SE Corner Tactics.

[Wilfko]

I should add I had some of the best fun in The Wormhole last year and I'm chuffed it's staying.. some really great live Brass instrument Disco stuff.

[lukemack]

If theres no headliners your really interested in seeing I'd definitely head straight there instead one night, some of the micro venues are brilliant and more memorable than the rest of the venues in the festival.

Wish they would distribute different types of music through the venues though, theres some brilliant places that tend to be on the quiter side crowd wise, normally because there blurring out jungle or dnb, while the ques for the downlow go on for hours

[dingbat2]

Being an old fogie, I have found the SE corner a bit too busy/touristy the last few years, it's just so rammed. I know there are other places to go that time of night bit it needs a bigger venue elsewhere playing live music  that time of night to attract people away from SE corner. I'm sure due to licensing issues it isnt possible but it would be great if one of the bigger stages like JP, Acoustic or the Park could also play live music after hours, just to relieve the mass throng towards SE corner at midnight. 

[Jay Pee]

My best night in recent memory was Sunday in 2019. The stars just aligned. It wasn't that rammed and I bimbled from Icon to Block 9 to somewhere else. Ended up in the Flying Bus for an Andy Barker (808 state ...RIP lad) DJ set which was mint. Somehow ended up sharing brandy with some Spaniards and weed came my way.

Was just perfect. Got back to tent at 5 Monday morning and packed and headed to shuttle bus. Took me till Wednesday to stop smiling.

Just so ace

[bennyhana22]

1 hour ago, Ayrshire Chris said:

Looks like it’s the Pet ShopBoys on the other. 

And isn't it Bicep on WH? That will keep quite a lot of the typical SEC crowd there until after the headliners. 

Ben

[Divein]

2 hours ago, Wilfko said:

Ok so here's a question. Where bangs for a party away from the SE Corner, Silver Hayes and other typical night areas like Unfairground Etc.

The rave tree in the greenpeace field is a decent vibe and can be a bit of a stop off if you wanna wait for the crowds to die down in the SE Corner.

And obviously the crows nest is a great place for some late night bands and DJs

[prog seller]

2 hours ago, lukemack said:

If theres no headliners your really interested in seeing I'd definitely head straight there instead one night, some of the micro venues are brilliant and more memorable than the rest of the venues in the festival.

Wish they would distribute different types of music through the venues though, theres some brilliant places that tend to be on the quiter side crowd wise, normally because there blurring out jungle or dnb, while the ques for the downlow go on for hours

What's the craic with NYC Downlow? I want to consider that, but if its a queue for hours thing I probably won't bother (this is all dj's pending) Does it have an opening time? 

[TheBurns]

11 minutes ago, prog seller said:

What's the craic with NYC Downlow? I want to consider that, but if its a queue for hours thing I probably won't bother (this is all dj's pending) Does it have an opening time? 

I don't think I have made it inside the downlow since 2017 because of the queues and the selection on offer elsewhere. It's defo the longest wait of all the venues, seems like there's always a big wait anytime after 9/10.

They do tend to have big enough names on early in their lineups which I guess draws an early crowd. If there was a run of djs I really wanted to see I'd head down early but I usually don't stay in one spot for more than 1 or 2 sets so the wait is never worth it for me.

[stuie]

8 hours ago, Homer said:

You've answered your own question: just go to The Temple, it's the best venue there by miles (I usually spend most after hours either there or Arcadia generally).

Top tip: there are usually queues to get in at the entrance facing the railway track. Just walk around to the other side and there is another entrance that rarely has any queue. I have spent hours in The Temple and this bit of knowledge has allowed me to go back and forth to the toilet all night, passing the queue at the front each time.

The Temple had its own toilet area in 2019, through another exit but in a closed off area. 

[Zacko]

My approach is sometimes to embrace the 'transitory' nature of it all on one night after the main acts and just see what happens, and then on another night skip a headliner and pick a few DJ's and stick in one venue. 

2017 we did the Gas Tower on the Friday night and stayed there for about six hours for DJ Yoda onwards and that was a real fun time as we were able to slink out to also see bits of whoever was playing in a stage nearby. I wanna say Kurupt FM were playing but I can't quite remember. 

Then the other nights we might do Arcadia, or the Dance Village, or have an amble about.

Edited April 12, 2022 by Zacko

[kalifire]

Agree with everyone else suggesting getting there slightly earlier than most people, either through careful positioning and a brisk getaway at WH or skipping the end of a non-essential headliner elsewhere.

I haven’t, and wouldn’t, queue up for more than about twenty minutes to get into somewhere, and I don’t spend more than an hour of two in any location, so that means I usually have one popular venue I can get into easily each night. When I exit, the queues are already massive to get in, so I don’t bother doing - for example - The Temple and NYC Downlow in one night. I’ll pick one and that’ll be the initial venue, then I’m out and bimbling around until I eventually get tired and go to bed, probably around 2am because I’m not in my twenties anymore. IICON is a great stage to hang out in if you’re after some space; it’s a lovely antidote to the chaos of the SE Corner, I just wish they had more mainstream friendly music playing. 

One thing I find frustrating is the way a journey to a toilet can easily result in the SE Corner spitting you out of their one way system and at the back of a queue to get back in again. My drug of choice is alcohol and by that time of day I’m prone to go a lot, which really gets in the way. Maybe I should try a different kind of ‘experience’ but I wouldn’t have a clue where to source it. I’ll stop there. 

