Firefly-ed the First Time

Kris
Jun 25, 2014
8 min read

The rush of traffic from the interstate below, the clinking of glass bottles jostled by feet and, in the distance, the steady thump of music left behind after four days filled with music and friends – the crowd Sunday evening slowly makes the long trek from the Woodlands to the parking lots where the return to normalcy does not mean leaving something behind, but rather carrying something special with you.

Day 1 – Thursday June 19th

I chose to attend Firefly with one other friend, whom I met last year at a show (go figure!) After settling into the hotel on the first day, we drove to the location of Firefly which was 50 minutes away. The crowd waiting for entry was so large that we had to walk to the end of the road to get to the end of the line, only to walk back up the road towards the gates.

Although we didn’t see many bands on Thursday, we did happily enjoy the soundtrack as we walked around the Woodlands to figure out the layout of the festival, which was important to know with seven stages.

Although I’ve gone to festivals before, this was the first time I’d been to one of this size. I was most impressed by was the lengths to which the theme became a character of its own. I didn’t attend the festival so much as I experienced and immersed myself in it.

In the end, we found ourselves in an area called the Thicket, where the boundaries between private and shared experience were blurred, much like the festival itself. Here, two DJs ran separate channels of music, often late into the night. The twist was that everyone is listening through wireless headphones – they could control the volume and choose the channel they want to hear. But even though the headphones created the illusion of listening alone, this was clearly not the case as everyone danced and cheered and sang together.

Day 1 ended with an early evening as we prepared ourselves for our jam-packed Day 2.

Day 2 – Friday June 20th

I feel like one of the things we did really well was maximizing the opportunities given to us, and much of it is because of how much we accomplished on Friday. Our first stop was the Garnier Fructis salon where the festival was offering free hair washing and styling. The wait was long, but it could’ve been much worse later in the day. I got my hair braided into two braids that came together in a side ponytail on the left.

The first band we caught was New Politics, whom I had never heard before. My friend, however, had seen them before and assured me they were really fun. They were my first surprise of the festival, as I really enjoyed their music and hadn’t originally planned to see them. But I’m glad my friend recommended them because they were awesome.

The Brewery, which had been closed on Thursday, served specialty beers from Dogfish Head while the World Cup games streamed live on large TV screens. There, I tried a honey strawberry beer. While not unpleasant, it was definitely a different taste for me. I am not a fan of Blue Moon because of the honey, so I wasn’t sure if I’d like this beer in the first place. My other options were ales and IPAs, which I also don’t care for as a lager drinker. While I don’t think I’ll get this particular beer again, I enjoyed it well enough. While not in the Brewery I had Stella Artois, one of my go-to drinks when Yuengling isn’t available. I was happy to see one festival-goer with a large blow up Yuengling bottle that often made its way in the crowd during performances.

Firefly also hosts a Style Your Sole event with Toms. For every pair of Toms sold at the event, another pair will be donated to a child in need as part of their One for One program. At Style Your Sole¸ we were able to meet with artists who then helped us create a pair of painted Toms with the design of our choice. I met a wonderful artist, who was really willing to help bring my vision to life. The direction I gave her was that I wanted a rainbow piano to be the main focus and the rest to be music themed. As we talked, I told her about playing the viola and she incorporated the patterns of the viola on one shoe while the other she adorned with guitar shapes. On the sides she added a music staff, and I chose a couple notes from my favorite song for her to add. Finally, she included the G clef and bass clef on the back of the shoes. And, just as I had requested, she filled the shoes with color.

In passing, we listened to Arctic Monkeys, Young the Giant, and A-trak, but do not ask me what they played. Friday’s headliner was the Foo Fighters. We were close enough that the TV screen to stage right was looming over us, but not close enough that Dave Grohl and the rest of the band were easy to see. Instead our view of the stage was just rows of heads. They played an awesome set though, with a 5 song encore as “The Holy Shits,” pretending to be a classic rock cover band. Included in this was a cover of Queen’s “Under Pressure” sung by drummer Taylor Hawkins.

Despite the ache in my feet and the stabbing in my lower back, we stayed through their whole show before closing out the night with the drive back to the hotel.

