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If anyone is interested, my group inherited two 3 day general admission bands. Long, inane backround story, but they'll just be sold to the most convenient person out front if no one here wants them.
If anyone is interested, my group inherited two 3 day general admission bands. Long, inane backround story, but they'll just be sold to the most convenient person out front if no one here wants them.
hey cpayne, do you still have the wristbands? how much are you asking? I have a friend who might be interested!
Weather is going to be pretty bad today, dress warm and wear boots.
Yea, I did NOT check the weather before I left. I packed nothing but shorts and tank tops. So looks like I'll be making a trip to Target beforehand today....
Weather is going to be pretty bad today, dress warm and wear boots.
Yea, I did NOT check the weather before I left. I packed nothing but shorts and tank tops. So looks like I'll be making a trip to Target beforehand today....
If anyone is interested, my group inherited two 3 day general admission bands. Long, inane backround story, but they'll just be sold to the most convenient person out front if no one here wants them.
hey cpayne, do you still have the wristbands? how much are you asking? I have a friend who might be interested!
I still have both. 170 per. Sorry I didn't reply sooner. Between drinking, flying, and Murder City Devils last night I got distracted. By the by, Murder City was quacking epic!
Post by Longtime and Frequent Poster on Sept 12, 2014 23:35:41 GMT -5
This is my first year...what's the point of the random gates around the grounds? It just led to unnecessary bottlenecks at a lot of places. The logistics seem kind of whack.
This is my first year...what's the point of the random gates around the grounds? It just led to unnecessary bottlenecks at a lot of places. The logistics seem kind of whack.
We took the entrance on the far side by the haunted house and I don't understand why they even put it there. There is literally nothing but the haunted house and a beer tent on that side then you have to walk forever till you actually get to everything. But because of the gates you can't cut through anywhere. So dumb. Today I will for sure be using the North St entrance.
The new set up isn't bad, but make sure you enter from North Ave. Also the bus stand on North after the fest was great. Offspring and NOFX were the sets of the day, looking forward to day 2!
Post by SilentEyedStorm on Sept 13, 2014 11:00:50 GMT -5
We had to enter on Division because part of our group had to hit will call. But, I won't be using that entrance again. I like the stage setups, switching back and forth between acts allowed me stay in one area and hear everything I wanted. I'm really hoping straw gets put down, but that mud is so deep and so everywhere that I'm not going to hold my breath.
Regardless of the mud, steady downpour and bone chilling cold, I had a freaking blast yesterday. Shoutout to luva. PorchRadio. FarleyMorley for letting me squeeze into their room and JJHomer for being so cool
2013~Bonnaroo, Gentlemen of the Road-Troy 2014~McDowell Mountain, Beale Street, Bonnaroo, Riot Fest 2015~Coachella 1, Bonnaroo 2016~Summer Camp, Bonnaroo, Live on the Green, Pilgrimage 2017~Bonnaroo, Live on the Green, Pilgrimage 2018~Bonnaroo
"During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act" 2019~BROKE 2020~M'fking COVID 2021~ditto 2022~tbd
I didn't get to Riot fest Just wondering if anybody saw Billy Bragg live and what the show was like. I did get a mini Billy Bragg fix last night. The Farewell Drifters covered California Stars. I know it's a Woody Guthrie song but Bragg/Tweedy arranged the lyrics into the Mermaid Avenue song. Still kinda regretting I didn't brave the mud today tho...
Well technically California Stars is lyrics by Guthrie. Tweedy and Jay Bennett put it to music and made it a real song - but the Billy Bragg version he does live is so freakin' perfect. I've seen Wilco do it, Tweedy do it, and Bragg do it all within the last few years and Bragg's is honestly the best. Would love to know if he played it today and how it sounded.
