In terms of an overall experience this was quite easily the best festival I've ever been to. While I've been to others with a larger percentage of bands I was really into at the time (first couple Emissions, etc) nothing quite delivered in this way. I had something all long and detailed written in my head and I don't really feel like typing it all out now, but I will say the location was stellar (3 distinct venues all within an incredibly short distance), the crowd exceptional (I think I saw maybe 4 unrepentant douchebags over the course of the entire weekend), and the music superb (I saw most of what was on offer and all of it had value to my ears).
Highlights were Shellac, Battles (after they got past whatever bad vibes were swirling around them at the start), Portishead (I saw them on Sunday, guest spots by Chuck D. and Simeon of Silver Apples), Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog (wish I caught their whole set), Factory Floor, and Colin Stetson. The Silver Apples/Cluster collaboration was cool but felt too hesitant to me (unrealistic expectations, perhaps) and Earth were Earth. I'm not as into that vibe as I was a few years ago but they did what they do best.
Biggest pleasant surprise was the free pinball at the Silverball Museum on the boardwalk. Made for a nice nightcap.
Complaints were few. Security definitely felt oppressively omnipresent at times (I don't think this is the sort of festival where you need guards in plainclothes stalking the crowd for smokers during a performance), and outright dickish at others (yes, asshole, I have a wristband...see that door I just walked through? They checked it there, just as they have been doing for the past 2 days). It was the typical outsourced "Strikeforce" or whatever collection of rejects these shows always have so I guess you know what to expect. Still given the overall mission of the fest I thought it was counterintuitive.
Musically I found myself wanting more "energy", especially on Saturday. By the time Swans came on I wanted almost nothing to do with them since I spent essentially the entire day lost in my own head due to the musical tone. My "somberly played cello" quota has been more than filled for the year. Asbury Lanes was way too small for some shows...it seemed odd that the Stone Pony wasn't involved given that it was right there. And the food trucks (other than the overpriced but decent pizza) sucked. As much as I love the lazy, disinterested art-school student interpretation of tacos I would prefer the real thing next time.
All in all I had a wonderful weekend. I would happily by a ticket for next year tomorrow even without knowing any of the acts. Adding another local venue for the "small room" shows, doing a bit more with the outdoor space and reducing the hipster-ness a tad would make a great thing even better.
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