2017 - How was it for you?

[Guy Incognito]

wow, what a weekend! I've done a fair few festivals now but this was my first end of the road and it's up there with my favorites. Was probably the smallest festival I've been to which was great as meant that queues for food, beers, and toilets were either small or non-existent, especially when compared to Glastonbury. Speaking of which, the beer and food were both excellent and the toilets were possibly the best I've ever used at a festival.

I loved the site too, the area was a whole was really beautiful and I can't think of many better places to watch a band than at the Garden Stage. I thought the crowds were good too and the people were lovely, most were nice and quiet during sets and everyone I spoke to was really nice.

Overall I had a great time and think its a really fantastic festival, will definitely try and return in 2018.

 

[Swanmob]

1 hour ago, robbiez666 said:

Did anyone see Julie Byrne's 'sublime' set?

I thought the small number of songs she did manage to sing were sublime actually. 

[paulwa]

4 minutes ago, Swanmob said:

I thought the small number of songs she did manage to sing were sublime actually. 

I need to check the dictionary to make sure that 'sublime' doesn't mean 'offensively dull'.

Edited September 4, 2017 by paulwa

[juliadevitt]

I loved it this year despite the rain. The great thing about the wet weather on the Sunday is that so many people leave and it becomes a nicer festival for it. The only downside was trying to get into the Tipi when so many people looked to be camped out there for the day. grrr. I wish they would just clear everyone out and close it for an hour or something.

We do need more covered areas for wet days and maybe some straw on hand to lay on the muddiest, slippery bits.

The food was good but we could have done with some more tables to sit down and eat at. The braziers were nice but they encouraged people to stay where they were for longer.

The line-up turned out to be superb for me. Highlights include WH lung (superb), Lowly, J Bernardt, Aaron Lee Tasjan, The Spook School, RBCF, Ultimate Painting, Nadine Shah and many, many more.

The campervan field was much better organised this year. Strict fire lanes but lots of space for us and the stewards were lovely and helpful. The showers were smaller and the temperature fluctuated ALOT but hey, at least we had our own showers!

It looked very muddy when we left early this morning and I am wondering if there was help for campersvans (and cars) struggling later on?

I noticed a few younger, drunker, more annoying people but they didn't give me any problems. Kids in wagons probably caused me more problems with bashed legs etc. 

The queues for wristbands were very long on Thursday this year. I am supposing this is because the majority arrived early  as there was so much more music - what do you think? there didn't seem to be any extra security checks slowing it down.

For those of you in tents that stayed the course - I salute you! That must have been pretty difficult. 

I shall buying tickets on the deposit scheme as soon as they are available - see you next year.

 

 

[Guy Incognito]

5 minutes ago, Swanmob said:

I thought the small number of songs she did manage to sing were sublime actually. 

I'm with you on this!

[Swanmob]

Great wee festival. Second year for me. Food top notch, music quality and diversity second to none. Also the non musicinstallations are really good, enjoyed the twin peaks theme around the cinema. Only gripes are like most people the talking during sets and in order to get into the tipi Having to virtually climb over people sprawled ramdomly about. 

Edited September 4, 2017 by Swanmob

[WM Hall]

The Good:

Jens Lekman - Just phenomenal, I can't express the joy I felt during that set.

The Lemon Twigs - Fell apart somewhat when the brothers swapped instruments but what a brilliantly talented group of kids - and you'll never see a more endearingly pompous musician than the younger brother.

Deerhoof - Went into it sober, came out feeling like I had just downed 12 pints. What a band.

The Honey Hahs - The surprise of the weekend for me. Would have seen Vaudou Game if it was not for the rain, but Honey Hahs were awesome and very moving. Brilliantly sophisticated songs for their age.

Parquet Courts - Great crowd-pleasing set.

Romare - Another great surprise: I'm keen on an album of his but wasn't expecting the live percussion/sax/bass. Was a very fun hour.

Girl Ray - Awesome band. Loved the letter from Lauren aged 8.

Silent Disco - What a fuckin blast!! Saturday night was so much fun.

Cornhole - Deserved winner of 'best woodland game'.

AndyLoos - As always...

Foxygen's horn section.

 

The Bad:

The rain. Duh, it was awful. Really, ahem, dampened the weekend.

The floods of cringey 17 year old boys who look like Mac Demarco.

Julie Byrne's technical difficulties. Was looking forward to her set but only saw two songs because she was late and then abruptly left.

My Clashfinder was wrong so I missed most of Penguin Cafe

 

Room for improvement:

Another tent like that one next to the post service / Big Top. It was a great refuge from both the sun and the rain. More shaded, sheltered areas are essential!!

Hammocks in the forest. Had this idea one afternoon looking for somewhere to lounge. C'mon Simon!

