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The T in the Park sister festival, Connect - intended as an event aimed at a slightly older audience - has flopped, with bands playing to nearly-empty fields.
Just 11,000 tickets were sold, with organisers choosing to blame bad weather rather than the massive over-supply of festival events on offer, which would make them unlucky rather than foolish.
Amy McDonald, who opened the event, tried to put on a brave face:
"It was a bit weird being on first and being at a new festival. You don't know what to expect but it was good.
"I only played to a couple of hundred but I like small crowds as well."
"I only played to a couple of hundred but I like small crowds as well."
Because everyone wants to hoof over to the main stage of a festival and discover they could have played to more people if they'd done the snug of their local.
8 comments:
This is interesting, because Connect was an event that the usual suspect music message boards were going mad about in terms of pulling together support and forensically taking the line-up and stage times to pieces, even though Scotland's already had two second tier-T events this year in Loch Lomond and Indian Summer, the latter of which this was essentially openly coat-tailing.
I like that 'insider', who you can tell is real because they've gone to "asked not to be named" lengths, suggesting that the organisers might take a hit on it and there's a lot of festivals this year.
Personally, I felt the event had the best line-up for the whole summer. However, to blame the weather?!? Besides the fact that it doesn't stop people enjoying the big festivals, I'm not quite sure how many people were sitting thinking six months ago "Mmm, not sure about buying tickets for this festival for it might be raining in six months time" Bafflingly lame excuse
I would have gone to this.. agree with the 'best line-up of the summer' but due to having already done T in the Park and Indian Summer, I'm too skint by the end of the summer!
the weather is a stupid excuse for a poor turnout.. Friday at T in the Park; peeing it down like rain was going out of festival fashion
I was there yesterday. I had a weekend ticket but left this morning. It's an disaster. The ground is a boggy mess, but it's barely even raining. The organisers have made no effort whatsoever to deal with the conditions, not even putting gravel down to help with the boggy conditions. The car park is 30 minutes trek (via a boggy, unlit hilly path) from the campsite (which is on a slope!), and the campsite is some distance from the music arena.
It was sold as a boutique festival, but apart from one poorly-staffed farmers' tent, it's just the usual crap burger vans, etc etc.
Still, the Jesus and Mary Chain and the Super Furry Animals were great. Even if the latter did play to about 500 people. Possibly less.
Did I mention the surprise £15 charge for car parking? And the worst toilets I've seen at a festival in years?
On the trudge back to the campsite last night, you could hear nothing but people complaining bitterly. I've never been at a festival as poor.
I was really impressed by the lineup and wanted to go but it's in the middle of fucking nowhere and only limited transport was put on. Can't say I'm surprised it sold poorly.
I'm just back from Connect and have to say that i was bitterly disapointed with the whole thing- the line-up is good, but i really think the bubble has burst and there are too many festivals in scotland, dfc (titp) are just getting too greedy, and i really don't think punters are that stupid- the weather exuse is one of the lamest things ive heard in a long time! the food is a rip-off, and the £15 parking charge is disgrace!!! looks like dfc will lose a lot of money on this one so everyone don't be surprised to see a larger than usual increase in the price of T in The Park ticket:(
You have to also wonder at anybody expressing surprise at rain on Scotland's east coast in September.
Whoever could have seen that coming, eh?
11, 000 tickets is a gross underestimation. If you recall - the Titp turnout was similarly sparse for Lily Allens opening set - it takes time for an arena to fill to capacity.
It took ten years for Titp to sell out and a similar amount of years for the ground to get used to the mass of people traipsing over it! Me and my mates had a great time and loved the fact that we weren't surrounded by neds and could chill out. People need to stop comparing it to Titp and enjoy it for what it is not what they want it to be (i.e. yet another festival with crap food and the same lineup that has been touted all summer!)
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