Warzonefest 2003 / Belfast (1 Viewer)

[oscardagrouch]

It's a decent line-up but a bit one-dimensional... would have been nice to see some new N. Irish bands on there. No Less My Life, No Hero, sub60, The Evangelists, The Mugshots, P45, Element, Real Bad Fall, Acupunkture, Anti-Sam, Mellow Dramatic, Gama Bomb, Too Fat For Porn etc - all great bands who would give the Fest a bit of colour! And as far as I know, Rodan and Yakuza have never played a Fest, despite knocking about the scene for years...

justr a suggestion..I'm not exactly floored by the lineup myself or anything, but maybe if people aren't into the Warzone lineup it's a catalyst to maybe organise some sort of fest/alldayer of their own?Just a thought,not a slag.

...cough...Boxed In & 5 other bands, 26 July,Music room..cough..

 

[Damage Central]

I already do organise loads of gigs and I try to keep the bills as varied and non-cliquey as possible. Warzonefest is something else entirely and it would be cool to see some variety on the bill. There are loads of great NI/Eire bands beyond the 'usual suspects' who deserve the chance to play to the big crowds the Fest attracts...

 

[bombidol]

We would have loved to play, but will end up going anyway

 

[oh shit]

i dunno andy, it is a hardcore fest... how many dimensions do you want? glynn and lesley book the bands, they decide who to ask.
most of those bands you listed aren't hardcore bands and have little interest in it... no harm to them, but i havent seen many of them coming out to see touring hardcore bands over the last while. its not meant to be some sort of representation of the scene, such as it is.

but then its easy for me to say that, im playing it! haha!

 

[oscardagrouch]

i dunno andy, it is a hardcore fest... how many dimensions do you want? glynn and lesley book the bands, they decide who to ask.
most of those bands you listed aren't hardcore bands and have little interest in it... no harm to them, but i havent seen many of them coming out to see touring hardcore bands over the last while. its not meant to be some sort of representation of the scene, such as it is.

but then its easy for me to say that, im playing it! haha!

see,there you go.Let's be fair, yeah it's basically Glynn And Leslie's festival, so obviously they're gonna pick bands they like, and more power to them.At the end of the day, what I've been trying to get at is this: Sure, people might have mixed opinions on the bill, but at the end of the day wether you, I or anyone else think the line up's a bit shit is neither here nor there cos none of us are the ones who are gonna have busted their arse putting the whole thing together at the end of the day.And in my eyes, if you're gonna put all that work in, it's only fair you put on whoever the fuck you like.More power to you Warzone folk.

Might seem slightly contradictory after that, but If Andrew Griswold is so keen to promote lesser known bands, maybe he could send some of them down to Dublin instead of the Dangerfields over and over again.Then again, i suppose he books the tours, so why shouldn't his band play...It's all good in the end.

Anyway..FOR FUCK'S SAKE,JINN ARE PLAYING!!!!!I'm not gonna moan.
It's all about the rock.

 

[GARYXKNIFEDX]

A lot of fair points,but I do still think it comes down to who you know.I also don't think Knifed are innocent.We get gigs because of who we know.
What you will probably find is that a lot of the bands who do play the fest are quite often made up of people who have been consistantly supportive of giro's as bands playing and just paying punters and I think IF that is coming into it then fair enough. Cliquey?maybe? but nobody put's on gigs and doesn't include there mates bands. If it's the last fest I'm sure they want it to please themselves as they have put the work in for years. They (the organisers) owe nothing to nobody. From my experience of gigs in belfast,remember I put loads on for years,is that bands outside of belfast as well as quite a few local bands could be very flakey. Organising a festival I would imagine would be made a lot easier by having bands play who have previously come through. I also have memory's of bands complaining at not being asked to play and then not showing up at all,I think that's petty.

 

[Damage Central]

Some good points all round! A lot of bands can be very flakey and of course this is really fucking annoying... but on the other hand, you gotta give new bands a chance. I knew fuck all about Element, Pinion, Corrigan, OnOff, Mixtwitch, Social Outcasts, Mugshots, Mellow Dramatic, 20 Bulls Each, sub60 etc before I booked them... but they all came through for me and turned out to be good, reliable bands!

I ain't knocking Warzonefest - Glyn & Lesley always do a great fucking job and it's definitely a highlight of the NI punk calendar - I just reckon it could do with some variety. If, as Bernard says, it's meant to be a hardcore-and-hardcore-only fest, then please ignore me - but I always thought it was more of a straightforward DIY punk fest, covering all sides of the genre. Whatever!

Also! Jamie, maybe The Dangerfields have overplayed Dublin a bit recently, but after July we have nothing more booked down there for aaaaages so you'll get a nice big break from us! Rock on!

 

[Super Dexta]

what exactly is the story with giro's closing? I know the old group have been wanting to give it up for a while now... and then I heard that the likes of conor and phil were prepared to take it on but they couldn't get funding? is that true?

if it is true it's a bollox that the whole way through the 80s when the economy was in shite the place still got funded through arts grants and the like, and now with the amount of money that's floating around the country it can't.

 

[damien]

i was just moanin cos i would have loved the bong to have played ..

on the bands/gigs thing; a lot of bands ask and hassle promoters for gigs and supports. all the time. the is a common reason why bills are the way they are.

also, the bong ended up played way more gigs than i wanted us to just because bands would pull out at the last minute and i'd have no one else to fill in at short notice. i've always been very cautious about putting my bands on the bill for gigs/tours i've booked. whatever anyone else's opinion is, i just dont think it promotes a healthy scene.

anyone know if any of the foreign bands are coming over early and would want to play dublin the thursday before? skew whiff already are and i could have someone else as well i guess. get in touch if your in the know.

