6) I dedicate this one to Dirtfoot. Dirtfoot is a fantastic
band that plays the best swamp grass music I know of. We are lucky enough
to call them friends and even camp mates at times.
The draw of the home pad is a big deal. You will want a cool
place to come back and hang including shade, crafts, food, drink, etc.
Yes I mentioned CRAFTS. For the last few years I have been bringing
some canvases and a bunch of multicolored sharpies to the festivals. I get
a set of cool tip pens and small canvases from Michael's and leave them out on
the picnic tables of our site and those around us. People move in
and out of the camps and draw little thing, leave a saying, maybe a signature
or even dominating an entire canvas spending a few hours. The outcome is
great and it is a creative fun thing to do.
One of my favorite part of the craft project is that you get to
see a creative side of folks that you did not know existed. A couple of years ago the members of Dirtfoot
dominated a canvas making the most wonderful keep sake I could have gotten at
the festival. One member did the
majority of the drawing and then the others signed it and made their Dirtfoot
drawing. I have it hanging in my hall along with the other canvases from that
year.
7) I dedicate this one to Miss Wildheart who is the queen of
ground score, in a good way. When it comes to VALUABLES at a festival you have
to be careful. First things first, be careful with your car keys.
Leave them in the same place each time you go into the car. You are
better off not taking any valuables and leaving your car unlocked then losing
your key down a portable potty. You do not need to take them with you to the
shows. Find a place to stash them and leave them there. Better yet bring
an extra key and stash it in another location.
Your phone will quickly become a paper weight so leave it
somewhere safe and dry as well. Have a smart stash spot or lock it in the
car. Unless you are going to keep it going with charging cubes you don't really
need it on you. I cannot tell you the number of phones that end up in
lost and found, out of battery and with cracked screens. You owe your
phone a more dignified end. Once it is dead even find my phone apps will
not be of any help. Also the internet service will be so overloaded by
the first day that it will go down to almost nothing, so don't make yourself
crazy trying to post to snap chat. You probably should not post anything
anyway.
When it comes to money my old travel senses take over. Don't
bring too much. You can use a bank machine, of which there are plenty.
Don't put all your money in the same place. Put some in a bag, some
in the car, and some on you. Don't carry it all on you at once. You
are just as likely to drop it as have it stolen. Wear a fanny pack or use a
zipper pocket in your water bag for anything you cherish.
When you are out and about, keep your money close by… not 20 feet
away in your bag as you dash off to see one. People are generally kind at
festivals, however losing things is easy to do and finding them is almost
impossible. To some festival goers finding things, i.e. ground score, is
a way to fund their trips.
8) This tip comes from someone I will call the Bloody Mary King.
He makes a killer Bloody Mary that will wake you up in the morning and
give you a buzz before noon. His tip is a HEAD LAMP. He says
"With cash and a head lamp I can do anything at a festival."
The head lamp will save you from falling over passed out novices and stepping
in piles of unmentionables. It will keep you from a bad scene in a portable potty and help you find the way back to hopefully your tent. You might
say that you phone has a light but remember without access to electricity your
phone will become a paper weight soon enough.
9) This tip comes from a wonderful woman I will call The Queen of
Mardi-Gras. She has beaten Cancers’ butt and continues to share wisdom,
generosity and strength.
This is actually one of the most important items and one that I
would be lost without. EAR PLUGS. After a few days without sleep
you will sleep no matter what. However if you want to sleep the first
couple of nights of the festival, ear plugs are your best friend. Also,
if you are an avid music person and want to be able to hear your grand-kids in
30 or so years you might want to start using some ear plugs at shows like Basenector
sooner than later. Trust me they will not make it so you can't hear the
music. At a Basenector show you could be in the next county and still
feel the music.
10) I will dedicate this one to two great guys that always
keep the music going at our camp site no matter what. I will call them the Dynamic Duo.
You may ask why you would want to bring a MUSICAL INSTRUMENT to a
festival where you are surrounded by 5 stages full of talented musicians, and I
will tell you that not a festival has gone by where a 3am jam session did not
grace our campsite. Often late into the
night, after the main stages have shut down, music is be heard coming from
little jam session happening all over the place. Even during the day little musical interludes
will pop up made up of lay people and artist alike. Many of the musicians will stroll around
looking for impromptu sessions to get in on.
If you come prepared you might get in on one too.
At the same time our home grown music at our camp has seen us through
some rough times. Two years ago when a
huge storm came blasting across the top of the mountain the Dynamic Due played
music while we all hid under the lowered easy up. They kept our spirits up and the crowed
entertained.
Lastly, most music festivals will have a drum circle at some point
in the schedule. Usually this will
happen on the last day of the festival and is a great event. People will bring anything they can make percussive
sounds out of and will pound and dance for hours. You will not want to miss this experience and
will be more a part of it if you have something to bang on.
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