More folk, less 90s throwback guitar rock. I know I've included Parquet Courts in my highlights (cos they're an exceptional band) but I'd like less of the trendy teen rock n roll and a few more folk-ish bands (next year how about The Unthanks, Bonnie Prince Billy, Lambchop, Julie Byrne again).

I also liked the increased presence of electronic/leftfield acts (Romare, Klein, Gold Panda, Deerhoof, etc) and African acts (Vaudou Game, Mdou Moctar - both of which I was really frustrated to miss due to clashes/rain).

 

All in all, a very enjoyable fourth End Of The Road for me and I'm already looking forward to next year!!

[siro]

Yes it's a shame the dickheads continue to spoil it for the rest of us, I especially love the ones that push their way to the front only to leave after three or four songs. I also think that if smoking is allowed in the outside venues there should be sections where you can smoke and ones where you can't. Even outside when your standing next to someone the secondary smoke rule is a concern when it's blowing right in your face.

Another continuing issue is the sound problems that spoil a lot of sets. The garden stage seemed to be the worst this year with Julie Byrne's set completely ruined by it. Courtney Marie Andrews' set though not nearly as bad could have been better. Kelly lee Owens in the Big Top suffered from too much reverb which seems to happen a fair bit. It's frustrating when you know that the sound can be amazing as it was with Nadine Shah and The Jesus & Mary Chain.

Apart from that and the Sunday weather it was another memorable festival with many highlights.

Still looking forward to 2018 and hoping...

[Tmeister]

Well in my tenth year of going and this year i've fell back in love with it last two or three EOTRs just lacked something but this year seems to have everything again, i liked the new area in the woods don't know what to make of the ferris wheel though copying greenman festival... music on the whole was alot better this year and really enjoyed it.. i always bring my own food with me but on the sunday i always treat myself at one of the food stalls and i loved Tibetan one but do love the section what is on offer... DH quota seems to be the same as last year i though but noticed and overhead alot of drug talk this year esp where i was camping, don't get me wrong the odd spliff isn't too bad but when its class A stuff kinda worrying also i got asked if i had or did you know anyone have MDMA also noticed the odd beer/bottle getting chucked at the wood stage which dishearted me...but that will never put me off will be getting an early bird ticket tomorrow roll on next year

 

[SweepingTheNation]

On the subject of numbers it oddly went to both extremes, in that it felt very crowded on Friday - and yes, a lot more talking, but as said most of the queues didn't seem to build up* - but a lot of people left early and numbers especially at the Garden stage on Sunday around and after nightfall were very noticeably down on what might have been expected - I heard from somewhere that 40% of cars left early.

(* That is, apart from before Nadia Reid's Tipi set, where the line stretched almost back to the picnic tables at one stage. I saw her at Green Man and was enchanted, but I had no idea she was that popular - wasn't just the rain either as there was barely a line when it was heavier later...)

[robbiez666]

1 minute ago, SweepingTheNation said:

On the subject of numbers it oddly went to both extremes, in that it felt very crowded on Friday - and yes, a lot more talking, but as said most of the queues didn't seem to build up* - but a lot of people left early and numbers especially at the Garden stage on Sunday around and after nightfall were very noticeably down on what might have been expected - I heard from somewhere that 40% of cars left early.

(* That is, apart from before Nadia Reid's Tipi set, where the line stretched almost back to the picnic tables at one stage. I saw her at Green Man and was enchanted, but I had no idea she was that popular - wasn't just the rain either as there was barely a line when it was heavier later...)

I was in for Nadia Reid and at least 50% were there for food, dry and daycare. The reason there was such a queue was because the poor volunteers/stewards had to keep asking people to get up to let others in. Some wouldn't. I left after two songs because it was being spoiled by talkers. It got thinner later as people were prepared to brave the outdoor stages for bigger acts. 

The Tipi is still my favourite stage but it has been a shelter for 2 years now when it rains which is a real shame.

On a side note, there seemed to be less rigour in terms of checking wristbands/glass/anything this year. I was surprised at how many turned up on Thursday. I literally just walked in last year. I had a long queue this time around. 

On a positive note, the volunteers were great again. Especially in the Tipi where food and assorted waste appears during rain, they were essential in making it pleasant. 

 

[Sean1234321]

It seemed really empty for Perfume Genius (or at least it looked like it from where I was stood right down at the front).

I thought he would be a massive draw but obviously not, plus the noise from the main stage from whoever was on was really loud for the first bit of his set which was a bit annoying.

[paulwa]

A big shout out to the litter pickers, who seemed to be working before, during and after the acts. It kept the site a pleasure. Andy Loos also reign supreme. Both part of what sets this festival apart from others.

Once I got used to how busy things were, I tended to leave one act a song or two before the end in order to get in early for the next one. I noticed this paid off for Nadia Reid in particular, where the Sunday rain added numbers.

