This past weekend, I attended The Fest. Simple, even dumb, name. Simple, even dumb, concept. Far from a simple experience.
Over 400 bands performing at 15 venues over four days, taking over the entirety of downtown Gainesville, Florida. A little overwhelming in reality? You could say so.
For the relatively small community of folks who purchase their records from the Gainesville label No Idea and read the snark of Punknews.org, this annual festival is Christmas, New Year's, a birthday, and more, all in one. Only roughly 4-5,000 folks attend, but for those who do, it's the greatest number of like-minded people any attendee is apt to see in his or her lifetime. Punk bands appear at every turn, and so-called "punk celebrities" mingle around every corner, as fans and bands both new and old mingle together on a fully-leveled playing field, taking pride in the ramshackle community they have built together over the past 12 years.
I went into the Fest never having been to a multi-day music festival, and knew going in that pacing myself would be paramount to ensuring my enjoyment of each and every band I wanted to see. While the whole "not feeling terrible at the end of it all" thing didn't quite work out in the end, I still was able to see over 40 bands across the four days, traversing seven different venues and innumerable drunkards along the way.
While debauchery was certainly present, Fest as a whole has a certain sacred air around it, as everyone seems to innately know that the event is something truly special, something that cannot afford to be ruined. Therefore, any time things nearly got out of hand, a cooler head would intervene and make certain that no one was permanently hurt, nor would the experience of all be kept from greatness.
Among the best sets of the weekend: J Robbins acoustic best-of, Restorations, Toby Foster/Ginger Alford/Eric Ayotte mega-set, Hop Along, Fake Problems, The Lawrence Arms, The Menzingers, Lemuria, RVIVR. Check them each out, and you might find something new!
I think its wonderful to be a part of large scale events where everyone self monitors. While attending WeHo Carnaval, with half a million attendees, it seemed relatively calm evern though you were wading through the masses in giant costumes. We found out at our meeting the next morning from the city manager that they had 4 arrests. FOUR out of 500,000+/- people! People were just there to have a good time and enjoy the variety of costumes. It's nice to see that there doesn't always have to be a show down in the street over a bumped shoulder or a spilled drink.
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