[Closed] My son is going to Download tomorrow - will he die...

Don't touch the brown acid, man! It's bad!

Badger should be his role model...

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Wear a helmet - those bottles of piss hurt!

he has not got a clue what is in store I bet

....i bet he has, that's why he's going... 😀

He'll be fine! It's pretty tame these days.

My first ever concert was Donington 95, when I was 15.

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It was ace, although the pit for Machine Head was a swift learning exercise in what to expect! I didn’t die, but I did have to be pulled out the front by security during Metallica’s set (during Fade to Black, to be exact), as I was getting a bit squashed on the barrier.

At Donington ’96 my mates decided it was time for me to have my first (and to date, only) crowd surfing experience during Paradise Lost’s set. I ended up pulling a muscle in my neck, and spent the rest of day looking after everyone else’s stuff at the back because I couldn’t go into the crowd. Went to the Type-O-Negative signing session, Pete Steele (RIP) was very sympathetic!

Festivals are ace, have so many fantastic teenage memories (Donington, Ozzfest, Dynamo)! Wanted to go this year, but it clashed with Mountain Mayhem. -_- Might go to Bloodstock though.

beer
inflatabel camping bed (mats are useless for entertaining on)
high5 electrolyte tablets

soap (the showers are rarely as bad as people say they are)

At the moment, my son has - in his bag - 1 x cheap tent (not expected to make the return journey) 1 x cheap sleeping bag (not expected to make the return journey) and 2 x large packs of Baby wipes. Oh and a disposable BBQ. Do you think he needs more in his bag?

soap

At Download? 😆

Knowing what's "available" for him to try, the only advice I would give is:

Have a 5 minute chat, [b]acknowledging[/b] he may well dabble in drugs (or be tempted), and just remind him "to be sensible" i.e. keep hydrated, arrange a meeting point with friends, know where the medical tent is, etc...

+1 my 18 year old daughter is off to glasto with her mates for the first time without us

ahhhh bless

He'll be fine. The first ever Download was my first festival experience and I was only 16....I survived. Far less knobbers at Download than some of the other festivals.

Actually I did almost die during a slayer mosh pit.....and a deftones mosh pit.....and a machine head mosh pit......and a ministry mosh pit. He'll be fine-just pack him some beer otherwise his spending money wont go very far.

Just tell him to keep his valuables on him at all times, drink lots of water, drink lots of beer, try to fit some food in at some point too, tell him to mosh hard and steer away from the drugs.

😉

[b]xiphon[/b] I have had that conversation with him and he is a sensible lad, I do trust him. No ‘pills’ though I have told him. Should I give him some condoms - just in case, or is that wishfull thinking on my part - cos I would be going for it if I was him, but he is not me, not by a long shot.

(not expected to make the return journey)

encourage him to clean up after himself?

Do you think he needs more in his bag?

phone charger
sun cream
silly hat + glow sticks (maybe not at download)

I went though the Reading/Leeds 'go mental and burn everything on the last night' era and survived, he'll be fine.

Pitchshifter and Sick of It All on the main stage, those were the days!

Tell him to have some fresh orange juice if the shrooms get too much 🙂

My 18 year old younger sister wants to go to Leeds festival this year.

Based on what my mates and I got up to at leeds the last 10 years, if she buys a ticket, I'll burn it!

Advice for him? Stay off the drugs, at least for the first couple of days, keep as a group as much as you can and pace your drinking.

its all ketimine and ky nowadays isn't it?

[b]bigbadbob[/b]

Speaking from ..er... experience, pills would be a much more sensible choice than shrooms/acid/ket, etc. Much easier to "remain in the driving seat" of your head.

By asking him to skip pills, he's going to be in for some ride!

[b]xiphon[/b] That shows my inexperience of ‘fun items’ I used to make tea out of blocks of Black - as I cannot smoke the stuff, and that was me. I have told him, if anything is work bring back, do so, if not (caked in mud etc. then use the skips provided.

Most important items are boots (feet dry), a stool (arse dry) and a poncho (eat/roll in the dry).

Acid and Slipknot would be an interesting combination 😯

Do Slipknot still have that bucket of dead birds that they sniff on stage to make themselves puke?
I am going to show this thread to my son, and he can take from it, what he will. Some great advice on here folks, thanks for that. If theses more, prey tell...

I would imagine Download is one of the friendlist festivals with down to earth metallers there for the music and good times, rather than the latest round of hogwash called festivals full of poncy hunter wellies and townies wearing mackenzie getting off their tits. Back in my day it was more simple as you knew who was trouble- any Scouser. 😛

Get there early. Camp away from toilets (they don't smell when you get there, but they soon will!) and path.

