The Chaser Report - Liar Liar, Festival On Fyre

Episode Date: April 3, 2025

After the blazing success of the first Fyre Festival, Charles and Dom are ecstatic to have been invited to the second one. Join them as they weigh up the pros and cons of attending Fyre 2.0.Watch OPTICS on ABC iview here:https://iview.abc.net.au/show/opticsCheck out more Chaser headlines here:https://www.instagram.com/chaserwar/?hl=enGive us money:https://chaser.com.au/support/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Chaser Report is recorded on Gadigal Land. Striving for mediocrity in a world of excellence, this is The Chaser Report. Hello and welcome to The Chaser Report with Dom and Charles. It is the party edition. Now, I know that in the past, Charles, in the more than 1,000 episodes we've done at this podcast, we haven't always been a reliable source of where the best parties are. We usually have. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

We usually have. Yeah, but sometimes. Occasionally. And I think it's time we return our... party conscious credentials to the podcast and let listeners know about the best party coming up since 2017. Since 2017. It takes place in Plyardel Carmen in Mexico.

It's between May the 30th and June 2nd. I'm assuming you've got tickets. Yeah, I'm on the VIP list. It is called the Fire Festival 2. I think we talked about Fire 1 in the podcast before. Back in the day. All those docos about it. Billy McFarland is out of jail as a result of Firew.

and he's ready to fire again. And what better way to celebrate getting out of jail than to hold a party? That's right. It really makes me think, Charles, how valuable is a brand? Because everyone in the world, pretty much, should be anywhere, you know, at all interested in any public event of any kind, would know about the fire festival. It has near 100% name recognition, I think, in the West. Any publicity is good publicity.

Yeah, this is really the test because I want to remind everyone of the details of Fire 1 and then explore the plans for fire too. And then we can picture ourselves. And then I've also got a good business model. Oh, good. Yeah. And look, I wondered if we should have an election party in the, in the spirit of fire. Yeah. Well, I feel like there's a way to make a quick $26 million. Very, very good. Right. Let's take some ads and start earning money while we ponder this. Okay, so let's just remind ourselves why Billy McFarland was sentenced to six years in prison for wire fraud in order to pay $26 million US dollars for Fire Part 1. Yeah, so from memory, it was all based on a really good video.

Yes, it was. And the video was like, you know, these amazing turquoise waters. Yes, tropical island. Sexy models just all like being in ecstasy. Yeah, influences. One of whom was paid $250,000 for a post-a, They had Kendall Jenner and Bella Hadid in the videos. Yeah.

And my favorite detail. And they're all sipping on drink. They were. Yeah. My favorite detail about this, actually, is that McFarlane's main business partner in 2017 for this thing was, do you remember who it was? Oh. The most random person imaginable. Who was it?

The rapper Jar Rule. And if you've forgotten who he is, and I bet you have. Lockland, can we play a tiny little bit, not so much as a copyright strike of Jar Rule. Get the freak on on the back street in the backseat of the Yukon. Oh, yeah. So 6,000 people paid up to 12 grand to go to what was going to be called an immersive music experience on the boundaries of the impossible, which turned out to be an extremely accurate description.

It was entirely impossible. Blink 182 were going to play, which I don't think is worth 12 grand, and major laser. Yeah. It was going to be big and it was going to be super VIP. Do you remember what happened when they got there, Charles? Well, wasn't one of the problems that they forgot. the island that they'd actually hire. Because I think the concept of hiring an entire island party is sound.

That's a great concept. And I presume it also entails the thing of like, you don't really have to worry about pesky drug laws if you've got the entire island. Yeah, and it was in the Bahamas. No one's going to pay any attention. It's tax loopholes and all that. I think what they hadn't really in their minds conceived of is that if you hire an entire island, then there's probably no infrastructure.

on that island. Like, if you can afford to hire an island, then things like running water may not be available. And I think that was one of the key flaws. It is a very good idea. If you've got to pick a private island anywhere in the world, Charles, pick one with infrastructure. Because one of the things... Like Greenland, for example. Very, very good idea.

Yeah, yeah, that would have actually a lot of 50,000 people live there. It'd be fine. Yes, it'd be quite. So when people turned up... Less bikinis. Yes, it's a bit more of a snow party, I think. A bit of a ski, upraised skiing type party. But when people turned up, it was extraordinary.

There were just these tents everywhere. Look at these, the tents, it looked very much like a refugee camp. Charles. They're quite large tents, admittedly. And similar to a refugee camp, because everyone didn't have water, as I recall. And there was no sanitation either. No sanitation. And do you remember the food?

There was a famous image of... Yes. I remember it was like a cheese sandwich or something. Everyone got one cheese sandwich. They didn't bother to put it together. It was a starophone box with two moldy looking pieces of bread or very sad looking pieces of bread. Two like craft singles type cheese slices and then just some random salad. They didn't bother to assemble the thing.

