SE Corner - time for a refresh?

[gfa]

37 minutes ago, Skip997 said:

Agree

But "half an hour"?

I reckon it's no more than a 15 minute happy dance, on a bad day.

Its definitely more than 15 minutes even just flat out walking

Throw in crowds and toilet stop etc and your at around 30 minutes

The idea of moving a SEC area to SH is crazy anyway

but the idea of moving something from near there over that way maybe not so much - no doubt it would be unpopular for the crew but the obvious option would be Avalon. It would likely receive more traffic throughout the day and free up some much needed space down the SEC.

[HotChipWillBreakYourLegs]

5 minutes ago, Skip997 said:

Saturday night, the Mez bar had plenty of room and was absolutely banging as was Genoysis (sp).

My advice, stay out of Shangri-La, unless there's a "must see" act.

Yeah cheers, maybe I'll get the chance next year.  But going with a kid now so it's few and far between!

[Skip997]

5 minutes ago, gfa said:

no doubt it would be unpopular for the crew but the obvious option would be Avalon. It would likely receive more traffic throughout the day and free up some much needed space down the SEC.

I'd be quite happy to see Avalon disappear completely.

[stuie]

11 minutes ago, Skip997 said:

Saturday night, the Mez bar had plenty of room and was absolutely banging as was Genoysis (sp).

My advice, stay out of Shangri-La, unless there's a "must see" act.

IICON had loads of space too... for LTJ Bukem until close. 

[CaledonianGonzo]

Iicon always has space

[nikkic]

IICON is visually one of the best stages at Glastonbury, but the programming is all wrong for the space. 

Needs much bigger names. 

[gooner1990]

21 minutes ago, HotChipWillBreakYourLegs said:

On the Saturday night we were in the Glade until that finished at 3am then decided to go SEC.  By the time we got to the entrance they had closed it off to manage the crowds.

At that point I decided to call it a night and went back to my tent.

My mates who stayed out did exactly what I thought would happen.  Walked around the SEC aimlessly because it was too busy to get in anywhere and then went back to their tents.

I think the busy-ness is in part attributable to people like me who think they're up for partying later, but on reflection find that bed is a better option!

Last two Glastos I've not been up for sun rise, when before it was regular occurrence.

Are you me?! 😄 

[RandomBunny]

12 minutes ago, gfa said:

The idea of moving a SEC area to SH is crazy anyway

but the idea of moving something from near there over that way maybe not so much - no doubt it would be unpopular for the crew but the obvious option would be Avalon. It would likely receive more traffic throughout the day and free up some much needed space down the SEC.

That would make me very sad if Avalon was moved from where it is. It's one of my favourite places, I barely ever go SH / Other Stage way so probably wouldn't go to Avalon if it was over there. As it is currently, Avalon is a nice member of the Acoustic / Circus&Cabaret / Avalon / West Holts quartet. Wonderful part of town.  

[waltere]

Yeah Iicon having a massive field (compared to the rest of the SEC at any rate) and a giant, visually arresting, high-production stage, and then mostly having pretty experimental techno on there is an odd one

[Isaact]

12 minutes ago, waltere said:

Yeah Iicon having a massive field (compared to the rest of the SEC at any rate) and a giant, visually arresting, high-production stage, and then mostly having pretty experimental techno on there is an odd one

They had a good year of big names on there last year, which I thought would be the sensible step forwards.

Then they went back to programming it full of experimental techno again this year (as you say) which was just baffling.

Four Tet was the one decent booking and it made the rest of the SEC significantly better whilst he was playing. It needs to be Four Tet sized names on Iicon from 1am-5am, Fri, Sat and Sun (but especially Sat).

[CaledonianGonzo]

Even when big names are booked they use the opportunity to play at the more experimental end of their repertoire and wind up baffling people.

[gfa]

6 minutes ago, CaledonianGonzo said:

Even when big names are booked they use the opportunity to play at the more experimental end of their repertoire and wind up baffling people.

as long as people are there i guess its ok - although four tet bringing people in only to scare them off has the potential to cause big issues to be fair

35 minutes ago, Skip997 said:

I'd be quite happy to see Avalon disappear completely.

Fair enough

not gonna lie - surely it would be ideal for a new cheese dj place?

[Acid Loafers]

1 hour ago, Skip997 said:

Agree

But "half an hour"?

I reckon it's no more than a 15 minute happy dance, on a bad day.

15 mins when empty (Thursday daytime), 25 with crowds (night time). Timed it this year.

[Guest]

I've loved my experiences at IICON for all the reasons people are discussing - visually amazing, big field, cool experimental techno that doesn't attract massive crowds so there's plenty of room to get up close and have a good time.

