Doheny Days

This was a very good concert. Flaming Lips this year were excellent , Jimmy Eat World was very good, and Janes Addiction was very good. I enjoye the venue, even though prices for food and drink were high. The beach was great to be on, and everything was good.

Doheny Days this year had some great acts and the music itself was great.  I went on Saturday for Ben Harper.  It was a beautiful day and it's a great outdoor setting.

Logistics...not so good.

First, I parked off site and took the shuttle bus down to the venue.  The organizers said the main lot would likely be full and since I was coming later in the day I opted for the off site parking.  The shuttle bus is $5 per person, and the primary lot is $10 per car.  Since there were multiple people in our party we ended up paying much more than if we had just driven into the main lot.  The worst part about the bus...it dropped us off in the boonies and we had to walk around Dana Point to try to get into the venue.

Next you have to get wristbands.  Wristbands are the only form of payment accepted in the venue.  Wait time = 25 minutes.  Partly due to the volunteers, partly due to the scanners working slow, and partly due to people just not being prepared when they finally got to the front of the line.

Next we walk into the venue.  We came around 4:00 PM and it was packed.  The general admission lawn was completely full with no place to sit.  The drink lines extended back about 100 people long in each line.  I saw a VIP upgrade line and went to that so we could get into the VIP section.  Here, I stood in one line for 20 minutes to pay the VIP upgrade, and then had to go to another line and wait for another 25 minutes for a wristband (of course they were out, so they had to pick up some more from the front gate).  We upgraded to the Lounge band which lets you get into the back stage area.  An hour and ten minutes after coming into the venue I had a VIP wristband and I had been in line the ENTIRE TIME.

Now we enter the VIP section, and the lines were still very long and you could tell everyone was pretty bitter about it.  The good part - the seating in the VIP section was much better and had much more available space.  We went back into the Lounge area and grabbed some drinks (no line here) and were able to watch the show from behind the stage a bit.  

Once we had this access, it made getting drinks and watching the show so much better!  A couple hours later - the beer runs out in the VIP lounge...so now we're back in the regular lines again...waiting.

Ben Harper came on and really put on a great show.  And we were able to get right to the front of the stage.  Good crowd and a great performance.

To sum it all up.  The promoters should ditch the wrist payment system or ensure it works next year, and get more drink and food vendors.  Lines were WAY to long.  And for people attending the concert - VIP passes are the only way to go - it makes the experience much better!

Good: Reggae, lots of green space to have a picnic or lay out in the sun, hanging out w/ friends, being next to the beach.

Bad: Their wristband payment system and being searched by security like we're all gangbangers.