Tipi fail

[oneplusone]

This is the only stage with mat floor covering so folks can sit down, letting everyone see everything. So why then does everyone go and stand up for certain acts. The doltishness started early, Thursday night with Campbell & Lanegan. Before they came on pretty much everyone then on site could see everything. Que the half-a-Mexican wave as they take the stage leaving 90% of the crowd seeing 10% of the action. Genius.

[Fat_Buddha]

I honestly don't get why anyone would want to sit down at a gig. People don't just sit down in the tipi, they lie down, sprawled out, just getting in the way.

[Swindlebiscuit]

There's no way that everyone in that tent for Campbell and Lanegan, or Flanegan and Allen, could all have sat down. We watched from near the back and it was pretty full. If everyone had sat down, doltishly, we wouldn't have got in.

Personally, I think it's fair game to sit down in the tent during the day when the crowds are relatively small.

But sitting down to the later acts when people are stood at the entrances trying to get in? Sitting down to Wintersleep? Sitting down to Felice Brothers? Sit at the back if you want.

Basically, the improvement this year over the 2009 tipi was huge. Proof yet again that this is one of the few festivals that actually listens to ideas and complaints of its punters.

[Maoster]

I honestly don't get why anyone would want to sit down at a gig. People don't just sit down in the tipi, they lie down, sprawled out, just getting in the way.

[5co77ie]

I would have liked the tipis running further back to have been wired into the PA - so those wanting to listen could have sat on the bales and done that. I wasn't bothered about seeing particularly I wanted to hear them though. For Cyprus Gabrysch there was a crowd stood along one side and at the back behind the sound desk, but bizarrely where everyone was sat in front of the stage had emptied and no one filled it.

[cheesehead]

We drove like the wind and put up the tent in a real hurry to get there in time to see ML&IC - was gutted to find that when we got there (15 mins before they came on) the place was full of people sitting down and we could barely squeeze in and see the back of a pole. However, when everyone stood up, the whole place shuffled forward 30-40 feet and we ended up close enough to see and hear. Tipi Win.

It's the same as the argument about deckchairs at the Garden Stage - someone sitting down takes up room that could accomodate four people standing. That's usually fine as EOTR has plenty of space, but when people are straining to see and hear it's just a little bit selfish for me. But hey each to their own.

Dolt? Genius? Depends....

[oneplusone]

a. the different vibe that space has always had since year one

b. the simple fairness of allowing more folks to see .. unless you're in the front two 'rows' you're stuffed.

c. it - for some mystical reason - stops people talking during the sets. When the back threequarters of the space can see next-to-nothing people just start chatting amongst themselves, compounding the whole farcical arrangement

Edited September 14, 2010 by oneplusone

[thespiral]

Tipi *WIN* this year for me ! Vast improvement over last year when I seriously struggled to even get in at times.

This year I saw several great acts in there. Standing, sprawling ...whatever seemed most appropriate : )

I think to be honest you have to accept at festivals some acts are gonna pack em in, gotta just go with the flow, maybe get there bit a earlier to grab a spot.

[Corporal Clegg]

I thought it was a massive improvement on last year.ML and IC would have drawn a big crowd whatever time or day it was but as it was Thursday with nothing else going on it was bound to be rammed.Music not drowned out by the Local tent like last year too.Saw some great stuff in there late at night but never found out who was the band before The Felice Brothers on the Sunday night anybody know?

[perfectpassion]

I honestly don't get why anyone would want to sit down at a gig. People don't just sit down in the tipi, they lie down, sprawled out, just getting in the way.

[andy55]

Tipi was a huge improvement (...is it churlish of me to point out that tent design has advanced such that it is now no longer necessary to have poles running down the middle). Was in there for a few bands and wished that everybody had stood up for the acts.

Agree there is a similar problem at the Garden Stage - though the 6.00pm curfew seemed to work well. Idea: Have a line about half way back and don't allow chairs in front of it (people can of course sit down between bands). Of course that means the Germans will get there early with their towels, but it's a long weekend to ban chairs completely.

[shoebox]

Have to admit, I was sat in the Tipi for both Mountains & The Trees and Ben Ottewell, but that was more a "follow the crowd" kind of thing. Wouldn't have chosen to if there was any kind of option. I do agree that it made it difficult for others to get in. Can't complain about the design of the Tipi now though, a MASSIVE improvement.

[Sipperana]

Tipi Fail Schmipi Schmail. This tent was a 1000% improvement on last year when only seven people at a time could actually see anything, and only the front 22 could hear. One of the bands (can't remember offhand which one) actually asked everybody to stand up, so that more people could get in to see them.

