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I've met some of you before, and some for the first time! Such a fantastic weekend meeting people that I've conversed with digitally all off-season long!
change in the chair/blanket policy at the quad made a huge difference and led to better crowds and a more enjoyable experience over there, despite there being 9,999 people in the quad on saturday to escape the wind.
I'm ok with them having less surprise sets in the museum. it was nice not to have so spend a decent chunk of the day waiting there for something remarkable to happen.
A lot of first timers i encountered didnt seem to "get" it and had tons of complaints. i tried to explain to them that the fest is a nonprofit so there's only so much they can do, which was met with a few scoffs from people who had clearly never interacted with a nonprofit in their lives.
on that note, a group of drunk mega-bros, who bragged to a group of girls that they had bought childrens tickets on purpose, threatened to fight me on friday at the head and the heart, of all places. they had been talking through the whole set, and i finally told them to "go talk in the back" (we were less than 10 people from the front) during a particularly quiet intro to a song and they lost it. direct quote from a particularly young looking, curly headed lad: "don't talk to me like that, dont you ever tell me what to do ever again."
the bros are slowly infiltrating Newport. I'm hoping they find a way to stop it.
On the flip side, michael kiwanuka had one of, if not the, best crowds i have ever been in. total silence and attention. i credit the unannounced set overlapping with the 2nd half of his set to this. truely incredible; i was equally impressed with the crowd as i was his closer of "love & hate," which i had even already experienced once this summer but was dying to see again.
rode my bike for the first time on Sunday. it was the right choice, as the rest of my group left as waters came on stage to drive home. hoping to ride every day from here on out. so much fun and a great way to decompress and wind down after seeing such epic ans unbelievable stuff at prine.
i think this was my favorite of my 6 Newports. nothing i saw was less than stellar.
I am so thankful the beer tents are so isolated. I didn't notice a greater "bro" presence than usual this year, just a few obnoxious dancers during quiet sets (looking at you, blondie smoking huge joints through the entirety of Fleet Foxes, dancing in circles with hands above your head during some of the more intimate moments of their set). That sucks you had such a shitty interaction with those guys. I think policing it ourselves is the only way to prevent it from spreading.
Also: Surprised I haven't seen more people here raving about Drive-By Truckers' set. Patterson Hood is exactly what the music world needs right now. He provided the quote of the decade in his speech explaining the background of "What it Means" (which, by the way, made me cry like a fucking baby. As if that song wasn't gut-wrenching enough) "This isn't political. It's fucking personal. They killed my neighbor."
change in the chair/blanket policy at the quad made a huge difference and led to better crowds and a more enjoyable experience over there, despite there being 9,999 people in the quad on saturday to escape the wind.
I'm ok with them having less surprise sets in the museum. it was nice not to have so spend a decent chunk of the day waiting there for something remarkable to happen.
A lot of first timers i encountered didnt seem to "get" it and had tons of complaints. i tried to explain to them that the fest is a nonprofit so there's only so much they can do, which was met with a few scoffs from people who had clearly never interacted with a nonprofit in their lives.
on that note, a group of drunk mega-bros, who bragged to a group of girls that they had bought childrens tickets on purpose, threatened to fight me on friday at the head and the heart, of all places. they had been talking through the whole set, and i finally told them to "go talk in the back" (we were less than 10 people from the front) during a particularly quiet intro to a song and they lost it. direct quote from a particularly young looking, curly headed lad: "don't talk to me like that, dont you ever tell me what to do ever again."
the bros are slowly infiltrating Newport. I'm hoping they find a way to stop it.
On the flip side, michael kiwanuka had one of, if not the, best crowds i have ever been in. total silence and attention. i credit the unannounced set overlapping with the 2nd half of his set to this. truely incredible; i was equally impressed with the crowd as i was his closer of "love & hate," which i had even already experienced once this summer but was dying to see again.
rode my bike for the first time on Sunday. it was the right choice, as the rest of my group left as waters came on stage to drive home. hoping to ride every day from here on out. so much fun and a great way to decompress and wind down after seeing such epic ans unbelievable stuff at prine.
i think this was my favorite of my 6 Newports. nothing i saw was less than stellar.
