Future Music Festival:DEBACLE

bassfreak · Post by **bassfreak** » Tue Mar 09, 2010 12:16 pm

Did anyone else go?

I haven't been to to any big festivals in about 3 years, but decided to go as I thought the lineup was pretty wicked: Prodigy, John Digweed, Way Out West, Dubfire, Sven Vath....
I didnt have high hopes as I know most big festivals are bollocks. Especially if they are run by Future! Future sent messages to everyone on Facebook and also on their website saying the festival was not cancelled and would go ahead rain, hail or shine....

It started off pretty well. The Likes of You Stage was definitely the highlght. I spent almost the whole time there. Stupidly, knowing rain and thunderstorms were forecast, the Likes of You stage, was the only undercover stage.

At about 6:30 when the rain started, they shut down the stage that Way Out West were playing on (only got to see about 15min) due to light rain. They then stared shutting down all the other outdoor stages. Big messages were shown on the visuals screens, saying "EXTREME WEATHER WARNINGS: SEEK SHELTER. PASSOUTS AVAILABLE. TRAINS EVERY 5 MINS"

We decided to head back to the undercover stage to see Digweed. Friggin security had shut off the entrance to the stage and wouldnt let us in and were trying to say it had been shut down. We could clearly see and hear it hadn't. By now people everywhere are getting pissed off. Crowds are running around everywhere chanting and carrying massive shelter marquees. A riot was definitely imminent.

We decided to seek shelter and wait a while to see what was going to happen. Some security guards told us that the whole festival was being shut down do to the rain(which wasnt even that heavy). It was starting to look more and more like a riot, when they obviously decided that to avoid a catastophe they would have to turn all the music back on.

By now heaps of people had already left after they advertised PASSOUTS on the big screens. When they tried to come back in when the music was turned on, they were refused entry. We were lucky we stayed. I got to see all of Digweeds set and The Prodigy outside in the rain, which was amazing.

Why advertise a gig will go ahead, rain hail or shine if you're going to shut it down as soon as it starts raining? They knew it was going to rain all along. If there's rain forecast, make more undercover stages. If they are worried about mud and the grounds being destroyed, put plastic flooring down everywhere. I wonder if it was the venue that wanted it closed down?

We decided to go to the after party at this new venue (superclub) in South Melbourne called Neverland: www.neverland.net.au/ Digweed, SVen Vath and Dubfire were meant to be playing. Pretty cool venue. Real plush. Would be ACE for a large scale DnB party (maybe Andy C). Anyway, arrived at 1am as Digweed was scheduled to play then. Sven Vath was playing, which was strange because he was meant to play after Digweed at 3am. Sven was trashed. Shirt off, dancing around, skulling shots. Supposedly he was eating toilet paper as well. WTF? His set was really boring too. His set at Future was much better. We kept waiting around to see Digweed play and then Dubfire came on at 3am. By now I'm pretty sure we arent going to see Digweed at all.

After reading the Inthemix forums, I found out what happened. Sven jumped up early and wouldnt get off the decks. Digweed arrived to play his set at 1am and Sven wouldnt move. Eventually Digweed packed a shit and went home. Surely the promoters should have had the balls to remove Sven from behind the decks so Digweed could play? Sven was supposedly ejected from the venue by security. Gutted I missed it.

More than half the crowd there hadnt been to Future and specifically came to see Digweed. FUCK YOU FUTURE!

Brain · Post by **Brain** » Tue Mar 09, 2010 12:24 pm

bassfreak wrote:Supposedly he was eating toilet paper as well.

Would've paid to see that...

Lil MiSbreaks · Post by **Lil MiSbreaks** » Tue Mar 09, 2010 12:28 pm

Jesus, what a nightmare. How can you give out passouts and then refuse entry? Wtf?

And Vath, oh my

hoping for some youtube action of that!

youthful_implants · Post by **youthful_implants** » Tue Mar 09, 2010 12:34 pm

man that sounds like a nightmare, you should definitely complain to the organisers. shocking really as they're a big organisation.

however it surely would have all been worth it to see this guy do this:

nic · Post by **nic** » Tue Mar 09, 2010 12:40 pm

sounds like an awsome day tbh

dunno why you are complaining, if i was sven eating toilet paper would be preferable to playing to a crowd of cunts

10/10

image

RGLZ · Post by **RGLZ** » Tue Mar 09, 2010 12:47 pm

Sven rules, what a champion.. That's what you get for going to FutureFagFest

FliP · Post by **FliP** » Tue Mar 09, 2010 12:49 pm

@ fatwhiteborat

I wasn't there but a heap of mates have told me how shit it was.

