What's next for S.E corner?

[CaledonianGonzo]

The Cucumber Castle

[wozwebs]

Where was The Bar of Ideas this year?

[stuartbert two hats]

Where was The Bar of Ideas this year?

I've no idea.

 

 

 

 

I'll get me coat.

[The Placid Casual]

BNP

[Divein]

Or the lack of Primal Scream?

The bass player came at half past 3 but wasn't playing northern soul

[frostypaw]

I think the idea of sacking off any big acts might be just the ticket - but in a different way.

Sack off a lot of the late night dance DJs - while there's some serious talent there I'm sure it's become too big of a draw for the area to handle at a comfortable level for most people. I'm pretty damn sure a lot of the passers-through would love to stay and explore but it is just chocca for most of the night with wrecked people hunting beats

Widening the music spectrum significantly would turn the pressure down a little bit. Shangri-hell had the most interesting line-up by far and I can't say I know what was going on in any of the smaller places in the morning as we couldn't get near them without a squeeze point my mates didn't like - that's not entertainment for everyone

Glastonbury gets to choose and control it's audience to some extent with it's line up - adjust that and adjust the crowd's behaviour. Those DJs are headliners to this dance crowd - play them at headliner times - split that crowd and let them peak earlier so the later night can be calmer and less neighbour disturbing

Edited July 6, 2015 by frostypaw

[_daveyboy]

I have to agree about variation in music, sacked off the Friday headliners to go explore the venues, and apart from Shrinel, and Brainwash (who knows what that was!) it all seemed to be a bit generic drum n bass, when you consider the essential mix was drum n bass too it did seem rather a lot. I think if it's possible there needs to be another access route between the fields, was a nightmare getting down that slope into shangri-hell. I hope they don't sack off the big names, part of the joy for me, is the djs that nyc downlow attracts, and seeing Phuture live for me was real highlight of my entire weekend, not just the nightlife. 

[Thearg]

Don't want to harp on about the ''Good ol' days'' but didn't all the big name DJs be in Silver Hayes formally Dance village that kept the pressure off the SE corner,I remember it being packed after the main stages had finished,I understand that they can only go on til 3am down there but then if anyone wanted to party longer they could then make there way over to the SE corner or Park etc or is it about the sound levels, ie they have to turn it down after midnight?

It seemed to work well that way round.

[Philomena Cunk]

First time in 7 years we didn't visit SE Corner at all. It hasn't changed much really so not a lot new to see, it's too busy, and the walk around it tires you out unnecessarily if you don't enjoy it.

Spent more time in The Park and Williams Green and the occasional stroll to Arcadia, but again that is style over substance.

[mail1234]

It's still great but of the 3 times I've been 2011 was the best of Shangri La, this year the worst (well....equal to last year I guess, was pretty similar). I think it's just a victim of it's own success. Far too many DnB heads who basically sack off the bands during the day whilst they recover from the night before and get back on it again till 6am. Nothing wrong with that in itself but it ruins what the area used to be for me. Too many people heading there to see the big name DJs - it's basically taken over from the Dance village to become the actual dance area of the site, meaning it's lost the charm of it being a unique late night explore zone

 

Heaven + hell would work much better over in the dance field and let Shangri La get back to being a weird place you slowly explore. I'm sure back in 2011 I remember the crowd that went there being much more mixed, older, less drug orientated. At risk of phrasing it badly, most people I saw there were typical dance music fanatics in big groups, aged 20-28 or so. Basically there like they've gone out for a night in Fabric with their mates. 

 

Sack off Heaven + Hell, get the alleyways back to what it was and vary the music on there to make it less like a big nightclub (why is everything DnB or reggae at the moment??)

 

Having said all that I still love it for what it is and had a great night there this year, but I miss what it used to be in equal measure

[mail1234]

Don't want to harp on about the ''Good ol' days'' but didn't all the big name DJs be in Silver Hayes formally Dance village that kept the pressure off the SE corner,I remember it being packed after the main stages had finished,I understand that they can only go on til 3am down there but then if anyone wanted to party longer they could then make there way over to the SE corner or Park etc or is it about the sound levels, ie they have to turn it down after midnight?

It seemed to work well that way round.

 

Yeah it seems that way to me too. Most seem to not see the dance village as a late night area any more. Post 12am it's the SE corner or nothing to most people. I blame the way it's been marketed for this - that's the exact way the festival advertise it!

[Wherethewildthingsare]

Latin beat bar in Latino was doing just that, despite myself I had a great half hour there!

Me too! Totally random 90s disco!

[amfy]

I'm pretty damn sure a lot of the passers-through would love to stay and explore but it is just chocca for most of the night with wrecked people hunting beats

This

We got to Shangri La pretty quickly on Friday night because Hot Chip had been our headliner and we were the right end of the site. We had a good time around The Common for a little while, but once we got into Shagri La itself, it wasn't even the wrecked people that were the problem, it was the sheer number of them. I would have loved to stay and have a mooch around, but it was so packed that as soon as we were in, all we wanted to do was find our way out again!

