I had 7 days of just ridiculous amounts of live music. Below are small reviews of everyone
Rene Descartes's farewell show - I'd say go see them butttttttt
The Cure with the Twilight Sad - Twilight Sad only played like 6 songs, super short, but The Cure made up for it with a 35 song long, monster of a setlist. They killed it, everyone sounded really right on and everyone's energy was great except the bassist seemed almost cartoonishly energetic and the keys player was incredibly tired looking.
Bottlerock Day 1 - I'm splitting these by day cuz there was a lot of music. Missed the first several hours due to a job orientation (weyhoo sort of a dream come true but that's another post) and traffic. Saw Michale Franti and Spearhead who were really eh, Cold War Kids who were pretty good but not nearly as great as last time I saw them and the crowd was not into it, Gordon Ramsay did some frying stuff, Lenny Kravitz was good but my friend was super dehydrated so I missed a lot of that running around to get her food/drink, got to see the last 2 songs of Buddy Guy who I was surprised to hear is actually still killing it, Grouplove was super weird and weirdly rocky/screamy compared to their normal sound, even did a Sabotage cover. Stevie Wonder was incredible live, though he took about 20 minutes out of his set as "DJ Chk Chk Boom" to do a tribute to those that have passed recently and he kind of lost most of the crowd then. DJ'd for 2 prince songs, Earth Wind and Fire, The Eagles, and Bowie, then had the crowd chanting "Yes you can" in a way that I think was supposed to be for Phife but I couldn't quite tell. Overall he was just really incredible to be able to see live.
Day 2 - Started with Panic is Perfect, those local guys I post about all the time on here, who were really really great as per usual. Got to meet Joey (the keys player) later in the fest and his mom on the way in, which was pretty fun. Mike Stud was next, who was about as frat rap white guy as you can get - he even acknowledged he was and then said "but just know that like, no matter what anyone tells you, follow your dreams man" and then sprayed beer on the crowd to try and show he wasn't just a frat guy? IDK. We started to watch The Joy Formidable but they were mic'd so bad you couldn't really hear anything but the guitar, was just sooooo washed out it was unbearable. Walk the Moon was what you'd expect, I left in the middle to go see San Fermin which was a nearly religious experience. Honestly one of the better live shows I've ever seen, the horns live just work so well and the chemistry between the band is palpable. Death Cab for Cutie was good but did not garner a crowd, I think because Ziggy Marley was on at the same time, but it was just sad. During Soul Meets Body he asked the crowd to do the "ba da ba da ba ba ba da ba ba ba ba ba da" part and no one did, just dead silent. They ended almost 20 minutes early without playing "I Will Follow You Into The Dark" and closing on one of the nonsingles off Narrow Stairs. Next was Iron Chef Morimoto teaching Mike Dirnt and Tre Cool to make sushi, and Cool played Morimoto a belayed happy birthday on a drumset of pots and pans. Was definitely one of those once in a lifetime moments in a weird way. Caught the end of Atlas Genius, Trojans was great and they did a cover of "The Hills" that worked really well. Florence + The Machine was fun but a little overly long, just felt stretched to fill all the time.
Day 3 - The first hour or so was waiting in line for a poster, but it was right next to where a band called The Helmets was performing. For those not familiar, they're all 12 or under and one is Trujillo's kid. Sounded pretty good but almost all covers. Waters was fun but not that memorable. Misterwives was good and bouncy but not as fun or frankly just as great musically as the last time I saw them. X Ambassadors sounded OK but were really weirdly rude in between songs it felt like, and people weren't really sure if they should dance or waht during the songs. Andrew McMahon is a good performer, mixed in mostly his solo stuff but did a Jack's Mannequin and a Something Corporate tune, both of which were pretty fun. Crowd was just nonexistant so it was weird to watch, but he really was good. Lumineers played almost everything they've ever put out, and in a bizarre order - second song was Hey Ho and Ophelia was like 5 in. Closed with Submarines which is probably my favorite but it was a weird set. Coleman Hell (2 Heads guy) was actually incredibly good live, really cool mix of uke and drums and synth and live stuff and prerecorded, he was a little too high it seemed at times in between songs but seriously fun and surprisingly good, want to see what he does in the future. Red Hot Chili Peppers were great live, mostly for the like 4 or 5 moments they were setting up between songs so Flea just did his Flea thing and screamed nonsense and/or played insane bass solos. Most were planned but at least one wasn't. Singer sounded totally healthy, they did a good list that went through a lot of their stuff, was a little short but still fun. Klinghoffer is definitely no Frusciante, though, the backing vocals really don't sound great and the solos are pretty changed up - once in a blue moon for the better, but usually not. _________________
Went to Rock On the Range in Columbus, Ohio last weekend. It's always a fun time, this was my 3rd straight year making a 250 mile trip.
