Whether it's your first Bonnaroo or you’re a music festival veteran, we welcome you to Inforoo.
Here you'll find info about artists, rumors, camping tips, and the infamous Roo Clues. Have a look around then create an account and join in the fun. See you at Bonnaroo!!
The Jack White audio set is on www.thetradersden.org/ You'll need to make an account to get it.
We had a great time this year and this year was definitely better than last years. Spreading out the festival, really helped a bunch. The sound was amazing at every stage we went to, even if you weren't close.
My wife and I had my 3 and 5 year old with us, and they had a blast. There seemed to be a lot more for the kids this year. The kid stage had kid booths near it that we took advantage of all weekend long. The kids got their hair colored and got fake tattoos everyday. There was also a drum tent, coloring tent, and a musical instrument tent.
Thursday was a bust for us. We got to our condo around 2:30 and got unloaded. The kids wanted to go straight to the beach, but we made them wait till we got to the festival grounds. Unfortunately, they had the beach closed during the pre-party. Then we tried to go on the new Flying Swing ride, but my son was 2 inches too short to go on it. That pissed him off. So we bailed after Perpetual Groove to go get some beach/swim time in.
Friday was awesome. Rebelution was fun and on our way toward Alabama Shakes, we discovered the hammocks and just happened to come up on one that was empty. You could hear the Chevy stage perfectly at the hammocks to the left of the sky bar and it was right across from the water slide. My son loved the water slide. My son and I played on the water slide all through Alabama Shakes until before Chris Cornell came on. I enjoyed about half of his set, but I was getting pestered to go to the Ferris Wheel. Both of the kids loved the Ferris Wheel. It was the first time for my daughter to go on the ferris wheel. My son has ridden it that ferris wheel at every Hangout. We caught the beginning of Umphrey's and the end of Wilco. Both bands were on fire. By 9 my kids were starting to fall out (their bed time is at 8pm). We caught the STS9 opener but then headed to the gate.
For Saturday, we hit the kid stage first and got a song made for our kids with the Q Brothers. Then we headed to the hammocks to setup our base of operations and play on the water slide. We saw Randy Newman. The kids got their Toy Story song and that made my daughter's day. While the kids played in the sand by the hammocks, I wandered over to check out Gary Clark, Jr. He was pretty good. Someone said he's like Hendrix, but I was thinking he was more like Stevie Ray Vaughn. I left Gary Clark early to catch Gogol Bordello. I tried to get the kids to come with me for that, but they were in sand mode and my wife was perfectly content just hanging out in the hammock. No kids meant I could get as close as I wanted. I really loved the Gogol Bordello show. I really wanted to see Dispatch, but my daughter was passed out on the hammock when I got back from Gogol Bordello and my wife had to go to the bathroom. I could hear Dispatch but it was not nearly as clear, since our hammocks were closer to the Chevy stage. The highlight of the day for me was the String Cheese set. I made the family abandon the hammocks for it and move up close. Red Hot Chili Peppers were good but we didn't stick around for the full set. We wandered by Schpongle on the way out and that looked pretty crazy. I wish I could have seen more of that.
Sunday, we showed up in time to see Big Freedia. Some New Orleans Bounce was just what I needed to start the day. Then we hit the kid stage again to get our tattoos and pink and green hair. Then the kids decided to hit the coloring booth. While we were doing that, my wife left to try to get a hammock again. We stayed at the hammock till about halfway through Mavis Staples and then we decided to try to get the the main stage for Michael Franti. Both kids passed out during Franti. It was cool to see Alex from Edward Sharpe come beatbox for Franti. After Franti, both of the kids were pretty cranky and at their limits, so I made the executive decision to head home. On the way out, we wandered by the Kid Stage and got to see Michael Franti accept a key to the city and perform a short acoustic set. That was one of those cool right place at the right time things. When that was over, it was almost time for Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeroes, but cranky kids can suck the joy out of a situation, so we didn't even bother to try. It's cool though. My wife and I've seen Edward Sharpe and DMB before.
Overall, it was a great weekend. I'm sure we'll be back next year. We've been to all 3 Hangouts, so why stop now? I'm going to have to look into that Island Winds, though. We were in Florida at Spanish Key Condos, over by the Florabama. Having the kids within walking distance would be a huge plus. How much did you guys have to put down to reserve it for next year?
