Spider / crane debate ..... Arcadia the future ?

[Crazyfool01]

whats peoples thoughts on where we go from here ? spider development or something completely new ? spider seemed weirdly small after seeing the crane ...  Probably because ive seen it quite a few times ... interested to get newbies thoughts on it , oh and please post photos 

[HyperTechnoHorse]

100ft rotating can of Carlsberg.  Instead of fire there are hoses that douse everyone in Lynx Africa. 

[kaytee...]

More speakers for the size of the field would be a start

[squirrelarmy]

Isn’t there multiple versions of the Spider? This year was the smaller travelling version of the spider so wasn’t the huge monster we’ve had in the past. 
 

What I did like was the inclusion of some of the Pangea features like the balloon with acrobats hanging underneath. 

[GmasterWomble]

Why don't they have the spider hanging from the crane?

 

I think they definitely need to improve the sound & needs more space. 

[nikkic]

Honestly it all felt a little underwhelming this year.

Sound wasn't great, it was scaled back from previous outings and the Saturday night crush/general entry system wasn't ideal.

I'd vote for something completely new, but realise this may not happen for a few years whilst post-pandemic budget cuts remain. 

Sure it was ace for first timers, but think I'll stick to SEC next time.

 

[Quark]

FWIW I think of Arcadia as being a massively cool art installation with some music being played through it.

[circus92]

First time seeing it - very impressive visually, but sound was big let down.  Took my Daughter to see Calvin Harris and couldn't get inside the speaker circle and the sound was shocking.  Ended up leaving halfway though as it was unlistenable.  Very strange that this seems to be a known issue and they have done nothing to address it, and even more surprising when the sound everywhere else is so good

[Crazyfool01]

Just now, circus92 said:

First time seeing it - very impressive visually, but sound was big let down.  Took my Daughter to see Calvin Harris and couldn't get inside the speaker circle and the sound was shocking.  Ended up leaving halfway though as it was unlistenable.  Very strange that this seems to be a known issue and they have done nothing to address it, and even more surprising when the sound everywhere else is so good

 it seemed a little rushed ... we didnt really know for sure we were getting it until quite late .... and its arrival onsite was late too ... im sure they know the setup time but that seemed like it might have been a basic that will do for this year with hopefully plans started already for 2023 

[Bomei]

I love the spider at arcadia, but I also feel its time for a shake up. 

I loved the lasers and lights this year, and felt the balloon acrobat was interesting albeit a bit out of place... 

The sound does need a change though. I love the idea of some kind of central "monument" as the dj booth, and I don't know how hard it is to get 360 degree sound to be good, but why not have outward facing speakers? 

[Quark]

@circus92 has been once and suddenly he's an expert on the sound systems across site....🤣

Edited July 1, 2022 by Quark

[Quark]

Joking aside, my gut feel on the speaker set up (someone more involved with the fest may be able to comment) is that it's linked to the noise restrictions on the site at night.  Would outward-facing speakers (particularly at the volume needed) put them at risk of breaching the agreed sound levels for post-headliner entertainment?

[gordong]

1 minute ago, Quark said:

Joking aside, my gut feel on the speaker set up (someone more involved with the fest may be able to comment) is that it's linked to the noise restrictions on the site at night.  Would outward-facing speakers (particularly at the volume needed) put them at risk of breaching the agreed sound levels for post-headliner entertainment?

I thought this but then Pangea was absolutely enormous and I recall it being extremely loud. Maybe that was part of the problem and complaints. 

[circus92]

2 minutes ago, Quark said:

 

@circus92 has been once and suddenly he's an expert on the sound systems across site....🤣

I am a bit of a sound nerd tbh 😂  I was genuinely blown away by the sound quality pretty much everywhere except Arcadia.  The Pet Shop Boys on the Other Stage in front of the sound towers was just incredible.  Am I right in thinking people used to criticise the sound on The Other?

[Dave_c]

Did it always have the Lazers or were they new for this year? Don't recall it having them in the past, at least not as many anyway.

Thought it was pretty underwhelming as a spectacle compared to the crane, looked lost in that field compared to the scale of the crane. Definately time for a new installation that doesn't require planning permission! Let's see if they change things up for next year.

[gordong]

I thought the spider was cool, but it felt tiny - especially in the daylight. I rewatched videos of Pangea in 2019 and it was so much bigger in scale. 

