It took so long to get in if you were on a bus before about 1pm. All the buses dumped everyone at the northern gate...barely anyone used the gate on the other side (my friends drove in and gained entry in less than 5 minutes). After about 1 or something they started dumping people on both sides. I was stuck in the mud before that for like an hour at the northern gate though.
Yeah, the fenced off drinking areas were pretty bad imo. It meant if you wanted to get closer to the band you couldn't drink. On the other hand, i guess this is why the crowd was so well behaved this year (except for the hardcore dancing circles...i HATE hardcore dancing goddammit)
imo it was a decent experience with the music overall. I got to see a bit of in flames, lacuna coil, a bit of horse the band, devildriver (probably my favourite that night, probably just cuz they reminded me so much of metalocalypse), alkaline trio, a bit of NIN and a bit of Face to Face. Saw bloodhound gang too...they were shit
.
edit: not that i don't like their stuff, but i don't think their singer was having a good day, seemed like he was just coasting it for half the set.
The venue itself was pretty awesome though, the way the hills were shaped and stuff. It could've made a good concert great, but soundwave management didn't help at all. I suppose that's what happens when you change venues every year...if they got a fixed venue each year they could learn from their mistakes.