|
|
Post by sneakyjack on Jun 10, 2014 19:47:26 GMT -5
I injoyed.
went it wet wed eve
left wet monday am
from the rain
the rest of the time great daze and cold nites
excellent tunes and easy to get around
I heard of a bunch of busts for drugs and such and I think that is annoying - but it happens.
I was blown away by Ratdog
Pretty lights took a while to set up but was grate
Umphreys was fun
Allman's a blast
All the concert goers were great
food to buy was cool
vendors had a good mix of goods.
|
|
|
|
Post by TheLucasBeard on Jun 10, 2014 22:09:42 GMT -5
|
|
|
|
Post by hunterdrummer on Jun 10, 2014 23:10:25 GMT -5
Mule rocked... So much better that last year... Tight.. Epic...
Pretty Lights was absolutely insane..
Umphs shredded..
DSO blew people away...
Kenny was dancing with Franti..
Oh... And Derek Trucks is god...
|
|
|
|
Post by mcolemanmusic on Jun 11, 2014 6:42:20 GMT -5
Pros: - Gov't Mule w/ Fireworks, Allman Brothers, Ratdog, Sister Sparrow & The Dirty Birds, Tedeschi Trucks, etc were all amazing. - Porta Potties were cleaned every morning - Great location for Car Camping - 5 min walk to stage. - Vendors sold really cool stuff, clothes, accessories, pipes, hippie-esque decor. - East & West Stages were a great idea for non-stop music all day! - Workshops & Seminars in Healey Hall were great additions - Even though I would never bring my kids to something like this, I think the kids attractions were wonderful. - Amazing scenery/views/attractions to take in around the campground and the Hunter area. - I smoked weed all weekend and my experience with security was fairly pleasant (Idiots beings caught, you're not doing it right). Cons: - Security is still too annoying to deal with though. Just to get coffee or juice in the morning you had to go through a pat down. I also saw a guard make someone open their *new* pack of gum lol. They're just busting people with unopened waters, snacks, etc...but they say they're doing it for our safety :/ Just be smart folks and you'll be fine! - $5 Showers. Yeah c'mon now. After dropping over $600 in tickets/passes I think campers should be entitled to at least 1 free shower pass for the weekend. I did hear people sneaking into another shower area for FREE but I couldn't find it! - Camping Experience. Our camping experience wasn't a total con but the campsites are way too close together and some of the "fire lanes" they created were impossible to get out of if we needed to. Also, what's with the losers blasting music at 5:00am just because they can? There was an infant a couple cars down and the group of kids next to us blasted music ALL night lol It is a festival but don't you think for a few hours that people would be decent? - I MISSED PRETTY LIGHTS! lol we were so tired after Saturday's lineup that we had to go pass out. I hope to catch PL sometime soon! We could hear it from our tent though  So yeah, our experience was overall a POSITIVE one guys. It was our first experience camping in general so I think my girlfriend and I pulled through pretty well We had a much better experience than we had planned and I totally feel like I came back from a long vacation. What I would say to those who are thinking of going is stop listening to the horror stories on here and just GO next year. The positives outweighed the negatives for us. Listening to people online almost made us not go and that would have been a horrible mistake! The music is still worth it all in the end and it was worth the money.. As long as the lineup is just as strong next year, we should be there! |
|
jeff
Junior Jammer
we are the good people, the one's they warned you about.
Posts: 68 
|
Post by jeff on Jun 11, 2014 6:48:55 GMT -5
We had fun. We managed to get in before almost everyone. We were up in Hunter 3 camping and had to deal with 5am "Coke Rants" from the general tenters. It didn't phase us, we still had a blast. Security on Thursday was straight up intrusive and they were being overly discriminatory. Again, did not ruin our fun.
Highlights:
DSO was fantastic
Amazing show from Umph! One of my best highlights
Ratdog was incredible, Bobby looks and sounds so much better than he did last year when we saw him with Further. He had just left rehab.
Mule- best performance I have seen from them and I have seen them 10 times including Christmas Jam. Jackie Greene was Awesome when he joined the band. I knew when they hit Tom Petty in the first set, it was going to be a special night.
