OnlyRevolutions Posted August 19, 2021 Report Share Posted August 19, 2021 11 hours ago, stanh said: playboi carti would also be a solid replacement for mgk… his set a lolla was absolutely class, and he should (hopefully) still be coming over this side of the pond for alt ldn, would make sense, i dont think hes exclusive or anything either and would probably go down pretty well don't give me hope. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyrhodes24 Posted August 19, 2021 Report Share Posted August 19, 2021 3 minutes ago, Andre91 said: The Pit / Lock Up has had dwindling attendance for years: bands playing third down to a couple of hundred people and smaller and smaller bands being booked. Many have been expecting it to get scrapped altogether. It shouldn’t come as any surprise that it has been cut down. I never really go in the FR so can’t comment on its attendance but I’m sure it isn’t too dissimilar to The Pit/Lock Up. Yeah it’s obviously not aligned with the direction the festival is going in as a whole. If that and the FR go then it’ll be all over for me personally. The FR has had its moments over the years, Catfish in 2014 and Peace in 2019 were standouts for me but even Peace had a poor crowd as headliners against Twenty One Pilots, half full in Leeds. Catfish was as rammed as I’ve ever seen it when they were first breaking through with The Balcony, can’t say I’ve ever seen the Pit that full Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyrhodes24 Posted August 19, 2021 Report Share Posted August 19, 2021 13 minutes ago, m4tt said: Completely agree. Download pilot is showed what the pit could/should be Obviously far from the same circumstances as the Download Pilot but these bands were clearly itching to play it and most would probably jump at the chance to play R&L - if they were asked. I know Daniel P Carter curates the Pit but he must be under a tight budget Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andre91 Posted August 19, 2021 Report Share Posted August 19, 2021 14 minutes ago, andyrhodes24 said: Obviously far from the same circumstances as the Download Pilot but these bands were clearly itching to play it and most would probably jump at the chance to play R&L - if they were asked. I know Daniel P Carter curates the Pit but he must be under a tight budget If you look at the lineup for The Pit this year for example, Bob Vylan are playing in the middle of that run and they have only just brought out an album and are literally playing pubs on their tour atm. They are a tiny, tiny, relatively unknown band. Gnarwolves played third down in 2017 and I saw them on a tour later that year playing a bar with about 60 people in. The Pit/Lock Up lineups from 2014 and 2015 were unbelievable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m4tt Posted August 19, 2021 Report Share Posted August 19, 2021 2 minutes ago, Andre91 said: The Pit/Lock Up lineups from 2014 and 2015 were unbelievable. Hindsight is a wonderful thing when looking at previous line ups. That's why I always try out the bands I haven't heard of, especially on the pit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sacred shape Posted August 19, 2021 Report Share Posted August 19, 2021 3 minutes ago, Andre91 said: If you look at the lineup for The Pit this year for example, Bob Vylan are playing in the middle of that run and they have only just brought out an album and are literally playing pubs on their tour atm. They are a tiny, tiny, relatively unknown band. Gnarwolves played third down in 2017 and I saw them on a tour later that year playing a bar with about 60 people in. The Pit/Lock Up lineups from 2014 and 2015 were unbelievable. Holy shit I didn't realise Ghost headlined it in 15 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andre91 Posted August 19, 2021 Report Share Posted August 19, 2021 (edited) 11 minutes ago, sacred shape said: Holy shit I didn't realise Ghost headlined it in 15 They did indeed! They got bumped up after Mastodon pulled out (they came back in ‘16). 2016 had both Good Charlotte and Mastodon headlining who were Brixton Academy bands at the time. Edited August 19, 2021 by Andre91 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benj Posted August 19, 2021 Report Share Posted August 19, 2021 1 hour ago, Andre91 said: The Pit / Lock Up has had dwindling attendance for years: bands playing third down to a couple of hundred people and smaller and smaller bands being booked. Many have been expecting it to get scrapped altogether. It shouldn’t come as any surprise that it has been cut down. I never really go in the FR so can’t comment on its attendance but I’m sure it isn’t too dissimilar to The Pit/Lock Up. It’s varies a far bit like the pit/ lockup but is normally a little better attended I’d say. It’s a fair bit bigger for starters Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dukey Posted August 19, 2021 Report Share Posted August 19, 2021 Still remember seeing Gaslight Anthem in the Lockup in 08 - one of the best sets I've seen at the festival 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benj Posted August 19, 2021 Report Share Posted August 19, 2021 The