One friend was trying to get his diabetic girlfriend out of the crowd that was closed off so she could get something to eat and drink to take her insulin, and security told them "stiff shit, we've closed the gates.. you'll have to wait till they're open.." when she was quite clearly not well. They had to wait the people rioting to actually tear down the temp fencing so they could go fix her up..

also.. they cancelled the music/event because of the storm - which never came - why could you cancel it before it happened, if there was a chance it wasn't going to arrive?
cancelling everything due to light rain is poor form.

future are wankers.
i hope this is a step towards them pissing off.

gnat · Post by **gnat** » Tue Mar 09, 2010 1:18 pm

lmao. sven vath is my hero. completely loose unit

the weather warning was pretty extreme though- mooba got totalled and they were telling people not to come into the CBD. not your average bit of rain

tee193 · Post by **tee193** » Tue Mar 09, 2010 1:31 pm

the festival itself is retarded, huge cues, bad setup, last year i made the foolish mistake of going and vowed never again to set foot at one of their events, 40 minutes for a beer can get fucked. Also 100 person punch on in the grandstand where people were climbing off the sides to get away sure added to the awesome festival vibe swimming through sea of greasers in ed hardy hats and muscle singlets

Lephrenic · Post by **Lephrenic** » Tue Mar 09, 2010 1:49 pm

Fucking muzzas were all over my tram. Just wish I'd had some C4.

same o · Post by **same o** » Tue Mar 09, 2010 1:55 pm

nic · Post by **nic** » Tue Mar 09, 2010 2:08 pm

this is starting to become muzza racist hatred hate speech slander, no wonder there arent any of them here (doubt the cunts would be able to read let alone operate electronic computers, too busy chasing footballs around dry spiky nasty dog poo ridden 'parks'

mascarpone for muzza day coming soon

LONG LIVE MUZZAS

same o · Post by **same o** » Tue Mar 09, 2010 2:22 pm

youthful_implants · Post by **youthful_implants** » Tue Mar 09, 2010 3:05 pm

nic wrote:this is starting to become muzza racist hatred hate speech slander, no wonder there arent any of them here (doubt the cunts would be able to read let alone operate electronic computers, too busy chasing footballs around dry spiky nasty dog poo ridden 'parks'

mascarpone for muzza day coming soon

LONG LIVE MUZZAS

same o wrote:

is it just me or is that too much?

aroes · Post by **aroes** » Tue Mar 09, 2010 3:06 pm

RGLZ wrote: That's what you get for going to FutureFagFest

aww fair cop!!

i lold though

deviant · Post by **deviant** » Tue Mar 09, 2010 3:25 pm

tee193 wrote:....huge cues....

Sociopathic · Post by **Sociopathic** » Tue Mar 09, 2010 5:28 pm

I only experienced festivals in Melbourne for the first time this year.
Both the ones I went to were alright but thats some pretty fucked up shit right there.

Sounds like total lack of communication going on with the whole pass outs no pass outs closed/open/closed crap going on thats just bull shit.
You don't pay that kinda money and then expect to be shafted to hard.

shepherd · Post by **shepherd** » Tue Mar 09, 2010 7:48 pm

FliP wrote:
also.. they cancelled the music/event because of the storm - which never came - why could you cancel it before it happened, if there was a chance it wasn't going to arrive?
cancelling everything due to light rain is poor form..

now i wasn't there so take what you will of this ...

but the weather warning from the BOM was to prepare for extreme weather. It was all over the news and around 5/6 they were advising people to stay indoors. Remember - 24 hrs before a massive storm came through and caused chaos and it was never predicted that the front would be that intense. The potential for injury or worse for future and the venue is significant with weather like we experienced on Saturday.

For Future they had limited options - do they wait for a monster storm to arrive and then react, potentially harming people, damaging equipment etc .. or do they pre-empt a storm and attempt to create a safe environment to limit potential harm with the risk thw weather won't be as bad as predicted?

Either way it's lose/lose ... if they did nothing everyone would whinge that allowing attendees to be exposed to extreme weather so close to loads of electrical gear and staging was negligent ... if they try and shut down people whinge that they're getting a raw deal.

