The good, the bad and the ugly

[goldengirl]

The good -

evening acts and tipi/bigtop had some great crowd atmosphere (Yard act, Keg, Priya Ragu, Groves, Los Bitchos). I was able to easily get to the front barrier for Black Midi and Bright Eyes. Food was good but is maybe running out of variety after 5 years. The queues at the bar were generally fast moving. The weather was perfect in the end. I had my first healing gardens massage on Sunday which removed all aches and pains. Managed to see a parrot finally. Landlordgate.

The bad -

Was disappointed with the lack of crowd enthusiasm during daytime acts like Starcrawler. The Pixies were also lackluster for me.

The ugly -

The toilets.

Overall had a great time though 🙂

[Guy Incognito]

Good: 

Saw lots of good music. I especially enjoyed Robert Stillman, Holden and Zimpel, Fleet Foxes, Deathcrash, Aldous Harding, Battles, Perfume Genius and Alabaster deplume. 

Food was sensational again. Cafe Dish remains so good even with the change of position on site. 

Excellent beer quality again

Music was loud and sounded great. The sound quality was excellent this year. 

The peacocks and the parakeets. 

Good to see the wasp level nice and high this year. Always a laugh.

Toilets were fine imo. Much better than last year. 

The grass. Perhaps a weird comment but the grass around the new pavilion is so luscious. Lovely place to sit down in the sun and recover/eat some lunch.

The Boat. A great addition with a strong line up. 

The Bad: 

Khruangbin

A weaker line up overall for me this year but decent headliners and a few really excellent sets made up for it. Woods stage generally was quite poor though. 

£10 booking fee for 2023 early bird tickets. I remember a few years ago when they never had them as ''booking fees are bullshit'' 

[Dancers Stand Very Still]

2 hours ago, Skip997 said:

And just exactly where are people supposed to smoke?

There's tonnes of room around site and the vast majority of sets are (often much) less than an hour long. Sparking up in a crowd and inflicting smoke on many others, when you've no idea if they have underlying conditions, just isn't on. 

[The Nal]

25 minutes ago, JHad said:

There's tonnes of room around site and the vast majority of sets are (often much) less than an hour long. Sparking up in a crowd and inflicting smoke on many others, when you've no idea if they have underlying conditions, just isn't on. 

So people aren't allowed to have a smoke at an outdoor gig now? 

Right.... 

[Dancers Stand Very Still]

21 minutes ago, The Nal said:

So people aren't allowed to have a smoke at an outdoor gig now? 

Right.... 

I realised that this would be contentious and was hoping to raise a little debate around it. I wouldn't ordinarily take so much notice (although it is never pleasant) but there were a couple of times this weekend - one where somebody started smoking right beside a newborn; and another where somebody with asthma left to go to the first aid tent - which made me think a little more.

For me it's definitely one of those things that has become habitual for people but, when you take a step back to think about it, it just seems an entirely unreasonable thing to do.

Edited September 6, 2022 by JHad
Grammar

[The Nal]

Just now, JHad said:

I realised that this would be contentious and was hoping to raise a little debate around it. I wouldn't ordinarily take so much notice (although it is never pleasant) but there were a couple of times this weekend - one where somebody started smoking right beside a newborn; and another where somebody with asthma left to go to the first aid tent - which made me think a little more.

For me it's definitely one of those things that has become habitual for people, but when of you take a step back and think about it, it just seems an entirely unreasonable thing to do.

I dont smoke cigs anymore but we're reaching peak nanny state if people are giving out about smoking at a music festival because there are newborn babies there. 

Should we stop drinking too in case someone spills a pint on the baby? Or has one too many and stumbles into the pram?

FFS lads. 

[Dancers Stand Very Still]

1 minute ago, The Nal said:

I dont smoke cigs anymore but we're reaching peak nanny state if people are giving out about smoking at a music festival because there are newborn babies there. 

Should we stop drinking too in case someone spills a pint on the baby? Or has one too many and stumbles into the pram?

FFS lads. 

It's not 'nanny state' to respect other people. 

