Weve all heard this was a very unorganized, chaotic, and messy festival. But many havent reviewed the details. So I decided to break it down to hopefully give a lesson to future festivals as they meet unpredictable challenges. THURSDAY ~GATES were scheduled to open at 8:30PM Thursday Night. When 9PM hit, there was slight concern and the gates line was growing to the length of a football field. They did not open camping security until 10PM! ~BRIDGE- After bag search, Patrons who had heavily prepared the car to tent camping hike with wagons, trolleys and tarps were met with a flight of STAIRS to reach the other side of the neon lit swamp. ~PIGRIMAGE- After bridge, VIP & Group camping were asked to go left (Queens) and GA towards Bronx to the right. Thinking we were camping within Queens we were relieved to almost be there. NOPE. Not a single worker knew the exact location of group camping. We ended up walking the length of 2.5 football fields until we arrived to Brooklyn. FRIDAY/SATURDAY ~VENUE- I’m still unsure of the population of Hudson Project. My guess is between 16,000-20,000, whichever the exact number, the venue was much smaller then bigger festivals. One could see to the other side of the grounds at most times. Stages were set up well, minus the huge mud pits, holes, and shoe suckin grounds. ~ARTIST LINEUP- Favorite sets included: Audrey Napoleon, Modest Mouse, STS9, Savoy, Flaming lips, Kastle, Big G, Conspirator, Griz , Floozies and Moby! WELCOME TO MUDSON/FLOODSON ~EVACUATION – Day started out awesome, Floozies killed it! But after taking a short break grabbing some hookah, we received news that the center was being evacuated for an upcoming storm. Okay, that’s fine. Happened at Counterpoint, we’ll chill out for a few hours then return to fun! ..guess it wasn’t in the cards because soon we were told to leave the vending area to wait at the tents. Everyone wondering how they’ll let us know when we’ll be able to return. ~CANCELLATION- Then we heard the rumors. The festival had been canceled. Hay-nay. Why would they do that for a little rain? Just wait a few more hours and rearrange the set times. “MCP suspended the show about 4:45 p.m. Sunday due to approaching storms and asked all attendees to leave the farm. At 7:45 p.m., after rounds of heavy rain, MCP announced the rest of the festival had been canceled.” (DailyFreeman) How could they cancel a festival 1.5 before sunlight was gone!?!?!? Really? So the options were, to pack up and leave then to be stuck in line for 15 hours or buckle down for the next storm and leave in the morning. We buckled down! ~GHOST TOWN FESTIE To be honest, it wasn’t even the storm that was that bad. Yeah heavy rain happens, things get wet, its just water. It wasn’t until we discovered you had to walk 3 inches in Mud, shit, and grossness just to get anywhere. Woodchips, plywood, and gravel were considered gold (along with baby wipes) Soon it was clear night skies and a partially abandoned festival. Now here’s where my reviews begin to get harsh. ~LACK OF WATER- “Please note that water is available in all of the campgrounds and our teams are making the rounds to distribute food as well,” the organizers tweeted Monday morning.” (DailyFreeman) FALSE!!!! Despite giving their patrons an option to stay or leave, those in charge of the festival decided to turn off ALL THE WATER. Nothing to fill up camelbacks, water bottles or to help wash off the mud. This alone is quite the liability. ~LACK OF RESOURCES- On the last day I personally ran into several people seeking medical attention. With no medics to be found in their tents, only a few bottles of water and gauze on the table. No one had information on potential shuttles to bring campers & gear to their cars to empty the festival grounds more efficiently. In fact no one really knew anything about any evacuation plans, and state police simply seemed to just stand around and watch… ~SECURITY- I personally want to thank those wonderful members of Marker Security and Hudson Volunteers that truly went out of their way to provide us more information, alternative routes to parking lots, and any further assistance they could. NO THANKS to those riding horses, whose only contribution was the horse shit that littered the camping paths. ~NORTH LOT VS. SOUTH LOT To leave the festival we had 2 options. To trek back the 2.5 football fields in mud up to our calves, tackle the 3 feet of water before the stair bridge in the swamp OR take the shorter route to South Lot and conquer the steep mud slide death hill, go over anther mudslide death hill and walk a half mile in 2 inches of mud and shit. No shuttles, No help, No buses or vehicles that could assist in helping patrons with bags to make evacuation easier…..No Help, No Assistance, NOTHING. ~TO THE CARS! We decided to play smart, instead of tackling the pilgrimage back to North Lot (2.5 football fields away with 3 inches of mud and 2 ft. of water in some places) we’d drive the cars from north lot to the south lot to pack up camp. Some friends had to wait up to 6 hours for anyone to notice their plea (others were known to wait up to 15 hours). Hmm, why did people have to wait so long to get out of the lot? “Helsmoortel said no one was being charged for towing, but some people were tipping the tractor drivers and others were paying to have batteries jumped or cars unlocked. Some festival attendees, though, said tractor drivers were taking bribes to free vehicles before a system was put in place in which people had to wait in line for assistance.” (DailyFreeman) Rumors had it that some patrons bribed the “towers” (Aka local farm trackers) up to $200-$300 to be first in line to get free from the grip of mud. The festival also refused to allow help from those with AAA memberships to utilize their services. It should NOT take 8 hours to get out of a festival! ~OVERALL- I doubt that Hudson Project will return next year. Between low ticket sales, lack of info and resources, canceling the only day that patrons traveled hundreds to thousands of miles to attend only to be turns around. Storms are a test for festivals, and Mudson received an F. Maybe they could learn a few tips from their counter festivals that take the time to organize plans for potential obstacles. MCP may also want to consider serious rebranding before they host another major event. Other articles include: dailyfreeman/general-news/20140714/mud-frustration-follow-hudson-project-festival #MudsonProject #FloodsonProject #HudsonProject
Posted on: Tue, 15 Jul 2014 18:45:18 +0000
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