Crowd Tolerance

[ktej]

6 minutes ago, Pinhead said:

I thought it was less crowded too. Not only did I get straight in through the feeder lane in T&C both nights I visited, but only Shangri-La seemed at all crowded in any way. Other than IICON though, much was similar to 2017. The Cave had been modified and bits like Latino moved out, however Shangri-La was much the same in concept and layout.

I wonder if Shangri-la will get a big refresh next year, it was their tenth year, this year wasn't it?  Maybe they thought of seeing out the decade with this concept and then renewing for the next decade and the  50th - just speculating mind. 

[MEGATRONICMEATWAGON]

Sitters are fine if it's between gigs, but when it starts getting busy they should realise they need to get up and make space for others. 

Phone and video taking pisses me off more, esp as the sound will be dogshit anyway when they watch it back (if they ever do watch it again), and I seem to attract the berk who wants to film the whole gig standing right in front of me. Normally they put it down once you ask/tell them to. 

On the flipside, I've been really lucky with talkers, except during Regina Spektor in 2009, and some idiots clearly had no idea how quiet her sets were and were waiting for N.E.R.D, chatting nonsense. 

Also, people walking past is fine generally, but one group before Rationale in 2017 were total twats about it and were using peoples shoulders to grab hold of and pull themselves through. Upperclass college kids, who then preceeded to sing to each other duing his songs over other people, including my girlfriend who is about 5'4'', they were just pointing at each other like idiots and singing over her, totally disrespectful lot and put a dampener on the first gig of the festival.

Bag-carriers again annoy me a bit. If it's a busy set and you've got your rucksack on your back, don't be surprised that people get annoyed at you when they want to squeeze past or you're dancing around. Just put it on the floor for fucks sake. 

Arse-grabbing and any other body parts, is just about the sleaziest thing to happen at a gig and the offenders deserve a good slap in the face, nevermind a drink

[Losing my hair]

3 hours ago, The Nal said:

Probably the best crowds I've seen at the festival. The weather made everyone relaxed and chilled, people could sit down and the sound at the festival - which probably deserves its own thread - was top notch at every stage I was at. 

Apart from the power issues at Snapped Ankles in Strummerville. 

I loved it at the end when they just kept playing, forcing them to pull the plug.

[gmb1992]

1 hour ago, ktej said:

I wonder if Shangri-la will get a big refresh next year, it was their tenth year, this year wasn't it?  Maybe they thought of seeing out the decade with this concept and then renewing for the next decade and the  50th - just speculating mind. 

I reckon they could do with a bit of a shake up. 

I miss the alleyways and micro venues, when you'd walk in a door and literally not know what was on the other side... maybe a bar, maybe a story teller, maybe a shrine to Lionel Richie,  maybe people dressed in lab coats with rat masks on making you do different types of tests (True story) ! 

Edited July 5, 2019 by gmb1992

[DeanoL]

3 hours ago, Gnomicide said:

My only trip to SE corner was because they've now annoyingly included Avalon in it so had to go through the one way system to get in there. Didn't see any queues to get in though.

The main problem was I wanted to get to Caberet after being in Avalon so had to leave via the railway track and walk all the way round.

Was that Friday night? We ran into the same issue, had assumed it was because Frank Turner had such a large crowd they didn't want to cut off access to the railway line. Certainly seemed odd.

[Hawros]

2 hours ago, Quark said:

There was a fair bit of effort to make people aware of what else was on late night as well.  The after hours bit in the programme was definitely more explicit about what bars / stages / areas were open and until what time.  I know the Greenpeace Field under the DJ tree was much busier than I recall previously.

That was a great little spot - on more than one occasion we stayed there / convinced people to stay there rather than head down to SE.

[Magma]

1 hour ago, Pinhead said:

I thought it was less crowded too. Not only did I get straight in through the feeder lane in T&C both nights I visited, but only Shangri-La seemed at all crowded in any way. Other than IICON though, much was similar to 2017. The Cave had been modified and bits like Latino moved out, however Shangri-La was much the same in concept and layout.

Yep, it was muuuuuch better than last time I was there in 2015 - we actually gave up in the queue a few times that year (hell, one year previously, I crowdsurfed through it)

Every time I went down there this year (usually sometime between 00:30-1:30) you could just stroll in... and usually get a high five from a steward on the crush barriers for your trouble ?

