All Points East Festival 2020

[y0ungtitan]

I can get on board with that as a free day out if the other day that weekend is decent 

[xxialac]

What I can't fathom is how the other days are so utterly credible and then they throw that day out there.

Either go for daytime radio-friendly MOR plodding stuff or the critically acclaimed bands.

Surely it dilutes your brand to be one foot in, one foot out.

[mttJ]

Wouldn't go to that for the train fare, still holding out hope for Biffy but seems unlikely if Bombay are going to be there as well?

[Matt42]

M m member the inbetweeners?

Oh I member!

Edited February 17, 2020 by Matt42

[emmanuel]

This is disappointing mostly because it follows the Kraftwerk day. It confirms I won't attend 2 days in a row, the only reason I would have bought advance tickets.

I can see the point between Coachella headliners (Tame Impala) and subs at regional festivals (The Kooks and The Wombats), but I don't like any of those bands so it doesn't really make a difference.

[JimiC999]

2 minutes ago, Matt42 said:

M m member the inbetweeners?

Oh I member!

Ha...... member jawas........ and AT-ATs........member Eddie's Gun

[dentalplan]

1 hour ago, Johnkhutch said:

Watch this actually sell out...

They both have done Wembley Arena in the last couple of years. It's stronger than the Kooks/Bombay bill I was expecting.

[Dancers Stand Very Still]

The day after Kraftwerk too. I can't see very many people making a weekend out of that now, so surely reduces out-of-town sales for the Friday as well. Unless the Sunday is very special, I guess. 

[the wonderwhy]

Bit of an overreaction in here I reckon 

[xxialac]

I just cannot imagine anyone rejecting the Tame Impala day, rejecting the Massive Attack day, rejecting the Kraftwerk day...but the Kooks - now you're talking! They could not be more bland. It's like eating white, untoasted, unbuttered bread that has been sitting in the corner of the freezer for the last decade and you can't remember ever buying.

[JBarbour]

I can't wait for scenes when this outsells the Tame day and all the cool kids lose their shit 

Edited February 17, 2020 by JBarbour

[sisco]

1 minute ago, JBarbour said:

I can't wait for scenes when this outsells the Tame day and all the cool kids lose their shit 

Actually think it will!

[John L]

According to fine website Efestivals The Kooks have already been announced for This is Tomorrow, Kendal Calling, Tramlines, Truck, Boardmasters and Victorious. They are headlining one (Truck)

The Wombats have already been announced for Neighbourhood Festival, which they are not headlining.

It’s astonishing they could not come up with something better/different to this

[JimiC999]

I'm in a little WhatsApp group with people I've been to APE with the last 2 years (The National, Chemicals)..... this year we're looking at Tame Impala (Holy Fuck and Kelly Lee Owens grabbing me).........

When I just posted re The Kooks, the stand out reaction was 'I'd rather shit in my hands and clap'......... personally I don't see that comment as an overreaction

[The Martini Police]

14 minutes ago, xxialac said:

I just cannot imagine anyone rejecting the Tame Impala day, rejecting the Massive Attack day, rejecting the Kraftwerk day...but the Kooks - now you're talking! They could not be more bland. It's like eating white, untoasted, unbuttered bread that has been sitting in the corner of the freezer for the last decade and you can't remember ever buying.

You probably can’t imagine it because it’s so far away from your taste (it’s like the Primavera antithesis) but there’s a sizeable market for these acts. A lot of people wanting to go to this have probably never even heard of Kraftwerk and couldn’t care less how influential Massive Attack are. It’s a fair point about diluting the brand, but when they have 6 days to fill, they probably have to. Obviously days are sold individually so it probably works strategically, it’s not the same target audience for every day. Also, the success of APE will be largely product-driven (line-up) and won’t have too much to do with the brand (though the strength of the brand of course ensures thousands are looking out for who’s playing this year).

Edited February 17, 2020 by The Martini Police

[dentalplan]

14 minutes ago, the wonderwhy said:

Bit of an overreaction in here I reckon 

I think there might actually be more concern about ticket sales in this thread than there is in the AEG Live offices. Never seen owt like it.

