Morbyd
Moderator
I was thinking of you just the other night. Had some friends over for dinner and introduced them to hierbas
Weekend Plans
- Thread starter Ikoda
- Start date
Ikoda
Well-Known Member
Now there's a name I've not heard in a long time, a long time.
diver
Well-Known Member
diver
Well-Known Member
Phuckin hell morbz , where you been? Gimme spice!Omg! Moryd
TheHiredGoon
Active Member
Yeah, the line ups are pretty good, especially if you factor in the diynamic tent too. I'd like to rotate a bit, but let's see how that actually pans out
Browny
Well-Known Member
We ventured to We Are Fstvl yesterday and are back today too ... spent almost all our time in the Diynamic tent ... Solomun came on at 18.30 and it wasn't even a third full which was amazing as Space to dance but with a crowd who were well up for it ... he played three hours followed by Adriatique and the numbers dwindled for them but great fun ... not my favourite Solomun set got a bit too playful for me at times ... but great none the less ... made some good friends on the night on the dance floor and then lost them but they are in Ibiza in September for one of our trips so hope we will see them again ...
MauroPicotto
Well-Known Member
Went for a few quiet after work drinks with a workmate on Friday - strolled home at 5am Saturday took my old man out for dinner at a nice tapas place, can't say I had much of an appetite but I managed to chuck a few pints of Cruzcampo down my neck 
Saturday took my old man out for dinner at a nice tapas place, can't say I had much of an appetite but I managed to chuck a few pints of Cruzcampo down my neck 
IanF
Active Member
https://www.skiddle.com/whats-on/Aberdeen/Unit-51/FAC-51-The-Haccedilienda/12924580/
Pity I never noticed this and have other plans.
Pity I never noticed this and have other plans.
Brief We Are FSTVL (Sunday) Review - Part 1
Okay, so I went to see Prydz & co. on Saturday and hit it pretty hard. Last train back to Kent from Victoria. Home and in bed by 01:30. Didn't get much sleep owing to the MD (sidenote: the best I've had in a long, long time) & coke that was in my system. Had to pick the car up from the station next morning. Missus was feeling worse than me, and taking into account the weather was about to turn, didn't fancy another day on it. So she opted to stay at home and I was given free-rein to hit Upminster solo.
First port of call was to shift her ticket. Put the word out and found a potential buyer who I've linked on my socials but never met in person. He lived in Brentwood which is about 15/20min drive from Upmister, so to rubber-stamp the transaction I only asked the same as I paid and offered to pick him up en route. This worked out incredibly well, as he is Indian, and Punjabi code 101 is always feed your guests. So upon arrival I was fed this amazing authentic lentil, cauliflower, potato and rice dish with yoghurt. It tasted great and it was even better as I hadn't eaten since Friday evening!
We made the short drive to Upminster and in the car I gave him control of the aux lead and he played me some of his own productions. A really mixed bag of stuff ranging from broken beat to bhangra to big beat. He created everything from scratch from using synths to his own vocals. I was pretty impressed.
Anyway, the drive there - although short - was a bit calamitous. We drove around Upminster several times. Owing to road closures the satnav was a bit confused. Really poorly signposted and I recall it being the same when I last drove there in 2015. Finally we found the right gate for parking. It was about 15:00 by now. I had wanted to arrive in time to catch KiNK but I knew this was unlikely now.
We walked to the entrance and the queue didn't seem that bad. But they were taking their time getting people through. In the end we ended up queuing for the best part of an hour. We were pretty chilled about it, but people around us were venting frustrations and some very getting aggressive. There were some scouse lasses next to us in the queue. They were having a bit of banter with some lads close-by. It seemed to be in good spirits and a bit flirty. But as the waiting went on they got aggy. One proceeded to drop her cacks and squatted to go to the toilet right by my feet, her mate doing a poor attempt at shielding her modesty. Fortunately - I assume through stage-fright - she was unable to do as she intended. We edge closer but even when we passed the next section, we could see more queuing ahead. The VIP queue was ten times longer. f*** paying all that money to be treated like that. They have this problem every year and they really should have nailed it by now. The stewards were a weird bunch of roided-up, chest-pumped, red-faced doormen and lame, gormless mercanaries fit for the glue-factory. Several times the crowd tried bum-rushing the barriers. A few got lucky and made it. A handful get locked-up by the security and have their day ruined. Morefool them.
