Camp Flog Gnaw Somehow Improved On Perfection

Tyler, The Creator’s Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival is already one of the best festivals in the world. So, for the festival’s tenth anniversary, how could the rebellious Los Angeles native possibly improve what is as close to perfection as it gets? The only way he knows how: By focusing on the fans to give them the experience he would want for himself. While that includes top-down conceptualizing like the always-excellent curation of the festival’s lineup of artists Tyler actually enjoys, it also means ensuring that everything from the facilities to the food stands out, meeting the best-in-class standard Flog Gnaw has set for the past ten years — and will hopefully continue to do so for many more. Here are five takeaways from the tenth Flog Gnaw.

Getting To The Festival Is A Breeze

Tyler rarely puts out environmental messages or talks about civic duty — that would be at odds with his image as a devil-may-care, mischievous menace — but his priorities are plain from the moves he makes in support of the Flog Gnaw festivities. This year, the festival partnered with LA’s local public transit network to provide a free shuttle from the city’s historical Union Station to the festival grounds at Dodger Stadium, where the fest returned for the fourth year. While Metro itself sort of dropped the ball with this due to some needed improvements on one of the rail lines (specifically, the one I use to get to Union Station), necessitating an additional transfer, the shuttle service somehow managed to corral those hundreds of exuberant 20-somethings (and one grumpy 40-year-old) and keep things moving along fairly efficiently. There aren’t too many other local festivals as ideally situated, but I would love to see more of them duplicate similar services.

Dodger Stadium Is The Perfect Venue

In the four years since the festival moved to Dodger Stadium from Exposition Park, gradual improvements to its layout and grounds have made it the ideal venue for such an event. Last year, someone figured out that sticking all three stages in the north parking lots offered the best version of the layout, and this year, that stuck, with the Camp Stage situated in the center of the event space, flanked by the Flog stage to the west and Gnaw to the east. There’s still plenty of space to move around, and the landscape is dotted with even more rides and games, giving the festival a true carnival feel. While in line for the shuttle, I overheard nearby attendees discussing whether VIP passes were worth it, ultimately coming to the conclusion that there’s plenty of bang for your buck thanks to the VIP-exclusive rides, which had shorter lines — although only two stages have dedicated VIP sections (Gnaw is situated in such a way that it really wouldn’t make sense to add one there).

Themed Pop-Up Restaurants Even Make Eating Fun

While browsing social media posts about the festival, I saw quite a few posts responding to the MF DOOM’s MM..FOOD Diner menu with skepticism and derision. I assume most of these posts were just from commenters salty they weren’t at the fest and didn’t get to try the food for themselves. Consisting of items named after tracks from DOOM’s 2004 concept album, the menu was similar in price to the other concessions around it, and each item offered enough food to feed two people. My partner and I ordered the Rap Snitch Kniches, which turned out to be chicken and waffles with a twist — the chicken was INSIDE the waffle. This is momentous stuff. This needs to be a real restaurant, stat. Another artist-themed offering was Pusha T’s Grindin coffee, which cleverly tied into the artist’s persona in a similar way.

Meanwhile, even with the usual assortment of festival foods, we never waited in line for anything for longer than 10 or 20 minutes (the line for MM..FOOD was the longest, but the meal was in our hands almost as soon as we ordered it). The food booths are also ideally located to keep lines from overlapping any of the activations or stage crowds, so it was as close to a hassle-free experience as it gets. I would like to see more tables, but logistically, I understand potential safety hazards.

The Merch Is Enviable And Actually Looks Great

Flog Gnaw has always presented enviable merch options in comparison to a lot of other festivals. While it’s likely that not everybody in the fest’s target demographic can justify the cost of a $100 sweatshirt commemorating their attendance, the designs are undoubtedly among the coolest I’ve seen at the 20 or so fests I’ve covered in my time at Uproxx. My partner came away with one that cheekily reads “Save The Bees,” which doubles as both another ironic-but-sincere environmental message endorsed by Tyler and a reference to the cover of his 2017 breakout album Flower Boy. I still have yet to come away with a stuffed Tyler toy (there are all kinds of different ones, from his ski-masked Goblin alter ego to more recent album era-inspired looks), but perhaps next year will be my year. Meanwhile, even the general stores dotting the grounds had some unexpected treats; I haven’t seen another festival selling collapsible stools before, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they started showing up at more events in the future — and let me tell you, they are lifesavers no matter how old you are.

The Music Remains The Star Of The Show

The thing that makes Tyler so distinctive as an artist is that he’s such a huge fan of music, in general. Too often in hip-hop, there’s this cool-guy mindset: “I don’t really listen to music.” And I guess it’s an effort not to look cringe or like you’ve been inspired by someone else — you’re a one-of-one, completely original — which is why T not doing that is so dang cool (and kind of ironic, considering his seeming abhorrence of anything cringe or too sincere). He listens to everything; you can experience a sampling of his personal playlist by hanging around the Camp stage between sets. And he knows that just because you enjoy the jazz styling of André 3000’s latest album, doesn’t mean you won’t also get absolutely wrecked to Playboi Carti or Denzel Curry’s approach to thrash rap.

The same crowd that vibes out to Omar Apollo can get roasted by Vince Staples (do not, under any circumstances, forget that rap is Black music). Syd and Orion Sun can offer dreamy R&B, Raye can demonstrate her vocal virtuoso, Earl Sweatshirt can get deeply lyrical, and Mase can bring out the hits — some of which are older than half of Flog Gnaw’s attendees — and all of them can resonate with the diverse, eclectic crowd (some more than others, true). The weekend’s standouts, in addition to the above-mentioned names, were Doechii, who continued her campaign for rap’s upper echelons, and Sexyy Red, who made believers of even the most skeptical listeners, according to the results of my recap-related ear hustling. Oh, yeah, Tyler performed a bunch of his new songs from Chromakopia, and I can’t wait for that tour. “Sticky” is a hit.

Undoubtedly, the coolest part for me was seeing a full orchestra paying homage to the masked man who unexpectedly inspired so many of the artists who appeared on this bill, MF DOOM. There’s no way to describe it for those who weren’t there, but the vibes were immaculate — and elevated by an appearance from Erykah Badu, fresh off her main stage set, to reproduce the interpolation from his signature hit “Doomsday.” Also, yes, there was an actual accordion. For me, the set encapsulated the best thing about Camp Flog Gnaw: acknowledging the past, enjoying the present, and imagining a(n Odd) future where both can coexist and complement each other. That future is always on the way, thanks to Tyler The Creator.