Fields of The
ROCK’N’ROBBED Issue 7/2012
From this...
£ FREE
.... to this...
Nephilim, Ian Anderson, Biohazard, Cannibal Corpse, Goatwhore, Missing Andy, The Black Dahlia Murder, A Pale Horse Named Death, The Mighty Mighty BossTones, Tuff, Rammstein, The Yo-Yo’s, The Union, Hatesphereand much more
by Cristina Massei We all expected it but no one wanted to say it out loud: Black Sabbath can’t make it. Surprised? Bill Ward was offered a contract he deemed ‘unsignable’, keeping into account the fact he probably wouldn’t make it to the end of the tour; clearly, the ‘original line-up’ bollocks was a promise never meant to be kept. Then there’s Tony Iommi, who is surely some kind of a God when it comes to playing guitar, but his body reacts just like yours and mine when subjected to chemotherapy. Ozzy himself is no spring chicken and years of excesses are starting to take their toll. In the end, Black Sabbath had to wave the white flag and replace that ‘original line-up’ with ‘Ozzy & Friends’, where ‘Friends’ stands for guests so special that maybe will keep the show decently interesting and the fans almost happy; maybe the likes of Slash and Zakk Wylde will partially make up for the fact that there’s no Black Sabbath in sight, just another tired Ozzy performance. That if at least Ozzy can handle such an intense schedule… Yet Black Sabbath promise to keep their Download commitment, confident that the Prince of Darkness will be able to have a word with the Guy up – or down – there to negotiate at least a weekend break for Tony’s cancer. I bet the people at Hellfest, Gods of Metal and all the others unceremoniously let down were chuffed to hear the news. Poor Greece, definitely not their year.
... but is it really better than THIS?
But aside false promises and disappointed ticket holders, there’s something I find way more disturbing here, a sad indication of the state of this industry: promoters seem to have completely forgotten what Festivals are all about. UK festivals used to be a legendary event for all music fans, a tradition of mud, wellies, cheap beer and rock’n’roll, making the rest of the world utterly jealous. Kids would save money off their summer jobs for an overdose of the best artists around and a chance to spend a basic camping weekend with friends in a place where not showering was not only allowed, but worn as a badge of honour. Was a cheap way to catch all those bands you didn’t have a chance to see on tour and discover new ones, get the merchandise you wouldn’t find at your local store and spend the night in a cheap tent having the time of your life. Every year would be different bands and the same anticipation for a line up that was surely going to blow your mind. In the past few years however, what used to be an invaluable tradition has been turned in yet another meaningless cash cow. Small independent festivals are the new heroes for young music consumers; events like Bloodstock, Hevy or Supersonic are doing their best to keep the tradition alive. But where are the big players going wrong? For a start, the 284,567,342 stages. Unless you secretly cracked clonation in your own bedroom, you will pay for 345,596,495,393 bands, but you will only see 30 at the most if you can make the whole 3-4 days. So basically the only effect of booking 345,596,495,393 – from a punter’s point of view – will be an insanely high ticket price, resulting in the necessity to make a choice; with that money you could have done more Festivals and see the majority of the acts without cloning yourself or even trekking from one stage to the other for most of the weekend. Next: the insane amount charged for food and drinks. Now there are pop up hotel rooms, posh caravans and even a 6k luxury tour bus, surely those who rent them can afford to spend well over 10 quid for a burger and a beer, never mind the poor scums in the tents; they are the traditional festival crowd and those who bought most of the tickets to fill up your muddy field, but they’ll find £4 for a portion of chips and be back for more next year anyway. And finally – and here we go back to Black Sabbath - the line-up war. I mean guys, honestly, when we complain there are too many bands on the market, do we really need to see Metallica EVERY YEAR at one Festival or the other, and do you need to shock us into buying tickets months in advance promising an original line-up reunion which is about as likely as an Amy Winehouse/Whitney Houston duet? Please. There’s so much going on if you make an effort to look around. Young bands end up overfilling claustrophobic tents while blazoned has-beens play to no one on main stages. Don’t be afraid, DARE. Festivals used to SET trends, LAUNCH bands, celebrate newborn talent rather than old dinosaurs’ funerals. Bands like Exit International, Vintage Trouble, The Defiled are growing stronger by the day only through word of mouth. And if you really want to get some of the old classics on the bill – it’s certainly nice to have both – at least get me a Trent Reznor who doesn’t need a bottle of oxygen backstage!