All over facebook the advertising campaign for Rocking the daisies is poking out it’s environmentally friendly head. A hype is being built and people are getting suckered in to wanting to go to a festival despite at this point not knowing the ticket prices and lineup.
Gather Round Hippies, Gather Round
In previous years Rocking the Daisies has had no competition. It’s the first festival of the summer. It was the only large festival till February-March. It provided, for many, the only opportunity to commit dirty deeds in a tent. Dirty deeds in tents are one of my many vices so I packed my tent and condoms and headed up. While I enjoyed it, and the dirty deeds, I only really went because it was the only festival I could attend. I was never really impressed with the lineup of bands who I could see most weekends at the Purple Turtle or Zula for the princely rate of R30 for 3-4 bands. In extreme cases I might be called upon to part with R40 to see them at Assembly. Holy Shit! That’s expe… oh ya, pretty fucking cheap. The crowning achievement of the lineup was Goldfish, who’s music doesn’t appeal to me anyway.
Everyone is sitting. Not good.
Now however Synergy Live has entered the scene offering a lineup I actually want to see, I could still see most of the bands on Friday night but at least it’s bands that I would go to see. Just try dragging me to a jazz show and see what happens, I assure you, you’ll come off second best. Adding another nail in the coffin is Ramfest’s shift to providing a lineup and atmosphere more inviting to those who have more mainstream taste in music (COU*jocks*GH) while simultaneously increasing the alternative appeal. The organisers of Ramfest claim that they intend for Ramfest to become the best festival in SA and they’re doing pretty well. This year’s lineup contained bands I didn’t expect to see ever; Pendulum are massive international hits, Boo! broke up years ago. The rest of the lineup included a huge number of bands from across the country. Their only real competition are the large festivals up North. It is by far the best festival in Cape Town.
Notice the raised arms, these people are having the time of their lives.
A look at pricing also shows a huge discrepancy, with Daisies weighing in just below R400 and Synergy and Ramfest staying neatly below R300. Why, you ask, does it cost so much more to throw a festival with lineup composed mostly of Cape Town bands than one with a huge number of bands coming down from across the country, an extra stage and 3 bands from foreign shores? The only possible explanation, besides a love of massive profits, is the much bragged about carbon neutral nature of the event. I don’t give a damn. I’d rather save R100 and have the rest of my money go to bringing in Pendulum to rock my face off. It’s been a cold and shitty summer this year anyway, I could do with a little global warming.
While many will simply buy their tickets and head on up I doubt I’l bother. The two things that could draw my presence would be a massive improvement to the lineup or abject boredom from a winter spent indoors, but to be honest if I find myself suffering festival withdrawals I’ll just go to a trance party. At least that way I can take my own drinks to the dancefloor.
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I’d like to add (about the whole ‘carbon neutral’ thing) that I call bullshit. Bullshit and chips. Our campsite at Rocking the Daisies 2009 was one of the filthiest places outside of Calcutta, and nobody at that event besides the half-dozen green people gave rocks about how much they trashed the place.
And trash it they did. There were generators, there were loads of unnecessary lights and electric equipment. Every company, random dude and his dog could use the electrical supply to sell things that came in plastic packaging, and so much trash got trampled into the ground – I seriously doubt that land could be used for anything but festivals for many years to come.
It was no way, shape or form any greener than any festival I’ve ever been to, and compared to most trance parties it was like a land-based oilrig with a leak. Just proof that ‘green marketing’ really works on the masses.