I would imagine Download is one of the friendlist festivals with down to earth metallers there for the music and good times,

Pretty much the size of it. Bother is minimal, and tends to be, er, self-policed. My first ever gig was Donington '90, and I think since then I've seen one (brief) fight, ever.

scruff - Member
rather than the latest round of hogwash called festivals full of poncy hunter wellies

Guy I work with is the self proclaimed festival expert. His two favourite bits of advice are leave if it rains and leave early on the sunday to avoid traffic. TART!

Cougar - Moderator

"I would imagine Download is one of the friendlist festivals with down to earth metallers there for the music and good times,"

Pretty much the size of it. Bother is minimal, and tends to be, er, self-policed. My first ever gig was Donington '90, and I think since then I've seen one (brief) fight, ever.

Only time I've seen nastyness at a festival was after a girl crowd surfing was groped by some tuesdays...retribution was swift and satisfying.

Isnt the internet wonderful, listing from my first time,

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Oh and a disposable BBQ.

leave early on the sunday to avoid traffic

When does this start? As I have to drive past the CD M1 exit to get to Mayhem. I will go A38 if it's likely to be carnage.

Camping starts tomorrow and music starts on Friday.

35 posts and no one has mentions condoms as essential kit for teenagers going to a festival? Or is that just too obvious? 🙂

sorrybut,
Leave early to miss the traffic. What a ****.

uselesshippy - Member
sorrybut,
Leave early to miss the traffic. What a ****.

Ha! You don't know the half of it!

take bogroll 🙂

Condoms - but my son is a sweet innocent young lad that does not do ‘that sort of thing’... Should I get some for him. That would so cool though - to loose it at Download. My pal lost his at a Mission concert - but that’s Fifers for you.

mrs toast I was at that one

but this was my first.......

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didnt bother with aerosmith we found a quiet spot and smoked our tiny piece of hash

bog roll, wet wipes, alcohol hand gel

Condoms - but my son is a sweet innocent young lad that does not do ‘that sort of thing’... Should I get some for him.

I don't know about your father / son relationship, but if I were going to a concert as a teenager and my dad went "here you go son, something for the weekend" I'd have been mortified.

I went in 2010. He'll be fine. There's always someone smellier and more tentless than you.

I recommend bringing more cash than he think he'll need. Even if he takes food, the £5-a-slice pizza there is often unbearable to resist. He'll have a great time. 🙂

He'll be fine. Today's kids have gone soft 😉
First time I went, 1995 we had to hunker down at the front whilst a battle raged with bottles of piss, and some even filled with sand (a half-brick essentially) and my mate got hit by half a watermelon. We then managed to survive 90 mins in the moshpit to Metallica.
Second time I went, last year, it appears that all that had gone out of fashion - lots of standing around watching and moshing appears to have been replaced by running around in a circle, in the same direction!
I fear for our youth, I really do 🙂

I went to Donnington '95 too, ended up copping off witha girl who'd lost her friends whilst drunk on smuggled in vodka. Good times...

I have had the "condom" talk with Sandwich Jr. Oh it was fun 😈

He said to his mother "Let us never speak of such things again". My work here is done!

first festie? 7 years old at nenthead....on my own at scoraig at 16, that was a festie, tarquin.

Rammstein on Sunday 😆

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twas my first rock festival

totally brilliant

Warn him that beer coloured liquid being launched over the crowd is not in fact beer although it may have an alement of 'recycled' beer in it.

I went in 1994 and 1995 and had a great time. Never felt unsafe as despite the crazyness nealy everyone i encountered was behaving like a decent human being.

All the practical stuff has been covered.

Kimbers - didnt bother with Aerosmith you phillistine!

Contributing to the booing of extreme I could understand.

My first experience of a big crowd mosh pit. Tee hee hee. It was the heat that caught me out. And the flying piss!

mrs toast I was at that one

but this was my first.....

I really wanted to go to that one because it had Pantera, Sepultura and Biohazard. Had to settle for listening to it on Radio 1 and putting the posters from the Kerrang! special the following week to decorate my art folder. *sniff*

I threw a strawberry yoghurt cupcake at Seb Bach during Skid Row's set in '95, because I was proper metal and didn't go in for all that hair malarkey (although I've developed an appreciation for it as I've gotten older...)

At Donington '96, we watched Kiss for 10 minutes, decided they were shit and went for a burger. ROCK AND ROLLL!!!

Ozzfest '98 was ace as well, for the massive Mexican Wave and general ignoring of the Foo Fighters! 😆

dont take anything you cant afford to lose.

