80/35 music festival - 2012

Another 4th of July weekend, and another 80/35 music festival in downtown Des Moines. We look forward to this every year.

 Bowie's very first concert was officially Dinsaur Jr. – not bad, huh?

It was a pretty hot day, but we sat under a tree on a blanket and enjoyed the bands from a grassy area in the shade.

I even brought a bunch of frozen teething rings for Bowie to chew on and play with in an attempt to beat the heat.

 These two were up to their usual antics.

And, just like every other year, Lo spent some time cooling off in the water feature/fountain in Western Gateway Park. We love that this is right inside the festival grounds so we can park our blanket, stroller and towels and sit nearby. This year, we even remembered Lo's swimsuit! Smart. If you're bringing kids and you think they might play in the water ... bring swimwear.

And a quick note to parents! You can totally bring the kids to this festival. 80/35 has done a great job of making sure that everything is kid-friendly. There's a play area where they can hang out and jump in bounce houses and play. There are also shaded, grassy areas where you can hang with the kids away from the stage and you'll still be able to see the bands. It's the best of both worlds.

 So, this year's lineup was fantastic! (And did I mention it was hot?!)

Atmosphere.

 

 Leslie and the LYs.

The Avett Brothers.

And Deathcab for Cutie. There were obviously a lot more bands, but let's face it ... this year, we had a baby. But we saw everyone we wanted to see! And definitely had a wonderful time, as usual. And as I've said every single year after 80/35 is over ... we are so lucky to have this festival bringing these bands together for an amazing weekend in our city.

** This was our fifth year at 80/35. To see photos and read more about the other years we've gone to this festival, click here. **

4th of July + 80/35 festival (and the Flaming Lips!)

Alright! So here's how our super rad Fourth weekend went down.

The 80/35 Music Festival. Two days of indie music fun (and we even brought Lo to some of it.) It had been awhile since we had been to an outdoor music festival but we were so happy to see these kinds of bands being brought to downtown Des Moines. Perfect summer weather, a diverse lineup of rock, indie, hip hop and punk bands. It was the best 4th we've had in awhile.

We saw...

Ingrid Michaelson (...who wanted to change up 'The Way I Am', and so she sang all of 'Ice Ice Baby' and 'The Fresh Prince of Bell Air' - yo homes, smell ya later! - before asking us all to clap-clap - clap for her hit song. And she's so totally adorable live.)

Cracker (Okay, they're older now but they impressed the hell out of us. I was a big fan in the 90s.)

Poison Control Center (Fun, as you can see.)

Dirty Little Rabbits (Weird and theatrical and awesome, with Stella Katsoudas of Sister Soleil and Shawn Crahan of Slipknot - loved them. )

Pieta Brown (Loved, loved her.)

A gyro from The Gyro Man. A treat straight from my college days. So tasty and brings back memories.

We finally stepped inside this huge new sculpture in Western Gateway Park downtown.

And took Lo to her first official show. (She saw some pretty amazing bands for being a one-year-old.)

The Roots (Sorry for the not-great photo.) What an amazing act to see live. Lotus rocked out on our blanket 'till almost 11:00 pm.

And wow. The Flaming Lips. If all you know of the Flaming Lips is 'She Don't Use Jelly,' you are sadly missing out on a lot. And this show... Confetti. Painted naked dreadlock girls. People dressed in Telletubby costumes with flashlights. Huge balloons. Trippy graphics. The music. And a message... about the war, about politics, about our soldiers. Nothing was left out and this show will stay with me for a long time.