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Massive outdoor Festivals? don't get it


PaulWarning

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Not for me either.

Although TBH the kinds of bands I like are better appreciated down in front of the "stage" in a small sweaty club late at night, rather than from the back of a windswept field in the middle of a dull and overcast afternoon.

I used to enjoy the Nottingham Rock & Reggae festival in the 80s but at the time I was living 5 minutes walk from the site and could go home any time the music or the weather were being unsuitable.

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Anyone her who has only been to post-2000 festivals really can't moan about toilets! This is a documentary about Glastonbury 1986...

My best Festival memory is the Mutoid Waste Company's 'Carhenge' and Mad-Max-style lorry cutting a swathe through the crowds powered by a blue guy with a mohican on the back beating out a galley-rhythm on a pair of oildrums.

 

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I was at Download Friday Saturday Sunday, had an awesome time, but wasn't camping. We stayed in town, and shuttle bussed in and out each day. I have been to a few festivals in the past with camping, but this one was by far the largest (90,000) and arguably the most enjoyable.

The mud situation was fine for me - I was never so out of it that I was falling over. My wellies were filthy below the shin, but I stayed completely clean otherwise. The rain was a bit crap when it came (I think the worst was during Slash) but a cheap poncho over my rain jacket and I stayed totally dry. The vibe was relatively healthy in my opinion - I didn't see any aggro of any description from crowd or staff, olds and kids were always allowed through, and it wasn't too claustrophobic (we were only about 30 m back from the stage). Some drugs floating around so I can understand that putting people off, but I found them easily ignorable. The crush to leave was bearable - from being close to the stage to queuing for the bus was about an hour, but it would have taken at least 20 minutes even if you had a free run at it. No one pushed or shoved or complained - it was more of a stoic smiley shuffle. The shuttle buses were regular, and staff were buoyant - we were three and the ticket was £14 return for the whole group! On site prices were slightly inflated, but a fiver for a pint isn't the end of the world, and acts as a bit of a buffer against getting too wrecked. Never took more than 10 or 15 mins to get served either, apart from maybe once on the Friday. Free fresh water stations all over the place too. The toilets were pretty gross, but I can't see how that can be avoided.

All in all, and speaking as someone who typically feels pretty uncomfortable in crowds, I was impressed by how user friendly the whole thing was. I had a blast and would go again. I think the not camping was the trick... The only negative point was the sound - so kick heavy, followed by horrible snare bonk, and then everything else sitting somewhere underneath. I suppose it was better the further back you were, but we hoped by being close to the sound desk tower we might stand a chance... Nope. Tool still blew my mind though 🤘

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As opposed to the monolithic Glastonbury where it takes half a day to get from one side to the other at Download the four stages were all pretty easy to get to, with the Main and Zippo just  5-10 minutes apart despite trudging through the quagmire. What I will say for Download there's more cameraderie and sense of community than other festivals I've been too, big and medium. 

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I've been to T in the Park a few times in my 50s and loved it.  Yes the toilets are gross but if you follow the walking on a cliff edge rule and don't look down, tolerable.  Carry a bottle of anti bacterial hand gel.  The food on offer was varied and good if a wee bit pricey and as I don't drink often I just carried a refillable water bottle to stay hydrated.  The crowds were good humoured and friendly, I didn't see any fights or trouble, it was just good.  Now add in multiple stages with a huge variety of bands and musicians for 3 days all in for just over a hundred quid.  I saw a lot of bands I wouldn't have seen otherwise, plus a surprise appearance by Pete Townshend as a stand in for his wife's guitarist.  Wall to wall music - what's not to like :)

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  • 2 weeks later...

yet more horror stories about appalling sound at outdoor festivals, the sound from Glastonbury sounded very good on my TV, I'm guessing it wasn't as good if you were actually there, like half a mile from the stage

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2019/jun/29/can-you-get-a-refund-if-a-gig-has-bad-sound?CMP=share_btn_fb&fbclid=IwAR3nGeyLTdo77TRx1pOu5-OiqJQ1B0FdtKcdj7UScYHcoxeTzMiEi9Xgr64

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It depends on the people who are going. Some people don't mind roughing it. Its all about the friends who want to watch there bands. I dont like huge festivals. You can't really hear the music properly, its usually cold/raining. Audio wise I prefer a smaller venue.Although Mello was a great festival weather wise, was under a HUGE tent. And after a few pints I fell asleep like a corpse but waking up on the grass in a tent wasn't great mind. 

