V-Fest Roll Call

So wait, you're telling me there was this guy called Iggy Pop who played? What was the surprise of the day?

-that he was a "crazy fucker"?
-that his set was excellent?
-that he was a contrast to Lil Wayne?

Do tell us more about this Iggy Pop fellow, Serpent Boy. Does he have many albums out, and which ones would you recommend?

And what about Wilco? You failed to mention Wilco.

Originally posted by serpent boy:
- Iggy Pop was the surprise of the day for me. What a crazy fucker. His set was excellent and just the contrast needed after a frustrating Lil Wayne set.


Thanks, V-Fest!

my schedule ended up being

BRMC
Chromeo
Go Team
Roller Girls
Rabbit in the Moon
She & Him
Iggy
Roller Girls
Bob Dylan
Nine Inch Nails

I thought NIN stole the show. I've seen them a billion times, but I really thought this show was the best I have ever seen from them. The stage setup / lighting / sound was all perfect.
I thought Bob Dylan was boring. Rabbit in the Moon were interesting to watch. All of the others were great.

I really dug the tesla coil / fire sculpture as well….I wish there were more art installations this year. I felt like there weren't as many as previous years.

Iggy is King. Everything else was just filler. All-around great day though.

Spent two days listening to Guitar Hero and sad frat boys playing half of Nirvana songs as I was stuck in my booth and the vendor next to me would not turn the f'n music down. When you have a Domestic Violence organization threatening you because the music you are pumping was annoying, you know you should turn it down.

Biggest highlights for me personally: meeting pro wrestler Chris Hero on Sunday who was conveniently enough, wearing a Chris Hero shirt.

Acts I enjoyed:
I really enjoyed Gogol Bordello. The albums are okay but seeing them live is always a treat. They were Saturdays Iggy.

Of course Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings brought the soul to the festival. Her voice sounded wonderful in the open air unlike Cat Power who just sounded small.

The whole Chuck Berry set was weird. People were walking around wondering what was going on and why are we hearing "Back in the USSR" when we should be hearing "Johnny B Goode."

Sunday was tough as there were far too many good bands for me and my friend to choose from.

BRMC were good (the earliest they ever played!) but I prefer them in a dark club. Still, a great way to start a show.

Hollywood Undead - I did not hear them but man, one of their mother's really nice. She spoke to me for a good ten minutes about how proud she was of him. I wondered if she listened to the lyrics?

She and Him - Chloe seemed so happy to be there, skipping between the piano and the microphone. A charming set which brought a smile to my face.

Iggy and The Stooges - Best in show. Glad to have seen him on a huge stage. Most bands look small on stage. The Stooges filled it up with Iggy going crazy, Mike Watt humping the amp and Ron Asheton just being there (he's a big boy). Awe inspiring. I wanted to smack the 17 year old who looked bored and spoke about Paramore non-stop.

By the way, they were load. Loud enough I needed ear plugs though I was a good 90 yards away.

Hung out at the booth, heard some Dylan (I think…), met Kanye West, heard people complain about the delays, relived high school by hearing STP, and then ventured back for NIN who I have not seen since 1996 when he toured with Bowie. Just as good now as they were then. It was nice to rock out and then watch the last bit as the sun set while sitting in front of my booth.

Notes:
For next year, I really hope they do not bring the propane sculpture that sounds like gun shots. When Wilco is annoyed about it, when you can not hear the music, and it sounds like you are going to get hurt around it, maybe not a good idea to have it.

Caught a few songs from Kanye West and he was good. I just wanted to get home so I was miffed he went to 10:30.

