Dubai SoundCity review

It was the biggest music event in the UAE’s history – but how good was it, really? 22 Comments

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As excited as we’ve been for SoundCity over the last few months, we’ve also had grave doubts. It’s a natural reaction for anyone who’s lived here for any length of time.

After all, any Dubai event is subject not only to cancellations by temperamental artists but may also be shut down without notice (remember the partial cancellation of New Year’s Eve 2008?). And with 78 acts playing across seven venues, the scale and complexity of the operation made some kind of problem pretty much inevitable.

So when the cancellations began to trickle through – no Bloc Party, no De La Soul, Dirty Skirts’ visas declined – it wasn’t too much of a surprise. What was a shock was that, aside from them and Saturday headliners Echo & The Bunnymen, the rest of the show went smoothly.

Well, kind of. The schedule went by the wayside, of course, but after a muted beginning – Thursday’s openers (Evergreen and Sho?) found themselves playing to an audience of about three – things started to take off. Our highlights were Doves, who battled a bass-heavy speaker system to deliver their best tunes; Nitin Sawhney, whose nuanced, expansive music translated brilliantly to the live stage; and Super Furry Animals, who clocked in all their hits and handily prompted the audience with ‘APPLAUSE’ and ‘WOAH!’ signs. The was just The Irish Village, of course – the other venues had their own attractions, with gruff folkster Dan Mangan on the Festival Centre stage and party animals Foreign Beggars setting Alpha on fire being our two faves.

There were negatives, too. Happy Mondays looked like they were going through the motions, and The Farm’s first sober performance in their career (or so they said) also seemed to be their worst. And yes, stretching the whole thing out over three days was a bit of a mistake; Thursday was dead at first because – of course – everyone was still in work, and goodness knows what the bands made of the meagre few hundred people that turned up on Saturday. UK and US festivals can get away with going on for days because much of their audience is camping on-site. But here, with cosy beds to return to each night, attrition soon takes its toll. Couple that with extortionate drinks prices (Dhs35 for a coke? No thanks) and a hefty price tag for the three-day ticket, and taking a night off probably seemed like a good idea to many.

The locations, too, were a bit odd; we’d rather have multiple stages in one place than multiple venues across the city, though that is, perhaps, prohibitively expensive.

But it’s hard to fault someone for aiming too high, and the sheer scale and ambition of SoundCity has to be admired. We certainly hope that it comes back next year, with all the kinks ironed out.

By James Wilkinson
Time Out Dubai, 8 November 2009

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Posted by: Cami on 22 Nov ' 09 at 18:48

I really wanted to go to the event finale in Irish Village because I wanted to see the Wombats.. I was not able to go because the ticket were too damn expensive for me.. It made me feel a lot better seeing the comments.. I hope there will be a next time with a better line up.. I will go for sure if bloc party is in the list..

Posted by: Piers on 19 Nov ' 09 at 13:22

Posted by: Be honest on 10 Nov ' 09 at 08:35

"...you really can't call Doves, Ocean Colour Scene or Super Furry Animals legends. (Maybe De La Soul in the hip hop world and Happy Mondays are certainly legendary - but not these also-rans)"

Maybe not Led Zepplin-legendary but the aforementioned bands, in my eyes, are amazing. And just to see them in Dubai was more amazing.

I find some peoples criticisms of the UK-centric acts somewhat baffling - it's almost as though they bought the tickets without actually checking the line-up...

Posted by: Phil H on 14 Nov ' 09 at 15:18

I thought it was a great first attempt and the review is unfair especially with the organisation and logistics involved. There were some great moments. The Farm, the Doves and The Human League were awesome on the first night. I was a bit dissappointed with The Monday ie Shaun on the second night but the Wombats and Super Furry Animals on the last night were superb. We also saw a load of great bands including The Bicycle Theives, The Courteeners,Wave Machines and Post War Years. Overall an enjoyable few days!

