Rockaway Beach

[ciderbus]

Second year for this festival at Bognor Butlins in October. I was surprised there wasn't much about it on here.

Has anyone been? I'd be interested to hear what it is like. Definitely going to give it a go though.

Very good line up taking shape with a new announcement today. So far...https://twitter.com/rockaway_fest?lang=en-gb

 

 

[ciderbus]

Really?  No-one?   I thought this would be getting a bit of love given the mix of old and new bands on offer.

Suede, Saint Etienne, Killing Joke, We are Scientists, Kagoule, Wire, Wedding Present, Lee Scratch Perry, Luna, Cats Eyes, Eagulls, Jah Wobble, Membranes, Bill Ryder-Jones, Blanck Mass, Jane Weaver, Damo Suzuki, yuck, Joanna Gruesome, Clinic, Gang, Man made, TVAM, Multibird, FEWS, Desert Mountain Tribe, Black Honey, Eliza Shaddad,

A full day of Suede stuff and a full day of Killing Joke stuff also available.

I’m intrigued by the film “Where you’re meant to be” with Aidan Moffat live.

Chris Geddes and don Letts DJ sets.

And there is still plenty more time for announcements.

I'm not involved in this by the way, just loking ahead. Would be interested to know if it is as good as it looks.

Did ATP at Butlins so hoping this is similar atmosphere, if not music.

 

[cdm22]

We did it last year and really enjoyed it. A bit of a weird mix of crowd though. Almost as if some were there not knowing what sort of bands were playing. Tempted by this year too

[PastCaring]

I think that we would probably be interested in going to this if we weren't already booked up for The Great British Alternative at Skegness the same weekend.  This will be our 3rd and there's usually some crossover bands with Rockaway Beach.  

From our experience at Skeg, I'd say that some of the people that you find on these weekends genuinely don't know what sort of bands are playing - the majority of these will be staying on the caravan site and will be taking advantage of whatever entertainment happens to be happening on site that weekend.  

The Great British Alternative, by the way, is a pretty good weekend for people with a slightly punkier taste in music ...

[ciderbus]

On 27/07/2016 at 10:54 AM, PastCaring said:

 I'd say that some of the people that you find on these weekends genuinely don't know what sort of bands are playing - the majority of these will be staying on the caravan site and will be taking advantage of whatever entertainment happens to be happening on site that weekend.  

 

Cheers both. Sounds interesting. I like the idea of people stumbling across The Membranes or Joana Gruesome by mistake

[rpfranks]

@ciderbus did you go in the end?

We went for the first time this year and it was brilliant.  Slightly poorly attended throughout the day though which was a bit embarrassing for some bands I imagine but did seem to pick up for the later bands and headliners.

Do agree with the vibe that there seemed to be some people there just because it was an adult weekend, and not because they like the bands, but we're going to go back next year.

[ciderbus]

On 11/10/2016 at 6:15 PM, rpfranks said:

@ciderbus did you go in the end?

We went for the first time this year and it was brilliant.  Slightly poorly attended throughout the day though which was a bit embarrassing for some bands I imagine but did seem to pick up for the later bands and headliners.

Do agree with the vibe that there seemed to be some people there just because it was an adult weekend, and not because they like the bands, but we're going to go back next year.

@rpfranks Yes cheers. Had a great weekend and definitely going back. Weirdly a few stags and hens on the first night that I never really noticed again.

I'd agree about the daytime. We watched more bands than we missed but still had time for swimming, crazy golf and a sit on the beach!

Highlights for me....Suede, Blanck Mass, Clinic, Bill Ryder-Jones, Cats Eyes with honourable mentions for St Etienne, Kagoule and Killing Joke. 

 

[tolywoly]

I was there this year, and last year. Will always keep it on the radar as it's such good value and reasonably easy to get to for us. A half decent line-up and I'll be back next year.

They made some small improvements on last year - removing the 3rd stage in the middle of the pavilion, replacing it with the big screen. There also seemed to be more to do after the bands.

During the day we had a look around Bognor. Went to the Fox Inn for lunch twice, that's a nice little place. Took some pictures outside William Blake's cottage. 

[PastCaring]

I take it that there were no problems getting in to see any of the bands at Bognor then?  At Skegness the crowd got so large for at least 3 of the bands that there were long queues and people being let in on a strictly one out one in basis.  A similar situation occurred last year for the Buzzcocks and The Damned.  To tell the truth, it's put us off quite a lot - there's not a lot of point going to an event where you can't guarantee getting in to see some of the bands!  It's made us much more likely to consider Bognor for next year, in spite of the fact that it has to be twice the distance from us than Skegness is.

