What seemed to be a perfect forecast leaving for the BBQ…

Well, it came and it went, and now I sit here trying to figure out how to explain something that was really some type of wonderful, yet also, shockingly somewhat horrendous. Yes, sort of puzzling to think about and explain, but you’ll soon understand why I will continue to go back to this event, regardless of the unpleasant taste that it left in some people’s mouths.

You’ll find out quickly that I’m not here to write words to appease the readers of this post, the production company that threw the show (MeanRed), or the DirtyBird label and their crew. I’m the most unofficial, yet totally official, music and event critic you’ll probably ever come across. The reason being is: I’m just a fan. I’m a fan of great music, good people and fun parties. I’m convinced the backbone and main intent of the DirtyBird crew is just that. Considering I’m up to par with these common interests we share, along with wanting the best for others, I’m going to keep this review as real as possible, bad or good you’ll find this is all out of love for the event and people involved!

THE BAD

Maybe I can hitch-hike my way to the font of this line?

OK, let’s just get the bad stuff out-of-the-way first. Major issues from the start and I’m not sugar-coating any of it to glorify the people in charge, because point-blank, it was a mess! Let’s just say a lot went down, besides the downpour of rain…

BAD #1- THE LINE: My group of friends and I heard through the grapevine that there was a torrential downpour, almost equivalent to a monsoon, a few minutes shy of the scheduled 2pm opening of the doors. Mother Nature, it’s just one of those things, out of control for event organizers anywhere and I do believe considering the fact that the entire property had to be drained to ensure the safety of everyone, and to actually keep the event going (instead of canceling it completely), they handled that particular situation as best they could in that regard. Meanwhile, amidst all of this drainage of our flooded dance floor, I think they absolutely lacked in preparing themselves for the line to be majorly backed up.  My friends told me they were waiting in line for over two hours before doors were opened, so myself and my crew didn’t attempt to head into Brooklyn until about 4pm. We figured, long line, OK, we’ll wait it out for it to die down. We were wrong. We arrived around 5pm to find the line, was even worse. Yes the two-hour door delay, caused some unexpected, uncontrollable set backs, but I can guarantee even if this weather delay didn’t happen they still would have been backed up because of their check in process.

Smiles were exchanged despite the long wait to enter.

BAD #2- UNPREPARED & UNDER STAFFED: This was the major issue in addition to the weather throwing them a loop. The check in process and the lack of people staffed, compared to the amount of people attending, was awful. The event was Will Call only. That’s right, an estimated 4,500 people need to check in, in order to validate they did in fact purchase a ticket to this sold out event. The line was backed up for blocks! It got to the point where people were leaving the line and giving up, or everyone kept jumping the line causing more delays. A vicious cycle.

At a snail’s pace, we finally approach the front, and it’s completely unclear where we had to go. They had only THREE people checking in the thousands in line, and they were standing stationary off to the side, trying to grab the attention of the crowds that are immersed in side conversations, to come up to them, one-by-one! Equipped with their personal phones, I overheard one (out of the only three) staffed check-in personal say to his co-worker, “My phone just died, I’m useless.” This only added to the frustration of a completely understaffed and unorganized situation. There was absolutely no system flow, communication, or team work. After we finally get our wristbands, we move up to where there was only ONE man checking ID’s to ensure you are at least 21 years of age, and then only TWO people checking bags. So the total check in staff was 5 and one 1/2, if you want to count that guy who’s phone died,  for 4,500 attendees. THAT IS UNACCEPTABLE!

Finally, we entered the venue after 6pm. I was pretty dehydrated and VIP was wiped out of liquor and water at the time, so I went to a side tent to get a drink, where I once again waited with the masses in a line for at least 25 minutes, because there was only ONE bartender. In addition, there we’re no lights in these tents once it got dark at night, so the staff couldn’t see what they were doing or properly work. Oh, in case you were wondering, my beer was warm.

