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Music Festivals Love em or hate em

Litig8r

By Litig8r
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Litig8r

Litig8r 414

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Posted

Seems like there are a million festivals now.  I saw one recently where the bands slots were on for 30 minutes.  Shit you can't get your stuff tuned up and warmed up in that time.  There is a local festival here called 30ASingerSongwriter.  Usually they have two big large venue shows and the a bunch of smaller shows at bunch of different venues on the beach.  You have to buy a full weekend pass ($325+-) to get into the small shows.  the small shows are where it's at but between the traffic and parking (it can be 5-10 miles between the venues) you are lucky to catch two shows a night.  I was checking on band this weekend to see where they were playing and it was like festival to festival...The red dirt folks do Steamboat which looks really cool and Mile Zero in Key west.  I guess it is not too hard to get between venues but I guess  you have to buy the whole festival deal to see the smaller shows there as well.  I think Imma leaning toward the hate em section.

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C-Man

C-Man 27262

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I haven't been to that many but I've enjoyed the ones I have. I do not usually bother unless it's got a lineup I really like. I'd love to go to Hangout but won't mess with it until there's some headliners I really like. My wife and I went to the Gentlemen of the Road show in Guthrie, OK back in 2013 or so. We camped and had a blast. I've only been to one day of ACL and it was to see Radiohead two years ago (also caught Band of Horses that night). Bummed I wasn't able to stick around the whole weekend to see LCD on Sunday night. We went to High Water Fest last year in Charleston and we are going back this year in April -- Leon Bridges, Dr Dog, Phosphorescent, M Ward and more.

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DougO

DougO 5256

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Not really a fan of the massive clusterfuck of humans and unbearable traffic and parking, shitty sound, terrible viewing and overwhelmed facilities. Takes a lot of the fun out of going to one of your favorite bands. The festival scene seems more for people who want to say they were there and be part of the crowd. It's pretty much the opposite of what always drew me to music.

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Al_4_ISU

Al_4_ISU 12485

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They're alright to a point.  Something like Bonaroo or Coachella just looks like hell on earth.

I've gone to the aptly named Hinterland Festival between KC and Des Moines.  They do two days, and manage things right.  Day 1 is an alt-rock/electric pop day, and Day 2 is an Americana line up.  In the two times I've gone we've seen Willie, Sturgill Simpson, Turnpike Troubadours, Hayes Carll, Cold War Kids, Chvrchvs (however the fuck you spell it), Grace Potter, Blackberry Smoke, Tyler Childers, Lake Street Dive, Houndmouth, Shovels & Rope, Margo Price, Nathaniel Rateliff, and others.  Getting in isn't much of a problem at all.  Concessions and bathrooms aren't overrurn, and there's a large crowd, but it's a big enough area to not be completely stacked on top of one another.  The only hitch is getting on the shuttle out of there, which was pretty understaffed last year, and we spent a long time just standing in line for it.

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Onboard 2.0

Onboard 2.0 9083

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Floydfest in Floyd, Va. 5 day bluegrass, rock, country, semi gospel in the mountains of southwest Va.  every June. Great gig, the chillest festival I've ever attended.  Clean,  well run, respectful attendees, and lots of fun.  Porta johns are as clean the last day as the first.

You can put a chair or blanket down at one of the stages, leave it come back 5 hours later, somebody might be sitting on them, but will immediately and cheerfully move away when you let them know it's your stuff (simple gestures maybe, but... )

Old hippies, to HS kids and everybody in between.

 

Greta Van Fleet last year was one of the head liner acts, gov;'t Mule, Chris Isabell, old crow medicine show,  and 30-50 other acts playing from

10:00 am- 3:00am

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Greg Davis Apologist

Greg Davis Apologist 213

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I went to Kaaboo in Del Mar in September and thought it was really well run. Super clean, not overcrowded, and the average age was 37 so not a lot of kids running around. If there wasn't a particular band I wanted to see at the time I'd just drink in the pool and watch a random band from there.

I liked it so much I bought tickets this year and have no idea who's playing.

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C-Man

C-Man 27262

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On 1/22/2019 at 7:58 AM, Greg Davis Apologist said:

I went to Kaaboo in Del Mar in September and thought it was really well run. Super clean, not overcrowded, and the average age was 37 so not a lot of kids running around. If there wasn't a particular band I wanted to see at the time I'd just drink in the pool and watch a random band from there.