First nights are notorious for tent thefts - dont have alot of cash in the tent - normally there are cash machines on site. I take the position that yes its costs me £2 or so to get cash out each day, but thats a pitance compared to some of the guys in tents around us who had £100-£200 stolen over night on the first day of the festival by the gangs that buy tickets, knowing they can steal enough cash to make a profit.

Contributing to the booing of extreme I could understand.

I was there for that. They made their bed.

There was a discontent before they came on that they weren't overly welcome, but when they came on they were well received.

Unfortunately, Gary Cherone had clearly got wind of it and had a right chip on his shoulder, his approach to dealing with it was to treat everyone with contempt and essentially go "we know you don't want us here but **** you." It was only at that point that the crowd turned and everyone started booing. It was nothing to do with the band and everything to do with their shitty attitude.

First nights are notorious for tent thefts - dont have alot of cash in the tent

Keep any valuables in your sleeping bag overnight. Safest place for your money when you're asleep is next to your feet.

My first was Reading 2007. Dan le Sac and Crystal Castles were highlights, I was 16 and it was pretty grim 😆 Been to glasto with mum and dad since I was about 3, was one of those bratty kids you could see running wild like a pack of dogs!!

My kit is wellies ( regardless) emergency tampon, cash. never bothered with tent or sleeping bag.

I live in Long Eaton, near CD. I'll hear it for free anyway, no doubt!

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My first one at the age of 15, it was all in the one day.

good on your and your son, alteast he's cool and going to a festival with proper LOUD music 😉

Download these days will seem like a church fete compared with some of the gigs from years ago. Led Zeppelin et al, Knebworth '79, for instance. Nuts, but fun.

He'll be fine.

1987. seems like such a long time ago now. all in one day, and all on one stage. tickets £16 on the day.
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he might not die from anything that happens at the festival.....but I'll bloody kill him if he makes me miss my flight from EMA on Sunday!

Well folks, he is away down to Download. I made him read these replies last night, hopefully he has taken some of the stuff in, they never listen to their parents, so I told him listen to this lot, they have done it, they have been there. I think he took something in anyway. Byetheway, can you take booze in or will he have to drink all his cans on the way in...

emsz - Member

My first was Reading 2007. Dan le Sac and Crystal Castles were highlights

You ****ing what? Nine Inch Nails on the big stage booted it so far out of the park, Trent's mum made him buy them a new ball.

IME you can take booze into the campsite area (no glass though) but not into the main arena. That is at Leeds though, and there are many ways to sneak it in if you are determined 🙂

Well folks, he is away down to Download. I made him read these replies last night, hopefully he has taken some of the stuff in, they never listen to their parents, so I told him listen to this lot, they have done it, they have been there. I think he took something in anyway. Byetheway, can you take booze in or will he have to drink all his cans on the way in...

They used to make you pour away ANY drink at the entrance, alcoholic or not, unless it was in a plastic square container (like the huge cordial bottles). Not sure what the rules are now though.

Oh, and tell him that in 15 years time he can look forward to bitching about how Donington is crap compared to when he used to go! 😛

I threw a strawberry yoghurt cupcake at Seb Bach during Skid Row's set in '95

Is that why he ran on stage, slipped, and rapidly exited the other side of the stage on his arse?

My favourite memory from Donnington '95 was someone managing to hit Slash with a slice of watermelon. Good times.

Northwind, not much of a NIN fans soz 😳

I think it was smashing pumpkins...? Anyway

Daphne & Celeste at Reading ('99? '00?) was something to behold. Fairplay they lasted the 15mins required to get paid, but not a second more. 😆

dont take anything you cant afford to lose.

My friend had to go to Reading with a replacement tent and contents for his 18yo son after the first day! Someone just scooped up the tent and walked off with all the contents. Go with the cheapest you can throw away - pop up, single skinned. Don't take valuables.

Well, how did it go?

My daughter went with her mate (both 17). Said it was all old people - I think that was just the bands!

Well, how did it go?

More specifically, did he score?

2 Questions..

1) Is he dead?

2) If the answer too the above is no, did he score/bring home a bunch of cans.. Last one I went too I left with more beer than I took!

I went to Donnington in 1984 for my first festival... If went dark about 4pm when the sky was blocked out by a huge piss bottle fight. I got hit by a bag a sick.

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When Thunder blew everyone else away!

Rammstein were very very good from all accounts

I threw a strawberry yoghurt cupcake at Seb Bach during Skid Row's set in '95
Is that why he ran on stage, slipped, and rapidly exited the other side of the stage on his arse?

I think that (Bach running onto the stage and landing on arse) was '92? I'm assuming he learnt from it and didn't make sliding on piss part of their Donnington show as standard?