Is it any wonder that “Poxegen” has been cancelled? Considering that last year there were 308 drug seizures, and 90 other arrests, it’s hardly surprising.
Having ventured to this festival way back when from 2004-2006, I’m honestly shocked it’s lasted this long. Reasons:
1: Bad organisation! Campsites are SO far from the main arena that sometimes it just isn’t worth it.
2: Early closing: Music STOPS at 11. There is then pretty little to do other than stay in the filthy campsite.
3: Filthy: No bins were provided when I was there. At all. For three days. Literally sleeping and living in ones one filth to the highest order. And the porta loos were worse than the one at Sziget, an 8 day festival in Budapest with temperatures of over 30 degrees.
4: Music that makes me sleepy: Coldplay, The Script, The Black Eyed Pease for the 500th time.. SNOOZE! Mainstream much.
5: OVER PRICED: €240 is too much for a basic music festival. Festivals should contain entertainment afterhours to stop the people getting bored, drinking too much, and having a crap time.
6: The threat of being robbed: Out of all the people I’ve known to attend Oxegen in the last few years, the amount of people getting robbed has increased, and nerves are rife. This has something got to do with the percentage of “scummers” that seem to love the festival and view it as an opportunity to rob anything (from booze to iPods).
In this day and age there are so many festival options for revellers looking to enjoy themselves. Fear not! Life Festival is here…
Life Festival:
8-10 June 2012, Belvedere House and Gardens, Mullingar.
I’m a veteran at this stage. Been coming to this festival for 5 years in a row. It started off at maybe just a thousand guests. These days, it’s gotten far bigger, with about 5000 people making their way to Mullingar to enjoy a weekend of music, entertainment and good vibes!
It still has that intimate feel though. Generally when you get lost (who doesn’t at festivals), it only takes a few minutes to find the campsite(there is only one) or one of the stages (there are about 4 or 5).
Expect to find all different types of music, ranging from reggae to techno. And the music doesn’t stop until about 2 am and even after that there are always things going on. It isn’t just about the music, they have workshops and classes and all sorts of fun things to entertain guests. Not to mention the amazing decorations that adorn the entire festival, lighting it up and giving it an almost magical feel.
It is getting more mainstream, which means it will inevitably get ruined. But it’s still a thousand, million times better than Oxegen.
Recent acts that have headlined are: Vitalic, Jeff Mills, John Digweed, and many more! And the price is right. Early bird tickets usually go for about €80. And the food is yummy! And the loos aren’t incredibly putrid (let’s face it, they’re never amazing). I could go on. But I won’t. Check it out for yourself!
Where will you head to during the summer ?
Main Image from wikimediacommons
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