As of late I have noticed our city is quickly becoming the "It" place. This has been a result of…read moreboth elbow grease and love. With each new day brings a new bar, restaurant, shopping spot, coffee house etc. It's no wonder tourists and locals are discovering and rediscovering what our town truly has to offer. However, I have noticed as far as musical venues as well as events are concerned they have been slow in coming. But with the 2nd Annual Maverick Festival of 2014 I think that that might change.
Like Austin's SXSW and ACL which makes that city relevant, last years festival was a success. It was interesting to see how a two day event versus a one day one would fair. And it appeared to work. I like how they mixed relatively new acts with cult followings and paired them with already established ones. For example Friday's lineup had trip~hop artist, SZA opening for Roky Erickson, who plays psychedelic era music from the 60's. Or better yet having grunge darlings, Candlebox on the same bill as Twin Shadow on Saturday seemed a bit odd. And yet it seamlessly worked out.
The choice of La Villita Square as the musical venue to host the event was a pretty bold move and yet it paid off. I would have liked to have seen a festival of this magnitude at the Sunken Gardens, which is more spacious, but downtown was a good location as well.
The staff and the sound (p.a) were immaculate. Lines for will call and to enter were never more than a few people deep. I think the first day I went there seemed to be some issues with entering and leaving, even with a wristband but by the next day those minor details had been ironed out. The festival's overall presentation of the show itself and stage setup were all top notch.
Another thing that helped bolster it was adding a second and third stage respectfully on The Arneson Theatre and Juarez Plaza with local acts. Seeing bands like Carlton Zeus and Sunday, who were rocking out to barges of tourists on the Riverwalk, was certainly not lost on me. The ampitheatre was filled to the brim with punk rockers, metal-heads, skaters, families, unabashed selfies, etc. It seemed to be a celebration where every race, age, gender and socioeconomic one could imagine was welcomed.
Since you were given a wristband on admission you could go and come as you pleased. This gave participants free rein to eat from the various food trucks there or have a drink elsewhere, which I'm sure people did. Or have one inside the show itself, as they were selling margaritas, mixed drinks of all sorts and Lite beers. There seemed to be this overwhelming laissez faire vibe and containment coexisting at the same time.
While I did have a good time and the overabundance of acts meant there was something for everyone, I did leave with some concerns.
1.) The pricing for one day compared to two seemed a bit steep. And on the second day of the festival having the other stages for free probably had participants opting for the latter and keeping them away from the main acts.
2.) Sound checks bled into other artists set times and created that dreaded dead space. I would have doubled or tripled the back line for gear. And had volunteers help bands put and take stuff off the stage, which cuts down on time.
3.) With some artists thrown off schedule instead of having a stage for local acts elsewhere why not have it by the main stage instead. Pick select bands with a local draw and let them play while the sound on the main stage is situated.
I really enjoyed myself at the Maverick Festival. Both days offered unique artists and I was exposed to new music I might not encounter otherwise. I found myself speculating which artist would blow up nationally, like Gary Clark Jr. did last year. I'm sure people will debate its success or ineffectiveness in the coming months, year. But in the bigger scheme of things this lifts our profile. Soon, you won't have to leave your city to see your favorite band. Very soon...
