My First Festival
In just over two weeks I will be departing Lincolnshire in the company of my dear friend Lellibo for that great celebration of all things rock and metal, Download Festival 2013.
http://www.downloadfestival.co.uk/news
I’m rather excited. I’ve never been to a music festival before. I’ve never been interested in that sort of thing. I was not a normal teenager or student; now I’m getting on a bit I am interested in music (if you hadn’t noticed). I have no idea what to take, although I have been trying to find out. The Download website is quite helpful and when I contacted the organisers with questions they were answered promptly. I also found a festival survival guide written by a veteran of Download, especially for people going to Download for the first time. There’s a link to it on the Download website.
http://www.downloadfestival.co.uk/info
I’m going to meet up with an old friend I haven’t seen in a few years, and two new friends that I’ve yet to have a chance to meet up with. I hope to also meet new people. I don’t find it particularly easy to make new friends or even acquaintances, but I want to try. As well as a celebration of my 30th birthday this trip is also going to be a celebration of how far I’ve come this year. I still have trouble dealing with people (and occasionally leaving the house – people are scary) but I managed to go to London and meet a large group of strangers, and to go to a concert in Nottingham on my own, so this will help me prove to myself that I can do this stuff.
This morning I’ve been going through the line-up and stage times, trying to work out which bands I definitely want to see. There are quite a few. If I get my timing right I should be able to see most of them. Bands I have no intention of missing include HIM, Korn, Motorhead, Young Guns, 30 Seconds to Mars, Stone Sour and Sacred Mother Tongue. There are a few that I would like to see but I don’t mind if I miss a bit of their set getting between stages: Down, Papa Roach, 3 Doors Down, Turisas, Iron Maiden, QOTSA, Alice in Chains, Rammstein and Limp Bizkit. The rest of the time I’ll just catch whoever I like the sound of.
http://www.downloadfestival.co.uk/line-up/all
I did a quick calculation and worked out that it might be expensive for the weekend (we’ve got 5 night camping tickets) but even if I only see those 16 bands, that’s £12.81 per band with free accommodation plus £20 towards petrol. You can’t get concert tickets, accommodation and train tickets for that; such good value for money! Now I just need to get some spending money together 😀
I’m planning to write about my experiences, and have purchased myself a notebook to write everything down in while I’m at the festival. I’m on the cadge for a camera to borrow so I can take some decent pictures. While I am getting one of the lockers and will be able to charge my phone, I want to save the battery for emergences, for example when I inevitably get lost, confused or forget my medication and need rescuing by my friends who I’m going to issue with spare inhalers for me.
So for the duration of Download I will be offline.
When I get home I plan to sleep, shower and start writing about it. Not necessarily in that order. It might take a couple of days for the band reviews to get published but they will be. In addition to band reviews I intend to write a general commentary on the festival as a whole, and a discussion of my reactions to it. I’m wandering how I will react to all the people, the constant stimulation and general atmosphere. I don’t generally do well in loud crowded places for more than a couple of hours at a time (it’s a wonder I survive concerts).
If anyone has any survival tips for the festival I’d appreciate the advice (or if any of my friends/relatives want to contribute to the 30th birthday spending fund – you know where I am).
Bye for now,
Rose
Everything Is Better With Dragons 