Firefly Music Festival 2012

One week after Firefly I find myself caught up on sleep, hang-over free, and eagerly awaiting the 2013 return of Firefly.  The inaugural year for the festival held in Dover Delaware went off mostly without a hitch and garnered many positive to glowing reviews.  Overall I was really impressed with the way the festival was handled and run.  Hopefully some of the minor shortcomings, i.e.  uninformed volunteers/staff, no late night sets, sound issues on the main stage, will be resolved during the year. 

The best performance(s) I saw were The Killers and The Flaming Lips, hands down.  We waited for nearly 2 hours packed in like sardines to get as close as possible for The Killers set.  It was completely worth it though, ending up about 20 feet or so from the stage.  The Killers are just great performers with a knack for anthems fitting of the big stage.  I'd never seen The Flaming Lips but I had a pretty good idea what I was in for.  Their stage show was one of the best I've ever seen.  Confetti cannons, giant balloons, Wayne Coyne in his hamster ball (picture above) and giant foam hands, it was all there.  Their music is sometimes hit or miss with me but save for one or two songs I really enjoyed their set as well. 

I also caught great sets by John Legend, Heartless Bastards, The Head and the Heart, Polica, Ok Go (picture above) and got turned onto Penguin Prison and Walk The Moon.  Some other highlights of Firefly included the Dogfish Head beer tent with the new Firefly Ale, hot air balloon rides, the 'hammock hang-out' tucked back in the woods, and of course good times with great friends.