I agree with everything you say in the video, but being from Argentina it's safe to say that most of the time it's either take it or leave it with festivals because we're not gonna get Danny Brown, Kendrick Lamar, Daft Punk or anyone of the sort without there being a festival in the equation. Most popular/new artists won't set foot in the country unless it's with a festival. Very few bands/artists come here on their own, mostly old bands past their mainstream popularity prime, and I can only assume it's the same in all of latin america and everywhere else apart from the United States or Europe.
I don't blame you at all for not taking it into account. My point was more of an addition than an objection. Here and everywhere else this happens, the need to be aware of the flaws and disadvantages of festivals is greater. You really have to balance out the pros and the cons of the matter.
Very true. I'm from Trinidad and Tobago and I only got to see Janelle Monae perform because she headlined a Jazz Festival we have every year. NOBODY COMES HERE.
i am from argentina and i can confirm, sadly festivals are the only way of getting artist these days here, wich sucks because there are a shit-ton of posers, and we have big bad ass stadiums that could be filled to the top with fans (ac/dc on river plate stadium). now it is lollapalooza in open field or nothing
mate, I'm happy anywhere, as long as there's ket. K'holed out front seeing leftover crack in glasgow, woke up with no phone or wallet. Still had a sick time haha.
1. You only ever wanna go for like 4 or 5 out of like 50 acts. 2. People. (The annoying ones) 3 Having to really manage when you need to piss and shit because its always a fucking mile to reach a portapotty 4. PortaPottys 5. Everything is expensive af.
I feel #1 REAL hard. I went to Warped Tour this year only to see 3 bands. I ended up seeing only one of them because I felt like shit throughout the day just waiting for the bands I came for. It didn't help that the majority of the bands I heard throughout the day were trash, and that the schedule wasn't made public until people got there to see the schedule themselves. I'm largely certain re-entry wasn't allowed, so I had to basically wait the whole day. That didn't go well for me and ended up leaving early.
@@TylerswworldI've been through this at Primavera in Barcelona this year, which was the fact that the festival was so big, so large, with so many goddamn names, that you have to pick your favorite kids.
After my first time attending Coachella back in 2011 I learned a very valuable lesson for any current or future festival goers, it has greatly increased my experiences at every other festival thereafter. I attended Coachella '11 with my gf-at-the-time and several of my closest friends and it was great! I absolutely fell in love with Coachella and if you've never been I highly recommend going before buying into all of the pervasive negative comments about it. Anyway, what happened that first year was that my now-ex gf nearly ruined my experience with how insufferably bitchy and negative and hard to please she was. The following year at Coachella '12 I was single and this is where the lesson comes in. I told myself that I would not allow ANYONE to dictate my time at the festival. Not a friend or girl or whoever. I warned my friends that I was going to be flying solo once inside the venue and if we run into each other great, but I will not be making any effort to follow our group if it didn't line up with my plans. Throughout the years and festivals some friends have taken my approach as rude or whatever but I never once was in a situation where I was miserable because of other people. Another big essential tip (somewhat related to this) to enjoying a music festival to the max is IF YOU ARE NOT HAVING FUN, LEAVE. Several of my favorite most memorable moments happened after ditching an artist (or situation in general) that wasn't meeting my vibe or expectations. I also noticed countless people who would seem completely bored or irritated during an artist's set simply because they were with their bf/gf/friends. To summarize... Do you. Fuck everyone else. Find your fun. Happy festing everyone.
Totally agree with this! I accidentally met Rudimental behind the stage when ditching Kasabian lol. They were really friendly and totally down to earth, considering they were walking through the Sziget crowd instead of going out the backdoor in a van.
MrGNugget those stations usually carry filtered water and even then they're usually scarce or backed up by 20 min lines. The festivals borderline force you to purchase from them because of this
I have received information, from an anonymous source, that leads me to believe that Mr. List is currently being held captive by Anthony. So that he can keep exploiting Mr. List's impeccable list production and reasoning skills.
should be retitled why *large* music fests are overrated, a lot of these don't apply to smaller fests that strive to create intimacy and sound quality and, above all, COMMUNITY and EXPERIENCE - still love you tho
As a stan, I will say that Afropunk is probably one of the best festivals to go to. Inexpensive, good vibes, great lineups etc. I would recommend it... then again, Brockhampton were there this year and they definitely broke the safety rule of this video as they did some crowd surfing (including the MC of the festival stage who did a damn front flip into the crowd; no one really caught him)...
Hey! First thanks for the video, I really enjoy your content! I have to say, I'm from Barcelona and I have attended Primavera for the last three years (I ran into you after the American Football show in 2015 hehe) so thanks for the shoutout! While I agree with most if not all your points, festivals are my only choice because 1. there aren't that many indie or rap or whatever concerts here and 2. i can't afford the tickets for the individual concerts, e.g.: father john misty is 32€, interpol is like 40€ and alt-j is 40€... i can see all those bands in primavera once every few years, plus its organisation is pretty flawless and i cant complain much. if i had more variety around here and i had the money to attend the shows of course i'd go, but for the moment i have to conform with this hehe. keep up the good videos! :)
This past august I bought me and my girlfriend tickets to Kendrick Lamar's "The DAMN. Tour", which ultimately cost me $400. I figured that it would be worth it, seeing that Travis Scott and D.R.A.M. were also going to perform with him as well. I bought the tickets way back at march, so my anticipation for the concert was so fucking big throughout months that I waited for august to come along. However, the concert was very disappointing. When D.R.A.M. opened up the concert, the majority of people didn't even care to see him. They were either still walking around, talking loud as hell, buying drinks and food, not even paying attention. It wasn't until D.R.A.M played Broccoli that people barely realized who he was, and by then, his set list ended. When Travis Scott came out, people began paying attention. I honestly don't have anything to complain about Travis's set, it was pretty dope. But when Kendrick came out, that was when I was really disappointed. Not only were my $400 tickets (each ticket being $200) landed us literally like 200 feet away from the front stage, everyone around me weren't even paying attention to kendrick when he began performing, they were either on their phones, and/or talking loudly (Maybe it's because they weren't in front of the entire audience, so they lost interest...?). On top of that, there seemed to be kind of a disconnect from kendrick and the audience, seeing that there were over 25,000 people at the staples center that night. Compare that concert experience to when I went to see Run the Jewels in LA, a concert with only 5000 people in the audience, high energy, an intimate setting, Killer Mike and El-P talking to people in the audience, on top of that, Run the Jewels brought out Danny Brown, Zach Dela Rocha, Gangsta Boo, Joi, Travis Barker, and BOOTS, all for $35 a ticket. It was fucking amazing. The energy was unmatchable. it was so much better...I don't know, but I just prefer smaller concerts anyway.
I don't know, your arguments are valid for really big festivals (Choachella...) but in my opinion not for smaller festivals. Last festival ive been to was Splash! Festival 2017, a smaller hiphop festival. They were around 20000 people there, not that much, but enough to get a nice festival feeling. Still they were some really intimate moment, because they had some small stages, Noname for example did a pretty amazing show with 300-400 people, which was as good as a solo concert. Ticket prices are also pretty okay, i paid like 220€ for 4 days (food, parking etc. included) and a pretty great line up (Travis scott, mac miller, nas, rea sremmurd, suicideboys, gucci mane, lil yachty, post malone and a lot of smaller european artists). Sound was also pretty great. Besides that i have the feeling people at these smaller festivals care a bit more about the music and the art. Ive never been to a festival outside of europe tho.
Kloick yeah, i already wrote the comment before the last argument, my bad. But i tought a little promotion for smaller european festivals woudnt hurt so...
I got genital warts at bonnaroo this past year. Also had a negative acid trip. The total experience is worth, I'd say about, a light 5 on the fantano scale.
