واژگان

Music Festival Part 1 Vocabulary Lesson

Hello and welcome to the vocabulary lesson for the conversation “Music Festival Part 1.” This is the first part of a second part conversation and lesson. In this conversation Joe and I are talking about a big music festival that we went to about a month and a half ago with many of our friends. The festival was in a really big park here in San Francisco. The name of the park is Golden Gate Park.

Okay, let’s begin with the conversation.

I start off by saying, “So…”

And so is just a filler word here. It’s not really needed.

I say, “So, what’d ya think of the festival tonight?”

What’d is short for what did and ya is short for you. So I’m saying, what did you - I’m speaking to Joe - what did you think of the festival tonight? Festival. Here it means a music concert. A festival can be different events though or different things. But here it means a music concert. Festival. An example of festival would be: I really enjoyed the music festival. My favorite band played there. Festival.

And then Joe says, “Oh…”

And oh is a filler word here. It’s not really needed. You could take it out of the sentence and the sentence would still make sense.

Joe goes on to say, “I thought it was great.”

So he’s saying, I thought it was very good.

And then Joe goes on to say, “I had a great time the entire day…” Or he’s saying the whole day.

“actually.”

And actually… When Joe ends the sentence with actually, that’s a filler word. It’s not really needed.

And then I say, “Yeah…”

Yeah is casual or informal or slang for yes.

And I go on to say, “good, good, me too.” And then Joe says, “Y’know…” And y’know is short for you know. Y’know.

And Joe goes on to say, “I thought it was a great idea for us all to meet over at Tim’s place. I mean…” And what Joe is saying here is, what I’m trying to say is.

And he goes on to say, “you and I were obviously running late…” Or he’s saying, you and I were for sure running late. Running late. This means late. Running late. And we’re not really running here. Running late. It just means late. For example: I was running late to work because the train was not working. Running late.

And Joe goes on to say, “running late because he lives out in the boonies.” Now boonies… This is an area where there is not a lot of other things like restaurants or stores. Boonies.

For example: Tim lives out in the boonies. The closest store is one mile away from his house. Boonies.

And Joe goes on to say, “But, uh…”

And uh is just a filler word here. It’s not really needed.

And Joe says, “y’know, better late than never.”

Better late than never. This means it is better to do something late than not at all. Better late than never. For example: Sometimes my students come to class late. But it is better late than never.

And then I say, “Yeah, I agree. When you get a group of people together to go to an event like this…” Or I’m saying to go to a festival like this or such as this.

“it just adds to the enjoyment…”

So I’m saying or it makes it more of a good time.

And I go on to say, “y’know, the fun. And it’s kind of like the saying goes, the more the merrier.” Now kind of… Kind of is just a filler here. It’s not really needed. Kind of like the saying goes. Saying. A saying is a group of words with an important meaning. So it’s kind of like the saying goes, the more the merrier. So the more the merrier… This is a saying. And what it means is the more people with you, the more fun you will have. The more the merrier. For example: We went to the concert with ten people. We had a great time. I always think the more the merrier. Okay, moving on with the conversation.

Joe goes on to say, “Yeah, I totally agree.”

So he’s saying yeah, I completely agree.

And he goes on to say, “And, y’know…”

And is a filler word here. It’s not needed.

And Joe says, “I, I think it was really important…”

Or he’s saying I think it was very important.

“that we all went to the concert together in one group. Because, y’know, it was so large…” Or he’s saying it was very big.

And he goes on to say, “it would have made it really difficult to find, uh, people in our group if we would have all gone separately.”

Or if we would have all gone by ourselves.

And then I say, “Right.”

Right meaning yes. I’m just agreeing with Joe.

And I go on to say, “I mean a-…” And Joe says, “It actually…” Or he’s saying it really.

“it actually surprised me because, that the crowd was so large.” Crowd meaning all the people at the festival.

And Joe says, “I mean the tickets cost an arm and a leg.”

An arm and a leg. What this means is the tickets cost a lot. Arm and a leg. It means costs a lot. For example: It costs an arm and a leg to buy a new car. Now it doesn’t really mean that you’re paying an arm and a leg for the car, obviously. It just means it costs a lot of money. An arm and a leg.

