First festival

[CraigG]

Further to somebody's first tour post earlier, thought I'd post this one.

 

I'm working as a main stage LX tech and board op at a festival later this month, a medium sized one of probably about 7000 persons, on site for about a week a few days of which are the actual festival.

 

Anybody got any tips for things for a festival crew first timer then, be it technical things or just general helpful comforts?

[jonathanhill]

Waterproof everything, shoes, trousers, coat, hat. But shoes most importantly for me as wet feet are the worst.

[themadhippy]

keep an eye on the turdis cleaning crew,the minute they've finished is the minute you vist

[nb705]

Bring a kettle

[ImagineerTom]

GOOD boots

A second pair of boots for when the first pair become too muddy/wet

However many pairs of thick socks you're thinking of packing, double it; you will use them all.

Babywipes; a couple of packs so you're never more than 10ft from some - they get used for everything!

Some big, sealable plastic bags (I use those vacuum storage bags) first to keep your clean clothes in and later to keep your dirty stuff in without cross-contamination.

If you smoke or have any other substance/liquid/comfort item that you NEED then bring enough with you on the first day for the entire duration of the trip; you never have time to get off site to a shop when you really need to.

 

 

and putting my gaffa's hat on....

A refillable water bottle as the biggest single cause of accidents and mistakes on festival site is dehydration - personally I like bottles with in-built filters as the water on site is never "fresh"

Sleep - festival sites are basically 24hr operations and you can work a long day and keep partying through to the start of your next shift; we've all done it but you'll end up as a useless zombie. Whilst you might get a light ribbing absolutely no-one will actually judge you for going and getting a good 8 hours sleep so that you're fresh and ready for the next shift.

PMA - festivals can be amazing fun but they're also a long hard day, sometimes in 12" of mud with generators that keep cutting out and artists who expect you to create them an O2 scale show in 5mins using nothing more than their vague description "make it look better". Being able to smile, shrug and find a solution to keep the show going is what will get you booked again and again; you're going to be surrounded by the most amazing sense of comradary as absolutely everyone will muck in to help you when you need it; but at 3am in the pouring rain when someone asks you for your help you've got to be willing to help them.

[Young Johnstone]

Sun cream! Its as important as waterproofs! As is a decent hat to block the sun.

If you've got visiting crew with an artist, they'll appreciate you making them a brew when they arrive. It'll put them in a good mood and start things off nicely.

 

Take spares of clothing like socks and skivvies and other shoes.

 

Take a spare torch, and batteries. Then take another spare torch. The amount of times someone will borrow it then forget to give it you back, and your screwed without one on a fezzy.

 

Get your hands on a 16 to 13 and keep it to your self for charging your phone etc.

Mark all your phone chargers, tools etc so you KNOW they're yours.

 

Take a decent air bed and pillow etc if your camping, it'll make a difference. Sleep when you can, we all go and drink after (<- lies, honestly) but remember you have a job to do and if your hungover you may be unfit to do it safely. Professionalism and all that.

 

Ear plugs and spares again.

 

Don't skip meals, you need to eat properly on those gigs. Know your body's limits, don't push so hard on the first few days that may mean your buggered for the rest of the week.

 

HAVE FUN! Festivals are a great mix of people and music. Enjoy every second of it.

 

Sorry this is a bit of a list but its all in my head at the moment as I'm in the middle of festival season myself!

[themadhippy]

Dont forget the gig butt cream

[Young Johnstone]

Dont forget the gig butt cream

 

 

Gold Bond is what you want!

 

To add to my last post:

 

Gloves. Invest in some decent ones like Dirty Riggers. They'll save your hands no end.

 

Tape and a sharpie. Label blooming everything and nice and clear so anyone can read it in torch light when the sh## hits the fan.

It needs to make sense too. Writing HOT on a soca means nothing. Writing ADVANCE TRUSS SL HOT means a lot more. Even better if you have a plan taped to the dimmer with all that info on there.

 

Keep dimmer world tidy. (You'll probably have a dimmer tech that'll look after that anyway I presume)

If your cable runs are a mess it'll take longer for you to sort on the Out. Rig for de-rig is a useful saying.

 

If your unsure on anything, ask. Don't presume and just do it. No one minds questions as long as there not really stupid.

 

If you leave stage / foh let people know where your going. It may be that they'll need you five mins later and haven't got the time to try and find you because your favourite band is playing stage 2 and you want to see them!

