This weekend, I attended the Escape to New York music festival on the Shinnecock Reservation in Southampton with The Statesman’s music blogger, Chris Priore (check back soon to see his review of the music of day two).

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Bubbles, colored chalk, flowers and photographers were just three components of the second day of the Escape to New York music festival.

Saturday, the festival had a much bigger turnout than did day one.  The lineup for the day began with Graffiti6, followed by The Submaries, Au Revoir Simone, White Rabbits, The Psychedelic Furs, The Vaccines, and headliner Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros.

The music of day two seemed to be more appealing to a general audience.  Though the groups were indie bands, those chosen for Saturday’s lineup seemed to be closer to mainstream music and more crowd-pleasing.  The Submarines and Au Revoir Simone were two of my favorites.  I also really enjoyed the performances of The Vaccines and The Psychedelic Furs (the English rock band that wrote the song “Pretty in Pink,” which was used in the movie of the same name).

We explored the jewelry and food vendors again, enjoyed the music, and took part in an impromptu bubble fight.

Boxes of bubble guns with bubble were stacked and festival goers were free to take the guns and play, so long as they threw the wrapping directly into the trash so as not to litter the reservation with unnecessary waste.  My bubble gun didn’t work, but I didn’t really mind because there were enough bubbles around me already.  The festival grounds, especially the area closest to the main stage, was filled with bubbles, creating a whimsical environment throughout which people felt free enough to enjoy the bubbles as much as they did when they were children.  This episode taught me that, no matter how old you are, you automatically revert back to childhood when handed a gun full of bubble liquid.

The atmosphere of day two was very different from that of day one, in that there were enough people around for the performances to seem like an actual concert experience.  There were people dancing and singing along, whereas day one consisted mostly of people standing nonchalantly or sitting on the grass listening to the bands play.

We visited the science tent again, and met two guys from Rutgers, Jon and Joey, who performed a science show that taught the audience three semesters’-worth of Rutgers physics.

We sat down on a hay bale in the front row, and learned never to do that again.  The two explained that balloons filled with hydrogen float just as well as do those with helium, but that hydrogen is not used because it’s flammable.  I can attest to that, because he set a bunch of red, hydrogen-filled, balloons on fire about three feet in front of me.  I feel lucky to still have hair and eyebrows.  Eventually, Jon asked us to move back from our seats because he was about to do a few more dangerous demonstrations.

One might think it strange that we enjoyed a science show while attending a music festival, but it was really entertaining.  Not only were Jon and Joey personable and funny, but they were knowledgable, and every audience member walked away having considered the different possibilities of science.

In the afternoon, a box of chalk was placed in front of a black wall that spanned a moderately long piece of land on the grounds.  People began to draw on the wall with the chalk, creating a piece of art made up of the drawings of many individuals.  I drew a few flowers and then stood back and watched as my drawings became intertwined with those of the artists around me.

The day, with its increased amount of people and altered atmosphere, was one of fun and freedom as people walked around with flowers in their hair and bubble guns in their hands.