Sydictive Phuket Beach Bash Kicks Off Today – Amid Confusion And Stringent Rules

[Phronesis]

Can anyone update on whether there are many people there? Is it a success so far? How's the music? Anyone died, yet?

Please also check of that poorly secured corrugated iron has blown off in the predicted wind squalls and sliced off any body parts.

[Phronesis]

Can anyone update on whether there are many people there? Is it a success so far? How's the music? Anyone died, yet?

Please also check if all that corrugated iron is properly earthed in case it comes into contact with the high voltage makeshift 3 phase power supply.

Edited December 31, 2012 by Phronesis

[rheinwiese]

As expected it was a total fiasco. Crowd of perhaps 2-3000. Beer 200 baht. Music stopped at 3:30am.

Organizers are now busy deleting all the negative posts from their FB site.

[Guest]

Trying to hide negative feedback on the internet has always been such an great idea...

That will kick back and hard.

[Phronesis]

Can anyone update on whether there are many people there? Is it a success so far? How's the music? Anyone died, yet?

Please also check that Sydictive has a documented emergency response plan. And in particular, that the plan clearly illustrates:

1. How a fire resulting from entaglement of flaming "lucky ballons" in the barge rigging will be dealt with

2. How a make shift high voltage 3 phase supply can be installed on a barge while complying with earth leakage safety requirements in a wet or marine area

3. etc...etc...etc...

[Phronesis]

As expected it was a total fiasco. Crowd of perhaps 2-3000. Beer 200 baht. Music stopped at 3:30am.

Organizers are now busy deleting all the negative posts from their FB site.

Hmmm....ticket holders or walk by spectators....

[steelepulse]

As expected it was a total fiasco. Crowd of perhaps 2-3000. Beer 200 baht. Music stopped at 3:30am.

Organizers are now busy deleting all the negative posts from their FB site.

Surprise, surprise. Also note that agreement which stated no alcohol sales will be permitted and no fencing in of the party was not quite adhered to. I'd hate to see safety issues not adhered to, but I'm sure they are not up to snuff on the safety issues.

[Ken from Karon]

They planned their own airline to bring 50,000 people to the island. They planned to have any number of celebrities come to the party. They planned the largest floating stage in the world. They promised to compensate local contractors. They promised so much and have delivered a mess. They will walk away from this mess tomorrow and the rest of the island will have to cope with the damage to the reputation and the consequences.

[noob7]

Can anyone update on whether there are many people there? Is it a success so far? How's the music? Anyone died, yet?

Please also check if all that corrugated iron is properly earthed in case it comes into contact with the high voltage makeshift 3 phase power supply.

That should be ok, it stuck in it! And as soon, the ground gets wet, it's much better, too!

[noob7]

As expected it was a total fiasco. Crowd of perhaps 2-3000. Beer 200 baht. Music stopped at 3:30am.

Organizers are now busy deleting all the negative posts from their FB site.

That sounds like the Karon party

They planned their own airline to bring 50,000 people to the island. They planned to have any number of celebrities come to the party. They planned the largest floating stage in the world. They promised to compensate local contractors. They promised so much and have delivered a mess. They will walk away from this mess tomorrow and the rest of the island will have to cope with the damage to the reputation and the consequences.

Na, some compensation had to be done, beforehand.

The decider on the island did their best, to milk, but not do let this contest to be successful!

A quick guess: The same (Phuket) people will start over with this great idea, next year. A bit smaller, a bit less negative publicity, a lot cheaper.

And with alcohol and not for free! Things changing, 12 month is a long time, to make things go away, for a local organized event!

[NamKangMan]

This event is "same same - not different" to Phuket itself.

Has the potential to achieve so much and to deliver, but is sabotaged and held to ransom by a few "influential people" on this island that are holding back Phuket for their own greedy gain.

Whilst this event is not my type of party, it could have been a success, if officials here gave it a chance.

Accommodation, bars, restaurants, cafes etc, would have made money from this event if it were allowed to be a success.

Party goes could have had a great night and this would have raised the profile of Phuket, instead, we have yet another debarcle, and we have to live with this administration everyday.

Edited December 31, 2012 by NamKangMan

[Phronesis]

This event is "same same - not different" to Phuket itself.

Has the potential to achieve so much and to deliver, but is sabotaged and held to ransom by a few "influential people" on this island that are holding back Phuket for their own greedy gain.

Whilst this event is not my type of party, it could have been a success, if officials here gave it a chance.

Accommodation, bars, restaurants, cafes etc, would have made money from this event if it were allowed to be a success.

Party goes could have had a great night and this would have raised the profile of Phuket, instead, we have yet another debarcle, and we have to live with this administration everyday.

