Pitch

Written By Lizzie T

Image Sourced from Resident Advisor: A poster that provides the lineup and date for Pitch 2024

Pitch-ure this; Four days OF camping, no stove allowed, restricted shower use, a hike to and from the nearest available water, sharing a porta potty with thousands of strangers, and loud music playing into the early morning. It doesn’t sound like the ideal way to spend your long weekend, yet if you add brilliant DJ sets, a great group of friends to boogie with, and no reception/responsibility, it becomes the ideal getaway!

 

This is what I wrote in anticipation for Pitch 2024. However, the severe weather conditions, with temperatures reaching highs of 40 degrees, coupled with dust flying around everywhere, and the ever-looming treat of bushfires, painted a different picture to what I had anticipate. To add to that, the event was abruptly cancelled midway due to said weather conditions. So, it was definitely a different from the getaway I imagined.

For Antony Maugeri ~

TW: Mentions of Death and Drug Use. 

While it is disheartening, it is important to acknowledge that a tragic accident had occurred during the festival. Twenty-three-year-old, Antony Maugeri, passed away after becoming unresponsive at the festival and was subsequently airlifted to the hospital (Abbot & Eddie, 2024). It was suspected that his death was due to a drug overdose, however, it is yet to be confirmed. Whatever your stance is on drugs I encourage you to sympathise and understand that it can’t have been the only contributing factor. The extreme heat for instance posed a significant challenge as well. Before the festival, “authorities were more concerned about the health and safety risk of partygoers during a heatwave than they were about the risk of a bushfire” (Abbot & Eddie, 2024). Despite this the festival still ran, with water stations running low at midnight, minimal shade in-between and at stages, and little to no information being provided to the attendees or the staff.

Nonetheless, although drug use is a common festival convention, banning it is not only unrealistic but has the potential to make things worse. According to Woodall (2024), pill-testing advocates have consistently maintained that the program may lessen the harm caused by the consumption of drugs at festivals by allowing people to comprehend more about the chemicals they are taking. Hopefully, the Victorian Greens are right when they say that Antony’s shattering death has the potential to trigger the premier, Jacinta Allan, to “shift gears and finally set up pill-testing” (The Guardian, 2024).

In hindsight, Pitch organizers should have cancelled or postponed the festival prior due to the extreme weather forecast and recommendations of the Bureau of Meteorology. Although they attempted to prepare for the conditions with extra shaded areas and what they claimed to be more water stations, it wasn’t enough. Despite this, I’d like to note that if it weren’t for the hazardous conditions Pitch 2024 could have been a well-run festival.

Festival Fits ~ 

As the festival gave up quickly so did my fits, and as a result, I didn’t get to wear all the outfits I had planned. I quite literally wore a giant t-shirt, a hat, and a scarf, on the last day because I was lazy and wanted to be sun safe. That was my priority on the other days too, so other than sunscreen, the essentials for the everyday fit were a big hat and a light scarf. The hat is obvious, but a scarf in that heat makes less sense. Other than a great way to protect your neck, it also makes for a great mask, that protects your sinuses from the amount of dust flying around.

 One thing about festivals, especially four-day ones is that people don’t expect you to look good by the end of it. Try not to care what people think when you’re dressing up for your days and wear something that is practical, comfortable and makes you feel confident. If you plan on going to a four-day festival anytime soon, bring backup options, pack for the changing weather, and bring clothes that you can wear casually around the campsite and festival!

Images taken by my friends: Some funky outfits and the sun protection methods shown! 

The Festivities ~ 

Although the actual festivities got cut short, there were still plenty of good times to go around, so I promise I’ll try to keep each day summary as short, and sweet, as possible.  

DAY 1: Arrival (8.3)

We decided to take the bus option, so we endured four, supposed to be a three, hour-long refreshing bus to the festival in Moyston. Upon arrival, we got straight in with little to no security search of our bags and searched around the campsite for our friends who had come early. We had agreed on a general location and were able to send each other the coordinates, so finding them amongst the many campsites was relatively easy. We did a bit of pre-gaming, got into our festival fits, and then headed off to the festival grounds, oblivious to what the weekend had in store for us. Everything was going amazing, we headed to the Pitch-Black stage and stayed there for nearly three hours before deciding we needed a break.

Upon taking this break we saw a sign that informed us that the music would stop at midnight that night, please keep in mind that it was supposed to play till 7 am. Without any other news, and people telling us the festival was likely to get cancelled, moods were low. To keep our spirits high, we rushed back into the festival to do all the boogying that was allowed. Even though Pitch tried to reduce the amount of partying, attendees, and DJs meant to be playing, started mini festivals throughout the campsites after midnight.

It’s assumed that the coordinators did that to reduce the amount of drinking and drug consumed as the next day was going to be ridiculously hot and therefore ridiculously dangerous for sleep-deprived, hungover, dehydrated individuals. Although that was their attempt, I think it had the opposite effect, with people not wanting to waste their money, so partying even harder on the first, and potentially last, night.

Images taken by my friends: A funky tree that had fallen but was growing from the side and a view from our campsite. 

DAY 2: Revival (9.3)

Determined to start the day on a good note we spent the morning rejuvenating ourselves with excessive amounts of water, and electrolytes. Afterwards, we walked around the campsite, scouring the help centers for information about the rest of the festival. All they could tell us was that no acts were running until 6 pm, that was it. So, the rest of the day was spent much like the morning, with a mid-day field trip to the Pitch Pavilion where we were given some refreshing tea, played with the crisp sand, read, and napped in a somewhat air-conditioned ‘room’. Most of the day had passed by then, so it was time to get ready and do what we all came to Pitch for!

