Lost Password, but Still hitting shows

So, it’s been a little while since I’ve last logged on here.  I somehow managed to lose my password and locked myself out of. Oops.

That doesn’t mean I haven’t been wearing myself out with shows though.  This year I told myself I wouldn’t go to as many festivals as last year after getting super wore down and sick… well… I lied to myself and have hit even more than last year, and I’m not done yet.

This year I’ve managed to do Shaky Knees, Rock on the Range, Bonnaroo, Bunbury, Lollapalooza, Riot Fest, and Life is Beautiful. Plus add in the additional one off shows that I go to. With doing and going to all that I haven’t even had time to sit down and write, or sleep for that matter.  I have had a blast but I’m hoping to get back to writing and reviewing now.

Here are some quick thoughts on some of the fests of the year:

Bonnaroo: It was hot. This was my first year doing all the days as in the past I normally just bought a 1 day ticket. I was very disappointed with the sound (as usual) but it made the Chance, and RHCP sets so boring and hard to hear that I walked away unhappy looking to find someone else who sounded better.  Thankfully Cage the Elephant, and Major Lazer made up for it with post-headlining sets.  Did I mention how hot it was?

Lollapalooza:  What’s my age again?  I was not only saying and thinking this because Blink 182 was there, but because I was in a sea of children the whole fest.  Half the time I  thought I was at the Kidapalooza area, but I just realized it was annoying 16 year olds that make up half of the 400,000 attendees.  Sadly night 1 got rained out, but I still saw some great sets from Porter Robinson, The XX, Chance was much better than at Roo, Banks, The Killers, Tove Lo, Arcade Fire, and I finally got to see Justice!  Also, I had the pleasure of meeting Blink that weekend.

 

 

Riot Fest:  Everyone knows this is my favorite fest of them all, and this year was no exception.  This was the year of “finally” for me as I finally got to see Nine Inch Nails, Buzzcocks, Peaches, MIA, The Cribs, Tom Morello with Prophets of Rage, Mighty Mighty Bosstones play “The Impression That I Get”,  and of course like everyone else, Jawbreaker.

Life Is Beautiful: I was skeptical about how this one would be seeing as how Lolla, another mainstream music fest, was kind of bad.  My doubts were pushed aside almost immediately and I ended up loving this fest. It was my first time going, and if the lineup is as good as this year, I’ll be going next year.  Another “finally” happened here when I got to see the Gorillaz.  The happiness was amplified when they brought out De La Soul to do “Superfast Jellyfish” which was a bucket list song for me.  Lorde put on an incredible performance which was much better than when I saw her in 2014 at ACL. Plus meeting Andrew McMahon was a highlight, as was spending most of the first day on the Kalliope stage with my friends in Emo Nite. Life was beautiful that weekend.

Besides fests I managed to hit: Green Day (finally), Roger Waters, Wavves, Paramore (finally) and more. It’s been quite a year!

JusticeTom Morello and Prophets of Rage

Banks

Emo Nite on the Kalliope stage at Life Is Beautiful

Lorde

Paramore at the Exit/In for their Secret Show

 

-KEGS

Lately

I know only like two people actually read this, but sorry I’ve been so absent.  The shows toward the end of last year were hindered by an intense sickness, and this year I’ve just been slacking off!

Besides the shows in Florida with my dad I have also hit some around here, not to mention a couple of festivals already.

Thursday/ Touche Amore–   This show was a must see.  I know I had seen Thursday a few times last year after their reunion, but any time Thursday is around, you go see them.  There is a reason they were so big, and such an influence in the genre.  I love how much energy they have an how they throw in songs from nearly every album.  Touche put on one of the best sets I’ve personally seen them play.  Since the last time I saw them,  they had put out a new album, Stage IV, and it was great to hear some of those songs live.  The new material really shined, and shows diversity, especially my personal favorite off that album “Palm Dreams”

Bon Jovi–  I have always wanted to see the legendary Jon Bon Jovi and when I heard they were coming to Nashville I had to take my mom.  She was the reason I liked them and she had also never seen them before.  Bon Jovi still belts out the lyrics and has a great stage presence though on this tour it felt sort of stifled by the huge chunk of new material they played.  I know he’s really trying to push his new album, and newer (more lame country sound) but the fans are there to hear the classics.

Banks and Steelz– Though I did not go to Coachella, I did not miss one of the main acts that I had wanted to see there.  Only having California dates, Paul Banks and the RZA, were worth catching while out there.  It might have been the delicious tacos, or the great El Rey theater talking to me but whatever it was convinced me they had one of the best set’s I’ve seen this year so far.  The energy and talent of both made me even more of a fan of them and a great mash up album.

