Music Festivals: A Survival Guide
Created | Updated Oct 29, 2002
The open-air music festival is a strange and wonderful phenomenon of modern society which when boiled down to the bones consists of a large number of people milling around in a large field in the middle of nowhere in all weather, sometimes in front of a band on a large stage. Most musical genres have a festival devoted to them (e.g. Rock had "Monsters of Rock" and more recenlty the "Ozzfest" created and headlined by Ozzy Osborne; dance music has "Creamfields" and so on), while other festivals appeal to a wider audience deliberately (such as the "V" festival England and "T in the Park" in Scotland). Some festivals on the other hand have grown in standing and reputation as an institution in their own right, such as the world famous Glastonbury festival in the UK which attracts festival-goers from around the world and features a wildly ecclectic bill of artists from all backgrounds and disciplines.
While the idea of spending a weekend in the country watching your favourite bands and sleeping under the stars might sound good, there are practicalities to be considered. The prospect of spending a few days in such remote locales without running water and other home comforts is a little daunting to a native of the inner-city who tends to think of grass a green and springy variety of concrete. But with just the smallest amount of commonsense and know-how anyone can get through the trials of a festival with relative ease.
So let's look at a few different aspects of the modern festival...
CAMPING vs FESTIVAL-GOING: There will no doubt be some folks out there who are full to bursting with tales of their life-affirming experiences from excursions with the scouts to trekking through the foothills of Cambodia and camping each night they were off building character in the great outdoors. I must stress that these people are by no means prepared for pitching a tent at a festival and would most likely perish on the first night there.
The first difference between pitching a tent when camping and doing likewise when at a festival is space and its availability. Arriving early on the day before the festival is due to start is always a good idea as you will be presented with vast expanses of green on which to pitch your tent, but unlike camping this space will vanish very quickly. While you may find that people camp a sensible distance from you in other circumstances, festival-goers (and especially later arrivers) have a nasty habit of pitching their tents in ANY space when they are desperate, no matter how small. Leaving more than two feet between tents in any direction is an open invitation and you may find that opening the flaps in the morning you are greeted with the side view of another tent.
For this reason there are a few rules that you may wish to observe to make your camping experience a little more hastle-free:
*If you have multiple tents in your party pitch them facing each other and even consider surrounding them with a makeshift fence. This marks out the territory between them as occupied and discourages people from wandering between the tents, strength in numbers also helps to discourage thieves.
*Camping within clear sight of a landmark helps when you're trying to find your way back to your tent in the dark. Of course camping near a light source kills two birds with one stone. Camping close to, but not right next to any road or track that runs through the campground will also keep you from staggering through the dark (an environment in which guy-ropes are lethal).
*While you might be tempted to strike out for the far end of the campground where nobody has pitched their tents yet, just remember that however far you trek before you set up camp is the exact same distance that you'll have to tramp back to get away on the morning that you leave. Camping within a short dash of the exit (and as a result the shuttle-buses to the station) is a smart move.
*While it may seem convenient at the time, don't camp within a good forty feet of the portaloos. No matter how often these are cleaned out they still stink to high heaven and they are a favourite place for people to dump their rubbish as well. And remember your own toilet-paper, for god's sake.
Apart from these points you should remember the fact that the organisers will impose their own rules and regulations on the campground as this environment is the closest modern man will ever get to his primitive ancestry in morals, behaviour and personal hygine. For one thing, don't start fires. It may sound prudish but few people realise how quickly a fire can get out of hand, and tents are a great source of fuel and some people will burn whatever comes to hand, regardless of what it is (polystyrene cups, for example, release cyanide fumes when burned). Also for the safety of all concerned you should only pitch tents where indicated. Pitching a tent on a communal track or road is a selfish thing to do as it restricts acess to the campground and hinders the passage of both the clean-up crews and the emergency services. Some festival organisers will simply remove tents pitched in this way by pulling them up and leaving them in a heap for their occupants to find.
THE WEATHER: Everyone has seen the pictures of the years that Glastonbury was turned into a mudbath by the rain, but hot weather can be just as much bad news for your festival experience:
*Make sure that you have clothing and footwear suited to most weather conditions and always take something waterproof no matter what Ian McAskill is predicting. It's also a good idea to always have a complete set of clean clothes in reserve back at the tent if you get caught out by the rain.
*Uninterupted sun may sound good, but remember that you'll be sepnding most of the time wandering around in the open. Sunglasses, sunblock and a hat to keep the sun off the top of your head are essentials. The alternative is sunburn, sunstroke (not nice at all) and in extreme cases skin-cancer. Also drink plenty of water which should be readliy available.
*While you may like to moon around in sandals or trainers, you'll be in trouble if the rain results in a quagmire of mud. If you're lucky you'll loose a shoe getting stuck in the mud, if you're unlucky you'll snap your ankle pulling yourself out.
