New York Dolls were really really bad. Dont get the hype. Dont get it at all.
My unbearable HFS experience
all these reviews make me so glad i went and saw springsteen last night instead. so so glad.
Originally posted by myuman:Bla…bla…bla…
….Baltimore is a slight notch above my local landfill when it comes to visually pleasing. Maybe this is over the top, but everytime I venture inside city limits, filthy always seems not far from being uttered.
… I suffered through Jimmy's Chicken Shacks set while waiting…. Interpol started great, then… just as they were hitting stride, they were gone… not to return. I kid you not… 20 minutes….This is not the coachella on the clock crew…..I thought it was fine, but… Time to grab a three or four dollar water (depending on where you shopped)….
Sure I found one… but this is an outfit that makes no attempt to secure the safety of anyone that would like to get within 50 metres of the stage and actually listen to music (without being abused by moshers/surfers during Interpol of all bands) or clear the line of females out of the men's room, but those soda/water caps have to stay! So now everyone is moving toward one concourse. Just one big pain. ….to many tailbone tattoos, nose rings, stoned looks… I had had enough. It was time to sell this loosing stock…. I was in need of convenience, and this experience needed to be forgotten.
For the love of Christ, please tell me which of the following you DID NOT see coming when you decided to go see this show. I mean, which of these came as a shocker to you?
a) A Baltimore that is filthy
b) A "Jimmy's Chicken Shack" show that might not be up to par with respectable music standards
c) Overpriced food and drink at a football stadium
d) Short sets at an all day festival featuring 15 bands
e) Moshing and surfers at a show sponsored by a commercial rock station
f) Nose rings and alcohol abuse at a show that features music that is clearly appealling to the teenage and 20's demographic.
Don't complain.
Originally posted by PigIron:Do you mean Interpol, Echo, NY Dolls, Social D, Coldplay? Don't get me wrong… I hear your point… and boy did I pay this time for my oversight.
Nose rings and alcohol abuse at a show that features music that is clearly appealling to the teenage and 20's demographic.
My day at the HFSTIVAL:
I made it to the stadium at 12:15 p.m. I made it to see The Bravery. I wasn't a big fan of their music, but they did put on a good show. After 'An Honest Mistake,' I caught Citizen Cope at the Street Stage. I enjoyed his set. After 'Bullet And A Target,' I made back to the main stage to catch Louis XIV. Just before they played 'Finding Out True Love Is Blind,' I had a feeling the craziness was coming, and I was right. First, it was the exposed breasts. Just when the band was about to sing the fisrt lyric of the hit single, people were slam dancing. I've seen this band before, and they are not the type of band you slam dance to.
After that, I hit the street stage to catch Jimmy's Chicken Shack. I was in time to catch their favorites like 'What Did I Do Right,' 'Quitter' and 'High.' I also saw th guitarist madden made a guest appearance. After that, I stayed to see Stereophonics. They put on a great show. I was only able to catch 5 songs.
After that, I headed over to the main stage to catch Interpol. I also only able to catch the final few songs of them. I returned to the Street Stage to see Pepper. I stayed for 20 minutes of their set before I went back to the main stage. I found out Garbage was coming up. No one inform those returning to the main stage that Echo & The Bunnyman cut their set way short. Garbage come on, and they rocked the house. Shirley and company put on a show. The next band was the New York Dolls. They rocked the house, and the crowd loved it. After Them, it was Social Distortion. Mike Ness and company made their performance an unforgettable one.
After their set, the rain come down. When Good Charlotte was about to perform, the craziness was unleashed. Slam dancing, crowd surfing, moments of exposed flash was everywhere during GC set. The rain stopped after GC was done. Billy Idol came up, and he his body hasn't aged a bit. He still have the confidence and on satge charisma that made him a hit in the 1980's/early 1990's. I felt his set was the longest of the festival.
