How to be happy at a music festival
- Jun 16, 2008
I bought V Festival tickets way back in November â“ one for me and one for the dude I was sort of seeing at the time.
'There's no way we won't be talking in March!' he laughed.
'Just pay me whenever you can!' I laughed.
How things change. By Christmas, we were no longer talking, I don't even know why. But I was stuck with an extra ticket to V Festival. The prospect of going on my own: not appealing. But to see The Smashing Pumpkins, Queens Of The Stone Age, Cut Copy and The Rakes, I was prepared to make the sacrifice all in the name of music.
I got lucky when I befriended a fellow I shall call Phill, because that's his name, and when I asked if he wanted to come with me to an awesome music festival he said yes. We stopped for a burrito and a coffee, picked up 'Overalls Guy' then headed to Sydney. On the way we discussed various interesting topics: billboard signs; sexism in advertising; the best toilets at various roadhouses; lollies. And music, mostly of the jazz variety however â“ not my favourite genre, but I'm willing to learn.
In Sydney, we had the usual experiences one has when visiting: a very cool gig at The Basement; a variety of prostitutes offering their wares; drunken private school boys stumbling around the Cross; coffee in Newtown. Then a wee rest at the hotel before getting ready for V...
I watched the sea of fluoro washing down Oxford Street and spilling into Centennial Park (a LOT of fluoro). I kept checking my watch, in a slight panic that perhaps I hadn't left enough time to get inside and meet Bob to get the low-down on my job for the festival, then missing the start of Cut Copy's set. Having been living in Canberra for a while, the Sydney humidity was also making me sweat a bit. Mmm, sweat = not attractive.
But the journey inside the gates into the world of V couldn't have been smoother: a free can of energy on the way in, to quench the thirst; an extremely short line-up to get in, to make me stress less; and signs everywhere, showing the way to Bob.
Once VIP passes were safely in my hot lil' hands, it was time to evaluate whether V Festival was The Shit. How do you make a person happy at a music festival?
Firstly, signage. Initially a bit confusing, but that was because I'd printed the map out in mono, not colour, so I couldn't initially tell whether the blue stage was the 'Other stage'. Tip for next time: print the map out in colour. Or get the festival booklet, which has the map in it. But signage for toilets and bars was very good.
Secondly, bar and toilet facilities. These are the things that can make or break a festival (apart from the actual music, which I agree is also important). Now, I had VIP access so my experience was excellent â“ no waiting for drinks and clean dunnies. By all accounts from other punters, they had positive experiences with the 'you're special but not that special' facilities. It helped tremendously to supply free stubby coolers and blow-up drink trays â“ even haters were heard to say, 'I had to wait five minutes for a goddamn beer... but at least I got a free stubby cooler!'
Third, easy navigation between stages. This is essential to me, because at festivals I tend to move a lot between stages â“ so short and easy distances are very important. Again, V Festival trumps other large festivals in this regard â“ I wasn't stuck in traffic, required to navigate large mountains, or detour around the whole festival site before getting to the stage.
Fourth, security staff. Unfortunately on this count, the security staff sucked. I can't remember how many times people crawled over my, and other people's, shoulders to get over the barrier into the mosh. And the usefuless security guys just made feeble attempts to stop them. Still some work to be done there.
Fifth, crowd and general vibe. Pretty awesome actually; no dickheads wrapped in Australian flags, random and friendly discussions between punters, and happy dancing. And for the bonus, the first festival where I haven't seen a fight (not that I'm saying there probably wasn't at least one).
I think the happy and shiny vibe reflected people's experiences with the other festival elements â“ when line-ups to get in/drink/eat/go to the loo are quick and you get to see your favourite artists with minimal fuss, you're going to be a lot happier aren't you?
And finally, but most importantly, the music. I think there was something for everyone, and if you didn't walk away at least loving one act, well, why are you there in the first place? While some acts weren't as good as they normally are, other acts made up for it a thousand times over. A mix of old, new, young, old, cool and daggy - it was a day in musical heaven!