Last Edit: May 22, 2012 10:01:01 GMT -5 by silk - Back to Top
I put $280 down on a room at Island Winds East. If you were there this year, you get first dibs on the room. We had different neighbors than last year, and these came from kinda far to see DMB so I doubt they will come back next year. Lots of rooms will be available for next year. I would call up there everyday this week until you can get one. I'm not sure how long the "dibs" hold out for. I've had a big room with an epic balcony for the past two years so I'm just gonna keep grabbin' it every year of the fest. They've gone up considerably on price every year though. I heard plenty of music from my balcony without having to leave the shade, and I was a very short walk back to the condo to recharge. Didn't drive all weekend (didn't do late night shows either). The fest would not be as good to me if I wasn't so close. Driving in Baldwin County at night after partying is a major anxiety inducing event for me.
One funny thing of note.....I got cheap "bootleg" shirts inside the festival. There were two guys selling them. They were pretty damn similar to the official ones and one of the guys selling them looked awfully similar to the owner of the festival. I think he had his relatives selling shirts in the crowd to keep under the table money. Dude had a giant bag of em.
Post by problem dog on May 22, 2012 11:07:38 GMT -5
I wouldn't do this festival if I couldn't walk back to the condo. We stayed 0.6mi away last year, 0.7mi this year, and I'm already looking at closer places for 2013. It makes it so much better. I love being able to take an AC breather during late afternoon, eat some food, reapply sunscreen, reapply alcohol, regroup with any friends you lost along the way. I ate all my meals Fri-Sun at the condo and saved a ton of money.
There was a Catch a Chevy program this year, where if you snagged down one of the 20 free Chevys rolling around you could get a free ride. That helped, too.
The new layout really does help so much. It seemed like by expanding the dance tent and the Letting Go stage they took a lot of the burden off the beach. Nobody was getting turned away from the dance tent because it was too packed, which is what happened last year. There was just more room for people to spread out, and it made daytime sets on the beach stages easier to navigate.
Thanks for posting that Futurebirds set, they were one of my few regrets this year. We got up later than planned and decided to hit the ocean gulf instead. We did make it for Devil Makes Three, though, who were pretty awesome.
Post by tastybarrels9 on May 22, 2012 11:25:53 GMT -5
straight up awesome. i have little doubt that this festival can be beat. the beach is beautiful, people are super friendly, accommodations allow people to not stink, the family element is even nice at times. food was great, having a proper restaurant with tons of screens showing all the acts going on was super cool. only downside was missing a bunch of shows because i was swimming at the beach...can't imagine how many more shows i would have missed if there were late nights.
love the layout of the fest...so much space it surprised me. the EDM tent was massive and the system was incredible. the tent actually works like a sound tunnel, so even if you're 150 yards back and even outside the tent, it's as if you're right up close. saw skrillex, kaskade, sts9 on that stage.
rhcp and flogging molly were the two best shows of the weekend for me. i thought DMB was horrendous. dave's set might even have been worse than the traffic trying to leave on monday.
overall an awesome experience. would have liked to stay closer to ease up on walking distance, but outside of that it beat my expectations.
Elav, care to resize your pics? I For now, I skipped over most of page 67 because it's a pain to read...
I LOVED Hangout. Gorgeous weather with a constant breeze.. I was never that hot!! Sound was great or at least good enough at all stages and tents. Crowds were never overwhelming unless you wanted them to be (I was way up front for the Franti/Sharpe/DMB stretch and that was a little nutso. I loved being in a close-by condo and the amenities/perks that came with that... It was kinda depressing that the regular fest did not go late. I didn't think it would bother me much, but when you've got the dancing itch, it is quiet sad when it's over!
Music wise, I didn't expect much from Dave festival set, but it was better than I was expecting. Shakes, Devil Makes Three, Shpongle, Franti, Sharpe, STS9... SO many great shows. Per usual, I missed out on a few shows that I was hoping to make.. tis the festival life!
I work all day and night today, but I hope to get some pics up soon! (Tomorrow?)
Welcome back Bonz, but I do not find it strange that your presence being requested in the Orgy thread and then you showing up, like it was the quacking Bonzai Bat Signal.
