Complaints about the sound at Glade 2008

[digital.atmosphere]

instead of complaining spare a thought for those of us who couldn't make it to glade this year and tell me how autechre, frequency 7, remarc, vex'd, doubtful guest and the bug (did he play with any mcs??) were......

[ogriff]

I thought it was far louder than last year at all times! Maybe that's because I was usually right at the front of the tents?

I found the opposite to be true, in Vapor and breaksday in particular - further back was best, especially just to the side of the sound desk. Stood there for Jeff Mills and could nicely feel the bass in my chest the whole set and had to shout at my mates to be heard...

[Five Alive]

i
everyone talks about going abroad to festivals,but i've never seen a line-up at any european festival that remotely compares to the variety and quality that we are given year after year by glade .

I don't know about that ?? The dour festival looks pretty good and is fairly cheap too.
I haven’t been to this myself yet but I do intend to in the future .

A friend from Bristol tells me that the volumes in Europe are much louder too.

Anybody up for it ????

[Sperge]

Just a reminder that there's a poll on whether the Glade should move from Wasing:

should-glade-move-from-wasing-t5889.html

Not that such a move is very likely, since they have four years left on their licence there and setting up at a new location is always going to have its risks, so my betting is that they'll stick with the devil they know. But it's important that the organisers know just how much the sound issue upsets some people who otherwise have no complaints about the festival.

This leaves the other options of:

i) buying off the opposition in the area, as Glastonbury does with villagers in Pilton etc.
ii) lobbying the council to be more lenient on the sound limits.

[Smiffy1001]

It was quieter for a couple of hours here and there...the other 40 odd hours of music were plenty loud enough i thought. Did most of my partying in the day anyway...

No real complaints from me

[Beautfish]

I agree with all the points people have made about poor sound. That said; it didn’t spoil an amazing weekend for me. We resorted to spending most of the weekend at the Origin stage, where the sound was generally fine if you were in the right spots. The weather and the vibe and of course the wicked music they always have there made this quite a good option! And the sound in Sancho Panza on the Friday evening and Vapour on the Saturday wasn’t too bad either (actually Sancho Panza was wicked all weekend – just love that tent!)

On a related issue – did anyone else here them sound-checking instruments right over the top of Meat Katie’s set in the Glade tent on the Friday? You could hear them bashing the drums and testing the mikes out. Ridiculous. I would have been been sooooo pissed if I was him. Me and my mates were all stood there in disbelief shouting for them to shut up!!

[stir]

the sound this year was great,

the whole festival was a bundle of fluffy bunniness.

I cant wait to tell all my friends and family what a banging time ive had

[c-more]

Do you think we can expect an official statement from Glade explaing what the actual situation was??

It was so bad on Friday that there was no atmosphere in any of the tents. How come Sancho Panza can be consistently booming every year and the rest of the tents be so quiet. It doesn't make sense!

I have been to all Glade's and I do not feel as though the sound was as bad as previous years. if this issue is going to continue then im sad to say im done.

[Sperge]

Do you think we can expect an official statement from Glade explaing what the actual situation was??

I'll get one soon. Let's give them a chance to clear up and unwind first.

[liggins]

Do you think we can expect an official statement from Glade explaing what the actual situation was??

It was so bad on Friday that there was no atmosphere in any of the tents. How come Sancho Panza can be consistently booming every year and the rest of the tents be so quiet. It doesn't make sense!

I have been to all Glade's and I do not feel as though the sound was as bad as previous years. if this issue is going to continue then im sad to say im done.

As one of the few who have also been to all five glades I totally agree with c-more,

Each year the ticket price has gone up but the volome has gone down - there are 4 years left on the festivals license does this mean that by the 5th year the tickets will be 250£ but the sound will be in minus decibels.

there are hundreds of new festivals popping up all over the country and thousands across europe and i will have no issues going to the bangface weekender and then finding something else for july in europe (that will probably only cost 50 euros for 7 days).

I think that unless glade can provide some honest intentions for next years sound levels (i.e publishing the sound limits applied to each stages and at what times) I wont bother coming back and am pretty damn sure the rest of the bangface hardcrew will probably feel the same. Without a such large share of the tickets being picked up by the bangface massive or by people who have just consistantly gone to glade without question (like c-more), Glade will need to increase its market share from other areas - maybe get tiesto next year or let tidy run a tent.... ha ha ha

The vibe is great but i'm there for the music

liggins

[Beatmonkey]

instead of complaining spare a thought for those of us who couldn't make it to glade this year and tell me how autechre, frequency 7, remarc, vex'd, doubtful guest and the bug (did he play with any mcs??) were......

ae were my highlight of the weekend.

ae fucking stormed the place, just felt so evil being in that tent. One of those sets that your feet simply wouldn't let you leave, anyone got any good recordings of ae live sets?

