The Festival thread

[melons]

Cant get to any festivals over here this summer because I'll be in Spain, so a few of us have just got tickets for Benicassim in July. Going to get a boat over to Valencia and hopefully have a few good days over there.

 

Anyone been before??? Dont know a thing about it but we thought it will probably be a good laugh.

 

Line up so far is...

 

Arcade Fire, Arctic Monkeys, Portishead, The Strokes, Beirut, Elbow, Primal Scream, Friendly Fires, Pendulum, Tinie Tempah, Mumford & Sons, The Streets, Julieta Venegas, Lori Meyers, CatPeople, The Coronas, Veronica Falls, Grupo Salvaje, The Marzipan Man and Smile.

 

Announcing a load more soon. Well, I think it will be loads as it's a 4 day festival.

 

I would love this.

[Remmie]

Cant get to any festivals over here this summer because I'll be in Spain, so a few of us have just got tickets for Benicassim in July. Going to get a boat over to Valencia and hopefully have a few good days over there.

 

Anyone been before??? Dont know a thing about it but we thought it will probably be a good laugh.

 

Line up so far is...

 

Arcade Fire, Arctic Monkeys, Portishead, The Strokes, Beirut, Elbow, Primal Scream, Friendly Fires, Pendulum, Tinie Tempah, Mumford & Sons, The Streets, Julieta Venegas, Lori Meyers, CatPeople, The Coronas, Veronica Falls, Grupo Salvaje, The Marzipan Man and Smile.

 

Announcing a load more soon. Well, I think it will be loads as it's a 4 day festival.

I went in '08 and it was pretty dissappointing to be honest, the atmosphere isn't the same as a UK festival, not sure why, maybe as I didn't camp in the baking hot weather, it is filled with spoilt English kids rather than Spaniels plus it's on a massive car park. What I will say though is that line up absolutely massacres the steaming shit line up I had and I still had a good time there, lots of talent and you can usually get right to the front really easily.

[Remmie]

Melons, what do you reckon to this as a festival tent: Vango Juno 300 3 Man Tent: Amazon.co.uk: Sports & Leisure

 

Not many reviews so concerned about it's sturdiness in the wind.

[Fugitive]

I went in '08 and it was pretty dissappointing to be honest, the atmosphere isn't the same as a UK festival, not sure why, maybe as I didn't camp in the baking hot weather, it is filled with spoilt English kids rather than Spaniels plus it's on a massive car park. What I will say though is that line up absolutely massacres the steaming shit line up I had and I still had a good time there, lots of talent and you can usually get right to the front really easily.

 

Someone said the exact same thing to me earlier on.

 

Just had a look at the 08 lineup and it was awful.

[melons]

Melons, what do you reckon to this as a festival tent: Vango Juno 300 3 Man Tent: Amazon.co.uk: Sports & Leisure

 

Not many reviews so concerned about it's sturdiness in the wind.

 

Wind? You should be more worried about it's waterproof ability for British festival camping! It's definitely a fair weather tent, you camp separately from most don't you? Not as much wind protection as what you'd get in a field of the masses? Any chance of you seeing one up before you buy? Size wise it looks decent on the floor space. Not something i'd trust enough to camp in if the weather wasn't going to be perfect. Is it a one off or will you be packing it back up to use again?

 

 

I camp in one of these when we go to festivals...

Gelert Oxygen 4 Tent Reviews and Details 1

 

I bought it for £50 or so as a prototype so the roof is plain blue on mine. I added extra guys to it to make it more sturdy, i also use V pegs. It's massively shit in reasonable/strong wind but perfect for festivals due to the wind support the other tents offer. Plus size, the bag it's packed in is small, it's tall enough to stand in and it stands out in field of dwarf tents! x

[JaminKibbler]

I've got mates going to every major festival, some to bennicassim in Spain. Really not sure which to go to, probably end up at Reading. Download looks terrible.

[Allan]

I've got mates going to every major festival, some to bennicassim in Spain. Really not sure which to go to, probably end up at Reading. Download looks terrible.

 

How so? I'll assume that you may not be the biggest fan of Metal by your statement. System Of A Down alone, makes Download the must attend festival for metal fans, in my opinion.

 

As for Reading. I've only ever been once, and only for the one day, and I have to say that I wasn't impressed. The atmosphere was terrible, too many teeny boppers and preachy hippy types for my liking...

