Electric Picnic 2013 *Discussion only. NO ticket sales/requests*

sdgbt

I'm honestly not getting what people are saying about the crowd this year. I have been to a couple of oxegens (years ago) and a lot of the picnics, and I just don't think you can compare the crowds at all. This year, I honestly saw no hassle, and found people to be generally very laid back. There were a lot of younger people there, but that's only really noticeable because I would be in the older age bracket anyway. I honestly don't begrudge them this, after all, I was heading to festivals at 18/19 myself. Maybe I just got lucky this year or something, but I didn't see much in the way of "scumbag" behaviour at all.

Sky King

sdgbt wrote: »

I'm honestly not getting what people are saying about the crowd this year. I have been to a couple of oxegens (years ago) and a lot of the picnics, and I just don't think you can compare the crowds at all. This year, I honestly saw no hassle, and found people to be generally very laid back. There were a lot of younger people there, but that's only really noticeable because I would be in the older age bracket anyway. I honestly don't begrudge them this, after all, I was heading to festivals at 18/19 myself. Maybe I just got lucky this year or something, but I didn't see much in the way of "scumbag" behaviour at all.

Exact same here - I'm going to festivals years myself and while I noticed a fair few of the crowd at this were younger, anyone I spoke to was sound and I had a few great chats with randomers.

I did notice a few rough heads around and heard a *lot* of stories about people getting stuff nicked on them but thankfully none of it affected me.

seachto7

Mr.S wrote: »

The crowd was fine, I don't really get what people mean by "oxegen crowd" (unless they mean young?). Would be a shame to miss it based purley on the crowd, you'll have dicks (and nice people) at every event.

True. I like the idea of a smaller event though. Saying that, wouldn't begrudge the organisers if they can increase crowd capacity.

Hogzy

Got the post festival blues big time today. Miss waking up in a tent after a shyte sleep and being surrounded by friends having a morning can. Roll on EP 2014.

exilec

Does anyone have a link to the bad review of ocean colour scene on the saturday , heard they got slated. !! I was at them and really enjoyed it , maybe thats a sign im getting old..
I thought themselves , robert plant and johnny marr were the highlights for me...

neaideabh

Got back to my hometown yesterday tired, hungover, depressed and really pissed off because I had lost my phone!

Went into the house and lied down on the couch! My Dad came in and looked at me! "You lost your phone?" he goes.... I said yeah and that I was raging. Then I asked him all surprised... "how did you know?"

As it turned out, a guard who was working at it, found my phone! He was working at the picnic, but was normally stationed in my hometown! So, he rang my Dad at 10.30pm on Sunday night and told him he has my phone and I can collect it today off him at the local garda station!

So happy about that! Still had the photo's I took on it tho because they automatically upload to the cloud so it was like The Hangover looking through the photo's yesterday!

Regarding the festival, I had the best craic! Was in a campervan this year and will be doing so every year from now on! No camping in a tent for me anymore! No way Jose!

AdMMM

exilec wrote: »

Does anyone have a link to the bad review of ocean colour scene on the saturday , heard they got slated. !! I was at them and really enjoyed it , maybe thats a sign im getting old..
I thought themselves , robert plant and johnny marr were the highlights for me...

That review was just written by a bitter journo with a chip on his shoulder. I enjoyed OCS as well.

Yes, they were going through the motions but it was the early afternoon and I thought they were perfect to ease me into the day.

ongarite

As with other I think there was definitely a younger crowd this year, especially Sunday.
In the section of Hendrix I was camped in, most seemed to be happy to spend their weekend pass on drinking in the campsite for most of the day, evening and only venturing into the Arena when it went dark. If that's how you can justify spending >€150, then so be it.

Lots of people ticket begging on Friday in the car parks and then trying to sneak on Saturday & Sunday.
I heard stories from people who were packing up early on Sunday getting abuse from free-loaders not giving them their wristbands.

The toilet situation needs addressing for next year. The queues in Hendrix and the arenas were massive for both men and women.
Comfy Crappers made a fortune this year I would guess, never seen such big queues outside them before.
I saw somebody literally have a **** on their hand and then wipe it on the ground. Absolutely rank!

