Electric Picnic 2017 **Discussion Only // No Ticket Sales**

Wooderson

nc6000 wrote: »

Same with the Eco Campsite, it was spotless all weekend.

Good to hear - the whole site should be an eco campsite however.

PinkCamper

Wooderson wrote: »

nc6000 wrote: »

Same with the Eco Campsite, it was spotless all weekend.

Good to hear - the whole site should be an eco campsite however.

Cannot say the same about Pink Moon. Dirtiest I've ever seen it, and toilets in worse condition than those in the main arena

MJohnston

Paleblood wrote: »

At the same you can't be surprised by people's attitudes when there's so many examples of absolutely shocking parenting happening in front of them.

To be honest, I didn't see any of these, and I think it's deeply misguided for anyone to be judging what parents are doing for one weekend in the year. It's nothing to do with you or anyone else other than the parents. I thought Ireland was past this parochial Catholic attitude to looking down on people who don't act exactly the way they think everyone should.

Finally, you could do with winding your neck in a tad. Labelling people "stupid", "worthless", "self-involved", "ignorant pricks" isn't a good look. People are going to take drugs at music festivals and festival campsites will always look like landfill sites.

Calm down, it's just an intentionally OTT rant on a message board on the internet. Though, Body and Soul festival manages to avoid looking like a landfill every year, so there's plenty of truth that EP goers seem to be just a level below in terms of personal responsibility and selflessness.

As for the insults, they're merely intended for stupid, worthless, self-involved, ignorant pricks who deigned to pass judgement on parents at what has always been a family festival.

If, as a parent, you cannot develop strategies for dealing with that, or are having trouble processing it, which you clearly are, then you categorically should not be there with your child.

I'm not really sure you should be making categorical statements on behalf of others, but I most certainly was able to deal with it and process it, but hey - I repeat - this is a message board and I was posting a summary of my weekend in an OTT fashion - if you cannot develop strategies for dealing with that or having....well you can see where I'm going with this

D.Q

PinkCamper wrote: »

Cannot say the same about Pink Moon. Dirtiest I've ever seen it, and toilets in worse condition than those in the main arena

Yeah the toilets were in awful shape some of the time.

Pink moon was so so so much cleaner than general campsites though. The first day or two it stayed clean but they let the bins overflow and didn't empty them.

That sort of thing shouldn't be happening for the money paid.

MJohnston

D.Q wrote: »

Yeah the toilets were in awful shape some of the time.

Pink moon was so so so much cleaner than general campsites though. The first day or two it stayed clean but they let the bins overflow and didn't empty them.

That sort of thing shouldn't be happening for the money paid.

Severe shortage of bins and bin emptying all over the entire site tbh, as I mentioned in one of my previous posts. Pink Moon might have been at the mercy of the general (dis)organisation where that was concerned.

MJohnston

If you missed Kiasmos with all the clashes, you needn't have worried:

https://twitter.com/hidden_agenda_/status/905033630245945344

EIREDriver

NegativeCreep wrote: »

What was it like getting out of the car parks on Monday? We nearly got stuck in the mud twice coming out on Sunday morning

Group of ladies stopped in the yellow car park on Sunday just at the entrance to the festival to ask people for their wristbands. By far the worst place in the field. Enjoyed seeing them rev way too hard and get stuck.

Coming out of it Sunday was very bad. Slided the whole way down it - bit of craic but nearly hit a lad walking.

kg703

Back to work today.

Been a struggle so far.

I had an unbelievable weekend. We stayed in Pink Moon but all of our friends stayed in Oscar Wilde. I think they are finally considering crossing over as the average age in there was 18.5 at a guess.

