Last year was my first Fest, and, boy, I tell ya'...rookie mistakes all weekend.

My biggest problem was foot support, TMI warning: this could gross you out, but don't make the same mistake I did. After waiting about three hours in the registration line, going directly to the venues, and getting my feet stomped on, and not sitting down for a solid 6-7 hours, my dogs were barkin'. Got the worst blisters humanly possible, to the point where my pinky toe was the biggest toe on my foot. This made walking unbearable. I'll never wear a pair of Vans classics again...at least to Fest.
So, wear super comfortable shoes, with a little room in them.

Hungry, but also need to register for Fest and get your wristband? Just wait in line. I'd be waiting in line right now if I could. The Fest friends and I decided to get pizza and beer before waiting. Terrible idea. As mentioned above, we waited about three hours, with the line wrapped around the hotel. Meanwhile, a PBR pool party raged on, and we were forced to see wet, drunk, Fest pool partiers stagger out of the front doors, grinning ear to ear, while the rest of us waited in line, miserable (sobriety varying on a person by person basis).
So, show up as early as you can to register.

In terms of alcohol, do what you want, have as much fun as you want, but definitely hydrate, and at least ATTEMPT to be in control. Though it's not exactly easy, with $2 PBR tallboys lurking around every corner. Drink that h2o, get those electrolytes, and maybe eat something a little healthy. It sucks by Sunday if you went hard the past couple nights.
So, drink all you want, but try not to get out of hand, even though you probably will. And, please, don't drink and drive. Also, it's not an open container friendly area, so don't walk around drinking beers on the sidewalks.

Could mention a bunch of other things, but want to hear what everyone else has to offer.

Or get inner soles for shoes.

I did.

Edit: not to discourage anyone. I'm sure some good inner soles will work wonders for other people. Jussayin' it just went horrible wrong for me. Honestly going to be tempted to wear running shoes if need be.

Thank you for the adivce sir!!

You cannot plan on seeing two bands that start and end within 15 minutes of each other unless the venue is the same or within eyesight of where you're standing.

DO:
Spend more money on water than beer. Eat Five Star Pizza, especially if they go 24 hours again for FESTime. Go see bands you've never seen before instead of seeing the same Fat Wreck band that's been to your town three times in the last four years. If there's a show at the Atlantic, get there at least an hour early. Make friends. Get phone numbers. Forget all the phone numbers you got. Have a good time and don't fuck up.

DONT:
Don't cheap out on the hotel. You're going to need it Thursday night if you're traveling and Sunday if you want to stay the whole time. Fest 9 was a morbid experience in exhaustion because I only booked the hotel for two nights. Don't tell yourself that you don't need to eat. You'll be eating four meals a day with how much walking and sweating you're going to be doing. Don't wear jeans the whole weekend, you'll hate yourself.

Eating and good footwear are definitely some good takeaways.

DON'T
- Get married to a schedule. Be flexible, see bands you've never seen or heard of. Some shows will be full or too far of a walk or something (1982!) - that's okay, go have fun somewhere else.


DO
- Eat at Reggae Shack - its fucking delicious.
- Eat (in general; see above). Gainesville has some great food!
- Stand in line. Actually, this will be pretty damn inevitable, but just enjoy it. Talk to people, make friends, get a tan.
- Bring gold bond (thanks, Jeremy!!!). Cover your genitals and ass crack with it each day. Gaineville is swampy as hell - you will thank me later.


That's all I got right now.

a

-DO-

Shoes with arch support (Oh, how you will stand)
Eat at Flaco's (Cuban Gator, if vegan, Bacon, its the cure)
Meat of the Month @ Boca (its a gamble)
Have a plan/itinerary (If only to lose/ignore it)
Talk to strangers (Mommy never Fested)
Respect my hometown (Pick up your shit, dont trash G-ville)
Tip your Servers/Barkeep (They're at work while you are at Fest)
Take a chance with a band youve never heard of (It's how i found Nightbirds)
Get cultured (Like Accents? You'll love Fest)
Party hard (But be safe)
Look out for each other (Turn in found keys, wallets etc)
Water Water Water (Drink that shit)
Emergen-C in your Beermosa (The bane of Fest-AIDs)
Go with the flow (You'll be suprised where it takes you)
Pace yourself (Ask "Can i take 3 days at this pace?")
Do your best to promote a positive image for Fest (No douchebaggery)
Have a fucking blast (It would be hard not to)
Buy me a beer ( I look like this > )

-DO NOT-

Expect to buy a pass easily towards the end of September (Can be done, but...)
Expect to get food at Boca and be able to make it to a show in the next hour (Boca's slow even when its not Fest)
Walk around with an open container
Openly use Illegal substances (keep it in the hotel)
Travel hundreds of miles to eat Taco Bell (Try Checkers, they arent everywhere)
Be a Buzzkill
Power past the doorman at double down because you already have a wristband there (He bites)
Throw full beers from the balcony at the venue (who the fuck does that?)
Do anything that might prevent there being a Fest 12
Do Crack-cocaine (I mean, you can if you want to...but for your own well being, Don't)
Fake an accent to get attention (Just dont, its almost always awful)
Trash Gainesville or Call GPD 'pigs' (Gainesville allows Fest to happen)
Stand still when Nightbirds play
Throw up on me
Fest-AIDs

I wear Vans slip ons pretty much all the time and my feet are okay at Fest, just tired/sore. Were your shoes new? If yes, its possible you just hadn't broken them well enough and all the walking/foot smashing didn't help.


