Keith Chaos

[Hog]

What did everyone think?!

Phew, it was one damn warm day

[ben_1903]

Wish i could have gone, lack of money prevents this. How were the grim northern social?

[Tony Marlin]

Being a Keith lad I wish I could have gone, but couldn't get time off work.

I hope they managed a to get a good crowd, I think they needed a few thousand to break even.

Were the bands any good?

[spooner]

i would say there was 400 folk there max!

I had an ace day,none of the bands blew me away, best music i heard was henspeckle????? anyway it made no difference, the weather was fab, there was plenty alcohol and all in all an ace day. GNS were grim as usual, sorry just not a fan...

[Bodast]

Well I thought the GNS were the best band there The set was quite short but they played well and got a pretty good reception, and played some of the new stuff too which was cool.

I also really liked John Young's and Jo McCafferty's sets, and Spindrift were pretty good too... quite a nice atmosphere anyway even though it could have been busier.

Ewan MacFarlane's acoustic set the next day with the Phoenix band and Mind Gone Blind was cool as well, everyone seemed to be really enjoying it

[Moyzie]

GNS were fucking stunning, Ewan is one of the best singers out there at the moment - fact! Official numbers were around the 1200 mark (spooner you should've counted the ones at the beer tent!). Hopefully this will be the first of many and put Keith firmly on the musical map, it was a fantastic day and it's an ideal festival location.

[Guest RockMonkey]

I had a great time at Keith, although I managed to get burned (half an hour on stage with the sun blaring down on me did the trick). I think the beer tent was a bit too far away, that's where most people tend to hang out at these things. Well, I do anyway...

Baby Karma were great, but my favourite actually had to be Blue Gum Ears for out and out fun. Maria Miller's acoustic set had some great songs and she has a beautiful voice, maybe she'll come Aberdeen's way sometime. I missed the GNS and Bluetones as I was very sore from the sun and very tired from a long day.

Prizes should be handed out to Ian and Del who managed to keep the stage going despite dreadful hangovers!

[jester1470]

i would say there was 400 folk there max!

I had an ace day' date='none of the bands blew me away, best music i heard was henspeckle????? anyway it made no difference, the weather was fab, there was plenty alcohol and all in all an ace day. GNS were grim as usual, sorry just not a fan...[/quote']

There was at least 500-750 at the front for the Bluetones who were an amazing end to a very tiring day. I didnt get as much of a chance as i'd like to have seen bands, i saw Baby Karma, John Young and the Bluetones, caught a song or 2 of Mind Gone Blind and Jo's last one. Kenspeckle (from what I heard) were a lot better than I expected.

1200 ? Thats not bad I havent been given any official figures yet, fingers crossed thats true.

Yep and Kudos to Ian and Del for keeping the whole thing running despite having been in my room drinking and playing PS2 until about 3.30.

Cheers

Stuart

[french_disko]

Press & Journal Article from Today

http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=149475&command=displayContent&sourceNode=149205&contentPK=12667674

ANGRY CHARITY POP CONCERT ORGANISER LEFT WITH BIG LOSSES

09:00 - 20 June 2005

The organiser of an open-air charity concert on Saturday has been left disgusted by the lack of support shown by the public - and revealed he has personally lost 10,000 on the event.

Steve Purves said he spent six months organising Keith Chaos, but his own efforts had not been matched by others.

He was angry at the amount of people who tried to gain entry to the Moray town's Seafield Park for free on the day by scaling special barriers.

Mr Purves had hoped to raise thousands of pounds for Keith Cancer Link, but last night said it was unlikely the charity would receive a penny.

He spent all day yesterday clearing up the mess left at the park, with the help of his wife, daughter and a family friend, after others who had promised to help did not show up.

Mr Purves said this typified what he had encountered in organising the fundraiser.

"I had around 1,200 people attend yesterday, but needed at least another 500 to break even," he said. "I cannot believe how badly-supported it was. I spent a lot of money getting bands, organising it, it was even a gorgeous day, but still people didn't get behind it.

"The amount of people trying to climb the fences, and trying to haggle over the cost, has totally sickened me. It was a charity concert. What does that say about people?"

Mr Purves, a technician at Keith Grammar School, said the crowd had enjoyed themselves at the concert, headlined by The Bluetones and The Grim Northern Social. It also featured other bands from the local area, including Blue Gum Ears, Mind Gone Blind and The Method.