We had a great time this year. I know saw more bands this year, more complete shows and more partial acts, which was fun. I taped eight sets this year, beginning with the Alabama Shakes.
It sounds like the fest this year was incredible. I really wanted to watch the live stream but was on a bunk internet connection. Thanks for the writeup, silk. An honest question: are you ever bothered by having to lug your kids around to shows and have them dictate your entire day? The way you described your weekend sounds like a nightmare to me, but glad you had fun. I don't have any kids and just wonder how parents at a festival manage it and still enjoy themselves.
This is one of those things that's hard to explain if you don't have kids. Once you have kids, you'll realize that your universe revolves around them. They are going to dictate your day, whether you are at home or at the festival. And taking the kids to the festival beats the alternative of skipping the festival, which would have been the case this year, because my parents were out of town and my wife's parents live on the west coast.
Having said that, I've only taken my kids to the Hangout Festival and DeLuna Fest, both of which are on the beach. Kids entertain themselves on the beach. We bring bubbles and sand toys. And every year so far, we've gotten free beach balls that the kids love to play with. Last year, at DeLuna, they sold light-up toys that the kids went apeshit over (and they have the added advantage of making the kids easy to spot when the sun goes down). We looked for light-up toys at the Hangout this year, but they just weren't there.
The main key to having fun with your kids at the festival is not to set your expectations too high and be willing to go with the flow. With the younger kids like mine, don't plan on getting too close. You can hear just fine toward the back, where the kids have more space to play. Try not to use the "No" word, because nothing causes a tantrum quicker than being told "No." Once you have kids, you'll have a good feel for your children's limits. For instance, we knew we probably would not get to see Jack White/RHCP/DMB because we were skipping naps and staying up way past bedtime. I also knew that we probably wouldn't see a lot of acts that weren't on the beach. It's doable though. The key is to plan meals/snacks around those. Even kids understand that sand in food sucks. When the kids and I went to see Umprhey's, we got ice cream on the way.
It also helps to have a cool wife like mine. She's a real trooper and while she does enjoy live music, festivals were never really her scene, until she met me. The two of us tag team the kids and help each other. For instance, I'd take both kids with me and let her unwind in the hammocks. And she'd let me wander off by myself to see what I wanted to see.
Last year, my wife did not want to go to the Hangout. But she did come to the condo and they all played at the beach and the pool while I went to the fest. We were at the Caribe. It has waterslides at its pools and they loved that. I ended up taking my son on the last day of the 2011 festival and my daughter was heartbroken that she could not go. I couldn't break her heart twice.
We had a great time this year. I know saw more bands this year, more complete shows and more partial acts, which was fun. I taped eight sets this year, beginning with the Alabama Shakes.
Post by TalonissinolaT on May 22, 2012 14:01:07 GMT -5
for as much poop as me and some of my friends talked about no late nights, no major lineup adds, the subpar lineup (compared to last year's), etc., this fest turned out to be fuggin' awesome. it was my group's first time, so we had nothing to compare it to other than reviews from some of you guys. the weather was warm, but not hot. seeing the beach turn into a rave each night was definitely tight butthole. i never once got searched or even slowed down at the entry gates, only saw one person get pulled out of the line to get searched, and didn't see anyone being arrested (although i did hear folks talking about seeing others get arrested).
favorite shows: jack white - best set of the weekend, but i thought the girl band (the peacocks) sounded better. was also a bit odd hearing white stripes songs rearranged for a six-piece band winwood - amazing boat music. hearing "can't find my way home" and "dear mr. fantasy" made my day wilco - tweedy and cline are the poop. nuff said sci - tore it the hell up. yelawolf - better than expected...beastie boys tribute was especially tight gary clark jr. - no doubt the dude can play his ass off alabama shakes - show was SO packed, but still managed to get close kaskade - had never really listened to his stuff, but was pretty good
disappointments: rhcp - had high hopes going in, but they were dashed...not nearly as good as when i saw them 5+ years ago at voodoo. set seemed pretty subdued at most times, but under the bridge and soul to squeeze were awesome flaming lips - wayne managed to kill every bit of momentum that the set tried to gain with ramblings and silent pauses in between (and in the middle of) songs, so i bailed for g. love to close the fest dr. dog - since i had seen gogol before, i decided to check out dr. dog...was a good set, but gogol would have been better food and drinks - food was good (gooroo grill especially), but both were insanely expensive the crowd - young, rude, and inconsiderate for a festival crowd. obviously this doesn't include everyone 18-24, but there was definitely an excessive number of frat bro's and sorrority bra's - seemed like most were just there to get super drunk and yell at each other about stupid poop (mostly their friends and facebook). trash - i can also see why the locals absolutely HATE this fest - the beaches got completely trashed...and not just the beach inside the grounds, but everywhere i walked there were glass bottles, cans, glosticks, and cig butts thrown everywhere...pretty sad actually
all in all, i had a bad ass time and it will definitely be hard to turn down going back next year
the crowd - young, rude, and inconsiderate for a festival crowd. obviously this doesn't include everyone 18-24, but there was definitely an excessive number of frat bro's and sorrority bra's - seemed like most were just there to get super drunk and yell at each other about stupid poop (mostly their friends and facebook).
