Decision making process for clashes

[zero000]

For me there's always the big acts who you would never pay to see, but have a solid greatest hits and could carry off a great performance. See; Kylie; Miley; Lionel; Barry Gib et al. Always got to seize the opportunity to see something you may never see again.

Edited May 8, 2019 by zero000

[giantkatestacks]

Yes very similar:

a) Are we in last chance saloon?

b) Would they cost £100 quid normally? Would I pay to see them?

c) Are they on constant repeat in  our house? er and

d) Are they playing where I'm having lunch or dinner?

[gigpusher]

1 minute ago, giantkatestacks said:

 

d) Are they playing where I'm having lunch or dinner?

That can certainly be a factor! I remember leaving Bobby Womack to go and get a tandoori paneer wrap because I was so hungry. At that moment nothing was more important than that wrap!

[marathonsteve]

Some clashes already but once you get there its your mood on the day and the crowds you think are going to be there at a particular venue and obviously the number of Amber Nectars you have had after your shift has ended that dictate it for me.

[BambooShanks]

There's a few questions I usually ask myself when poring over the lineups prior to G

1. What's the likelihood of seeing X or Y again?

2. Who's most recent album did I enjoy more (is more for more active artists rather than heritage bands)

3. How much would it cost to see them separately?

 

Though at the festival it gets more complicated with 

4. Which is closer to where I am now and want to  be later. This is especially important for the headliners and late night antics

5. Where are the rest of the group going? Not so much a problem in large groups but more so when theres only a few of you

6. Just how wrecked am I? 

7. The weather/ground conditions

8. What am I in the mood for more at this moment? Do I want to dance? Do I need something gentle? Do I want my face to be melted off by an ungodly amount of bass?

9. Oh God, I'm so ruined that I'd rave to a fire alarm going off so it really doesn't matter where  I am

 

 

Something like that anyway

[found home in 2009]

I get slagged in my group for being a planner as I'll listen to as many acts on the lineup as I can on spotify before the festival and create a spreadsheet with all the acts I might want to see.

But so many decisions are made on the day as I almost always have a few options for every time slot. A lot of it is in what mood I am at the time, how far will I have to walk to get there (or get to the act I want to see after it) and are friends going to one gig where as I might be on my own for the other. Never let whether I'm going to be on my own or not stop me seeing someone I really want to see, but if I've went off on my own for most of the day I'd rather see a headliner with my friends.

How likely I am to get an opportunity to see an act again and what it would cost definitely play a small part. Also think festivals are good for getting to see people you'd quite like to see, but not enough to pay for. Did that with ZZ Top and Bruce Springsteen (both were really good live) and have been hoping for years that Elton John, Alice Cooper or John Cooper Clarke would be at a festival I'm at. Would quite like to see all of them, but not enough to actually pay for a ticket.

[FuzzyDunlop]

I generally just know what I want to watch.

I have very few clashes. I have 1 maybe 2 must sees a day. Otherwise I go with the flow.

 

[Avalon_Fields]

For me, I look to see when in the festival has the most clashes, or near clashes, and I set aside that time for doing my own thing, away from my friends. That means I minimise the clashes by spending a few hours one day racing around the stages a bit. It’s not sensible to go that the whole festival but for maybe 4 hours or so that’s my plan. It’s also useful for seeing the bands no one else in our group would be interested in. I then have more of a relaxed attitude for the remainder of the festival, if I miss something then so be it.

[StoneCircle]

"Will they ever play at the festival again"? If the answer is probably no then that's the decider. 

Edited May 8, 2019 by StoneCircle

[01seb]

Glasto is the place I get to see lots of bands that don't tour Australia much, so my decision process is mostly centered around that. 

From there, I also like to see acts that I wouldn't pay full price to see their own show but can see them play a 1 hour 'greatest hits' show at Glasto and be satisfied. Like Katy Perry and Haim in 2017, and Miley and Kylie this year. 