Mr Purves hopes to be able to reclaim some money from VAT, as the concert was a registered charity and as such does not have to pay the tax.

But he admits it has been a disappointing experience which has left a bad taste in his mouth.

"I am disappointed that no money has been made for charity, but there are bills which I cannot cover, let alone give money away," he said. "There is no way I would ever get involved in something like this again. You put in back-breaking work for months for charity, and still no one supports you."

[jester1470]

http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=149475&command=displayContent&sourceNode=149205&contentPK=12667674

ANGRY CHARITY POP CONCERT ORGANISER LEFT WITH BIG LOSSES

09:00 - 20 June 2005

The organiser of an open-air charity concert on Saturday has been left disgusted by the lack of support shown by the public - and revealed he has personally lost 10' date='000 on the event.

Steve Purves said he spent six months organising Keith Chaos, but his own efforts had not been matched by others.

He was angry at the amount of people who tried to gain entry to the Moray town's Seafield Park for free on the day by scaling special barriers.

Mr Purves had hoped to raise thousands of pounds for Keith Cancer Link, but last night said it was unlikely the charity would receive a penny.

He spent all day yesterday clearing up the mess left at the park, with the help of his wife, daughter and a family friend, after others who had promised to help did not show up.

Mr Purves said this typified what he had encountered in organising the fundraiser.

"I had around 1,200 people attend yesterday, but needed at least another 500 to break even," he said. "I cannot believe how badly-supported it was. I spent a lot of money getting bands, organising it, it was even a gorgeous day, but still people didn't get behind it.

"The amount of people trying to climb the fences, and trying to haggle over the cost, has totally sickened me. It was a charity concert. What does that say about people?"

Mr Purves, a technician at Keith Grammar School, said the crowd had enjoyed themselves at the concert, headlined by The Bluetones and The Grim Northern Social. It also featured other bands from the local area, including Blue Gum Ears, Mind Gone Blind and The Method.

Mr Purves hopes to be able to reclaim some money from VAT, as the concert was a registered charity and as such does not have to pay the tax.

But he admits it has been a disappointing experience which has left a bad taste in his mouth.

"I am disappointed that no money has been made for charity, but there are bills which I cannot cover, let alone give money away," he said. "There is no way I would ever get involved in something like this again. You put in back-breaking work for months for charity, and still no one supports you."[/quote']

Slightly ironic considering the Journals refused to give us any press in Aberdeen at all, despite being asked several times,m and offered tickets etc for competitions.

Cheers

Stuart

[french_disko]

Slightly ironic considering the Journals refused to give us any press in Aberdeen at all' date=' despite being asked several times,m and offered tickets etc for competitions.

Cheers

Stuart[/quote']

it's a shame that they've done nothing but negative press for the event (See this story also - http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=180899&command=newPage&contentPK=12618049&localNewsNodeId=180899) as an annual event in the North East would be great.

I didn't attend the event so i can't really comment on it but I did have a few gripes -

- thought the ticket prices were a bit steep at 20 when I first saw them (this was before any "big name" acts were announced & it was only local bands on the bill). Maybe starting off smaller this year with cheaper tickets would have created more of a "buzz" for future events?

- the bill was, ultimately, a bit of a let down. The chat site had all sorts of names bandied about & they all came to nothing unfortunately. No disrespect to The Bluetones but they're well past their commercial peak & just weren't a big enough name to carry the festival. Take into account they were playing Moshulu (last night was it?) and are well down the bill at that festival in Beauly (http://www.tartanheartfestival.co.uk/) then it just wasn't the big name draw that was needed.

- It was a congested weekend for big events - REM at Loch Lomond (that's where I was), Idlewild, KT Tunstall & Mylo at Skye (how did they manage to get bigger names on their bill?) and even Green Day playing huge outdoor shows in Milton Keynes would have had an effect.

Like I said, I can't really comment to much as I didn't attend but being from up that area (Buckie) I'd like to see local events such as this being a success. I find it reprehensible, but sadly inenvitable, that people tried to scale the fence but for anyone (whether it was the Promoter or the P&J) to turn this into a reason for losing a lot of money is to detract from some of the other problems that may have been there.

