KAABOO del Mar 2016 Review – A Summer Send Off
KAABOO del Mar 2016 certainly made for an unforgettable last weekend of summer. The three day festival— incorporating music, comedy, food, and spa amenities—is the right experience for concert lovers unwilling to rough it. Located at San Diego’s Del Mar Racetrack and fairgrounds, KAABOO del Mar 2016 had everything. Yes, even a riot, which lead to police pepper spraying concertgoers. KAABOO certainly had planning issues. The parking lot was a disaster; the weekend was oversold for the limited space to view performances. But fortunately, I was able to avoid (most of) craziness that was Saturday night at KAABOO.
Day 1, Friday, was all about exploring. After arriving to the festival early, I checked out Indulgences—a building filled with spa treatments and beauty refreshers. I got my hair dry styled by DryBar‘s popup salon, while others got eyelifts, massages, haircuts and more! Few festivals can brag this kind of luxury.
Palate and Artwork shared space making for a sensory overload in the best way possible. Gourmet food met high caliber art in this corner of KAABOO. A diverse group of artists, each bringing their own displays of unique styles, showcased and created before our eyes. From landscapes on reclaimed wood to abstract graffiti, there was truly something for all. As for the food, there was no way you could go hungry at KAABOO. And with different celebrity chefs showcasing hourly, like Micahael Fiorelli, Richard Blaise, and Marcel Vigneron, food lovers had plenty to enjoy.
JaM cellars and their Butter Chardonnay sponsored the weekend. If there is one thing I’m thrilled I experienced, it is this wine. Getting day drunk off of their mimosas was one of the highlights of my weekend.
As for the musical acts, KAABOO’s first day was headlined by Jimmy Buffet and Fall Out Boy. Steve Aoki, Grouplove, Echosmith, and Hall and Oats also drove concertgoers in. With 22 other acts that day, the music was endless and the crowds were present. One could easily have predicted the chaos that would be Saturday night. The pedestrian paths were jammed and hard to navigate. The flow of traffic was unruly. But the weekend party raged on.
On Day 2 I experienced Humor Me, KAABOO’s comedy venue. All weekend long, stars of comedy, like Dana Carvey, Sarah Silverman, and Darrell Hammond, made festival goers laugh until they cried. It was a wonderful addition to the festival. I especially loved seeing Hammond, who is known for his SNL impersonations of Bill Clinton, Donald Trump, and Sean Connery to name a few.
Areosmith and The Chainsmokers headlined the second day of KAABOO del Mar 2016. I have never seen crowds so big. Both shows let out at once, which was very poor planning on the festivals part. This lead to the overcrowding at Ludacris’ show and angry concertgoers being turned away from a show they had bought tickets to see. It was very scary indeed.
Day 3, the final day of the festival, certainly felt the wake of the night before. But with Jack Johnson as the headliner, it was a mellow way to close out the weekend. KAABOO was overall a fun weekend, with logistical issues that need to be worked out by those planning before anyone buys tickets for next year. As they say in the theatre: Safety first, safety last, safety always.