After his set was over, the rain pours down harder; I saw thunder and lighting in the distance and headed inside the stadium. The severe weather ended before 9:30 p.m. I went into the stadium to catch Coldplay. Chris Martin and company put a stellar show. However, I was wondering why people were crowd surfing to this group. C'mon People! Save that stuff for The Foo Fighters. Speaking of them, They came on at 10:30 p.m. They put on a kick ass show. The only drawbacks were their set was too short, and they didn't play Best Of You, their new single.
I had a good time at the show. I dealt with overzealous crowd surfers, bad views, 2 guys hitting on me, and the weather. I noticed that people recognize the Taking Back Sunday t-shirt I wore.
I made it to the stadium at 12:15 p.m. I made it to see The Bravery. I wasn't a big fan of their music, but they did put on a good show. After 'An Honest Mistake,' I caught Citizen Cope at the Street Stage. I enjoyed his set. After 'Bullet And A Target,' I made back to the main stage to catch Louis XIV. Just before they played 'Finding Out True Love Is Blind,' I had a feeling the craziness was coming, and I was right. First, it was the exposed breasts. Just when the band was about to sing the fisrt lyric of the hit single, people were slam dancing. I've seen this band before, and they are not the type of band you slam dance to.
After that, I hit the street stage to catch Jimmy's Chicken Shack. I was in time to catch their favorites like 'What Did I Do Right,' 'Quitter' and 'High.' I also saw th guitarist madden made a guest appearance. After that, I stayed to see Stereophonics. They put on a great show. I was only able to catch 5 songs.
After that, I headed over to the main stage to catch Interpol. I also only able to catch the final few songs of them. I returned to the Street Stage to see Pepper. I stayed for 20 minutes of their set before I went back to the main stage. I found out Garbage was coming up. No one inform those returning to the main stage that Echo & The Bunnyman cut their set way short. Garbage come on, and they rocked the house. Shirley and company put on a show. The next band was the New York Dolls. They rocked the house, and the crowd loved it. After Them, it was Social Distortion. Mike Ness and company made their performance an unforgettable one.
After their set, the rain come down. When Good Charlotte was about to perform, the craziness was unleashed. Slam dancing, crowd surfing, moments of exposed flash was everywhere during GC set. The rain stopped after GC was done. Billy Idol came up, and he his body hasn't aged a bit. He still have the confidence and on satge charisma that made him a hit in the 1980's/early 1990's. I felt his set was the longest of the festival.
After his set was over, the rain pours down harder; I saw thunder and lighting in the distance and headed inside the stadium. The severe weather ended before 9:30 p.m. I went into the stadium to catch Coldplay. Chris Martin and company put a stellar show. However, I was wondering why people were crowd surfing to this group. C'mon People! Save that stuff for The Foo Fighters. Speaking of them, They came on at 10:30 p.m. They put on a kick ass show. The only drawbacks were their set was too short, and they didn't play Best Of You, their new single.
I had a good time at the show. I dealt with overzealous crowd surfers, bad views, 2 guys hitting on me, and the weather. I noticed that people recognize the Taking Back Sunday t-shirt I wore.
Originally posted by sonickteam4:I concur; it was the march of the teenage zombies…what a freak show, with a horrible sound system and not much frivolity…and stadium/parking staff who could not care less.
please please
if they have another one of theses godawful sorry excuse of a concert ever again, and i express interest in going….shoot me
the HFStival is the devil. its terribe, it was a nightmare.
i would have been better off giving the $200 i spent there to a homeless crackhead.
The after party at Rams Head was more amusing since most of the bands and all of the audience were S*faced. Washington Social Club, Louis XIV and the Bravery put on a good show considering their earlier sets at HFS, the late hour, and huge quantities of bad food and booze.
