I am about as excited about this year’s Anti-Pop Fest as the Florida Music Festival: not very excited at all. The eclectic mix of unknowns combined with the lack of enthusiasm from the community (most artists I have seen posts from are just treating this like another gig) make me feel like there is no organization beyond booking.
To take a like from Jason Ferguson, Orlando Weekly:
the whole shebang still doesn’t feel like a festival, despite locking down the best of downtown’s live music venues for a week.
Additionaly, he said:
the locals lineup boasts a surprising number of acts that don’t seem to fit well with the “underground†ethos of the festival; that is, bands that aren’t bad, but just aren’t interesting.
That is about how I feel about it. My circle of friends are attending a few events, and I’m thinking about checking it out tonight, but I’m going to see local acts that I’m sure will be playing again elsewhere. I don’t need a festival to see local acts.
However, after digging a bit deeper, I did notice that the festival is organizing parties almost every night as well as some panels and a keynote on Saturday (with paid admission of course). Still, the panels aren’t listed on the festival schedule, so are they even that important?
And lastly, there is no advertised “badge” that will get a music fan in to everything. Your ticket for one show is supposed to grant you access to other shows on the same night, but if you were going to several nights it might be nice to have a way to simply get an all-access pass. No such luck, because this festival only slightly resembles what it calls itself.
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