The best and worst of the VIVA PHX music festival

Music festival VIVA PHX returned to downtown Phoenix on Oct. 19 after a seven-year hiatus. Thousands of fans came to the city center to check out more than 70 musical acts at 10 venues.

Like any big event, there were highlights and lowlights. Here are our bests and worsts of the festival.

Best: Phoenix Masonic Temple

Perhaps it was the novelty of having never seeing a show there, but the Masonic Temple was a hotbed for great shows. Everyone from Veronica Everheart to Playboy Manbaby played, grappling with the inherently weird context of the Masons in a way that made for energetic and defiant showcases. But from a more practical standpoint, there's something really great about watching a show in a 100-year-old large carpeted room, as if you'd turned your own home into some secret concert venue. That combination of vibes, history and sonic wonder felt like a perfect way to describe what VIVA was trying to do with and for Phoenix.

Worst: Security Checkpoints

Look, security is a massive deal these days; with gun violence and other incidents nationwide, it's better to be extra safe than sorry. But none of that really gets at how deeply annoying it was to navigate the security checkpoints between VIVA's various venues. They were almost always understaffed, leaving a couple of staff to handle lines of 20 or so at a time. That, and every attendee seemed to treat each checkpoint as if it were brand-new somehow. Overall, it was a kerfuffle of inefficiency and general unpreparedness. I'll always take safety over efficiency, but wouldn't it have been nice if we'd all done more to bridge that divide?

Best: Gracie’s Singular Identity

If the Masonic Temple was the best venue in practice, then Gracie's Tax Bar was the best in theory. And by that, I mean it nailed the way venues should have operated across VIVA: their own staff and security working the place to get people in and out and having a good time. It helped the bar maintain its own identity (including booking more country-leaning acts) while connecting it to the larger VIVA spirit. That's exactly what this fest needed even more of — places that defined Phoenix's arts and culture scene as it exists every single day of the year. Plus, they've got an oh-so-handy vape vending machine at the ready.

Worst: VIVA Needed More Days

In my own conversations with bands and promoters, the inevitable connections with SXSW came up. And while it's unfair to compare the two events for a number of logistical and aesthetical reasons, one thing should've likely carried over: the multi-day lineup. Lumping 70 bands into one eight-ish-hour span is unfeasible; there's a reason SXSW takes place over several days. Yeah, the Austin mega-fest is heaps larger, but it fully understands the magnitude of what it's doing and spreads the wealth as much as possible. VIVA would do well to consider that, and perhaps think about adding a day or even two to really let this format develop. Otherwise, it'll just feel like a madcap rush and not a proper cultural experience.

Best: All-Ages Vibes

Speaking of conversations around VIVA, another artist made a great point about all-ages shows. Namely, that there's been a dearth of these events post-COVID, and having them back is a way to further grow the scene. In a practical sense, that decision makes sense if you really want the most bang for your buck as a promoter. But it's also very heartening to see as an attendee — there’s something about young and old gathering in the name of food, art and life that makes it better. It’s as if we really are one big family celebrating ourselves in the grandest street party possible. Kids make you feel young, older folks keep things stable and everyone's a winner.

Worst: Too Much Empty Space Between Venues

Not to drag out the SXSW comparisons too much, but one upside of that fest is that Austin’s own Sixth Street area is filled with music. Venues, clubs and even unofficial "spaces" all help foster the sheer size of that event. VIVA, meanwhile, didn’t make nearly enough use of the downtown area, and that meant a lot of long walks to, say, Valley Bar or Gracie's. Should they focus just on the "hub" around Valley Bar? That could be one way, even if it's a touch limiting. Is there a way to add more pop-up stages and/or other kinds of stage-like offerings? Seems like there's at least a conversation to be had. But if next year requires as much walking to fewer stages/venues, maybe we all won't be quite so enthusiastic.