My very early recap on the weekend is this: the shows were great, the festival sucked. I'm not sure I saw a single bad show, except everything on the Roots stage had some sort of technical difficulties at some point. The Flaming Lips straight up lost power for a good 10 minutes, which cut into The National, and because of sound ordinance BS The National's set was just short. Best show for me was still probably The National though. I was like second row and the sexy, sexy man was so freaking close to me. It was amazing. I will be seeing them again in a heartbeat the next chance I get.
Now, logistically speaking, this thing was a nightmare. Bottlenecks of people everywhere. I actually missed Hot Snakes because we got stuck in a sea of people who were all trying to move, but couldn't, because there were just so many people. Then for Weezer we were soooo far back, and were still super packed in like we were all up in the crowd or something. But it was because there was just no where for people to go so the walking path kinda merged with the crowd and it was just a giant cluster fuck. But really, it was a cluster fuck everywhere. Huge portions of area unused and gated off that could've really alleviated the hoards of people walking around these random fenced off areas that seemed to be blocked for absolutely no reason. At Weezer, these two guys next to me were trying to figure out how to get to the VIP viewing area because it was so inaccessible due to the amount of people. I don't know how to even begin to fix this cluster fuck of a set up though. I feel like they need to go back to square one and re-arrange everything.
oh, and it rained and was super cold on friday, saturday and sunday it warmed up, but it was a muddy mess.
Also, I got to meet a handful of inforoosters, and that was amazing. I want all of you in my life all the time!!!!
Overall, I had a great weekend. Well worth it. Hopefully they can make better use of the space for next year, but I'd say with the right line up I'd consider returning again.
My very early recap on the weekend is this: the shows were great, the festival sucked. I'm not sure I saw a single bad show, except everything on the Roots stage had some sort of technical difficulties at some point. The Flaming Lips straight up lost power for a good 10 minutes, which cut into The National, and because of sound ordinance BS The National's set was just short. Best show for me was still probably The National though. I was like second row and the sexy, sexy man was so freaking close to me. It was amazing. I will be seeing them again in a heartbeat the next chance I get.
Now, logistically speaking, this thing was a nightmare. Bottlenecks of people everywhere. I actually missed Hot Snakes because we got stuck in a sea of people who were all trying to move, but couldn't, because there were just so many people. Then for Weezer we were soooo far back, and were still super packed in like we were all up in the crowd or something. But it was because there was just no where for people to go so the walking path kinda merged with the crowd and it was just a giant cluster fuck. But really, it was a cluster fuck everywhere. Huge portions of area unused and gated off that could've really alleviated the hoards of people walking around these random fenced off areas that seemed to be blocked for absolutely no reason. At Weezer, these two guys next to me were trying to figure out how to get to the VIP viewing area because it was so inaccessible due to the amount of people. I don't know how to even begin to fix this cluster fuck of a set up though. I feel like they need to go back to square one and re-arrange everything.
oh, and it rained and was super cold on friday, saturday and sunday it warmed up, but it was a muddy mess.
Also, I got to meet a handful of inforoosters, and that was amazing. I want all of you in my life all the time!!!!
Overall, I had a great weekend. Well worth it. Hopefully they can make better use of the space for next year, but I'd say with the right line up I'd consider returning again.
I have pretty much the same feeling. I only went Sunday. With work it was the only day I could swing but it was the day with the most acts I wanted to see on one single day so it worked out. I loved every set I saw. The Blue Album is my favorite album ever so it lived up to my personal hype finally seeing it live. I was in heaven that whole set, loved that I could finally see Kurt Vile, and bonded with some strangers over Lucero. Danced my butt off with some middle age couple I befriended during Cheap Trick. Overall, the crowd sucked though. The staff was even worse. And the set up was god awful.
