Sunday 18 January 2015

Music Fests: Bonnaroo 2011 & Sasquatch! 2012

With the Coachella Music and Arts Festival dropping it's line-up for 2015, more festivals have begun announcing the artists that will be performing their stages. Bonnaroo, another huge festival in Manchester, Tennessee announced the headliners and part of their line-up this week. 

Ali and I attended Bonnaroo in 2011. It was the first big music festival that either of us had attended. We drove her standard Honda Civic all the way from Kenora, Ontario to the town of Manchester just south of Nashville. It was a 20 hour drive and the first time I had ever driven a standard vehicle. It was quite the road trip but we made it there safe and sound. One of the craziest experiences of the weekend happened when we arrived in Manchester. Cars were lined up for miles waiting to get inspected and enter the campsite area, we were told it would be about a four hour wait. We stopped at a gas station to grab a few beers. A local guy approached us and offered to show us a route to the back entrance of the festival grounds for a price of $10. He told us we would only have to wait about twenty minutes before we would be in the festival area. It seemed like a better alternative, especially since we had already been in the car for twenty hours. We gave him the money and he got in his dirty pickup truck. We followed behind him as he weaved down the Tennessee dirt roads with corn stalks ten feet high on both sides. We were a little anxious as we got further into the southern backcountry not knowing where we were heading, but sure enough we came to a clearing and the festival grounds were in sight. We thanked our guide as he drove past and we were at our campsite in less than twenty minutes setting up our tent. 

There was a great line-up the year we attended which included Eminem, Arcade Fire, Widespread Panic and Buffalo Springfield as headliners. The diverse line-up at Bonnaroo leads to a very diverse crowd, it is much different from Coachella. There are fewer corporate sponsors and people are a lot less concerned about what they are wearing. Unlike Coachella where the entire festival grounds shut down at 1am, shows at Bonnaroo go till about 4am in the morning. It is also a four day festival, where Coachella is only three days. Bonnaroo also has a full comedy line-up and a mini-film fest. There are ten stages, with the main four called Who, What, Where and Which?... it can get very confusing. The festival grounds are located on farmland that has been set-up to host the festival each year. Bonnaroo is a great festival that I would recommend attending if you want a different experience. 
Ali and I in front of our tent
Waiting for the festival gates to open
First time we tried Alligator
Ali the parrot tamer
Catching up on some sleep between shows
Bonnaroo at night from ferris wheel
Ferris wheel ride
Cruising the festival grounds
Enjoying life on "the Farm"
Alicat in front of the mainstage
Mumford and Sons
Bonnaroo crowd
Which? stage
Eminem
Sunny days at Bonnaroo
Little tired on the drive home
Cruising Cat!
2011 Lineup
Sasquatch! Music Festival is located near Quincy, Washington at the Gorge Amphitheatre. It has not yet released the lineup for 2015, but it suppose to be announced in early Febuary. Ali and I made it to Sasquatch! in 2012, we flew to Vancouver and drove south with three friends for the four-day event. It is a fun festival and maybe my favorite one of the three I have attended. There are several reasons why I like it so much. 
  1. It is a smaller festival compared to both Coachella and Bonnaroo. 
  2. There is almost always a really good line-up that includes a comedy tent. 
  3. The temperature is very comfortable and moderate. 
  4. The people attending the festival are your typical laid back West-coasters.
  5. The main stage is an amazing amphitheatre, that is built next to the Columbia river. You can chill on the hill, watch your favourite bands and see amazing sunsets, all at the same time.
We had a really good time the year we attended with a lineup which included Jack White, Bon Iver, Beck and Pretty Lights as headliners. It is a super chill festival. The headliners may not be as big of names, but it is a lot of fun and you will see great bands at an amazing location. 
Wreck Beach, Vancouver
Alicat collecting glow-sticks for Pretty Lights
Drew (my university roommate) and I
Alicat meeting Silversun Pickups
The Gorge Amphitheatre
The Gorge - Great venue
2012 lineup