[Quark]

Just now, circus92 said:

I am a bit of a sound nerd tbh 😂  I was genuinely blown away by the sound quality pretty much everywhere except Arcadia.  The Pet Shop Boys on the Other Stage in front of the sound towers was just incredible.  Am I right in thinking people used to criticise the sound on The Other?

I'm very much not a sound nerd, but I def thought the Other sounded noticeably better this year. I think a few people have said similar.

Glade Dome was also better than what they had there before, although they need to work on that sound bleed between there and Glade.

One of the things I think they're falling foul of a bit is more the sound bleed into more chilled areas.  The new Glade setup made the Spike Bar and Permaculture way less chilled than previously, and there was zero point in trying to chill at Beam with the Greenpeace tree next door. Hopefully stuff they'll give a bit of thought to, but definitely feels like they're cramming in loud things at the expense of chilled things.

[HyperTechnoHorse]

9 minutes ago, gordong said:

I thought the spider was cool, but it felt tiny - especially in the daylight. I rewatched videos of Pangea in 2019 and it was so much bigger in scale. 

I've always thought the spider was embarrassingly small.  I've had Glastonbury bowel movements larger than it. 

[northernringo]

My group of first timers thought the spider was very cool. I can see though how after a couple of years it would lose its appeal.

We seemed to hit it at less busy times so never had an issue with sound.

[p.pete]

12 minutes ago, Quark said:

FWIW I think of Arcadia as being a massively cool art installation with some music being played through it.

Maybe this is what they should be aiming for?  I wasn't there this year, so I missed the crushes, but it's been interesting seeing it develop over the years.  I remember (2011/13?) when it was to the side of the other stage and they had a TBA for which it felt like an entire Other's field-worth of people were trying to crowd in because everyone thought it was bound to be Daft Punk.  Nobody was ever going to hear anything it if it was!

I've kind of liked it for its own sake, its evolution, adding things like Lords of Lightning and for the metamorphosis shows - it's never really mattered to me who was on, and given the limitations (crowd and sound) maybe they shouldn't try so hard to blow the budget on high profile stuff?

That same year, by the Other stage, I loved the fire blowing stuff that they were doing too.  Maybe the whole area needs to be given more space and then have some more off-shoot stuff going on, and maybe grow the area similarly to the SE corner where Arcadia grew out of.  I only spotted the rebrand this year to the 'SW corner' to complement the SE, seems like it was underdone with many issues that need thought and budget.  SW includes cinemargeddon, but the whole thing just seems like a series of bottle-necks for the minute.

Could the crane be used without planning permission if it was turned on its side?  I'm sure they could think of something crazy!

[Spencer23]

Done 2 years of the spider and 1 year of Pangea and give me Pangea everyday of the week. That year they had the sound quality and even production (lights and everything) was class 

[CaledonianGonzo]

23 minutes ago, Quark said:

Joking aside, my gut feel on the speaker set up (someone more involved with the fest may be able to comment) is that it's linked to the noise restrictions on the site at night.  Would outward-facing speakers (particularly at the volume needed) put them at risk of breaching the agreed sound levels for post-headliner entertainment?

Yeah - the speakers face inward to prevent the noise blasting out the way cos it's in the west of the site.

It's not an accident, it's deliberate.

[FuzzyDunlop]

1 minute ago, CaledonianGonzo said:

Yeah - the speakers face inward to prevent the noise blasting out the way cos it's in the west of the site.

It's not an accident, it's deliberate.

Did you think the speakers were  closer together this year? So the inner circle was smaller? 

I did. I ended up sacking it off this year

[gigpusher]

30 minutes ago, circus92 said:

I am a bit of a sound nerd tbh 😂  I was genuinely blown away by the sound quality pretty much everywhere except Arcadia.  The Pet Shop Boys on the Other Stage in front of the sound towers was just incredible.  Am I right in thinking people used to criticise the sound on The Other?

Sound on The Other has been notoriously hit and miss. This year it felt like there were improvements as it was definitely more hit especially for PSB. Although we did make sure we got there early enough to get a good spot. 

[Cheesey]

The spider seemed very cut down this year, presumably because was a last minute thing. There was no show, and the extra bits on top of its legs (I don't what you'd call them - "pincers" maybe 🤣) were missing, which made it look smaller.

These are from 2015:

I must say though, the lasers emanating from it this year were outrageously powerful: