Flares / Smoke Bombs

[Quark]

There was a great overheard"story on here after the '16 fest where someone had become convinced in their mashed state that they were transmitters that allowed Chris Martin to eavesdrop on people. Said person was overheard in their tent asking Chris to turn it off and leave him alone ?

[drunk pumpkin]

i was a magnet for them this year. Had about 8 set off next to me at various point of the festival.

The one in the BBC introducing was a bit stupid! 

So I moved

[maelzoid]

1 hour ago, mashedonmud said:

Sarcasm?

Plastic pollution at it's worst. Unnecessary gimmick. ?

Actually no. In terms of allowing the audience to interact and be part of the show I think they are way better than flares and so many more people in the crowd can take part. And regardless of how you feel about Coldplay, they looked fucking brilliant. I concede they are a gimmick, and arguably not 'necessary' but ultimately they played a fairly big part in the impact of that show.

I don't think they represent the worst in pollution - most of them would have been kept as souvenirs anyway. But it's a fair point, they are disposable junk at the end of the day... but are they any worse than the hundreds of plastic cups, cheap t-shirts and other stuff that will one day find itself to a landfill near you?

[Crazyfool01]

54 minutes ago, Tommy101 said:

Was that first one Coldplay 2011? If so I wasn't far to the right of you (and the flare)

 

I'n in the camp of if they are >15m away from me they're great and atmospheric, less than that they're reckless and selfish.

It’s was sat 25th 2011 so far if that’s when Coldplay were on yes  thinks becomes a bit fuzzy who I saw when ..  

[mashedonmud]

1 hour ago, mazola said:

I love them.

I took my kids one year and someone let a flare off right next to us during Disclosure at West Holts, and I think it's my kids favourite memory of the festival.

I'm all for cutting out single use plastic for drinks and packaging, but the Coldplay wristbands were incredible and absolutely worth it.

No

[Crazyfool01]

24 minutes ago, Ayrshire Chris said:

With a bit of surgery on it and rewiring I got one flashing again. 

I never got one ... sods think they thought some extra lights might have got the Martians landing nearby 

[Sku]

Agree with most comments. They look great from a distance, but it's very uncomfortable when you are stood right next to the guy setting it off.  You notice that he's clearly had a few drinks throughout the day, and you've never met him to know if he's the type of person that should be trusted to handle fireworks or not.

At a festival this year (not Glastonbury), I was stood close by when somebody managed to drop one from up on his mates shoulders, which caused a brief panic of pushing and shoving. Didn't seem like anybody was injured, but the resulting surge of people trying to push away from the area was uncomfortable, and with a lit firework laying on the floor, potentially hazardous I imagine.

[mashedonmud]

22 minutes ago, maelzoid said:

Actually no. In terms of allowing the audience to interact and be part of the show I think they are way better than flares and so many more people in the crowd can take part. And regardless of how you feel about Coldplay, they looked fucking brilliant. I concede they are a gimmick, and arguably not 'necessary' but ultimately they played a fairly big part in the impact of that show.

I don't think they represent the worst in pollution - most of them would have been kept as souvenirs anyway. But it's a fair point, they are disposable junk at the end of the day... but are they any worse than the hundreds of plastic cups, cheap t-shirts and other stuff that will one day find itself to a landfill near you?

I wouldn't compare them to single use plastics on the global scale. But it's the simple fact that they were totally uneccessary. I get that it made a nice shimmery view of the audience, and yes made a lot of people happy. But the knowledge of plastic waste was well known then and i think whoever came up with the idea was an idiot. Don't know who's idea it was, maybe Chris himself, maybe Coldplay as a collective. More than likely a completely out of touch management/PR company. But still an idiot/idiots. 

Chris Martin has campaigned on behalf of our planet, which I applaud. But this just makes a mockery out of the message he's trying to get across. 

[C14S]

I like them, but if ur at the back with a load of people that are sitting down it’s probably not the place, just takes a bit of common sense tbh

[Madyaker]

Surprised to see so many people in support of them! I don't think they add anything, the smoke is nasty and they are potentially dangerous although I've never heard of anyone getting hurt by one. I wa at the courteeners this year to get a good spot for the chemical brothers and they seemed to be going off left right and centre. Security were pretty eficient at getting to the people who had them though.

[Ayrshire Chris]

51 minutes ago, crazyfool1 said:

I never got one ... sods think they thought some extra lights might have got the Martians landing nearby 

mine is in my glasto 16 memorabilia box along with programmes, tickets wristbands setlists photos etc.  The other coldplay wrist band that I butchered to get working is in bits.  You must feel devastated you missed out on one! 

