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Post by digforfire on Jul 7, 2010 10:39:16 GMT -5
I really miss Rothbury. I know this was a small scale fest but not even the vibes came close to reciprocating Rothbury. I did not like the festival site, there was little shade, there wasn't much to do before the main stages opened, and furthermore, THE BEER GARDEN IS STUPID!
Why can't I have a beer at the mainstage?
Why the hell did no one tell me the beer tickets were per day?
(I was the 3rd person in the beer garden)
It seemed like everywhere I looked people were being arrested.
I just want the forest and the wonderful Rothbury vibes and musical diversity back.
I will not be attending Nateva again.
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Post by itrainmonkeys on Jul 7, 2010 10:55:08 GMT -5
I really miss Rothbury. I know this was a small scale fest but not even the vibes came close to reciprocating Rothbury. I did not like the festival site, there was little shade, there wasn't much to do before the main stages opened, and furthermore, THE BEER GARDEN IS STUPID! True. From what i've heard about Rothbury it's that the environment/art/activities/forest were about half the fun of the festival. That's not an insult....but rather a compliment to the thought and effort that went into extra things to do and see at a music festival. I'm sure it's a totally different experience. One thing to keep in mind though, is that Rothbury has much more of a financial backing than Nateva. Nateva is meant to be a small, family-friendly event put on by some music fans who have some money. Rothbury has enough money to do all the cool and awesome things you've described. As for the vibes....don't know how they could have been better. I had a great time and everyone I talked to was friendly. A little annoying, I agree. Some people liked this though, because it kept the ground clean from cups and things. I'm not sure the whole reasoning behind this because I personally like to grab a beer and head over to the front of the stage....but it's not like the Beer Garden was way in the back away from the music. You could still see pretty well. Sounds like the fault of one of the workers. I was told right away that my ticket was only good for that day. They had signs up somewhere too I believe. That sucks. I only saw one case of a person being arrested early in the festival and also saw one guy who got snagged when entering the venue and pulled aside and searched thoroughly. They're reporting only 34 arrests the whole weekend so you may have just been unlucky and caught a majority of those going down. Also.....it's not like they were being arrested for hanging out and having a good time. I'm sure there were legit reasons for many of them. Well i'm glad you were able to have this festival be the "place holder" for Rothbury until that one comes back. Sorry you didn't seem to have as good a time as some others. I have heard wonderous things about that Rothbury forest and I'd love to check it out when it comes back. Nateva had some bumps in it's first year but I still view it as a positive experience and with a good lineup and no conflicts (if Rothbury is the same weekend as Nateva it may be tough) I plan on going back. |
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Post by velvetc on Jul 7, 2010 10:54:30 GMT -5
I throroughly enjoyed Nateva. I didn't encounter any problems at all like some people have mentioned. Yeah, the idea of the beer garden was pretty dumb. On the concert field you couldn't drink any beer, but you could carry as much beer as you wanted into the barns?
That said I agree Rothbury was a step above Nateva. Even when comparing both of their first years Rothbury was just better. Something like Sherwood Forest goes a long long way to making a scene. Nateva had nothing like that.
I would have no problem going back to Nateva. But if Rothbury comes back and is the same weekend Nateva is really gonna have to blow me away for me to not make the (longer) drive back to Rothbury, MI.
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Post by itrainmonkeys on Jul 7, 2010 11:06:14 GMT -5
That said I agree Rothbury was a step above Nateva. Even when comparing both of their first years Rothbury was just better. Something like Sherwood Forest goes a long long way to making a scene. Nateva had nothing like that. True. Even Nateva has stated that they aren't trying to be a Rothbury replacement and aren't trying to compete with other festivals. Nateva just wanted to slice out a little niche in the festival scene by having big name bands in a small, intimate setting. Like I said in my post above (that I was writing while you responded to the original post) - Nateva just doesn't have the same funds that Rothbury has/had. It's tough to really compare the two but I will agree that the first year of Rothbury generated some amazing buzz that led to many, MANY festival-goers to proclaim it's the new best festival. I liked Nateva for what it was. I didn't expect any crazy big event. But like you say.....if Nateva and Roth (and High Sierra) are all on the same weekend next year then it may be tough for people to decide........and most probably would choose Rothbury simply for the scene. Nateva would get a lot of families and people on the east coast who can't travel far but Rothbury definitely has a lot of positive buzz about it. |
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Post by armedaneian on Jul 7, 2010 11:38:18 GMT -5
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Post by crixtala on Jul 7, 2010 13:09:45 GMT -5
I couldn't agree more... I think I talked about Rothbury at this festival more than I did the actual festival itself. Molly and I couldn't talk to a single person without hearing them say, "Yeah... we're just here because Rothbury was cancelled."
Anywho... while I had a pretty damn good time, the vibes just really kind of sucked this weekend. There was so much sketch factor added by the ridiculous security that was around all weekend.
I never even felt comfortable at my own camp site because NUMEROUS times, there were scary, sketch security guards just hiding behind tents, looking to harrass anyone. It was so weird... I've never experienced anything like it at a fest. These guys were huge (and I'm 6'2", 280lbs to give you an idea of what my frame of reference is for the word "huge") and scary... and if they weren't scoping somebody out and just putting a funk on the whole environment, they were waiting for people to leave their campsite so that they could rummage through empty sites and tents.
I wanted to love this festival oh so badly... I bought tickets the minute they became available... I blindly stuck up for it when someone tried to bash it... but there were just enough negatives (even after giving a cushion due to the fact of it being a first year fest) that I'd really have to think about coming back.
I salute and thank Frank for putting this together, but if there's to be a Nateva 2011, there's some definite work that needs to be put into it to make it better.