TTB was sweet
CRB- sweet
Valerie June- mind blowing (id like to see her with the Chocolate Drops in the future)
Pretty Lights- really pissed I stuck around for the intro after waiting 45 minutes. Wish I had just left and gone to see Jackie Greene. Also, you have to love the smell of DMT in the wee hours of the morning.
Hope everyone had fun. We will definitely be back next year.
|
|
|
|
Post by Soulmate on Jun 11, 2014 18:57:52 GMT -5
Excellent reviews guys. Make no mistake.... all if these are read by organizers and taken seriously.
|
|
|
|
Post by Jon Dupee on Jun 11, 2014 19:10:24 GMT -5
The totalitarian security is ruining this festival. They go way too far.
|
|
|
|
Post by Jon Dupee on Jun 11, 2014 19:16:26 GMT -5
Sam Cutler's review of Mountain Jam
MOUNTAIN JAM
I was looking forward to Mountain Jam, in the little town of Hunter Mountain in upstate New York and less than twenty miles from Woodstock. The Allman Brothers topped a Fantastic line-up which included Bob Weir's RATDOG and the Chris Robinson Brotherhood all of whom I was anxious to enjoy. The festival had been founded by Warren Haynes some ten years ago, this was the tenth anniversary, all was set fair for a wonderful few days in the mountains. New promoters had taken the festival over and they were expected to add even more glitter glamor and general pizazz to the event.
We arrived the day before the festivities were due to begin and sailed thru the accreditation process with ease and everything seemed to be superbly organised with adequate signage and parking and sufficient security for the Berlin Wall. Vendors were displaying their wares, trucks were delivering equipment, band busses were arriving, all of the glamor and anticipation of the circus coming-to-town was in abundance. By a stroke of good fortune, dear friends had a small cabin in the town of Hunter, so we were to stay with them and be accommodated less than three minutes from the festival. I was glowing with anticipation, eager to see friends, happy that music in abundance was on the menu.
The following morning when I arrived at the festival I heard a somewhat alarming report from someone working with security. A van had been stopped coming off the New York State Thruway by the state police, and inside had been found large amounts of money, semi-automatic weapons and a considerable amount of drugs - the van was obviously not headed for a quiet weekend in the country and the occupants were duly hauled away. I thought to myself 'who the hell brings automatic weapons to a pop festival?' I then rationalized that this is America and dismissed the thought.
Over the course of the first day several people told me about busts coming off the main NYS thruway. The police were systematically stopping and searching cars, many people had been arrested, a depressing litany of news assailed me and I wondered at the policy at work in the local community. Across the Main Street of the local town hung a banner welcoming people to Mountain Jam, whilst less than a few miles from the banner people were being arrested for minor offenses, it seemed wildly inconsistent and savagely unfair.
During a break from talking to people about the police, the Stones and Grateful Dead, I wandered up the mountain to get a good view of the stage and heard a video clip I had previously recorded welcoming Weir and the Allman Brothers Band and saying something along the lines that it was wonderful to see them still playing. RATDOG were superb. Weir's voice was clear and authoritative, the band well balanced and organized, and his original songs sounded well chosen sophisticated and sat well within the Grateful Dead tunes he chose to play. A great set and as I was about to wonder back down the hill I got more depressing news.
A man approached me who I assessed to be around thirty years old. He had wild 'feral' hair and told me he was a post graduate student. He had passed a joint to someone sitting beside him some ten minutes before speaking to me, and it transpired that the person was an undercover police officer. the cop had given him an option, to be arrested or to go down to the ATM at the bottom of the hill and pay an 'on the spot fine' of three hundred dollars. The man chose the second option and three hundred bucks went from his account into the pocket of the police officer. I wondered where we were - was this Mexico or Thailand? Some third world country? Or was this the land of the free? The 'victim' (needless to say) was not given a receipt for the three hundred dollars.