We didn't end up going Sunday for travel reasons. I was disappointed because in my opinion some of the best bands of the weekend played that night, RHCP, BTBAM, Deftones, At the Drive In, and Wolfmother. But the two previous days had some great acts I saw as well like Megadeth, Lamb of God, and Ghost.
Lamb of God had the fucking craziest crowd I've ever been apart of. Circle pit before the band even came on stage while everyone waited after watching shitty ass Hellyeah (Hellno) who were on the video screens who were on main stage. Passionate fans, pushing, shoving,security guards jamming to the band standing on the edge of the mosh pit, crowd-surfers and being kicked in the face repeatedly by random crowd-surfers. I learned I wasn't tough enough for a Lamb of God crowd that day, but the band was phenomenal. As was Megadeth the day before, whose crowd wasn't nearly as nuts, but who played an aggressive 45 minutes and showcased 2 new songs which were surprisingly great.
On Friday night I also saw Shinedown who you may consider to be a guilty pleasure of sorts because I do admit they are butt rock but not nearly as butt rock as the ass rock that is Hellyeah or the band after them, Disturbed. Shinedown was pleasant and I do enjoy their music, but there was some very apparent lip syncing going on and my friends agreed. The live vocals during the verse and pre-chorus of Diamond Eyes changed in tone and volume (lower) in the chorus. Fuckin fakers. When they got to Second Chance I was just waiting to prove the lip syncing because I knew they had been accused of it in the past. The chorus of Second Chance was the album track all the way because once again the tone and volume changed to the exact nuances of the album cut. Ridiculous, but the majority of the 60,000 white trash Ohioans probably didn't notice. So an otherwise pleasant Shinedown set was ruined for me and that's all I can remember from as a result.
Rob Zombie was also entertaining as the Saturday night headliner. The band before him, Five Finger Death Punch is one I simply detest. That macho bullshit in rock music must be stopped, and they are the main proponents of such atrocities. Ridiculous lyrics, riffs, vocals, song structures, lyrical content, and fans. ...I digress. ROTR is always fun and well put together. Hopefully next year I won't have to sit through a band as abysmal as Five Finger Dick Punch. _________________ Attention all planets of the solar federation: We have assumed control.
The Cure with the Twilight Sad - Twilight Sad only played like 6 songs, super short, but The Cure made up for it with a 35 song long, monster of a setlist. They killed it...
Dude you saw The Cure at the Bowl. I wanted to go to that concert but couldn't afford the outrageous price of it. I heard nothing but awesome feedback about that show.
Anyway I saw Collective Soul and Goo Goo Dolls at The Greek last night. Good concert. (I highly doubt any other BEA users were present.)
Dude you saw The Cure at the Bowl. I wanted to go to that concert but couldn't afford the outrageous price of it. I heard nothing but awesome feedback about that show.
Anyway I saw Collective Soul and Goo Goo Dolls at The Greek last night. Good concert. (I highly doubt any other BEA users were present.)
That would've been great, but it was actually in Mountain view. Still superb.
Goo Goo was good when I saw them, would love to see them again some time. _________________
Just saw Sun Kil Moon. Was very strange. First gig I've ever left early. _________________ 2021 in full effect. Come drop me some recs. Y'all know what I like.
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