Guess I'll add my $.02…
The thing that struck the most about it this year was the angry vibe I got from my fellow concertgoers. I've been going off and on since 1995 and I've always had a decent enough time. Drink a few overpriced beers and soak up some sun. This year seemed to be dominated by the alcohol-weed-testosterone fueled meatheads. Watching these groups of guys in their standard issue outfits (wispy mustache/goatee, sideways baseball cap, wifebeater, baggy shorts down to the mid-calves with boxers sticking out the top) was like seeing a cross between "All Creatures Great and Small" and "Cops". Mix that in with a bunch of girls who obviously never got enough attention from their fathers. It was like the System of a Down thread came to life before my very eyes.
That being said there were some musical highlights…
Stereophonics - solid as always. (BTW, who was the dickhead DJ who introduced them? He made a lovely comment about how the new 99.1 employees are responsible for the landscaping around stadium.)
Social D - never seen them before. Good stuff.
Billy Idol - lots of fun.
Coldplay - fantastic. The heir apparent to the U2-stadium rock crown.
I thought the Foos were OK, but not as good as I've seen them before. They seemed to be going through the motions a bit. Dave's voice sounded a little scratchy when he was talking.
The thing that struck the most about it this year was the angry vibe I got from my fellow concertgoers. I've been going off and on since 1995 and I've always had a decent enough time. Drink a few overpriced beers and soak up some sun. This year seemed to be dominated by the alcohol-weed-testosterone fueled meatheads. Watching these groups of guys in their standard issue outfits (wispy mustache/goatee, sideways baseball cap, wifebeater, baggy shorts down to the mid-calves with boxers sticking out the top) was like seeing a cross between "All Creatures Great and Small" and "Cops". Mix that in with a bunch of girls who obviously never got enough attention from their fathers. It was like the System of a Down thread came to life before my very eyes.
That being said there were some musical highlights…
Stereophonics - solid as always. (BTW, who was the dickhead DJ who introduced them? He made a lovely comment about how the new 99.1 employees are responsible for the landscaping around stadium.)
Social D - never seen them before. Good stuff.
Billy Idol - lots of fun.
Coldplay - fantastic. The heir apparent to the U2-stadium rock crown.
I thought the Foos were OK, but not as good as I've seen them before. They seemed to be going through the motions a bit. Dave's voice sounded a little scratchy when he was talking.
Originally posted by PigIron:blah blah blah yourself. that stadium is MUCH nicer than RFK in DC AND the neighborhood surrounding the stadiums is no different.
a) A Baltimore that is filthy
i guess you live in NW cause DC is pretty filthy in most places too. wherever govt buildings arent.
This was my last HFStival… I went from 95-2002 and this year. It seems to get rougher and rougher up front every year, even during mellow bands like coldplay. During Foo Fighters, my girlfriend took one too many feet to the head and was pulled out by security. I followed. During the process, my shoe came off… I don't think someone pulled it off, it just got stuck on the bar. Anyways, the 'backstage' security was very nice and let me through to get to her. After the show, when I went to reclaim my shoe, the big black guy up front (who was bothering other innocent people during coldplay), jumped over the railing and kicked me as I was putting my shoe back on… So I responded 'Thanks for kicking me' while I was tieing my shoe and he started giving me all this shit for putting my shoe on… So I guess at HFStival, if your shoe comes off… You are not allowed to put it back on. I called the guy a genieus (I can't spell) and he started threatening me as I walked away. Other than that, people in the stands seemed nice, but upfront just gets more unsafe every year. This isn't really a suprise, but the security up front is pretty worthless.
Originally posted by Bombay Chutney:How long was the club set?I'm seriously considering Cleveland's show tomorrow.
[They've been compared to The Stones since day one. And you could easily argue that Aerosmith stole a lot from The Dolls. I didn't see the festival, but I saw The Dolls at a club on Friday. David is in great shape and looks terrific. I wish I had a six-pack like his. [/QB]
Is Baltimore filthy? I've never really noticed. I thought that it was just normal. Where do you come from anyway, Salt Lake City???
My day at HFStival:
On the whole, quite a pleasant one actually. I thought it was definitely undersold, up until about when Social D was playing and then the place started to seem full.