Lines, lines, more lines.

BAD #3- SAFETY: I honestly think the safety and health of fans along with harm reduction still not being accepted in the United States, is one of the biggest problems we face with dance events, whether they are a small underground party like this or if it’s a larger scaled festival.  I do understand the underground feel of this event being placed at this venue for several reasons. I think it represented the label’s simple personality and the New York City underground warehouse style party perfectly, but there was still that lingering concern that there was nowhere to go for help if you needed it. This event is now at the point where it could be considered a small scaled festival. We were in an abandoned shipyard in the middle of no where, filled with gravel and rocks, not allowed to bring camelbaks for water (I can’t stress enough how this event made me feel uneasy and unsafe because I didn’t have water with me constantly), people were in the blistering sun for hours on end, and there was NO MEDICAL TENT ANYWHERE. Think about the bigger issues that could of, or for all I know, might have actually happened?

Sunday Funday at an abandoned industrial water front in Brooklyn!

THE GOOD

Sun setting over the BBQ!

So the scale of pro’s and con’s, although teetering back and forth for most, I would say overall the good parts of the day, for sure, outweighed the bad. The BBQ over all was an amazing, beautiful night! Regardless of the bad, when you can make the best of what’s around, regardless of the negatives being thrown at you, that’s how you know you’re doing something right!

GOOD #1- THE SIMPLICITY: I think what DirtyBird Records got going for them is their music and laid back atmosphere. Their music, along with a straight up “family and friends” community they’ re carrying through to their events, and the very private location, it’s totally my type of party! When you got your friends, and the sick ass music you all want to hear, that’s all that matters, right? You don’t need to be somewhere elegant, you don’t need to have big production, or gourmet food. What you need and want is simply what this event provides: friends, fun, sound system, and some classic BBQ favorites to eat, while you smash it down with some brews. I personally thought the venue location at Gowanus Industrial Park, was an extremely different, kind-of tripped out visual scenery to take in. It had this eerie quality to it, as if we were a part of some movie set with all the freight trailers lined along the rocky gravel and cement piles, surrounded by water. This intimate simplicity, is ultimately how it all started for them, and I can still see that being carried through.

Finding some shade along the freight trucks.

GOOD #2- THE FAMILY VIBES: The party getting bigger and expanding has not affected this event one bit. The good vibes atmosphere was still there and I saw that immediately as I walked in and it was carried through all the way to the end of the night. Everyone was smiling and dancing! There were giant inflatable hamburgers and frisbees being tossed around the crowd. Smoke came off the grills in the back. People walked around sucking on massive slices of watermelon.  So this party expanding and getting bigger didn’t affect anything whatsoever!  The event hasn’t lost its touch, which is an honorable thing to mention, because too often you see too many people loosing their starting point, but not with the DirtyBird crew, it was perfect.

Crowd was a solid group, having a fun time regardless of the unorganized day.

GOOD # 3- THE GROWTH: This event in reality, has become a mini fest, although it’s not advertised as one, 4,500 guests is definitely a small scaled festival in my book. The label will be launching their first official DirtyBird “Campout” Festival this coming October, in Southern California, with the help of The Do Lab, one of my favorite companies with a prominent and major influence in the music festival industry! This is a solid move by DirtyBird because The Do Lab has been in the festival game for years upon years now, and totally know how to make things happen, function, and work correctly. Their creative team, I know for a fact, will set a certain ambiance for the festival, and I think it is going to be an amazing joint effort between the two companies, to make this a really successful festival atmosphere for years to come! The whole camping theme, which will include, hilarious talent shows, stuff-your-face s’mores making, and group hiking trips, along with the incredible music this label brings to the table, I think is brilliant! I love that the main leaders of the label including Claude VonStroke, Justin Martin, and J.Phlip will be running these activities for a fun-filled fan interaction experience!

A packed dance floor during Shiba San‘s set!