All in all, met a few cool people from the board and had a good time after the Guitar Hero and frat boys left. Thanks for the hard work from the great staff there.

so besides the fact that my back is killing me and my feet hurt and i'm essentially dead from skating and being on skates this weekend, i had a very fun and memorable weekend.

really all i got to see on saturday was bloc party. i was upset i missed the swell season, but kele was pretty much my main draw on saturday. also got some chuck berry, but from the back. that man sure can pull off a sequin jacket like no other. i also caught some of underworld, but that's just not for me.

sunday, i caught some of the go! team team, but the crowd sucked too bad so i went over to chromeo and had a blast. they were far more entertaining then i thought they'd be. pleasant surprise for sure. next thing i caught was she & him - total highlight of the weekend. amazing amazing amazing. i want to take zoey home with me and joe - they were'nt boring at all. she bounced around the stage and was quite charming.

umm, i missed iggy because i decided to get a massage instead. kanye was boring and late and nin killed it. really really killed it.

also lol @ the kanye misspelling in the program.

Spelling seemed to be a problem for V-Fest. My sign had a typo. There were tons in the program. And the autograph tent had a few like Citiizen Cope.

Originally posted by Charlie Nakatestes,Japanese Golfer:
And what about Wilco? You failed to mention Wilco.

I think I can explain the lack of love for Wilco. Largely (or only) it's Wilco fans talk who about Wilco. I've got many friends who are fans, and see them every time they come through town. I've never seen them, so I was pretty psyched to get the chance at Lollapalooza. It was not a great show (though on the Wilco boards, etc., it is highly praised apparently).

Here's my take on why – if you are a fan and know and enjoy/love their songs, they do them well and the shows are exciting. But they don't break through to that next level, which is reaching out into the audience and moving folks who don't know the catalog.

In contrast, Nine Inch Nails, which I also know only in the way your random person does (ie, the two songs that were big a few years ago), reached out and pulled my f*&^uing heart out. That was a hell of a show, and I think that's a particular level a live band can reach. Where you can get an entire audience pumped, whether they were fans already or not.

I know I'll get shit for this, but I found Radiohead to be in the same camp as Wilco. I can see how you would LOVE them if you're a fan, but if you're not, no biggie.

[A band I love that I would put in the Wilco/Radiohead camp is Snow Patrol. I think their live shows are fantastic, but I can also see that someone who doesn't have any albums would not be all that dazzled.]

Just my two cents that came to me at Lolla. Be gentle, I'm not trashing any of the bands discussed!!

trent said something along the lines of 'okay this is our last song - go check out kanye after i'm done because i feel bad, no one is over there'

and apparently kanye said he started his set 30 mins late because he was busy watching NIN

He was a surprise of the day for me since I'm not too familiar with his back catalog, and I didn't expect such a great crowd response. Of course I knew he'd be himself, but I didn't expect it to translate so well to a festival atmosphere.

Wilco was boring. I watched the first 5 songs, and it just isn't my thing. Then again, I'm a huge Pearl Jam fan, and I'm sure tons of people can say the same thing about them.

Originally posted by Charlie Nakatestes,Japanese Golfer:
So wait, you're telling me there was this guy called Iggy Pop who played? What was the surprise of the day?

-that he was a "crazy fucker"?
-that his set was excellent?
-that he was a contrast to Lil Wayne?

Do tell us more about this Iggy Pop fellow, Serpent Boy. Does he have many albums out, and which ones would you recommend?

And what about Wilco? You failed to mention Wilco.

Originally posted by serpent boy:
- Iggy Pop was the surprise of the day for me. What a crazy fucker. His set was excellent and just the contrast needed after a frustrating Lil Wayne set.


Thanks, V-Fest!

So did your post above.

I think you meant to say that it was "loud", not "load". And the last time I checked, her name was "Zoey" not "Chloe".

Originally posted by El Jefe Design:
Spelling seemed to be a problem for V-Fest. My sign had a typo. There were tons in the program. And the autograph tent had a few like Citiizen Cope.

i've seen iggy solo and with the stooges 3 times in a club and once festival style….the festival was by far my fave.

Wilco was very boring.

Kanye came on for the end of Lil Waynes set which ran over a half hour cutting the Black Keys stage time in half.

Chuck Berry is way to old to be performing.

Lupe Fiasco left 15 minutes early because they were having technical problems on stage although I could not tell what exactly was wrong.