Tuesday 6 January 2015

Coachella Survival Guide



With the line-up for the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival being announced today, it made me think of the past three years that Ali and I attended. We had some truly amazing experiences, saw artists that blew our minds, and enjoyed it all with great friends. This year we have decided to opt out of going. We had three great years at the festival and are passing the torch onto our Kenora crew to rock out for us this year. We know they won't let us down!
Coachella 2012 - Dr. Dre
Coachella 2013 - Red Hot Chili Peppers
Coachella 2014 - Arcade Fire
After three years at Coachella, I have learned a thing or two that may be useful if you plan on going. Most of it may be pretty obvious, but the more you know, the better. We had one friend who did not bring any sleeping gear... but she did have a corduroy vest.
This is an essential packing list to get you through three solid days of partying. Remember the cliche quote about the weekend "It's a marathon, not a sprint". As cheesy as that sounds, it is useful advice. Here is my list of music festival essentials, in no real particular order. I have sent this to friends before to help them prepare.
  1. Good shoes - they will tell you this in every pamphlet you read about Coachella, and its important! If your feet get worn out, you're toast. You don’t want to be the one in the group slowing everyone down and complaining! I wear Blundstones- super comfy boots, that you can wear even when its 90 degrees out. 
  2. Fanny Pack - kind of lame but a must have for a festival. Having a bag or backpack sucks, everyone will bump you around if you're in a crowd… Seriously not fun!
  3. Travel Towel - light, easy to pack.
  4. Water Bottle - A must have for the water refill stations! Having a 1 litre water bottle that you can keep refilling throughout the day, is a lot better than spending $4 for a bottle.
  5. Plastic bags (Ziploc) – these are great for filling with booze, stuffing in your crotch  and sneaking into festival grounds! Once inside, buy a gatorade and add the booze.
  6. Bandana – to cover your face from dust clouds, stinky Portapotties or to just be sweet. Whatever your preference is. These are crucial if there is a sandstorm. The last two years there were sandstorms and if you didn't have a bandana over your face, you were eating sand.
  7. Beads – you can always trade people beads… maybe for bottled water!
  8. Glowsticks – these are great if you are in a group. When you are walking from stage to stage at night, it is way easier to see/stick with someone if they are covered with glowsticks.
  9. Cheap sunglasses – you will lose your shades!
  10. Travel size Babywipes or Kleenex- stuff these in your fanny-pack, you won't regret having them!
  11. Travel size Hand sanitizer - nice to have after a bathroom break. The Portapotties are pretty disgusting after they have been used by 80,000 people.
  12. Ear plugs - sadly I don't usually wear them. There are some really loud shows at the Sahara tent, where it would help to have them.
  13. Car phone charger/regular charger - plug it in at night when you go to bed, and you have it for great pics/vids in the morning.
  14. Sunscreen
  15. Hat - keep the sun off your head!
  16. Tylenol
  17. Lip balm with  sunscreen
  18. Warm clothes - bring at least one hoody and pair of pants. It may be 100 degrees during the day, but at night it is freezing.
  19. Sleeping bag - If you are camping, a good sleeping bag is key. 
  20. Shark shirt - I made it a habit of wearing a shirt with a shark each Saturday. Shark Shirt Shaturday!
  21. Heineken - On the campground is a Heineken chill tent. If you have Heineken beer they will hold it for you in a giant fridge. You can go there, cool down and grab your beer. It is amazing if you are camping, a real game-changer!
Hope this helps with packing and deciding what to bring! Have fun and enjoy every minute. You won't see every band that you want to, but its not such a bad problem to have. 
Take naps when you can, eat pizza at I Heart Spicy Pie, and rock out!
Happy Coachella!!!
Coachella 2012
Coachella 2012
Coachella 2013
Coachella 2013
Sunset
2013 Major Lazer - wildest day show
Coachella 2013
Coachella grounds 2013
View from Ferris wheel
Ferris wheel at night
Coachella 2013 crew
Coachella 2013 - notice the Shark Shirt!
Alicat 2013
2014 Spaceman Art
Coachella 2014
Sunshine 2014
Coachella art 2014
Popsicle stick house
Ginger Bread house
Happy in the sun 2014 
Sahara Tent 2014
Kenora Crew!
Outkast 2014 - "shake it like a Polaroid picture"
Day show 2014
Ellie Goulding 2014 
Kid Cudi 2014
Sunday Funday!
Coachella crew 2014
Day n Nite!