Electric Picnic 2016 // **Discussion Only / NO Ticket Sales / Requests** //

FizzleSticks

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sadie06

MadYaker wrote: »

The Hazel Wood area was nice though. I wandered in there on Saturday morning when I was in a right heap and it was a nice relaxing place to chill and nurse a can into me.

Where was it?

MadYaker

You didn't go to it? It was just off the path that goes from Salty Dog towards the exit for walking to Stradbally.

sadie06

Ah I see! We didn't venture that way this year at all.

scruff monkey

sadie06 wrote: »

Where was it?

Half way between paintball entrance and salty dog, Cathy Davey did her new album in full on Friday night, lovely little stage.

alastair

No idea who was involved in this - but a high point from of the Salty Dog Bowie bash on Friday night: https://vimeo.com/181517771

Torontohound

Back from my first EP. Overall, had a good time.

I stayed in Boutique, never going back to anything else except maybe a campervan.

Impressed by the Chemical Brothers, New Order, food selection and showers.

Not impressed by Casa Barcadi bar, more then once my change was wrong and a cup of ice was a disappointment. I was also massively shocked by the Hendrix campsite,we had to pass through it from Boutique and it was like Calcutta after the Saturday morning rain, very very Oxegen crowd from what I saw, some really disgraceful behaviour going on. I don't think I was ever young enough or drink/drugged up enough to stay in a campsite like that. Security checks into the main arena from Hendrix were extreme.

Got out of the yellow car park ok this morning, couple cars got stuck but no staff around to help. Unfortunately my car broke down on hitting Cork just after my phone had died! Got it sorted but not before a €400 repair bill, hard to shallow after such and expensive weekend but at least I didn't pay for Boutique!

strawberryb0y

MJohnston wrote: »

Opinions do vary, but yours still sounds like that of a handbag clutching oul biddie (but that's just my opinion, no offence)

Most of the opinions in this thread sound like that to be honest. The same ****e comes up on Boards every year and the vast majority of the points basically come down to the fact that you're not as young as you were six or seven years ago when you thought it was the best festival ever.
If people think it's too packed or don't like the lineup than fair enough but most of the complaints here are fairly blatant ageism.
I have gotten a laugh from the suggestion that drink and drugs are a new addition to the festival though.

drunkmonkey

Torontohound wrote: »

more then once my change was wrong

Was waiting for someone to say it, first bar I went into was the one in pinkmoon, was a little stoned and drunk after leaving tent this was about 4pm Friday, went up ordered a pink of cider, English barman started having buddy buddy conversation but he could tell I was a little wrecked, then went off to get me the drink, first arrived back with €4, I said nothing said I'd wait till he arrives with the drink, hands me cider. Called him back looking for my remainding €40, didn't even question me and handed it straight over. A professions thief designed as a bar man. Don't mind banning babies ban the fecking English.

sadie06

strawberryb0y wrote: »

Most of the opinions in this thread sound like that to be honest. The same ****e comes up on Boards every year and the vast majority of the points basically come down to the fact that you're not as young as you were six or seven years ago when you thought it was the best festival ever.
If people think it's too packed or don't like the lineup than fair enough but most of the complaints here are fairly blatant ageism.
I have gotten a laugh from the suggestion that drink and drugs are a new addition to the festival though.

I see where you are coming from, I really do, and yes, I am 5 years older than when I first went, but I think it's to do with ratios and balance. I think everyone would benefit from a better ratio of people hitting it hard to those there to mostly chill, to those somewhere in between. It's swung too far in one direction.

threein99

MadYaker wrote: »

Finally back in Galway after a slow start to the day. Overall I had a very enjoyable weekend once again. Highlights for me were LCD Soundsystem, Noel Gallagher and Skepta. Noel Gallagher into LCD was one of the most enjoyable nights I've had in a long time. Caught a bit of Daniel Alverys set after which was also great. The Chemical Brothers were good as well but 2 cans down my trousers and 2 ziploc bags full of vodka in my wellies had me absolutely scuttered and I can't account for the rest of the night. I was spotted returning to my tent at about 6am, no idea where I was, what I did or who I was with!

I took a bit handier on Saturday and Sunday and had a much more enjoyable time as a result. The weather was tough at times, especially last night with the near constant rain. Kormac played a rocking set on the Salty Dog and everyone seemed to be enjoying it despite the rain. I got a bit smarter with security this year. I didn't fail once at getting cans into the main arena. If you watched for a few minutes you could pick out the lads that were doing a half arsed pat down and aim for them.