Posted by: Scot on 13 Nov ' 09 at 20:27

James has certainly tried to highlight the positive with his review. Good job James but Dubai Sound City was a major let down. Sorry to say, the bands were totally centered towards the UK audience and even so I managed to get a fair few involved to come and hear the sounds of the UK. I was dissapointed to say the least, with the major band cancellations (Outlandish didn't have a problem performing earlier in Dubai?) and over the top food & drink prices. The least the organisers could have done is to offer some sort of reprive or even simple communication would have gone a long way. Apoorly organised event and what me & my mates want to know is how do we get our money back?

Posted by: Karien on 12 Nov ' 09 at 06:58

The event was a shambles! I paid Dh295 just to hear the Parletones, who went on stage about five hours later than advertised with only two band members (because organisers hadn't got the others visas) and they were then only given the chance to sing four songs! Absolute rip-off!

Posted by: Alan on 11 Nov ' 09 at 11:36

I personally really enjoyed the whole festival. Yes, there were some downsides (prayer times interfering) and some cancellations (if illness is the case - what can anybody do?!) but the whole thing for the first year was well put together.

I'd like some bigger headliners next year and 2 days might be a better idea, but then again if it was the same all over again next year i'd still go and enjoy it.

Ps Kieth, bands started at 1.30pm on Friday but had to stop for Prayer Times

Posted by: The customer is usually right... on 10 Nov ' 09 at 08:37

"Although many are complaining, I would like to challenge anyone to do it better! Then you can complain."

I think the consumer retains their rights to complaint whether or not they are prepared to organise a music festival themselves.

I don't work in the music industry and therefore wouldn't have the first clue about organising and promoting a festival. So, I hand over hundreds of my dirhams to someone else to arrange it. If I performed poorly at my job, I wouldn't challenge my client to do the work themselves, as my specialism is what they're paying for!

I agree that ambition is a good thing and support Justin's sentiment about having a better-executed festival next year.

Posted by: Be honest on 10 Nov ' 09 at 08:35

I don't like Bryan Adams or Status Quo either.

But you really can't call Doves, Ocean Colour Scene or Super Furry Animals legends. (Maybe De La Soul in the hip hop world and Happy Mondays are certainly legendary - but not these also-rans)

What strikes me as interesting is that people really think this line-up was cutting edge or exciting.

Fun - without question. Great for Dubai - undoubtedly. Adventurous and cutting edge? I really don't see it. Or hear it.

But I don't want cutting edge. I want a right royal knees up. That is what I got from Sound City. Bring on next year with more of the same please...

Posted by: Phil on 10 Nov ' 09 at 08:22

Great concept, didn't get it right. Those moaning about it being "Brit Band Biased" probably wanted to see more of Beyonce/Back Street Boys etc. The idea of bringing bands that have had good solid careers that us ex pats haven't had the chane to see was sound. In fact including Hip Hop in a "Guitar Band" type line up while trying to cater for a wider audience was just wrong. They should have been at a different venue in the town. (If they'd bothered of course).
But, it was and never can be "A Festival" Getting sponsors to overcharge for what is their worst selling beverages is a rip off, the food was a joke, so to try and compare to a "Proper Festival" is a joke. That said, it was a good weekend, I really enjoyed it, and look forward to the next one but it needs to be more carefully thought out for a time people DON'T have to work - Eid or similar. And yes, pay the extra few grand for a professional M/C, DJ, frontman next time.

Posted by: Justin on 10 Nov ' 09 at 06:30

As a musician in one of the bands who had no crowd to play to, Dubai SoundCity really should have thought things through a little more completely. Things were disorganized, nonsensical, and frustrating. There was little communication with the bands, and no one even announcing which band was on stage. This was even more problematic as each schedule printed was different and each proved wrong. The prices for entry were far too high for a music festival in a recession. The bands were really, really UK centric which disappointed many.

That said, at least someone has the ambition to try and pull off an event like this. I desperately hope they learn from their mistakes this year and keep promoting live music in Dubai. Although many are complaining, I would like to challenge anyone to do it better! Then you can complain. Hat is off to the ambition, let's work on the execution next year!

