Solid Sound - 2015 - June 26-28

[Mr. Heartbreak]

So now that I'm back in Florida and have had a good night's sleep and some time to reflect, I guess I'll finally chime in with my experience.

 

First, the good: it was great to finally meet kidsmoke and to see bobdylansbeard again after running into him in St. Aug. Also met jcamp on Friday afternoon. Good to meet a few VCers. The performance Friday night was great, but Saturday was outstanding. I especially loved hearing songs live that I had never caught in person before, including Let's Not Get Carried Away and Be Not So Fearful. The Sunday p.m. Tweedy show was a personal highlight for me, as I had never seen any solo Jeff in all these years (the closest they made it to Florida was Atlanta, I believe.) I absolutely loved the Charles Lloyd set, and was pleased to see Bill Frisell sitting in with him, as we got there too late to catch Bill's full solo set. NRBQ was a lot of fun, and Real Estate was a pretty good opener on Friday.

 

Okay, and now the rest. This was my first Solid Sound, and I'm sorry to say it's probably going to be my one and only. Of course, it's a huge lift to go from Florida to Mass, but that's hardly the only reason. I was talking to a guy on Saturday night before Wilco's set who had been to every one of these since 2010, and I asked him if he thought it had gotten too big. He did. He mentioned that the first one was about 3,500 while this was closer to 9,000, as most of us know.

 

The Wilco situation today reminds me of a small-scale version of what happened with the Grateful Dead in the 1980s: they went from playing 10,000-seaters to playing stadiums with 60,000+ people, largely on the strength of a hit single, Touch of Grey. (Long-time Deadheads derisively referred to fans who had just jumped on the bus as "Touch-heads." They showed up in mass numbers, many looking for tickets outside venues and engaging in every kind of obnoxious behavior: panhandling, sucking up nitrous oxide, getting drunk and high, and eventually turning a hippie parking lot scene into a very dark, opiate-laden nightmare.)

 

Perhaps Wilco has experienced something on a smaller scale since the release of Whole Love. Perhaps a bunch of newer "fans" have hopped aboard the Wilco Express as a result, and begun popping up at shows with little to no knowledge of the band's history or catalogue, much less any of the basic mores of concert etiquette. Let's call them, say, A-Wholes. I think there were a few of them at SS, and I found myself surrounded by them Friday night, thereby severely impacting my own concert experience. My wife and I got there early enough (about 1.5 hours before Real Estate came out) to plop down a couple chairs in an area equivalent to about the 20th or 30th row. I thought it would be fine to have a tiny piece of real estate (no pun intended) in front of us where we could stretch our legs...knowing that we would be standing the rest of the night during Wilco.

 

Alas, it was not to be. A few A-Wholes decided to walk right in front of us and stand in that tiny square of grass where my legs would be if I'd had the temerity to stretch them out. There was an empty chair next to us, too, belonging to an older gentleman (i.e. about my age, 50s), who had taken a break. The A-Wholes stood right in front of his chair as well. One of them was, I swear to God, at least 6'10" tall. Nice of him to show up right before Real Estate to get in front of people. These people stood there with their asses right in our faces until we stood up.

 

During Wilco's all-acoustic set, the A-Wholes spent time chatting loudly through such songs as Company in My Back, New Madrid and True Love Will Find You In The End. But magically, when the title track to Whole Love began, they dutifully sang along. It was really quite amazing! Then they went back to yapping away.

 

On Saturday, we made sure we got down to the field way in advance of the A-Wholes, and secured spots in the equivalent of about row 4-5. It was much better there, but the same "general admission" phenomenon occurred: within minutes of Wilco's set starting, young A-Wholes (this time mostly women) decided they should squeeze into the tiny spaces of breathing room in front of people in the third row or so. No one said anything.