But look on the bright side....

Karen Bravo may still get a beer out of me...

[stevenl]

This event is "same same - not different" to Phuket itself.

Has the potential to achieve so much and to deliver, but is sabotaged and held to ransom by a few "influential people" on this island that are holding back Phuket for their own greedy gain.

Whilst this event is not my type of party, it could have been a success, if officials here gave it a chance.

Accommodation, bars, restaurants, cafes etc, would have made money from this event if it were allowed to be a success.

Party goes could have had a great night and this would have raised the profile of Phuket, instead, we have yet another debarcle, and we have to live with this administration everyday.

But look on the bright side....

Karen Bravo may still get a beer out of me...

To make it a success the organisers should have contacted authorities more than 2 months in advance. Yes, the authorities should have handled it differently, more decisive, but the main people responsible for the failure are the organisers.

[tinfoilhat]

@ chainsaw from previous thread, I know many great musicians who can't write a song,can only play what they are told to play, great football managers who were terrible players, great story tellers who can't write a book, food critics who can't cook, great movie directors who can't act, some of the greatest songs wrote were by average talented people, session musicians are normally the best at what they do, very few reach stardom, i agree, to me this computer dance music is over rated, but these guys sit in a studio and tell the session players what they want and they do it, again back to the football manager (sir Alex) he is the vision, the song writer if you will, the footballers are his session players, super talented, without the guidance, creativity of the manager would it work, same as the Akon's, will-i-am, all the dance artists, it is there creativity and vision we hear, a computer is only as good as it's operator, they start will a blank canvass like a paint artist and create, there is a snobbery and has been for years regarding musicians, they are like football pundits, know everything to know yet never get out there bedrooms and if they do reach the dizzy heights of average, i notice a lot of respected musicians on the island using computer generated karaoke tracks/ backing tracks, they are just computer generated sounds, but you'll reply, "thats different!!!!, someone has had to create them, exactly" have these muso's sold out aswel?????, although again dance music is not my thing, the best producers and musicians in the world rate them, from what i can hear out of my window, these are not amateurs, they are polished, talented, professional and dedicated to a art form, i bet i'm , remember Elvis, beatles, Stones, the who, doors, Floyd, Zepplin, ozzy, deep purple, hard rock, glam rock, sex pistols, clash, punk, new romantics, hip hop, house, grunge, britpop, soft rock, trance, all radical evolution of music to the previous generation,your sounding like my dad when i introduced him to Barry Manilow, sorry i mean the velvet underground and early Floyd, so enjoy and join the

I agree with your post britpop, however, this "music" appeals to a very small market on Phuket, namely, the 18 to 25 year olds. Given that this event is being staged to be profitable, or at least start a tradition for New Years Eve parties to be profitable in the future, I would have thought the organisers may have targeted a wider audience.

Certainly, the target market for a party with this music is for the younger generation, who would rather pop a pill and dance all night than purchase a Thaibev product. This is why the tickets for these events cost so much, because you do not make any money out of the party goers once they are inside.

If the organisers held the party with, for example, "The Beach Boys Revival Band" or something similar, would that have not appealed to a wider audience, namely the 35 to 60 year olds, and the people that will buy alcohol.

Or, they could have gone down the "cultural path" and called it the "Phuket New Years Eve Internalional Party" and had some music from all around the world to cater for the diverse tourism here. They could have had a jumping castle for the kids etc and also target young families.

They could have even done both by having mellow music at sunset and into the evening for the older genration, and then at 12:30am or 1am had the DJ dance music for the younger ones until the sunrise.

These are just two ideas off the top of my head, but with many members on TV mocking the music that will be played at the party, perhaps the organisers have picked the wrong target market, as soon as they picked the artist for the gig.

excuse me, but i am 45 and have been listening to and loving electronic dance music for the last 20++ years. As have the majority of my friends, many of whom are DJs preforming in Phuket, koh phangan, bangkok and Vietnam, indoneesia, singapore, hong kong and worldwide.

your remarks that it is an 18-25 year old thing simply show how detached from the scene you truly are.

have you noticed that the most successful djs all seem to be in their 40's? why you ask? because the scene has been around for many years.

to quote thai visa as an arbiter of taste is ridiculous. A group of people posting on a website with a clear demographic heading into senility is hardly indicative of the whole of phuket, which has a good electronic scene.

the issue with this event is it has been poorly planned and even more poorly programmed. the talent is a mish mash of second tier artists with few exceptions.

As to a beach boys revival, you are joking, right?

