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Post by daisy on Jul 29, 2019 22:30:03 GMT
We have been gong to Womad for the past 30 years, but unfortunately had to miss it this year. I would appreciate feedback on what we have missed .
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Post by olirow on Jul 30, 2019 0:04:32 GMT
Hi Daisy
There's a bit of feedback on the Webby and countdown threads, and I am sure more to come.
In short, you missed a cracker. Hope you can go again next year, and please do post on the forum, it would be great to have a few more regular contributors.
All the best
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Post by calndel on Jul 30, 2019 8:32:21 GMT
We normally have a post WOMAD thread which we pass a link on to the WOMAD pixies.
We are still in our hols so we would be able to leave a long post until later in the week
As for a quick bit of feed back, it was fabulous!
So many wonderful moments.
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Post by standing stone on Jul 30, 2019 10:05:07 GMT
Sorry you missed it, Daisy. Here's my take..
Great that the shuttle buses now drop off at the Red Gate - made a huge difference for people arriving on site;much better than having to haul kit up the Purple Gate bank. I hope this stays the same for next year.
The addition of the Dining Tent was very popular and welcome - absolutely spot on.
The removal of the Red Tent made no difference.
Rinse and Refill points - a sink would allow plates/bowls etc to be washed properly and re-used. I tried, but unsuccessfully - water spraying everywhere - being wasted and soaking myself and other folk. I gave up using my own crockery. I already had my own metal water container. The Womad ones looked great, but the prices! Same with the t-shirts - and no vests or ladyfit.
Cosmodrome - fabulous. Brilliant experiences. Gladly spent a third of my "must see" time between here and the Physics Pavillion. Greg Foot's Deep Ocean and Everest presentations were particularly engaging.
The Persian Street Food stall just have to be back next year on a larger scale - gorgeous food, well worth the wait in the queue, but queues so long!
Artisan tent resurrected from Rivermead days. Good to see, but not what I go to Womad for. Having sad that, I picked up some more tiles from The Mexican Hammock Company and loved the Genesis Rowley forge - have bought lovely things from there before and I meant to pop back there - hope he returns next year too.
Artists - particularly enjoyed Iberi Choir, Rura, Salif Keita, Dakhabrakha,Immersive Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, The Breath, Sann Salvador, Baba Zula, Orbital and Dhaffer Youssef.
Loos - well stocked with loopaper; less so with the hand sanitiser, evidently regularly emptied, but smelly this year - I had to leave Siam area because of this - the loos nearest the front of the Siam stage were really rank. The ones by the Real Ale Bar were the best.
I missed the art installation - have just seen about it on Womad's twitter site this morning. Wish I'd seen it.
Rubbish - odd to be putting it in an arena bin without having to check on the nature of the rubbish first! Good to see the rubbish points on the campsite being properly used and the site kept clean and tidy.
Flags - Angus Watt's 25 year celebration flags - fantastic - that's 25 years of pure joy. The stripey ones had 25 stripes. Glorious. Thank you.
I took one of those low chairs with me this year - so glad I did - brilliant for those times you just can't stand and dance and just need to sit for a while without getting in the way.
World of Children / Teenagers - seems to grow every year with the result that the younger people are happy and those who want to enjoy the music at the stages are able to do so.d
I have never ever heard anything while passing the Hip Yak Poetry Shack that has made me want to stop and listen. Just me though. Not what I go to Womad for.
I like the crossword.
Vegan beer options needed, please. And more vegan food stalls.
Wellies are glad they went but disappointed that they didn't get to look around this year.
Fire towers - absence a little alarming, though I expect replaced by thermal cameras or some such.
Security - low key and friendly - spot on.
Meeting forum folk and camping with some of them - priceless.
Keep up the amazing work, WOMAD - you create something wonderful.
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Post by barnabybright on Jul 30, 2019 20:55:17 GMT
This was my ninth WOMAD and one of my favourites.
A couple of grumbles - there was sound bleed between the D&B stage and the open air (possibly unavoidable) also and much worse between Disco Bear and the D&B stage (inexcusable). The acoustics in the Siam are and always have been awful - you can hear people talking over the sound of the band playing - this needs addressing either by replacing with a different marquee or putting something in the ceiling to change the acoustic.
That being said - loved: the new layout of the Charlie Gillet stage (felt like a thoroughfare in previous years), the art installation in the woods (fabulous!), the sound system in the D&B stage (much better than the big red).