I am so thankful the beer tents are so isolated. I didn't notice a greater "bro" presence than usual this year, just a few obnoxious dancers during quiet sets (looking at you, blondie smoking huge joints through the entirety of Fleet Foxes, dancing in circles with hands above your head during some of the more intimate moments of their set). That sucks you had such a shitty interaction with those guys. I think policing it ourselves is the only way to prevent it from spreading.
Also: Surprised I haven't seen more people here raving about Drive-By Truckers' set. Patterson Hood is exactly what the music world needs right now. He provided the quote of the decade in his speech explaining the background of "What it Means" (which, by the way, made me cry like a fucking baby. As if that song wasn't gut-wrenching enough) "This isn't political. It's fucking personal. They killed my neighbor."
Patterson Hood for President 2020.
I'm guessing a lot of people, like me, just hung out at the Fort for Wilco. Probably should've checked out DBT but I try to avoid splitting sets if I can. Especially for headliners
A lot of first timers i encountered didnt seem to "get" it and had tons of complaints. i tried to explain to them that the fest is a nonprofit so there's only so much they can do, which was met with a few scoffs from people who had clearly never interacted with a nonprofit in their lives.
on that note, a group of drunk mega-bros, who bragged to a group of girls that they had bought childrens tickets on purpose, threatened to fight me on friday at the head and the heart, of all places. they had been talking through the whole set, and i finally told them to "go talk in the back" (we were less than 10 people from the front) during a particularly quiet intro to a song and they lost it. direct quote from a particularly young looking, curly headed lad: "don't talk to me like that, dont you ever tell me what to do ever again."
the bros are slowly infiltrating Newport. I'm hoping they find a way to stop it.
On the flip side, michael kiwanuka had one of, if not the, best crowds i have ever been in. total silence and attention. i credit the unannounced set overlapping with the 2nd half of his set to this. truely incredible; i was equally impressed with the crowd as i was his closer of "love & hate," which i had even already experienced once this summer but was dying to see again.
I get that there's only so much that they can do being that they are a nonprofit, but they seam to leave plenty of cash in the pockets of attendees simply because they're out of stock of so many items.
Perhaps allow people to preorder the year-specific items as add-on items when purchasing tickets. They could bundle it into the eventbrite app like they did parking passes this year; walk up, show your "ticket" for the shirts or whatever, get it scanned and then boom (Or ship them the items but that'd increase costs and isn't as "fun" as getting it at the actual festival). This would help reduce the amount of potential overstock they have at the end of the weekend (if they even had any).
I was happy to see that they increased the poster count from 600 last year to 1000 this year. Hopefully they'd increase it again next year. I suppose some people find them more appealing when they're limited runs, but I'm not one of them.
I was surprised they ran out of hoodies as soon as they did on Saturday. I get that it was abnormally cool that day, but they're also a set design (I got the same one for Christmas this year, which I love!). But then again I guess this doesn't surprise me too much as they're constantly listed as sold out on the website.
The last suggestion is certainly more of a complicated item, but man it would be nice if they'd make some of the audio and/or video recordings available for purchase. It's certainly a much more complicated task to take on when the artists/labels come into the equation but I know I'd blow way more than I do each year at NFF if they offered them.
The bro thing I didn't notice terribly bad. My friend with me did get into an altercation with a rather drunk entitled local couple at NBC Saturday night that almost got pretty hairy, but nothing at the actual festival. I agree with what someone previously said in that the only real solution is for the folk family to try and police such things ourselves.
You're absolutely right about the crowd for Kiwanuka. It was quite surprising how quiet it got at times throughout his set and most certainly elevated the experience to another level.
You're absolutely right about the crowd for Kiwanuka. It was quite surprising how quiet it got at times throughout his set and most certainly elevated the experience to another level.
Those quiet crowds are what really makes Newport for me. When Big Thief were playing Mary I was tempted to point it out to my brother who was there for the first time, but I realized that'd ruin it. It's just so fucking special. Especially after those crowds at Boston Calling this year
Since we're speculating. I just read an article about Roger Waters 2015 NFF set. It talked about what a big John Prine fan he is and how he played Prine’s “Hello, In There" that day. I'd love to hear Roger Waters new album with Lucius and some John Prine collaboration would be awesome. Man I shouldn't do this to myself. I'm probably off target and setting myself up for disappointment. Who my kidding. It'll be feakin awesome no matter what. It always is.