Posted by: Piers on 09 Nov ' 09 at 15:11

I agree with most of the review - people working Thursday and Sunday meant lacklustre crowds on the first and last days. Dhs35 for a pint was outrageous and the food was expensive. Oh and the oversight regarding Friday prayers was rather ridiculous.. Having said that, the music was quality. I grew up in Dubai and have had to make do with Bryan Adams, Status Quo et al so three days of watching legends such as Doves, OCS, SFA and good new bands like the Courteeners has more than made up for 20 years of dross. Like any new festival, attendances could be better but as long as the organizers learn from it and put on a bigger and better festival next year, they can't go wrong. I'd suggest having a venue that under 21's can legally enter, that has multiple stages, cheaper/better food & drinks and shuttle buses would vastly improve the event. Why not have it in the middle of the desert with camping? Or at Safa Park...

Posted by: Dawnage on 09 Nov ' 09 at 12:26

Luckily I was guestlisted for the entire weekend, otherwise I would have been massively disappointed with the poor organisation. When bands cancelled - as some of those I was looking forward to most, such as the Bunnymen, did - the solution was simply to make the waits between performances even longer. It is beyond comprehension why The Happy Mondays were two hours later than scheduled on a night when an earlier band had already dropped out. I suppose that with all of the hanging around, people will drink more; lucky for the bar management if no one else, I suppose.

I'd planned a night of clubbing after the scheduled 11pm gig, going from Alpha to Chi. In the event, I managed 45 minutes at Alpha, as the Mondays were delayed so much. It was not really the top night I had anticipated.

Saturday was shambolic. After the Bunnymen, SFA were the band I wanted to see most. They were pushed back to 11pm and, when that time arrived and The Wombats were still playing, I knew that SFA would not be on before midnight. I, like so many others with work in the morning, departed. I feel pretty sorry for bands who came all this way only to play to the hundred or so stragglers at the end of the night who weren't working the next morning, it must have been pretty demoralising given the scale of the venue.

Communication was appalling: there is no excuse whatsover for failing to update the website with the dropouts/delays; I was checking it constantly and would not have spent quite so much time sitting around, bored and waiting, if the organisers had had the courtesy to keep everyone in the loop.

Again, I was lucky not to have paid as I would have been very sorry indeed to have shelled out so much for the few bands I wanted to see and actually managed to enjoy.

Posted by: Festival Lover on 09 Nov ' 09 at 12:20

Nice idea 'You Tell Me' but won't this just become a list of people who were already here?

Try this game we used to play when going to festivals.

I say the name of a band I want to see at the festival. They get added to the line-up and then the next person chooses one. All the way up to 20 acts. Only rules are you can't have somebody who has already been used and it can't be anybody from Sound City 1.

We'll start with De La Soul (coz they didn't turn up - I always give a second chance) and I'll add The Streets.

1 De La Soul
2 The Streets
3 ???

Posted by: I-should-have-watched-HM-WHB-LADYtron-Blocparty- altogether on 09 Nov ' 09 at 12:14

It's just hard to choose to watch between any of your favorite bands when they all have overlapping time slots even in different not-so-distant venues. For a 3-day price, not to mention the sole reason why i buy for saturday event,EaTBM pulling out.. it's just not worth it.

Posted by: You Tell Me on 09 Nov ' 09 at 10:18

Yes there were loads of bands I have never heard of playing - but I'm gutted I couldn't make it to any of the events.

De La Soul (if they turned up) and Happy Mondays would be on my dream festival line up.

Lets hope that SoundCity 2.0 happens next year. Lets start the campaign here and now.

What is your dream line up? We've got space for 10 bands a day over 2 days. That is 20 days.

1 Happy Mondays
2 De La Soul

Any more?

