GoogaMooga: The Recap

There is no denying that Saturday’s GoogaMooga was a mess. Lines poured into one another and waits topped over an hour. Beer cards were sold and then couldn’t be redeemed. Food and drink ran out. All in all, it was not a good scene. But did you really expect anything different? This was a first run festival in a first-time venue. Even Woodstock (not that this was anywhere as epic as Woodstock) had plenty of problems! The big difference (well, one of the hundred differences)? No smartphones. In 1969, the revelers were unable to air their grievances on Twitter (or tweet post-production about how there was no service for tweeting) for the world to read — then have their tweets picked up and re-posted on blogs. At Woodstock everybody just got stoned.

But I digress. Where Saturday’s GoogaMooga session was a bit hair-y, Sunday’s lighter turnout and prepared staff was a success. Lines were shorter and the unsuccessful beer card system was abolished allowing people to actually get drunk and silly. Extra Mooga, the $250 per head VIP section, was not overcrowded with crabby bloggers punching angrily at their iPhones while waiting in line for bite-sized Umami Burgers. Instead, a laid back, dare we say festive, group jammed out at the Boathouse, swigging bourbon-based cocktails and gnawing meat off Pat La Frieda dinosaur bones. Amanda Freitag and Marcus Samuelsson could be seen hanging amongst the fray.

While fellow food blogs and tweeters alike focused on the “shitshow” factor, few mentioned the actual headlining music — Saturday’s the Roots and Sunday’s Hall & Oates. The bands drew different audiences, but both changed the weekend’s mood significantly, shifting to peace, love, and harmony for each performance. The crowd danced and sang along, waving pork legs and People’s Pops in the air.