FIREFEST 6 Thoughts and Comments

[kieran]

Well, just having arrived home about 20 minutes ago, there are a few things that I would like to comment on regarding the show

Firstly the venues:
Trent Uni is run by the Uni staff, a nice bunch of people but ultimately with little experience of a 'mini festival' style line up. The security staff are the nicest bunch of guys and gals you could ever wish to meet. However the administrative staff are a little stiff ................and a tad inflexible with their in house policy. Hence with technical issues we were under the gun to get it all done before 12.30 am.............as the venue manager obviously had other things to do on a Friday night!!!

Rock City: RC have just installed a new PA system at a cost of £250,000 approx. Personally I thought the sound was good from where I was standing for most of the day (close to the front) but a little damp back around the merchandise desk area. The venue itself , well.........we have long had our reservations with regard to the general condition of the venue and ultimately there is nothing we can do with regard to how it is presented, run, clealiness, staffing and cost of drinks. These are all 'in house' issues that need to be sorted (believe me the dressing rooms are not great either although they have started a revamp) RC made a FORTUNE from the bar , as they do each year, but ultimately we only rent the venue and all of this is outside of our control. BUT , BUT We are NOT HAPPY with a lot of these aspects , but once again as we only rent the venue . We have always said we WILL MOVE but only if we find a suitable and affordable venue that we can have a successful show in.


The bands:

Well what can I say , a totally idiot free envoirnment .....what a FANTASTIC bunch of people. Nothing was too much trouble for anyone.
The Swedish beer monsters on Friday (by the way that's all of them) were great......although listening to 4 Swedish bands all talking amongst each other backstage sounded like being in a chicken farm!!! Ha Ha......told them so as well.
Lost Weekend....loved them., hardworking and very professional.......underrated by many. Top guys!!!
Eclipse: WOW......great set.........very talented and nice guys.....can't believe they rock that hard as they are as quiet as mice
Bad Habit: Loved their set , as much as I saw , Hal had problems with lap top programmes as their tech got ill on Wednesday and couldn't travel........took 15 minutes to get over the problems so had to cut short set length to stay on time
HEAT: W-O-W......watched from balcony and they were amazing. Dennis Rick and Gary from White Sister were watching with me and commented how great these guys were , especially when they are all under 25....Kenny has been sick since they got back from Japan on Tuesday and honestly didn't know if he even would have a voice late on Friday .....guess he managed pretty ok didn't he!!!!!
Treat.....What can you say, total pros in every way, and always a pleasure to have over.Anders, Nalle, Robert, Patrick and Jamie......thank you once again for your professionalism and a great albeit slightly shortened performance

Saturday
Airrace: great , and according to many the best opening act of any FF........cant really argue about that
Poodles: Didn't see much of their set but caught the last two songs and they really seemed to go down well
DSS: A personal fave , and enjoyed the hell out of it. Mark Mangold didn't have any voice due to a strep throat and despite it all (and the late loss of Terry Brock) soldiered on . Great also to see Al back on stage ...incientally guitarist Jon Bivona plays with TSO .........Mark was also plauged with laptop problems
Romeo's Daughter......well, all I can say about that is....I'M Glad I saw that as it was a little bit special wasn't it!!!!!!!
White Sister: Yet another special performance , I thought they were GREAT last year , but on fire this year. Firmly ensconsed as part of the FF family now!!
Crown of Thorns.....Only saw the first song, but Jean and the boys seemed to have the groove. Very quiet guys , barely a word from them over the weekend but guitarist Tommy Lafferty more than made up for it enjoying a few well deserved bevvies and generally doing more than enough talking for all of the CoT guys............
Honey moon Suite: If there was ever a band that defined professionalism these guys are it. Tom Tremuth their manager (some of you may remember Tom producing a few major label albums for Helix and Anvil back in the day) is a manager that knows what management is about...........it's about getting the band out there and working, it's about being unafraid of taking a chance. I thought the little I saw of Honeymoon summed them up, a well oiled machine not just going through the motions , but playing for the joy of playing to fans the have rarely had the chance to see over the years.
FM: Another faultless performance. I was chatting with Merv and I casually asked him why they were so nervous. Merv simply stated that they were nervous because they wanted to be on top form for the fans.........and they were. Jim is a great addition to the band and a great lad. Now , I must say the sight of Dave Ling in Merv's now famous pink suit wondering out on stage is a sight I will never forget. In fact we had planned to do this at the after show in the hotel until Leigh Matty (Mrs Goldsworthy) saw the outfits and decided to pull a prank on the guys. Unsure of how it would go down, the sight of Merv Notworthy, Pete Juggs, Didge Miserable, Chris Overworked and Steve Overweight all wondering out on stage with Leigh and various members of White Sister .......well we needen't have worried. Merv bent down momentarily to 'fix' one of his pedals bursting into fits of laughter whilst Steve Overland simply said "Oh, Dave Ling got a new Pink suit....blimey, what's he doing here on stage"
And hey.......I was standing beside 'THE VOICE' Steve Overland on stage ....WOW.........can he sing or what!!!!!!!!

