To continue with this thought (and shamelessly plug my own agenda of course), I submit that you (the general "you") should try to get your heads around the idea that ComFest™ isn't a party being thrown in your honor.
I've been bitter about ComFest™ in the past, taken a year or two off, and have probably made disparaging remarks (privately) about the faceless "they" that failed to ________. You're entitled to your negative opinions for whatever reason. However, you should also consider (if for none other than practical purposes) that no possible good can come from trying to launch a campaign to convince everyone of how crappy a time they'll have and how much all the participants and organizers suck.
It's about as unproductive as shouting at a rain cloud; get an umbrella, learn to enjoy it, or go inside. Despite the concept that the festival is "for the commmunity," I doubt that any of its organizers ever had the goal of pleasing (and ensuring the attendance of) every last person in the Greater Columbus area.

i probably get more defensive about this stuff too because i volunteer to organize community festivals, but it constantly amazes how quick people are to criticize people who donate hours and hours of their free time in order to plan cool stuff for the greater community.

sorry. personal pet peeve.

volatility @ madlab is going to be pretty badass this year too. saturday, july 17th.

aw, see? So much going on. Everyone's covered. Everyone's happy.
Madlab Volatility thingy is always pretty damn entertaining.

Okay, either my point is being lost, or I'm terrible at explaining myself. Also, Scion fest is brand freakin' new. Let's see if it happens a few times before calling it a great festival in this city. BUT, it is a step in the right direction. Especially for music which doesn't really have access to a large audience in Columbus.
Though I support several of those festivals because friend's bands play in them... they are the exact "smaller niche fests" I'm talking about. There's nothing wrong with that. I'm just saying for a decently sized city, in a central location, with a ton of awesome bands... well, where's our SXSW? Hell, cincy is hardly any bigger (if at all?) and they have something at least similar. You know what I mean? Not something to make ME famous, but something capable of propelling any one of the great bands around town to a new level. Hell, I could apply to this magical opportunity and not make it, and STILL be happy to go, because I'm supporting someone who is really trying to do something for our local music.
Out of that list of fests, Comfest is very easily one of the more attended ones. I'm saying, for bands, comfest is one of the best things we have (in the sense I just described), and it's practically useless for that.

I'm not trying to tell everyone they'll have a shitty time, that the volunteers aren't doing something valuable for their community. I'm just saying that it's very obvious that music is only included in that community as a sidenote. Something to fill the air, so people don't get bored. That's fine. All I was saying is that it seems there are other places that seem to have their shit together when it comes to blowing the town up for a huge musically-centric festival. These places don't even have to be Chicago or New York. But everyone's just kinda happy to sit on the grass and eat hotdogs and have a great time. No one is saying, hey we have great bands here... let's do something about that on a grand level. Once a year, comfest rolls around and reminds me of that, and I get pissy. But it's festival season everywhere, and it's discouraging to see so many other cities doing something, when we should be just as capable.
I'll just save it for another topic.

Erin-Fest™ is next month.*




*I'm bitter that you stole that point from me before I could finish posting.

if someone could start a festival that would help me finish my masters degree so that I could make more money at a new job in portland, that would be totally rad. I'd even pick up trash for that one.

oops

Volatility Festival at 227 North 3rd --Saturday July 17th -- much like the years before but bigger and better..We drink, we rock.

How about a festival to get these cats adopted? I've got beer.

I know what you're trying to say, but I'm not sure what a SXSW offers Austin, that a Comfest doesn't offer Columbus, other than it has national acts, and it's a seminar, and it's 2 weeks, and it's a completely different ball o' wax. I think the whole point of Comfest is that it's a (for lack of a better word) celebration of local muzak for just one weekend. That's what it offers.
You're looking for something completely different, and so you can't really compare your ideal with something like Comfest, which has a pretty specific (and noble, I think) mission to give local bands one entire weekend. That's actually pretty damn unique. Think about it. 100s of acts and it's all from C'town. Aw damn, now I'm getting all choked up....

this is not a correct statement and leads me to believe that you dont attend many local music events as there is an awesome and big community here that advocates for and celebrates the local music community.