Drinking is also a nonsensical comparison as you're not forcing dozens of others to share every mouthful with you.

For what it's worth, the baby incident was on a bench at Talking Heads not in the mosh pit at black midi. 

[soarous]

The Good

Was our fifth time, but our first with our one year old son. We realised how amazingly kid friendly the site is, there was loads to keep him occupied and we had great fun in the Wonderlands painting, listening to stories and smashing cardboard boxes.

The crowd were amazing, everyone was super friendly to the baby, and we were amazed by how kind everyone was to us across every generation of attendee. I think we had more lovely conversations with new people than ever before.

The music. Not sure we saw a bad set, the quality of the daytime music was top notch, and the steward by the side of Tipi let us bend the rules slights so we couple nip and in out of Lynks with the baby in the carrier. Other highlights were Lucy Dacus, Fat Dog and Porridge Radio.

The food. We all ate well, nice to see plenty of kiddie options, and every trader went off menu if we wanted a tiny snack for him. Shoutout Smoking Buns for sorting us out with baby friendly blueberry pancakes

The weather. Going to ignore the forecast for 2023.

The art. Enjoyed it all, and always great to see staples returning. Rosie in the portrait booth remembered us despite not being there since 2019.

The piano stage gigs. Always a highlight, thanks to the WhatsApp group for keeping us informed. Quite enjoyed keeping them to 3 songs and a cover, meant you could pop in and then get back to the festival quickly.

The Bad

If you're going to install flushing toilets you should be able to flush them. Another vote for Andy to come back.

The boat stage does need a rethink. But I tucked under a tree and headed straight down on the left, and could see Jockstrap despite arriving late.

Rented a Mr Trolley trolley for the weekend. Our son hated it and we had to go back to the pram.

The Ugly

Loved the space in the new Tipi tent, and the lack of poles, but it is a uglier and more generic.

The piano stage. It was pretty ugly. But would be nice to see it reimagined every year by a different artist. 

Did an emergency soiled nappy change behind the woods stage sound desk before BCUC, apologies to anyone trying to eat lunch then...

 

Edited September 6, 2022 by soarous

[SighMo]

7 minutes ago, soarous said:

 

The Ugly

 

Did an emergency soiled nappy change behind the woods stage sound desk before BCUC, apologies to anyone trying to eat lunch then...

 

I saw you as I walked by and chuckled to myself. Brought back memories of when my two were babes and the awkward places they’d let us down🤣 23 and 20 now and both at the festival 😁

[RustySpanner]

The Good:

Music on the whole was great. Deathcrash the set of the weekend for me. Perfume Genius, Black Midi and Lucy Dacus the other major highlights. Also really enjoyed Keg, Nilufer Yanya (apart from constant tuning breaks), Snapped Ankles, Umlauts, Weather Station, Cassandra Jenkins, Hurray for the Riff Raff.

Food was largely still really good value - particular shout outs to the ever reliable Curry Shed, the pies, and the wonderful persian pork kebabs.

Beer selection very good and can't really complain with £6 a pint when it's generally a fiver now in a pub.

The Bad:

Music - Not so much bad, but was disappointed by Pixies (seen people saying they were 'phoning it in' - I tend to agree), Bright Eyes (had such high hopes and came away underwhelmed and concerned for Conor's well being) and Highschool who were pretty ropey.

Toilets - no major problems (apart from the stench of the urinals) for me, but my wife would definitely put the toilets in the 'ugly' column.

Queues for food and toilets get worse every year, as do the queues to get into the tipi for the late night shows. They've created a bit of a monster now - maybe time to move them to the big top??

Wasps

Slight increase in dickhead count - chatting in bands and far more throwing of cups than previous years

The Ugly:

The Lounge Society - just dreadful. How on earth are they getting so much coverage and air play?

£3 for a can of diet coke in the bar at the tipi stage

I'm pretty sure (could be wrong - pretty hazy memory due to cider) that the grilled cheese stall was trying to charge £12 for a glorified toasted sandwich on Thursday??! I notice the prices had come down later in the weekend.