A Perfect Circle – I will say this, Maynard is the man.  I am not nearly as big of a fan of them as I am Tool, but this show was great to see. At the moment it’s the closest I can get to seeing Tool, and I’ll take it.  Only complaint was they didn’t play “Judith” WHAT??!!

Rock on the Range–  Literally the worst festival I have ever been to.  I don’t have much to say about his festival, nor do I want to waste my time and words on it.  It was a completely terrible event from organization to how the bands sounded.  Pretty much the only good about this festival was: the Offspring sounded great, and played a hits set which allowed me to finally hear some songs I’ve always wanted to hear, Live was great to finally see… well… live.  It was their first show back in 8 years and you couldn’t tell they even stopped. Amon Amarth put on a cool show including half a viking ship and a sword and shield battle during one of the songs.  Then there was Metallica.  I have been dying to see them and right before they went on we got rained on… twice….  I was wet and angry but it didn’t stop me from rocking out to the great ones.  They were more incredible than I thought they would be.  I even got to hear them play “Creeping Death” which is one of my all time favorites by them.  Other than that, I hated that fest so much.

Bunbry–  I only did a day pass for the final day of the fest which seemed to be the only day worthy of going.  The night before I got to see Muse and 30 Seconds to Mars in Nashville at their sold out show, who were also playing Bunbury allowing me to enjoy a back to back performance from Muse.  Jared Leto, and crew in 30 Seconds were so disappointing that I did not want to see them for a second time.  I couldn’t believe that they didn’t play any of their old stuff besides an atrocious acoustic rendition of “The Kill” that essentially ruined the song and put a dagger in their set.  Other highlights from the fest were seeing Rev. Horton Heat play “Psychobilly Freakout”, catching Dreamers fun early day set, and seeing The 1975 for a third time.  AFI arguably had my favorite set of the day though.  They put on the best performance I had seen from them spanning older songs, and some of the songs I wanted to hear off the new album.  Muse finished out the night with face melting solos and out of this world visuals.  Being that I had seen them the night before I knew how amazing they were live.  Matt Bellamy can shred on the guitar showing off his pure talent.  I have the chance to see them two more times this year and I don’t think I’ll be missing them.

The 1975

AFI

30 Seconds to Mars

Muse

-KEGS

 

Taking Your Dad to a Hardcore Show

I know I have personally been slacking on keeping this blog up, especially with the last couple fests and shows of last year, but you can blame that on extreme sickness due to running my immune system into the ground from said fests and shows.  I never thought I would have to take time off and miss a couple months of shows to recover but after doing that I am feeling very healthy and getting back on track to seeing some killer shows. I’m hoping to continue writing about them and not slack so much for the one or two people who actually read this thing.

I decided to take my first trip of the year to see Senses Fail at the House of Blues in Orlando with my dad.  Even before we could get to that show we had found out that Bring Me The Horizon and Underoath were playing the day before we were expected to get down to Florida. With Underoath being one of my favorite bands of all time, and BMTH being a band my dad has recently really gotten into, we decided that show was must and we had to change plans to go down there early.  We (I) drove all through the night so we could get down there early and relax before the show, and boy did we need that!  I had no idea what we were getting ourselves into with the Orlando Hardcore scene.

The Orlando Fair Grounds Amphitheater is a ten thousand cap venue located next to a lake which provided some really nice pre-show scenery.  That serene moment would quickly fade as soon as Beartooth arrived onto the stage. From that moment on the pits were opened and people were bouncing, crashing, and slamming into each other whether you wanted to or not. Dad and I managed to move up in the crowd by dodging the judo kicks and windmills of the slam dancers which seemed like a great idea until Underoath was up.  Beartooth put on a really great show, but the crowd really reacted to my boys in UO!  I figured since it was practically a hometown show for Underoath, being that they are from a not too far away Tampa, and that it was the first day of the tour, the crowd would be going nuts.  They were.  I was too.  It was pure energy from the very first moment of the set.  Dad and I pushed and shoved and eventually got separated in the wave like motion of the crowd.  I fought hard but eventually gave out to find a better spot to enjoy the rest of the set.  I am so glad I did because they were so on that night.  Dad ended up staying up front for a few songs of BMTH because he said “I wanted to prove to those young punks that I could handle myself up front in the pit.”  Eventually dad came back just as soaked as I was with his, mine, everyone else’s sweat, and drinks all over us.  He was all smiles and had a blast during the show.  We finished it out toward the side and for the first time in the many times I saw them BMTH actually played a great set.

