SnowGhost Music

A few months ago I got an email from a friend of mine who was going to Bonaroo. She attached a link so all of us jealous friends could go to the official festival website and check out the lineup of bands scheduled to appear. It might have saved time if they simply had a list of bands that were NOT going to play. Now I've seen plenty of mouthwatering festival lineups over the years, and I've always been a bit envious of the people who got to go, but this lineup really hurt. I still haven't seen The Flaming Lips or Wilco. Bummer. A super jam band featuring John Paul Jones, Ben Harper and ?uestlove. Ouch. And The Police, who I wasn't allowed to see on their farewell tour 20-something years ago due to my young age. It felt like someone was breaking up with me.

But I consoled myself with a wee little promise; next time I see a lineup like this, I am going to get off my ass, save a little money, and make damn sure I'm there. And don't worry me, I told myself, there will be a next time because these festivals make sense. Judging by the rise and popularity in them, they make plenty of cents too. It seems like a pretty simple recipe. Get a slew of indie bands that are starting to catch fire, sprinkle in the nearest jam band or two, mix tenderly with a hint of hard rock, hip-hop, and the inevidible DJ/electronica, and top it all off with the recently re-united legendary band. Then simply find some semi-out of the way fairground or campground or field where you can fit a hundred thousand people and all their shit, come up with some zany meaningless name that looks cool in a logo and no one will forget, and viola! Here come the VWs and rental cars stuffed with tents...

Of course I understand that the festival is nothing new. Hooray for Woodstock, the Isle of Wight, and Montreux. Yippee for the Jazz Fest, country cook-outs, and folk summits. There have been, are, and always will be music festivals, but what we are talking about here is the rise of the mega fest. 15 years ago, festivals rarely had something for everyone. Lollapalooza tried and succeeded to a degree, but they eventually got stale because they could only get so many bands who appealed to only so many people. And touring meant that they'd be on the road all summer long, so one particular show was not likely to be all that special.

So somewhere along the line, the touring fest got squashed by the once a year fest, and for good reasons. They give you way more bang for the buck, and give it to you over a period of days. Usually at least two days of non-stop music. Bands that you would never otherwise see on the same stage, and at least 3 or 4 bands that any one person with a varying taste for music would be dying to see. Multiple stages and venues. Festival food and atmosphere, including people from all over the country. And best of all, you have an opportunity to personally pick and choose your own rock n' roll itenerary.

And what used to be the main prohibition to me is actually a positive now. Bonaroo is somewhere in Tennessee. Wah, I can't drive home that night. Well, why the hell do I need to drive home? Did you want to leave the Magic Kingdom after one day when you were a kid? These festivals are Disney World for music lovers. Why go to the same bar, club or arena when you can get out of your town, see a new place, pack your tent, and make fires and new friends? The other drag was the hefty ticket price, but think about that too for a second. If you paid to see just 4 of the bands on the list individually, you'd be paying more and sacrifice almost as much time back and forthing.

So I'm quitting my bitching about traveling and paying and boo hoo about too many bands to decide over. I'm putting aside a little dough, I'm waiting eagerly for advance word on the lineups, and I'm making sure my tent works. Next time, I'm going. And I won't have to go to another show again all year. Or maybe I'll just go to all of them and figure out a way to be a mega fest head. I'm sure they're out there already.