Final thoughts on Buffestalo '09

Wow. Buffestalo '09 once again exceeded our expectations, which is to say that everyone that attended brought it. Nice work people. That was some good stuff. It took us the better part of a week to de-festalo, but damn, that was worth it. Just wanted to express our thanks to all of you - I won't name names at the risk of leaving someone out, but if you played something, sang something, filmed something, painted something, acted in something, edited something, built something, cooked something, cleaned something, danced something (?), or simply drank something, we applaud you and thank you.

Since Buffestalo '09 was (mostly) injury and damage free we are feeling good about moving forward with Buffestalo '10. Darby tells me I more than adequately expressed the Buffestalo Mission Statement over the course of my intoxicated ramblings on the mic, so I know you all get the deal. Clearly. We have already discussed many ideas for improvements next year, both in entertainment and management, and we'll work them out and announce them - or not - as appropriate at a later date.

We would also like to solicit feedback from you, the Buffestalo-goers, however. Feel free to post comments on this blog, respond to the email thread, or reach out to Darby or me directly. We wanna hear what you think, what you liked and didn't like, what your ideas are for the evolution of the 'festalo, and what else you think we should do.

We love Buffestalo and we love you. Thanks.

Buffestalo '09 Schedule Reminder

Hey everyone, this is probably the final post so as a reminder here's the schedule of events.

Buffestalo '09 officially starts on FRIDAY, July 3rd. People are welcome to arrive at any time and are encouraged to get here early. Milk at Midnight and Beatallica will play Friday evening starting around 6:30 and the majority of the fireworks will be done Friday night during and after their sets.

Buffestalo continues all day Saturday with grilling, music, drinks, and outdoor activities including boating, fishing, etc. Filmfestalo will debut at sundown Saturday, followed by the return (rebirth?) of the Statutes of Liberty and all remaining fireworks.

Sunday everyone is welcome to take their time bidding a sad and groggy farewell to this year's festivities.

Statutes of Liberty to close out Buffestalo ‘09

Veterans of Buffestalo ’08 will remember the debut gig of the Statutes of Liberty as the event in which you were all given your dicks back.

After years of sensitive-guy rock and auto-tuned commercial muzak, the S.O.L. exploded out of a haze of fireworks, smoke, and testosterone to remind party-goers of what rock and roll is supposed to look and sound like. Their energy and teachings spread quickly and ushered in a new era of independence in the U.S.A. Shortly after disseminating their gospel, voters acted on the message and removed George W. Bush from office, replacing him with Barack Obama - who is the political manifestation of the S.O.L. The weeks of hard work paid off: mission accomplished.

Now that the dirty work is done and all is right with the world, the Statutes have redefined their mission. No longer are they the visceral, muscle-car rock-makers of 2008. Squealing feedback has been replaced with soothing guitar tones. Songs of protest have been replaced with songs of joy, harmony, and peace. Join the S.O.L. at Buffestalo ’09 to love your brother and sings songs of merriment and togetherness. We will join hands and worship at the giving tree. We will take part in exercises of trust and care. We will compare hummus recipes and poncho patterns. Now that everything is fixed, we can get busy living our perfect lives, unmolested by the ugly realities of the outside world. Join us. We love you, and we love us. You love you, and we hope you can love us, too. Love, love, love. Peace, love, and garbanzos.

Buffestalo needs fireworks!!

Our fireworks connection fell through. There are at least a half dozen places between Chicago and Buffestalo that sell them. If you are at all able, please stop on the way up and help contribute. I know that big 'works are expensive, so if everyone can kick in and get a couple things we should be good. Go for the big stuff. If you want bottle rockets or roman candles or showers or whatever, that's cool, but try and get some bigger stuff for the full show. M80's and and half sticks of dynamite and such are unneccesary (and unwanted). By big stuff I mean to look for stuff that shoots high and looks pretty! Oooooooh! Aaaaaaaah! Know what I'm sayin'?

