Firefly-ed the Second Time
- Kris
- Jun 22, 2015
- 9 min read
Take a Sad Song:
If you live under a rock, you probably heard that Paul McCartney is headlining Firefly Music Festival this coming June. If you do not live under a rock, you probably knew this information long before it was officially announced. The world knows that this is important news because we are basically born with the knowledge that anything relating to the Beatles is noteworthy. How do newborn foals walk so quickly after birth? They just know how. How do newborn humans know the word Beatles? They just do. It's called instinct.
Or maybe our mothers just infuse us with knowledge of basic music history while we're inside the womb. "Here are those pickles you've made me crave, little one... with a side of culture."
My experience with the Beatles is this - at age 2 I apparently tried to eat a beetle. I must've thought the colors were pretty or that it was candy, but I won't pretend to know my 2-year-old brain. My family does not let me live this down, and I'm sure at age 80 the fact that I once tried to eat a beetle at age 2 will still be a significant part of my legacy.
However, I understand why it was gross because beetles are nasty little things. That said, I don't understand why you'd want to name a band after a bug. And that was the impression I had about the Beatles as a child. The end.
So, I did not grow up knowing the Beatles (give me some Tim McGraw, however...), nor am I a fan of the Beatles really. I like a couple songs here and there, and I love a select few. But when the name Paul McCartney is thrown around, I, like most everyone, pay attention.
I had my Firefly plans in order before the McCartney announcement because the Killers, Hozier, Walk the Moon, and many more bands that I love will be there. But his name drew in a crowd because Firefly has made the decision not to offer single day passes due to high demand. I don't actually know if those two things are directly related, but I can assume that a name like Paul McCartney is going to change the dynamic of a festival. There are big names and then there are BIG Names.
I am not going to Firefly for McCartney, but I am really excited for his show. I can feel the culture as I write, and we're still 50-something days out. I don't know how you could be disappointed when hearing the classics sung aloud by the classics.
I can already feel the festival gathered around me, the dust rising, and I can hear voices ascending as McCartney's falls away - Hey Jude's iconic string of "Na Na Na" echoing so loudly over the Speedway that it can be heard in Maryland.
It's going to be freaking awesome.
-April 23, 2015
Live Blogging Firefly:
Hello interneters! Carole and I have made it through check in and set up our home for the next few days! We've got our tent, our canopy, and lots of beer.
Our dinner this evening will be Yuengling with a dash of nostalgia a la pizza lunchable.
Music doesn't start until tomorrow afternoon, so we have quite some time to kill. That's why we brought some games along.
I will be making the attempt to live blog Firefly if you'd like to follow along. Our next adventure - to find the port-a-potties. But I won't blog about that...
-June 17, 2015
100% chance that it's currently raining...
Good morning, interneters.
The good news is we have a solid campsite: minimal rain water in the tent and a canopy that is not dripping water into other people's campsites. *coughneighborscough* Our chairs did go for a swim last night, but we do have a hammock, which we are using to eat our breakfasts this morning.
So it rained last night and it was rough. Who knew rain hitting the roof of a tent would be so loud? I had to put headphones in to drown it out, cause it sounded like the whole tent was going to collapse in on us.
There's a chance of rain until about 3 today. Music doesn't start till later, so we just have to entertain ourselves for the next hour and forever.
I think we may just continue eating. We do have all the food!
-June 18, 2015
The hub-a-bub:
In the general center of the campground, is the social gathering pace. It's called the Hub.
There's over-priced (but delicious) food, and coffee, and a bar with bud light, also showers if that's your thing, and a stage. It also holds, as we discovered yesterday, the port-a-potties. Then there's the general store and the Garnier Fructis hair salon and a wifi hot spot. Paradise, perhaps?
Yeah no. It's also a mud pit, and the bathrooms are a danger zone already. Hoorah for day 1.
-June 18, 2015
On Thursdays We Wear Mud:
Scouting the festival is very difficult when the threat of losing your shoes is so near. I've learned today that I just need to stop caring; the mess is inevitable.
Sometimes it was more of a slide than a walk from stage to stage.
Carole and I started the festival with Young Rising Sons at the opposite entrance of the festival. Then we ventured back the other way for food and beer nd water-refilling. And then back to the Lawn Stage for Ryn Weaver to start the evening. If you like Florence + the Machine, you'll like her music!
My favorite part of today, though, was seeing Grizfolk at the Coffee House Stage. Their 10:00 pm acoustic set was phenomenal.
So here are some pics from day 1!
June 19, 2015
Shut Up + Dance:
I had one goal for today, and that was to get as close as possible for Walk The Moon. Blogging today has been sparse mainly because not much has been going on.
In the distance, we listened to the dance beats of Styles & Complete while eating lunch this morning.
I got my hair washed at the Garnier Fructis hair salon in the festival, which is a nice treat for us campers. It was time consuming, but it made me feel more like a human. After yesterday's mess, it was nice to control how my hair felt at least.
The Lawn Stage was right nearby, so we moved close to the stage for Echosmith, whom we wanted to see anyway, in preparation for Walk the Moon later.
Sometimes the overwhelming scent of BO and sweat dripping from corners of your body you didn't know existed and almost dying of heat exhaustion... is worth it?
