Vegoose Reflections and Recommendations

Reflections on Vegoose 2006

1) Be forewarned, Vegoose is not so much a weekend trip to Vegas as it is a weekend at a music festival.

Of course it does depend on how passionate you are about the music. God bless my friends, this past year at Coachella it was like herding cats getting them there at a reasonable pace. Of course Coachella tempts you like a cheerleader doing high kicks; "Oh come to Frank Sinatra's house to party first..." or "Did you hear about Flaunt's private party?" Maybe that's why I loved Vegoose so much, my friends were just like me. We got there at a decent hour each day and we were all willing to leave slightly before it ended both night. We gambled a bit, and managed to squeeze in champagne brunch at the Bellagio, but no Scores this time around.

2) Attend a night shows at least one of the nights.

You are so tired at the end of Saturday, you think surely the organizers must be kidding planning night shows. But Dave Matthews played acoustic and allegedly high as a Marley Friday night, and for Saturday night's Maceo Parker show, fucking Prince came on stage in a white suit. So hippie or hipster, make it to one night show. Plus it's badass to see someone go on stage at 1:15AM, it just is.

3) It's cold in the desert at night, like, duh.

Ok, so costume or no costume, it's cold in the desert at night. (Sidebar, does anyone else confuse the spelling of desert and dessert? I just stared at the screen for five minutes trying to remember the mnemonic device for this one.) So while it's all fine and dandy and HOT during the day, the sun goes down and it's suddenly freezing. I actually have very legitimate concerns about Vegoose "making it" as a festival because of the extreme weather change and the adverse affect on beer sales. No one bought beer at night, it was too cold. Coffee line? 100 people. I know it's annoying to bring a backpack, but bring something - you'll want layers at night.

4) Take the Vegoose shuttle.

The festival is a good 30 minutes away from the Strip. The shuttle is $50 and while not so much party van as it is mode of transportation, it's awesome. You don't have to wait in the cab line and then stress about the meter all the way back to the Strip. We took it from both the Tropicana and the Paris locations (there are four in total) and both places were quick and easy to and from the festival. Plus you're being a conservationist, how many people can say that about a weekend in Vegas?

5) Check out the sponsor booths.

Are sponsors getting more hip or am I just suddenly paying more attention? Anywho, the sports bar had TVs in it, like big flat screens, and my friends took a hot-guy run Sunday afternoon (in between Phil & Trey but before The Roots) - and guess what? Found them. All watching football. Amazing. Plus the other booths offered chair massages and free SanDisk stuff. They had comfy couches and bean bag chairs. Head Count was the charity beneficiary and it's nice to see festivals making that choice now (ala Tree People at the Detour Festival).

With confidence, I give a glowing review to Vegoose. It was really well put together and fun and the people watching was nothing less of amazing. Lots of people were in costumes, some were not, it's just a matter of your own comfort level since you are stuck with the thing all day - but it made for an interesting scene.

LAist is reserving our spot now for next year. See you there!