What can Bonnaroo do to improve in 2014?

Relax, I'm not attacking you. The title of the thread was "what can Bonnaroo do to improve in 2014?". I stated my opinion and my experience. Period, the end.

TOTALLY AGREE about the comedy tent. I really wanted to see Comedy Bang Bang as I'm a huge fan of the podcasts and whatnot, but I think a lot of people were in line just knowing they would get A/C and didn't care who was in there...at least that's what someone in line told me.

Only let people who actually have children into Family Camping. We saw numerous people with a yellow F in their windshields (so had requested & gotten FC) but had no kids. It was ridiculously loud over there and had filled up by noon Thursday. There was music blasting over there all night, to the point we had to sleep in earplugs.

Another weird thing about the comedy tents, people would sit for hours to get the ticket and then leave the show early? Ed Helm's was practically empty when his special guest the Lumineers showed up to play.

The other advantage to viewing screens at the tents is that the infrastructure would presumably make it easier to record and promote the shows. Maybe this year will be different but in the past I think Bonnaroo has fallen short in how well it video documents the fest, particularly the Superjams.

They definitely need to do some kind of update to the current system. It's leaps and bounds better than it used to be, which is sort of like how the What stage pit line is now. It used to be people waiting for hours and hours in line just to get in/guarantee a spot. Some hardcore fans waiting half a day at times. The new system with the passes was a welcome addition and really helped things. At first it was really easy to just go up to the volunteers and grab a pass, then go back to the show you want. But over the past couple of years we have seen more and more lines forming just to get a ticket for a specific show. Part of that could be because of the huge names they've been getting (Conan, Tosh, Saget, Aziz, Steven Wright, etc.) but whatever the cause is doesn't matter. It sucks that I saw a line all the way out to near the fountain from where the comedy tent was and it was to maybe see Daniel Tosh.

My experience was pretty good this year for the comedy tent. I didn't have to wait hours and hours for one show but I also don't really mind sitting in the stands (some people wait long times to get a front row/floor seat). The longest I waited in line to GET a ticket was with Druid when we were going to get David Cross tickets on Sunday but we went a little early because we figured a.) The people who were shut out of his Saturday show would be lining up and b.) The first show of the day meant more people waiting earlier (since nothing on before it to kick them out of . So we got there a little over an hour but waited in line and easily got our tickets to get in. We went back to the comedy tent about 20 minutes before the show when they were letting people in and we got in right away.

The other two times I was able to get into the comedy tent were similar but I ended up waiting in line for Comedy Bang Bang earlier than I expected because I decided I really, really wanted to see it on that day. I got in line that seemed relatively long and waited a short while and got a pass but I did have that stress of "Did I just wait in the sun and miss some music to be told they ran out of passes?" and that definitely will happen to a lot of people. I got lucky. The other time was for an early show without any really huge names. I didn't wait at all and just hopped on the ticket line when they started handing them out and figured "sure...if I can get one, awesome. If not, no big deal".

So anyway....back to my point: the new system was great for a while but things have changed over the years and now we're back to "If you definitely want to see a big name comedian then you will have to miss some music. In some cases....a couple of hours" and that is just shitty. I'm not sure how well your idea of a lottery beforehand would work because as many people know....schedules can change depending on the day. Someone who wanted to see Saget before Roo may be too tired on Sunday and decide to go just chill in a Tent instead. I know that there are always a good amount of people who pick up comedy passes and then end up bailing on the show. They sometimes let in the people waiting by the gate on a standby basis but even that can suck (waiting for hours to get ticket, being shut out, going back and waiting to get on standby, then being told it's full). Also strangely, to me, each year there are people I talk to or overhear that discuss "who is playing today?" and "I didn't know they were going to be here" that reminds me there are a lot of people who don't even look at a schedule/full lineup until they get to the festival. I could imagine all the complaints of "They have comedians at the show but you can't see them unless you win a lottery way ahead of time?".

Something like that needs to be done though. Something that will fix some things. I think maybe they could enhance the size of the place and possibly even set up some screens (or even just one screen) on the outside that shows what is happening inside. Put it in some shade behind/on the side of the comedy tent and let the people shut out at least have that experience.


One more thing about the comedy tent that always pisses me off. There are a bunch of sections on the top/back of the floor section (before the bleachers) that gets roped off with caution tape that is for VIP attendees. Basically, it's like a little section with the folding chairs they use on the floor (as opposed to backless bleachers in the upper sections) that VIP members can use. I don't have a huge problem with that but what I do have a huge problem with is when they go completely unfilled but I'm not allowed to move into one of those more comfortable/better viewing seats when the show starts. They prefer those chairs go unused then to let people move into them.





holy shit I just wrote a lot more about the comedy tent than I planned too.

Yea, I think with the new youtube partnership that Bonnaroo has we will be seeing more things recorded (and hopefully released). Bonnaroo can make money off of original content that gets tons of views and they have the ability to record future shows while also having a backlog of a ton of footage from previous years. They definitely recorded a lot of stuff for the Superjam so Bacon and I were thinking they will possibly do another "Superjam Series" of videos like they did with the 2012 one. I'd prefer a full show but I'll take any high quality performance footage I can get.

