Leeds Festival

[burnden58]

My lads going to the Leeds Festival this week.

Any tips I can give him so he survives and brings my tent back. At the moment he has difficulty in getting up in the morning and going near the shower (I suppose the shower bit may be an advantage at the festival) What are the food arrangements if any?

I really am concerned about the tent

[Henrik's fan club]

My lads going to the Leeds Festival this week.

Any tips I can give him so he survives and brings my tent back. At the moment he has difficulty in getting up in the morning and going near the shower (I suppose the shower bit may be an advantage at the festival) What are the food arrangements if any?

I really am concerned about the tent

Right....this'll be my 4th Leeds and my 5th festival overall (I'm only 18 like but still lol). My best tips

Don't camp anywhere near the toilets they stink over a wide area
Camp on a slight slope so any water runs past your tent instead of pooling around it
For food look no further than super noodles and a stove
take a large container ( a 2-3 litre plastic bottle always works) to carry water to save tons of trips to the taps
Take your own booze as it's very expensive there
Take plenty money
Take a change of shirt and a warm/waterproof coat
Prepare for any eventuality
Take paracetemol for hangovers
Leave your common sense and prejudices at the door
Don't buy any drugs on site....they mess you up. My mate last year became convinced he was a sheep
Don't get closer than 5 rows from the stage.... first year I was there the barrier shifted and broke 4 of my toes

AND THE BEST PIECE OF ADVICE.... have fun!
If your lad follows all those he should be alreet. Any trouble tell him to find me...I'll be in the BWFC decorated tent

[keveh]

What are the food arrangements if any?

They supply busses to go to the nearest Tesco, they run pretty much none stop during the day.

Tell him to put on his shopping list:

Beer


That is all.

[Henrik's fan club]

What are the food arrangements if any?

They supply busses to go to the nearest Tesco, they run pretty much none stop during the day.

Tell him to put on his shopping list:

Beer


That is all.

Don't use those....the queue aone takes 3 hours out of your day. Stock up before you get there, trust me. Agree on the beer part....although Cider is the true festival beverage

[kissoffboardy]

Make sure the beer he takes is in cans, they don't usually let bottles on the campsite. They also don't alow any beer in the arena, forcing you to buy the overprced cat's urine that they sell in there, so make sure he has plenty of cash for that.

Tell him not to pitch his tent anywhere near the cold beer exchange/food stalls by the fair ground rides, on the way to the arena. This is where the last night "disturbances" have happened in the past. If it does kick off down there this year, tell him to stay away as the security have a tendency to whack anyone hanging around that area, not just the losers who are smashing stuff up/jumping through fires. The ideal scenario is to camp on some high ground, so that you can watch the idiots whilst drinking a beer, safe in the knowledge that even if they do climb up in your direction they are likely to be too knackered to "riot" by the time they reach the top.

Lastly -take some imodium if he has a weak stomach -the bogs are usually pretty rank even after the first day.

[communistworkethic]

tell him he's not using your tent and to get a cheap "festival tent" from argos or halford for about £30.

[keveh]

Don't use those....the queue aone takes 3 hours out of your day. Stock up before you get there, trust me. Agree on the beer part....although Cider is the true festival beverage

I've not gone for a few years now, it got shit for me, but the queue wasn't too bad when we went at like 10 / 11 in the morning.

Obviously it's a little struggle if you are suffering from the night before, but some decent cold beer and water does wonders.

[Dr Hotdog]

this year would be my 6th in a row, but i can't bloody afford it.

in previous years on the saturday when there was no-one i wanted to watch, i'd go back to my car and take all my mates to Tadcaster down the round, about 2 miles, have a pub lunch, stock up in the local sainsburys and then head back to the car park - my space would still be there because no newcomers would bother looking for a space in an already full car park.

bit of a shame i'm not goin this year, only a handful of bands worth seeing, Slayer, Mastodon, Pearl Jam, Municipal Waste, probably a couple more. it's mostly 'next big thing' NME shite though, sadly. Muse would be ok i guess and i'd enjoy throwing anything and everything at shite like the Kaiser Cheifs and the Arctic Monkeys.

at the end of the day though, i'm sick of all the little aggro bastards who blow up all their un-used gas canistors on the monday when everyone's packing away. people burning their tents so they don't have to carry them. all sorts of wankerish behaviour goes on.

last year i sat at my capsite on the sunday and listened to us TONK Liverpool 1-0 at the Reebok. Alan Green not best pleased.

[white blood]

I think you have all just got burnden58's son grounded!!!

Never been to a festival myself, always fancied it, but never been arsed to organise it. which would you say is the best one to go to for next year maybe? (where there is plenty of NME shit)

[ratbert]

bit of a shame i'm not goin this year, only a handful of bands worth seeing, Slayer, Mastodon, Pearl Jam, Municipal Waste,

There really is a band with this name?

[Henrik's fan club]

I think you have all just got burnden58's son grounded!!!

