Just Announced Commentary - 2011 Edition

kosmo wrote:
The only people who routinely complain about FreeFest are those nostalgic about getting baked under the Virgin Fest sun with RHCP headlining.  FreeFest is something I look forward to..

I can afford to buy tickets.  So I wish they would make it a pay thing which would keep out the riff-raff and hopefully have better artists.

StoneTheCrow wrote:

atomicfront wrote:
The prices were close to 200 dollars at 930 club.  I paid 105 dollars a ticket to see them from the balcony at Tower Theater in Philly.  Not an exagaration at all as they are even more popular now than when I saw them last year.  DAR is not equivialant to MPP.  A lot of people I assume have bought lawn seats. 

Interesting.  Saw them for free twice last year, including the show at the Fillmore.

Well I assume someone paid for the tickets.  And I don't get how the National gets put in with the other bands. They have a bunch of albums out and have been around for a while.  They are probably the kind of band you would have expected to headline in the 80's.

eros wrote:

Got wrote:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/music/midnight-sun-blog/bal-virgin-mobile-freefest-will-return-to-merriweather-post-pavilion,0,7879298.story?track=rss&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Virgin freefest returning

I just want to know how all the media outlets got scooped (by two weeks!) by a high school newspaper.

Seth probably has kids. Kids talk.

I'm just glad all the better band will already have played MPP by the time freefest rolls around ;)

kosmo wrote:
I'm just glad all the better band will already have played MPP by the time freefest rolls around ;)

I'll bet atomicfront wears Babel Pantaloons when he sees the better bands play this summer.

http://rusticauthentics.tumblr.com

kosmo wrote:
I'm just glad all the better band will already have played MPP by the time freefest rolls around ;)

Some early guesses:  Beck, Amanda Palmer, Nine Inch Nails, Vampire Weekend. Bjork, Flaming Lips

My bet is on Neutral Milk Hotel.  They are on tour around that time.  I do not think the 2640 show would be a blocker on them playing Freefest (Dismemberment Plan played Rams Head and Freefest within a couple days of each other).

DeathFromAbove1979 wrote:
Yeah right, RNR rooftop > DC9 rooftop. 15-20 people on the DC9 roof and it feels crowded as hell.

True. No view at all, tho.  Do you give points for the cornhole sets (if they still have 'em)?

w hotel rooftop >

Thievery's "Surprise at the club" has yet to sell out…

killsaly wrote:

Unsanity wrote:

mekmad wrote:
I still have never ventured to the R&R Hotel, not a good experience?  I think I've read it gets crowded and its hard to get to.  Anything else?

It just gets so damn hot in the main room during crowded shows. Plus their sound sucks like 90% of the time. That room is just miserable. They do have an awesome upstairs which has free dance parties (usually during cool band's performances haha) They do seem to book lots of cool acts and keep prices fairly low. I go where the music I like is, so I end up there a lot it seems.

My opinion:
1.  it isnt hard to get to, if you drive.  I have yet to had a bad experience parking or getting there.
2.  Ive seen a variety of acts there over the years, and most have sounded excellent.
3.  It gets hot at EVERY crowded venue.  Ive been miserable at a crowded 930 club in the summer, so i dont know why RNRH would get hate for that. 
4.  Prices for shows are usually reasonable.
5.  They book pretty great bands, usually. 

Some people stay away because the bookers might screw over locals.  I do not have insider knowledge, just going off of what others say.

What I do not like:
1. If the show is sold out…  Yes it can be hard to move around, and a bit much for claustrophobic types.
2.  (also if the show is sold out) sight lines can suck.  The venue is shaped like a long rectangle.  It would be nice if it was a bit wider.  This is also amplified by the fact that the stage is kind of low. 

Anyways, my opinion is it is a good venue to see bands of a certain size.  Would I rather go somewhere else?  Yes.  Usually I would prefer similar sized bands to play Black Cat (and would hands down pick to see them at the Ottobar).  But I have fun there, and have seen some amazing shows there.   

i've certainly been to a few really hot shows at the 930 and the BC, but EVERY RnR show that i've been to has been a sweat-box.  sightlines are horrible for 80% of the crowd.  while easy to get to if driving, i generally prefer not to drive to shows… H street ain't great for public transpo.  the sound is too loud and distorted, at least every time i've been there - which admittedly hasn't been in a few years.  went to 4 or 5 shows, which i thought was more than a fair chance to prove themselves, and i disliked every one of my experiences… so i haven't been back.  i haven't heard anything that makes me think they've improved, so i'm in no hurry to go back.

kosmo wrote:
FreeFest is something I look forward to..

+1.

Thousand wrote:

eros wrote:
I just want to know how all the media outlets got scooped (by two weeks!) by a high school newspaper.

LOL! Does Seth have kids? Prolly leaked the news to him/her.

Pretty sure he does.  I remember a lot of complaining about the price of beer a while back and he said he charged so much so that he could buy his kids clothes for school.  Or something like that.

imbecile wrote:

Thousand wrote:

eros wrote:
I just want to know how all the media outlets got scooped (by two weeks!) by a high school newspaper.

LOL! Does Seth have kids? Prolly leaked the news to him/her.

Pretty sure he does.  I remember a lot of complaining about the price of beer a while back and he said he charged so much so that he could buy his kids clothes for school.  Or something like that.

Well that was a joke so it doesn't verify that he has kids.

He has two sons I think.  He brought one of them on air to announce the vfest lineup two years ago. 

All you need to about JC Brooks and.the Uptown Sound is they don't have a typical sound.  And they destroy the likes of Alabama Shakes, Meyer Hawthorne and pansy ads Stevie Wonder  wanna be…

Pansy assed Allen Stone  continued due to mobile website malfunction

kosmo wrote:
mobile website malfunction

URL?

StoneTheCrow wrote:

DeathFromAbove1979 wrote:
Yeah right, RNR rooftop > DC9 rooftop. 15-20 people on the DC9 roof and it feels crowded as hell.

True. No view at all, tho.  Do you give points for the cornhole sets (if they still have 'em)?

Pft, DC9's view rivals RNRs view hahaha I do give points for the cornhole sets, BUT I think they only have those for Brunch now….

kosmo wrote:
All you need to about JC Brooks and.the Uptown Sound is they don't have a typical sound.  And they destroy the likes of Alabama Shakes, Meyer Hawthorne and pansy ads Stevie Wonder  wanna be…

It is nice how you can't compliment a band without insulting other bands.  I like Mayer Hawthorne and Alabama Shakes and Stevie Wonder.  Never heard of JC Brooks.  It is a personality flaw on your part.  You might want to work on it.

More a failure of fat fingers and a send button on my touchscreen.