I'm so damn old and out of touch with music and it's festivals like this that make me realize it. I looked at the lineup for all three days and simply said, "who?" With multiple stages playing a variety of music over all three days I only knew a handful of bands and had only heard of a couple more. That being said, Life Is Beautiful made it really easy to have a really good time!
I loved the proximity to the city and the fact that ins and outs were permitted. Drinks and food too expensive inside the festival grounds? All good, homie. Roll into El Cortez and grab some cheap eats, play some video poker and steal some ice cold air conditioning. A couple times we even found shelter in Atomic with a view of one of the mainstages, cheap(er) drinks, a decent view and perfect sound from whoever was playing - not too shabby!
The musical highlights:
- Duran Duran: This was the one band that I was looking forward to seeing simply for nostalgia reasons and they did not disappoint.
- Weezer: Boring as all hell but damn, their set it hit after hit after hit. It's like listening to the radio.
- Imagine Dragons: Not a fan at all but when a band is great live you have to give credit when credit is due. Being a local headliner was kind of charming too.
- Run The Jules: Recommended by a friend and they ruled. They were the one band that seemed genuinely excited to be playing in front of a big crowd. Most festival bands become jaded to thousands of fans, but not these guys... energy!
Stevie Wonder: No explanation needed. He's Stevie Wonder.
The musical lowlights:
- Against Me: We know the singer has undergone a massive transformation and so did their setlist. Stayed for about twenty five minutes and didn't hear one song that I knew or liked.
I'm pretty sure that LIB is going to be an annual pilgrimage for me and I highly recommend it to anyone with a musical bone in their body. Even if you're not a fan of the bands, you're sure to have an awesome time. Well done LIB organizers!