And that's what you got for the very large amount of money. And that also... For $12,000. For $12,000. Charles, you've been to the tropics, right? You know, you've been tropical islands in the past, I assume. You were just in Hawaii. Yes.

You know something that happens a bit in the tropics that you have to plan for? What? Rain. Oh, yeah. Yeah, rain's a thing that happens. Yes, no, it is true. It rains all the time. There's monsoon seasons.

Yeah, so rain was probably the biggest. And who would have thought, Charles, that it might rain when people turn up? So that is what happened. But it was also, it was even worse than that. The local people were never paid, right? The local caterers lost their life savings, angry mobs formed. It was basically. A rich people.

Yes, and of local workers. It was Lord of the Flies. And ironically, in one of the videos advertising, one of the influences actually cavorted with a pig on a beach. So it's very Lord of the Flies. I think I ate that pig early into the thing. Wasn't piggy one of the characters? Yes, exactly.

Yeah, yeah. There was at one point there were four shipping containers full of Evian bottles that they hadn't managed to get out of customs. And it was just a giant disaster. Jarl, never arrested nor charged, dismissed from a class action lawsuit. So. Okay. And so before we get to fire festival to,

Yeah. Should we just find out a little bit about what happened, like the wash-up? Yeah. Tell us about the wash-up. So McFarland was ultimately sentenced to six years in prison, the wire fraud, and ordered to pay $26 million in restitution to victims. That was the amount of money that he paid out. Yeah.

I'd love to know how much he had. Did he have $26 million? Or he spent it all on videos of pigs. No, so as I understand it, he hasn't paid the money in restitution to victims. Oh, and then that's, he's now back. Now I understand why he's got a defier fire too, to earn the 26 million to fire one. What I'm thinking, Dom, is, and this is where the good business model comes in, I reckon $26 million in return for six years in prison, especially if it was you in prison.

I think he's on the phone now to offer you a deal. But, like, $26 million for you to go to prison for six years, it's almost worth it, isn't it? I'm the rapper in here, by the way. Yeah, yeah, yeah, okay, sure. So if I went to prison, so you're J-Rul. I'm willing for you to go to prison for six years if we make $26 million out of ceiling.

Very kind of you. It's very kind of you, tough. It's also worth noting that. I'll split some of the tickets. As notorious as I am in this analogy, as the creator and producer at the fire festival, I think the rap is the worst part of the deal. If you heard Jarl's music. Anyway, here's the point.

You'd actually prefer to be. I'd rather be you're on a prison. Yeah, yeah. I mean, JAR rules, really, you wouldn't need to send it to prison. His life is a prison, having released those songs. So, here's things. So they're doing it again. Now, Charles, they have learnt from your point, which is that an island is a stupid idea.

Have you been to Playa Delcum? And I've been there before in Mexico. No. It's just down from Cancun. Oh, lovely. And you know the thing it has? Infrastructure. Yeah, yeah.

That's right. It's got lots of hotels. Okay, so this all actually, this is worth going to. Yeah, I actually had a very nice time there once for a week. it was full of basically kind of euro trash backpackers. So you've got a rich market there already ready to go. Yes. And how much are tickets to this fire festival too?

Like how much will be... It starts at $1,400. Gee, God. And you can actually pay $1.1 million US dollars for... No, no. To be clear, it's not for... That's for eight people. You get eight people for $1.1 million.

And do they all get cheese sandwiches? I think they do. Just one cheese sandwich between the eight. They're calling it. The Prometheus package, isn't he the one who gave fire to mortals? And isn't the point was that that ended badly? Anyway, so the bill is you get to live like the gods of fire. I'll tell you what you get.

Let's see if you think it's a good idea. You get a private flight from Miami to Cancun, a private yacht to Plyardell, or come in, a chauffeur, and you can have it either stay on a yacht in a luxury villa or a presidential suite at a hotel, all of which is worth probably dramatically less than $1.1 million. The Chaser Report. News a few days after it happens. All ticket sales are final, no refunds or exchanges.

Wow. It says in the 8,700 word terms of service. So, that's probably... You know that's illegal in Australia. You can't do that. You would know as a ticket promoter. Yeah, if you, like, you're not even allowed to bank the money for tickets until your event has happened. I didn't know that.

That's good. But you know what? because years ago, I think I'm going to defame someone here. I'm pretty sure it was René Rifkin. Yeah, he's dead, you can't defame it. Owned Ticket, or owned, like, some company where they took Ticket. Oh, was it a Compu Ticket? Is that what it was?

And I'm going to fact check this, hang on. Research people. And it went broke, owing millions, and there was no bond system in place. And so everyone who had bought tickets, this is like in the early 1980s, just got ripped off. And thereafter, the New South Wales government brought. brought in this scheme where, and it's been replicated around Australia, where you can't get your money from ticket. Yes, it was Harry M. Miller.