I agree with posters on here that the festival demographic is headed in the wrong direction. I don't think it'll ever go full oxegen but it definitely gets worse every year in that regard. They need to clamp down on the 13 to 17 year olds big time. They just shouldn't be allowed in full stop. ID anyone that looks under 30 and only accept passports, age cards or driving licenses and if security see someone they suspect to be underage they should be able to ID them and chuck them out of they are. It seems over last few years that every family that doesn't go gets replaced by about ten drunk 16/17 year olds. Especially on Sunday.

That said I thought the crowd was quite nice this year? Although maybe I'm part of the problem, everytime I see someone on here complaining about people being totally out of it on drugs and drink I always think they could be talking about me. Apart from the drunk teenagers I didn't notice any scobes, our neighbours in Oscar Wilde were lovely and I had loads of great chats with random strangers. Maybe I just got lucky.

The were a few changes to site this year that I didn't think were great. The lake swimming is pointless nonsense and has apparently made a mess of the access route for families. The Anarchronica thing in the woods is a piss poor replacement for the RBMA stage imo. To be honest I was out of it whenever I was there but I thought it wasn't as good, it seems smaller. I also thought the sound in the Electric Arena wasn't great. I noticed it this year at Broken Social Scene and last year at Jape. Couldn't really hear the vocalist and it was all just overbearing bass. Also why was there such a massive distance between the barrier and the stage in there? Was it always like that? Skepta even mentioned it during his set which was excellent by the way despite the young and slightly rough crowd. The Hazel Wood area was nice though. I wandered in there on Saturday morning when I was in a right heap and it was a nice relaxing place to chill and nurse a can into me.

Overall it was a great weekend and I reckon I'll be buying my ticket this friday.

Where do you hide your cans ? I've always gone for the hipflask route of sneaking in drink.

Pickpocket

strawberryb0y wrote: »

I have gotten a laugh from the suggestion that drink and drugs are a new addition to the festival though.

The strength of pills and powder MDMA has went through the roof since the late 00s. In particular, clean MDMA has become widely available where once it was a rarity. The price of both has also significantly dropped. Both have risen in popularity again, partly due to the above but also because of a change in music trends. There's also DJ sets and live dancefloor music spread right across the arena, whereas previously it was largely confined to certain areas. There's also a multitude of new vendors pumping out house music left, right and centre. The festival is moving closer and closer to being a predominantly electronic event, which traditionally go hand in hand with certain types of drugs. On top of that the festival has almost doubled in size over the last 3 or 4 years.

There are simply more drugs now than ever before. It's not new, but it's definitely better/worse depending on your personal take on the matter. Nobody is suggesting that alcohol and drugs are new. The opposite is true. People are highlighting Irish people's tendency toward over-indulgence and how this has impacted on the festival.

drunkmonkey

Have you looked at the lineup from a good few years ago, EDM was always a big part of EP. Maybe it died off for a few years but at the start EDM was certainly a large part of it.

strawberryb0y

People are quite clearly suggesting that overindulgence in drink and drugs on a large scale is a recent problem.
In my experience of this year Vs my first picnic in 2010 there is no great difference in the proportion of people who've overdone it.

strawberryb0y

Overdid it double dropping posts.

Peterd66

MadYaker wrote: »

I also thought the sound in the Electric Arena wasn't great. I noticed it this year at Broken Social Scene and last year at Jape. Couldn't really hear the vocalist and it was all just overbearing bass..

Have to agree - i left BSS there because of the bad sound quality, especially vocals. It was the same (bad) for Editors and Wolf Alice on Sunday as well, although Wild Beasts had decent sound.

Pickpocket

drunkmonkey wrote: »

Have you looked at the lineup from a good few years ago, EDM was always a big part of EP. Maybe it died off for a few years but at the start EDM was certainly a large part of it.

First of all, and with the greatest of respect, please don't use the term EDM.

I've been to every EP and my chief interest is electronic music so I'm well aware of what the breakdown has been over the years. It's been a constant presence. However it is now spread much wider across the festival. A techno DJ headlining the Electric Arena is a relatively new phenomenon. Compare that to when the three Bodytonic tents were in the campsite which was effectively an attempt to shift dance music away from the larger stages.