other big negative about the loss of bands and more importantly clashes agains the main stage, is that the main stages will always be busier. It will be harder to get down the front, busier in the middle and harder to find a decent spec at the back. As I say I’ll wait to judge until after the weekend but for me at least, as it stands with the offering on paper, it’s a downgrade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jump Posted August 19, 2021 Report Share Posted August 19, 2021 24 minutes ago, Andre91 said: If you look at the lineup for The Pit this year for example, Bob Vylan are playing in the middle of that run and they have only just brought out an album and are literally playing pubs on their tour atm. They are a tiny, tiny, relatively unknown band. Gnarwolves played third down in 2017 and I saw them on a tour later that year playing a bar with about 60 people in. The Pit/Lock Up lineups from 2014 and 2015 were unbelievable. I do agree that slot should have somone bigger but Bob Vylan have 2 albums out and in fairness they are on the rise an will get bigger, not massive but bigger than pub venues. Bob is lacking abit of sparkle from being a DIY outfit but I give them kudos for not being snobby and willing to play anything and everything just so they can play, it's reminds me of Frank Turner who even when they were selling out Wembley he would still play shit hole venues. I miss the Lock Up days, I discovered 3 or 4 of my all time favourite bands there even if they do only play small clubs and the loss of Mike Davis' booking was a big reason I don't really go anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rivalschools.price Posted August 19, 2021 Report Share Posted August 19, 2021 The problem isn’t the Pit/Lockup stages in themselves, it’s the people who would likely to go to those stages don’t have much else on the other stages to attract them to the festival in the first place. Why would they spend money on a weekend ticket to Reading/Leeds and stay on the Lockup/Pit when they could go to 2000 trees/Arctangent/Slam Dunk or wherever to see similar sized bands for much cheaper and more stages. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andre91 Posted August 19, 2021 Report Share Posted August 19, 2021 1 minute ago, rivalschools.price said: The problem isn’t the Pit/Lockup stages in themselves, it’s the people who would likely to go to those stages don’t have much else on the other stages to attract them to the festival in the first place. Why would they spend money on a weekend ticket to Reading/Leeds and stay on the Lockup/Pit when they could go to 2000 trees/Arctangent/Slam Dunk or wherever to see similar sized bands for much cheaper and more stages. Spot on. I think 2016 was the last year that I remember that stage being busy for pretty much anyone I saw in there, from 2/3 from bottom bands like Creeper through to the headliners. If you look at the Main Stage that year, there was way more heavier/rock bands on there. It definitely correlates, as you’ve said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gfa Posted August 19, 2021 Report Share Posted August 19, 2021 26 minutes ago, Benj said: The other big negative about the loss of bands and more importantly clashes agains the main stage, is that the main stages will always be busier. It will be harder to get down the front, busier in the middle and harder to find a decent spec at the back. As I say I’ll wait to judge until after the weekend but for me at least, as it stands with the offering on paper, it’s a downgrade. We will definitely have to get a poll thread going after, its probably the biggest single change thats happened to the festival while all of us have been attending. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jump Posted August 19, 2021 Report Share Posted August 19, 2021 4 minutes ago, rivalschools.price said: The problem isn’t the Pit/Lockup stages in themselves, it’s the people who would likely to go to those stages don’t have much else on the other stages to attract them to the festival in the first place. Why would they spend money on a weekend ticket to Reading/Leeds and stay on the Lockup/Pit when they could go to 2000 trees/Arctangent/Slam Dunk or wherever to see similar sized bands for much cheaper and more stages. Personally I want to see a big budget 2000 trees/Arctangent/Slam Dunk something like Riot Fest in the US of A. Have top headliners like NIN, Queens Of The Stone Age, No Doubt, The Cure etc that sorta but don't really fit with either Reading or Download and the rest of the line up filled with shit loads of punk bands. