Good Times

[huggy]

Just want to go on record to say I've been to 10 of the 12 Mount Jams and thoroughly enjoyed myself at all of them. I've camped and woke up to voices saying "3 for 10" only to find 100s of balloons around our tents in the morning, camped in the"family" section, went VIP camping, went VIP and stayed at the Kaatskill Mountain Club, went GA and stayed at the Moore Motel and drove 20 minutes there and back and stayed at the Hotel Vienna and went in and out on the bus and never experienced anything but a good time. Of course when we needed to be discreet we were. Common sense goes a long way at events such as MJ.

I love the fact that I can go to a festival and hear bands I never even heard of and be blown away........my buddy and I and 30 other people saw the Avetts open MJ when there were just the 3 of them (pretty sure it was at MJ). I love the different styles of music. I love the different personalities bands take on. I love the familiar bands that come year after year. I love the festival food. I love meeting new people of all ages and from different walks of life. But more than anything I love being in the moment listening to the music!!

When there are that many people, inevitably there are going to be unpleasant situations but if you treat everyone with respect and stay within the guidelines that are posted your experience will be positive. If you make the choice to step outside of the guidelines you may have to face some consequences but even then, more often than not, you can dictate the direction you head in by your actions.

If there was anything I didn't like this year it was the size of the VIP section.........a lot of prime real estate went to waste. I hope the VIPs didn't want to be up close to the Valley Stage. 

All in all, can't wait for 2017 no matter who graces the stage on the mountain.............music is music is music, some better than others but in my book there is nothing like live music! For those of you who don't like the lineups, that's fine, but please don't force your personal taste on us by hating on this board, Lettuce know who you like? Peace!

[misterbrow]

It's going to be awesome when we see the banner that reads, "NEW FOR 2017!!! NO VIP VIEWING AREA!!!"

[reifer1]

Well said Huggy!
For my wife and I, this was our first MJ, and we had a great time. Sure...we have some complaints. Two biggest were the VIP area (of course) and the fact that despite arriving early, we were given a less than ideal (Hunter) car camping location. Not the ones closer to the festival entrance, as promised, but up the hill , which was originally designated as tent camping. There are others...but minor (really? Not ONE set of jumper cables anywhere?? . But that being said, it was a great experience.

Some of the bands we've seen many times before...and they delivered, as always. Others, we haven't seen, and were looking forward to seeing...and I'm looking forward to seeing them again. And others that I could care less about...and most of those exceeded my expectations. I even enjoyed Train. Weird.

We sent solo. I couldn't convince any of our friends to join us. Their loss. We met some great people, whom I hope to see again. We felt a really positive energy around the whole place.

We've gone to another festival in the Finger Lakes for the last 15 years. We've seen the evolution...some better, some not. Really miss the late night drum circle around the huge bonfire! But the friends, the music and the love are still there. Shit...life changes...some better, some not. It's all in how you roll with it.

Sorry to ramble on.
I'll fill out my attendee survey like a good little citizen and hopes other do too. Hopefully, our voices will be heard and we'll see some changes next year. But I'm staying positive and next year will my second MJ.
Peace.

[hunterdrummer]

I had a blast...
I loved Wilco... and Beck..
Marcos set blew my mind...
Pre-Mountain Jam party was off the hook!

Security seemed fine to me..
I stay at my house down the road.. But I heard there were camping issues..

[hunterdrummer]

Mule was good too... But for some strange reason I don't remember much... huh...

[misterbrow]

I feel like they had the booking and logistics all figured out for the audience and site and each time they monkey with it's one step forward and two back.

How are there camping issues after 12 years?

Keep changing the camping types and locations.

How are there security issues?

Chase away those that police their own with positive vibes.

HD, you live in the land of Rip Van Winkle, you are having a blast no matter what.

[thestonedape]

the music was definitely a surprise this year. didn't seem like much at first but i think a lot of those bands ended up delivering and sounded really good. gotta give it to them for bringing in new bands that still can rock the mountain

[misterbrow]

Jun 11, 2016 0:06:09 GMT -5 thestonedape said:

the music was definitely a surprise this year. didn't seem like much at first but i think a lot of those bands ended up delivering and sounded really good. gotta give it to them for bringing in new bands that still can rock the mountain

It's usually the case, but get creative on the undercard and then after they rock bring'em back.

[hunterdrummer]

Jun 10, 2016 18:00:17 GMT -5 misterbrow said:

HD, you live in the land of Rip Van Winkle, you are having a blast no matter what.

I dig the music... I'm meta on it...  I'm insulated from  the camping and security stuff for sure..
I also tend to focus myself on later shows and miss most of the bands in the day time.

Saw Gary at Kid rock on Friday at the COuntry thing... Thanked him for have Beck - Wilco and Kid Rock play in my town in a span of a week....  Hell yeah!!

[Yamy]

Good times indeed... And you know when good times were too? When people celebrated may 25 holidays. Do you remember it? Probably, not. But it was cool. Such a great evenings we spent back then. Wish it back again.