Birdman #TheNumber1Stunna Wayne that's my son what's more intimate than speadong the day in some nice weather with your favorite band, Especially when they stagedive or come off stage and finish a song in the pit
The only reason I'll go to festivals is if AT LEAST three of my favorite artists (or three artists that I like) will be performing at that festival.. Otherwise it's always a waste in my opinion.
Plus some people cant get drugs in their hometown, festivals will guaranteed have dealers for any kind of drug you can imagine (tho like the food/water it is extremely over priced, $20 tabs hurt my soul)
chur ricardo Rich people actually save their money and double it, they invest this shit, everything but paying 3x the price of a bottle of water in a fucking music festival.
It is pretty obnoxious when the dude next to you gives you a death stare when you knock into him while dancing and he drops his coke. Like dude why are you in the front? Also getting burned by a blunt sucks. Go get high in the shitter you spergs.
Listhony concertano here. Lets all be honest its because doing large amounts of drugs and having awkward unsafe sex to the sound of live music is very appealing to the masses.
Have you ever been to a small festival? Where bands play until 5am? My best suggestion for a big festival that is good is Peach music festival in Scranton PA
Hey Anthony similarly to what has already said, I live in Portugal and although we're a European country and we do in fact have some solo headline concerts, most artists we don't. Especially those that are in the festival circuit since most festivals here in Portugal demand exclusivity. In one hand that's good because the lineups are all different in terms of international artists, but because of that we don't get solo concerts. Another thing, and that's probably the best, here festivals are cheap. They are really cheap. Last year I saw Radiohead, Arcade Fire, Pixies, Tame Impala, Father John Misty, Courtney Barnett and a lot more good things in the same festival just for 120€. And this year I paid 75€ to see Beach House, King Krule, Future Islands, Car Seat Headrest, Alex Cameron, Benjamin Clementine, At the Drive In, Badbadnotgood and other things, plus camping! I think that here the sponsors have a lot more weight in the festival budgets and I do think that you're getting a more than fair price.
The only thing I can hope in festival is Weezer. Even though they're so shitty at festival. I'm sorry for being so hipster but when I was at Sigur Ros concert in Indonesia, I felt peace and weirdly intimate with the band. It was like spiritual moment.
Yeah fr. I've never been to a US festival personally, but I think only about 1 or 2 of Anthony's criticisms apply totally to festivals we have here. Especially the commercialism bit with the stages being used as billboards, sounds totally foreign to me
You pretty much summed GroundUP Festival in your comment @ 12:35. Michael League from Snarky Puppy brought together a very 'niche' line-up back in February 2017 in Miami Beach. Just to give you an idea of some performances: Snarky Puppy (all three nights), David Crosby, Esperanza Spalding, Bokante (Michael League's new band), Charlie Hunter + Jeff Coffin, Jacob Collier. Not to mention the music workshops they held throughout the day AND late night jams every night at the Deauville Hotel; that's is where The Beatles performed during The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964.These jams would begin around midnight and end at sunrise. Crazy stuff. OH! Not to mention that performances never overlapped. Two stages and no conflicts! Definitely worth checking out. It was truly a festival built from the ground up (pun intended).
I like festivals but I agree with all your points. At Okeechobee Fest they had a two-story wooden bar, that was an ad for Corona, in the back of the main stage. On another note, Rolling Loud's amphitheatre stage provided some of the most intimate moments I have ever had at a show. Never thought I would get a compliment on my hat from Xavier Wulf
Glad you mentioned Primavera Sound, when I saw point number four I thought of it. Also, that festival is so damn expensive and it monopolizes some artists, which means that some artists only play in Barcelona if they're booked by Primavera Sound ... However, if you can afford it, it books a lot of great artists (I saw Grace Jones there and OMG what a show).
I agree. Saw my personal favorite artist, Gary Numan, twice in two days -- first at Bumbershoot, second at a venue in Portland. First performance: abbreviated 45-minute set, poor sound quality, crowd mostly non-fans. Second performance: great opening band, full 90-minute set, great sound, real engagement... and the crowd were "my people" (if that makes sense). The main exception for a festival I've had recently was the Traveler's Rest festival this year. It was curated and organized by The Decemberists, and featured two nights of performances by the band. It was well-organized, great sound, had great catering (!) and really felt like a Decemberists event. Plus got to experience great sets by Sylvan Esso and Belle & Sebastian that the crowd was also very engaged with.
You gotta go to the small hippy festivals that are cheaper, include camping, and have better prices. Nelsons ledges has 2 to 3 nights of music for $60 to only $110. You bring your own alcohol and food and get to create your own dope campsite. Sounds good too.
I feel as tho many of these issues are remedied at camp out festivals. At Bonnaroo for example, half of the reason I love that fest so much is because of the intimacy. Not so much with the artists, but with the people around you at shows and anywhere you walk. You're all living with each other and everybody cares and has each other's back. On top of that, all of the stages have zero advertisements and I've found the most heavily advertised companies are Roo are things like Teva and other camp related brands. I feel the same way about Sound on Sound fest last year in Austin(got to see Melon there interview Clppng) it was a relatively small festival, camped out in woods and hell I saw Hinds live within a crowd of like 20 fuckin ppl in the woods! They performed on a block of wood just for the people that were camping out and we sang Hey Jude while they waited for their snare drum. Campout Festivals are a whole different product than any old festival in my opinion
Hey Anthony just want to interject one thing, at lollapalooza and soundset (much smaller scale) I was always provided with easily accessible filling stations for water. Just wanted to point that out
Ever consider doing a video on jam bands/ live improv rock music? Would love to see you listen to some newer jam bands or even a band like phish and give your take. On the topic of festivals being intimate, going to a festival thrown by a band, seeing multiple sets of the band with their biggest fans who you know all paid to be there for that band, can provide a very unique intimate experience
That's "niche" festival like he said at the end it's a well run festival with good value (VIP is 220 and you get all the clothing that they give you with the package) in this video he was talking about the big festivals like coachella and sxsw which are expensive and can be a bad experience
gotta say i really agree with your point about safety. i'm a regular attendee at download and during a bands set a fight broke out which spilled into me and friends and i ended up getting my nose broken. security were well aware of the people that were fighting as they had been warned about it earlier
EU Festivals >>>> American festivals!!!! No intimacy? Have you ever gone into a mosh pit at a festival during for example Foo's, SOAD, Prophets Of Rage, Royal Blood. Its fun as heck dude. Have you ever seen Radiohead in a festival setting and arena setting, they're the exact same and bring the same amount of intimacy. It hugely depends on which kinds of festivals you're going to, are you going to Coachella or a smaller festival? Imo, I think with bigger bands nowadays, it's hard to get that intimate vibe anymore because they're playing in such huge shows (arena's or even outside, so what's the difference in that?) What does the amount of people at a festival differentiate the people at a concert, solely just the quality of the sound? That's it? Spot on for the second point tho, it's true that tickets prices are high but if you divide the cost of your ticket to the amount of bands you get to see over one day or the whole weekend. It's a fair price. Say you go to a festival and pay $300 for the whole weekend, and in that weekend you see 15 artists that you like or enjoy. That's around $20 per show, that's a fair price no and that's counted into how the US programs their festivals (midday / early afternoon till midnight). In the EU you have festivals that go from noon till 2/4am, where acts dont have 1h slots to wait for so you can see even more acts (around 7-10 a day) than in the US. Festivals will always take advantage for food but you can prepare for that aswell no? If you're going to a festival in Austin or Miami, then how hard is it to just eat beforehand or buy food when you're camping. Also why can a festival not be seen as a vacation? I can see people travelling across the country with a car and make a roadtrip of it and have some days extra after the festival. Ever heard of Sziget or Balaton festival, people litteraly go their to have a good time and go on vacation.. Thirth one is good point but that's only in some cases. It's not a standard that artists get mistreated at a festival. Fourth point, for smaller festivals and I mean the festivals that are not under the wings of big corporations (LiveNation, GoldenVoice, Scorpion etc) it's hard to generate money because the artists themselves cost already a fortune but on top of that come a whole lot of things you've to keep in mind. It's hard to get money and have a sole base of money where you could go with and advertising at a festival is one of the easiest options to get some money in. For example, I went to NOS Alive and after every performance they played an ad video of 15 minutes with commercials on the big screens. Ive no problem with that because in that way they can program and organize the festival as how they wanna do it. Im not bothered by the ads, are you Anthony? And I know the Heineken thing is a bit laughable but Heineken is a big partner in that festival and even hosts a stage so what's the problem? If it wasn't for them, you wouldn't even be seeing Patti Smith... Safety is idd very important yes, fair point. It can sometimes ruin the whole experience but again as I've said. It depends on the organization and the festival you're going to. Is it a big one or a smaller one? Has the organization taken care of it's security or are they rather sloppy. Again, I can imagine it's different for the US as over here in the EU. So it's not just a black/white thing tho Idk if you're going to read this but this was my take on the video, good one tho :)
I agree, to me, festivals are only worth going to if you want to see *more* than a handful of acts from artists you know you will enjoy seeing, which is very rare considering most festivals have a mish-mash of random artists local or international, with the majority of them being artists you've never heard of
Here in the UK we have some great smaller festivals, check out the last few line ups for ArcTanGent and Field Day, I've seen Death Grips, Godspeed, Flylo, American Football, Dillinger etc at festivals crafted around more underground music
I just got back from Riot Fest and I've got to disagree with a lot of this. Tix were only $100 for a three day pass, and I more than got my money's-worth, getting up front was relatively easy and I had many intimate experiences (particularly with Tim Kinsella of during Cap'N Jazz). Commercialism wasn't too bad: half the tents were for nonprofits or activist groups. I will agree on the cost of food. I'm sure there were some issues with safety, but I didn't encounter any. And nothing big enough to make any news that I'm tuned into.
