AllTogetherNow Festival 2018

ghostdancer

was there no Eco campsite?

eplady2017

Michellenman wrote: »

We did tangerine fields which is literally just rent-a-tent but it’s in the boutique area so slightly quieter and has its own toilets and showers and it was €100 between us for 2man tent. You can pay extra again to get an air mattress and sleeping bags if you really want but we didn’t bother. Next year I think we might Pay the extra and get the yurts or pod things. My back is broken and a tent just doesn’t regulate temperature well at all so we would wake up with the cold at night and then sweltering in the morning so I was miserable until about 2 when the painkillers/cans kicked in.

I had visions of general camping to be like the jimmy Hendrix campsite at EP and that’s my idea of hell so wanted to avoid it at all costs but had friends who stayed in general camping at ATN with zero issues.

Thinking of tangerine fields from next year. I assume they are similiar to pink moon at EP, tent up when you get there and laid out in an orderly manner... Was the camp site quiet?? What were facilities like (toilets/showers/food etc)?? Worth it???

Conor Bourke

Blu2015 wrote: »

Only one gripe and that would be lack of signage on way in

This was something that bugged me too. Taking the blue route was pleased to see the electronic signs on the way into Waterford and the big signs at the roundabouts but after that they weren’t great, too few and far between IMO. On the N24 there was a turn near the one for Fiddown which I took accidentally, as I took it I spotted a “cul de sac” sign so quickly turned back out onto the road and saw another car do the exact same in front and behind me. When I was in Fiddown I panicked as there was nothing (that I could see) to remind me to turn left across the bridge. I was wary of following sat nav in case roads were closed and I was made turn back, and the map provided on the website/Facebook was way too inscrutable to try to follow while driving. Also, much closer to the entrance there was a sign saying “next left” just before a left turn onto a tiny lane which I almost took before spotting the car ahead doing the same then cancelling the indicator as there was a much bigger sign ahead showing the entrance was nigh.

May seem insignificant to some but I’m from the opposite end of the country, I’m not familiar with the area and was already stressed as I left home a lot later than I would’ve liked so I just wanted to get there but I was not reassured by the skimpy signage.

Really hope the capacity isn’t expanded over the next few years, tents were fairly squashed in the general camping area which is concerning considering it wasn’t sold out AFAIK. Also, I dread to think why kind of cesspit the toilets at the bottom of the hill from “Both Sides Now” would’ve been had it rained. The walk from Arcadia to the House itself etc would’ve been rotten in the rain too and those parents using the trolleys for kids would’ve been absolutely poxed, we were without a doubt blessed with the weather.

That said though, I fully intend to be there with bells on next year

Michellenman

eplady2017 wrote: »

Thinking of tangerine fields from next year. I assume they are similiar to pink moon at EP, tent up when you get there and laid out in an orderly manner... Was the camp site quiet?? What were facilities like (toilets/showers/food etc)?? Worth it???

Yeah that’s it exactly! Not as spacious as pink moon, there was just about room in front of our tent for 2 chairs and for people to walk by. There was only 6 (i think?) showers which was crap tbh and they weren’t working on Saturday morning or this morning so we were using the boutique ones instead. Toilets were grand all weekend except this morning.. Overall it would have been perfect with a little Londis like there is in the general camping, that would have made it 100% IMO. There was a little coffee shop and a pizza place but other than there was no food places so for breakfast stuff we were walking in to the main food area by the big house.

Campsite was quiet for the most part except when a big act finished and lots of people arrived but that’s totally Understandable and nothing that earplugs couldn’t help with! We didn’t have anyone around us playing loud music or even just sitting up singing/chatting any time past 2 or 3am.

Totally worth it if you ask me.

eplady2017

Michellenman wrote: »

Yeah that’s it exactly! Not as spacious as pink moon, there was just about room in front of our tent for 2 chairs and for people to walk by. There was only 6 (i think?) showers which was crap tbh and they weren’t working on Saturday morning or this morning so we were using the boutique ones instead. Toilets were grand all weekend except this morning.. Overall it would have been perfect with a little Londis like there is in the general camping, that would have made it 100% IMO. There was a little coffee shop and a pizza place but other than there was no food places so for breakfast stuff we were walking in to the main food area by the big house.