 

The other thing that really bothered me at SS was the surprisingly large amount of chemical amusement going on. I thought this was going to be more of a "family friendly" deal. I mean, I don't have a problem if someone wants to have a few drinks or even get high, but does it have to be all throughout the day, every day? I had people blowing cigarette smoke in my face during Wilco, something I don't think I've ever experienced anywhere. And did they just legalize pot in VT or what? There were people firing up in a very crowded area during every single outdoor set we attended: Real Estate, Wilco I, NRBQ, Richard Thompson, Mac DeMarco, Wilco II, Charles Lloyd, Felice Brothers, and Tweedy & Co. That is a buttload of smoke inhalation. I traveled from FL to MA, so I had to spend Monday and Tuesday walking around with a jacket that smelled like a cross between a biker bar and the Grateful Dead's 1970 Fillmore West shows. Take a fucking break, people. Do a few one-hitters in the Port-A-Potty. Not everyone wants to breathe that shit in. (My wife, who has never smoked anything, was as put off by it as me. Oh, and she also was painfully aware of people farting near us too. Charming!)  Plenty of drunks, too. I walked out to the Port-A-Potty line and one dude looked at me and slurred, "I was asleep and when I woke up, someone had unbuttoned my fly!" Suuuure they did. Thanks for sharing, buddy.

 

So, yeah, just about every swinish and self-centred behavior imaginable went on all around us during the varied sets. There was never a respite, unless we got into a food line. Bottom line: great music, barely tolerable weather (when you come from 90s Florida and land in 50s Vermont, it feels like an icy hellhole...sorry, New England, I don't miss ya.) I think that, from now on, I will stick with single Wilco shows, where I can get in and get the hell out.

 

P.S. Thanks to the kind soul who captured the stream from Friday night. I can listen to it and enjoy it more than I did in real time, what with all the Chatty Cathys. Very nice show.

[SarahC]

I'm with you on the smoking thing, 100%. It was super obnoxious.

Security told these kids during the Feliece Bros. to knock it off, but they didn't give a shit and kept smoking anyway.

The drunks were ridiculous.... Cheap beer is not always a good thing. It almost ruined Sunday for me the way some people around me were behaving.

 

i think maybe some of it had to do with those people not really being there 100% for wilco, at least where I was, because most of them left right as soon as Mac demarco and Feliece bros were done.

Agree with you also about the weather in the evenings especially it was chilly. Brr. So not used to that in June.

[summerdai]

This was my fourth Solid Sound and my boyfriend's first. We had a great weekend! I think it was my favorite both in terms of the Wilco performances and in terms of the other acts we saw. I love seeing Cibo Matto again, and Charles Lloyd's quartet with Bill Frisell was another highlight. Stained Radiance was so different than the other time I saw them. The whole tone of the performance seemed a lot darker, and I thought the dancers made it a lot more intense. My big disappointment was that there were a lot of conflicts with things we wanted to see. We lined up really early for Stained Radiance (so early, in fact, we were line leaders), so I missed William Tyler. We also missed Glenn's performance and Quindar because we wanted to see Charles Lloyd. I've never gotten to see everyone I've wanted to, but this year's choices were harder to make. 

 

I'm surprised to see people complaining about waiting for food. That was a big issue for me last time, but the only thing we had to wait more than five or ten minutes for was pizza. We must have eaten at off-peak hours the whole weekend. Even the line at the merch tent wasn't too bad Friday night. It seemed to me that things were laid out better and flowed better than last time. Parking was really the only thing we had a hard time with, except for Sunday when we came early.

 

My boyfriend is already excited for his next Solid Sound!

 

We parked each day about 5 mins walk away on River St, even getting there late on Friday (around 630) it was no problem 

[knotgreen]

 

Perhaps Wilco has experienced something on a smaller scale since the release of Whole Love. Perhaps a bunch of newer "fans" have hopped aboard the Wilco Express as a result, and begun popping up at shows with little to no knowledge of the band's history or catalogue, much less any of the basic mores of concert etiquette. Let's call them, say, A-Wholes. I think there were a few of them at SS, and I found myself surrounded by them Friday night, thereby severely impacting my own concert experience. My wife and I got there early enough (about 1.5 hours before Real Estate came out) to plop down a couple chairs in an area equivalent to about the 20th or 30th row. I thought it would be fine to have a tiny piece of real estate (no pun intended) in front of us where we could stretch our legs...knowing that we would be standing the rest of the night during Wilco.

 

Alas, it was not to be. A few A-Wholes decided to walk right in front of us and stand in that tiny square of grass where my legs would be if I'd had the temerity to stretch them out. There was an empty chair next to us, too, belonging to an older gentleman (i.e. about my age, 50s), who had taken a break. The A-Wholes stood right in front of his chair as well. One of them was, I swear to God, at least 6'10" tall. Nice of him to show up right before Real Estate to get in front of people. These people stood there with their asses right in our faces until we stood up.