I missed Riot Fest this year but went the previous two years and loved it. But still a couple of things he says are valid, especially as far as safety. Not so much anyone trying to assault anybody but just big crowd issues. 2015 during System of a Down's performance they had to bring in ambulances because with the muddy ground and intense moshing a couple people nearly died. Last year I did the dumb and crazy thing and waited for 13 hours to be up front for the Misfits. I thought up at the rail it would be safe from moshing but not so. It was frightening at times; two girls next to me were having trouble breathing a lot of the time and were getting kicked in the head by crowd surfers. I did what I could to help but with that many people you can't move at all most of the time, you can try to shift your body to give those around you some breathing room but that's it. This not even mentioning the fact that what saved me, is the fact they didn't confiscate my CamelBak water bladder as I entered the park. The idiots walk around selling beer throughout the day when nearly everyone around me is about to pass out from dehydration, begging them to bring bottled water. But no, they have only beer. As far as intimacy I still remember the Alvvays performance where between songs Molly quickly sputtered "sorry guys we've got 30 minutes no time to talk" and immediately went into their next song. They did come out and talk to folks before I got there and I did end up getting the setlist but even after all that it's such a different feeling to being in a small, cozy venue. Even a big venue dedicated to the one band you feel closer to that band. Again, Riot Fest is awesome. But Anthony brings up some good points and if a lot of the bands at Riot Fest came closer to where I live I probably wouldn't go.
Pitchfork was really fun this year. The three-day pass was affordable. Food and drinks were cheap. And they were handing out free water bottles throughout the day. All mentioned points definitely applies to other bigger festivals.
First one is kinda subjective to the festival. Recently i went to Boardmasters festival in Newquay UK, and 2 of the stages (called Land Of Saints and Unleashed) were both in huge gated tents kind of like a circus, which gave you that feeling of sort of being surrounded/captured by the music which added to the experience a lot, i think. Also, one of the other stages called The Point was basically on a cliff edge, with the sea behind it, a beautiful stage set-up and this was all on a slope, so no matter where you were you could see the artists playing, and the breath-taking backdrop. one of my greatest memories is seeing Hot Since 82 (deep house, massive rec to house fans) while the sun sets, surrounded by my friends. if that isn't artist intimacy, idk what is
I disagree. I see it more from the perspective that you’re making a trade off for the type of experience you’re going get. It’s intimacy vs social environment. Sure the benefit of see my favorite artist at their own shows is for 1.) it’s more intimate, like I said. but most importantly to me 2.) they have a longer set lists. But as for festivals. It’s a very cool social environment. People are way more open, and are just more social. And it just feels good to be outdoors (unless it’s summer). But, the festivals Ive gone to I could say we’re some of the best days/weekends in my life.
I only ever got into Sun O))) because of the concert re-cap you did; artists and fans miss out on those opportunities, can't be clouding rooms with steam and breaking bones with single-note-strums at festivals. It just makes festivals very extensive iPods, people listen to what they want and go to another stage or event when they get bored.
Music festivals are great if you like overpriced tickets, overpriced water, tons of traffic, sweaty smelly people, shitty drugs, shitty bands, rich kids who have more money than brains and the constant threat of violence/theft.
As a follow up, my comment isn't just built from my own experiences but that of my friends-- friends who have been stolen from, ripped off, watched people die (friend of mine watched a guy burn to death after getting too close to a tiki torch in a furry costume), experienced literally hours of bumper to bumper traffic, the 100 degree heat of Tennessee, etc.. the list goes on.
Sounds like you're poor and haven't been to a good festival(bc you're poor). If you go to a good festival for good bands then you will have a good time, that's why they're popular, you guys aren't saying anything new it's just a skewed point of view based on bad experiences.
What about a smaller music festival in a venue? Cincinnati's Midpoint Music Festival is always really awesome and takes place in Cincinnati Music Hall/Ballroom and Masonic Hall/Ballroom (Four stages total, all next door to each other) AND there's a Record Fair going on in the building next door :) $115 for the whole weekend 40-something artists
I'm a big fan of my local hopscotch music festival. Reasonable prices, anti corporate, and the biggest named acts were either run the jewels or solange. Lots of intimate quality venues around town are used. (saw a killer preoccupations show)
I'm so fucking tired of the rich "special snowflake" of my class always bragging about how he constantly keeps getting to festivals. Thanks for this "thinkpiece" Fantano
Thanks for pinning the comments that actually adds value to the conversation you are introducing with videos like these. I mean, I appreciate the real ones dipping melons to a 7/10, but at the same time, even the most creative alterations of those jokes comes from the same place - jokes. call me boring, but I mainly watch your videos and appreciate your comments because of the healthy community you have built discussing real shit I know I for one care about. Loving this new channel. Thanks for daily food for thought
The points you made in this video are why I love local fests. There are a lot of local scenes that will throw together a small festival: pretty cheap (I paid $120 for a three day fest in July,) really small crowds, intimate settings, virtually ad free (apart from local and small vendors who are there selling their products). Granted, safety is always a concern. But Idunno, I guess this video was more addressing the huge music festivals as opposed to those that are put together by local and underground promoters/scenes.
Glad you highlighted Afropunk, it's one of the few festivals that is really great year after year. Another good one is Basilica Soundscape in Hudson, NY!
Dude, you're going to the wrong festivals then. I went to GovBall and Panorama the past couple years and almost none of these points apply. Would definitely recommend either of these festivals
Agree with your points problem with in the UK is that the day events are now called a festival, for me a festival is where you camp over for a few days. I've been to Glastonbury 3 times. Yeah it's pricey. But I was looked after with free water when the heatwave hit. The pyramid stage is a bit of a problem, but there are also great stages like avalon, the park and Strummerville. Highly recommend to anyone to do the Glastonbury experience.