A few days later we got to the House of Blues a little late after taking a wrong turn thanks to Dad not knowing how to use Google Maps.  Like Pacific had already started their great set which made me sad that I had missed any of it.  I hadn’t actually listened to them before except maybe one song, but their set made me want to go check them out officially.  Next up was movements who were about as great in my opinion.  I felt like they had a La Dispute vibe to them and I will have to check out their stuff too to determine if the studio albums hold up to the live performance.  Third, we had Counterparts.  I had actually seen them before, and I knew they would be a little to grindcore-ish for dad but the whole time he was banging his head and chearing after each song. This show had gone much better than the previous one as far as a rowdy crowd went which was pleasant after how insane the last one was.  Dad and I were practically right up front slightly to the left which was a perfect spot for what we were about to see.  They uncovered the stacks which had the Still Searching cover painted on them and made me even more excited.  The show started up and a few songs in they played the couple songs that Dad actually knew so it was cool to sing along and rock out with him.  I have seen them a couple of times, but this time was one of the best ones yet.  That album is incredible and the deserved the performance that it was given.  We left electrified after they played five encore songs that included “Blackout” which they never play live.

I can now check off Florida as a state that I have seen a show at, and it was well worth the trip!  Dad had never been to an actual hardcore show like those before and I know for a fact that he will be going to some more.  He kept talking the shows all week and it was hilarious to hear him talking about something that was “so new” when I had been going to shows like that for nearly a decade now.

 

– KEGS

 

Sets of 2016

Anyone who knows me could possibly say I’m a bit obsessed with live music. I like to try and see one show once a month. For me, it’s incredible to see an artist up on stage taking hold of the crowd. I’ve seen it happen in a lot of ways, and this year I probably saw 200 different sets. I decided this year I’d try and narrow down a handful of the most memorable ones, so here we go.

LCD Soundsystem at Coachella Music Festival in Indio, California

Coachella was a revolutionary experience for a number of reasons, but seeing LCD Soundsystem is definitely one of the best. We crawled our way through the remains of the Ellie Goulding set to be about five people from the front middle of the stage and it was great. They killed it, playing everything I wanted to hear from “Daft Punk Is Playing at My House” to “New York, I Love You But You’re Bringing Me Down.” James Murphy commanded the stage for two hours and sounded perfect, as well did the rest of the six or seven other people up there playing their instruments. A song in or so they had a giant-sized disco ball come down from the top of the stage like the sun. I was completely mesmerized by the entire thing.

Guns N’ Roses at Coachella Music Festival in Indio, California

I had expected this set to either be a shit show or incredible. Luckily, it was incredible. There were several cool things to see: a) Axl Rose singing from Dave Grohl’s guitar thone, b) Slash ripping through songs with Guns N’ Roses for only the fourth time in twenty years, c) Angus Young coming out and playing a couple AC/DC songs. You read that right. I got to watch a rock and roll reunion that spurred the title “Never In This Lifetime Tour” but I also got to see them accompanied by one of the greatest guitarists in classic rock. It was a magical experience. They killed it with all the hits, from “Paradise City” to “Civil War.” They even brought out a handful of covers, including “Wish You Were Here” by Pink Floyd and “Knocking On Heaven’s Door” by Bob Dylan. There’s only one way I’ll ever see Guns N’ Roses and it’ll be five people from front and center at Coachella.

At The Drive In at Shaky Knees Music Festival in Atlanta, Georgia

At The Drive In was one of those bucket list bands that I never thought I was going to see. Relationship of Command is one of my favorite albums and luckily I managed to catch them play pretty much the whole thing. Cedric was wild and ran around the stage like a madman, tossing around mic and mic stand at will. They slammed through the first four songs of the night with ferocity, never stopping from that first line where we all screamed “I must have read a thousand faces.” I even got to see “Enfilade” which was awesome. They closed out the night with “Napoleon Solo” and “One Armed Scissor” back to back to soar above all expectations I had for the evening. It was so good, so good that I was just as mesmerized when I saw them again two days later in Nashville at Marathon Music Works. If I could go my life seeing At The Drive In play a set every two days I would.

’68 at Exit/In in Nashville, Tennessee

’68 was birthed from Josh Scogin of The Chariot, and four years ago The Chariot played what I still regard as one of the top five sets I will ever see in my lifetime. Knowing that, I had high expectations from Scogin’s new two-piece band with just him and a drummer. He had like, three different pedal-boards with probably eight to ten switches on each of them that made the two guys up there sound like a full band. Scogin was as destructive as ever, destroying a mic stand on accident. He grabbed the mic and handed it to a guy in the front of the crowd so that he could act as his own makeshift mic stand. It was one of the best parts of the night. They closed with a ten minute rendition of “Track 8 O” that was just magical. Never have I seen two musicians play a set in sync so well. I will try my best not to miss another ’68 set that comes close.