And then Joe goes on to say, “So I was kinda thinkin’…” Kinda is short for kind of. And thinkin’ is short for thinking.

And Joe says, “that maybe the crowd wouldn’t be as big.” Or he’s saying, I was thinking the crowd wouldn’t be so big.

And I say, “Yeah, but, price doesn’t usually deter you from going to hear music, right?” So I’m saying, cost doesn’t usually deter you from going to hear music or to listen to music, right? Does it?

Deter. Deter means prevent or to keep from. Or to keep someone from doing something, I should say.

Deter. For example: People can go to jail if they drive drunk. But this does not deter people from doing it.

Does not keep people from doing it. Deter.

And then Joe says, “No, it’s true. You’re right.” And I say, “But, um…” Both of these are just filler words. They’re not needed for what I’m about to say.

Then I go on to say, “speaking of us staying together…”

Or talking of us staying together.

“it just…”

Just is a filler word here.

“it just was making me think of the crowds. And I just didn’t think that in general…” Or I’m saying overall.

“the, the festival was laid out that well.”

Or I’m saying it just didn’t seem like overall the festival was laid out that well. Or it wasn’t laid out very good.

Now laid out… This means organized. Laid out.

And Joe says, “Well…”

And well is a filler word here.

And Joe goes on to say, “there were four different stages.” Stages or a stage. This is something that bands play on or where actors or actresses perform plays. It’s usually made out of wood and is made higher than standing or sitting crowds of people, so that the people performing on the stage can be seen from far away.

And then I say, “No, there were six.”

So I’m saying no, there were six stages, not four.

And Joe says, “Oh there were six stages?” And I say, “Yeah.” And Joe says, “S-, see we only went to two of ‘em.”

‘Em here is short for them.

And I say, “I know.” And Joe says, “But, the, uh, stages were kind of far apart…” Kind of here means sort of. Kind of. Kind of far apart. For example: I kind of like when it rains, though I like sunshine better. Kind of.

And Joe goes on to say, “and y’know what the, the most impractical, uh, design was?” Design. This means the layout or the organization of the festival. And impractical… Impractical means not useful or helpful. Impractical. For example: I thought that some of my classes in college were impractical.

Impractical.

And Joe goes on to say, “I thought that they, uh, they had very narrow walkways between the stages.”

Narrow walkways. This… What Joe is talking about here is places to walk between stages or from one stage to another stage to another stage. Places to walk between stages that did not have a lot of space.

And then I say, “Yes.”

Agreeing with Joe.

And then Joe says, “And…”

And is just a filler word here. It’s not needed.

Joe goes on to say, “sometimes you had to go through a little tunnel, like a foot tunnel…” Now tunnel… This is a place to walk that goes through or under a blocked area. So it lets you or it allows you to walk through or under a blocked area. Tunnel.

And I say, “Yep.”

Yep is just slang for yes.

And Joe says, “and, uh, there’d be thousands of people trying to go through a space that only maybe twenty people could go through at a time.”

Or he’s saying only twenty people could go through at one time.

And I say, “Oh, yeah. The crowd would get completely, completely bottlenecked.” Bottlenecked. This means unable to move because it is too crowded. Bottlenecked. For example: Everyone left at the end of the concert. There were so many people that we could not move. It was a complete bottleneck. Bottlenecked or, in this example, bottleneck.

And then Joe says, “Yeah, exactly.”

Or he’s saying yeah, for sure. Definitely.

And Joe goes on to say, “So tryin’…”

Tryin’ is short for trying.

“tryin’ to go from one stage to the next…”

Or he’s saying to go from one stage to another stage.

And he goes on to say, “was just, uh… It took a lot of time and effort.” Or he’s saying it took a lot of time and energy.

And I say, “Yeah, I agree.” And Joe says, “So that was one thing that was, y’know, just not properly planned for…”

Or he’s saying it was not very well planned for.

And he goes on to say, “on their part.”

What he means here, on their part, he’s saying, it wasn’t very well planned for by the people who planned or designed the festival. Or who organized the festival.

And I say, “No!”