There is something extremely cool about seeing amazing bands nonstop all day though, plus all the weird combination of different bands makes for a really unique experience. Like at Sasquatch! in 2013 I saw Dirty Projectors, then Death Grips immediately afterwards, then Cake immediately after that. That's a once in a lifetime awesomely weird opportunity
in my personal experience at the right festivals you'll get a sound experience equal to a venue. Plus while you don't get an intimate experience, its amazing to see one or a few people get up on stage and make a crowd of thousands dance and feel the same or at least a similar away about the same music. Its a different experience but I definitely wouldn't say it's a lesser one
About intimacy, i think what you point out is mostly true about bigger, large-crowd festivals (most US festivals I guess ? i don't know at all), here in France (and other European country, mostly southern ones like Italy or Spain), i think there are a lot more small, indie festivals that can guarantee a level of intimacy, and proximity to artists that is equal or even greater that in some venues. What festivals (and especially small ones) is a place and time out of your everyday life (it is artificial, since that only lasts for two or three days in July or whatever but anyway, it is real), a true, concrete, physical cutoff from one's issues and worrying. On the other hand ou can go and see your favorite artist perform in your favorite venue, on a regular night you still have to go to your lousy day job the next morning. (sorry about my shaky english)
This is my counterargument I am a huge fan of festivals for many reasons: Money - you say it's too expensive but many festivals I've been to I decide to spend so much money to go to because there are at least 10 artists on the line up who I love who do not perform in the UK, or at least the south, very often or who's performances cost more than £70 therefore saving money. Social - festivals are great socially because of a varied line up, mates want to go for different reasons and therefore you get to enjoy music in a large group of friends extending the options of people to see people you love with. Outdoors/camping - I am a fan of both, festivals are not for indoor people and it's great seeing an artist outdoors which also reduces the chances of claustrophobia and asthma attacks (in my case and other people's cases) eventhough once at reading festival I did have an asthma attack buy the reason was just because that performance was inside a tent and it was incredibly dusty there. And finally drugs - drugs are dealt with very badly thanks to the war on drugs, but many people use festival season as their only time of the year to take drugs socially in the comfort of a social circle. Although because of increasing security and searches it is becoming harder and harder to take drugs (responsibly) at festivals in particular. The majority of people are smart with their drugs and make sure not to take a harmful dose bit there are always a few people every year who do or are just unlucky. The new loop scheme is great and should reduce the dangers of drugs for the future.
Like the commented you pinned, Australia is similar with big artists sometimes. Although I've seen Danny Brown at a festival and went and saw him at a venue as a sideshow. It was really different both shows because he just performed all his straight up bangers at the festival set but then at the venue he performed more of the intimate songs and XXX songs. This was around when Old came out. Really got respect for Danny even when he is touring internationally and doing shows day after day he still put in the effort to cater the setlist more towards the audience of the show/festival
You should go to some small festivals in Eastern Europe, like Off Festival in Poland, m8. Usually - an amazing line-up, you can basically go to see one band you love and explore 50 new, niche great artist from different genres, there is always great atmosphere, because people attending are mostly grown-ups. And is reasonably priced.
I agree with everything you say in the video, but being from Argentina it's safe to say that most of the time it's either take it or leave it with festivals because we're not gonna get Danny Brown, Kendrick Lamar, Daft Punk or anyone of the sort without there being a festival in the equation. Most popular/new artists won't set foot in the country unless it's with a festival. Very few bands/artists come here on their own, mostly old bands past their mainstream popularity prime, and I can only assume it's the same in all of latin america and everywhere else apart from the United States or Europe.
true, something I didn't take into account
I don't blame you at all for not taking it into account. My point was more of an addition than an objection. Here and everywhere else this happens, the need to be aware of the flaws and disadvantages of festivals is greater. You really have to balance out the pros and the cons of the matter.
Very true. I'm from Trinidad and Tobago and I only got to see Janelle Monae perform because she headlined a Jazz Festival we have every year. NOBODY COMES HERE.
i am from argentina and i can confirm, sadly festivals are the only way of getting artist these days here, wich sucks because there are a shit-ton of posers, and we have big bad ass stadiums that could be filled to the top with fans (ac/dc on river plate stadium). now it is lollapalooza in open field or nothing
come to brazil
Festivals are like the buffetts of music. It's not the best but alot of your favourite shit is there and it's pretty fun with friends and alcohol.
xSTATOKEx and ket
adam henry Are you from UK?
yeah all the stuff I love its not as nice but you end up stuffed and happy :d
Friends are overrated.
mate, I'm happy anywhere, as long as there's ket. K'holed out front seeing leftover crack in glasgow, woke up with no phone or wallet. Still had a sick time haha.
You could have just said "I don't do drugs" rather than make a 15 minute video
@johnny lasagna your comment is literally comically dense. Like, you don't get comedy. You needed to know 9 months later.
@johnny lasagna I thought about saying something along those lines but thought *the joke would be too obvious*
Adam Williams ur comically dense nigga
in this thread... cringe. pure...... fucking........ cringe fuel...
@@joeyclemenza7339 cringe *AND* bluepilled? woah o_o
In an unrelated note, your laugh brings me so much joy lmfao.
kind of witch-like 😂
Sounds like Sam Hyde..
Gay ass
1. You only ever wanna go for like 4 or 5 out of like 50 acts.
2. People. (The annoying ones)
3 Having to really manage when you need to piss and shit because its always a fucking mile to reach a portapotty
4. PortaPottys
5. Everything is expensive af.
I feel #1 REAL hard. I went to Warped Tour this year only to see 3 bands. I ended up seeing only one of them because I felt like shit throughout the day just waiting for the bands I came for. It didn't help that the majority of the bands I heard throughout the day were trash, and that the schedule wasn't made public until people got there to see the schedule themselves. I'm largely certain re-entry wasn't allowed, so I had to basically wait the whole day. That didn't go well for me and ended up leaving early.
TheMisfit404 I see random acts all day in between the sets I wanna see so no not everyone just sees 4 or 5 people
Just piss in a bottle like everyone else m8
I will be K holed shitting my pants unable to walk anyway
@@TylerswworldI've been through this at Primavera in Barcelona this year, which was the fact that the festival was so big, so large, with so many goddamn names, that you have to pick your favorite kids.
After my first time attending Coachella back in 2011 I learned a very valuable lesson for any current or future festival goers, it has greatly increased my experiences at every other festival thereafter. I attended Coachella '11 with my gf-at-the-time and several of my closest friends and it was great! I absolutely fell in love with Coachella and if you've never been I highly recommend going before buying into all of the pervasive negative comments about it. Anyway, what happened that first year was that my now-ex gf nearly ruined my experience with how insufferably bitchy and negative and hard to please she was. The following year at Coachella '12 I was single and this is where the lesson comes in. I told myself that I would not allow ANYONE to dictate my time at the festival. Not a friend or girl or whoever. I warned my friends that I was going to be flying solo once inside the venue and if we run into each other great, but I will not be making any effort to follow our group if it didn't line up with my plans. Throughout the years and festivals some friends have taken my approach as rude or whatever but I never once was in a situation where I was miserable because of other people. Another big essential tip (somewhat related to this) to enjoying a music festival to the max is IF YOU ARE NOT HAVING FUN, LEAVE. Several of my favorite most memorable moments happened after ditching an artist (or situation in general) that wasn't meeting my vibe or expectations. I also noticed countless people who would seem completely bored or irritated during an artist's set simply because they were with their bf/gf/friends. To summarize... Do you. Fuck everyone else. Find your fun.
Happy festing everyone.
Totally agree with this!
I accidentally met Rudimental behind the stage when ditching Kasabian lol. They were really friendly and totally down to earth, considering they were walking through the Sziget crowd instead of going out the backdoor in a van.
Hey you’re not Mr. List
Yeah, he's not WatchMojo!
