The Good, The Bad and The Ugly BOA 2022

August 11 - 14, Catton Park, Derbyshire
Butthead
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Re: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly BOA 2022

Postby Butthead » Thu Aug 18, 2022 2:05 pm

Struggling to think of anything bad or ugly tbh. First festival in five years and from start to finish it was an absolute blast.

The good: The pre pitched tents are fantastic. Relatively cheap, quiet spot and a really short walk to the arena. Fat Frank's and pre ordered beers also fantastic. We were all able to travel with just a small backpack so it was a doddle.

The bands were amazing, special mentions to Mercyful Fate, Exodus, Testament and Night Flight. In the pit and crowd surfing barefoot during Exodus was some of the best fun I've ever had.

Nice selection of booze and food. Fair enough the food was a bit of a rip off but that was completely expected. The rhuhbarb cider was an absolute game changer.

Met so many sound people, every interaction I had with a stranger was brilliant. Everyone just seemed up for having a good time.

The bad: I suppose the queue to get in wasn't great. We were waiting in it during peak sun and it was pretty brutal. I felt sorry for the folk carrying tons of stuff.

The ugly: Me getting up at 5am to catch an 0845 flight on Monday morning. I was so amped after Night Flight I never got to sleep until 2!

Overall one of the best festival experiences I've ever had and I'll 100% be back.

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Re: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly BOA 2022

Postby lee1234 » Thu Aug 18, 2022 2:39 pm

Jokermunro wrote:
lee1234 wrote:
JPMC wrote:


This confuses me because you wouldn't call the police on people in bathing suits at a beach so why would you have an issue at an enclosed festival?
It's a place EXACTLY to be who you want and wear what you want without fear of ridicule or attack, the exact reason the Sophie Lancaster foundation support the fest and everyone had a go at Vicky no?
It's on private land for one so I'm not sure the Police would do anything bar "cover up you"


Unclear which part confuses you as I thought it was quite clear, but judging from your response apparently not.

I am no solicitor but the last time I looked there are multiple legal statutes regarding behaviour in a public place (this also covers any private land open to the public), ranging from physical actions though to nudity for example streaking at a football game can be considered indecent exposure.

If you were to consider this to be regarded as Naturism (which is in line with your comments regarding a beach) there are clear, published guidelines by the CPS.

A quick search pulled up the below except:

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has published guidelines on how they deal with cases of naturism and nudity in public. Naturism is the practice of incorporating nudity into one’s everyday life. In these instances, prosecutors will seek to balance the ‘right to freedom of expression and the right of the wider public to be protected from harassment, alarm and distress.’ In other words, the prosecutors will look for any indications of a sexual nature in the nudity or where there was any intention to cause alarm or distress. If these are absent, they could take no action against the nudist unless there was actual alarm or distress caused.

The above clearly demonstrates that the police would investigate any complaints regarding public nudity and then the CPS would make a final decision in terms of prosecution. 'Alarm and distress' are very subjective terms to the extent that they have recently caused the police to arrest someone for sharing a meme online.

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Re: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly BOA 2022

Postby Cassius » Thu Aug 18, 2022 5:55 pm

metaldinosaur wrote:Disclaimer: I'm a relatively new dad, so my take on this is probably reflective of that new situation.

I do take your point regarding the festivals nature, and indeed the nature of festivals themselves. And that a parent attending the festival should be the primary manager of their child's wellbeing. Perhaps then the answer is I simply never take my boy to bloodstock?

However, could that right to bring my boy be set equal (or even above - a child's new experience is kinda amazing to see, I'm finding out) to a women's right to push socio-sexual boundaries at a festival (even a fest thats remit is to push boundaries)? It's a tough one. But I know which right feels the most unencumbered with selfishness and ego. Who's experience should be more freely had?


You can take that view but if you do you have to apply it fairly not just to women, if you want to ban boobs because they are inappropriate for children to see (which I think is bullshit anyway because a child is not going to see boobs in a sexual way) then you have to be fair and apply it across the board. This means no boobs, no sexual references, no swearing, no violence or violent imagery, no drunkenness and basically the festival collapses

A festival is an adult environment by default full of drunk adults doing adult stuff. Nothing about what it is child appropriate as its a load of adults cutting loose and getting fucked up for 4 days solid

I agree it is outright irresponsible of Bloodstock to promote the festival as child friendly and if they do allow children they should be making it clear to parents they are bringing that child into an adult environment.