I'll start with the lowlights:
1) Watching Echo and the Bunnymen's absolutely pathetic display. Why didn't Ian just cancel and give more time to the other bands? The way that guy smokes cigarettes, it's no surprise he couldn't sing. I love them, but I'll be the first to admit that he was a twat.
2) Definitely interesting to watch the teenage zombies…the HFStival is where you go if you have low self esteem because just one look at the masses should make you feel like a million bucks.
3) David Johansen looked AWFUL…I love the NY Dolls, and though they sounded great, it's just not the NY Dolls without Johnny Thunders and David is on his way to join his brother in the very near future. That was just painful to see. His arms are totally just bone, vein and skin. His face was gaunt. He could have been one of the skeleton faces from the "Appetite for Destruction" album cover.
4) Before I even set foot in the stadium, some drunk girl passed out cold on the lawn while her boyfriend was trying to get her on her feet as he was clutching a huge beer bong. The cops were on their way to bust them and he was frantically trying to get her to stand up.
Highlights:
1) They Might Be Giants playing "Fingertips". My God, that was hilarious to see.
2) Getting me and my friends up to the club level even though we only had 1 club level ticket. It was far more civilized up there…air conditioning, nice bars, clean bathrooms, sofas, shorter lines, etc. We proceeded to have some overpriced (but much needed) cocktails. I ran into Don Vito from Viva La Bam.
3) Enjoying the sun and hearing Garbage play "Vow".
4) Well or badly, when the NY Dolls came out it was the best, most rockin' part of the day (until that point).
5) Social D came out to put on an absolutely killer performance. "Prison Bound" was flawless, "Ring of Fire" fucking kicked ass. They wiped the floor with every other band that played that day. Further proof that they're the real deal. Seeing them at the 9:30 for multiple nights…Thatguy, are you teasing?? Damn. I wouldn't miss that for ANYTHING.
So I left after that and missed the other stuff. Went to Blowoff and overindulged. I'm off to see Peter Murphy tonight..should be a good show.
Concluding thought: you better know what you're getting into when you go to something like the HFStival, but in the end, you make the best of the experience. You have to think positively or else like anything you're to have a sucky ass time. I'd rather just laugh it off and make the best of it.
On the whole, quite a pleasant one actually. I thought it was definitely undersold, up until about when Social D was playing and then the place started to seem full.
I'll start with the lowlights:
1) Watching Echo and the Bunnymen's absolutely pathetic display. Why didn't Ian just cancel and give more time to the other bands? The way that guy smokes cigarettes, it's no surprise he couldn't sing. I love them, but I'll be the first to admit that he was a twat.
2) Definitely interesting to watch the teenage zombies…the HFStival is where you go if you have low self esteem because just one look at the masses should make you feel like a million bucks.
3) David Johansen looked AWFUL…I love the NY Dolls, and though they sounded great, it's just not the NY Dolls without Johnny Thunders and David is on his way to join his brother in the very near future. That was just painful to see. His arms are totally just bone, vein and skin. His face was gaunt. He could have been one of the skeleton faces from the "Appetite for Destruction" album cover.
4) Before I even set foot in the stadium, some drunk girl passed out cold on the lawn while her boyfriend was trying to get her on her feet as he was clutching a huge beer bong. The cops were on their way to bust them and he was frantically trying to get her to stand up.
Highlights:
1) They Might Be Giants playing "Fingertips". My God, that was hilarious to see.
2) Getting me and my friends up to the club level even though we only had 1 club level ticket. It was far more civilized up there…air conditioning, nice bars, clean bathrooms, sofas, shorter lines, etc. We proceeded to have some overpriced (but much needed) cocktails. I ran into Don Vito from Viva La Bam.
3) Enjoying the sun and hearing Garbage play "Vow".
4) Well or badly, when the NY Dolls came out it was the best, most rockin' part of the day (until that point).
