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I only saw one bad show in the 20+ I saw and that was Alt-J. They were boring and far too sleepy. They also need a lesson in how to construct a setlist properly
I thought they were great, the crowd was feasting on those songs. The setlist was set up much like the album is, with a few newer things sprinkled in, so if you aren't familiar with the album maybe it seemed a little random.
Also, anyone saying Jack Johnson because he couldn't remember his own songs is being a little picky. He and the band had a day to put it together and he's been pretty much retired for the last two years. I can only think of two songs off the top of my head that had issues, but for the most part I thought he was a great show.
On topic: Purity Ring. They were not a great show for me, and I was actually looking forward to it.
I only saw one bad show in the 20+ I saw and that was Alt-J. They were boring and far too sleepy. They also need a lesson in how to construct a setlist properly
I thought they were great, the crowd was feasting on those songs. The setlist was set up much like the album is, with a few newer things sprinkled in, so if you aren't familiar with the album maybe it seemed a little random.
Also, anyone saying Jack Johnson because he couldn't remember his own songs is being a little picky. He and the band had a day to put it together and he's been pretty much retired for the last two years. I can only think of two songs off the top of my head that had issues, but for the most part I thought he was a great show.
On topic: Purity Ring. They were not a great show for me, and I was actually looking forward to it. [/quote]
It wasn't that he couldn't remember his songs ( I've seen him before and was expecting a few mess ups). I thought that they would have others join him. I think of they did "jack Johnson and friends" or something, it would have been better. But kudos to him for doing the best he could with what he had
Wilco - Not the biggest fan of them in the first place, and we were sitting against the wall to the left of the stage waiting in line for Paul so that might have contributed to sound issues, but I found them extremely boring. Gave me some time to nap before Macca and the Friday night festivities though.
Cults - Due to this set being at 12:30 on the Which stage, I didn't have much hope, but it sorely dissapointed. On a positive note, led me to walk over to Patrick Watson, who was amazing.
Bjork - Musically, this set was amazing. Scheduling her while the sun was out was a serious mistake though, as I found myself zoning out pretty often. If she had played any time past 9:00 I'm sure this would be my favorite set of the weekend.
Foals - I didn't get to see them due to a spur of the moment decision to wait all day for front row for Paul. =[
I'm a huge fan of wilco and was so stoked to see them live for the first time, that's why I'm very sad to say it was disappointing. I blame it on the sound. I think they should have been in a tent. It's just really disappointing when you hear how loud Paul and passion pit were, but wilco was just so quiet.
I'm a huge Wilco fan and tend to agree. I wouldn't say awful but it was definitely missing something.
I am not a fan. I've tried very hard to like them because I "should" like them, but I just can't get into them. So I sat through the whole show (only to get a good spot for Paul) and am definitely not a convert. I think the sound was not good where I was sitting, which didn't help.
I've never enjoyed them before, but found myself strangely entranced by them. The sound where we were was great though.
02/08 Tool 02/11 Jeff Mangum 02/17 of Montreal 02/29 Blind Pilot 03/31 The Naked & The Famous 05/14 M83 and I Break Horses 05/19 Flaming Lips, Young the Giant, Dawes and AWOLNATION 06/07 Bonnaroo 2012!!! 06/13 Roger Waters 07/28 Toadies
Post by Vic Vinegar on Jun 18, 2013 13:03:19 GMT -5
I'm also not sure why people were disappointed in alt-j. If you know the band, you know they only have 1 album. They played it perfectly and sounded great.. If you were going there looking for a rowdy show, you must have only heard fitzpleasure or something. If you didn't like the set, maybe you just don't like alt-j. The only disappointing part of it was how packed it was. If they don't want to open which stage on Thursday, they should stop putting such big acts on that day
Post by bansheebeat on Jun 18, 2013 13:13:17 GMT -5
AraabMuzik - Way too boring and repetitive after about 15 minutes. Definitely makes it a lot cooler of a show when you can see his hands.
Purity Ring - Meh, their songs didn't translate well live for me.
Ariel Pink - Not a big fan of his aside from a few songs, but you never know when you may see a complete train wreck with him on stage so I decided to check it out. Horrible altogether.
I have to say, I'm kinda with whoever was disappointed with Paul on the previous page (can't be bothered to go back and look, sorry). Allow me to explain. That video in the beginning was kind of ridiculous, I felt like I was at some megachurch waiting for Benny Hinn to walk out and start saving souls with his suit jacket. And he just seemed like he was pandering for applause the whole time... I mean the music was alright but every time he finished a song it seemed like he took every possible opportunity to remind the crowd that yes, he was a Beatle, and yes, you should worship the very ground he walks upon, etc. It was kind of a shock after seeing so many humble and appreciative musicians. Not that the show was bad... just oddly uncomfortable. But that's just, like, my opinion, man.
I stopped to watch Wu Tang for about three minutes before I moved away from the wall of terrible sound that was emanating from Which. Not good.
Sat through Nas because Bjork was up next. It wasn't especially good. And by that I mean: it wasn't good. Nas, that is. Bjork was excellent, though I wished they would put her face up on the screens for even two seconds so I could see her costume.
Purity Ring. And it hurts reading about how great Django Django was. I made the classic mistake of following my crew instead of branching out on my own. You'd of thought that after 6 of these I would have known better.
Post by manoverboard on Jun 18, 2013 13:47:13 GMT -5
Japandroids- I saw them last week at Governors Ball and they were amazing, but Thursday night they sounded sooooo off. His vocals were out of key and his guitar had a weird tone to it. I left after 3 songs.