 

[xConorx]

this year

Hopefully the fest will be good fun this year even if there isn't a single band I want to see on the lineup. The atmosphere is always the most important thing anyway and there's always a good vibe - so as long as that continues I'll be happy. Roll on August.

 

[karenzer]

I GET TO PLAY THE FEST!!!!
well i think the line ups fantastic!!!hehehehehehehehehe

 

[Gar]

jaysus,im listening to ring of fire by johnny cash!

man,wish iwas playing that thing....angst..
whats up with the warzone site:

www.thewarzonecollective.co.uk

not there, neither is www.damagecentral.tk

anyone know whats up with them?

 

[oh shit]

try this

http://www.geocities.com/warzonecollective/

 

[scrawlzine]

Warzonefest 2003

Okay, so I'm sitting here in Sweden, having a good time and I decide to check Eirecore. Valid points about the fest but here's the way I see it.

Basically Lesley and myself chose the bands. This was the last fest, and other years despite the involvement of other people, it tended to fall to us to chase bands up etc.

After years of watching bands at the Centre, I maybe see 2 bands I year I personally am enthused about. The fest is something I have been organised in since the first one and I see no point of putting a load of ska punk/pop punk bands on. That's all I see everywhere else-all the time. The line-up thus obviously consists of bands I can appreciate, know personally or feel I can rely on. This is not to say everybody I wanted to play is playing, but financial/practical considerations ruled here, seconded by what was personally thought to be a good representation of passionate and extreme music. Opinions will vary. Put on your own gigs. Do your own fest. Have it as varied as you like-but in experience this leads to mediocre or poor attendances. I put on something I thought a certain audience would enjoy. This is not elitism but rather a reflection of taste.

Despite this, I always thought it more of a social than music event. But hey...don't worry kids. I feel little connection to what "punk rock" now means to most so you won't have to suffer this shindig again. A fest in Dublin next year you whiners...and then you'll see how hard it is to please everybody!?

Incidentally, there is a pre-fest gig on the Friday in The Front Page...currently confirmed is Easpa Measa, Scientific Bong (Cormy confimred it Damien) Fuktifino and Pocket Billiards, with 2 tbc.

Okay..I'm outta here. Got some up-tempo Fat Wreck records to listen to. (Take a joke!)
Glyn.

 

[Rimbaud]

Is this the last Warzone fest then?
Well i see nothing wrong with the line-up - 4-5 bands i`ve seen before - that i`d like to see again; to see how their progressing and more bands i have`nt checked out yet.
Cliquey? - someone said?All politics - 80% of it ain`t worth talkin about.
For some people who have`nt seen half these bands before - and to catch em all on the one weekend...great!.Have`nt been to belfast yet either - so i win both ways!!
I`m after losing track of the point i was trying to make now - anyways maybe its for the best i don`t know any of these cliques anyway.Happier for it!

 

[the strange guy]

I bless my lucky stars that I'll be sunning myself stupid in hong fucking kong and becoming an official chinky bastard when the fest is on. Belfast has nice bucky, cheap beer and loose (bordering on baggy) birds but let's face it lads, you don't want to be walking around with your oirish accents unless you've got a shivvy. Let's see how quick you crimethinc kids can get some slogans spray painted over a unionist mural.
Here's some tips:
Everything is closed on Sunday.
Don't goto makro's, it's for queers.
Don't forget to pack your imperial leather.

 

[oscardagrouch]

Okay, so I'm sitting here in Sweden, having a good time and I decide to check Eirecore. Valid points about the fest but here's the way I see it.

Basically Lesley and myself chose the bands. This was the last fest, and other years despite the involvement of other people, it tended to fall to us to chase bands up etc.

After years of watching bands at the Centre, I maybe see 2 bands I year I personally am enthused about. The fest is something I have been organised in since the first one and I see no point of putting a load of ska punk/pop punk bands on. That's all I see everywhere else-all the time. The line-up thus obviously consists of bands I can appreciate, know personally or feel I can rely on. This is not to say everybody I wanted to play is playing, but financial/practical considerations ruled here, seconded by what was personally thought to be a good representation of passionate and extreme music. Opinions will vary. Put on your own gigs. Do your own fest. Have it as varied as you like-but in experience this leads to mediocre or poor attendances. I put on something I thought a certain audience would enjoy. This is not elitism but rather a reflection of taste.

Despite this, I always thought it more of a social than music event. But hey...don't worry kids. I feel little connection to what "punk rock" now means to most so you won't have to suffer this shindig again. A fest in Dublin next year you whiners...and then you'll see how hard it is to please everybody!?

Incidentally, there is a pre-fest gig on the Friday in The Front Page...currently confirmed is Easpa Measa, Scientific Bong (Cormy confimred it Damien) Fuktifino and Pocket Billiards, with 2 tbc.

Okay..I'm outta here. Got some up-tempo Fat Wreck records to listen to. (Take a joke!)
Glyn.

I don't think anyone can say fairer than that really.

Besides..did I mention that..JINN ARE PLAYING! .|..| .|..| .|..|

 

[Rimbaud]

Where`s The Front Page located?Any address?

 

[Cormcolash]

Front Page

Across the road from Giros. Donegall Street.