Musically - unlike a lot of people on this forum I thought that Anna Calvi was one of the best headliners ever and would not be surprised to see her headlining Glastonbury within a couple of years - other highlights were Dakhabrakha, Salif Keita, Dhafer Youssef, and Liniker e os Caramelows. On top of this Calypso Rose was just life affirming and heart warming.
Loved it all and looking forwards to my next WOMAD which may be Gran Canaria in November which I also recommend to all
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Post by beef on Jul 30, 2019 20:57:28 GMT
It felt weird missing my 25th Womadversary, so I played some womad-related CDs at home to fill the void. King Wasiu Ayinde Marshal's "Talazo Fuji Music Party!" certainly does that. Rachid Taha, Papa Wemba, Geoffrey Oryema, Remmy Ongala and Ayub Ogada also played - Womad legends all - RIP.
I didn't put my tent up in the living room after all, but I walked on some grass while taking the rubbish to the bin and that definitely felt like it could have been Womad.
Other than that, I tripped over in the street a few days before Womad, carrying heavy shopping, and suddenly being chased by wasps - I tripped and splat on the pavement, shopping, cuts and grazes everywhere... undignified and painful... but the bruised ribs have been something else - would have been less painful to just get stung. So, even if I'd had womad tickets, I'm not sure that I could have carried all the camping gear to Womad...
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Post by mikey on Jul 31, 2019 5:40:35 GMT
I wonder what the attendance numbers for this years festival were. Seemed a lot busier than it has been in recent years and more crowded than 2014 sell out crowd of 40,000 with sinead O’Connor. Maybe a higher ticket sales due to the great weather or the attraction of ziggy Marley and orbital.
Did not seem so crowded back in 2014 but that was before the site layout was changed round 🤔
good financially for for womad if it was a sell out And helps to make it financially sustainable going forward.
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Post by olirow on Jul 31, 2019 9:18:57 GMT
It definitely felt busier than last year, and the Swindon Advertiser, who may not be the most reliable source, described it as a sell out, but I am not sure it was - eg there was still some space for tents in the campsite, and that's been rammed solid during really busy years.
Of the three days, Sunday was the best IMHO, and the music stunning throughout. The Lemon Bucket Orkestra were brilliant to kick things off, Sofiane Saidi fantastic in the tough mid-afternoon open air slot, San Salvador sang beautiful songs in occitan, then the magnificent Orquesta Akokan and finally when I was thinking Orbital were a great climax to a fantastic festival we had Maija Kauhanen being wonderfully dark and Finnish without trying at all. And that meant missing Dhafer Youssef who most seem to have loved. I'd say it was the best day musically I've experienced in 15 consecutive years of going.
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Post by mikey on Aug 1, 2019 17:24:16 GMT
This is taken from the Guardian and explains why I found the performance by Les Filles de Illighadad very disappointing, something just did not seem right and they did not seem happy to be there.... www.theguardian.com/music/2019/aug/01/fatou-seidi-ghali-the-worlds-first-female-tuareg-guitarist?CMP=Share_iOSApp_OtherI thought the music mixing etc was very hit and mix the first day depending on which stage you were at and was very upsetting for the performers. The worst was for Anandi Bhattacharya where the sound and feedback was terrible at times but she did manage to carry on with a great performance although she and the musicians were all struggling to keep it together at times. |
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Post by standing stone on Aug 1, 2019 19:18:37 GMT
It felt weird missing my 25th Womadversary, so I played some womad-related CDs at home to fill the void. King Wasiu Ayinde Marshal's "Talazo Fuji Music Party!" certainly does that. Rachid Taha, Papa Wemba, Geoffrey Oryema, Remmy Ongala and Ayub Ogada also played - Womad legends all - RIP. I didn't put my tent up in the living room after all, but I walked on some grass while taking the rubbish to the bin and that definitely felt like it could have been Womad. Other than that, I tripped over in the street a few days before Womad, carrying heavy shopping, and suddenly being chased by wasps - I tripped and splat on the pavement, shopping, cuts and grazes everywhere... undignified and painful... but the bruised ribs have been something else - would have been less painful to just get stung. So, even if I'd had womad tickets, I'm not sure that I could have carried all the camping gear to Womad... Mr Beef! Your poor ribs! At least next year you can look forward to arriving at the Red Gate - a massive saving on leg work in terms of distance and flat ground!  |
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Post by standing stone on Aug 1, 2019 19:20:50 GMT
