Tuesday, 24 July 2012

Festival time again!


Elbow's stage set. Pink Floyd eat your heart out!


Doesn't time fly? Already the 2012 festival season is in full swing with campers huddled in muddy fields all over the place. Our tent hasn't seen the light of day yet this year but we've dipped our toes in the festival waters and here's my observations so far...

A few weeks back we headed to Jodrell Bank, a few miles south of Manchester and site of the Lovell radio telescope. They first put on a bit of a musical do here last year, in the shadow of the Lovell and my what a shadow it casts. It is a bloody huge thing and makes for a spectacular setting. Day 1 of this year's event was headlined by local lads (well, Bury anyway) Elbow. The weather forecast was not great but the rain restrained itself to a bit of a drizzle until shortly after Elbow hit the stage and then...splosh. We got wet. So did Elbow. They had a set piece where they sang grouped round a keyboard set up on a catwalk running out into the crowd. "Electronic equipment and rain" observed Elbow front man Guy Garvey "what could possibly go wrong?" Luckily there were no fatalities.

But the rain kept coming. Just prior to the encores, we made our excuses and left, fearing a waterlogged car park and a delay of several hours to get out. We were either clever or lucky as (a) we found the car right away, a feat in itself and (b) drove straight out, delay-free and got back to the hotel in Wilmslow in time for a pint. But those heading for day 2, featuring Paul Weller, were not so lucky: the car park did indeed become waterlogged (and probably the rest of the site too) and the thing was cancelled.

Elbow were excellent of course but what I really wanted to talk about was the supporting line-up. This featured two of my fave raves who I hadn't seen live before, namely Cherry Ghost and Field Music. If you're not familiar with these acts - do check them out - then you're not alone. Obviously neither of them is a household name and it became pretty clear that a large proportion of the crowd weren't familiar with them which means you have a rather weird vibe, with many thousands of people staring up at these acts but not knowing what to make of them. That's OK unless said crowd members have had a few drinks, are young and with a group of mates, in which case they are likely to talk/shout/vomit very noisily right through their sets. Call me naive but why do people do this?

Just like us, these anti-social types have paid a lot of money to be there, so why waste it by talking all the time? Or why not slope off to the bar and get even more drunk? I am being mainly rhetorical but there are several genuine questions begged here: why are bands so quiet these days? Why do people go to festivals? Why do festivals book so many acts?



Field Music wonder whether they can afford the petrol to get back to Sunderland

This last question doesn't apply to the Jodrell Bank do as there was only one stage with about 5 acts altogether but let's move swiftly down closer to home in Kent for the Hop Farm bash, where we attended for the first and third days (thereby missing Dylan which was probably no bad thing.) Now, like so many other festivals, the line-up is as long as your arm, with dozens of acts spread over about 5 stages. Unless, like big G, you are omnipresent, this means that you are going to miss at least 80% of the acts. It also means you have to be on your toes to work out where you need to be at any given time but then, having constructed a cunning algorithm to plan your day, you fall asleep, or get drunk, or stuck in the mud, or simply can't be arsed and you miss even more.

So why do they book so many bands in the first place? Our old friends Field Music were playing again but stuck in some tent with dodgy acoustics and down wind of the main stage (on the Sunday, Gruff Rhys found himself competing with Kool and the Gang.) The whole site didn't seem that busy and Field Music's audience can't have amounted to many more than they might have got in the local Palais de Danse in their home town of Sunderland, which is a hell of a long way from Kent. So Field Music (and the same must go for plenty of the other acts) have trekked the length of the country to gain very limited exposure and the organisers have forked out to book a load of acts that most people aren't going to see. It sounds like a lose:lose. I must be missing something here but I'm not sure what.



Gruff Rhys battles on bravely against Mr Kool and his gang

Given that you're not going to see most of the bands on the bill (plus I expect your algorithm crashed when the two bands you most wanted to see were scheduled on different stages at the same time); given the British weather; given the price of the beer; given the state of the toilets; given those noisy bastards next to you talking all the way through Lianne la Havas' quiets bits...why do you want to go to one of these bashes when you probably could have had a week in some hot foreign country for the same price? It's a mystery. (Before you point at me, let me tell you we did not pay anything like the full price for the Hop Farm! And Jodrell Bank was just one day and not our sole reason for venturing north of the Watford Gap, so...)

And finally...why are all the bands so quiet these days? When I was a lad, everyone was so loud it was quite impossible to talk over them. Those were the days! Crank it up to 11 I say and force the talkers to leg it for some more rip-off beer and overpriced/undercooked burgers.

Anyway, onwards and upwards. Next up, in a few weeks, is Cropredy: only one stage so no rushing about in the mud, two pubs just a short walk down the canal and ticket prices that don't make you wince. Plus this year Cropredy features just about the best live band in the known universe: Bellowhead. Please kneel with me as we pray the current excellent weather holds... 

Some tickets still available...dig out the tent and we'll see you there!


People at the bar, let me hear you say "how much?!"

2 comments:

Lucy said...

All you say is true, of course, but don't forget that the organisers are in it for the money not to provide a worthwhile experience for the acts or the audience ... impressive list of bands creates broad appeal and high expectations and by the time they are dashed it is too late to get your money back ...

Timothy Bird said...

Wise and witty words again, Mr Marshside. I heartily concur with respect to talkers at gigs. Why don't they go to the pub and put some money in the juke box? Why shell out upwards of 70 euros for the likes of Springsteen and then talk all the way through? Why, why why! So many questions.