Spotlight on: Milk at Midnight

Milk at Midnight (Danny Doom - vocals, guitar; Rick Nitz - guitar, bass, vocals; and Eric Anderson - drums, vocals) are proud to present the very first live performance of their long-incubating concept piece at Buffestalo this summer, the as-yet-untitled rock opera based on the life and times of the fictional daredevil known only as Revie. The musical journey follows the once-world famous star’s fall from grace and his epic drive toward redemption as he realizes the only way to win back the love of his life—and the fame he once had—is to get back on the bike and make one final jump! Will he make it??? Milk at Midnight released their third album, “Less Love More Acid,” in late 2008 on Stars/No Stars Records, available on vinyl for your enhanced home listening pleasure (also available digitally). The 12-song record contains live staples such as “Kristol Ball,” “Greatest of the World,” and “Why Don’t You Go? (Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh!),” along with the banjo-driven tune “The Leaning Tower of Astigmatism” and the acoustic “Sticks in My Stomach.” Milk at Midnight have also released a full-length record "A Fit to End All Time," in 2003 and a 6-song EP, "Letter Bombs and Holidays," in 2005. All are available through iTunes and many of your other favorite digital outlets.

It's almost here...do you know where Buffestalo is?

Directions

From Chicago
90W toward Madison, WI
About 30 minutes past Madison follow 39N to the right towards Portage as 90/94 go left to the Dells
About 30 minutes after taking 39N and 15 minutes past Portage, take 23E exit. 23W exit will be before 23E – go past it, they are separate exits
Take 23E 5 minutes to County Road ZZ, turn right
Take County Road ZZ to County Road C, turn left
Ox Creek Road is the third road on the right – turn right
Once on Ox Creek Road, follow drive to the left
Address is N3659 Ox Creek Road – there will be signs

From Madison
90W out of Madison
About 30 minutes past Madison follow 39N to the right towards Portage as 90/94 go left to the Dells
About 30 minutes after taking 39N and 15 minutes past Portage, take 23E exit. 23W exit will be before 23E – go past it, they are separate exits
Take 23E 5 minutes to County Road ZZ, turn right
Take County Road ZZ to County Road C, turn left
Ox Creek Road is the third road on the right – turn right
Once on Ox Creek Road, follow drive to the left
Address is N3659 Ox Creek Road – there will be signs

From Milwaukee
94W out of Milwaukee toward Madison
About 30 minutes after 94W merges with 90W and 39N, follow 39N to the right towards Portage as 90/94 go left to the Dells
About 30 minutes after taking 39N and 15 minutes past Portage, take 23E exit. 23W exit will be before 23E – go past it, they are separate exits
Take 23E 5 minutes to County Road ZZ, turn right
Take County Road ZZ to County Road C, turn left
Ox Creek Road is the third road on the right – turn right
Once on Ox Creek Road, follow drive to the left
Address is N3659 Ox Creek Road – there will be signs

Call me if you get lost – 773.531.8663. Also, FYI, the house address is not on online maps or GPS systems as far as I've seen...off the grid!

Filmfestalo is coming!

Are you ready?

Bring it / leave it?

What to bring to Buffestalo*

• Tents, sleeping bags


• Outdoor gear - flashlights, lanterns, coolers, etc.


• Bug spray & sunscreen


• Fireworks - plenty of places on the way up to purchase contributions


• Outdoor games - frisbees, hackey sacks, footballs, fishing poles (we have about eight), etc.


• Dogs


• Kids


• Food - we'll provide some basics, but we encourage you to supplement...and don't forget breakfast!


• Non-alcoholic drinks - you'll want 'em at some point...hydration people!


• Alcohol other than beer


• Ice! Can't have enough...


