Electric Picnic 2019 **Discussion Only // No Ticket Sales / Requests **

Mollyb60

I actually didn't see that one way shortcut between freetown and Joplin/Tesco open at all during the weekend. And security seemed as confused as everyone else about what was supposed to be open or one way or closed or whatever.

And they really need lights around the paths in Freetown.

HarryTheSpider

PabloAndRoy wrote: »

The lack of signage was very noticeable.

As was the lack of lighting in a lot of areas.

PabloAndRoy

We are really nit-picking here though .. Overall the organisation on the ground was top notch. Cleanest loos I have ever seen in a festival for example.

l5lr

HarryTheSpider wrote: »

I wonder what way Freetown will develop over time... It was a bit lost really. I think the only time the area was anyway busy was before/after a big crowd in Terminus. (btw, those shipping containers around the tent really kept the sound in. The outside/inside difference was amazing.) I think moving Terminus and some of the other similar stages down to the carnival area and rescue Global Green up to Freetown would be a good way to go. Then Freetown, The Salty Dog, Trailer Park, Body & Soul, Trenchtown could all feed off each other better.

Freetown as a concept was brilliant but they really dropped the ball on positioning and demographics. Anyone looking for the area found it extremely difficult to locate too. Saturday and Sunday seen performances in-front of the church from both Mariachi & Samba bands which brought a bit of life to the area for a couple of hours.

The vendors that were used to fill the buildings were suited to a more mature crowd. Proper Tacos and Arepas were never going to appeal to the audience coming from Terminus, I never once seen a queue at any of the 10+ food / drink vendors in the entire section.

I'd say if Freetown appears again next year, it'll be in a totally different form as they'll really struggle to find vendors. Everyone I spoke with appeared to have made a huge financial loss.

PabloAndRoy

l5lr wrote: »

Freetown as a concept was brilliant but they really dropped the ball on positioning and demographics. Anyone looking for the area found it extremely difficult to locate too. Saturday and Sunday seen performances in-front of the church from both Mariachi & Samba bands which brought a bit of life to the area for a couple of hours.

The vendors that were used to fill the buildings were suited to a more mature crowd. Proper Tacos and Arepas were never going to appeal to the audience coming from Terminus, I never once seen a queue at any of the 10+ food / drink vendors in the entire section.

I'd say if Freetown appears again next year, it'll be in a totally different form as they'll really struggle to find vendors. Everyone I spoke with appeared to have made a huge financial loss.

Very good suggestion made earlier to swap global green and green crafts with Terminus would solve that problem. And improve the route for Terminus <-> Main Stage where I imagine most of the young people were going.

HarryTheSpider

PabloAndRoy wrote: »

We are really nit-picking here though .. Overall the organisation on the ground was top notch. Cleanest loos I have ever seen in a festival for example.

Mounting the urinals on the fence was a genius idea. Still, there were people who couldn't be bothered.

Mrs HarryTheSpider was well impressed with the newer portaloos (bright green) in some areas, I believe they were a bit like a real toilet with a airplane type flush.

scruff monkey

PabloAndRoy wrote: »

We are really nit-picking here though .. Overall the organisation on the ground was top notch. Cleanest loos I have ever seen in a festival for example.

New advertising tag line

"Come to EP, you can sh1t without hovering!"

PabloAndRoy

HarryTheSpider wrote: »

Mounting the urinals on the fence was a genius idea. Still, there were people who couldn't be bothered.

Mrs HarryTheSpider was well impressed with the newer portaloos (bright green) in some areas, I believe they were a bit like a real toilet with a airplane type flush.

Mrs Pablo was also impressed by these.

fourmations

thebusher wrote: »

Hopefully this works. TCM boardsie meetup. Feel free to add first names, screen nanes etc.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/rf75LaTnVbhdRYfV9

5th left, my good self.

only catching up, thats me in the UA cap at the front
great to put faces on the nerds ive been yakking to for a few years now!

PabloAndRoy

thebusher wrote: »

Hopefully this works. TCM boardsie meetup. Feel free to add first names, screen nanes etc.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/rf75LaTnVbhdRYfV9

5th left, my good self.

Really sorry I didn't get to be there.

Stillill42

fourmations wrote: »

only catching up, thats me in the UA cap at the front
great to put faces on the nerds ive been yakking to for a few years now!

