Dancers Stand Very Still

It's not 'nanny state' to respect other people. Drinking is also a nonsensical comparison as you're not forcing dozens of others to share every mouthful with you. For what it's worth, the baby incident was on a bench at Talking Heads not in the mosh pit at black midi.

I realised that this would be contentious and was hoping to raise a little debate around it. I wouldn't ordinarily take so much notice (although it is never pleasant) but there were a couple of times this weekend - one where somebody started smoking right beside a newborn; and another where somebody with asthma left to go to the first aid tent - which made me think a little more. For me it's definitely one of those things that has become habitual for people but, when you take a step back to think about it, it just seems an entirely unreasonable thing to do.

There's tonnes of room around site and the vast majority of sets are (often much) less than an hour long. Sparking up in a crowd and inflicting smoke on many others, when you've no idea if they have underlying conditions, just isn't on.

Apologies if this comes across as a negative review overall but I am coming at it from very high expectations of EotR. Goods: The people! Met some incredible people, one of whom is even staying with us tonight. Almost universally good-natured. The showers - warm and no queues whenever I wanted to use. Drinks - didn't drink too much but what I had was good. Lack of rain! (although mixed blessing because of dust) Everything on the talking heads stage! [edit] Bads: Comparatively low quality and low level of eclecticism in low/mid-range acts. Toilets / lack of handwashing facilities. Dust - horrid. Needs damping down every couple of hours when it's dry. People smoking in crowds (please don't do this). There was little depth during the day and a lot of dross (rather than inspired up and comers). Perhaps it was because I'd seen most of the bands I'd call interesting plenty of times - a result of EotR's place in the calendar. It did seem like the festival had significantly cut back on the money spent on bands this year. That really concerns me for the future of the event (both financially and reputationally), especially if they sell out tickets and then costs continue to spiral by the next edition. I'll be holding off on buying a ticket for next year and will likely only take the plunge nearer the time if the line-up returns to 2018-levels! I would have no hesitation in coming back again in the future but think I'll most likely try somewhere else and come back fresh to what is still a special place.

For those who are super-interested though, this is the primary model I'd use for medium term forecasting, with the site pinpointed: https://www.wxcharts.com/?panel=default&model=ecmwf,ecmwf,ecmwf,ecmwf&region=eng&chart=overview,accprecip,wind10mkph,snowdepth&run=12&step=066&plottype=10&lat=50.952&lon=-2.083&skewtstep=0 For short term (next 48 hours), this is one is generally really good: https://www.wxcharts.com/?panel=default&model=arome,arome,arome,arome&region=eng&chart=preciprate,accprecip,wind10mkph,snowdepth&run=12&step=012&plottype=10&lat=50.952&lon=-2.083&skewtstep=0

That's exactly my concern! I don't think I'll have time to do my usual full forecast for the weekend but on first glance it doesn't look particularly pretty. I'll just stick waterproofs on and get on with it but I do feel I've been particularly unlucky having fairly significant rain each of the three times I've camped this summer when it didn't rain for almost 8 weeks at home 😛.

Yeah, the London APE crowd was a definite negative for me on this occasion. I do love how subjective these things are though - if you had a good day and got good people around you it could be completely different. I think their APE show a few years ago was the best I've seen them, for example, as it just caught me in the right moment.

I said this in the APE thread but was Matt ill? Sound was decent (for a change in Vic Park!) but his voice seemed well off. Otherwise, the band were good but not great for me. It was the worst I've seen them but still a solid 7/10.

Yesterday was a lot better than expected, given the location. I thought Nick and the whole band were in cracking form and seemed to be enjoying themselves too. Set list was near identical to Best Kept Secret back in June, except for Carnage made an appearance then in between Waiting for You and Tupelo and they tagged the Weeping Song onto the end of the encore last night.

I think I got lucky today with good people around me for the acts I really cared about. My best experience of an APE crowd. However, I had a very similar experience to yourself at The National (guy also seemed to think being asked to stop talking through every song 20 cm from my ear was worth getting physical over) and don't think I can do APE again. I really struggled to enjoy today on the back of it, despite it actually being a really positive day. I thought The Smile were good too and was blown away by Robert Glasper (although a 30 minute slot was criminal!). Tinariwen were a must-see but were a little underwhelming.