[Guest]

Akon ‘definitely not appearing’ at Phuket megaparty

PHUKET: Senegalese R&B and hip-hop performer Aliaune Damala Badara Akon Thiam – better known as Akon – will most definitely not be the headliner at the Sydictive party tonight (December 31). In fact, he won’t be appearing at all.

Nattha Thepbamrung

Monday 31 December 2012, 01:03PM

The Phuket News has received a copy of a cancellation letter from his Asian agent, Wonderful Artists Management (WAM), in which Steven Lin alleges the Sydictive organisers have continued to promote the event using Akon’s name despite the fact that Akon’s fees and air tickets were not paid by the agreed deadline of December 1.

“Please be advised that your failure to pay these monies constitutes a material breach of contract,” the complaint to Voraphan Packaging Co warns in the letter dated December 11 – almost three weeks ago.

“Furthermore it is our understanding that you also published unapproved marketing materials of the artist to promote the engagement. Also despite our numerous requests to remove the materials, to date, the materials are still available on your social media page and website.

“...Artist will exercise all rights and remedies under the contract, including the right to not perform the engagement...”

In the email to which the letter is attached, Mr Lin adds, “Akon has been cancelled since early December, Sydictive has been using his image, name, logo, and likeness to promote their festival without permission.

“Attached is the formal cancellation notification which was both [emailed] and mailed by certified mail to them … This sounds like [a] real mess.”

This morning, there were no pictures of Akon on the website or the Facebook page, though Akon was still listed as the last name on the list of performers for tonight (December 31).

Attempts to reach Sydictive organisers for comment this morning met with no response.

Meanwhile, yesterday’s first night of the concert (December 30) appeared to be a damp squib.

Organisers had announced that the first day of the Sydictive party would begin at 3pm, with some 50,000 people expected to flood into the walled-off party area to be entertained by stunning world-class music and entertainment from the world’s largest floating stage.

The reality was rather different. At 3pm there was no stage – it was being transferred from the other side of the island. As a result, the start of the concert was postponed to 8pm.

Around 6pm, when The Phuket News arrived, the stage was off Patong Beach and the concert area had been walled off. But the stage was still not ready. Jirat Petchnunthawong, CEO of Sydictive, said that the tide was not high enough for it to be positioned correctly.

The two barges for VIPs were nowhere to be seen, and it was later announced that they would be reserved for tonight only.

Despite the ban on alcohol imposed by Phuket Provincial Police Commander Maj Gen Choti Chavalviwat, Chang beer was on sale in the venue, but the General did not seem worried.

“Let’s see what happens,” he told The Phuket News at about 7:30 pm. “The concert preparation seems pretty poor. There’s not much in the way of equipment. It seems like there’s not much substance to it.

He added, “I will be back again to check around the area at Patong Beach.”

At 9pm there was a flurry of excitement as two men identified as deejays arrived surrounded by more than 20 security officers. But they did not go out to the stage, and no one seemed to know just who they were.

By 11pm perhaps 500 people were dancing on the beach to songs played through the beach sound system. But the floating stage seemed to be plagued with problems, with the huge screens blinking out and the sound system apparently not working.

After five hours of waiting for something – anything – to happen, The Phuket Newsgave up and went home.

A journalistic colleague later posted a story saying that “a Japanese DJ” [Ken Ishii] took the stage finally at 11:45. But then the colleague, too, went home.

Source: http://www.thephuketnews.com/akon-%E2%80%98definitely-not-appearing%E2%80%99-at-phuket-megaparty-35876.php

[LOS1234]

This event is "same same - not different" to Phuket itself.

Has the potential to achieve so much and to deliver, but is sabotaged and held to ransom by a few "influential people" on this island that are holding back Phuket for their own greedy gain.

Whilst this event is not my type of party, it could have been a success, if officials here gave it a chance.

Accommodation, bars, restaurants, cafes etc, would have made money from this event if it were allowed to be a success.

Party goes could have had a great night and this would have raised the profile of Phuket, instead, we have yet another debarcle, and we have to live with this administration everyday.

i agree as well... but even with all the planning this was doomed for failure... the powers to be would never have let it succeeded... only extract more funds from the oraganizers and more hoops to make it fail. its alot of the same all through out the island from selling watermelon on the street corner, setting up proper transportation, to an event like this. i was hoping they could pull it off. so other half would have lost face and the people who paid could have enjoyed. just another black eye for phuket that will be passed on thru the internet and forums.

i guess it pays better to be a silver spoon kid where you can extort, monopolized, beat, and abuse your customers. i hope this young thai man who was trying to make something good will take it more of a learning experience and move it on to another place that would appreciate and help you bring success and tourist into the place. phuket is not the place. why anyone would invest any amount money into this place is beyond me.

the organizers should refund money to the people who paid if they ask. this would gain alot of credibilty to them for the future if they are planning to do this somewhere else. anybody that knows and reads about phuket i think can understand why it failed and would fail even if everything was well planned ahead.