Ah, fourmations! My addled brain was a mess of real names and Board monikers. I remembered your actual name but that fills in the gap. Good to meet you.

phantom_lord

endainoz wrote: »

Did anyone get to catch Kneecap? They were unreal, one of the best gigs of the weekend for me!

https://www.hotpress.com/music/electric-picnic-kneecap-set-freetown-alight-22786896

Surprised that had no mention of their entrance. Starting off the gig with a paramilitary message "on behalf of the real republican movement" is just way way over the line.

Kepler21

PabloAndRoy wrote: »

Very good suggestion made earlier to swap global green and green crafts with Terminus would solve that problem. And improve the route for Terminus <-> Main Stage where I imagine most of the young people were going.

I think that would create a new noise bleed problem for the main arena. I really liked that Terminus was far enough away from the main area that the sound didn't carry. Because of its positioning close to the Rave in the woods, I wonder if that is why it finished at midnight?

I wonder if the Rave in the Woods would move to Terminus; they are quite a similar demographic, and it would use the tent properly?

John.Icy

bodhrandude wrote: »

Scary picture of the crowd crush at Billy Eilish coming from Hendrix entrance to main arena.

Can hold my footing pretty well in a crowd but this was damn near a disaster. If security hadn't stepped aside and allowed everyone to spill through in what turned into a slow jog god knows what could have happened. We were only under the blue archway when it went from a wow this is busy good craic vibe with some singalongs into huge pushing coming from behind and grabbing a hold of much smaller friends who were being squashed. I just never get why people push in situations like this. Music is music and you can always catch an act the next time they're around, but there's no coming back from dying in a crush, ask the families up in Tyrone. Girls aged 16-19 are genuinely the biggest load of pr*cks at every festival I go to. They are so ignorant and I must have grabbed and stopped at least 10 of them around me in the rush and gave them a roar to stop pushing which you betcha, they all laughed and ignored. Between that and constantly arriving 30 minutes into sets and charging to the front in their human chains I honestly could do without them ever being allowed to attend a festival again. You get half the grief from lads of the same age I find.

All in all I came out of the crowd rush unscathed, but some of the stories I've seen on the banter page are quite scary, must have got worse further back in the crowd. It's no exaggeration to say that EP were lucky to avoid an absolutely monumental disaster. There were far more people entering that bottle neck than the crush that took the lives of 3 up North at a disco.

Looking at that overhead there is tonnes of green area relatively free to the white security check tent at the entry - why was it not made much bigger? Capacity increased this year and they one-wayed two paths through the forest to the other main entry which obviously meant Warhol and others all ended up at the Hendrix entry. It's mad how such an excellently organised event can sometimes overlook some absolute basics!

phantom_lord

I would have thought that King Kong's gig in body and soul would have been mentioned in the reviews, I've never seen a whole arena shut down before due to crowds, and that was even before they started. I was lucky to get in, and when I saw the crowd at Body and Soul it made complete sense, couldn't even get in to see the stage for the first half, it was packed as can be. I heard that the crowd broke through the barriers several times despite the best efforts of the security and guards. That's some following to have! People were breaking in through every part to go see them.

Surely that's worth writing copy about, not giving a list of who thought Stradbally was in Dublin!


The Streets, and Johanny Mar were too top notch shows, with two great frontmen, didn't see any mention of them either.

fourmations

dont know why im getting the watermark, any thoughts?

PabloAndRoy

John.Icy wrote: »

Can hold my footing pretty well in a crowd but this was damn near a disaster. If security hadn't stepped aside and allowed everyone to spill through in what turned into a slow jog god knows what could have happened.

...

The Guards told them to open up.

PabloAndRoy

Kepler21 wrote: »

I think that would create a new noise bleed problem for the main arena. I really liked that Terminus was far enough away from the main area that the sound didn't carry. Because of its positioning close to the Rave in the woods, I wonder if that is why it finished at midnight?

I wonder if the Rave in the Woods would move to Terminus; they are quite a similar demographic, and it would use the tent properly?

How was the sound at Salty Dog when Terminus was in full flow?

Thundercats Ho

Another positive was the sound breaks around Jerry Fish tent seemed to work well.