Has to be simply that there are more options... although maybe people were flaking out a little more after the hot days too. But Arcadia was drawing good crowds and the bars with soundsystems were heaving all weekend... it's not everyone crammed into an awkwardly-fitting section now... the ravers end up in the SE Corner, the casuals end up at Arcadia and everyone who doesn't really want to extend their night electronically has an option elsewhere to stay up for.

[The Martini Police]

3 hours ago, discgoesmic said:

Annie's set should've been on JP, or at least Williams Green.

Problem is, William's Green was also rammed at that time for Pale Waves/Elvana/Old Dirty Brasstards. I've always thought it would help hugely with the crowds if they could just open up the JP on the Thursday though. As it's a tent, is it not similar licence-wise to the other tents that are open on Thursday?

[discgoesmic]

9 minutes ago, The Martini Police said:

Problem is, William's Green was also rammed at that time for Pale Waves/Elvana/Old Dirty Brasstards. I've always thought it would help hugely with the crowds if they could just open up the JP on the Thursday though. As it's a tent, is it not similar licence-wise to the other tents that are open on Thursday?

Totally agree here - the Introducing was just way too small. I forgot about those sets actually. It's the first time I've ever seen any hint of overcrowding/danger in a Glasto crowd. Not sure about the licensing, would be interesting to find out.

[Gnomicide]

53 minutes ago, DeanoL said:

Was that Friday night? We ran into the same issue, had assumed it was because Frank Turner had such a large crowd they didn't want to cut off access to the railway line. Certainly seemed odd.

Same every night, it's now part of the set up. As I didn't have to queue to get in it wasn't a problem (just a longer walk) but a pain now you can't go straight between Avalon and Caberet as that's were I spend most of my evenings.

[The Nal]

7 minutes ago, Gnomicide said:

Same every night, it's now part of the set up. As I didn't have to queue to get in it wasn't a problem (just a longer walk) but a pain now you can't go straight between Avalon and Caberet as that's were I spend most of my evenings.

Can you not walk through from Avalon through Ridge & Furrow field in the evenings anymore?

[Andeeroo]

Great crowd - best since 08/09. Noticed less talking, less filming and more singing and dancing.

I did spend considerably more time away from the main stage though and that may have had something to do with it.

[Gnomicide]

32 minutes ago, The Nal said:

Can you not walk through from Avalon through Ridge & Furrow field in the evenings anymore?

I only tried the once (on Friday) and that gap was blocked off.

[incident]

44 minutes ago, The Nal said:

Can you not walk through from Avalon through Ridge & Furrow field in the evenings anymore?

It seemed like this year for the purposes of the SEC corner access restrictions, once they went into place Avalon was considered to be inside the corden. You had to exit Avalon via the railway track, or walk along the market path to Green Peace where there was an exit-only barrier.

The flipside was that if you were watching a headliner or sub in Avalon and wanted to go straight to SEC you could do so easily and skip any queues.

edit: That's how it was on Friday anyway. I've got a vague memory of it being different on the Saturday night.

Edited July 5, 2019 by incident

[The Nal]

2 minutes ago, incident said:

It seemed like this year for the purposes of the SEC corner access restrictions, once they went into place Avalon was considered to be inside the corden. You had to exit Avalon via the railway track, or walk along the market path to Green Peace where there was an exit-only barrier.

The flipside was that if you were watching a headliner or sub in Avalon and wanted to go straight to SEC you could do so easily and skip any queues.

edit: That's how it was on Friday anyway. I've got a vague memory of it being different on the Saturday night.

I defo saw some of Cat Empire coming from Sleaford Mods towards the Chems but can't remember how I got there because I was drinking brandy.

[tumbles]

4 hours ago, Ayrshire Chris said:

Maybe, just maybe, it’s time for some friendly advice being put on the screens or stewards in the crowd during rammed pyramid performances regarding chairs, picnic rugs, having a kip etc especially from the front of stage back to the sound towers.  It was really busy at the rear during Kylie, Miley yet I was told that there was more space half way down but this was inaccessible . Remember that such artists attract kids and having adult groups setting up close to the stage taking up massive amounts of space with their chairs etc is inconsiderate and selfish. 

