Mile High Music Festival 2010

After taking 2009 off from Mile High Music Festival (MHMF) apparently this year I’m going again! Thanks Mom! You’re the best!

The inaugural year of MHMF (2008) had its positives and negatives:

Positives:

-The lineup was awesome – Tom Petty, Black Crowes, Dave Matthews Band and even though I don’t really like him, John Mayer.
-Denver finally had its very own music festival – suck it Bonnaroo!
-It was sunny both days!

Negatives:

-The two-day festival took place in July on the two HOTTEST days of the summer in Denver. Instead of having a few beers and getting some sun all we wanted to do was sit by a Budweiser truck to keep cool rather than walk across the field to see some of the less well-known bands.
-The days were really long and there was no re-entry allowed.
-John Mayer sucks.

In 2009 everyone (myself included) was excited to see the MHMF lineup until we found out that the headliners were going to be Widespread Panic (the jammiest jam band that ever jammed) and Tool (a band whose sound I describe as rage rock because they scream instead of sing and it makes their nutjob audience want to mosh and kill each other).

I’m assuming promoter Chuck Morris and the rest of the powers that be were trying to appeal to a wide audience but I knew this wasn’t going to go well because these bands (and subsequently their fans) are just too different. And I was right. Sales suffered big time – they sold 90,000 tickets in 2008 but only sold about 65,000 tickets in 2009.

But I predict that things are about to get better for Morris and company. With the return of Dave Matthews Band to the 2010 lineup along with other headliners that include heavy hitters like Steve Miller Band and Jack Johnson, I think the masses will show up again like they did in 2008. I’ve been lucky enough to see DMB and Jack Johnson several times before so I’m the most excited to see Steve Miller Band. I’m also looking forward to seeing Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi, Weezer, Atmosphere, Jimmy Cliff (recently inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame), Train and Z-Trip (who I haven’t seen since the 2004 X-Games where I was mesmerized by his ability to mix hip hop with rock classics like Janis Joplin’s “Mercedes Benz”).

I’m hoping that this summer will prove to be the best MHMF to date. Thanks again Mom!