Bestival 2011

[Dave The Hedgehog]

People keep talking about the modest budget, but Rob seemed quite enthused by whoever it is he has got. I think it is going to be someone that pleases a lot of people, even if it disappoints a lot too. Can't quite see Lydon, in either band, as a headline act above acts like P.J. Harvey etc.

[davidames100]

One thing that interests me is whether a headliner should be 'bigger' than the other acts, or more 'appropriate'. And what the definition of 'bigger' is. Are Pendulum bigger than Public Enemy? Undoubtedly I'd say, just look at the venues the two acts play now - Pendulum Wembley Arena, PE the IndigO2. In fact on that basis Pendulum are the biggest act of the weekend, only The Cure could possibly get away with playing a similar venue and they struggled to fill the O2 last year. I'd also say Pendulum were more of a festival act than PE. I'm not saying any of this as a defence of the band as artists, I don't mind them but prefer PE personally, but I know who'll get the biggest crowds. Surely this is the single biggest factor in deciding who should headline?

Is Tom Jones headliner-material? Well, he'd easily fill Wembley or the O2, and Pendulum and the Cure aside, the rest of the line up is made up of bands who I'd describe as 'Brixton Academy' acts, so yes, I'd say he is, based on simple maths.

Much has been said about Rob's budget - surely he'll go for the 'biggest' act he can possibly afford? The one that draws the biggest crowds, that sells the last remaining tickets? The bill is so eclectic that pretty much anything would 'fit', so my feeling is that it will come down, as I say, to simple maths.

[thesecretingredientiscrime]

One thing that interests me is whether a headliner should be 'bigger' than the other acts, or more 'appropriate'. And what the definition of 'bigger' is. Are Pendulum bigger than Public Enemy? Undoubtedly I'd say, just look at the venues the two acts play now - Pendulum Wembley Arena, PE the IndigO2. In fact on that basis Pendulum are the biggest act of the weekend, only The Cure could possibly get away with playing a similar venue and they struggled to fill the O2 last year. I'd also say Pendulum were more of a festival act than PE. I'm not saying any of this as a defence of the band as artists, I don't mind them but prefer PE personally, but I know who'll get the biggest crowds. Surely this is the single biggest factor in deciding who should headline?

Is Tom Jones headliner-material? Well, he'd easily fill Wembley or the O2, and Pendulum and the Cure aside, the rest of the line up is made up of bands who I'd describe as 'Brixton Academy' acts, so yes, I'd say he is, based on simple maths.

Much has been said about Rob's budget - surely he'll go for the 'biggest' act he can possibly afford? The one that draws the biggest crowds, that sells the last remaining tickets? The bill is so eclectic that pretty much anything would 'fit', so my feeling is that it will come down, as I say, to simple maths.

Edited May 31, 2011 by thesecretingredientiscrime

[davidames100]

Of course festivals work like that, the headliners are almost always the biggest acts on the bill (my personal definition of 'biggest' being those that at the time are the most successful in terms of record and ticket sales, obviously within the boundaries of 'festival acts'). Of course there are many acts that maybe wouldn't sell out a huge venue but would be the sort that many festival-goers would go and see if already on site. Brian Wilson and Public Enemy would certainly fall into this category, neither would fill an arena now but both may well entice large audiences keen for the opportunity to see legends in action (I'll be seeing both for sure). Like them or not, Pendulum are currently big enough to headline pretty much any festival you care to name, Glastonbury apart, and are, by my definition, the biggest act on the bill so far, albeit not, I'd imagine, the most popular among Bestival devotees. It'll be interesting to see the size and make up of their audience.

I worded the last paragraph of my last post badly, I didn't mean to use the future tense, I'm sure Rob knew who he wanted ages ago, but the reasoning still stands.

[ceph]

Rob's already said that he's chosen public enemy in the 7 slot as that in his eyes it's the biggest slot and most likely to get the highest attendance, as people tend to disappear to explore around the headliner time. Which is genius! Nice to have a festival organiser know what they're on about.

