yeah, that's the "rich fucks who paid for vip tickets to the so-called pavilion cause they want to sit down for all acts" section. most actual fans of grimes were on the front of the lawn. you can't see shit there except on the jumbotron, but it was more ideal for dancing, so it was a really fun show and oblivion especially ruled being on the lawn just as it was getting dark and it started to rain lightly in the neon almost purplish twilight during that song, it felt like being in the oblivion video- plus with an acknowledgment from prince in the sky, like hey, this hit is pretty good too, even if it's not her best and not equal to my best, i'll make it rain for this one (it was raining a lot earlier in the day but it stopped for a few hours, until the very end of grimes' set).

i do feel bad for anyone only getting to see her at a festival with such terrible views. merriweather post pavilion was still such a beautiful venue in the surroundings, way more than i could've imagined in suburban maryland, and i finally understand how an album named after that venue managed to ignite a new digital woodstock spirit in montreal's music scene that gave birth to grimes. and the treehouse (secondary) stage was fucking gorgeous and it was great for dancing and easy to see the stage too, but the way the main "pavilion" stage (where grimes was playing) is designed, really really sucks there. obviously vip tickets will be better anywhere, but at mpp, they design it so the non-vips literally have no view at all, plus you're stuck on a very steep slope which makes dancing or even standing up difficult and potentially dangerous in rainy conditions. toward the bottom of the lawn it was okay, and people in the front near the jumbotron were really getting in the spirit, but i'm so grateful for already seeing her in a club because you really don't experience grimes if you only saw her at this kind of festival venue, especially in the daytime. some festival stages are okay (e.g. coachella), but this mpp one is elitist bullshit designed for old people who want to sit down, so the vibe is all wrong in the front part where they are actually gifted with views, while the good vibes in the back go together with an unusually low amount of views.

I wish Grimes could've played in the better stage (treehouse stage) unfortunately she is too popular for that stage's size, although i have no idea if that's even true... like Partynextdoor must actually sell more than her (having written "Work" for Rihanna and all) and they should've given him the main stage maybe. the reason pnd is on the secondary stage is this festival organizers are also kind of racist, putting all the black artists on the secondary stage even if they're bigger artists than some on the main stage. like come on, this is no shade at mac demarco but he is not a huge mainstream act. this festival is just badly organized all around. they immediately ran out of ponchos to sell when it started raining, even though they must make huge profits off that, and rain had been predicted and constant for weeks. and their idea of providing public transit access was giving a $20 lyft voucher. how wonderful! you actually have to drive to mpp, there is no other option unless they bothered to provide a bus. with the prime time prices of lyft, that $20 will get you about 1 or 2 miles from the venue, which still leaves you about 10-20 miles outside the radius of the DC or Baltimore transit systems. and this festival poses as environmentalists!

last year the washington post music critic wrote a nice attack on the "green" policies of this festival, focusing on their overpriced food and the poor experience of actually seeing music there. they seem to have had a problem selling out this year, but there were still lots of people there. all in all, the venue surroundings were still so nice they can get away with a lot, people will go just to hang out there, but i def wouldn't ever go back to that particular festival unless grimes was playing there again. it would only be worth it for her. and it was actually very much still worth it- and i enjoyed some of her songs-oblivion for example- more in that festival than in a club.