I’ve been waiting for years for the festival bubble to burst, but it only seems to be getting more resilient. I really just want to see a band in a club with a couple of local openers.

This year’s Levitation fest in Austin has Jesus Lizard/Gang of Four/Dry Cleaning/Pissed Jeans/Fat Dog on one bill. Pretty sure I will have all of my dopamine wrung out after the Fat Dog set, and they’re the first band. Why does everything have to be so stacked?

Quite a big depends here. I’d say 90% of the time it’s No. ATP was a solid Yes because the accommodation was fantastic. A day multi bands is fine if there’s a weight of great music. I’m never sleeping in a tent and using a portaloo 300 metres away.

The music bit of a good festival is just the icing on the cake.

Sonar back in the day, ATP, Supersonic, Dynamo in the 90s, Phoenix for its run...all fantastic little communities.

Dave N. wrote: Wed Sep 18, 2024 10:57 pm I’ve been waiting for years for the festival bubble to burst, but it only seems to be getting more resilient. I really just want to see a band in a club with a couple of local openers.

I'm there with you.

The only all-day or multi-day events with bands I ever want to go to again are PRF-related.

My enjoyment of rock music really plummets when audience size is over 150 and sight lines start to suck and everything you hear is coming from the PA. Losing that immediacy loses a lot of what I love about rock and roll

One of my best musical memories was thew Scion Rock Fest in Atlanta back in the 2000's. Boris, Neurosis, High On Fire, Harvey Milk, Baroness, Skeletonwitch, Krallice and a slew of other bands played, and navigating the fest was super easy - never waited in line for a bathroom or a drink for more than a few minutes.

Perhaps the greatest musical experience of my life was my first Big Ears festival in Knoxville last year. I'd been meaning to go for years, and finally made the arrangements last year. I already have my tickets for 2025. I never plan to miss it again.

NOT CRAP

bigc wrote: Thu Sep 19, 2024 8:51 am One of my best musical memories was thew Scion Rock Fest in Atlanta back in the 2000's. Boris, Neurosis, High On Fire, Harvey Milk, Baroness, Skeletonwitch, Krallice...

Man, that's a day out.

I've made it to Caterwaul the last two years, and it's an absolute NC. Perfect sized venues (Mortimer's is a bit of a squeeze, but manageable), great amount of bands (Brainiac!), good vibe all around.

bigc wrote: Thu Sep 19, 2024 8:51 am
Perhaps the greatest musical experience of my life was my first Big Ears festival in Knoxville last year. I'd been meaning to go for years, and finally made the arrangements last year. I already have my tickets for 2025. I never plan to miss it again.

I've gone to this festival the past couple of years, and yeah, it's a pretty great, well-run, almost ideal festival. All indoor venues, many seated, walking distance to most of them (there's a shuttle too), bars at all of them. Everyone relaxed and hanging out, enjoying the music. (Not 100% sure I'll get to go next year, hope so)

So yeah, they can be done right. I had fun the times I went to Lolla, Austin City Limits, and Coachella, but I'm too old to be standing, crammed into a field with thousands of teenagers for several hours anymore.

If they were still around, I'd probably still be going to Day For Night, Fun Fun Fun Fest, and ATP (location dependent). Psycho Las Vegas in 2016 was one of my favorite fest experiences as well.

Smaller festivals with a lot of good bands can be fun. I get fatigued quickly, though. Bloated fests like Coachella, Bumbershoot, etc. are crap.