 

 

I'm guessing that the higher attendance has less to do with new fans, and more to do with more and more people hearing about this awesome, affordable festival. 

 

This was my fourth SSF, and also the first SSF where I really had people trying to cut in front of me. The first night I was in the second row and I had a girl walk directly in front of me. I quickly tapped her on the shoulder and she moved. The second night we sort of packed in tighter with our chairs, and that seemed to have worked. Still, it was obvious that once Wilco took the stage we were surrounded by a bunch of new faces. 

 

The vibe has definitely changed from the first and second SSF, but I don't think it's necessarily for the worst. As a MA native, I love that this festival exists here -- it's easy for me. In a way, it's kind of exciting thinking about Wilco packing up and doing a SSF in another "remote" area, where the festival would need to build its momentum again. Then again, from a business perspective, I'd imagine that's the opposite of what the band is shooting for.

[frydog]

This was my first SSF (thanks to being an adult...lol).  I am already planning on going back for 2017 but the youngens pushing their way to the front ahead of those who had been camped out was a bit of a mood changer...that combined with the excess of pot.  I was surprised with how many times I was offered weed, let alone saw or smelled it.  I have seen less at a Franti show.  I have always loved Wilco and Uncle Tupelo so I can forgive some of the issues but I hope that they can fix some of that going in a future age.

[Three dollars and 63 cents]

 Oh, and she also was painfully aware of people farting near us too. Charming!)  

 

We were about 10 rows back on Pat's side Friday night, and the guy in front of us farted on me for half the show, even after I started making comments about it. Thankfully, we were able to move closer to center for the second half of the show...where I had a really drunk guy put his arm around me for a singalong during Passenger Side. Thankfully, he was the amusing, harmless kind of drunk.

 

My boyfriend recorded Stained Radiance's set as best he could given there was so much happening at once. He has it up on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWx6W-Lmbko

 

He also has a few Cibo Matto clips on that channel, along with a bunch of other clips from Nels shows we've been to over the last year or so. Those of you who know me know making a whole Nels-related YouTube channel is the way to my heart 

[worldrecordplayer]

Surprised to read complaints about people smoking pot. News flash: you were at a concert. An outdoor concert. People like to get high and listen to music. Especially outdoors. Must be because I come from a GD and Phish background, but I find it more newsworthy to go to a show where people are not smoking pot. I always assumed it comes with the territory. Now cigarette smoke, that's an entirely different story.

 

 

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[kwhitehead]

I find Mr. Heartbreak's (and others) take on pot smoking amusing. People get high at concerts and they always will. My kids were with me again this year. It's a great way to demystify marijuana for them. Now they know what it smells like, what a joint looks like and can see how people react to pot. All important things for adolescents to know about. I think you need to get out more.

 

As for cigarette smoking, it's dumb but last I looked it was legal in Massachusetts. People smoke, people get high, people sing along. I'm shocked about all the whining here.

[Mr. Heartbreak]

Surprised to read complaints about people smoking pot. News flash: you were at a concert. An outdoor concert. People like to get high and listen to music. Especially outdoors. Must be because I come from a GD and Phish background, but I find it more newsworthy to go to a show where people are not smoking pot. I always assumed it comes with the territory. Now cigarette smoke, that's an entirely different story.

 

 

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If anything, I would expect to be less overwhelmed by it at outdoor shows. But it was downright pervasive. Day and night. Don't recall that ever happening at any of the Wilco shows I've seen.

[worldrecordplayer]

Don't think it's an apt comparison to compare the growth of SS to the Touchheads of the GD scene in the late '80's and 90's. To me this is more the result of organic growth of a great festival. Word got out and people came. Sure, the first SS was a lot more chill at 3500, but the promoters lost money so that wasn't sustainable. I also had a bad Friday experience, but that was mostly due to the exuberance of a hard core female Wilco fan who thought it was appropriate to sing every song as loud as she could.

 

 

 

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[SarahC]

Also random, but somebody came up to me at the fest- maybe during the drum thing, and said hey,I know you from the board, and I was totally distracted about something else, and didn't really say a lot, if the guy it was sees this, sorry if I came across as rude! I really wasn't trying to be, I was super distracted about something.

[worldrecordplayer]

If anything, I would expect to be less overwhelmed by it at outdoor shows. But it was downright pervasive. Day and night. Don't recall that ever happening at any of the Wilco shows I've seen.