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m4tt Posted August 19, 2021 Report Share Posted August 19, 2021 No band announcements today now i assume. They seem busy sorting out the ticket mess, trying to get volunteers and telling the kids to be safe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FakeEmpire Posted August 19, 2021 Report Share Posted August 19, 2021 1 hour ago, Benj said: The other big negative about the loss of bands and more importantly clashes agains the main stage, is that the main stages will always be busier. It will be harder to get down the front, busier in the middle and harder to find a decent spec at the back. As I say I’ll wait to judge until after the weekend but for me at least, as it stands with the offering on paper, it’s a downgrade. I'm not convinced that everyone will move from one stage to the other. Plenty will use the 45 mins after an act finishes to go to the bar/toilet/get food/have a chat rather than rushing to see someone immediately afterwards. Download Pilot had just 2 stages which didn't clash and I was surprised at how many sets were still really quiet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeddingatReading Posted August 19, 2021 Report Share Posted August 19, 2021 10 minutes ago, FakeEmpire said: I'm not convinced that everyone will move from one stage to the other. Plenty will use the 45 mins after an act finishes to go to the bar/toilet/get food/have a chat rather than rushing to see someone immediately afterwards. Download Pilot had just 2 stages which didn't clash and I was surprised at how many sets were still really quiet. Some of it just isn't very well thought out though, like when they've gone from Aitch on the MSE immediately after you've got Mabel, and the same with The Wombats and TDCC. If they alternated each stage with different genres that would work, but with the 2 examples I've given (along with many others) you'll have a lot of crossover, because if someone is into one of them, you'd assume they would be into the other. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FakeEmpire Posted August 19, 2021 Report Share Posted August 19, 2021 30 minutes ago, BeddingatReading said: Some of it just isn't very well thought out though, like when they've gone from Aitch on the MSE immediately after you've got Mabel, and the same with The Wombats and TDCC. If they alternated each stage with different genres that would work, but with the 2 examples I've given (along with many others) you'll have a lot of crossover, because if someone is into one of them, you'd assume they would be into the other. Agree with you about that. Might have made sense to switch Aitch & Declan McKenna, switch The Wombats with The Kid Laroi. I think there will only be a few moments like that in the evening though. Up until about 5pm, I don't think we'll see much difference with the main stages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartsink Posted August 19, 2021 Report Share Posted August 19, 2021 The problem with the stages not being well attended is quite simply down to the bookers. R&L has gone right downhill the last few years in booking bands, Especially on the festival republic and pit/lock up. they seem to just put all their energy in making the main stage headliner sets rammed by booking poor choices throughout. Those stages if booked correctly with similar types of bands can build an atmosphere throughout the day and it boot off for the headliner, unfortunately now it’s all just a mis matched bunch so no excitement can be built and other bands won’t want to gee up the group for the headliner/band after them because they have no similarity to them or even know who they are Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Known-Radio Posted August 19, 2021 Report Share Posted August 19, 2021 im not even a fan of the whole no clash thing anyway. I don't want to be stuck in the arena for hours at a time, there has to be time for getting seshed at the camp in between 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gfa Posted August 19, 2021 Report Share Posted August 19, 2021 8 minutes ago, Known-Radio said: im not even a fan of the whole no clash thing anyway. I don't want to be stuck in the arena for hours at a time, there has to be time for getting seshed at the camp in between For me at least theres less big acts I want to see anyway, as the R1+Main had more acts than the dual main stage and most of the stuff I want to see is on this stage. When theres like 3 rappers in a row its very easy to go back to camp, with the old format that kind of thing just didn't happen as there was always something a different genre in the R1 tent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandohoff Posted August 19, 2021 Report Share Posted August 19, 2021 (edited) Looks like the second stage is going where the FR & dance stage was at leeds. Edited August 19, 2021 by Brandohoff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andre91 Posted August 19, 2021 Report Share Posted August 19, 2021 8 minutes ago, Brandohoff said: Looks like the second stage is going where the FR & dance stage was at leeds. Is that the bit with the crane, I’m assuming? That’s a trek. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandohoff Posted August 19, 2021 Report Share Posted August 19, 2021 (edited) 1 minute ago, Andre91 said: Is that the bit with the crane, I’m assuming? That’s a trek. That’s what I’m guessing, looks like a large platform being built. Surely can’t be any further away than that. However I guess it had to be that far, due to the slope Edited August 19, 2021 by Brandohoff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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