Other festivals,( boomtown )

[acidstorm523]

I have been to Boomtown a few times . Pre lockdown it was more chilled. I last went in ‘22. The van search on the way in was positively illegal. They had us all out, and 3 guys in the van with their hands going through our bags unobserved. Managed to pull some trim off in the process and left a complete mess. Sadly I had 4 teenagers with me who were embarrassed by my saying anything, so I just let it go. But it really got to me. They weren’t festival people and it was just horrible. Just put me off completely. I’m too old for Boomtown now anyway! I ran into some college friends of my kids there - i felt a bit cringe 😂

[Skip997]

16 minutes ago, stuie said:

You mean crew camped outside as they came in to the festival?

I’ve never had, or even seen, a van/car search of crew on the way in to glasto 

On a couple of occasions I’ve had security ask to look in my car boot, they literally just looked and didn’t touch anything 

[Pinhead]

Yes I remember that - a fag on the dried grass started it iirc. Remember the smoke plume.

[westholtschic]

46 minutes ago, stuie said:

You mean crew camped outside as they came in to the festival?

I’ve never had, or even seen, a van/car search of crew on the way in to glasto ever.

 

I’ve never seen any drug dogs at glasto either. A few years back I saw an explosives dog sweep Gate C before the gates opened to the public, but that’s all. 

Yes I’ve never been searched before in 12 festivals and I got searched every day through Ped gate B. Even Nurses in uniform we’re getting searched going to their shifts.

[A Particular Grey Chihuahu]

I was looking at Boomtown as a potential festival if I didn't manage to get to Glasto. It looks visually impressive but the lineup didn't seem up to much.

[1986]

Random thoughts from me.

 

I did it once in 2022. The first year they implemented the don’t tell the line up until last minute policy which for me, is a nightmare.

 

Was a fun weekend though it’s not my scene generally, wouldn’t go back because as fun as the theatrics are, my focal point for any fest is the music. If you’re into dnb or any sort of dance though it’s visually the best in this country for dance stages.

 

Funny that people mention heavy searches etc because my experience on the drug front was it being absolutely everywhere. You will see a hell of a lot of pilled and k’d up people. All harmless in my experience. For a festival that’s 100% cashless providing cash machines they clearly know what they’re doing. 

 

Main gripe for me was the bars, there was maybe two that did a cold pint on tap otherwise it’s a can of red stripe ripped out of a 24 pack that hasn’t been in a fridge for £7. In ‘22 the temperature didn’t go below 30 degrees in the day time and they couldn’t even provide me a cold can. 
 

on the heat front though as bad as it was Boomtown provided plenty of water points which were a, probably literal, life saver. 

Edited August 7 by 1986

[gooner1990]

Went to BoomTown three times.

 

The first two (2014 & 2015) were noticably more 'looser' than when I went in 2019.

 

The 2014 one....I've never seen so much open class-A drug use and I've seen a lot of stuff in my time...was a great laugh though.

 

Was noticeably different (a lot less open drug use) when I went again in 2019, but that was enough for me.  I wasn't going to go back after 2015 but a couple of mates really liked the line up in 2019 and twisted my arm to go. 

 

In 2019 I'd noticed the security was a lot more tighter than when I first went.  Other friends of mine were constantly going back out to their car just to have a spliff!

Edited August 7 by gooner1990

[mjfromthelane]

I've been twice - in '18 and '22 - as a general punter and I thought the searches/general policing were some of the most lax I've ever seen at a festival, so interesting to see some of the different experiences in here.

 

Would also say the drug taking and amount of people on it far exceeds Glasto, particularly in the daytime.

 

Have posted about this in the Boomtown forum but personally I think the festival has lost a bit of its magic since Covid and the reduction of the entertainment solely to the bowl. 2018 was one of my favourite festivals ever - the variety of the line up with big bands as well as DJs, Lions Den as an amazing stage, the districts spread across the site with a distinct atmosphere in each - it's far too concentrated now and even as a DnB fan, the line up doesn't have the options it used too.

 

Rumours they are bringing back Lions Den next year though which is promising.

[stuie]

I still find the whole Boomtown story ironic.   They banged on for years about 'stopping the machine' in some anti-capitalism, anti-government tirade...

 

then they brought in cashless wristbands, sold out to Live Nation and this year don't even have cash machines on site. 

 

Turns out they are the machine! 

 

[Skip997]

3 minutes ago, stuie said:

I still find the whole Boomtown story ironic.   They banged on for years about 'stopping the machine' in some anti-capitalism, anti-government tirade...

 

then they brought in cashless wristbands, sold out to Live Nation and this year don't even have cash machines on site. 

 

Turns out they are the machine! 

 

The more I hear, the more I think I shouldn’t bother.

 

Anyway think I’m getting a bit old for Boomtown

[majormajormajor]

I abhor DnB, and mostly listen to noisy guitar psych so I guess this isn't the place for me.

Always looked like a hell of a party though.

[dirtysteve]

17 minutes ago, majormajormajor said:

I abhor DnB, and mostly listen to noisy guitar psych so I guess this isn't the place for me.

Always looked like a hell of a party though.

 

Likewise, from what I've seen it looks like a hell of a lot of fun if you're full of drugs, and I am tempted by it... I don't think I could manage it these days, though, I'm a good 15 years too old for that kind of weekend.

[balti-pie]

26 minutes ago, majormajormajor said:

I abhor DnB, and mostly listen to noisy guitar psych so I guess this isn't the place for me.

Always looked like a hell of a party though.

Earache curate a stage there, so its not all dance dance dance - there's a fair bit of guitar noise too (which is a brilliant thing for me) 

[Iphigenia]

6 hours ago, 1986 said:

Random thoughts from me.

 

I did it once in 2022. The first year they implemented the don’t tell the line up until last minute policy which for me, is a nightmare.

 

 

When I went (pre lockdown by a good few years) they didn't release the timings beforehand, and when everyone got there, there was a massive shortage of programmes. So lots of stuff I wanted to see was happening, but God knew where and when! In the end they had blown up copies of the timings of the main stage lineups on posters outside the info points, and everyone was just taking photos of them. Not ideal.

[pilton digger]

Search today was the usual for us. Two old gits, dog said hello but wasn't interested so they sent us on our way. Talking to the handler, they show the dog to the person on the basis that if you have anything the dog will smell it on you. They then chuck the dog in the van. 

Two guys in front of us, dog indicated on them and very quickly found the stash in the pot noodles. To be fair, they were told to give anything else up and no problems. If they didnt and anything was found, no entry.

Security are very reasonable, blame Hampshire Police.

 

[goldfishboy]

On 8/6/2024 at 8:15 PM, stuie said:

I’ve never seen any drug dogs at glasto either. 

I definitely remember seeing them in 2007, one was sniffing round my mate's egg sandwiches