I took a look at my past posts on here. Here's one I posted on April 26th.
Since we're speculating. I just read an article about Roger Waters 2015 NFF set. It talked about what a big John Prine fan he is and how he played Prine’s “Hello, In There" that day. I'd love to hear Roger Waters new album with Lucius and some John Prine collaboration would be awesome. Man I shouldn't do this to myself. I'm probably off target and setting myself up for disappointment. Who my kidding. It'll be feakin awesome no matter what. It always is.
Roger's in the midwest around/during Newport weekend, so I'd call that a no-go. I had the same thought a couple days ago though.
Heres the full Roger Waters conversation I had that day. It was actually the first day I ever logged in and posted on here. April 26th. The info cgs299 posted about him being in the Midwest put us off the scent. Some of my friends left early to beat traffic on Sunday but luckily I like John Prine. The conversation that day made be get into the song 'Hello in there' and I'd been listening to it a lot ever since.
Post by goldbondking on Aug 2, 2017 7:08:44 GMT -5
1. John Prine 2. Grandma's Hands Band 3. Hurray For the Riff Raff 4. Chicano Batman 5. Preservation Hall Jazz Band 6. Mandolin Orange 7. Michael Kiwanuka 8. Choir Choir Choir 9. Chuck! 10. Jim James
Honorable mention: Speak Out
What a weekend.
The thing I will never forget is the love showed to Prine by the other artists on stage with him or watching. He seems to be such a sweet, witty and under appreciated person and that sweetness was shone back at him during his set.
As far as the bros discussion goes, this is somewhat related yet different. Early in the Prine set (two or three songs in) a guy came pushing through the crowd telling everyone to "start moving!" Like we weren't all glued in to Prine's set and appreciating it. It was the strangest thing I've encountered in 6 years at Newport. Definitely a glitch in the simulation if that's what we are haha.
Thank you everyone for one of the best weekends of my life.
I missed that bro moment, thankfully. I'm just imagining John Prine singing us Sam Stone, roping us in and bringing us to tears, and some guy in neon pink sunglasses yelling "Dance! Dance! Dance!"
As far as the bros discussion goes, this is somewhat related yet different. Early in the Prine set (two or three songs in) a guy came pushing through the crowd telling everyone to "start moving!" Like we weren't all glued in to Prine's set and appreciating it. It was the strangest thing I've encountered in 6 years at Newport. Definitely a glitch in the simulation if that's what we are haha.
Ha, this guy bumped into me as he walked by. I didn't catch what he was saying but he soon disappeared into the crowd.
As far as the bros discussion goes, this is somewhat related yet different. Early in the Prine set (two or three songs in) a guy came pushing through the crowd telling everyone to "start moving!" Like we weren't all glued in to Prine's set and appreciating it. It was the strangest thing I've encountered in 6 years at Newport. Definitely a glitch in the simulation if that's what we are haha.
Ha, this guy bumped into me as he walked by. I didn't catch what he was saying but he soon disappeared into the crowd.
This guy stumbled over in front of me about 3 or 4 songs in. Clearly hammered, but was old enough that it was sad.
He was drunkenly swaying for about 45 minutes, bumping into the girls around me and just being generally creepy for most of it. He had a camera, but every single shot he tried to take he missed because he was swaying so much. Got some great shots of the back of people's heads, top of the stage, the ground, which I could see from his screen after he took them. I thought about feeding him some water so he would have to pee and get out of there. Luckily he left before Waters came out.
Post by thevagabond on Aug 2, 2017 11:18:52 GMT -5
Sorry for the final negative though, but there was a blatant disregard this year for people waiting for things and sacrificing music and time for better experiences. Lots of people in the mornings walking their giant groups through the coral to the front at 9:30 when all of the folks had been there since 8:15 get screwed. Lots of people jumping in with their friend ON THE RAIL 10 seconds before the set starts.
