official Covenant Forum

Welcome to the forum! I'm from the States too. I went to two festivals last year- Amphi and then Waregem. Fortunately these were not in competition with each other as the dates ran sequentially and I was able to hop over to Belgium from Cologne when Amphi had finished.

I liked Waregem much better for a few reasons- one being the lineup that year just sent me over the moon. Secondly, althought it was big being it was indeed a festival, it was indoors so it was more of the intimate club atmosphere that we in the States are used to.
Outside right out front (ok, out front and to the right) they had snacks and a covered area with tables to nosh at.

Thirdly, I liked how Amphi was set up. When one act was performing, the second stage was being torn down/set up for the next act- so things ran very fluidly and you didn't miss an act if you didn't want to. The thing that SUCKED about Amphi was that I had to choose between whom I wanted to see- hm, do I want to finish Sonar, or do I want to go watch Portion Control, for instance. The main stage and the minor stage (which is indoor) run at the same time. But I think the same applies to WGT so you might be screwed on that account. Just get ahold of the scheduled acts and figure out who you want to see and when. It is totally beneficial to have a plan ahead of time because winging it once you are there just isn't going to work.

The main reason for this is because Amphi/WGT/ML are HUGE. To our little wide-starry-eyed American eyes, it's monstrously gigantic. We're used to Black Sun and the intimacy of club dates. Oh no. Big big change. I can't recall the estimate of how many people were at Amphi last year but good lord what a shock! Not in a bad way, I mean. It's just totally different than what I was used to. There are merchants and merch booths all over the place, beer all over the place (yay!), and snacks all over the place (pommes frites mit mayo- yay!). It's very much a festival atmosphere and on a much much larger level than, say, Black Sun. Which I keep referring to because it's pretty much the only equatable thing we have here on this side of the pond. Also, camping is a normal part of the festival experience though I never have done it (almost did, but then the taxi came! ).

I have never been to M'era Luna but I am pretty sure it's set up the same way as WGT and Amphi. It's really just a matter of seeing which lineup you like the best, and going with that.

Hope this helps- pm me or respond here if you have any other questions I or someone else might be able to answer. Where in the States are you from?

Hello,

I was never on amphi but I was last year on WGT in Leipzig.

The venues in Leipzig are on many different places in the city of Leipzig and it is not easy to find them even with a map.

I was thinking....Ahhh it´s easy.....I know the tramstop of the venue and I have only to watch where the crumbly-goths are going and I am able to listen to the "noise" of the music...."walking with hearing".

But it was funny coz it was almost everytime the wrong way and almost everytime when I was asking for a direction, the goths were aslo searching for the same venue.

I figured out later that sometimes it is better to use one tramstop earlier to find the venue (I think it was the damn "Kohlrabizirkus")

It is neseccary to take one of these DIN A3 info sheets of the organisator (ticket selling places).

On this Info sheet you can see a poor map of Leipzig and the places of the venues/gigs.

But even with this help, you have to take care when the trams are driving coz I remember I was on the Midge Ure gig and afterwards I wanted to go to the FRONT242 gig but the damn tram was not driving anymore and it was too far away to walk to the gig.

So, I came very very late to the gig and I was very angry (THANK GOTH, I was driven by two nice goths caming from Berlin).

Bytheway, even if you have a car, it is almost impossible to find a parkingplace :-/

Some gigs, which I would love to see were on the same time, so it was impossible to see some gigs.

If you decide to go to WGT, please, do not wear any military look coz it is too dangerous (I have seen flying/throwing stones to these people)!!!!

A nice German girl from Cologne told me, when she was camping that somebody stole her whole goth cloths and accessoires.

After these 4 days I get much pain in my legs coz of walking and standing and my eyes were pretty red coz of using my contaclenes too long :-/

These were some negative things of the WGT 2007.

I am not sure on what year (maybe in year 2000) the organisators of WGT were bankrupt but Joakim said Covenant was performing anyway.

But anyway, the positive things of the WGT are huge.

I have meet very strange,nice and funny people from many countries.

Never seen so many bands in such a short time and even some unknown bands were pretty good.

Watch the list of the performers of the last year
http://www.wave-gotik-treffen.de/past.php?reqYear=2007

here are the bands for 2008 (there are coming for sure some more bands....e.g. Covenant is not included in to the list.)
http://www.wave-gotik-treffen.de/bands.php

p.s. I have keen interest to see "Sigue Sigue Sputnik"

Zitat

Originally posted by bluetaurus22
Hello!

Anyone who's been to either festival have any insight that might help in choosing one over the other?

The band care to shed some light on what we might expect at the two gigs?

I've not been to either festival before, and traveling all the way from the States, I want to make an informed decision.

Thanks for any input and/or rivethead-community-oriented-experience-sharing.