 

The only other festival I've been to beyond Download and Reading is Sonisphere. It's different to the others because of the way they alternate between the 2 main stages, which is a bit of a pain in the arse, but crowd seem to be better there than in comparison with the atmosphere I experienced during my day at Reading.

[Remmie]

Someone said the exact same thing to me earlier on.

 

Just had a look at the 08 lineup and it was awful.

Normally line up is almost an irrelevance to me, but at Benicassim there wasn't a great deal else going on inside the arena other than music. There is a water park just outside it that I never got to go on and perhaps the camping fields would be a laugh. Maybe hang out with the Spaniels on the outside and offer a suck treat for wristband trade off!

 

Wind? You should be more worried about it's waterproof ability for British festival camping! It's definitely a fair weather tent, you camp separately from most don't you? Not as much wind protection as what you'd get in a field of the masses? Any chance of you seeing one up before you buy? Size wise it looks decent on the floor space. Not something i'd trust enough to camp in if the weather wasn't going to be perfect. Is it a one off or will you be packing it back up to use again?

 

 

I camp in one of these when we go to festivals...

Gelert Oxygen 4 Tent Reviews and Details 1

 

I bought it for £50 or so as a prototype so the roof is plain blue on mine. I added extra guys to it to make it more sturdy, i also use V pegs. It's massively shit in reasonable/strong wind but perfect for festivals due to the wind support the other tents offer. Plus size, the bag it's packed in is small, it's tall enough to stand in and it stands out in field of dwarf tents! x

At the festivals (3) I went to last year, wind was a bigger issue as a lot of the larger & higher tents blew over. Seems pretty waterproof as well, so may go with the extra guys. My last tent lasted 15 years so I fully intend to re-use it. Will check out your tent, though read a lot of bad reviews for Galert tents...

[Remmie]

I've got mates going to every major festival, some to bennicassim in Spain. Really not sure which to go to, probably end up at Reading. Download looks terrible.

 

How so? I'll assume that you may not be the biggest fan of Metal by your statement. System Of A Down alone, makes Download the must attend festival for metal fans, in my opinion.

 

As for Reading. I've only ever been once, and only for the one day, and I have to say that I wasn't impressed. The atmosphere was terrible, too many teeny boppers and preachy hippy types for my liking...

 

The only other festival I've been to beyond Download and Reading is Sonisphere. It's different to the others because of the way they alternate between the 2 main stages, which is a bit of a pain in the arse, but crowd seem to be better there than in comparison with the atmosphere I experienced during my day at Reading.

I haven't been myself but heard the atmosphere at download is electric, the crowd really look after each other and have great banter. AC/DC were legendary last year according to my mate.

 

Leeds/Reading does have a lower average age and the atmosphere is not quite the same, but I still had an ace time there. Glastonbury remains the ultimate festival although Latitude is fantastic in it's own right as well.

[melons]

Normally line up is almost an irrelevance to me, but at Benicassim there wasn't a great deal else going on inside the arena other than music. There is a water park just outside it that I never got to go on and perhaps the camping fields would be a laugh. Maybe hang out with the Spaniels on the outside and offer a suck treat for wristband trade off!

 

At the festivals (3) I went to last year, wind was a bigger issue as a lot of the larger & higher tents blew over. Seems pretty waterproof as well, so may go with the extra guys. My last tent lasted 15 years so I fully intend to re-use it. Will check out your tent, though read a lot of bad reviews for Galert tents...

 

They're not the bees knees, its def a get what you pay for thing. I only seem to get one season out of mine, more so due to my lack of care I'm sure they'd go longer if i wasn't so rough with them. That said, the main one gets a minimum of 10/15 outings in a season for me. I'm also pitching them on my own, so again not ideal. I've only had one rip as it collapsed onto my trailer as i was putting it down. Not clever on my part.

I've seen a few coleman and Kyhams that i adore, there's just not a chance in hell of me being able to erect them on my own.

 

 

 

Check what the poles fit into, whether it's pins or the poles fit into a socket, along side the fitted guys add guys in a Y fitting from pole to pole positions all the way round and it should handle some wind.

 

 

 

The benicassim one is really, really tempting. Isn't this the one someone earlier in the thread mentioned being really clean too?

[Allan]

I haven't been myself but heard the atmosphere at download is electric, the crowd really look after each other and have great banter. AC/DC were legendary last year according to my mate.

