Art

[Life Is Beautiful 2014]

Life Is Beautiful: The good, the bad & the weird from day one

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Photo: Fred Morledge

The Good

The Western. The fest wisely paired its art and learning components in one location, resulting in far greater foot traffic for both than at last year’s fest. The speaker series is dead ahead when you walk into the shuttered Downtown hotel, and the art exhibits ring that room, making for a must-stop destination when you have some down time between the bands on your must-see list. –Spencer Patterson

The giant metal preying mantis outside the Container Park has finally found its purpose—to shoot flames in rhythm to the music from Super Mario Bros. –Jason Harris

The sound for Jenny Lewis’ Western Stage performance. Festival sets are very rarely that pristine. –SP

Life Is Beautiful: Day 1

The picnic setup across from the Ambassador Stage was a welcome break from all the blacktop standing. With picnic tables, grass, culinary booths and the craft beer taps, it was a recurring destination between sets. Plus, you can still hear whoever's on the Ambassador across the street. –Sarah Feldberg

Vintage Trouble's straight-up party. Lead singer Ty Taylor left the stage on "Run Like the River," starting a dance circle in the crowd and inviting people to step in and show off their moves. It was the most purely fun moment of my LIB day one. –SF

Former mayor Oscar Goodman saying, "If I were Ed, I would've killed the guy—or if I were actively practicing, I would've hired one of my clients to kill the guy," after fellow speaker Ed Gavagan told the story of his attempted murder. Classic Oscar. –SF

The Bad

Witnessing a homeless man yell, “Where am I going to go?” at security is exactly the kind of scene anti-LIB folks have been talking about in the weeks leading up to the fest. It’s a jarring reminder that, yes, people actually live here, and no, life isn’t beautiful for everyone—especially if you don’t have the means to experience it. –Leslie Ventura

2014 Life Is Beautiful: Day 1

The beer setup. While last year’s Culinary Village has been splintered and scattered, so that you’re never far from a half-dozen legit food options, the craft beer remains sequestered at one end of the festival, near the Western Hotel. If you’re anywhere else—near the Downtown Stage (aka the main stage), for example, your only options are Dos Equis and Heineken, for $8 a pop. If I’m gonna spend that much on a beer, I’d much rather end up with something like Ballast Point’s Sculpin IPA … but not if it requires a 10-15 minute walk in each direction. –SP

That Moksha only gets 30 minutes on Sunday. Especially considering fellow local acts GoldBoot, Ekoh and Rusty Maples all got more time on Friday. A jam band like Moksha needs time to stretch out and take listeners on a journey, and it’s tough to imagine what they’ll be able to accomplish in only an hour. –SP

Daytime Dancetronauts. After dark, the dancey, space-themed stage came alive with lights, shakin' booties and a small but enthusiastic crowd. During daylight hours? The poor Dancetronauts tried in vain to lure people in for an untz-driven boogie. -SF

While it's nice to have a sprawling choice of high-quality culinary choices that aren't as expensive as they might be at their native restaurants​, you're also getting a lot less food. A $9-$10 item won't fill you up the way an $8 teriyaki bowl or burrito will at, say, Coachella. It wouldn't have ruined Life Is Beautiful's detailed dining curation to have also offered the festival standards that usually leave you sated. Life Is Beautiful stands to become the most expensive festival I've ever attended. –Mike Prevatt

The Weird

“The Reasons Why I Love You” booth is really creepy. It's shaped like a giant TV, and when the festival isn’t in “on” mode, two mannequins on a sofa take the place of real-life actors inside the giant “screen.” When the festival is alive, so are the people inside it—and they’re there to read the things you’re too shy to say to your significant other … or if you really want to make things weird, a complete stranger. I’ll pass. –LV

Overheard at the food village from a seemingly suburban cougar: "I wish I knew how to twerk. I just can't." –JH

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