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

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.

Pickpocket

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.

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

Pickpocket

Seathrun66 wrote: »

the cocktail stall near the Body & Soul main stage pumping out crap techno and ruining the vibe

I agree. And whether the music was crap or not is irrelevant. It simply shouldn't have been there. I think most people would agree that the natural amphitheatre of the B&S main stage is one of the coolest things about the festival. It really is special and unique to Electric Picnic. To compromise that in any way is stupid, to do so for money is quite frankly disgraceful.

Beechwoodspark

Was there not a very strict age policy up to recently in ep? I remember they clearly would say no 12-18 year olds were going to be let in but this year that seemed to go out the window big time. Hell I was sittin minding me own biz smokin away at the little body and soul pavilion area and there was a gang of em talkin behind me about what a drag going into 6th year was! Fook sake there's feeling old in a crowd but this was a new level lol normal service soon resumed when we headed over for a gander of some trad players, plenty of grey haired hippies appreciating it hehe

sadie06

We had a way more random year, and I really enjoyed Friday and Saturday.

Musical highlights for me were a band I found randomly in Jimmy Lees place on Friday, and caught again deliberately on Saturday in My Lovely Ranch, Leila Jane and the Healers. Seriously, this girl is amazing. Her voice is like a cross between Patsy Cline and Lou Lou, and she had a lovely band and gorgeous backing vocalists. They are based in Dublin. I highly recommend.

Meilyr Jones was my absolute highlight. He performed as if the tent was packed, and the songs are just lovely…chamber pop, very clever. He came down to meet everyone afterwards but I was too shy to approach. I had been grinning dreamily at him for the entire gig. I sent my husband up to buy a CD. :-)

Very impressed with Hare Squead, home grown pop/hip-hop/rap. Very slick and really deserve to go places as they are as good as any international act in their genre. I am not their target market but it was great to see them in action.

Was really enjoying Noel (who I would call myself an admirer of rather than a fan of) but we had to leave as the kids crashed slightly earlier than expected. We all brushed our teeth singing Don't Look Back in Anger back at the tent…it sounded incredible even from there. I was really, really disappointed not to catch LCD, but the days of me feeling comfortable walking all the way back to Family Camping by myself are well and truly gone. Again, sounded incredible from where I was.

Savages were….savage! Had to leave as I couldn't find my ear-plugs and one of my ears was making really angry noises at that stage.

Was pleased the orchestra and Jenny Green pulled it off. Had to bail on that too….way too packed for the kids, but caught the first few.

The Trinity Orchestra Bowie tribute was so hit and miss. It honestly reminded me of a school play where everybody had to be given a little role to keep them happy. Put your best singers for the job forward….end of. Changing singers for every verse for some songs was so annoying! One guy was perfect for the job but still had to give way to another singer halfway through a song. All a bit odd and unprofessional. It was exciting when Hozier came on though…he was excellent.

Bell x 1. Haven't seen them in years, but they are so damn flat and uninspiring now. I realise that they were having technical issues at first, but the whole thing just didn't hang right I felt.

Had great craic at badly translated Karaoke as Gaeilge. Hilarious. Coporate as it may be, the Electric Ireland dance offs are fun to watch for a while also. Liked the Haunted Music Hall in body and soul. Some excellent DJs in their each time we randomly dropped in.

Nas….smooth as hell. Thought he really enjoyed himself too.

I've said my bit about the changes for the worse, but one other negative was I felt the main-stage sound lacked oomph. We were in the stands for The Chemical Brothers and the sound just wasn't packing enough punch compared to Portishead, Grace Jones and Blur who I watched from the same vantage point other years.

Badly disjointed but there you have it.

MadYaker

La Galaxie in the other voices stage was absolutely bouncing! They sounded so good. I left early to get to Noel Gallagher though. I keep remembering random stuff that I saw when I think back on the weekend.

MadYaker

Anyone else a bit dissapointed with Dylan Moran? The tent was rammed and we had a crap spot but I didn't think he was great.

Interesting to hear of other people getting short changed at bars.... It happened to me at the Casa Bacardi and to a friend of mine who bought a pint of Heineken. My friend was a bit wankered and he went mad and cursed the barman out of it.

Lotus Flower

Seathrun66 wrote: »

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),

Glad you liked him!

charlietully

Friday night I was walking back to campervan with the mate and we were both saying that's it. defo not going back, by this morning I was depressed that it was all over.
Friday enjoyed todd terje, the chems and flexfab.
Saturday- fangclub, otherkin, girls names, a bit of Noel and then KKC who really know how to rock a party, love them. Got seriously destroyed by that stage and don't know what happened but woke up sunday with curry in my hair.
Sunday chilled with the lads and craic was that good missed editors and savages, made it to malojian at the earth ship then new order who were fantastic. finished the weekend in the haunted disco.
Its brilliant really, the random craic that happened, the weird and wonderful folk you meet, noticed more of an oxygen type crowd as someone mentioned, esp walking through Jimmy Hendrix, holy feck it makes Calaise look decent. Football tops at a festival, seriously, I love my football but hate seeing folk wearing them at festivals or gigs, sad feckers.

Lotus Flower

Lotus Flower wrote: »

Seathrun66 wrote: »

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),

Glad you liked him!

Thanks man. I listened to him online and pretty good. Far better live and I'll go to see him again.

UsedToWait

"MadYaker wrote:

Interesting to hear of other people getting short changed at bars.... It happened to me at the Casa Bacardi and to a friend of mine who bought a pint of Heineken. My friend was a bit wankered and he went mad and cursed the barman out of it.

Plenty of reports of it all right - bad form..
Everyone who it happened to should let it be known to Festival Republic via Twitter - see if it's more common than we realise..

I hate the thoughts of scumbags skimming easy money off easy targets like this..

roll

[QUOTE Interesting to hear of other people getting short changed at bars.... It happened to me at the Casa Bacardi and to a friend of mine who bought a pint of Heineken. My friend was a bit wankered and he went mad and cursed the barman out of it.[/QUOTE]

I did notice that it took a long time to get change at the bars... like they were hoping I'd forget...

Ken Tucky

roll wrote: »

[QUOTE Interesting to hear of other people getting short changed at bars.... It happened to me at the Casa Bacardi and to a friend of mine who bought a pint of Heineken. My friend was a bit wankered and he went mad and cursed the barman out of it.

I did notice that it took a long time to get change at the bars... like they were hoping I'd forget...[/quote]

Wow that's so true. Had to give the wife money yesterday due to her spending all hers....there is no way she did.

Had a blast though...just after watching Ireland match....Can I go back in time to Friday please.

Getting too old but I loved it.

scary

UsedToWait wrote: »

Plenty of reports of it all right - bad form..
Everyone who it happened to should let it be known to Festival Republic via Twitter - see if it's more common than we realise..

I hate the thoughts of scumbags skimming easy money off easy targets like this..

Was at the bar in pink moon on Sunday and English guy serving short changed some fella and he apologised and said he wasn't used to the money

scruff monkey

scary wrote: »

Was at the bar in pink moon on Sunday and English guy serving short changed some fella and he apologised and said he wasn't used to the money

That is one c-word-y excuse

red face dave

UsedToWait wrote: »

Plenty of reports of it all right - bad form..
Everyone who it happened to should let it be known to Festival Republic via Twitter - see if it's more common than we realise..

I hate the thoughts of scumbags skimming easy money off easy targets like this..

Happened me on Saturday evening while getting a pint but I wasn't that drunk. Called him over a told him he short changed me. He came back 5 minutes later with the change and not even an apology the little ****