speckles
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Posts posted by speckles
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Vampire Weekend
Gruff Rhys
Snail Mail
Insecure Men
DTB
Damien Jurado
Destroyer
Richard Dawson
Flatworms
Billy Childish
Japanese Breakfast
Could easily pick a different 10 though. It's a great line up this year.
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I've decided to bump this, apologies, but it seemed a waste of time starting a whole new thread for the sake of one question, and this seemed as a good a thread as any, without trawling through.
Not a newbie; this will be my 7th year ( though not consecutively, missed the last 2 after a horrendous gallstone attack caused an earlier leaving in 2015) but I am in a newbie situation as this will be the first year with a young (9 month) child in tow.
So my question is this - I know that you can't have pushchairs etc after a certain time in the Garden stage/Woods but does that apply to the Big Top too? Can't see anything about it so presuming not. Obviously would be right at the side and away from the entrances if I did actually go in there with a pushchair, and no intention of seeing any later bands, more just a wonder really.
We've got a sling too, and have no intention of trying to get into the Tipi with a pram, have no fear. It's already enough of a squeeze in there with just people, never mind all the blankets, children, accessories etc, and I've got no intention of adding to that!
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Met Office did also state that 'warmer than average' might only be 1 - 2 degrees warmer than average so taking into account the Wiltshire average there, that could mean 19-20. Which giving the absolute boiling temps of the last few months would feel a little chilly I think.
All these woulds and coulds though... it's impossible to predict the weather accurately even this close. I'd settle for relatively warm ( I don't like it hot) with the just the odd shower if it really has to rain. Like 2010 when it poured through Iron and Wine, but was mostly dry the rest of the week (from memory anyway)
Whatever the temp it'll still be bloody freezing at night though, right?
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that reminds me I bought the GOASTT cd from Sean (we're like that - now) and later at Rough Trade noticed they had a £5 mark up on it. Was everything that kind of price difference?
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Saw Otti Albietz handing over CDs for sale to Rough Trade on Friday Morning (I think) and heard them telling him that they take 25% of sales, so not so suprising if bands want to increase their prices a little on Rough Trade sold stuff.
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This was my 5th End Of The Road, and it's definitely changed since the first one I went to in 2009. I didn't go last year though, so perhaps some of the bad things aren't suddenly bad but have been building up. Will see.
Firstly good things:-
David Thomas Broughton (both times)
Benjamin Clemantine,
Come Heckle Christ (I liked seeing 'Jesus' chasing another man up a hill),
Wave Pictures,
Gruff,
Daniel Rossen despite being horrible plagued by sound issues,
St Vincent
The Flaming Lips (It was also fun to hear people in the next time who clearly had no idea what the Lips live show was like talking about it the next morning in a clearly confused fashion; "he was in a Zorbing ball? What?)
Benjamin Booker
Lucius
St Vincent.
Other stuff that was good
The cinema building looked nice (though I've never been in it).
Moving Boutique camping seemed to create a lot more space.
The new food stalls were pretty good. The food overall was excellent.
New Ale Tent excellent, though running out of beer...
Nice library tent addition, though as some have pointed out, too full.
The white toilets are great, the fact that they are easier to flush definitely seems to add to the cleanliness rating.
Bad stuff.
Rubbish and recycling :- I remember there being lots of seperate bins for different waste items, when did that stop happening (last year)? Seems a shame to have just one set of waste bins. Though they were emptied pretty regularly. The Campsite didn't seem to have actually waste areas so there was just bin bags dumped about; either that or no one was using the metal triangles that are for waste. Perhaps it's because EOTR had used them to label campsite areas. Also did anyone get handed rubbish bags when they entered?
Toilet Queues. Less toilets or more people? Certainly more queues. In the past I've not had to queue at every toilet on the festival site early in the morning. This year though.. In fact there wasn't a single time I wanted to use the toilet that there wasn't a queue. Not once. This despite the addition a few years ago of urinal blocks. I suppose that doesn't alleviate the need of men to defecate, but perhaps eotr thought it did and that's why they reduce the toilets in general? Also seeing people taking a piss at the fences to the side of the Woods stage. That's just disgusting. Shouldn't be happening ever, surely the stewards should be on hand to sort that out. Speaking of where there less stewards this year?
Running out of ale. It happened a few years ago too, and at No Direction. Surely by now the organisers have figured out that demand for ale is huge. They clearly have as they've created an ale tent, so why not get the supply right.
Chatters and others. So yeah as others have said, too many people talking through everything. Horrible outfits. People think it's something it's not; is that down to the bands? Is EOTR marketed differently. There's clearly a whole set of people who aren't there for the music and just there because it's a festival. Don't push to the front at St Vincent and then ask your friends who she is and talk through it. Stand at the back away from other people. Also, and I'm sure it's a controversial opinion - too many children. Or if that's a bit harsh, too many feral children. It's not fair on other festival goers to bring your children along and then let them run wild screaming. It's not a family day out, it's a music festival.
No bookshop tent! Why?