Other festivals actually ban such activity near the stage . Chairs etc only at the back.  During the killers there was five lads with those inflatable couch things, must have taken up 20 square metres of precious space. 

I certainly think chairs should be banned from the front pit of the pyramid. I'm also of the opinion it should be a one way system - you come in one side and go out the other. It is *always* horrific coming out if its the evening sub headliner etc.  Amazed nobody has ever got hurt in someways. 

[Cheddar Valley]

I call them fucking newbies who have no idea about Glastonbury.  They come in with their hunter wellies chatting about how there should be proper shaded areas and where are the cocktail bars.  God knows what they would have done if it had pissed down 

[HalfAnIdiot]

4 hours ago, gigpusher said:

 

Can I make a call for a quiet zone for people who want to listen to the music as well?? 

Can I have a loud zone please. Loud enough so no fu*ker can here themselves think nevermind speak . That'll put a stop to the chatter ?

[Doug85]

The crowd spoiled Chemical Brothers for myself and Mrs Doug, we had been looking forward to them for a while and 3 songs in the crowd was getting worse and worse with pushing and shoving and then some absolute toss pot decided to full on shove Mrs Doug in the back and sent her flying hurting her back in the process, cue me scrambling to make sure she is ok and find the coward who did it who seemingly hid away in the crowd again. 

We ended up going to see The Killers and she still enjoyed it but her back is still a little sore this week and there is absolutely no need for any behaviour like that. So it turns out that a crowd can totally spoil a gig for you and totally change your plans. I still have unfinished business with the Chems now so I'll have to see them at some point again. 

[gigpusher]

40 minutes ago, HalfAnIdiot said:

Can I have a loud zone please. Loud enough so no fu*ker can here themselves think nevermind speak . That'll put a stop to the chatter ?

Yes to be honest that's the only thing that does. Just a shame that I like a lot of musicians that have more gentle moments and some people only seem to turn up for one song and think it's perfectly acceptable to ruin everyone else's experience of all the others. 

[Beerqueen]

13 hours ago, TheGoodWillOut said:

Only issue we had was when the killers finished and it was grid lock down the front, everyone shuffling to leave as you do,  then this group of about 20 all holding hands in a line obviously had to be somewhere a lot, lot  quicker than everyone else and just decided to barge through everyone. The lead just pushing men, women, teens, kids out of the way, even knocking someone off their feet.  I used the C word rather loudly when they barged past me.

Yeah similar for me. I was tucked in at the front waiting for my daughter as we'd lost each other,  in amongst others waiting for people, when a young lad came barging through knocking into everyone. I suggested to him that the phrase he was looking for was "excuse me" and he sneered at me.  His girlfriend apologised profusely and dragged him away.

[Beerqueen]

Just finished reading this thread and I notice a lot of people mentioning backpacks.  Did anyone else suffer from people attaching stainless steel bottles to their bags so they swung free - bloody hell they hurt when they whacked you!  I don't think people were aware of how much they were swinging and what a force they build up by doing so!

[funkychick2007]

As a steward and security found this thread really interesting peoples thoughts on crowd behaviours! Enjoy yourselves but be aware of others around you and if asked by stewsrds etc stage to move etc it really is to keep you safe! not spoil your fun!  The crowds are monitored by cctv! Crowd surges and crushes are not a nice experience! 

[HeyPorter]

3 minutes ago, Beerqueen said:

Just finished reading this thread and I notice a lot of people mentioning backpacks.  Did anyone else suffer from people attaching stainless steel bottles to their bags so they swung free - bloody hell they hurt when they whacked you!  I don't think people were aware of how much they were swinging and what a force they build up by doing so!

Every time I moved through crowds or just walking in general I would hold the bottom of my steel bottle (350ml the smaller type) that was attached to my bag as I was very self conscious about it hitting people. Pretty reckless if folks were just letting them swing wildly. 

[Beerqueen]

7 minutes ago, HeyPorter said:

Every time I moved through crowds or just walking in general I would hold the bottom of my steel bottle (350ml the smaller type) that was attached to my bag as I was very self conscious about it hitting people. Pretty reckless if folks were just letting them swing wildly. 

It happened to me a few times - from just walking along in the open, to in front of stages both big and small.  Lethal!