Other observations:

They keep putting the cost for the festival up (early bird tickets have gone up £25 from last year), together with the 'we no longer disagree with booking fees so add that to the total cost' and £20 for parking. I know they need to cover losses etc from the covid years, but they really need to start adding to the infrastructure if they want people to keep paying out. I notice that early birds were still available over an hour into sales - the last few years they've sold out in minutes. People will start voting with their feet or go elsewhere if they can't take a dump without having to navigate overflowing bogs every time having had to queue for ages for the privilege.

I wonder how many of those food stalls will still be around next year with fuel/overhead increases?

Smoking - I thought the original post was about smoking in the big top/tipi - I would agree that I find that pretty annoying but no way they can police it. Not bothered about it outdoors.

[Yoss]

2 hours ago, goldengirl said:

Was disappointed with the lack of crowd enthusiasm during daytime acts like Starcrawler.

Yeah, wrong stage wrong crowd for them. (Again.) As soon as they finished I put my head into the Big Top and caught the end of Grove, who had the whole place absolutely bouncing.

[scatteredscreens]

40 minutes ago, RustySpanner said:

The Good:

Music on the whole was great. Deathcrash the set of the weekend for me. Perfume Genius, Black Midi and Lucy Dacus the other major highlights. Also really enjoyed Keg, Nilufer Yanya (apart from constant tuning breaks), Snapped Ankles, Umlauts, Weather Station, Cassandra Jenkins, Hurray for the Riff Raff.

Food was largely still really good value - particular shout outs to the ever reliable Curry Shed, the pies, and the wonderful persian pork kebabs.

Beer selection very good and can't really complain with £6 a pint when it's generally a fiver now in a pub.

The Bad:

Music - Not so much bad, but was disappointed by Pixies (seen people saying they were 'phoning it in' - I tend to agree), Bright Eyes (had such high hopes and came away underwhelmed and concerned for Conor's well being) and Highschool who were pretty ropey.

Toilets - no major problems (apart from the stench of the urinals) for me, but my wife would definitely put the toilets in the 'ugly' column.

Queues for food and toilets get worse every year, as do the queues to get into the tipi for the late night shows. They've created a bit of a monster now - maybe time to move them to the big top??

Wasps

Slight increase in dickhead count - chatting in bands and far more throwing of cups than previous years

The Ugly:

The Lounge Society - just dreadful. How on earth are they getting so much coverage and air play?

£3 for a can of diet coke in the bar at the tipi stage

I'm pretty sure (could be wrong - pretty hazy memory due to cider) that the grilled cheese stall was trying to charge £12 for a glorified toasted sandwich on Thursday??! I notice the prices had come down later in the weekend.

Other observations:

They keep putting the cost for the festival up (early bird tickets have gone up £25 from last year), together with the 'we no longer disagree with booking fees so add that to the total cost' and £20 for parking. I know they need to cover losses etc from the covid years, but they really need to start adding to the infrastructure if they want people to keep paying out. I notice that early birds were still available over an hour into sales - the last few years they've sold out in minutes. People will start voting with their feet or go elsewhere if they can't take a dump without having to navigate overflowing bogs every time having had to queue for ages for the privilege.

I wonder how many of those food stalls will still be around next year with fuel/overhead increases?

Smoking - I thought the original post was about smoking in the big top/tipi - I would agree that I find that pretty annoying but no way they can police it. Not bothered about it outdoors.

What was up with Conor? I've seen reports all year that the guy's gigs have been ropey.

[jplewes]

I had Bright Eyes in my good personally, thought it sounded great still and was a solid set, but the long drunken rambles and tripping over were hard to watch. Really felt like the last 15-20 mins were tough

Edited September 6, 2022 by jplewes

[The Nal]

1 hour ago, JHad said:

For what it's worth, the baby incident was on a bench at Talking Heads not in the mosh pit at black midi. 

Thats fair enough then yeah. 

6 minutes ago, jplewes said:

I had Bright Eyes in my good personally, thought it sounded great still and was a solid set, but the long drunken rambles and tripping over were hard to watch. Really felt like the last 15-20 mins were tough

Yeah the kid really needs to get off the road for a while and get help. The good bits were good though.