We get in just after 16:00.
Typically, the heavens open and it downpours. I'm in t-shirt, shorts, sunnies and trainers. I'm soaked-through within minutes, but think "f*** it" and crack on. First we visit the Koppaberg Urban Forest. Paravana are the promoters hosting the arena. I'd never heard of them before but fairplay, they were absolute 'avin' it! Great vibes. We had a dance in the rain and it was the perfect start. A few people sheltering under the canopy by the bar area, but lots of nutters losing their shit too.
I said goodbye to my new friend and ventured to get some drink tokens. My cash was so sodden that the token machines wouldn't accept them. I visited the service desk and exchanged my damp tenner for 4-token. At the bar next door I went for what would be my only alcoholic drink of the day. 2.5 tokens for a tiny can of Desperado (not my choice, but the merely the best of a poor selection). The equivalent of £6.25 for less than half of a pint. Scandalous.
I trod off to meet friends in the Cocoon arena. Caked in mud now. My friends had been there Saturday and stayed-up over night. They were buckled when I met them. Kolsch was just finishing and one of my favs Ilario Alicante was on next. Mr. consistent didn't disappoint - he's truly a credit to the Cocoon brand. I got chatting to an enthusiastic Irish guy at the front. We chatted about Drumcode and Junction 2. I don't think we understood much of what each other was saying owing to the music and our accents.
Solomun on next. He began a lot slower than the pace that Alicante had set. At first I wasn't feeling it, but within 20mins it was rocking. This was less-melodic and much more bangin' than the last time I'd seen Solly. But i loved it! Fair to say he upped the ante from Alicante.
Okay, so I went to see Prydz & co. on Saturday and hit it pretty hard. Last train back to Kent from Victoria. Home and in bed by 01:30. Didn't get much sleep owing to the MD (sidenote: the best I've had in a long, long time) & coke that was in my system. Had to pick the car up from the station next morning. Missus was feeling worse than me, and taking into account the weather was about to turn, didn't fancy another day on it. So she opted to stay at home and I was given free-rein to hit Upminster solo.
First port of call was to shift her ticket. Put the word out and found a potential buyer who I've linked on my socials but never met in person. He lived in Brentwood which is about 15/20min drive from Upmister, so to rubber-stamp the transaction I only asked the same as I paid and offered to pick him up en route. This worked out incredibly well, as he is Indian, and Punjabi code 101 is always feed your guests. So upon arrival I was fed this amazing authentic lentil, cauliflower, potato and rice dish with yoghurt. It tasted great and it was even better as I hadn't eaten since Friday evening!
We made the short drive to Upminster and in the car I gave him control of the aux lead and he played me some of his own productions. A really mixed bag of stuff ranging from broken beat to bhangra to big beat. He created everything from scratch from using synths to his own vocals. I was pretty impressed.
Anyway, the drive there - although short - was a bit calamitous. We drove around Upminster several times. Owing to road closures the satnav was a bit confused. Really poorly signposted and I recall it being the same when I last drove there in 2015. Finally we found the right gate for parking. It was about 15:00 by now. I had wanted to arrive in time to catch KiNK but I knew this was unlikely now.
