VIRGIN FESTIVAL 2007...Pimlico or Stadium?

[HoyaSaxa03]

i'd go anywhere for the right lineup ... i didn't go to the festival this year because of its location, i didn't go because i had no real interest in paying $100 to see a few of the mid-day and second stage groups ... i can't really justify going to a festival if i don't want to see the headliners and the ticket is heavily weighted to pay them
 
 and i wholeheartedly agree with bearman's suggestion ... if you give the festival some unique identity by focusing the lineup, you'll get a national turnout ... i know the dc/baltimore area isn't as receptive to the acts that play at coachella, but you'll get a huge draw from the northeast if you put together a lineup on that level

[xcanuck]

I would go to RFK before Pimlico. I'd only go to Pimlico if I could get a hotel near there at a decent rate (think package deal!). Multiple days at Merriweather would be ideal but I'm not sure how you'd do a second stage there.

[HoyaSaxa03]

Originally posted by xcanuck:
  I would go to RFK before Pimlico. I'd only go to Pimlico if I could get a hotel near there at a decent rate (think package deal!). Multiple days at Merriweather would be ideal but I'm not sure how you'd do a second stage there.

i didn't go to the curiosa festival (the cure, interpol, mogwai, etc) but i'm pretty sure they had 2 stages at merriweather ... anyone know how they pulled it off?

[deerege]

I liked the setup at Pimlico, but it's not as easy to get to/from and parking was a nightmare.  Merriweather is not a bad idea and if you decide to do a stadium, consider taking a page from the Vegoose festivals in Las Vegas.  Even though stadiums are not the best locations for festivals (as others here have pointed out), it can work.
 
 One more gripe...with the right line-up you can draw from just about anywhere in the country.  BUT it HAS to be promoted much better than this year's festival was.  I live in Baltimore and RARELY saw/heard ads for the festival anywhere.  I knew about it mainly because I pay close attention to the music scene around here.  I had friends come down from New York who told me that they never saw a single ad for this year's festival and that if I had not told them about it, they never would have known that it was happening.
 
 I know there was some limited national exposure from several magazines, but you really could have drawn a lot better if you had constantly peppered the east coast markets in the months leading up to the show.
 
 Other than that, you did a great job.  I appreciate the effort you put in to make it happen and I look forward to next year.

[ggw]

Originally posted by HoyaSaxa08:
  i didn't go to the curiosa festival the cure, interpol, mogwai, etc but i'm pretty sure they had 2 stages at merriweather ... anyone know how they pulled it off?

Curiosa worked fine for the ~20,000 who attended, but I think that the Virgin Fest would be geared to a larger scale.
 
 Pimlico sounded like it was a parking and transportation nightmare.  RFK has great access (Metro, 295 from the north, 395 from the south) and acres of parking.  The Tibetan Freedom Festival setup was pretty good.  They had two main-stages next to each other on the field.  You can put smaller stages and a DJ tent right outside.  The sound may not be ideal, but no big open area is great for sound.  You would probably be married to the stadium concessions as well, but I still think RFK is the best option for a large venue.

[Cock Van Der Palm]

I agree with other posters that lineup is most important.  As to venue, I thought Pimlico was fine but would have no problem with Merriweather or M&T.   Just make sure you bring it back somewhere!

[bkrome]

I don't think Merriweather would have the capacity for such a large festival, especially if attendance numbers increased.
 
 I thought Pimlico worked out well and was beneficial to Baltimore in general.  I would vote keep it there.  M&T would be my first choice if it had to be moved to a stadium, but I liked the set up of Pimlico better then anything M&T could possibly offer.

[vansmack]

Seth - nice work taking it to the people!

[JohnnyBaconbitz]

It's got to be Pimlico.
 
 At Pimlico you get an atmosphere like NO Jazzfest, Lollapalooza in Chicago, ACL Fest, etc.
 
 At RFK, it's another HFStival.
 
 Seriosusly, the perfect set timing and flow bewteen stages was what made that day so great.
 
 You need Pimlico to make that happen.
 
 Plus, I thought Pimlico was a really solid venue...it will only be better with a year under it's belt.

[set1914]

Pimlico is a pain to get in and out of. I vote for a stadium, since they are easier to get in and out of with mass transit (RFK with Metro and M&T with light rail) and they are off major highways. The deciding factor for me to go has very little to do with location, it has to do with who is playing.

[Julian, Alleged Computer F**kface]

Stadium > Pimlico > Merriweather

[sonickteam2]

merriweather does have additional places to hold second stages, like they did at Warped tour and HFStival this year.  the problem is the pavilion.
 
  not so hot for festivals where lots of people like to move more freely. i know the elderly and less adventurous will disagree but thats my take
 
  the problem with the Tibetan setup is that both main stages were next to each other, causing MUCH less movement in the crowd.  meaning if you werent up front at 1pm, you werent getting up front at all!  unless you wanted to fight.  
 
   that was sorta true with Vfest this year at the main stage.  and was the definite single best part of festivals like Coachella and esp Lollapalooza where if you dont mind waiting for 30minutes or so, you can get right up close and personal with any band there, save the headliners which involved more planning.
 
   Pimlico is ideal, but perhaps weighting the stages more equally would have allowed for more movement and less people just getting there at noon and parking in front of the main stage(which i gather at least 1/3 of the people there did!)

[Fico]

Originally posted by HoyaSaxa08:
   

Originally posted by xcanuck:
  I would go to RFK before Pimlico. I'd only go to Pimlico if I could get a hotel near there at a decent rate (think package deal!). Multiple days at Merriweather would be ideal but I'm not sure how you'd do a second stage there.

i didn't go to the curiosa festival (the cure, interpol, mogwai, etc) but i'm pretty sure they had 2 stages at merriweather ... anyone know how they pulled it off? [/b]

Curiosa worked cos bands on the 2nd stage would go on while they switched set-up for the mainstage..so there was never a point were 2 bands were competing on two different stages at the same time..

[jakez468]

pimlico or rfk, but GOD PLEASE NO MPP. i hated the hfstival there. it was too small and just not festival-like. unless the lineup is amazing, i dont think i would go if it is at mpp. rfk, pimlico, m&t, fedex, mpp. thats my top 5. thanks for asking seth! will hfstival be at mpp again?

[thegazelle]

I vote for Pimlico. The openness definitely gave it a good festival vibe and it was easy to get from place to place. Also, working with a company to offer bus deals would be a good idea.
 
 Two days anywhere, Merriweather or otherwise, would be a horrible idea. Getting anywhere around here is too much hassle and having to do it for two days to see the bands you want would make it hellish to decide which day to see.