So what I’m saying here is no, not at all. I’m agreeing with Joe. It wasn’t very well planned.

And I go on to say, “And then there’d be all these random trails through the woods…” Now random means scattered. Random. And trails through the woods… These are walking paths through areas with a lot of trees. Trails through the woods.

And I go on to say, “that people were trying to forge their way through.” Forge means to push through. Forge.

And Joe says, “Yeah, true.” And he goes on to say, “Y’know, another thing that, uh, was a real hassle…”

Or he’s saying was a big hassle. And hassle is inconvenience. Hassle. For example: Flying is a hassle because it takes so long to go through security. Hassle.

So Joe… Joe goes on to say, or he’s saying it was a, a real hassle… “was tryin’ to get a beer.” And I say, “Oh my god, yeah.”

So I’m just showing a lot of emotion while agreeing with Joe.

And then Joe says, “I mean, the wait, the line was like…” And like here is a filler word.

And he goes on to say, “y’know, a hundred and twenty people long.” Now a line. This is people standing one behind another one, waiting to buy something or to do something.

And then Joe goes on to say, “Every time you wanted to go get a beer.” And I say, “Yeah, well first you had to stand in line just for them to check your ID…”

And when I say them, I mean the people working at the festival. And I’m saying to check or to look at your ID.

And ID… This is short for identification. So I’m speaking about people working at the festival. They would look at ID cards to make sure people wanting to drink beer were 21 years old or older. So they were 21 years old. They were of the legal age to drink beer. 21 years or older. So I’m saying these people were checking IDs.

And then I go on to say, “and get the wristband.”

Wristband. This is something that you wear around your wrist. Wristband. So after these people at the festival - working at the festival - would check your ID to make sure you were 21 years or older, then they would give you this wristband - this thing to wear around your wrist.

And Joe says, “Yeah, and…” And then I say, “That was bad enough.” So what I’m saying here is, that was bad enough to stand in this long line to have your ID checked. It was bad enough without having to wait in a second line then to buy beer.

And Joe says, “Oh, that was an even longer line.”

So he’s saying there were more people in the line where festival workers were looking at ID cards for legal ages to drink beer - that line was longer than the line to buy beer.

And I say, “Yeah.”

Agreeing with him.

And then Joe says, “Yeah.” And I say, “I mean once you had the wristband, though, then it was battling the lines just to get a beer.”

Battling the lines. This means waiting in a long line. Battling the lines. For example: I hated battling the lines each time I wanted to buy a beer. Battling the lines.

And then I go on to say, “Each time.”

So I’m saying every time you wanted to buy a beer.

And then I go on to say, “Yeah, it was ridiculous.”

Ridiculous meaning, it was a big inconvenience.

And Joe says, “Yeah, and if you wanted to go get a beer while the band was playing, you basically…” Basically is just a filler word here. It’s not really needed.

So Joe is saying, “you basically had to decide…”

Or you had to choose.

“whether…”

Or if.

“you wanted to see the music…” And I say, “Yep.” And Joe goes on to say, “or you really wanted a beer.”

Really here… This is filler. It’s not needed in the sentence.

And then Joe goes on to say, “Which was more important to you?” So he’s saying you had to decide: Was it more important to buy a beer or to listen to the music?

And then I say, “Right.”

Agreeing with him.

And then Joe says, “You had to make a choice, y’know?” And I say, “Yeah.” And I go on to say, “Make a list…”

Or I’m saying you had to write down.

“Make a list of pros and cons…”

Now pros and cons… These are the good and bad points. Pros and cons. Now obviously, I’m not at this music festival writing down the good and the bad points about whether I wanted to choose to listen to music or to choose to stand in a long line to buy beer. I’m just saying this, kind of joking. I’m not being serious.

This is… This could be called sarcasm. I’m joking. I’m not being serious here. An example of pros and cons: I thought about the pros and cons of going to college in the state of Florida. But I ended up going to school in Georgia. Pros and cons.

And then Joe says, “Yeah, yeah…how thirsty am I…”

Or he’s saying, how much do I want to drink? How thirsty am I?

“versus…”

Or compared to.

“how much do I want to hear this music.”

So he’s just responding to me saying make a list of pros and cons.

