GULF SHORES, Alabama -- “You know, on a beautiful day like this, you shouldn’t be looking at us,” Grace Potter told her audience late Friday afternoon at the 2011 Hangout Music Festival. “You should be looking out there.”
She meant the surf crashing on the beach, within sight of the stage. As easy as the sentiment was to understand, though, it’s doubtful that many looked away from the photogenic singer and her ensemble, the Nocturnals. They were standout performers at the inaugural Hangout Fest in 2010, but on Friday they topped it with a truly epic set of sultry R&B-fueled rock.
“I don’t want to leave the Hangout,” she said later in the performance. “I want to stay here forever and ever with all you beautiful people.”
But nothing lasts forever, and the set, which included a ragged, punchy version of Heart’s “Crazy on You,” did come to an end. And when the last notes faded from that stage, a pulsing bass rhythm suddenly was audible from the nearby Boom Boom Room, a large tent.
Anyone hoping to move from Potter’s set to Bassnectar’s 5:45 p.m. show in the Boom Boom Room was already out of luck: The tent was so densely packed that even getting close was a considerable challenge.
For better and for worse, the 2011 Hangout Fest had clearly hit its stride by this time: The crowd was everywhere, beer lines were lengthy and foot traffic was dense along the boardwalk that serves as the festival’s major thoroughfare. Organizers had taken steps to open up the boardwalk, moving concession stands back onto platforms built over the adjacent sand, but the lines from these stands still partially impeded the heavy traffic along the path.
For those who opted to trudge through the sand, however, congestion was minimal between the two main stages. The only crowded point in that expanse was the Sky Bar, a two-story Tiki Bar surrounded by shaded hammocks.
The later crowding was in stark contrast to the day’s start, which actually was a bit underwhelming.
Thousands of people were lined up outside the festival site well before the announced opening time of 1 p.m., and more than a few people could be seen near the box office holding up a finger, signifying that they were looking for a ticket. There seemed to be few, if any, available.
At 1, forklifts and trucks were still moving around in the festival site. When the gates finally opened about 1:30, the crowd entered in more of a trickle than a rush. The primary reason: Incoming patrons had to exchange their tickets for the wristbands that will grant them access throughout the weekend.
This transaction took time, and lines remained lengthy throughout the afternoon. That problem may well fade away today, given that most patrons already have their wristbands on.
Consequently, the earliest acts performed to small crowds that built slowly but steadily. Bay Minette native Kristy Lee, the first to play on the Hangout Stage, nonetheless gave it her all, belting out good-spirited, soulful tunes that had her listeners swaying.
The biggest early crowd actually wasn’t at one of the main stages: Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe drew a near-capacity audience to the Boom Boom Room. Some of the attraction might have stemmed from the fact that this is the only venue that keeps listeners in the shade, but the saxophonist and his band were doing their part with an energetic mix of funk and jazz.
At the Shaka Island stage, meanwhile, the Baby Grands were one of the weekend’s first acts aimed at families with children. They, too, had a light audience for their high-spirited songs about pet dinosaurs and lonely robots, but Ben Rowell, one-half of the songwriting duo at the heart of the group, said he wasn’t dismayed -- partly because the group will play again at 2 p.m. today.
“We’re surprised how smoothly the show is being run here,” he said. “We had a good fun time.”
Time will tell whether that sentiment is shared by festivalgoers caught up in the delay at the festival entrance or put off by the congestion inside. Festival founder Shaul Zislin, roving the site at dusk, said he was still gathering information about how the day had gone.
“There’s adjustments to be made,” he said. On the other hand, he added, much had gone well, including the weather, and as he looked around, “people seem happy,” he said. As for the jam at the entrance, he said organizers had tried to get out in front of it by getting wristbands on some people Thursday -- about 6,000, he said. They also had hoped to have more entrance lanes open, but were limited by other traffic concerns, such as the need for an adequate fire lane in front of the festival site.
He suggested that organizers were willing to make changes, but would have to analyze Friday’s events and move deliberately.
“The priority is the fan experience,” he said, “but first, always, safety and security.”
Traffic flow had become much simpler by 8:30 p.m., when jam band Widespread Panic, the day’s headliner, walked out on stage to a huge cheer. The day’s last act plays alone, and with sets by My Morning Jacket and STS9 just ending, all that was needed was a “one way” sign pointing toward the Hangout Stage.
At this point, the festival fully regained the laid-back vibe that is its signature quality. At its peak, Widespread Panic’s crowd rivaled those at the 2010 beach concerts headlined by Jimmy Buffett and Bon Jovi. Finally, everyone was where they needed to be, with no need to move on to the next set at the next stage.
The crowd slowly ebbed, as casual fans got their fill and headed for the exit. The east end of the festival site was empty, with staff already at work on cleanup and preparations for day two. To the west, the Panic faithful remained, savoring the sound and a fresh sea breeze.
Even the Sky Bar had cleared out, its nearly empty second-story deck giving anyone who cared the perfect viewpoint to savor the whole panorama. A brief fireworks show provided a nightcap for the festival's opening day.
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