Also on this particular topic of women going topless everyone jumps on the sex angle but I dunno if anyone noticed but it was fucking insanely warm last weekend. I know I wanted to and did wear as little clothing as physically possible due to the heat and if I get to air out my sweaty man tits in the 35 degree heat to cool myself down then every women has the right to do the same

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Re: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly BOA 2022

Postby Noodle » Thu Aug 18, 2022 11:38 pm

The topic of nudity and inappropriate attire comes up every year. You're allowed to look away. You're allowed to turn your children's heads the other way. My 7 year old Son goes every year, and he knows he's likely to see some "sights". He also doesn't care. The time to potentially worry is if one of these people approaches him, and the context would determine the outcome of that.

There was a time that Bloodstock didn't cater towards kids, but if memory serves there were suggestions that they offer *something* as the atmosphere has always lended itself well to feeling safer than most for families. If you were to look at what's on offer in isolation with child tickets, early morning kids movies, kids entertainment (last year had Slay Duggie in VIP), a quiet camp away from all the partying, you'd be forgiven for thinking it's a festival aimed at kids. Then you look at what else is on offer, then realise it's a heavy metal festival.

Prepare your kids for what they might encounter, don't bring them or don't come if you think it's going to cause damage. From the number of returning families each year I'd be willing to make the call that most kids cope fine. If they're not fine, believe me they will tell you!

Now to copy and paste this into a notepad ready to post next year

As a side note, Australia has a slogan for the heights of hot weather: "Slip, Slap, Slop". Slip on a shirt, Slap on a hat, Slop on the sun cream. They also suggest staying out of direct sunlight for the midday hours, but the issue of finding shade this year has already been well documented. But those who want to counter the argument that going topless is a good idea is welcome to use the above.
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Re: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly BOA 2022

Postby slayerslays » Fri Aug 19, 2022 9:44 am

Good: The spuds and herb stuffing on the rotisserie stall. The line-up.
Bad: Having to leave the Sophie tent when MH came on.
Ugly: Idiots pissing next to tents and playing stupid pop music at full volume...

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Re: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly BOA 2022

Postby Butthead » Fri Aug 19, 2022 1:27 pm

Sorry mate that was possibly me playing the pop music. I don't get out very often.

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Re: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly BOA 2022

Postby Baldy77 » Fri Aug 19, 2022 1:44 pm

Good: security were on top form, outstanding. The toilets were amazing and always had toilet roll, again outstanding. The bands (especially Bloodywood). The sun is better than rain and wind.

Bad: the sun turning the new blood tent into a radiator, the metal posts were boiling.
The heat meaning people had to be selective about which bands to see.

The Ugly: finding shade, damn you sun. Walking past the chicken place near new blood buying a water only to find they had put the price up a few minutes later, tossers.

Bloke with a Bon jovi T-shirt, very amusing, kept seeing him throughout the weekend with the same shirt. Maybe he had a few or he was just smelly.

The fairground. People enjoy it but I really don’t see the point and it’s annoying that the last thing you hear leaving isn’t a band but fairground crap.

On a side note about family friendly. I believe kids are welcomed but it is a metal festival primarily for adults so parents are obviously aware of this. I would never bring my kids personally for the whole weekend but best of luck to those that do.

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Re: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly BOA 2022

Postby Digg3r » Fri Aug 19, 2022 2:32 pm

Wanted to finally join the community here and feels like this is a good thread to start with. I have been coming to BOA since 2010 and have always had a great time. This years event was no different but there was definitely room for improvement this year.

