More FPSF 2012 Coverage:
• Summer Fest line-up reviews on the Rocks Off blog.
• Free Press Summer Fest 2012: The Sexy, Sweaty Crowds
• Popsicles and Pizza: The Food of Summer Fest
• FPSF: The Bands from Saturday
• FPSF: The Bands from Sunday
Cory Garcia: Walking past the Super Happy Fun Land stage Saturday I heard the singer for one of the bands yell out "Let's all get raped!" Since I don't know what the context for that was, I can't make any judgments other than to say that it was a thing that happened and ended up in my notebook. What I can say is the price-gouging on sodas was maddening. The sign says $3 for a 20-oz soda, but when you get to the bar they want $5 for a 12-oz? I understand that festival economics means higher prices, but if you're going to gouge me be up front about it.
Chris Gray: This isn't all that weird, but after I saw wistful Austin trio Papermoons (whose 2009 LP New Tales is one of the best Houston records of the late '00s), the DJ on Stage 4 cranked into a set of horns-up Buzz-rock, starting with Audioslave's "Cochise" and continuing on into Korn. It was a little odd to hear that stuff at Summer Fest, although Lord knows there was plenty of heavy music around. But I always thought one of the main reasons the whole thing started was to show that Houston audiences will embrace other kinds of alternative music than the one 94.5 plays. (See: Nickelback.) It doesn't matter, I guess. "Cochise" will always be a great fuckin' song, and I was happy to hear it Sunday.
Corey Dieterman: The most personally bizarre moment of Summerfest for me came from hanging around the medical area. I saw a kid get dragged in after passing out on some bad MDMA (his own admission), then immediately after that I overheard a panicked call asking for medical personnel to be sent to the Flaming Lips dressing room. Perhaps it's just my perverse mind connecting events, but I was instantly wondering what kind of crazy party those guys were having in there in the middle of the afternoon. Then again, considering the band, this probably isn't WTF-worthy at all, is it? At least it was none too serious to keep our weirdo heroes from playing.
Christina Lynn: I, not once but TWICE on Sunday, saw condoms out and about. The first time happened in one of the Fancy Pants tents. I was going to sit down there until I saw a little rubber there and immediately had a Seinfeld moment where I thought, like Cosmo Kramer when he finds a condom in George's car, "It's a c-c-c-CONDOM!" I don't think it was used, but nevertheless I didn't want to sit on that couch. The other time I saw one was near Stage 7. That one was tied to a fence.