I liked it so much I bought tickets this year and have no idea who's playing.

Kaaboo is coming to Dallas in May, I think. Well, it's coming to Arlington. Somehow it's at Jerry World. Blech.

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C-Man

C-Man 27262

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8 minutes ago, Zepol87 said:

Yea that sucks ass. 

Went to Bottlerock last year when I was in Napa for work. It was a fucking blast

Have heard that's a good festival. I'd like to hit Hangout Fest one year but not until I like the lineup.

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Ths71

Ths71 472

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Posted
9 hours ago, NWAustinDude said:

I love them all.

A great one-day, one-stage springtime fair is the Old 97's County Fair in downtown Dallas across the street from the beautifully refurbished mid-century modern Statler Hotel.

2019 Lineup should be coming out in the next 6 weeks.

http://www.old97scf.com/#home/about

 

Agree. Went the last two years and loved it. Not too crowded, good lineups and sound. Stayed in The Statler last year.

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Homercles

Homercles 10206

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I’ve been going to ACL since 2005, so the reason I go has evolved...when I was younger it was the sheer adventure of catching as much music in three days as I could to supplement the shows I caught elsewhere like Stubbs and SXSW.

Now that I have two young kids, it’s the rare opportunity to spend three days with my wife and friends catching music...also helps me ‘discover’ new acts by getting exposed to more of their material such as CHRVCHES (only really knew Mother We Share) or Glass Animals (only knew Gooey), or guys I’d never heard of such as Flight Facilities. Plus with the urinals, more water stations, craft beer tent, etc it’s gotten less of an adventure that better suits my mood going on 40.

My days of living at Stubbs from Thurs-Saturday are over, I really don’t like the racetrack as a venue and sitters are often just as expensive as the show itself so ACL is my one standing chance to live music for three days.

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C-Man

C-Man 27262

Posted
Posted (edited)
17 hours ago, NWAustinDude said:

I love them all.

A great one-day, one-stage springtime fair is the Old 97's County Fair in downtown Dallas across the street from the beautifully refurbished mid-century modern Statler Hotel.

2019 Lineup should be coming out in the next 6 weeks.

http://www.old97scf.com/#home/about

 

Great event. I went the first two years but we missed last year because it was the same weekend as High Water Fest in Charleston, which we are going back to in April this year. I'm hoping they're different weekends. Have they announced the date yet for County Fair -- are we sure they're doing it again in 2019?

EDIT: Well, I lied. That can't be why we missed last year since the Old 97's played High Water last year!!!! I think we missed because we saw them at High Water and we had the kids that weekend. I think that's it.

Edited by C-Man
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wutang75

wutang75 449

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Posted

I’m old so they are either great or miserable depending on the weather and my level of comfort. I’m going to the Sweetwater 420 Festival in Atlanta in April. I can’t pass up Avett Bros, Jason Isbell, Rebelution at the same place.

I might do Old Settler’s this year, never been.

Went to one night of the Avett Brothers at Red Rocks last year and damn near had the time of my life. Going for the entire weekend this year.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

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Asithappens

Asithappens 974

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On 1/22/2019 at 7:43 AM, Onboard 2.0 said:

Floydfest in Floyd, Va. 5 day bluegrass, rock, country, semi gospel in the mountains of southwest Va.  every June. Great gig, the chillest festival I've ever attended.  Clean,  well run, respectful attendees, and lots of fun.  Porta johns are as clean the last day as the first.

You can put a chair or blanket down at one of the stages, leave it come back 5 hours later, somebody might be sitting on them, but will immediately and cheerfully move away when you let them know it's your stuff (simple gestures maybe, but... )

Old hippies, to HS kids and everybody in between.

 

Greta Van Fleet last year was one of the head liner acts, gov;'t Mule, Chris Isabell, old crow medicine show,  and 30-50 other acts playing from

10:00 am- 3:00am

Who's Chris Isabell? 

Haven't heard of him.

