Did Anyone Go to HullabaLOU ?

Did anyone go to HullabaLOU ?...just curious as to how the food and drink situation was, as well as an overall opinion on how the show went.

I was there and thought it was awesome!! (disclaimer...my hubby works at Churchill, but was not part of the HullabaLOU planning.) We didn't eat much food, because it was so hot and I didn't feel like eating. However, the lines weren't long for food or drinks. The Kentucky Craft Village was a cool addition....like a little craft fair. They opened up some of the inside of Churchill so people could get in the air conditioning. There were some drunk people, but over all, the crowd was in line....I didn't see any fights or rowdy behavior.

The music was awesome! The best show of the weekend were The Avett Brothers. They rocked the house!!

I am anxious to hear other people's experiences.
Jessica

Hubby and I went on Friday. Sweated our you-know-whats off, but had a great time. Overall, felt it was well run. I was pleased, in particular, to find a few locals in the food vendor line up - they had Shiraz, Boombozz, Homemade Ice Cream and Pie Kitchen and Salsaritas. Not much in the way of local beverages - that'd be one thing that I'd love to see added next year....however, it was so damn hot that I wasn't really interested in drinking much other than water anyway!

Water was $2 a bottle, but if you took them up on their offer of bringing two bottles per person in, and you refilled them at the sinks in the restrooms, there was really no reason you had to buy much more water.

Overall, I hope they take the lineup up a notch next year, but I'd go back.

Overall, I hope they take the lineup up a notch next year, but I'd go back.

They will have to take it up more then one notch to get me there. The lineup was very weak in my opinion.

I can't believe I'm saying this but in this day and age two dollars fro a bottle of water at an "event" is probably not a bad price. Glad to hear some "locals" were represented in the food court.

As for the lineup, I read somewhere that they intentionally tried to cover a lot of bases with the artists they selected and I don't think anyone can deny that they accomplished that. A little heavy on the "high school reunion bands" but (IMHO) I'd rather have that then some of the alt.dot.indie.dot.jam.dot.whatever.bands. Besides, we do have "Forecastle" to fill that nitch.

I can't believe I'm saying this but in this day and age two dollars fro a bottle of water at an "event" is probably not a bad price. Glad to hear some "locals" were represented in the food court.

As for the lineup, I read somewhere that they intentionally tried to cover a lot of bases with the artists they selected and I don't think anyone can deny that they accomplished that. A little heavy on the "high school reunion bands" but (IMHO) I'd rather have that then some of the alt.dot.indie.dot.jam.dot.whatever.bands. Besides, we do have "Forecastle" to fill that nitch.

I'm taking it Mr. P doesn't get his hippie jam in full swing.

(right with you Mr. P, them hippies hate Slayer)

I can't believe I'm saying this but in this day and age two dollars fro a bottle of water at an "event" is probably not a bad price. Glad to hear some "locals" were represented in the food court.

As for the lineup, I read somewhere that they intentionally tried to cover a lot of bases with the artists they selected and I don't think anyone can deny that they accomplished that. A little heavy on the "high school reunion bands" but (IMHO) I'd rather have that then some of the alt.dot.indie.dot.jam.dot.whatever.bands. Besides, we do have "Forecastle" to fill that nitch.

I'm taking it Mr. P doesn't get his hippie jam in full swing.

(right with you Mr. P, them hippies hate Slayer)

David, I'm afraid I was "hippie" before most of these kids were born. But my age aside, I think it's great that people still have the opportunity to enjoy the music they like in an alt.semi-woodstock.environment. Too bad the drugs aren't as cheap these days.

The music was awesome! The best show of the weekend were The Avett Brothers. They rocked the house!!

I thought very seriously about going JUST to see The Avett Brothers, but in the end couldn't justify the expense to see a small set of the only band I really cared about. Glad to hear they rocked out. I would never have doubted that, though. God, I think they're awesome.

I actually sat in my stool Sunday night 5ish and felt waves of sadness because I knew they were playing live at the Downs and could only listen to them on my iTunes.

We went sunday only, and about died of heat stroke! I was seriously worried about Loretta Lynn's face slipping off and landing "plop" onstage. Taj Mahal was fantastic, Black Crowes played every song that any fan wanted to hear, and when we where half dead, we crawled back through the tunnel to a Rhonda Vincent set that had maybe 10 people at it. (and we were overjoyed and in the shade).
Food was beige, I had Salsaritas, Mike had Boombaz, but what quality do you expect at a sweltering all day extravaganza. It's like taking a favorite eatery and making them cater for 8 hrs in extreme conditions. The local foodies cheaped out, and the bourbon tents went all out.
We missed the Avett Bros, not for lack of desire, but they played during the Black Crowes. I agree that the line up was misdericted, but it's not Jazzfest. All I know is that Dave Matthews fans suck. They even had a chant ...D-band D- band blah blah blah. in the tunnel that made me quake in fear for the mentality of frat boys everywhere.

I was seriously worried about Loretta Lynn's face slipping off and landing "plop" onstage.

I nominate that for LHB line of the week.

They blame the heat for the short numbers, but don't they plan to have it during the same time next year? I mean..it is summer..what do they expect??

My coworker went all 3 days and had a good time. She's not a drinker, and she said she saw many many very drunk people. She said she never ate anything because she was too hot most of the time to care about eating!

The only reason I even entertained the thought of going was to see Bon Jovi. That being said, it was HOT, I'm pregnant, and I saw them in the 80's when Jon had long hair and wore spandex pants. If it had been Def Leppard, I'd have gone, come Hell or high water.

Sounds like the festival was a success for both Churchill and the fans. Glad to hear they will put it on again next year. I'm with a lot of other readers though, sometime other than the middle of July would certainly improve the chances of avoiding a heat wave.

I did not attend because the lineup, overall , was not impressive.

Sounds like the festival was a success for both Churchill and the fans. Glad to hear they will put it on again next year. I'm with a lot of other readers though, sometime other than the middle of July would certainly improve the chances of avoiding a heat wave.

Here's what the Calendar would look like:

April - School, Keeneland (don't see them competing with another state track for patrons)
May - Live Racing (it's what they do after all)
June - Live Racing
July - Heat
August - Heat, Street Rod Nationals, KY State Fair,
September - Football (UofL, UK and High School), School
October - School, Football, Keeneland

Chuchill's kind of stuck with July or August considering 1)festivals are meant for the summer and 2) they host live racing in May, June, and early July.

While it's prob not the best time in regards to the heat, they are working with limited possibilities. Plus, it's meant to be revenue during dark days (non-racing days).