Back in early April, I did as I have done many times for over a decade: I found info on a live show that I wanted to attend, I bought tickets way ahead of time (and on this occasion, also paid for a hotel room with room for me + 3), and then let all my concert-going friends know, so they would (hopefully) join me.
The tickets were for the All Points West Music & Arts Festival in Liberty State Park, across the harbor from New York City, and the hotel room was in a Doubletree Hotel, a one-mile walk from the park. We wouldn't have had to worry about parking or public transport (subway and/or ferry), and we'd have been spending each night in luxury! An advantage over my Woodstock '99 experience is that for this 3-day festival, each day begins at noon and ends at 11 pm sharp (no sleepover mayhem to worry about, and plenty of time each morning to enjoy breakfast, not to mention a shower), featuring each night's headliner: Beastie Boys, Tool and Coldplay.
Now, I have no interest in Tool, and I was planning on leaving before Coldplay's set on Sunday night to beat all the traffic, but the rest of the festival's line-up is amazing. If I had been able to go, today was going to be unreal. Granted, Beastie Boys sadly wouldn't be able to play after all (Jay-Z stepped up graciously to replace them, which was cool, and is probably going to be fantastic), but I would still have been able to see Fleet Foxes, The National, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Carolina Liar.
On Day 2 (tomorrow), seeing one of my all-time favorite bands, My Bloody Valentine would have fulfilled a dream I've had since college. Plus, I would have been able to hear a lot of current bands live that I might normally not have any (or just a passing) interest in (Gogol Bordello, Arctic Monkeys, The Ting Tings). And on Day 3 (Sunday), I would have gotten to see minor 80's icons Echo & The Bunnymen, current favorite Ghostland Observatory, and (I hadn't even noticed until today), a band from one of Christopher's recent album reviews, Akron/Family. How cool would that have been?
Anyway, the point of this story is this: I will never again shell out money for concert tickets, no matter how excited I am, until I have travelling companions already lined up. Unfortunately for this ill-fated excursion, Brian didn't like enough of the line-up, Gavin has Depeche Mode tickets for tonight (and has been travelling nearly every weekend this summer to boot), Rob is renovating a house, and Jay is too busy with work. All very good reasons not to go. And for the record, while I am disappointed, I would never be ridiculous enough to carry any ill-will toward my NLM bretheren. Thankfully in this case, I was fortunate enough to get my money back for the $360 hotel room (which was non-refundable, because it was booked so soon at a "locked-in" price). A girl who needed a last-minute room took it off of my hands (thanks Monica!) in an amazing "overnighted money-order" and "transfer the reservation name" operation. Sadly, as you can see by the photo, I was not able to recoup the $222 for the tickets. An expensive lesson, but one well-learned.
Hopefully, next year's line-up will have more appeal to (and better timing for) my Not Lame Minus cronies, and I'll be able to enjoy a 3-Day revel once again!
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