We walked to the entrance and the queue didn't seem that bad. But they were taking their time getting people through. In the end we ended up queuing for the best part of an hour. We were pretty chilled about it, but people around us were venting frustrations and some very getting aggressive. There were some scouse lasses next to us in the queue. They were having a bit of banter with some lads close-by. It seemed to be in good spirits and a bit flirty. But as the waiting went on they got aggy. One proceeded to drop her cacks and squatted to go to the toilet right by my feet, her mate doing a poor attempt at shielding her modesty. Fortunately - I assume through stage-fright - she was unable to do as she intended. We edge closer but even when we passed the next section, we could see more queuing ahead. The VIP queue was ten times longer. f*** paying all that money to be treated like that. They have this problem every year and they really should have nailed it by now. The stewards were a weird bunch of roided-up, chest-pumped, red-faced doormen and lame, gormless mercanaries fit for the glue-factory. Several times the crowd tried bum-rushing the barriers. A few got lucky and made it. A handful get locked-up by the security and have their day ruined. Morefool them.
We get in just after 16:00.
Typically, the heavens open and it downpours. I'm in t-shirt, shorts, sunnies and trainers. I'm soaked-through within minutes, but think "f*** it" and crack on. First we visit the Koppaberg Urban Forest. Paravana are the promoters hosting the arena. I'd never heard of them before but fairplay, they were absolute 'avin' it! Great vibes. We had a dance in the rain and it was the perfect start. A few people sheltering under the canopy by the bar area, but lots of nutters losing their shit too.
I said goodbye to my new friend and ventured to get some drink tokens. My cash was so sodden that the token machines wouldn't accept them. I visited the service desk and exchanged my damp tenner for 4-token. At the bar next door I went for what would be my only alcoholic drink of the day. 2.5 tokens for a tiny can of Desperado (not my choice, but the merely the best of a poor selection). The equivalent of £6.25 for less than half of a pint. Scandalous.
I trod off to meet friends in the Cocoon arena. Caked in mud now. My friends had been there Saturday and stayed-up over night. They were buckled when I met them. Kolsch was just finishing and one of my favs Ilario Alicante was on next. Mr. consistent didn't disappoint - he's truly a credit to the Cocoon brand. I got chatting to an enthusiastic Irish guy at the front. We chatted about Drumcode and Junction 2. I don't think we understood much of what each other was saying owing to the music and our accents.
Solomun on next. He began a lot slower than the pace that Alicante had set. At first I wasn't feeling it, but within 20mins it was rocking. This was less-melodic and much more bangin' than the last time I'd seen Solly. But i loved it! Fair to say he upped the ante from Alicante.
Brief We Are FSTVL (Sunday) Review - Part 2
My friends wanted to go to Paradise at the Terminal 1 main stage. I wasn't that fussed to be completely honest but headed over there with them in any case. Lawler had just jumped on and started on this peach from his own label:
It looked like he was playing B2B with somebody else - but I didn't recognise who. Younger, taller DJ with short fair hair. In previous years We Are haven't published set-times but have had them listed outside each arena (unless you wanted to recklessly part with silly money for a laminated lanyard!) This year they didn't even do that!
I didn't stay long in Paradise. It was busy and crowd was fairly ghastly. Next I spent some time over in the DT arena catching up with those guys before heading back to Cocoon for the finale.
As some of you will know from my Time Warp review, I didn't really get a fair crack of the whip with Sven on that occasion. And, actually, that is a fairly reoccurring theme. It seems I am the only Sven fan amongst my close-knit group. Although I've caught part of his sets at Cocoon closing, Winter Social & Time Warp, the last time I've seen him play a full set was SW4 2015. My friends had bailed by this point to attend a private function at Ministry, so I was riding solo and I was gonna use the opportunity to do want I wanted to do!
First hour of Sven was okay. Some good track selection, but it didn't blow me away. My earlier beer hadn't even touched the sides and I'd been drinking water for the past few hours. I was yearning for some kind of substance to help loosen me up and elope with the music! But weary that I had to drive home in a few hours I stayed sensible. 22:00 hit, and almost on the hour to the dot Sven moved into 5th gear. His last hour was truly breathtaking. Incredible music and energy. For the next 60-mins he moved me and the rest of the arena, and i forgot i was stone-cold sober. Just a few of the tracks I picked out:
He ended on this, and it was perfection:
Papa was rightfully applauded off. I'm so glad I stuck it out. I stand-by my thoughts that Sven is really a DJ you need to stick with for the long haul and go with. You can't duck in and out and expect to be feelin' it within a few minutes.