I spent a good amount of time looking at ages of the other goers. I agree that the average age was significantly lower than many other festivals.
Welcome back Bonz, but I do not find it strange that your presence being requested in the Orgy thread and then you showing up, like it was the quacking Bonzai Bat Signal.
Post by themanflounders on May 22, 2012 14:16:59 GMT -5
Local here with a quick review!
Loved the festival again this year. I've been to tons and Hangout has become my favorite. Having the house to go back to is wonderful, and riding a bike this year to get around town made getting from here to there a breeze.
Show of the festival: Jack White - I went in thinking he'd be show of the festival after hearing his new album. The surprise was that the show was perfect and is a top 5 show of all time. Loved both bands that came out, though I think I prefer the all male cast.
Honorable mentions: Gorgol, Shpongle, Cheese, Franti (usually not a huge fan, but his beach set was exactly what I needed Sunday)
Random note: I was incredibly impressed with how well Brittany Howard from the Alabama Shakes could fill up a festival stage after only seeing those guys in small clubs. She is a rockstar through and through. A little editorial: I think the rest of the Shakes are a bit weak.
Festival pluses: Plenty of space! If they maintain this size the festival will be legendary. There was probably room to add a few more thousand tickets, but I hope they choose otherwise. Like others have said, new tent setup was amazing with fantastic sound.
Minuses: Prices. $7 for a bud light is outrageous. I'm really not one to sneak in liquor, but I did it this year. Normally I like a little smoke at a festival, but it was like North Korea up in there at times, so stuck to bourbon and cokes. Saw a poor guy have a dog go through his bag while he was in a port-o-potty. Nothing is sacred in Baldwin County, it seems. Second on the huge amount of bros about. I feel like the crowd was a bit younger this year, but nonetheless, the crowd was generally pretty damn cool. People do need to chill a bit about people getting sand on their towels.
Last thing: I thought the huge roped off area for VIP up front on the main stage was a big bogus. I've never seen a festival with nicer VIP amenities than Hangout. They've even stratified the VIP and give the highest payers servants. I'm philosophically against VIP at a music festival, but I respect a festival's right to do it and patrons' interest in having it. Nonetheless, blocking off the whole right side of the main stage up to the sound stage when VIP already gets that giant pool area is pretty uncool. VIP shouldn't take away from normal festival experience, and that includes getting really close for your favorite acts.
That one complaint aside, Hangout is the best festival in the country. Will be there next year.
Post by problem dog on May 22, 2012 14:42:55 GMT -5
Average age was much younger this year than in the past. That's probably due to the lineup.
Beer prices were $1 more expensive this year, but I didn't mind as much once I realized you could get high gravity drafts for the same price inside the Hangout. The outside bar never had a wait, either. I usually don't order more than a couple beers inside the festival, but this year I had a few of these each day: untappd.com/beer/88145
Post by problem dog on May 22, 2012 15:14:41 GMT -5
Wilco's set actually ended with Dawned on Me and then Shot in the Arm. The webcast cut off before both of them, and most of the setlists that have been floating around online don't mention them. Just an FYI to Wilco setlist nerds.
EDIT: I just jumped to the end of that YouTube rip, and apparently the webcast DID includ both of those songs. I'm not sure why they keep getting left off of posted setlists.