• Warm clothes - Buffestalo is mostly outdoors - come prepared

*There's a grocery store, liquor store, and hardware store in town, so you can run for stuff while you're there, but we do ask that no one drives off the property once you've been drinking, so plan accordingly

What not to bring to Buffestalo

• Beer - we will provide multiple kegs of both Miller Lite and Spotted Cow, but feel free to supplement...


• Basic grillage - we'll provide some burgers, dogs, brats, chips, and basic condiments - any contributions beyond that are greatly appreciated


• Firearms


• Bad vibes

Lastly, if anyone would like to help contribute to additional supplies, there's plenty of stuff we'll need (toilet paper, paper towels, plates, napkins, silverware, cups, cleaning supplies, ashtray buckets, trash bags (recyclable & non), flags, balloons,etc.). Contact me directly, and I'll let you know what would be the biggest help so we don't wind up with 30 people bringing garbage bags and no one bringing toilet paper.

One month to go!

We're a month away folks! This is a last call for you to get your Filmfestalo contributions going. We've gotten word on a few exciting projects in the works, but we can always use more. If you've had an idea about a short film, music video, infomercial, docu-drama, animated feautre, or foreign language art piece, well...get on it! We'll screen all contributions on Saturday evening outdoors by bonfire light - what better setting to premier your masterpiece...or that ridiculous joke you decided to take too far. Either way, if you shoot it, we'll show it!

Best $25 you'll spend this summer

Much as we'd prefer not to do so, we'll be asking Buffestalo attendees to kick in $25/person towards the proceedings this year. This money will go entirely towards the costs of the event and we promise...you will get your money's worth. Bands, fireworks, beer, boat gas, pest control, port-a-potty rental, and grill propane are some of the expenses that this will help cover. We hope this is reasonable and understandable.

Beatallica to headline Buffestalo!

That's right folks. You may have heard the rumors, and they are true! Milwaukee's own Metallica/Beatles mash-up/cover band, Beatallica will be headlining Buffestalo '09 on Friday, July 3rd, hot off their European tour in support of their latest release, All You Need Is Blood.

What's more, Beatallica will be accompanied by Chicago favorites, Milk at Midnight! Hot on the heels of their amazing recent Stars/No Stars release, Less Love, More Acid, Milk at Midnight will be rockin' Buffestalo '09 with some new tricks and surprises in store.

Get to Buffestalo early on Friday the 3rd to catch both bands in a regular Illinois/Wisconsin holiday rock-fest!!!

We're gonna build something this summer...

Hellllllooooo everyone! Happy New Year and long time no see. The organizers of Buffestalo would like to momentarily interrupt your hibernation to remind you that although mid-January might seem grim at the moment, it also means we're more than halfway to Buffestalo 2009. That's right we will be back and better than ever this year, and we wanted to give you the heads up. Why? Well, here's why:

• Dates: official Buffestalo 2009 dates will be Friday, July 3rd through Sunday, July 5th. Proceedings on Friday will be much like last year with bands and fireworks scheduled to go down, so hit the road to Montello early. We'll be announcing bands in future posts.


• Filmfestalo! We are looking forward to expanding Buffestalo beyond the Friday festivities and build on the impromptu screenings we had last year. We are strongly encouraging contributions for this aspect of the 'festalo from anyone and everyone. If you have an idea for something that you've been waiting to put to film, and want an audience for it - here's your chance! Give us a heads up if you plan to submit something so we can get a read on how much we'll be screening.


• Accomodations - as with last year, bedrooms will be limited and attendees are strongly encouraged to camp on the Buffestalo Tent City grounds. For those that prefer a roof over their head, we encourage you to contact the Ox Creek Campground, where they have six cabins for rent on the property neighboring the Buffestalo grounds. All of these cabins were booked by the time we got the word out last year, so contact them early!

That's it for now, folks, but we'll be sending additional announcements as plans develop, and they'll all be posted right here. Feel free to forward!

"let this be my annual reminder/that we can all be something bigger/we're gonna build something this summer"