Thought Kanye was the highlight of day 2.

Great weather this year, probably the most enjoyable time of the three years its been going on.

I'd have to disagree on Nine Inch Nails.

Admittedly, the only time I ever saw them was at Lollapalooza in 1991, and the singer was a whiny crybaby bitch who threw a tantrum because all of his prerecorded "music" was going haywire.

And I use the word "music" loosely.

Perhaps they have changed and actually started playing the music live and with some melody. If not, I'm sure they still wouldn't win over me, the random person that I am.

Originally posted by Bags:

Originally posted by Charlie Nakatestes,Japanese Golfer:
And what about Wilco? You failed to mention Wilco.

I think I can explain the lack of love for Wilco. Largely (or only) it's Wilco fans talk who about Wilco. I've got many friends who are fans, and see them every time they come through town. I've never seen them, so I was pretty psyched to get the chance at Lollapalooza. It was not a great show (though on the Wilco boards, etc., it is highly praised apparently).

Here's my take on why – if you are a fan and know and enjoy/love their songs, they do them well and the shows are exciting. But they don't break through to that next level, which is reaching out into the audience and moving folks who don't know the catalog.

In contrast, Nine Inch Nails, which I also know only in the way your random person does (ie, the two songs that were big a few years ago), reached out and pulled my f*&^uing heart out. That was a hell of a show, and I think that's a particular level a live band can reach. Where you can get an entire audience pumped, whether they were fans already or not.

I know I'll get shit for this, but I found Radiohead to be in the same camp as Wilco. I can see how you would LOVE them if you're a fan, but if you're not, no biggie.

[A band I love that I would put in the Wilco/Radiohead camp is Snow Patrol. I think their live shows are fantastic, but I can also see that someone who doesn't have any albums would not be all that dazzled.]

Just my two cents that came to me at Lolla. Be gentle, I'm not trashing any of the bands discussed!!

Lil' Wayne is an embarrassment and the festival should apologize for having him in the first place.

Nine Inch Nails was by far the best show of the 2 days.

Taking Back Sunday was by far the worst.

I'm still pissed about the Lil Wayne situation. The Black Keys were one of the big draws for me on Day 2, and they only got about 7 songs.

Plus, Lil Wayne was god awful. He wasn't even close to in harmony with his backing track. His DJ wasn't even good enough to be in Hollywood Undead. He only performed half of each song. And we got to watch his entourage prance around on stage for 15 minutes.

The Lil Wayne crowd was one of the worst I've been around. They kept yelling "Show your tits!" at Zooey, and a group of guys in front of me kept calling me a "fruitcake" for singing along to the She & Him set. I couldn't even hear "Sentimental Heart" over the talking crowd.

I realize that festivals can be this way, but Lil Wayne's set really put a damper on the day.

I thought the Swell Season was awesome. One of his solo songs was great, wish I got it on video. I got a lot of songs on video just need to upload to youtube. Busy weekend with All Points and this festival. STP was good too. I wanted to go see Dylan but stayed thru the whole set of STP. NIN was good, pretty much same set as Lollapalooza in a little different order. Foo Fighters were good too. Overall good festival with great weather.

Yes NIN play w/ real instruments. Yes their lightshow is insanely awesome. Funniest moment for me: Trent telling everyone that he's gonna play one last song (leaving 5 minutes before 10pm) and that everyone should go watch some of Kanye because he feels bad no one is over there.

STP rocked. Yeah, Scott was a little out of it between sets and they came on 15 minutes late, but when it came time for each song, they were amazing.

Iggy, he's the man. Constantly going down to ground level to perform right in front of the barrier. At one point he saw that there was a fan that was singing along and says "hey! you know all the words don't you?" runs over to this fan, and gives him the mic for the whole verse. Rock on.

What happened to the guy running across the stage during The Stooges? It looked like he took a decent shot before jumping/falling into the security area. Was it as bad as it looked from far away. Iggy seemed to appreciate it.

highlight of NIN for me was watching Trent rock the Xylophone