End of the road festival 2008

[sadwitch]

...guitar chucking - not exactly new

[domjon]

couple of videos....

The Wave Pictures...

Conor....

[geofelgie]

but was someone actually hurt? and why?

[sadwitch]

I just remembered our only other complaint- the recycling was a bit stupid. Every set of bins had a bin for glass despite there being minimal glass on site as most people didn't bring any as instructed but there was no where to put paper/card/plates/cups etc.

Just feedback not a major thing.

[rseamer]

fortunately not it seems...........

http://drownedinsound.com/articles/4020122

[angelheaded hipster]

Haven't been back very long - ended up being an enormous drive for me, and I'm so so out-of-it now so going to make this brief for tonight.

Just 'wow' though - what an amazing weekend! I'll write my actual little review thing tomorrow, but I'm so impressed by the organisers of this fest - the job they've done is incredible. Stunning location, amazing line-up and lovely lovely atmosphere.

The other thing I want to say before I pass out from extreme sleepiness is a massive thank you to everyone at camp efest. I know not everyone is on this forum, but I'll send the 'thank you's out to everyone anyway. All at the camp totally made my weekend and it's still sinking in how utterly lovely you all were.

Hope everyone had a great one x

[Heddwch]

I'm far too tired to make any sort of coherent post but I just want to say that was an awesome festival.

[rseamer]

Here's my write up of the weekend End Of The Road Review On My Blog

[Yokel Again]

1st year for me and it was excellent.

highlights - Bon Iver, Kimya D, Richard Hawley, Mercury Rev all amazing. I didn't think Bon Iver could be better than the record but it was x10 - AMAZING!

Lovely little festival. Only a shame i alrady know i can't go next year (bloody weddings!).

Only slightly annoying thing was the No Alcohol on Friday, when there was never anything indicating prior to this - i assume it was a cock up on someone's behalf?? anyway, smuggled in some drink anyway, but would have taken in twice the amount if i could.

Excellent excellent excellent.

[RogerParticle]

What a wonderful weekend!!!! I thought after starting the weekend with Dirty three (Warren Ellis is god), Dead Meadow and Akron Family it couldn't get any better, but it did. Other highlights included Micah P Hinson, Bon Iver, British Sea Power, Kimya Dawson, Calexico, Denis Jones, secret garden with the fairy lights and all the fun random people I met. So Low were really grumpy twats? Glad I missed them as I saw bits of their set at a few festivals last year and despite liking their music, the extreme gloom they projected from stage is so very depressing.

The only complaint I'd have was the strict curfew and getting assaulted by violent security, not that I let it ruin my weekend. Perhaps the organisers should mention on the website that everyone MUST go to bed as soon as the arena is closed. Obviously I realise now that myself, and about 15 other random people were obviously extremely out of order to stay up until 5am on Saturday way down at the arse end of the festival (about 100 meters from the closest tent) and have a sing along. Perhaps if they change the name of the festival to Middle of the Road, people might get the hint that it's not like every other UK festival I have been to, where there are no such rules about going to bed .

Won't stop me from going back again next year though, can't wait.

Edited September 16, 2008 by RogerParticle

[DragKnuckles]

Wow..what a weekend!

My first time at EOTR and definitely not my last...my highlights included the following:

FRIDAY:

Clare and the Reasons (Bimble Inn)

No sign of Sufjan (it was a long shot!) - the atmosphere in the Bimble Inn for this one was extremely cosy and warm. "Pluto" was (as expected) the stand out tune but the whole 35 minutes or so was awash with superb 50s influenced Americana which charmed the small crowd.

Laura Marling (Big Top Stage)

Even though Laura Marling is well known now I still think she is underrated...to be writing and performing such well constructed songs at such a young age is incredible...understated brilliance.

Conor Oberst (Garden Stage)

Could not get "There's Nothing that the Road Cannot Heal" out of my head all weekend. Although tired (not used to arriving on the same day that the music starts) I thoroughly enjoyed all renditions of Conor's new album...especially "Cape Canaveral".