No complaints about the food, the falafel place (blue sign) beside Chunky Chips was absolutely delicious. Best food of the weekend for me.

Booka Brass Band

Furious-Red wrote: »

Also Booka Shade Brass Band(Think that was their name) playing before Hot Sprockets on the Salty Dog were great. ,

Hi,

You were close - we are called "Booka Brass Band".

This is our Facebook Page if you are interested - https://www.facebook.com/BookaBrass

And you can contact us at Bookabrass@gmail.com

Thanks for the interest! We are delighted people enjoyed our gig!

ciaranf92

Does anyone know the performing members for the Wu-Tang show?
Heard a few people complain that most of the big names didn't show up (not that it stopped me having fun )

Queen-Mise

seachto7 wrote: »

First one for me last year, didn't go this year, and based on feedback here with reports of an Oxegen type crowd, I'd think twice about next year. A festival abroad methinks. (Spain)

Sky King wrote: »

Exact same here - I'm going to festivals years myself and while I noticed a fair few of the crowd at this were younger, anyone I spoke to was sound and I had a few great chats with randomers.

I did notice a few rough heads around and heard a *lot* of stories about people getting stuff nicked on them but thankfully none of it affected me.

I didn't notice a particularly younger crowd per se - but then if they were there, I was probably in a different place to where they were.;)

I overheard a young lad say on Friday afternoon; 'why are they kids here' - he was obviously a picnic newbie

I saw one guy with blood down his face, but that looked more like he fell, it was around one of the spots with really rough stones.

The only other bits of trouble I saw were from people a heck of a lot older than 18. There was one guy on the stands on Sat night, being an absolute prick, at one stage ran down the steps and pretended to push a man down the stairs. If he hadn't had stopped in time, the man would have went head first down the 6/7 steps.
And in the carpark coming in on Sunday there was another man, probably late 40s, being an absolute ar*ehole. He was getting in the faces of the security, punching/kicking cars.

The OCS review is on one of the previous pages.

Queen-Mise

ciaranf92 wrote: »

Does anyone know the performing members for the Wu-Tang show?
Heard a few people complain that most of the big names didn't show up (not that it stopped me having fun )

I thought I read somewhere beforehand (don't ask where) that it was close to the full lineup.

I may well be wrong though.

SliM Dedalus

Just about feeling human again - glad I booked the two day recovery time!!! What a weekend. Luckily avoided having anything stolen bar a camping chair from outside our tent, which I think was taken by some of our neighbours who were of the 'post-18' variety who are getting a slating on here.

Highlights for me were Johnny Marr, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Wu Tang to name a few. I was at OCS and their review was laughable - they did a decent festival set full of singles and had the crowd singing along by the end. It's very popular in the music press to hammer them but that review barely mentioned the gig and descended into a 10-line waffle about how Jim Carroll is 'above this type of thing'. Anyone who mentions the 'death of music' in relation to an hour long festival set isn't a music snob - just a bit of a moron.

It was my third picnic so I'm relatively new to it all but I can certainly detect a lessening of the atmosphere that prevailed in previous years. I had been to Oxegen/ Wittness before and EP seems to be going along those lines. Noticably less families this year - is it getting to a stage where it less safe to bring kids? I wouldn't personally and would stick to the smaller festivals such as body and soul if I did have any little ones.

Still though, all our group had a cracking time and EP 2014 was being talked about by Saturday afternoon. All topped off by a stroll into Stradbally to watch the Dubs beat Kerry in an incredible game. Loved it.

paulieeye

This was my 6th ep, i did notice a bit of a young crowd but tbh nothing i havent seen before. Once again I saw no hassle. It does however sound like a few tents got done this year. But why anyone would put €1000 into a tent in a field with thousands of people on the piss is beyond me, they wont be doing that again. All that should be in your tent is clothes and drink.

Security was good, i just gave the guy on the arena entrance a high five and he let me in with no search on friday...bucky in pocket!!