[Boopickledaddy]

You leave the rocket lounge and diner alone, fellamelad!!

Agreed :-)

[fur_q]

From my experience this year it want wrecked people that where the problem at all, more like people who just seemed to hang around at stages stood completely still and talking, I really can't understand why anyone makes the effort to get into a busy stage area and then stand around not enjoying themselves.

[Thearg]

Get rid of the Diner/Rocket lounge???

That place is sacred.It would be all over for me down there if this happened.

Terrible suggestion. 

[jonodillieono]

Yeah it seems that way to me too. Most seem to not see the dance village as a late night area any more. Post 12am it's the SE corner or nothing to most people. I blame the way it's been marketed for this - that's the exact way the festival advertise it!

It's because all the big names in the dance village are on during the day. After the mainstage headliners finish there's hardly anyone of note playing the dance village whereas in the SE corner they've got massive names playing post-midnight

Obviously there's some exceptions

[Keithy]

Most of the crowd just walk in and pass through without realising all the out of the way places - they just amble along following the person in front....

 

 

Go in, have a gawp, go out.

 

aye and the trouble is, if you're stuck in the middle of the crowd you kinda of kept swept along in a one way system and spat out the other end. Pretty much avoided it this year due to the crowds. It's a victim of it's own success and for many people a thing to 'tick off' tourist style like Underground Piano Bar, Glasto sign, Stone Circle, etc

[Keithy]

Suggestions for bars of the top of my head

 

 - Prohibition style Speakeasy

 - Juke joint/Dive Bar/Blues bar 

 - Bluegrass 

 - Northern Soul 

 - Cuban

 - Heavy metal 

 - Chill out (Lemon Jelly, Bonobo, Grateful Dead, Wes Montgomery, Ravi, Vishwa Bhatt, bourbon etc)

 - New Orleans/Cajun/Creole style 

 - Jazz (whatever way that can be interpreted)

 

All the small bars this year just seemed to be reggae.

 

For all the micro venues, there isn't actually a great deal of diversity like the list above.

 

Always wished they'd stick 3 metal storage containers together and create a hot sweaty rock club.

[Guest]

Greenfields and the Park hill is where the real cool kids go after the bands finish. On to the Stone Circle if you're awake after 4 (which I'm very often not, I'm a bit boring, you see).

[Mezhyp1]

I really enjoyed the hell stage, spent quite a lot of time there after the acts, but I absolutely agree there was loads of people just doing laps of the place, staring into the microvenues, making it harder to get in and out, and then moving on

The entrances in and out of shangri la, especially at the small hill, were ridiculously busy for an hour or two after the bands finished, almost felt it dangerous at times, but regardless I still had a tremendous time in the SE corner this year

[willutalk]

Bring on the heavy metal!!! \m/\m/

We and the whole place needs a shake up!

Stick on some loud Faith No More, Nirvana and Nine Inch Nails and I'll be happy.

I feel too claustrophobic at the SE Corner to enjoy it to the full extent that I could and should. Especially at 3 in the morning! It just makes the clash crunching absolutely impossible and i could only stay at an act for just 10 minutes.

[neil999]

copperdollar was great, wish I hadn't left on the Thursday night into the endless queues

[DeanoL]

It's still great but of the 3 times I've been 2011 was the best of Shangri La, this year the worst (well....equal to last year I guess, was pretty similar). I think it's just a victim of it's own success. Far too many DnB heads who basically sack off the bands during the day whilst they recover from the night before and get back on it again till 6am. Nothing wrong with that in itself but it ruins what the area used to be for me. Too many people heading there to see the big name DJs - it's basically taken over from the Dance village to become the actual dance area of the site, meaning it's lost the charm of it being a unique late night explore zone

Yeah, I think with the popularity their budget has gone up, and they've spent it on big name acts, rather than the construction itself.

 

Maybe make the micro-venues even weirder and separate them off from the big draw venues? I want a cool late-night explore-in-the-dark interactive theatre thing, which is what it was way back, with the music just being a sideshow. Now the music is everything and the theatrics and set design the side-show.

 

They had to move away from having Heaven as a separate thing / experience as the queues were too big, nothing like the decontamination chambers or anything like that these days (not sure what the CND Maze was though).

 

People are talking about having a greater variety of music, which is a fair point, but the fact that's it's become pretty much just music these days is half of the problem.

[Thearg]

 

 

Maybe make the micro-venues even weirder and separate them off from the big draw venues? I want a cool late-night explore-in-the-dark interactive theatre thing, which is what it was way back, with the music just being a sideshow. Now the music is everything and the theatrics and set design the side-show.

 

 

 

You've nailed it there Deanol.