SATURDAY:

Bowerbirds (Garden Stage)

Probably my number one "must see" of the weekend and they did not disappoint. I cannot get over the quality of their stripped down songs. The three way vocals were usually spot on and Phil Moore's lead was often beautiful (also apparent when compared to Bon Iver later in the day). Standout tracks were "My Oldest Memory", "In Our Talons" and "Hooves". If you do not own "Hymns for a Dark Horse" already then buy it now!

Bon Iver (Garden Stage)

Saw him in the Spiegeltent at The Great Escape and did not think that performance could be bettered...how wrong I was. Truly captivating set and with personal favourites Bowerbirds coming on for a rendition of "Lovin's for Fools" at the end it must be one of my most treasured festival moments to date. I really wanted to see Seabear and Friska Viljor in the Bimble but I have to say that I made the right choice and am not sure that this performance can be matched by the Bon Iver boys again (right time of career, right stage, right weather etc)...near perfect.

Mercury Rev (Garden Stage)

For me, Mercury Rev can be hit or miss and I also think the lead vocal can become less appealing if listened to for too long...however I was really surprised how it all "worked" to close the Saturday on the Garden Stage. The sound was "big" and crisp and the light show impressive...this coupled with a front man on top form (both vocal and physical performances) produced a wonderous spectacle that blew my worries away. Excellent headline act.

SUNDAY:

Richard Hawley (Garden Stage)

I went to the Garden Stage for this one on the advice of a friend (thanks Swindlebiscuit!) and I am very thankful that I did. Although I knew a couple of the songs I had never truly investigated Hawley's music...this performance will change all that. The sound was perfect for a lazy, sunny saturday and apart from some useless heckling the set was dreamy and inviting. Everyone loves an artist who is whole heartedly aware of the importance of these small festivals and Hawley was such an artist...the crowd was always "on his side" and I came away feeling very heart warmed as well as seeing some of the best "older person" dancing I think I have ever seen! Good work.

Calexico (Garden Stage)

Again, I was not sure of this band as a headline act but boy (again) was I wrong! An endearing front man and an excellent band (including some awesome trumpets) resulted in the biggest party atmosphere of the weekend. I had only experienced "Garden Ruin" and their work with Iron and Wine before the festival and it seems there is a whole lot more to Calexico...I will be updating my CD collection with their back catalogue as soon as I can. Upbeat and uplifting.

Denis Jones (The Local)

This is a strange one to call. If anyone has heard Denis Jones' incredible (and accessible) album "Humdrum Virtue" then they may have been (like me) slightly shocked by his live performance. Although I knew that he would construct his songs on the spot using multi-track recording of his own voice and musicianship etc. I did not think that the sound would be so loud and "raw". It was a great show (strobe lighting included) and I will definitely see him again/follow his career closely but I would have liked a few more intimate and crisper renditions of his album tracks (especially "Water") - either way the man has talent and I enjoyed the show...maybe it was just too late and I was a wee bit tired!

This festival will now be on my definite list every year (completely out did Latitude for me) and I would like to thank all of the organisers, staff and volunteers for a great event...roll on September 2009

[Hotcider]

Excellent weekend yet again. So much good stuff to see and impossible to see / do all I wanted. Highlights for me were

Micha P Hinson

Young Republic Garden Stage

Young Republic Bimble Inn

Bon Iver

BSP

Noah & The Whale

Richard Hawley

Wave Pictures

Calexico

The Chap

Bob Log

Billy Childish

[airwaves]

WOW – so that was the End Of The Road festival (my first). What a CRACKING festival that was. Can’t wait for next year’s. Simon & Sofia – you should be very proud of what you are achieving with this festival. I could eulogise for hours:-

Setting – lovely camping. I liked the long grass, it makes things that much more comfy. Plenty of space, and flat / level

Toilets & water aplenty. Q’s were never excessive, and often non-existent. Plenty of water points also

Security – a nice light touch. I saw security guys walking amongst the tents. This is a GOOD THING and more festivals should take note of this. Didn’t understand though why wristbands were being checked at times on exiting from the Garden Stage?