[57vintage]

That's a shame for Steven, who I've not seen for years but with whom I attended school in Keith in the 1970s.

Nothing on the bill really appealed to me so I didn't go, although I should have supported such a brave initiative in my home town.

[Guest who died?]

not an ideal situation.

i do agree with french_disko

festivals need to start small, and build each year. (certainly up here)

[jester1470]

it's a shame that they've done nothing but negative press for the event (See this story also - http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=180899&command=newPage&contentPK=12618049&localNewsNodeId=180899) as an annual event in the North East would be great.

I didn't attend the event so i can't really comment on it but I did have a few gripes -

- thought the ticket prices were a bit steep at 20 when I first saw them (this was before any "big name" acts were announced & it was only local bands on the bill). Maybe starting off smaller this year with cheaper tickets would have created more of a "buzz" for future events?

- the bill was' date=' ultimately, a bit of a let down. The chat site had all sorts of names bandied about & they all came to nothing unfortunately. No disrespect to The Bluetones but they're well past their commercial peak & just weren't a big enough name to carry the festival. Take into account they were playing Moshulu (last night was it?) and are well down the bill at that festival in Beauly ([url']http://www.tartanheartfestival.co.uk/) then it just wasn't the big name draw that was needed.

- It was a congested weekend for big events - REM at Loch Lomond (that's where I was), Idlewild, KT Tunstall & Mylo at Skye (how did they manage to get bigger names on their bill?) and even Green Day playing huge outdoor shows in Milton Keynes would have had an effect.

Like I said, I can't really comment to much as I didn't attend but being from up that area (Buckie) I'd like to see local events such as this being a success. I find it reprehensible, but sadly inenvitable, that people tried to scale the fence but for anyone (whether it was the Promoter or the P&J) to turn this into a reason for losing a lot of money is to detract from some of the other problems that may have been there.

I'll address as much as I can, the ticket price wasnt that high when you consider it was the same as Glassel who never featured any 'bigger' acts. A lot of what was done was based on the Glassel model.

Skye managed to get bigger acts because they had financing to pay them, this gig was a charity show and the budget for bands was next to nothing, thats why the Bluetones played Moshulu the night after it was to offset many of our costs, we worked with Ross and RFR on that one. We were also let down by bad circumstances, at various points the Mull Historical Society, and Biffy Clyro had agree to take part. The MHS got dropped by their label so decided to concentrate on getting a new label, and DF put a block on Biffy playing because they're playing T in the Park. The Levellers also agreed to perform but wanted over 10k to do it and so that obviously fell through. We also negotiated with a lot of other acts including Robert Plant and Keane.

It was a bad weekend to hold it but it must be considered this gig was planned almost a year ago and the date chosen before bands like REM announced their gig. We were very unlucky but in my opinion the fact that the media wouldnt support a charity show was a far bigger issue than anyone climbing over fences but they seem to forget that.

Cheers

Stuart

[Guest DustyDeviada]

Well I enjoyed myself. Couldn't have asked for better weather.

Hopefully the profits from the bar will help the thing break even at least, there was a LOT of drinking going on.

[Guest Bob Double Jack]

Slightly ironic considering the Journals refused to give us any press in Aberdeen at all' date=' despite being asked several times,m and offered tickets etc for competitions.

Cheers

Stuart[/quote']

was that both papers that refused to give you any press, or just the P&J?

[jester1470]

was that both papers that refused to give you any press' date=' or just the P&J?[/quote']

Both Aberdeen papers, and the Aberdeen Independent wouldnt cover us, there were little bits and pieces in the Morayshire edition but nothing on Aberdeen, and we offered them competitions etc to win tickets, and they even cut out Del Franklins column this week which mentioned it, coincidentally of course but you can see why we're pissed off.

Cheers

Stuart

[soundian]

Prizes should be handed out to Ian and Del who managed to keep the stage going despite dreadful hangovers!

That wasn't a dreadful hangover, I was still capable of speech and movement.

Big thanks to the Mind Gone Blind guys for stepping in as stage crew at the last minute I really couldn't have done it without them.

I have a suntan so I'll probably be thrown out of the sound engineers guild for not being pasty white.

I did hear a rumour that the police got 2 guys they caught trying to jump the fence to pay in, then threw them out, telling them that the 20 they'd just paid was cheaper than the fine they would get.