That evening I took my sweetheart to Tannersville for dinner, for a quiet time away from the madness of the festival. Across the Main Street hung the banner mentioned earlier welcoming festival goers - we had chosen to eat in a hotel complex which advertised home made Italian food, and which happened (as it happened) to be owned by the mayor of the town. We sat down and Mr.Mayor acting as the perfect host came to say hello. I couldn't help but point out the irony of publicly welcoming festival goers on the one hand and busting them for minor offenses on the other ! His reply was stunning.
For years, he explained, ever since the festival had begun he had tried to get the police to 'lighten up' but to no avail. They had a 'zero tolerance' policy and that was that, take it or leave it. The festival had changed hands, Warren Haynes the founder had moved on, and now a corporation owned the festival, and they too (it was explained to him) had a zero tolerance policy. Several bands were being accommodated at his hotel, and potentially they were in danger of being busted. Warren Haynes equipment truck had been stopped, emptied of its contents and thoroughly searched which must have taken considerable resources of manpower on the police's part and been part of a deliberate policy that targeted musicians. The mayor was deeply disturbed and very unhappy.
We chatted on whilst waiting for the food to arrive and it transpired he was establishing a library in town so he purchased two of my books. He didn't know what the long-term impact of the zero tolerance policy would be on the viability of the festival but tendered the thought that people would soon be telling one another what was happening and that at the very least it was 'a bad look' which might discourage festival goers next year. I told him about a conversation I had three weeks earlier with a cop from a small town Ohio sheriff's department about their experiences of festivals.
The cop told me that all of them hated the music the hippies liked and couldn't wait for a country music festival which was to follow the 'hippie' gathering. By the time the country music festival was over the cops looked like they'd been in a war zone. One of his deputies had a broken arm, one had stitches in a cut over his eye, one was on sick leave with a badly sprained back, and goodness knows how many redneck good old boys had been arrested for fighting and public drunkenness. He smiled grimly as he described the situation, and looking around at the assembled hippies said to me, 'the music sucks but the people ain't so bad'.
America is at an interesting stage in its 'social evolution'. In some states grass is legal, in others (like New York) it is illegal. In some states their is a 'zero tolerance' policy (like New York) in others the cops 'look the other way' if they assess that the grass is merely for personal use. The 'evolution' of American attitudes to Marijuahna has been a continuing 'movie' since it was first criminalized - there have been hundreds of thousands of people imprisoned and fined and otherwise law-abiding citizens hampered with the stigma of a felony on their records. America incarcerates a higher proportion of its population than any country on earth ! Is this not the land of the free ?
We returned to the festival the following day. Cops roamed the festival grounds behind drug sniffing dogs, people were being arrested for small amounts of grass, festival security personnel were searching people at the entrance with police-like thoroughness and openly announcing that there was a zero-tolerance policy. I asked one of the security people what would happen if they found grass, they said they would have the person arrested and that this had already happened several times. Festival personnel were actively assisting the cops in busting people !
The truth is the truth. This is what happened at Mountain Jam. It didn't directly affect me as I don't smoke Marijuahna or consume drugs - I gave that stuff up years ago. BUT, it made me think about all the poor folks who had been attracted by music to a particular place, encouraged to purchase tickets, and who were then targeted by the police, with many of them subsequently being arrested. NOT exactly a fun weekend for THEM. A shame really, because the music was great this year - I wonder how many of the musicians will want to participate once they realize what was happening to their fans ?The new promoters of the event should consider carefully their stated policies - there's nothing worse than throwing a party which people decide not to attend - as they say in the movies 'you have been warned'.
I've had quite enough of rock n roll festivals and am off to a cabin in the woods to complete a novel that I have been working on for almost two years. I am fortunate to be accompanied by my sweetheart - now what more could a man desire than the sacred solitude of creativity sweetly leavened by the company of the woman he adores ? Sounds perfect to me !
|
|
|
|
Post by misterbrow on Jun 11, 2014 19:54:07 GMT -5
Pros
The side VIP viewing area was better for us non VIPs
The super VIP side stage area was fine
The new bigger and more sturdy stage was worth some of the cost upgrade. Feel like it was less likely to fly away.
