
Your author first attended Paradise Gardens one terribly wet May in 2007, where waterproof boots and a good umbrella were necessary kit for the only-about-a-hundred people who stood about in a sodden Victoria Park all weekend watching DJs from the BBC Asian Network try to sound enthusiastic.
However, this year there seems to be an attempt to reward for previous years attendance, with a special good-bands-that-Tom-likes-but-cause-everyone-else-to-shrug lineup which includes Dreadzone, the People's String Foundation, Sam and the Womp and Hypnotic Brass Ensemble.
For more, see http://www.londonpleasuregardens.com/event/paradise-gardens/
I popped down there today and I think it would have made a nice day out but unfortunately the wind was kicking up dust everywhere and I couldn't hack it. Shame because I really like the second to last band on tonight - the correspondents. Watching everyone in the swing band tent was fun though.
ReplyDeleteSuch a shame about this event. We had out of town visitors with us, and after seeing the flyers, we thought this would be a good family day out. Boy were we wrong!!! Dystopian, industrial wasteland throwing up dust everywhere, braying trustafarians and out of it loons everywhere, and pure extortion if you wanted a drink or a bite to eat. Bag searches and liquid confiscations at the gates ensured that you had no choice but to pay £4.50 for a can of lager (RRP £1). If this is a family event, then that family must be the Manson Family.
ReplyDeleteIt was a sad shadow of the former festival in Victoria Park, though I'm not sure if it was just the dust.
ReplyDeleteThere were full pints of cider on sale from some of the bars, still £4.50 but I didn't pay to get in so I was happy to pay a bit extra.
I agree it was not a family festival though, and full of youngsters who I found very annoying, and I'm only 29.
I agree with everyone - unfortunately your lovely green photo of the former Paradise Gardens was nothing like this year's event. Most importantly, nothing close to a garden was in site! Extrememly dusty, windy, overpriced alcohol and definitely not family friendly. Shame!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you guys specially on the alcohol issue. Very overpriced. Must admit it was a bit dusty but nothing that couldn't be sorted out with a pair of sunglasses.
ReplyDeleteI do believe that the site has great potential, and considering it was free, I think it was a fantastic evening for me.
This is how I saw it: