Most pathetically under-attended sets?

[~dave~~wave~]

Sunday 11:30-12:15 at the Swamp Up Stage
Jenny Arnau

I was out on the Sun Down field trying to fly a kite and catch the drum circle.
Got closer to the stage and heard the last part of her set, walked in the tent just as she finished her last song.

Four people in lawn chairs by the sound board, the entire mud pit in front of the stage completely empty.
I snapped this pic as the last chord rang out.
I let her know that there were folks outside the tent listening.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3061/2597515065_5a9bb67fd6_m.jpg

I think lemur made a tremendous point in another thread, a great fest doesn't need 150 bands.

[quote:1fa6a68a41=\"laughingflyinglemur\"] I think Waka would do well to scale back and settle for being a smaller, regional festival. One way to do this but maintain the spirit would be to book fewer bands, but let them play longer sets or more sets, whichever each band prefers. A great fest doesn't need 150 bands. Half that number with good choices and proper planning should be more than enough.[/quote:1fa6a68a41]
In hindsight I would have preferred no Porch stage whatsoever, and longer hours at the campground stage.
That would have helped the sound bleed.
What do you think?
What other worthy acts got lost in the Wakarusa shuffle?

[jpeak]

campground stage would be tough as it was all run on solar power. I figret that is why they did not run it late. I think that a small bluegrass fest would be great as most of the big crowds I saw in the day were from bluegrass/jamgrass bands. Could scale it back and do smaller acts in the day and larger acts in the PM. Just a though

[PolyOntology]

i was kinda baffled at how few people were at both of the Ozrics sets, especially the first one. i mean Cake is kinda cool i guess, and Wayne Coyne gave 'em props, but still, I would've expected a lot more people looking for some late night live electronica.

yeah 150 is a bit much. i don't think i'd like if it they catered more to any particular genre, but i think they've gotten too many mediocre artists from a variety of genres. i'd trade in 5 \"alright\" bands in for 1 \"really good\" band any day.

[BluesPower]

[quote:4aeddfc1f6=\"PolyOntology\"] i'd trade in 5 \"alright\" bands in for 1 \"really good\" band any day.[/quote:4aeddfc1f6]

agreed. Scaling back on bands would be better for everyone. I love the long sets that Rothbury has lined up. Tons of time for their headliners to jam out. Waka should give longer sets to their main acts.

[arwriterrider]

Sounds like a good idea. I wondered why solid regional acts got about the same time as Winter Classic winners...however Prism out of Fort Collins is quite good.

[PolyOntology]

[quote:37073ac2ab=\"BluesPower\"][quote:37073ac2ab=\"PolyOntology\"] i'd trade in 5 \"alright\" bands in for 1 \"really good\" band any day.[/quote:37073ac2ab]

agreed. Scaling back on bands would be better for everyone. I love the long sets that Rothbury has lined up. Tons of time for their headliners to jam out. Waka should give longer sets to their main acts.[/quote:37073ac2ab]

i dunno about that. Estradasphere's set at Rothbury is only scheduled to be a half hour. thats pretty damn lame if you ask me.

[Me]

I don't think Rothbury is considering Estradashpere a headliner or a main act. They are listed as a circus and theatre act. ?????

[PolyOntology]

yeah i know, but for ANY band to get a set that short is kinda ridiculous i think.

[Coop]

yeah...1/2 hour is hardly enough time to stretch out your legs as a performer.

[Me]

After looking at the stage schedule I'd like to know how many fans these artist drew.

They all were either early in the day or up against a main act.

Pete Francis
Mr. Baber's Neighbors
Fatty Lumpkin

I ask because these acts created some noise pre-festival and I've heard nothing about them since.

-------

On the half hour deal. Why are they (Estradasphere) listed as circus/theatre act?

[PolyOntology]

i dunno, i think a few of the bands in that tent are just bands. in their early days they DID have a circus with them though, including juggling, balloons, fire spinning, death metal cheerleaders, and even a READER (yes, someone sitting on stage reading silently). maybe they'll bring that back, but for a half hour?