The crowd was a bit smaller and older this year, it seemed anyway
Clear weather, good weather goes a looooooooooooooooooooong way and so I am blaming some of last year on the rain
Our RV space was more than adequate, neighbors were great
The giant numbers to find the correct lot seemed funny but worked well
Cons
I could have seen a 50% increase for our premium RV pass, but not the 100%
Security
This one needs its own spot and I'm sure I'll end up reposting in other threads...
The main entrance searches were consistent
Those searches full on emptying of everything and a pat down at the very least created long lines
How can you not have a no bag lane at least
Our RV search station was manned by two volunteers and two guards, all friendly and to me the model, happy greeters with help if needed
I only saw two in custody, and they looked like it was for their own safety
I saw many barrier security guards (in red) head bobbing, dancing, taking pictures
I was confused by numerous red shirts zipping through the crowd
The trooper going into camping ripped the foil off my full smokes, he apologized, but WTF?
During frisks I like to let out Pillsbury Dough boy giggles. Got laughs.
Did not see any dogs
Did not hear of any undercover bribes
I talked to one girl that had her pipe taken, which was in her pocket
|
|
|
|
Post by Soulmate on Jun 11, 2014 21:01:45 GMT -5
Wow... reading all this... Wow.
We did have a large group and had no trouble at all...
|
|
|
|
Post by mcolemanmusic on Jun 11, 2014 21:18:49 GMT -5
The red shirts zipping through the crowd *usually* meant somebody needed medical assistance...I saw that a few times and it always ended with someone being carried out from exhaustion or passing out.
I did hear they were confiscating pipes...Which I almost feel like they set it up on purpose because the main vendor that was selling glass pipes was right next to the exit where you got patted down lol security could easily see you buy a pipe and start walking into the show. Ridiculous!
Security complimented my group on how good their buds smelled, and they saw them smoking all 4 days so it sounds like people definitely had different experiences up there lol
|
|
|
|
Post by sparkdog on Jun 11, 2014 21:41:04 GMT -5
Every year it's the same story about security/police at Mt. Jam, with talk of the fest going away if this keeps up. And every year the festival goes on and we all show up and experience an amazing weekend of great music. This year was no different...except I came home with dust on everything instead of mud.
The security/police presence did seem heightened this year, mostly at the entrance. I agree with MB that if you're going to make people go through a turn-out-the-pockets search, you oughta have a no bags line. Going out to my car to get a sweatshirt and fleece had the potential to turn into a 1/2 trip thanks to some of the lines.
But, despite seeing more uniformed police (again, pretty much only at the entrance), it didn't seem to really dampen down a lot of people openly smoking weed. I know there were 50 arrests, mostly for minor infractions, and I've read the reports of alleged shakedowns. That's a bummer. But overall the vibe seemed to be pretty mellow and I never saw one person hauled off for smoking pot, or doing other drugs. That included the people sharing joints with so-called evil security. And at times I felt like I was the only person not smoking pot it was so prevelant (and I'm not complaining about it at all).
For me, the weekend was all pros. Connecting again with the MCJZ after a year's absence was a special part of the weekend. And, as it always does, the music at Mt. Jam shined. A strong lineup delivered even stronger. I could write 10,000 words on each awesome set I saw this weekend. But then I'd be writing around 300,000 words. The music was that good.
I hope Mt. Jam keeps up with bringing a diverse lineup with a strong undercard. All four headliners delivered epic shows with the Allmans being the best I think I've seen them in 25 years. Umph's \mm/ almost stole the whole weekend on the first night while Bobby used Ratdog to open up the space and let the music flow. And Mule brought one of their best MJ sets in years.
And, jesus, the music throughout was fantastic. Reignwolf met the buzz head on and created an even louder buzz. Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger was a revelation. Tweedy challenged the audience with a set of mostly new and beautiful material. Blitzen Trapper deserves to come back to MJ and play later in the day; they are a treasure. Damian Marley was just plain fun and I still don't know how the guy kept the flag waving the entire set. I am completely in the tank for the Avett Brothers and am glad they are a MJ regular. Tedeschi Trucks Band just gets better and better, if that's even possible. And Chris Robinson's shaggy hippy rock fits like an old pair of shoes.
