Comments on: …Somehow I Made It Through

By: Nick Catalano

Nick Catalano — Wed, 13 Sep 2006 19:55:37 +0000

Nevermind… wrong festival

By: Matt

Matt — Wed, 13 Sep 2006 19:29:39 +0000

Agreed on the Strokes live performance. They are very good live. I actually think the new album is quite good. Is it groundbreaking? No. But it’s not some retread of their debut. It’s got a different more refined sound and some of the songs, like Heart in a Cage and Electricityscape are some of the most played songs on my iPod this year.

By: Frank

Frank — Wed, 13 Sep 2006 08:51:11 +0000

Ton-e and Sally – know what? I agree with you. BSS could do with a nice, long break. But that said, if Sunday night was their last show around here for a while, it was a pretty good not to go out on.

By: Sally Trimm

Sally Trimm — Tue, 12 Sep 2006 15:57:22 +0000

Well said Ton-e, if I have to hear that ‘Anthems’ again I’m going to do myself in. I think next time it should be with a 48 piece girl choir and a massive string section, and then I can barf in my mouth. Enough already.

By: Nick Catalano

Nick Catalano — Tue, 12 Sep 2006 14:12:46 +0000

That wasn’t Zero 7, it was Thievery Corporation.

By: Carrie

Carrie — Tue, 12 Sep 2006 09:06:35 +0000

Heh. Our shots of the girls are almost identical (mine's up on TOist). All I have to say is thank god it was just you and I in there for that.

Another thing that was annoying and made the crowd look sparse is the fact that the beer tents appeared to be brimming with people, which obviously takes away from the main crowd. I'll never understand paying so much money to sit in a beer tent all day with a really shitty view (and for some parts of the are, no view at all), and paying even more for overpriced drinks. But to each their own, I suppose.

Derek mentions that from a fan perspective the food and whatnot were the crappiest of all the festivals he's attending...I found it to be the opposite as media. For once we weren't treated like crap and were well-taken care of, which is something I really appreciate when spending upwards of 12hrs/day somewhere. The staff really was phenomenal. Other festivals could learn from that.

By: Ton-e

Ton-e — Tue, 12 Sep 2006 08:35:36 +0000

I’m getting a little sick of the whole BSS schitck. They need to disappear for quite a while now

By: Frank

Frank — Tue, 12 Sep 2006 07:51:49 +0000

From my POV, Lollapalooza was pretty much perfect as far as running big festivals go which is even more amazing considering the scale of it. Mind you, Capital Sports is also involved in ACL and Bonnaroo so they’ve had lots of experience with the big to-dos, maybe their first years were less triumphant. but I agree that it might be smarter for the organizers to look to their North American counterparts for tips on running these things than the British.

I understand folks being upset with how this year’s went but I hope they’re not serious about boycotting future events whole hog. I really think there’s a place for shows like this up here, but there’s going to be growing pains.

By: Thierry

Thierry — Tue, 12 Sep 2006 06:28:21 +0000

Well, your recap made me happy I didn't spend $100 for the Festival - yet I'm also curious to see what Richard Branson will have in store next year. Growing pains are normal for this type of event, though I was a bit surprised that they weren't better prepared to deal with the weather and delays (when you know there is an 11pm curfew, you should probably schedule your show so that the headliners can play a full set!), especially when they've had experience doing festivals in Europe.

Oh, and I'm looking forward to your M. Ward recap. IMHO, the main set was good-to-great and too short, but the encore was mindblowingly good. As for Oakley Hall, I had the same thoughts than after their opening slot for Calexico: really well-arranged songs, with shades of Buffalo Springfield and the Jayhawks with Fairport Convention or Gram & Emmylou harmonies on top, and they come across MUCH better live than on record. With their sound, I get the feeling that Chris Stamey or even George Drakoulias could really do a nice job producing them and getting that live "crunch" on tape.

Anyhow, I'll probably see you tonight!

By: derek

derek — Tue, 12 Sep 2006 06:22:54 +0000

I was at Lollapalooza as well and you’re right – there is no comparison. Lolla had a depth of talent that this festival lacked. The set-up also left much to be desired. The location of the side-stage was ridiculous – it sould have been at the other end of the field across from the main stage – so the music is non-stop and perhaps a tent for smaller acts or djs. The beer areas sucked also – why did they have to check id each and every time? Why only Bud & bud light? The food was terrible – they invite people for up to 10hrs and sell pizza, burgers,hot dogs – where’s the respect for the fans? I’ve been to a few festivals in the last 12 months (bonnaroo, lollapalooza, Hillside in Guelph, Ottawa Bluesfest, Austin City Limits and Hardly Strictly Bluegrass in San Francisco) and except for the music (which was pretty solid overall) this was the worst. I’m looking forward to Austin City Limits this weekend for a great festival with great acts (all day long), awesome food and good cold beer – and to see the Flaming Lips deliver a proper set!

I hope they make some huge improvements next year.