Campsite was quiet for the most part except when a big act finished and lots of people arrived but that’s totally Understandable and nothing that earplugs couldn’t help with! We didn’t have anyone around us playing loud music or even just sitting up singing/chatting any time past 2 or 3am.

Totally worth it if you ask me.

Thanks Michellenman. They seemed good vaule too. Not as expensive as Pink Moon

D.Q

I was camped with decent people for the most part. Except for the Sunday night. Crowd of very posh sounding young lads playing ****ing crazy frog and talking about getting "the product".

****.

Other than that mild inconvenience, it was the best festival I've ever been to. Perfect size, never really in any queues, perfect weather.

Arcadia was great fun every night.

Underworld stole the show for me.

If I had my way I'd have a tent with some independent Irish rock/indie bands though. Just to vary it slightly. Was a very electronic based weekend for me.

Bit of a random mish mash of thoughts there but my brain feels like wet cake so gimme a break

Synode

Gutted we didn't go in the end. Sounds like it was great. Roll on next year

Furious-Red

Didnt go to this at all but will more than likely going to my last EP this year and will grab a ticket for this.

Dixon Bainbridge

Didnt go myself ,was at beatyard,but from reading the last few pages have decided im goin to this next year,getting tired of the picnic. Whens tickets on sale?

lbj666

Furious-Red wrote: »

Didnt go to this at all but will more than likely going to my last EP this year and will grab a ticket for this.

You of little faith.

The slogan for the weekend was "i am done with the Picnic"

To be honest it was as good as imagined and hoped it would be and had really high hopes for it.

What really blew away was the projections on the house, which I imagine didn't come cheap but added so much to the aesthetic at night time.

The view looking up the hill from the bottom at nighttime when Arcadia was at full blast was also spectacular.


Speaking to a security lad on Saturday (who was also blown away mind) the festival is going to grow next year but the campsite is going to be pushed further back to allow for a bigger arena.
Its not something i worry about, the estate is massive there should be tonnes of room for everything.

El Director

I think this will be my last time camping in the campsite I think, the heat was a killer. Are the pods/yurts cooler inside?

D.Q

For anyone who suffered with the hear, I can't recommend the quechua fresh and black tents enough. Had a pop up, very cool all day inside the tent. Even in that sun. Was no problem at all sitting in the tent during the heat.

MadYaker

El Director wrote: »

I think this will be my last time camping in the campsite I think, the heat was a killer. Are the pods/yurts cooler inside?

How do you know its going to be hot again next year? You can buy tents that have a refelctive outer coating that are cooler on the inside. Like the Fresh n Black ones from Quechua.

El Director

D.Q wrote: »

For anyone who suffered with the hear, I can't recommend the quechua fresh and black tents enough. Had a pop up, very cool all day inside the tent. Even in that sun. Was no problem at all sitting in the tent during the heat.

Interesting, I’ll look into that. The heat killed me. Cheers.

D.Q

El Director wrote: »

Interesting, I’ll look into that. The heat killed me. Cheers.

Yeah no bother. Was my first time using it in the heat, was very surprised at how cool it was.

Mucker46

While I like the sound of ATN even with a disappointing line up this year the music options at EP still better IMO however if ATN can build on this year and strengthen music line up will have to seriously think about which one to go to.

Eod100

That was class! Already planning for next year already

Whipping Boy

For those who have been to Body & Soul: how did this stack up? Similar vibe and set up?

The flush

Great weekend , lots and lots if sound people . Better sign posts on the roads needed . The lads in charge of parking up caravans and campers hadn't a clue what they were at . Roll on next year !!!!

PabloAndRoy

Unreal weekend. Best festival experience since I can't remember when. Beautiful site, excellent layout, attracted a lovely crowd, securoty sound out, no trouble that I saw. We were chatting to one of the security managers on Saturday and he said that there was not one incident reported to the Gardai on Friday.

Loved all the food options around the bandstand area. Particularly liked the Waterford element of the vendors in that area. Oysters (free) are indeed a wonderful hangover cure.

Also getting between the three main stages was easy peasy. If something not working for you, 2 minutes walk to the next stage. Great for catching bits of everything.

I think this is perfect for anyone who thinks EP has negatively changed direction in the last five years. But the direct competition is clearly Body&Soul and I have to be honest and say that ATN has taken that standard to a whole new level. It will be interesting to see how B&S up their game for next year.

