Hangout Festival 2013

I appreciate all of you appreciating my write-ups, I enjoy writing them.

I think you are spot on regarding the level of crowd enthusiasm. Its probably at a higher level than comes through in the streams, but its still noticeably less, in my opinion, then you see at Bonnaroo or other festivals. I think Hangout does a better job of attracting the casual fan then other festivals, and the reason is simple. If you commit to spend 4-5 days camping in the Tennessee sun, you are most likely a serious fan of live music. We all joke about the "annual Bonnaroo friend cycle" where friends commit to go then slowly flake out as the reality of enduring Roo dawns on them. Getting friends to come to Hangout is super easy. "Hey, want to come hangout on the beach and party with a bunch of beautiful ladies/dudes, and when it gets too hot we can head back to our air conditioned condo and cook meals and have beverages, then sleep in a bed? Oh yeah and Stevie Wonder will be there."

Definitely not a difficult sell.

Unfortunately often these casual fans don't grok the importance of individual action and how it impacts the community. I've heard plenty of stories of jag bags at Bonnaroo but my experience at Roo interacting with other fans has been overwhelmingly positive. This year I had zero negative interactions with fans at Hangout, but generally the vibe is less positive, again just my experience. Roo last year was like everyone was in a state of nonstop bliss, live music fans thrilled to be at the epicentre of live music. Hangout is more of a casual party. Not that there is anything terribly wrong with that, its just different. I obviously prefer Roo, but as long as I live an hour from Gulf Shores I will always attend Hangout and have a blast.

Tnx again postjack and everyone for the posts. On the vibe: I sort of feel that way about the upcoming Tomorroworld. It looks like it might be just a big party, which is ok, but I like pure music fests the best. It ended up not selling out, so who knows. 2014 Napa for sale at show, 2014 Coachella Friday, did Hangout do anything similar? BTW, I lived on the North Shore for years and when I left, no one on the mainland (cept Cali) seemed to know what that hand sign meant... Some gang sign huh dah ... cr****

Hangout was not a good fest, it felt like a big frat party, way too many drunk people stumbling all over and running my wife over. Hangout is not for the us, way too many cops everywhere and busting peps left and right. Got a little insight from a local on why so thick, I guess last year during RHP, people started jumping the fence to get in, and a lot made it over. The beach is the biggest drive for the fest.

Sorry you didn't have a good time, it is definitely a cop heavy and frat heavy fest.

Having said that, these frat guys today trip me out. I watched tons of dudes in their greek shirts singing every word to every Passion Pit song at the set. Back when I was a frat guy anything remotely untzy was considered awful. It was all Phish and the Dead and the Meters and Panic, that was what we subsisted on.

It will be interesting to watch the crowd continue to change as I get older and keep going to festivals.

Sadly, home, work, and ball practice behind me since Hangout. Sunday was a chill and short day. Best Coast was a good beach band. Enjoyed them much more than Bonnaroo a couple years ago. Grouplove ended up being my festival closer. Good but not great. They have some good songs but seems like they are trying too hard. Overall, Hangout gets an A from me. Definitely more of a beach party than a music lovers paradise. But its a helluva beach party. And some great music. Met some amazing new people and ran into some old festival friends. Awesome watching our kids play and jam together. Interesting to see so fewer kids than my two previous Hangouts though. I wish more families would embrace a great music festival on the beach.

What an awesome weekend.

Favorite day was Saturday, rode the rail for Mule, Black Crowes (fav show of weekend), and half of Petty. We got back to our house around midnight and saw this neon on the beach, when we walked over what do you know there was a rave going on. So we danced our asses off until 4 in the morning. Such a good night.

Sunday was my 2nd favorite. Saw moe., Trey, and Stevie. Trey killed it.

Friday was very meh. Jim James was pretty good, and Macklemore was better than expected, but I left KOL due to boredness.

Overall this festival was a lot of fun and pending the bands I will be back.

Some of the positives:
The Beach - I mean come on, so awesome to have concerts on the beach
Beer - Yes it was the usual, but they give you UNOPENED tall boys. You could load up you backpack and not have to worry about spillage or lines for a while. I really wish roo would do this, I hate using plastic cups in a public setting where people bump into you.
Grouper sandwich's from Gulf Shores Seafood were amazing.
Bushwackers from Hangout were equally amazing.
Porto-potty setup - I felt like there was never a line, maybe it was just me.
Saturday's Main Stage Lineup - MULE > Crowes > Petty doesn't need an explanation.
Just the general setup felt like it had a good flow to it.