Edited September 6, 2022 by The Nal

[wolfamongwolves]

48 minutes ago, RustySpanner said:

 

Other observations:

They keep putting the cost for the festival up (early bird tickets have gone up £25 from last year), together with the 'we no longer disagree with booking fees so add that to the total cost' and £20 for parking. I know they need to cover losses etc from the covid years, but they really need to start adding to the infrastructure if they want people to keep paying out. I notice that early birds were still available over an hour into sales - the last few years they've sold out in minutes. People will start voting with their feet or go elsewhere if they can't take a dump without having to navigate overflowing bogs every time having had to queue for ages for the privilege.

I wonder how many of those food stalls will still be around next year with fuel/overhead increases?

 

I think maybe having a program with your ticket price would be a good idea. The Green Man you get a program 

Earlier this year at Supersonic Fest i was given a program 

[changingman]

Lurking as a had to sell my ticket a few weeks back (hope the buyer enjoyed it!) 

Re: Conor we caught BE a few weeks back in Sweden and whilst it (and he) sounded great he seems almost permanently wasted these days, that said he was never particularly sober in the past! 

I think he had a period a few years ago of getting into some serious hallucigens, not sure if he had his "flask" with him at EOTR but I'd be intrigued to know what was in it! 

[Skip997]

1 hour ago, The Nal said:

I dont smoke cigs anymore but we're reaching peak nanny state if people are giving out about smoking at a music festival because there are newborn babies there. 

Should we stop drinking too in case someone spills a pint on the baby? Or has one too many and stumbles into the pram?

FFS lads. 

Absolutely spot on post.

Doug Stanhope did a sketch about 10 or 12 years ago about how we're the first generation who doesn't have to worry about what our kids are doing because they're so "goody goody". It was relevant then, seems even more so now.

 

[killyourtv]

2 hours ago, Guy Incognito said:

Good: 

Food was sensational again. Cafe Dish remains so good even with the change of position on site. 

Excellent beer quality again

My lad said he tried something from everywhere (apart from Cafe Dish !) and loved it all. 

I missed Beavertown but those Two Tribe IPA and Helles were both good, and it's always good to see local breweries supported, even if they can seem a bit samey to those of us who remember the year EOTR went craft keg !

[Punksnotdead]

17 minutes ago, scatteredscreens said:

What was up with Conor? I've seen reports all year that the guy's gigs have been ropey.

He was definitely wasted, but once the songs started I thought he was great - just the between songs banter was a bit painful to watch.

I also saw him in the signing tent about 3 hours before the gig & he was an absolute sweetheart - chatting, shaking hands, etc. Maybe he was a bit stoned, but otherwise OK. He must have put in some serious drinking between that & the gig!

[WFD]

Second-timer here, after going last year.  Last time I threw myself into everything - late Tipi sets, morning literature sessions, a movie, watching (not participating in) karaoke - not knowing if and when we'd come back.  So this year I didn't feel the need to rinse every last drop out of it and it was still great.  Also I'd had a packed schedule on the Friday and was feeling it by the end of the day so reduced the pace a bit on Saturday and Sunday and was more selective, and made it to Sunday night in decent shape.

The only bad/ugly parts were the toilets, particularly on the Thursday - a festival shouldn't have overflowing toilets before a band has even set foot on main stage.  It's the sort of thing that can put the more casual attendees off, when there is so much choice out there.

Good music all weekend, I was a little disappointed by a couple of undercard acts, not going to name them as they were still ok in their own right, just not quite what I expected. Liked the Boat stage as an idea, needs some improvements if they want to continue to be able to accommodate popular acts on it.  There was certainly a bit of a sense of occasion around the Jockstrap and Fat Dog sets on there, which might have been diluted if they'd been on bigger stages.

Good food all weekend and I didn't use the bars as much this time but everything I did get was decent.

