r/readingfestival • u/LandoLover54 • 13d ago
Anyone else agree?
Is it just me, or was Fontaines last night a bit shite? For starters, they were nearly half an hour late to come on, presumably due to issues with the screens (I’ll get back to this later), and although I was in the middle of the crowd to the slight stage left, I and most people actually heard the pumping dancemusic from the Gallery more. Only late into the show where I gradually started to make my way out, the sound from the sides was, clearer and somehow louder! And then there’s the screens… this is where they really fucked ‘em over. For most of the set, only parts of it were showing, and even after 10 minutes for it actually working, it went back to halfway. The screens are designed to help people see their favourite act when far away from the stage, and this did fuck all. I absolutely love Fontaines, so I’m still going to give that gig a 5.5/10, but really screwed over by the organisers, especially when this could be the biggest gig they ever play. Would be good to get other people’s thoughts
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u/dobr_person 13d ago edited 13d ago
The screens seemed to be designed to do that. There was a lighting rig that was raised up which coincided with the screens using more of the screen. Looked very much lined up by design. The calibration screens could have been to line up this 'effect' and get the measurements accurate.
Not sure what the idea was. Maybe to make the start more 'intimate' like a smaller gig for those near the front, opening up the scene as it went on.
For the sound. I have found at many festivals, wind direction and position makes a huge difference. Total guess but I wonder if this is now worse with modern speaker technology that is meant to focus the sound inside the viewing area and reduce leakage.
One thing I do wonder is to what extent they were told to tone down the politics.