The Frights at Mercy Lounge in Nashville, Tennessee

Nathan and I had been waiting pretty much since Too came out to see FIDLAR. We rolled up into Mercy Lounge without any expectations for the opening bands, so boy were we surprised when The Frights came out and just ripped. I didn’t even know who was playing at first; I just knew that whoever was up there came out swinging with restless, relentless, garage-y punk songs that you could just yell along to. It’d been a long time since I’ve seen an unknown opener rile up a crowd so successfully. You expect the headlining bands to be magnificent; it should be expected. It’s few and far between that I have an opener steal the show for me, and man did The Frights do just that. If you ever have an opportunity to catch them you should.

The Avett Brothers at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee

I went into this show without any expectations. Honestly, The Avett Brothers have never really been a band I’ve been able to get into. However, this show at Bridgestone changed all of that. They sounded so good that for a minute I thought I was seeing a show at The Ryman. I’ve seen a good handful of bands in arenas, from Arcade Fire and Jack White to Fall Out Boy, and none of them sounded this good. They were vibrant on stage. They told stories about their songs, and then once I actually listened to their songs I realized that they were stories themselves. They even did a magnificent cover of “Mama Tried” in tribute of the passing of Merle Haggard.  The Avett Brothers did a great job of taking a reluctant listener and changing him into an active one.

Rob Zombie at Riot Fest in Chicago, Illinois

There was every intention for me to split the Rob Zombie and Sleater-Kinney sets. I was going to watch the first half of Rob Zombie playing Astro-Creep: 2000 front to back, but halfway through the set when it was supposed to be time to leave, I just couldn’t. The stage itself was something to be seen: coated in carnival props and other horror-like items that you’d image seeing on a Rob Zombie stage, it was a sight to behold. Rob Zombie commanded the attention of the audience with vigor, stomping around the stage mic stand in hand. To top it all off, at the end of the excellent presentation of the album Rob Zombie admitted to the crowd that they hadn’t ever actually practiced the album itself together as a band prior to this debut performance. I might not like everything that Rob Zombie puts out, but if given the chance I would definitely miss a Sleater-Kinney set to watch them again.

Brand New at Ascend Amphitheater in Nashville, Tennessee

Brand New is my favorite band. Brand New is also the most consistently good live band I’ve ever seen. They play with such intensity. I can’t ever look away. The band opened with a handful of Daisy songs, including “Noro”, a song I’ve been dying to hear live. They took it down a notch and played the Deja Entendu songs you’d expect them to play before playing half of The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me with a couple surprise songs mixed in, like “Brothers” and “I Am a Nightmare.” It was really, really cool that Jesse Lacey came out and performed “Moshi Moshi” acoustic as the first song of the encore. I always expect Brand New to be excellent, and every time they’re excellent.

Sia at Coachella Music Festival in Indio, California

Sia was one of those sets we watched because we figured we’d never go see Sia again even if she came around close. Sia is also one of those sets I split because I thought that the Death Grips set was going to be equally as awesome, if not better. Both of those ideas were incorrect. If Sia comes anywhere near Kentucky you can bet I’ll be there. She sounded incredible. Sia herself stood in the back right corner of the stage with a microphone and a low spotlight. She had dancers taking up the main portion of the stage acting out what’s going on in those songs’ respective music videos. It was a lot to take in, honestly. She even sang a cover of Rihanna’s “Diamonds” that wasn’t really a cover because Sia actually wrote it. It was an incredible performance, and if I could go back in time and watch the second half of Sia and miss the Death Grips set I would.

Mac Sabbath at Exit/In in Nashville, Tennessee

I love Black Sabbath, so when I found out there was a Mcdonald’s themed cover band I was all about it. I wasn’t going to miss it. They’re coming back in March 2017 and I’m not going to miss that either. This show was incredible; it was better than half the sets on this list and all those were also incredible. The band dresses like Mcdonald’s characters: Ronald Osbourne, Slayer MacCheeze, Grimalice, Catburglar. They stay in character the entire time. They make jokes about their band’s entire existence, calling themselves the best “drive-thru metal band of all time.” They have songs called “Frying Pan”, “Pair-a-Buns”, “Sweet Beef” and more. It’s hilarious. He comes out in a Ronald McDonald styled straitjacket. During our show he pulled out a twelve foot long extendable giant drinking straw. A girl from the crowd poured a whole beer down it as he chugged it. Did I mention that the straw came out of his pants? Their theatrics were perfect, but I think one of the best parts about the show is that they also perform extremely well musically. They pull out the same “Paranoid” riff with their own lyrical twists just as good as Black Sabbath probably could. If you’re reading this review, go see them in March. You won’t regret it at all.

