| Author
|
Orb 2009: Suggestions and Complaints Box...
|
mizza
Started Topics :
7
Posts :
22
Posted : Jul 13, 2009 17:27
|
|
well i am back from the festival, and i can safely say that it kicked ass. very nicely organized, beautiful location, great music, great people.... much respect to the organizers of this one |
|
|
platypusmalone
Started Topics :
0
Posts :
25
Posted : Jul 13, 2009 21:39
|
Hmm, where to begin...
Our experience went both ways. Lots of good, lots of bad. I can see how someone could have had an excellent time there totally if they had been prepared differently than we were (and lots of others we came in contact with).
The good: The people - our neighbors and pretty much everyone we came in contact with were amazingly awesome people, great energy and positive.
The music was usually great and the deco was phenomenal. Really stellar and beautiful stuff - organic, bright, colorful and positive decorations.
The bad: I will start with minor things.
Unfulfilled promises: No hookah bar (Orb Chill Lounge per their website), despite the advertising for it. A condemned lake that pretty much everyone expected to be able to swim in and use but the lake was clearly closed for quite some time and the organizers MUST have known this. We should have at least been informed on the website. This stuff was minor, like i said, and really they were just perks that we and many others were looking forward to/added to the value of the tickets.
There were multiple times when the only music I could find playing was coming from campsites. That seems extremely bizarre, and the rumor going around was a lack of fuel for the generators. Unusual. There seemed to be an odd mix at times and the stages seemed to jump between progressive and full on and chillout (and most of a Black Eyed Peas song - jarring) almost randomly. The setlists didn't seem to jibe time-wise with what was posted. Minor stuff and not terrible, probably all related to the technical issues.
The big things - Meal Plan area was a JOKE and honestly I feel that everyone who bought the meal plan got totally screwed. Firstly, according to the orb festival website we were supposed to have these options:
Meal plan will include 6 Meals
Friday- Breakfast /Dinner
Saturday -Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner
Sunday- Brunch
Breakfast
All Breakfast Combinations include choice of Juice – Apple/Orange and choice of Hot Drink – Coffee/Tea
Combo #1– Two Eggs Any Style/Home Fries/White Toast
Combo #2– Two Eggs Any Style on Bagel/Roll with Mixed Greens Salad
Combo #3– Bagel/Roll w/Butter/Cream Cheese/Jelly with Fruit Cup
Combo #4– Yogurt w/Granola and fresh Fruit
Lunch/Dinner
All Lunch/Dinner Combinations include Salad, Two Sides, One Main Dish and choice of drink.
Available Salads–
Mixed Green,
Pasta Salad
Caesar Salad
Available Sides –
White Rice
Yellow Rice w/ vegetable
, BBQ Potatoes (Marinated in Garlic and Olive Oil)
,Black Beans
Yellow Beans,
Spaghetti in tomato sauce
Main Dish
· Meat Balls w/Tomato Sauce,
· BBQ Chicken, a l’orange
· Chicken Curry
· Pepper Steak
· Sandwich – Choice of Tuna/Egg Salad/Salami/Turkey
The only food I was able to find there all weekend long was a hamburger and some tuna pasta salad. One would think there would at least be some shriveled up hot dogs or something available at all times, but no. For 73 bucks (for each member of our party) we got one hamburger a piece, with no drinks in site. I am sure we could have probably found another meal or two had we waited right there the whole time for them to randomly deliver a meal, but we should have had a schedule or something. Absolutely unacceptable. They were obviously not planning on ever providing what they said they were providing.
We had luckily brought at least some food and a little grill just in case but there were plenty of people less fortunate than us who were struggling and were forced to try to find giving people to eat with. Some of our neighbors shared what they had brought with us and with a lot of the random people who had nothing. The meal plans were a huge screwup and someone needs to be accountable for them.
And the last big issue was the "cabins". These things were absolute shacks. When we arrived someone actually tried to put us in a "cabin" with no walls. We refused (we heard other people say they tried to stick them in there as well) and ended up with a cabin with no latches, black mold, a leaking ceiling and huge amounts of muck/grossness on the floor. It was not safe to sleep in AT ALL. We complained and were told there was no other cabins available. All of us developed some sort of breathing issues from spending sleeping hours inside. We would have brought a tent if it would have been clear that we needed one (the electric in the cabin did work, which would have been nice for the setup). I am pretty tolerant - the lock wasn't a huge deal since we were able to bring the car up to the cabin (for an additional 35 bucks which was not stated on the website) but the health issues were a serious problem.
