I've received two responses from a questionnaire I sent out to a few people that I knew had been to destination rock festivals in the past. I've labeled the responses A and B, for comparison. They both had extremely positive responses to the festival, and I'm interested in seeing if I can find someone who had an extremely negative response to a festival, due to poor conditions or weather. It seems as though many festival organizers have figured out that people need water and the experience of the festival, and have stopped making many of the same mistakes made in the past in terms of organization. Perhaps I would have to find someone who attended Woodstock '99.
1. How many music festivals have you been to? Which ones?
A) One. Lollapalooza 2008 in Chicago, Illinois.
B) SXSW 05, 07, 08
Bonnaroo 08
Lollapalooza 08
2. Are you planning on going to any in the future? Why or why not?
A) Absolutely, yes. Seeing many of my favorite musical acts in a place I’ve never been with friends was an incredible experience. Also, it’s more efficient financially to catch a festival rather then buying tickets for multiple concerts.
B) 100% yes, though I'll be going to a ton fewer now that I'm not running a radio station!
3. What was your favorite part (of each)?
A) Being around people from all over the country that enjoy similar music.
B) Hanging with friends and stringing together tons of zany antics. Adventures in new cities! Discovering incredible artists I'd never heard of previously.
4. Is there a difference between a music festival and a concert? If so, what makes them different? What makes them the same?
A) From my experience there is a large difference between the two. The majority of concerts I’ve been to are in smaller venues and the performances are much more intimate. Bands are able to connect with the audience more in a concert versus a festival atmosphere. Festival performances have to be bigger and broader in attempts to keep everyone entertained.
B) Absolutely. The atmosphere and pace of a music festival is unlike any concert, not even the day-long ones. With festivals, its like miniature cities rising up from nothing and then vanishing. I'll admit though, after some music festivals I was eager to go to more local concerts, just because it got me in the swing of seeing live acts.
5. What are the people like at music festivals? What is the atmosphere like?
A) The festival drew a mostly college aged crowd. For the most part, people were really pleasant, but the combination of drugs and the hot weather really put people on edge. During the performances the atmosphere was pure insanity. Tens of thousands of people singing and dancing their balls off.
B) People are usually friendly. It does help a lot to know other people that are going. The atmosphere is usually filled with excitement and music enthusiasm. It's a lot of fun to share tips about bands with people and get introduced to stuff you wouldn't otherwise know of.
6. About how many bands do you need to know before you choose to go to a music festival?
A) Before the festival I would have gone if I saw 3-4 great headliners in the lineup. Now that I know how drawn out the days are and how many acts can be seen in a single day, I’d say a minimum of 12.
B) Well, I'm a firm believer that the less concrete plans one makes, the more fun one has. It's helpful to know plenty of bands playing, but it's messy to have one's heart set on seeing a list of 10 specific bands. Schedules are too tight. Too many acts overlap. It turns a wonderful adventure into a rigorously structured thing. I've come to show up with 1 or 2 acts I know I want to see, and then wander semi-aimlessly otherwise. I wind up seeing many acts I'd like to and making plans day-of, and just soaking up the atmosphere of the concert, and interests of friends I'm with.
7. Have you seen any bands in both a concert and at a music festival? What made their shows different/the same?
A) Yes, I had seen several of the acts prior to the festival. One band in particular (Manchester Orchestra) had a lot more energy playing to the festival crowd. Another band (Bloc Party) seems to bring the same level of intensity to concert and festival sets.
B) Yeah. It can go both ways. Bands at festivals usually have shorter set times.. which can be good or bad. Personally, I'd rather see 10 bands play 50 minute sets than 5 bands play 2 hour sets. Even with my absolute favorite bands, I usually get bored at concerts after about an hour or so, though I'm known to catch 2nd wind.
Sometimes, seeing bands at festivals can be really special, and those sets can be particularly legendary. My Morning Jacket has a reputation for ripping a hole in every one of their Bonnaroo performances, and I just don't imagine a theater show would hold a candle.
8. What bands perform better at music festivals as opposed to their own shows? What bands perform worse?
A) I think the best bands can be versatile; it’s just a matter of adjusting to the crowd. I’d have to say more established acts have it easier due to the large crowds making it easy to put on a great show. Un-established acts, especially those that play music with a slower tempo, have a difficult time breaking through to the large crowds.
B) Sort of answered that one. In my opinion, bands with something to prove play really great short sets at festivals.
Worse? hmm. Maybe some of the bigger headliners. Because if you're a deep fan of their material, you might be less likely to get the deeper fan favorites, as they have a wider audience to appeal to.
9. In your opinion, what was the age distribution at the music festival you went to? What’s the age distribution at a normal concert you’d attend?
A) The ages were at both ends of the spectrum at the festival. A lot of young children and a good amount of people in their 40’s in 50’s. The majority of the crowd was in the 18-25 year old group which is the norm for most concerts I’ve attended.
B) I'd say that 16-34 is probably the festival distribution. SXSW skews a little more toward upper end, because it's chock full of industry types. Normal concerts are more like 16-28 or so..
then again these are mostly alternative type concerts.. the type of music really affects the demo
10. What was the substances (legal or illegal) scene like? Who was taking them at what bands? Did you partake? What was your experience with this? Did anyone care?
A) There were a lot of people on a lot of drugs. Alcohol was readily available throughout the day and there was little to no enforcement on drug usage. People could smoke in the middle of a crowd at any point without any second thoughts. The hip/hop and dance acts drew a lot of the drug using population. I consumed alcohol and smoked marijuana several times throughout the 3 days and the combination of not being an avid pot smoker and the temperature being an average of 95 degrees did not treat me well. In my group’s experience, the use of drugs was not frowned upon once. I’d go as far as to say it was advocated by most.
B) Concerts and consciousness alteration are pretty much hand in hand in our culture. I'd contend that most concert-goers are used to this. Drugs are everywhere and out in the open at Bonnaroo. I consider expansionary substances somewhat spiritual, and enjoy live performances best with a totally clear mind anyway, so I abstain.
SXSW can have a lot of dinnertime hangout and schmoozing, so I've enjoyed some mild drinking on those evenings.
11. Is there anything else you’d like to mention about this topic?
A) I just think that any true music fan has to attend a festival in their life. I can imagine it’s not for everyone, but the experience alone is worth it.
B) If you enjoy music and have the resources, go to one of these. On the whole, SXSW is my personal favorite, though I have wonderful stories to tell for life from each of these festivals. Maybe someday I'll make it to a Coachella, ATP, or Glastonbury!
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