5) Social D came out to put on an absolutely killer performance. "Prison Bound" was flawless, "Ring of Fire" fucking kicked ass. They wiped the floor with every other band that played that day. Further proof that they're the real deal. Seeing them at the 9:30 for multiple nights…Thatguy, are you teasing?? Damn. I wouldn't miss that for ANYTHING.
So I left after that and missed the other stuff. Went to Blowoff and overindulged. I'm off to see Peter Murphy tonight..should be a good show.
Concluding thought: you better know what you're getting into when you go to something like the HFStival, but in the end, you make the best of the experience. You have to think positively or else like anything you're to have a sucky ass time. I'd rather just laugh it off and make the best of it.
my thought on the show:
Alot of great bands. Minus gc
the bravery were excelent
I was actually up front for Interpol, and the 2 friends i was with said it looked like they weren't having a good time at all. and the reason there set was so short was because the band themselves walked off the stage. I was very happy they played PDA though, that song is amazing.
They might be giants were really enjoyable too. However, I was right in the crowd for them too, and all the guys moshing were drunk out of their minds and were complete dicks. I think one of the best parts was when the keyboard player went into a song and said "This song is almost impossible to mosh to" which really pissed off the drunk guys. One of the guys even called the lead singer a Pussy. But despite these throwbacks, the band did win me over, and i'm sure the rest of the crowd really liked them.
I saw citizen cope and the washington social club. really enjoyed both.
My friend anna really wanted to see unwritten law. so we caught them and decided to go back in at 4:25 to catch garbage, which was the one band that was an absolute must on my list. However, i was very dissapointed to find out they were almost done.
Social D was good. i'm not too familar with them. but they were enjoyable
GC was just stupid
Billy Idol was very entertaining.
Coldplay was my favorite of the day. they were awesome.
Foo fighters were alright too.
Overall. Hfstival is far from the perfect concert. but i think there's always atleast one thing good about the show i get out of it that makes it a good day.
Alot of great bands. Minus gc
the bravery were excelent
I was actually up front for Interpol, and the 2 friends i was with said it looked like they weren't having a good time at all. and the reason there set was so short was because the band themselves walked off the stage. I was very happy they played PDA though, that song is amazing.
They might be giants were really enjoyable too. However, I was right in the crowd for them too, and all the guys moshing were drunk out of their minds and were complete dicks. I think one of the best parts was when the keyboard player went into a song and said "This song is almost impossible to mosh to" which really pissed off the drunk guys. One of the guys even called the lead singer a Pussy. But despite these throwbacks, the band did win me over, and i'm sure the rest of the crowd really liked them.
I saw citizen cope and the washington social club. really enjoyed both.
My friend anna really wanted to see unwritten law. so we caught them and decided to go back in at 4:25 to catch garbage, which was the one band that was an absolute must on my list. However, i was very dissapointed to find out they were almost done.
Social D was good. i'm not too familar with them. but they were enjoyable
GC was just stupid
Billy Idol was very entertaining.
Coldplay was my favorite of the day. they were awesome.
Foo fighters were alright too.
Overall. Hfstival is far from the perfect concert. but i think there's always atleast one thing good about the show i get out of it that makes it a good day.
HFs is at best a 4!! They cant even pull a line up together anymore, that will sell out a stadium. Go back to HFS 2000!! That was a show, since then never again.
When the tickets were going on sale that repeated several times on the radio that day, that this was the biggest! festival on the East Coast. Its a shame that the PR Department at HFS has never heard of Music Midtown (Atlanta) or the biggest & by far the best Bonnaroo!! in Tenn.
We went to Bonnaroo last year and will return this year with even a bigger group of us, and after 4 days of music & pure entertainment last year, you never saw one fight, heard anyone yelling or being some your ass, that cant handle a 12 oz. beer.HFS needs to hire someone who knows what bands to book, not the same old BS they been giving us for the past 5 years!!
When the tickets were going on sale that repeated several times on the radio that day, that this was the biggest! festival on the East Coast. Its a shame that the PR Department at HFS has never heard of Music Midtown (Atlanta) or the biggest & by far the best Bonnaroo!! in Tenn.
