Pemberton Festival

[gnosis]

This event was better than I was expecting.

In all honesty, from what I was hearing about it through different sources w/ contacts working the event, by thursday night, I was close to selling off my weekend pass.

But, I'm not a quitter. I really wanted to see how this one would happen.

About 5 km from town, we came to a traffic stand-still. Took about an hour to get from the stop to the airport parking. I wasn't surprised in the least: a near sell-out mass trying to get to the same place at the same time....It's going to get gong-ish. (EMBRACE your gong!)

As we pulled in, a guy waving traffic pointed at his wrist, and Grapes and I raised our hands to flash plastic, and he waved us on, w/o really looking at us or our gear.

What really threw me off was not having any shuttles to take me the nearly 1km from where the bus drop-off/p-u point to where I had to park.

Once dropped off @ the bus loop in the event, we were directed up a road/path, hauling our gear, to see where we're supposed to pitch camp. A large sign said, "CAMP AS DESIGNATED".
?
There was no one designating.
I even asked Local Staff, beer garden staff, and even a couple of cops "who", exactly, was going to designate a camping space for us (since I'd heard camping was sold-out).
Aside from shrugs and blank stares, the best answer I got was from the beer tent staff: "Well, you're here. Pick a spot and set up."
....

Grapes rang a friend who came to get us and she brought us over to an area w/ lots of room where she was camped w/ a few others.

Wandered into the site, and made a bee-line for the Bacardi (dj) tent for a drink that was NOT Molson's shyte (honestly! Coor's light and Canadian were THE only beer available!). Got our ID'd bands (that made a trio of plastic on our wrists for the weekend)

Now, views/observations/opinions:
-Friday and most of Sat were a dust-bowl! No argument, there. However, I'd like to personally slap any fucking twat who got media attention for whining about it and putting the blame on the promoters! It's a fucking FARMER'S FIELD, ASSHOLES! IT'S _DRY_! DEAL W/ IT!
--> One thing that really impressed me, was that there were at least 2 chill-zones to de-heat yourself, AND, they had a snow-maker (like on the lower parts of ski-hills) pounding hundreds of litres of water into the air near the Lilloet Stage. Not only was it absolutely BRILLIANT to walk through and cool off, it was doing a pretty damn amazing job of dampening a large swath of ground, cutting down on the amount of dust being kicked up. MAJOR POINTS FOR THAT ONE!

- The only alternative to shyte beer was the 2 tents. Bacardi had a capacity of 2 500. The surprise addition of the Barn Dance tent (local talent, only. Impressive, too!) held 5 000. The Bacardi tent was the last thing going, each night. Therefore, TONS of people wanted in. People got frustrated. There was fence-jumping. Word was that there was a fence-rush, Sat night, when 20 - 25 people jumped the fence. Police were called over. Entrance was closed. People who were in, stayed in, till it ended. I think the organizers are a bit under-informed when it comes to club-culture, because, clearly, they underestimated the # of people who would want to get in, participate, and consume (they kept running out of ingredients/mix). It has to be said, though, that the tent was fuckin' _STYLIN'_!!!!!!! Brilliant lighting! Visuals kicked ass! Couches and sideline raised booth areas w/ coffee tables (kinda felt a li'l like Wett Bar, or whatever the hell it's called, now), and plenty of bars that made for relatively short queues.

-No one checked us. I think I was one of the naiive ones who got duped by the mass propaganda of a strictly-run event. I opted not to loose a 40oz. of vodka, and resigned myself to (what turned out to be $7/drink) festival booze tents. Even w/ at least 3 msg boards along the Ski-to-Die Hwy saying there were going to be RCMP roadblocks, there were none. Neither there, nor back. Aside from the parking dude waving us through, no one checked our wristbands, my vehicle, our gear, NOTHING! If I could put it in a bag and carry it on the shuttle-bus, I could have gotten a goddamn hippopotomus into the gig fer chryssakes! The only time our bands were checked and we were security-patted was when we were heading back in from stashing our gear @ airport park on Sun afternoon.