*For those without the means to get a waterproof you can always buy a polystyrene "wrap-mac" (a transparent hooded smock, very stylish) which are sold at most festivals on the cheap and can be thrown away afterwards. The moral of the story is that a dry prat in a wrap-mac is still dry, while a stylish prat in his best t-shirt is all wet.
The best thing is to just either be prepared before hand or have the means to deal with things as they arise. There are almost always stalls that sell everything from torches to tents and wellys. But be warned, the prices have been known to rise strangly when nature makes the items in question essential. Don't land yourself in trouble because you're trying to impress the assembled masses with your fashion sense. A few days into a festival everyone stinks and looks like they've been dragged through a hedge backwards. There's nothing more amusing than seeing a bunch of scousers who've come along to see Ian Brown squelching along in addidas gazelle trainers and caked in mud.
THE ROCK & ROLL LIFESTYLE: A common delusion that some people suffer from when they attend a festival is that they have somehow left behind civilisation and all its trappings, others still replace civilisation in the same delusion with reality as a whole. A hard and fast rule to live by is this: as at as festival, as in the real world. Don't think that just because you can't switch the tv on and watch Coronation Street that the real world won't come knocking:
*People are going to take drugs at a festival no matter what horror stories are told. Don't think that the same dodgy dealers and bad gear won't be here in force. Remember as well that the police will be present and are very vigilant about illegal substances in this environment. It's proven as easy as picking daisys for them to collar drug-users at festivals in the past.
*Alcohol is expensive at most festivals above and beyond the outside world. Have a drink and a laugh, but know your limits and know that you're in a different environment here. Also make a point of only drinking what you can vouch for. Urinating in a bottle or can is a very old and very nasty festival trick. GHB, or the "date-rape" drug as it is often known, has no odour or taste and can be added to a drink in a matter of seconds.
*Apart from making sure that you don't bring back either an STD or paternity-suit as a souvenir be aware of the danger of rape at a festival. In recent years individuals have fallen victim to this and been sexually assualted while their friends went unawares in the next tent. Sticking togehter and making people aware of your movements is always good sense.
*Jumping the fence could be called an act of rebellion, but take Glastonbury as an example. In the past lax security resulted in the numbers of people in attendance doubling and the festival was only saved when organisers clamped down firmly at the 2002 event. Want to go back next year? Then buy a ticket.
Use your commonsense here. There will be acess to both police and ambulance personnel at the festival, but prevention is better than a cure. One awful case of death at a festival only came to light when the clean-up crew clearing the campgrounds in the aftermath found a body badly decayed in the heat and alone in an abandoned tent.
A festival is an experience like no other and you'll always look back on it with fantastic memories, just don't look into the bowl when you have to use that chemical toilet...
While the idea of spending a weekend in the country watching your favourite bands and sleeping under the stars might sound good, there are practicalities to be considered. The prospect of spending a few days in such remote locales without running water and other home comforts is a little daunting to a native of the inner-city who tends to think of grass a green and springy variety of concrete. But with just the smallest amount of commonsense and know-how anyone can get through the trials of a festival with relative ease.
So let's look at a few different aspects of the modern festival...
CAMPING vs FESTIVAL-GOING: There will no doubt be some folks out there who are full to bursting with tales of their life-affirming experiences from excursions with the scouts to trekking through the foothills of Cambodia and camping each night they were off building character in the great outdoors. I must stress that these people are by no means prepared for pitching a tent at a festival and would most likely perish on the first night there.
The first difference between pitching a tent when camping and doing likewise when at a festival is space and its availability. Arriving early on the day before the festival is due to start is always a good idea as you will be presented with vast expanses of green on which to pitch your tent, but unlike camping this space will vanish very quickly. While you may find that people camp a sensible distance from you in other circumstances, festival-goers (and especially later arrivers) have a nasty habit of pitching their tents in ANY space when they are desperate, no matter how small. Leaving more than two feet between tents in any direction is an open invitation and you may find that opening the flaps in the morning you are greeted with the side view of another tent.
For this reason there are a few rules that you may wish to observe to make your camping experience a little more hastle-free:
*If you have multiple tents in your party pitch them facing each other and even consider surrounding them with a makeshift fence. This marks out the territory between them as occupied and discourages people from wandering between the tents, strength in numbers also helps to discourage thieves.
*Camping within clear sight of a landmark helps when you're trying to find your way back to your tent in the dark. Of course camping near a light source kills two birds with one stone. Camping close to, but not right next to any road or track that runs through the campground will also keep you from staggering through the dark (an environment in which guy-ropes are lethal).