We went to Bonnaroo last year and will return this year with even a bigger group of us, and after 4 days of music & pure entertainment last year, you never saw one fight, heard anyone yelling or being some your ass, that cant handle a 12 oz. beer.HFS needs to hire someone who knows what bands to book, not the same old BS they been giving us for the past 5 years!!
HFS is at best a 4!! They cant even pull a line up together anymore that will sell out a stadium. Go back to HFS 2000!! That was a show, since then never again.
When the tickets were going on sale they repeated several times on the radio that day, this was the biggest! festival on the East Coast. Its a shame that the PR Department at HFS has never heard of Music Midtown (Atlanta) or the biggest & by far the best Bonnaroo!! in Tenn.
We went to Bonnaroo last year and will return this year with even a bigger group of us, and after 4 days of music & pure entertainment last year, you never saw one fight, heard anyone yelling or being some young ass, that cant handle a 12 oz. beer.HFS needs to hire someone who knows what bands to book, not the same old BS they been giving us for the past 5 years!!
When the tickets were going on sale they repeated several times on the radio that day, this was the biggest! festival on the East Coast. Its a shame that the PR Department at HFS has never heard of Music Midtown (Atlanta) or the biggest & by far the best Bonnaroo!! in Tenn.
We went to Bonnaroo last year and will return this year with even a bigger group of us, and after 4 days of music & pure entertainment last year, you never saw one fight, heard anyone yelling or being some young ass, that cant handle a 12 oz. beer.HFS needs to hire someone who knows what bands to book, not the same old BS they been giving us for the past 5 years!!
Originally posted by SPARX:It was about 1:20.
Originally posted by Bombay Chutney:How long was the club set?I'm seriously considering Cleveland's show tomorrow.
[They've been compared to The Stones since day one. And you could easily argue that Aerosmith stole a lot from The Dolls. I didn't see the festival, but I saw The Dolls at a club on Friday. David is in great shape and looks terrific. I wish I had a six-pack like his.
Wow! I got to hear a little Echo after all,thanks waltmcc ;) :p
Originally posted by Bombay Chutney:Thanks!I'm sure they were even better in a club.Although it has to feel good to play in front of that many people after all they've been through.
Originally posted by SPARX:It was about 1:20.
Originally posted by Bombay Chutney:How long was the club set?I'm seriously considering Cleveland's show tomorrow.
[They've been compared to The Stones since day one. And you could easily argue that Aerosmith stole a lot from The Dolls. I didn't see the festival, but I saw The Dolls at a club on Friday. David is in great shape and looks terrific. I wish I had a six-pack like his.
Originally posted by eros:the uniform of the Maryland and Virginia hinterlands!
Watching these groups of guys in their standard issue outfits (wispy mustache/goatee, sideways baseball cap, wifebeater, baggy shorts down to the mid-calves with boxers sticking out the top)
<img src="http://www.wiggaz.com/images/topmenu.gif" alt=" - " />
I'm not quite through venting yet (yeah, I got nothing better to do either), so one more thing. This was my fourth HFS, and I don't know if yesterday was worse than any other, or I've been building up over 4 HFS's. The number one problem is the surfing/moshing. The BC has a clearly visible sign as you enter (albeit a word document) that states that this behavior will not be tolerated. We all watch this take place at HFS: The surfers are passed forward, security pulls them over the fence, they run around (usually push some folks down) and do it again. It's like some amusement ride. Simply escort them out of the stadium once passed forward. Problem solved. The deterrant is clear. The moshing is even easier. If that doesn't fall under the fighting/assault legal category, I don't know what does. Escort these testosterone fueled clowns out and take 'em down town. And don't say the security doesn't exist. The amount of blue I saw holding up a wall… To anyone not a part of this moshing "culture"… that's a no brainer. I can't see how that is tolerated. On top of that, really how much would that diminish ticket sales?