So I've decided to break up my top 1000 singles of the decade list with a fun post. While perusing the Download Festival forum I stumbled across a fun little game where you have to book your own fantasy festival based around some financial and logical constraints. The rules of the game will be listed at the bottom but I thought I'd explain my choices.
Obviously I wanted to reflect my own taste in music but also create a broad festival that would have a wide appeal. I've gone for the glastonbury model and tried to create two big stages with a high callibre of acts. I've themed each section of the line up, in and attempt to draw in different fanbases but also to create a coherent and plausible line up.
I do have to admit that I have bent the rules a little. I ran over budget by £300, 000 but still hit the round figure of £25 million, I also picked some holes in the rules, my Saturday line up is rather stacked with very big acts that would probably cost more than the rules suggest but of course the rules are based on where acts have appeared on previous festivals rather than their realistic monetary values.
Anyway, let's have a look at what I did pick and why. I tried to create a strong theme for each day on the main stream. Friday was the electronica day, Daft Punk where the obvious choice to headline being the biggest name in dance and one of the greatest live bands I've ever seen. The lower card slots were filled with my personal favourite acts, some might argue whether their main stage worthy but they certainly compliment the headliner. Saturday is purely hip hop, and using the rules to my advantage I created a dream line up, unfortunately I couldn't free up the extra two million to fit Eminem in below Jay Z. Sunday I was desperate to get Bowie and Radiohead back to back but it simply wasn't affordable, so I instead stacked up my favourite US rock acts. The Sunday mainstage is a bit spotty themeatically but it's held together by a combination of guitars and experimentation.
As for the second stage, I decided to offer a genuine alternative on each day. Friday being dedicated to metal and I found a slot for my favourite hard act Tool, and tried to compliment them with the Grooves of Down and the experimentation of Mastodon. Saturday was just a dream pop line up, with all the front runners in pop's twenty first century revival, the order can probably criticised but it's my festival and no one other than Lily was ever going to headline. As for Sunday I opted for the best of US alternative and indie, trying to mix some critical credibility with some genuinely popular acts.
As for the third stage I really mixed things up. Friday was my world and folk stage, with Africa's The Very Best Of and classic polish group Kroke heading the bill. Saturday I went for a mix of acts with some big name DJs and electronica acts building to a creative final with The Big Pink. Well as for Sunday that's a real mess we have Manu Chao, Lupe Fiasco followed by some Scandianvian flavour and a Hip Hop DJ.
My intent was to create a diverse and broad festival. It would be huge in scope, and would cater to specialized interests. Rather than basing it around camping, I envisioned a bigger scale version of Wireless Festival or Hard ROck Calling in Hyde Park, where it would be largely dominated by day tickets with a smaller number of campers, as the chances of finding someone who the festival appeals to every day is less likely. You could then talior the advertise to match, hence in MetalHammer or Kerrang it would show Tool & Mastodon at the top of the Bill, where as in Mix Mag Daft Punk would be front and centre and so on. It's worked well for Wireless over the years, this would just be a bigger budget varient.
Oh and I can't believe I couldn't find room for Pavement, Sonic Youth & The Knife :(
Here are the game rules:
You have a budget of £25,000,000 (£25 Million) to spend on a line up. On this line up you must have: -Three suitable headliners -Five further bands on the main stage. -Seven bands on the second stage -Five bands on the third stage.
That means you have 60 bands to book over three days. (Less than what the festival bookers must book). They can be varied in genre but should be linked in theme for each day.
Here are the pricing Catagorys:
The Reformation: Any band who has split-up and returned to the music scene in the past five years will cost you £5,000,000.
Eg: Rage Against The Machine, Faith No More, Pink Floyd, Blink 182. (Maximum One)
The Classic Acts: Any band going for over 15 years or more is deemed "Classic" And will cost you £3,000,000. EG: Metallica, Iron Maiden, Aerosmith. (Maximum One)
The Headliners: Any band who has headlined a mainstream british festival will cost you £2,000,000. EG: Muse, Lostprophets, My Chemical Romance.
The Sub-Headliner: Any band who has played in the two supporting slots on the main stage or headlined the second stage at any mainstream festival Will cost you £900,000. EG: Nine Inch Nails, Razorlight, Queens Of The Stoneage
The Number One Album: Any band who reached Chart success at Number 1 in 2008/9 will cost you £700,000, as long as they did not headline or sub-headline any festival.
Main Stage: Any other bands who have appeared on mainstage will cost you £500,000. EG: Fall Out Boy, Feeder, Skindred
All Other Acts: Any other act who has appeared on a back-up stage will cost you £300,000. EG: DevilDriver, Pendulum, The Ting Tings, Bombay Bicycle Club.
That means you have 60 bands to book over three days. (Less than what the festival bookers must book). They can be varied in genre but should be linked in theme for each day.
Here are the pricing Catagorys:
The Reformation: Any band who has split-up and returned to the music scene in the past five years will cost you £5,000,000.
Eg: Rage Against The Machine, Faith No More, Pink Floyd, Blink 182. (Maximum One)
The Classic Acts: Any band going for over 15 years or more is deemed "Classic" And will cost you £3,000,000. EG: Metallica, Iron Maiden, Aerosmith. (Maximum One)
The Headliners: Any band who has headlined a mainstream british festival will cost you £2,000,000. EG: Muse, Lostprophets, My Chemical Romance.
The Sub-Headliner: Any band who has played in the two supporting slots on the main stage or headlined the second stage at any mainstream festival Will cost you £900,000. EG: Nine Inch Nails, Razorlight, Queens Of The Stoneage
The Number One Album: Any band who reached Chart success at Number 1 in 2008/9 will cost you £700,000, as long as they did not headline or sub-headline any festival.
Main Stage: Any other bands who have appeared on mainstage will cost you £500,000. EG: Fall Out Boy, Feeder, Skindred
All Other Acts: Any other act who has appeared on a back-up stage will cost you £300,000. EG: DevilDriver, Pendulum, The Ting Tings, Bombay Bicycle Club.
Unknown Acts: Acts who have not played a festival before, (or their appearence was so low key only 20 people were there) will cost you £20,000. you can only book these on the third stage, maximum of two per day, six overall.
0 comments:
Post a Comment