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Rimbo

Rimbo 26108

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Add me to the "like" category. I like going to see the bands I want to see, and then wandering about and discovering bands that I found out were a lot better live than recorded (hi there, Prodigy) coupled with the disappointment of finding some bands that are much weaker live than recorded (Chemical Brothers, I see you).

I love the sideshow with people in various states of undress and chemical dependencies.

I love the mosh pit and the DJ tent. I like watching my friend go, "OMG, I'm seeing my favorite Icelandic waif artist live."

I like going to small-town festivals with a bunch of bands I'd never heard of working their way up.

But at my current age and level of parental responsibility, this is probably not a thing I will do any time soon, if ever again.

 

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Hank Kingsley

Hank Kingsley 21054

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I'm too old and done with the massive festivals. I decided 4-5 years ago to focus on smaller festivals where "mid-level" bands were near or at the top of the lineup. 

This was a fun one. Traveled to SF with some friends, fest tickets were reasonably priced, and enjoyed doing other stuff in a big city. 

treasure15FB.jpg

 

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Homercles

Homercles 10206

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Posted
I'm too old and done with the massive festivals. I decided 4-5 years ago to focus on smaller festivals where "mid-level" bands were near or at the top of the lineup. 
This was a fun one. Traveled to SF with some friends, fest tickets were reasonably priced, and enjoyed doing other stuff in a big city. 
treasure15FB.jpg
 


Oh shit I’d be all over that...Mau5, STS9, CHRVCHES,
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midtown

midtown 3348

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Posted
On 1/21/2019 at 11:08 PM, DougO said:

The festival scene seems more for people who want to say they were there and be part of the crowd.

This..festivals have simply become social media fodder.  ACL was fun the first 6 years now I find it unbearable...get off my lawn

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South Austin

South Austin 52604

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Posted (edited)
On ‎1‎/‎29‎/‎2019 at 8:23 AM, Homercles said:

I’ve been going to ACL since 2005, so the reason I go has evolved...when I was younger it was the sheer adventure of catching as much music in three days as I could to supplement the shows I caught elsewhere like Stubbs and SXSW.

Now that I have two young kids, it’s the rare opportunity to spend three days with my wife and friends catching music...also helps me ‘discover’ new acts by getting exposed to more of their material such as CHRVCHES (only really knew Mother We Share) or Glass Animals (only knew Gooey), or guys I’d never heard of such as Flight Facilities. Plus with the urinals, more water stations, craft beer tent, etc it’s gotten less of an adventure that better suits my mood going on 40.

My days of living at Stubbs from Thurs-Saturday are over, I really don’t like the racetrack as a venue and sitters are often just as expensive as the show itself so ACL is my one standing chance to live music for three days.

This is exactly me.  Wife and I went from 2003 to 2005, got pregnant with our first, and then didn't attend ACL from 2006 through 2009.  Decided to go back in 2010 when pregnant with kiddo No. 2, and have attended every year since.  We discovered that it's one of our favorite weekends to reconnect as a couple, and are able to drop the kids off at my folks for the entire weekend.  The crowds can be a bit annoying as we are approaching the "get off my lawn" phase of our lives (still in our mid-40s).  But we enjoy discovering new acts, meeting up with friends, and occasionally getting shitfaced together.  It's also one of those weekends out of the year in which I am sure to get laid. 

Similar with SXSW, although we bailed on that festival well before we even had kids.  We don't buy passes, but we ditch work on Friday and catch free shows at places like the Four Seasons, Hotel San Jose and Waterloo, usually grabbing lunch at Perla's, and enjoying the times with live music around us that keeps us young.

Edited by South Austin
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Chad Fuck

Chad Fuck 17777

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Posted
On 1/29/2019 at 8:23 AM, Homercles said:

I’ve been going to ACL since 2005, so the reason I go has evolved...when I was younger it was the sheer adventure of catching as much music in three days as I could to supplement the shows I caught elsewhere like Stubbs and SXSW.

Now that I have two young kids, it’s the rare opportunity to spend three days with my wife and friends catching music...also helps me ‘discover’ new acts by getting exposed to more of their material such as CHRVCHES (only really knew Mother We Share) or Glass Animals (only knew Gooey), or guys I’d never heard of such as Flight Facilities. Plus with the urinals, more water stations, craft beer tent, etc it’s gotten less of an adventure that better suits my mood going on 40.

