While still on the topic of festivals, Metalocalypstick
Fest needs to be discussed. The inaugural festival took place in August of 2016
in Valemount, British Columbia. The concept of a festival featuring bands with
female members is a double edged sword. On one hand, it’s an interesting idea. On
the other hand, is it really a good concept to found a festival on? Many metal
fans don’t care whether a band has female members. They only care about the
quality of the music. Some might even consider the prerequisite of having a
female band member to play the festival as a gimmick. Also, the simple fact
that there are less women playing in metal bands than men, immediately limits
the bands that can be considered.
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| Gorgeous surroundings at Metalocalypstick Fest |
Metalocalypstick
Fest should have worked better than it did. The infrastructure of the festival
grounds was in place. Located at the rodeo grounds, there was a already a bar
area and pre-built stage located inside of a permanent tent. Albeit, the stage
is relatively tiny and tent isn’t exactly waterproof. With camping adjacent in
a nice campground (including showers), it should have been a no-brainer. But it
was a disorganized disaster to get settled in for the weekend. No one seemed to
have a clue where to go, and campground employees seemed almost unaware that a
festival was supposed to be taking place. It took until the morning after
arrival for any semblance of organization to occur, and it was in direct
conflict to what little information was provided on the website. I’m not going
to bother with further details, but as one of the very few attendees not
playing in a band, I was less than impressed with the way the situation was
handled.
This
festival also suffered from some major attendance problems. Maybe it was a lack
of promotion, maybe it was the concept, maybe it was the location. I’m willing
to drive several hours for a gorgeous camping spot (which was provided by Canoe
River Campground), but it’s probably not a viable idea for a festival. The
closest major cities are hours away and that kind of commute could be a
deterrent to many for various reasons. Even for a first year festival, the
attendance at Metalocalypstick was dismal.
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| The inside of the festival tent: completely soaked |
Foresight
would have predicted that Valemount would get rain at some point over the
weekend. This is pretty standard for a mountain valley location. There was no
sheltered area for the bands to display and sell merch. I don’t believe the
bands were informed that they would have to provide their own shelter for their
allocated merch area, and really, who the hell wants to display their merch
totally unprotected in a downpour? The bar could have used a better selection
of alcohol. Offering one kind of flat beer from a keg seems like a bad
proposition. It wouldn’t have hurt to have a few varieties on hand in canned
form. Especially considering one can often procure bulk discounts from liquor
stores for events and then return unopened cases and flats. Cider was also on
offer, but would have been better received in canned form. These few simple
ideas would have made it easier for the bartenders and would have provided more
satisfaction to the customers that were there. Again, it turned into a game of
running back and forth to the camping areas in order to drink decent alcohol
previously purchased at a better price.
Very
few people seemed to know when the bands were actually set to take the stage.
The first bands to play were met with an almost completely empty house.
Providing festival-goers with some kind of lineup information would have been
useful. Even if this was as simple as band names and set times printed on blank
paper, or photocopied. Handwritten and photocopied would have been better than
nothing. The food trucks seemed to be closed most of the weekend, which was
probably a function of such low attendance. This, coupled with them being
overpriced, contributed to even less people watching bands as they were forced
back to the camping areas to fend for themselves. (Hopefully attendees weren’t
counting on having food available to them on site and planned ahead enough to
either bring their own, or make a trip to Valemount to get some groceries).
The
thing about festivals is that they’re about the experience as a whole. While
the music itself is a large part of the experience, it certainly isn’t the
entirety of it. There are a many other factors to consider, as I’m sure that
many of those involved in organizing a festival know all too well. For the
attendee, even the cost of tickets themselves can be a deterrent. I don’t have
an excess of disposable income nor the ability to take multiple weekends off of
work, so I appreciate the colloquial ‘bang for my buck’ when choosing whether
to attend a festival. While the lineup contributes greatly to the initial
decision, I’m beginning to consider more and more factors each year. In terms
of western Canadian festivals, higher attendance is definitely a positive
thing. Having the opportunity to meet more like-minded individuals is part of
the experience and better results are achieved from higher attendance. Not to
mention that higher attendance allows the organizers to recover a larger
portion of the costs of putting on the festival in the first place.
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| Predictably, the storm clouds roll in. |
Although
it can’t be controlled, weather plays a large factor in my enjoyment of a
festival. While I have all of the clothing and gear to stay dry, a sheltered
area from both the sun and the rain is preferable. And honestly, it seems like
a good portion of people show up with a single pair of shoes, a hoodie and a
few cases of beer in preparation for the weekend. Sleeping in a soaked tent
with wet clothes cannot make for a fun time, unless you plan on staying in an
alcohol haze for the entirety of the festival.
A few
less-than-great experiences, and I’m starting to reconsider whether it’s worth
planning to attend outdoor festivals. The great experiences I’ve had make me
want to go back, but weighed against some of the less fun ones, I’m beginning
to have doubts about whether I will continue to check out festivals in the
future. I love camping. I enjoy live music. I’m becoming less decisive on
whether the two mix. I realize that a lot of people love the festival
experience, no matter the weather conditions, no matter what the lineup, no
matter what the attendance, no matter what the organization is like. I
sincerely hope that these people continue to support western Canadian festivals
so that the existing ones only continue to grow and better themselves year
after year.
