After Action Report: Bloc 2012

So Bloc 2012 crashed and burned.

It's still not really clear what went wrong, although from our vantage point on the ground, the failure seemed to come from a perfect storm of poor organisation, technical problems and issues with the venue. There's still a load of conjecture and rumours running about, and it's not clear whether the full truth will ever come out.

Over the past six years, Bloc has become an increasingly important part of the year for us, and whilst it was a shame to see it move location away from the holiday camps of old, we remained optimistic that it would survive the change in venue and an attempt to break into the UK festival mainstream, especially with such a strong lineup on offer. The disappointment of Friday's fail was crushing because we all had such high hopes for the weekend.

It would be a shame if the Bloc omnishambles were to sink Baselogic, although it is unclear how they will recover from this. Even if they survive the financial cost of refunding the punters and paying off the artists, venue and other huge costs associated with putting on a festival in the UK, the Bloc name will forever be associated with Friday's massacre. It seems that the five years of trust and goodwill generated by Bloc's amazing parties are pretty easily forgotten, although a lot of the internet rage on Facebook and the like appears to be coming from people who had no experience of Bloc before Friday. Whilst a degree of anger is understandable in the light of Friday's events, it is depressing to see the accusations of greed on behalf of the promoters. They've always come across as motivated by the music rather than the bottom line, and it seems that this time they bit off more than they could chew, rather than overselling to make a quick buck. You don't make money from electronic music anyway. Much like D&B, most people would pay £55 not to have to listen to the majority of the Bloc lineup.

Bloc had come to fill a niche in the UK scene that no other festival really met, and it's death is a huge loss for electronic and alternative music in the UK in general. Maybe it'll return, but I'm not holding my breath.

Having said that, before things went south, Amon Tobin's ISAM show was spectacular as ever, and Ray Keith on the Acid Waltzers killed it...

EDIT: Baselogic goes into administration [FACT MAGAZINE]
Refunds aren't looking too likely then.

Also, POSH PEOPLE COMPLAINING! Never would have had this sort of nonsense at Hemsby...