- I'd say about 98% of the crowd were having fun! Most everyone was patient, courteous, and well-behaved. Of COURSE you're going to get _some_ loogans!!! Look at the law of chances!! Out of 40 000 people, you're BOUND to get a couple of assholes! Accept it, watch for it, avoid it.

- Food City. The organizers did a good job, imho, w/ getting a fair-sized selection, w/ multiples, to avoid over congestion (ie: more than 1 breakfast place). Pricey, yes, but, you're at a field-fest!

- LOTS of loos!!! Honestly! I was highly impressed w/ the number and distribution of out-houses! Again, I'll gladly slap any pratt who wants to bitch about them, because throughout the entire weekend (and, yes, I _do_ notice this stuff), pumper trucks were constantly servicing the porta's!

-The location was spectacular! I don't think they could dream of a better site: flat, expansive, and surrounded 360 by mountains!

- I was astounded by the laissez-faire 'tude that seemed to be going on w/ staff/security/police. Over 3 days, I only saw the staff doing their best to service the event, and, at worst, controlling the loogans in the booze-tent queues. RCMP was present and visible (they roved in packs of 4-8). But, again, they didn't seem to be targeting or harassing at all, just being around. Yeah, I saw them carting off a couple of guys in cuffs, but, all in all, I think everyone played fair.

Like I said, this went off far better than I was expecting. It could so easily have spun out of control into the biggest gong-show, ever, but, it didn't. It was a first time effort, and, in the big picture, the organizers did a damn good job in covering as many angles as they could. Again, it's a FIELD ROCK FESTIVAL!!! Give it any consideration, and you really _have_ to expect SOME shit at one point or other!

Would I go, again? Probably not. It would have to take a line-up to blow my mind, or a huge mass of mates on a tribal holiday to get me to have at it, again.

Give me an illegal, outdoor rave, in the bush, ANY day!

Frosty
(not sorry)

[Grapes]

^ That was thorough. Good job :)

Still saying NIN had the best lights/visuals of anyone at the fest.

[Grapes]

Uh not to be confused with best props/extras/craziness which clearly went to Flaming Lips.

[Grapes]

Originally Posted by gnosis

I think the organizers are a bit under-informed when it comes to club-culture, because, clearly, they underestimated the # of people who would want to get in, participate, and consume (they kept running out of ingredients/mix).

I think this was my one major complaint with the organization of the festival, much more so than the traffic issues (somewhat inevitable) and the dust (what can you do).

Capacity of 2,500 in the dance tent is simply not good enough for a festival of 40,000 people. Maybe if this was 1988 instead of 2008.

[Ryan Ross]

^^^
Totally agree, that was my major complaint as well. Sucked having to choose between seeing either the top dj's or top bands each day, because really you could only see one.

Overall, I was pretty impressed with how it went considering the (very) low expectations I had for the organization!

[Sykonee]

Originally Posted by gnosis

Big kick-ass review.

Now THAT tells me more than any picture could.

[ty:rone]

tha review was epic
thank god there is only ONE gnosis

[Pennywise]

Now that I've read frostys review, I ain't even gonna bother writing a full one lol
No only complaint I had was with the line ups, Other than that it was a awesome weekend. Place in whistler was really nice, good people, good music, awesome venue (besides the dust, very scenic) good drinks....what more could you ask for?
All the acts come out bangin' and seemed to be enjoying themselves as much as we were.
Tom petty takes the set of the weekend for me, He was amazing.

All my videos are now posted on youtube.
YouTube - pennywise247's Videos

[gnosis]

Originally Posted by ty:rone

tha review was epic
thank god there is only ONE gnosis

Notice I only talked about the event.

Content/music reviews are a whole other post....

Frosty
(not bothering to)

[lildonkey]

Pemberton was amazing.. the only negative thing that really comes to mind was the lineup at the bacardi tent... in my opinion it should have been an all 19+ event so that there would be booze everywhere and no lineups anywhere

of course that probably won't happen considering it would mean lost revenue for them... or would it? because i know a lot of people didn't drink too much because waiting in lineups to get to the stages that had the bars were way too long

[lildonkey]

oh, and deadmau5 killed it...