All in all it was a GREAT weekend for the crew and bands alike. It has really turned into a family occasion, watching people arrive , hugs and kisses all round, chatting about everything and anything over the weekend, meeting almost EVERYBODY from this board in person , having a joke and a laugh (and a beer or two) with people inside and outside the venues. The new saying amongst the bands and crew alike is welcome to the family............somethiing which I personally and all the reat of the crew consider a great honour to have OUR little festival held in such high esteem by so many people, especially professional musicians who openly tell us that it is the best organised and best run festival they play. Maybe it's because we are all fans first, promoters last.

In the final days we had a little touch of 'squeaky bum syndrome' as the credit crunch has not been kind to anyone over the past year. But thankfully but the end of the show it looks as if we have just about broke even thanks once again to our MAGNIFICENT supporters and personal sponsors. Despite the shows reputation , we still cannot engage any major sponsorship which means we struggle on a day to day basis relying on tickets and merchandise to pay the bills. People constantly tell us if the win the lottery they will pay for the show.....but it's not about that..........if you buy a ticket , a shirt , a dvd, a cd, a programme you help enormously, and we do like to offer something in return...

THE CREW: I cannot compliment them or thank them enough for their time and effort and their considerable talents . Overcoming issues, dealing with issues and making it all work when many would rather walk away.Getting by on 4 hours sleep a night from Thursday to Sunday and walking up smiling and ready to go again the following day(well apart from Tony as he's apparently a cranky sod in the mornings anyway..hehe!!)
With so many shows going under this year , we managed to pull it off once again, and that is not only a testament to our crew, but also to the wonderfully loyal melodic rock fans that turn up years after year to support some of the finest bands in the genre. Melodic rock truly has the most loyal following of any genre of music and we are so lucky to a part of that.

FIREFEST 7
FIREFEST 7 remains a definate option. Although there is one stipulation . We simply cannot do this any more without some type of commercial sponship. We have had many promises and offers over the weekend , all genuine , but I guess time will tell if brave words spoken 'in the moment' will translate into actual translation. I have no doubt that the offers and promises will translate into something than can only be good for us and the sponsors, and we will be working on that from today.
As soon as the crew get some well deserved and long overdue rest we will regroup and hopefully find ourselves in a postion to go ahead with FF7. We have come to realise that FIREFEST is more than just a show, more than an event, it really has become a family.
As corporate entities become larger and more impersonal every day, stinging fans for every penny (silly ticket prices, booking fees, transaction fees,credit card charges) we have established something different. We (that is ALL OF US ) have established something which we at FF firmly believe is worth holding on to. Bucking the trend, retaining a more personal approach (no silly added charges...hey send us an e mail..........we reply!!!) but most importantly we have established something that is OURS...............for fans, by fans..................and in this day and age that is a rarity

Finally I would like to thank everybody that supported the show in any way, Fireworks, ARFM, Rock Radio 106, Purrfest Timing, Simon and Barbara Trott, Graham Hatton, Mark Hobday, Daren Salter, Mark Hobday, Powerplay , Rock It, Georg Siegl, and many more
We had a blast, the bands had a blast and we truly hope you had a blast.
Until next time
THANK YOU
on behalf of ALL at FIREFEST
Kieran


Reply To This Message


Re: FIREFEST 6 .... Thoughts and comments

[alice]

Had to join to post a reply and say that to you Kieran, Tony , Keith and all those who helped, we have now done done five Fire fests. Absolutely love it, you are right about the family atmosphere and ethos, it isn't beaten anywhere else.

This year was the most enjoyable and entertaining by far, we'd support you all the way with taking this forward.

Totally agreed on the Nottingham issue, but the vicinity of hotels are perfect for the many traveling fans. We don't mind and I hope many others don't but it may be an issue for some.