Starting the night strong at the big red ball stage, aka. Resident Advisor, with KINK LIVES set. We bounced around the other stages, took a quick break then we stayed and partied at the Pitch One stage for Gerd Janson, X Club, I Hate Models, and jamesjamesjames b2b Willaris. K, which took us straight into the early morning before we made it back to our campsite and eventually to bed for some sleep before it got too hot to stay in our tents again.

Images taken by my friends: The sea of doof sticks from the Pitch One stage, how the revised set times and cancellation updates were announced to us, and the view from the Resident Advisor stage. 

DAY 3: Survival (10.3)

The last day was quite literally all about survival. Thinking we had the whole day and night of music, given that that’s what we were told. We decided to have a slow and relaxing start. We woke up, sat in our camping chairs, and then passed out in said camping chairs for the rest of the morning. After our well-deserved nap, we went to get some well-deserved food from the ‘food court’. We headed to the Pitch Pavilion again to cool down a little. Left for the campsite at about 4 pm, and that's when we found out the festival was stopping for good at 7:30 pm that night. With that in mind, we grabbed what we needed and headed straight back into the festival to make the most out of the music that was still playing. By the time we got in we only had time for one more set, SHERELLE, whose set was brilliant. I boogied so hard that I forgot this was our last set type brilliant. Sadly, after that, we caught one more song, being ‘Murder on the Dancefloor’ from another stage before the music was cut off for good. We took the hike back to camp, found out that buses weren’t running till 6 am the next day, packed up the majority of our belongings (to ensure a quick exit) and then went to party some more at one of the mini raves that had popped up around the campsite before ending the night, and painfully, the entirety of Pitch.

Images taken by my friends: From inside the Pitch Pavilion, our sun-safe attempt, and the sun setting over festival grounds. 


DAY 4: Removal (11.3) 

As disappointed as we were to be waking up at the time we were supposed to finish partying, we still managed to pack the rest of our stuff and race to the buses. We assumed there would be a long line of people desperate to get out, but exiting was reasonably smooth. We waited roughly five minutes, hopped on our bus and then we were out of there. We’re still waiting for any refund from Pitch, but they have updated us to inform us that they’re ‘working on it’, so hope is still in the air.

A Note to Festival Goers ~

I also want to comment on the waste that accumulates from camping festivals like Pitch. Before the festival attendees make doof sticks, buy camping equipment and pack supplies for the next four days. At the festival they use them, and then they abandon them. Whilst circumstances for leaving this festival were slightly challenging it doesn’t excuse the amount of waste that was around the campsite at the end. I’m frankly disgusted and disappointed that people think dumping that much in a national park, or anywhere, is okay. “It’s the worker’s/volunteer’s job to clean it up”, no it’s not. Don’t be those people. Your waste is likely to damage the environment before they even get the chance to attend to it. It’s your stuff, take responsibility and bring it home.

Tips and Tricks ~ 

  • Make a packing list. The way I pack for festivals like this is to think about what I would need if I were to go camping (i.e. camping chairs, lights, etc.), and then what would I need if I were hungover (i.e. Panadol, electrolytes, etc.). With those in mind, you should be able to create your ideal packing list but if that’s not enough sites like ‘Camping Buddy’ (see below) can come in handy.  

  • Stay hydrated and cool. My friends and I always carried multiple water bottles with us, as well as fans and spray bottles to beat the heat. Soaking your scarf (if you choose to bring one) is also great for keeping your body fresh throughout the day. Let’s just say it’s cool to stay cool ;)

  • Listen to the Festivals playlist before attending. There is no way you’ll know every song of every artist that is in the festival lineup of a four-day festival. If you do then I’m impressed, if you don’t that’s okay! You’ll have your favourite sets you’ll want to see but by listening to the festival's playlist you’ll be able to discover a whole new range of weird and wonderful music that you might have missed otherwise. 

    https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6JjUaB1XCJVi5ZdmPGVnp4?si=6b0fdba4b952424b 

  • Plan! Plan! Plan! Whilst there's no way you can plan for everything that might occur across the course of four days, you can try. For starters, I suggest planning your ideal campsite location, the sets you want to see, and your way to and from the festival. With that as a foundation, you can plan more fun things like group outfit themes and doof sticks. Not everything will go to plan, but there’s no harm in having one!

  • Take care of yourself and your mates. Festivals are meant to be fun. It’s hard to have fun when you feel sick, scared, or nothing. Don’t overdo it. Take rest breaks, check in with your mates, eat food, consume electrolytes, and visit the med tent if you need to. There is no harm in looking after yourself. You and your friends will have a better time from it. 

Final Festival Factors ~ 

You might find this shocking to hear but despite the weather conditions, mixed messages and actual cancellation of the festival, Pitch was incredible. Whilst not all artists that my friends and I went to the festival for performed, the ones that we got to see were well worth it. I had so much fun in these sets that the biggest thing I’m disappointed about is that I missed out on more of that fun. I can say though that four-day festivals aren’t for the faint of heart. So many other factors come into play that one-day festivals don’t have so never go to one assuming there anything alike. I recommend you attend a few one-day festivals, maybe even two-day ones that you must travel and camp for, before even considering something like this. Know that if you do decide to go it’ll be an experience you’ll never forget


See you at the next festival,

Lizzie T

Sources ~

Lizzie T
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