For 2016, Dancefestopia wanted to find a bigger venue to fit the big sound of their always fabulous line-up. They found it at La Benite Riverfront Park in Sugar Creek, MO. If you expected anything less than gritty, wet and loud, then you were probably disappointed. The weatherman was predicting a little rain at 9pm Friday to kick the weekend off. At 9:10 he said it would all be over in 20 minutes. By 10:30 Mother Nature laughed and decided to show she could party too. The rain kept coming along with the lightening and everyone had to take cover for safety. It isn’t surprising that an outdoor camping festival can go sour in a hurry when the weather predictably turns.
As I checked on the status of the show on twitter along with all the others who were stuck in their cars waiting out the storm, it looked like the show would go on. But unfortunately, it was impossible. With daylight on Saturday it was time to assess the situation. The parking was a mess and many people got stuck and had to wait to be pulled out. Some of the artists who had been cancelled the night before were on a tight schedule and had to fly out and couldn’t be kept in the lineup. There were a multitude of problems to work through; the most vexing was the mud. But as the day wore on, the Murdoch’s up the street did a brisk business in Barn Boots, while the neighboring farmers found their straw bales in high demand. Once the music started again, the complaining died down and many just threw off their shoes and splashed right on through.
As the crowd got their fix with Kap Slap on the main stage, the staff worked behind the scenes getting everything back on track. Their efforts weren’t fully appreciated because the complainers didn’t really know what exactly they were up against. But within a couple of hours of gates open on Saturday, they had already taken care of part of the muck, rescheduled the line-up, got the food trucks cranking and figured out a parking and shuttle plan to get everyone in and out. On with the show!
The layout in the new venue was roomy with the main stage and secondary stage divided by the perfect sound barrier with a row of great food options. For the squeamish, it was possible to enjoy either stage, the food and most of the other vendors without getting your feet dirty. But why? After I took the plunge and got muddy, I forgot all about it and just splashed my way over to VIP to charge my phone. The adjusted line up had Kap Slap who was fun, then Liquid Stranger hit the stage. I have been a fan for I don’t know how long, so I was ready. He made sure we knew how to really get dirty. Headhunterz was rescheduled next, but didn’t show (he made it Sunday) so Liquid Stranger played another half hour. I wasn’t upset. But then, when he was done, the stage was empty.
The DJ behind the scenes was having some fun keeping the crowd going. Excision had been scheduled for Friday night but was rained out. He wasn’t going to be denied. He put on his cape when he heard the fans were calling his name and proved that the music always wins. The rest of the lineup, the smiling faces and the weather were perfect.