As I posted earlier in this thread, my friend was due to close this arena. But after Sven had finished the production crew turned off the amps and brought the lights up. I didn't know what was happening, but people took it as the end of the night and started to leave in their droves. There was probably a few hundred people left milling around. I felt bad for my friend as he was looking forward to this a lot and I knew how nervous he was. I could imagine him screwing. 1 of the security at the front started shouting "THERE'S ONE MORE SET! ONE MORE SET!"
(I later learned that this was deliberate and political. Basically, We Are hadn't told Sven that an unknown was closing his stage!!
So they had to wait until he had left the vicinity)
The music came back on about 23:15. Fortunately the crowds swarmed back inside and the arena filled again.
I only stayed for a couple of tracks and then I made my way to the exit and back to the car. Leaving the site wasn't as hellish as I'd anticipated and the roads were relatively clear. On the way home I witnessed the spectacular lightning storm.
Although I remained sober, this was probably my favourite We Are experience to date. The music in Cocoon was top notch. My favourite sets read like my itinerary and I can't remember the last time that happened - normally you peak before the end I find:
1st. Sven Vath
2nd. Solomun
3rd. Ilario Alicante
4th. Paravana DJs
My overall opinion on We Are has not changed. It is ridiculously overpriced - both tickets and drinks once inside. If you're the kind of person who wants merch/memorabilia and all that shebang then expect to get rinsed even further. It's also really badly organised. They haven't addressed this issue at all the 5 years they've been running. If you compare it to Creamfields - which I think is on par in terms of music selection, type of crowd and even size nowadays - then Creamfields is by far-and-away the superior option.
Okay, they have 20 years of experience. But at least they have reasonably priced cash bars, empty their cesspits (truly disgusting scenes on Sunday - several inches of piss and mud inside and around the urinals & portaloo facilities) and keep queues flowing. We Are are stealing a living. I don't expect them to address these issue as they have no incentive too - they sell out regardless.
That said, in all likelihood I will go again next year. It is the curtain raiser to the festival season and it's so close to my doorstep it'd feel rude not to. It's become ritual. But with those prices I will drive again for sure.
I'd far rather they cut their unnecessarily huuuuge line-up in half, reduce their own costs in the process and pass these savings onto their customers. But will that happen? Or course not.
My friends wanted to go to Paradise at the Terminal 1 main stage. I wasn't that fussed to be completely honest but headed over there with them in any case. Lawler had just jumped on and started on this peach from his own label:
It looked like he was playing B2B with somebody else - but I didn't recognise who. Younger, taller DJ with short fair hair. In previous years We Are haven't published set-times but have had them listed outside each arena (unless you wanted to recklessly part with silly money for a laminated lanyard!) This year they didn't even do that!
I didn't stay long in Paradise. It was busy and crowd was fairly ghastly. Next I spent some time over in the DT arena catching up with those guys before heading back to Cocoon for the finale.
As some of you will know from my Time Warp review, I didn't really get a fair crack of the whip with Sven on that occasion. And, actually, that is a fairly reoccurring theme. It seems I am the only Sven fan amongst my close-knit group. Although I've caught part of his sets at Cocoon closing, Winter Social & Time Warp, the last time I've seen him play a full set was SW4 2015. My friends had bailed by this point to attend a private function at Ministry, so I was riding solo and I was gonna use the opportunity to do want I wanted to do!
