Pimlico Race Course

Elite '08

85

125

Kori K.

Alexandria, VA

I should technically be writing a review for Preakness, but whatever, almost the same thing.

Just picture thousands of drunk college-age kids sporting an ungodly amount of coolers, kiddie pools and pretty much anything else that equals the word party, crammed into a field. A.K.A., awesome.

I can't speak for the food or drinks offered on the in-field because we brought our own, I highly encourage the same thing. And please, think logically, don't bring Styrofoam coolers, they break or drunk people will do you a favor and break them for you. And if you think carrying a cooler for a long distance is too much, believe me, there are plenty of locals who are willing to share their stolen grocery store carts for $5 and help you out.

Speaking of locals... make sure you have awesome directions and full tank of gas. You do NOT want to end lost here after dark, or even during the day for that matter.

See you at Virgin Fest (sadly minus a cooler)

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Elite '08

278

504

angela n.

Washington, DC

Update: Now I've been to both 2006 and 2007 Vfests @ Pimlico. What I liked:

- Pimlico was big enough that there was no noticeable sound bleeding among the stages, but small enough that there was maybe a 5-minute hike between stages, not bad.

- Ticket prices seemed steep at first, but the sheer number of good bands made it a good deal.  If you didn't want to pay full price, cheap black market tix were plentiful.  Both years I saw tix being sold near the gate for half price!  

- It's not one of those festivals like Live 8 where each act did just 3 songs.  Many of the bands and esp the headliners played decent full sets of an hour or more.

- If you got bored with one band, you could just walk over to check out a different band. These choices were sometimes a double-edged sword (e.g. Beastie Boys vs. LCD Soundsystem, the Police vs. Modest Mouse). If you and your friends have different musical tastes, expect to just split up sometimes!

What I didn't like:

-  I wish there were better public transport options from DC.  

- Portolets were plentiful but they got so nasty by the end of the day. Bring a pack of napkins, wet wipes and hand sanitizer!

- Not nearly enough water fountains. They limit you to bringing in two water bottles so this was a big problem in the heat.

- The food sold was edible but not great.  It would've been nice to be allowed to bring our own food, like at the Hollywood Bowl.

- Lots of drunk overheated people.

Still, the music was worth the trouble.

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