I know this happens EVERYWHERE but this is Newport, where things are different and special. If you're one of those folks or your friends are those folks, please don't encourage it or do it. Live music takes a lot of sacrifices, sacrifices that you disrespect when you do things like that. You basically spit in people's faces when you do this.
Post by thevagabond on Aug 2, 2017 11:26:57 GMT -5
Positive note to end on:
Sorry I didn't get to meet any of you this weekend. Maybe I did and just didn't know. My schedule was just so jammed packed every day I completely forgot to look for the QC tent until John Prine when I saw some of you on the rail that I recognized from your account pictures. Will catch some of you next year or at Bonnaroo, BC, other local shows, etc.
Not to be creepy, but you all looked like you were having the time of your lives at John Prine.
Post by mhallstevenson on Aug 2, 2017 12:12:46 GMT -5
That was quite the weekend!
Top sets: GHB (Maybe my favorite set in 5 years of attending the festival) Speak Out Choir Choir Choir Fleet Foxes John Prine American Acoustic Lots of performances in the Family Tent
Bringing a 3 year old to the festival has certainly shifted what I do there, but it still was a fantastic time with extraordinary music. We no longer move as often and as quickly between stages, but that just means we stay for more full sets. Also saw many more sets on the main stage this year, whereas in years past we would spend the most time in the Quad. Being able to go to Family Tent between main stage sets was really great, such a fun and unique experience.
Only found this forum a few weeks ago, but I'll probably stick around these threads going forward (even if we won't be back to NFF until 2019).
My quick thoughts on this year. First time going so I hope I don't anger any of the vets.
Overall I really enjoyed the whole festival and hope to make it back next year. This is the most beautiful location I've been to for a festival. Was really impressed with the sound quality at all stages. The fact that the area is so small and there is essentially 0 sound bleed is pretty incredible. Every set I went to was a lot of fun so not really going to rank them, especially since I split a lot of them because of conflicts. I did really enjoy Fleet Foxes and the Speak Out set. I have bad knees so I was thankful for all the benches in the Quad Stage area, next year I will know to bring a chair.
I never really noticed a "bro" problem. I guess since my main festival is Firefly I am pretty used to it though.
Parking was generally a breeze getting both in and out of the festival. I stayed over in Middletown and it only took about 15 minutes to get back over there. The weather was basically beautiful all weekend, I didn't mind the chilly wind on Saturday.
A couple negatives but I'm not really a fan of segregating off the alcohol from the festival. It seems I am in the minority with that and issues with drunk people were a problem so I understand why they do it. The price of beer was a bit expensive anyways. Chairs everywhere. There is no point in have a 30" chair rule if you aren't going to enforce it and let people with shaders on the top of chair use them.
The bathroom lines were definitely too long on Saturday and parts of Sunday as well.(Non profit or not, if you are expecting 3-4k people in a small area you need more than 20 or so bathrooms.)
I don't think I've ever enjoyed a Newport weekend quite like this in awhile. Sorry to say but it blew last year's experience out of the damn water. For me, I'll place my top ten sets below: 1. Aquidneck Bait Ball Afterparty (I know this isn't on the Fort but HOLY F*CK) 2. Speak Out 3. John Prine 4. Big Thief 5. Wilco 6. Grandma's Hands Band 7. Pinegrove 8. Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats 9. Fleet Foxes 10. Dr. Dog
Post by matthewgroehl on Aug 2, 2017 12:51:54 GMT -5
Okay, here goes nothing.
Saturday: I had very low expectations going in to this day. The big acts of the day (Wilco, The Avett Brothers, Jim James, Offa Rex-The Decemberists) I had already seen once or twice. The only thing I was really looking forward to was seeing the moment Justin Vernon stepped on stage for Grandma's Hands.
Anyway, I had originally planned to see Mt. Joy first and then make it over to Chicano Batman. I decided to skip Mt. joy and get to the Fort early for a good spot for Grandma's Hands. I got front row. I only knew Freedom is Free but that Chicano Batman set really got me hyped for the rest of the day. The lead singer was embracing the wind and the rain and was so positive that I was ready to embrace whatever weather got thrown at me.
