No one can deny that the atmosphere at Hoopla is friendly and relaxed. It's like a big amateur panto. Whilst the amaturishness of many of the early perfomances had a charm that I would enjoy at a free / pass the hat around / local show, it felt a bit of a threadbare afterthought for an expensive event (I had to leave before the headline). A friend suggested it was worth seeing Six The Musical but the sound from a neighbouring stage made it incomprehensible (although half the crowd seemed to know the words anyway). At one point up near Brockwell Hall there were three competing sound systems which meant wandering about to find a spot where one was significantly more audible than another. Barrioke (Barry from Eastenders - he said to spread the word that he's available to hire, if you need him) was an unexpected highlight along with an amusing one song interjection from apparently shitfaced Jedward. I had a lovely day although I am certain the sunshine (and company) contributed a lot to that. Although I can afford it, it still felt like a very pricey day out.
There was no wet mud but the ground was still really spongey underfoot in places. The woodchip / material was well implemented and is definitely a decent solution for the festival itself - Lambeth and Live Nation earnestly keeping everyone safe from the dasterdly mud below, as they put it. And at £12 a pint for IPA/cider (£7 330ml cans) and almost £9 for a single gin and tonic they certainly had the motivation to keep the show on the road. All served in the can, by the way. No cup. No ice for the can of G&T. Properly basic. Although staff did helpfully pull the tabs for you.
Yep. £12 a pint. (Lost larger worked out as the bargain option at £9 / pint as it was served in a slighly bigger can). Canned tap water (Liquid Death) £3. You could fill a bottle with tap water if you brought an empty in with you - but only cocktails were served in cups so there were no recepticles to make do with if you didn't.
The material was black weed suppressant textile - much of it bare of woodchip by Sunday. On a hot sunny day during lock down I made a slip and slide for the kids in the garden out of a sheet of black building material. Just having the black material on the grass in the sun for the day left the grass cooked to its roots - properly deaded - despite it having been a waterplay area. Brockwell grass has already been well and truly trampled and mushed, then starved of any light for at least two weeks and now baked on hot sunny days. Let's see what's left.
Of course the grass will grow back - eventually, with help. Possbily even in time for next year's festival. That's not really the point. It's a beautiful public park loved by its regular users. A little green oasis in a bustling city. A huge portion fenced off from May, some areas outside the main compound are reduced to caged zones and pathways become corridors for several weeks. Huge areas are likely to be out of use or little more than bare earth for the rest of the summer. Comparisons with Glasto seem irrelevant. Even though the intensity of use at Glasto is way lower on a punters / acre basis (back of a fag packet says about 20% that of Brockwell) Eavis says he has to power harrow most of their site after each year's festivities to deal with surface compression so that healthy grass can be re-grown. In past years we have not even demonstrated the skill to get the dead bits under the vehicle tracks to grow back effectively. And Glasto only needs to be fit for cows.
Unlike those who say they can't understand the increasing negativity about treating the park as a commercial entertainment venue and the proliferation of huge events, I can understand why a park is an attractive venue from both a promoter's point of view and a punter's point of view. I just don't believe the impact is justifiable, especially when compounded. I'd also say that if woodchip on plastic sheet works then this kind of event can be dropped almost anywhere with less impact. I certainly don't believe festivals of this scale need to be on our immediate doorstep - if people really are desperate for something of this scale but too lazy to hop on a train for the day then I'm not even going to bother to get out my tiny violin.
I don't buy into the argument that opposing events of this type and scale in Brockwell Park is some middle class attack on grass roots culture. This isn't the country show (well, not as the local event it used to be). It isn't Rock Against Racism (I've lived here nearly 30yrs and the last one was well before my time anyway). And it isn't Jay Day. It's almost Trumpian to argue that having this scale of events in Brockwell Park is essential for grassroots culture, when really it is little more than a megacorp power grab. And the argument that it's people who don't like music, festivals or fun who are arguing against Brockwell Park being designated a Major Venue for commercial events only serves those mega corps. I've got a not quite one year old, have still managed 3 festivals and probably 15 gigs in the past 12 months but still strongly feel Brockwell Park should not be designated Lambeth's Major Event Venues.
Obviously there are those who really think that their one evening a year larging it in Brockwell Park, rather than somewhere else, is worth the weeks / months of disruption and mess it leaves behind for so many. This strikes me as myopic. If Lambeth is really looking to support culture, I think it can be more creative. Camden Rocks, mentioned above, being a start.