[Bisque]

I think, whether you like it or not, Pendulum are the most relevant to the youth demographic festival act doing the rounds at the moment bar the super money acts like Foos, KoL, Muse & Kasabian.

I was surprised they weren't main stage at R+L last year. They drew a bigger crowd than Arcade Fire, despite being under a tent, a band that the majority of people on this forum would say were possibly the best live act in the world.

They will be f**king good, but the great thing about Bestival is that there is so many other genres catered for that I don't think they deserve or will get the bashing as if they were headlining the other UK fests + Bestival goers like a good rave up.

[davidames100]

Rob's already said that he's chosen public enemy in the 7 slot as that in his eyes it's the biggest slot and most likely to get the highest attendance, as people tend to disappear to explore around the headliner time. Which is genius! Nice to have a festival organiser know what they're on about.

[edfirth]

By that logic Rihanna is legendary.

Chilli Peppers have released 2 great records in their lifetime but otherwise their career has been hampered by more ups and downs than a Catholic sex offender trapped in a junior school re-enactment of the Van Halen video for 'Jump', and although I've physically never seen them live, the general consensus of opinion (reminder - not a fact... I repeat, NOT a fact) is that they're inconsistent at best and one of the most pointless bands anybody has ever seen live at worst. Very few people have anything good to say about RHCP when it comes to their live shows including, I gather, their fans, which is why I'd contest that I've never physically met a single satisfied one of them.

I'm sure there would be an audience at Bestival for them because they seem like an open-minded lot, but then I'm also sure most would nip off to DJ Shadow mid-way through the 10th bass wah-wah solo, or the announcement that they would not be playing anything from Blood Sugar Sex Magick.

[edfirth]

Which leads nicely to Hard Rock Calling.

I'm going to throw my hat in the ring again and reiterate a suggestion somebody else made on here before by saying Jamiroquai.

[Banana Co]

One thing that interests me is whether a headliner should be 'bigger' than the other acts, or more 'appropriate'. And what the definition of 'bigger' is. Are Pendulum bigger than Public Enemy? Undoubtedly I'd say, just look at the venues the two acts play now - Pendulum Wembley Arena, PE the IndigO2. In fact on that basis Pendulum are the biggest act of the weekend, only The Cure could possibly get away with playing a similar venue and they struggled to fill the O2 last year. I'd also say Pendulum were more of a festival act than PE. I'm not saying any of this as a defence of the band as artists, I don't mind them but prefer PE personally, but I know who'll get the biggest crowds. Surely this is the single biggest factor in deciding who should headline?

[edfirth]

I think, whether you like it or not, Pendulum are the most relevant to the youth demographic festival act doing the rounds at the moment bar the super money acts like Foos, KoL, Muse & Kasabian.

I was surprised they weren't main stage at R+L last year. They drew a bigger crowd than Arcade Fire, despite being under a tent, a band that the majority of people on this forum would say were possibly the best live act in the world.

They will be f**king good, but the great thing about Bestival is that there is so many other genres catered for that I don't think they deserve or will get the bashing as if they were headlining the other UK fests + Bestival goers like a good rave up.

[Joe-]

I'm starting to feel like I'm the only one that actually doesn't mind Pendulum headlining, I think they deserve it. If you look at last year Dizzie Rascal headlined, it's about the same. I reckon they'll be a great starter to the festival and get everyone dancing and ready for the weekend. I'm not a huge drum and bass fan or even a big pendulum fan but I'm quite looking forward to it. It's not a bad booking, no way.

Good thing about Bestival is that you can go off and see something incredible elsewhere, you could even dance around a tree instead.

[Bisque]

Bestival has gotten away with it because of the strength of the line up elsewhere

[edfirth]

Aye, I'm not so fussed as I know they'll have a good headliner elsewhere, which wouldn't be at the case at a lot of festivals.