Logistically the situation was extreme and could not be planned for and executed smoothly. No, it doesn't make it any better but there's a heap of elements that confronted the event on the day.

bassfreak · Post by **bassfreak** » Tue Mar 09, 2010 9:05 pm

The main point is that they knew the weather was going to be bad earlier in the week. They should have had more undercover stages or adequate shelter.

kiss & tell · Post by **kiss & tell** » Tue Mar 09, 2010 10:42 pm

*giggle* fuck future

Hardy · Post by **Hardy** » Wed Mar 10, 2010 12:33 pm

shepherd wrote:
FliP wrote:
also.. they cancelled the music/event because of the storm - which never came - why could you cancel it before it happened, if there was a chance it wasn't going to arrive?
cancelling everything due to light rain is poor form..
now i wasn't there so take what you will of this ...

but the weather warning from the BOM was to prepare for extreme weather. It was all over the news and around 5/6 they were advising people to stay indoors. Remember - 24 hrs before a massive storm came through and caused chaos and it was never predicted that the front would be that intense. The potential for injury or worse for future and the venue is significant with weather like we experienced on Saturday.

For Future they had limited options - do they wait for a monster storm to arrive and then react, potentially harming people, damaging equipment etc .. or do they pre-empt a storm and attempt to create a safe environment to limit potential harm with the risk thw weather won't be as bad as predicted?

Either way it's lose/lose ... if they did nothing everyone would whinge that allowing attendees to be exposed to extreme weather so close to loads of electrical gear and staging was negligent ... if they try and shut down people whinge that they're getting a raw deal.

Logistically the situation was extreme and could not be planned for and executed smoothly. No, it doesn't make it any better but there's a heap of elements that confronted the event on the day.

Very fair point. I also wasn't there so can only give an outsider's view, but much of what Shep says rings true. Whilst it sounds like it was handled poorly, Future were damned if they did, and damned if they didn't.

Yes it did say rain hail or shine, but that storm was a bit more severe than just hail.

*EDIT* having said that, they did have at least 24 hours to deal with a storm as potentially dangerous as the first, and they really should have been able to provide extra shelter. There's way too many factors involved for me to speculate though. That's why I'm not in festival organisation.

nic · Post by **nic** » Wed Mar 10, 2010 12:43 pm

IAM OUTRAGED
WHO ELSE SHARES THE OUTRAGE???

+1

Amick · Post by **Amick** » Wed Mar 10, 2010 12:48 pm

RABBLE RABBLE RABBLE

nic · Post by **nic** » Wed Mar 10, 2010 12:50 pm

FORUM SLANDER
FUTRE MUSIC IN SHOCKING SHOKCER

Hardy · Post by **Hardy** » Wed Mar 10, 2010 12:50 pm

nic wrote:IAM OUTRAGED
WHO ELSE SHARES THE OUTRAGE???

+1

I AM OUTWAGED!!!!

gaffa101 · Post by **gaffa101** » Wed Mar 10, 2010 1:32 pm

Im totally amaized about the amount of flack most of the Future events have been recieving lately.. I started boycotting them a while ago after being dissapointed and feeliong ripped off to many times.. The one thing i dont get is why most people keep going back for more, and throwing more money at future?????

makes me wanna

The less people go the more quality shows will come back with these big acts!!!

If FMF was a wash out..whats winter soundsystem going to be??

kiss & tell · Post by **kiss & tell** » Wed Mar 10, 2010 4:52 pm

Winter Soundsystem blows minus Underworld

shepherd · Post by **shepherd** » Thu Mar 11, 2010 10:38 am

WSS is inside - Future have run events in that Melb Park space for over a decade and I'd say they have it nailed.

My housemate in Sydney toured with FMF and he said all events were smooth.

Melb could have been handled differently but there are also extreme circumstances surrounding the event that made things difficult.

With events that have 10-35,000 people there are bound to be some people who feel they have not been catered for. It's the same with anything that has a similar volume.

Post by **JAMESSSS** » Thu Mar 11, 2010 10:58 am

TO be fair Ben letting a smashed DJ rearrange the set times and play across two slots, which stops your headline act from appearing at an official afterparty sounds pretty unorganised to me.

bobby bob bob · Post by **bobby bob bob** » Thu Mar 11, 2010 11:38 am

shepherd wrote:
FliP wrote:
also.. they cancelled the music/event because of the storm - which never came - why could you cancel it before it happened, if there was a chance it wasn't going to arrive?
cancelling everything due to light rain is poor form..
now i wasn't there so take what you will of this ...

but the weather warning from the BOM was to prepare for extreme weather. It was all over the news and around 5/6 they were advising people to stay indoors. Remember - 24 hrs before a massive storm came through and caused chaos and it was never predicted that the front would be that intense. The potential for injury or worse for future and the venue is significant with weather like we experienced on Saturday.

For Future they had limited options - do they wait for a monster storm to arrive and then react, potentially harming people, damaging equipment etc .. or do they pre-empt a storm and attempt to create a safe environment to limit potential harm with the risk thw weather won't be as bad as predicted?