Funny, I meant to note that I noticed very little pot smoking, and I was on the field halfway back to the soundboard for all the sets. I was surprised there wasn't more. I would have been fine trading places!

 

 

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[Mr. Heartbreak]

Here's a news flash: it's not 1974 anymore. Lots of people (including Jeff T) have sobered up and don't feel compelled to get baked at 2 in the afternoon. I have been going to concerts for over 35 years, so it's not that I need to "get out more." As is apparent from other posters here, I was not the only one who found the cumulative effects of people's behavior diminished the experience.

[The Inside of Outside]

I saw and smelled more pot smoking at this SS than the past 2. Didn't bother me or my kids. Not many drunks on the hill to the left of the stage, either, or folks singing along too loudly. All in all, I found it to be a better concert-going experience than SS3. It is so dependent on where you are and who ends up near you. I was fortunate. Others obviously had a different experience, and that is a bummer.

[SarahC]

Sunday was worse for me in terms of terrible behavior than the other 2 days, though most of it was the hipster invasion of rail space during the Feliece bros. those folks were just mean. I have a hard time moving through crowds keeping my balance, and I was trying to get back to my husband and this lady said something to the effect of "go around, gimpy bitch" when I said excuse me to try to get by her. It was kinda sad.

[u2roolz]

Perhaps Wilco has experienced something on a smaller scale since the release of Whole Love. Perhaps a bunch of newer "fans" have hopped aboard the Wilco Express as a result, and begun popping up at shows with little to no knowledge of the band's history or catalogue, much less any of the basic mores of concert etiquette. Let's call them, say, A-Wholes. I think there were a few of them at SS, and I found myself surrounded by them Friday night, thereby severely impacting my own concert experience. My wife and I got there early enough (about 1.5 hours before Real Estate came out) to plop down a couple chairs in an area equivalent to about the 20th or 30th row. I thought it would be fine to have a tiny piece of real estate (no pun intended) in front of us where we could stretch our legs...knowing that we would be standing the rest of the night during Wilco.

 

 

 

I stood near the bridge closer to Courtyard D where they were setting up Harmonium Mountain. I had barely anyone in front of me except for the occasional conversation barely echoing from the nearby "cafe/bar" at Euclid Records. Yes, Wilco seemed a bit far away, but gone were all of the conversations that you could have by being right in the middle of everything. And the sound was still AMAZING!!! I tried being close to the stage in 2013 (I was near the stands closest to the canal where they had monitors of the show being filmed for Every Other Summer) and parents were doing this & that with their kids etc. It's tough to hold concentration. And people would walk by me to go and leave Joe's Field. I can say that I enjoyed every experience at Solid Sound. 

 

The pot smoke and cigarette smoke doesn't bother this Sagittarius male. Heck! I'm watching the Stained Radiance video in the background and I can see why you'd want to smoke weed. I mean that in a good way. People can and should do what they want, but everyone tolerates different behavior differently.  Of course, this logic bends when it comes to the lawn chair and blanket shenanigans. Or a hipster in a plaid shirt claiming that he had his Lucky Brand's zipper pulled down. It all comes down to minimizing asshole behavior or not paying attention to asshole behavior. I prefer to choose the latter because valuable time is lost while dealing with morons when Wilco is playing, instead of telling people what to do. I have made exceptions in the past. Story time: This one time at Pixies a decade ago, I was in the front row behind the first break of rows on the floor and this couple walks in front of me and just stops right in front of me. I could probably fit my pinky in between our shoes and my crotch to her butt. You get the picture. No need to be packed like sardines in the first row of a section! I waited a few seconds to see if this was really happening to me. My friend couldn't believe it, so I tapped her on the shoulder at least 3-4 times and nothing. She wouldn't budge. So I started blowing on the back of her head and she flung around like Neo (The Matrix) and threw her bottle of water into my face. I'm standing there soaked during Broken Face and she has the nerve to grab the security guard and try to get me kicked out. i had to keep showing the security guard my tickets, until he realized that maybe he should check their tickets. Finally, he booted them out. 

 

I'm a +1 in loving this year's weather. Much, much better than a steamy night with potential for some more rank shit. Tony M., if you're reading, please come back to Boston. I'll still do SS in 2017 and I love the ride on Route 2. 

