rock festivals go nuclear

[sweetcell]

it seems to me that mega-festivals are engaged in an arms race... they need keep presenting bigger and bigger line-ups.  where will it end?  will a festie have the balls to step back and say "no more cheeseball reunions"?  or is a non-stop parade of superstars what festival goers have come to expect, and is the only way to keep them coming back?  
 
 my prediction: at least one mega-festival will say "enough" and scale back - they will plan and budget for a smaller festival and invite fewer Big Names.  lolla is my front-runner for that.
 
 (SXSW and pitchforkfest are the switzerlands in this realpolitik)

[PigIron]

Already its getting bad??  Think back to only ten years ago, when we didn't have all the big festivals.  People would bitch and moan that we had nothing on the European festival circuit.  The bigger and bigger lineups are a result of competition, which is pretty natural for any product.  I don't want any of the big fests to scale down.  Then they wouldn't be big festivals anymore.  There are plenty of great smaller festivals that pride themselves on being just that, and plenty of stuff in between.  As far as cheeseball reunions go, I personally think some reunions are dripping with cheesiness and some are like a gift from god.  Not too many people are calling the Pixies or the Police reunions a bad thing, and both played a big part in the US festivals.
 As far as Lollapalooza goes, that is a festival that has always tried to be over the top.  And when it ran out of steam in the late 90s, it didn't really recover until it transformed itself into a megafest in Chicago.  So I don't know why it would attempt to alter a format that has made it so successful.

[xneverwherex]

there was a great article about the big festivals that was in papers right before i headed to chicago. i dont recall it all, but i know it said that it seemed that the big festivals were the wave of the future vs people paying mucho bucks to see one name. i actually think its probably accurate. the UK has survived with all their festivals and each one has its own appeal is my guess. whether its location, bands, vacation time, whatever. But really, lolla isnt going anywhere.
 
 im not sure i understand what your frustration is with lolla (and maybe im misreading you). its in august - until vfest this year, there wasnt a competition as far as which to go to. ACL will be coming up. I know SXSW was earlier along with Coachella and then CMJ later in the year. Theres a few others I know Im missing, but I sure would rather have a lot of choices then already start eliminating some. As long as theres plenty of bands to go see, whether huge names or small names, theres still a big market out there for it.

[Vas Deferens]

so are you saying that RATM was a cheeseball reunion at Coachella?!   :roll:

[TheDirector217]

Originally posted by wanderlust featuring j. marshmallow:
  so are you saying that RATM was a cheeseball reunion at Coachella?!     :roll:  

*whispering*
 
 Your anger is a gift . . .

[sonickteam2]

Originally posted by wanderlust featuring j. marshmallow:
  so are you saying that RATM was a cheeseball reunion at Coachella?!    :roll:  

RATM is a cheeseball reunion no matter where they play!!!

[TheDirector217]

Originally posted by le sonick:
   

Originally posted by wanderlust featuring j. marshmallow:
  so are you saying that RATM was a cheeseball reunion at Coachella?!     :roll:  

RATM is a cheeseball reunion no matter where they play!!! [/b]

I see marriage has wasted no time warping your sense of reality . . .

[sweetcell]

Originally posted by xneverwherex:
  im not sure i understand what your frustration is with lolla (and maybe im misreading you).

no frustration on my part.  i had a great time at lolla.  i'm not saying i want them to change, i'm saying that i see them being the first to buckle - if anyone does.  i got the impression that grant park was bursting at the seams, that it couldn't get much bigger if it wanted to. just an unfounded impression tho.
 
 the tone of the first post above was that of amasement and bewilderment... how much higher can they go?  as a consumer of these products, i'm a beneficiary of this escalation.  i'm not complaining, just curious.
 
   

Originally posted by TheDirector217:
   

Originally posted by le sonick:
 RATM is a cheeseball reunion no matter where they play!!!

I see marriage has wasted no time warping your sense of reality . . . [/b]

ZING

[sonickteam2]

Originally posted by TheDirector217:
   

Originally posted by le sonick:
   

Originally posted by wanderlust featuring j. marshmallow:
  so are you saying that RATM was a cheeseball reunion at Coachella?!      :roll:    

RATM is a cheeseball reunion no matter where they play!!! [/b]

I see marriage has wasted no time warping your sense of reality . . . [/b]

ha! my sense of reality has been warped way before marriage!
 
 i'm 30 years old and married, working in an office, i own a house and a car and a cat.  somehow screaming "fuck you i wont do what you tell me" seems a bit....i dont know...

[redsock]

I promise to not roll out all the big names and have cheesey reunions at this year's DAM! Festival. We'd like to have a few cheesey reunions -- and big names -- but much of that will likely end up happening next year.

[Vas Deferens]

when is the announcement??! are you bringing Pela?
 
 

Originally posted by redsock:
  I promise to not roll out all the big names and have cheesey reunions at this year's DAM! Festival. We'd like to have a few cheesey reunions -- and big names -- but much of that will likely end up happening next year.

[redsock]

Originally posted by wanderlust featuring j. marshmallow:
  when is the announcement??! are you bringing Pela?
 
   

Originally posted by redsock:
  I promise to not roll out all the big names and have cheesey reunions at this year's DAM! Festival. We'd like to have a few cheesey reunions -- and big names -- but much of that will likely end up happening next year.

[/b]

Quite soon. No Pela this year, actually trying not to have too many national repeats. We don't have the full line-up ready, but we'll at least get out some of the headliners.

[Vas Deferens]

redsock: can you at least tell us the dates?

[redsock]

Originally posted by wanderlust featuring j. marshmallow:
  redsock: can you at least tell us the dates?

Thought I did somewhere. October 7-15, though the core dates are the 11th thru 13th.

[bnyced0]

Originally posted by redsock:
  I promise to not roll out all the big names and have cheesey reunions at this year's DAM! Festival. We'd like to have a few cheesey reunions -- and big names -- but much of that will likely end up happening next year.

Well I've kept the 11-13 Oct open, so I guess I'm down with whatever you can pull together, but Land of Talk, Yo La Tengo, +/-, Twilight Sad, and The Immediate would be welcome.