First hour of Sven was okay. Some good track selection, but it didn't blow me away. My earlier beer hadn't even touched the sides and I'd been drinking water for the past few hours. I was yearning for some kind of substance to help loosen me up and elope with the music! But weary that I had to drive home in a few hours I stayed sensible. 22:00 hit, and almost on the hour to the dot Sven moved into 5th gear. His last hour was truly breathtaking. Incredible music and energy. For the next 60-mins he moved me and the rest of the arena, and i forgot i was stone-cold sober. Just a few of the tracks I picked out:
He ended on this, and it was perfection:
Papa was rightfully applauded off. I'm so glad I stuck it out. I stand-by my thoughts that Sven is really a DJ you need to stick with for the long haul and go with. You can't duck in and out and expect to be feelin' it within a few minutes.
As I posted earlier in this thread, my friend was due to close this arena. But after Sven had finished the production crew turned off the amps and brought the lights up. I didn't know what was happening, but people took it as the end of the night and started to leave in their droves. There was probably a few hundred people left milling around. I felt bad for my friend as he was looking forward to this a lot and I knew how nervous he was. I could imagine him screwing. 1 of the security at the front started shouting "THERE'S ONE MORE SET! ONE MORE SET!"
(I later learned that this was deliberate and political. Basically, We Are hadn't told Sven that an unknown was closing his stage!!
So they had to wait until he had left the vicinity)The music came back on about 23:15. Fortunately the crowds swarmed back inside and the arena filled again.
I only stayed for a couple of tracks and then I made my way to the exit and back to the car. Leaving the site wasn't as hellish as I'd anticipated and the roads were relatively clear. On the way home I witnessed the spectacular lightning storm.
Although I remained sober, this was probably my favourite We Are experience to date. The music in Cocoon was top notch. My favourite sets read like my itinerary and I can't remember the last time that happened - normally you peak before the end I find:
1st. Sven Vath
2nd. Solomun
3rd. Ilario Alicante
4th. Paravana DJs
My overall opinion on We Are has not changed. It is ridiculously overpriced - both tickets and drinks once inside. If you're the kind of person who wants merch/memorabilia and all that shebang then expect to get rinsed even further. It's also really badly organised. They haven't addressed this issue at all the 5 years they've been running. If you compare it to Creamfields - which I think is on par in terms of music selection, type of crowd and even size nowadays - then Creamfields is by far-and-away the superior option.
Okay, they have 20 years of experience. But at least they have reasonably priced cash bars, empty their cesspits (truly disgusting scenes on Sunday - several inches of piss and mud inside and around the urinals & portaloo facilities) and keep queues flowing. We Are are stealing a living. I don't expect them to address these issue as they have no incentive too - they sell out regardless.
That said, in all likelihood I will go again next year. It is the curtain raiser to the festival season and it's so close to my doorstep it'd feel rude not to. It's become ritual. But with those prices I will drive again for sure.
I'd far rather they cut their unnecessarily huuuuge line-up in half, reduce their own costs in the process and pass these savings onto their customers. But will that happen? Or course not.
Great review, but love your luck on this bit! Why is it whenever I sell a ticket I get some scaffolder that wants to meet met at Liverpool Street on his lunch break who tries to give me snide £20's and you get well fed.
What did you think of Prydz? I thought it was really good but the long breakdowns got a bit annoying, I got it because it was all about the visuals etc but as it was a bit quiet at times it made it hard to hear some of the detail in the breakdowns? I think really in London for stuff like this they need to find a venue to do it indoors. Enjoyed all the sets though and thought the line up was spot on. Crowd was pretty decent too, even ended up dancing next to one of Little Mix it turned out.
It was a bit odd as the Sunday was much louder and more in-line with volume I'd expect for a day event. Was very odd.
Haha. This time was definitely an anomaly. Normally the former is a more typical experience, so I feel your pain!
I'm working on the Prydz review now.
I agree - it would've translated far better in a permanent, form & function venue. I went to Creamfields last year and they actually had less production on the SteelYard ceiling this time!
Really impressed with the crowd too.
Strange about Sunday. I know they struggled to shift tickets for Sunday. Did it seem less busier?? That might've affected the sound.
Pics?!