I went to the Jazz Cafe and watched Incognito on the balcony after some food and a glass of wine. That was way better.

Edited by bubinga5
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I really have no interest in any massive gigs, festivals whether they are inside or outside.

Living in the peripheries of the UK it's always a bit of a bind to get to gigs anyway, however, in the early 90's I did get to go to Milton Keynes Bowl and then Wembley Stadium (the old one). They were good shows. However,  festivals don't interest me. I'm not going to pay a lot of money to see bands I've not heard of and more than likely get sun stroke or trench foot over a weekend.

As for BIG gigs. I went to see Depeche Mode 18 months ago in Birmingham. I've got to say, it was the most disappointing gig I've been to. I've always wanted to see them as they've looked fantastic on video. The reality is is could have been anyone on stage. It sounded like Depeche Mode but we were so far away Dave Gahan was about the size of my thumb nail. The sound was okish, but the atmosphere was dire.

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Just to add I went to see(if I can call it that)Marcus Miller at the Cheltenham Jazz festival. Top price tickets at £30. All seated, so if you want to go to the toilet its getting past 10 people. Anyway I was so far away (at the back of these rows and rows of seats) I could hardly see him. Never go to a big seated gig. Bloody awful. 

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2 hours ago, bubinga5 said:

Just to add I went to see(if I can call it that)Marcus Miller at the Cheltenham Jazz festival. Top price tickets at £30. All seated, so if you want to go to the toilet its getting past 10 people. Anyway I was so far away (at the back of these rows and rows of seats) I could hardly see him. Never go to a big seated gig. Bloody awful. 

I had the same thing, went to see the first reformation of Black Sabbath at the NEC Ossie looked about 3 inches tall from where I was, never been since

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3 hours ago, PaulWarning said:

 

yet more horror stories about appalling sound at outdoor festivals, the sound from Glastonbury sounded very good on my TV, I'm guessing it wasn't as good if you were actually there, like half a mile from the stage

 

 

Haven’t been to the Pyramid but the sound at all the other main stages has been excellent

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16 hours ago, bubinga5 said:

It depends on the people who are going. Some people don't mind roughing it. Its all about the friends who want to watch there bands. I dont like huge festivals. You can't really hear the music properly, its usually cold/raining. Audio wise I prefer a smaller venue.Although Mello was a great festival weather wise, was under a HUGE tent. And after a few pints I fell asleep like a corpse but waking up on the grass in a tent wasn't great mind. 

I went to the Jazz Cafe and watched Incognito on the balcony after some food and a glass of wine. That was way better.

Totally agree, the Jazz Cafe, Incognito, food and wine, very civilised and chilled.👍

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Can't imagine the misery of paying through the nose to slosh around in mud and other people's body fluids for days on end on the odd chance you might hear something that wasn't utter pish. Last one I went to was Knebworth in 197? and that was pretty abysmal even there were some good bands playing.

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Another fan of Download here, and another non-camper.  Get a room in Derby and there's a bus that will take you to and from the festival each day.

Mud in the arena was restricted to a few muddy puddles, and with my trousers tucked into my DMs my boots just needed a hose down at the end of the day and I was clean again.  A lot of spots of rain for a few minutes, then sun, then overcast, but only two significant bits of rain over the weekend.  The camp site was different, but the stories of people leaving on the Thursday night seems to have been from tweets by the two people who actually did that, which were picked up and run with by the media.  I've certainly been to much muddier and wetter Downloads.

As somebody else has said there's a definite sense of camaraderie, and while people will disagree about whether they like some of the bands, it's rarely a cause of any aggro (this year Die Antword were the one that really split the crowd "what are they doing on the bill?" etc).  Saw a lot of bands that I wouldn't have paid for in isolation (and some that I would have paid to see on their own) and if you're not too fussed about the band on stage at the moment there will be three others to choose from, or a bar you can hang out and drink at with your mates.

No problem getting down the front when I wanted to, no problem with the sound, and no glasses full of pish being thrown...perhaps because there was a £2.00 deposit on the plastic glasses, but I don't recall this as a regular feature, certainly not compared to the old Monsters of Rock or Reading festivals from 20 years ago

the only two complaints this year were delays in opening the gates each day, and the strength of the beer that was available.  Oh, and the weirdly polite but very long queues that formed everywhere, worst on the Friday which is usually the quietest day.  A combination of those factors explains why my credit card bill shows a lot of cocktails having been purchased from bars that didn't have huge queues

Next up - Bloodstock...Download's little cousin, like a village fete with extreme metal bands playing

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