Wildsurfer

Just back after great festival. Camped in family camping where it was kept spotless and got to know all the lovely neighbours. It was way too loud there at night though, as too close to stage near main house. Earplugs not an option either with younger children. Toilets fairly bad too at times which just isn't on for children. No shop near the family, boutique and campervan area was very strange, if just for milk and juice etc. Site itself was great but weather a major factor. Just going by roughness of ground in places it wouldn't hold up in wet weather and having the main stage at bottom of hill could have been a disaster. The kids together area was a nice idea but ground was very rough there, and no toilets there... obviously whoever planned that doesn't have kids! I agree with a poster earlier that maybe a 9pm curfew on kids in main area needed. Trolleys with kids asleep in the dark is a bit mad alright. I don't know how tight the profit is in a venture like this but it would be great to iron out the few faults and make this a really top class festival.

RINO87

That was an absolute belter!! Reminded me of the early picnics and body and soul festivals. Have not been at the last two body and soul as we felt the crowd was way too big for the site, you lost the magic of exploring places in the woods etc because everywhere was just packed!

This had it all, no bad points! Layout was class, the place looked great, everyone was bang on, sound was great for the most part and our area of the campsite was relatively clean!

boomshakalaka

What a weekend!!!

Was in general camping with my other half for the weekend and we just had the best time. We managed to find a sweet camping spot higher up the hill overlooking the arena, which was really great for chilling out with a few cans, soaking the sun in our camping chairs (sunburn anyone?!). The bathrooms closest to our tent were in pretty good shape throughout the weekend which is always a nice bonus.

The setting was absolutely unreal, the estate itself is worth a visit and I loved the attention put in to all the details, stages, lightshows. Absolute feast for the eyes and soul.

The abundance of food was another great plus. This little stall in the campsite doing proper stonefired pizzas... so so good, and eating lobster while chilling out on the grass watching Saul Williams is a once in a lifetime experience.

The entire festival and organisation felt well thought out and pretty impressive for a first edition. All of the staff and security were pure sound, another first!

Didn't manage to see all the acts I wanted to see, but the flow of the weekend was just spot on so I don't even mind. Musical highlights for me were New Power Generation, Yassiin Bey, Saul Williams, Booka Shade and Ghost Poet. Was also fairly impressed with HAAi closing last night on the Arcadia stage. Talk about primal bass lines..

Best of all (aside for how blessed we were by the weather gods) was the crowd of punters. Wether we made friends for 5 minutes, or with our camping neighbours for the duration of the festival, these friendly faces stole the show for me.

Would love to come back next year with a couple of tweaks.

I hope they will try and keep the attendance as close to what it is now as possible and / or expand the site around the Something Kind of Wonderful stage. It felt a bit crammed with those 3 stages so close together and it tended to be a bottleneck.

Second, kids. I know the festival was marketed to families, but I personally handed 2 children under 6yo over to security because the parents were nowhere to be seen, after midnight. A lot of the kids about the place were having the times of their lives. But there were also children I felt sorry for, holding their hands to their heads watching Underworld for example. I would agree with the suggestion made earlier of some kind of curfew for kids. The mix of drunk/loose/otherwise floaty adults and slightly flighty children is one that made me a tad uncomfortable.

Lastly, the water. I hate to bring it up because I really applaud the idea of plastic free and a festival that tried to be eco friendly. I don't know about you guys, but I had an awful time finding water. The bars never had any to sell when I asked, the Londis and food places kept running out and the taps were few and far between (That s if you managed to hold on to something to actually drink the water out of. I resorted to buying a bottle of yazoo just to be able to get a drink of water).

All in all, one of the most positive festival experiences I've had! And unless the number of attendees is drastically increased for next year, I'll be back with bells and whistles (and more water).

Side question, how did the campervan people get on with the gas / no gas situation?

PabloAndRoy

Gas bottles were not confiscated. I was asked if I had gas and I simply said no. That was it.

Weepsie

boomshakalaka wrote: »

Lastly, the water. I hate to bring it up because I really applaud the idea of plastic free and a festival that tried to be eco friendly. I don't know about you guys, but I had an awful time finding water. The bars never had any to sell when I asked, the Londis and food places kept running out and the taps were few and far between (That s if you managed to hold on to something to actually drink the water out of. I resorted to buying a bottle of yazoo just to be able to get a drink of water).