[tolywoly]

1 hour ago, PastCaring said:

I take it that there were no problems getting in to see any of the bands at Bognor then?  At Skegness the crowd got so large for at least 3 of the bands that there were long queues and people being let in on a strictly one out one in basis.  A similar situation occurred last year for the Buzzcocks and The Damned.  To tell the truth, it's put us off quite a lot - there's not a lot of point going to an event where you can't guarantee getting in to see some of the bands!  It's made us much more likely to consider Bognor for next year, in spite of the fact that it has to be twice the distance from us than Skegness is.

They only use two venues for bands - Centre Stage and Reds. Both are pretty big. Can't imagine they'd be many problems, even if the festival was sold out. 

I went a few ATPs at Minehead, there was the occasional queue. 

[ciderbus]

Yes no queues.  Only really busy for the headliners/later bands but still plenty of room at both stages.

Never queued for more than a couple of minutes at the bar either....though whether that was down to it being well staffed or low quality I am not sure

 

[tolywoly]

2 hours ago, tolywoly said:

They only use two venues for bands - Centre Stage and Reds. Both are pretty big. Can't imagine they'd be many problems, even if the festival was sold out. 

I went a few ATPs at Minehead, there was the occasional queue. 

There's a couple of terrible grammatical errors in my last post. I need someone to proofread them for me before I post.

[PastCaring]

22 hours ago, tolywoly said:

They only use two venues for bands - Centre Stage and Reds. Both are pretty big. Can't imagine they'd be many problems, even if the festival was sold out. 

 

Yeah, it's the same at Skegness, with Reds being the bigger of the two venues.  Even so, the queue for The Stranglers started up outside Reds more than 2 hours before they were due to come on stage.  We heard that the crowd was packed in like sardines for The Rezillos!  The queue to get into Centre Stage to see The Damned was incredible - it wound all the way around the pavillion!  And I don't think the event was sold out this year.

Maybe the venues are bigger at Bognor?  Will definitely bear it in mind for next year ...

 

[tolywoly]

19 hours ago, PastCaring said:

Yeah, it's the same at Skegness, with Reds being the bigger of the two venues.  Even so, the queue for The Stranglers started up outside Reds more than 2 hours before they were due to come on stage.  We heard that the crowd was packed in like sardines for The Rezillos!  The queue to get into Centre Stage to see The Damned was incredible - it wound all the way around the pavillion!  And I don't think the event was sold out this year.

Maybe the venues are bigger at Bognor?  Will definitely bear it in mind for next year ...

 

Both are decent sized club venues at Bognor. Capacities would be around Centre Stage (2,000) and Reds (800), I'd guess.

[rpfranks]

On 10/19/2016 at 8:47 AM, tolywoly said:

Both are decent sized club venues at Bognor. Capacities would be around Centre Stage (2,000) and Reds (800), I'd guess.

Centre Stage is 3,000 and Reds is about 1,800 I think. There's a couple of 600 capacity venues in Birmingham which are tiny, about 1/3 the size of Reds!

[PastCaring]

Well, it looks as though there may be no Rockaway Beach next year

Just went to Butlins website to see whether any acts had been announced for next year, only to find that Absolute 80s is listed for Bognor that weekend instead!?!?!  Just as I'd managed to persuade the other half to consider it for next year, as well ....

 

[ciderbus]

On 15/11/2016 at 10:55 AM, PastCaring said:

Well, it looks as though there may be no Rockaway Beach next year

Just went to Butlins website to see whether any acts had been announced for next year, only to find that Absolute 80s is listed for Bognor that weekend instead!?!?!  Just as I'd managed to persuade the other half to consider it for next year, as well ....

 

I think I had seen something saying they were hoping to put it on but were negotiating dates.

Not sure where though, Twitter maybe.

[cdm22]

It would surprise me. There seem to be far fewer bands on this year. I kept expecting more band announcements but they never came.

[cdm22]

6 hours ago, cdm22 said:

It would surprise me. There seem to be far fewer bands on this year. I kept expecting more band announcements but they never came.

That was supposed to say 'wouldn't surprise me'!

[tolywoly]

Shame if that's it for Rockaway beach.

Suede were a big booking this year. That may have been them going all-in. If it didn't sell well on that basis, then maybe it never would. All speculation... Still hope it's back next year.