Posted by: Rachel on 09 Nov ' 09 at 08:57

I disagree with most of the comments on here - the review isn't harsh. In fact, the reviewer has done his best to give some positives, but frankly the whole thing was ridiculous. With the number of headline acts being from a certain country and genre, the whole thing should've been called UK Sound City, because adding Dubai to the name isn't justified.
The only two hip-hop acts pulled out - De La Soul and Outlandish - and the venue just seemed dead during the day during all three days. How organisers expected that a festival of mainly UK acts would sell out is beyond me... perhaps certain individuals in the industry will realise that the UAE doesn't just consist of British expats.
I'm half British, so have heard of the acts having already seen some of them in the UK, but 100 per cent of my non UK friends hadn't heard of them, and complained about a lack of variety. Most of the local acts got sent to Festival City, and the only act that attracted an international crowd at the Irish Village was the brilliant Nitin Sawney.
If organisers want to set up Dubai Sound City II next year, here's some advice: mix up the acts' nationalities, mix up the genres, and please get local/Arab/Indian music execs involved in the business conferences who actually have a clue about what goes on in this region.

Posted by: the dude on 09 Nov ' 09 at 07:14

paid through nose for tickets, most of bands i wanted to see cancelled last minute, did get to see super furries, although they played a short half arsed set, leaving out many of the hits they normally play live, they seemed a bit uninterested too, organisers should at least refund the monies for failing to deliver what they promised.
thoroughly dissapointed

Posted by: Bez on 09 Nov ' 09 at 07:07

BIt of a harsh review.

Went all three days to the IV and would argue that there was enough to enjoy each day to justify the visit. Having said that I would agree that two nights would have made more sense than three - and it might have made the line ups each night more balanced as well.

Highlights of the weekend had to be The Automatic who gave it their all; ditto The Wombats who made up for the dreadful SFA's who played well, but who lack any stage presence (holding up messages to the crowd is just naff).

Agree that Happy Mondays were disappointing, but due to the overrun - they cut their original set and in doing so omitted to play some Mondays' classics such as Hallelujah and WFL.

However, your review fails to mention that the organisation was definitely above par for an event of this magnitude. The stage area was great. The sound was superb as well - and it is not often that you can say that.

Yes there were negatives. How can you justify Dhs 35 for a hot dog (and a poor one at that?). How can you take sponsor money from a drinks company to only serve their beverages and then add another Dhs 7 to the cost of a pint?

Also, it would have been better to have had a DJ to communicate with the crowd as well as to keep the place going between sets.

All told though, congratulations to everyone involved in SoundCity - it was a highly enjoyable weekend. And I look forward to next year's event.

Posted by: Pieman on 09 Nov ' 09 at 06:44

Overall - good weekend. Infact, one of the best weekends I've had over here. Good bands, good crowd. On the flipside, there were a lot of disappointed faces incuding mine when told that De La Soul had cancelled and then that Echo and the Bunnymen had cancelled the following day. Also, the gaps between bands on the Friday made me want to set fire to myself. At a festival like Sound City, you can't just walk to a random tent somewhere to kill time until the next act you want to see is on. Which is rubbish.

But then, its the first time and I had a cracking weekend so cant complain. Bravo sound city. Lets have more of this please.

Posted by: Ian McCulloch on 09 Nov ' 09 at 06:18

Were you even there?

Dhs 35 for a coke, er not.

Dhs 10 from the soft drinks counter.

Posted by: modart on 08 Nov ' 09 at 20:12

I went to all 3 days and find your review quite scathing, yes there were a few bands (4) who cancelled but those that turned up really did their best! The crowd were amazing & I for one am happy to have seen Gabriella Cilmi, The Automatic, OCS & and The Wombats all in 3 days - well done Dubai Sound City... yes there were some long intervals between acts this should be addressed but credit due it was a fun w/e with clean faciliteis lovely crowd and top bands. I actually enjoyed the different venues who wants to camp out at the same place for 3 days.

Posted by: keith on 08 Nov ' 09 at 13:30

Well I cannot comment on Thursday or Saturday but Friday at the Irish Village was a shambles. With the first band not appearing until well after 4pm, We then had to put up with over an hour down time (which was filled with dead air) between each act! The excuse we were given for this was "prayer time" but surely the organisers would have known about this when advertising the line up...?
I'm sure it was a resounding success for the I.V with the prices they were charging for drinks, but for myself and countless others the whole thing was a let-down.

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