Can people not just have a refillable bottle with them. It's not that hard. There were taps near the main stage and something kind of wonderful and in the campsite.

Martin_D

Great weekend - lovely setting - spectacular really. Great efforts made to create plenty of small chill out areas and art installations. Main house area worked well and projector illuminations onto house was excellent. Music mix here worked well too.

Age profile was spot on - all the talk about too many children - well the parents paid in and mean it was a success for numbers, there clearly is a demand for this type of festival (always room to improve and look at curfews etc but overall given the weather it seemed to go well and didn't put in on other peoples enjoyment).
Would wonder about the site in less favourable weather - some of the terrain and access routes would not hold up in wet conditions, so many steep inclines - may even be impassable in places (the area coming up to the stag in particular, the front of the main stage area, two steep steps on route from house to main stage). Not sure they got disabled access right - saw one scooter topple over going onto a steep ramp.

A few tweaks - (not all criticism but feedback)
There seemed to be several long gaps between acts and stages - sometimes down time on the 3 main stages at the same time.
Took in some of the spoken word and Bandstand stage (and several Dungarvan Beers and The wine bar). Really good mix and very enjoyable. The area was rocking on Sunday and most traders seemed to sell out (speaking to a few of them they were worried friday and saturday - the drinks rule was obviously impacting but the food outlets had low enough numbers too apparently).


Campervan area was disorganised and had to go into an overflow area that lead to many being hemmed in (dangerous) and meant delays leaving today - all the good words on security was not mirrored here as the guy I asked did sweet FA. They need to work the camper areas out for next year - like EP you pay extra for very little and apparently little cost to organisers as there is nothing provided here that camping areas have (not expecting anything but opening a gate and letting everyone to their own devices for and extra 67 euro!).

Toilets, toilets, toilets - more needed and more regular cleaning. Jesus the area near the comedy tent was some mess Sunday evening. None near enough the Bandstand area. Camping areas also too few and no lights. Too few showers.

The Sunday tickets swelled the crowd - it was fine but does indicate what the capacity is for this - keep pushing it up and it will overwhelm the current set up.

And yes - did enjoy the music - the is always a personal preference so no need to list - plenty to entertain and open up to new sounds.

Here's to next year. Last EP coming up me thinks.

Alkers

Martin_D wrote:

The Sunday tickets swelled the crowd - it was fine but does indicate what the capacity is for this - keep pushing it up and it will overwhelm the current set up.

Getting lunch on Sunday was a pain, 30minute queues for several outlets and then that again waiting for food to be made. There seemed to be enough space for all the acts we saw though and no queues for the bars!

boomshakalaka

Weepsie wrote: »

Can people not just have a refillable bottle with them. It's not that hard. There were taps near the main stage and something kind of wonderful and in the campsite.

Sure, we each have our opinions.

But to be quite honest, no. Organisers have a responsibility to provide punters with ample access to water. In my experience that wasn't the case. I brought several bottles to the festival and they got lost / squashed / picked up by a litter person / missing it's cap. I'm not saying they should sell plastoc bottles instead, but if I ask the bar person to give me a cup they shouldn't refuse me. Access to water should be easier, especially with the heat we had.

Arne_Saknussem

Whipping Boy wrote: »

For those who have been to Body & Soul: how did this stack up? Similar vibe and set up?

Similar vibe and i like B&S, but ATN trumps it in every aspect.

Weepsie

Access to water was very easy in my opinion, except for those with some type of injury or disability. It was rarely more than a 2 minute walk, and you'd be longer queuing up for it on some places.

I obviously had a very different organisational experience than most people. I found the queues for toilets and taps quicker than any Irish festival I've been too.

There were enough showers, just that people should realise there are quieter times to go and not all go between 9-11 There's fewer showers at Glastonbury FFS
Edit: Fan recycling bins around the arena would've been good, only saw the roving recyclers a few times

An other voices type stage with some non electronic acts would be good, but otherwise no complaints on line up and selection really. time tabling was soso, some acts just had the wrong slot altogether


I earlier praised everyone I met, however there's was one d!ckhead slagging off the high hopes choir with some seriously disgusting remarks. One of his friends was laughing away, his other looked mortified.