[Sandy in SFCA]

Sunday was worse for me in terms of terrible behavior than the other 2 days, though most of it was the hipster invasion of rail space during the Feliece bros. those folks were just mean. I have a hard time moving through crowds keeping my balance, and I was trying to get back to my husband and this lady said something to the effect of "go around, gimpy bitch" when I said excuse me to try to get by her. It was kinda sad.

 

That's just awful! I can't believe somebody spoke to you like that! I guess the only thing I can say is that you encountered her for a few seconds, but she has live in that ugliness 24/7. She has it worse than you do.

[worldrecordplayer]

Here's a news flash: it's not 1974 anymore. Lots of people (including Jeff T) have sobered up and don't feel compelled to get baked at 2 in the afternoon. I have been going to concerts for over 35 years, so it's not that I need to "get out more." As is apparent from other posters here, I was not the only one who found the cumulative effects of people's behavior diminished the experience.

I know it's not 1974 anymore: news flash for you: pot is basically legal now. (I don't think that line's working in your favor). Reminds me of a Wilco show I listen to from Troutdale, OR (where as of today pot is legal- definitely not 1974 anymore). Must be an outdoor show, and at one point Tweedy starts bantering about the amount of pot being smoked. He's hilarious. "No wonder you want us to play more, you're all so high". "there's children here." Personally, I'd rather be next to the folks sharing a joint than next to the guys coming back from the beer stand with beers in both hands. Just my personal preference for crowd behavior. And certainly prefer the pot smokers to the sing every song at full volume Wilco fan person. Keep her a mile away from me. Better yet, send her home!

 

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[worldrecordplayer]

My non-Wilco related high and low of SS '15:

 

High: Real Estate

 

Low:  Jessica Williams in the comedy cabaret.  Love her on The Daily Show, I was really looking forward to her show.  Big disappointment.  She performed with another comedian who I did not know, they drove up from Brooklyn that morning, and had obviously done little or no preparation.  Just basically got up on stage and riffed.  Very few laughs.  Not impressive.  She would have been much better solo.  And I missed some great music for this.

[rhino4evr]

So now that I'm back in Florida and have had a good night's sleep and some time to reflect, I guess I'll finally chime in with my experience.

 

First, the good: it was great to finally meet kidsmoke and to see bobdylansbeard again after running into him in St. Aug. Also met jcamp on Friday afternoon. Good to meet a few VCers. The performance Friday night was great, but Saturday was outstanding. I especially loved hearing songs live that I had never caught in person before, including Let's Not Get Carried Away and Be Not So Fearful. The Sunday p.m. Tweedy show was a personal highlight for me, as I had never seen any solo Jeff in all these years (the closest they made it to Florida was Atlanta, I believe.) I absolutely loved the Charles Lloyd set, and was pleased to see Bill Frisell sitting in with him, as we got there too late to catch Bill's full solo set. NRBQ was a lot of fun, and Real Estate was a pretty good opener on Friday.

 

Okay, and now the rest. This was my first Solid Sound, and I'm sorry to say it's probably going to be my one and only. Of course, it's a huge lift to go from Florida to Mass, but that's hardly the only reason. I was talking to a guy on Saturday night before Wilco's set who had been to every one of these since 2010, and I asked him if he thought it had gotten too big. He did. He mentioned that the first one was about 3,500 while this was closer to 9,000, as most of us know.

 

The Wilco situation today reminds me of a small-scale version of what happened with the Grateful Dead in the 1980s: they went from playing 10,000-seaters to playing stadiums with 60,000+ people, largely on the strength of a hit single, Touch of Grey. (Long-time Deadheads derisively referred to fans who had just jumped on the bus as "Touch-heads." They showed up in mass numbers, many looking for tickets outside venues and engaging in every kind of obnoxious behavior: panhandling, sucking up nitrous oxide, getting drunk and high, and eventually turning a hippie parking lot scene into a very dark, opiate-laden nightmare.)

 

Perhaps Wilco has experienced something on a smaller scale since the release of Whole Love. Perhaps a bunch of newer "fans" have hopped aboard the Wilco Express as a result, and begun popping up at shows with little to no knowledge of the band's history or catalogue, much less any of the basic mores of concert etiquette. Let's call them, say, A-Wholes. I think there were a few of them at SS, and I found myself surrounded by them Friday night, thereby severely impacting my own concert experience. My wife and I got there early enough (about 1.5 hours before Real Estate came out) to plop down a couple chairs in an area equivalent to about the 20th or 30th row. I thought it would be fine to have a tiny piece of real estate (no pun intended) in front of us where we could stretch our legs...knowing that we would be standing the rest of the night during Wilco.