Think thats me for the camping tho...5 hours sleep in 2 days led to a burnout on sunday...campervans next year!!

windowcleaner

AdMMM wrote: »

That review was just written by a bitter journo with a chip on his shoulder. I enjoyed OCS as well.

Yes, they were going through the motions but it was the early afternoon and I thought they were perfect to ease me into the day.

Love this

On the one hand, you slate the "bitter" journo

On the other hand, you say the band "were going through the motions".

:rolleyes:

ciaranf92

Queen-Mise wrote: »

I thought I read somewhere beforehand (don't ask where) that it was close to the full lineup.

I may well be wrong though.

I read something similar before the show too, but the group of lads beside me were complaining.

I also read this review - http://entertainment.ie/summerfestivals/music-festivals-2013-news/Electric-Picnic-Dispatches-from-a-Field-3/3890/209693.htm

"The New York hip hop ensemble seem to have brought their B team to Stradbally, with some famous names missing from their collective..."

AdMMM

Love this

On the one hand, you slate the "bitter" journo

On the other hand, you say the band "were going through the motions".

Well they were, but I don't necessarily see anything wrong with that. They played their songs and the crowd that had gathered all seemed to enjoy it. Isn't that what mattered?

What I can't for the life of me understand is why Jim Carroll would waste his time seeing a band that he obviously hates. Every other review that weekend seemed to be written by someone who either liked the band already or went with high hopes. He could have just given that gig a miss and reviewed something else rather than coming across like wet fart.

Clarehobo

sdgbt wrote: »

I'm honestly not getting what people are saying about the crowd this year. I have been to a couple of oxegens (years ago) and a lot of the picnics, and I just don't think you can compare the crowds at all. This year, I honestly saw no hassle, and found people to be generally very laid back. There were a lot of younger people there, but that's only really noticeable because I would be in the older age bracket anyway. I honestly don't begrudge them this, after all, I was heading to festivals at 18/19 myself. Maybe I just got lucky this year or something, but I didn't see much in the way of "scumbag" behaviour at all.

I think it depends where you went and to what acts.
There were pockets of them in the Wilde campsite.
Also, Arctic Monkeys. The younger Crowd just being off their face and aggressive, barging through people like it's a Saturday night in a nightclub or something. I actually moved a few times because they were banging off people, knocking people off other people's shoulders, etc...

99% of the crowd were sound, but acts like Arctic Monkeys can attract a rougher crowd. It was the only act I saw where I wanted to leave because people were being d1cks(in addition to not liking them).

Johnny Marr, Dave Byrne & St Vincent, Bjork and Jagwar Ma were my highlights. My head nearly exploded when Johnny started into "There is a light" - along with the rest of the tent. Heard a lot of bad reviews of Bjork but I really enjoyed it - the choir and drummer were intense.

I think the Times review was spot on - people stuck to the names and acts they knew and rarely moved away from the headliners.

the keen edge

I think there were a few more scumbags at the picnic this year alright.

My sister had her bag and it contents(phone, bank cards, ~€200 cash) stolen for her tent during Friday night while herself and her buddy were asleep inside.
In the morning at the temporary AGS station she was told that she was #42 on a list of other such victims.

tosspot15

the keen edge wrote: »

I think there were a few more scumbags at the picnic this year alright.

My sister had her bag and it contents(phone, bank cards, ~€200 cash) stolen for her tent during Friday night while herself and her buddy were asleep inside.
In the morning at the temporary AGS station she was told that she was #42 on a list of other such victims.

These things happen every year unfortunately. I think the complete opposite. It seemed like a much nicer crowd this year, and a much better festival in general compared to last years.

But the moaners and whingers will always voice their opinion the loudest. Theres a few people in this thread that are complaining about EP2013 that were also complaining about Oxegen, and were also complaining about EP last year, and the year before. You cant satisfy some people.

eire_lad

Though Jaguar Ma were class aswell. Never heard of them until I walked into their gigg just before crystal fighters.

Was there to see Crystal fighters who i thought were goin to be unreal but it was a pity that the crowd was just a little small. Think if they were on sat night and not on same time as main act they could have been a big talking point.