[wolfamongwolves]

43 minutes ago, WM Hall said:

The Good:

Jens Lekman - Just phenomenal, I can't express the joy I felt during that set.

The Lemon Twigs - Fell apart somewhat when the brothers swapped instruments but what a brilliantly talented group of kids - and you'll never see a more endearingly pompous musician than the younger brother.

Deerhoof - Went into it sober, came out feeling like I had just downed 12 pints. What a band.

The Honey Hahs - The surprise of the weekend for me. Would have seen Vaudou Game if it was not for the rain, but Honey Hahs were awesome and very moving. Brilliantly sophisticated songs for their age.

Parquet Courts - Great crowd-pleasing set.

Romare - Another great surprise: I'm keen on an album of his but wasn't expecting the live percussion/sax/bass. Was a very fun hour.

Girl Ray - Awesome band. Loved the letter from Lauren aged 8.

Silent Disco - What a fuckin blast!! Saturday night was so much fun.

Cornhole - Deserved winner of 'best woodland game'.

AndyLoos - As always...

Foxygen's horn section.

 

The Bad:

The rain. Duh, it was awful. Really, ahem, dampened the weekend.

The floods of cringey 17 year old boys who look like Mac Demarco.

Julie Byrne's technical difficulties. Was looking forward to her set but only saw two songs because she was late and then abruptly left.

My Clashfinder was wrong so I missed most of Penguin Cafe

 

Room for improvement:

Another tent like that one next to the post service / Big Top. It was a great refuge from both the sun and the rain. More shaded, sheltered areas are essential!!

Hammocks in the forest. Had this idea one afternoon looking for somewhere to lounge. C'mon Simon!

More folk, less 90s throwback guitar rock. I know I've included Parquet Courts in my highlights (cos they're an exceptional band) but I'd like less of the trendy teen rock n roll and a few more folk-ish bands (next year how about The Unthanks, Bonnie Prince Billy, Lambchop, Julie Byrne again).

I also liked the increased presence of electronic/leftfield acts (Romare, Klein, Gold Panda, Deerhoof, etc) and African acts (Vaudou Game, Mdou Moctar - both of which I was really frustrated to miss due to clashes/rain).

 

All in all, a very enjoyable fourth End Of The Road for me and I'm already looking forward to next year!!

Some excellent points here. Over the years we have been extremely lucky with the weather. But when it does rain there is almost nowhere to shelter. As said above another tent like the one by the big top would be so welcome. Also the increased number of electronic acts is a good thing. 

[killyourtv]

41 minutes ago, SweepingTheNation said:

 

(* That is, apart from before Nadia Reid's Tipi set, where the line stretched almost back to the picnic tables at one stage. I saw her at Green Man and was enchanted, but I had no idea she was that popular - wasn't just the rain either as there was barely a line when it was heavier later...)

I have no idea what's popular anymore (if ever did), but Preservation feels like the LP of the year to me (Big Thief apart), and I got to the front of the Tipi half an hour before she started.  Was packed well before the start, blokes older than me in tears at the end. 

[The Nal]

Anyone got a link for tickets today?

[Mardy]

12 minutes ago, The Nal said:

Anyone got a link for tickets today?

are you following @eotr on twitter? presume they'll bang up a link later this morning. Earlybird tickets only, I guess, and there's no deposit scheme for them

[gigs]

Arrived Thursday afternoon for our 6th EOTR..No real queue drama, although we arrived about 3pm. Tents up, including a third outing for the Sky Blue teepee, which srves as a perfect landmark. Onto site, and had a few Ciders. Really enjoyed Slowdive..Possible contender for Loudest Band i have seen at EOTR??

Friday dawned, hit the Tea Bus for crumpets and coffee. 1 thing i noticed is how hard the staff work on the food and beverage stalls. The same girl served me on the Tea bus several times, both in the morning and late at night. Anyways, Musically a very strong year in my humble opinion. Daniel Romano, Jens Lekman, Ryley Walker, Lucinda Williams were all excellent. My two lads enjoyed Mac, but not my bag.

Saturday was HOT...Courtney Marie Andrews was very good, and Sinkane lived up to my expectations. Bill Ryder- Jones...Meh. Band of Horses and FJM were both very good, with the latter being one of the best Headliners i have seen at the festival. We went down to the comedy stage after FJM, and saw (part of) Die Roten Punkte, a German comedy duo. Very poor, sad to say, and left after 15 minutes of a 3 minute gag stretched too far.

