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Intonation Festival 2005 Wrap-Up Part 3
alright, i promise this is the end of the Intonation coverage, as i'm sure anyone who cares is already getting burnt out on all the coverage this week from places like Chicagoist, the Village Voice, and Pitchfork itself. this last look is going to sum up what i found to be good and bad about the festival, and my dream line-up for Intonation 2006.

The Good:
- the amazing line-up. maybe not perfect, but very solid and a better variety than i expected.
- the two-stage alternating set-up. made it possible to have virtually no dead-time between bands and allowed the fans not to have to choose between two bands, you could see them all baby.
- the price. $22 for a two day ticket, over 20 bands? a no-brainer. but the prices for concessions, while not dirt cheap, were nowhere near as high as they are likely to be at this weekend's Lollapalooza.
- the variety. in addition to the awesome music you could have spent your time checking out local vendor's, working on craft projects with your kids, shopping for sweet clothes and homemade crafts, or even gone digging for vinyl at the WLUW sponsored record fair (which is where i scored Japanese Whispers on vinyl).
- the short beer lines. it was way too hot to drink lots of dehydrating beer, but when you felt like grabbing a cold one there was viturally no wait at all. very unexpected.
- the great crowd. for the most part the crowd was really great - there to enjoy the music and not act like drunken idiots. again, something that will probably not be the same at Lollapalooza.

The Bad:
- the "press pit" for certain bands. when The Hold Steady took the stage, it seemed as if everyone who'd ever met the band suddenly was let into the pit area directly in front of the stage. i'm perfectly happy to see writers and camerapeople in that area, but this was a little crazy. there ended up being 20-30 people in there, many of whom were obviously just there to drink beer and rock out. not a huge complaint, but it somehow seemed to cheapen the hard-earned spot i saved in front of the stage. maybe next time there can be a limit to the number of people allowed in that area at one time.
- the weather. definitely not something that could have been controlled, but damn was it hot - especially on Sunday. thankfully the organizers made sure free water was available and allowed us to bring in sealed water containers (nice move).
- the long ATM line. to be fair, i'm sure no one expected the ATM to be such a big hit over the weekend - but waiting 30-45 minutes for your turn was a bit of a drag.

anyway, that's all the complaints i have. i had an amazing time and i'm already anxiously awaiting Intonation 2006. and while we're on the topic, who would you want to see perform next year? drop me a comment and let me know your dream line-up. meanwhile, i'll leave you with how i would book Intonation 2006.

Day 1 - Saturday:
The Reputation
Okkervil River
The Ponys
David Pajo
Annie
Caribou
Clinic
M. Ward
Stars
Mission of Burma
The Shins

DJ Tent:
Matt Sweeney
Nick Catchdubs

Day 2 - Sunday:
Comets on Fire
The Juan Maclean
Iron & Wine
Oneida
MF Doom
Ted Leo & The Pharmacists
Boards of Canada
Neutral Milk Hotel
Spoon
Stephen Malkmus
Belle & Sebastian

DJ Tent:
Thurston Moore
James Murphy