There's no way I was going to take time off work so soon after the New Year break, re-pack the bags I'd only just unpacked, and head to the Bay of Plenty for three nights of camping. I hate camping. I hate sleeping bags. I hate roughing it. I hate mosquitoes.
Moving McLaren Valley, now Echo Festival, to Vector Arena and cramming it into two days means I get to see The Flaming Lips, Young Fathers, Kurt Vile and Jamie xx, then head home each night to a proper shower and a clean bed. We lost Soulfest, but we gained Echo Festival, so in my books, the ledger is balanced.
Lydia Jenkin says no:
McLaren Valley Music & Arts Festival was a whole different ball game to me when it was held at McLaren Falls Park. You see, my favourite festivals are all about the experience rather than the line-up.
They're like a mini holiday in a great location with a whole bunch of like-minded music fans. Festivals like Splore and Womad transport you out of the everyday, take you to a beautiful location, and put as much emphasis on the colourful presentation, multi-media and audience participatory aspects, as they do on the quality line-up. It's all-consuming - you're in your own little world of fabulous musical good times, while also soaking up the great outdoors.
I realise McLaren/Echo Festival are making the best of a crappy situation, and I'm not saying a two-day festival at Vector can't be fun and memorable. But where I was really looking forward to camping on the outskirts of Tauranga, enjoying the trees and grass, the stars and the glow worms, I'm just not as enthusiastic about spending two lovely summer days inside the cavernous, dark, sterile arena, which is only a five-minute walk from the office.
An amazing outdoor music festival was going to be a great addition to the Bay of Plenty; another couple of nights with bands at Vector Arena won't be such a significant addition to Auckland.