 

Alas, it was not to be. A few A-Wholes decided to walk right in front of us and stand in that tiny square of grass where my legs would be if I'd had the temerity to stretch them out. There was an empty chair next to us, too, belonging to an older gentleman (i.e. about my age, 50s), who had taken a break. The A-Wholes stood right in front of his chair as well. One of them was, I swear to God, at least 6'10" tall. Nice of him to show up right before Real Estate to get in front of people. These people stood there with their asses right in our faces until we stood up.

 

During Wilco's all-acoustic set, the A-Wholes spent time chatting loudly through such songs as Company in My Back, New Madrid and True Love Will Find You In The End. But magically, when the title track to Whole Love began, they dutifully sang along. It was really quite amazing! Then they went back to yapping away.

 

On Saturday, we made sure we got down to the field way in advance of the A-Wholes, and secured spots in the equivalent of about row 4-5. It was much better there, but the same "general admission" phenomenon occurred: within minutes of Wilco's set starting, young A-Wholes (this time mostly women) decided they should squeeze into the tiny spaces of breathing room in front of people in the third row or so. No one said anything.

 

The other thing that really bothered me at SS was the surprisingly large amount of chemical amusement going on. I thought this was going to be more of a "family friendly" deal. I mean, I don't have a problem if someone wants to have a few drinks or even get high, but does it have to be all throughout the day, every day? I had people blowing cigarette smoke in my face during Wilco, something I don't think I've ever experienced anywhere. And did they just legalize pot in VT or what? There were people firing up in a very crowded area during every single outdoor set we attended: Real Estate, Wilco I, NRBQ, Richard Thompson, Mac DeMarco, Wilco II, Charles Lloyd, Felice Brothers, and Tweedy & Co. That is a buttload of smoke inhalation. I traveled from FL to MA, so I had to spend Monday and Tuesday walking around with a jacket that smelled like a cross between a biker bar and the Grateful Dead's 1970 Fillmore West shows. Take a fucking break, people. Do a few one-hitters in the Port-A-Potty. Not everyone wants to breathe that shit in. (My wife, who has never smoked anything, was as put off by it as me. Oh, and she also was painfully aware of people farting near us too. Charming!)  Plenty of drunks, too. I walked out to the Port-A-Potty line and one dude looked at me and slurred, "I was asleep and when I woke up, someone had unbuttoned my fly!" Suuuure they did. Thanks for sharing, buddy.

 

So, yeah, just about every swinish and self-centred behavior imaginable went on all around us during the varied sets. There was never a respite, unless we got into a food line. Bottom line: great music, barely tolerable weather (when you come from 90s Florida and land in 50s Vermont, it feels like an icy hellhole...sorry, New England, I don't miss ya.) I think that, from now on, I will stick with single Wilco shows, where I can get in and get the hell out.

 

P.S. Thanks to the kind soul who captured the stream from Friday night. I can listen to it and enjoy it more than I did in real time, what with all the Chatty Cathys. Very nice show.

 

 

 

 

I say this time and time again (and on this board) as Florida Wilco fans, we are kind of spoiled with Wilco concerts. Every Wilco show I've been to in Florida, I've been able to walk up to the front of the stage with no real issues, no "camping" needed. Just recently in St Augustine, I was basically on the rail, and only showed up about 20 mins before they went on. No one was "crowding" in on me either.

 

However, when you go to Solid Sound, you have to realize you are NOT at a small show in Florida. You are at a music festival. I'm not sure how many music fests you go to, but they are all typically full of drunks, potheads, and other people acting badly. This is just the type of atmosphere you are entering into, and if you set up your expectations, you shouldn't be disappointed. That being said, compared to other festivals, Solid Sound is WAY more laid back, and typically a much cooler crowd then you'll find at Pitchfork next week, or any of the MEGA fests.

 

You shoudln't go to a music fest and expect the same intimacy of a small ampitheater show, you are just setting up yourself for disappointment.

