Too Many w*nkers?

[Dave The Hedgehog]

Did anybody else notice how many w*nkers there were?

Sub-question - did the veteran Leeds festival go-ers notice if there were more this year or has it always been a place for scum to congregate?

[rachbon]

people around us were being idiots on sunday night, burning everything they could find and just acting like total wallopers.

it didn't seem to be any worse this year though, just the same as usual.

[Dave The Hedgehog]

Yeah we left on the sunday night right after Guns n Roses finished and walking up the hill outside Piccadilly noticing about 4 or 5 tents that'd been set on fire. I remember seeing the staff poking the ashes with tent poles. We got towards Bingley's Gate to get out and some twat was spraying deodorant into a bonfire...

I think we left at the right time.

Sunday's vibe was a lot different to the other days though. Throughout the whole day it had this weird aura around it as if something was going to kick off at any given second. In fact come to think of it we couldn't relax a single night we were there - and that was Green camp. I can only imagine what it was like trying to sleep in White or Yellow.

[rachbon]

Yeah we left on the sunday night right after Guns n Roses finished and walking up the hill outside Piccadilly noticing about 4 or 5 tents that'd been set on fire. I remember seeing the staff poking the ashes with tent poles. We got towards Bingley's Gate to get out and some twat was spraying deodorant into a bonfire...

I think we left at the right time.

Sunday's vibe was a lot different to the other days though. Throughout the whole day it had this weird aura around it as if something was going to kick off at any given second. In fact come to think of it we couldn't relax a single night we were there - and that was Green camp. I can only imagine what it was like trying to sleep in White or Yellow.

Edited September 2, 2010 by _rachelbon

[Big Vern]

unfortunately Leeds Festival is no different to many of the main festivals these days (other than Glasto still) in that twats go simply to get pissed and spoil it for everyone else or at least have no regard for anyone else.

[Dave The Hedgehog]

The thing is, people advise you to take as a minor accessory some earplugs and eyemasks and yet if you actually have them in/on then you can't hear or see anything that's going on around you but if you take them out/off then it's virtually impossible to get sleep. It's hard finding a middle ground between Orange funfair (which got worse as it got later) and complete silence (where you can't hear people pissing about around your tent).

Wednesday was shite but that's because it was the first night and it's the same anywhere you go on the first night. Could be Leeds Festival or it could be the the London Hilton. First nights are always the worst. Thursday was shite too. We didn't get much sleep the night before but couldn't relax because more and more w*nkers were arriving, cracking open crates of lager and having a good ol' piss up next to your tent whilst screaming 'Killing in the Name' by Rage Against The Machine.

It was relentless.

By Friday we were that tired that we were more or less passing out inside the Alternative tent because it was perhaps the quietest space inside the whole festival. It was mad just how tired I was by Saturday. It was a wonder we made it home on Sunday night. It'll catch up to me at some point.

[Electricityscape]

I said this another thread but it relates to this...

The number of times i heard "Who are The Libertines/Arcade Fire/QOTSA?" etc was amazing. The only acts that did seem to be known were Pendulum, Hadouken, Rusko and bloody Chiddy Bang. I also don't think it helps alot when the camp site DJ's play dubstep... constantly.

[disco-dani]

we left on the sunday night too, was getting crazy. but on the friday, i went to a group of campers near us and said "hey guys, do you have any matches i could borrow?"

and they were soooo rude and horrible to me!!!

d1cks!

[Dave The Hedgehog]

Yeah we offered help a number of times to neighbours - even exposed them to the joys of Flamedisks and cooked festival breakfast. On the other hand, at night time chav kids (13 or 14 years old) would walk past and see the crate of Carling edging out of the tent door and ask for some, then give us abuse when we said no. The more we walked around, the more abuse we got - girlfriend was wearing a Bangor Uni hoodie and she got abuse for that; I got called a goth for wearing a blue D&G hooded top - spat at, slapped around the head by some angry and abused Septulura fan...

I enjoyed the festival for the tons of great bands that played but hated the people.

I'm going to go on a bit now but experiencing Leeds hasn't left me with a bad taste in my mouth to be honest. Not for festivals anyway. I think next year we will go to Latitude and Glastonbury but not Leeds unless the bands on the line-up are f**king amazing. If the bands on the bill are amazing then what we'll probably do is book into a Travel Lodge or sleep somewhere nearby so we don't have to tolerate the people.

In retrospect we probably made the wrong decision by going to the rowdiest festival of the bunch (save for maybe V, so I've heard). On the other hand, it was a good learning curve because I can take heart in knowing that it probably can't get much worse in dealing with w*nkers.

The problem with Leeds wasn't the festival; it was the sheer amount of w*nkers there were all in one place. There were a lot of people we got into conversations with who were all really decent and cool but you always felt the presence of the majority of w*nkers who were there to f**k it up for the decent few who wanted to enjoy themselves.

[Chris12345]

Leeds fest has always been full of w*nkers... it's probably just that you're getting older... leave the w*nkers to themselves, if anyones actually being mouthy and intruding on your space, just walk over and tell them to shut the f**k up and it usually works!