Some Negatives:
Some of the crowd was obnoxious (think panama city spring break), but for the most part people were cool.
Sand - it was everywhere ha ha (more of an inside joke than a serious complaint).
Cops - not as bad as expected, but nowhere near Roo'
Having to drive back at night.

We've been to every Hangout and each year it gets better from a logistics standpoint. Bathrooms have never been an issue. Like above I didn't get some of the "line" at portos when there were several open. Lines for food and drinks always manageable. More water stations this year too. Year #2 was the most difficult to navigate as the crowd was huge and Fest wasn't using the street like it did this year or last year. The line-up this year going in was my least favorite and we ended up loving it. Saw so many good performances. I think not having so many "must-sees" was a good thing. We split several sets and really enjoyed many. Highlights: Stevie Wonder, Mowglis, The Shins, Trey, KOL, The Weeks, Public Enemy, Black Crowes, KOL, Imagine Dragons, Shovels and Rope. Only a couple of disappointments: Ellie Goulding, YYY and Petty. Another great year. Camping at Gulf State Park and shuttle is how we've gone every year and we'll be back in 2014. Bought tickets at fest $169 no fees for next year. We've never done VIP but only Hangout stage has better viewing anyway, just don't see the value in the VIP for $530 extra for each ticket.

The tickets were for sale at the HANGOUT ALUMNI tent. Is was near the retail tents, near coke zero, red bull etc. Across from BOOM BOOM tent.

Thoughts on my 2nd Hangout...

Logistics... Besides the beach and weather, this is the most impressive aspect of the fest. In 2012 I had heard horror stories about traffic (foot traffic inside the fest, and vehicle traffic outside) 2012 the setup was expanded and felt great, short lines for beer/porto's, easy to move around, only a few bottlenecks (stairs at the middle beach entrance)... this year was even more improved. added grass and space to the main entrance to the two beach stages, slightly smaller crowd meant even easier to get around, VERY fast moving lines to get into the fest, even the lines for backpacks were fast.

And yes, although the 'Pod-System' of portos is nice in theory, I too skipped in line everytime because no one watches every single stall so there were ALWAYS plenty of unoccupied stalls, and a line of folks just standing there waiting. I didnt meant to be rude, but there is no point waiting in line when 10 of the 40 portos is empty.

Sound at the Chevy Stage (2nd beach stage) was fixed. Sounded awful in 2012. Great sound this year. Couldnt hear F'Lips last year at all, and now I can STILL hear Bassnectar and the Roots in my head 3 days later.

Cops...c'mon folks. before I went in 2012 I heard about the police (sheriff) presence at the fest and it shouldnt come as a surprise to anyone. This is a super conservative, family-oriented vacation spot. The police presence is to be expected and really not a big deal if you use your head and are discrete about it. I party pretty hard at fests and have never had an issue with police. The ONLY times I saw police or undercovers taking people out, was when they couldnt freaking stand up they were so wasted, or they were just openly using their nonoword of choice in an open area rather than the middle of a crowd or just a more secluded space.

I for one am very glad there is such a strong police presence there to be honest. It is a very young crowd, and if these kids came in and acted like it was 2:30am at a Bonnaroo Tent, they deserve to get pulled out of the fest. Its a fest inside the city limits, not a huge privately owned farm. Trust me, if you have half a brain, the nonoword situation is easy to navigate and enjoy without hassle (cuz believe me, I saw plenty of ridiculously dim-witted 18-21 yr olds kids doing as they please in a much more open manner than I am comfortable doing).

Weather... good lord. Low 80's during the day, high 60's at night. Perfect. My wife is petite so she actually got a bit chilly a few nights, but as a big guy, I LOVED not sweating my ass off all day.

Crowds... Bit smaller than last year. and (to me) even younger than last year. And Ill hop on my soap-box again...I understand the younger crowd can be annoying sometimes, but most of us have all been there before. Im 27 now, and Id hate to see a video of how I acted at times 8-9 years ago at concerts. People grow up, and yes, an annoying 19 yr old with a different throwback hoops uniform and neon headband for each night of the fest is paying the same price for a ticket as everyone else. Some of the folks can be pretty inconsiderate at times (climbing OVER people seated on the beach rather than weaving around them) but im pretty used to that. Im really only concerned with how my wife is treated at fests... Im a big guy so its inevitable that ill be bumped and maybe my feet stepped on or even the rare beer-spill, but so long as folks are respecting her space, Im cool. our good friend came with us this year, his first festival ever, he's 6'6" and black. My best friend is 6'5" and im 6'3" so people usually give us space since they cant really see past us. We make a wall and let my wife dance in front with out worry of someone leaving Bassnectar in a dead-sprint to see Tom Petty knocking her ass over.

