I saw that the festival and some sponsors made an effort to be green this year. We had some seriously strange weather. I was disappointed by the bands I was excited about, and surprised by others. I even saw the executive producer of the whole festival get down and dirty to help pump out the watery mud that had accumulated overnight on the field.
This year I had full VIP access which came with many perks. My
personal favorite was the free ice cream -- believe me when I say I took full advantage. In fact if it weren't for the VIP access I would
have never gotten close enough to a beer stand to find out that a
local company was participating in the green effort in a big way.
The 312 beer company was one of the primary sponsors this year and though the festival had implemented recycling receptacles (an improvement from last year), 312 stepped it up. They said, to hell with normal plastic -- and went completely biodegradable.
Though I don't drink alcohol, I let them know that that move was appreciated.
Chipotle didn't do a half-bad job of being green either, but that's not new news. Their plates and bowls were made of recycled paper, and they make a large effort to avoid factory-farmed meats at all costs.
Saturday was a ridiculous extravaganza. In the morning it started
raining like the heavens just didn't want their water anymore. A
select few came prepared with umbrellas and jackets, some also came with tarps to sit on, but most just brought themselves and wore a displeased face the wetter they became.
But sure enough boost Mobile came to the rescue and provided Boost Mobile ponchos. Before you knew it the Boost tent was swarmed with eager people -- they couldn't get them to the people fast enough. And though the rain died down, there were very many happy patrons that now had something to sit on instead of the soggy ground. Quick thinking Boost!
The whole festival was very hit or miss for me. Many of the bands
that performed made me get really excited about visiting the vendors instead of listening to music. However, there were a select few that I was excited to see. I was looking forward to Public Enemy and Spiritualized. I had so much excitement filling me that I couldn't hide it – but when push came to shove, both groups disappointed. I will still love the music, but neither group made me excited to see them live.
Animal Collective and !!!, however, I was pleasantly surprised. It was well worth slaving through the humidity for those two bands. Both blew my mind, especially Animal Collective. Between the light show and the incredible multi-member percussion and midi powered sonic love you couldn't go wrong. Check out this footage:
The only critique I have of Animal Collective is the same critique I have on all of today's hipsters -- short shorts didn't look good on men in the 70s, looked worse in the 80s, and American Apparel isn't helping anybody by bringing them back again.
That's been my Pitch' -- I hope you've enjoyed it. Go check out some of the live footage from the festival – youtube is your friend.
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Mojdeh Stoakley
Mojdeh is an Afro-Persian powerhouse of delight! More
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