First time seeing Le Galaxie - They really know how to put on a show!!!!!!!

2ndcoming

Had an absolute ball as usual. Head only slightly returning to normal, find myself giggling to myself when I think about some of the weekend's LOLZ which is giving my co-workers great amusement.

Highlights for me were Johnny Marr, Bjork, Chvrches, the RBMA every night, the Bacardi bar, Dylan Moran, the Arctics and a young band I saw on one of the smaller stages in Body & Soul with a female singer around 11 pm on Friday who I wish I knew the name of. Regretfully missed David Byrne & Jagwar Ma but heard great reports on both.

As someone who was a big fan in my teenage years I thought OCS were, well, boring but I agree the reviewer went overboard. As a critique I felt Disclosure, who were superb, should have headlined the Electric Arena. Saturday night missed a festival headline worthy band for the main stage (2 door cinema club?! Ah here... ) and Friday in general was far too lightweight.

It didn't really affect my enjoyment of the weekend and I already can't wait for EP '14 but I think it reflected badly on the organisers that for their 10th anniversary the line-up was weaker than average rather than stronger.

Saw one act of thuggery in the car park when reloading the beer stock on Sunday morning but the people involved had nothing to do with the festival and were merely scumbags looking for a place to get off their faces and cause trouble so you can't really hold that against the rest of the crowd. Heard whispers of a fight in the Oscar Wilde campsite (where I stayed, as I have for the past 6 EPs) but saw nothing myself and all my neighbours were cool as ever.

TL;DR Great weekend as ever but let's see a little more meat to the line-up next year please.

Ferris_Bueller

sdgbt wrote: »

I'm honestly not getting what people are saying about the crowd this year. I have been to a couple of oxegens (years ago) and a lot of the picnics, and I just don't think you can compare the crowds at all. This year, I honestly saw no hassle, and found people to be generally very laid back. There were a lot of younger people there, but that's only really noticeable because I would be in the older age bracket anyway. I honestly don't begrudge them this, after all, I was heading to festivals at 18/19 myself. Maybe I just got lucky this year or something, but I didn't see much in the way of "scumbag" behaviour at all.

I agree with this completely, didn't see any problem with the crowd whatsoever. It was my first picnic and I'm probably considered as part of the younger crowd (21), most of my group in and around the same age - so maybe I'm biased, but I genuinely don't see what problem people have with a bit of a younger crowd? I would have guessed the average age is still around 24/25 or so. Maybe I'm the same as sdgbt and got lucky in seeing no trouble, but I really felt safe the entire time, as did everyone I camped with. I had a feeling there was going to be people complaining about the crowd being younger or dodgier this year regardless, is it just a case of people looking for something to complain about?

ooPabsoo

Funny little story from http://collegetimes.ie/2013/09/03/a-little-ep-campsite-story

Campsites at music festivals are usually pretty grim places to be and are something I could do without. I’ll be the first to admit that I enjoy a nice hot shower and a flushing toilet, but I’m willing to brave it ‘for the music man’. Rarely however, is there a visit to an Irish festival campsite that doesn’t result in some sort of memorable experience.

A few years ago, I was almost burned inside my tent at oxegen while having a kip. Only for hearing someone say ” I think someones in that one” I’d be picking bits of flysheet out of every crevis. This year at Electric Picnic I crashed in a friends giant tent. This meant that my tent was an unoccupied property most of the weekend, a place to store for toothbrush and baby wipes.

I woke up on the Saturday morning, refreshed and rejuvenated from my 2 hours slumber inside an overrated plastic bag. I decided to drag myself over to my tent. I noticed that it was wide open. My first thought was that someone had stolen all my stuff. Although it wasn’t much, I angrily ran over to assess the situation.

My backpack was untouched and where I had left it and everything seemed to be in order. I saw a white plastic bag in the corner of the tent so I went to investigate.

What I saw was unbelievable.