Three cheers to the 6 'ladies and gentlemen' in the tent in PM opposite me who partied until 8.30AM sat night / sun morning, boombox blaring n all... and three more cheers for them when they fúcked off to get a taxi Sunday evening leaving their PM tent full of their gear, pull cart, chairs the lot..

reni10

phantom_lord wrote: »

I would have thought that King Kong's gig in body and soul would have been mentioned in the reviews, I've never seen a whole arena shut down before due to crowds, and that was even before they started. I was lucky to get in, and when I saw the crowd at Body and Soul it made complete sense, couldn't even get in to see the stage for the first half, it was packed as can be. I heard that the crowd broke through the barriers several times despite the best efforts of the security and guards. That's some following to have! People were breaking in through every part to go see them.

Surely that's worth writing copy about, not giving a list of who thought Stradbally was in Dublin!


The Streets, and Johanny Mar were too top notch shows, with two great frontmen, didn't see any mention of them either.

We had to try hard to get in to see the KK Company on Sunday at the main B&S entrance and there was serious arguments between a Garda and a Security supervisor about blocking it off but in the end the crowd was so big that it was getting dangerous so people just said we are coming in and the security had to open up!

Mollyb60

HarryTheSpider wrote: »

Mounting the urinals on the fence was a genius idea. Still, there were people who couldn't be bothered.

Mrs HarryTheSpider was well impressed with the newer portaloos (bright green) in some areas, I believe they were a bit like a real toilet with a airplane type flush.

I was also impressed with those loos. They were always clean and stocked with loo roll. I just remembered though going into the main arena on Friday afternoon and there were no toilets open at all on the Hendrix side of the site. B&S was obviously closed and the ones by the Throwback stage were also behind the cordon. We had to troop/run all the way over to those green toilets beside the Heiniken stage to go. It was madness.

Anyone figure out what the hold up was on opening up the rest of the site on Friday? I thought it was supposed to open around 1/2pm?

scruff monkey

PabloAndRoy wrote: »

How was the sound at Salty Dog when Terminus was in full flow?

Grand actually, the trees and stuff make a good sound break and there was a bit of good bit of distance too

PabloAndRoy

scruff monkey wrote: »

Grand actually, the trees and stuff make a good sound break and there was a bit of good bit of distance too

I think those freight containers around the tent help a lot with the sound.

HarryTheSpider

PabloAndRoy wrote: »

I think those freight containers around the tent help a lot with the sound.

They did. I made a point of walking in when there was something on and the outside/inside difference was amazing.

I was more worried for Spike Island, but that seemed ok too.

rubick

HELLO YA FRICKIN' NERDS...!
Have spent the past day and a half on the couch watching 30 Rock and The Larry Sanders Show, celebrating all that pizza we ate in Palameto by ordering yet more pizza! Great to read all the reviews on here from the punters that matter!

THURSDAY - "WE LEAVE AT DAYBREAK!"

Well, about 11am anyway, a fine run from Antrim to Laois in just under three hours with a full load of canisters and headful of ideas. We're the 5th car in the row at Green Carpark, although not in the same field as the new crowd control barriers are there. We unpack, duct tape up the FestivalMaster400 and it's off to the match. We seen someone who we think was bodhrandude in the crowd just before crossing the road, but he's looking for a Dave from Cork and obviously busy, so we don't chase up to him.

As suspected, we're directed round the outskirts of the festival, in front of the new Wilde and Chaplin campsites through the magical barrier to Eco Narnia. We're the first one here, by the Recycling Hammer of Thor! Setting up a little further down the Chaplin hedge than last year, we've the tent up for around 5.30pm and have a few smugness cans and pizza from out in the area before the Freetown. Our neighbours arrive and joyously it's heads we were set up to for the last few years, so we know there aren't going to be any issues with dickheadery.

We can't get into Salty Dog through the Freetown entrance, because that would be far too handy, so we pack up a rake of cans and head into Warhol/Hendrix and head in that way on a road that doesn't look like we're allowed on it but walking with purpose like we own the place we're in to Salty Dog from behind the stage, missing the Vulpines but just in time for Mauntauk Hotel, who are great and becoming something of a Thursday tradition. We decide to have a reasonably early night but, again walking with purpose, we dander straight in to a completely deserted Freetown having a sneak peek and pretending to hold clipboards. Terminus is a behemoth, must be at least the same size as the John Peel Tent at Glastonbury. We get back through to Eco through the still closed Freetown exit, because we're staff now apparently. A few late cans with the neighbours and we’re all set for the punters arriving on Friday.