GOOD #4- THE BRAND & FAN LONGEVITY: Something this event does that is different from a lot of smaller events I’ve been to, is the label is sticking to their roots. What started as a small BBQ party friends wanted to have to play great music for one-another, has now expanded to multiple cities wanting to share that same experience, and that really is what you get when you walk into this event. The music is on point, and everyone is there to have fun, which is a prominent feature to their continued success. I think the fact that everyone waited anywhere from two to four hours to enter this event, and they are still raging about what a great day it was, that REALLY shows something special about the fan base. People traveled from all over the coast for this, and are still backing it up, myself included. Claude VonStroke, proved to be a great leader of his brand by coming out to meet almost everyone waiting on line to apologize to them, it doesn’t get any realer than that!

A highly anticipated set by Claude VonStroke proved to be worth the wait!

GOOD # 5- OUTPUT AFTER PARTY: This was just EPIC, EPIC, EPICCCCCC!! I have never been to Output, shockingly. This club has and I guarantee 100%, it has the best sound system I have ever heard in my life! I’ve been to Space Ibiza, I’ve been to Halikarnas Bodrum, I’ve been to Miami, Vegas, seriously everywhere there is a club you want to be at, I’ve been there, but Output has the best sound system of them all! Right in my backyard, in my home base city of New York, how I have I not experienced this before, I’m really not sure, and I’m almost shocked and disappointed in myself, but it was amazing! My ears were submersed with amazing beats while I easily had full blown conversations with my friends, as if we we’re in a library. That’s how good their sound system is! I’m certainly glad I got to experience the DirtyBird after party here, it was superb!! Kill Frenzy B2B J.Phlip was honestly some of the best mind-blowing music I’ve ever heard! The place was going mental! This event itself made the trip out to Brooklyn worth it! This was such a memorable way to end the night!

Night falls on the DirtyBird BBQ!

ALWAYS ROOM FOR LOVE & IMPROVEMENT

Despite the long lines and a sprained ankle, it was overall an amazing day with friends!

I really think The DirtyBird BBQ is a great party people should check out for themselves! I really hope to help improve events and festivals by writing about them individually and giving some insight of what it’s truly like to be there. I feel if this event wants to continue to prosper and have the right name for their label, keep their family vibes and strictly about the music policy, with the people who are making it what it has become, they have a lot of stuff they need to fix for the upcoming years! Here are some suggestions, I hope they take into consideration for next year or to put towards their upcoming campout festival!

SUGGESTIONS:

1. SAFETY FIRST! The absolute BIGGEST mistake you could ever make is jeopardizing the safety of your costumers!

–Water=survival! Allow camelbaks! It’s just something that needs to be mandatory if you are hosting an outdoor event in the middle of the summer and providing a water re-fill station. It might have seemed considerate to some people for MeanRed to allow two waters in per person, but let’s be real…we’re talking about a close to 100 degree day, outdoor, dance event. Forget about the money for a second and put your loyal supporters health and safety first! Important reasons to allow camelbaks: 1. the reservoir keeps the water cold, 2. it holds up to 2 liters (the two water bottle limit), and 3. it’s easily sharable for multiple people in a group that need to stay hydrated in order to survive a hot, humid, outdoor dance event! 4. Allowing camelbaks will also significantly reduce liter of the venue property for your clean up staff. Considering this event is growing larger each year, with over half of the events time being during peak sun hours, I really hope the organizers reconsider this situation for the following years!

–Have at least one medical tent set up or somewhere that is visible if people need help! My friend, while dancing, rolled his ankle on a rock, and had no source to go to for help! If you don’t want to provide a medical tent (not sure what the costs are for that) my suggestion is to set your event up with an app like BrainItch, a free app platform that seamlessly integrates into existing mobile applications, for real-time incident reporting and crowd management. People can log on the app and request help when/if needed, and an alert is sent out to all medical personal on staff at that event, dispatching help to them immediately. If you’re interested in learning more about this type of service please check out my IMFCON post and look under the “Free Awesome Stuff” section or contact me!

