Sports Team in Dreamland
Words and Photographs by Willow Shields
Every year, except for the obvious skip of 2020, Sports Team host a bus trip down to Margate. It makes for lots of fun, sea, sand and drinking. Being held in july or August for the past year, the Margate bus trip has always been at an awkward time for many fans due to the ‘summer holiday’ thing, remember that? However due to the obvious circumstances this year, many more sports fans were able to attend. Keeping this in mind, the band managed to swing an upgrade to Margate’s iconic Dreamland. This year, Sports Team brought along friends such as Courting, Bull, English Teacher and many more, for the promise of a day of unrivalled fun.
You join us at 10:30am on the bus to Liverpool Street Station. With little sleep and even less knowledge of what the day had in store for us, we stepped out into the light of a sunny morning in Central London. After exchanging pleasantries and hugs with friends and foes we were then led through the station, down a road, under an overpass and to the Margate Buses. The band split in two over both coaches, we ended up in the rear half of coach one, soundtracked by bull playing covers of the best landfill indie from the past 20 years and lots of too-loud-for-11am-teens.
After the positively life changing experience of the three hour coach to Margate, with a healthy stop at a services that saw Bull’s frontman vomit in a frisbee, we made it to the number one seaside getaway of the 70s. As we walked through the mystical Dreamland’s first hall, the bit before you get to the good stuff, fans flock to the main arena to try and catch the first band of the day. After bumping into the lovely Liverpudlians Courting, we arrived into the newly made-over Dreamland arena. Bull were the band to kick off the day, bringing their high energy, high mood to the stage brought the sunshine out in Margate and set the tone for the day.
We set off exploring the new and improved Dreamland after Bull put a new spring in our step. Happening upon a roller disco and various theme park rides, our day was bright up a notch and it truly felt like we were on our holidays. Next up to take to Dreamland’s giant stage was Leeds’ English Teacher. Frontwoman Lily Fontaine instantly enchanted the crowds into her world of lost love and poetic performances. After remarking it’s one of their first live shows, the band blew away the hundreds of perked ears in the crowd. Next up was three piece London, post punk, cool kids Deep Tan. All three clad in fitted black pieces contrasted with giant shoes, Deep Tan are striking and an unnervingly beautiful sight to behold. They filled the air with dark guitar riffs and unwavering vocals, making an impression on every single person there.
Courting’s Sean O’Neill came from behind the stage and began rallying a crowd before they began playing, proving that Courting were going to be another hit of difference to the day. After assembling the biggest crowd of the day, Courting began their set with the battle-cry of Football. Their set was about half an hour of pure, raw energy. By the end of it Sean was once again back in the crowd starting a circle pit, leaving behind his bandmates and various members of bull with percussion instruments in hand on stage. As the sun set behind Margate’s tallest building I was led backstage by Sports Team’s drummer, Al Greenwood, ahead of their headline set. After making her walk up and down the stairs about five times, pint in hand, and bumping into bassist Oli Dewdney getting ready to put out setlists, I wish them both good luck and retreat to my seat to reflect on Al’s position as so many young womens icon. As one of the most successful female drummers of our generation, Al Greenwood is in a unique position. Between her many talents of writing, football and of course drumming, she serves as an example that you can do anything you want to as a woman in this industry. She is an idol to me personally and I’m sure so many others.
With pink and orange hues in the sky, Sports Team took to the stage in a visceral reminder that live music was back and not budging. Iconic frontman and figurehead Alex Rice unsurprisingly strips down to a vest within the first song. The dreamland stage began to look like a hive for sports-team-merch wearing bees as the band played through their set. After a whole day of sweaty coaches, and I’m sure an endless feeling of tiredness brought on by their extensive touring schedule, I was surprised at how much velocity Sports Team brought to the stage that day. As I’ve said many a time before, Sports Team are a totally unique band. Maybe not for their music, as anyone who’s listened to Pavement’s discography can attest to. But because of their ability to make people fall in love with them almost instantaneously. Though, there’s absolutely no holding the band on a pedestal or teenage lust involved, at all! As U.S based blog Stereogum “proved” in 2020. Quoting guitarist Rob Knaggs “That whole idea of groupies and that big celebrated ‘70s rock thing,” (I’m offended.) “It just seems so grim. It’s no wonder people don’t want to listen to rock anymore.” Writer of said article, Jael Goldfine, continues, “for the most part, the fans see the band as older siblings, friends or mentors, not sex symbols or gods.” Which, if you’ve ever met a Sports Team fan, you know is simply false. It’s not just the googly eyes from the crowd that prove my point, obviously Sports Team’s music is what most focus on complete with their humour and image. But I think to ignore the obvious is to erase a whole side of a fanbase! To say that One Direction were famous for just their music, that would be laughable, right? To have thousands of teenage girls on your side is where it’s AT and I do not dig trying to deny it. Whether Sports Team admit it or not, people look at them, wipe the drool from the side of their mouths and then fall in love with their music!
At the end of that thought train, subsequently comes the end of our night in Margate. With chills setting in and stars popping up over the sea, the third annual Sports Team Margate bus trip came to a close and we all went to our beds, heads spinning, obviously.