The Good:
- Generally the bands I saw were great (Ferocious Dog, Lorna Shore, Exodus and Lost Society being stand outs for me).
- Special Mention for Ferocious Dog though. Enjoyed them immensely and feel they went down well with the crowd. My friends and I left that tent with huge grins on our faces.
- Toilets were somewhat better this year than previous years, always good.
- Despite not being targeted at everyone, I enjoyed the presence of the Nordic Spirit Guitar Hero area/competition. It was a really nice place to sit, play games, meet people and have a bit of fun.
- Same BOA atmosphere.
- As a sound tech by trade, I was very happy with the sound this year. Not a single band I watched had sound issues at all

The Bad:
- Food Prices
- Lack of additional water points/shade in the arena
- The handling of Machine Head's "Secret" set, especially with people packing into the tent like that. I was sensible and decided to just stand outside and listen to them but I know people were suffering in there.
- I found a lot of bands to watch over the weekend but did find this lineup to be lacking. We all have our own tastes but more trad/power/folk would have been great.
- Speaking of lineup- The announcements for next year were a joke. Love Megadeth but seen them so many times so it won't exactly be special. Decapitated, Gatecreeper and Devil Driver are decent but by no means exciting bookings. The rest of them do absolutely nothing for me. I really hope that next years lineup will be more varied and enjoyable for everyone. A few good Power/Folk bands would make a massive difference to those who are into that kinda thing. If next year continues like this announcement suggests, i will probably be finding a different festival to attend instead.

The Ugly (Nit-Picking):
- Even though a lot of people enjoyed them, I was very disappointed with Mercyful Fate's show. I have been a fan since I got into metal and was looking forward to them but they just didn't hit the mark.
- HEAT (think people have said enough about this)
- The gatekeeping asshole who felt it necessary to try and lecture me on the "real" meaning of my tattoos (which are from games and books that I have loved for most of my life)

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Re: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly BOA 2022

Postby slayerslays » Fri Aug 19, 2022 3:54 pm

Ah Digg3R. You obviously did not hear the beginning of Behemoth's Set....we couldn't hear Nergal either....only for a few minutes though...otherwise it was good.

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Re: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly BOA 2022

Postby Digg3r » Fri Aug 19, 2022 7:13 pm

slayerslays wrote:Ah Digg3R. You obviously did not hear the beginning of Behemoth's Set....we couldn't hear Nergal either....only for a few minutes though...otherwise it was good.


Ah, didn't catch this as I decided to give Behemoth a miss this time round

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Re: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly BOA 2022

Postby Tet » Sun Aug 21, 2022 10:51 am

Good
  • Catching up with friends.
  • A very small number of bands.
  • Cleanliness of toilets, particularly in the camper van field, but in general too.

Bad
  • The heat. Ye gods, the heat.
  • Only two water points in the arena. What on earth was that about? You knew it was going to be a problem. Put in 4 or 6. The incremental cost to the festival is minimal, and it saves people having to queue in full sunlight to get water, which was a real problem at times.
  • With a small number of exceptions, the lineup.
  • VIP entertainment. Definitely a step down compared to previous years.
  • Despite being one of only 3 people I saw at the festival wearing a facemask, I still caught Covid-19 :-(

Ugly
  • People complaining about what others are (or aren't) wearing. It's a festival. Let people wear what they like. For me, that's up to and including full nudity, although I appreciate that others have different limits. If you think an uncovered breast or a penis with a sock on is in any way inherently sexual and problematic for children to see, then you're the one with the problem. Take a look at yourself and try not to be so uptight.
  • Unwarranted rants about Vicky's supposed transphobia. She make a stupid mistake. She explicitly apologised for it on three separate occasions, yet it's not enough. Despite not actually saying anything transphobic in the first place, some people are unable to forgive even the slightest transgression. You have to wonder what more she should do at this point, or whether she is seen as irredeemably tainted for the rest of her life. It's way, way out of proportion with anything she said and leaves me disappointed and saddened at the state of the metal community.
Last edited by Tet on Sun Aug 21, 2022 3:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly BOA 2022

Postby new empire » Sun Aug 21, 2022 1:07 pm

The good: Great atmosphere. Saw very little in the way of bad tempers despite the relentlessly hot weather. There were enough bands I wanted to see to keep me interested for most of the weekend. The food stalls I found to be very good in comparison to previous years. Sure they were pricey, but I brought enough food to keep me going and only needed one decent arena top up meal a day. Mostly very good sound on all the stages for the sets I saw. Meeting tons of people again and everyone seeming to be very happy with the exception of the heat. Bogs and showers were all working, cleaned regularly and never vomit inducing. Security, as always, was brilliant. Pretty much everything ran smoothly (that I saw anyway) and to time.