Friday:

Friday was the most amount of completely out of it kids I have ever seen in one place at one time. Holy moly. We hung out with friends in Oscar Wilde for a bit and jaysus,the state of them. In particular the girls who seriously I cant believe are actually so stupid they are wearing zero clothes when it was freezing at night and shaking in the queues for the toilets. Put on a jumper for gods sake!!! I saw some young girls 'lower lady parts' on full show - and she was dressed. On Saturday I saw a girl walking around wearing nipple tassles in the lashings of rain. I can't get my head around how stupid some people are. Anyway music - watched the roadhouse doors, went for a wander around the site - trailer park was deadly this year, the divine comedy were good, young fathers were amazing, XX - I just don't get it. I was bored senseless and left after 30 minutes, just not for me. Went into Bicep for a little bit, was ok then wandered through a few other tents and ended up at Le Freak. Cold night!

Saturday - This was my favourite day, went for a few drinks with all the gang, hung out at Salty Dog for a bit, bicurious were great fun, madness - darn clashfinder had it running until 17:45 so I was going to catch last half hour and turns out it actually finished at 17.30 so missed most of it, had to go back to PM to get raingear so missed Rusangano, saw a little of RTJ, went to 5ive(I know, I know) cause I was well on and fancied a bit of cheesy fun (and it was!), watched a bit of Annie Mac but it wasn't that appealing, went into Le Galaxie who were awesome. Wanted to get 30 mins of Interpol before Pete Tong but of course it was late. Had a fantastic time at Pete Tong, despite the rain, it was a lot of fun and the orchestra were amazing, unlike JG which as someone said earlier and was 100% right, it was like Barcelona vs Stoke. Was in one of the tents but whatever was on was severe techno so left. Went to Le Boom after, was good but one particular very very drunk woman was swinging herself around like a lunatic and annoying everyone. We were all on the tea at the point and probably a bit tired and cranky.

Sunday - I have no idea who we watched at Salty Dog but went to main arena for KK Company - wow. Missed them last year, what a great gig, tent was absolutely jammed at 3pm. Sat out in the sun after, had a few lovely cold beers, watched the Pretenders, saw a little bit of Elbow, went to DJ Yoda (disappointing), then Duran Duran was a great finish to the weekend. Had a bit of a dance at Mother and went right up the front for KK Company at Salty Dog but they were a bit late on and I was in the crowd, tired and sweating so only lasted a few songs.

Overall was brilliant, I wish I had more time to wander around, probably should have done that in the morning I guess. Being back to reality is horrifying, I couldnt do more than 3 days there but at the same time, never want to leave.

Any chance they could raise the adult age to 21 :P The young crowd are terrifying.

Kids - I don't have children so while I can't comment on bringing kids up etc. some of the stuff I saw over the weekend was just awful. My husband was curious about the history of hip hop thing and we walked over to the rammed tent before I left to go to YF across the way. Just inside the tent was a kid of about 8, on the verge of tears, being pushed around by people ignorantly going in and out, parent not paying a blind bit of attention dancing away beside them and right beside the kids just on the outside of the tent (clearly visible) a young lad swaying, d*ick out, pissing in a cup. I mean, come on, that's just not right. Seen plenty of kids looking like they were having a good time but if your bringing the kids, jesus, keep them in sight. Did see a few collecting cups on the ground and going around peoples feet with no gloves on. Yuck.

Security - What security? I got asked on the way in had I glass on me. That was it. Nothing going in from PM and going into the main entrance I wasn't searched once, asked to open my bag and look in but never actually looked through it. On Sunday one of the security guys stepped it up to the maximum. I was in a different queue but he thoroughly checked my husband, went through his wallet, then asked him where his smokes were to which my OH replied - I dont smoke (and he doesnt) and your man goes well you smell like smoke - LOL. Seen a lot of gardaí wandering around Oscar Wilde on Friday - some with torches and all walking through tents. Very lax attitude towards drug use - no hiding it all weekend, standing in crowds with people snorting off keys asking people loudly for ket etc. Not that it bothers me in any way, but just surprising about how little anyone cared.