I think this'll be my last year of APE. Perhaps, I've been spoilt by crowds at GM, EotR and the smaller gigs I tend to go to but APE crowds definitely include a cross-section of levels of respect to fellow gig-goers/humans, shall we say! Glad that it was at least fairly 'quiet' there yesterday. Will see how Sunday goes but I'm not really looking forward to it any more. The best part of the day was early on for me. I enjoyed Beth Atwell, although the sound-bleed from the boom-boom X thing was annoying and prompted a comment from the artist too. TBF, Nathan Fake there later was great but that should really be a tent. Music-wise, Fleet Foxes were the stand out for me. A really impressive set and very torn between them and black midi at EotR now. The National were good but probably the worst I've seen them (that doesn't mean bad, they just have previously set very high standards). What's happened to Matt Berninger's voice? Was he ill?

I'm still not sure I've processed quite how incredible that festival was. Saturday was the best festival day I've ever had and the BC,NR set was the greatest set I've ever seen, bar none. Top 10 for me were: Black Country, New Road Melin Melyn Pushpin Deathcrash Ezra Furman M(h)aol Modern Nature John Mouse Lime Garden The Utopia Strong I enjoyed almost all of the acts I saw though and there are another 15-20 acts who could be in here, if I was in a slightly different mood whilst writing it!

Ooooh, Vegas Water Taxi are straight on to my list to catch live ASAP! [edit: they're playing a free gig in London in 2 days!] Would love Pozi back too. They were brilliant on Rising in 2019.

Melin Melyn have to be back again after their incredible performances the past two years. I can see them opening the Mountain on Thursday next year. There are always a few Rising acts taking a step up too - I'll go for Lime Garden, English Teacher and Bingo Fury. I'd love for Pushpin and M(h)aol to come back but feel the others are more likely to gain momentum. I think Blodau Papur could step up from Settlement too. Would be lovely in the Walled Garden. Snapped Ankles are due a return, as are The Lovely Eggs, Do Nothing and The Cool Greenhouse. Tropical Fuck Storm too? For lesser known acts to various degrees (at least in the UK), I'll chuck in a random selection of those I've enjoyed recently: Fat Dog, Potron Potron Lopez, ARXX, Automatic, Lido Pimienta, Platonica Erotica, TEKE::TEKE, Treeboy & Arc, Penguin Cafe, Kills Birds, deep tan, Butch Kassidy, VLURE, and Mermaid Chunky. No idea if any of them have played previously! I feel like TEKE::TEKE, Lido Pimienta and Penguin Cafe would all go down a treat in the WG.

Byker Grove Fan Club are awesome. I saw them down in Brighton in the spring between Unschooling and Joe & The Shitboys with the legend Big Jeff. Hopefully he'll be able to back next year too.

Yes, Otoboke Beaver would be fantastic! They only weren't on my dream list as I've tickets to their tour in May (?). Would be a great booking though 😊

My random dream undercard picks (including semi-realistic reunions) of acts I've never seen would be: Fred Deakin, Owen Kennedy, Flamingods, Cherry Ghost, Holly Herndon, BANANAGUN, Damaged Bug, Gazelle Twin, The Mauskovic Dance Band, Lavinia Blackwall, Daniel Avery, Jerskin Fendrix, The Imagined Village and Wooden Shjips. Oh and one of Sufjan or Bjork as headliners, please!

I think that was because Michael Kiwanuka was due for 2020 but didn't come back in 2021.

It's perfectly legitimate to post on more than one forum, so hopefully nobody is odd enough to get het up about that but you never know! Hopefully somebody has just pressed the wrong button again as I'd very much like it back, especially for all of the chats/reviews from during the festival.

It was a pleasure to meet you @lessthanwill1!

Imarhan and Gruff Rhys, I think.