L, beat me to it 😂
You got a caterpillar above your lip there Anthony
coolguy 41 xD
Nothing says capitalism like 7 dollar bottles of water.
Julia Riber Pitt this shit just happened to me at day n night smh
There's free water stations at every festival where i'm at, where do you go?
Nothing says capitalism like paying 200 bucks to be in the same place as wiggling air
MrGNugget those stations usually carry filtered water and even then they're usually scarce or backed up by 20 min lines. The festivals borderline force you to purchase from them because of this
Julia Riber Pitt Not 7 dollar bottles of water...7 dollar bottles of water AND people buying them!
Very good points raised here. Festivals are overrated at this point and in the UK there are too many of them which are all just the same.
GRIMEREPORTTV surprised this was the real account.
LORDIEEE
D O W N L O A D
Lol I went to one of the festivals mentioned in this video about poor safety, Y Not Festival, and can confirm it was an absolute joke
lordie lord
Wait you don't get free water at American Festivals? Every festival I have been to in the UK has water taps everywhere.
#capitalism
they have water taps but its just fountain water. if you want a bottle you could get one for like three bucks
CyborgCollective all festivals I’ve been to in Scotland charge £3 for a bottle of water
Most raves do but most other fests dont
America is the land of capitalism. Nothing is free in America.
Who are you and where's Mr. List!?
I have received information, from an anonymous source, that leads me to believe that Mr. List is currently being held captive by Anthony. So that he can keep exploiting Mr. List's impeccable list production and reasoning skills.
Melon is looking like a snack
Sanskar Wagley fax
Sanskar Wagley no one actually says that
John McNally Vegans do.
fruit snack
Like a melon
You look exactly like Thatistheplan. Damn, what a melonistic resemblance.
DAMN.
should be retitled why *large* music fests are overrated, a lot of these don't apply to smaller fests that strive to create intimacy and sound quality and, above all, COMMUNITY and EXPERIENCE - still love you tho
Do 'I Hate Mars Bars'.
dom jm Marsthony Bartono
Garrick Groover shuthony the fuck up
Wrong channel buddy
dom jm durr plant
Wrong channel
As a stan, I will say that Afropunk is probably one of the best festivals to go to. Inexpensive, good vibes, great lineups etc. I would recommend it... then again, Brockhampton were there this year and they definitely broke the safety rule of this video as they did some crowd surfing (including the MC of the festival stage who did a damn front flip into the crowd; no one really caught him)...
Hey! First thanks for the video, I really enjoy your content! I have to say, I'm from Barcelona and I have attended Primavera for the last three years (I ran into you after the American Football show in 2015 hehe) so thanks for the shoutout! While I agree with most if not all your points, festivals are my only choice because 1. there aren't that many indie or rap or whatever concerts here and 2. i can't afford the tickets for the individual concerts, e.g.: father john misty is 32€, interpol is like 40€ and alt-j is 40€... i can see all those bands in primavera once every few years, plus its organisation is pretty flawless and i cant complain much. if i had more variety around here and i had the money to attend the shows of course i'd go, but for the moment i have to conform with this hehe. keep up the good videos! :)
This past august I bought me and my girlfriend tickets to Kendrick Lamar's "The DAMN. Tour", which ultimately cost me $400. I figured that it would be worth it, seeing that Travis Scott and D.R.A.M. were also going to perform with him as well. I bought the tickets way back at march, so my anticipation for the concert was so fucking big throughout months that I waited for august to come along. However, the concert was very disappointing. When D.R.A.M. opened up the concert, the majority of people didn't even care to see him. They were either still walking around, talking loud as hell, buying drinks and food, not even paying attention. It wasn't until D.R.A.M played Broccoli that people barely realized who he was, and by then, his set list ended. When Travis Scott came out, people began paying attention. I honestly don't have anything to complain about Travis's set, it was pretty dope. But when Kendrick came out, that was when I was really disappointed. Not only were my $400 tickets (each ticket being $200) landed us literally like 200 feet away from the front stage, everyone around me weren't even paying attention to kendrick when he began performing, they were either on their phones, and/or talking loudly (Maybe it's because they weren't in front of the entire audience, so they lost interest...?). On top of that, there seemed to be kind of a disconnect from kendrick and the audience, seeing that there were over 25,000 people at the staples center that night.
Compare that concert experience to when I went to see Run the Jewels in LA, a concert with only 5000 people in the audience, high energy, an intimate setting, Killer Mike and El-P talking to people in the audience, on top of that, Run the Jewels brought out Danny Brown, Zach Dela Rocha, Gangsta Boo, Joi, Travis Barker, and BOOTS, all for $35 a ticket. It was fucking amazing. The energy was unmatchable. it was so much better...I don't know, but I just prefer smaller concerts anyway.
Mr Yapper of Yappington
I don't know, your arguments are valid for really big festivals (Choachella...) but in my opinion not for smaller festivals. Last festival ive been to was Splash! Festival 2017, a smaller hiphop festival. They were around 20000 people there, not that much, but enough to get a nice festival feeling. Still they were some really intimate moment, because they had some small stages, Noname for example did a pretty amazing show with 300-400 people, which was as good as a solo concert. Ticket prices are also pretty okay, i paid like 220€ for 4 days (food, parking etc. included) and a pretty great line up (Travis scott, mac miller, nas, rea sremmurd, suicideboys, gucci mane, lil yachty, post malone and a lot of smaller european artists). Sound was also pretty great. Besides that i have the feeling people at these smaller festivals care a bit more about the music and the art. Ive never been to a festival outside of europe tho.
That's exactly what he said towards the end of the video.
The Jmix yeah American festivals suck but European ones are generally really good
Kloick yeah, i already wrote the comment before the last argument, my bad. But i tought a little promotion for smaller european festivals woudnt hurt so...
Yeah man smaller festivals are the bomb.
How is Splash! small? Maybe comparatively to some festivals in the US, but I'd wager to guess it's easily one of the biggest festivals in Germany.
I got genital warts at bonnaroo this past year. Also had a negative acid trip. The total experience is worth, I'd say about, a light 5 on the fantano scale.
congratulations
He is just using this as an excuse to start a "melonfest"
Music festivals are overrated because from a fan perspective it would be more enjoyable from a more intimate setting.
Birdman #TheNumber1Stunna Wayne that's my son what's more intimate than speadong the day in some nice weather with your favorite band,
Especially when they stagedive or come off stage and finish a song in the pit
Good luck finding a headliner playing a small venue, even more good luck trying to get tickets
Birdman #TheNumber1Stunna Wayne that's my son I like the comment and the name! lol
Yh but when is frank ocean or kanye gonna do their own shows in the UK lol. Festivals the only way to see a lot of good artists
Birdman #TheNumber1Stunna Wayne that's my son good job for saying exactly what anthony said except less thoroughly...
The only reason I'll go to festivals is if AT LEAST three of my favorite artists (or three artists that I like) will be performing at that festival.. Otherwise it's always a waste in my opinion.
bluepills splendor
Anthony, everyone knows the real reason people go to music festivals is to get high as fuck.
John D much more fun to get high at a festival bro
Plus some people cant get drugs in their hometown, festivals will guaranteed have dealers for any kind of drug you can imagine (tho like the food/water it is extremely over priced, $20 tabs hurt my soul)
Torso W And to fuck.
Torso W pretty much, yeah.
Torso W yeah and a lot of people just need a excuse to drink 16 hours straight for 3 days
OK ANTHONY, WE GET IT YOU'RE BROKE
🅱roke
chur ricardo u only rich if u went to fyrefest
"Music fests are overrated"
t. american music man
looks like Anthonius Fanthanus has never been to Wacken
Chartreux you don't need to comment that several times
chur ricardo Rich people actually save their money and double it, they invest this shit, everything but paying 3x the price of a bottle of water in a fucking music festival.