 

Leeds/Reading does have a lower average age and the atmosphere is not quite the same, but I still had an ace time there. Glastonbury remains the ultimate festival although Latitude is fantastic in it's own right as well.

 

This is indeed correct. Having been for 5 years on the bounce, the atmosphere just keeps getting better, and DC did indeed rock the shit out of Donington Park last year.

 

My first impression of Reading, was pretty much spot on with what you've said regarding the youthfulness of the festival goers, but I found there were also far too many preachy types around the food/drink areas. If I want to talk to someone about the subjects they were preaching about, I'd rather head to a designated tent to have the discussion, rather than being badgered constantly whilst trying to grab a pint or a bag of chips...

 

Also, in fairness, because I only went for 1 day, perhaps I'm doing the overall atmosphere at Reading a disservice.

[JaminKibbler]

How so? I'll assume that you may not be the biggest fan of Metal by your statement. System Of A Down alone, makes Download the must attend festival for metal fans, in my opinion.

 

As for Reading. I've only ever been once, and only for the one day, and I have to say that I wasn't impressed. The atmosphere was terrible, too many teeny boppers and preachy hippy types for my liking...

 

The only other festival I've been to beyond Download and Reading is Sonisphere. It's different to the others because of the way they alternate between the 2 main stages, which is a bit of a pain in the arse, but crowd seem to be better there than in comparison with the atmosphere I experienced during my day at Reading.

 

I do love System, but as it's during exam time it's not really worth it in my eyes. I'm sure they'll end up playing somewhere else again sometime in the future. If there was a great mainstage i'd be inclined on going, but for me it's not there out of the bands named so far. And in comparison, Soni looks a great deal better, with the exception of Biffy Clyro it's a damn good line-up.

 

Also, I have to agree with you on the Reading audience, as it's a mixed festival (Heavier music, general rock and indie) you got a big range of audience, and of course you end up with the bellends who go to get lashed. Thankfully, V festival is the weekend before and the great quantity to there to listen to Sugababes and shit.

 

This years reading line up (proposed) in The Strokes and Muse is decent enough for me to go, as the undercard is always decent due to the quantity of stages playing varied music throughout the day (not anywhere close to Glastonbury though). Reading has the benefit of being on the last weekend of August and finishing on a bank holiday which is ideal to most of my mates and me so it looks a no brainer considering we all like different music. Hopefully there will be a final headliner who is something different to say the least, I for one get quite fed up of seeing foo Fighters, Green Day and Muse floating inbetween festivals headlining them all somehow. I'm still holding out for someone special and amazing like Blur or Daft Punk, but knowing my luck it'll be MCR or some other stupid bank like that.

[Allan]

I do love System, but as it's during exam time it's not really worth it in my eyes. I'm sure they'll end up playing somewhere else again sometime in the future. If there was a great mainstage i'd be inclined on going, but for me it's not there out of the bands named so far. And in comparison, Soni looks a great deal better, with the exception of Biffy Clyro it's a damn good line-up.

 

Also, I have to agree with you on the Reading audience, as it's a mixed festival (Heavier music, general rock and indie) you got a big range of audience, and of course you end up with the bellends who go to get lashed. Thankfully, V festival is the weekend before and the great quantity to there to listen to Sugababes and shit.

 

This years reading line up (proposed) in The Strokes and Muse is decent enough for me to go, as the undercard is always decent due to the quantity of stages playing varied music throughout the day (not anywhere close to Glastonbury though). Reading has the benefit of being on the last weekend of August and finishing on a bank holiday which is ideal to most of my mates and me so it looks a no brainer considering we all like different music. Hopefully there will be a final headliner who is something different to say the least, I for one get quite fed up of seeing foo Fighters, Green Day and Muse floating inbetween festivals headlining them all somehow. I'm still holding out for someone special and amazing like Blur or Daft Punk, but knowing my luck it'll be MCR or some other stupid bank like that.

 

Fair enough.

 

A mate I go to Download with each year wants to head back to Sonisphere again this year, but only for Slipknot on the Sunday. He's going to have to adjust his plans I'm afraid... With the big 4 on Friday, plus Gojira on Bohemia on the same day, there is no way in the world I'm missing that day, so we may as well just make a weekend of it!

[Remmie]

Strokes and Muse at Leeds/Reading? Damn my twat mate for choosing that weekend to get married.