Food – a lovely range of stuff, some of which I haven’t seen at other festivals, though I guess many people may have been miffed by Pieminster being shut for most of Sunday (too popular earlier on I suspect, and so sold out). The Lamb & Goats Cheese Boureck (lamb sausage and goats cheese sealed in a filo pastry parcel and deep fried) from the Morrocan stall was one of the most delicious things I’ve eaten at any festival (and I went back to the stall later that evening to tell them so). The Baby Back Ribs also went down well on Sunday evening.

The setting, particularly the Garden Stage, is just magical, totally surrounded by trees and shrubs. And yes, I got a surreal photo of a peacock with a ‘rock’ stage in the background. A walk through the surroundings amazed, with art work, a library, piano, table tennis table, and other such random stuff hidden around corners.

Friday’s rain / downpours caused inevitable sloshy mud underfoot – particularly in the heavy traffic areas eg in the main way through to the Garden Stage, and maybe some additional underfooting material would have been welcome (straw, wood chips, rocks, ….) but conditions improved over Saturday & Sunday. The placing of plastic gridding over much of the Garden Stage arena was another inspired touch. Mud aside, the stage placings were close enough together to enable quick flips between them to make fullest use of music-hearing time.

And the sound quality was pretty good also, especially the Garden Stage. Too often nowadays the mix seems to be bass / muddy / top and hearing the lyrics goes by the board. Not so here. Congrats to the sound guys.

And so – to the music. Where to start? I had a number of chats with others over the weekend, most of which went something like, ‘Did you see …..? I’d never heard of them before today’. ‘Yes, weren’t they great. Did you also see…… , who were also new to me?’ ‘Yes they were great too weren’t they’

It seemed that I spent the weekend going from a great performance, to a moving performance, to a sublime performance……….. I’m not great at expressing myself through ‘gig reviews’ but (most of) who I saw and in some cases some observations as follows. The ‘scores on the doors’ are out of 10, and * are bands I’d never heard of, and ^ bands I’d heard of but not heard before (record or live).

Friday

Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin^, for 15 minutes then moved across to Big Tent for Gossamer Albatross* (5 points) who unfortunately were nearly 30 minutes late in the end so I could have seen all of WLYBY.

The Acorn* – Lovely lilting Canadian alf-folk (sub Arcade Fire?). Very fetching – 8

A Hack and A Hacksaw – have a couple of their albums. Felt as if I was watching a country folk troupe whilst on hols in Hungary – 5

Laura Marling^ – lived up to the hype I’d read beforehand. Charming – 7

Dirty Three^ – Being a fan of ‘Bad Seeds’ and ‘Grinderman’ (who I saw at Latitude this year) I was expecting some fireworks from these – and they didn’t disappoint – 9

Conor Oberst – I’ve been a great fan of Conor for years, even sticking with him after the John Peel Tent debacle at Glastonbury. Good set, but in hindsight, compared with others over the weekend it felt a bit ‘work-a-day’, and lacked some soul / passion – 8.

Akron / Family* - Went in half way through the set to find a dozen punters on stage playing along with various percussion behind the band. Someone told me the next day he’d seen the whole set, and in the first hour+ they only did 3 numbers. These guys are infectious and unremitting. The beat goes on, and on, and on …….and blows you away – 9

Then across to The Local tent, I thought to wind down a bit, but no

The Miserable Rich* - another charming, alt-folksy 3 piece – 7

New Young Republic^ - Engaging, charming – 7

David Thomas Broughton* – I’d read the write up in the brochure. I’d heard of him being ‘talked up’ around the site but was I prepared? No way. Now I know what has happened to all the old blue Smarties. This guy has eaten them all – on stage I’m sure he has ADHD. Flitting about on stage, or at least one end of a cramped, small dais, this guy builds textural layers of sound through digital recording (a la KT Tunstall, but totally totally different) from guitar and whatever else he has to hand – eg an amp that doesn’t work properly but just crackles, his head, … backed by cello, double bass & drums. And as you watch and listen this feeling of incredulity just washes over you. Is he really doing this?? – 10 (+?)