My days of living at Stubbs from Thurs-Saturday are over, I really don’t like the racetrack as a venue and sitters are often just as expensive as the show itself so ACL is my one standing chance to live music for three days.

Amen brother.  I've been going to ACL since it started.  I used to race in the gates to see Asleep at the Wheel and stay until they threw me out.  Now I go to stand in a field and drink beer without anyone demanding anything else of my time except to wander around and find a good band.

Also, I'm a huge follower of fashion, which is on display a-plenty at ACL.  While there have been changes over time, mostly...

giphy.gif

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South Austin

South Austin 52604

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Posted
Just now, Homercles said:

I already got tix for weekend 1. So do it, I’ll introduce my wife to ‘Chad Fuck’, don’t worry babe he’s from the internet.

 

 

Introducing my wife will be along the lines of, "Hey, these guys are from an anonymous website.  I've never met them, nor have I run a background check.  They like Longhorns, music, movie quotes and other cool stuff.  And they know all about your fake tits.  Cheers!" 

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Chad Fuck

Chad Fuck 17777

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10 minutes ago, South Austin said:

Introducing my wife will be along the lines of, "Hey, these guys are from an anonymous website.  I've never met them, nor have I run a background check.  They like Longhorns, music, movie quotes and other cool stuff.  And they know all about your fake tits.  Cheers!" 

Um, no.  I don't.  But that's probably for another thread.

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Bottlecap

Bottlecap 1523

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1 hour ago, South Austin said:

This is exactly me.  Wife and I went from 2003 to 2005, got pregnant with our first, and then didn't attend ACL from 2006 through 2009.  Decided to go back in 2010 when pregnant with kiddo No. 2, and have attended every year since.  We discovered that it's one of our favorite weekends to reconnect as a couple, and are able to drop the kids off at my folks for the entire weekend.  The crowds can be a bit annoying as we are approaching the "get off my lawn" phase of our lives (still in our mid-40s).  But we enjoy discovering new acts, meeting up with friends, and occasionally getting shitfaced together.  It's also one of those weekends out of the year in which I am sure to get laid. 

Similar with SXSW, although we bailed on that festival well before we even had kids.  We don't buy passes, but we ditch work on Friday and catch free shows at places like the Four Seasons, Hotel San Jose and Waterloo, usually grabbing lunch at Perla's, and enjoying the times with live music around us that keeps us young.

it me.

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stc

stc 1465

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Posted

went to the first 10 years of acl fest and have no desire to go back. sxsw is my favorite week of the year but i don't really consider that a music festival in the normal sense. austin pysch fest is fun, will be interesting to see what they do this year. last year it was a bunch of individual concerts all happening on the same weekend, and i'm totally down with that. 

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Homercles

Homercles 10206

Posted
Posted
Sheeit.  Weekend two brosef.  I'll pound one for you. *
 
*a beer.


Yeah we tried weekend 2 this go around, to accommodate scheduling for friends involved in the RRS...we all vowed to stick to W1 just due to the grass being in better shape if nothing else. The weather, unexpected bands only one weekend, etc is just luck of the draw.

ACL is a happy place. Like y’all said, drink beer in a field with friends and nothing else to worry about...don’t call I don’t have a signal anyways.
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TWHOOKEM

TWHOOKEM 10

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Posted

ACL 2007 - 2013.

FPSF 2009-2013.

SXSW 2009-2018.

Day for Night 2016-2017.

I love fests and had an amazing time at all of them, but I got tired of the changing crowds and music at the big ones like ACL and FPSF when i was abt 29-30 years old. Day for Night (before it got axed) and SXSW were still thrilling from 30-35.  However, our first kid is due in August, so it might be a while until the next phase.  This year we are going to shorten SXSW to just Luck Reunion and hit up Old Settler's for the first time. Always wanted to go but it never worked out. Looks great!

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Buzzrock

Buzzrock 14941

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Festivals are my happy place, the problem is I keep aging out of the lineups (I’m 46). I did Bonnaroo 2006-2009 and then Hangout for three or four years. Hangout was great because of the whole beach and beach house aspect, but these days I barely recognize the headliners. Now the most appealing festivals for me are the local Atlanta ones just due to proximity, and the rock festivals because I’m a rock guy and the lineups match my generation. I went to Welcome to Rockville in Jacksonville last year and it was great.

