Too Many Options!!

The one problem about wanting to go to a music festival for New Year's Eve is that there is a new lineup being dropped about every other week with a new festival in a different city. With all these great lineups, there's just too many options! The past two weeks, my friend group has been jumping back and forth between 3 different New Year's Eve options.

Lights All Night just released their lineup with DJ's I've yet to see, like Jauz and Yellow Claw, which is almost unheard of now. Dallas is so much closer and the cheapest option, but the people and the vibes that are there are not ideal. I've had awesome times at this fest, but I've also ran into a lot of rude people that have killed the positive frequency I was running on. I had a friend of a friend get punched in the stomach for no reason here. People can be ridiculous and rowdy at this fest.

Reaction released their full lineup and it's stacked with not only great DJ's, but some amazing bands, like CHVRCHES and Cherub, and rappers too, like Run the Jewels and Chance the Rapper. The problem with this one is it's in Chicago. We're getting to the point where it's hard to f
ind a car to get us to these places so far away and plane tickets are just too expensive. Luckily we have free places to stay in Chicago, but the car situation is what ultimately is keeping us from this fest.

And of course Decadence, what I blogged about earlier. Granted, my friends and I already have our tickets to this one, but I would be lying if I said we were at one point going to try to sell them for other options. Decadence has the lineup, a great location, but geez is it expensive. My ticket for this two-day fest is now the same amount as my Austin City Limits ticket. This festival is more than likely going to be our final option, but it's going to be the most expensive.


The list could go on and on with how many New Year's shows I've seen and thought about going to instead. I like the fact that there are options because you know the event won't be so heavily populated with thousands of people flooding to other arenas and convention centers for different shows; but, I hate it as well. If you give me too many options, I panic and buy a festival ticket on a knee jerk reaction without thinking my options through, and then have my friends get irritated with me. I can't handle all these options! I need to just start letting my friends decide for me.

Look Out for Scammers!

I just wanted to make this post to make sure people are aware of how easy it is to get scammed when buying tickets to a sold out event, the warning signs you need to see, and the best way to get a decently priced ticket to a sold out event.

I decided to write about this because I was almost scammed into buying two face value Weekend 2 Austin City Limits tickets. Buying from second hand buyers, like StubHub and TicketCity, can be too expensive and I do suggest buying it from private sellers on Craigslist because that is your cheapest option, just be careful.

The biggest warnings I've noticed when buying from private sellers on Craigslist is the scammers don't want to use PayPal. PayPal helps prevent from getting scammed. If they have a different option they want to use, don't fall for it. The guy that almost got me wanted to use Walmart 2 Walmart pay option and that is the fastest way to lose your money.
In a festival situation, you're going to find tickets for sale all over the place, so it'll make you feel uneasy about doing any type of transaction with someone on the other side of the country. Ask the person if they can send you a screen shot of their receipt. It'll have their name and the date that they bought it. That was my last warning sign I got when the scammer never texted back a screen shot of his receipt.

Also talk to the person a little more than just about the transaction. If they put a reason as to why they can't go to the event on the ad, ask them again and see if the story matches.
With my current situation, I ended up finding a seller in the Dallas area and we keep each other updated on money, when the wristbands have been shipped, etc. She agreed on letting me be the only potential buyer since I was the first person to get a hold of her and we haven't made any money transactions yet since she doesn't have the wristbands. With simple communication between you and the seller, you can figure out if you for sure have a ticket.

For those still looking, wait until all the wristbands have been shipped. Having the wristbands in person already helps validate the transaction. Also, the closer to the date of the event, the cheaper and more frantic people are trying to sell their weekend passes.

So if you haven't gotten a pass yet, don't give up!! And be careful of shitty people trying to make a fast buck.

-Blaze
  

Backwoods Bash Security Under Investigation for Death of Detained Attendee

Tragedy hits Backwoods Bash as news comes out of a 34 year-old attendee named Patrick Murphy died while being detained by festival security. According to Fox23, the OSBI is now involved in this investigation as more information begins to unfold about that night.

According to a report, Patrick Murphy began exhibiting erratic behavior who was then subdued and handcuffed by security. Shortly after, Murphy stopped breathing and EMT's were called to rush him to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead. Backwoods Bash officials made the decision to fire the security company and made a public statement saying :

"We apologize for anyone who had a less than positive experience with security at Backwoods this year. We have taken the necessary steps to fire the company and will not be bringing them back next year. During the event there were several incidents which Backwoods had to relieve some security staff of duty due to inappropriate actions. In our attempt to keep the event safe and secure, we failed our patrons by hiring a company who wasn't able to perform for us. We look forward to improving your experience by finding the right security company for next year."

There were many complaints against the security this year showing inappropriate behavior, not to just the attendees, but the artists as well. One electronic DJ, FYER, ended up cancelling his show due to the security attacking his tour manager with a knife for reasons unknown.

This news is awful to me and makes me keep stressing how it's the job of any type of security to protect the people and keep the peace, whether it be the actual PD or just security at events. These men and women need to be trained PROPERLY and THOROUGHLY to prevent instances like this. Excessive force and use of weapons should never be the way to deal with erratic people and this could have been 100% avoided.

My deepest condolences go out to the friends and family of Patrick Murphy.

-Blaze

Backwoods Bash Exceeds Expectations

This year was the year to be at Backwoods Bash in Stroud, Oklahoma. This was it's 7th year in the little town, but its first year to book some unbelievable and biggest acts yet. Starting the first night with Infected Mushroom headlining and having ODESZA headline the last. Not to mention some other great acts like Porter Robinson who blew everyone away with his ambient tunes, The Floozies, Manic Focus, Lettuce, and The Motet. Backwoods also had some great local acts like Helen Helter Skelter, Diludic, and Ed Crunk.

This festival is definitely on the lower scale of popularity, only because of the names they are able to bring, making it a very uncrowded and awesome. All the festivals that I'm used to attending have no less than 50k festival goers, so experiencing something this small scale was almost like a breath of fresh air.

I would say the downfall of the festival is the time they put it on and how far away the campground was away from the stages. Early September heat in humid Oklahoma is nothing to mess with and it's crucial to stay hydrated and keep that sunscreen on. I was not a fan of the 102 degree days and spent most of the daylight hours in the shade , otherwise it'll make for a very miserable and tiring night for you. Also, I've never been further than a 15 minute walk to stages ever at any camping fest I've ever attended and Backwoods had a very hilly 45 minute walk which I would label almost miserable.

I'm sad that Oklahoma didn't bring back Mystik Sanctuary, which was the same weekend as Backwoods last year, but this year made up for it. Another festival for the books!


-Blaze