Other Stage 2017

[Spindles]

On 27/07/2016 at 8:41 PM, Quark said:

For what it's worth, and following the 90s trend, I'd love to see Terrorvision open on the Friday. But unlikely methinks.

Something tells me it will be Travis.

 

*edit to add*
Placebo would be great for my taste.  One of my 90s favourite acts who I've never had the fortune to catch at a festival.  JPT headliner at this stage in their career though, I feel.

Edited August 3, 2016 by Spindles

[SwedgeAntilles]

Was going to start a thread on this but it's probably not worth one on its own:

The Other Stage opener, it doesn't really work does it? It is a bit of a graveyard slot and it seems a shame to waste a decent act like - for example - Placebo on it.

I'd prefer them to go on a different direction with it, make it an up and coming act, something that people won't have to high expectations of but might surprise on the second biggest stage.

[CaledonianGonzo]

That's what happens on the other two days.

[SwedgeAntilles]

1 minute ago, CaledonianGonzo said:

That's what happens on the other two days.

I suppose, maybe they could give the emerging talent competition winners the Friday slot to differentiate it. 

[CaledonianGonzo]

I think that risks turning it into even more of a non event.

I think the idea is fine, they've just never booked any decent bands to do it. 

[FloorFiller]

16 minutes ago, CaledonianGonzo said:

I think that risks turning it into even more of a non event.

I think the idea is fine, they've just never booked any decent bands to do it. 

it's a shame Lorde supposedly pulled out in '14 as it obviously would've been a nice change from what else we've had. at least they didn't bother trying to make it a secret set this year - that can only lead to disappointment from people turning up and expecting giant/headliner sized acts

[Spindles]

1 hour ago, CaledonianGonzo said:

I think that risks turning it into even more of a non event.

I think the idea is fine, they've just never booked any decent bands to do it. 

It also stops the phenomenon of there being only about 250 people around for the midday act.  The Hives in 13 was supreme and all the better for the decent sized crowd who hung around after Beady Eye, the likes of which you'd never see at that time of the day. 

I think it works.  I've seen 3 out of the 4 times they've done it, it has got better each time.  Better than trying to squeeze into the Queens head or battle through the park for borderline dangerous overcrowding and disappointment.

[Gucci Piggy]

42 minutes ago, Spindles said:

It also stops the phenomenon of there being only about 250 people around for the midday act.  The Hives in 13 was supreme and all the better for the decent sized crowd who hung around after Beady Eye, the likes of which you'd never see at that time of the day. 

I think it works.  I've seen 3 out of the 4 times they've done it, it has got better each time.  Better than trying to squeeze into the Queens head or battle through the park for borderline dangerous overcrowding and disappointment.

I've seen all three in the three years I've been and I knew who they were and didn't want to see any of them. Even this year we decided to see James because it's become tradition to go see the shit old Friday opener and laugh at how stupidly pointless and bad they are.

Thankfully after James being delayed we went and caught half of the Syrian Orchestra which was good and then ended up watching the rest of James' set on the way back to camp and it was the worst thing I've ever seen. 

[CaledonianGonzo]

Part of the bargain that's struck when a special guest is promised is that they should be special.  As it is, it's difficult to think of four less special bands than the four that have done it to date.

Compare with The Park special guests and it's clear they're not in the same scale of desirability, from the perspective of the average punter.

[stuartbert two hats]

21 minutes ago, Will-2609 said:

I've seen all three in the three years I've been and I knew who they were and didn't want to see any of them. Even this year we decided to see James because it's become tradition to go see the shit old Friday opener and laugh at how stupidly pointless and bad they are.

Thankfully after James being delayed we went and caught half of the Syrian Orchestra which was good and then ended up watching the rest of James' set on the way back to camp and it was the worst thing I've ever seen. 

That's a rubbish tradition.

[FloorFiller]

11 minutes ago, CaledonianGonzo said:

Compare with The Park special guests and it's clear they're not in the same scale of desirability, from the perspective of the average punter.

yeah it's weird that the year after the Park's secret sets were stopped and they moved them on to the Other Stage that they became so much less spectacular. obviously Pulp and Radiohead set a new standard for just how special these things could be to a unbeatable level, but you'd think they could muster up something better than what we've had thus far. The Charlatans was a particularly embarrassing/puzzling affair considering they wouldn't have looked out of place one or two places up the Other lineup from the bottom anyway

[CaledonianGonzo]

You won't be saying that in 2017 when Ocean Colour Scene run on and launch straight into TGI Friday.  

There wont be a dry eye in the house.

[djdavejohnson]

I guess the next question should be - who would be a great opener? 

[Gucci Piggy]

31 minutes ago, stuartbert two hats said:

That's a rubbish tradition.

Yeah it's even evolved into getting a big dog from the Growler stall and watching them, even though we know they taste like absolute death. Don't know why we do it.

[Odessa]

To be fair, you're a band on the level of Radiohead/Pulp, why would you accept an 11am slot? Unless you're super affiliated with the festival or you feel like you owe them something, you'd want as high a slot as possible surely. The likes of James is probably the best they can typically get, and I reckon that's a huge act to have on at that time (I had no interest and didn't see them, just saying).