The bad: There could have been more shade. There could have been more water points in the arena. But we all knew it was going to be a hot one. Hats were essential, especially if you're old and balding like me. I opted for white t-shirts instead of the more traditional black t-shirts. Not that it made much difference it seemed but at least I tried. I couldn't get pissed. Every beer I had was usually followed by 2 -3 pints of water. I eventually gave up and just drank water. I like getting pissed as it makes me more sociable. I don't drink spirits as they make me punchy so that was never an option. I still managed to have a grand old time, albeit a more quiet one than usual. VIP bar gripe - We don't want extra bands in there. We don't really want an "anything but metal" dj set every day. We're at a metal festival. We're there for metal. If you really want something other than metal try silence so we can chill out and talk to each other without shouting in each others faces. More chilling out and seating and shade/cover is pretty much what everyone I spoke to wanted. We have music in the background from the main stage so nothing else is needed.

The ugly: The welfare tent being pretty much full all weekend. Sure there could have been more shade and water but people could have been a lot more sensible too. Sunburn/heatstroke took a heavy toll. People, it's up to you take care of yourselves too.

The issue of tits. The only issue I have with the tits is that as I'm an older geezer I'm bothered that people might think I'm a dirty gawping old man if I'm looking in the vague direction of a pair of unfettered fun-bags. I'm sure the ladies letting the air get to their skin are adult enough realise that people might be looking near them without actually perving at them though. If you don't like tits look away from them if and when they hove into view. If you don't have tits don't tell people who do have tits what they can do with their tits. Their tits, their rules. Blokes tits are out and equality is the name of the game after all.

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Re: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly BOA 2022

Postby Jay1993 » Sun Aug 21, 2022 2:26 pm

Tet wrote:Unwarranted rants about Vicky's supposed transphobia. She make a stupid mistake. She explicitly apologised for it on three separate occasions, yet it's not enough. Despite not actually saying anything transphobic in the first place, some people are unable to forgive even the slightest transgression. You have to wonder what more she should do at this point, or whether she is seen as irredeemably tainted for the rest of her life. It's way, way out of proportion with anything she said and leaves me disappointed and saddened at the state of the metal community.[/list]


As in during the festival? Can't say I heard anyone mention it. :?

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Re: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly BOA 2022

Postby Tet » Sun Aug 21, 2022 5:10 pm

new empire wrote:VIP bar gripe - We don't want extra bands in there. We don't really want an "anything but metal" dj set every day. We're at a metal festival. We're there for metal. If you really want something other than metal try silence so we can chill out and talk to each other without shouting in each others faces. More chilling out and seating and shade/cover is pretty much what everyone I spoke to wanted.

Interesting. That's the direct opposite of what I and everyone else I spoke to wanted. I want more bands on the VIP stage. I felt that stage was distinctly underused compared to previous years.

I agree with the "anything but metal" DJ sets. Trying to get away from a dreadful Lamb Of God headline performance, I headed to the VIP bar, only to be confronted by Deee-Lite's "Groove is in the heart". No. Just no. I'm at a metal festival. I left the arena to avoid the crap metal there. I was hoping to find some better metal in the VIP bar. Not that. There is a time and a place for a small amount of non-metal at a festival like that. That wasn't the time or the place.
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Re: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly BOA 2022

Postby Noodle » Sun Aug 21, 2022 9:06 pm

Jay1993 wrote:
Tet wrote:Unwarranted rants about Vicky's supposed transphobia. She make a stupid mistake. She explicitly apologised for it on three separate occasions, yet it's not enough. Despite not actually saying anything transphobic in the first place, some people are unable to forgive even the slightest transgression. You have to wonder what more she should do at this point, or whether she is seen as irredeemably tainted for the rest of her life. It's way, way out of proportion with anything she said and leaves me disappointed and saddened at the state of the metal community.[/list]


As in during the festival? Can't say I heard anyone mention it. :?


I have to say this is the first I've heard of it too. A few conversations about my gender and feeling comfortable, but I can't recall much about Vicky other than me saying my transition is completely unrelated. If we're referring to social media though, I have little to say on that as I prefer to use it to merely stay in touch with people rather than allow my eyes and sanity to be bombarded by what passes for "debate".

Out of interest, what kind of people have been continuing to complain?
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