Hey guys it's Mr List
Listany Weektano here
Standing shoulder-to-shoulder with a bunch of sweaty 20-something-year-olds hopped up on ecstasy and ridiculous amounts of weed? No thanks
Ok boomer
It is pretty obnoxious when the dude next to you gives you a death stare when you knock into him while dancing and he drops his coke. Like dude why are you in the front? Also getting burned by a blunt sucks. Go get high in the shitter you spergs.
@@giulianogisotti4107 ok junkie
@@croissantlover1 doing ecstasy at a music festival somehow makes you a junkie? A little derogatory, no?
@@etr-bw8us Just showing Giuliano Gisotti his own medicine but I like you dont bring that up.
Real ones use the Amazon associates link then dip
*ones bro, I'm never gonna use that word
ok
This aged well
Listhony concertano here. Lets all be honest its because doing large amounts of drugs and having awkward unsafe sex to the sound of live music is very appealing to the masses.
A lot of smaller festivals in Ireland are an amazing experience, I've been to plenty that have been really independent and free of corporate influence
And to think i was so close to going to Woodstock 99....
The key to festivals you ask? Grass roots. Best stay away from the super commercial ones :)
Do '5 reasons why melons are overrated'
Archie Jones 5-2: the seeds
1: they give damn a 7
1. MBDTF
2. ???
But Frank Ocean doesn't DO concerts 😭😭😭😭
June Hera for that reason I lowkey don’t fuck with him anymore. Fuck festivals
Have you ever been to a small festival? Where bands play until 5am? My best suggestion for a big festival that is good is Peach music festival in Scranton PA
Somebody ain't get no festival pwussy when they were a youngman
EastDzn haha oh man sure am missin out on a lot!
Yourr gonna sit here and look at that beautiful mustache and tell me he wasnt gettin no pussy?
You need to pay hundreds of dollars to get pussy?
Hey Anthony similarly to what has already said, I live in Portugal and although we're a European country and we do in fact have some solo headline concerts, most artists we don't. Especially those that are in the festival circuit since most festivals here in Portugal demand exclusivity. In one hand that's good because the lineups are all different in terms of international artists, but because of that we don't get solo concerts. Another thing, and that's probably the best, here festivals are cheap. They are really cheap. Last year I saw Radiohead, Arcade Fire, Pixies, Tame Impala, Father John Misty, Courtney Barnett and a lot more good things in the same festival just for 120€. And this year I paid 75€ to see Beach House, King Krule, Future Islands, Car Seat Headrest, Alex Cameron, Benjamin Clementine, At the Drive In, Badbadnotgood and other things, plus camping! I think that here the sponsors have a lot more weight in the festival budgets and I do think that you're getting a more than fair price.
Nunca pensei que os festivais nos outros países europeus e nos Estados Unidos fossem tão caros assim
The only thing I can hope in festival is Weezer. Even though they're so shitty at festival. I'm sorry for being so hipster but when I was at Sigur Ros concert in Indonesia, I felt peace and weirdly intimate with the band. It was like spiritual moment.
I want to see them live so bad.
I'm from AUS and there are amazing music festivals here. Intimate, great sound and really good artists at some.
So he didn't quit Buzzfeed?
Dannyslemondrop Good one.
Dannyslemondrop Good one.
Dannyslemondrop good one
Dannyslemondrop Good one
Good one.
The UK festival scene is much better than in the US - completely different in so many ways
Yeah fr. I've never been to a US festival personally, but I think only about 1 or 2 of Anthony's criticisms apply totally to festivals we have here. Especially the commercialism bit with the stages being used as billboards, sounds totally foreign to me
Sasha Duke I was thinking exactly the same thing
The Ket is far superior.
I came to the comments section looking for this comment.
Can you explain? The festival scene in U.K. Is just as shitty. Especially since the Uk is incredible for solo gigs and shows.
You pretty much summed GroundUP Festival in your comment @ 12:35. Michael League from Snarky Puppy brought together a very 'niche' line-up back in February 2017 in Miami Beach. Just to give you an idea of some performances: Snarky Puppy (all three nights), David Crosby, Esperanza Spalding, Bokante (Michael League's new band), Charlie Hunter + Jeff Coffin, Jacob Collier. Not to mention the music workshops they held throughout the day AND late night jams every night at the Deauville Hotel; that's is where The Beatles performed during The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964.These jams would begin around midnight and end at sunrise. Crazy stuff. OH! Not to mention that performances never overlapped. Two stages and no conflicts! Definitely worth checking out. It was truly a festival built from the ground up (pun intended).
i thought this was gonna be mr. list but instead it was mr. powerpoint presentation
I like festivals but I agree with all your points. At Okeechobee Fest they had a two-story wooden bar, that was an ad for Corona, in the back of the main stage.
On another note, Rolling Loud's amphitheatre stage provided some of the most intimate moments I have ever had at a show. Never thought I would get a compliment on my hat from Xavier Wulf
I went to a smaller fest called The Fest and saw AJJ and Jeff Rosenstock for 20 bucks and it sounded godly tho
Glad you mentioned Primavera Sound, when I saw point number four I thought of it. Also, that festival is so damn expensive and it monopolizes some artists, which means that some artists only play in Barcelona if they're booked by Primavera Sound ... However, if you can afford it, it books a lot of great artists (I saw Grace Jones there and OMG what a show).
my name the jeff
wow, that's an amazing meme. Here, get those 12 likes. You deserve it buddy.
bone app the teeth
finally a good comment
I agree. Saw my personal favorite artist, Gary Numan, twice in two days -- first at Bumbershoot, second at a venue in Portland. First performance: abbreviated 45-minute set, poor sound quality, crowd mostly non-fans. Second performance: great opening band, full 90-minute set, great sound, real engagement... and the crowd were "my people" (if that makes sense).
The main exception for a festival I've had recently was the Traveler's Rest festival this year. It was curated and organized by The Decemberists, and featured two nights of performances by the band. It was well-organized, great sound, had great catering (!) and really felt like a Decemberists event. Plus got to experience great sets by Sylvan Esso and Belle & Sebastian that the crowd was also very engaged with.
KING GIZZARD AND THE LIZARD WIZARD IS COMING TO TOWN NEXT WEEK SHOULD I GO thank you for reading :)
nart no, death grips is the only good artist ever
Peter Taylor I think you are missing out on a lot of good music :)
nart definately, they're proabably great live.
nart it was sarcasm
OKAY THANKS for the comments guys :) now someone in Austin come with me :) thank you
You gotta go to the small hippy festivals that are cheaper, include camping, and have better prices. Nelsons ledges has 2 to 3 nights of music for $60 to only $110. You bring your own alcohol and food and get to create your own dope campsite. Sounds good too.
Kilercrab321 ledges rules!!!
Festivals are simply: the BEST place to do drugs
I feel as tho many of these issues are remedied at camp out festivals. At Bonnaroo for example, half of the reason I love that fest so much is because of the intimacy. Not so much with the artists, but with the people around you at shows and anywhere you walk. You're all living with each other and everybody cares and has each other's back. On top of that, all of the stages have zero advertisements and I've found the most heavily advertised companies are Roo are things like Teva and other camp related brands.
I feel the same way about Sound on Sound fest last year in Austin(got to see Melon there interview Clppng) it was a relatively small festival, camped out in woods and hell I saw Hinds live within a crowd of like 20 fuckin ppl in the woods! They performed on a block of wood just for the people that were camping out and we sang Hey Jude while they waited for their snare drum. Campout Festivals are a whole different product than any old festival in my opinion
THANK S SAFETY NERD
Hey Anthony just want to interject one thing, at lollapalooza and soundset (much smaller scale) I was always provided with easily accessible filling stations for water. Just wanted to point that out
Overanthony Ratanoed
ouch, that wasnt forced at all
Ducktano on crowd surfing and protecting the beautiful melon. Made my day. Thank you for all the amazing content!