*While you might be tempted to strike out for the far end of the campground where nobody has pitched their tents yet, just remember that however far you trek before you set up camp is the exact same distance that you'll have to tramp back to get away on the morning that you leave. Camping within a short dash of the exit (and as a result the shuttle-buses to the station) is a smart move.
*While it may seem convenient at the time, don't camp within a good forty feet of the portaloos. No matter how often these are cleaned out they still stink to high heaven and they are a favourite place for people to dump their rubbish as well. And remember your own toilet-paper, for god's sake.
Apart from these points you should remember the fact that the organisers will impose their own rules and regulations on the campground as this environment is the closest modern man will ever get to his primitive ancestry in morals, behaviour and personal hygine. For one thing, don't start fires. It may sound prudish but few people realise how quickly a fire can get out of hand, and tents are a great source of fuel and some people will burn whatever comes to hand, regardless of what it is (polystyrene cups, for example, release cyanide fumes when burned). Also for the safety of all concerned you should only pitch tents where indicated. Pitching a tent on a communal track or road is a selfish thing to do as it restricts acess to the campground and hinders the passage of both the clean-up crews and the emergency services. Some festival organisers will simply remove tents pitched in this way by pulling them up and leaving them in a heap for their occupants to find.
THE WEATHER: Everyone has seen the pictures of the years that Glastonbury was turned into a mudbath by the rain, but hot weather can be just as much bad news for your festival experience:
*Make sure that you have clothing and footwear suited to most weather conditions and always take something waterproof no matter what Ian McAskill is predicting. It's also a good idea to always have a complete set of clean clothes in reserve back at the tent if you get caught out by the rain.
*Uninterupted sun may sound good, but remember that you'll be sepnding most of the time wandering around in the open. Sunglasses, sunblock and a hat to keep the sun off the top of your head are essentials. The alternative is sunburn, sunstroke (not nice at all) and in extreme cases skin-cancer. Also drink plenty of water which should be readliy available.
*While you may like to moon around in sandals or trainers, you'll be in trouble if the rain results in a quagmire of mud. If you're lucky you'll loose a shoe getting stuck in the mud, if you're unlucky you'll snap your ankle pulling yourself out.
*For those without the means to get a waterproof you can always buy a polystyrene "wrap-mac" (a transparent hooded smock, very stylish) which are sold at most festivals on the cheap and can be thrown away afterwards. The moral of the story is that a dry prat in a wrap-mac is still dry, while a stylish prat in his best t-shirt is all wet.
The best thing is to just either be prepared before hand or have the means to deal with things as they arise. There are almost always stalls that sell everything from torches to tents and wellys. But be warned, the prices have been known to rise strangly when nature makes the items in question essential. Don't land yourself in trouble because you're trying to impress the assembled masses with your fashion sense. A few days into a festival everyone stinks and looks like they've been dragged through a hedge backwards. There's nothing more amusing than seeing a bunch of scousers who've come along to see Ian Brown squelching along in addidas gazelle trainers and caked in mud.
THE ROCK & ROLL LIFESTYLE: A common delusion that some people suffer from when they attend a festival is that they have somehow left behind civilisation and all its trappings, others still replace civilisation in the same delusion with reality as a whole. A hard and fast rule to live by is this: as at as festival, as in the real world. Don't think that just because you can't switch the tv on and watch Coronation Street that the real world won't come knocking:
*People are going to take drugs at a festival no matter what horror stories are told. Don't think that the same dodgy dealers and bad gear won't be here in force. Remember as well that the police will be present and are very vigilant about illegal substances in this environment. It's proven as easy as picking daisys for them to collar drug-users at festivals in the past.
*Alcohol is expensive at most festivals above and beyond the outside world. Have a drink and a laugh, but know your limits and know that you're in a different environment here. Also make a point of only drinking what you can vouch for. Urinating in a bottle or can is a very old and very nasty festival trick. GHB, or the "date-rape" drug as it is often known, has no odour or taste and can be added to a drink in a matter of seconds.
*Apart from making sure that you don't bring back either an STD or paternity-suit as a souvenir be aware of the danger of rape at a festival. In recent years individuals have fallen victim to this and been sexually assualted while their friends went unawares in the next tent. Sticking togehter and making people aware of your movements is always good sense.
*Jumping the fence could be called an act of rebellion, but take Glastonbury as an example. In the past lax security resulted in the numbers of people in attendance doubling and the festival was only saved when organisers clamped down firmly at the 2002 event. Want to go back next year? Then buy a ticket.
Use your commonsense here. There will be acess to both police and ambulance personnel at the festival, but prevention is better than a cure. One awful case of death at a festival only came to light when the clean-up crew clearing the campgrounds in the aftermath found a body badly decayed in the heat and alone in an abandoned tent.
A festival is an experience like no other and you'll always look back on it with fantastic memories, just don't look into the bowl when you have to use that chemical toilet...