And so to Saturday, starting with a good run through at the Garden Stage, in sunshine. The plastic gridding meant it was possible to sit / lay down reasonably comfortably if you had a bin bag, blanket or whatever. [excuse me a moment whilst I change my CD player from playing Sons of Noel and Adrian to David Thomas Broughton!].

Absentee* - 6 / 7

Bowerbirds* – how captivating – 7

Devon Sproule* – ‘How y’ doin’ y’all?’ – utterly charming – 8

Noah and the Whale^ - Reputation goes before these, and the arena seemed pretty packed for this (and emptied considerably afterwards) and I can understand why. A little reminiscent of Belle & Sebastien, with more upbeat. These were really fun – 9

Robin Ince – Always good for a laugh, but having seen him several times this year have previously found that he was peddling the same material for most of this year. Pleasantly surprised therefore that half his set this time was new observations – 7

Bon Iver – Well what can I say that isn’t being repeated elsewhere on this forum and the web generally. Probably the highlight of the weekend (and congratulations Simon & Sofia on getting him). Again next year, and a higher slot on the bill? – 12 (yes, from 10!)

British Sea Power – Seen many times, mostly at festivals. Can be a bit on or off form. Tonight they were on – 9

Low – Well I like Low, miserable buggers that they are in their music. It was one of the reasons I bought a ticket. And the set didn’t disappoint one jot. And for those who are still asking ‘Guitar throwing? Really?’ – yes it did happen. Alan Sparhawk, guitarist, abruptly ended the band's performance by ripping the strings and lead out of his guitar, threw it to the floor, picked it up, swung around like a hammer thrower and then hurled it with vengeance 20 or 30 yards into the crowd before exiting the stage. He had earlier informed the audience that he had had a "crappy day" with “everyone I know saying that they don’t love me” – 9

Sun Kil Moon – another reason for buying a ticket. I’d hoped they would excite as much as others so far that day. Taken on their own, that may have been possible. But in the Big Top Tent, and compared to others that day, not quite – 8

Mercury Rev – I love M Rev, and was gutted to find that they overlapped with Sun Kil Moon, who I’d never seen, so I only got the last 40 minutes or so of the set. But, being the consummate festival band that they are, their music and theatrics just blow you away – 9

By now I felt totally ‘musiced out’ and didn’t want to see/hear much else in The Local or Bimble in case they bought me down too much. Went therefore to Scarytellers Club. Twas mildy amusing but was hoping for more ghost-story type. Ended up catching BSP doing Jonathan Richmond covers in The Bimble.

Sunday – could Sunday live up to Saturday? Not quite, but nearly.

Sons of Noel and Adrian^ - 10 part harmonies anyone? Utterly charming and engaging. – 10/11

The Wave Pictures* - Pithy. – 7

After a wander-break came in on the last 15 mins of Kimya Dawson*. A mistake! Should have stayed around for the whole set!. – 8

Jason Molina* - I can see the comparisons with Neil Young (solo) – 7

Wander-break again but looked in on Bob Log III* - I’d read the write up ‘Vegas era Elvis … in a crash helmet … singing into an old-time telephone handset … ‘ and we got exactly what it said on the tin. Not sure it would work outside a festival atmosphere, but look him up on You Tube and you’ll get the gist - 8

Woodpigeon* - Time for another jolly ‘collective’ and so they were – 8

Food break, and then looked in on Darren + Jack play Hefner* - no, sorry, Hefner obviously passed me by in the 90s. But I don’t know how & why. I gather this is probably the last gig (having got back together for it) they will probably do. Shame. Captivating Witty Fun – 9

Then caught the last Richard Hawley track. Again, based on that one track, mistake, should have stayed earlier for the whole set (but I would have missed Hefner).