Do Talking Heads best to Worst melon
Ever consider doing a video on jam bands/ live improv rock music? Would love to see you listen to some newer jam bands or even a band like phish and give your take. On the topic of festivals being intimate, going to a festival thrown by a band, seeing multiple sets of the band with their biggest fans who you know all paid to be there for that band, can provide a very unique intimate experience
Anthony laughing at his own jokes makes me laugh more than the humour its self.
Being in close proximity to thousands of sweaty drunks is never fun. I'd rather slip on headphones and listen to music in the comfort of my own home
Review Pinkerton for classics week Melon
Radix of Mayhem weezer is trash
Pinkerton is second best weezer album
4chan Beta what's your favorite? It's probably Blue but worth asking
Radix of Mayhem yeah it's the blue album
4chan Beta lol and Pinkerton is best
My favorite part about music festivals is stumbling upon new favorite artists!
Camp flog gnaw??
That's "niche" festival like he said at the end it's a well run festival with good value (VIP is 220 and you get all the clothing that they give you with the package) in this video he was talking about the big festivals like coachella and sxsw which are expensive and can be a bad experience
Theruserofusernames Thanks I was just wondering if it was "niche" enough but yeah I get the criticism to the other festivals
Lol i was just thinking the same thing got my wrist band today still hyped
Zach Muir You're so lucky I wish I could go have fun mate
gotta say i really agree with your point about safety. i'm a regular attendee at download and during a bands set a fight broke out which spilled into me and friends and i ended up getting my nose broken. security were well aware of the people that were fighting as they had been warned about it earlier
EU Festivals >>>> American festivals!!!!
No intimacy? Have you ever gone into a mosh pit at a festival during for example Foo's, SOAD, Prophets Of Rage, Royal Blood. Its fun as heck dude. Have you ever seen Radiohead in a festival setting and arena setting, they're the exact same and bring the same amount of intimacy. It hugely depends on which kinds of festivals you're going to, are you going to Coachella or a smaller festival? Imo, I think with bigger bands nowadays, it's hard to get that intimate vibe anymore because they're playing in such huge shows (arena's or even outside, so what's the difference in that?) What does the amount of people at a festival differentiate the people at a concert, solely just the quality of the sound? That's it?
Spot on for the second point tho, it's true that tickets prices are high but if you divide the cost of your ticket to the amount of bands you get to see over one day or the whole weekend. It's a fair price. Say you go to a festival and pay $300 for the whole weekend, and in that weekend you see 15 artists that you like or enjoy. That's around $20 per show, that's a fair price no and that's counted into how the US programs their festivals (midday / early afternoon till midnight). In the EU you have festivals that go from noon till 2/4am, where acts dont have 1h slots to wait for so you can see even more acts (around 7-10 a day) than in the US. Festivals will always take advantage for food but you can prepare for that aswell no? If you're going to a festival in Austin or Miami, then how hard is it to just eat beforehand or buy food when you're camping. Also why can a festival not be seen as a vacation? I can see people travelling across the country with a car and make a roadtrip of it and have some days extra after the festival. Ever heard of Sziget or Balaton festival, people litteraly go their to have a good time and go on vacation..
Thirth one is good point but that's only in some cases. It's not a standard that artists get mistreated at a festival.
Fourth point, for smaller festivals and I mean the festivals that are not under the wings of big corporations (LiveNation, GoldenVoice, Scorpion etc) it's hard to generate money because the artists themselves cost already a fortune but on top of that come a whole lot of things you've to keep in mind. It's hard to get money and have a sole base of money where you could go with and advertising at a festival is one of the easiest options to get some money in. For example, I went to NOS Alive and after every performance they played an ad video of 15 minutes with commercials on the big screens. Ive no problem with that because in that way they can program and organize the festival as how they wanna do it. Im not bothered by the ads, are you Anthony? And I know the Heineken thing is a bit laughable but Heineken is a big partner in that festival and even hosts a stage so what's the problem? If it wasn't for them, you wouldn't even be seeing Patti Smith...
Safety is idd very important yes, fair point. It can sometimes ruin the whole experience but again as I've said. It depends on the organization and the festival you're going to. Is it a big one or a smaller one? Has the organization taken care of it's security or are they rather sloppy. Again, I can imagine it's different for the US as over here in the EU. So it's not just a black/white thing tho
Idk if you're going to read this but this was my take on the video, good one tho :)
Yannick V I was gonna read ur comment but fuck that shit LOL
Yannick V disagree
I agree, to me, festivals are only worth going to if you want to see *more* than a handful of acts from artists you know you will enjoy seeing, which is very rare considering most festivals have a mish-mash of random artists local or international, with the majority of them being artists you've never heard of
5 Reasons Melon Fests Are Overrated
Here in the UK we have some great smaller festivals, check out the last few line ups for ArcTanGent and Field Day, I've seen Death Grips, Godspeed, Flylo, American Football, Dillinger etc at festivals crafted around more underground music
I just got back from Riot Fest and I've got to disagree with a lot of this. Tix were only $100 for a three day pass, and I more than got my money's-worth, getting up front was relatively easy and I had many intimate experiences (particularly with Tim Kinsella of during Cap'N Jazz). Commercialism wasn't too bad: half the tents were for nonprofits or activist groups. I will agree on the cost of food. I'm sure there were some issues with safety, but I didn't encounter any. And nothing big enough to make any news that I'm tuned into.
I missed Riot Fest this year but went the previous two years and loved it. But still a couple of things he says are valid, especially as far as safety. Not so much anyone trying to assault anybody but just big crowd issues. 2015 during System of a Down's performance they had to bring in ambulances because with the muddy ground and intense moshing a couple people nearly died. Last year I did the dumb and crazy thing and waited for 13 hours to be up front for the Misfits. I thought up at the rail it would be safe from moshing but not so. It was frightening at times; two girls next to me were having trouble breathing a lot of the time and were getting kicked in the head by crowd surfers. I did what I could to help but with that many people you can't move at all most of the time, you can try to shift your body to give those around you some breathing room but that's it.
This not even mentioning the fact that what saved me, is the fact they didn't confiscate my CamelBak water bladder as I entered the park. The idiots walk around selling beer throughout the day when nearly everyone around me is about to pass out from dehydration, begging them to bring bottled water. But no, they have only beer.
As far as intimacy I still remember the Alvvays performance where between songs Molly quickly sputtered "sorry guys we've got 30 minutes no time to talk" and immediately went into their next song. They did come out and talk to folks before I got there and I did end up getting the setlist but even after all that it's such a different feeling to being in a small, cozy venue. Even a big venue dedicated to the one band you feel closer to that band.
Again, Riot Fest is awesome. But Anthony brings up some good points and if a lot of the bands at Riot Fest came closer to where I live I probably wouldn't go.
Pitchfork was really fun this year. The three-day pass was affordable. Food and drinks were cheap. And they were handing out free water bottles throughout the day. All mentioned points definitely applies to other bigger festivals.
Fantano the type of dude to take earplugs to a concert and gets tense when he sees people on drugs
Ethan Gould I feel attacked lol
First one is kinda subjective to the festival. Recently i went to Boardmasters festival in Newquay UK, and 2 of the stages (called Land Of Saints and Unleashed) were both in huge gated tents kind of like a circus, which gave you that feeling of sort of being surrounded/captured by the music which added to the experience a lot, i think. Also, one of the other stages called The Point was basically on a cliff edge, with the sea behind it, a beautiful stage set-up and this was all on a slope, so no matter where you were you could see the artists playing, and the breath-taking backdrop. one of my greatest memories is seeing Hot Since 82 (deep house, massive rec to house fans) while the sun sets, surrounded by my friends. if that isn't artist intimacy, idk what is
I disagree. I see it more from the perspective that you’re making a trade off for the type of experience you’re going get. It’s intimacy vs social environment. Sure the benefit of see my favorite artist at their own shows is for 1.) it’s more intimate, like I said. but most importantly to me 2.) they have a longer set lists. But as for festivals. It’s a very cool social environment. People are way more open, and are just more social. And it just feels good to be outdoors (unless it’s summer). But, the festivals Ive gone to I could say we’re some of the best days/weekends in my life.