Those were the ten best sets I saw this year. There were a good handful of sets that I didn’t even get to mention but I’ll list them here really quick:

• Taking Back Sunday at Exit/In in Nashville, Tennessee
• Saosin at Riverbend Music Center in Cincinnati, Ohio
• Panic at the Disco! and Weezer at Ascend Amphitheater in Nashville, Tennessee
• Refused at Riot Fest in Chicago, Illinois
• Thrice and La Dispute at the Cannery Ballroom in Nashville, Tennessee
• Kanye West at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee
• Good Charlotte at Marathon Music Works in Nashville, Tennessee

and those aren’t nearly all the sets I saw this year. Live music is awesome, and if you get a chance to see a band you really, really like listening to live, then you should.

-CM

Warped 16

Last year I thought I was getting too old for Warped and thought  it would be my last one, but then the lineup for this year had a lot of older acts on it that I couldn’t pass up seeing.  My 13 year old self was definitely jealous of my now 26 year old self seeing most of the bands that I got to finally see.

As the hot humid day went on I realized that I was not that young guy that I was when I started listening to those bands, nor when I started going to Warped. I was literally the old man of Warped. I fell asleep once mid-day while sitting down trying to cool off. Even though I saw a bunch of great bands this year, I saw the least amount of bands in a single Warped than I ever have in past years with my total being just 20 bands.

Good Charlotte was incredible still after all these years, and they sounded perfect on every song.

Reel Big Fish had the most fun set of the day.  They played their hits, and a hits medley of other 90’s songs that they kept claiming to have made which included songs from The Offspring, Nirvana, and The Mighty Mighty Bosstones.

-KEGS

here are some more pics because I’m feeling lazy

Motionless In White

Bullet For My Valentine

Less Than Jake

New Found Glory

Sum 41

Motionless In White

New Found Glory

Reel Big Fish

Jordan Buckley of Every Time I Die

Andy Williams of Every Time I DieAtreyu

White Chapel

Taste of Chaos Festival

How far would you travel to see one of your favorite bands? That’s the question I had to ask myself five days before the Taste of Chaos festival in San Bernardino… California! Mind you I live in Kentucky, so would I travel across the country for a band? YES.  I basically look for any reason to leave this lame state, especially to go back to California, and that reason was The Starting Line.  They have been a band I have wanted to see for years now, and never got a chance to because they broke up a few years back.  This festival was my once in a lifetime chance and I did not pass it up!

Days before the festival I made an essentially last minute decision to go to Cali and hang with my friends and rock out.  The day of music started with the wonderful synth intro of Reggie and the Full Effect’s “Get Well Soon” and I knew the day was going to be amazing.  Last time I saw Reggie they didn’t play that, and it was the one song I wanted to hear more than the rest.  After feeling complete with that, their set was fun as always with great in between song banter from James about getting older, fatter, hairier, past tours, and almost doing Warped Tour this year.  The set was filled with guest vocals from the other bands there including Adam Lazzara, and Andy Jackson from Hot Rod Circuit who were next up.  After Reggie, the stage rotated (yes, the stage rotated in a circle and it was incredible) and Hot Rod Circuit was up.  I didn’t know much of their stuff, but they were great live.

Next up was The Anniversary who hadn’t played a show together in 13 years! Even though it had been that long they were absolutely incredible.  I knew I was going to see them at Riot Fest this year, but I was extremely happy to see their first show in 13 years.  The Early November was after them, and they had a pretty good set but I have seen them a few times in the last year so I went and got some tacos.  I can’t pass up California tacos! I made the not so wise decision of getting in the pit for Senses Fail.  The set was great, but the crowd was not so great, and I felt not so young afterward!  I exited the pit afterward for some much needed hydration, so I caught Saosin from the hill with refreshing water.

Finally the time came for The Starting Line.  I made my way back up through the sea of people to get a spot three rows from the front.  The moment I had waited for years had finally come. As soon as the stage spun around I heard the familiar intro to Up & Go and it was one of the most magical moments for me.  I jumped, shouted lyrics, and spent the rest of my energy on the next seven songs which were pure bliss for me.  When Kenny started singing The Best of Me, a moment I had waited for for years, I got lost in the moment and felt like I was the only one in the crowd. I sang my lungs out and it was the best feeling.