On the other hand, f**k 'Who are The Libs/Arcare Fire', a couple of girls camped next to us asked who Limp Bizkit were. I wanted to kill them. But then, that's cos I go to Leeds Fest, so by definition am a c**t.

[Dave The Hedgehog]

I'm not an intimidating guy to say the least but some chav kid wandered into the Dance stage before Health started their set and pissed himself when he tapped me on the shoulder to ask me who they were.

He took a giant step back when I turned around as if he was expecting me to hit him. I was standing there explaining to him the concept of Noise Rock and was name-dropping bands like The Jesus Lizard and Melt Banana and he didn't have a clue what I was talking about - that's when it hit me that I felt I may have enjoyed it if I were 10 years younger and stupid, or that I was getting too old for this shit. It speaks volumes about the type of person you are when you're 26 years old and you feel out of place at a decent gig.

[Chris12345]

Mate, I'm 21 and feel old at Leeds

[saskofreak]

umm i didnt meet any w*nkers, only there were a few guys near me that were really loud all through wednesday night.

everyone i met seemed alright.

[Dave The Hedgehog]

Well there you go then, see.

Soon everybody at Latitude will be 25 and over because we can't hack the mainstream kiddy festivals anymore.

That said, touch wood I have to say that for the most part we didn't find ourselves in the company of any w*nkers at any of the sets we went to right up until we found ourselves smack bang in the centre of a Lonsdale Petting Zoo during Mumford & Sons. Being in the NME stage for that set was like being an away fan at Elland Road. That's what I mean when I say the camping aspect of the festival was shit but the music was amazing.

[Chris12345]

Haha, just be being at Leeds Fest you're a w*nker. Maybe you're too young to see it yet... and I say that as someone who's gone the past 8 years... and is thus a full on paid up got the t shirt w*nker.

[Chris12345]

Haha, did you go to Lat this year? Even at friggin Latitude we had all sorts of trouble! You're at f**king Latitude, you shouldn't be blowing up gas canisters... grrr... 'kids'...

[Dave The Hedgehog]

No I didn't go there but I'm going next year because it seems to be a lot more chilled out than Leeds... and that's what I want in my old age. None of them little bastard hoodies and their Special K and Miaow Miaow!

*shakes fist*

[Chris12345]

Latitude still had a fair bit of trouble (although not at the level of R+L, but was more noticeable cos of the quietness of it) and yet was boring as f**k in the campsites... for a decent atmosphere (i.e. all night parties but no trouble) you gotta look abroad... I'd recommend Germany.

[Dave The Hedgehog]

I just think Latitude has more of my type of music. It's a bit like a mainstream All Tomorrow's Parties. The quietness doesn't really bother me - you need it occasionally if you want to sleep - I just want to go to a place where it's ok to listen to Noise, feedback, exceptionally loud swirling guitars and have my own personal private My Bloody Valentine gig during the day and then have an Enigma gig or Stephen Fry audiobook to go back to at night.

And I want Jagermeister and cola.

[Chris12345]

Hmmm, I can see why you went to Leeds Fest this year... you sound like a w*nker

Really wouldn't recommend Latitude, least fun I've had at a Festival I think (although was working 9pm-9am nights every night), it's mainly just small kids getting lost, 16 year old kids getting w*nkered, doing drugs and listening to shit indie, then a 20 year age gap to middle class parents sitting around and complaining about things. Plus it's FR, so everything is banned or over-priced (in the same way that Leeds is, but more).

[thetime]

r/l has been full of w*nkers for a decade, but so have most major festivals since festivals got mainstream popular. thats what the smaller festivals are for to avoid them.

went to rock werchter and there wasnt a w*nker in sight...fantastic weather to.

[VCK]

There's always been w*nkers at Leeds, even back when I first went in 2005, which was before a Leeds ticket became a fashion accessory. And I'm only 19. Most of the people I go with are sound and keep themselves to themselves, but I remember a few years back, the year RATM and Metallica headlined, these two lads in our campsite went missing on the Sunday night, came back an hour later and said "we've just started a riot, man!" and talked about how they got loads of people to pull down the poles in Red Camp. Note that they spent the whole day talking about "starting riots".

Luckily there was a few of us who simply told them straight that they were a pair of f**king idiots and what they did was dangerous and doing things like that could cost the festival's future!

[tolywoly]

I'd not been since 2005, but the number of w*ankers seemed about the same. It's still pretty shocking to see people buring piles of rubbish/tents when other folk are asleep in their tents less than a couple of meters away. Security seemed to be pretty well organised though and kept on top of things.

[Electricityscape]

r/l has been full of w*nkers for a decade, but so have most major festivals since festivals got mainstream popular. thats what the smaller festivals are for to avoid them.

went to rock werchter and there wasnt a w*nker in sight...fantastic weather to.

[rachbon]

By Friday we were that tired that we were more or less passing out inside the Alternative tent because it was perhaps the quietest space inside the whole festival. It was mad just how tired I was by Saturday. It was a wonder we made it home on Sunday night. It'll catch up to me at some point.