However the main factors here are the size of the festival and resurgence of MDMA and its derivatives. It's been happening all over Europe the past number of years.

Just to be clear, I'm not suggesting that EP is turning into a dance festival, but the amount of live music that has its basis in house, electro and bass music is increasing. Oddly enough, all of that is happening while the festival as a whole is cutting back on actual house and techno proper.

Everything is just combining and leading to a festival where MDMA is more prominent.

Discodog

Mr.S wrote: »

Think the same, the only real difference I see is age of people going. It's gotten very young to be fair. But in terms of "messy antics" it's pretty much the same.

People just love to talk about the old picnic tbh

Yes I am sure that you are right. I went from 2005 to 2008 & during that time I noticed a big difference. This was especially noticeable during headline sets where the main arena went from comfortable to packed. God knows what it must be like now.

I would love to go again but I think that I would be disappointed. I think that the early picnickers felt like it was our festival. I remember the fun of forum meetups outside the Silent Disco.

We hated the influx of day trippers then as you could feel the atmosphere change. But you felt really special as they went home.

I notice quite a few comments about security. In the "old days" they were brilliant & the same Scottish faces would appear each year. I remember in 2007 & 2008 getting to main entrance bag check & being waved through by a supervisor followed by a handshake & how r ya.

Jimmy Iovine

drunkmonkey wrote: »

Was waiting for someone to say it, first bar I went into was the one in pinkmoon, was a little stoned and drunk after leaving tent this was about 4pm Friday, went up ordered a pink of cider, English barman started having buddy buddy conversation but he could tell I was a little wrecked, then went off to get me the drink, first arrived back with €4, I said nothing said I'd wait till he arrives with the drink, hands me cider. Called him back looking for my remainding €40, didn't even question me and handed it straight over. A professions thief designed as a bar man. Don't mind banning babies ban the fecking English.

My favourite exchange with the staff was with "The Human Calculator" who worked in one of the food places in Joplin. He had to ask me at one point if €7 and €8 made €15. Now, there may have been some language issues there but surely a requirement of the job is that you can add small numbers :pac: He was relegated to tea duties the next day.

Maybe he was out the night before so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.

Thankfully, I didn't have any issues with change. Prices, as noted by everyone else, were exorbitant but that's to be expected I suppose.

Wooderson

The swimming experiment one of the most laughable wastes of time I've seen. Some poor hoor spent the weekend sat in a speedboat with nothing but angry dad's glaring over at them whilst struggling to keep buggies out of a ditch.

Alkers

We were in campervans and walked in the salty dog entrance, found security very lax. Was able to bring backpacks of drink in on sunday without them even asking to look inside. Great change from last year as they were a bit OTT then.
I thought the site overall coped with the increased numbers pretty well, each day felt as busy as the Sunday normally does. The exception to this was the queue for food from most of the stalls within the main arena.
After staying in the campervan the last two years, couldn't even consider going back to the campsites, walking through them was gobsmacked, never remembered them being that bad any time I camped before (5+ times). That being said I didn't see any hassle really.
Not as eager to get next year's ticket straight away but can't out my finger on why that is as I normally buy it straight away.

Seathrun66

Pickpocket wrote: »

I've just realised that LCD Soundsystem's James Murphy has performed at the last three EPs. He played a DJ set in 2014 and then Despacio last year.

Can anyone think of another artist of his stature that's played three or more back to back EPs?

Murphy has possibly performed every year for the past 6/7. He's had at least two official DJ sets on his own, another with Despacio, one co-Dj-ing with Pat Mahoney from LCD and a surprise DJ slot at the Body & Soul main stage after Le Galaxie 3/4 years ago. LCD have also now played four times there so I make that at least 9 slots. You reckon he likes us?

MadYaker

threein99 wrote: »

Where do you hide your cans ? I've always gone for the hipflask route of sneaking in drink.

Wellies or back pocket with a jacket around my waist.

okidoki987

Prices, as noted by everyone else, were exorbitant but that's to be expected I suppose

How much was a pint and the like?

MadYaker

€6.50 for a pint anywhere from €6 to €12 for food depending on how much you want. I didn't buy a single pint all weekend but I think I spent a fortune at that fecking cocktail bar in Body and Soul. Was it there last year? Id never noticed it before but a girl I met on Friday night convinced me to go there, said it was awesome and she was right. Combine that with 3 meals a day in the arena and I burned through a lot of cash. No regrets though.

