Laneway is returning to Auckland's Silo Park next year, but is it a good thing? Chris Schulz and Lydia Jenkin have their say.
Chris Schulz says Yes:
I realise it's flawed. Anyone stuck behind punters standing on the grassy knoll during Banks' packed set knows Silo Park isn't the perfect place for a music festival. I think I saw Banks' face once, when the crowd swayed one way, and the tree in front of me swayed the other.
Likewise, that stage set up inside a silo surely gives the sound techs nightmares for weeks. Ratking's show this year included so much bass I thought the silo was tipping over. And the lack of grass is a bit of a bummer. I had heatstroke for two days after this year's Laneway festival, and I know I'm not the only one.
Crowds in front of the Mysterex Stage at St Jerome's Laneway Festival at Silo Park, Auckland. Photo / Jason Dorday
But after three years spent running between stages past silos, food trucks and those horribly long beer queues, I've come around. I kind of love Laneway at Silo Park. It just seems wrong to consider shifting it anywhere else.
There are just too many memories down there now: getting stuck in the sweatiest moshpit ever during Danny Brown's insane set; shouting every word back at Killer Mike and El-P during Run the Jewels' NZ live debut; rocking out at the front during Royal Blood's rock assault; and standing transfixed as FKA Twigs wailed and caterpillared around the stage.
If this is the last year Laneway's at Silo Park, don't be alarmed if I cosy up in the corner of one of those silos and have a moment or three.
Lydia Jenkin says No:
Crowds at Laneway Festival at Silo Park, Auckland. Photo / Jason Dorday
Don't get me wrong, I'm glad it's still in Auckland, and it's still happening, but shame on Auckland Council for forcing the festival back to a venue it's outgrown.
When it first moved to Silo Park, the festival was pretty much the perfect size for the space. Now it's just too big, and as much as I like the whimsical factor of the small stage behind the silos, it's pretty much impossible to see any of the acts performing on that stage unless you camp yourself there all day.
Then there's the standing-in-a-sunbaked-carpark-for-10-hours factor, where the heat doesn't just come from the sun, but reflects right back up at you from the boiling tarseal. It's a health hazard. The festival has done its best putting up shade structures, but heatstroke, exhaustion, and really sore legs is no way to enjoy a festival.
I know Laneway had its roots in urban settings, but every other city where it's held, including Singapore, has now found a grassy park to host the festival - so why can't we? I know Laneway organisers were dead keen to try it at the Auckland Domain, and that seems like the perfect spot. Auckland Council just needs to pull finger.
As an aside, the inaugural The Others Way Festival, which was held across seven different K Rd venues on Friday night, was a brilliant success, logistically and musically. If you want an urban music festival, that's how it should be done - at night time, in proper venues. Here's hoping it's back next year!
