I'm guessing you all noticed the high-schoolers wearing fancy-pants wristbands. As I was walking back to my car, I noticed a pick-up line coming in with a bunch of parents coming to pick up their children. It's awesome that they're out there having a good time, but with the amount of drugs and alcohol...
did anyone catch the Iggy Pop set? only caught "your pretty face is going to hell" while getting ready to squeeze into Postal Service and they sounded amazing. pretty pissed I got roped into Passion Pit instead. probably one of the worst shows I have ever sat through live. of Monsters and Men were definitely a pleasent surprise. also helped put the kabash on going to Macklemore after having to suffer through Passion Pit the day before.
Saturday Niceguys - Entertaining, good way to start the day Paul Wall - Felt like reliving high school, good show, everyone was getting into it, I hated that stage though Paul Banks - Very enjoyable, real chill set Geto Boys - Half hour late, no Bushwick Bill, still glad I got to see Scarface but wish they were all there Devin the Dude - Half hour late, Stayed for maybe 25 minutes because I really wanted to see Arctic Monkeys, enjoyable for what I saw Arctic Monkeys - Rocked it, loved the entire set, been waiting to see them for a long time Passion Pit - Saw them at Hangoutfest where they put on an amazing show, so only stayed for a few songs Saturday Iggy Pop - Put on a hell of a show, even though their best years are behind them they did an amazing job with great energy Postal Service - One of the most packed shows, pretty good show but only saw the beginning Calvin Harris - Finished here, met up with some friends and we got real close to the stage, very intense, great show Sunday: DJ Sun - Very good show Super Mash Bros. - Pretty meh Matt & Kim - Was a pretty good show but lost its luster when she kept talking about rubbing her vagina on our faces then calling us Dallas, she got a hearty amount of boos for that Of Monsters and Men - Awesome show, glad I got to see them Macklemore and Ryan Lewis - Very entertaining and enjoyable, knew Bun was going to come out during one of the shows so glad I got to see him. It was weird to bring out the mayor then JJ Watt walks out. Everyone was getting pumped by then but then he doesn't play another song. Just wanted to give Mayor Parker a shoutout. TV on the Radio - Great show, one of my favorites there Bassnectar - An amazing ending to the festival, very high energy, my legs were so sore after this one. Heat was brutal but what do you expect, was slamming down water all day long. Saw Connor Barwin at TV on the Radio. I thought Mars stage and Neptune were the two best set-ups out there. Saturn was pretty hard to get into and out of. Mercury was terrible, hard to see, and very crowded for such a small area. At least you could get the most shade there. Venus and Jupiter were both stages that looked like they were just playing to a bunch of portapotties. Glad they changed the re-entry policy, day 2 was a lot easier to get around. I have no idea what they were even checking bags for. Day 1 they looked for half a second in my bag; day 2 they didn't even ask to check it. Had general admission and there was no line either day which goes well with the free parking. Loved the festival, I'm sure next year ticket prices will be insane.
I got one as soon as I got there on Saturday. I liked it, very refreshing. Unfortunate that it was exclusive to FPSF.
That's me! Thanks a lot, dood. We're playing a show in Austin on Friday but have some dates in the works for next week back here. Friend us on Facebook if you want to stay current with the dates. I'm always down to hang before and after shows. Space City Shakedown.
I was there Sunday (had a prior commitment Saturday) and I was at the front of Saturn Stage from 11-8. Had a great time. Baroness, Matt & Kim, and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis put on great shows, although I wish I could've gone to check out Of Monsters & Men. I wasn't really feeling The Bronx, but I didn't wanna give up my spot.
A little note about Matt & Kim, I feel like most of the crowd lost enthusiasm after she called us Dallas.. what a joke...
As a lover of live music and specially music festival, and now a 4 year veteran of Free Press, I have to say- I will most likely not be back next year. I've had 7 festival experiences (4 FPSF's now, 2 Fun Fun Fun Fests, and 1 Voodoo Fest) and this was by far my least favorite. There was WAY WAY WAY too many people in that small area. Lines for everything from the bathroom to food to drinks. For the bigger acts, if you wanted a spot where you could actually see the artists, well tough luck. On top of that, being in such a packed in crowd makes it extremely hot. I don't really know why they have this fest in June. I dealt with it the past few years, but its so crowded now that its hard. Also, they were price gouging a lot more this year. 3 dollars for a bottled water? I know they have refilling stations, but every once in a while its nice to get a cold water, and having 3 dollar waters when its RIDICULOUSLY hot outside is the biggest dick move. And also too long of gaps between artists. I had many points where I had nothing really to do. On top of that the re-entry thing was dumb. Also, from a lot of the crowds, I got a feeling that most of the people were there just because it was the cool thing to be at. They heard Free Press was cool and had to be there. I felt like for most of the acts on the bigger stages, the crowd didn't care. The energy was pitiful for Japandroids and I was near the front. Wasn't much better for the Arctic Monkeys either (who were great), though I wasn't as close for them. I mean I know its a music festival, but at past FPSF's and for every act I see at Fun Fun Fun Fest, the crowds always seemed into it and very energetic and fun. Now that my complaints are out of the way, it definitely wasn't all bad. On day 1, The Arctic Monkeys, Iggy and the Stooges, The Postal Service, and Hello Chief (I know I plugged them a lot so I'm bias, but ******* it was a fun set, and they got an encore too) were all great times. Then day 2 was significantly better. Baroness was pretty good. Mavis Staples was AWESOME. Seriously, she blew me away, if you missed her then you really missed out. Matt and Kim were fun but the crowd was way too big and I was forced into a super uncomfortable position by how tight the crowd was. The Men were pretty awesome too. And then Gogol Bordello. Holy sh**. Wow. While for most of the fest I didn't see much energy from the crowd, that changed for this set. One of the most fun sets I've ever seen. Great way to end the festival. So much fun. Crowd was great for this one too. Ended by watching a bit of Social D from a distance (who were eh), walked over to Bassnectar for a bit and I really didn't like it at all, so I walked back and watched the end of Social D. Would have just left after Gogol, because I knew NOTHING would top that, but I had to wait on my friends. Overall, I had some good times, but very disappointing. It's just too damn big now, you can only have so many people comfortably in such a small area. I'll probably put my money towards something else next year, unless the line-up is just amazing. Most of my friends were pretty disappointed to, as well as some other people I talked to.