I got called a few unfavorable names cause I was close-ish for a set and wouldn't let a bunch of kids pass in front of me and my friends so they could get closer. If it was a person or two I was more willing to let em through. But when a group of 7 16 year olds try to get around and practically knock me over to get closer and tell me i'm not "punk" enough for freakin' Weezer, I'm gonna get a little testy. I haven't been feeling good all week but thought I felt good enough to get in the pit along the barrier for The Front Bottoms. Half way through their set I started to feel light headed and started to head out and some guy stopped me and told me I was "too weak for this shiiiii" Okay dude, aren't you happy I'm passing through and letting you get closer? I go to a lot of shows and I've gone to a handful of fests but I've never been snarled at and shoved so much in my life. I'm not a punk rocker by any means but I dig a lot of punk and was really looking forward to the weekend.
At one point I asked some staff where I could find the water fill stations cause I was out of water. The guy told me he had no clue what I was talking about, even after I showed him a map. I started to approach another guy wearing a riot fest staff shirt to ask him and as I got closer I saw he was sharing some illegal substance with a group of festival goers... Very professional and helpful for sure. I asked a security guard where I could find the water and he didn't know. Asked a med staffer and he just told me to keep walking "that way" until I found it. Eventually I just gave up and found a stand with slightly cheaper bottles of water. Getting into the gates was delayed almost a half hour and they hardly even checked my bag. I saw a few people walking around with a few handles of booze. I saw people walking around with dogs that didn't appear to be service dogs. All of these were listed as things not permitted into the fest. Not that I'm tryin' to be a stickler for the rules, but I don't feel like a music fest is the best place for your dog...
I felt pretty unsafe in the whole area near where Weezer played (I think it was the rebel/rise stages?) When The Front Bottoms packed that area pretty well as a 1 PM act I was really unsure how it was gonna going from Cheap Trick, Primus and Weezer all playing albums front to back... I went and checked out stuff near the main stage for a while and it was just so insanely packed I left pretty quickly and when I came back to the rebel/rise area it was pretty tame. I didn't have to wait in line for beer or anything. But within 20 mins after getting dinner that area just became a clusterquack. If there would have been an emergency, things would have gotten really scary real quick.
I really doubt I'd return to Riot Fest unless they made some drastic changes. I know a lot of other people are sharing my sentiment. I still enjoyed my day for the most part, but the negatives definitely made me believe it wasn't worth the ticket price.
I don't think "a lot of other people" are sharing that sentiment. It sounds like you just had a bad day, sorry to hear that. Yes, they have some logistical issues to fix (keep in mind this was their first year using the the much larger section of the park), but they have been really good with listening to people's feedback post-fest every year and making improvements. I'll be buying Holiday pre-sale again, can't wait for next year.
I had a great time. I loved that I could turn from one stage to the other and not have to wait for the next act to start. I did find the right stage Weezer crowd a little scary. I was so smashed. a couple girls were in tears trying to get out and there was just no room. Porch said the other side of the sound stage wasn't bad at all so I guess I was just unlucky on that one. otherwise, if you get presale I don't think you can beat those shows for that price!!!!!
Post by chicojuarz on Sept 16, 2014 9:03:20 GMT -5
I loved the music I saw, but really I thought it was one of the worst laid out fests Ive been to. I'm glad I only did a day and not the full weekend even though there were a lot of bands I would have loved seeing. I'll probably go back with another single day next year. I just dont think I'd like this fest for 3 full days.
FYI, Monie, The National had travel issues coming back from Ottawa which is why they went on 25 minutes late.
I'm aware of that. But regardless of travel issues, FLips technical difficulties would've cut into their time anyway. After seeing the huge production finale they had for "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" I doubt they would've let that gone unused.
I'm also aware that they opened up the festival grounds to include much more space this year as opposed to last year, which is something that I don't really understand. Because if you entered from Division St (I think that's the one, the entrance where you passed by the Haunted house and stuff? Opposite side of North St entrance) you were walking through a ton of unused open space. I mean, there was nothing over there except the Haunted House, a beer stand, and maybe a merch booth or something? TONS of unused space. They just need to re-work the layout to hopefully alleviate some of that. And like Luva said, the right side of that Weezer crowd (I was on the right, but waaaaay far back, like right in front of the carnival games and stuff) was super scary. The Offspring crowd was scary too, but for different reasons. I've never had that feeling in a crowd that I did at The Offspring... but I digress.
