“It’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey” is a cliché you are likely familiar with, and is most applicable when used in regard to a time frame during which one underwent a variety of occurrences and personal development to ultimately arrive at a point of conclusion. The application of this platitude to happenings of a more finite nature, e.g., a music festival, would be quite the stretch. For an audience member, of course the festival is about the destination! That’s the specific, singular speck in time that held us all in suspense since first catching wind of the lineup. That’s all there is.
An attempt to mentally reverse this cliche and its significance to Fun Fun Fun Fest 2014 and those specific circumstances that left so many attendees upset should be made. Yes, those lines were unfavorable, but the target was eventually hit. This weekend was never intended to be about the journey, and the destination made up for any bumps along the road tenfold. Let us not disregard the monumental magnificence that lay inside, and the multifaceted spectrum supplied for our eyes (and mouths) to feast on once we reached the end. The fest is multi-faceted feast for the mouth, eyes, and ears–a kingdom united under the flag of Fun.
The genre diversity that the FFF lineup presents is something to be commended in only the most positive of light. Managing to transcend their punk-rock background and lend diplomacy to musicians traversing the gamut of genres, the team behind FFF ensures a little somethin’ for everyone. Consisting of four stages, one being an intimate tent, the festival preserves that homegrown vibe that is so cherished by Austinites. And Fun Fun Fun Fest Nites allows for our city to reap lasting memories from the weekend, yielding benefits across the board.
Crowds cheered for skateboarders coasting through the Volcom skate park, backdropped by sparkling skyscrapers, and continued when BMXers took over, pedaling through the same course. If there was ever a lull, festers had nothing to worry about; practically next-door Anarchy Championship Wrestling held matches of the upmost intensity. FFF’s old school ideology and thoughtfulness to incorporate elements that are perhaps surprising but undeniably nostalgic for the festival’s core demographic demands the loftiest amount of recognition and further exemplifies the complete pride these creators take in curating the event.
Able to maintain our visual interest without cease, the artfully-selected vendors displayed their jewelry, screen prints, clothing, and other odds and ends for purchase or simple admiration. Innovatively, artist collective SprATX‘s booth was assembled in a way that allowed for profit and raw creativity, as the exterior walls continuously underwent transformation while streams and strokes of paint were added under supervision of an observant audience. Various other outlets for amusement and entertainment were provided, taken advantage of by ping pong players and cornhole connoisseurs alike, in the true spirit of Fun.
Inevitably, Sunday night materialized, and as crowds departing Neutral Milk Hotel and Flying Lotus thinned and temperatures dropped, a single, sparkling tear was sure to be found quietly streaming down each of the FFF festers’ faces in wake of the weekend. Crawling into bed that night, holding tenderly onto the fresh memories of the songs we love most being played exactly as envisioned, we bittersweetly kissed FFF goodbye and slipped into a festival hibernation, both in anticipation of the beauty to follow and appreciation of the good times passed.