[Woffy]

9 hours ago, gigpusher said:

And therein lies the crux of my problem!! Usually she'd be ruled out as I have seen her already this year and will be seeing her a week after the festival but the fact remains that she is Janelle Monaé!!

Ah. Now if I'd already seen her - and was seeing her again after the festival - I'd only watch her at Glastonbury if it was a Pyramid headline set, i think. Maybe.

[uscore]

I'm one of those that makes endless meticulous plans before the festival, but then only loosely follows them when actually there. 

So over the years I've developed a MUST SEE/SHOULD SEE/COULD SEE system.

There are usually 2-3 acts over the weekend that I MUST see, and I'll plan my day around them. These are often headliners (last year my only MUST see was Radiohead) but could be small bands that I love.

Then there around twice as many bands that I SHOULD see;  I'll usually see most of these but they could be skipped if mood/company/weather changes the state of play.

The COULD see list is the largest. These are acts that I like but have seen plenty of times before, or new acts that I'd like to check out.  These tend to get watched if they are before/after/on the way to acts on the other lists. 

 

One rule I tend to stick to is commit to one act - if there's a clash then pick one or the other. Don't watch half of one and leave to catch the end of another - in my experience you compromise too much on both. Go all in on your choice. Immerse yourself fully.

[Sasperella]

29 minutes ago, uscore said:

I'm one of those that makes endless meticulous plans before the festival, but then only loosely follows them when actually there. 

So over the years I've developed a MUST SEE/SHOULD SEE/COULD SEE system

This sounds very similar to my planning process...although I hadn't been smart enough to label the categories as such. 

At the festival though, what my crew are doing is a big factor. If they all want to go and see something I don't really care about, I'll probably go with them rather than catching a "could see" by myself

The real issue comes when the crew are split for a headliner and I want to herd them all into the SE Corner later. This year I want to see Hopkins. I know a couple of mates will be up for it, but another really wants to see Stormzy. I wouldn't mind seeing him and don't really want to let her go by herself, so I'm a bit torn there. But more problematic is that four of the crew want to see Tame Impala, and much as I've tried to get into them, I'm just not digging it as a Friday night headliner to set me up for a party. I guess it's probably going to come down to how merry I'm feeling at the time....and the answer will probably be Hopkins 

Edited May 9, 2019 by Sasperella

[rubick]

All these decisions are made on Wednesday afternoon on the Park Hill over a finalised Clashfinder and a few ciders.

Then totally disregarded for the rest of the festival!

[gigpusher]

55 minutes ago, uscore said:

One rule I tend to stick to is commit to one act - if there's a clash then pick one or the other. Don't watch half of one and leave to catch the end of another - in my experience you compromise too much on both. Go all in on your choice. Immerse yourself fully.

That's what I do as well. I think I might just have to leave some of the decisions until the day and see how I feel. Think my problem is this year it feels like if I go with my usual process I fear I'll end up watching a lot of artists I don't like as much. The last time I went with entirely head decisions was in 2016 and it didn't work out as well. Think maybe I'll try and do half head half heart. 

[gigpusher]

10 hours ago, StoneCircle said:

"Will they ever play at the festival again"? If the answer is probably no then that's the decider. 

Although did you think the last time The Prodigy played that it would be the last time. It's easy to guess that an 80 year old won't be touring extensively for decades to come but some far younger people sadly won't be either. 

[Yokel Again]

Whether there is likely to be the chance to see them again.

Who else is on before/after - can't be arsed with swapping stages for every time slot. Like to stay and ideally watch a couple of people in one spot, grabbing some food in between.

 

[uscore]

3 minutes ago, gigpusher said:

That's what I do as well. I think I might just have to leave some of the decisions until the day and see how I feel. Think my problem is this year it feels like if I go with my usual process I fear I'll end up watching a lot of artists I don't like as much. The last time I went with entirely head decisions was in 2016 and it didn't work out as well. Think maybe I'll try and do half head half heart. 

that's the beauty of the MUST SEE/SHOULD SEE/COULD SEE list.  You've already done half of the work up front.  Call that the head half. Then on the day you can add the heart half and decisions should fall easily.