[Ken from Karon]

i hope this young thai man who was trying to make something good will take it more of a learning experience and move it on to another place that would appreciate and help you bring success and tourist into the place. phuket is not the place. why anyone would invest any amount money into this place is beyond me.

the organizers should refund money to the people who paid if they ask. this would gain alot of credibilty to them for the future if they are planning to do this somewhere else. anybody that knows and reads about phuket i think can understand why it failed and would fail even if everything was well planned ahead.

+1

[Phronesis]

Perhaps it would have been (permitted to be) a success if their plan included using the local Tuk Tuks

Edited December 31, 2012 by Phronesis

[NamKangMan]

@ chainsaw from previous thread, I know many great musicians who can't write a song,can only play what they are told to play, great football managers who were terrible players, great story tellers who can't write a book, food critics who can't cook, great movie directors who can't act, some of the greatest songs wrote were by average talented people, session musicians are normally the best at what they do, very few reach stardom, i agree, to me this computer dance music is over rated, but these guys sit in a studio and tell the session players what they want and they do it, again back to the football manager (sir Alex) he is the vision, the song writer if you will, the footballers are his session players, super talented, without the guidance, creativity of the manager would it work, same as the Akon's, will-i-am, all the dance artists, it is there creativity and vision we hear, a computer is only as good as it's operator, they start will a blank canvass like a paint artist and create, there is a snobbery and has been for years regarding musicians, they are like football pundits, know everything to know yet never get out there bedrooms and if they do reach the dizzy heights of average, i notice a lot of respected musicians on the island using computer generated karaoke tracks/ backing tracks, they are just computer generated sounds, but you'll reply, "thats different!!!!, someone has had to create them, exactly" have these muso's sold out aswel?????, although again dance music is not my thing, the best producers and musicians in the world rate them, from what i can hear out of my window, these are not amateurs, they are polished, talented, professional and dedicated to a art form, i bet i'm , remember Elvis, beatles, Stones, the who, doors, Floyd, Zepplin, ozzy, deep purple, hard rock, glam rock, sex pistols, clash, punk, new romantics, hip hop, house, grunge, britpop, soft rock, trance, all radical evolution of music to the previous generation,your sounding like my dad when i introduced him to Barry Manilow, sorry i mean the velvet underground and early Floyd, so enjoy and join the

I agree with your post britpop, however, this "music" appeals to a very small market on Phuket, namely, the 18 to 25 year olds. Given that this event is being staged to be profitable, or at least start a tradition for New Years Eve parties to be profitable in the future, I would have thought the organisers may have targeted a wider audience.

Certainly, the target market for a party with this music is for the younger generation, who would rather pop a pill and dance all night than purchase a Thaibev product. This is why the tickets for these events cost so much, because you do not make any money out of the party goers once they are inside.

If the organisers held the party with, for example, "The Beach Boys Revival Band" or something similar, would that have not appealed to a wider audience, namely the 35 to 60 year olds, and the people that will buy alcohol.

Or, they could have gone down the "cultural path" and called it the "Phuket New Years Eve Internalional Party" and had some music from all around the world to cater for the diverse tourism here. They could have had a jumping castle for the kids etc and also target young families.

They could have even done both by having mellow music at sunset and into the evening for the older genration, and then at 12:30am or 1am had the DJ dance music for the younger ones until the sunrise.

These are just two ideas off the top of my head, but with many members on TV mocking the music that will be played at the party, perhaps the organisers have picked the wrong target market, as soon as they picked the artist for the gig.

excuse me, but i am 45 and have been listening to and loving electronic dance music for the last 20++ years. As have the majority of my friends, many of whom are DJs preforming in Phuket, koh phangan, bangkok and Vietnam, indoneesia, singapore, hong kong and worldwide.

your remarks that it is an 18-25 year old thing simply show how detached from the scene you truly are.

have you noticed that the most successful djs all seem to be in their 40's? why you ask? because the scene has been around for many years.

to quote thai visa as an arbiter of taste is ridiculous. A group of people posting on a website with a clear demographic heading into senility is hardly indicative of the whole of phuket, which has a good electronic scene.

the issue with this event is it has been poorly planned and even more poorly programmed. the talent is a mish mash of second tier artists with few exceptions.

As to a beach boys revival, you are joking, right?