It depends on what sort of experience you're after. Amphi is a "regular" festival, although very big for this scene. This means a concentrated area, camping, convenient timing and constant action.

WGT is a whole other creature. There is nothing like it on this planet. I'm not a goth-fan myself and I honestly find it weird to find myself in that environment, but it really is an experience to go to Leipzig during the festival. This beautiful, ancient city becomes one big giant party. Imagine the Carnevale in Venice, add goth/trash/fetish/punk/masquerade/freak show etc, subtract the canals and the high fashion, plus music. There are fantastic industrial nights with all the bands you ever wanted to see if that's your thing, medieval shows, neofolk, electronic, EBM, futurepop, techno, new romantic, goth metal, goth pop, goth-all-the-way-you-want...

But, it's all spread out over a very big city. Most things go on at the same time and it's just not possible to experience everything.

If you want a weekend of great music and party and a little time to relax (plus the wondrously beautiful city of Cologne, also home of some of the most interesting labels and artists in electronic music): go for Amphi.

If you want a tourist experience and sensory overload and a memory for a lifetime (in an equally, but different, beautiful city) at the cost of exhaustion and bewilderment: go for WGT.

We'll play at both festivals: indoors at the giant Agra Halle at WGT and outdoors during daytime at Amphi (like the M'era Luna last year).

The ultimate thing would be to attend both and spend some time in Central Europe which is a generally fantastic place.

Edit: a note on size. WGT covers an area that I would estimate as equal to the size of Manhattan south of Central Park with venues and clubs spread out all over it. Amphi is a "regular" festival in a limited area with a beautiful view over the Rhine river. The attendance is 10 000+ for Amphi and 20 000+ for the WGT.

I haven't been to WGT yet. You have to book a hotel room nearly a year (? can anyone confirm?) in advance and I doubt that I will get happy with the gigs spread all over the city. Reminds me of a friend, who always felt stressed at Roskilde Festival with so many bands and stages, that he had to hurry around most of the time and still missed many bands, he was interested in.

I think Joakim already gave good advice, but I'd like to add some personal notes on Amphi, because I've been there the last two times.
Compared to Mera Luna it's still a cozy small area I'd say... but hey, you don't know the difference yet, so it will be a big outdoor festival for you (like ilex pointed out)
I think the main downside on Amphi is, that they have to stop the music quite early and many headliner bands have to play in full sunlight.
The second (indoor) stage in the "theatre" is not bad but can get overcrowded, so that you might get stuck in the waiting queue if you're not already in.
Compared to other outdoor festivals like MeraLuna I think the Amphi area is quite comfortable. No muddy meadows after rain, because the place in front of the main stage is concreted and there is even shelter from rain or burning sun. There is no camping area adjecent to the festival, but somewhere more south at the Rhine. If you'd like to go for a hotel room, you should be quick with a booking, too.

Zitat

Originally posted by ilex011
Thirdly, I liked how Amphi was set up. When one act was performing, the second stage was being torn down/set up for the next act- so things ran very fluidly and you didn't miss an act if you didn't want to.

GAH! I meant to say the thing I liked about *Waregem*!

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Originally posted by subetha
Compared to Mera Luna it's still a cozy small area I'd say... but hey, you don't know the difference yet, so it will be a big outdoor festival for you (like ilex pointed out)

That was SMALL?!??

Zitat

I think the main downside on Amphi is, that they have to stop the music quite early and many headliner bands have to play in full sunlight.

The sunlight really threw me when hearing this kind of music.

Zitat

If you'd like to go for a hotel room, you should be quick with a booking, too.

I can attest to this- book far, far in advance! Not a couple of months in advance. No. Not a few weeks in advance, no. A year is really advised, as subetha said.

And judging from what Joakim said, I don't think I'd be happy at WGT! I like smaller, cozier venues personally.

But yeah, book early, get your tickets early, and trust me on this- save a free day for every unfamiliar city you'll be in because things will likely either go wrong or pop up unexpectedly....

I booked 4 days before the WGT-festival starts but therfore I payed 66euro per night (single room) and the Hotel was about 10 km away from the centrum of the city.The cheapest Leipzig-Hotel is about 40euro (single room) but it was not available anymore.

If you can´t get any Hotel anymore, there are 3 other ways.....

Hostel
link:
http://www.hostelworld.com/ryanair/?Lang…TELS&pos=NAVTAB

Couchsurfing
link:
http://www.couchsurfing.com/

Camping
link (Leipzig):
http://www.wave-gotik-treffen.de/info.php

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Originally posted by ilex011

.....But yeah, book early, get your tickets early, and trust me on this- save a free day for every unfamiliar city you'll be in because things will likely either go wrong or pop up unexpectedly....