My opinions of Pendulum run deep, largely because they aren't drum and bass anymore and in fact have insulted the genre itself, yet they use the drum and bass bandwagon to sell records. Plus their singer is whiney and acts like a dictator, censoring what other members say in interviews and so on.

Oh and they steal ideas from others acts, like playing Master of the Puppets live, which was blatant rip off from Justice. They didn't even bother to choose a different Metallica song or even a song by another metal band. Makes me angry just thinking about it

edit- as if you posted the Metallica vid as I wrote that!

Edited May 31, 2011 by edfirth

[beau1]

O2 arena capacity - 20,000

Wembley arena capacity - 12,500

The Cure may have struggled to fill The O2 but surely got closer to 20,000 than 12,500.

Edited June 1, 2011 by beau1

[Dave The Hedgehog]

Aye, I'm not so fussed as I know they'll have a good headliner elsewhere, which wouldn't be at the case at a lot of festivals.

My opinions of Pendulum run deep, largely because they aren't drum and bass anymore and in fact have insulted the genre itself, yet they use the drum and bass bandwagon to sell records. Plus their singer is whiney and acts like a dictator, censoring what other members say in interviews and so on.

Oh and they steal ideas from others acts, like playing Master of the Puppets live, which was blatant rip off from Justice. They didn't even bother to choose a different Metallica song or even a song by another metal band. Makes me angry just thinking about it

edit- as if you posted the Metallica vid as I wrote that!

Edited June 1, 2011 by Dave The Hedgehog

[Paul ™]

Pendulum are great live

[farny12]

Aye, I'm not so fussed as I know they'll have a good headliner elsewhere, which wouldn't be at the case at a lot of festivals.

My opinions of Pendulum run deep, largely because they aren't drum and bass anymore and in fact have insulted the genre itself, yet they use the drum and bass bandwagon to sell records. Plus their singer is whiney and acts like a dictator, censoring what other members say in interviews and so on.

Oh and they steal ideas from others acts, like playing Master of the Puppets live, which was blatant rip off from Justice. They didn't even bother to choose a different Metallica song or even a song by another metal band. Makes me angry just thinking about it

edit- as if you posted the Metallica vid as I wrote that!

[halfpint]

One of the reasons The Cure 'struggled' (did they? This is the first i've heard of this? I was there) to sell for the 02 was because a lot of Cure fans knew there were only going to get about an hour and a half rather than 3 hours.

The Cure sold Wembley arena out in 2-3 minutes back in 2008, they really should have added another date or two. Pretty much all of that European tour was sold out and they refused to add dates.

[davidames100]

One of the reasons The Cure 'struggled' (did they? This is the first i've heard of this? I was there) to sell for the 02 was because a lot of Cure fans knew there were only going to get about an hour and a half rather than 3 hours.

The Cure sold Wembley arena out in 2-3 minutes back in 2008, they really should have added another date or two. Pretty much all of that European tour was sold out and they refused to add dates.

[Banana Co]

Sorry, this was my fault, I originally said they'd struggled to sell out the O2 on the basis that I could still get tickets (official ones) the day before. But I wasn't trying to make any point about The Cure themselves, I was just musing about the 'size' of act we could get as third headliner.

As for the capacities of Wembley Arena and the O2 I'm genuinely surprised - I thought Wembley was around 20,000 and the O2 16000 (which it may be with seating). The O2 looks loads smaller than Wembley, certainly feels much more intimate. I stand corrected!

[davidames100]

Wembley arena is not Wembley stadium.

[Banana Co]

I'm not sure whether that's supposed to be a genuine piece of information or sarcasm.

Edited June 1, 2011 by Banana Co

[davidames100]

Genuine. I thought it was obvious that O2 arena was bigger than Wembley arena.

[Paul ™]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wembley_Arena 12,500

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_O2_Arena_(London) 20,000