Seathrun66

Just home and have read all updates so wanted to put in my tuppence worth:

1. Kids - I think that EP would be a far poorer place without the under-12s there and I wouldn't dare to give advice to those taking them along. Apart from saying thanks to the parents for doing so and making it a better vibe. I like the demographic of EP which I reckon now is 6 months to 65 years.
2. 13-18 year olds - many obvious people in this age group and EP may have licence problems if anything goes wrong, as it could easily do. I don't think their presence improves the fest but had EP been around when I was their age I'd have been doing my best to attend so I can't pronounce too much.
3. Weather - bearable I reckon. Fri great, Sat fine bar heavy rain for an hour or so which I mainly missed cos of The Shins. Sunday drizzle/light rain wasn't fun but could have been far worse.
4. The site - Fri felt crowded & messy, mainly cos people were just excited and rushing everywhere. Rest of weekend ok for me. Not roomy but not overcrowded. It was very spacious 4/5 years ago, but then it almost went bust so I'd prefer a busy festival to a non-existent one.
5. Lowlights - the anodyne Local Natives, Bananarama (don't ask), Daft As Punk (but fair play to the two chancers for making a living from two helmets), the lack of labelling for the recycling bins (many people won't bother recycling, but give them the option anyway), the cocktail stall near the Body & Soul main stage pumping out crap techno and ruining the vibe (other corporate concession stalls doing the same also but particularly keep that out of B&S).
6. Highlights - LCD of course, Shins (though I expected better), Nas, ABC, Toots, Whitney, New Order, Kevin Morby (thanks to the poster here who recommended him), Ezra Furman, Engine Alley & Super Furries. Also very impressed with some Irish acts I knew nothing about beforehand (Elm, Ocho, Lemaitre & Swords). Augurs well for the future of local music. Picture This less so!

As ever met some lovely people, had no hassle with security or festival goers and loved it. So thanks to all there, especially if we shared some chat over the weekend and see you in 2017.

Beanstalk

Had a ball this year.

Camped in Pink Moon for the first time and the security folks were so pleasant. Even with directions everyone was super helpful. The 4 man tents are HUGE as well which was an unexpected surprise. Unfortunately the tent next to us got robbed but security were all over the place within four mins of it happening and were very helpful. I hope they caught the feckers.

After catching BSS who had loads of energy I was dissapointed by the sound. Really messy, they even said themselves on stage they were having serious feedback problems. NAS was brilliant tho. Chemical brothers rocked the place as well and the visuals were incredible. Flexfab was really dissapointing, he played a real dark set which no one danced to which kind of killed the vibe a little. Maybe i just wasn't in the mood for it.

On saturday I caught some comedy. Damian Clarke was excellent but the Rubber Bandits really got everyone going. At the end Blindboy sang a new song about how Irish people have difficulty talking about abortion which made everyone laugh but had a particularly poignant verse near the end about the ridiculous notion of children in purgatory that definitely drew a teary eye or two. Saw Blindboy again in the Leviathan on Sunday and he was very funny but the panellists let him down a wee bit.

Noel Gallagher sounded great and I enjoyed his new material even tho I hadn't really listened to it before. LCD were insanely good, was right down at the front for it just waited after Noel gallagher. Followed that with Daniel Avery who had the place jumping hard.

New Order sounded fantastic too but the highlight for me was Pantha Du Prince, the really topped off the weekend with the feelgood melodic beats, and the live set made such a difference compared to the usual pioneer digital deck setup.

Who was DJing in the salty Dog until 4 on Saturday night? The tunes were class. Born Slippy at the end!

TherapyBoy

Beanstalk wrote: »

Who was DJing in the salty Dog until 4 on Saturday night? The tunes were class. Born Slippy at the end!

Le Galaxie I think. Any night that ends with Underworld is a good one in my book!

Dr. Mantis Toboggan

MadYaker wrote: »

. I was spotted returning to my tent at about 6am, no idea where I was, what I did or who I was with!

Top class stuff. That's always how my Friday nights go at EP.

Synode

TherapyBoy wrote: »

Le Galaxie I think. Any night that ends with Underworld is a good one in my book!

Yeah was Le Galaxie Soundsystem. That and their live set were class