[RobDogg15]

[quote:dc703b009f=\"Me\"]After looking at the stage schedule I'd like to know how many fans these artist drew.

They all were either early in the day or up against a main act.

Pete Francis
Mr. Baber's Neighbors
Fatty Lumpkin

I ask because these acts created some noise pre-festival and I've heard nothing about them since.

[/quote:dc703b009f]

Pete Francis had a pretty decent crowd. It did seem to be that \"mid-day people hanging out at the main stage type though.\" No one seemed terribly into it. His music is pretty chill though. I liked what I had heard on Sirius, and a lot of people like Dispatch (the affiliation was very well advertised). Didn't hear the other two.

[FunkThompson]

I actually didn't see any bands that had an unfairly small crowd.

Madahoochi had a great crowd for who they were up against, this made me very happy.

The Station had a decent crowd, Everyone Orchestra had a decent crowd, I heard Family Groove Company had a decent crowd (especially for playing at noon...)

Pretty much all the bands I saw had at least a fair crowd. I did see some bands who seemed to have nobody there, but after listening to them for a bit it seemed fair that they wouldn't :D

[NoMorePhishInTheSea]

Unfortunately missed out on Fatty Lumpkin at the fest this year.

However, caught them a few times at small bar shows and those guys can seriously play. Some really cool groovy jams and alot of maturity from such a young band. Look out for them in the years to come.


As far as under-attended shows..New Monsoon in the Revival Tent was very lightly populated for such a good set. I was loving every second of having so much room to move around, but I felt bad for the band who were playing some damn good music that night.[/quote]

[sexfaery]

[quote:522aa6b8d8=\"PolyOntology\"]i don't think i'd like if it they catered more to any particular genre, but i think they've gotten too many mediocre artists from a variety of genres. i'd trade in 5 \"alright\" bands in for 1 \"really good\" band any day.[/quote:522aa6b8d8]

I really love the variety of genre represented at Waka - they do a great job of that I feel and would do well to keep it that way, but I agree with those about scaling back a bit would make it more...manageable I think is the word I'm looking for.

[PeartMoon]

The American Babies show at the Prairie show was criminally underattended. The 14 of us that saw them were really surprised with how fantastic they were. They killed Bob Dylan's \"Tonight I'll be Staying Here With You.\" Tom Hamilton is great guy too. Very articulate and passionate.

[Chaloupka]

[quote:c5db3a17b2=\"PeartMoon\"]The American Babies show at the Prairie show was criminally underattended. The 14 of us that saw them were really surprised with how fantastic they were. They killed Bob Dylan's \"Tonight I'll be Staying Here With You.\" Tom Hamilton is great guy too. Very articulate and passionate.[/quote:c5db3a17b2]

Damn, that really surprises me. With that line-up, I figured there'd be a ton of peeps there. I'd kill to see them!

Great choice for a Dylan cover too!

[ravenhawk]

[quote:0dcf13fe32=\"NoMorePhishInTheSea\"]As far as under-attended shows..New Monsoon in the Revival Tent was very lightly populated for such a good set. I was loving every second of having so much room to move around, but I felt bad for the band who were playing some damn good music that night.[/quote:0dcf13fe32]
When New Monsoon was starting, I was afraid there were only going to be like 3 people there. More came in as the music progressed but the crowd still fairly meager. We really enjoyed this set -- they cut a nice groove. I'll take that kind of experience over FL's fireworks anytime.

[summers]

Mr. Baber's Neighbors

Me, you asked about attendance. It was a pretty decent sized crowd (esp. for the camp stage). I hadn't intended to see them but my camp neighbors were from Iowa and highly recommended the band. Nice set - good bluegrassy stuff. I'd catch them again if they hit KC.

[cornboarder]

Anyone that plays on 11am on a Sunday, the last day of the fest is going to get hosed. After many late late nights of music, people just aren't going to get up to go see someone in the heat.

It's just a fact, most day shows aren't attended like night shows. I sat around camp most of the day and chilled.