PM - worth the money but our tent somehow got soaked all the way though and we had paid extra this year for a bigger tent which was annoying. Also whoever commented about the toilets was right. I know they cant be cleaned constantly but the amount of times I went in and had to keep looking for toilets because the seats were drenched in someone elses p*ss - yuck!

90% was a wonderful experience and I will be purchasing my ticket next week for next year. Can't beleive it's all over already!!!

MJohnston

kg703 wrote: »

and right beside the kids just on the outside of the tent (clearly visible) a young lad swaying, d*ick out, pissing in a cup. I mean, come on, that's just not right

It's the Irish way that we want to blame parents for this and not the fellas who love to piss over every surface available instead of walking a few metres to a proper urinal (of which there were plenty).

Security need to start kicking people out for doing that, because it's f*cking disgusting and pure animal behaviour. It's purely impossible to protect your kids from seeing it, because they're pissing everywhere, at any time of the day, and the security don't give a ****.

Top tip: don't sit near any tree or any kind of barrier or fence after Friday afternoon, because odds are, some lazy fella has pissed on it.

Stillill42

On the kids thing, I think the balance achieved is pretty respectable considering the divergence in goals people have for their weekend. You can't expect 25000 teenagers out to have the best weekend of their lives to pay any heed to the needs of parents with kids. Music festivals were made for them, the young, to rock out, get wasted, be happy. Nearly every one of them that I met was sound and I was wildly impressed with how many showed up at actual music gigs with instruments and could sing the whole back catalogue of the Smiths or Band of Horses or Real Estate or whatever.
My 8 year old devoured my EP playlist. Would I like to have had him on my shoulders while the tent bounced to Funeral? Fvck yeah. But the payoff, long dirty days, loud raucous crowds, general chaos means I don't think it's for us. People who think it's right for their kids, fair play to them and most know what they're getting into.
Live and let live is the only way. There's no excuse for people of any age being arseholes on this particular weekend.

nc6000

MJohnston wrote: »

Top tip: don't sit near any tree or any kind of barrier or fence after Friday afternoon, because odds are, some lazy fella has pissed on it.

Yep, the amounts of fellas peeing in the woods and on fences near Salty Dog was disgusting. The whole area stank.

Graham1978

How long does it roughly take to get the site back to some kind of normality, for the sheep and that ?

Suckit

Graham1978 wrote: »

How long does it roughly take to get the site back to some kind of normality, for the sheep and that ?

It depends on the weather, but i remember reading one year saying that it was March before that area had started to recover. I am not sure the area that the Picnic is held on, is used for much else throughout the year though, but could be wrong.

Former Former

MJohnston wrote: »

It's the Irish way that we want to blame parents for this and not the fellas who love to piss over every surface available instead of walking a few metres to a proper urinal (of which there were plenty).

Security need to start kicking people out for doing that, because it's f*cking disgusting and pure animal behaviour. It's purely impossible to protect your kids from seeing it, because they're pissing everywhere, at any time of the day, and the security don't give a ****.

Top tip: don't sit near any tree or any kind of barrier or fence after Friday afternoon, because odds are, some lazy fella has pissed on it.

In fairness, it's both the parents and the guy p*ssing in the cup.

A guy shouldn't be there with his junk out, of course, but if you bring your kids to something like EP, then fair play but you have to accept that it brings some risks with it, like being exposed to some unsavoury sights. Security simply can't throw out every punter who takes a p*ss outside, you'd need an army to do so and it wouldn't be worth the hassle.

MJohnston

Graham1978 wrote: »

How long does it roughly take to get the site back to some kind of normality, for the sheep and that ?

