noisenoiseandmorenoise

How many people would go to a London festival and hope to get back to Manchester? Effectively that is the situation you are describing.

Sorry I missed this. An obvious starting point would be Canshaker Pi, Klittens and Pip Blom. They all contain members of Personal Trainer . My favourite band of the last few years has been Lewsberg who I believe have played either Green Man or EoTR. My guess is that Tramhaus may be the next band to break out overseas. There are a few labels like Subroutine (recently put out an excellent album from a duo called 'Soon') and Smikkelbaard. Then depending on your taste for more lofi/experimental sounds, Tiny Room Records and Moving Furniture Records.

A big reason for me going last year was to see the Delgados. It should have been a celebration on that stage. In the end they had a tiny but committed audience. I think I'm still recovering from that set as I danced and drank myself through the downpour. I was physically and emotionally battered by the end of it. The Dutch music scene has been buzzing for five years now. Personal Trainer are another example of an act who would be much more hyped if they came out of east London . Lambrini Girls are absolute chaos.. Not necessarily in a good way but I'm sure they'll go down well

Having been to Green Man for the first time, it was hard not to make comparisons to EOTR so here goes - -I preferred GM's stage set up. No risk of full tents, good viewing areas everywhere + distance between stages is okay). My usual festival self is rushing between stages. I didn't do that at all at GM. -downside: assuming the rain is a regular occurrence, i thought the conditions could have been handled better. Perhaps this is harsh though I'd highlight that having a big part of the main tent be a 'no-go' area is not great. - vibe: a lot of areas have a Garden Stage vibe in the sense of families sitting around. Doesn't bother me but seems to irritate a few.. at the other end, there were more pockets of bright off their tits young 'uns than I remember from eotr (to be clear not a lot, i suppose it stands out at such a festival) - shops/drinks-an element of 'you need to know'..I only discovered the cider 'festival' late, the main merch place sold out of most stuff before I realised it existed. The beer courtyard is nice, slightly better than eotr (which I already consider really good for a festival) -coaches (if you take them) appeared even less coordinated than other festival experiences. Leaving on the Monday was a mess - eotr has this unbeatable magic where wandering around getting lost feels part of the joy. GM doesn't have that but on the other hand, the actual music bit was a better experience

Wondering what the overall view is on crowdedness at EOTR. We last went in 2018 and the experience was only slightly let down by missing a few acts due to full tents + occasionally feeling like the Garden Stage was far too full to enjoy the music. For my partner, the experience at Green Man last year created a big contrast (no crowding problems and even a full Far Out tent gives you decent views from everywhere). What do the regulars think? Did we hit a bad year/bad luck? Or is it something you just accept at this point?

Last year I got on with the organisation and plenty of tickets became available. It takes a while though. I had a few nervous weeks of getting no alerts or only alerts for a parking pass or something else but then 3-4 weeks before, there were plenty of options.

I thought John Maus was all kinds of dodgy these days. Surprised festivals aren't staying well clear of him.

Baxter Duty is playing End of the Road. A random thought but I'm confused as to the sudden rise of Dury on some festival lineups. Maybe I miss something but his music is a bit post-britpop geezer bants and hasn't really changed a lot in a decade. Not saying he is bad but he is the kind of artist where I struggle to imagine the fanbase.

Sanam were one of my favourite live acts of last year. They tick so many hot musical boxes that they'd almost be cliched if they weren't so good (Faust-connected, middle east psych vibes with great female vocals... Yes please). Setting's album was one of my favourites of last year. A super group of long form folk/raga improvisors. It jumps out with early Sunday eotr vibes.

If it helps, I've always found their modern brand of Gary Bushell Oi! punk working class-adjacent rebellionism to be a bit embarrassing. Even more so in the environs of Larmer Tree Gardens. Clack-clack, clack-a-clang clang That's the sound of the gun goin' bang-bang... ... And watch out for the f**king peacocks! That said, that it is just me and if other people like them, great more room at other stages  

Definitely a drift away from some of them experimental acts which featured last year. Maybe that was a one off linked to touring schedules. Slowdive's touring/festival schedule is relentless. By the end of the summer they'll either be absolute machines or bloody knackered.