 

Try and keep out of the way of artists, and don't go running up asking for a 'selfie'. You'll look like a k##b and its unprofessional. That's not to say ignore them if they say hi though. A lot of them or still normal people at the end of the day.

 

Finally, your pass is your life so don't loose it. Keep it attached to you at all times and make sure its attached somewhere where it can't fall of, get caught on anything or look like gold to a pikey little punter who wants to pinch it.

Make friends with security and feed them brews so they'll be on your side!

[kerry davies]

Food, clothes and shelter then sanitation and after that anything you need to perform your work.

 

The guys are right in that you really do need to put your personal health and well being first because you are no use to man or beast if you don't. I used to get laughed at for my hammock but I was working really long hours for weeks. "Why walk, when you can drive, why drive when you can be driven" goes as far as "why stand when you can sit, why sit when you can lie down" on really long jobs.

 

Socks, sunburn, attention to detail on the in, food before working, somewhere secure for tools and kit, follow site rules and don't give anyone a hard time, muck in where needed but don't take on what you can't do.

 

One personal tip for your particular job. Take rubber gloves, as well as working gloves, just for the out. Power cables are run backstage, around the fence-line, around the tents. Everywhere that guys piss in the dark. :(

[timmeh2]

Hi

 

Can't really add much to the solid advice but has been given so far. But here's a few tips from moi.

 

Don't get lost.

Sounds silly but on a huge multi-stage site it is very easy to get disorientated especially during build as the scenery changes rapidly. I used to carry around a pocket GPS with the stages programmed in. Maybe that's a bit extreme but I have had crew go MIA and turn up a little while later.

 

Be wary of site food.

Didn't happen in this country but on day 2 we got fed something dodgy and half of us went down with food poisoning. Really unpleasant and trying to do your job with your guts doing somersaults wasn't fun.

 

H&S is everyone's responsibility

If you see someone doing something stupid, don't hesitate to pull them up on it. An accident on a greenfield site can quickly snowball into a massive issue. That doesn't mean you have to become the safety patrol with your hi-vis and clipboard (there's already plenty of those) but if there's someone working on your stage and you don't like it, then say something or have a word with your crew boss.

 

Finally, make friends and have fun. Don't exceed your limits when it comes to R&R. If you can't handle your drink, then indulge less.

 

All tbe best

Timmeh

[CraigG]

Thanks for all the replies guys, definitely sounding like look after yourself as best you can, (kind of as you would as a punter just a lot more haha), and then get ready for a pretty tough but fun gig!

[Leggy]

On a work related note, as you're running FOH a large copy of the plot with fixture numbers on that you can tape to the wall of the FOH tower for visiting LD's to refer to. Make sure you have a copy of the patch too. You might know the rig inside out but they don't.

Also, if you're doing late night programming sessions, try and have a fan heater handy. It gets mighty cold when you're sat still outdoors in the middle of the night.

If possible have the console on a table and make sure there is a chair,you'll be more productive if you're comfortable. Get a second chair for you when the visitor is programming.

A kettle and everything you need to make a brew at FOH is essential*, you'll go long periods when you can't leave and as mentioned it'll keep visiting LD's happy too. Don't forget the biscuits :)

And finally, if you do have a visiting LD programming late at night, make sure he's getting on with his work. Don't let people distract him, but also don't let him fanny around. He needs to respect that you and your crew have to be up in the morning to run the stage and therefore complete his work as fast as possible so every one can get some rest. If he's just wasting time don't be afraid to threaten that the power WILL be going off soon.

 

 

 

 

*well, maybe not essential but highly desirable!

[adam2]

Someone has already suggested a spare torch, preferably 2 and batteries, to which I would add spares of every tool or useful item, except of course the unreasonably costly or heavy items.

 

Someone else has pointed out the need for proper rest, to which I would add, consider taking a cotton blanket or two for sleeping. The usual choice of a cheap synthetic fibre sleeping bag is liable to be uncomfortable in warm conditions, and the synthetic material attracts and retains body odours. A cheap synthetic sleeping bag is often washable only in theory and ends up being discarded.

 

Cellular cotton blankets are sold cheaply on fleabay and elsewhere and may be repeatedly machine washed without harm.

[MrBoomal]

Take advice from the armed forces.

 

"Don't stand when you can sit. Don't sit when you can lie down,

 

Eat and sleep whenever possible"

 

 

 

[peza2010]

chuck a couple of lighters in your bag, and even a pack of rizla, regardless of if you smoke or not.

 

it gives you lots of bargaining power in the early hours. ;)