I dunno about the ground, but the water table must approach Chernobyl levels of toxicity during the weekend!

bodhrandude

I had an amazing weekend, met a boardsie called Granite Head at the Bacardi Bar I think on the Friday. I saw the Divine Comedy, Jenny Greene (my mate wanted to see this, but it was fun enough), the XX, Madness who were brilliant, Rusgano Family, The Columbia Mills at the Jerry Fish tent, Bill Bailey (the full set) whilst coming up on a trip, it couldn't have been more perfect, especially his summation of Mumford and Sons), saw an amazing soul act on the Earthship stage afterwards in the pouring rain and spent the rest of the night in the amazing Haunt venue where I heard bebop, vaudeville and blues stuff from around the world, beautiful unearthly African music, Cuban music from the 1920s/1930s. So refreshing after the relentless onslaught of BPM music emitting from loads of venues, plus there was lovely soft seats that were hard to move from again until myself and a mate got kicked out at 4.20 am. I missed ATCQ and Pete Tong due to the crap weather too, but was still happy out. Also caught the Skatalites who were amazing, King Kong Company at the EA, The Pretenders, soul diva Chaka Khan (amazing gig), some nice acts on the B&S main stage, Duran Duran (who were sensational, I had meant to catch a bit of Kiasmos and Soulwax but couldn't be assed pushing my way through the throng to the next venue). Caught the Mothers set at Earthship on Sunday and ended it at the B&S main stage tuning into Donal Dineen's This Ain't No Disco and Patrick Kelleher who was pretty good. Hopefully this thread is still going when I post my blog review in a day or two.

MJohnston

Former Former wrote: »

In fairness, it's both the parents and the guy p*ssing in the cup.

A guy shouldn't be there with his junk out, of course, but if you bring your kids to something like EP, then fair play but you have to accept that it brings some risks with it, like being exposed to some unsavoury sights. Security simply can't throw out every punter who takes a p*ss outside, you'd need an army to do so and it wouldn't be worth the hassle.

You wouldn't need an army, you'd just need security to actually to be seen to do it for a few cases and then behaviour might adjust. It's got this bad because they've never done anything about it, people see that and just think it's the way things are, so it gets worse every year.

Look folks, I've had plenty of hedonistic festivals, but I managed to do it all while keeping it personal among my group of friends. 'Hedonism' for an increasing amount of Picnic-goers seems to be less about enjoying the company of friends, or enjoying the music, and more about 'seeing what you can get away with' - pissing everywhere, picking fights with randomers (saw too much of this), wee lads being rude and abusive towards women and girls, and being loud and racist just because you can.

I just don't understand how people want to write off more aggressive and obnoxious behaviour as being "all part of a festival" - maybe it was with other fests like Oxegen, but EP was a place where you'd get the smiley and huggy types of drug-takers, and I'd have zero problem letting a child interact with those people.

thebusher

nc6000 wrote: »

Yep, the amounts of fellas peeing in the woods and on fences near Salty Dog was disgusting. The whole area stank.

Strange decision not to have toilets at Salty Dog given there is a bar there and everyone drinks their own there.

kg703

MJohnston wrote: »

It's the Irish way that we want to blame parents for this and not the fellas who love to piss over every surface available instead of walking a few metres to a proper urinal (of which there were plenty).

Security need to start kicking people out for doing that, because it's f*cking disgusting and pure animal behaviour. It's purely impossible to protect your kids from seeing it, because they're pissing everywhere, at any time of the day, and the security don't give a ****.

Top tip: don't sit near any tree or any kind of barrier or fence after Friday afternoon, because odds are, some lazy fella has pissed on it.

Don't get me wrong - I am totally not blaming parents for the guy wasted outside the tent - he was disgusting and seen me throwing him filthy looks (if he could actually see straight) but they defo should of paid attention to the fact the kid looked so upset and uncomfortable to be jammed into that crowd and with your man weeing beside him, it just made for a very sad sight.

Kepler21

kg703 wrote: »

madness - darn clashfinder had it running until 17:45 so I was going to catch last half hour and turns out it actually finished at 17.30 so missed most of it.

