Day 1
On Saturday, we got to the festival just after 2 pm. Although everyone complained about last year's line situation, we walked right in. I was glad they didn't make us throw out the ice we brought in our CamelBak and water bottle. It was nice to have cold water for a few hours during the hottest part of the day.
We headed to the furthest stage to pick up a nice, refreshing glass of Saint Arnold's White Noise (the so-called "official" beer of the festival, even though it was only sold at one booth for us General Admission ticket holders) and watch Paul Banks from Interpol. After that show, we caught Alabama Shakes and then the Arctic Monkeys at the Mars Stage.
Alabama Shakes
Arctic Monkeys
I realized that this was our 8th music festival over the course of 10 years. After being to so many, we've picked up a few lessons. For instance, this year we took our Coleman stadium seats that we had originally picked up for our Alaskan camping trip. We brought an umbrella for shade and we snacked on trail mix through the shows. A girl sitting behind us asked, "Do y'all go to a lot of these things... y'all look like pros." Jason responded, "We used to. Now mostly hiking has taught us to always be prepared." Hehe.
After those two shows, I grabbed a quick bite to eat and sat in the shade for a few minutes. Then we headed back to the furthest stage to watch Iggy and the Stooges. I think that was probably the best show of the evening. He definitely had the best energy.
Iggy and the Stooges
Our final show of the night was Postal Service, whose first and only full album came out 10 years ago. The show was packed, but I was still glad to see them. I told Jason that the difference between us watching them now vs. 10 years ago is that 10 years ago we would have been front row. Now that just seems like way too much work.
Postal Service
Day 2
On day 2 of the festival, we only planned to watch 3 acts, all of which were at the same stage. We set up our towel and seats around 3 pm, so we had awhile before our first show. Our friends Paloma and Mike needed some help collecting recyclables (their business got the recycling contract this year), so we got a few extra bags from them and picked up cans and such before and after the performances.
I had been looking forward to the Cat Power performance since I heard she was on the lineup. I've really enjoyed her latest album, Sun. However, I think she was battling a cold or something. I still enjoyed watching her, but I almost just felt bad that she had to perform out in the heat if she wasn't feeling well.
Cat Power
The second act of the day, Of Monsters and Men, was really incredible. I'd call it my favorite performance of the weekend. The Icelandic band had plenty of energy and the crowd danced along to most songs. Jason and I were surprised how many people knew all of the lyrics.
Of Monsters and Men
In between this act and our last scheduled show for the day, we happened to catch a few songs from another one of the bands, Milo Greene, on a smaller stage. Neither Jason nor I had heard of the band before we saw the lineup, but we were really impressed by what we heard. Jason caught them performing a cover of a Sufjan Stevens song and he thought they did a really good job.
We ended the night with TV on the Radio. I'm usually not a huge fan of their music, but they were really good live. It was a nice way to end the weekend.
TV on the Radio
All in all, it was a really great festival. I am beyond tired today, but it was worth it.
And since I like to take trips down memory lane, here's a picture of us at our first music festival in 2004...
And here's one from this weekend...
I think we're faring pretty well. Hehe. We look so hot and tired in the first picture. You can definitely tell we've improved our strategy of dealing with the heat and crowds at these things.
No comments:
Post a Comment