Yes, it is noble, and I'm being sincere. But you're telling me that's it's a celebration of local music, when other people are saying it's not. It seems very obvious that it's not. It's about other things, and music happens to be there. I know SXSW and MPMF are completely different. That's what I'm saying. We need something completely different. Well, the city doesn't. The bands do. We have plenty of niche fests that support local music as well, I know. I'm not saying that they shouldn't exist, or what they do isn't worthwhile. I'm not sure why my statement that bands here deserve a fest that provides an opportunity for them to grow beyond being local bands is seen as an attack on existing ideas. If you're happy playing locally for the rest of your life, then what I'm saying probably doesn't really apply to you. There are, however, many bands who would love it if this city had something that shed light on their efforts beyond that of the local "scene." I'm going to shut up now. I was just going to bitch with everyone else, and try to give a reason for it... and it's probably a bit distracting for a thread that's supposed to be about the Comfest schedule.

you really have no idea with whom you've engaged in this topic, do you?

I should say "only" playing locally for the rest of you life... but otherwise, apparently not.

i think suebee knows a thing or two about touring the world as a musician...

are they thinking something like this?

and if DI Fest doesn't pick your band to play, try not to jump back on here and scream about how we don't have any good music festivals...

Well, on this forum, Comfest *is* about local music. Always.
Let me just make one more point (I'm really sorry but Comfest gets me going). No festival, no matter where it is or who it can attract nationally, can offer a band a ticket out of Dodge. And here's where (I think) people get a little bent out of shape -- people who have seen the "Columbus is the next big thing" at least 2-3 times in their lifetimes – because you're using "local" as a means to some end (and making it sound inconsequential, I might add). But the healthiest local scenes are the ones that usually end up garnering the most attention nationally. Happens every single time. Simple - as - that.
But I say go for it. Any new festival that sheds light on this crazy-ass town, is A-OK (as long as it isn't polka).

I mentioned DI fest as something I'm VERY optimistic about. Urban Scrawl, Parking Lot Blowout, etc are all great... but they lack the ability to bring the outside world in to hear what Columbus has to offer. Scion Fest is a bit of an exception I think because there really so few things like it, especially in Columbus.
DI fest promises to do that, and I'm certain they'll do everything they can. Surely, I'd submit to play... but if we don't get picked, I'll go to support the bands that ARE there. Comfest just seems to be less and less about music, which isn't surprising since it's not MUSICfest.
I'm holding my breath for July of next year either way, for sure.

And I agree with you completely Suebee. "Local" has this odd stigma of being "shitty." It always seems to take some non-local opinion to change that perception. Hopefully DI Fest does something to change that on a at least regional level, if not national. There are certainly plenty of bands here that deserve it.

bump

like maybe entertainment weekly or something.

RaWKe On DA RahnGe BRA!!!!!!!!

Yes, or Access Hollywood. Is Entertainment Tonight still on? If so, them too. Nothing is cool until Mario Lopez says so.

Well, the Bozo stage has pretty much sucked the cool out of any band I've wanted to see there. The sound from it hasn't fit well with the harder bands I've seen on it. It's liked they turned up the SUCK knob.

The intimacy of the Offramp is taken away when you move a band to the Bozo.

Also, there's still not much I want to see on Bozo this year. There's just very little I want to see on the Offramp this time around.

The Offramp is so much more intimate than standing looking up, up while musicians who used to be local and right there in front of you at [Skullys, Ravari, Summit, Bernie's, what have you] are now distant and on a pedestal. It seems like putting them up there is separating them from the community.

The Bozo stage to me has always been an icon of the "we are better than you" mindset of the older Boomer/Hippie generation over us young(er) loud rock-n-roll-get-off-my-lawn kids.

I originally used the Phantods as an example here, stating that putting the Phantods on the big stage separates them and is sort of like the big wigs giving the young punks a cookie now that they're making the offramp less full-on alternative, and I deleted that. I mean no offense to the Phantods, I'm a huge fan.)

But the main stage takes away the 'club' intimacy that I think works so much better. It's a difference between 'observing' and 'being a connected part of'.

Lackluster. Am I reading you right? Are you looking for a festival that concentrates on catapulting Columbus' fine artists toward stardom and fame and markets their awesomeness to a mass audience? All of that sounds like bunk, to me.

If there's a common thread among great Ohio bands that I've recognized, it's their honesty; their unique pursuit of their own good time and their form of expression. Everyone's invited but they're not waving a flag and begging for your attention or acceptance. The sort of fanfare you seem to be proposing just doesn't hit me as working, here.

Maybe I'm just not following you.