 

I've seen Wilco enough times, that I don't NEED to be right up front anymore. Especially for a show like this. I'd rather be farther back and comfortable on my blanket, and be able to go for a beer or bathroom break without the fear of losing my "standing position" in a sea of 9,000 pepole.

 

I DO agree that Wilco needs to stop upping the capacity. MASS MOCA (and N Adams) can only hold so many people comfortably

[rhino4evr]

Sunday was worse for me in terms of terrible behavior than the other 2 days, though most of it was the hipster invasion of rail space during the Feliece bros. those folks were just mean. I have a hard time moving through crowds keeping my balance, and I was trying to get back to my husband and this lady said something to the effect of "go around, gimpy bitch" when I said excuse me to try to get by her. It was kinda sad.

 

Just curious...why was your Hotel expereince bad? Where did you stay?

 

If I have one negative about Solid Sound is the absolutely unreasonable hotel prices this year, and the actual quality of the accomodations.

[PopQuizKat]

I'm not understanding all the complaints. It's an outdoor festival. Beer and liquor is offered people will drink. Drunks are annoying. For the record I saw MMJ on Tuesday in Columbus I went out in the beer line and saw one guy dragged out by security who couldn't even stand and then about 3 other people that should not have been put in public. That was during the first set at one show. Considering some other festivals I've been too SS was a godsend with people's behavior. Maybe I'm just a hippie too but I would rather have people smoking around me. A lot of people are on vacation as well. Getting baked in 2 afternoon is kind of nice. Also getting baked helps me ignore the drunks everyone seems to be complaining about. If you don't like smoking you should try the chocolate we had instead!

 

This festival is amazing why should we diminish it with all these complaints.

 

 

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[kwhitehead]

I'm not understanding all the complaints. It's an outdoor festival. Beer and liquor is offered people will drink. Drunks are annoying. For the record I saw MMJ on Tuesday in Columbus I went out in the beer line and saw one guy dragged out by security who couldn't even stand and then about 3 other people that should not have been put in public. That was during the first set at one show. Considering some other festivals I've been too SS was a godsend with people's behavior. Maybe I'm just a hippie too but I would rather have people smoking around me. A lot of people are on vacation as well. Getting baked in 2 afternoon is kind of nice. Also getting baked helps me ignore the drunks everyone seems to be complaining about. If you don't like smoking you should try the chocolate we had instead!

 

This festival is amazing why should we diminish it with all these complaints.

 

 

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I'm not religious but, "amen" to this.

[saluqi]

Lots of whining going on here, I did my share of whining too but it had nothing to do with what was going on inside the festival.  First, our hotel lost our reservation which created an immediate stressful situation, they did rectify the issue and got us into another, more expensive hotel, which they paid the difference on, but it only had a single king bed, so my daughter had to sleep on the sofa hide-a-bed, which sucked for her and ultimately us.  Next, when we went to enter the SS grounds the ticket taker told us that our tickets had already been scanned in an hour before.  We had to talk to the Frontgate representative who basically accused me of trying to scam them, but after me assuring them that I was an honest person over and over she gave us bands.  I called Frontgate yesterday and told their management about the situation.  

 

As far as the festival, it didn't seem anymore crowded than 2013, except for Sunday where a lot more people stuck around than they had in the previous 3 SS we've been to.  Friday night people were actually leaving giving us plenty of room in front of the sound board where we park.  No issues with drunks, pot smokers, or fest farters.  If you're having a problem with the crowd up front, then move back and your experience will improve.  I'm there for the music, I'll worry about being up front for reserved seat shows.  The scheduling was too tight in my opinion, too many things going on simultaneously.  As far as music, Ryley Walker, William Tyler, and NRBQ were my favorites, there was no single standout like Lucius in 2013 as far as I was concerned, but I missed a lot.  I thought Mac Demarco was obnoxious.  We didn't bother with festival food, we stocked our cooler and brought our own food in.  Drinks, the beer was excellent and the Bloody Mary's were outstanding.  Other than the schedule pamphlet and wrist band there was no other official festival schwag, every other year there has been plenty of ephemera to collect, from fans to pencils, must be a cost cutting measure.  Overall it was a fun weekend, the Wilco and Tweedy sets made up for any problems we had with tickets etc., we'll probably be back.

[rhino4evr]

I don't really get upset with people drinking or smoking. Even the drunks don't bother me. They are just having their idea of a good time. As long as they stay "happy" I'm just fine with it.