did anyone go to scottypalooza? i remember new deal and schleigho headlined one year.
Yeah I did one of these. Prob 02 or 03.
Berkfest was awesome but it turned into a crack town the last few years. Seemed like every schmuck in the northeast was unloading their end of the summer drugs up there, destroying the vibe and laid back scene Berkfest provided.
thats terrible. i never had a chance to make it there. and then when i could... it was no longer an option.
Yeah 1999 and 2000 (and presumably the first year in 98) were very small and laid back. Very west-coast feel. The biggest acts were the usual Gamelan New England-area mainstays (Jiggle the Handle, Miracle Orchestra, Percy Hill, The Slip) and the only national acts were of no major consequence (Los Lobos, The Roots etc.) so it was mad chill. Then in 2001 they went nuts and got 3 nights of Cheese + Biscuits + MMW + 2 night of moe and the fest went from 2,000 to 10,000 people in one year and the sketch factor exploded off the charts. It was still a lot of fun. They were getting great bands and you didn\'t have to get involved with the sketch scene if you didn\'t want to. But there was something fantastic about the small fests where you just took things slow and "latenight" consisted of sitting around a campfire with the people camped next to you.
In a related matter, there was recently a PT thread for "describe your scariest fest experience". Like 75 out of the 100 stories were about Berkfest!