[Matt42]

I think this festival will eventually be scrapped. Which is a shame as it had a good premise. 
 

Booking all the bands that won’t play Glastonbury because they want their full fee, but no other major UK festival will touch them as headliners. It was fun while it lasted.

[xxialac]

2 minutes ago, The Martini Police said:

You probably can’t imagine it because it’s so far away from your taste (it’s like the Primavera antithesis) but there’s a sizeable market for these acts. A lot of people wanting to go to this have probably never even heard of Kraftwerk and couldn’t care less how influential Massive Attack are. It’s a fair point about diluting the brand, but when they have 6 days to fill, they probably have to. Obviously days are sold individually so it probably works strategically, it’s not the same target audience for every day. Also, the success of APE will be largely product-driven (line-up) and won’t have too much to do with the brand (though the strength of the brand of course ensures thousands are looking out for who’s playing this year).

Yeah, you make some good points.

I still find it unfathomable that if you like indie guitar music, you could prioritise the Kooks over any of the other million bands in the genre in the last few decades. They just seem so...forgettable.

[xxialac]

All Points East has about the same capacity as Latitude...and very similar headliners to those in Latitude's best years (with the odd kooky exceptions).

The problem in my opinion is the ambition. For a new festival, you would expect them to have worked towards 6 days not dived straight in with 6 days. 

[Fleetwood_Mac_And_Cheese]

This is actually embarrassing. I can't believe they've went this low this year. If you can't find the acts just do a three day fest. This day is possibly the least creative line up I've ever seen.

 

It's a no from me.

[aidenlangan95]

1 hour ago, xxialac said:

What I can't fathom is how the other days are so utterly credible and then they throw that day out there.

Either go for daytime radio-friendly MOR plodding stuff or the critically acclaimed bands.

Surely it dilutes your brand to be one foot in, one foot out.

The first year had Catfish headlining. One day of MOR indie is fine.

I wouldn’t go personally, but I’m sure they’ll be some kids who listen to them through the magic algorithms of Spotify playlists who wouldn’t mind going especially if the price is right.

It’s not a good booking but this is a bit of an overreaction. Like scrapping a festival just because they booked the kooks? 
They could easily reduce it into a three day one weekend festival or four days on the Saturdays and Sundays.

Edited February 17, 2020 by aidenlangan95

[fraybentos1]

It'll probs sell better than at least 2 of the days last year.

If they're forced to do 6 days for license reasons dunno why they didn't stick with the APE Presents thing they did when Catfish played to keep it separate from the main fest but at the same site.

[dentalplan]

1 minute ago, fraybentos1 said:

It'll probs sell better than at least 2 of the days last year.

If they're forced to do 6 days for license reasons dunno why they didn't stick with the APE Presents thing they did when Catfish played to keep it separate from the main fest but at the same site.

It's barely any different. They just stopped calling it APE Presents and stopped selling weekend tickets for the first weekend.

[fraybentos1]

3 minutes ago, dentalplan said:

It's barely any different. They just stopped calling it APE Presents and stopped selling weekend tickets for the first weekend.

In that case then this bookings not really different from the Catfish one a couple years back I suppose.

Wish I lived in London so I could snag some free tix for this. Was a good fest, despite the awful sound at The Strokes last year.

[xxialac]

26 minutes ago, aidenlangan95 said:

The first year had Catfish headlining. One day of MOR indie is fine.

I wouldn’t go personally, but I’m sure they’ll be some kids who listen to them through the magic algorithms of Spotify playlists who wouldn’t mind going especially if the price is right.

It’s not a good booking but this is a bit of an overreaction. Like scrapping a festival just because they booked the kooks? 
They could easily reduce it into a three day one weekend festival or four days on the Saturdays and Sundays.

Who said they should scrap the festival because they booked the kooks?

I think it is reasonable to say that as they are giving away so many free tickets (I've never been offered close to so many for any other festival), every single year and looks like more again, the viability of the festival must be in question, at least in its current state. As you say, they need to cut back on the number of days.