Wanted to post this last night, but the internet connection was bad.
We got to the fest late due to bad directions from a GPS, missed everything up until The Casualties last 4 or 5 songs(which were really good).
When stuff gets posted you might notice a little bit worse photo quality than you're used to... When we got to the media sign in I was mistakenly given a regular GA pass, so I pulled out the E-mail of my media request answer. However, they still wouldn't give me a Photo pit pass(aka an actual band that says Media). Something about how I was just GA media at first, then something about a capped limit on photo pit occupants... I'll let you decide. Here's the E-mail I got:
Hello,
You're receiving this email because you applied for press credentials to the 5th annual Fun Fun Fun Fest, taking place Nov. 5-7 at Austin's Waterloo Park. We are happy to inform you that your request has been approved, and you've been allotted credentials as follows:
PUBLICATION: TX Punk
# of media passes granted: 2 GA
# of photo pit wristbands (requires a media pass to be valid): 2
Followed by the two names I put the request in for.
I missed out on some interviews because I couldn't get in the proper media area. Probably could have set up some more(besides a few I had pretty much worked out and set up) while I was actually back there...
Anyways; moving on.
I was amazed at the amount of people inside hundreds for Casualties, and I walked over to the fence to ask what a certain line was for. Turns out it was the Will Call line, it went allllllll the way around the corner of the park, and waaay down the street from there... Naturally the crowd got bigger with every band, since people were getting in.
Also, be warned. Dust masks are a great idea. Once the bands get going the entire Black stage area turns into a dust cloud.
Casualties were great. Busted out a sick cover of "Blitzkrieg Bop", and got a nice wall of death.
Municipal Waste had a massive pit, and get this: After they finished the chant before their last song("Municipal Waste is gonna f*ck you up"), the lead singer got buzzsawed by a Gwar member. Rad.
The Gories got a great response. Really fun off the wall Garage Rock. They broke a string on all 3 guitars they pulled out(that ought to say something about their high-energy set)
Dwarves had probably the most crowd surfers(trust me that's an amazing title when you look at how many there were for others). They owned the stage as soon as they got on, and continued til they got off.
The Vandals got people stoked out. Played mostly newer stuff of course, but they threw a few old ones like "Anarchy Burger". By this point the crowd was getting well into the thousands.
After the Vandals finished I turned to walk around a bit before Gwar... All of a sudden I found a sea of people in that direction preparing for Gwar. Turn the opposite way; same thing. Turn to face the back of the park, only to see somewhere around 3 or 4 thousand people packed together like sardines, waiting for the Metal monsters... That being said I sat right where I was.
Gwar ripped musically and of course soaked the crowd... I avoided most, and my pictures probably aren't as good because of that, but hey I still have a working camera. One amusing spraying device was a Sarah Palin strapped to a board, which of course they demolished.
Bad Religion was amazing. Even better than I thought. Greg Graffin, and Hetson both were on fire. They ripped through a mix of songs from their entire 30 years just in the time I saw them. Didn't get to stay til the end of their set, but saw the first 2/3 or so.
Thus, brings me to the end of a tiring day.