I thought the Bright Eyes set was incredible for how he kept it together, it must be a form of autopilot - as one of the reviews said he barely dropped a line in what aren't exactly sparse lyrics, and then struggled to get to the end of a sentence when chatting between songs.  We went to the signing and he was great with my daughter (who is now on her way to Glasgow to see him at Barrowlands tonight, after getting a pair on Twickets on the way home yesterday).

All round a great festival and my daughter (who didn't come last year) had a great time, particularly on the Friday when she was happy to explore the site at her own pace while I tried to keep up with my stage-to-stage schedule, she said she'd had an amazing day discovering the place and stumbling across things.

We stayed in Salisbury on the Sunday night, and left after Bright Eyes, straight into the downpour on the way to the car, then into the thunder and lightning going off all round, so it was a bit of a dramatic exit.  Then the M6 was closed yesterday afternoon so we had to do a super-detour to avoid it.

It is a hell of a trek for us, so it's not something we'll do every year - next year we're probably ruled out by holiday plans anyway, so we'll maybe be back in 2024 (though would like to do Green Man at some point as a comparison).

[buddiepaul]

27 minutes ago, jplewes said:

I had Bright Eyes in my good personally, thought it sounded great still and was a solid set, but the long drunken rambles and tripping over were hard to watch. Really felt like the last 15-20 mins were tough

He did seem more out of it towards the end, though he did catch his foot on a stray cable, so that explains the trip.

[WFD]

(oh and the one thing I did miss from last year was the Friday/Saturday quiz on the literature stage - I won some prizes there last year and was hoping for another go at it - I know there's the quite-competitive one on the Sunday but this one was quite relaxed and a nice way to spend a quiet hour in the afternoon.  I presume it was a victim of the Literature / Talking Heads merger?)

[Yoss]

26 minutes ago, wolfamongwolves said:

The Green Man you get a program  

You do? I paid £12 for mine.

[The Nal]

The bar at the Crow were unable to provide a pint with any sort of head on it all weekend.

Both the lager and the IPA looked like St Peters piss. 

[LowerMead]

12th time for me (I think) - I started going at the fourth one, haven't missed one since. I used to fly a solo mission with mates in the general camping but now come with wife and 7yo son in the campervan field.

Good

Great organisation getting in as always, I got chatting to some of the campervan crew on Sunday night whilst sheltering during the storm, they were lovely people and genuinely care about getting everyone in and pitched pronto with minimal faffing, it's a slick operation. 

Musically I loved Pixies & Bright Eyes but Fleet Foxes didn't do much for me. Otherwise Lucy Dacus, The Wave Pictures, Porridge Radio, Rosali, The Golden Dregs, Perfume Genius and Kurt Vile all went down well with me.   It's difficult getting to see stuff in the Tipi or Big Top with a young 'un in tow as they like to be entertained, but our boy loves his music and seemed to enjoy all of the above at the outdoor stages.

Food was great from all my usual suspects although I delayed my trip to The Curry Shed until Sunday night as a final finale only to find they had run out of Butter Paneer Masalla, an absolute fave of mine. Schoolboy error! 

Bad

The bogs. Not enough, not cleaned frequently enough.  I think that historically the standard was set so high by Andy Loos that anyone else is on a bit of a hiding to nothing.  However we were at Camper Calling last weekend which is a similar size, albeit totally different music roster, but still the same number of people needing the khazi. They use Blue Loos from up north  - absolutely outstanding, even better than Andy Loos - Simon needs to put in a call. 

The Boat Stage - I don't think it worked, very poor view, and it caused the kid's disco to be shoved forward to 11am, when pretty much nobody showed up. That's normally an afternoon highlight for families, pretty disappointing that they sacrificed it for something that didn't really work for many. 

The Ugly

The campervan field is generally pretty quiet at night after the headliners, that's part of the attraction, especially if you have young kids.  If we'd wanted to camp next to a three-chord-wonder banging out tunes on his guitar at 2am we'd have booked in at the Shit Pub Singer's Festival instead. You're not Bob Dylan mate, and no end of trying to sound like him will change that. 

 

Generally all great and I felt we got very lucky with the weather until the storm on Sunday night, by which time I was all festival'd out anyway. 

Early birds booked for next year!