Speaking of Bassnectar --> Tom Petty.... Can we PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE have someone in the tent play opposite the nightly headliner!?!?! Its not that the area in front of the Hangout Stage is too small, its fine, its that as soon as the Chevy Stage Closer is done, they rush directly east to the Hangout stage... that works at Bonnaroo cuz they filter in from the back corner entrance or the bottleneck between What/Which. But at hangout, they just turn around 180 degrees and take off, kicking sand as they go. if im on a blanket 80 yds from the stage (where there is plenty of room to move) do not climb over my shoulder when im sitting down. walk around me, even if you still have to step all over my beach towel, thats fine, it happens. Im cool with sand being kicked on my leg, just not in my beer or on my neck.

Concerts... Im getting older, and I also use Hangout as much for a beach gettaway as I do for a music fest (we got there early Wednesday morning to enjoy the beach before the crowds arrive), so I only go to between 2-4 (sometimes 5) shows per day. Sometimes not till a little before sunset. Its just too easy to sleep in, grab some great local seafood for lunch, get an hour nap on the beach/balcony then head to the fest around 4-6pm. So forgive me, but I only caught about 10 or 11 shows.

1. Roots - just awesome. super tight sound, crazy energy, great setlist, few covers (Zeppelin, GnR, D.Marley), my favorite show of the weekend.
2. Stevie Wonder - Everyone here is a music lover...I dont have to explain this one.
3. Jim James - I enjoyed the new material live, just a cool unique sound. And dude was going back and forth between the sax and the flying V, just wailing on both.
4. Kendrick Lamar - seen a lot of folks hating on here about this show. I enjoyed it a lot. partly because my best friend is a huge fan and bascially came just for this show, so I promised him Id get as close as he wanted to go for this show and party with him. We did and like most concerts, its what you make of it. critique every little detail and you wont enjoy it...put on your party pants and throwdown, youll prolly remember it forever. we had a blast, and I thought the sound in the tent was perfect for hiphop.
5. Tom Petty - it was your typical cookiecutter aging-rock-legend show, but i had never seen him so its nice to mark that one off the bucket list. Obviously, he plays the hits...like, all of his hits. So my wife enjoyed being able to sing along to almost all of it. We stayed in a chilled spot near the back so the crowd wasnt bad (except for right after 'Nectar finished up).
6. Thurs night shows - I cant recall a lot of details about this night, but I do remember having an absolute blast. Thursday night was a long/strange/weird trip. Awesome time, minus the firey-poop the next day.
7. Bassnectar - only stayed for about an hour, but I wanted to stay until it got dark so I could see his full light setup. great, loud sound. some decent mixes and obviously a cool light show.
8. Macklemore - This guy gets a lot of crap on here also, but he does put on a fun show. Ton of energy, great sound (all weekend) in the tent, and the best part was he doesnt make you wait thru the entire show to hear his hits. he sprinkled them all throughout so I got to leave a tad early.
9. KOL - Im just not a huge fan. Enjoyed them at Roo'10 but didnt really want to fight the crowd for a good spot, so we posted up in the back for this one. Not bad but nothing really memorable.

Recommendation........If you have never been to Hangout, here is my advice.
GO if you want to kill 2 birds with 1 stone (beach vacay + music fest)
DONT GO if you think its going to be a mini-bonnaroo. its not. its in a city and the shows are over by 11pm.
GO if you have ever made spring break or family trips in the past to the area. I went from age 2-19 so its cool to go back as an adult and party
DONT GO if you dont like sand, or dont like walking in the sand a lot. if you dont exercise, do so a little before the fest.
GO if you like boobs. There are a lot. they are young and fit and theyve been waiting all year to put on their new beach shit.
DONT GO if you hate college aged kids. They are the majority here. But they are for the most part all cool.
GO if you are in college still.
DONT BUY VIP IF YOU ONLY LIKE EDM OR HIP-HOP there is no VIP area at the tent, and that is where you will be for most of the weekend. my buddie made this mistake... bought super-VIP pass and spent 90% of the weekend at the BoomBoomTent.

Victory Dance, I hope you don't mind me stealing your format!

Thoughts on my 3rd Hangout and 2nd as VIP:

Logistics: Overall - Hangout took that great improvement in crowd logistics from 2011 to 2012 and streamlined it more for 2013. Lines were virtually nonexistent. I particularrly liked how they put grass at the entrances to the beach stages. It gave you an opportunity to comfortably remove your sandals without creating a bottleneck. VIP Chevy stage was greatly improved with more seating and a larger viewing area... AND they fixed the sound!!