Do understand that it might be a bit of wasted space for the acts that they book, though.

[Skip997]

5 minutes ago, Acid Loafers said:

15 mins when empty (Thursday daytime), 25 with crowds (night time). Timed it this year.

Yea probably more realistic from a punters point of view.

I always take the high road through the Green fields.

[sime]

I didn't go to the SEC at all this year. It doesn't interest me anymore. The only thing that ever did were the alleyways. Once they were gone, I still used to visit the area. Not for the dance music as it isn't something I'm into. But just because it was there. It's always so busy though and I couldn't face it this time. Going forward I'll probably never go back to it. Unless it has a complete refresh with more diverse music and things to look at/experience. 

[StevieGed]

I'd love nothing more than SL/SEC to bring back some more of its old quirks. At this point in its lifetime it feels as though it's just a dance festival in itself, with some decent scenery, but nothing worth venturing there for unless you really want to see an act/dj who's performing. I never went to SEC at all this year, which now coming home from the festival I'm a bit gutted about. Mainly because I don't have the enthusiasm to stay up much past 3am, and Silver Hayes provided what I needed in terms of dance music if that's how my night was planned. 

I do think one thing which could be considered is more hot spots/opportunities for secret parties in secret areas if the festival can look to reshape SEC and other areas. I know it's a big ask, but I just look at the likes of the rabbit hole/funkingham palace and NYC downlow and how sought after these locations are for people across the weekend. I even saw videos of additional Skream secret sets, as well as Seth Troxler playing Maceo's I believe. I know it's not as easy as just introducing new clubs/venues such as RH and NYC, but the attraction around them and the queues each night show how much weight they carry for festival goers. These are the type of attractions, plus the quirkier elements the festival used to focus on with more actors and themes ongoing, that make you come away and feel as though you've been a part of something special, and have a story to tell when it comes to what you got up to at Glastonbury 2010/11/2022/23.. and so forth. I get it's a different beast now, and cuts are obviously impacting the site all over, as even Funkigham Palace seemed very much reduced size wise this year compared to 2022, but potentially introducing some revamps to the SEC along with looking at where else on site things could be expanded (The Park definitely has room for something new) then I think it would be welcomed by all attendees. 

Hate to be that person, but as it stands the spark of the SEC has faded for me personally, and I do think the area has so much potential and is a big attraction for the music it showcases and for those first timers visiting the festival, I just think it would be great if a rethink on what the SEC has to offer other than DnB/dance music could be reviewed to bring back some of the excitement to the area. 

[Neill Davies]

Fair to say I agree with much of what has been said here. The dystopian theme has become bland, it tries to be clever but we've seen it all before. When I started going to Glastonbury (2010) it seemed there was a lot more to explore i.e. hidden entrances, interactive elements and pseudo-impromptu happenings in the SE corner. Horror themed conga? Just get involved and go along with the ride!! Some of the venues like IICON are great but not being used to their full potential. The Truth stage can be a bottleneck as it gets very overcrowded at times. The space definitely needs a refresh to make it more interesting, uplifting and fun to a crowd of late night revellers. At present it's too linear, like a one way conveyor belt (although you can return to the start if you really want to go round again!)

[gfa]

Maybe once theres a proper Genosys replacement they'll start getting more mainstream stuff on IICON and move the more experimental stuff over to that

[bigbilly]

i think maybe partly the planning of Icon is to keep the acts underground so you have the room if it all gets too busy in the SE corner and plenty of space to filter people through who enter the SE corner through block 9. Putting on fatboy slim etc on icon is just gonna cause a massive crush of people trying to get in and make it even more overcrowded

[CaledonianGonzo]

I can accept that. But you'd think there'd be a halfway house between FBS and the abstract noodling that goes down.

[The Nal]

What year was it when the had all the Tokyo underground type micro venues?

That was great.

[bob323]

  

4 hours ago, SomeoneListeningIn said:

Do understand that it might be a bit of wasted space for the acts that they book, though.

when there's massive over crowding in the general area, I'd say it's huge waste of space

[balti-pie]

3 hours ago, The Nal said:

What year was it when the had all the Tokyo underground type micro venues?

That was great.

2014 I think: when did U2 pull out a couple of weeks beforehand and get replaced by Gorillaz? It was defo that year cos we found our way into the Temple of the holy Bono where they had Guinness on tap and all manner of weird shenanigans going on down the alleys 

[tigger123]

17 minutes ago, balti-pie said:

2014 I think: when did U2 pull out a couple of weeks beforehand and get replaced by Gorillaz? It was defo that year cos we found our way into the Temple of the holy Bono where they had Guinness on tap and all manner of weird shenanigans going on down the alleys 

U2 pulled out in 2010