Spratton - afterthoughts!

[Lew Bear]

For all those who attended Spratton, I'd like to see what you thought about it

A good mix of brutal honesty (so I can learn how to improve it) and good testimonies (so I dont end up hacking my wrists off) would be very nice

I already have many ideas on ways I and the team can better it, but I obviously cant be everywhere and cant see everything, so the more input we get, the more improvements can be made

[Barry O'Brien]

well it was bloody great but I guess you want something more constructive than that? will get my thoughts together for The Greyhound on Sunday?

[Djay Buddha]

Not a lot to say except brilliant!!
I know I know you want to discuss what worked and what didn't or could be improved :)
The overall sound was great thanks to a quality PA However the lack of time for band change over and little time for sound checking was a problem. I know it is difficult A) when so may artists want to play and B) and doing a quick turn around to keep the audience happy..

Would it be feasible to have a small acoustic stage or busker area nearby where solo performers could entertain the audience while the main stage is being set up for the next band? Maria did it that way at Lossie and it worked very well there..
Also I think the publicity/marketing of the festival needs to be improved to help make it known as the best village festival in the world..
Other than that it was all good from my point of view

[Broon]

DJ makes a good point about the time in between the acts. I think that there was something missing there. Maybe even playing music over the PA next time while the other band are setting up will suffice, but I think the audience needed something to keep them occupied..

[duffy's cafe orchestra]

Thought it went very well and aprieciated all the hard work form those on the "shop floor"........

Sound checks, may be an idea to have a wee busking area half way down the tent power by 1 mic and say a 30watt combo to keep folk occupied whilst artists are sound checking and maybe an extention speaker outside the tent to attract the attention of folk passing by.

A table inside near the bar where all can sell thier merchandice with loads of flyers and stuff promoting the afcollective.
Other wise an excellant job Lewis and staff, well done, and the music goes round and round........duffy

[Lew Bear]

Yeah, one of the problems I had spotted was the soundchecks. Both as an occasional problem for the audience and as a lot of hard work for Rick, myself and Jeremy. The most annoying thing is I'd considered the idea of putting my 80w combo amp so that solo artists could do a few between set ups to keep people entertained and to ease the burden on the soundcrew, but ended up lending that amp to the youth bus - even more frustrating they never bloody used it!

This will be done next year. Also, I intend to vary the set times to allow more people to play and to allow more time for soundchecks

For instance, the audience seemed to get bored with 50 minutes of some solo artists, or people without percussion. I dont believe this had anything to do with the quality of the artists, but more that an act like that, while always loved, can rarely hold the attention for an extensive time. Cutting these acts down to 35-40 minutes will allow more room to manouvre and keep people interested

Also, the soloists and side projects set lengths can then be boosted back up by giving them time on the "busker set up" between acts, so no one really loses out anyway

Keep em coming!

[Jo2]

I wasn't there, obviously, but the only complaint I ran into regarding the festival as a whole was on the Talkawhile (Fairport Convention message board) site. Someone had complained about the bass from the second stage being heard through the music on the main stage.

This may tie in with the soundcheck problems, but also likely the layout of the festival stages themselves as far as distance and which way they're aimed, etc. It's something you might want to address in one of your meetings. (I'm willing to bet that the main stage sound bled over into the second stage's area as well...)

[Lew Bear]

Actually Jo, overall there wasnt any real problem with that compared to previous years - certainly not with any spillage from main stage onto 2nd anyway.

However, we did get one complaint about overspill from us to main on the fri - curiously, when one of the bands brought their own sound engineer in and he changed the set up and boosted the bass and overall volume.

As far as I know there wasnt a problem any other time - and I cant imagine no one would've mentioned it to me

However, it appears all but 100% certain next year will be on a larger site, so we'll be able to spread things even more and minimise any effect that that did have

Jo2 said:

I wasn't there, obviously, but the only complaint I ran into regarding the festival as a whole was on the Talkawhile (Fairport Convention message board) site. Someone had complained about the bass from the second stage being heard through the music on the main stage.

This may tie in with the soundcheck problems, but also likely the layout of the festival stages themselves as far as distance and which way they're aimed, etc. It's something you might want to address in one of your meetings. (I'm willing to bet that the main stage sound bled over into the second stage's area as well...)

[Barry O'Brien]

Sound on both stages was top quality and v clear; certainly on Saturday there was no seepage into Main Stage both PAs seemed pretty directional?