Off to Settlement for the first time tomorrow morning, so I've done my usual weather forecast a bit earlier. This might need updating later in the week if there is the signal to do it. See some of you tomorrow! Summary After weeks of hot and dry weather, dominated by high pressure, a regime of low pressure dominance is due to take over for the next week (perhaps with the return of heat afterwards). This means unsettled conditions for the festival, which are quite difficult to predict more than a few days away. Therefore, take this with a pinch of salt! Ground on site is currently very hard and the river Usk is low, as almost all rivers in Western Europe are at this time. There were a couple of storms this afternoon in the Brecon Beacons but these missed the site. In general, it looks as if the heat will break with storms through the first half of the week, perhaps with slightly fairer conditions for the main festival weekend. Maybe we’ll be lucky enough that this will dampen down any dust, make it easy to knock in tent pegs and allow the burn to take place but dry enough so it doesn’t get muddy?! Time will tell! Monday (Settlement) It looks like there might be a band of light to moderate rain passing though between 8 am and 11 am on Monday, so the early Settlers arriving when the gates open at 10 am might get a little damp. It’s likely to remain cloudy for most of the day and will feel humid, although a pleasant 22 to 23 °C compared to the low 30s many of us have experienced over the last few days. Winds will be light or briefly squally later if a storm passes through. Showers, potentially thundery in nature, look likely to build during the afternoon. There is a risk from around 3 pm onwards and rain could be heavy and localized. The area of instability is likely to move away north by 7 or 8 pm, hopefully in time for the first evening of music. Further showers are possible overnight, although are likely to be less severe. Minimum overnight temperatures will be around 16 °C. Tuesday (Settlement) There’s a chance of a shower at any time on Tuesday and again these could be heavy and thundery. They’re slightly more likely as the day wears on but should weaken as the sun sets. Another humid day and we might see the sun this time, with temperatures up to around 20 °C. Winds should be light again. Some lighter showers may linger into the evening but hopefully not enough to dampen the spirits at the Settlement and Acoustic Stages. Minimum overnight temperatures will be similar to Monday at 16 °C but it will feel damper. Expect a coating of dew if the rain hasn’t done the job! Wednesday (Settlement) Wednesday is a bit of a knife edge situation. A heavy and persistent thundery band of rain is expected over southern England for much of the day, however the northern extent of this is subject to some uncertainty. If this remains south of the Bristol Channel, as currently expected, Wednesday should be a pleasant day, with top temperatures of 20 to 21 °C, a moderate breeze and the occasional light shower. If the rain band does drift slightly further north, if could mean many hours of very heavy rain. One to keep a close eye on. By the evening, any rain should’ve cleared in time for the final night of Settlement music. Slightly clearer skies may allow temperatures to fall slightly lower to around 14 °C. Again, the air may feel damp and there’s a possibility of some light valley mist. Thursday By Thursday, the ground should’ve softened. Hopefully, it will be at the sweet spot where tent pegs will sink in easily, but the thoroughfares won’t get muddy. Thursday should help to dry out any mud by the time Wesley Gonzalez opens Far Out and John Mouse steps up on Mountain, with some sunny spells and temperatures of 21 to 22 °C and a moderate breeze. There is a risk of some rain in the evening but by this point of the week, it is difficult to predict with any confidence. Overnight minimum temperatures should be a warm 16 to 17 °C. Friday Friday looks set fair at this point but this and the entire weekend in subject to change. I will try to update this later in the week if signal allows from Settlement. A similar day to Thursday with sunny spells, temperatures of 20 to 21 °C and a moderate breeze. There is a slight chance of the odd light shower. With clearer skies expected, overnight temperatures might be a little lower at 14 °C. Saturday & Sunday Too far off at this point to be confident but the current picture is a dryish Saturday and a very wet Sunday. Hopefully this changes!

I don't post much here these days but will share a forecast, as in previous years, on Sunday before heading to Settlement. At the moment it's looking like there are going to be some heavy thundery showers around on Monday & Tuesday as the heatwave breaks. Wednesday, Thursday, Friday look good - 18 to 21 C, with a fair bit of cloud and a slim chance of lighter showers. Saturday and Sunday look a little warmer but a band of potentially heavy rain looks like it'll come through at some point - hopefully overnight if we're lucky! Difficult to tell how the ground will respond to that rain - hopefully the rain earlier in the week will soften it so that it can absorb any weekend rain. At the moment, it'll be rock hard and most will just run off.

Thought I'd pop back into this discussion. Thanks Sweeping for doing the Clashfinder! Much appreciated 🙂 Fat Dog are the best new band I've seen this year (they're playing Visions tomorrow afternoon for any London-based people). Very excited for them at EotR and as has been said they HAVE to play late-night Tipi too!

Post-TGE, the only one of these I've not seen now are Porij. The other 7 are all fantastic, ridiculously good in fact! KJP is quite well established at this point; Honeyglaze and Keg are two of my favourite bands of the past year but I think a lot of people know of them now. English Teacher are hyped with good reason. Off key post-punk beats, interspersed with quiet sections of perfectly delivered lyrics on the mundanity of life. Can't wait to see them again. Lime Garden are lo-fi but catchy and hugely danceable too. Would perfectly suit early evening in the Walled Garden (or Rising?), IMO. Joe & The Shitboys were hugely fun. A number of songs were under 30 seconds and one that was one beat long! Lots of repetitive, shouting lyrics (in a fun way), with louds of crowd engagement - Joe moshing and people shouting the lyrics in almost every song. Widest smiles I've seen this year! Potential festival opener, @lessthanwill1? Unschooling are a northern-French, guitar-based (including 10 and 12 string!) post-punk. Great fun live, but could do with a couple more songs with a known hook, I think. Very exciting set of bands!