Hey guys! Sorry I took a brief pause there after graduation, which hey, I graduated college by the way! I’ve been wanting write this for a few weeks now since I attended my first Pointfest on May 10.
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So for those of you outside of the St. Louis bubble, you are probably wondering “what is Pointfest?” Pointfest is a one day rock festival put on by St. Louis premiere “alternative rock” station 105.7 The Point. Usually the line-up consists of what my boyfriend and I would call “Bro Bands”; usually a lot of hard rock and maybe a hint of metal. This year’s line-up was pretty different, though. Bands included: The Offspring, Queens of the Stoneage, AFI, Neon Trees, Crosses, Airborne Toxic Event and many more. I wasn’t really planning on going, but I won some free tickets. So here are my thoughts on the day:
Verizon Wireless Amphitheater, please get your rules straight
I got to start my day at Pointfest walking back and forth in the parking lot. For once in my life I arrived fashionably late to a show, therefore, I parked almost all the way in the back. For the day I packed: sunscreen, some small snacks, a water bottle, my digital camera, and a small blanket. This was not my first time attending a show at this venue, so I know they have funky rules with water bottles and sunscreen. I wasn’t surprised when they had a problem with my sunscreen in an aerosol can (it was all I could find), but I was surprised when they told me I couldn’t take my blanket in. What am I going to do with a blanket??? Strangle someone with it? Sit on it in some offensive way? Really??? By the way their website says that they allow blankets, so I don’t really know why I was forced to march all the way back to my car over it.
This came from Verizon’s actual Ticketmaster page. See for yourself.
Boozing it up at a show doesn’t make you cool
I can’t count all the awkward encounters I had with several very drunk individuals during the day. One creepy middle-aged guy hit on me while I waited for a band to start their set and wouldn’t stop talking to me until I just had to walk away from the situation. Later another guy almost fell on top of me while he was stumbling drunk. That’s just to name a couple. Seriously, there is nothing fun about going to a show and having to protect yourself from everyone who is inebriated. If you want to get drunk and listen to music, go to a party; it’s a lot cheaper and you don’t look like such a fool.
Sex, Drugs, and Rock ‘n’ Roll with an emphasis on the drugs
Verizon seem to do a great job keeping out all that vodka and those dangerous blankets, but man that can’t seem to catch any of those potheads. I saw people smoking joints right and left. Again this just goes back to the whole “you look like a fool” thing. What happened to people wanting to go to concerts to actually listen to music rather than just going to get messed up?
Lawn seating is a no-go
Read above about the alcohol and drugs bit. That was the lawn section in a nutshell. Never again!
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The music…was awesome!
I know I’ve been ranting here a bit, but the one redeeming quality of the day was that the music really was great. I mostly watched the headlining bands (Neon Trees, AFI, Queens of the Stoneage, and The Offspring) and all of the bands put on incredible sets. The musicianship was top notch and the bands were just fun to watch.
All in all?
Pointfest gets and A+ for the line-up but a D- for the fans they attract.
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