FREEFEST 2011

[kosmo vinyl]

I admire the fact that James Murphy uses only vinyl not a laptop in sight.

I think that wet straw was causing that odor or was it something else

[runwhiteyrun06]

Just got home from Freefest. First I just want to say thank you Seth for putting together another great year of FreeFest! I don't think there is a similar event anywhere in the country.


Some brief thoughts:

Traffic was really bad and so was parking. It was probably my fault for not getting there till 230 but I had to park at Howard Community College which was literally a mile walk to Merriweather. They did have shuttle buses though, but my friend and I figured since traffic was bad walking would make more sense.

It was much more crowded this year than last year. I think this was because the lineup was stronger this year so more people actually showed up. Food and bathroom lines were pretty long but doable.

I stayed at the main stage so I only saw Grace Potter, Pattie Smith, and TVOTR. Grace Potter was pretty meh. She wad decent, but way too much shrieking for my taste.

Pattie Smith was really good but made some comments that seemed to piss a lot of people off. I saw one guy flip her off and then storm out of the pavilion. The comments didn't bother me but it always puts the audience in an awkward spot. I loved how she closed on Pissing in a River, People have the power, Because the night and then Horses/ Gloria. Her set ended on such a high note.

TVOTR was also really good and the crowd seemed pretty into it.

I wish I could have caught some of the other stage acts but I didn't want to lose my really good pavilion seat.


On a side note, during TVOTR some guy in the row behind me decided it would be appropriate to pee while sitting in his seat which freaked this poor girl sitting by my friend and I. Fortunately, The Merriweather staff was very quick to throw him out once it was brought to their attention.

[Driveway]

Food vendors were a disaster.  They need some serious assistance.  I waited about an hour in a line and when I got to the front, they didn't even have anything.  They couldn't even sell beer because the CO2 was out around 7pm.  Both times I went to get food, none was available.  When I suggested that they put up a sign to tell people they were out of things, I was told that they didn't have any sharpies. Yes, blame Sharpie.  Awesome.  It also looked like lots of under age people were being served alcohol early in the day.  No one was checking ID.  Cee Lo was fun.  I feel like I spent the day waiting in line for nothing.

[Vas Deferens]

Deadmau5 is big and so are the Black Keys. I don't think either of them made the lineup "stronger".

It was much more crowded this year than last year. I think this was because the lineup was stronger this year so more people actually showed up.

[kosmo vinyl]

Despite my old coot self I still managed to have an enjoyable time.  While not every band made me want to scream and shout, I absolutely enjoy the format of this festival.   Being able to easily move been stages and have shade will always make the difference than a festival in a wide open field.  I did notice the sound on the lawn was vastly improved and thought the new location of the Dance stage lead to less sound bleeding on to the lawn.    The early entry perk was interesting as it was cool to be able to wander the grounds without the hordes present.

Highlights were Patti Smith, James Murphy, The Teddybears and the bits of Okkervil River and TVOTR I caught.  Not quite sure what's up with Cee-Lo in a live setting, but getting a bunch of hot women to back you up only really works if they have talent as well.  Plus, the song or two I caught had a clear memorex feel to them.

It would appear some of Patti Smith's comments have set conservatives off on twitter, but her comments on  where  our personal freedoms were on 9/10 were spot on.  That  comment about how Lenny Kaye would never cut of anyone was priceless....

[kosmo vinyl]

Cliche of the festival had to be the BYT express line at the Red Bull and Vodka tent near the dance stage, and their little private corral was just adorable. 

[hutch]

I was not there.. I'm moving everything around my basement to tear up the carpeting/foam/floors due to the flooding we got... sucks royale with cheese. i am pissed.

but if there were more people it must have been because more tickets were given out...i think from the schedule it seems they had two "main" stages...

I can't see how this years lineup could be considered bigger than the past two years..

[Vas Deferens]

50,000 according to this (40,000 last year):

http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/music/midnight-sun-blog/bal-virgin-mobile-freefest-draws-its-largest-audience-20110910,0,4701462.story

[kosmo vinyl]

as always great seeing some boardies in the flesh....

[Thousand Made-Up Loves]

Calvin was outstanding, James Murphy blew up the dance stage, Ghostland was great, Cut Copy was awesome. Another great year, except for the massive amounts of cow shit in the west end. I guess it didn't matter, dance stage was the stage to be at today.

Soooo, did they sell beer right until 11 pm? Because I saw people buying beer at 10:45 and couldn't believe they were still selling beer.

[madgypsy]

On a side note, during TVOTR some guy in the row behind me decided it would be appropriate to pee while sitting in his seat which freaked this poor girl sitting by my friend and I. Fortunately, The Merriweather staff was very quick to throw him out once it was brought to their attention.

You're welcome

[azaghal1981]

^The only 930 staffer I ran into all day!

I spent all the morning/early afternoon in the Skatepark of Baltimore booth so the first band I caught was Okkervil River. According to Twitter, everything before was unremarkable, anyway.
Patti Smith was the clear highlight and her speech was what needed to be said. TVOTR were better than they were at the club in 2009 but nowhere near as great as their Cookie Mountain tour shows. Cut Copy were a good way to kill time before Patti Smith. Grace Potter has an undeniable voice but the music that comes with it is super bland. Calvin Harris was spinning the most generic dance tracks imaginable. Black Keys were pretty good. First time catching them. Okkervil River were more enjoyable than expected. Venue was way more swarmed than I imagined it would be. Great time all in all. Thanks to IMP for a good full day of music and to Kosmo for the ride up.

[wml7]

sounds like sethy and crew pulled off another great year of vfest.  Sucks I had to miss this year as I have been to every one since it began, but god damn hopscotch was awesome, so that made up for it   

[Vas Deferens]

Calvin Harris sucked so much

[azaghal1981]

I at one point heard that godawful "Sandstorm" track coming from the dance forest as we passed by and thought "ok this guy really is not even trying." The one shoegaze song Cut Copy played was pretty damn awesome.