[Quark]

58 minutes ago, crazyfool1 said:

I never got one ... sods think they thought some extra lights might have got the Martians landing nearby 

Mine just sits in a bag somewhere. You're welcome to it if you want it

[gfa]

1 hour ago, drunk pumpkin said:

i was a magnet for them this year. Had about 8 set off next to me at various point of the festival.

The one in the BBC introducing was a bit stupid! 

So I moved

Making security's life easy at least.

Fan of them myself add to the atmosphere loads. At Community when I saw Gerry Cinnamon this year the flare smoke got in my eyes and it made everything like orange which was cool for about 10 minutes before I realised it was probably awful for my eyes.

[Stevie P-alike]

It's definitely a bit mad to set off flares amongst a huge packed crowd, but then there's a lot of things that are enormous fun that wouldn't pass Health and Safety laws. I'm finding myself slightly in the "for" camp.....and lets remember,  Deep Purple's "Smoke on the Water" wouldn't have existed without a flare or two

[Quark]

3 minutes ago, Stevie P-alike said:

Deep Purple's "Smoke on the Water" wouldn't have existed without a flare or two

The Montreux Casino would have though!

[Ayrshire Chris]

4 minutes ago, Quark said:

The Montreux Casino would have though!

And the audience would have got to see the end of the Frank Zappa gig! 

[H.M.V]

I like them.

But not in my backyard.

[Yokel Again]

I thought they recycled all the Coldplay bands if you put them in the bins on your way out? (We didn't gave them to the kids when we got home).

[a6l6e6x]

Think they look quite good, make breathing a bit of a difficulty when you're stood next to one but still think they add to atmosphere

[Crazyfool01]

1 hour ago, Ayrshire Chris said:

mine is in my glasto 16 memorabilia box along with programmes, tickets wristbands setlists photos etc.  The other coldplay wrist band that I butchered to get working is in bits.  You must feel devastated you missed out on one! 

ive mostly got the lights thing covered  .. I think I would have also attempted to butcher mine to try to incorporate it into fancy dress somehow ... and also very likely it would be in bits ... I wonder if they are taken back to the farm next year with new batteries and coldplay potential they will work again  

[Crazyfool01]

1 hour ago, Quark said:

Mine just sits in a bag somewhere. You're welcome to it if you want it

im good but thankyou   .... id probably either leave it in a box or break it trying to incorporate it into some kind of hat  ... its just odd we couldn't get one ... I think we asked at a couple of info points during they day and also heard they were giving them out at the entrance to the field but nope .... we walked into the field and everybody seemed to have them  

[mashedonmud]

45 minutes ago, Yokel Again said:

I thought they recycled all the Coldplay bands if you put them in the bins on your way out? (We didn't gave them to the kids when we got home).

There is an option to return the bands. They then get returned to Xyloband to be "recycled". I don't know how they recycle as the mixture of materials in these bands would make it very difficult. I think they re-use what they can, mainly retrieving the radio receiver inside the plastic casing. I can't say for sure because when I e mailed a few years back they never replied. I wanted to know about how they separated battery, material, LED etc.

I was very impressed by the amazing visuals of these bands when they first got used, 2012 I think. But was alarmed at how many were getting used around the world at Coldplay concerts. The production units run into millions. The only benefit I can personally see in these devices is that some people in China are getting a wage for them. ?

Edited October 25, 2019 by mashedonmud

[Crazyfool01]

46 minutes ago, H.M.V said:

I like them.

But not in my backyard.

definitely not cant have them obscuring those beautiful surroundings  

[parsonjack]

5 hours ago, gmb1992 said:

Stupid question but.... how do people know when to let go for them to go into the air? 

Is it like a slower speed firework and they hold onto a handle? 

2 types....hand held that just burn in the casing and would be used to attract attention more locally, and rocket flares that launch from a hand held tube.

Handhelds usually have a striker to ignite the top, whereas rockets have a firing lever.

 

[sophiemarie]

4 hours ago, Mezhyp1 said:

Definitely improve the atmosphere I think. Recall someone having a flare gun at Hot Chip when they played West Holts and they fired a couple up into the air, and the crowd let out big cheers in what was already a brilliant atmosphere. 

You just reminded me of the absolute legend at New Order that timed his flare gun shot to explode at exactly the 3.32 mark into Blue Monday. Incredible.