As its my first time at the Fest and I didn't find any answer on a couple of question looking thru the forum:

- How often does it happen venues are shut down because of the capacity limits? Does it happen a lot or only at the big bands or certain venues? any rough idea when to be at the venues to make sure a certain band (I don't fly all the way from germany to miss ann beretta)...

- any rough idea how long it takes from the one show to the next one at the venues within four blocks? a lot of waiting ?

- I read a couple of times about the no idea yard sale and I guess its not at the flea market? adress? open all weekend?

- so bars close at 2am, whats up afterwards for the ones, who don't stay at the holiday inn? anything is still going on or everybody rather heads back to his tents/ couches/ hotel rooms?

- most important questions: whats about drinking a can of beer on the street i florida? I heard it different from state to state, sometimes only in that brown bags so you can't see the can, in some states no open alcoholic beverages at all?

1.a lot, get thier real early just to be sure.

2. the schedule will tell you

3. if they have it this year they will tell you the address in the guidebook. it's usually on saturday morning/afternoon

4. afterparties, house shows, bumrush the holiday inn, hookin up

5. no open containers at all. bad idea.

ich bin Fest

I think Chase covered the answers pretty well.

There is no way of telling exactly how early you need to be standing in line at a venue to see the band you want. Depends on the band, venue, time of day, etc. Sometimes you walk right in and sometimes it is an hour wait or more.

The venues are all in walking/biking distance of one another.

The Fest Flea Market was inside the Holiday Inn last year, the No Idea yard sale is elsewhere. All the info on both of these is still being worked out. PJ did mention though that the No Idea yard sale lines this year would be shorter/faster.

After 2am there are usually house shows/parties. Details on this are also still being worked out. People usually walk around and hand out fliers for shows during the Fest. See the House Shows sub-thread for what's up.

There is no lack of things going on in Gville during the Fest. There are thousands of festers there. Meet people and hang out.

NO, you absolutely can not walk around Gville with a beer/bottle in your hand. You will be given a ticket for open container by the police. You CAN do this on the property or inside house parties though, and in most hotels. The rule is, you step off the property into the street, you can be fined.

it's awesome that so many ppl come from overseas, and far away.

welcome!

I remember being so stoked about the No Idea yard sale last year, we were heading there and drove by the line, turned the van around and headed back to the house, i just couldn't see waiting in that line. bummer

wait so there was a line to get in, or just to check out?

sounds really shitty

Peej mentioned opening up the whole parking lot and making it into a store environment this year. Where you just come in, buy your crap and leave. Sounds good to me.

Please don't ruin it for those who planned ahead and are spending a shit ton of cash to stay there. That was the problem last year.

thanks for all the answers....

the beer is definitly a bummer, standing in line without a beer... aaahh, but I already thought that.. overe here drinking age for beer and wine is 16, for hard liquor and driving (!) 18, drinking in public = no problem and no curefew for bars

yeah, I also guessed it won't be a problem to meet people and hangout, I also have a couple of friends in bands playing so I definitly don't fear to come alone and cool to know there will a couple of house shows/ partys afterwards as the threat looked rather poor till now, 2am is no time to stop a party

and I already feared to miss some bands standing in line, luckily except for D4, atom and none more black all bands I definitly can't miss are not so high on the poster, as I don't have a clue how known are certain bands in the states


@sawtooth: yeah, I'm pretty stoked, I actually planned only going to California, hanging out with friends and seeing Face to Face till a wilhelm scream told me thats the same time like the Fest a month ago and luckily I found a cheap stopover flight

@singaldistress: you're from the landmines? definitly planned to check you out as well

awesome man, hope our set doesn't clash with someone else's you were planning on seeing, definitely come introduce yourself at the show, i'll buy ya one of our cheap american piss beers, ha

I definitly will in case I make it.. Vinnie told me about you and really like what I heard and I definitly plan to see mainly bands that don't come over here so often...

still so stocked flying to the Fest, just checking out the bands that play the Fest got me into off with their heads, cobra skulls and young livers that all hit berlin before the Fest - shows I probably would have missed otherwise

Thing about drinking in public is, don't do it in front of a bar or a club, don't do it on a busy street, and don't do it in front of a cop. And if you do decide to down a beer while taking a stroll on a side street, be sure to enjoy the rush you get from breaking the law, and chug and stash at the first sign of danger.

Stay in Florida long enough, and you might master the subtle southern art of public criminality in more detail. There are plenty here who smoke weed and drink beer in public with impunity, but it is unwise to move too fast down this road until one has a thorough understanding of local policing strategies and social mores. Like the shark or the alligator, the Florida cop can strike any time, and do some serious damage- but there is still a great deal you can do to avoid prime feeding times and locations, thus drastically reducing the chances of an attack.

That is quite poetic

a single tear for the beauty of that post!