Major problem I had is the Miller/Coors lite beer booth workers were short changing people constantly. You give them a twenty and they would give you seven dollars back for one beer. I had to correct them over 5 times this Bonnaroo and that was after I started to notice it, so they stole at least 10 - 20 bucks from. I talked with other people around the festival and a quite a few mentioned having problems with them too. Really sux when they just start outright robbing you. Thx Bonnaroo

That sucks cause the beer vendors in the VIP area gave me $14 back after I gave him a $10 for a beer.

I said to them "Guys.....it's probably just Phi. I know he's not going to make it, I saw him at the Spicy Pie booth. He's not going anywhere" but they still wouldn't let me take just ONE of those seats. Not even a half a seat. None.

All these years and Bonnaroo still has done a poor job of getting the message out. I spent an hour of my time chilling in the shade of the standby line for Comedy Bang Bang.

Here is what I observed and what I was told by a staffer: About 1,200 tickets are given for shows. Capacity is 1,700. Roll Like a Rock Star and Artist / Guest passes get first shot at standby. Then goes VIP without tickets. If you're VIP and wait for a ticket, you're in first and that presumably puts you front row. But even VIP without tix went in before the people with tix. And then there were still maybe 100 seats left, so I and many others went in without hassle. I think some of this is different than in years past, but if VIP ticket holders have this benefit and weren't made aware, then it is something Bonnaroo must fix. It's something that would help sell me on VIP if I knew I could walk up 15 minutes before a comedy act and with near certainty get in first.

However, they always change things at that funny little tent with scant notice. It used to be one hour before an act they handed out tickets. Now it's two hours. Either way, there still appeared to be seats for Comedy Bang Bang's first show, so presumably you could have walked in at any time. I'm sure the standby process isn't the same for things like Conan and Tosh, but I got tickets for Aziz last year and still watched standby people come in after we were seated.

Thanks for this info. It definitely adds up to the way I've seen things go with the comedy tent.

As for getting the message out.....I feel like it's one of those things that people get annoyed with in everyday life. The information is right there for you but so many people refuse to seek it out or are too lazy to try to look into it. I believe there is a sign posted at the comedy tent (it may have been missing but I know they used to have it) and it's written in the booklet they give you when coming in. Personally, I ALWAYS look in the booklet under the comedy tent section each year and also make sure to go up to one of the workers on the first day to clarify how everything works. This way I've never had a problem.

On the other hand....I heard some idiots complain about how they waited in line for a while, got comedy passes, went back to the show, and were confused as to why they weren't watching Comedy Bang Bang. They got into the tent and saw a different set of comedians and got pissed off because the passes that they used all had a photo promoting the IFC TV show Comedy Bang Bang with Scott Aukerman and Reggie Watts. It wasn't a photo to show you WHO you were seeing but rather just a promotional piece on the front. On the back it had the rules of the tent/passes. I wanted to pull my hair out when I heard people make this complaint. There's a damn good reason they give you a schedule when you enter and post it ALL AROUND centeroo. It's because different acts play different times. People make assumptions and then look foolish. I heard the same complaint last year at a comedy show that wasn't featuring Key and Peele (they had different set times) but people expected them to come out because the comedy pass had a photo promoting their TV show. Did they not even ask ANYBODY while waiting in line who they were going to see? They just look at the comedy tent and think "Oh....a line. This must be for the show I want to see/know about".

The one thing that seemed very awesome was chirpvision. Could you imagine being at any stage or location and be able to watch a live stream of the concert while being on the farm? I think Bonnaroo should invest in that technology more and give the majority of people a way to see different artists better than having to walk around like zombies and wait for hours to get a good spot....

My biggest concern is the lack of Bonnaroo Etiquette. Many people were grinding up against me the whole time while watching a show. I felt like I lost my innocence. These people were just moving through the crowd with no respect for the people standing there...It was horrible. I could not enjoy the show. Its one thing to need to use the bathroom and move through the crowd...but to have a continuous train of people moving through....geez. As a die hard music fan...I'm considering not going next year because there just seems to be way too many people at the festival.

I know Bonnaroo is a business but greed is not cool. I can see it in the development of the festival. Book a bunch of unknown artists and fill it in with a few greats.....Stop selling so many tickets. If you want to make more money have the festival twice a year. I'd probably go if it was in the fall.

1. Fix that shiz between Which and What.

2. Educate the volunteers about Family Camping (not their fault--I have worked events like this and it ain't easy when you aren't given the info you need). At least three different volunteers asked me if I had purchased the special pass for Family Camping. Someone in our group finally had to pull up the website on their phone to show the volunteers that you don't need a special pass. We were then told we could not enter through that particular tollbooth, and we had to pull out and go wait in line at a different tollbooth. That was okay with us--maybe we missed the instructions somewhere. When we got to the next tollbooth, however, we were again asked if we had purchased the special pass. :-)

3. Consider turning part of the GA camping area into a reserved section for older people. Some people need to be close and in a calm area, but they don't have kids and they are not officially handicapped, so there is not really a "home" for them. I came in a group of 3 adults, but we had to use Family Camping because one was older and simply could not have handled GA (neither the partying nor the walk to Centeroo). We were good neighbors, of course, but it still made me feel guilty that we were in there without kids. If I had come alone, I would have just camped in GA.

That said, I thought everything else was really well done. The port a potties were reasonably clean and usually had toilet paper, the showers and shade were much better than I thought they would be, and I rarely had to wait in long lines for anything. Really well organized, and I also thought the vibe was good. I did not overhear people complaining or arguing, which you usually do hear when you mix heat, alcohol, grime, etc. And the music was fantastic. Really great experience!