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Tylerocks

Tylerocks 2553

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I dig them.

Do them totally different now (44) than I did 20 years ago. I have no desire to drink and drug all day/night and go to after/late shows.

NOLA Jazzfest is at the top of my list.  Ive been a few times, but took my wife for her first last year.  We'll probably go every year now.

Like most of y'all, I'm getting aged out.  I can't stand EDM or any of that electronic shit, which it seems most of the festivals are leaning that way.  

ACL is still fun to me...it helps that I have a friend that lives walking distance with a spare room.

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BurdineBandit

BurdineBandit 815

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Haven't been to ACL in a few years, I'm not against it, but I haven't felt the need to buy a day pass like I did for Outkast and then Foo Fighters/Tame Impala. It's been a few years.

SXSW is my shit though. I think I still have a few good festivals left in me. I'm 31, didn't go to my first until like 24/25, and I've gotten better at it each year. Somewhere in the middle a few years ago I reached a point where I thought I was over it, hanging out with friends chasing free wristbands to drop into all the "scene" parties and get free drinks and shitty food... I just started going by myself and buying the music wristband to get into shows I wanted to get into. If I spend $5 here and there for a beer I probably won't die. I'm looking forward to a few days again this March, there's always someone new to discover, I think the hardest part is just parsing through all the recommendations before the festival starts bc it can be overwhelming looking at the festival guide.

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Native Horn

Native Horn 3515

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On 1/22/2019 at 6:56 AM, troph said:

Kerrville Folk Festival is great if you like depressing music - I do. I wouldn’t camp there though for a million bucks. That campsite is the kind of place new deadly viruses emerge.

 

Did this for many years, always camping at least one night.  Relaxing as all get-out. Spend the afternoon in the river at one of the water crossings, back to camp, hit the cocktails and then fall asleep at the music performance that night.  Great, very cool crowd of folks, and I'm no hippie.  

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Jograves

Jograves 357

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Posted
On 2/19/2019 at 11:02 AM, Greg Davis Apologist said:

How was it?

Finally recovered from a 3-day hangover. I didn't take the advice of anyone above who suggested no drinking or drugs. Drank more vodka than a KGB agent. 

It was a good festival. Awesome people watching. Highlight was probably Shaggy or Sean Paul. The crowd loved them. I like Counting Crows and they were pretty good, but the subject matter can be a bit depressing for a festival. The crowd was nuts for Bryan Adams, so I assumed there were a lot of Canucks in the crowd. They sang every word to every song. Twenty year olds going nuts for Cuts Like a Knife and Heaven. A little odd. Totally blacked out for Duran Duran. Don't remember a minute of it. Blues Traveler and Live got the crowd going too. 

The comedy was fun. Saw Norm MacDonald. A buddy went to Wanda Sykes and said she was good. Only negative is once you went to the comic stage, you were captive until the comic finished their set. They didn't want folks coming in and out of the comedy shows. 

I liked the artwork that I saw. Saw a cool Jimi mural made out of trash picked up off the beach. Pretty neat. Didn't try any food there. Probably only had 3 meals the entire 4 day trip. 

The beer line was the worst. All the servers were locals and took forever to server drinks. They had no desire to hustle. 

Excellent festival. Only 10k in attendance so you could move around pretty easily. I'd give the festival a B+. The trip was an A though. 

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52-80

52-80 19246

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I do think the festival thing has jumped the shark.  That now many people go to festivals to be seen at festivals, rather than for the music itself.

 

I also like to sniff my own fart and think that I've been to some of the festivals before they ultra blew-up.  ACL 2002 or 2003.  The later years were way too crowded, too expensive, too hot, too miserable.

 

I missed wanting to go to Lollapalooza, Coachella, and Bonnaroo in the early years (early 2000s), and never going through with it. 

 

Sasquatch festival 2010 was one of the coolest events I've ever been.  Gorgeous fucking setting.  Tons and tons of space and not crowded.  Ultra chill people.  Killer lineup - pavement, national, LCD Soundsystem, mountain goats, band of horses, massive attack, vampire weekend, passion pit, etc......stupid good festival it waz

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