The other rule (guideline) is REGRET NOTHING.  You made decisions on the ground in good faith, based on your knowledge and emotions at the time.  Trust yourself in the moment.  You narrow down the options up front, and then allow yourself some leeway on the day.

 

In some ways there's a real mismatch between the freedom of being at festivals, and the demands of timetabled bands.  I think that's why Wednesday and Thursday are so popular; being able to relax and have fun without having to keep an eye on the time.  On Friday/Sat/Sun you have to balance having a relaxing, fun time with FOMO.

[Hugh Jass]

I spend weeks and months agonising over clashes in the build up. Then on the day it usually boils down to how pissed I am and how far I can be arsed to move.

[Zoo Music Girl]

For me, filling in/highlighting the clashfinder and agonising over clashes is all part of the fun and build-up. I really enjoy that process on its own, helps to get my excited for the festival picturing the actual shape of my days. I do tend to stick to the bare bones of the plan, but there is always room for last-minute changes (Manics instead of Jack White is one that springs to mind and was the right choice in the end).

Was thinking that the line-up was a little sparse this year, and was happy about that as I actively want less to see/more wandering time. But Glade, Avalon and West Holts announcements have seen my days filling up somewhat... 

[gigpusher]

15 minutes ago, Zoo Music Girl said:

For me, filling in/highlighting the clashfinder and agonising over clashes is all part of the fun and build-up. I really enjoy that process on its own, helps to get my excited for the festival picturing the actual shape of my days. I do tend to stick to the bare bones of the plan, but there is always room for last-minute changes (Manics instead of Jack White is one that springs to mind and was the right choice in the end).

Was thinking that the line-up was a little sparse this year, and was happy about that as I actively want less to see/more wandering time. But Glade, Avalon and West Holts announcements have seen my days filling up somewhat... 

This is true. The researching and the agonising is part of the fun. I'll end up deciding on the day. Just interested in how others decide. I often end up agonising between 2 and so because I can't decide I go for a 3rd different option. 

[dentalplan]

I’m not sure about this thing about seeing big name acts who you wouldn’t pay to see. Like, how much can it mean to you if you wouldn’t pay to see them normally?

Admittedly, if I analysed my past decisions, I’m probably somewhat guilty of doing the same.

[Joe Shez]

Normally go on instinct

 

things that probably influence that are whether I’ve seen them before and whether I’ll get to see them again- but having said that some bands you’ve seen before and loved, and know they’ll go down great at Glastonbury 

 

the other thing that come into it are if there is a nice run. Eg if the clash was west holts/John peel and I knew I was going to avalon after I’d go west holts to Avalon, rather than trekking over to John peel then all the way back 

[The Martini Police]

1 minute ago, dentalplan said:

I’m not sure about this thing about seeing big name acts who you wouldn’t pay to see. Like, how much can it mean to you if you wouldn’t pay to see them normally?

Admittedly, if I analysed my past decisions, I’m probably somewhat guilty of doing the same.

I get it to an extent but for me you've gotta like them a bit or at least used to/like at least few songs. I went to see Coldplay and Foo Fighters thinking I wouldn't pay to see them at Wembley or something (plus just being a Pyramid headliner at Glastonbury makes it more appealing). I won't be doing the same for Janet Jackson though, for example.

[gigpusher]

2 minutes ago, dentalplan said:

I’m not sure about this thing about seeing big name acts who you wouldn’t pay to see. Like, how much can it mean to you if you wouldn’t pay to see them normally?

Admittedly, if I analysed my past decisions, I’m probably somewhat guilty of doing the same.

I wouldn't just go to a big act that I have no interest in but take for example The Cure. I have had a greatest hits in my collection for over 20 years. I do like them but I only pay big gig prices for acts I really love so for a band like that I would be more suited to a festival set anyway. 

I wouldn't go and see Miley Cyrus or Kylie because I have no interest in their music no matter how big they are.