Summer music festivals can be things of adorableness and analysis for advanced concert-goers. All you charge is centralized backbone and a top altruism for crowds and abandoned elements. Over the years, I've spent added than my allotment of time on both abandon of the barricade, and I've abstruse a few things about life, bedrock and animal decay in the process.
1. The Europeans are bigger at summer festivals. Sure, the U.S. has acquired a bit of cred over the endure few years, but it's because they've taken addendum from the veteran, well-run mega-festivals beyond the water. The camping is better, the lineups are absurd and, a lot of critically, the accidental rock, metal and addition music fan on the added ancillary of the pond has broader interests than his or her counterparts in the States. This is why festivals like Bedrock am Ring in Germany, Spain's Azkena and even England's Glastonbury can advertise added assorted acts, and aback massive crowds in the process. The European festivals are trusted draws themselves – not that our Coachella and Sasquatch! don't accept able brands – and are beneath abased on whether they get the absolute above acts to draw crowds.
2. Unfortunately, Europeans accept angry throwing bottles of piss into a sport. Look, we accept all been there. You clasp and agonize and assuredly get yourself as abutting as you can to the front. But again . . . you gotta pee. Here in America, we accept yet to apprentice the beautiful argot of, say, the Midlands in England. Pissing in a canteen and casting it at the bandage has become a sport, affectionate of like crimper or snookers. Adept artists apperceive to accumulate their eyes actively baldheaded adjoin the border for aerial objects. Shoe-gazer bands become beneath shoe-gazey at these gigs – a lot beneath shoe-gazey.
Duff McKagan on His Sensual, Sinister New Band, Walking Papers
3. No amount the continent, there's a big-armed guy fueling every show. When you're onstage you can't absence that guy in the actual foreground of the army adjoin the barrier. Every anniversary seems to accept at atomic one. He's usually bald. He usually has a bad sunburn. And he consistently has one arm angled as if to say: "Yes, I am agitation out, and I am a bad motherfucker!" I consistently adulation to play for this guy. He is every band's accessory in these hard-fought bedrock battles.
4. Able and summer fests don't mix. Performers: don't smoke able afore a show. A lot of bands play in the ablaze and calefaction of these connected summer days. Able and sun and top temperatures don't mix able-bodied . . . I'm appealing sure.
5. A cab is not a break vehicle. This is addition one for my adolescent performers: Don't yield a cab to a bounded Walgreens, rob their pharmacy of Oxys, and yield the above cab aback to the venue. I'm appealing abiding the cops will be able to acquisition you.
6. Schedule Bilbao, Spain into your summer vacation. Year in and year out, Azkena Bilbao books one of the season's best festivals. I saw John Cale, the New York Dolls, the Sex Pistols and Jon Spencer Blues Explosion all play on the above date one afternoon back-to-back. That is kick-ass!
7. Don't skip the ancillary stages. All of the above festivals accept historically had able bookers, and as a aftereffect the abate tents and ancillary stages are reliable spots to bolt bands on the rise. The U.K.'s Download Anniversary is accomplishing a air-conditioned affair this year with an acoustic tent. Some of the bigger bands, and abounding of the abate artists at that festival, will aswell be accomplishing abbreviate acoustic sets.
8. Parents, traveling to a anniversary with your jailbait doesn't accomplish you their pal. It has appear to my absorption that there is annihilation beneath air-conditioned than traveling to a anniversary with a parent. Not that this could anytime appear to a air-conditioned dad like me . . .
9. Don't absence Bedrock Summer festival! Not to be mistaken with the similarly-named fest in Milwaukee, Estonia's Bedrock Summer fest is a connected archetype of what a ample net bookers in Europe cast. This fest, for example, appearance Bryan Adams and John Lydon's Public Image Ltd. There's a brace you'd never see twinned in the U.S.
10. Don't absence Summerfest! Milwaukee gets it. Every bandage that I've anytime accepted just loves to play this festival, which runs June 26th through July 7th forth Lake Michigan. The humans up there adulation music, and abnormally their harder bedrock and indie. This year's calendar includes Tom Petty, Fun. and . . . New Kids on the Block! Hey, I assumption some U.S. bookers do accept a faculty of humor.
Have a abundant season, everyone.
As told to Chris Kornelis
Duff McKagan is a co-founder of Guns N' Roses and the columnist of the bestselling account It's So Easy: And Added Lies (Touchstone).
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