[RossP]

The festival itself was a great idea, and very well run. No-one can criticise how well organised it was in terms of Health and Safety, Stage and PA Equipment, Drinks and Food, and Stewarding.

It was upsetting to hear that costs weren't covered, and i can only hope the VAT recoups some of that losses.

It was an awkward weekend for the event, considering all the afore mentioned events going on around Scotland, and slighty disappointing to hear that bands like Biffy Clyro, Robert Plant, etc were interested but couldn't play.

I hope this doesn't discourage Steve from putting on another event, despite the Press and Journal quote saying otherwise. From what i've seen, i think this is the first event he has ever put on with bands, and i think that is an important thing to consider. I think every promoter putting on a event or gig for the first time will struggle to make a profit, i mean the first gig we put on in Elgin with Alyssa's Wish resulted in a 400 personal loss, despite massive promotion, and a great line-up. But from there on every gig we put on with out of town bands resulted in profit, which eventually covered this loss two-fold. It was only through learning from the initial mistakes, and realising that we have to work within our means, that we turned it into a success.

And when we started these gigs, there was absolutely no music scene in Elgin and Moray at that time. Now there is a thriving scene with more local bands than ever, more gigs with out of town bands, greater press exposure and greater contact between musicians. A lot of this is to do with new local promoters like the guys from O.C.D and Saving the 9, Thanks Attack, They Made Me Do It, and especially with the help of the HUBL.

Moray music scene is continuing to grow, and with any luck next year there will be a greater public want of events like Keith Chaos. Perhaps Steve aimed to high, there were maybe overheads that could be cut, i don't know. Maybe he could hold a similar event in the Elgin or Keith Town Hall around Autumn or Winter, where the initial overheads would be cheaper, helping to secure a profit. We managed to hold a 2 day weekend event in the Elgin Town Hall with 8 bands which drew over 400 people over two nights, where overheads were kept low at 500, and managed to make a large profit while still paying the bands handsomely

I just feel it would be a waste to just abandon this idea of Keith Chaos, an Indoor event would work well i feel, when the weather is a little cooler. All these contacts you've made with the afore mentioned bands would go to waste if you didn't follow them up with another event. Losses can be covered, and over the course of 2, maybe even one more event, profits can be made which can help the Keith Cancer Link.

Thats my 2 cents, i hope Steve doesn't leave Keith Chaos at that, if he or anyone else is thinking of organising a similar charity event in moray, i might be able to help or be able to pass on some contacts or advice. Please get in contact with me either through PM, or at smallenclosedarea@hotmail.com.

[jester1470]

There is still money to come in hopefully from the caterers and the bar, that should offset a fair amount.

Cheers

Stuart

[Hog]

The way in which the Aberdeen newspapers dealt with Keith Chaos was a fucking joke. They did nothing to help the festival but thrived on the fact that it made a loss, IMHO that is gutter journalism. Fucking fuckers

[Hog]

There is still money to come in hopefully from the caterers and the bar' date=' that should offset a fair amount.

Cheers

Stuart[/quote']

If it wasnt for the fact that I was driving, the bar would of taken in millions, especially if myself, Del and Ian got going

[soundian]

If it wasnt for the fact that I was driving' date=' the bar would of taken in millions, especially if myself, Del and Ian got going [/quote']

I saved the heavy drinking until the hotel (11 bar tab, result!), I didn't have time until the Bluetones were on and a couple of the bands were hoovering all the backstage drinks, even my just opened can of tennents, bastards.

Is your head a shade of red Hog, most other slapheads were lobstered by the end of the day?

[Hog]

I saved the heavy drinking until the hotel (11 bar tab' date=' result!), I didn't have time until the Bluetones were on and a couple of the bands were hoovering all the backstage drinks, even my just opened can of tennents, bastards.

Is your head a shade of red Hog, most other slapheads were lobstered by the end of the day?[/quote']

lol, nah, factor 25 sorted that out

[jester1470]

If it wasnt for the fact that I was driving' date=' the bar would of taken in millions, especially if myself, Del and Ian got going [/quote']

nah, it was way too far for Del and Ian to walk you should have heard the strop when they thought they might have to walk back to the hotel

Cheers

Stuart