So all in all we left with mixed feelings. I loved the psytrance music, I loved the people, I loved the deco, but I was not happy at all with what we got in regards to the promises made to us. We were not the only ones who thought this way - by Saturday afternoon the general vibe was one of sketchyness and questioning - people were not feeling taken care of. At a festival like this a feeling of being taken care of is extremely important, but I felt that I needed to make sure that I was taking care of the people around me because clearly the organizers were not going to be despite the money we gave to them to ensure that we were.
|
|
|
|
e11even
Started Topics :
6
Posts :
291
Posted : Jul 14, 2009 01:24
|
I often wondered last year why so many people complained about this event and after experiencing it first hand I can tell you I will NEVER Dj or attend an Alladin Project event again. This production company is a joke and literally a F*cking Circus.
Positives =Deco , Shane Gobi , & Rinkadink
1st and foremost...
The main stage sound was horrible and just plain unacceptable. I don't understand spending all this money and not hiring a sound engineer to run your sound. Um.. DUH! If you know anything about Psytrance and throwing Psytrance events you would know that Subs should be grouped together and run mono not separated and sounding like one big train wreck. I have thrown underground renegades with way better sound then Orb Festival could ever hope or dream of.
What was up with the 35 dollar parking pass? What a great way to scam money from everyone. The worst was that I had to go all the way back to New York City to pick up another Dj and they had taken my parking pass while I was away and told me they would remember me. I come back 12 hours later & had to fight to get my parking pass back. Djs and performers should have been given these automatically at the gate.
Flow and Line up
Do the promoters even know anything about the people that they book and what they play? Apparently not. Almost everyone was playing at weird and inappropriate times.
Bottom Line
If you want to go to real party with highly organized promoters and top notch talent save your $ and time and go to Gemini Festival for free or hit up Gaian Mind on the East coast for the same price.
Sorry to be so negative but I want other people to know so they don't waste their time and money on this.
 www.horizonscolorado.com |
|
|
|
vector_0
IsraTrance Full Member
Started Topics :
113
Posts :
1191
Posted : Jul 14, 2009 03:01
|
First off, I have to say that because of the people I met, my experience was AWESOME! Also deco was beautiful. For me it was a very fateful and amazing weekend.
That said, I highly doubt I will ever attend any event "organized" by Alladin ever again. I feel bad complaining about all this stuff since I had such a great time, but the truth needs to be told:
--The sound at the main stage awful, when there was actually music there. there were very long stretches with no sound on either stage, regardless of the big line-up signs saying so-and-so was playing right now. The order of the DJ's seemed like it was determined by drawing names out of a hat; absolutely no flow or sense involved.
--The meal plan was a scam, and what they had was almost exclusively non-vegetarian. Thank god for those amazing veg cooks next door.
--The $35 fee to park your car by your tent was a scam and also a nightmare.
--I was on trash duty, but they ran out of trash bags halfway through friday night and never got more. I was told to check with the general store to get more, but everytime I went down there they said "they'll be here in a half hour". and I must have checked in 5 or 6 times over the course of friday night into saturday morning & afternoon, eventually giving up. I almost feel like the people at the general store were just messing with me to see how many times I would go back down there. promoters please note: YOU NEED AT LEAST ONE TRASH BAG FOR EVERY SINGLE TICKET-HOLDER AND STAFF MEMBER. THERE WILL BE THAT MUCH TRASH, I GUARANTEE!!
--I was so excited to go swimming but very disappointed to realize that there was "absolutely no swimming" in the lake. what a ploy.
--The toilets didn't get cleaned for the whole weekend and by saturday night you could smell them from 50 feet away.
--It was lame enough that Shpongle wasn't coming on til Sunday afternoon, but pushing him back til 5 was highly offensive. Luckily I drove, but if I had been relying on the shuttle (which left about a half hour into the set) I would have been beyond pissed.
--No hookah bar or chill lounge. In this scene I am almost exclusively into chillout so this was very disappointing to me.
http://soundcloud.com/rob-vector |
|
|
|
paradigm
IsraTrance Full Member
Started Topics :
54
Posts :
1098
Posted : Jul 14, 2009 04:15
|
Ill start with the positive...
Deco was fantastic. Most European festival looking set up ive seen stateside. (maybe symbiosis comes close)
Shane Gobi was off the hook, hand down the best DJ on the psy circuit.
I also had a blast with my "extended set"
but lets get down to the nitty gritty shall we....
This was a commercial minded vibe-less, soul-less event.
