Out of Ultra, Coachella, ACL, SxSW, and Lola.. which one has the best experience? (I know lineups always change every year, some years are better than others)
It depends on what you are trying to achieve by going to the festival. Are you more interested in the music or just having fun? I've been to a few of the big outdoor festivals and most of the people who show up to these things are just there to have a good time, get high and drink beer. There is nothing wrong with that, but I feel if you are taking all that time, money and effort to make it to the festival at least be aware of the majority of bands you are listening to. You rarely meet a true hardcore fan of the genre especially at festivals like Coachella or Glastonbury. I will say that Pitchfork Festival in Chicago tends to have a more educated music listener of the bigger outdoor festivals. SXSW is the best festival in my opinion. Granted you aren't going to see Snoop Dog, Radiohead, Arcade Fire or the likes, but it is a really good festival if you are big into the indie scene. The venues are intimate and you can see most of the bands up close. Most of the acts that show up at SXSW are up and coming indie acts who just recently have some buzz. If you make it to Austin for SXSW make sure to be there from Wednesday- Friday and probably skip Saturday and even Friday night. The crowds get way too massive with random non music fans coming to check out what is going on on the last two days.
Only a few bands each day that I would enjoy watching. FRI: Black Keys, Explosions in the Sky and Cat Power SAT: Radiohead, Bon Iver, Shins, Jeff Mangum and Grouplove SUN: At The Drive-In, Florence & the Machine, Beirut and Gardens & Villa I would rather see each of these on their own and enjoy it more without the California crowd.
Weekend 1 is sold out. Weekend 2 only has the GA w/Shuttle passes available, so it will probably sell out soon. I've decided to go again since some friends of mine want to, so hopefully research turns up some gems on the lineup. Crazy how fast it sells out now. Last year was a tipping point. My first year in a 3 hour span I got to see Kraftwerk-->Portishead-->Prince, and that year didn't come anywhere close to selling out. Crazy.
holy crap! totally sold out already...thats impressive. i noticed that the primavera festival in spain did something similar to coachella w/ the 2 weekend deal. one weekend 1/2 the bands are the madrid and the other 1/2 are in barcelona and the following weekend they switch. it seems like it would be difficult to get every band to commit to two weekends, but i guess its a good deal - i imagine they are not allowed to perform anywhere near coachella that week so they probably just sit around relaxing for the week.
I knew I should've gotten my tickets early. Guess I'll be waiting til next year. If anyone's going to Ultra or any of the EDC's though... Hit me up. Even though Ultra's sold out I can still get tickets for a reasonable price.
Nice! Wish I would be up for The Black Angels. I first heard them last year and have been hooked since. I hung out with the drummer for about 30 minutes during SXSW. She was really cool and yep, looked good too.
Explosions wrecking it right now. So throwed. The Texas flag on stage always brings a tear to my eye.
Black Keys live right now. In before single dudes ask for "pics of her coacheechee or it didn't happen"