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Post by mojo4395 on Jul 7, 2010 13:10:09 GMT -5
I had a great time at Nateva, but I would be lying if I said I didn't miss Rothbury. It was my first festival and I'm just now realizing how special it was. I just assumed all festivals were like that. Nateva was awesome, and I could definitely see myself there again, but Rothbury is still head-and-shoulders above anything, including Bonnaroo. Hopefully next year I can do both Nateva AND Rothbury!
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Post by velvetc on Jul 7, 2010 15:03:08 GMT -5
The only thing Nateva had on Rothbury was the convenience of camping so close to the concert fields. I loved being able to walk to the field in about 10 minutes. At Rothbury, even in '09 when we were pretty close, it was easily a 30 minute walk from the Odeum to camp.
Another thing I really liked about Rothbury was the multiple stages, all with good name bands. Nateva did have the barn stages going for an alternative to the main stage, but I only saw one or two bands because they were all pretty small names. I personally loved having to choose between bands I really wanted to see at Rothbury. In '09 Claypool, John Butler, and Black Crowes were all playing at the same time and I struggled up until the start of the sets to make my pick (Claypool).
That said I would say that Nateva was one of my 3 best festivals, out of about 10. A lot of that though had to do with the fun I had just hanging at camp with my friends and the convenience of location of camp. I'd go back, but Rothbury will get first dibs on me.
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Post by itrainmonkeys on Jul 7, 2010 15:16:44 GMT -5
Another thing I really liked about Rothbury was the multiple stages, all with good name bands. Nateva did have the barn stages going for an alternative to the main stage, but I only saw one or two bands because they were all pretty small names. I personally loved having to choose between bands I really wanted to see at Rothbury. In '09 Claypool, John Butler, and Black Crowes were all playing at the same time and I struggled up until the start of the sets to make my pick (Claypool). I get what you're saying....but personally I can't stand conflicts. I'm glad that I didn't have to choose between two must-see acts and only catch one at Nateva. One example I can think of is this year's Newport Folk Festival. I was thinking about going but probably couldn't swing it due to money and travel and stuff.....and now that they released the schedule I'm glad I didn't buy tickets. Almost every band I want to see is playing during another band (or two) that I wanted to see. Also, a lot of the smaller names were there because they were local to the New England scene and Nateva was trying to help them out and support the New England music I think. You're right though....Rothbury had a lot more big names. I'm really glad that Nateva adopted the Mountain Jam style of two stages side-by-side. |
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Post by digforfire on Jul 8, 2010 8:05:44 GMT -5
In '09 Claypool, John Butler, and Black Crowes were all playing at the same time and I struggled up until the start of the sets to make my pick (Claypool). I made the exact same decision and def. did not regret it. Claypool was awesome! |
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Post by pimpmcgeorge on Jul 8, 2010 8:12:24 GMT -5
I was 100% gonna hit up Roth this year if it hadn't been canceled, but alas, it was. In any event, I had an AWESOME time at Nateva this year.
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Post by peacefrog on Jul 9, 2010 18:05:56 GMT -5
I really miss Rothbury. I know this was a small scale fest but not even the vibes came close to reciprocating Rothbury. I did not like the festival site, there was little shade, there wasn't much to do before the main stages opened, and furthermore, THE BEER GARDEN IS STUPID! Why can't I have a beer at the mainstage? Why the hell did no one tell me the beer tickets were per day? (I was the 3rd person in the beer garden) It seemed like everywhere I looked people were being arrested. I just want the forest and the wonderful Rothbury vibes and musical diversity back. I will not be attending Nateva again. The Beer Garden: Being that this is a family festival I would assume they would want to keep people drinking and dancing with alcohol separate from people at the concert. Why you ask? To reduce the amount of litter on the concert field, the amount of beer spilled on people and the ground, and the conflicts that arise from each. I can't count the amount of times I said how relieved I was to be able to dance and walk through crowds without coming out covered in beer. Security: It was explicitly stated on the website, during the car search, and by the police on horseback themselves that the primary concern was over nitrous and mass quantities of drugs. Sounds pretty chill to me. I smoked with cops galloping by my tent every ten minutes and got a smile and wave every time.Unless you were doing something really sketchy, the security presence shouldn't have sketched you out. Like they said don't bring the tanks and there won't be a problem. This was specifically a family friendly scene , recall that when you question every decision they made when they put this all together . I think they did a great job correcting their mistakes and problems as they arose ( water spigots on the field, pallets over the mud , etc) which showed me that their efforts were genuine. I got the sense that they really cared and really wanted us to have an amazing time.They brought their best efforts, you just had to choose your attitude. It was really hard not to have an incredible time. aaand my last few bits : I was sad to see P Funk cut short, the falafel stand by the barn was perfection (aside from the customer service, damnit), and all the vibes I got were good and clean. Thanks to everyone , patrons and workers alike, for making this festival something to remember! |
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Post by itrainmonkeys on Jul 9, 2010 18:49:22 GMT -5
The Beer Garden: Being that this is a family festival I would assume they would want to keep people drinking and dancing with alcohol separate from people at the concert. Why you ask? To reduce the amount of litter on the concert field, the amount of beer spilled on people and the ground, and the conflicts that arise from each. I can't count the amount of times I said how relieved I was to be able to dance and walk through crowds without coming out covered in beer. Also, someone stated that it's a Maine law to have the alcohol-serving be separate from other parts of the festival. Might be in this thread or in another but someone talked about it being mandatory. |
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Post by captntripps on Jul 12, 2010 11:58:07 GMT -5
I would have preferred the all ages area to be where the beer garden was and vice-verse, but I may feel different if I had children with me.  No way! the topless girls hula-hooping couldnt have been more than 19 so I say they stay on my concert field. |
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