Then came Grandma's Hands which was the top set of the weekend for me. I envisioned Justin Vernon taking the lead for Ain't No Sunshine and was happy to see that come to fruition. His voice was perfect for that song. He and Phil Cook singing back and forth on Lean On Me seemed as if they could have written the song and were singing it to each other; I found that to be a beautiful moment. Lovely Day really stole the show for me though and added to that mantra of embracing the day head on and with a smile. I managed to get MC Taylor's setlist after they left the stage so that's a nice keepsake I added to my Newport Folk memory box.
Offa Rex was fun but I would have preferred another Decemberists song or two. Olivia sounded great and I'm happy it's another short-lived band that I'll be able to say I saw.
After this I couldn't decide whether to see Nikki Lane or Angel Olsen so I split the time between them. I should have stayed at the Fort for the entire Angel Olsen set. She brought it. Nikki's set was one of the biggest letdowns for me (Along with a Big Thief - more on that later).
Next I checked out a couple songs of Jim James. I only wanted to hear A New Life so I was disappointed when I saw the setlist and that he had played it fourth and I missed it.
Lastly I wanted to check out The Avetts to hear Ain't No Man before heading downtown for Deer Tick. I couldn't get anywhere near the stage (There was definitely less standing room this year and that was a big issue for me). Luckily they played that song first and we got out of there.
Deer Tick After Party: I had only been to one of these but according to comments made by others it was the best one they've done that wasn't on a Sunday. I wasn't sure if this would be a letdown or not but when I saw John ask Thuyet to get him something and she came back with a bottle of Jack I knew it would not be a letdown. Deer Tick of course sounded great and had plenty of energy despite having just played through Volume 1 at the other show. The Seratones were explosive and the singer coming down to the crowd and dancing right behind me was neat. The Wild Reeds were amazing. I had skipped their set on Friday knowing I would see them here. I regret skipping that set. The opener, Boo City, was pretty cool. My girlfriend met the singer in the bathroom and she said she had just gotten off work so props to her.
Sunday: This was the single best day of music I've ever had (I feel like I've heard this before).
Choir! Choir! Choir! Was perfect and I agree that they should be playing Sunday morning every year with Pres Hall and Berklee. My girlfriend suggested that Berklee should collaborate and help lead the choir for this set and move it the Quad with a more traditional set on the Harbor Stage for those not into choir music or jazz. I could see this both working and not working but I would prefer to keep it the way they had it this year.
Preservation Hall Jazz Band sounded great but again I couldn't get anywhere near the stage (First set of the day - what's the deal with that?)
Chuck! Dennis Ryan stole this set. I was sad to see Son Little miss out. His new songs sound amazing and I really hope he returns for a full set next year.
Pinegrove: I already mentioned they blew me away. I was surprised. Currently trying to find out how to get the presale tickets they released today. The plan was to get seats for Rateliff (Which was the person I expected the unannounced to be after my Joni Mitchell idea was killed) but nobody got up! Even after they told the audience who it was before he took the stage, nobody got up. I'm happy that it wasn't solo because I prefer Rateliff's solo work and saw the Night Sweats each of the last two years so instead I went to...
Whitney: This was a solid set. I've never seen them live but they delivered exactly what I expected. Even with the dry humor I could tell they felt at home and Julian said multiple times they hope to be back. I think they'll be back next year.
Rhiannon Giddens: I couldn't care less about this set but it was another one that surprised me... so much energy and love on that stage. My friend who joined for her first Newport experience (Somebody who doesn't particularly listen to folk music) liked this set the most.
Speak Out: Knowing Roger Waters was present and didn't play Deja Vu kills me but it's really okay because this was another perfect set on level with Grandma's Hands Band. Kyle Craft becoming David Bowie before our eyes stands out. It was funny that nobody had any clue who he was (Including me). Also, Sharon Van Etten's performance was beautiful and Billy Bragg playing one of my favorite Anaïs Mitchell songs was amazing.
John Prine: I only know a few John Prine songs. I've never been a huge fan but this set delivered in a big way. I'm going to be looking for some John Prine records now. I'll be in Nashville in a few weeks and think that would be a good place to find some.