VIP Grove - Yeah, I get it. We can't take liquor out of the Grove. Fine. Can I take my UNOPENED bottle of water? Not this year! You hear me right, not even an unopened bottle of water. There was so much waste going on because of this policy. Also, last year, the VIP section for the Letting Go stage was tented. This may sound petty to you, but the tent provided some sort of acoustic to be able to hear the bands on that stage. This year, the sound was terrible in that grandstand. And it was hot as balls. Can we just have our tent back?

Cops: Um, you're in Alabama. What exactly did you expect? Yes, I saw a few kids being shaken down because they were failing so hard at being discrete. I also saw two being carried out for severe (as in not being able to walk) intoxication.

Weather: Gorgeous the entire weekend! Sunday was a bit overcast, but I appreciated it in my sunburned condition. Low to mid 80's all day and mid to upper 60's at night. I'm a smaller lady, so I got a bit chilled during the headliners when that sea breeze kicked in. Ladies, it may behoove you to bring a sweater or a wrap if you can fit it in your bag.

Crowds: 2011's crowd was annoyingly young. 2012's crowd was more annoyingly young and fratty than 2011. 2013's crowd was slightly older, but still pretty fratty. The VIP areas are a considerably older crowd (late 20's to late 30's, mainly) and are much more considerate. If you are in a more laid back stage in life, VIP will appeal to you.

Concerts: I will put this down in the recommendations as well, but I highly suggest visiting some of the undercards. I dragged my boyfriend to some of these unknowns-to-us and we were blown away! Believe me when I say we talked way more about Galatic and the Revivalists on the way back than we did Petty and Stevie.

1. Galatic - OMG! Corey Glover is their lead vocalist and it just blew us away! His cover of "How Many More Times" rocked!
2. Revivalists - They played at the Letting Go stage and then again in the VIP Grove before Trey. Love! Love! Love!
3. Quixotic - Sound a lot like Beats Antique. Their stage show was great... dancers, contortionists, etc.
4. Grizzy Bear - I have loved GB for years. I was really impressed with the bass player. Boy could throw down!
5. Sheepdogs - Walked into this one cold and loved it! I hate that we left early for Jim James (snooze fest!)
6. The Roots - Totally brought it!
7. The Shins - Loved those guys for a decade. I was a little tipsy for this set and apologize to the guy I kept kicking sand on in my drunken dancing.
8. Delta Rae - I caught them at the preparty in 2012 and became a fan. I love their harmonies. They do a great cover of "The Chain".
9. Govn't Mule - I watched Mule from the VIP pool! Great set... great cover of "Since I've Been Lovin' You" directly followed by "Soulshine". Happy me!
10. Petty - solid set of his hits. A good time was had.

Recommendations:
If you've never been to Hangout in general:
GO if you want to kill 2 birds with 1 stone (beach vacay + music fest) - Stole that from Victory Dance but it is so true!
DON'T GO if you are super serious into music and can't be bothered with a beach party atmosphere.
GO (this one is for the ladies) If you are comfortable walking around in a bikini (with or without a coverup) for 3 days.
DON'T GO (ladies) if you're going to compare your 20-or-30-something year old body to 18 year olds. You looked that way at 18 too, but then you had a kid/started a career/did whatever real world stuff you did between 18 and now. Own it, girl! I walked around in a bikini with pride!!
GO if you're open-minded to check out some of the undercard. Hangout did an excellent job!
DON'T GO if all you care about are the headliners. They (and I'm saying this as far back as 2011) are ALWAYS a let down compared to the undercard.
GO if fratty kids don't bother you... or you are one.
DON'T Go if you think those kids should get off your beach.

If you've never gone VIP:
VIP if you like convenience... If you like mimosas in the morning... If you don't like pulling out your money every time you want a drink or a snack...
DON'T VIP if you enjoy having all of the food choices from outside vendors. VIP menu is limited.
VIP if like up close viewing and cooling off in pools at the two main stages.
DON'T VIP if you like EDM. There is no VIP area. You will be buying your own beer all weekend, as opposed to complimentary beer at the Grove and main stages.
VIP if you like air-conditioned potties with running water to wash your hands.
DON'T VIP if you aren't a germaphobe and are completely fine with port-a-potties.

I think that about covers it. I enjoyed my experience again this year and bought my 2014 tickets on Sunday. Thanks, y'all! I'll see you when we start speculating about the next one!

This is my prediction as well.

I was planning on seeing Moon Taxi and got talked out of it by friends saying "c'mon doofus, they play the soul kitchen all the time. let's go to galactic." blew it!

Yeah just Umphrey's and Moon Taxi on archive.
bt.etree has those two as well plus Black Crowes.
I'm sure more will surface eventually.

Vampire Weekend will be next years Mumford.