Hello - I do that same festival appraisal every year as well :lol:

I went to WGT last year and had a good time but if you are going for the music it can be a little disappointing because you have to travel so much between venues you end up missing loads. To put it in context - I saw about 12 bands (including the fabby Conetik and Pride & Fall) at WGT whereas at Summer Darkness in Utrecht I must have seen about 18 - 20.
Due to external / work / git related issues I have had to cancel WGT this year but Amphi is SO on!!
If you are coming along there is a lArge group of us heading over from the UK and we are planning to go the Roman Spa one day (no skinny dipping for me this year - embarrasing vodka related story) and to a theme park nearby another day before the festival kicks off. There is also a chocolate museam and a cathedral (to be visited in that order) in Cologne which look wonderful.

So - apologies for rambling - for music I would go to Amphi and Summer Darkness. For the experience it would be WGT

Nxx

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Original von LadyKomachi
Due to external / work / git related issues I have had to cancel WGT this year but Amphi is SO on!!
If you are coming along there is a lArge group of us heading over from the UK and we are planning to go the Roman Spa one day (no skinny dipping for me this year - embarrasing vodka related story) and to a theme park nearby another day before the festival kicks off. There is also a chocolate museam and a cathedral (to be visited in that order) in Cologne which look wonderful.
Nxx

oh, you're coming to Cologne? That'll be great and nice to meet you again
And I know which theme park you're talking about. I did the free fall tower there last year :cool: [SIZE=7](but didn't dare to take a ride on the main attractions)[/SIZE] Hope you're feeling well again before the festivals starts, if you try all the rides :lol:

For my money, I'd go with WGT. You just can't beat the experience of it. It's literally an invasion on the city of Leipzig. 200+ bands, four days of music, parties, adventure, etc. I'm not remotely a goth, but i find the experience of it utterly mesmerizing. I went for the first time in 2003 thinking it would be my one middle European adventure ... and ended up going back year after year after year. It's pretty addictive. Plus, i like the fact that you have the option to either camp or stay in the hotel. (Worth it for the luxury of your own shower with plenty of hot water.)

D_h makes several excellent points, though: it requires a bit more planning than pretty much any other festival you could choose. The venues are all over the city, and figuring how to get from one to the other can be tricky. One thing i strongly suggest is budgeting a certain amount of money for cab fare. The trams, while reliable, can sometimes get overloaded and/or not come on time. After five years of experience, my husband and i literally sit down with each other a week before the festival and plan out our show itinerary down to the minute and estimated cost in cab fare. (Okay, i should probably confess to being a type A personality at this point.)

It also helps to befriend other English-speaking people who've been to the festival before (they can help you find stuff). There's a mailing list, Americans in Leipzig (http://www.americansinleipzig.com), where you can meet other people going to the festival. They also have a dinner for all the North Americans on the Thursday before WGT. It's a great opportunity to meet people if you've never gone before.

The Sadgoth guide also has a lot of good information: http://www.sadgoth.com/OVERVIEW.html.

Lastly, the single biggest advice i can give anyone: your feet will hurt. A LOT. I recommend wearing comfortable shoes. And drinking heavily.

--Sharon

:-]

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Originally posted by subetha

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Original von LadyKomachi
Due to external / work / git related issues I have had to cancel WGT this year but Amphi is SO on!!
If you are coming along there is a lArge group of us heading over from the UK and we are planning to go the Roman Spa one day (no skinny dipping for me this year - embarrasing vodka related story) and to a theme park nearby another day before the festival kicks off. There is also a chocolate museam and a cathedral (to be visited in that order) in Cologne which look wonderful.
Nxx

oh, you're coming to Cologne? That'll be great and nice to meet you again
And I know which theme park you're talking about. I did the free fall tower there last year :cool: [SIZE=7](but didn't dare to take a ride on the main attractions)[/SIZE] Hope you're feeling well again before the festivals starts, if you try all the rides :lol:

:lol: :lol: :lol: Does that mean I am likely to have gone green after the rides?????

We should definitely meet up again - I heard rumours that there is a vodka bar in Cologne - is this true? It sounds like it would be agood place to stage a recovery :-] :-]

Nxx

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Originally posted by Kyron5
Plus, i like the fact that you have the option to either camp or stay in the hotel. (Worth it for the luxury of your own shower with plenty of hot water.)

Oh god yes - there are 3 things in life I do NOT do and camping is one of them!!! We stayed at the Rennaisance last year - mmmmm the swimming pool and jacuzzi at 5 a.m. were fantastic :cool: :cool:

Zitat

The Sadgoth guide also has a lot of good information: http://www.sadgoth.com/OVERVIEW.html.

That is THE essential WGT guide. We followed the official guidelines last year and ended up getting off the tram at the wrong stop and treking through deserted areas of Leipzig trying to make it in time to see Pride & Fall grrrrrrrr!

next year hopefully for WGT again for us *sigh*

have a fab time :-]

Nx