GigMaven

If you’ve ever been to an outdoor music festival, especially one that involves camping, you’ve probably experienced the same frustration as me. So many bands, so little time. I showed up at Camp Bisco with a friend and five-time Bisco veteran around 9:00pm, right around the time that one of my faves, LCD Soundsystem, was set to play. At Bisco and other camping/music bonanzas, festival authorities take the time to search each car for contraband, and as such we spent about an hour and a half catching the odd strain of “All I Want,” “New York I Love You,” and a few other of the best rock/dance songs of all time from a dense gridlock of tardy party-ers. It’s situations like these that could kill the mood of the entire weekend for the uninitiated. Yes, James Murphy and LCD were #1 on my list having seen his unbelievable show at Terminal 5 in May. Dan Snaith and Caribou were #2. We were lucky to catch Snaith’s last two songs after passing inspection and setting up camp. Double bummer.

If you like music, you like camping, and you don’t have a good time at Bisco, it’s gotta be your own fault. Don’t treat your weekend like it’s a series of headliners playing at your favorite local stage. Slow down, meet your neighbors, get comfortable, and wait for the incredible moments to happen. Here’s how it happened for me.

Events I was looking forward to:

1. LCD Soundsystem, failure, missed show

2. Caribou, failure, missed most of show, personally shocked by dense sweat cloud in dance tent

3. Wu Massacre (Ghostface Killah, Method Man, Raekwon), moderate failure, too exhausted

Unexpected good times:

1. The Constellations: Wow, this is a gritty soul band from Atlanta that leaves the audience limber and squeezed of sweat. The lead singer is an entertainer as good as anyone around today. Bass player had huge fro, turquoise shirt matched turquoise P-bass, nice. The two backup singers had some great synchronized moves.

2. Major Lazer: In my experience, some of the most memorable moments during outdoor music fests are sunsets at the main stage. Major Lazer was at the right place at the right time.

3. The Disco Biscuits: I’ve been hating on the Disco Biscuits for quite some time now. To everyone that’s heard me do this: I’m sorry. The worst part was, I only caught one of their 6 sets. If I had to describe who they sound like, maybe an uptempo combo of Lotus and STS9 (even though the biscuits predate both). I’ll be seeking out Biscuits opportunities on the regular from now on. Their light show is insane. To summarize, they played the entire show in a massive cloud of fog, while 500 ft green lasers as thick as steel rods swiped back and forth over the crowd’s heads. Most importantly, the Disco Biscuits have an intensely loyal following. The crowd around me was just so into the Disco Biscuits that I had to be too.