Anyway:


DO

- Drink water; too much alcohol can dehydrate you
- Eat at the local Gainesville establishments/restaurants and try to avoid the chains. The Gainesville town businesses always have sales boosts around Fest so keep that going
- If you buy records/vinyl, have some place to store/stash them because, well, vinyl can break in crowds or if you get caught in a mosh
- BRING YOUR I.D. EVERYWHERE. Gainesville venues for the most part are VERY strict with the 18+ rule; they won't let you in if you have no I.D. on you no matter how old you look. I accidentally left mine at the hotel my 2nd Fest and fought with security at the Venue (now Florida Theater) to let me in. They didn't and I missed a good chunk of bands I wanted to see while going back to get it.
- Be friendly to others! Fest is the best place to meet amazing new people!
- If you can't get in to see a band you want to see, go check out a band you have never heard of, or a band you have but never listened to. Especially make time for international acts as Fest may be the only time you see them per year
- Read the guidebook you get at registration
- Read the food tips on this board for places to eat in town if you're a first time Fester.... Gainesville food is amazing and its one of the reasons I keep going back every year
- BRING SUNBLOCK and make sure you put it on. I always forget and come back with a gnarly sunburn.
- BRING/DRESS IN SUMMER CLOTHES. The D4 song was right; it IS summer in October. Odds are it will be very warm not just outside but of course inside the venues.
- That said, bathing suits are a smart idea because your hotel/someone is bound to have a pool. Its hot, go swimming!
- HOODIES/LIGHT JACKETS MAY STILL BE NECESSARY SO BRING THOSE. Its hot during the day but gets cold at night! Long pants too.
- Emergen-C, lots of it, and wash your hands as often as you can. Best way to prevent post-Fest sickness, or getting sick during Fest (which happens to me).
- EAT! Take food breaks. Not just for the obvious reasons of health/hunger but also because again, Gainesville has AMAZING food all around town!




DO NOT

- FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THINGS PLEASE DO NOT TRASH THE TOWN OR DESTROY THE VENUES. It bums me out so much when I witness people doing shit like last year when I saw two drunk dudes stumble out of the Atlantic and then go pick up a trash can on the corner and knock it over. You're on vacation but people LIVE there, and the town lets Tony, PJ and the Fest crew take over for the weekend. You're a visitor in someone's home, not your own. I'm not a Gainesville resident but it breaks my heart when I see Fest-goers not giving a shit about the town.
- Don't piss off the cops. It attractions attention, causes problems for Fest folk/staff and potentially risks/ruins future Fests...
- Overexert yourself. Make decisions. Once the band schedule goes up, if you're like me and enjoy most of the bands playing, you will have conflicts. Pick and choose and be okay with it.
- Have high expectations of seeing every single band you want to see, unless its a small number. You are bound to miss due to either waiting on line, waiting for food, walk distance time, etc.

Something I learned at last year's Fest...if there's a show happening at Backstage Lounge during the Fest, it'd be best to not go, your feet will NOT handle the walk.

Do: Skip a friends wedding to go to Fest. If they are pretty young, their wedding is going to suck. It may not be the popular choice, but I made the right choice last year.

This rules.

last year i learned to keep a stock of gatorade/vitamin water and non-vitamin wat in the hotel room.

every night and morning i had a vitamin water and emerganC cocktail. i didn't get hungover and didn't catch Fest aids.

I had a swim on the Sunday morning which sorted me right out. Wish i'd done it every morning. Although there is always the danger of puking in the pool.

I think everyone covered everything already but I'd like to reiterate being friendly and meeting new people. Fest 8 was my first and I came over from the UK by myself knowing 1 person whom I'd only met at the pre-fest show a couple of weeks beforehand. I left Gainesville having an awesome bunch of new friends who I now get to see and hang out with both at future Fests and at regular shows.

Also, buy drinks for strangers at the bar. It got mentioned in a thread last year and I kind of made it my mission for Fest 10 to buy as many randomers at the bar drinks. I like the idea of that happening more.

Definitely go check out bands you've never heard before, doubly so if they're not from your neck of the woods and are unlikely to be visiting anytime soon. One of my favourite things to do is just stroll into a venue at random and see what's going on.

I can't give any survival-esque tips as I ignore most of them and seem to get away with it each year. If you'd like to borrow my immune system for the weekend get in touch.

Just be cool and have a good time, which is pretty easy to do.