bad? memories of a free festival

[William of Walworth]

mr moose went to Castlemorton. Now that was a free festival!

You beat him to the whole scene though!

 

[William of Walworth]

here's a link to the dragon festival site, there's some photos in the gallery.

http://www.dragon-festival.com/

I'm there, subject to flight ticket ... booking imminent ...

Only less than a fortnight now!

 

[Skim]

I was just reading the posts and thinking what a great festival Free the Spirit must have been, then realised I was actually there... albeit for a few hours. What a location: I kept forgetting I was next to a motorway

 

[free spirit]

I was just reading the posts and thinking what a great festival Free the Spirit must have been, then realised I was actually there... albeit for a few hours. What a location: I kept forgetting I was next to a motorway

yeah - I can't believe nobody got knocked down on the motorway like, we went off to get petrol for the generator about erm sometime saturday night* and just parked up on the hard shoulder alongside loads of other cars and people just kinda sauntering along heading towards the music.

*fucking class random moment - me and mate stood there trying to figure out how we could get a lift to get more petrol, bloke next to us turns round and offers to drive us... cue 90 minute adventure, then never saw him again... thanks whoever you were

 

[souljacker]

mr moose went to Castlemorton. Now that was a free festival!

Fuck yeah!

I remember me and a mate, sitting on the top of my mates van, and all you could see for miles was ravers. Not a copper in sight. I remember thinking at the time that there was no way we were going to be able to get away with this shit for much longer!

All the free parties I went to after that were either busted very quickly, or really small and a little bit cliquey and I gave up bothering after a while.

 

[DeadManWalking]

Volcano festival was always fun

 

[William of Walworth]

yeah - I can't believe nobody got knocked down on the motorway like, we went off to get petrol for the generator about erm sometime saturday night* and just parked up on the hard shoulder alongside loads of other cars and people just kinda sauntering along heading towards the music.

*fucking class random moment - me and mate stood there trying to figure out how we could get a lift to get more petrol, bloke next to us turns round and offers to drive us... cue 90 minute adventure, then never saw him again... thanks whoever you were

Can't believe no-one got nicked with that kind of caper, the strong impression I got when I was there was that the Police were pretty laid back about everything except motorway fun and games ... -- they kept a very low profile generally but you could have understood it if they'd got aresy about ravers parking/trespassing on the M1

 

[William of Walworth]

Volcano festival was always fun

Yes, that one was class , went to two of them, wish there'd been more!

 

[William of Walworth]

Fuck yeah!

I remember me and a mate, sitting on the top of my mates van, and all you could see for miles was ravers. Not a copper in sight. I remember thinking at the time that there was no way we were going to be able to get away with this shit for much longer!
.

I read in one account that there were pushing 30,000 people there, is this bollocks?

 

[jusali]

Shame they're all stamped on nowadays, insurance, H&S, CJB and all that bollix.
I'm gagging to have a mix and a dance in the open air without having to fork out the best part of £100 just for the pleasure of seeing some corporate sanitised idea of musical entertainment. Dancing to beats in the open air, it's the most natural thing to do!

 

[souljacker]

I read in one account that there were pushing 30,000 people there, is this bollocks?

And the rest!

 

[William of Walworth]

Shame they're all stamped on nowadays, insurance, H&S, CJB and all that bollix.
I'm gagging to have a mix and a dance in the open air without having to fork out the best part of £100 just for the pleasure of seeing some corporate sanitised idea of musical entertainment. Dancing to beats in the open air, it's the most natural thing to do!

I sympathise with your reaction -- free spirit and others have given us chapter and verse on the number of hoops you have to jump through these days.

But don't go too far eh? Some of the smaller paying festivals are well cheaper than £100= and remain very uncorporate in amosphere .... there's a very current thread on one such (Endorse It In Dorset) right now, and that one has an all night licence ..

Solfest in the far North, August Bank Holiday weeekend, is also pretty good, the bigger and smaller dance tents in the early hours were mental!

 

[zenie]

Shame they're all stamped on nowadays, insurance, H&S, CJB and all that bollix.
I'm gagging to have a mix and a dance in the open air without having to fork out the best part of £100 just for the pleasure of seeing some corporate sanitised idea of musical entertainment. Dancing to beats in the open air, it's the most natural thing to do!

There are things like that going on but the police get a bit heavy handed about it

Maybe see you at one this year?

 

[William of Walworth]

There are things like that going on but the police get a bit heavy handed about it

Maybe see you at one this year?

Oh yeah, full on free parties are when you can still find them (although I tend to be a bit lazy about any that you have to travel far to these days )

But I was disputing with him that all paying festivals were ultra corporate and sanitised ....

 

[free spirit]

Shame they're all stamped on nowadays, insurance, H&S, CJB and all that bollix.
I'm gagging to have a mix and a dance in the open air without having to fork out the best part of £100 just for the pleasure of seeing some corporate sanitised idea of musical entertainment. Dancing to beats in the open air, it's the most natural thing to do!

we'll still be out partying in the openair this summer for free, might be starting early at easter actually if the weathers alright like... only problem is having to keep it quiet til just before the party and doing no advance publicity other than to our members... makes it hard to find if you aren't part of the scene.

nb the above is a work of fiction, part of my ongoing book project in case anyone was tempted to take it seriously

 

[moon]

At least one person in the labour party understands the importance of dance music in life

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/musicfeature/pip/bwic3/?focuswin

Gwaan Oona!

 

[snorbury]

i'm a bright young thing and i'm into it

 

[northernhord]

I went to a free festival in Aldermaston, the brew crew were reaping havoc on the site, including beating people up, taxing people, robbing tents and benders.
These pricks were just doin anyone who got in their way, indeed I had a run in with these fuckers when a couple come over to where our trucks and benders were demanding food and lager, I picked our machete up and said with a mad grin on my kite 'You aint dealing with middle class hippies ere mate, now fuck off' which he and his burd did with great rapidity


On the whole though, the bands were good but the atmosphere wasnt great.

 

[William of Walworth]

That's got to be mid 80s, surely? If you're in Hebden this w/e (?) we can chat about all this in general .

I've heard lots from those who know about that sort of shit ...

But most free festivals I went to (generally later than when you mean, although I was at Stonehenge 84) I was lucky with ...

Andy Worthington has a bit to say about Brew Crew and violent elements among the Traveller/free festival scene. Sound veterans of that scene have almost nothing good to say about them.

 

[northernhord]

I've heard lots from those who know about that sort of shit ...

But most free festivals I went to (generally later than when you mean, although I was at Stonehenge 84) I was lucky with ...

Andy Worthington has a bit to say about Brew Crew and violent elements among the Traveller/free festival scene. Sound veterans of that scene have almost nothiug good to say about them.

Yeah I never had any problems at any of the many free festivals I was at, only the Aldermaston one, the Brew Crew began life as the Hackney Hell Crew, they went on the road and their numbers swelled like fuck, they caused an awful lot of mither for a lot of people indeedy

 

[William of Walworth]

Northernfestivaller ...

I've just PMed you ...

 

[northernhord]

I've just PMed you ...

I just replied Bro

 

[William of Walworth]

So have I

People never had this much easy contact -- emails, mobiles, the net and all -- back in the old festy days!