It was run and organized by a posse of nothing but rank amateur's. For a crew with so many events under their belt, the level of ineptitude is staggering.
As a veteran org myself, i could have run this event better with a crew of a dozen well picked people plus door staff, but yet Orb was run on a crew numbering well over 50 and yet, still managed to be a unorganized mess of chaos....
Charging your acts $35 for a parking pass !!! ????
Many of whom payed their own way out?
What the hell is that?
Trying to charge some of them even twice when the had to go and pick up others who were arriving..
again what the hell.
This is pure and simple profiteering and nothing less.
Exxon / Mobil has less shame than Alladin Project in this regard.
As for the sound. What the hell? Why have so many and spend so much on big name acts and then not only have a crappy sound system, but have said crappy sound system set up in the most idiotic way conceivable. The region is full of good sound, and good sound engineers, but again hoping to save a buck Im sure this was a homie hook up, but with a group of mismatched components put together hap-hazardly by someone with little to no clue about phasing or frequencies..
It was so bad and frustrating, it was impossible to enjoy any act playing on the main stage.
At least the 2nd stage sound, though under powered, was at least tolerable to listen too.
Flow. Is this a strange concept? Rinkadink to Psykovski. What the hell is that. Makes no sense, let alone the rest of the lineup, except for the posturing to let the crews under-talented friends get excellent slots.
I really enjoyed watching the bald headed shirt less goon that was playing at noon on sat, who was red lining the hell of the system, not get turned down, but get his cables yanked by what seemed to pass as the sound guy. DJ's like that are what give psy trance DJ's a bad name in the rest of the edm scene as a bunch of un-talented hacks. Nice to see one get his come-upin's.
Additionally the orgs had the gall to try and cancel both the sets of Chris Cox, and Coral on the second stage so their buddys could play, since the rain delay screwed up the main stage. Both of these acts, came out on their own dime to be a part of this, and the crew was more than happy to just give them a big middle finger
Thanks to one guy running sound on the 2nd stage, who went to bat for those dj's this didnt happen, but it seems, that this crew has no concept of respect, or of talent and who actually has skills or brings a dance floor.
The bathrooms were atrocious as well. Never stocked with TP, or cleaned. When you rent porto-potties, if you are renting a decent amount. 10 or more, its often free, or costs as little as $50-$100 to have a truck come out and service them. Thats a damn small amount for a major thing at a fest, and something people remember. Thats only 3 parking passes guys.
Think about it. Even if it cost $200 or because we were in NY even $300, that is still chump change based on the size and ticket cost of the event.
Again pure profiteering at the expense of the party goer and the scene.
All i can say is thank god, for events like GMSF and Gemini, and crews like Psy-tribe and Touch Samadhi who really get it. Who understand what goes into things be they large or small events.
Crews like Alladin and events like Orb, only serve to set back any progress the US makes as a developing scene, were as those other groups are the reason why so many acts actually enjoy coming here and consider it one of their favorite global spots to play.
Alladin Project..... do the US scene a favor.
Retire, Stop throwing events, and quit giving us a black eye.
Your a embarrassment to the rest of us who have worked hard to build something in this country over the years
Logical Light Music - SF
Straylight Productions -SF
Sound/Mind - Denver
Xcience - Midwest
mixes for dl at :
http://www.thehothouse.net/straylight/paradigm/index.htm
"He who ha-ha's last, ha-ha's best" |
|
|
|
rob-ot
M-Field
Started Topics :
6
Posts :
123
Posted : Jul 14, 2009 10:06
|
|
Wow.
|
|
|
|
lyricfree
Started Topics :
0
Posts :
40
Posted : Jul 14, 2009 13:55
|
Wow- i love the posts above because they say it all
the meal plan price was beyond disgusting for what they were providing. 15 for one small piece of chicken and cabbage- i only bought one meal- they also had potato salad and reg. salad but you had to choose one between cabbage and those two....15? for that- really horrible- its very sad that the orgs feel the need to totally rape people out of money... greed man horrible
and parking for $35? its really sad
make your money fine- but don't screw the scene where you know more than half the attendees
otherwise- psykovsky rocked my brain- total ridiculous-ness up there, highlight for sure.
...shane gobi played after psykovsky..... |
|
|
|
kriz
Horrordelic Records
Started Topics :
25
Posts :
1247
Posted : Jul 14, 2009 13:55
|
|
Meta
Meta/Boomslang
Started Topics :
24
Posts :
1045
Posted : Jul 14, 2009 14:11
|
|
miEtek
Started Topics :
2
Posts :
416
Posted : Jul 14, 2009 16:14
|
 heh
We were about to go......