After The Starting Line, the rest of the day didn’t matter much to me.  I went and joined the rest of the EmoNightLA fam and hung with them for the rest of the night. The Get Up Kids started out with Holiday and I was set after that. Quicksand was pretty great, but I didn’t know much of their music either. Taking Back Sunday put on the absolutely worst show I’ve ever seen out of them.  Not to mention Adam was being a complete asshole to my friends who run EmoNightLA. We all left just a few songs into the Dashboard Confessional set because the day completely drained us.  All in all the day was a huge success, and a complete blast.

-KEGS

more pics

Reggie and the Full Effect

The Rotating stage

Hot Rod Circuit

Hot Rod Circuit

The Anniversary

The Anniversary

The Early November

Senses Fail

Senses Fail

Senses Fail

The beautiful valley

Saosin

Anthony Green being his weird self

Saosin

The Starting Line

The Get Up KidsTaking Back Sunday

Weez(er)ing at the Disco with a New Mouse

I know I’ve been slacking hardcore on posting, but I have been too busy going to the shows, and travelling for shows, rather than actually posting.  July was a busy month, and I should have posted by now about some of the shows, so here is a quick rundown of a couple I went to.

Weezer & Panic! At the Disco

I have seen both these bands a couple of times throughout the years.  They still hold up now just as great as they were when the first time I saw them.  Panic! ,who is now basically Brendan Urie and company,  still can sing and dazzle the crowd.  Though now the songs are far more radio friendly pop songs more than synthesized pop-punk from 10 years ago.  I still enjoy the new music, but it pales in comparison to what he/they made on A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out.  The crowd roars in approval when they hear those old gems in the set, which have been reduced to only two songs off that album, and the electricity is felt throughout the crowd radiating from the stage.  The new songs bring more of a old Vegas lounge act feel without Sinatra.  Like I said before I do enjoy the new stuff but It doesn’t bring the same fun as the first time I saw them when there was just Fever, and Pretty Odd.

Weezer is still creating the same great music as they always have, and are holding up extremely well throughout the years from the Blue album in the early 90’s to 2016’s White Album, they have a solid catalog of music and hits to play.  This was the third time I’ve seen Weezer, and it was by far the best time.  Every song sounded great, and nothing sounded worn or tired after so many plays over the years.  They even did a wonder medley of songs that included my favorite song from them “Keep Fishing” though, sadly there were no Muppets on stage with them like the video has.  Their performance showed everyone at the Ascend why they deserved to headline, and continue to earn that top spot.

Brand New and Modest Mouse

Modest Mouse is a band with a very large catalog of music also and a “hits” set is just not in their nature.  This made the third time I saw them, and I was pulling for a much better performance than the shit show they crapped out at Riot Fest. The first time I saw them was at Hangout fest in 2014 which was still to me their best performance to date.  The show at the Ascend was pretty close to being as great as Hangout.  A couple other hit songs would have really done it for me, but they opted to throw in some songs from their latest album, which is understandable.  I was still happy to see them again, especially in better form than last time, plus Isaac even played guitar with teeth.

Seeing Brand New on this tour marked the 8th time I had seen them. For some fans just being in their presence once is a lifelong dream.  I managed to see them four times last year alone, so most of this year’s set was the same and slightly repetitive, not to mention they didn’t play anything off You’re Favorite Weapon which made me sad.  I was very happy to hear a couple of the new songs, and reworked songs from their demos. Not to mention, they played Quiet Things…, which they don’t always do and that made me very very happy… and it wasn’t even in the rain this time! (ahem, Riot Fest 2013).  Not to say it was a bad show by any means, but it wasn’t as epic as seeing them at the Ryman…. though… nothing really can compare to that holy venue.

More Pics

 

 

-KEGS

 

Day Pass: Bonnaroo

Like I said before I’m not made of money, and the Bonnaroo lineup never really appeals to me to go for the whole fest.  This year, however, was much more appealing than previous years.  Friday and Saturday were especially great, but the headlining spot for Pearl Jam really solidified my desire to go on Saturday.  I kicked around the idea of finding someone on craigslist to buy a pass from, but no luck on there, so I bit the bullet and bought the pricey shuttle pass from Nashville which was actually super convenient. If next year only has one day that suits my taste I will probably do the shuttle pass again.

I arrived at around 11:30 off the shuttle and walked from the VIP camping area where they dropped us off at to get to CenterROO.  I was trying to make it in time to see the new Seth Rogen comedy Sausage Party that was playing as a sneak peak in the Cinema tent.  Unfortunately I was unable to see it because the line was already too long so I found my friend Mekenzie and we wasted a couple of hours near the Which stage in the shade.  Chicano Batman was the first act of the day, and their first song started off strong but I quickly got really bored of them.  After a while of sitting around I decided to walk around and get food and take some pics of the Farm before venturing over to see The Knocks.  I had seen them before, and they were decent but it was still crazy hot so I wasted a couple more hours chilling in the shade near the Which stage.

