Saturday SW4 2011: Not even Underworld could save it
Although the line-up was great, the organisers of SW4 really did skimp on the essentials such as tents that have enough room for people to actually dance instead of constantly being jostled and barged into by others and security staff who could give a fu*k. But it was the sound levels that were the main issue and according to South West Four website it was 'restrained by conditions set on us by the (Lambeth) Council'.
First thing that put us in a bad mood was the queue. Seemed that the vast majority of those attending arrived after lunchtime. The queue winded its way behind the site looping itself and many people pushed in. It took over 30 minutes to get to the front. The second thing was the unfriendly security taking off my bottle of drink which was against the rules stated on their website.
The mud was another downer but that was no fault of the event and we were so glad we wore wellies (unlike some people wearing sandals). However, the event space was way too packed. £50+ for a ticket must have made the organisers a mint. Most of the tents were way too packed so we could only dance just outside the entrances.
Couldn't get any mobilephone 3G connection either so couldn't warn Twitter friend Jackie who wanted to avoid the long queues and be able to meet up. Unfortunately for her, she left early due to some unfavourables ruining her night and took shelter at the local pub where there were some nicer people to mingle with.
The Cocoon tent had appalling sound levels where you could hardly hear the music. The backstage graphics and dancers couldn't save that gagged affair. The Shake It tent had better sound quality but again full to capacity. Whenever it rained it was like sardines and ruined the experience. Most of the crowd didn't seem bothered about dancing either and just chatted which annoyed us even more. If you're not gonna dance then fu*k off! At least Laurent Garnier was to his old reliable good self and stuck around for almost all his live set.
When it came to Underworld themselves, again the organisers must have been screwed down by the council's sound restrictions. Comparing the size of the speakers to other festivals and there looked only to be a 10th of the size you would need for such a crowd. You could hear conversations around you more than the music. Underworld's performance was perhaps one of their worst sets sticking to their brand new album tracks which had a lukewarm reception. They played Dark Train at least which was a highlight and their light show, display screen graphics and effects were quite good. By 2 minutes to 9pm they were off and finished with all of us expecting an encore for at least Downpipe but no such thing happened (again down to the council's strict licence policy). However it just didn't make up for the poor value ticket price. My last memory, when leaving the site was of a violent fight with a kicking of some bloke. No security in sight and luckily a guy steamed in to stop further kicking. Even if SW4 get Daft Punk as their big act I would rather go abroad and spend the extra money than grace my pressence at that festival. Will never attend SW4 again!
After a bit of a wait for taxis we headed back to Steve an Sam's for some louder tunes and the promise of hearing Downpipe! I was also able to play a few new tunes which I think went down well. We left around 1am as a few of us had plans the next day.
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