London Feis: Van Morrison to HEADLINE?

[Dr Vegas]

Why promote Van Morrison as the HEADLINE act on Sunday at the London Feis, and then put him on at 6pm? Idiots.

We turned up perfectly timed to hear Morrison's last three songs and then Thin Lizzy headlined??

Not cool London Feis. You couldn't organise a piss up in a field. Oh hang on.

What a shambles.

[Jenny Knight]

Dr Vegas, I think you're confusing billing with programming. Just because someone is the "headline act", it doesn't mean that they have to go on last, especially at a festival. It usually happens that way but (as you found out yesterday) not always. I've been to many a festival where the closing slot was given to a lively but unknown act in preference to the so-called "headliner".

Nothing personal, but I think that anyone who goes to an event like this to see just one act (and one act only) is a little sad. There's lots of great music out there, but you've got to seek it out. And planning your arrival so you only get to see the one person you know is not a very good way of discovering new things. I'm not a great fan of the Jools Holland/ Mojo way of finding new music, which invariably means you will only get to see and hear the music the corporate giants want you to see and hear.

I personally despair at gigs when the place is empty for the support act then fills up a few minutes before the main act goes on stage. Even Van Morrison was a support act once...

(Rant over!)

[Dr Vegas]

Dr Vegas, I think you're confusing billing with programming. Just because someone is the "headline act", it doesn't mean that they have to go on last, especially at a festival. It usually happens that way but (as you found out yesterday) not always. I've been to many a festival where the closing slot was given to a lively but unknown act in preference to the so-called "headliner".

Nothing personal, but I think that anyone who goes to an event like this to see just one act (and one act only) is a little sad. There's lots of great music out there, but you've got to seek it out. And planning your arrival so you only get to see the one person you know is not a very good way of discovering new things. I'm not a great fan of the Jools Holland/ Mojo way of finding new music, which invariably means you will only get to see and hear the music the corporate giants want you to see and hear.

I personally despair at gigs when the place is empty for the support act then fills up a few minutes before the main act goes on stage. Even Van Morrison was a support act once...

(Rant over!)

[Dr Vegas]

Hi Jenny,

Thanks for your rant. I had a great day on Saturday and saw loads of excellent bands, but Sunday was all about Van Morrison for me. Feis isn't an indie festival as you know. It's a corporate event in central London. All the artists/bands are well known. Nothing sad about wanting to see a legend like Van Morrison! Perhaps the organisers could have published the timings online? Shame he was on early, as the weather was good and the vibe would have been perect for Van to bring the weekend to a close. He could have followed Thin Lizzy perfectly. Gloria would have been a great festival closing number. Enjoy discovering new bands.

[Soft Bullet]

I had exactly the same experience as DR Vegas.

It is absolutely ridiculous to move the headline act - who has been booked to close the festival - to an earlier slot.

Jenny, while it may seem ok to you, I think you need to understand that people have commitments beyond 'discovering new music'. While I enjoy new music as much as the next person, I also have a life which means I can't always hang around an inner city 'festival' all day in case some f**kwit decides to move the headline act to a different slot.

People buy tickets for different reasons, in this case we specifically bought tickets to see Van Morrison and anything else good we managed to catch would have been a bonus. As far as I'm concerned were totally ripped off.

Wrong, Feis people, you are very, very wrong.

Nothing from their website (which I did check as it said times would be published - they weren't) or twitter about this either which at least would have given us a chance to get there earlier, totally unforgivable behaviour.

Edited June 20, 2011 by Soft Bullet

[thesecretingredientiscrime]

It is absolutely ridiculous to move the headline act - who has been booked to close the festival - to an earlier slot.

Jenny, while it may seem ok to you, I think you need to understand that people have commitments beyond 'discovering new music'. While I enjoy new music as much as the next person, I also have a life which means I can't always hang around an inner city 'festival' all day in case some f**kwit decides to move the headline act to a different slot.

[Soft Bullet]

Remember headline act, and last act are different things.

[judyblue110]

I never went, but this is completely b*llocks.

You can try and be pedantic all you want and try to justify it, but the fact remains a LOT of people will have bought tickets purely to see Van Morrison. You can also rubbish such "sad" (whatever!) behaviour and talk down to people from your mighty musical tower, but I would like to see how you would react if you had bought tickets to see a certain band and ended up missing them due to stupid scheduling.

If it was me, I'd be majorly PO'd - and I always try to turn up as soon as the gates open and catch as many acts as I can, but I would still be PO'd. It is pretty much expected, and generally accepted, that a headliner will finish a festival especially if it hasn't been announced otherwise. Add to the fact that London Feis are essentially single-day gigs, and not a festival as such, and I would be going fully expecting the announced headliner to headline...

Dr Vegas, and Soft Bullet, I sincerely hope you contact the organizers and let them know of your disappointment.

[Jenny Knight]

I never went, but this is completely b*llocks.

You can try and be pedantic all you want and try to justify it, but the fact remains a LOT of people will have bought tickets purely to see Van Morrison. You can also rubbish such "sad" (whatever!) behaviour and talk down to people from your mighty musical tower, but I would like to see how you would react if you had bought tickets to see a certain band and ended up missing them due to stupid scheduling.