That sounds like I thought it was worse than it was, it's not true. Overly I really enjoyed myself again, but there's bits of the festival that are being spoiled now and ruining the enjoyment factor. I don't know if the capacity has sneaked up again, but there certainly seemed to be an general unpreparedness for the number of people ie. queues to get in, toilet queues, beer selling out (especially on Thursday evening). Seem to be less stewards or less stewarding going on. Ultimately I felt like there's a less caring attitude about the organisers (not the festival goers) a "well we'll get people in regardless of what we do, so there" way of thinking which I don't associate with End Of The Road at all. I hope it's not true. Not sure if I'll be back.
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It rained quite a lot when Iron and Wine played in 2010, can remember getting wet but sticking it out as he was so good. It definitely rained when Woods played on The Woods stage in 2012 as well. Neither year was particularly awful but I think wellies is definitely not a terrible idea. Can get quite boggy as pointed out around the main throughfares. The campsite can be pretty bad too, particularly where there are water pipes/troughs. You can get your shoe sucked off whilst brushing your teeth if you're not careful.
That said, they do put matting down (at least in around the Garden stage) which helps a lot, and with it raining so early in the week this year it might give them a chance to prepare ahead.
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I would like
Guided By Voices
Joanna Newsom
Dead Man's Bones
Nick Cave
Laura Cantrell
Matthew Dear
Marnie Stern
Saint Etienne
Jarvis doing an actual set
St Vincent
The Extra Lens
The Wave Picture (again)
Calvin Johnson
Mirah
The Microphones
Withered Hand
Wild Nothing
Loads more, but most of those seem unlikely enough as it is.
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Was any reason given for Steve Mason pulling out? He played Bestival, I see.
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This is really hard, there was so much, but
1. Iron and Wine - Upward Over The Mountain. Sounding even more beautiful then it does on record.
2. Mountain Goats - Up The Wolves. Not even sure they played this anywhere else on their UK tour. It was lovely to see John Darnielle with a big grin on his face for all of their set.
3. Darren Hayman doing Alan Bean. It's not a big suprise to see Darren doing Hefner songs anymore, but I've seen him lots and Dead Media isn't an album I've seen him do a lot off so it was great to see. Also Moddi doing an amazing covers of Bridges and Balloons during their 2nd woods set.
Theres loads more too, antlers, yo la tengo, Captain Death by The London Snorkelling Team (their visual comedy/music thing was amazing)
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Yeah it was Pass the Hatchet, and if for some reason it's the other lenghty song (the one they opened with) that'll be Nuclear War.
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I thought Iron and Wine, played allotted time? He did encore (with a cover of Such Great Heights), maybe people missed that?
I had a problem with the sound from the cider bus on the Thursday, Darren Hayman actually commented on that as he could hear it from the stage, seemed as thought that was sorted out fairly quickly, but maybe the cider bus would have been better where it was the year before.
I'd agree with the fact it seemed busier, I've only been once before but I noticed it, and yeah it seemed a lot noisier around the 3am - 6am mark, could hear lots of screaming whilst attempting to sleep. Maybe security could have been better, a little more telling people to keep it down slightly wouldn't go amiss; that said it's got to be tough and, if their were more people, a little harder too. Maybe something that needs looking at?
There were some impressive improvements too mind, particularly with the size of the tipi; excellent work there. Gives me hope that any little niggles from this year will be sorted for the next one. Oh and can we have the Scandi kitchen back please? There was supposed to be a Viking Cafe but that never materalised.
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That was another wonderful festival; I've only been twice but the improvements this year were blatently obvious the minute I wandered over to the tipi tent to discover that it was a lot lot bigger; didn't get to see anything in the tipi or the local last year so it was great to take advantage of the extra room.
Favourite bands
The Mountain Goats. I think that was just an amazing set. I love the mountain goats anyway, but they were really special.
Yo La Tengo. Despite the fact that I'd jokingly said earlier in the day that "I hope they open with Nuclear war" and then them actually doing it, I thought they were excellent.
Iron and Wine - I've been told that Iron and Wine has been known to rope in a band and be awful, but he was stunning on his own. I thought it might be hard to win over the crowd with the rain coming on, but by the end of 'Flightless Bird' he'd achieved it.
Others - Moddi (twice, once in the woods with a spectacular cover of Bridges and Balloons), The Antlers, Monotonix (being charged at by a bearded man with a drum is quite scary), Adam Green, CW Stoneking, Wolf Parade, Allo Darlin and Darren Hayman. It was nice to see Bill from Allo Darlin' in the healing fields on Friday with his kid and have him say hello to me. Little things like that make the festival.
Anyway, yeah, will be back next year for sure.
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'Ello, went last year; long time reader, first time poster.
I know it's unlikely, but the fact that it says on the announcement that Mark and Isobel are on "early evening" worries me that we might miss them. Should get there for 5ish and then need time for camping so I'm sadly resigned to missing Meursault but surely Lanegan and Campbell will be on quite late, right? Someone reassure me, I'm mildly panicked?
Booze
in End of the Road
Posted
Bringing some craft cans; Cloudwater, Northern Monk, Beavertown (Sapling which will hopefully not be on the Beavertown bar because it'd be annoying to cart a duplicate beer some 250 miles) but not many cans as got dad duties. The real ale stuff is always decent and fairly reasonably priced anyway so i never bring a lot of my own. I'll probably be reasonably sensible and stick to hot cider from cider bus as a night time treat. Though Brandy and a hip flask has been a favourite in the past.