Oh, it was Harry M. Miller, yes. He once wanted to manage us, if he didn't go to jail. Oh, yes, he did. Yeah, I think that was what he went to jail for. And that's what where Ticka Ticka came from, because then Kerry Packer set up Tick in the wake of that scandal. I don't know if René Rivkin was involved, but I mean, everyone knew each other back in the day.

He went to jail for 10 months for compute ticket. And, see, I'm thinking, because how much money did he make out of 10 months? It would have been $3 million or something of that. I think it was $12 million that went under. I don't know that he made out of it. He was convicted of misappropriating $728,000. Is that enough? It was the 80s.

That's a few meal by that I understand. I think it's a few grams of Coke back then. Yeah, yeah. I mean, I wonder, I'm just thinking. I don't know, like, you've got to work every day. Yes. You're never going to make $26 million or even $730,000. No, although he would have.

He did once offer to manage us. Harry M. Miller, that's absolutely true. I remember going to his house. Yes, he's a fancy apartment. And there were bottles of wine that said, from the cellar of Harry Miller. And it wasn't prison moonshine, seriously enough. Anyway, all right.

So, I guess the question is, 25%, it was so, or 35%. It was a massive percentage. It was something, it was a commission that he could have gone jail. And he said, he said before you ask, I won't discount it for you. Because there's so many of you in the group. Anyway, so the point is, the fire festival's going to happen on, they've already had to move it. It was going to be, this is pretty funny. It was going to take place in a place called Isla Mujeres off Cancun.

So they wanted to go for another island. And then the people who ran the island said they had no knowledge of the event at all. So they had to move it on shore. So, yeah, I mean, at least there's, there is actually infrastructure. They haven't even rented an island. No, so it's going to be on Playa Del Carmen, is the plan. Which is an island? No, it's a beach.

It's on the mainland. It's just, it's in the... So why, what's so special about it? The Mayan Riviera, if people have been there. And is Kendall Jenner part of the Ed? I don't think she's a billionaire these days. So what's the reason why anyone will go? Well, I suppose we're going to go.

I think the... You know what it'll be. It'll be a thousand journalists, it's all turning away. Yeah, that's right. I think that's why I would go. I'm not terribly interested. I'm not nearly 50. I'm not particularly interested in partying all night to whoever the people.

I'd never heard of the artists. No, I would hate that. I hate that. But watching a lot of the, like, if I could be on a sort of VIP balcony, watching the Hunger Games unfold underneath, I think that would be excellent. Okay, well. Can I just give you one more bit of the marketing pitch here? This is from Billy McFarlane's pitch to people to come along.

Fire Festival 2 is about being a dreamer, a traveler, and an adventure seeker from around the world. and converging at Playa del Carmen to try to live like Jack Sparrow. A pirate, who frankly, didn't he have no money all the time? Like, wasn't he when scrambling for food? Or to live like Lara Croft, a fictional video game character who goes into dark caves and shoots things for three days. And then he says, player is on fire.

It's not a great pitch, be Jack Sparrow. I mean, be Johnny Depp is also, like, be cancelled because of your treatment of women. Yeah. Not great either. Yeah, or be a woman. who is notoriously big-boobed. Like, who has been criticised as a sort of fairly sick embodiment of the male gays. Yes, those are your options.

Johnny Depp, or the sort of person he probably sexually harassed at one point in the past, those are your options. Well, I'll certainly watch with interest. I would go if I had a free ticket. Yeah, look, I would too. I think I might be busy that day, unfortunately. I mean, we could put on our own local one. And we reigned an island.

Yes. We rent... What's a good island? North Carolina, Piccan Island. I know the island. I know exactly the island. In the harbour, no, Fort Denison. For those who know Sydney, it's one of the most historic islands in Fort Denison.

Yeah. And the great thing about it is, it used to be used as a prison. So we can get Billy to come along and just lock him up again. I think a lot of people would pay a lot of money to see that guy do more time. And then when we get imprisoned for fraud, we'll say, can we go on that prison? Yeah. Yeah. It's nice and handy.

Have good coffee. Yeah. Because it's in Sydney. Okay. I think we've solved. Well, well, okay, if you're heading out or are you going to buy tickets to this fire festival? Fire two. Give us an email.

Yes. Yes. Tell us your plans. You can be our reporter on the scene. Yeah, exactly. And we can live vicariously through you. Now, Charles, you've run. run a number of fairly dubious businesses over the years, if someone buys tickets to an event

called Fire Festival 2 and it ends up being a disaster, in your view, are they legally foreworned by the name of the event? I think they probably are. Yeah, well, I think the whole point is no refunds whatsoever. All ticket sales are final. That really is... That could be the name of our event. The caveat Eftor Festival. The caveat Eftor festival. Okay, we're part of the Econiglas Network. See you in Mexico.