FYF Fest 2014: The great and the grating on Day 1

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So how was your first day of FYF Fest?

Because there were two distinct factions at Day 1 of this year’s bigger, pricier FYF – sold out at a capacity of 40,000 – at the L.A. Sports Arena & Exposition Park on Saturday. There were those who told me “amazeballs!” and “another home run” (hooray for baseball references) and “best weekend of the year” (the company slogan) while rushing to see Grimes and Run the Jewels. And there were those who cursed the ongoing legacy of logistical problems that still plague the festival even after it hopped in the sack with major promoter Goldenvoice in 2011.

As you might expect, any event that moves to a new venue (and this is likely to become FYF’s permanent home) is going to have some ups and downs. Here goes …

First, the good:

‣ Every stage sounded fantastic, even the cavernous Sports Arena, with no technical woes we heard about. And the abundance of shade made downtime pleasant.
‣ Virtually no dust (we miss your skyline view, L.A. State Historic Park, but not your air). You may be able to breathe this morning.
‣ Plentiful bathrooms.
‣ Everyone we asked (who did not have a Curmudgeon Merit Badge) was excited about the lineup.
‣ And we didn’t see a single dude in a headdress, and not one person took the Ice Bucket Challenge.

Now for the other:

‣ The lines to enter the festival (unless you arrived at 1 p.m., like the silly guy who took the above photo) were insane – a two-plus-hour wait for some. The VIP entrance was not clearly marked (oh, thanks for the email that was sent out to VIP wristband holders at 6:49 p.m. with a map to the entrance).
‣ The footprint of the festival was much larger than at L.A. State Historic Park, not a problem itself, except that the serpentine manner in which foot traffic was routed made for downright dangerous pedestrian jams in some spots. Basically, there was only one way between stages – the long way around. It was very commerce-friendly (you passed vendors, food trucks and booths on every trip), but not terribly user-friendly. It took longer to walk from the Main Stage to The Lawn stage at FYF than it takes to get from the Main Stage to the Sahara Tent at Coachella. Tip: If you’re in a hurry, walk to the outside, away from the Sports Arena.
‣ After Slint’s 4 p.m. set inside the Sports Arena, that venue turned into a mess. Depending on whom you asked, security was either 1) not letting people in, 2) letting people in from the other side, or 3) letting people in after whoever was playing was finished. Sets were missed. Shouting was heard.
‣ Cellular signals were bad as the night progressed.
‣ Lines at the food trucks were oppressive, too. Tip: The lines at the food court at the southeast corner of the festival – down from the Main Stage – weren’t bad at all.

Hey, Day 2, can’t wait to see you.

More Day 1 coverage coming later this morning on this very channel …