And Joe goes on to say, “And the lines to the bathroom were really long also.” And then I say, “Yeah, the lines in general were just a hassle. I have to agree.” And then Joe says, “Yeah. I mean, I remember when we were leaving the event. It took us over an hour…” Or he’s saying it took us more than one hour.

And he goes on to say, “just to get out of the, uh, the stadium.” Now stadium… This is a large place where they have sports or music concerts. A stadium is a building where they have sports or music concerts. I don’t know why Joe said stadium here. He really didn’t mean stadium because this music festival was just outside in a park. It wasn’t in an actual stadium. But that’s what stadium means… A large place or a large building where they have sports or music concerts.

And then I say, “Oh god.”

Just showing emotion.

And Joe says, “Remember, there were all these people who were startin’…” Startin’ is short for starting.

“there were all these people who were startin’ to climb the fences…” So there were all these people who were starting to go over the fences. A fence is something used to keep people or animals from entering… and, or from coming in, from entering, from coming in.

And I say, “Yeah.” And Joe says, “instead of going through the little, uh, tunnel.” So he’s saying, not going through the little tunnel. People were climbing over the fences. They weren’t going through the tunnel.

And then Joe goes on to say, “I mean…” And then I say, “Yes.” And Joe says, “and the, the fence, it looked like it was gonna break.”

Gonna. This is short or slang for going to. Gonna break. So the fence looked like it was gonna break or it was gonna fall down. There were so many people going over it, climbing over it.

And then Joe goes on to say, “I mean it was totally an accident waiting to happen.” An accident waiting to happen. This means dangerous, not safe. An accident waiting to happen. For example: One of the steps to Tim’s house is broken. It is an accident waiting to happen.

And then I say, “Right. That was something I didn’t understand. Like, at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass I never, I didn’t remember seeing fences like that.”

Hardly Strictly Bluegrass. This is a music festival in San Francisco. It’s the name of the music festival.

Hardly Strictly Bluegrass.

And Joe says, “Well, y’know, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, that festival is free…” Free. Meaning it doesn’t cost any money.

And Joe goes on to say, “So, y’know, I don’t think…” And then I say, “Oh yeah…” Like I’m remembering, oh yeah, it’s free. It doesn’t cost money.

And then Joe says, “they had to put up barriers to, uh…” So he’s saying, the workers of the festival… I don’t think they had to put up barriers. Now barriers… This is something used to keep people or animals from entering, like fences. Barriers. Something used to keep people or animals from entering or from coming in. So Joe is saying because this other music festival, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, is free, they don’t put up fences for that because people don’t pay. They can just go in anywhere into the park. But the music festival that we’re speaking of that we’d just… that we had just gone to, you did have to pay for that. So they had fences up everywhere. They had these barriers. These things to keep people from coming in who had not paid.

And then I say, “that’s, okay…”

So I’m saying this because it’s making sense to me now why there were fences for this festival and not fences at the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival.

And then Joe says, “to entry.”

So he’s saying, y’know, they didn’t have to put up these barriers to entry. Entry meaning the area or areas where you would go into the festival.

And then I say, “that makes sense.”

Or that… I’m saying that’s understandable.

And I go on to say, “I was wondering what the deal was with the fences.” So I’m saying, I was wondering or I was asking myself what the deal was. What the deal was. This means what was happening. What the deal was. For example: I went to the restaurant at 5:00 p.m. but it was closed. I was wondering what the deal was. Then someone told me that the restaurant closes early on Sundays. What the deal was.

And Joe says, “Yeah. S-…”

Starts to say something.

And I say, “Okay.” And then Joe says, “So that’s why that’s, y’know, that’s why you never have that problem at that festival.” And I say, “Right.”

Like okay. Yeah. I agree with you.

Okay, this is the end of the conversation for “Music Festival Part 1.” And it’s the end, also, of the vocabulary lesson for the conversation “Music Festival Part 1.” So, as always, go back if you need to and listen, making sure that you’ve got a basic understanding of the vocabulary before you move on to the mini-story. And then after the mini-story, go on to “Music Festival Part 2.”

Alright, see you next time. Bye bye.