Closing thoughts:
-Justin Vernon was in love and will be back. I never saw him without a smile on his face. It certainly helps that he had Phil Cook by his side the whole time. I was happy to see him sidestage during Whitney. This was the only time I saw him at a set he wasn't involved with directly.
-I relistened to the Big Thief set yesterday and it almost made me cry. It was much better than I thought. I think those last five minutes with the guitar solo really turned me off and made me look back on the set negatively. That set is more of a grower (Which is risky for a live performance but if people re-listen I think they may feel the same).
-I met Dylan at the Deer Tick show on Saturday. Cool guy. I feel like I was probably standing with other people from this board throughout the weekend (Judging on conversations I overheard) but I don't know everybody's names or what you all look like so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ maybe next year I'll meet more of you.
-I can't wait for next year.
Edit: Jesus, I'm sorry this is so long. I have a problem.
Upcoming Shows: August 7: Green Day/Smashing Pumpkins/Rancid/The Linda Lindas August 30: Waxahatchee/Snail Mail/Tim Heidecker September 17: Pearl Jam/Glen Hansard September 24: Idles/English Teacher
My quick thoughts on this year. First time going so I hope I don't anger any of the vets.
Overall I really enjoyed the whole festival and hope to make it back next year. This is the most beautiful location I've been to for a festival. Was really impressed with the sound quality at all stages. The fact that the area is so small and there is essentially 0 sound bleed is pretty incredible. Every set I went to was a lot of fun so not really going to rank them, especially since I split a lot of them because of conflicts. I did really enjoy Fleet Foxes and the Speak Out set. I have bad knees so I was thankful for all the benches in the Quad Stage area, next year I will know to bring a chair.
I never really noticed a "bro" problem. I guess since my main festival is Firefly I am pretty used to it though.
Parking was generally a breeze getting both in and out of the festival. I stayed over in Middletown and it only took about 15 minutes to get back over there. The weather was basically beautiful all weekend, I didn't mind the chilly wind on Saturday.
A couple negatives but I'm not really a fan of segregating off the alcohol from the festival. It seems I am in the minority with that and issues with drunk people were a problem so I understand why they do it. The price of beer was a bit expensive anyways. Chairs everywhere. There is no point in have a 30" chair rule if you aren't going to enforce it and let people with shaders on the top of chair use them.
The bathroom lines were definitely too long on Saturday and parts of Sunday as well.(Non profit or not, if you are expecting 3-4k people in a small area you need more than 20 or so bathrooms.)
Did you leave early? I have never gotten out of that parking lot in 15 minutes. We stay in Newport, and usually get into our car ~8 and are lucky to be home by 9:15
Being my first time this year as well, I found the alcohol segregation rather surprising. I think I understand the idea behind it, but it definitely contributed to me not buying any beer.
My quick thoughts on this year. First time going so I hope I don't anger any of the vets.
Overall I really enjoyed the whole festival and hope to make it back next year. This is the most beautiful location I've been to for a festival. Was really impressed with the sound quality at all stages. The fact that the area is so small and there is essentially 0 sound bleed is pretty incredible. Every set I went to was a lot of fun so not really going to rank them, especially since I split a lot of them because of conflicts. I did really enjoy Fleet Foxes and the Speak Out set. I have bad knees so I was thankful for all the benches in the Quad Stage area, next year I will know to bring a chair.
I never really noticed a "bro" problem. I guess since my main festival is Firefly I am pretty used to it though.
Parking was generally a breeze getting both in and out of the festival. I stayed over in Middletown and it only took about 15 minutes to get back over there. The weather was basically beautiful all weekend, I didn't mind the chilly wind on Saturday.
A couple negatives but I'm not really a fan of segregating off the alcohol from the festival. It seems I am in the minority with that and issues with drunk people were a problem so I understand why they do it. The price of beer was a bit expensive anyways. Chairs everywhere. There is no point in have a 30" chair rule if you aren't going to enforce it and let people with shaders on the top of chair use them.