Anyways, I just think that if they could re-work the layout then it'd be much more enjoyable. I did love being able to wait for one show but not missing a show on the adjacent stage. Because of that I got close for The National but still saw FLips, and got to see some of Cheap Trick while waiting for Primus, and saw the ending of Primus while making my way/waiting for Weezer. But the crowds during Weezer/The Cure were sparse when walking from Rise/Rebel to Roots/Riot stages. I thought It'd take me like 15mins to get from one area to the other and I actually ran to The Cure in less than 5 mins, which was a nice surprise. Because of that I got a solid 30mins of Weezer and nearly a full 45mins of The Cure. That kinda made my night.
Wayne Coyne say something about The National starting late so they were going to keep playing.
From far right in The National crowd I didn't hear that at all... If I had I probably wouldn't have been so annoyed by the delay. My antsy-ness to get my Matt Berninger on clouded any rational thought, I suppose.
Post by easymorningrebel on Sept 16, 2014 16:42:14 GMT -5
I agree the set up was poorly executed, not enough port-o-potties near the stages and too much walking required due to barriers. The lineup was great and I had minimal conflicts, so that was nice. I'm interested to see what the lineup looks like for next year.
would have liked to meet up with some of you but things didn't go according to plan...also, phone reception was horrible, at least mine was.
I don't think "a lot of other people" are sharing that sentiment. It sounds like you just had a bad day, sorry to hear that. Yes, they have some logistical issues to fix (keep in mind this was their first year using the the much larger section of the park), but they have been really good with listening to people's feedback post-fest every year and making improvements. I'll be buying Holiday pre-sale again, can't wait for next year.
Eh, I saw a lot of similar complaints on reddit and facebook. I really didn't have a bad day, I just expected a little better for a ticket I spent a pretty decent chunk of change on. I suppose I really went into detail on the few bad experiences I had that day. I liked more of the bands I saw at Riot Fest but had a much better time at Pitchfork this year, which I paid less for. I know its kind of comparing apples to oranges but still. If people who have never been before told me they wanted to go, I'd still encourage them cause they would most likely have fun, I just don't know if it's something I want to do again next year or until they work out some kinks.
Post by FarleyMorley on Sept 18, 2014 13:32:27 GMT -5
Can i just say I LOVED everything about Riot Fest in Chicago. Sure it was a bit of a cluster walking sometimes and I gave up on the far loop stages because of accessibility. But even the mud was sort of fun and Sat/SUN it was hardly a problem-ish for me. I liked the fest being over at 10 and then heading into the city for a change of scene and more beverages. I had no issues getting as close as I wanted for a show. Tho I learned I am NOT made for crazy mosh pit antics like some folks I know. Sure I didn't see all I wanted but that's just like ROO. This is up there for one of my most favorite festivals I've been to. Food options could use some work but I uh, wasn't feeling like eating much anyways. Fantastic music! Fun city! Awesome people! Would do it again a heartbeat! Thanks to PorchRadioluvaSilentEyedStorm for sharing the hotel, drinking, and singing with me!
Can i just say I LOVED everything about Riot Fest in Chicago. Sure it was a bit of a cluster walking sometimes and I gave up on the far loop stages because of accessibility. But even the mud was sort of fun and Sat/SUN it was hardly a problem-ish for me. I liked the fest being over at 10 and then heading into the city for a change of scene and more beverages. I had no issues getting as close as I wanted for a show. Tho I learned I am NOT made for crazy mosh pit antics like some folks I know. Sure I didn't see all I wanted but that's just like ROO. This is up there for one of my most favorite festivals I've been to. Food options could use some work but I uh, wasn't feeling like eating much anyways. Fantastic music! Fun city! Awesome people! Would do it again a heartbeat! Thanks to PorchRadioluvaSilentEyedStorm for sharing the hotel, drinking, and singing with me!
