but folking hell was it good! An inspiration to listen to.


Where to begin? My uncle found us whilst this lot were playing and wandered past saying "I've just seen a young Seasick Steve!" I found myself on my way to see them, unsure what to expect but was totally blown away. The amount of sound coming off these three people was insane! And as the bearded wonder was keen to mention: they had no need of a bass player: all of the bass was played on the guitar at the same time. Incrediballs. (Incidentally, see 0:37 for the afore-mentioned handstands)

A folk quartet from Quebec, they were infectious to listen to. The foot-stomping violinist was awesome and you never see a hurdy-gurdy solo these days...

The amazingness of the weekend can be summed up by the fact that I was ready to commit to Cambridge 2014 within four hours of having arrived.

Result.

My aim for next year: become proficient enough at the guitar and whistle (and probably some other stuff too) to be able to find a session and just go nuts.

Addicted

I will admit that I am just as addicted to my smart phone as the next person. It does all that I could want, and more. It even provides me with an outlet for my penchant for hacking and customising all technology that I come into contact with, all because I'm vain enough to think I know better.

Having owned a smart phone since August of 2012, essentially as soon as I returned from Japan, I have rarely been without it. There was a difficult moment on a plane returning from Prague when the battery died and I was forced to read the in-flight magazine (and discovered much about salt: an epicure's delight). Aside from that, I can't think of a time when I haven't had it on me.

Of course, addiction to my smart phone is more than just that: it's the connectivity, and it's the convenience. Where once I would just use my phone to make calls and send texts, I can update Facebook or Twitter on the go, take high quality photos, check my email, catch up on my RSS reading, search for "useful" information, and all the rest.

And I can't stop.

It has long since stopped being a convenience to check Facebook or my email from the palm of my hand; it has become an obsession. I don't want to have to wait until I can get to my ageing laptop to check my emails or read the next pseudo-intellectual post on Facebook (which, once again, I am guilty of). I don't want to be without the convenience of Google in my pocket, which could mean I get lost trying to find the sorting office in Leeds, or look stupid by not knowing when the Cold War ended.

When I first arrived in Japan I saw many of my fellow exchange students lamenting the loss of their smart phones, and I mocked them. I was astounded to hear them say the words "but what will I do without Google Maps?" or "if only I had my phone, I could Google [Liam Neeson's height]..." How little I knew! I too have become a slave to the convenience of instant access to the Internet. The sorting office? Found it. The Cold War? Ended in 1989 (or 1991 depending on the source).

Before I owned a smart phone and was cursed with easy Googling privileges, I was forced to sketch out a map to somewhere I'd never been before, or get lost, or (and this is the scary one) interact with another human being. Sketched maps are fun, getting lost is how adventures start, and interacting with new people is how crazy stories happen. If I didn't know the date of the end of the Cold War, I'd probably not even have cared enough to find out later, and just been happy in my ignorance. But now I'll find out, just because I can.

Months ago, I went to the theatre to see Doctor Faustus, and I really enjoyed it. But something happened during the interval that scared me: 90% of the audience that didn't go to get a drink or a bite to eat pulled out a smart phone and began checking what had happened on Facebook, Twitter or whatever. I'm ashamed to admit that I did the same. A whole ninety minutes had passed and I had to know what had happened whilst I'd been disconnected.

As it is, when I realised that I had just joined the herd of addicts, I pocketed my phone and went wandering off. It's become a subconscious thing to just pull out my phone and check it when long enough has passed since the last time I looked at it.

And I hate it.

I hate that I'm addicted to my phone. I hate that I can no longer wait until the end of my day to check my emails, Facebook and catch up on all the blogs I follow. And I hate that every time I convince myself that I should spend some time just using an ordinary mobile phone, I can come up with genuine justifications as to why my smart phone is more necessary to have:

• LINE/WhatsApp won't work, and some people only talk to me via LINE/WhatsApp
• What if I get an urgent email/Facebook message?
• What if I want to take a picture of something?
• I don't have any taxi numbers stored in my phone
• I won't be able to listen to music as I go places
• I can't look up Japanese words I don't know
• I'll have to remember where my lectures are
• I won't be able to use a constantly updating, GPS-enabled map to find my way

Some day soon, I'll disconnect. And I'll feel better.

What I'm Listening To
      Go and 'List For A Sailor by Eddy O'Dwyer
My big brother's most recent album. It's a good 'un too! Check it out if you haven't done already... I can guarantee that there is something on here for everyone. Go and listen to it before he gets famous and you can say you liked it before it was cool!