I could go on and on but I think I'm wandering into "gushing like a school girl" land. I tink you get the picture.
|
|
|
|
Post by misterbrow on Jun 12, 2014 4:46:57 GMT -5
The dust from the DRY ground was kind of funny. Especially when Franti had people jumping. A first for MJ I think.
CRB "shaggy hippie rock that fit like an old pair of shoes" - You sir, nailed it.
|
|
jeff
Junior Jammer
we are the good people, the one's they warned you about.
Posts: 68
|
Post by jeff on Jun 12, 2014 11:34:22 GMT -5
We were at the festival for 4 days and never saw any drug dogs. We walked around quite a bit and were awake past 2 am most nights and up by 7 most mornings. Thursday, security was outrageous. We found 3-4 we generally liked at the venue entrance and stayed with them for most of the weekend. On Sunday, One of the guards found my 'pouch", asked me if there was a lot in it and excused me with no hassle. I saw one arrest because the guy was insanely drunk and picking a fight with a vendor. I always hear horror stories about searches and intrusive pat downs. Definitely saw the pat downs and even saw the young male security guards getting a little too touchy feely with the females. My wife got pretty pissed off at one and jumped out of line and went to another line because this little shit was getting little too handy with the young lady in front of us.
With all of that being said, there are some folks that have just made it bad for the rest. When the nitrous tanks arrive and put a major damper on a festival, I lose respect for security when it comes to searches and keeping that shit out, but busting a young guy with a dime of marijuana. Thats pretty messed up.
I love Mountain Jam and everything I have ever witnessed there. We save and spend quite a bit of money and devote our yearly vacation to this festival and have for two summers. When I see immature little pricks working security and feeling up women and getting off on it, I tend to think it is the nature of where we are in society. However, when I hear the same little bastards walking inside the venue saying "Lets bust some hippies", I lose respect for the festival and its organizers because of the character and integrity of people they hire and associate with this event. I do not anticipate that we will be back. Considering what a Mountain Jammer pays for admission and camping and food and booze and everything else, I think we will just go to another festival next year where we know we wont have to worry about losing our jobs and credentials because of a small amount of pot.
|
|
bmutt
New Jammer
Posts: 12
|
Post by bmutt on Jun 12, 2014 14:10:54 GMT -5
Security was the worst part of this festival. I've never seen anything like it.
While we were setting up our camp we were BSing with the neighbors and they were telling us about police checkpoints to "check your beer" on the highways. Thankfully I didn't encounter this b/c we came from the back roads from up north.
There was a young security guard who wouldn't let you bring a backpack in, made me take it back to camp. I took it in every other time when he wasn't around. Same guy made my brother unroll the socks in his back, frisked him from top to bottom (including his man parts), made him take every cigarette out of his Parliament pack b/c the guy thought the filters looked weird and harassed every person who went through his line.
Later that evening, he stopped an older gentlemen who had a container of something. But since the guy couldn't produce a script for it, he threatened to have him arrested. As I was walking away, the security guard told him how "SERIOUS" of an offence it was to have medication without a prescription. The guy told him how serious it will be when he can't take his medicine. That made something click in the kids head and he gave it back to him and told him to leave it in the tent.
The next day the kid was moved to the entrance by the lodge. We had to run to the cars, so we came back to the festival through the lodge. We breezed through b/c we didn't go through his line, but he was in the middle of doing the same thing to another guy. Feeling his junk, making him take everything out of his bag, open anything that was closed and just overly aggressive with his search.
Now, with all that said... we used our brains and we were smart inside the venue. And on the way down the hill to security checks, I watched the way security checks were being done, and simply picked the line for whomever was making it easy. So after the first day, we didn't really experience the heightened security measures, but saw it in action.
We enjoyed the people, the music and the beautiful place that is Hunter NY, but we will not be driving 11 hours next year to flirt with law enforcement. I can't wait to get back to the Forest at the end of the month to get this taste out of my mouth.
All-in-all, great festival if the law enforcement would get off their high-horse. The extent of their searches were overboard.
|
|