[Gucci Piggy]

1 minute ago, Odessa said:

To be fair, you're a band on the level of Radiohead/Pulp, why would you accept an 11am slot? Unless you're super affiliated with the festival or you feel like you owe them something, you'd want as high a slot as possible surely. The likes of James is probably the best they can typically get, and I reckon that's a huge act to have on at that time (I had no interest and didn't see them, just saying).

But Radiohead and Pulp didn't get anywhere near as high a slot as possible...

[Odessa]

Just now, Will-2609 said:

But Radiohead and Pulp didn't get anywhere near as high a slot as possible...

Nah, I'm just saying those two as people now expect bands like that every time. Acts of that size are the exception rather than the rule in terms of what is realistic to have for this kind of slot.

[FloorFiller]

1 minute ago, Will-2609 said:

But Radiohead and Pulp didn't get anywhere near as high a slot as possible...

although i guess it's not too hard to imagine that even they realise the Park is a far more special venue than Other, and 2011 was a particularly huge year for the special guest thing - the likes of the Klaxons in previous years wasn't quite as big of a deal

[Quark]

5 hours ago, Spindles said:

Placebo would be great for my taste.  One of my 90s favourite acts who I've never had the fortune to catch at a festival.  JPT headliner at this stage in their career though, I feel.

They did spring to mind when someone mentioned them on another thread. 20 years since I saw them, so I could go for that!

 

1 hour ago, Will-2609 said:

I've seen all three in the three years I've been and I knew who they were and didn't want to see any of them. Even this year we decided to see James because it's become tradition to go see the shit old Friday opener and laugh at how stupidly pointless and bad they are.

Got to be honest Will, unless that's tongue in cheek I really don't get that! Fair enough you don't like what's on there (so magnanimous of me!) but making time to wander over just to sneer seems a bit....well, shitty. Surely there's stuff to do you'd actually enjoy than kick off the Friday going out of your way to watch something deliberately negative?

Each to their own, just find it odd!

[Gucci Piggy]

8 minutes ago, Quark said:

Got to be honest Will, unless that's tongue in cheek I really don't get that! Fair enough you don't like what's on there (so magnanimous of me!) but making time to wander over just to sneer seems a bit....well, shitty. Surely there's stuff to do you'd actually enjoy than kick off the Friday going out of your way to watch something deliberately negative?

Each to their own, just find it odd!

Hahaha I very much exaggerated it.

In 2014 I just went along on the off chance it was someone else as I had no one else to see. They were actually alright but I've seen them before and didn't really care about ever seeing them again.

In 2015 we were going to see The Cribs after The Charlatans but went over early out of curiosity because we'd been discussing how much of a pointless booking it was so wanted to see if we were missing something (we weren't).

2016 was a funny one. James are sort of an inside joke for us after last year we kept hearing about how great James are and I kept reading people on here asking for them to be booked. Decided we should check out their music and found out they did that bloody Sit Down song. Consequently we spent the entirety of Glastonbury 2015 singing Sit Down when drunk and finding it hilarious (in hindsight that's probably the least funny thing any of us have ever done) and when the weekend was over we jokingly agreed "Yeah it was great but needs more Muse and James next year". So when James were then announced it felt like we had to go. When stage splits came out I decided I'd rather see the Syrian Orchestra but my mates all stuck with James and convinced me we had to experience it together so I gave it.

So yeah it isn't that we go to sneer at them but it's kind of accidentally turned out that we've seen the opener every year without really wanting to.

[Quark]

Ha, as soon as posted I had a feeling I knew what was coming!!

"The Internet - where no-one can tell when you're being serious..."

[CaledonianGonzo]

12 minutes ago, Will-2609 said:

So yeah it isn't that we go to sneer at them but it's kind of accidentally turned out that we've seen the opener every year without really wanting to.

Top tip: you can sneer at the Other Stage Special Guests without even being in the vicinity.

[SwedgeAntilles]

"You don't have to be near to sneer" as my old granny used to say.

She was a cynical woman.

[fatyeti24]

11 hours ago, Will-2609 said:

But Radiohead and Pulp didn't get anywhere near as high a slot as possible...

That's the difference betwixt Park and Other innit.  The Park is all 6Music and that's cool.  Everybody loves 6Music cos it's cool.  It's got cool bands on that we pretend we actually like cos they're cool even though we haven't actually heard of them.  Lauren Laverne lives there, and not just at festival time.

Other stage is all XFM or something.  It's all bands we have heard of who we don't like but who get massive crowds anyway, before they tidy away all the chairs at night so we can have a dance to a dance band.  Nobody likes that.

Radiohead and Pulp want to be cool, so they don't do the Other.  Not since it was called the NME anyway, but we don't mention that or they get upset.

[CaledonianGonzo]

I dunno if there's any rocket science to it.  Book them* and they** will come.

Whether a band wants to do it or not is their own look out.

 

* A popular band that people want to see

** A large crowd