The Most Important Thing To Remember About Playing FESTIVALS

....something's gonna go wrong.

Always. Without a doubt. Set your watch by it. Count on it. Take it to the bank.

Something's not going to work. Something's going to break. Something's not going to get checked. Something won't sound right. Somebody won't hear everything. Everybody won't hear something.

Something.

Something's going to go wrong.

Unless you're fortunate enough to be the headliner of the event and you happen to get that nice, cozy sound check 7 hours before you even take the stage to perform, just plan on everything not quite functioning at 100%.

Festivals are cool events. Loads of people come out (potential fans), there are usually a ton of sponsors at the event (people to network with), there are other cool bands playing (more people to network with), and all the extracurricular activities are usually pretty great, too (I just had one of the absolute best Philly cheesesteak sandwiches I've ever had... and if you know me, you know that means something).

Bart gettin' it with Modern Suspects.

But, inevitably, with so many bands, so much gear, a tight schedule, and so many things that could potentially go wrong, something will almost certainly actually go wrong.

Such is the lesson I've been learning recently playing with the guys in Modern Suspects. They've booked their summer solid with awesome festival gigs up and down the front range here in Colorado, but getting to play so many great events carries with it the unenviable price tag of festival participation: having to expect the unexpected and to perform in less-than-optimal conditions, 'cause something's about to go nutty.

Our crowd at the Taste of Ft. Collins festival

Thankfully, the guys in the band know the set well enough that they can still throw down pretty hard in the midst of the distractions and frustrations. This past weekend at the Taste of Ft. Collins festival stands as another example of this timeless lesson. As always, the show must go on, and it did, and it ended up being a pretty great afternoon for us. We only had to cut a song or two from our planned set list (unlike our previous festival experience at the Denver Day of Rock where, due to inclement weather and abnormally hefty traffic density in downtown Denver, we only got to perform 50% of our set), and I'm pretty sure the FOH (front of house) sound tech was able to get everything running through the system that needed to be there. Of course, there was no line check on the drums (which means that I had to play the whole gig without being able to really hear my kick drum... definitely in the top ten of my pet peeves), but I still managed to have a great time with the rest of the guys.

So make sure to get yourself out to one of the festival performances they've got lined up over the course of the next few months.

The Westword Music Showcase is next up (this weekend), and I'm sure something technical will go haywire there, too. (And you know you don't want to miss the opportunity to see what it happens this time.)

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