If it was me, I'd be majorly PO'd - and I always try to turn up as soon as the gates open and catch as many acts as I can, but I would still be PO'd. It is pretty much expected, and generally accepted, that a headliner will finish a festival especially if it hasn't been announced otherwise. Add to the fact that London Feis are essentially single-day gigs, and not a festival as such, and I would be going fully expecting the announced headliner to headline...

Dr Vegas, and Soft Bullet, I sincerely hope you contact the organizers and let them know of your disappointment.

[Dr Vegas]

And just out of curiosity Jenny, what time were Thin Lizzy and Van Morrison scheduled to play according to your pre-produced programme? Thanks!

[Soft Bullet]

It's not being pedantic - it's what happens!

You can't just make up your own rule and then be upset that the organisers don't follow it. Who goes top of the poster is totally a matter of billing and anyone who expects acts to appear in the order they appear on the poster is going to be disappointed on plenty of occasions. I'd already been to a couple of gigs like this where Van the Man had it in his contract that he gets to jet off home before Dublin air-space closes for the night, so I guessed he wouldn't be playing late. And maybe it was thought that Thin Lizzy would offer a more lively end to proceedings. It's called "programming".

I can understand people being upset when they miss an act but you can't accuse anyone of treachery if the "headline act" appears one spot earlier. And all the timings were in the programme I bought at 11.30 in the morning.

All very upsetting but there are more important things to get angry about. Although I have no axe to grind, I thought the Feis was pretty well organised, the toilets were cleaner than any I've seen at Glastonbury (for example) and the queuing was practically non-existant.

Edited June 21, 2011 by Soft Bullet

[padders]

jenny , if you were happy with the headline act playing second from top of the bill without any atttempt being made to inform the public of the fact and also if you were happy with the toilet queues then I can only assume you are incredibly easy to please - a dream consumer for the feis in fact .

and dont get me started on selling tickets off for a fiver - piss take

[Captain Fog]

I was at the London Feis both days. After the rainy Saturday where the queues for the toilets were huuuuge, and the state of the toilets ABSOLUTELY DISGRACEFUL!. I wasnt allowed to leave and come back to use the toilets, despite having paid 70 quid for a DAY ticket..

I am also completely Pissed O about the uninformed Van Morrison switch on Sunday.. I was tired from Saturday and working early on Monday, so decided to get there to catch the end of Thin Lizzy and all of Van Morrison.

I really want to know if the time change was in the programme - Jenny???

[Captain Fog]

jenny , if you were happy with the headline act playing second from top of the bill without any atttempt being made to inform the public of the fact and also if you were happy with the toilet queues then I can only assume you are incredibly easy to please - a dream consumer for the feis in fact .

and dont get me started on selling tickets off for a fiver - piss take

[padders]

no problem captain !

someone on facebook posted about buying tix for a fiver on supajam - needless to say I have now registered on their site for any future offers

there were posts on facebook sunday saying you could get in on the door for 8 quid - not sure if it was supajam or the feis crew who posted that tho

I repeat piss take

[padders]

more free stuff from supajam this w/e

http://www.supajam.com/news/story/Come-and-party-with-us-for-FREE-at-Hop-Farm?tr=2477979

[Jenny Knight]

I was at the London Feis both days. After the rainy Saturday where the queues for the toilets were huuuuge, and the state of the toilets ABSOLUTELY DISGRACEFUL!. I wasnt allowed to leave and come back to use the toilets, despite having paid 70 quid for a DAY ticket..

I am also completely Pissed O about the uninformed Van Morrison switch on Sunday.. I was tired from Saturday and working early on Monday, so decided to get there to catch the end of Thin Lizzy and all of Van Morrison.

I really want to know if the time change was in the programme - Jenny???

[thesecretingredientiscrime]

Pedantry.

I've been to dozens of festivals, it is always clear who is headlining the main stage on each particular night, so far they've always been last on.

[padders]

Sorry, I've looked for the programme but I can't find it. But I caught the whole of Van Morrison and I'm pretty sure it all happened at the time it was billed in there. The programmes were a fiver, which isn't exactly rip-off (I've paid a tenner before now). Several people asked to look at mine over the course of the weekend and I let them! Plus there were timings at the information tent and one by the main entrance when I picked up my tickets. So, I can't understand why people say it was such a mystery.

I used the (ladies) toilets several times over the two days and only had to queue for a couple of minutes at a time both days – but then I always go when an act is playing rather than join the rush after they finish. They weren't fragrant but better than anything I've encountered at Glastonbury - with or without rain.

I'm not going to enter into any more of this discussion as I don't give a toss about vince power or his music festival. I just couldn't stand by and watch people rip it to shreds without cause. Does anyone else think it odd that all the people slagging the Feis off (who claim to have been there) have all joined this forum especially to do it. I'd heard there was a feud against vince power and dismissed it as conspiracy theory but now I'm starting to believe it!

[beansontoastwithcheese]

just to confirm the programme had thin lizzy playing after van morrison but if you didn't get a programme i don't think there was any way of knowing that.

also the toilets saturday were stupidly organised, why on earth would you need a single file queue leading to a steward telling you which portaloo to go to. caused massive queues!

[beansontoastwithcheese]

on a side note i only paid a fiver too so can hardly complain but wouldve been well cheesed off if i'dve payed full price, wasn't worth it.