Sunday...The much heralded rain arrived. I have the same concerns as others on here, that when it rains the site muds upo very quickly (although nothing like Glasto or a certain IOW fetsival i attended), but also the general lack of a large sheltered area which wouldnt go amiss. Anyway, enjoyed Rolling Blackouts very much, and then spent a painful couple of hours taking down a wet tent and lugging gear back to the car. Half of our group sacked it, but we watched the mighty King Khan (just book him every year) and a bit of Bill Callahan..( we were waiting foir Marika Hackman in the Tipi but, once again, technical gremlins coupled with an atmosphere akin to the Palm House at Kew meant we left. She was 30 minutes late by this point...) We left site at around 10-45, and had to pick our way across the car park afetr the bottom exit track became virtually impassable, certainly in a small Corsa loaded to the gunnells anyway.

A fine weekend, a few more dickheads than usual, excellent toilets as usual, roll on 2018...

 

[The Nal]

17 minutes ago, Mardy said:

are you following @eotr on twitter? presume they'll bang up a link later this morning. Earlybird tickets only, I guess, and there's no deposit scheme for them

Ah ok cheers, Ill hold on for the deposit tickets.

[Yokel Again]

I didn't witness many chatters, as we were generally near the back of crowds. But half way back during FJM some guy (quite rightly) had a good old go at a group of girls who were stood in a big group not watching, just gossiping the night away. Good on him. 

 

[xxialac]

The chatting has reached such an epidemic, I would actually relucaantly welcome a VIP section up front at the Garden and Big Top stages and would be willing to pay more for it (which would also reduce the ticket price for everyone else). I don't like suggesting that as I don't like the principle of elitist areas but the surest way to ruin a gig is to have teenagers around you blabbering constantly during songs and I can't see any other way other than to stop booking dickhead-friendly bands like Mac deMarco (so for the love of god, next year no Kasabian, Slaves, Disclosure, Kaiser Chiefs etc).

 

[Yokel Again]

Is it cos the line-up is a bit more indie now and less beards and banjos?

[Nobody Interesting]

11 minutes ago, xxialac said:

The chatting has reached such an epidemic, I would actually relucaantly welcome a VIP section up front at the Garden and Big Top stages and would be willing to pay more for it (which would also reduce the ticket price for everyone else). I don't like suggesting that as I don't like the principle of elitist areas but the surest way to ruin a gig is to have teenagers around you blabbering constantly during songs and I can't see any other way other than to stop booking dickhead-friendly bands like Mac deMarco (so for the love of god, next year no Kasabian, Slaves, Disclosure, Kaiser Chiefs etc).

 

I have been to festivals with the VIP section and the chatting is far far worse, as if to say to the rest of the punters "look at me I am a VIP"

[shoebox]

Cracking weekend again. Was a bit of a different experience for me this year as I was with a fairly large group of friends, as opposed to the usual wife and one mate. This meant that my priorities changed a little. Whereas I would normally spend the whole time, flitting around, trying to cram in as much music as I possibly could, I tended to loiter with my less-musically-enthusiastic friends a lot more (not at the front of a set, I hasten to add. Well out the way of others). Don't get me wrong, I still saw crap loads of great artists, but missing out on some things felt less of an issue.

Fave acts of the weekend were, Jens, Perfume Genius, WH Lung, Japandroids, FJM, Vaudou Game, Parquet Courts, Bill Callahan, Blanck Mass and numerous others. Didn't get on board with Mac, I like his music, but I was just not engaged with his live show (I was also pretty drunk by this point). Also, Julie Byrne's set was spectacularly disappointing, as already mentioned. Was gutted to miss Alex Cameron as he was a must-see before the festival, but I simply got my timings wrong. Was also stood by the bar during Car Seat Headrest, chatting to some other friends, would have liked to got closer and more engaged in that set. Sounded really good.

Chatterers and stage campers were their usual irritating selves, but I think the only time I really had issues with them was during Bill Callahan's and Nadia Reid's sets. They are just so ridiculously selfish and unaware of the nuisance they cause. I was queuing at the Beavertown bar, and there were a couple of lads absolutely bewildered that they'd been asked to shut up during a performance they previous day. Apparently they'd never experienced anything like that before and couldn't comprehend why it might happen. And guys, picnic blankets and chairs at the Garden Stage are a pain in the arse at the best of times, but those f**king inflatable sofa bag things are seriously taking the absolute piss.

I'm actually not getting early birds this year, as I get back from a Mexican holiday two days before next years, and I'm not sure I can handle it with jet-lag. I'm fairly sure I will change my mind at a later date, especially if the line-up is as killer as it was this year. But I always feel this way after the misery of rain, so it may just be the comedown talking.

[xxialac]

34 minutes ago, Nobody Interesting said:

I have been to festivals with the VIP section and the chatting is far far worse, as if to say to the rest of the punters "look at me I am a VIP"

I respect what your saying but I have also been to festivals with VIP sections and the chatting was much much less.

Ultimately I've noticed a linear link between age and chatting. None of the chatterers at EOTR were in their 30s or 40s and they are the ones who would buy the VIP tickets.