I only ever got into Sun O))) because of the concert re-cap you did; artists and fans miss out on those opportunities, can't be clouding rooms with steam and breaking bones with single-note-strums at festivals. It just makes festivals very extensive iPods, people listen to what they want and go to another stage or event when they get bored.
Music festivals are great if you like overpriced tickets, overpriced water, tons of traffic, sweaty smelly people, shitty drugs, shitty bands, rich kids who have more money than brains and the constant threat of violence/theft.
Raoul Duke what festival have you been to?
Bonnaroo, been about 10 years since I went tho.
Raoul Duke hmm interesting
As a follow up, my comment isn't just built from my own experiences but that of my friends-- friends who have been stolen from, ripped off, watched people die (friend of mine watched a guy burn to death after getting too close to a tiki torch in a furry costume), experienced literally hours of bumper to bumper traffic, the 100 degree heat of Tennessee, etc.. the list goes on.
Sounds like you're poor and haven't been to a good festival(bc you're poor). If you go to a good festival for good bands then you will have a good time, that's why they're popular, you guys aren't saying anything new it's just a skewed point of view based on bad experiences.
What about a smaller music festival in a venue? Cincinnati's Midpoint Music Festival is always really awesome and takes place in Cincinnati Music Hall/Ballroom and Masonic Hall/Ballroom (Four stages total, all next door to each other) AND there's a Record Fair going on in the building next door :) $115 for the whole weekend 40-something artists
I'm a big fan of my local hopscotch music festival. Reasonable prices, anti corporate, and the biggest named acts were either run the jewels or solange. Lots of intimate quality venues around town are used. (saw a killer preoccupations show)
I'm so fucking tired of the rich "special snowflake" of my class always bragging about how he constantly keeps getting to festivals. Thanks for this "thinkpiece" Fantano
ErrorlypseTV Lol there is a difference between jealousy and the other guy being a braggadocious dick.
Nah sounds like someones mad they haven't been to a festival yet
Lol someone's mad that their parents don't have a job
fangt00th Lol @ thinking having a job means you have money
Thanks for pinning the comments that actually adds value to the conversation you are introducing with videos like these. I mean, I appreciate the real ones dipping melons to a 7/10, but at the same time, even the most creative alterations of those jokes comes from the same place - jokes. call me boring, but I mainly watch your videos and appreciate your comments because of the healthy community you have built discussing real shit I know I for one care about. Loving this new channel. Thanks for daily food for thought
Main stages yeah, but the tent stages has intimacy and the sound is decent.
The points you made in this video are why I love local fests. There are a lot of local scenes that will throw together a small festival: pretty cheap (I paid $120 for a three day fest in July,) really small crowds, intimate settings, virtually ad free (apart from local and small vendors who are there selling their products). Granted, safety is always a concern. But Idunno, I guess this video was more addressing the huge music festivals as opposed to those that are put together by local and underground promoters/scenes.
Review Jacksepticeye playing drums
Glad you highlighted Afropunk, it's one of the few festivals that is really great year after year. Another good one is Basilica Soundscape in Hudson, NY!
Monetizthony Youtubano
I love festivals! I saw muse at reading last year and I was right up close to the stage so the intimacy thing wasn’t really an issue
Dude, you're going to the wrong festivals then. I went to GovBall and Panorama the past couple years and almost none of these points apply. Would definitely recommend either of these festivals
jackruppert1 you’re wrong. Both of those festivals are the embodiment of everything he mentioned. What are you from upstate?
Agree with your points problem with in the UK is that the day events are now called a festival, for me a festival is where you camp over for a few days. I've been to Glastonbury 3 times. Yeah it's pricey. But I was looked after with free water when the heatwave hit. The pyramid stage is a bit of a problem, but there are also great stages like avalon, the park and Strummerville. Highly recommend to anyone to do the Glastonbury experience.
I thought this was a 'Mr. List' video. Disappointing.
There is something extremely cool about seeing amazing bands nonstop all day though, plus all the weird combination of different bands makes for a really unique experience. Like at Sasquatch! in 2013 I saw Dirty Projectors, then Death Grips immediately afterwards, then Cake immediately after that. That's a once in a lifetime awesomely weird opportunity
live music in general is a bit overrated
in my personal experience at the right festivals you'll get a sound experience equal to a venue. Plus while you don't get an intimate experience, its amazing to see one or a few people get up on stage and make a crowd of thousands dance and feel the same or at least a similar away about the same music. Its a different experience but I definitely wouldn't say it's a lesser one
Woodstock 99 wasn't that bad. It was a nice 100° F and Limp Bizkit said it's ok to destroy shit. Plus rape is an overrated crime.
About intimacy, i think what you point out is mostly true about bigger, large-crowd festivals (most US festivals I guess ? i don't know at all), here in France (and other European country, mostly southern ones like Italy or Spain), i think there are a lot more small, indie festivals that can guarantee a level of intimacy, and proximity to artists that is equal or even greater that in some venues.
What festivals (and especially small ones) is a place and time out of your everyday life (it is artificial, since that only lasts for two or three days in July or whatever but anyway, it is real), a true, concrete, physical cutoff from one's issues and worrying.
On the other hand ou can go and see your favorite artist perform in your favorite venue, on a regular night you still have to go to your lousy day job the next morning.
(sorry about my shaky english)
More like Anthony momtano
This is my counterargument
I am a huge fan of festivals for many reasons:
Money - you say it's too expensive but many festivals I've been to I decide to spend so much money to go to because there are at least 10 artists on the line up who I love who do not perform in the UK, or at least the south, very often or who's performances cost more than £70 therefore saving money.
Social - festivals are great socially because of a varied line up, mates want to go for different reasons and therefore you get to enjoy music in a large group of friends extending the options of people to see people you love with.
Outdoors/camping - I am a fan of both, festivals are not for indoor people and it's great seeing an artist outdoors which also reduces the chances of claustrophobia and asthma attacks (in my case and other people's cases) eventhough once at reading festival I did have an asthma attack buy the reason was just because that performance was inside a tent and it was incredibly dusty there.
And finally drugs - drugs are dealt with very badly thanks to the war on drugs, but many people use festival season as their only time of the year to take drugs socially in the comfort of a social circle. Although because of increasing security and searches it is becoming harder and harder to take drugs (responsibly) at festivals in particular. The majority of people are smart with their drugs and make sure not to take a harmful dose bit there are always a few people every year who do or are just unlucky. The new loop scheme is great and should reduce the dangers of drugs for the future.
Yeah i think he,s using u.s fests as his only referance point here,,,not 1 of the points he made applies over here.
Yeah thanks dude!
LISTHONYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY FUCKTANOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Like the commented you pinned, Australia is similar with big artists sometimes. Although I've seen Danny Brown at a festival and went and saw him at a venue as a sideshow. It was really different both shows because he just performed all his straight up bangers at the festival set but then at the venue he performed more of the intimate songs and XXX songs. This was around when Old came out. Really got respect for Danny even when he is touring internationally and doing shows day after day he still put in the effort to cater the setlist more towards the audience of the show/festival
You should go to some small festivals in Eastern Europe, like Off Festival in Poland, m8. Usually - an amazing line-up, you can basically go to see one band you love and explore 50 new, niche great artist from different genres, there is always great atmosphere, because people attending are mostly grown-ups. And is reasonably priced.