| rev:text
| - Second year should have been sufficient to rid themselves of all the inaugural kinks. Downgrade incoming ....
To be clear: there will always be some issues, this is natural; although, the main problem at Life Is Beautiful Music & Arts Festival is that they don't seem to be insomuch as trying in some areas. They are advertising in mass to the masses, and most people go to just one concert a year, so this would be the time of their lives no matter how mediocre it was put on.
First, my biggest gripe from the initial review in 2013 was the lineup. Boy was it shitty! Of course this is somewhat subjective, although my three-pronged test of (a) unique bookings; (b) once in a lifetime collaborations; and, (c) memorably factor among the haze of all other events was certainly not met.
Year two included two hip hop nights (headliners) and one seldom-to-perform subheadliner (Lionel Ritchie); the third and best headliner was the soon-to-be-inducted Foo Fighters. All in all great: this year saw an expansion in the length of the festival as well as the festival grounds. (And police roaming around.)(Is the latter just a natural "improvement," or related to the genre headlining two of the nights? Only the decision-makers can say.)
So why the downgrade of a star if the headliners are superior and that was complaint number one from the inaugural year?
Well ...
Speaker lectures
You book Pussy Riot in an absurdly small capacity venue? Are you serious? You are lucky that their followers are peace-loving; had it been Rage Against The Machine ....
Water points
Where in the bloody fuck are they? They appeared to be significantly increased (perhaps three times more than 2013?), but it still not enough. Bottled water was decreased to 3$, but that is still 50% more than Coachella's 2$ bottles.
Ferris wheel
No single riders is a preposterously offensive policy. I heard of this from someone who was simply attempting to finish the application bingo card thing. The signs say 5$ per person.
Art
What was great the first year changed into a somewhat mediocre affair in the second. Gone are the festival-goer driven installations like the heart that is now in front of Container Mall, and the wall of bricks who seemingly are kept in storage throughout the year. This year you could draw or sign a banner again, and draw on a balloon. (Pesky balloons that would block the view of the stage for those behind them. Genius.)
Food
It looked good. I did not partake in buying any this year so it will not factor in my review. Go to others for that: I am here for the music.
Music
Best of 2014: Matt & Kim (Western stage)
Best of 2013: Smith Westerns (Red Bull® bus)
After Coachella installs a V.I.P. area -- which is ridiculously unfavoured by the general festival-goer -- LiB turns around and adds one to the Downtown (main) and Ambassador (outdoor) stages? Seriously? Take a wild guess as to who was in the V.I.P. area at Coachella earlier this spring apparently.
Instead of attending festivals and borrowing from their absolute most shittiest idea, Rehan should attend Bonnaroo and learn how they run the comedy tent (so the same system can be applied to the lectures). At least borrow good things from other festivals.
If this paradigm continues -- by year three -- it will be a one-star for Life is Beautiful. And, year four won't even happen (as they are profusely bleeding red ink). Go to it while you still can.
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