Burning Man versus Reading Festival....UK/US comparison

jacksavage · Post by **jacksavage** » Wed Jan 05, 2011 6:04 am

some musings about the differences and similarities between americans and brits, illustrated by two very different festivals. hope you enjoy it, would love to hear your feedback.

http://armedsnorkeling.wordpress.com/20 ... -festival/

Isotopia · Post by **Isotopia** » Thu Jan 06, 2011 9:23 pm

Post of the Week.

Post by **Elderberry** » Thu Jan 06, 2011 9:38 pm

Definitely a good read.

JK

TomServo · Post by **TomServo** » Thu Jan 06, 2011 9:54 pm

Reading festival sounds alot like Libertatia...or the drunken house parties we had in West Oakland...not necessarily bad!..since the cops liked to stay out of West Oakland. Either way, loved your piece!

Isotopia · Post by **Isotopia** » Fri Jan 07, 2011 12:48 pm

This reading Festival sounds a lot like Glastonbury when I went there representing BM.

Great music but an epic shit hole of pissed soaked mud, mayhem and drunken stupidity (verses BM style inspired jackassery.)

The worst memory I took home was seeing the pedestrian pathways choked with trash when the organizers had made sure to place rubbish bins every 20 yards or so. People would throw their uneaten food, trash, bottles, cans, etc. on the ground three feet from a rubbish can. I was astonished.

Seriously maddening to watch and the ultimate expression of consumerism.

Simon of the Playa · Post by **Simon of the Playa** » Fri Jan 07, 2011 12:50 pm

Isotopia wrote:Post of the Week.

i know, i thought so too, i even posted it to Facebook...

mudpuppy000 · Post by **mudpuppy000** » Sat Jan 08, 2011 9:55 am

Reading sounds like an extreme version of the big outdoor concerts I've been to here in the US. Huge number of assholes at those things. That might be a better comparison if you're trying to compare americans vs brits.

dj_john69 · Post by **dj_john69** » Tue Jan 11, 2011 2:20 pm

Cool story but the i think he should have compared Reading to Coachella even though Coachella doesn't get rowdy. Coachella is 3 day campout with bands...kinda like Reading. Oh well.

Post by **Elderberry** » Tue Jan 11, 2011 5:13 pm

dj_john69 wrote:Cool story but the i think he should have compared Reading to Coachella even though Coachella doesn't get rowdy. Coachella is 3 day campout with bands...kinda like Reading. Oh well.

I'm guessing it's because he's a Brit and has never attended the Coachella festival.

JK

PavementBlues · Post by **PavementBlues** » Tue Jan 11, 2011 8:05 pm

"Sometimes Iâ€™ve felt like maybe Americans are smug about their profound sense of self-awareness, but theyâ€™re really not. We might cynically believe that Burning Man is simply a chance to get fucked up in the desert and play out a mid-life crisis in good company. But the truth is, even if it is, they donâ€™t realise it and do it in good faith."

Quote of the day from the post of the day!

LindseyRaeFace · Post by **LindseyRaeFace** » Wed Feb 09, 2011 11:58 am

"In actual fact, we end up at the same place, but we get there in a different way. in both cases, weâ€™re going away for the weekend and getting trashed, but in doing so the Americans are finding themselves and the Brits are losing themselves."

Lahmpowder · Post by **Lahmpowder** » Fri Feb 11, 2011 9:27 am

Hello

Just joined this forum because me and a few mates are planning on going to BM in 2012 and this thread caught my eye. Now I am a bit of a festival lover and average atleast 4 festivals a year and from reading this persons post I am wondering if they have deliberately compared what is probably your best festival with our worst festival. To give you a short rundown on what Reading is, its a 3 day concert for people of around 14-19 who have just got their test results or just want to get away from the parents for a weekend. And as a result chaos usually ensures.

I remember I got a day ticket there a couple of years back to see Radiohead and it was bloody horrible. As soon as i walked through the gate someone kicked a bottle at me and laughed, the whole place was covered in litter, everybody looked miserable and if there wasn't a band on your only option was to sit around a camp site and wait for something to happen. Then at the end of evening everybody would burn strangers tents and generally act like twats. To this day it is definatly the worst festival you could possibly attend in the UK. Lots of horrible people, listening to really horrible music, in a really horrible field next to Reading town centre.

I think a better comparison to the difference in festival communities could be better explained if it was compared to something like Glastonbury or something alot smaller like Glade (which apparently is very much inspired by BM).

I'll stop this rant now before you get bored of me already by saying, please don't think all UK festivals are like Reading. We do love an excuse to get wasted in Britain but we also know how to run makeshift communities... Afterall we have been more successful at it :P :wink:

Ugly Dougly · Post by **Ugly Dougly** » Fri Feb 11, 2011 10:08 am

You can find horrible music at Burning Man, or bring it yourself.

This is as fruitful IMHO as comparing Burning Man with the Rainbow Gathering and assuming that they point out the difference between Nevada and Colorado culture.