I'll be staying away from Bangla Road and Patong Beach tonight. I'll be going to a BBQ at a friends place that has a balcony overlooking Patong. I like all genres of music, and we'll be playing plenty of them tonight. However, I would like to have a look inside the party and see how many over 50 year old's are in there, and yes, that is a big market on Phuket.

Events like this are not put on for charity. They are supposed to make money. A good start would be to appeal to a broader audience, rather than a niche market. If your friends are really DJ's, they know exactly the crowd their music appeals to and exactly the drug abuse associated with that crowd, hence, alcohol sales are minimal. Does any of that bother me? No. Will the event be profitable just targeting this market on Phuket, probably not.

Just because you like electronic music doesn't mean the majority of potential customers like it as well. It's a large party on a beach, not a small party in a music lounge or nightclub. You mock me for suggesting putting on music from a past generation, such as The Beach Boys cover band, but I have not critisized electronic music, just stated it appeals to a narrow section of the market. So, who really is the music critic? At least I like both of those genres, unlike yourself, with such a specific taste in music. I even suggested the event could cater to both genres and generations, but you wouldn't entertain that idea.

There's always something to blame on Phuket. Protests in Bangkok, floods, bird flu, SARS etc. The bottom line is the Thai officials and promoters could not get it together, for probably a myriad of reasons. All involved are to blame.

At 45, you will probably the oldest guy at the party. I hope you get your 2500 baht worth and spare a thought for the thousands of over 50's who can not go down to Patong Beach tonight with a few beers and friends to see in the New Year.

For the record, it's well known on TV that I am not over 50. Have a great night.

Edited December 31, 2012 by NamKangMan

[Phronesis]

But the floating stage seemed to be plagued with problems, with the huge screens blinking out and the sound system apparently not working.

Hmmm... Unearthed make shift high voltage 3 phase electrics in a marine environment...

Hate to say I told you so...

But I told you so...

Edited December 31, 2012 by Phronesis

[NamKangMan]

This event is "same same - not different" to Phuket itself.

Has the potential to achieve so much and to deliver, but is sabotaged and held to ransom by a few "influential people" on this island that are holding back Phuket for their own greedy gain.

Whilst this event is not my type of party, it could have been a success, if officials here gave it a chance.

Accommodation, bars, restaurants, cafes etc, would have made money from this event if it were allowed to be a success.

Party goes could have had a great night and this would have raised the profile of Phuket, instead, we have yet another debarcle, and we have to live with this administration everyday.

But look on the bright side....

Karen Bravo may still get a beer out of me...

To make it a success the organisers should have contacted authorities more than 2 months in advance. Yes, the authorities should have handled it differently, more decisive, but the main people responsible for the failure are the organisers.

I think all involved are to blame for this debarcle. The organisers from Bangkok probably underestimated the resistance, or tea money involved, at the local level, to stage an event such as this, and the local officials were probably trying to screw the organisers for every baht, to the point of cancelling the event.

Their greed is killing this place.

[taninthai]

So the biggest name on the line up has to be basement jaxx are they still playing ,is it the whole group doing a live p.a or just one of them turning up to do a dj set...,,

[Guest]

I think all involved are to blame for this debarcle. The organisers from Bangkok probably underestimated the resistance, or tea money involved, at the local level, to stage an event such as this, and the local officials were probably trying to screw the organisers for every baht, to the point of cancelling the event.

Their greed is killing this place.

That and furthermore, according to the Phuket News article, the organizers were not really honest to their customers either.

Real tom yam.

[BookMan]

They are certainly copping it in their FB page

[DaveHKT]

At least the party goers can head off to Hollywood when the beach party is closed down at 3-30, Hollywood doesn't close until 5-00am ( I wonder who owns that establishment?)

[hansgruber]

Hope the attempt at gaining face at the expense of the tourists and locals was worth it.

Toupe Dr can go crawl under a rock for a while.

[KarenBravo]

Am so glad in so many ways that this event fell on it's arse.

[NamKangMan]

At least the party goers can head off to Hollywood when the beach party is closed down at 3-30, Hollywood doesn't close until 5-00am ( I wonder who owns that establishment?)

I think the same guy who owns The Chiang Club Pool Hall on Soi Sansabai that is "allowed" to open 24/7 and picks up the crowd from every closing establishment in Patong.

[noob7]

At least the party goers can head off to Hollywood when the beach party is closed down at 3-30, Hollywood doesn't close until 5-00am ( I wonder who owns that establishment?)

The son of the major, who is the head of the TukTuk association of Patong and also was the guy,, giving this party the 'Go' on Patong beach.

No wonder, right? I mean, the shutdown before 6am! No one cares the hotels and sleepers, but the own business is very well taken care off!

[Ken from Karon]

Found on FB page, Phuket's Best Events