There was some weirdness on the main stage on Saturday afternoon when several acts including Madness seemed to start 15 mins early. I missed the start of Madness because of it. Even the scheduling in 'The Ticket' said the same as the Clashfinder /Pablos App. Don't know when the scheduling got changed though.

sweeneed

I did a hell of a lot of complaining with the lineup announcements but this really was a reminder that it doesnt matter who headlines - there's more than enough to enjoy.

highlights for me in no particular order were roadhouse doors, the riptide movement, beoga, soulwax, crow black chicken, elbow, strypes, le galaxie, gospel choir, jagwar ma, birdy, king kong company and got the end of michael kiwanuka as he sounded excellent while i was over watching the rubber bandits so had to check him out. must say i was let down by otherkin - great energy but found them very repetitive and quite basic musically underneath all of the rock and roll shapes they were throwing!was actually pleasantly surprised by the stripes. some good bluesy numbers that i enjoyed on the main stage! riptide movement were my standout gig and im surprised noone seems to be mentioning it - tent was packed and bouncing with good songs well delivered!

superb weekend and initially disappointed to be redirected to red car park, there was no standing in queues to get in - all moved smoothly and everything seemed well run. security bit more relaxed it seemed which i was rather happy with at times and my only complaint with pink moon was that for a 300 euro tent, it should not leak and our belongings got quite wet saturday night as did people around us. still worth paying for the facilities and space/quiet at night i feel as walking through oscar wilde reemphasised for me. also ate a lot this year compare to before . great options and good enough value really - kinara was delicious!

partied out for now but roll on next year!!!

MJohnston

kg703 wrote: »

Don't get me wrong - I am totally not blaming parents for the guy wasted outside the tent - he was disgusting and seen me throwing him filthy looks (if he could actually see straight) but they defo should of paid attention to the fact the kid looked so upset and uncomfortable to be jammed into that crowd and with your man weeing beside him, it just made for a very sad sight.

Sure I definitely agree that if that was the case, they should have removed the kid from the place. However, from my own parenting experience, kids cry a lot and it's really hard to say just from observing a situation exactly why, unless you're one of the parents, so I tend to not judge any particular situation because I don't know the whole story and never could.

Edited to add: It's worth noting that all the overheard comments I got about having a kid there were observing a toddler, sitting in a very comfortable, waterproof baby bike trailer (in off-road jogging mode!), wearing ear protectors and looking around with curiosity and zero discontent. So there are people at EP who clearly just hate the thought of their own buzz being interfered with by someone else, which suggests it is rather fragile to begin with.

ab4248

Edited to add: It's worth noting that all the overheard comments I got about having a kid there were observing a toddler, sitting in a very comfortable, waterproof baby bike trailer (in off-road jogging mode!), wearing ear protectors and looking around with curiosity and zero discontent. So there are people at EP who clearly just hate the thought of their own buzz being interfered with by someone else, which suggests it is rather fragile to begin with.[/quote]

I'm not once of the pissing against the fence brigade and I've not brought my kids to EP. Have seen responsible parents and irresponsible ones. Think the trailer things look class. That being said, I'd still be nervous if someone falling on it. Do ye think there should be a time cut off for kids like there is in pubs? Have a 6 year old but not sure if like to be in there after dark with her.

I know that mightn't be ideal for parents tho I suppose.

Former Former

MJohnston wrote: »

You wouldn't need an army, you'd just need security to actually to be seen to do it for a few cases and then behaviour might adjust. It's got this bad because they've never done anything about it, people see that and just think it's the way things are, so it gets worse every year.

Look folks, I've had plenty of hedonistic festivals, but I managed to do it all while keeping it personal among my group of friends. 'Hedonism' for an increasing amount of Picnic-goers seems to be less about enjoying the company of friends, or enjoying the music, and more about 'seeing what you can get away with' - pissing everywhere, picking fights with randomers (saw too much of this), wee lads being rude and abusive towards women and girls, and being loud and racist just because you can.