My day really didn’t get started until about 5:30 when I was able to enter the pit area before Band of Horses came on.  I had been trying to see them for a few years, and now I was five people back for them! Their set was pretty incredible, and I can honestly say they were worth the wait. After them I decided to catch some of Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats while chilling by the Fountain and watching people cool off/ clean up.  Since I had seen Haim the weekend before, I only listened to a couple of songs before getting a decent spot for Macklemore.  I wasn’t really looking forward to him because I only really liked a couple of songs.  Macklemore exploded out from the gates as soon as his show started, and the only thing to stop him was the lightning storm that caused an evacuation for a while.  After that we reconvened and he was able to finish his set.  I left his set with a new appreciation for him, and his music, and left happy that he brought out Chance the Rapper, and Eric Nally for “Downtown” which was one of the main songs I wanted to hear anyway.

Heading over to catch some of Ellie Goulding for the third time this year was relaxing because there was no need to get close because the plan was to go right back to the What Stage for Pearl Jam. Ellie was great as usual, but I needed to get a good spot for PJ, who are one of my favorite bands of all time.  I knew they were going to do it big, and they blew my expectations away.  I had seen them twice before, but this was the best performance I had seen by them, making me ecstatic that I decided to come.  The solo that Mike McCready did during “Jeremy” was a testament to their pure talent, and the reason they continue to hold a top spot in live music. Pearl Jam did hits, deeper cuts, new songs, and some covers showing their versatility as a band.

 

Rounding out the night we caught some of the Superjam, which was incredibly boring and lame, then wandered over to see Big Grams again.  Big Grams sounded much better than they did at Hangout which made me happy because I knew they would be great in a better setting than the beach. I said goodbye to my friends, and caught the 3 am shuttle back to Nashville to end up getting home to a nice shower at 5 am.  The day was totally worth it, even if I didn’t get to see all that many bands.  I am still happy that I went for Pearl Jam.

-KEGS

more pics:

I really love this picture. It really shows the love that can be found all over Bonnaroo

During Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats

Band of Horses

Macklemore

Chance the Rapper if you couldn’t tell by his shirt

Macklemore doing “And We Danced”

… and we laughed….

and had a really really really good time

Pearl Jam

Mike McCready killing it

Day Pass: Bunbury

This year may just be the biggest year for festivals for me.  I am looking to hit about nine of them by the end of the year, even if that means just doing single day passes to the best days. I mean, let’s face it, I’m not made of money, three day passes are expensive!

The Friday of Bunbury this year was especially appealing to me because of The Killers, and PVRIS being scheduled on the same day.  Cincinnati is only about three hours away which is totally worth it for The Killers.  The day started for me with The Dear Hunter who put on a much better set than I had seen out of them at Riot Fest last year. I caught a couple of songs by the Mowglis who have seemed to have grown up some since the last time I saw them.  I made my way back across the park to get a good spot for PVRIS.  I’ve been a big fan of theirs since I saw them before they blew up two years ago open for Emarosa in Nashville.  I’ve had a couple of chances to talk to the group who are all super friendly which makes me even more of a fan…. not to mention Lyndsey is ridiculously hot.  The put on a great set basically playing the whole White Noise album. I decided to get food after that set and watch The Wombats, and the surprisingly fun Charles Bradley who brought soul to the fest.

The sun started to set as we secured a spot close to the front for Haim, and the Killers. My last post stated that I found Haim gave a mediocre performance at Hangout, but this time at Bunbury their performance really won me over. I’m not sure if it was being so close, or what but I really enjoyed it.  Finally after waiting through the stage change-over it was time for the Killers.  I had seen them once before at Hangout in 2014, but I wasn’t very close.  This time we were about 7 people from the gate and it was well worth the wait!  From the moment they came out the energy was powerful as they blasted off like a rocket into “Spaceman” and then “Somebody Told Me”.

By halfway through the set I was content in saying they alone were worth my ticket price, and travel to Cinci.  Then one of the top five most magical moment’s I’ve ever experienced in live music happened as fireworks from the Cincinnati Red’s stadium started erupting in the background behind the band as they played.  Even Brandon Flowers was in love with the happening as he smiled and stated “we bring a little bit of Vegas everywhere we go” and told the band to continue playing through it. The fireworks continued for about five songs making their cover of “Can’t Help Falling In Love” more magical than just Brandon’s voice could make it.  It was one of those moments where I wish I had a girl to kiss as if I was in a movie.  They rounded out the night with “When You Were Young” and “Mr. Brightside” solidifying the reason I love them, and will continue to travel to see them.

