FYF FEST: A POST-EVENT GUIDE TO GETTING THE MOST OUT OF YOUR EXPERIENCE
“Any NY transplants who blew their noses the next day would instantly be taken back to Randall’s Island [Lollapalooza] circa 1994-1997.”
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FYF: The Experience: With it looking like The Detour Fest will never be returning, I find myself becoming more and more protective of the FYF Fest. Much has been written about the logistical snafus of Saturday’s 7th Annual FYF Fest and I’m here to weigh in.. Common complaints about water prices, set delays, and ungodly long lines have probably done enough to scare people off for next year, and that’s a damn shame. Let me try and put things into perspective for some people who are losing their shit. For $20 I was able to see a slew of my current favorite artists on a beautiful day in Downtown LA, mere miles from my house. Sure the lines were long, but with a little logic and some help from your wingmen and women you could work through the hiccups. Someone in your group wants a cheese-steak and you want beer? Expecting to be able to do both is unrealistic at any festival - Break off into groups and pick a spot to meet back up at. Also, don’t expect to rely on your cell phones or texts. You gotta work these things old school style. Maybe FYF is catching more grief because it was 90 degrees and we were sitting in a glorified dirt farm. It made many people miserable, but it made me feel a sense of nostalgia for the old days of the traveling Lollapalooza. Any NY transplants who blew their noses the next day would instantly be taken back to Randall’s Island circa 1994-1997. If anything, I wish it were not an all ages show because the longest lines of the day were for the beer tents and the VIP Cha Cha tent, but I understand the kids need their music too.
OUT TO SEE: FYF FEST
Local Natives
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THE GROWLERS and CULTS
from left to right : Growlers (pictured left and center) and Cults (pictured right)
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VETIVER and WARPAINT
from left to right: Vetiver (pictured top left top) and Warpaint
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BEST COAST
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TITUS ANDRONICUS and WAVVES
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NOTE FROM THE EDITOR…
TO SUGGEST OR TO COMPLAIN?
“If you have time to whine and complain about something, then you have the time to do something about it.“ ~Anthony J. D’Angelo, The College Blue Book
Living by the old adage of “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all” is a nice thought however, if we all abide by that what kind of world will we live in? Perhaps a Pleasantville, settled in uniformity and no fear of the unknown—I’m sure it’d be nice for a day or two of a week to live in a world where everything just fell into place at all times not having to worry about what tomorrow held. Yes, a perfect existence, perfect that is until the misery of the well-known and the same day in and day out routine caught up to us. I much prefer the one that starts with, “If you don’t have anything constructive to say…”
Fortunately for us, we don’t live in a world where what we can do is limited (so long as it is on the right side of the law of course), and we live in a city that more than most facilitates and encourages the left brain thinking as much as that of the right and time and time again presents us with the opportunity to put that thinking into action. So those of us that are creative create and present it to the subjectivity of those that may or may not appreciate it. I have been lucky with many of my endeavors and have a great support system and I give thanks for that, but in turn I am also supportive of those around me not in return or because I feel like I have to as much as because I want to.
I rarely write pieces of this nature. Not because of any uncertainty in where I stand on issues, nor fear of backlash, not even due to my well known diplomatic clear thinking disposition. If I had to pick a reason or two, for the most part it would come down to the fact that I can usually understand and justify the viewpoints and actions of most (so long as they are not being harmful to others in the process) even more often, though it comes down to the fact that I don’t feel compelled enough to voice any opinion at all, at least not via a public platform. Aside from all of that, I am usually too busy with my own projects.
This weekend’s FYF Fest is the cause for this moment of reflection. While there are many who will be quick to point out that it was a disorganized disaster in the operations department and be even quicker to express their disgust at where this event fell short, there are just as many who will be quick to express how blown away by some of the performances by the artists who took the stage in the sweltering downtown heat. (more…)