I wonder what the attendance numbers for this years festival were. Seemed a lot busier than it has been in recent years and more crowded than 2014 sell out crowd of 40,000 with sinead O’Connor. Maybe a higher ticket sales due to the great weather or the attraction of ziggy Marley and orbital. Did not seem so crowded back in 2014 but that was before the site layout was changed round 🤔 good financially for for womad if it was a sell out And helps to make it financially sustainable going forward. ..yet for me, it all seemed far less crowded, both in camping and in the arena! I hope it was a sell out too |
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Post by standing stone on Aug 1, 2019 19:23:25 GMT
This is taken from the Guardian and explains why I found the performance by Les Filles de Illighadad very disappointing, something just did not seem right and they did not seem happy to be there.... www.theguardian.com/music/2019/aug/01/fatou-seidi-ghali-the-worlds-first-female-tuareg-guitarist?CMP=Share_iOSApp_OtherI thought the music mixing etc was very hit and mix the first day depending on which stage you were at and was very upsetting for the performers. The worst was for Anandi Bhattacharya where the sound and feedback was terrible at times but she did manage to carry on with a great performance although she and the musicians were all struggling to keep it together at times. I have just read this in the Guardian too and agree - was to be one of my highights but was disappointing. Hope they get another and better chance to shine at Womad. |
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Post by beef on Aug 2, 2019 16:40:33 GMT
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Post by Rendrags on Aug 3, 2019 22:32:25 GMT
Welcome to the forum Daisy. Sorry you missed Womad this year. Hopefully we'll see you in 2020!
Really really enjoiyed Womad this year. It was my 12th, and ranks up there as one of the best. The weather obviously helped, for me it was ideal and no rain for once!!
The attendances on each day seemed pretty good, though not over-crowded. Reports say that 'nearly 40,000' were there over the weekend.
A few thoughts:
Excellent range of artists. I was a little disappointed with the line-up when it was first announced, but I needn't have worried.
Higlights (to name just a few...)
DakhaBrakha (of course!) BabaZula Salif Keita Gili Yalo Rura Kim So Ra Dhafer Youssef
Disappointments: Les Filles de Illighadad - they seemed lacking in confidence and not enjoying being on stage Bantou Mentale - I was looking forward to seeing something akin to Mbongwana Star, but I found them a bit dull and under-rehearsed
Disappointing that sound problems marred some of the performances e.g. Les Filles de Illighadad and Anandi Bhattacharya
The d&B tent was a good replacement for the Red Tent. Impressive sound - espcially effectve for the 'ambient' sound of Szun Waves where the sound moved around the tent
I don't think that there being one fewer tent was an issue. The stage at the d&B was quite low, so further back I couldn't see much (e.g. for Roosevelt Collier). The Ecotricity stage still suffers from being low, alas. At least Orbital had the right idea and elevated themselves so that they could be seen no matter where you were standing!
Great food - especially enjoyed the Indonesian Coconut curry and Exotic Tagine. Just wish I could have tried more! Good range of beers in the Real Ale tent. Particularly liked the Gaucho!
Loos - generally good, though hand sanitiser often ran out. The loos by the Siam were smelly and the smell wafted into the Siam at times. Also the lights weren't working so you had to pee in the dark!
Great to meet up with forum folk on Thursday and bump into several over the course of the weekend
So much other stuff which I didn't get round to exploring (e.g Physics Pavillion, Cosmodrome, Workshops, Artisan Market) but essentially I go to Womad for the music. I go a bit mad and try to see as much as I can, at the expense of doing anything else. Maybe I ought to take it easier next year....
So well done Womad, again. Looking forward to the same in 2020!
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Post by mikey on Aug 3, 2019 22:45:49 GMT
Disappointments: Les Filles de Illighadad - they seemed lacking in confidence and not enjoying being on stage Bantou Mentale - I was
Disappointing that sound problems marred some of the performances e.g. Les Filles de Illighadad and Anandi Bhattacha
Great food - especially enjoyed the Indonesian Coconut curry and Exotic Tagine. Just wish I could have tried more! Good range of beers in the Real Ale tent. Particularly liked the Gaucho!
Must agree with the coconut curry, after they were offering sample tastings all weekend, I had the beef rendang coconut curry on the Sunday night (the last portion) and oh boy was it good. Hope they reappear next year and deserve to become a regular favourite. also, like you, I particularly liked the Gaucho although after liking the first pint on the Thursday, I bought nothing else but Gaucho. A good range of beers but only one for me. |
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