2. STAFF MORE PEOPLE OR PROVIDE VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES: I think the line situation easily could have been eliminated if you had more people working (obviously), or possibly the best solution may be to do a “Print-At-Home” scannable ticket!

—If you don’t have enough people to pay on your staff, provide a volunteer position for some of the attendees. Have them purchase their ticket, sign up to work for you, and reimburse them for their efforts if they do in fact show up to work. They can work 2-5pm while lines are at their heaviest and then go in and still see the later half of the show while your official production staff takes over. Another idea is to provide some type of other work compensation. My idea is to have volunteers work the entire day at their local BBQ tour and you can offer them a discounted rate to attend your campout festival? Regardless, if you still choose to have a smaller staff to check in thousands of people, have them move down the line and go person to person vs. people coming to them!

—This goes for bar staff as well. Not sure if this has to do with the production company, the bar company (Brooklyn Brewery), the label or what, but start working together better as a team to make your event function smoothly. I’ll continue to come, because the overall experience was fun, but I know for a fact you lost a lot of people because of how slow and poor the overall service was!

3. PREPARE VENUE & STAFF TO FUNCTION PROPERLY: If you want to keep this awesome venue, or have a similar one for next year, you must make it a functioning properly for your check in staff, bar staff, and most importantly the attendees. Think about it… you were only hurting your sales by being understaffed!

— Provide portable chargers for your check-in staff so there is never an issue of their device dying if something delays your day (like the weather did). Faster check in, happy customers, and more people inside longer purchasing your food and beverage vs. the sketchy van selling beers totally illegally on the street next to the line (props to those people though).

— Check-in should be a smooth, fast process. I noticed the staff trying to juggle holding their phones, while holding all the wristbands they had to give out, in fact we we’re putting on our own wristbands, which caused people to stop the flow of the line as well. 

–Get more lights in your vendor’s tents and get more lights to provide a safe exit path for people (instead of having car headlights light the way of extremely dark, flooded areas). Having proper lights in the bar tents would provide faster service as well. More importantly staffing more bartenders, means faster service, faster service means more sales, more sales, is more money!

–Provide your clean up staff with the proper tools to clean. I saw only one person cleaning and he had a broom with a dustpan… on gravel and rock!?! It wasn’t doing anything to help with the litter anywhere, especially after it rained and everything was sticking to the ground! Be practical about this sort of stuff in regards to the venue location. Invest in an extending litter “grabber” that works fast and efficiently especially for this type of event venue. (They cost $10-20 dollars each!)

4. FLY ME TO THE CAMPOUT? Wishful thinking or a dream? I would love to attend the festival and see how you run it along with The Do Lab! I know it is going to be an amazing event that I wish I could be at! Would be nice to see the transition from a one day event to a festival production! I hope you’re preparing yourself accordingly based off the smaller event issues you have faced and have that have been mentioned. Best wishes!

Lastly, I’d like to give MeanRed props where it’s deserved. Their social media people are on point and got back to me almost immediately with a question I had and guided me in the right direction of what I was looking for. I also want to thank their PR for allowing me to cover the event on short notice! On the other hand, I will be honest in saying that I was disappointed when I was told I’d be put on the photo list but would still need my ticket to enter the event. In all honesty, a company that makes you pay to attend, to cover their event, with not even the slightest compensation (free entry), for all the work I’m putting out, was a very strange let down to me. I hope to work with your company again, however I will state that your haphazard approach to nearly everything, didn’t leave me and many others with the best impression.

Below is my full album of pictures from the 2nd edition of the BKNY DIRTYBIRD BBQ! You also can check them out of my Facebook page by clicking here! Agree or disagree with my write-up? Drop me a comment below and let me know what you loved or didn’t love about the event this year!