I just don't understand how people want to write off more aggressive and obnoxious behaviour as being "all part of a festival" - maybe it was with other fests like Oxegen, but EP was a place where you'd get the smiley and huggy types of drug-takers, and I'd have zero problem letting a child interact with those people.

Hang on. We were talking about people taking a piss against a fence. Picking fights and whatever else is a different kettle of fish, just so we're clear that I'm not "writing that off".

But if EP has changed, so have you. If you're down there with a bunch of your mates, popping your pills and whatever else, of course you're going to see things through a completely different prism than when you're sober and wheeling a toddler around. The obnoxious pricks were always there, you're just more sensitive to them now.

I personally don't think EP has changed that much, except for being much bigger than it used to.

Granite Head

bodhrandude wrote: »

in the amazing Haunt venue where I heard bebop, vaudeville and blues stuff from around the world, beautiful unearthly African music, Cuban music from the 1920s/1930s.

Spent several hours in there over the weekend, probably my favourite stage, but too small.

MJohnston

ab4248 wrote: »

I'm not once of the pissing against the fence brigade and I've not brought my kids to EP. Have seen responsible parents and irresponsible ones. Think the trailer things look class. That being said, I'd still be nervous if someone falling on it.

Well my wife was running point to prevent such a thing from happening, and the roll bars are very sturdy as it's for cycling, but this is the main reason I won't be back unless I can grab one of the few Family campsite tickets, because walking through Wilde or Hendrix to get to the general Campervan site is just dodgy, and depressing.

Do ye think there should be a time cut off for kids like there is in pubs? Have a 6 year old but not sure if like to be in there after dark with her.

I know that mightn't be ideal for parents tho I suppose.

I'd rather see EP move to an over-21s model to be honest, and let people retain their freedom within the festival itself. Bring back Oxegen for the late-teenagers.

MJohnston

Former Former wrote: »

Hang on. We were talking about people taking a piss against a fence. Picking fights and whatever else is a different kettle of fish, just so we're clear that I'm not "writing that off".

Except we weren't just talking about pissing against fences, people were talking about EP not being safe or suitable for kids. And, the only thing truly unsafe or unsuitable for kids is the kind of obnoxious and dangerous behaviour I listed there. The rest is all a matter of personal choice, not safety.

But if EP has changed, so have you. If you're down there with a bunch of your mates, popping your pills and whatever else, of course you're going to see things through a completely different prism than when you're sober and wheeling a toddler around. The obnoxious pricks were always there, you're just more sensitive to them now.

Nah, while I'd agree with the first part of your post (although I was rock solid teetotal for most of the EPs I went to from 2005 through 2015), the obnoxiousness wasn't always there, and certainly if it was it was in much smaller, much less tolerated quantities.

Dibble

What a weekend!

We got to the camper van site at around 11 am on Friday. Happy days.

London Grammar, The Roadhouse Doors, Madness, Rusangano Family and Fr John Misty were all highlights. King Kong Company's set in the Electric Arena was insane.

We had good auld craic with our camper neighbours and we really enjoyed the vibe all weekend.

When the rain arrived, we sought out the smaller covered areas and danced our asses off in the Haunted barn thingy in the Body & Soul area.

Even the van breaking down on the way home couldn't ruin the weekend. All told, it was our best EP.

See you all next year

MaxManis

thebusher wrote: »

Strange decision not to have toilets at Salty Dog given there is a bar there and everyone drinks their own there.

Would have to agree from what I could see there was no toilets too serve the Salty Dog, Trenchtown and the other voices stages. This make no sense with the amount of people who were attending these stages over the weekend

Ken Tucky

I think I'd be well pissed off paying for a tent in pink moon and then having it leak to a point my stuff got wet. I bet most people camping didn't have that problem so the rain wasn't at fault ,it's a sh*te tent that let's the rain in.

I would be sending a letter of complaint.

Though some of the attempts at pitching tents on my way through Wilde was hilarious. Thank god I had the wife with me to pitch ours😉. Taking it down nearly killed me though lol!