ms2
New Member
Posts: 1
|
Post by ms2 on Dec 27, 2023 17:16:02 GMT -5
In 2013 Phil wrote a longish scathing article on Mount Eerie's Primavera Festival experience, posted it wherever he would post stuff at the time and then took it down after only a few days.
I saved a screenshot but then had a computer crash and lost it. Does anyone have it? it was was very interesting -- classic Elverum.
|
|
|
Post by wolfticketsden on Mar 10, 2024 5:43:45 GMT -5
I remember that article too, I didn't know it had been taken down. I'll try to track it down, so far it seems to have disappeared from the internet...
|
|
|
Post by woolymammoth on Mar 10, 2024 13:48:55 GMT -5
I'm pretty sure the full criticism was something Phil posted on his Twitter account, which he has since deactivated. The best I could find was this interview: www.pitchperfectsite.com/phil-elverum-interview.htmlQ: Can you tell us about any interesting experiences you had playing live? Phil: The other day we played at a huge festival, Primavera, in Barcelona. It was a ridiculous joke. We were on a huge stage and super loud, and the huge neighboring stage was drowning us out with their sound. Every element of the experience was so deeply alienating, such an immense barrier to having any kind of music-related feeling for the performer or the audience. I hate huge music festivals. Plus, huge corporate sponsor ads everywhere and beer and garbage. Who would like that? It is the worst.
|
|
|
Post by wolfticketsden on May 20, 2024 10:36:20 GMT -5
I found it - it was posted on his tumblr (https://pwelverumandsun.tumblr.com/). I happened to run into it now as I was cleaning up my RSS feeds, and the text still shows there even though the post itself (https://pwelverumandsun.tumblr.com/post/156545333436) is no longer online. Here it is:
In 2013 my band Mount Eerie played at the big festival in Spain called Primavera. Afterwards they asked for constructive criticism. I wrote:
Overall, it was an insane experience playing at Primavera. A festival is always crazy, but this was particularly insane. Starting with the airport greeter, there was some confusion about which hotel we were staying in and how many people we were supposed to be. It was a little disappointing to realize we were not staying at the Princess like last time (less convenient) but I understand the festival has grown. After rushing from the airport to the hotel to the stage for soundcheck (with no food all day) we were made to wait in the backstage area for 1.5 hours, very hungry, before our soundcheck. We ate the small amount of nuts and juice and cheese rolls backstage but were still very hungry and malnourished. It felt a little like prison. Nobody seemed to be in charge or have any information for us and I wandered the garbage covered closed festival area searching for something to eat but everything was empty. Normally I would not complain so much about hunger, but it felt strange that there was so little to eat/drink backstage, considering the huge amount of money clearly involved with the show. Also, it was frustrating to have nobody communicating with us.
Then, the show itself: Our soundcheck went great. The men running things were helpful and efficient. Everything sounded loud and good. We were scheduled to play at 6:20 pm, the first band on the ATP stage (Mount Eerie). After our first 2 songs the show started on the Heineken stage next to us, Adam Green. It was so extremely loud that we could barely hear ourselves on stage, and looking out at the audience I could see people holding their hands to their ears trying to hear us. It was so depressing. Every time one of Adam Green’s songs ended it felt like a relief and our show was audible for a moment, but then they would start again. The arrangement of those 2 stages and the scheduling of 2 simultaneous bands was a huge mistake on your part. Everyone afterwards who saw us said it was a very disappointing experience. It felt absurd to charge people money to experience that.
As an artist/band, overall, the experience of minimal food/communication backstage, and the horrible show situation, plus the omnipresent beer commercials, felt insulting. It was easy to feel like our only job was to help sell Heineken and not complain. It did not feel like the actual music or musicians were valued, at least for the less important bands like us that play at 6:20pm and stay in the Travelodge.
I feel uncomfortable complaining this much, and I usually hold my tongue, and I am grateful for the money and the opportunity to fund a tour in Europe, but since you are asking how to improve it I must be honest. The experience was one of the worst I have had, musically.
SUGGESTIONS. Return the focus of the festival to creating opportunities for people to have quality experiences with music that they love. Shrink the festival. Remove the corporate sponsors. Sell fewer tickets. Remove some stages. Put some trees and shade around the place. Eliminate plastic cups and waterbottles. (The garbage was mind blowing.) Quality, not quantity.
I know it doesn’t make sense for you to follow my advice, business-wise, but this is what is necessary for people to have more than consumerist superficial “I was there” experiences with music.
|
|
|
Post by wolfticketsden on May 20, 2024 10:44:34 GMT -5
Addendum: I was not at Primavera Sound in 2013, but I attended in 2009, 2010 and 2011 and I have to say (from the perspective of someone in the audience, not an artist) he was completely right on all counts. Already back in 2011 I was getting the feeling it was becoming an 'I was there' experience. Lots of people talking loudly and taking selfies and not listening to the music. Loud music from the big stages covering up the sound from smaller stages. Huge queues for everything (food, drinks, toilets) in stifling heat, and yes, the omnipresent plastic. And obviously in the years since then they haven't followed any of Phil's advice; I haven't really felt any urge to go back no matter how good the lineup is.
The one good thing they had was the indoor venue, Auditori, where you could see some excellent music indoors without the bother of everything outside. That would have been the proper venue for Mount Eerie.
|
|