No Big Day Out in 2015?

[the_flight_of_the_magpie]

Following on from today’s news that AJ Maddah is no longer involved in the Big Day Out, the Sydney Morning Herald have claimed that the festival will not be held in Australia at all next year.
According to SMH no bookings have been made at the venues where the BDO has been held in recent years. The General Manager of the Sydney Showground, Peter Thorpe, confirmed the news: “All I know is they cancelled the booking last week and we were told to release the date,” he told the paper. “It’s very disappointing for the fans and for us because it’s an iconic event. It was the first rock and roll event I went to and the first we held. I was there for 20 years at Paddington and we’ve been with it here ever since.”
Earlier today, Music Feeds reported that on June 4 Maddah and his wife Joanna Ward transferred their 50 percent stake in the festival over to US-based company C3 presents, who bought into the Big Day Out in January 2012. On the same day, Maddah stood down as Big Day Out director. According to reports, the newly appointed director of Big Day Out Presents is Blake Kendrick, whose LinkedIn profile lists him as “assistant Accountant to the Big Day Out”.
Maddah bought into the Big Day Out in September 2013, purchasing Ken West’s stake of the festival. According to Fairfax reports, the festival lost between $8- and $15-million on the 2014 event, which was headlined by Pearl Jam and Arcade Fire, but was marred by Blur’s 11th hour cancellation.

http://www.fasterlouder.com.au/news/39795/No-plans-for-Big-Day-Out-to-return-in-2015

 

[umina panther]

Meh hasn't been a good one since 03

 

[Chicken_Hunter]

Soundwave is the number 1 festival now. BDO is a steaming pile of poo.

 

[hineyrulz]

BDO has sucked for nearly a decade.

 

[Pete Cash]

It's just kind of plodding now days. It doesn't help it's being attacked from each angle by more focused festivals. Soundwave caters towards the metal/punk/30 year old harking back to his teens demographic. Stereosonic and it's ilk capture the dance types and your laneway festival goes hard at the trendy youth market. The Bdo is just all over the shop. I've enjoyed even the weaker ones I've been to but it's just not cutting edge any more.

 

[DB]

I think the issue is the others have their market.... Music has become so broad, that its hard for BDO to cater for everyone. Someone who loves Pearl Jam and Arcade Fire will say $150 or whatever it was last year was well worth it, but to others who love Skrillex will say its not worth it.

 

[Twizzle]

Too much middle of the road bands and crap lineups, I mean Kanye West ? Seriously

No wonder they lost so much money recently. I went last year mainly to see the Deftones and Primus.

Although the BDO itself may have losses he definitely picks up money on all the side shows.

 

[Dutchy]

Great, all the BDO f**kwits will end up coming to SW.

 

[ggmu]

Great, all the BDO f**kwits will end up coming to SW.

Yeah more shirtless douche bags at SW this year it is than.

 

[Zigwaa]

Was once a great festival but has declined well and truly.

Probably best to rest it for 5 years then come back with some new life in the festival.

 

[Zigwaa]

Great, all the BDO f**kwits will end up coming to SW.

Do not want

 

[Walt Flanigan]

I think the issue is the others have their market.... Music has become so broad, that its hard for BDO to cater for everyone. Someone who loves Pearl Jam and Arcade Fire will say $150 or whatever it was last year was well worth it, but to others who love Skrillex will say its not worth it.

It pretty much was just a Pearl Jam concert IMO. I went to the Gold Coast BDO and all the main acts had small crowds except for Pearl Jam.

Anyone else worth seeing was scheduled to play at the same time on smaller stages.

 

[Evil_Mush]

I just want Soundwave, or some sort of min-Soundwave to come to NZ (they had a sample of the bands last year at a show they dubbed "WestFest" but not quite the same). I've been meaning to go one day but just never get around to it.

Enjoyed by run of 11 BDO's between 2001-2011, but was not that sad on stopping going (apart from missing Soundgarden & Primus, most other bands I'd have wanted to see I've already seen).

 

[gUt]

Never been to a BDO, there were a couple that I regret missing but overall the line ups never appealed. I'm pretty fussy and SW gets my juices flowing about half the time. BDO: never.

 

[Twizzle]

Great, all the BDO f**kwits will end up coming to SW.

To watch douchebag bands like Steel Panther, no doubt

 

[canberra_raiders2k2]

I'll miss hearing about the massive junkie arrests and watching footage of drunk bogans walking in their blue singlet screaming woooo whilst being escorted by Police on the news.

 

[Red Bear]

Some of the criticized lineups are ones I've had the most fun at.

2012, where Kanye played, was heaps of fun. Frenzal Rhomb, Parkway were good fun, King Cannons were awesome, Kasabian quality, Grinspoon showed up and had a roaring set and Noel Gallagher was a fantastic way to end the night.

I went to 08/09/11/12, 11 and 12 had the worse lineups going in but probably were the most fun. Soundwave lineups have generally been just as shit.

And I think that can be the best thing about a festival, one with a heap of variety as BDO had at its peak. It's good to have a lineup of bands you'll never otherwise see together, compared to the specialist festivals where it's all very similar.


I'm pretty much done with bigger festivals anyway, enjoy something a bit smaller, and I think the BDO's demise is reasonable given it's run its race.

 

[pennywisealfie]

I hope SW doesn't now become BDO.

 

[Danish]

I hope SW doesn't now become BDO.

Let's be honest here, soundwave is just BDO but 15 years in the past.

As the only big rock festival in town it will likely try to include current popular acts next year and suffer the same problems

 

[Chicken_Hunter]

I hope SW doesn't now become BDO.

If that happens another metal/punk festival will replace it. The crowds that have attended Soundwave over the last few years indicate that there is plenty of demand for this kind of festival.