Jambands.com - Need We Say More?

Published: 2010/08/31
by LynnGuppy aka Lynn Kestenbaum

moe.down is a rockin’ annual family reunion thrown by the fine people in the moe. organization every Labor Day weekend. In this, the 11th year of the festival, here are some helpful hints (peppered with colorful observations) for those seeking an upper-hand on conquering the festival.

moe. threw a real wrench in the works this year by changing the venue of moe.down. My crew had our trek to Snow Ridge down to an exact science. We’d been in the same spot for years and knew what we’d be getting out of that location. This year, our biggest concern is making sure we are located wherever Wooksbekistan is NOT. In an ideal world, Wooksbekistan would be gone altogether— regentrified, if you will. Replaced with townhouses and tea rooms. Ahh, if only! According to the map released this weekend, there seem to be two sides to the camping: family camping, and “the not so quiet side” camping. Has the location of Wooksbekistan now been officially designated? We are reconsidering that electrified Bear Fence for the perimeter just in case.

4 SEASONS

Pack for all 4 seasons. moe.down takes place at the butt-crack of Autumn in the foothills of the Adirondacks. moe.downers have dealt with every single season’s worth of weather, sometimes all of them in 24 hours. This includes but is not limited to: practically freezing temps with morning frost, unbearable heat, dust storms, and even a hurricane. For optimal versatility & enjoyment, bring your: shorts, jeans, cargos, tank tops, t shirts, long sleeves, hoodies, ponchos, winter jacket, winter hat, gloves, hand-warmers, sunblock, sandals, sneakers, hiking boots, rain boots, smartwool socks, straw hat, helmet… I could go on. Yes, all of it. Throw ALL OF THAT SHIT in your car, dude. You will be so freakin’ happy when you are prepared for whatever random weather pattern strikes the .down this year. SINKHOLES?

WHEELS

While you’re at it, bring a wagon/cart. No time to explain- you’ll see!

NEVER PACK WHILE DRUNK (ETC.)

Never pack while drunk (etc.), unless you’re strictly abiding by a list that you made while you were stone cold sober. Otherwise you may find yourself in your friend’s driveway at 6am, hungover, without your: ticket, sleeping bag, or jacket… and then it snows on Saturday.

TEAMWORK!

Teamwork gets an exclamation point, because it’s totes important. It’s a lot of hard work to haul & set up your ‘hood. It’s much easier with friends, wheels, and ideally- a combination of the two.

THEY TOOK HIS JAM, MAN

The rental security at Snow Ridge felt the need to confiscate/turn away all types of glass (not just beer bottles) upon entry to the campsite last year. My salsa was DENIED and they took Hern’s jam, man. Totes lame, brah. According to this year’s moe.down info page is also: NO GLASS CONTAINERS.

SUNBLOCK BEFORE SETUP!

It’s a painful and unfortunate to have horribly sunburned purple shoulders for the duration of moe.down (and it’s REALLY hard to sleep) and the weeks after it. Unless it’s raining, do yourself a favor and slather on a coating of sunblock before you begin to haul your shit and set up your site.

DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. BLVD

Location, location, location. Chris Rock has a bit about what to do if you’re ever lost on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.- it doesn’t matter what city you’re in— you should RUN! We can easily adapt this to moe.down. If you’re ever lost in Wooksbekistan, it doesn’t matter what festival you’re at— you should RUN. Same idea with a circus tent- but if you see a circus tent: STOP, and carefully walk backwards from whence you came… slowly… very slowly. Never turn your back on a wook!

CUIDADO!

Caution & florescent demarcation tape sold at most hardware stores is a handy-dandy way to prevent people from walking into your ropes/tarps/stakes, etc.. Just tie little bits onto your various structural support systems and you’ll be happy you did come nighttime. It’s pretty inexpensive and incredibly effective.

PACE YOURSELF

It’s a marathon, moe.rons, not a sprint. Pace yourselves. Drink water & eat (food) daily. The nap is your friend. Sometimes a well-placed nap is all you need to get through the entire weekend. I am a big fan of the Friday afternoon, post-setup/pre-music nap. It helps me make it through Friday night and provides the push needed to make it all the way through to Monday morning. Advil also helps.

FEEL FREE TO KEEP CLEAN

There are water faucets located throughout the campground, which makes self-preservation easy. Maybe soap & water aren’t your thing? Baby-wipes also come in handy. Lest this message be garbled in any way: hygiene is encouraged!

PERIPHERAL NOISE

Some people bring their ipod docks or full-blown PA systems to blast the campgrounds and/or their own sites. While a soundtrack can sometimes motivate and encourage the set-up of your campsite, please note that techno, ( like this gem ) will probably just annoy your neighbors. There will inevitably be some jerkwad who is playing moe., despite the fact that you are setting up for moe.down— 3 days of live moe.. And at some point, that neighbor might put Plane Crash on repeat for 2 hours before the actual festival music starts. That guy sucks.

MAKE NICE

Pleasant neighbors make for a pleasant moe.down experience. It’s a fact! Respect one another!

ALWAYS RECYCLE: DO IT FOR AL

Always recycle, because you should. But if for no other reason, do it for Al. It keeps him “on the level”. People who don’t recycle^ make Al really angry. Have you ever seen Al angry? You know that vein in his forehead that starts pulsating when he’s really rocking the fuck out? When he’s angry, that thing explodes in a horrible fireball of razor sharp glitter and rabid unicorns that shit fire. Okay, so it does sound really cool- but believe me, it stings a LOT and smells like rotting eggs. You don’t want any part of it. So fucking remember to recycle, okay? Do it for Al.

^ And also people who don’t take one piece of trash out of the concert site when the show is done— so please do that too.