It was the third year of the festival, however, it was the first year they put together something on a large scale.
The organizers have worked for years now with the Voodoo Experience in New Orleans every October.
They started as just a vendor there and have eventually worked their way up to producing their very own stage there every year.
All over the internet, I'm reading a lot of bad things being said about the Land of NOD this year.
Sure, it was a monsoon both Friday and Saturday almost all day long. You can't fault them for that.
It made the festival grounds a mess and drove out all kinds of mosquitoes and other nasty bug creatures.
Okay, those things can't be pinned on the organizers.
A lack of overall organization can be though. I'll give them that. The festival did seem in a bit of disarray.
Bands canceling last minute, un-announced schedule changes and no festival schedule at the grounds at all until Sunday all could have been prevented, or at least better conveyed to attendees.
If you look past those flaws, and keep in mind this was the first year doing a festival that big at that location, it was actually a really fun time with some really interesting people.
Myself, along with two of the bands I work for: Elliot Street Lunatic and Jetpack On! got to play this year.
That was an honor for sure. I feel bad for Jetpack On! though, as they played early Saturday, just after the monsoon rains ended.
Not really the fault of anyone but mother nature, but they played to a thin crowd.
Sunday was a bit better, and Elliot Street and I played to decent sized, enthusiastic crowds. I even got a few people to dance in the mud. Not bad.
Sunday also featured the two acts I was most looking forward to seeing: Of Montreal and Dr. Octagon.
I've loved Of Montreal since the first time I've heard them, and Kool Keith's Dr. Octagon persona is somewhat legendary, so I was interested to see exactly what the hype was all about. Neither act disappointed.
Dr. Octagon was a bit earlier in the evening, as the sun was going down, so it was HOT when they played.
I dug what they had going on, although their set was cut short due to technical issues that caused the start of the set to be delayed for a half hour or more.
Of Montreal was top notch. I read that this was kind of a practice show for them for their upcoming headlining tour for their new album "False Priest" that comes out next month. They debuted a few new tracks off the album, including one called "Sex Karma" that features the line "your look just like a playground to me". Yeah, pretty straight forward there.
They had an interesting set up with webcam quality cameras positioned around the stage, but instead of being stationary like some bands have started employing recently, theirs were dynamic and often followed wherever the best things on stage were taking place. The footage was then projected on two screens behind the band after being filtered through what can best be described as acid influenced visual effects.
They played a wide variety of songs from their last 3 albums and plenty off of the upcoming "False Priest" LP.
I was very happy with the songs they played and I was glad I was able to catch the entire set, as the only other time I had the opportunity to see them; at Lollapalooza 2006; I was only able to catch part of the set, as it overlapped with another favorite of mine, the Shins.
Color me impressed though.
Even with all the hiccups, the Land of NOD folks pulled off a fun weekend that was enjoyed by many.
Dancing and essentially standing in mud all weekend was more fun that it sounds.
I hope they have me play again next year if they return.
Here's some pictures (I only was able to snag pictures on Sunday, because I was not about to have my phone out in the rain):
Of Montreal
Kool Keith/DJ Qbert = Dr. Octagon
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