There was a "if you build it they will come" kind of feel to the inaugural Summerfest. I arrived at noon Saturday feeling anxious about turnout. I left Sunday eager for the next one, or perhaps a more climate-friendly Winterfest. But what's the point of whining about the heat in Houston in August? So here's a grab bag of thoughts, photos and such:
1. It's not breaking news that Los Skarnales is a cracking good band. What didn't occur to me until Saturday is they might be the best live band in the country. They churned out sounds that got people moving to the point that a cloud of dust settled over a bunch of sweaty fans. If Gogol Bordello can find its way to a big typeface slot at a major festival, these guys can too.
Felipe Galvan is nearly impossible to shoot with a point-and-click digital camera. He moves like a flea, and this is about the only shot I got of him.
Los Skarnales
2. The depth of local talent was on display over two days. Case in point, by Sunday afternoon it was all beginning to blur together. It might have also been the heat. Anyway, Buxton's Chris Wise walked by. "Good set!" I said. "Thanks," he replied. "But we haven't played yet." They proceeded to play a set that mirrored the afternoon temperatures.
3. Cody Swann from Wild Moccasins raved about how the band played to its biggest audience ever (which was treated to some new stuff). Clearly the band made an impression. He said they sold all 80 t-shirts they brought along. They also gave my kid a pin.
I want a Microscopic Metronome!
4. According to reliable sources, the guy below was high on life and not doing a brown acid/Woodstock 40th anny thing.
Tumbling through space!
Seriously...
I love you, grass!
And the finale ...
Seacrest, out.
5. Yeah, the will-call thing on Saturday was a bummer. Because I arrived at noon, I didn't experience the two-hour wait. Because I arrived at noon, I was melty earlier, though.
6. Our pretty skyline looms over sun-baked music lovers.
Summerfest!
7. After a rainstorm Eleanor Tinsley Park smelled like a wet dog.
8. I plan to solve the home A/C battle with my wife by putting an air-conditioned tent in the corner of the den, where I'll sit. Genius is a term that gets overused. The guy who invented the AC tent is a genius.
9. Hot Stuff!
Self-explanatory
10. The $5 beers were 25% cheaper than their counterparts at House of Blues.
11. I'm sure the headliner sets were very well attended. (I had to go cover other stuff.) But I was proud of the early turnout.
12. F-bombs dropped, I heard tell of a fight, but there was no shortage of kids. Mine napped longer on Saturday and Sunday (in the AC tent!) than she ever does at home.
Los Skarnales overdose victim
13. The absence of recycling receptacles was too bad.
14. Long-sleeve shirts and ties? Thumbs up to the magnificent Octopus Project for keeping style up there with the substance.
15. Stage setup? Hmm . . . as the crowd thickened, it became difficult to get from the main stage to the second stage.
16. Robert Ellis: I think I saw him play guitar in one band, bass in another and drums in a third. He's like Rex Hudler. Only he's much better at his job(s).
17. As with Octopus Project, thumbs up to the Tontons' Asli Omar who didn't let a pesky thing like heat get in the way of her signature stage gear. And the band rocked in the middle of one of those scorching early afternoon set times.
It is hot.
18. I was greatly impressed with the decision to move a band from the main stage on Sunday to get it back on schedule after rain delayed the first band by 20 minutes. The good: A main stage that flowed almost exactly according to schedule. The bad: Nobody had any effing idea who was playing when on the second stage.
19. The McKenzies had the unenviable task of going out first on Sunday after a significant downpour. Folks were just beginning to trickle in, but they were treated to a new tune or two.
Rain rain go away.
20. The water . . . free Vitamin Water was a nice offering, but some folks just crave plain old water water. And there was none to be had. Period. Beer was the closest thing.
21. High marks for the cooling tent (not to be confused with the AC tent). It was still plenty hot, but offered a substantial amount of shade.
22. 
A tip jar.
23. How does one know if the port-a-potty he/she chose will be clean or shit-drenched? Sticky notes!
At least as clean as a truck stop.
24. I hate namedropping our local bands because inevitably I'll leave somebody out. That said, I can't wait to hear more from Grandfather Child.
25. People seemed to like the water activities. Perhaps more next year?
26. Winterfest?
27. I'm sure non-Summerfest types will despise this idea, but maybe close all of Allen Parkway? The walking routes to the entrances were a little tight.
28. Big appreciation for the diversity of music represented. No two acts sounded alike, which is saying something considering more than 40 bands played.
29. Seriously, put Los Skarnales on the Lollapalooza stage. They'd kill.
For a first year show it went off really well, at least from a spectator's point of view. The only big problems were 1. lines to get in and 2. no water.
Yeah, it was hot, but come on, it's August in Houston. What do you expect? If you live here you know what it's like and you make accommodations. To not have it because of the weather would have been retarded. Actually, the heat was awesome 'cos the honeys in their bikinis were very noice.
The atmosphere was super chill. There were the usual wares being hocked, some dope being smoked and some hacky sack. The best for me, outside of the music, was when (this was on day 1) people started cardboard surfing the hill. I hadn't though about, much less partook of, that in years. AWE-some!
I'm really looking forward to next years event!
#4 that guy made people watching fun... it was like playing "Where's the Asian Waldo?" at Summer Fest
Awesome. I agree with all 29 points.
oh, no. There is no way that guy was merely high on life. But I loved how he became a sort of mascot for the festival. "Oh, it's that guy! You know, the one from the grass."
Thoughts:
1) Sort out will-call, Free Press. You know how many tickets you sold.
2) Octopus Project, Fat Tony, HISD all sounded good . . . from the will-call line.
3) Free water PLEASE. Vitamin Water is a) nasty and b) not conducive to pouring on your body to beat the heat.
4) Devin the Dude signed autographs for a solid hour after his set. The man didn't miss a one.
5) Whatever Of Montreal was smoking, I want it. Seeing their show from the back/side of the stage (which turned out to be the best seat in the house, I'm telling ya) was awesome. The performers would hop off stage, strip and get into the next ridiculous outfit. Giant monster claws, anyone.
6) The a/c tent was GENIUS. My friend wants to start a movement to find one to cover all of inner-loop. Dome Houston 2010, he says.
7) Although it took a while to find it, thank god for good beer and not just Budweiser. Also maybe it was the heat, but the margs and sausage on a stick were mother-effin' delicious.
8) It was hot, but awesome. I can't wait for the next one! (I humbly volunteer to run will-call.)
Awesome article. +1 for the space cadet photos.
If the city gets it's shit straightened out, put in the Dome.
But seriously, it was a great, affordable fest. I understand if they want to make it bigger (ie. bigger acts) they need to start charging more money, but I heard quite a few people commenting how they enjoyed the size of the festival. You could hear a great band form a great vantage point for very little money. Compare that with other ACL/Pitchfork style festivals and you can see how this could be an elite festival.
Fantastic festival. The Fancy Pants upgrade was a huge waste of money, but w/e, $50 for a 2 day fest is still cheap.
Only wish it would have gone on later into the night when its not so hot.
overall i think summer fest was a success. the lines could have been shorter, but it was the perfect size, and what is summer without the heat? get over it. maybe another tent would have been nice though. and more water, i had a guy drop to the left of me and then no more than twenty minutes later the guy a few people in front of me dropped. and was it just me or was everyone else's vitamin water expired? anyways, broken social scene was great, love love love. someone tell them to bring metric to texas next time. next time more tents, more water, more DANCING. it made me really happy to see the turn out, just proving how much of a craving there is in houston for such events. AGAIN!
co-sign.
I'm looking forward to the next one!
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