You'd have to be crazy to go... (Festivals in general)

Member Name: wicked_witch

Product:	Festivals in general
Date:	05/07/02 (194 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: music, atmosphere, lovely people

Disadvantages: the cost, the toilets, the mud

...But all the best people are!

Ah festivals. Love em or hate em, they are here to stay, and I will be attending them until at least I pop my clogs.

Where else can you camp in a sea of mud for three days, be completely surrounded by hippes, junkies, rockers, AND clubbers (all at the same time), and get such disgusting toilet facilities. It has to be said, festivals are an ordeal. Smelly, mucky, well off the beaten track, and full of nasties looking to rape/murder/mug you (or so many would have you believe).

But where else can you see so many great bands, have such a blast and enjoy such a top atmosphere. Us festival goers are not sadists you know. We don't enjoy not being able to find our tents at three in the morning and looking like we just crawled out of a rat infested sewer for two days. But we will endure, enjoy, and love it to bits and you can bet your entire life savings we'll be back next year for more!

The lack of Glastonbury last year was a real downer, but to be honest, it didn't really make much of a splash this year. Although the Eavester can be forgiven for the not-too-great lineup because of the whole security thing, plus, the fence may have killed Glastonbury's spirit but at least it allows it to continue.

My chosen festival, T in the Park, this year, on the other hand, looks to go down as one of the best lineups in its history. No crappy headliners from the likes of the boring Phonics this year. This year its the mighty Oasis. OK, I hate them, but seeing them live will give me the oppurtunity to throw things at Liam. But there's plenty to keep my happy. The main stage boasts Primal Scream, Gomez and the Dandy Warhols on Saturday, along with Starsailor (who will also be getting pointy things thrown at them), No Doubt and and Proud Mary. Sunday is a more rock-friendly day, headed by US giants Foo Fighters, and backed up by US punk giants Greenday, Swedish garage punk giants the Hives, ra
dio-friendly US giants (OK, you get the picture) Jimmy Eat world, plus the yawnsome Mull Historical Society. Stretched over the other stages are better acts still, including Morcheeba, Basement Jaxx, my fave band in the world Idlewild, A, Less than Jake, the brilliant Cooper Temple Clause, Hundred Reasons, [Spunge], BRMC and Air. The dance tent boasts Groove Armada and Orbital as headliners and other acts attending are badly Drawn Boy, Seafood, the parkinsons, Ian Brown and Sonic Youth. To be honest, the only bands I truly dislike (that I know of) on the lineup are Oasis and Starsailor, although I won't be watching Gwen Stefani (although I reckon most of the men will). Enough about the rather amazing T in the park lineup!

The Carling Weekender boasts a top bill this year too. Among the acts attending are the coolest New Yorkers EVER, the Strokes, plus the rather fantastic White Stripes, The strange Oz band that is the Vines (Nirvana meets the Kinks, with the most insane frontman you are ever likely to see), the Prodigy, Muse and Incubus.

Lineups aside, here's the pros and cons of festival life.

Pros-
The music. Well duh! Where else can you get such a collection of great bands in one go? for a mere £35+ day ticket you can see about eight or nine bands you love, as opposed to paying a tenner+ to seem one of with some uninspiring support act. Not only this, there is a nice variety of music events. The major stages are hogged by the indie bands and rockers, but you get other stages for dance, jazz, and even Celidh at T in the P.

The atmosphere- You just can't beat it. From the anticipation before the gates open in the morning to the euphoria after the headliners, or in the dance tent (honest, they're not on drugs). Not to mention the thrill of seeing one of the minor bands on the smaller stages, and getting that buzzy feeling that says your watching the next big thing (the Strokes at last years T, I suspect).
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The new mates- You always make thousands. You can quite easily chat up some random bystander, or be chatted up by some random bystander. Its my guarantee you will make at least eight new best mates at a festival. You may never see them again, but at three in the morning, prancing around a campfire after one too many tennants you will love them to bits. It also means, if you can't find your own tent, sharing theirs is an option.

The fact that its a two non-stop party- well, what else can you say!

The Camping. Come on, its fun, as long as you come well prepared. Finding your tent after midnight is a whole other issue though!


Cons-

The rain/mud. On the offchance it stays dry, chances are the fields will still be churned to muck. And how often does it stay dry?
Combatting the mud- Be sensible with clothing. Bring a light waterproof that can be scrunched into the bottom of a bag, and a heavy sweater you can tie around your waist, with something light underneath. Wearing a plastic bag between two pairs of socks will keep your feet dry. And don't forget the suncream, just in case! Ever the optimist.

The toilets. Yech. Glastonbury's toilets in particular, are legendary. Plus, on the offchance that there is toilet paper, it feels like sandpaper.
The solution- There isn't one. Gross toilets are part and parcel of festival-going. But bring your own loo paper, and try to limit your exposure. Alternately, bring a camper van, although that means missing all the campsite fun!

Bands who pull out at the last minute. Weezer, anyone?
The solution- Going to see one particular band is daft. Wait til they go on tour!

Overdoing it- Get too pissed on the first night and you will be heading home the morning of the second. It aint big and it aint clever!
The solution- Figure out why youre going. If its to absorb the great atmosphere and party like its 1999 then by all means, get th
oroughly wasted. But if you wanna see some top music and be able to remember it, watch your intake, drink plenty of water and eat stomach-lining food like bread and bananas, and drink milk.

The expense- A day ticket will set you back around £35, a weekend around the £55 mark, and expect to pay well over £80 for a weekend with camping. Plus, you'll need a tent and sleeping bag, food and drink is available onsite but you should bring some basics. Booze, food and drink onsite is notoriously expensive. Then there's travelling to and from the site, open returns to T in the Park this year are priced at £11.
How to keep your expenses down a bit- Take plenty of booze for the campsite. Remember glass won't be allowed and cans are dissaproved of, so be careful. Take basic, starchy food which is easy to cook, plus plenty of chocolate and filling stuff like muesli bars (which are a good idea to take onto the actual festival site, because chocolate will melt). Bananas are useful to have around, filling, healthy and apparently good for hangovers. Also, take an empty plastic water bottle to fill up on site as the water bottles onsite are very expensive. You may get tickets cheaper if you get them earlier in the year, and buying them off a tout is both risky and expensive.

Health risks- Hypothermia, sunstroke, Hangovers, alcohol poisonsing and food poisoning are a few of the minor(!) risks involved with festival going. With a little common sense you can avoid these.
How to keep healthy- Drinks loads of water. The body needs at least 1.5 litres under normal circumstances, much more if your dancing, jumping around or taking drugs. There are drinking water taps onsite. Those new 1 litre Volvic sport bottles will come in handy here I think! If your drinking or doing drugs you will need more water still. The advice is to drink a pint of water for every pint of beer, but this is both uncomfortable and difficult for some people, and will have you in t
he loo all the time, but try and drink a good amount. Be prepared for all weather, Bring plenty of layers, a hat and sunscreen. There's not much you can do about the food poisoning part unless you cook all your own meals for the day.

So there you have it. Rank toilets, dying of overheating or freezing, and more mud than you can handle, but if you can take the heat (or, more accurately, cold, then you will never have so much fun as you do at a festival! If the idea of the mud and loud music makes your toes curl, then watch it on the telly instead. But for those of us crazy enough to enjoy festival life, rock on!

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