The band selection this year was brilliant as always.......everyone has their own preference and it catered for all. However Honeymoon Suite was an excellent choice.

Tell Keith that if you need a helping hand I know a Hull FC fan who is willing to help.

Can't enthuse enough about the experience we've had over the years and how we appreciate the effort and blood, sweat and tears that go into providing such an event.


alice

[Woody]

not wishing to go off on one here.......but i'm a little peeved about some things mentioned in Kieran's post regarding Rock City getting a revamp & improvements....

I was told in late April this year by David Davies (the owner of Rock City) after it took 4 months to get a board of directors meeting together (don't ask what the ignorant twat was doing for the previous 2 years of my pestering!) to discuss issues i'd raised with the venue including some which need to be addressed in accordance with British Law (thats right folks ROCK SHITTY are breaking the law and doing a damn good job of trying to keep their back's covered.....oh how i laughed when i was told they needed to find out if Rock Shitty was a listed building first!)

well trying to get the point is i was told that due to the credit crunch ALL improvements to the venue would be put off for the foreseeable future.........SO the fact they have spent a quarter of a million on the sound system and are currently upgrading dressing rooms ect..... leaves a very bad taste in my mouth......Fooking lying bastards.....i swear i'm just gonna fooking kill em all.......even their manger of the bog brush and manager of the smoke break corner.......but i'm gonna leave them til last....

Woody

[bombayrob]

...and let's not forget about that fooking (Thanks Woody) CLASS back drop either! ;D

BTW: Sign me up for FF7

[Woody]

your welcome Rob

Woody

[kieran]

Paul, I am aware of the issues you have raised with Rock City , but let me be clear here.
I mentioned new PA (it's new to us ...as in it wasn't there last year...when it was installed I have no clue but after October 23/24 last year). Whether or not it was installed before or after April that you mention in your post I have no idea, I suggest you check this out first And regarding the dressing room re vamp......a lick of paint and repaired delapitated plaster falling off the walls and the adition of a fan and working fridges wouldn't be considered a major overhaul, but it is a revamp.
If you intend to use any of the information in my post, I felt it better to qualify in this post exactly what I was referring to
Cheers
Kieran

[Woody]

Kieran,

I wouldn't use second hand information or drag anyone's name into this without consent , i would need to find out for a fact about these things when / cost ect.... I would achieve nothing shouting my mouth off saying i've heard such an such on the grapevine.....as that would more than likely bite me in the ass.....I'm just annoyed that i feel like i've been lied to , obviously with the current ecomonomic climate their excuse was understandable - so i backed off .

But to learn that ANY improvements have been made in the past 3 years especially when your talking large sums of money, really makes me feel like they are totally unprepared and unwilling to change aspects of their venue and that in all my communictation with Rock City over the years has revolved around them giving me the run around to stop me taking them to court. basically them been a bunch of assholes....

i take your point regarding the backstage revamp - a bit of decorating won't cost much...

given the time frame i would say it was either one thing or the other the PA won...... as i was orignally told about the board of directors meeting not long after last years Firefest, they just needed to word things to me so that i'd go away with an understandable excuse. Obviously telling me they'd rather get a PA wasn't gonna shut me up...

Woody

[tangocharlie]

Some people are never happy.
I think Nottingham Rock City is a very good venue for a rock n roll show. It's not supposed to be Tom Jones at Las Vegas!

Compared to other venues RC is good. The bar staff were friendly, they don't sell beer in cans for highly inflated prices (been to London lately?), there is space to move about and the sound was very good.
I had a few niggles but believe me I'd have far more at the majority of other venues.

Thanx to everyone involved in FF! Another great two dayer!

[Woody]

I know i'm a moany bastard.....hahahaha

"It's not supposed to be Tom Jones at Las Vegas!"

your damn right TC!!! a stage at the back of barn will do me! you ever been to JB's? it makes RC look posh....

I'm from the Black Country so i was raised on room tempreture Special Brew - although if those prices are to be believed i'd sneak in a few cans of Tesco Blue Stripe , pre-warmed on the rad , cold booze is for people who go to wine-bars and big girls blouses....

Sticky floors - hours of fun ( you wanna see my spiderman impression?) & we'll not mention the bogs as it would probably be my fault..... .........

although been able to get in and enjoy the day the same as everyone else would be nice......then i'd join ya in saying bloody moaners.....i'd not moan about lack of seating either......hahahaha!

Woody