Edited April 13, 2022 by kalifire

[benc]

The other thing is if you're not into the acts/music then definitely don't queue too long to get in - a lot of the venues look best from the outside and are just facades for a standard tent type venue

[rubick]

In 2019 I did a solo mission around SE Corner which worked out really well. Met a random dude at Pennard Hill and had a can, watched a group of people breaking in (one guy peeled off across the grass, security ran after him and four others ran down the hill in the direction of the Stone Circle), then we went off to the SE Corner. Just wandered about and took in a few stages, then the other guy went back to his tent. Remember seeing Banco de Gaia somewhere. Ended my night at Zinc then Subfocus in the Gas Tower, and watched the sun come up at the Stone Circle on my way back to WV.

Determined to get my partner to do an all nighter at least once this time but we aren't in our 20s or even 30s anymore - but the rave genes are strong and muscle memory kicks in after a while. No drugs these days either, but a bag of cider definitely helps!

[rubick]

Just to add, we watched The Cure on Pyramid in 2019 and on the way back heard Squarepusher starting his set in The Glade, stayed for the whole heap and it was glorious - there were also other options up at Stonebridge (STeam Down vs Sons of Kemet I think) so SE Corner isn't the only option for late night maneuvers!  

[a6l6e6x]

Headliners don't do anything for me this year so can see myself getting there early at least one night and spending some time in Temple and maybe another night around Shangri-La for the weird and wonderful. Block 9 isn't really my vibe

[oakdown]

Every year I say I'm gonna pull an all-nighter in the SE Corner and every year I end up confused and frustrated. Probably doesn't help that I don't listen to a lot of dance music so I never know where would be playing something I'd like, despite listening to a lot of Soundcloud sets in the run-up. Once I'm there it all goes out the window. 

Did thoroughly enjoy the UV paint party in the Temple in 2017 though. Would quite like having a crack at getting into the Downlow this year... Anyone know what sort of flavour of music they tend to play? 

[Twiggy553]

 

5 minutes ago, oakdown said:

Would quite like having a crack at getting into the Downlow this year... Anyone know what sort of flavour of music they tend to play? 

Downlow is house music, often with a retro feel as it’s supposed to be a snapshot in time from the NYC meatpacking era…

There’s a stage with a lot of drag queens dancing and sometimes performances from famous queens.

[oakdown]

4 minutes ago, Twiggy553 said:

 

Downlow is house music, often with a retro feel as it’s supposed to be a snapshot in time from the NYC meatpacking era…

There’s a stage with a lot of drag queens dancing and sometimes performances from famous queens.

See as a Known Gay™ that sounds right up my alley. Maybe I should start brushing up on my house music. 

[LeeHC]

3 hours ago, oakdown said:

See as a Known Gay™ that sounds right up my alley. Maybe I should start brushing up on my house music. 

For sure- although it can be a slog to get through the queue.

They have millions of NYC downlow sets on soundcloud to get a flavour. Good place to start might be Honey Dijon, The Blessed Madonna, Hannah Holland, Grace Sands, Midland, Luke Howard/ Horse Meat Disco. (sorry that was a lot!!). Masters at Work did an absolutely legendary set there 2017 that is highly worth checking out too.

To get a good flavour try watching the mini documentary about Block 9 - its called Temporary Alternative Realities 

 

[oakdown]

18 minutes ago, LeeHC said:

For sure- although it can be a slog to get through the queue.

They have millions of NYC downlow sets on soundcloud to get a flavour. Good place to start might be Honey Dijon, The Blessed Madonna, Hannah Holland, Grace Sands, Midland, Luke Howard/ Horse Meat Disco. (sorry that was a lot!!). Masters at Work did an absolutely legendary set there 2017 that is highly worth checking out too.

To get a good flavour try watching the mini documentary about Block 9 - its called Temporary Alternative Realities 

 

Out of upvotes but this is perfect, cheers! Going with a mate this year instead of solo like I've done the past 3 so more likely to hang out in a queue for a bit if we're together. 

[AshwaGandhi]

3 hours ago, oakdown said:

See as a Known Gay™ that sounds right up my alley. Maybe I should start brushing up on my house music. 

It's definitely "homocentric" house and disco. Lots of sets on here from years gone by:

Just make sure you find the NYC Downlow sets as they have other uploads from the other Block9 stages too.

Edited April 13, 2022 by AshwaGandhi

[Twiggy553]

Only just realised London Underground is not a thing anymore. It was just a basic marquee with a pretty fascia but saw some good stuff in there. Guess they needed the space for IIcon

[AshwaGandhi]

1 minute ago, Twiggy553 said:

Only just realised London Underground is not a thing anymore. It was just a basic marquee with a pretty fascia but saw some good stuff in there. Guess they needed the space for IIcon

Was 2019 the first year it wasn't there? You must be right. Did Genosys still exist alongside IICON? Feels like those 2 stages are similar in a way given their outdoor nature.

[Deaf Nobby Burton]

19 hours ago, dingbat2 said:

Being an old fogie, I have found the SE corner a bit too busy/touristy the last few years, it's just so rammed. I know there are other places to go that time of night bit it needs a bigger venue elsewhere playing live music  that time of night to attract people away from SE corner. I'm sure due to licensing issues it isnt possible but it would be great if one of the bigger stages like JP, Acoustic or the Park could also play live music after hours, just to relieve the mass throng towards SE corner at midnight. 

I like what they do at some of the overseas festivals I’ve been to, like at Nos in Portugal Pearl Jam Headlined the main stage then at 2am MGMT came on which is the perfect sort of thing to happen. Like you say though, unfortunately it’s likely impossible due to licensing but it would solve the issue at a stroke as well as being excellent.

[LeeHC]

18 minutes ago, Twiggy553 said:

Only just realised London Underground is not a thing anymore. It was just a basic marquee with a pretty fascia but saw some good stuff in there. Guess they needed the space for IIcon

I thought IICON is where Glasto Latino used to be? 🤔