Music Festivals: Hate 'em or love 'em?
 

Do you fancy the more varied approach I.e multiple days with multiple bands or the singular gig at a venue? Spend more and maybe make that money back figuratively, or dish out $30 to see one of your favorite bands at a rad venue with an equal minded crowd.

I feel at music festivals people are subjected to artists they'd otherwise not see while waiting for their favorite act at the end of the night, desperately trying to make it further up in the crowd when people leave after seeing one of their favorite bands end. Which isn't terrible. But a gig at a venue you get equal minded individuals all thinking the same thing: that one band. That's why at festivals, especially, theirs sometimes that disconnection between the artists and the crowd.

For example: I went to Bonnaroo this year (as all of you I'm sure know, I hype the shit out of that place) and the first day I was their The Growlers, Iceage, Courtney Barnett, and Mac Demarco are all playing back to back at the same stage. I'm thinking shit can't get any better. (And it actually did because I got a rail spot) But I know people are mainly in this crowd waiting for Mac Demarco, as was I, but I was waiting for Iceage above all. And during their set I was maybe the only hardcore Iceage fan. That's not true, but it sure felt like it. They aren't the usual festival circuit band, but they destroyed me, and the few others that enjoy their music. All the while the typical suburban kids that go to these things have never heard an Iceage song in their life and it's obvious standing in a crowd full of them.

All that being said, I prefer music festivals. Where else can you go and see The Flaming Lips, then Jack White? Or Vampire Weekend, then Kanye West, then Skrillex? Or My Morning Jacket, then Slayer, then D'Angelo? And the exercise you get hopping around all damn day making absolute fucking sureness that once mastodon ends, you're heading to the next stage for Ice Cube.

Why would someone detest these types of events?

Having seen the Flaming Lips and White Stripes on tour together, this made me chuckle.

Anyway…

Detest is a strong word, but I'm not really a fan of them. For one thing, I hate seeing bands in large venues—I want to actually see the bands, you know. Since a lot of the time festivals have bands that normally play smaller venues, I'd rather see those bands in those smaller venues. Another thing is that festivals tend to be in the summer, so it's hot, which makes it hard for me to enjoy the experience. Also the crowd is huge, which tends to make everything—from getting a drink to using the bathroom to just finding the people you're with—a pain in the ass. And lastly, most of the time, you have drive to and from festivals, which is a hassle. I'd rather go to a show that I can walk or take public transportation to and not have to worry about how much I've had to drink.

I've never been to one of those type of festivals. I do though, as Janszoon said, enjoy seeing bands in smaller more intimate settings. For instance, seeing Todd Snider last weekend in a smaller venue that had maybe 120 people MAX in it was extremely enjoyable for me. Just feels more personal and enjoyable.

I dislike having to endure huge crowds of people for an extended period of time.
I've been to some smaller rock/punk/metal festivals (not really my genres of choice nowadays anyway) in my teens and it was fun. They were all near where I live, so it was possible to just be there for a day and a night, two days at the most, and then go back home again.

I'd love to go to some free improv or AvantProg festival some day, but I can't afford it at the moment. I imagine them to be full of stuffy snobs anyway, so there'll hardly be real festival atmosphere.

You saw the Flaming Lips live?! That sounds amazing actually. I don't like crowds but that's a show I'd love to see. Are they good live???

Edit: okay guess I got a little giddy and overzealous there, hehe... Just read the rest of your post. Moot question

I dislike the (often) disorganized crowds. Plus I'm too short to see very well if I'm not near the stage.

But, I haven't been to very many, so I'll avoid judging.

Music festivals are great, because you usually find one or two artists that you would've never heard. Most of the festivals in my area are like roots and blues/bluegrass/whatever, but I recently got out to capital hill in Seattle to see The Kills, Toro Y Moi and some others.

I've seen them twice and they were great both times. The time I saw them with the White Stripes was especially awesome because it was a New Year's Eve show.

I'll also add that I have can't get into most bands based on just a live performance. For me to enjoy a show, I need to know the music.

The exceptions are classical and jazz--I can enjoy them no matter what.

Jazz is really great live because of its improvisational tendencies.

Music that's really physical is also great live. Noise, Hardcore etc.

But yeah, some artists can be a real letdown. Unknown Mortal Orchestra was playing at Capital Hill, and the vocals were mixed way too high, so it was pretty brutal.