Tindersticks – Again I love this band, but have never seen them live before. I should have made more effort (and will in the future). With 5 on strings, and 3 piece brass, their full sound just drew you in – 10

The Mountain Goats* - Maybe, like others have said, the high standards elsewhere were raising the performance bar, and The MGs couldn’t quite get there. Maybe the between track banter was lost occasionally in the mix – maybe. 7 / 8

Brakes – Some really high energy – 9

Zombie Zombie* - Home stretch now (it’s past midnight) and we get …… late 60’s instrumental Pink Floyd with 70’s Kraftwerk played on analogue electronics and live drums. And it just rocks. 45 minutes in and I’m totally lost – and then they have to stop. Hey guys (organisers) give ZZ an earlier slot next year, on a tent on their own, where they can play for hours – please - 10 / 11

[Hey, just listening to Shearwater’s ‘Rook’ album. Bugger, would have liked to see them also but clashed with Brakes.]

And so a final wander around the arena. Coffee, a look in on The Bimble where Congregation* are playing home spun blues.

And back to tent for final time to reflect on a great weekend. And on bands also talked about by others but missed (Billy Childish, Kurt Wagner, …)

[bugger me rigid – this Shearwater album IS good]

Final great result comes on Monday morning when I woke to find that atmospheric conditions were such that there was no dew (unlike Sunday morning when it was dripping wet). The tent was totally dry for wrapping and packing – great.

Still can’t get down from this.

Simon, Sofia – keep it up. Next year please get Sufjan Stevens and Blue Nile.

Suggestions for improvements? Hardly anything. I see others have commented on the re-cycling bins and I can see their point. My offerings:-

Beer cups – please get the beer tents to all use cardboard cups for next year. The recyclable plastics caused a hell of a racket when trampled on in the Big Top especially (either by traffic or by kids making a noise because they could) and distracted from bands who needed / deserved to be listened to.

Signs at the t-junction exit please. I turned left, when I should have gone right to go up to Shaftsbury (you don’t expect me to remember which way to turn after a weekend festival do you!)

Flies & spiders – please clear the site of the mini-flies and floating spiders – they were very itchy and annoying !

[endoftheroadro]

Hey guys, glad to see you enjoyed it....

Just a few quick things to clear up.....

No alcohol on Friday....this was as much a surprise to us as it was to you. WE were so busy running around that it wasn't until the gates had been opened for two hours that we even knew they were doing it. WE certainly hadn't asked them to. We then had to check that we were not legally obliged to do so, and as soon as we did that then it stopped. Sorry if it annoyed anyone....it was just a lack of communication, and it did get sorted fairly quickly....but sorry anyway.

Wrist Band Checking for the garden stage...

They were there for the purpose of ensuring we didnt breach capacity in the garden area....which we didnt (even for the stupidly busy Bon IVer set!!!!

Security...

THe majority seemed to be approachable to me...although even I had some problems with one of them, who told me I wasnt supposed to be where I was, and only film crew were allowed to be there. They even stopped Simon from going into the Garden area on friday evening.......That said the majority were great, particularly Smiler, the security guard at the front of the Main stage (personally favourite, Richard Hawley)

AS for me my highlights were:

Tindersticks

The Acorn (bimble inn set)

Wave Pictures

Kimya Dawson

Mark Kozalec

See you nextt year!

[Swindlebiscuit]

I think I'm still too muddy-headed to do a full band-by-band review.

However, as expected it was awesome. Better than last year, and that's saying something.

I thought it was nice to see that the organisers had taken on board some of the minor criticisms of last year (mainly, the slight lack of stalls) and totally sorted it. I ate fantastically well over the weekend this year and barely visited the same stall twice.