FRIDAY – “IS HER NAME PRONOUNCED ‘LENS’ or ‘LENS’?”

No lies lads, I was getting it a little tight on the Friday morning, and there’s a brave hole in the canister stack. We breakfast in Chaplin as punters arrive, it doesn’t seem too chaotic but then again there’s already a fair few here – if the 10,000 Early Entry Passes number is accurate it would seem about right. We decide to head in to the main arena to procure ye olde newe t-shirt with the 2019 barding and a Kinara, because we know how these things work. It’s nearly 2pm so we’re surprised to find that only the food markets area seems to be open and we can’t get down to Kinara Kitchen or the merch, not even as fake staffers with excellent danders. Back to trailer park for a wander and pizza before legging it back to the tent for a few cans and back in for These Charming Men, which we’re delighted to find has a much better crowd than the previous night’s acts seem to suffer. There is singing, merriment and much hugging of a bunch of Boardies at the end of the set, who we recognise by their t-shirts and are warmed by their civility!

Having nothing much on in the afternoon we wander round the markets, Village Green and Body & Soul until Praise Eris, the main stage opens and we can finally feast on a Kinara! I’m not sure what the delay in opening that half of the festival was but it’ll need addressed I think. After seeing a little of Billie Eilish on the main stage (not our thing, but she seemed to make a lot of youngsters happy and the kids are alright IMO), we dander again and spend a while in The Haunt were there’s rockabilly being blasted out to enthusiastic punters amongst what appears to be less bric-a-brack than last year and I’m pretty sure one less wall round the comfy sates. En route back round to Terminus we’re accosted by the Techno Toaster and Vaniel O’Donnell in Trailer Park to much laughter, I get my picture taken with Daniel and Majella and off to Ameile Lens in Terminus. She is absolutely ballistic, rarely have I heard techno like it in my 42 years. What a reaction to her closing tunes.

I head into the Woods for some Late Club antics at Anachronica and for the first time Paul Woolford a few years ago I get down to the very front, which is great and all but then you have to get back out again. There’s a scene missing as I auto-pilot back to Eco but the important thing is I made it, and just before the rain comes.

SATURDAY – “EVERYTHING’S HAPPENING AT ONCE HERE.”

A day on the dander once again after a few morning cans and great food from the Argentinian Grill joint in Providencia finds us just lounging around Body & Soul and Village Hall, before Trailer park for the traditional viewing of Interskalactic, then even more bloody techno lads, and a welcome return to Stradbally for Ritchie Hawtin, which is different techno than Amelie Lens’ techno (a softer, clipped beat rather than the rounder, fatter blatters from Lens), the Electric Arena is buzzing and we keep hearing the old track ‘Spastik’ that Hawtin made under his Plasticman alias back in the day being teased. We’re even more surprised at how much energy we have at our time of lives (well, I shouldn’t speak for Mrs. Rubick here, definitely myself!). We decide to nip over for Echo & the Bunnymen which we really didn’t think much of, the first few tunes anyway. I really hope the rest of the set was much better. It worked out really well for us as we got the whole hit of a complete set from Sons of Kemet, which for me for set of the weekend. I urge you all to try to get to see these four lads if at all possible. One sax, one tuba, two drum kits and an energy most techno outfits would struggle to match!

After Sons of Kemet and with much less energy we had a juke back down to the Electric Arena for some of Four Tet’s set, which was chugging along nicely and at a much more manageable pace. Time for one of my most anticipated sets of the festival, as Lamb were limbering up on the Body & Soul stage. I have absolutely no shame in telling you that by the time they played ‘Goreki’ I was in floods of joyous tears; it was one of those “Jeez lads, that’s the festival over” moments. I take a moment, say goodbyes to the Boardsies there present (shout out to Kepler21 for the wee whiskey assist!) and despite it being my ninth Picnic still manage to walk out of Body and Soul the wrong direction and have to take a detour through round the outside back to Salty/Dog, Freetown and home to basecamp.

SUNDAY – “OK, WHO HAD ‘CROWDSURFING 2019’ IN THE WORDSEARCH?”

