• The security was thorough - as in I had my cockandballs caressed no less than 4 times entering the festival grounds & my wife had her tampons sniffed...srsly.
• Food was plentiful and not nearly as expensive as I'd thought - Paella, Pizza, Burritos & Bao buns were pretty much all I ate all weekend (lol, I just realized that all my festival foods begin with either B or P!)
• For a field of ~80K kids spinning headfulls of molly, the bathrooms were impeccable all weekend long, I saw exactly zero vomit or poop in the kaibos.
• Beers were $10 each ($9+tip) and only available to purchase and drink inside their beer gardens which didn't really offer any kind of good views of the stages.
• My wife saw her first Dubstep show (Kill the Noise) and she decided that the genre wasn't her cup of tea.
• I almost got tired of smelling weed.....almost.
• It was easily the most beautiful looking crowd I've ever been inside of. The girls were all 8+ and the dudes were all crazy ripped.
• We heard/read much about the "oppressive" heat of the California desert before we got there...pfft. That desert has NOTHING on a ripe Iowa summer...we were fine.
• Outside of the TSA-esque security to get into the festival every staff member/vendor/official were 110% friendly and helpful...very very nice.
• The art installations were awe-inspiring.  Especially the two-story moving snail, Helix Poeticus:

As for my on-air tease today regarding an 80/35 tie-in, the Wu-Tang Clan absolutely destroyed The Outdoor Stage on Sunday night.  I had my reservations going into their set as the Wu are notorious for late/$#!tty/incomplete/phoned in performances but this set was a highlight of the entire weekend.  All surviving members were seemingly having the time of their lives running through a setlist containing everything a stalwart Wu fan such as my self would want to hear.

If you are at all on the fence about getting tickets to see them (along with dozens more quality acts) at 80/35, I will tell you this.  If Des Moines gets half the show I did then you are in for a real treat that first weekend in July.

Fun Fact #1 - When your driver's liscence expires in the state of California, there is not the same 60-day grace period that we enjoy here in the tall corn state.

4 Days Suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu Free
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
TT