Hfestival 2024

redsock wrote:
Does anyone know if the Pit gets you any easy access to a bar and food? Or do you have to trudge all the way upstairs?

I would imagine there will be easy access….maybe they will release a map of the setup

Wasn’t Garbage on the original lineup?  What happened there?  ;D

Ah never mind, see that she got injured.

wml7 wrote:
Wasn’t Garbage on the original lineup?  What happened there?  ;D

Someone put them on the curb and the trashmen picked them up (cancelation announced a few months ago)

Anyone want a free ticket to tomorrow's HFStival? My friend can't go and demand has cratered on Stubhub.

Damn, pit tickets are cheap on stubhub
;D

Space and I are waiting for people to pay us to take tickets off their hands. But thanks! 

hemisphire wrote:
Anyone want a free ticket to tomorrow's HFStival? My friend can't go and demand has cratered on Stubhub.

If you email the club they are doing free upgrades too.  Lots of people on Reddit getting successful seat changes.  So if you got crap seats try that.  Not sure if VIP is available, Seth?????  ;D

Where are the onsite reports?? What’s happening!!???!?

Justin wrote:
At D.C.'s HFStival, same bands, same fans, all just a little older

Kudos the them for posting a show review midway through the show.

I’m here it’s been great, just great  ;D.  Some mic issues throughout

I am glad to hear that…what were the best acts?

Liz Phair made it ok without a breakdown right?

hutch wrote:
I am glad to hear that…what were the best acts?

Liz Phair made it ok without a breakdown right?

A lot of the bands were good.  I’ve seen everyone before except Liz Phair and Violent Femmes.  Didn’t know Liz is know for breakdowns.  Is she like Cat Power?  Didn’t help her first couple songs the mic wasn’t really turned up.  She was good though.  Bush and Postal  Service were the top bands.  Death Cab is good but kind of a snooze with the album they are playing and right after Incubus and Bush.  GA was great and not packed at all.  Maybe they didn’t sell that section out.  ;D

Best/worst acts – ranked:

1. DCFC/Postal Service/Bush/Lit – I saw the DCFC/Postal Service tour at Merriwether and this was pretty much the same, which is to say, awesome. Gibbard said it would be the last Postal show for a very long time. Sounded like he didn't quite want to close the door on it. Bush have never sounded better (and they were great the last two shows in DC, and this time they remembered to play Chemicals, which somehow wasn't in their otherwise outstanding Atlantis show). Rossdale was really into it, connected. Lit sounded great, and really nailed that late 90s sound. They were the one band I didn't go for who turned out to be a pleasant surprise. These four bands were worth the price of admission. Would have liked to see them play longer. (Microphone issues interrupted the Bush set but it wasn't as bad as the sound issues with some of the other acts below). Surprised that a lot of people left after DCFC and before Postal Service, but that included the two dudes who talked constantly through the DCFC set so it was OK that they left.

2. Tonic – kept the 90sness going in the early part of the show, a bit better/more interesting than Filter. Enjoyed them.

3. Filter – can see the 9 inch nails influence. Got a little boring at times, but a good performance. 90s vibe. OK.

4. Violent Femmes – crowd was really into them, they did a good job of all their big songs, but I realized I'd outgrown them. It was enjoyable but maybe a bit embarrassing to admit that.

5. Jimmy Eat World/Liz Phair – never connected with these acts, didn't do so yesterday. If their fans liked them, great. Jimmy set interrupted when singer's guitar stopped working. Took a while to resolve. Liz Phair's voice was barely in the mix and very hard to hear in the first few songs. They figured it out as she went along. Would've greatly preferred Garbage.

6. Incubus – I knew almost nothing about this band. Wanted to check them out, but the bass drum blew me off the field, as the music wasn't interesting enough to damage my hearing. Came back toward the end, still found it boring. Again, fans of this act enjoyed it. Happy for them.

7. Girl Talk – took a wrong turn on the way to the WTFstival. All the other acts, whether I liked them or not, made sense to be there. This was just a very loud club DJ dance party thing. Wasn't in the mood for it, wanted to see great live music.

Overall – it was pretty good. The stellar acts made it worth it. Would've been stronger with Garbage or at least one other really solid act.

Nice, sounds like a good time was had

It’s so funny to me how Bush is a great live band…in the 90s many viewed them as grunge copyists!

hutch wrote:
It’s so funny to me how Bush is a great live band…in the 90s many viewed them as grunge copyists!

Both things can be true. They weren’t original. They were preternaturally good at writing catchy songs within the style they were copying, and they’re good musicians technically. No contradictions.

I understand that…that’s why I said I think that it was funny

hutch wrote:
It’s so funny to me how Bush is a great live band…in the 90s many viewed them as grunge copyists!

I dunno, I liked 'em in the 90s when they came out. Didn't feel they were copying anything, they were part of a style, yes. But they're also quite different from, say, Nirvana.

Anyway, what they bring to a live show cannot be faked. There's nothing there that's phoned in. You really feel that they are engaged with the music and the audience. Rossdale is really one of the great frontmen.

I agree they are absolutely great live.