[Pennywise]

oh hell yeah he did.^

[miss.myra]

how was jay-z?

[Pennywise]

I get goosebumps just thinking about it.
I'm not a huge fan of his, but he had quite the stage presence.
He was almost as big as the stage he was playing on haha.

[Grapes]

Originally Posted by miss.myra

how was jay-z?

Played all the hits, used all his charm, no complaints whatsoever.

[Grapes]

I think I'm just about done here, unless someone says something particularly stupid that I HAVE to weigh in on (Like say, Mangle arguing that a 40,000 person festival advertised and discussed in every local media outlet featuring the likes of Jay-Z, Coldplay and Tom Petty isn't mainstream) then I'm going to close with this.

Take it away, Rock and Roll Jesus:

[Pennywise]

[Mangle]

Originally Posted by Grapes

Like say, Mangle arguing that a 40,000 person festival advertised and discussed in every local media outlet featuring the likes of Jay-Z, Coldplay and Tom Petty isn't mainstream

You didn't weigh in on that, and you're wrong. NIN also headlined and, if you follow music, you'd know they're independent, as are The Fiery Furnaces, Black Mountain, and dozens of other bands and electronic acts there. It's not all mainstream, and just getting press doesn't make it so (the protests against the sea to sky bypass got all kinds of press too, but Eagle Bluff or whatever still isn't mainstream). Hell, Tom Petty himself made an anti-mainstream album not six years ago called The Last DJ (all about how the industry has tanked, screws artists, pimps popstars, and whatnot). Pennywise said it wasn't a shock I hated something mainstream; that term is very arguable in regards to this festival music wise. At the very least, it's a pathetic pigeonhole not applicable to my opinion.

[dj_soo]

Wow.

Just.

Wow.

Just because there are a couple indie bands on the bill doesn't mean that the festival isn't mainstream.

Also, trying to claim that NIN isn't mainstream because they're no longer on a major label is like trying to argue that Radiohead and Madonna aren't mainstream anymore because they dumped their labels.

Bono once said "Fuck the Mainstream" on the grammies 10 years ago. Does that mean U2 aren't mainstream either?

[rawb]

LOL @ COOLGUY MUSIC POLITICS l

[Revolver]

another thread has been mangled.

ugh.

the festival looked pretty rad.

[Mangle]

Originally Posted by dj_soo

Also, trying to claim that NIN isn't mainstream because they're no longer on a major label is like trying to argue that Radiohead and Madonna aren't mainstream anymore because they dumped their labels.

Bono once said "Fuck the Mainstream" on the grammies 10 years ago. Does that mean U2 aren't mainstream either?

Sure, why not? Give me your definition of mainstream. It's not a very accurate scientific term.
NIN is on an independent label and gave their last two albums away for free. Radiohead is also on an independent, and gave their last album away. I don't count automatically count independent artists as mainstream (unless they're Fallout Boy), let alone those that give their albums away for free (which goes against all mainstream policies). Radiohead and NIN both spew very anti-mainstream ideas in their music, as well as Bono. To be sure, they're all very popular, but I wouldn't neccessarily consider them mainstream. As a music term, "mainstream" is as vague as "indie" these days.
Regardless, I could care less what Madonna does.

[Revolver]

Originally Posted by Mangle

Sure, why not? Give me your definition of mainstream. It's not a very accurate scientific term.

of course it is.

mainstream= widespread mass appeal wich NIN has.

mangle are you really like this or do you just troll for reactions?

[Mangle]

Originally Posted by Revolver

mainstream= widespread mass appeal wich NIN has.

No, popularity = widespread mass appeal. Mainstream refers more to a commercial attitude, the goal of making money at any cost, pandering to the most bland and base human desires while marginalizing sexuality and equality. NIN does not have that. American Idol does.

[Revolver]

Mainstream - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

the mainstream includes all popular culture, typically disseminated by mass media.

i think NIN is farily well established in pop-culture now