Spotlight

Bigger, not Better

Violence and venue spoil the fun at Fat Festival

By Nuttaporn Srisirirungsimakul, Photographs courtesy of Fat Radio

Did You Know : Woodstock 1999 was organised to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the famous Woodstock peace concert. The three-day event ended in riots.

With its exciting mix of hundreds of well-known and new indie groups on five stages, film screenings and booths selling everything from records to DIY T-shirts, Fat Festival has become one of the highlights of the national music scene. But, an inadequate venue � Nanglearng Horse Racing Stadium � and violence in the audience marred this year�s event.

MUSIC MANIA

In its fourth year, Fat Festival showcased underground bands performing side by side with indie darlings like Modern Dog, Pru, Apartment Khunpa and Futon. Fat Radio chose 30 amateur bands from the 180 that auditioned, to show their stuff on Larn Pak Archa (Horse-faced Stage).

Fat Festival 4 also went inter this year, inviting in foreign acts like rock band Cells from Laos and Singaporean indie pop group Serenaide. The highlights of the festival were Japanese groups Cafa, playing with Pod from Modern Dog � he cast a spell on the local crowd with his ambient music � and Fantastic Plastic Machine, who rocked the house with their funky beats.

CROWDED VENUE

The shows were spectacular, but the stuffy, crowded venue threw a wet blanket on the festivities. It quickly became obvious that Nanglearng Horse Racing Stadium was not the right place to hold such a big event.

Fans hoping to reach the stadium faced long hours in traffic jams trying to reach the downtown location. Cabs and tuk tuks were in short supply all weekend.

Once inside, music lovers faced the massive crowds that flocked to the festival � drawn by heavy promotion and easy-to-get, free tickets. There was almost no space to wander freely or even breathe, and the Fat Festival staff had to close the doors at 7pm on Saturday, leaving those arriving late locked out and upset.

GANGSTERS� HAUNT

Fans might not have worried about being crammed into the sweltering stadium if they had been surrounded only by like-minded music enthusiasts. However, groups of gangster wannabes, who mistook the concert venue for their own personal hangout, managed to ruin the event for many. These underage troublemakers loitered around, drinking beer and smoking cigarettes. Eventually, a fight broke out that caused the Fat Festival organisers to close the festival at 7 pm on Sunday as well. Many artists had to cut their sets short to fit the new schedule; some, like Armchair, had to cancel altogether.

Organisers at Fat Radio have a lot to think about and a lot of problems to solve before staging next year�s Fat Festival. A key question is whether in this age of increasing gang violence a free concert is a good idea. And if they go forward with next year�s event, how do they plan to control the crowd?

The aim of the Fat Festival has always been to provide a forum for like-minded musical connoisseurs and to support new talent. However, without better planning, it seems Fat Radio will be in for a repeat of this year�s poor performance.

Vocabulary

ambient (adj): (especially of music) creating a relaxed atmosphere
stuffy (adj): (of a building, room, etc.) warm in an unpleasant way and without enough fresh air
wet blanket (n): something that stops other people from enjoying themselves
enthusiast (n): a person who is very interested in something and spends a lot of time doing it
loiter (v): to stand or wait somewhere especially with no obvious reason
connoisseur (n): an expert on matters involving the judgment of beauty, quality or skill in art, food or music