Get Daft Punk! - Booking a Festival Part 3

It is inevitable we need to build other shows around these bookings.  And who better to turn to than our good friends across the Tasman - the Aussies!

There are to main touring partners over this time.  We used to work with Falls Festival but the timings are just too tight timeframe wise, as their concert is on the 30th and 31st Dec.  It is near impossible to fly from Gisborne to Auckland to Melbourne to Lorne over night (as Franz Ferdinand found out in 2009). So we can't share acts any more.

So we share acts with the likes of Future Entertainment and Fuzzy who run the Summerdayz and Fielddays festival respectively in early Jan.  They are predominantly dance based, think Justice, Calvin Harris, Chromeo although there is some cross over with likes of NERD, Tinie Tempah and Grandmaster Flash.  And top Australasian acts like Cut Copy, Miami Horror and Architecture in Helsinki.

Even with our timeframe we are also competing with other festival tours down under over the summer period. Big Day Out, the biggest and arguable the most prestigious touring festival in the world. Laneways who like to host the hottest new indie acts around.  Ragamuffin the best in reggae. Parklife and Splendor in the Grass who tag onto the end of the European summer. Plus one off stadium tours such as U2, Coldplay, Kings of Leon and Pearl Jam in recent year bought down by the big promoters Michael Chugg and Michael Coppel etc.

And artists are spoilt for choice of where they play.  America touring market has taken off particularly for dance music. Deadmau5, David Guetta and Skrillex getting offered HUGE money to play NYE shows stateside.  Las Vegas has become a NYE mecca last year hosting Coldplay and Jay-Z.  David Guetta on the beach in Rio. The 02 Arena in London. Amsterdam, Berlin, Cape Town, you name it, there are gigs going on with competing offers on the table.

Jay-Z and Kanye NYE - Las Vegas

Nothing that competes with a festival in a kiwi vineyard surely!

Get Daft Punk! - Booking a Festival Part 2

There are other aspects we have to take into account when booking acts for R&V. From size of touring parties, to criminal records, as well as extravagant rider requirements.  One act we looked at wanted to bring 25 people all requiring everything from separate dressing rooms, big screen TV's, to private 6-star hotel suites, to five star luxury vehicles driving them around.  It is just not feasible or affordable sometimes in little 'old Gissy. 

Date clashes and family commitments are other challenges we have to deal with.  Given we are so close to Xmas many artists would rather take the time off to spend with family to rest after a busy year touring.

Some acts wouldn't be even able to land the production in airport in Gisborne. U2 or Muse for example requires multiple jumbo jets that house their staging, lighting, hundreds of crew etc.  It would take around 50 trucks to do the 7 hour drive to Gisborne.  This is just not feasible (currently...)

Imagine setting this up at Rhythm Stage!

There is the also the issue of establishing a tour to ensure a NZ date.

It is inevitable that we need to work with other touring territories to bring acts down under. As inviting as a on off festival performance in NZ is, artists are probably not going to get in a plane for 12-24 hours to play one show.

When I first started R&V I had this vision that we would bring bands down to Gisborne give them a beach house and they could hang out like everyone else. I had this romantic vision of R&V being a holiday for one and all, bands, friends, locals, all unified by the spirit of celebrating new years. We would party during the night and by day hang at the beach enjoying the of Gisborne. 

But R&V is not a holiday for bands. It is like going to work. Just instead of sitting at an office, they hop from airport to hotel, talk to media and get up on stage for an hour playing an instrument. That is what they do for a crust.

And to get paid this crust is also inevitable that bands need as many gigs as they can get their hands on. Although they look like the sit around and drink all day, this is the opposite - they live for playing live. Not only do they love to play, it is their job. They need to play to pay the bills and keep the record label happy. And live is paying the bills these days as record sales go down the gurgler.

This is exemplified by the time when I asked Cold War Kids if they would come to NZ play R&V then have a holiday. ie laze at the beach, drink wine etc? 

To my surprise the lead singer answered by asking if I had a spider was on my shoulder. I said no. He said 'good because we are not here to fuck spiders'.

I took that as a no.

Cold War Kids - Not here to fuck spiders

What I was meaning is would you come down to R&V if I pulled the holiday card and put on a big vacation for you all? 

What he was meaning was no they wouldn't. They want to play as many shows as they can. 

It is their job.

Get Daft Punk! - Booking a Festival Part 1

R&V has had some amazing artists over the years. From musical legends like Public Enemy and Moby, urban pop stars like Tinie Tempah and Santogold, DJ superstars like Carl Cox and Justice, through to homegrown favourites Fat Freddys Drop and Shapeshifter.

It is a real honor to be able to host these kinds of acts in our corner of the globe. Especially since R&V has only been at international level for the last three years!

But still the punters want more. So I thought I would tell you a bit more about the challenges we face when piecing our lineup together.

Hey I am as bigger music lover as anyone and would love to see a number of my idols and heroes on stage.  And it is not as though we don't try and get a number of acts to perform at R&V, quite the opposite, we spend all year hustling, door knocking, emailing and phoning some of the biggetts agents in the world trying to book these acts.

But there is always a reason such as timeframes, money, booking already we can't always get everyone we want.

for e.g. this year in particular

Get the Foo Fighters! - they are coming in Dec already for their own show

Get Prodigy - they have come twice in the past 18 months, not touring

Get Chemical Brothers - they came earlier this year, not touring

Get Foster the People - coming for Big Day Out

Get Kanye - coming for Big Day Out

Get The Strokes - Im trying! Even slipped a card under the managers door in New York!

Ok what about other kiwi acts?

Get Shapeshifter - they are already booked, playing at their own festival Coromandel Gold.

Get Fat Freddy's then - they are already booked, don't like playing big kiwi festivals anymore 

Get Katchafire - playing at BW (same city, same week?)

Get Six60 - we have!

Ok then well why dont you get Daft Punk we get asked. Get the world's most exclusive (/reclusive) live dance act, with the huge light pyramid production on the most expensive night of the year, on the corner of the globe! Ok sure!

Daft Punk - Live at Wireless, London, 2007

Earlier this year I actually sat down with the agent for Daft Punk.  Will they be available to offer on for a NZ booking? His answer: Your guess is as good as mine Hamish. He waits for them to contact him with their plans and they haven't been in touch with confirmed touring plans in the last 4 years.

Why? well here are some facts to consider.

a) they have only ever toured twice

b) there was 7 years between those two tours

c) they last time they toured was four years ago 

d) they don't do one off DJ sets 

e) they are french - so as we know in rugby the only thing you can rely on with them is their unpreticability.

Either way I did hear on the industry grapevine they got offered seven figures to play some big US festival next year. That is more than double our program budget alone! So we may be seeing them out on the road next year.