I found 2 cans of Heineken and a fiver. I thought “Score”. Then I saw a note scribbled with pencil or eyeliner on the back of a cigarette box. It read;

“Hi, I got lost and crashed in your tent last night, you probably came back and saw me there, thank you for the hospitality, and please accept gifts and enjoy the rest of your weekend. Love Samantha.”

This to me just sums up the difference between Oxegen and Electric Picnic. There’s just a different class of campsite mess.

HandsomeDivil

My first Picnic and I loved every minute of it. Acts that stood out were Johnny Marr, BRMC, MBV, Robert Plant and Arctic Monkeys (even though the first 4 or 5 songs were far too rough to enjoy). The girls were excellent as well, thoroughly enjoyed Warpaint, Savages and CHVRCHES. Fatboy Slim was the only disappointment in my book. His songs are far better than most that he played and I found it quite repetitive. I'm sure I would have enjoyed it if I was into that type of music but I would have much preferred more of his own material.

I gotta say though, aside from the music, the people there were unbelievable. I was up all night on Sunday just sitting around chatting to strangers. Nearly everybody I encountered was up for a laugh or a chat or just looking for a bit of banter, I loved it.

As an 18 year old young fella I'm gonna have to stand up for myself here. I went with a group of 18-19 year old lads and we all had a ball without causing an ounce of trouble. Our neighbours were a group of 17 year olds and they were some of the nicest people I've ever met. I did hear of tents being robbed and whatnot but it's not fair to blame it on the youth. One of the things I admired most was the relationship between everyone regardless of their age, 20 year olds and 50 year olds sitting around having a chat. The youngsters are just as important (if not moreso) to the festival than the older generation.

Edit: Seeing Hip-Neck Blues Collective in Natasha's Living Food Tent at 2:00 on Saturday night was possibly the highlight of the weekend, they were absolutely excellent.

scruffmonkey

I think people are getting distracted by young people from the skangers of all ages who were in attendance, I was asked a few times over the weekend was I selling any blue ghosts, annoying yes but less annoying than the scruffy old hippies constantly knocking into people whilst flower child dancing, stoned off their tits on the nastiest smelling weed I've had the displeasure to be near in my life during the Eels set.

so to re-iterate
Skangers and nasty peoples = bad
aging hippies who can no longer handle their sh1t = equally bad

mmmkay?

St. Lupulin

ciaranf92 wrote: »

Does anyone know the performing members for the Wu-Tang show?
Heard a few people complain that most of the big names didn't show up (not that it stopped me having fun )

Meth and RZA didn't turn up.

Raekwon, GZA, Ghostface, Masta Killa, U-God, Inspectah Deck and Cappadonna were all there.

Great set, that alone was worth the 200 quid for me.

St. Lupulin

scruffmonkey wrote: »

I think people are getting distracted by young people from the skangers of all ages who were in attendance, I was asked a few times over the weekend was I selling any blue ghosts, annoying yes but less annoying than the scruffy old hippies constantly knocking into people whilst flower child dancing, stoned off their tits on the nastiest smelling weed I've had the displeasure to be near in my life during the Eels set.

so to re-iterate
Skangers and nasty peoples = bad
aging hippies who can no longer handle their sh1t = equally bad

mmmkay?

D!ckheads singing "don't look back in anger", "wonderwall" and "hey day" = the worst.

SV

I honestly don't know what people are talking about here saying the crowd was dodgy or there was more scumbags about, now in saying that this was my first year at it but I didn't see a hint of any kind of trouble or any scumbags at all (except on the Monday morning when there was a couple of dodgy looking characters shouting at everyone walking past them in Jimi Hendrix)

Although, seeing as I wore tracksuit bottoms for the entire thing I'm guessing I was the kind of person people are labelling as a scumbag, I apologise for wanting to be comfortable and would suggest anyone who labels those wearing tracksuits as scumbags to shove your prejudice where the sun doesn't shine.

Fatfrog

Was loving the €150 price tag initially but anyone else find they pretty much spent the difference on alcohol in the main arena?
Just hope the promoters got a bigger cut from the alcohol companies, that can then be reinvested back into the festival!