-KEGS

More pics

The Dear Hunter

The Mowglis

The Mowglis

PVRIS

Charles Bradley

Haim

The Killers with remnants of a firework exploding

Hangout 16

The time came again for all the dude bros and basic bitches to take off their Greek letter tee shirts, and put on their bathing suits to get drunk and scream out wrong lyrics to the only song by each band they’ve only heard on the radio. “I only know like one song by ______” – the most common phrase I heard all weekend which was evident each set after that song played and the crowd emptied.   As annoying as all that sounds, my third weekend at the beach was actually a lot of fun.

Thursday evening started out right at the Kick-Off Party with Moon Taxi doing their Rage Against the Machine cover band “People of the Sun”.  After them I was hyped up for one of the worst acts of the weekend… no, wait… one of the worst acts I’ve ever seen in my life: Lil Dicky.   I really don’t have the words, or feel like describing how terrible it was. Thankfully the night was redeemed by an incredible set by Grouplove, who were the main reason I went to Thursday night. I was so happy to see them back in action after they had their baby, and worked on their new album.  Finally the night was concluded by Matt and Kim who played the same set as I saw at Coachella, but it was still fun.

Friday started with an ominous tone as the storm that rolled in late Thursday night postponed the fest for four hours.  Luckily the Hangout gates finally opened and we still got to see the bands we wanted to, but with shortened sets. Pepper, Silversun Pickups, and Big Grams started off our weekend with great sets.  Big Boi gave us a little surprise with a little bit of Miss Jackson minus Andre 3000. (side note: I got to meet Phantogram and they were really cool) The Struts played another mediocre set, and people left after they played “Could Have Been Me” of course. Walk the Moon was a similar happening after playing a bunch of great songs off their self titled album, they finally played “Shut Up and Dance” and people lost their minds, then the migration happened as they started up “Anna Sun.” The night started to close with a terrible set by the Chainsmokers who were great at Coachella, but very dull in the Boom Boom tent. Though my night wasn’t completely dead after that, The Weeknd gave a pretty decent performance.  I even ended up knowing like four of his songs suprisingly.

Saturday brought more of the indie rock aspect to the fest.  The sun was shining as Kaleo and Magic Man opened up our day.  Magic Man did a great cover of “The Middle” by Jimmy Eat World that I was pretty happy about. X Ambassadors had one of the biggest crowds of the weekend for having an early set.  Not to mention one of the loudest sets of the weekend, they really cranked up the speakers for them.  Throughout the day I finally got to see The Neighbourhood, Bear Hands, and Miike Snow.  The Griswolds brought out Walk the Moon and did a cover of Van Halen’s “Jump” minus the guitar solo. I caught the BG local talent Cage The Elephant to show a little hometown love, though I was wishing I was in Tidballs at that moment.  Due to a car wreck, Calvin Harris was not able to make it to Hangout pushing Panic! At The Disco into a much deserved headlining set.  Brendon Urie came out strong to “Don’t Threaten Me With A Good Time” into “Time To Dance” setting the tone for the rest of the set. Most of the songs were from their/his last two albums but he sprinkled in some other random songs including a great performance of “Bohemian Rhapsody.”

The crew during X Ambassadors.

Sunday was a much more relaxed day for me.  I split Run The Jewels and Health to start my day.  Health was pretty great, but had the smallest crowd of anyone I saw all weekend, though they still played like they had one of the biggest. Moving through the day I caught part of the Fetty Wap set which I had to leave as soon as I could because of how terrible he was.  The whole time it was him mumbling into the mic and then yelling 1738! over and over and over.  Thankfully Grimes set started soon after Fetty so I had a chance to watch a real performer.  Grimes was totally worth my time as I expected her to be after loving her last album. I caught a chill performance from Haim, into a soothing one from Lenny Kravitz, before going over to get a good spot for my girl, Ellie Goulding.  Ellie Had an hour and a half long set and I could have stood there for double that for her.  Her set was longer than the one at Coachella where she ended up playing a bunch of deeper cuts rather than just a hits set.  Last set of the weekend was Florence + The Machine who I put on a much better performance than the last time I saw her in Atlanta a few years ago.

 

More Pics from the weekend.

People of the Sun

Grouplove

Matt and Kim

Matt and Kim

Big Grams

Big Grams

The Weeknd

Kaleo

Magic Man

Magic Man

The Griswolds/Walk The Moon

The Neighbourhood

Miike Snow

Miike Snow

Cage The Elephant

Cage The Elephant

Health

Grimes

Ellie Goulding

Ellie Goulding

Ellie Goulding

Florence + The Machine

Florence + The Machine

Lenny Kravitz