Day 3 – Saturday, June 21st

Having gotten little/broken sleep the night before, we finally managed to score a hammock in the one of the hammock hangouts where we had a nice nap. As we slept suspended in the air, we heard one of the first bands of the day playing at the nearby Backyard Stage. We enjoyed the music from afar for a while, but then looked up who they were. In doing so, we learned that they were Bad Things and that Shaun White was one of the members. This was the second surprise of the festival because Bad Things was really good!

We managed to watch the very last part of their set. I hope listening to them in the future doesn’t forever make me think of lying on a hammock – their music is much to fun for that!

While my friend purchased their CD and met Bad Things, I made my way to the Main Stage, where we’d be for the majority of the day. From the far back, I listened to Third Eye Blind and sang along with their classic “The Jumper.” After Third Eye Blind finished playing, we moseyed into the front of the large crowd for Grouplove in preparation for later when Imagine Dragons would play. We had a great view for Grouplove. I was most struck by the song they recorded for The Fault in Our Stars movie, “Let Me In,” but I really enjoyed hearing their sound live. They are definitely a band I would see again.

Finally, it was time for Imagine Dragons, which was the primary band I wanted to see while at Firefly. As the crowd readjusted, we ended up much closer to the stage than we were for Grouplove. Although still behind a row of heads, we were actually really close to the stage and even closer to the open middle aisle. The third surprise of Firefly for me was “Battle Cry,” which I had never heard before, but every song they performed was brilliant. I couldn’t have asked for a better set.

Their tribute to Tyler Robinson with “30 Lives” was incredibly moving, and their powerful songs were even more epic live with the percussion thudding underneath our feet and through our bodies. Then, during “It’s Time” Dan Reynolds, the leader singer, ran down the center aisle and reached into the crowd. From side to side, he held out the microphone and listened to our voices lift the chorus into the sky. And then, on his second run down the center, he reached out and grabbed my hand, among others. Not a high five, but he actually held my hand for a brief nanosecond. And somehow, that felt more powerful.

As much as I love “It’s Time,” I loved that Imagine Dragons, and Dan Reynolds in particular, used it as a way to bond with his fans and bring the audience together. It was a special moment.

After Imagine Dragons, we ended up back in the Thicket and danced through the night.

Day 4 – Sunday, June 22nd

The last day of Firefly was also really special, but incredibly bittersweet too.

Having seen most shows at the Main Stage, The Lawn, and the Backyard, I made it a point to visit the Coffee House stage where I probably would’ve been more often if there were more hours in the day. I thrive in intimate acoustic environments, and even though the Coffee House wasn’t a real coffee house, it created the illusion of that setting perfectly. They even had actual coffee.

I went for the stage and the atmosphere, but I scored an awesome concert. Casey Alvarez and his band were exactly what I look for in an acoustic act. I loved the sound – both exciting and sweet with influences throughout music genres. His fans were infectious in their excitement for the songs, and I was singing along before I knew it.

Another band I really wanted to see was A Great Big World because I love “This Is the New Year” and have enjoyed their album while searching Spotify. Although “Say Something” with Christina Aguilera is not my favorite song, I think it’s beautiful song writing and I do love the meaning behind it.

We were in the front row for their set. I knew a lot more songs than I had given myself credit for, and they were truly wonderful performers. They were funny and welcoming and every song was an adventure I never wanted to end. I actually loved Ian’s solo performance of “Say Something” and loved hearing the back story to some of their songs.

A particular favorite song was their Beatles cover of “Got to Get You into My Life” with Chad’s vibrant trumpet.

After their show, I had the opportunity to meet them because I bought their CD. While waiting in line, we were gifted with the music of Ziggy Marley on the Backyard Stage. When it was my turn, Chad told me he liked my guitar pick earrings, and I told them how much the song and video for “Already Home” meant to me while they signed by CD insert.

I kept my wristband and a couple pieces of confetti from the show.

After A Great Big World, we went to the Main Stage to hear the Lumineers while procuring food for dinner. After the Lumineers we watched the US vs Portugal game on the big screens and listened to Martin Garrix on the Porch stage.

Finally, it was the final act - Jack Johnson. We stayed all the way in the back, as it was already late and we both had long drives ahead of us that evening, so we planned on leaving by 9:00 PM. We were able to enjoy about 30 minutes of Jack Johnson’s set before trekking the long walk back to our cars, ears straining towards the melodies we were leaving behind and hoping desperately for next year.