It’s a grand soft day, so we clear up the rest of our canisters chatting to the neighbours in Eco, grab an Eco t-shirt/oak sapling planted in our honour and we’re on the last circuit, getting that glum but content feeling that washes over you of a Sunday Picnic. We watch a few bands in Body & Soul then make our merry way to Johnny Marr who puts in a shift that goes above and beyond mere rock stardom. I feel that judging by the comments on the thread re: The Strokes frontman the latter could learn a bit from Johnny, who comes in to see us as promised when the sound goes off for a power nap. A great mix of Marr/The Smiths/Electronic and even a Depeche Mode cover and you’d be hard pressed to find a louder reaction at that time of the day on the site.

Post-Marr there was actually quite a delay in stage times, so after securing a free Applemans or two (incredible how many of these were not used and just thrown away – think we had at least five across the weekend), we got back down for what we thought would be Roisin Murphy but was the last half-hour of J HUS’ set – a pleasant surpise! Roisin was incredible too, picking up the Most Wardobe In Show prize that I just made up. After handing around a bit, with the Electric Arena full, Mike Skinner weaves his way through the crowd and on to the stage, hood up but arms open. We laugh, we think, we hug people we don’t know and those we do a little harder. There’s four bottles of champagne before the wheels come off. There’s a girl who is asked to crowdsurf by our host and complies, a bottle of champers her reward, but she’s after losing her phone.

“Well, that’s not good, is it?”, states Skinner, but as if by festival magic she has it back in hand within ten minutes. You hear all the horror stories about the campsites but the magic like this (and Marr getting his trainer back post-surf) is just amazing to me. Gratifying to know that the legends amongst the 57,500 probably outweigh the sh*tbricks. Must be over as Skinner has the hood up. Time to leave. “Is there a drum ‘n bass tent?”, cries Mike. I wish there was mate.
And that was all she wrote for us, tiredness set in, last farewells on the journey back to Eco (and annoyingly running into the post-Terminus rush with punters not able to get to the Woods from in there), that was another successful Picnic in the books.

TL:DR

Co Down man and Co Derry woman Likes This.

Highlights:
Mauntauk Hotel, Powpig, Amelie f**kin’ Lens, Johnny f**kin’ Marr, Sons of Kemet, The Streets, The Eco Campsite

Complaints:
Some traffic violations, and it’s too far away until the next one.

Shout out to all the Boardsies we met, total Picnic Enhancers the lot of ye.

optogirl

Anyone else catch Girl in Red in the EA on Saturday? Was very impressed by her - 19, writing & producing great pop rock. Her band looked absolutely thrilled to be there too. A real find for me this year.

Stillill42

One of the all time great reviews,, Rubick.

Mollyb60

Guys hows the fit on the EP tshirts? Meant to pick one up at the weekend but I was too shattered by Sunday to get over to the merch tent. Was gonna pick one up online but they've no size guidance on the website (which has been consistently sh1t this year IMO). I refuse to buy 'ladies' shirts as their sizes are always too small for me but how big is a men's medium?

Still Ill

rubick wrote: »

There’s a girl who is asked to crowdsurf by our host and complies, a bottle of champers her reward, but she’s after losing her phone.

“Well, that’s not good, is it?”, states Skinner, but as if by festival magic she has it back in hand within ten minutes. You hear all the horror stories about the campsites but the magic like this (and Marr getting his trainer back post-surf) is just amazing to me. Gratifying to know that the legends amongst the 57,500 probably outweigh the sh*tbricks. Must be over as Skinner has the hood up. Time to leave. “Is there a drum ‘n bass tent?”, cries Mike. I wish there was mate.

Ha! She crowd surfed right over me and somehow both her phone and a €20 note landed right in my hand. She got both back. Karma rewarded me when I got my right shoe back after the Fit But You Know It melee!

Kepler21

rubick wrote: »

Time for one of my most anticipated sets of the festival, as Lamb were limbering up on the Body & Soul stage. I have absolutely no shame in telling you that by the time they played ‘Goreki’ I was in floods of joyous tears; it was one of those “Jeez lads, that’s the festival over” moments. I take a moment, say goodbyes to the Boardsies there present (shout out to Kepler21 for the wee whiskey assist!).

Shout out to all the Boardsies we met, total Picnic Enhancers the lot of ye.

Rubick, you are one of the great Picnic enhancers. The enthusiasm with which you enjoy the music rubs off on everyone around. Such a joy to share the Lamb moment (and others) with you and Mrs. Rubick.