Initially, when I was offered the ticket, I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do. I was actually looking forward to a relatively quiet weekend as the work week was just a lot this week. After I accepted I was more and more looking forward to it. That feeling you get when you are sharing an experience with thousands of other people. Yeah Yeah, I can totally do this. It’s been a bit since I’ve been to 80/35. I listen to Vampire Weekend on the regular and one of my brothers is a big fan of Charley Crockett (already added some of their music to my listen to these). so I figured a live performance would be nice to see.

I got up earlyish, mowed the lawn, got ready, picked up some bug spray and some cash (I did not need to bring cash). and got myself hydrated.

3/4 Mattas’ came and picked me up and we headed down to St Charles. It was fun and that feeling of excitement of going to see a thing. Parked, Shuttled, we got into the first line of the day, to get into the venue.

It started off as fun, some lines were pretty short (booze, climbing kites, cold water for money). but then I think my output of water through my pores started to override the amount going in. Nathan, Jenny and I headed up to get some lunch, and I decided to go sit down and drink water, in this lightly shaded area, with a nice cross breeze. 52 oz of water later I started to feel ok again, and a bit later I got up to get some lunch and sat back down again. Another 26 oz of water later I headed down to re-join the group and listen for a bit more.

I admit we were a ways back from the stage, but I was expecting more people to mostly pay attention to the band. This was not the case. people behind us and in front of us didn’t stop their hum of chatter for a good chunk of the time.

Eventually my water equilibrium got lost again, so I went back up to where I had taken a break before. I realized at this time that even on chairs at work I adjust myself, on soft char where I watch TV from, I often dramatically change positions. Maybe to move my weight around maybe not, but with the lumpy ground it was very hard to swap around.

After a realization, and checking to see how much it would cost to take a Lyft home, I remembered that they had a Des Moines shuttle, and after checking, found it was available for all ticket holders. So I checked with Shannon, texted goodbye to the Matta’s and headed to the edge of the bowl of the area, as to not have to walk all the way down the hill and back up.

While exiting, there were some not great parts. First, I got to the entrance area, and got a bit of crap for not going though the exit (I never say a sign), but he let me go through. Second, my tired ass stood around for a bit deciding if I should cross the street just outside the entrance or walk all the way around. The signs for the Des Moines Shuttle led me to hike down, and then hike back. As someone that was tired, this was quite annoying. Yes yes, safety, crossing the street in a designated area. Eventually I found the right place and got on a bus for kids and had a nice wind flow as we headed back to Des Moines. As I was being cooled down I started to feel a lot better. Shannon picked me up and we headed home, showered, 2 of my big water bottles later I was able to have enough water to go to the bathroom again.

Other thing I noticed, the vast majority of the food vendors were the same company. They had names on the booths to give the impression of a variety of vendors, but they’re all the same group. Interesting niche in a market to fill, I suppose, and probably easier to contract a company that provides their own workers. Being how hot and sunny it was, there were a lot of people wearing black, I did not understand this position to take.

This all being said, I marked Hans Williams, Madison Cunningham, and Red Clay Strays to listen to. I didn’t make it until Charley Crokett, I think he was about to start when I got on the bus. I did make a temporary beetle friend.