Apologies in advance; this is a little wordy.
Got back home last night at 10:30, barely alive today at work. Calculated every drug dosage at least 4 times to make sure my scrambled brain didn't kill anything. Still recovering from what was, as has already been pointed out by several people, an incredible festival.
Lots of high points for me personally. First time to see the Flaming Lips - amazing. Seriously, the guy gets into an inflatable plastic ball and rolls around on top of the crowd??? Had seen pictures but actually witnessing it was something to behold. Wayne actually even says "fuck" and its derivatives more than Patterson, if that's possible. Loved the Avetts. Seeing the Foo Fighters mop up for Cee-Lo Green was a glad-to-be-alive moment if there ever was one. Dave Grohl rocks, truly a class act and a major rock star. Grace Potter smokes - the cover of the Stone's "Happy" was unbelievable. Trombone Shorty and Galactic brought it as always. Seeing my kid on stage with Micheal Franti - no words. Leaving my husband for Xavier Rudd next week.
I'm not ready to say that Hangout is the best festival ever, but for an event in its second year it was incredibly impressive. The lines to get drinks were usually pretty short, the bathrooms were amazingly clean (although they were concentrated in one area), there was an amazing chill-out area on the beach with freakin' hammocks and palm trees and misters for Christ's sake! And the crowd, which was by-and-large under 30 (have never seen so many chicks partying in bikinis), was so peaceful and cool, and RESPECTFUL and APPRECIATIVE of all of the musical acts. Only complaints I have are that the lines to get in were ridiculous on Friday afternoon and Saturday - I could have easily walked in without a bracelet but thank god my tiny purse got thoroughly searched! and the lack of free water inside was dangerous - two people passed cold out and hit their heads on the pavement right before my eyes on Sunday, one guy about 15 minutes prior to DBT in the tent that was as Maluca3 put it hotter than two rodents fucking in a wool sock (a poignantly accurate statement).
Walked up to the festival on Sunday and who is standing in front of the first rock star bus we come upon but Brad Morgan, having a smoke break. Our crowd approaches with a Hey, Brad, can't wait for y'all's set this afternoon, and he immediately holds his arm out for a hug. What a sweetheart, had a great chat and got a picture of my boy with him. He told us the whole band (except Cooley, who came down with his family) had come down on the bus from Athens that morning and had pretty much been up all morning (Gulf Shores is easily 8 hours from Athens in a tour bus).
After seeing Franti at the very small stage inside the Hangout Restaurant we didn't get to the Boom Boom Room until about 2:45, and even at that point we couldn't get within 30 feet of the stage. One thing that's different about the Hangout from other festivals I have been to is that people don't camp out at one stage all day and put down blankets and chairs and monopolize an area, which means that the people who are there are usually pretty interested in seeing the band that's playing next (unlike seeing DBT at the Mile High Music Festival last summer, where the front of the stage was populated by Dave Matthews fans playing cards for the better part of the day until their man came on).
It was the fourth time I have seen DBT at a festival, and I guess I didn't have any great expectations, as we all know festival sets can sometimes be disappointing for many reasons, but honestly, I think I had something close to a religious experience on Sunday. The tent was absolutely packed with people to the point that they spilled way out into the surrounding walkways. Our friends were outside and they said you couldn't even hardly walk by the tent, the crowd was so big. There was something about seeing ALL THOSE PEOPLE, screaming and fist-pumping and singing along to every word - it was life-affirming, like, yes, these people FUCKING GET IT. The first time I saw this band I was in a bar with about 49 other people, and I knew they were good, but it felt like no one else knew it. On Sunday, from the moment Patterson greeted the crowd with, "Good, afternoon, welcome to Day Two of the Rapture!", everyone in the vicinity knew that this band was fucking great. Cooley - what a rock star. The guy was on fire, and then after the show he prances across the stage with his adorable kid in his arms! It was so incredibly loud but they were on and they were as good as I have ever seen them. So much fun. Every time I see them I think, I can't possibly love this band anymore than I do, but then, I do.
As a bonus, my kid, safely ensconced in high-end ear plugs and perched on my husband's shoulders for the majority of the show, became a complete and total fan at his first rock show. On Monday my husband left the beach early to head to California for a meeting and my son and I spent the day kayaking and swimming and discussing every song from the show, who wrote it, and what it was about. We covered Jason's departure, the long road to the top, the fact that Patterson once worked in a pizza restaurant (my son is INCREDULOUS at this), and the fact that Cooley will never have to worry about being a ghost to most. This morning his first words to me where, Mom, can we play "Birthday Boy"?
On Monday the headline on the front page of the Mobile Press-Register read, "I FEEL FINE". The article read as follows:
"Drive-By Truckers frontman Patterson Hood acknowledged the averted apocalypse as the band played under the covered Boom Boom Room stage. "Been around the world," he sang, "and it brought me right down to Gulf Shores the day after judgment day." Closing with "Let There Be Rock," a massive wall of guitars and drums, from the album Southern Rock Opera, Hood added a few new lyrics. "I'm on the [fucking] beach," Hood screamed "and the world came to an end a day ago, and I feel fine."
Hell yes, Pat. Me too.
ha ha....funny.
Sounds like an awesome time and I'm real sorry I missed it.