Agred some bands may lend themselves less to standing because they're not bounce around music (most people sat for the Daredevil Christopher Wright, and that was in the Big Top), but I'd rather have a tent packed with standing people and see only heads if there's a good atmosphere than a sprawl of seated people combined with a having mass of head-craning people around the periphery of the tent because there's no room inside.

If you want to get the best view of a band then I have a radical tip for you: get there early.

[cheesehead]

a. the different vibe that space has always had since year one

[KiethPurple]

Corporal Clegg-It was Drum Eyes-they were brilliant too.

[Sipperana]

Hey hey KiethPurple - have you Early Birded?

[Corporal Clegg]

Corporal Clegg-It was Drum Eyes-they were brilliant too.

[ElGanzo]

Agree that the Tip was WAY better than two years ago when I was last there. And saw some really great gigs there - Allo Darlin on the Thursday and Felice brothers on the Sunday night were both brilliant fun (both standing!). But the sitting down did irritate me quite a bit. It was fine for some of the earlier acts and fine on the main stage early on. And its worth pointing out that I have back problems which make it really difficult to stand all day and I'm not exactly the tallest person in the crowd either. But I would still prefer to stand nine times out of ten. It's just such a better atmosphere for most acts in my opinion, in spite of it seemingly encouraging more people to natter.

Also, getting there early only works when the festival isn't as amazing as End of the Road and you don't have gazillions of great acts to see

[ljsawyer]

The only fails were the power cuts at the end of The Lanterns on the Lake set and the one during the second half of Deer Tick's set. But the latter actually made the performance more memorable, so I'm not complaining

[Better Late...]

Huge improvement on last year. Maybe the answer to the "to sit or not to sit" question is to do away with the matting, then people are less tempted to sit. At quieter slots earlier in the day, people may well have their blankets/chairs with them anyway, and will feel able to use them if there is space, and later on, standing is more likely to appear the norm if there is no floor covering. And a polite enquiry, on the lines of "Will you be standing up when it starts ?" or "Do you think you could stand now as it's getting very full and there are people who can't get in..." is a better way of addressing the problem than jostling, kicking or swearing at people who are seated. I received this treatment on the Sunday night ages before the act (Drum Eyes) was due on, and I could see I wasn't the only one. Not surprisingly, the nervous and very young steward was conspicuous by his absence, also ignoring a group who were having a jolly time upending food onto the floor and grinding it into the matting, choosing instead to drift uneasily around in a quieter part of the tent.

[Elfy]

I'm another who disagrees with the OP, and agrees with the majority view..... I thought it was great, could see fairly easily from quite a way back (can supply photos as evidence if required ) but also liked that you could sit for the quieter, less packed sets (eg sat at the front for Diane Cluck - apologies if there was anyone who couldn't get in because I was sitting ) but stoood and bounced around for Wintersleep (how could you not? )

Maybe the answer to the "to sit or not to sit" question is to do away with the matting, then people are less tempted to sit. At quieter slots earlier in the day, people may well have their blankets/chairs with them anyway, and will feel able to use them if there is space, and later on, standing is more likely to appear the norm if there is no floor covering.

[geofelgie]

I'm another "TIPI WIN" vote......I go to gigs to hear music not to look at the acts....if I want to look at something I'll go to the Tate Modern.

I think people should've stood up slightly more often if anything......I'm told about 100 more people wanted to get in when Annie and the Beekeepers were on but couldn't because selfish gits wouldn't stand up.

But all in all I liked the balance of sitting for the quiet stuff (when there was room)....standing for the loud stuff (or when "demand" was high.)

And it was a massive improvement.....the whole balance and layout of the festival was better I thought with the Local and tipi bigger and separated....the big top slightly smaller and also a bit further away....the Village bigger and more open.

Edited September 15, 2010 by geofelgie

[perfectpassion]

Yes Tipi was a great improvement, and I'm not against sitting, I guess I just would like to know if its ok to squeeze into the gaps between people already sitting?? Sometimes the sound was a bit quiet, but the talking during sets can be a problem everywhere, was awful :angry: on the sat night in the garden stage when Iron & Wine played

[Better Late...]

Do you mind if I disagree, BL?

I think it was good to have one tent / stage where you could sit without a blanket - chairs in there would be worse IMO than people sitting on the matting (I don't actually rememberf seeing anyone in there with chairs, but I may have missed them). I like to deposit the blanket back at the tent for the evening, and my weary legs sometimes cause me to need to sit, so the Tipi provided a late night place where I could do that - towards the back, of course, not getting in anyone's way

[Maoster]

Tipi Fail Schmipi Schmail.