Why Glastonbury hasn't sold out this year...

[almostwitty]

So it's Glastonbury weekend - a weekend where I traditionally muse on the fact that I'm starting to get too old to go to such a weekend as a first-timer, and that I really need to get off my backside, and make arrangements to go.

Except this weekend, if I really wanted to go by myself, I could - tickets are still available for a festival that usually sells out within the first day of tickets being made available. Scalpers are probably walking the hills of Pitdown bereft and blaming the credit crunch.

Some commentators blame the lack of sales on poor weather, although most of them are blaming it on the fact that rapper Jay-Z is headlining what used to be a rock music festival. Although since the Pet Shop Boys have also headlined it in the past, I'm not sure that excuse stands up.

An element of the truth may be heard in a work conversation I overheard, where someone expressed a genuine fear that because a rapper was headlining, the crowd would essentially be full of chavs and violent gangsta dudes. Which therefore meant this person wasn't going, because he/she was afraid of all the violence that would ensue.

and there was me thinking Glastonbury was meant to be a haven of openness, love to your fellow man, and meeting cool new people and all that.

Then again, one of my friends is working it this year, and she's taken a 12-pack of condoms...

Comments

[nicnac.livejournal.com]

and there was me thinking Glastonbury was meant to be a haven of openness, love to your fellow man, and meeting cool new people and all that

I dunno. One of my mates now refuses to attend a festival if Oasis are playing after their fans were such assholes at V. Certain entertainers do attract a certain following.

[linxinyi.livejournal.com]

Remind me of when Metalllica headlined Lolapalooza. That lost all credibility for me after that.

[theanatomist.livejournal.com]

I think it is more to do with the fact that Jay Z, Kings of Leon and the Verve are headlining. Hardly compulsive crowd pullers when compared to other festival headliners such as REM, RATM, Radiohead, the Sex Pistols, Metallica etc etc etc. Given the cost of the ticket is £160, I wouldn't pay it to see Jay Z, Neil Diamond, Shakin Stevens, Crowded House, James cunt, the feeling, panic at the disco, newton faulkner etc. I would however pay £160 if NIN, RATM, REM etc were playing. In fact I would probably pay more.

Thoughts on the overall crowd...

[choirgrrl.livejournal.com]

I don't know if the festivals are continuing on the same path they were a few years ago, but I had some friends that went to an outdoor rock concert some time back, and ended up leaving early. Seems the people in the crowd were getting to riled up, and somewhere along the line it became fashionable to throw full bottles of water. My friend's wife got hit in the head 2 or 3 times, and everyone else was trying their damnedest to avoid the others that seemed to fly through the air every 5 seconds or so.
How does this tie in to Jay Z? It technically doesn't, but it does tie in with worries of violence- at least on a small level.

[madmosh-uk.livejournal.com]

Folk I know who used ot go ar emainly giving it a miss due to the *really* bad flooding last time they went. Add this to the high price, relatively poor bill this year and insane security and ID checks for tickets and they just can't be bothered.

Then you've got Leeds/Reading, Download, T in the Park, Rock Ness, Bloodstock, V, Hard Rock Hell and (quite literally) hundreds of festivals in Europe just a budget flight away...

If you want to dodge the chav crowds, go to a metal festival. Never have I seen a problem at Download or Graspop. The security at Download even told me that's the one they all *want* to work as they know they're there for crowd safety, not riot control. "Best fans anywhere" were his exact words.