I don't want to keep comparing it to other festivals, but I thought it trumped Latitude on several levels. Mainly, the "magic" at the EOTR seems less manufactured and contrived. Pottering around the woods before the music starts in the morning was lovely. Also - I'm really glad you decided to let people into the Garden arena a lot earlier this year.

Music was consistently brilliant all weekend. Hardly saw a duff performance.

Minor points:

What happened to the "re-use your own cup" initiative from last year? It was a great idea, and it meant there was a hell of a lot LESS cups strewn about the place.

Also - THE LEFFE! Bring it back, I say!

And I'd echo the points about the recycling.

Other than that, superb. It's on the cusp of dethroning Glastonbury as our favourite festival, and that's saying something.

Viva Simon and Sofia!

[Swindlebiscuit]

Oh yeah - and I didn't see any aggro or even moodiness from the security all weekend. I thought it had a properly laid-back atmosphere, helped by the hands-off approach of the security.

[SweepingTheNation]

Not a lot I can add to this - but for the mud it'd have been near enough perfect a weekend. Highlights: both Acorn sets, Bon Iver, Dirty Three, the Mountain Goats, The Accidental, The Chap, Cats In Paris, Sons Of Noel & Adrian's proper and secret sets, American Music Club, Jeffrey Lewis, the woods, the food, the clientele...

[RogerParticle]

Security...

THe majority seemed to be approachable to me...

Edited September 16, 2008 by RogerParticle

[Donny Osmond]

The next day after getting screamed at and shoved about by security I went to the security supervisor and he was very understanding and even phoned me later in the day to let me know they had investigated my complaint.

As you seem to be one of the main organisers, what is the policy about the silence curfew and being ordered to "f**k off to your tent" by security? This is first time I've encountered anything like this at a music festival. I should point out I was sober at the time and not doing anything more scandalous than standing in the empty field way at the end of the festival past that big tower. Fair enough there was a guy strumming a ukelele nearby, but I didn't think that was a crime.

[Yokel Again]

I was glad to be at the quietest festie ever - camped miles away down by the hedge and hardly heard a thing with my earplugs in.

Happy days. And nights.

[RogerParticle]

I suspect you were the group camping near us that woke us up by screaming along to Madonna songs at 4am on Saturday night.

Edited September 16, 2008 by RogerParticle

[domjon]

I don't remember the Madonna songs but that could have been us, even though we weren't singing in the campsite at any point. We were asked to move down to the end of the field as we left the main arena and did as we were told, obviously this meant walking down the road through the campsite. However the simple fact was we were at a music festival. At last years end of the road we were camped near some guys who seemed to sing about bread through the whole night and whenever we were back at the tent. Yeah it was annoying, but at no point did I think that they should have been roughed up by security. I accepted it because I had chosen to come to a music festival.

At the point I was shoved about I wasn't singing (I'm not that good and don't usually know the words) I simply asked politely where we could go. Since when is it a crime to be standing near a group of people singing.

One thing is certain, not one Oasis song was played, fair enough if that happened then we deserved to be put in a database and kept out of all future festivals. If you had an objection to a particular song then all you needed to do was come and make a request. The guy on the ukelele seemed to be able play anything that was asked of him, quite possibly even one of your own songs.

Anyway you should be happy that I've learnt my lesson and I'll know for next year that End of the Road is not the kind of festival where you should consider staying up late, especially on a Saturday night as I know some people have jobs to go to on Monday.

[RogerParticle]

just set up camp near the fence next year....the bimble inn rumbles on well into the night so people in that area can hardly expect a long nights peaceful sleep.

[domjon]

That's near where we were asked to move from first by security and near where I was camped. From talking to the security advisor I got the impression that as soon as the music stops everyone should go to bed.

[RogerParticle]

Really? That does suprise me...we were camped in that area and stayed up all night on the friday without any bother....same story last year.

Edited September 16, 2008 by RogerParticle