Great band with decades worth of quality material. Well respected live act touring one of their strongest albums in recent years. Sure I'd hate if they were added.

Magnetic Fields mentioned in their latest newsletter that they would be back in Europe end of summer/start of fall touring the 25th anniversary of 69 Love Songs.

Different strokes and all that but this undercard harks back to when both primavera festivals were actually interesting. Genuinely interested in attending for the first time since 2014.

Didn't even try for tickets. The wide availability of resale for most festivals makes getting them on day one a masochistic experience.

I'm sympathetic to your overall argument but this part made me chuckle to think how it could be implemented. I settled on a choir of old ladies positioned outside each cubicle instructing "now make sure you are sat fully down. And wipe properly when you are finished. There's a good boy/girl".

My experience of Green Man is that those who come dressed in the bright shiny 'look at me' outfits are more likely to be the ones who barge their way through the crowd, talk loudly for 3 songs then go elsewhere. The dull blokes in old band t-shirts however are there for to hear the music. So I'll take more of the latter thanks.

The thing about The National is that they play similar sized shows in Europe (actually co-headlined one with Wilco last year), 2xAlly Pally is 20k Vs what 17k eotr(?), they were on the previously posted list which triggered this debate and in the context of Simon stating that the booking has already been made for next year, they do festival rounds so would be in the further stages of planning than say a Bonnie Prince Billy. It seems a stretch but not a huge stretch. That said, I don't give a toss about The National so if people say it is not going to happen, fair enough. Edit to say that I'm also interested in the point made by SweepingTheNation on where they go next. This lineup moved them closer to the experimentalism of popular Euro city festivals like Rewire and Le Guess Who. I'm just not sure how much that was a conscious decision or the result of Supersonic/Manchester Psych Fest falling on the same weekend?

I think The National would be a good fit for the Thursday headline slot and having missed this year, it seems quite likely they'll be at some European summer festivals in 2024.

Looking at that list, they've not done badly over the years! I love that Daniel Kitson is listed. I don't think he has ever performed there? Could imagine him bringing one of his more wordy/less comedy shows to the festival.

They had these at green Man and apparently they are environmentally friendly and easier to manage so I fear they will now be the norm Agree with you though, I was not a fan and later in the festival those metal steps started to feel unsecure.

A week on now and still in a bit of withdrawal so will share my favourite moment which hasn't come up yet. The otherworldly Josephine Foster at the Walled Garden was one of my favourite shows. I've seen her many times and this was one of the best, she seemed to be really enjoying the reaction after an apparently bad experience previously at the festival. Foster doesn't seem to live in this world. I often wonder how she does basic things like go through airport customs. This thought was put perfectly to my partner by a man next to us who leaned over at one point and said you can't imagine her serving you a sausage roll at Gregg's, can you? Fair to say that has become an instant meme in these parts.

Hah there was a security guy at the Walled Garden clearly not getting the festival vibe. I saw him charging around telling confused people not to smoke and constantly in hushed discussion with other security like he was on military manoeuvres.

A couple of other observations- The social media communication around what was going on was non existent. I'm thinking with the TBA and Round The Twist stuff. Things were added and removed shortly after or not added at all. Did anyone honestly know Rozi Plain was playing at 11 on Saturday until after it happened? I realise this is a bonus so not really a complaint as such however if they go to the effort of arranging some things, it seems strange to not communicate it better. Merch/shops - Almost every festival I go to has a centralised festival & band merch tent. The decision to have festival merch only on the main stage is pretty annoying as a lot had sold out by the time I realised. The tiny shop near the courtyard added a few band things over the weekend but appeared to be mainly a random selection. I saw at least two acts comment on not having an area/option to sell merchandise. Perhaps regulars will know if this is a conscious decision or simply a "quirk" of the festival?

Yes muddy on the floor and muddy in my ear was my "hilarious" observation. The positive is that I was completely wrecked on the Sunday morning but could still enjoy a great run of shows from the first table.