EO loves a good debate. Thankfully, EDM is a hotbed of contentious issues, interesting ideas, and good ol’ fashioned arguments. Each week, we’ll pick a different topic to examine and discuss. Who knows, maybe you’ll even feel enlightened by the time we’re done…
This week: Why a drug-death at a festival doesn't have to spell the end of it anymore, and why that's a good thing.
Want to know why? Read on to find out more.
As festival season approaches, it's important to make sure you're well prepared for whichever one you choose to go to (should you be fortunate enough to get there at all). For some people, as well as the tent, and the wellys, and the glow sticks, that includes making sure you're 'sorted' for the weekend ahead.
It would be fair to say that I have fairly strong opinions about drug use, and moreover, the ties between illegal substances and the culture of EDM, but this piece isn't really about that - I'll save that topic for another day. No, this is about dealing with the consequences. Briefly though, I firmly believe that illegal substances (or indeed, 'legal highs') aren't necessary in the slightest in order to enjoy a gig or festival. But, I also respect that people may think otherwise, and I try not to preach this to people who may disagree with my point of view. At the end of the day, if you want to take the stuff, then that's fine with me. As long as it doesn't affect me in anyway, then whatever, get on with it as far as I'm concerned.
But the thing is, all too often, substance abuse can affect the ordinary festival goer, who, like me, has no interest in drug use whatsoever. It seems that, with increasing frequency, we hear reports of deaths at music festivals - usually from drug overdoses, and more often than not, at electronic or EDM festivals. Though obviously sad, what really bothers me is that this can often lead to the cancellation of said event. In September last year, New York's Electric Zoo Festival was cancelled midway through, following the deaths of two people from an ecstasy overdose. And even more recently, just a few months ago in March, Future Music Festival in Malaysia (admittedly not strictly an EDM festival), was cancelled following six drug-related deaths.
What makes me so incredibly angry about this, is that for some unknown reason, I'm expected to feel sorry for whoever died. Now, I'm sorry, but why on earth should I do that? I tell you who I feel sorry for - I feel sorry for their family and friends, who have to deal with the pain of their death. I feel sorry for the artists due to play, who lose out on what could have been one of the best experiences and performances of their lives. I feel sorry for the festival organisers and promoters, who toiled for weeks and months, planning every meticulous detail to put on a fantastic event, only for them to have to pull the plug and take a massive financial hit - yes, they'll have insurance to recoup most of the costs, but you can bet they'll still be out of pocket. And most of all, I feel sorry for the thousands of punters who have travelled thousands of miles to see their favourite artists, or to enjoy the festival experience, who then have to deal with the disappointment of an early bus home (believe me, when you've been waiting for a festival all year, and it gets cancelled, it's gut-wrenching. I was at Creamfields in 2012 when that was cancelled halfway through, though on that occasion it was due to freak weather conditions, not drug abuse).
The one person I absolutely do not feel sorry for, is the selfish sod that went and killed themselves in the first place, and caused all of this for everyone.
You could argue that the cancellation of a festival following one of these incidents is in the interest of attendees' safety, I suppose - it might protect people from a bad batch of MDMA or whatever else. But why should we have to protect people from their own stupidity? Just let natural selection continue to take place, and the rest of us can just carry on with our lives, thank you very much.
Look, in my view, at this point we should just accept that some idiot will get themselves killed at a festival through substance abuse, and get on with things. It's totally unfair that the actions of a few should totally ruin everything for so many people. I'm done with having to feign pity for people who OD on God-knows-what.
And do you know what? It looks like I'm not the only one that feels like this, and that others are starting to get fed up.
Last year, The Warehouse Project in Manchester (which I attended a few nights of - you should definitely go if you get the chance) saw the death of a man on the first night of its yearly event series. The cause? You guessed it, dodgy drugs. It was a contaminated batch of ecstasy that saw two others hospitalised. At the time, event security was made even tighter for the remaining events (a nightmare for the rest of us), and it was soon announced that TWP wouldn't be taking place this year. No official reason was ever really given, but it felt very much as if they wanted to take stock and reflect on what had gone wrong on that first night, and how to prevent it. But then curiously, a month or two ago, teasers started to show up, and another full blown event series was indeed announced for this year. It almost felt like a bit of a victory for common sense, and that we wouldn't let something like that stop the party.
And then this year, there were at least two deaths at EDC Las Vegas a few weeks ago. It's not clear quite yet that drugs played their part, but it was indicated early on that this may well have been the case. In 2010, at the same festival, there was a drug related death, and this was a contributing factor to the whole festival being moved to a different venue the following year. This year? The festival ploughed on to complete its awesome lineup. Even more recently, last week's Glastonbury festival saw a drug-related death, and it was the same story. They just carried on.
(Oh, by the way, it's worth noting at this point that there was a second death at Glastonbury this year, as someone died in their tent overnight through entirely natural causes, and I'd just like to stress that in this piece, my anger is directed only at drug-related deaths, and that of course I'm immensely sad and have the upmost sympathy when people tragically die through no fault of their own.)
It's time for other festivals to take note. Moreover, it's time to stop blaming festival organisers for the actions of a few individuals - what more can they possibly do? If people really want to get drugs in to a festival, they'll bloody-well find a way. But let's stop letting this spoil the fun. People who take substances they've procured at festivals know the risks, so they can't be surprised - and we can't be expected to feel for them - when they succumb to these.
You might think I'm being too harsh here, and of course, I would never actually wish death upon someone. God no.
Just don't expect me to feel sorry for them when things go tits up.
-----
This is the part where you tell me what you think. Do you agree? Or do you have a slightly more sympathetic view? Get in touch, either in the comments, or on Facebook or Twitter.
Writer, musician, and all-round top guy. I set up Excited Octopus. Currently, I'm on a one man team. It gets lonely sometimes. But I don't mind, because I love you all.
0 comments:
Post a Comment