Not but it actually is. Because then you get a view like this for your favorite band:
I was able to take a lot of pictures and even a couple videos that I'd like to perfect and assemble before posting instead of live blogging. So keep an eye out for that after the festival.
But even more important than the pictures was the show they put on. I've been totally spoiled by the venues in which I saw them before. Pier Six is not huge and the tour that stopped at the Ottobar was intended to be a small, intimate show. And with "Shut Up and Dance" taking off like it has, the crowd was huge.
Not that I would know just how huge because I was less than 10 people back. But I could feel the heavy audience behind me. In that environment, I was in good company with the audience who knew and loved the rest of their music too.
Walk the Moon are some of my favorite people to watch on stage, and their crowd is always unified by the concert experience, so it makes being close a lot more fun. We all just love the band.
However, I hate crowd surfers. Just saying.
Aight guys, AWOLNATION is playing, so I'm gonna go. I'm sure my thoughts will come together later. Basically, I loved it; I love them.
-June 19, 2015
You Spin Me Right 'Round
Check out my spin art masterpiece, created with love at the Dogfish Head Brewery!
-June 20, 2015
Betty Who:
I got to see Betty Who twice yesterday, once with her regular set and once in an acoustic setting.
While I loved dancing around to her electronic set, the acoustic was everything I could have hoped for. She has a wonderful voice, and I was able to get really close for that one. I didn't know every song, but I knew enough to sing along or pick it up along the way.
It sucks that it was only a half hour set, because I was having a great time.
-June 21, 2015
So Hozier Happened!
I'll be honest. It wasn't perfection. The sound system for the Lawn Stage has been pretty shoddy the whole festival. And a lot of the audience was there for Snoop Dogg who performs after.
Disinterest can dampen a concert experience for sure. On top of the quiet mic, many of the people around me were chatting the whole time.
I just want to hear him sing. I think a small venue would much better suit his music. That might be me hoping, but I think it's also true.
He was still great, though. The crowd pleasers were "Take Me to Church" and "Somebody New."
For once the mud came in handy! I found a decent spot next to a river of mud, which people used to get further up, but which they did not want to stand in. The result was that I had a clear view of the stage; no direct heads in the way.
I'm fairly "up front," and about 25,000 people scheduled Hozier using the firefly app. What you're seeing here is barely a fraction of the crowd.
Honestly, I'm glad I saw him live. Now I want to go home and listen to him on vinyl. After I shower.
-June 21, 2015
We Got Evacuated!:
Danger, Danger! Thunderstorms ahead!
So last night an alert went out from Firefly, requesting for the festival goers to evacuate the grounds and seek shelter in their vehicles. Campers were requested to take down pop-up tents, poles, and canopies.
Kings of Leon never went on and many later shows were either cancelled or rescheduled to today. Can you imagine if this had happened Friday night with Paul McCartney? It would not have been pretty (and don't worry, I'll still blog about Sir Paul).
In the storm, we made a home in the back of my RAV4, anticipating having to sleep there. And we did for a couple hours. Once the storm blew over, we re-entered the sanctuary of the tent.
I've had to throw out my flip flops due to mud, and I expect we have another rough day of grime ahead of us. On the agenda: Cold War Kids, Hozier, and the Killers! We'll be back and forth between stages a bit today.
Man vs. Nature: festival style!
-June 21, 2015
I Saw Paul!
Ineffable (ĭn-ĕf′ə-bəl): (adj.) seeing Paul McCartney perform live
How can anyone accurately verbalize what it is like to be in a crowd of thousands, watching a legend absorb the sheer volume of us, while we just as equally venerate his legacy? It’s impossible to feel mediocre when Paul-freaking-McCartney is amazed by you.
And it's impossible to do it justice when talking about the show. But I'll do my best and leave the visuals to do the work.
I saw his performance from two points of view, but mostly from a decently close angle on the left side of the stage. I had a solid view of the screens projecting what was happening on stage, but I could also see the actual Paul from afar. I moved back in the crowd for the last couple songs because my back was aching from standing and I needed to sit down.
Below are a couple of clips. Just a disclaimer - I am not a movie maker in any way, shape, or form.
Here's the thing - you don't just record when Paul McCartney is singing. You listen, pay attention, and sing along when appropriate.
And he performed for a long time! Live and Let Die and Hey Jude were the end of the main set, while the actual encore(s!) included 6 additional songs. So, if you think the man is too past his prime, you'd be wrong. That was way beyond three hours of music by the end.
There were some Wings songs, some new McCartney songs, and a lot of Beatles songs - the obvious crowd pleasers and some classics. I loved that he played "I've Just Seen A Face" because that's one we sang a lot in college. I also really loved "Blackbird." The stage rose, so Paul stood over the immense crowd and his soft serenade enveloped all. It led into "Here Today," dedicated to the late John Lennon, so the whole sequence was bittersweet and lovely.
And on the flip side, he was also rocking. Seriously. The man has still got it.
Oh I, believe in yesterday
-June 29, 2015
Firefly 2015 Gallery:
Nick reached out to us, gestured us closer, and the crowd surged forward, chests pressed against backs and sides against sides. Our arms were raised from lack of space, and we applauded the band into the finale of the show. There wasn’t much shutting up because all were singing. But damn did we dance.
Edited June 2016 from posts published Spring-Summer 2015 via Wordpress
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