Either way it's lose/lose ... if they did nothing everyone would whinge that allowing attendees to be exposed to extreme weather so close to loads of electrical gear and staging was negligent ... if they try and shut down people whinge that they're getting a raw deal.

Logistically the situation was extreme and could not be planned for and executed smoothly. No, it doesn't make it any better but there's a heap of elements that confronted the event on the day.

I was there and had a ball.. One of the best festis I have been to for years, and I go to em all, as well as our D+B, breaks gigs, etc...

My nephew knows the promoters who were told/forced to do the extreme weather warning and shutting down of stages etc, and i don't blame them for doing it; I was playing cricket the day before and got lashed by that extreme weather, and the hail hurt.

I believe they took the stance of reopening the stages to avoid a spill of angry munts early into flemington.. the crowd controllers around the Above and Beyond stage were really good about it, and sort of cajoled the punters who were under cover to have fun with the rain etc, ala Wimbledon rain breaks..

I take the point about knowing about the promoters knowing all week about the impending weather, but fuck me, the Saturday weather was according to the papers a 1 in 100 yr type of storm...

Anyways, Above and Beyong came on to play on a stage that had big puddles of water all around and they embraced it with big smiles etc, splashing in the puddles etc, and the crowd as a result ate it up, loving the warm rain and vibes...

We were at the crowd barrier up front and everywhere you looked people were wall to wall smiles (or gurns, come to think of it..) lapping up what felt like a really one off sort of weather meets perfect music meets perfect vibe.. And I base that on a comparison to Global Gathering a cpl of Octobers back where it rained, was megafucking cold, and then Ralph from Kraftwerk announces they weren't playing..

Now that sucked arse compared to this..

I guess if you go to those festis to embrace the whole experience of laughing at tanorexics, muzzas, gurners (of which I am one), and have a good mindset, you will find fun in them somewhere.. Like the pic on this thread above of the big dude in the mankini.. Fucking good on him for having the balls to do that. Props to him. And he made the days of the crowd around him. Check them out..

So the day is what you made of it I guess..

Sermonising over..

Direkt · Post by **Direkt** » Thu Mar 11, 2010 11:45 am

Not a fan of Future, full-stop... couldn't care less what happened at Future Music Fuck Fest (although it's disappointing for paying patrons, of course).

quiet roar · Post by **quiet roar** » Thu Mar 11, 2010 5:55 pm

Agree with the "It's future: what do you expect?" sentiment.

And really, you wouldn't want their crowd at your gigs so why do you go to theirs?

eN · Post by eN » Fri Mar 12, 2010 4:01 pm

quiet roar wrote:Agree with the "It's future: what do you expect?" sentiment.

And really, you wouldn't want their crowd at your gigs so why do you go to theirs?

Err lineup? I'd be willing to put up with all sorts of fucktards if there were a few acts I was pretty keen on seeing.

ghetto kitty · Post by **ghetto kitty** » Fri Mar 12, 2010 4:29 pm

@ everything..

Act of God weather and Sven in loo paper shocker.

I still wish i had been front and centre in the rain when Prodigy played, but I wasnt going to go and deal with all that just to see them.

Amick · Post by **Amick** » Fri Mar 12, 2010 4:33 pm

ghetto kitty wrote:I still wish i had been front and centre in the rain when Prodigy played, but I wasnt going to go and deal with all that just to see them.

menace · Post by **menace** » Sat Mar 13, 2010 12:12 am

bobby bob bob wrote:[

So the day is what you made of it I guess..

..

mad pingaz ?

bobby bob bob · Post by **bobby bob bob** » Sat Mar 13, 2010 10:38 am

menace wrote:
bobby bob bob wrote:[

So the day is what you made of it I guess..

..
mad pingaz ?

NOOOOOOOOOOOO!

yep.

nic · Post by **nic** » Sat Mar 13, 2010 11:49 am

how much for a 10 pak bro?

quiet roar · Post by **quiet roar** » Sat Mar 13, 2010 5:33 pm

eN wrote:
quiet roar wrote:Agree with the "It's future: what do you expect?" sentiment.

And really, you wouldn't want their crowd at your gigs so why do you go to theirs?

Err lineup? I'd be willing to put up with all sorts of fucktards if there were a few acts I was pretty keen on seeing.

Not me. Too many fucktards can ruin a gig no matter what the line-up.

ulyssian · Post by **ulyssian** » Sun Mar 14, 2010 1:39 am

probably would have been more fun staying at home and watching the rest of your ceiling fall in!!!!!

sound shit.... anti future/fuzzy here. But it saying that... their crowds need gigs too... at least it keeps them contained in one spot for a couple of days a year!!!!

Prodigy would have been sick to see outdoors though.
Maitreya survived the crazy weather..!!!