We had to decide either GMSF or ORB ,we went to GM and had such an amazing time.
After GM experience we wanted to go to Orb we just did not want to miss such a party.. But .... (smoke) after what we heard happen last year ,we decided to sit this one out (we went to seven lakes camping).
I got nothing against Alladin guys I like them for all that parties they were throwing over the years (kudos).But it seems like such a big event is still beyond their capabilities.
Well I wish them all the best.Probably next Orb will be better. But just be prepare that those comments above are probably tip of an iceberg.
Yet I cant resist myself to comment on meal plan ,I know i was not there but on the very recent festival we were attending, meal plan was ..... all you can eat heh .And when they learned that my wife in on non-gluten diet they really tryied to serve her something (with succes  )
Cheerio
na kopcu Kosciuszki za sterami Komandor.OrZech.. |
|
|
|
metus
Started Topics :
0
Posts :
150
Posted : Jul 14, 2009 16:48
|
"Alladin Project..... do the US scene a favor.
Retire, Stop throwing events, and quit giving us a black eye.
Your a embarrassment to the rest of us who have worked hard to build something in this country over the years"
))))))))))))))
100% agree
|
|
|
|
billy boogie
IsraTrance Junior Member
Started Topics :
26
Posts :
494
Posted : Jul 14, 2009 17:03
|
Quote:
|
On 2009-07-14 16:14, miEtek wrote:
heh
We were about to go......
We had to decide either GMSF or ORB ,we went to GM and had such an amazing time.
|
|
totally different vibe, you made the right choice.
www.dants.net |
|
|
|
mondo-mod
Started Topics :
0
Posts :
18
Posted : Jul 14, 2009 17:04
|
First of all I would like to thank Aladdin Project for organizing such a great event...Great vibes (among the psyheads and artists), and great music...My highlights were Rinkadink, Logic Bomb and Simon...Thanks!
I am not a fan of introducing negativity into discussions but am doing so with the purpose that these will be taken into consideration when organizing the next event...Besides the points covered in the past posts, I have a few of my personal experiences as well
. 35$ for a parking pass??
. The music kept "flickering" at times...I really wish they had a sound engineer taking care of this...
. The flow of music sets was great at times (shiva chandra to Rinkadink and Total Eclipse to Liquid Soul), but Full on to Psykovksy? That is just a mystery to me with the tons of music experience which Aladdin have under their belt.. BTW I really enjoyed the announcement Total eclipse made at the end of his set
. On Friday afternoon, I decided to chill at the main stage area for a few hours prior to the very first set...I was directed by the event staff to leave and come back in a few hours. I have never in my history of attending Music Festivals experienced something like this. Its small incidents like this that kill the happy vibes in a person...
. On Saturday morning (after camping for 2 days) we were approached by the event staff and asked to relocate our site (Just off the dirt road and towards the woods) as we were apparently occupying someone else property...there were no signs or anything indicating this..So we had to look around for an empty spot elsewhere...bummer! Well the good news is we finally did and were stomping our feet soon after...
I will definitely attend Aladdin Project events in the future but they need to clean their act up so we can get more fellow psy trancers on the floor...
BoOM
|
|
|
|
billy boogie
IsraTrance Junior Member
Started Topics :
26
Posts :
494
Posted : Jul 14, 2009 17:08
|
Quote:
|
On 2009-07-14 04:15, paradigm wrote:
Charging your acts $35 for a parking pass !!! ????
Many of whom payed their own way out?
What the hell is that?
Trying to charge some of them even twice when the had to go and pick up others who were arriving..
again what the hell.
|
|
That's a real shame. Bye bye Alladin! Charging the acts that you aren't paying. HA! That about wraps that up. Sorry to cut the rest of your post off, all good points... Thank our lucky stars for Gaian Mind...
www.dants.net |
|
|
|
platypusmalone
Started Topics :
0
Posts :
25
Posted : Jul 14, 2009 17:15
|
Quote:
|
. On Saturday morning (after camping for 2 days) we were approached by the event staff and asked to relocate our site (Just off the dirt road and towards the woods) as we were apparently occupying someone else property...there were no signs or anything indicating this..So we had to look around for an empty spot elsewhere...bummer! Well the good news is we finally did and were stomping our feet soon after...
|
|
I heard that someone had their tent which was setup on said neighbors property picked up and thrown into the road, ruining the tent. Aladdin apparently paid for it and its not their fault but whoa, talk about a buzz kill. |
|
|
|
|