Now i'm starting to regret not going. The lineup really didn't do much for me but I can't lie...that fest is incredible regardless of lineup. Spring break on f*ckin steroids.
Post by highcountrychillin on May 23, 2012 11:55:45 GMT -5
I didn't think it was possible to have this much fun. Last year was Incredible and this topped it.
My group had a 0.8 mile walk and while it got rough towards the last day, I found it sobering in the afternoon. Our flag was a huge success and let people go to dif shows and always be able to find one another.I will say the crowd was much younger (average had to be 21) and a bit more rude than Ive grown accustomed to.
Thursday was a perfect way to start ! Boombox was on fire. Big gigantic always brings it Friday . Rebelution was a great way to start. Yelawolf was awesome! Total surprise and the beastie mix was on point . Umphreys into sts9 couldn't have been better. Missed mr white but my gf is a hugeee tribe fan so that was out of the question
Sat- so many good shows . skrillex was truly an experience . String cheese!!! Colorado Blue sky with fireworks three times!! They are still playing soccer with my face. chili peppers sounded weak but still a fun show.
Sun- winwood! Low spark / can't find my way home/ mr. Fantasy ! - lips were a bit short and disappointing but always fun. Dave was into his set and a good way to end the weekend.
Overall I had one hell of a weekend and will always defend hangout as the BEST festival experience going. can't beat waking up in A/C and cooking a meal then perhaps bodysurf to start the day. I will be making it back next year. Condo already booked. People at kaiser were great. Hope everyone else had a blast!
Had a great time. Came in expecting to have a mediocre time at the FLips (cause I've seen them so many times). Me and Candace got to dance on stage as Dorothy and Tin Man. I'm convinced that's the only way to see them now. What a weekend.
Also, the sound was kinda sh*tty on the "Letting Go" stage for everyone but Umphrey's.
Badass sets- Gary Clark Jr VIP SCI set 2 Wilco Lips DSOTM RHCP Steve Winwood Greyboy Allstars (heard from the condo half-asleep, still awesome!)
Pretty damn good sets- Gary Clark Jr main stage Devil Makes Three Randy Newman Dispatch SCI set 1 Dr. Dog Givers
Weak sets- Flaming Lips originals DMB Franti
Sets that were good but I didn't really see enough of make a conclusion- Julian Marley Umphrey's Tribal Seeds Flogging Molly
Boombox stole the pre-party, as far as I'm concerned.
See, I thought that was the weakest Dr. Dog and Delta Spirit I've seen, and mostly because of the sound on the "Letting Go" stage.
And IMO, DMB wasn't weak, but his audience was. If you could find a spot where some drunk bro wasn't singing the lyrics into the back of your head, it was pretty alright. Stefan's stupid solo at the beginning of Watchtower was the worst thing I've ever seen though. He was just doing, like, finger exercises.
There were some fire ass sets this past weekend..... After the post-festival comedown though, I can say that my greatest set was a tie between being up front at Gogol Bordello and Gary Clark Jr. VIP.
Winwood, DSOTM (way better than the Roo '10 version), SCI, & Jack White were fan-fucking-tastic, but the Gogol & Gary sets just had that X factor that I am always chasing after.
After thinking about this for a few days, I think the best sets that I saw were: (1) Gary Clark Jr @ VIP grove stage (2) Gogol Bordello (3) Jack White (4) RHCP (sounded great from where I was at) (5) SCI's second set (6) Steve Winwood (7) Greyboy Allstars (8) Gary Clark Jr's @main stage (9) Randy Newman (10) Dirty Dozen Brass Band (highlight of thursday pre-fest IMO)
Post by problem dog on May 24, 2012 8:33:51 GMT -5
I actually thought Dr Dog sounded great on the Letting Go stage, but I was close. I was further back for Delta Spirit and it did sound a little thinner.
We had a great weekend. The weather was perfect. I think Hangout did a great job improving the logistics and design of the inside. More walkways really helped with the crowd. We didn't do the shuttle, so I don't really know if that improved. I will say the lines looked pretty long when we walked past them at night.
Favorite sets: Umphrey's Flogging Molly Jack White Mavis Staples SCI Chris Cornell
but I do not find it strange that your presence being requested in the Orgy thread and then you showing up, like it was the quacking Bonzai Bat Signal. 