[Remmie]

They're not the bees knees, its def a get what you pay for thing. I only seem to get one season out of mine, more so due to my lack of care I'm sure they'd go longer if i wasn't so rough with them. That said, the main one gets a minimum of 10/15 outings in a season for me. I'm also pitching them on my own, so again not ideal. I've only had one rip as it collapsed onto my trailer as i was putting it down. Not clever on my part.

I've seen a few coleman and Kyhams that i adore, there's just not a chance in hell of me being able to erect them on my own.

 

 

 

Check what the poles fit into, whether it's pins or the poles fit into a socket, along side the fitted guys add guys in a Y fitting from pole to pole positions all the way round and it should handle some wind.

 

 

 

The benicassim one is really, really tempting. Isn't this the one someone earlier in the thread mentioned being really clean too?

The one I posted only has one central pole, hence my concern about wind. It is supposed to have a Teepee look about it and I think has a couple loops on the groundsheet. Thinking about it I'm not sure there will even be extra points to attach the guys too. Maybe I'll bring a spare mini tent just in case!

 

Benicassim is very clean, though unable to comment on camping area.

[melons]

The one I posted only has one central pole, hence my concern about wind. It is supposed to have a Teepee look about it and I think has a couple loops on the groundsheet. Thinking about it I'm not sure there will even be extra points to attach the guys too. Maybe I'll bring a spare mini tent just in case!

 

Benicassim is very clean, though unable to comment on camping area.

 

It looked like the oxygen where it had a a pole on each seam, couldn't see the single pole thing. On that, the Teepee we had held up in some decent wind (you posted a picture of one a while ago) I can only imagine that the pole being central wouldn't be put under the same pressure as corner ones. I'm also assuming it's a steel one? You can always buy the equipment to add on more guys, pointnorth.co.uk – Outdoor fabrics, accessories and zips. Mail Order Specialist for waterproof breathable nylons, fleece, Cordura, acrylic canvas. I keep on meaning to drive up and get them to make me up a rainbow wind break...

 

Give it a trial run in your garden, put it up for a couple of days when you know the weather isn't so great, if it leaks coat it with some fabsil, if it collapses you know how much wind it can take. Also saves taking two tents.

[Chairman Meow]

Fair enough.

 

A mate I go to Download with each year wants to head back to Sonisphere again this year, but only for Slipknot on the Sunday. He's going to have to adjust his plans I'm afraid... With the big 4 on Friday, plus Gojira on Bohemia on the same day, there is no way in the world I'm missing that day, so we may as well just make a weekend of it!

 

Not really a festival man because I turned into a boring old fart way before my time when I was about 23 or 24 but that Friday lineup for Sonisphere could tempt me out of retirement. Haven't seen Slayer live for ages, did Tattoo the Planet in Glasgow and Nottingham Rock City in the same year if I remember rightly. Had backstage with my mate who works for Marshall and ended up in the Cathouse in Glasgow with Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman both really decent blokes.

[Yerma'satexan!]

Me and me mates are off to Garden Party in Petracane, Croatia.

[Yerma'satexan!]

Then thinking about going to Burning Man in the middle of the desert in Nevada in September.

[Vincent Vega]

My festival days are behind me, I just can't be arsed with the camping and the mud at the age of 40. Saying that though, as a lover of metal I'd be heading to Sonisphere over Download this year where the line-up is a bit naff. The Friday at Sonisphere will be one hell of a night for metal lovers and Motorhead and Sisters Of Mercy are a nice bonus.

 

T In The Park looks like it will be a good weekend too.

 

Sonisphere Festival: Knebworth 2011 - 8th - 10th July, Outdoor Rock Festival in South East England, United Kingdom.

 

 

2011 Line Up

 

[Spy Bee]

Got me Green Man tickets. What the music line-up lacks it makes it for in other ways, comedy tent, literature tent, alternative stages, atmosphere etc.

[WaltonRed]

just Glasto for me this year but defo fancy another

[davewright2k]

Sziget, Hungary.

[WaltonRed]

- Anna Calvi

- BB King

- Big Boi

- The Chemical Brothers

- Crystal Castles

......- Friendly Fires

- Fleet Foxes

- Gruff Rhys

- James Blake

- Janelle Monae

- Laura Marling (pictured)

- Mumford & Sons

- Primal Scream

- Warpaint

 

Just added to Glasto

[Gym Beglin]

The T in the Park line-up looks really good, but the fact remains that I'd rather take a shit on a bandsaw than go to Scotland in the Summer for a music festival.

Try again.