Can an EOTR regular please explain the stages and tents.

[bennyhana22]

Has to be said though that, unlike many round here it seems, I am a person who loves change....in fact I get quite angsty if things stay the same for too long! So maybe I'm just a weirdo!!!!!

[ElGanzo]

I'm not too upset about the changes. 8,500 is not very many people. Doesn't Green Man have 15,000 so that's still quite a bit more and I never found that to be particularly crowded. The only change I'd be in any way sceptical about is the two big outdoor stages. I tend to prefer the atmosphere in the tents, though if it's sunny (fingers crossed) then it will be much nicer to have bands outside so will reserve. Mostly worried about clashes!

[SweepingTheNation]

However many were put on sale, there's now 300 left.

[zahidf]

only 300 tickets left according to their twitter

so an increased capacity seems like a good call...

[Fat_Buddha]

Went with the family in 09 and it was great, chilled relaxed, and we were happy to let the kids wander around, convinced that it was relatively safe environment. Didn't take the kids last year and on the Sunday, I commented to my mate that for a festival that is legendary for its chilled vibe, there seemed to be a fair few dickheads about. Not enough to spoil anything, but more than I had noticed the year before. It also struck me that I wouldn't have been so happy for the kids to wander about unsupervised, as the place seemed so much busier.

Still can't wait for this year though…………..I hope Pieminster have taken account of the increased numbers!

Anyone know where this new stage is going to be yet?

[ElGanzo]

I'm a little surprised to see so many people thinking the crowd were not as nice last year. I certainly didn't notice any difference. In fact I think I met a lot more friendly people last year than any other year! I guess it's luck of the draw, I admit I had some "talker" issues, which is something you can understand if it's down the back but having people talking loudly while up the front for one of the headliners was a bit disappointing. But that was very much the exception, I met a number of really friendly people last year.

I seem to remember reading something about the stage times coming in the next few weeks, looking forward to those appearing - hopefully not too many clashes but I guess it's inevitable given the quality of the lineup.

[Infinite Jest]

Well, they've sold out, so clearly the demand is there.

I think Geoff and Ben make some good points. Especially Geoff's points about the exchange rate and the cost of fuel/travel, Also, I fully agree that festivals need to make a profit, and speaking for myself, I want to see Sofia and Simon (and anyone involved with EoTR) make good money: they deserve it.

That said: EoTR is sold and promoted as an intimate festival (it's the tagline on their website, Facebook and Twitter pages). Going from 5000 to 8500 over several years is a big increase. I hope it doesn't affect the atmosphere that we had, and the ease of getting round the site. Personally I'd rather have lost a few bands from the lineup, paid a bit more, and kept it smaller.

THAT said: it's a really strong lineup even if I don't care for some of the acts, and I'm sure we're all going to have an excellent time

[Yokel Again]

^^^^ What IJ said ^^^^

[wackojackohighcliffe]

There were definitely some pricks near the front for Wolf Parade...

[shoebox]

There were definitely some pricks near the front for Wolf Parade...

[seadragon]

That said: EoTR is sold and promoted as an intimate festival (it's the tagline on their website, Facebook and Twitter pages). Going from 5000 to 8500 over several years is a big increase. I hope it doesn't affect the atmosphere that we had, and the ease of getting round the site. Personally I'd rather have lost a few bands from the lineup, paid a bit more, and kept it smaller.

[wackojackohighcliffe]

I hope by "pricks" you don't mean "people enjoying themselves by jumping around a bit", because I was certainly in the latter camp. There was no pushing and shoving, well not from us anyway, just a group of people having fun. Down the very front of a "rock and roll" set.

[shoebox]

No, I was originally jumping around a bit until some massive w*nker elbowed me in the head, laughed to his mate and I f**ked off (he was a lot, lot bigger than me)

[Infinite Jest]

No, I was originally jumping around a bit until some massive w*nker elbowed me in the head, laughed to his mate and I f**ked off (he was a lot, lot bigger than me)

[bennyhana22]

Yep this. But hey, it's sold out in record time so to follow the logic mentioned by Simon earlier about wanting to satisfy demand, this quick sell out probably means capacity will be upped another thousand or two in 2012. Sorry for my negativity (I've had a bad day) but I'm not at all positive about the direction EOTR is going in this year. I've gone from really looking forward to it...I bought my ticket for this year the day I came back from EOTR 2010 even though I had noticed a change last year compared to earlier years...to gradually being far less enthusiastic the more I hear about the 'improvements' and extra capacity. I'm firmly with the 'if it aint broke' school of thought but I guess it was too good to last and was going to go the way of Green Man et al eventually.

[bennyhana22]

Next time this happens, we need an e-fests flashmob to turn up and politely explain that it should NOT happen again. We may be small and/or pacifists, but there are a lot of us.

[geofelgie]

Hmmm, well, the days/times/stages thread does seem to indicate that either Midlake are second on the Woods stage (in which case I think the organisers should put out "beware of the fast-moving Ben" signs) or they are headlining the Garden stage.....in which case you have my sympathies.

btw.....I've made a unilateral decision that the weird late set on the Woods is due to it being Joanna Newsom - and thus unlikely to worry any noise restrictions.

[GTG]

Hmmm, well, the days/times/stages thread does seem to indicate that either Midlake are second on the Woods stage (in which case I think the organisers should put out "beware of the fast-moving Ben" signs) or they are headlining the Garden stage.....in which case you have my sympathies.

btw.....I've made a unilateral decision that the weird late set on the Woods is due to it being Joanna Newsom - and thus unlikely to worry any noise restrictions.

[wackojackohighcliffe]

I've been to the Larmer Tree twice and I'm going again this yeaer but I can't for the life of me remember the other outdoor stage. Look on the website but I think the main stage was in the same place as the Garden Stage and just given a different name (confusingly they call that little thing to the right of our Garden Stage the Garden Stage (I think))

[wackojackohighcliffe]

Oh, that definitely wasn't us, we're all veritable midgets.

[steve1878]

I'm a Larmer Tree regular (and a first-timer at EOTR this year).

Their main stage is erected at the bottom of the lawn, and the Garden Stage is the little folly thing at the side. Generally the acts alternate between the two, allowing for set-up time without interrupting the music too much.

[ElGanzo]

I wonder if he'll be on before or after Pulp on Thursday night?

[bennyhana22]

Am I the only person in the World who actually don't think Pulp are all that great? I really like Jarvis as a 'person' (or rather, my perception of what he's like, obviously), but I've struggled to get beyond his stage persona and vocal to see Pulp as anything other than a bit of a novelty act. I would group them (not by genre, but by philosophy) with bands like Madness, Hold Steady, Barenaked Ladies. None of them offensive, just that, whilst I don't need beard-stroking earnestness, I do rather like bands to at least appear to take their music 'seriously'.

Is it just me? It is, isn't it? OK. I can live with that.

Ben

[wackojackohighcliffe]

Yeah, it's just you

[Hotcider]

Yeah, it's just you