The bathroom lines were definitely too long on Saturday and parts of Sunday as well.(Non profit or not, if you are expecting 3-4k people in a small area you need more than 20 or so bathrooms.)
Did you leave early? I have never gotten out of that parking lot in 15 minutes. We stay in Newport, and usually get into our car ~8 and are lucky to be home by 9:15
I think it really depends on the lot you get in. You need to get to the Fort early if you wanna get out early. I always straggle in around 11:00 and don't get out until around 9:00 due to the parking lot traffic. This year I made a point to arrive by 9:30 every morning and I managed to get out by 8:15 on Friday, 6:15 on Saturday (left early), and 7:45 on Sunday since I was in lot 1 every day.
Upcoming Shows: August 7: Green Day/Smashing Pumpkins/Rancid/The Linda Lindas August 30: Waxahatchee/Snail Mail/Tim Heidecker September 17: Pearl Jam/Glen Hansard September 24: Idles/English Teacher
RI needs to get their rules together. It was quite comical being told we can't even stand on the east side of the quad tent (they lightened up a lot on Sunday) only to have to be taken through the back entrance and go upstairs then downstairs at NBC because we couldn't make it in through the front door.
My quick thoughts on this year. First time going so I hope I don't anger any of the vets.
Overall I really enjoyed the whole festival and hope to make it back next year. This is the most beautiful location I've been to for a festival. Was really impressed with the sound quality at all stages. The fact that the area is so small and there is essentially 0 sound bleed is pretty incredible. Every set I went to was a lot of fun so not really going to rank them, especially since I split a lot of them because of conflicts. I did really enjoy Fleet Foxes and the Speak Out set. I have bad knees so I was thankful for all the benches in the Quad Stage area, next year I will know to bring a chair.
I never really noticed a "bro" problem. I guess since my main festival is Firefly I am pretty used to it though.
Parking was generally a breeze getting both in and out of the festival. I stayed over in Middletown and it only took about 15 minutes to get back over there. The weather was basically beautiful all weekend, I didn't mind the chilly wind on Saturday.
A couple negatives but I'm not really a fan of segregating off the alcohol from the festival. It seems I am in the minority with that and issues with drunk people were a problem so I understand why they do it. The price of beer was a bit expensive anyways. Chairs everywhere. There is no point in have a 30" chair rule if you aren't going to enforce it and let people with shaders on the top of chair use them.
The bathroom lines were definitely too long on Saturday and parts of Sunday as well.(Non profit or not, if you are expecting 3-4k people in a small area you need more than 20 or so bathrooms.)
Did you leave early? I have never gotten out of that parking lot in 15 minutes. We stay in Newport, and usually get into our car ~8 and are lucky to be home by 9:15
We left about 45 minutes early on Saturday or Sunday. We missed some surprises but I'm not too upset about it. I should clarify it probably took 10-15 to get out of the parking lot and then about 15 to get back to the hotel. Still not bad though.
Upcoming Shows: August 7: Green Day/Smashing Pumpkins/Rancid/The Linda Lindas August 30: Waxahatchee/Snail Mail/Tim Heidecker September 17: Pearl Jam/Glen Hansard September 24: Idles/English Teacher
I'm not saying it's a bad thing at all, I just couldn't imagine any other major music festival being able to pull that off. It helps contribute to what makes Newport such a unique experience.
In five years I've still never had a drop of alcohol at the Fort. My experience has not been worsened. I make up for it at night downtown.
I think I have had one beer every year. Our group usually picks a time frame midday when we aren't super invested in an set and head to either the Quad or Pier, grab one beer to nurse a hangover from the night before, watch a performance on one of the screens, then head to the Fort to get a good spot for the headliner. I would not miss it if they removed beer entirely, though.
Post by Vinnie the Eel on Aug 2, 2017 13:15:52 GMT -5
We left early every day this year. We left halfway into Fleet Foxes on Friday, left after Jim James on Saturday, and after Speak Out on Sunday. I missed some stuff, but I've seen Wilco a million times, and I don't really care for John Prine so the special guests honestly didn't give me any FOMO. I had plenty of fun downtown at the Pickens on Friday and Saturday and NBC on Sunday to make up for anything I missed.