Never been to a festival myself, always fancied it, but never been arsed to organise it. which would you say is the best one to go to for next year maybe? (where there is plenty of NME shit)

For NME music look no further than Leeds/Reading. Lots of up and coming new indie bands along with plenty more established bands. I can't remember a single day being there without discovering at least 3 new bands I liked. However for a first festival you'd be best off with V festival which is much more safe and organised. Leeds is Law of the Jungle by friday night when security have legged it

[Backgammon]

I went to Reading in 1996 then the last 8 Glastonbury festivals so I've seen the best and worst a festival can offer.

My advice:

I've learnt that if the sun beams down all week, all he'll need is plenty of liquids, a pair of shorts and a hat. But if it rains, even for just one day, then it's going to get muddy... Very muddy..

The most important thing is the tent. A crap tent means water and mud getting in, soaked clothes, being cramped for space... Misery. The best types are ones that have two compartments, one for sleeping and one to store all the crap and muddy gear.

If possible, take a flag or someway of distinguishing the tent from the others. Pick land marks or other easily identifiable tents in order to find your way home again. After dark and in the pitch black, the last thing you need is to get lost and struggle to find your bed.

A decent pair of boots or wellies wouldn't go amiss, because if it does get muddy then his new pair of £50 trainers are doomed. Even if he never wears them, it's worth having a pair just in case.

Take a roll of bin bags. Not only useful for making sure you don't litter your pitch, but can be used to stand on if the ground is muddy, emergency rain mack (make a hole in the bottom for your head and two holes for your arms), and for wrapping up wet or dirty clothes in for the journey home (so everything else doesn't get filthy).

Get there early. This ensures you get the best pitch for your tent(s) so not to end up next to the bogs or invading someone's space. Like other people have said, get on higher ground, nearish to the water taps and closeish to a lav.

If you buy booze, buy it local 'cos remember you have to carry the stuff. After I while I got pissed off with lugging cans of lager about so ended up carrying two bottles of Jamesons to see me through the weekend.

Essential equipment:

Baby wipes (for quick cleaning of hands and face - are a complete body 'wipe down' known as a Glastonbury bath)
Torch 'cos it gets dark, fast…
Camping mat for under the sleeping bag; the ground isn't as soft as it looks.
Plastic forks for that pot noodle/sardines in a can/cold beans moment, plus good for scraping mud of your shoes.
High factor sun cream. You will burn if it's hot, there's no shade.
Pain Killers - Your head will hurt, it's inevitable.

Luxury stuff

Camping chair (I picked on up recently from Tesco for about £6). Be the envy of your mates when they're all sat on the grass.
Air bed. Pain in the ass to inflate but you'll never go back.
Firelighters, cos it's a bitch getting a fire started with paper and a lighter. There's nothing better than sitting round the fire at night after a full day, staying warm and talking bollocks.

The best advice is just to tell your lad to enjoy myself. Leeds might not have the weirdness of Glastonbury but he should feel free to do what ever he wants. If he wants to dress in a black bow-tie suit with a horses head on - do it. This is a festival after all, not just a bunch of bands playing, and I think that's something that unfortunately gets forgotten.

[Henrik's fan club]

Also one small, but helpful, tip. Take super noodles rather than pot noodles. They take up less space and if the foil lid on the pot noodle breaks you'll have curry flavoured clothes all weekend and will smell like a balti house.

[Dr Hotdog]

bit of a shame i'm not goin this year, only a handful of bands worth seeing, Slayer, Mastodon, Pearl Jam, Municipal Waste,

There really is a band with this name?

dead right! they're fecking amazing.

they're playing the Music Box on Oxford Road in Manchester on Sunday with Paint It Black.
it's gonna be a fecking BELTING gig.

www.myspace.com/municipalwaste

[keveh]

and will smell like a balti house.

Better than smelling like shit!

Do Leeds still have the Pot Noodle stalls?

[keveh]

Oh, the food inside the actual festival is expensive, apart from bake potatoes with beans and cheese.

They are like £2.50, but you get a shit load!

[Henrik's fan club]

and will smell like a balti house.

Better than smelling like shit!

Do Leeds still have the Pot Noodle stalls?

Yeah but at £3 a pot they can sod right off!

[Soldier_Of_The_White_Army]

I'm working the Reading festival. If anyone is going and finds themselves outside the radio VIP area, pop over and say hello, I'll be the only on there, dressed in black trousers and black polo shirt with earpiece trying to look like Kevin Costner!

[Henrik's fan club]

Oh, the food inside the actual festival is expensive, apart from bake potatoes with beans and cheese.

They are like £2.50, but you get a shit load!

I'll make a note of that...plus with them food poisoning is unlikely. I usually try to survive off my own food though...well I say 'food' I mean Cider...

[communistworkethic]

I'm working the Reading festival. If anyone is going and finds themselves outside the radio VIP area, pop over and say hello, I'll be the only on there, dressed in black trousers and black polo shirt with earpiece trying to look like Kevin Costner!

so they're giving you stilts and plastic surgery too??