EZOO Review – Wild Island was Wild Indeed!

By Jennifer Shanteau, Photos by Miguel Pimentel

EZOO review…..when it comes to EZOO I thought I knew what to expect, having attended last year– not so! “Wild Island” could not have been more true….especially after the sun set on Sunday night…..the finale.  Of all the music festivals I’ve been to, this was my favorite….this particular festival, this particular year.  If you were one of the 83,000 people there, you know what I’m saying, you don’t even need an EZOO review.  If you missed it, you better add it to your calendar next year.  I couldn’t think of a more perfect way to top off the summer!  Wow….what an amazing time!  I am still in awe….and surprisingly alive.

I’m kind of a planner.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m definitely known for crazy, spontaneous actions, too, but I enjoy the creature comforts of being well fed and “watered”, and absolutely hate missing out on anything.  Guess how happy I was to learn there is now an app for EZOO?  Yeah…..I was thrilled!  Before I arrived, I was able to check the lineup at each stage and make my own personal schedule to follow, so I wouldn’t miss a thing.  You can even set an alert for each act, so you don’t have to keep checking the time.  I can’t say I heard one alarm, though.  I think I was too in the moment.  Now, if you are really serious about your list, this is perfect for you.  I found it to be a good starting point, and very convenient.  I would get to the artist I intended to see, but sometimes got distracted by other artists on the way.  It helped with food choices, too.  Since I arrived at lunch time, food was one of the first things on my mind.  (I tend to get hangry.)  Instead of walking all over the grounds to see what is available, I already knew what I wanted, and where it was before I even got there…..time saved.  Since EZOO is a cashless event, you can also use the app to upload your EZOO bucks with it….no lines….instant access to goodies.  I am all for that!

Speaking of goodies, before I started attending music festivals I would’ve had a hard time believing there would be good food to be had at such events.  I have never had a bad EZOO food experience…..ever. This time I was feeling particularly carnivorous, so I went straight to Landhaus, (‘cause I knew exactly where they were, thanks to the app), and got the juiciest Cheeseburger.  Delicious!

Then, to Mighty Quinn’s Barbeque for their Pulled Pork Sandwich, because I can never have  pulled pork as an option, and not choose it.  I know what you’re thinking, “what a pig!”.  (Ha!) I swear, I split both of the sandwiches with my boyfriend.  However, the temptation to devour the entire thing was quite strong.  If you haven’t tried this yet, let me tell you.  This is the sandwich of your dreams.  You just don’t know it yet.  Mighty Quinn’s, I shall be paying you a visit on 2^nd Avenue very soon.

Whenever I go to a music festival, there are so many artists, I never know them all.  Who am I kidding? I usually don’t know a quarter of them!  I’m that person who always recognizes the song, but forgets who sings it. In my defense, there were up to 40 acts on any given day….40!  So, I always leave ending up being a new fan of someone.  There is always one artist that stands out from the rest for me.  This year I gained several new favorites! If I could have multiplied myself, and sent one of me to each of the five stages, I have no doubt, I would’ve found more. There was so much to see!

The one thing I’ve learned about these festivals is that there are so many different styles of music all playing at the same event.  There were mellow, groovy songs you wanted to sway to, and kiss your boyfriend…..which people did.

There were songs that got you in the groove and made you shake what your Mama gave ya, and there were even some body thrashing, head banging, screaming moments.  I thoroughly enjoyed them all!

I always seem to have a favorite at the Hilltop stage.  Besides the particular artist performing there, it has a certain kind of high energy craziness to it.  It’s as if they were able to spray Red Bull fumes in the tent for all of us to ingest, because every time I’m in that location, there is that same pumped up like you are about to play or watch the most important sporting game of your life type energy.  I think this is one of the reasons I love it.

This year my favorite was the Sunday headliner, Borgore.  If you aren’t familiar with Borgore, think EDM meets metal.  I was having flashbacks to the Faith No More, Guns and Roses, Metallica concert I went to a million years ago.  The music was intense!  I had only planned on checking him out for a bit, and moving on to try to fit someone else in, there was so much to see, but I found myself unable to leave.  He was heroin, and I was addicted.  The crowd was going crazy…..jumping, dancing, screaming, fist pumping, head banging crazy!  What a rush!

Last year I spent more time at the Treehouse stage, but this year, being the good girl I am (cough!), I kept getting drawn back to Sunday School.  In the afternoon, during &ME and then Agoria there was a good, mellow, happy, celebratory vibe.

I looked around to see everyone smiling and dancing and kissing.  Love was in the air, and everyone wanted to be your friend.

I met a bunch of cool people there, including JJ Salcedo, one of the guys from Minutia, who in all honestly, I was just chatting with ‘cause I thought he looked cool.  He had to tell me who he was.  (Oddly, I once met a New York Housewife this way, too.)

In the evening, the love was still there, but the focus was clearly dancing.  The beat was pumping at Sunday School where crowds formed to see Andrea Oliva and then Davide Squillace.

Joris Voorn finished off the night, and the festival for that matter.  By the end of the night, anyone who wasn’t at the Main Stage was at Sunday School.  You could feel how into it the crowd was.  It was the last Hoorah, and we all knew it!  All we wanted to do was dance, dance, dance!

My body was ready to leave way before I allowed it to.  There was no way I was missing a second of this!  I left EZOO absolutely and completely exhausted and thoroughly happy, just the way I would leave a theme park as a child. My EZOO review? In the end I think I love this festival so much, because for these brief three days gender, race, sexual orientation, and age don’t matter.  We are all one, like we are meant to be.  I wish this feeling would never go away. I can’t wait to do it all again next year! Hope you enjoyed our EZOO review!

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