[ThE99THReDBallooN]

hey sperge
good to meet you again at glade
can you get any kind of reason at all from the organisers why glade are staying at wasing despite all the issues?
i think it would calm people down alot more if there was some reason giving for staying at wasing depite its strict issues

[chunkyhunk51]

Just couple of points to add....if they can get the sound right on Liquid Stage where there was very little spill maybe Breaks/Overkill + Origin should stage in similar designed tents with damping properties so volume can be cranked to people's liking-I practically lived around the Liquid /Glade Stage all weekend and found volume just right though I did have a slight tinnitus ring in the ears on Monday which made a change from concert 'wooly' ear that normally happens from overdoing it....presume this was due to the clarity of the sound system....or old age! Guess the people who live with their heads in the BassBins will be de-sensitized to noise slightly but even I agree those in Overkill/Breaksday seemed to suffer most from sound-censorship....possibly the decibel meters were in the wrong spot.....can't see the point of monitoring sound level from inside the tent when it's the spill thats the problem coupled with wind direction - every tent has different sound-damping properties . I would've thought most public complaints probably came from spill from the Origin Stage......maybe a comment from the sound tech guys could throw light on these issues so the Glade Team can tackle this problem to the benefit of all .
P.S. What about putting directional sound monitors on the observation towers to monitor spill+pinpoint which stage is causing a problem?
P.P.S.Would a more solid structure with damped walls like the Pussy Parlour solve the problem for the bands that like to crank it louder?

Thanks to Warp Technique,Ulrich Schnauss,System7,Gaudi Dub Lab+many others especially@Inspiral for making my 1st Glade so special....

[Sperge]

hey sperge
good to meet you again at glade
can you get any kind of reason at all from the organisers why glade are staying at wasing despite all the issues?
i think it would calm people down alot more if there was some reason giving for staying at wasing depite its strict issues

Hey Joe,

I doubt I'll get anything new beyond what they've already said. There are sound logistical reasons for why they've chosen that particular location - easy access from London (important for the core demographic travelling in via public transport, as well as proximity to the London airports for international artists), relatively low population density for the Home Counties. Plus there is a highly supportive landowner at Wasing Estate.

Added to that is the five-year deal for Wasing. I'm sure they would rather have the certainty and stability this provides rather than take their chances with applying for a licence which they may not get in a new location. Having said that, if the local complaints have been serious enough, their hand might be forced on that anyway.

If you remember, there was talk a couple of years ago that it may move to Devon, but that was probably a bluff. I do wonder if they might have considered Powderham Castle (venue for the Waveform Festival) as their fallback option.

[lurk]

monitoring goes on all round the festival and the surrounding area, not just in the tents.

one of the glade crew got physically threatened by one of the local residents on the saturday night, while doing the rounds, so this is what they are up against!

[lurk]

If you remember, there was talk a couple of years ago that it may move to Devon, but that was probably a bluff. I do wonder if they might have considered Powderham Castle (venue for the Waveform Festival) as their fallback option.

waveform have moved from powderham because there was no way they'd get the license they want again this year, due to the amount of complaints received last year.

[Sperge]

one of the glade crew got physically threatened by one of the local residents on the saturday night, while doing the rounds, so this is what they are up against!

Do we have any "hard crew" volunteers to accompany the Glade sound crew doing the rounds? I'm sure a few "turn it up chants" and horn blasts would go down really well with this guy...

waveform have moved from powderham because there was no way they'd get the license they want again this year, due to the amount of complaints received last year.

OK, thanks for that. That's one less possible alternative venue then.

[shakyjane]

how about a big massive wind break?

[Sperge]

Or a forcefield?

[shakyjane]

Or have it in scotland instead

[shakyjane]

Right so I've just read about Nick Ladd's response to the sound complaints this year at glade, and this is my response, which i would say direct to him if possible:

Are you taking the piss? Seriously? I have not yet heard such awful sound at a festival or club night in my entire puff. Only one exception, and that was last year at glade. I was back at my tent and i put on my portable speakers, and fuck me they beat the sound levels after midnight by a long shot. I'm not exaggerating either, i suggested that since i had most of deekline's back catalogue that i started rounding up the people in the tent and have a rave back at my camp. Stop deluding yourselves. You are never going to be able to have a proper rave there with those restrictions. I'm so glad more people have noticed this year too. I felt like i was talking to a brick wall last year. I dont agree that you'd get it no better anywhere else. If that were true then how could i possibly have experienced better elsewhere? Please, for the sake of glade get it sorted - because you have everything else spot on.

[9preciousGems]

Right so I've just read about Nick Ladd's response to the sound complaints this year at glade

where?

[kimmy]

People complained about the music coming from our gazebo!! We even got our soundsystem confiscated untill sunday night.

[Sperge]

Forgive me if this is written elsewhere on the site, but is there an actual address, email, contact number or whatever of someone who we can complain to about the noise level restriction? I figure there might as well be a thread or news post about it so we can have a good idea of where to moan to.

Just use the official site's email address: info@gladefestival.com

In the interests of balance, those who thought the sound was ok or had no issue with it should also write to the same address.

[Sperge]

Right so I've just read about Nick Ladd's response to the sound complaints this year at glade

where?

Here: summarise-t5917.html#p86044

It was just a brief phone chat, not what I would call an 'official' response as yet.