Of Monsters and Men- seriously, fuck the Which Stage. The sound there is absolutely terrible. The crowd was pretty big and I was standing by the trees, and I couldnt hear a damn thing. I left after 2 songs. I tried to avoid that stage the rest of the weekend.
Maria Bamford- I honestly never saw her stand up before, we just went to her show to get away from the heat. But man was she terrible. I laughed maybe once. I felt bad for her because most of the crowd got up and left pretty early in.
Post by Vic Vinegar on Jun 18, 2013 13:49:19 GMT -5
Which stage ruined me last year so this year I made sure to get to those sets early for a good spot. 3 of my top 5 shows were on WHICH and they all sounded great. My advice, avoid the entire left side.
Maria Bamford- I honestly never saw her stand up before, we just went to her show to get away from the heat. But man was she terrible. I laughed maybe once. I felt bad for her because most of the crowd got up and left pretty early in.
Maria Bamford's humor is a little odd, so I understand completely. I'm a big fan of hers so I enjoyed it, but I definitely noticed several times in her set when only a handful of folks would laugh. I guess I've seen better shows in the Comedy Tent.
Did anyone catch David Cross, and if so how was his set?
Of Monsters & Men. Was on the left side (Facing) the stage. The Sound was terrible. I could hear the Which stage better at my camp (Apollo Creed) sometimes than I could standing in front of it about half way back in the crowd. This show was also the worst as far as people pushing to get to the front and that's saying a lot since this was a problem at every show. I finally left about halfway because it just wasn't worth staying their anymore and I wasn't going to be a Douche and push my way to the front.
Post by Alberto Balsalm on Jun 18, 2013 13:58:07 GMT -5
Only show I didn't like was Wu-Tang. I was really excited for them but they were pretty terrible. Part of it was likely the Which stage, they didn't do themselves any favors though. Really wish they had the orchestra from Coachella
Wilco - I was just off of the outer rail holding for Paul and it was so quiet that I routinely heard the drunk kids beside me chatting it up throughout the set. This was my first time seeing them and I had heard nothing but great things about their live set. Definitely disappointing.
Cults - Being 15 minutes late to a stage opening set in the middle of the day doesn't incur goodwill. I was in the pit and the sound seemed to be really empty. Maybe that is their thing, but the sound on Sunday for Kacey Musgraves in the pit was perfect.
Of Monsters and Men - granted I showed up late and had a horrific spot, but I left after 1 song and not being able to hear anything.
Passion Pit - Don't really like their style to begin with, but the sound was awful and they cut their set way short. Seemed odd.
The only show that was a bit of a letdown for me was Boys Noize. I was expecting to hear some really grimey noise-rave stuff from his last album, but it sounded a lot more like a generic DJ set. I still danced my butt off and had a good time (if you saw a scantily-clad gentleman in orange suspenders and a top hat, that was me), but his set did not meet my expectations.
I wasn't displeased with any show I saw, but I just wanted a few tweaks with a couple of them.
Hip-Hop Superjam looked and sounded like a last minute idea. I still enjoyed myself, thank you Solange for busting into some Fugees, but the whole thing had a very non-superjam vibe to it. It was more let's showcase a bunch of different acts in 2 hours.
Japandroids - I didn't hear the technical complaints that other people have mentioned, but WTF audience?! No one's jumping?? No one's bumping?? No one's moving?! I went to have a rowdy damn time, and I looked like a moron because everybody else was standing with their arms at their sides while I jumped in place profusely.
Nas - What's everyone's disappointment here? Genuinely interested about what people weren't really feeling.
I was worried that it was a bad sign for the weekend when the first show that I tried to attend (DIIV) turned out to have been cancelled (or moved to Friday or something), but that turned out to be my only real disappointment.
I just dont like the Which Stage. I was underwhelmed by that stage all weekend.
I thought the sound was significantly improved from last year. I was actually able to hear but learned this year that the acoustics are setup to go to the right side of the stage (right while facing it) so positioned myself on that side and it was much better this year.
Turtles are, actually quite sexy, if you think about it. I’m getting an erection just thinking about turtles. No, not a stripper named turtles, that’s not funny. Actual turtles.
—?Thom Yorke
I have to say, I'm kinda with whoever was disappointed with Paul on the previous page (can't be bothered to go back and look, sorry). Allow me to explain. That video in the beginning was kind of ridiculous, I felt like I was at some megachurch waiting for Benny Hinn to walk out and start saving souls with his suit jacket. And he just seemed like he was pandering for applause the whole time... I mean the music was alright but every time he finished a song it seemed like he took every possible opportunity to remind the crowd that yes, he was a Beatle, and yes, you should worship the very ground he walks upon, etc. It was kind of a shock after seeing so many humble and appreciative musicians. Not that the show was bad... just oddly uncomfortable. But that's just, like, my opinion, man.
I got the complete opposite from him. I thought he was humble and I think his banter and talking to the crowd showed that. He thanked the crowd, seemed surprised with the sheer size of it, and seemed like a class act all the way through. Not being humble for someone of his magnitude would have been NOT bantering with the crowd and not being personable at all which he wasnt.
Turtles are, actually quite sexy, if you think about it. I’m getting an erection just thinking about turtles. No, not a stripper named turtles, that’s not funny. Actual turtles.
—?Thom Yorke
Post by railroad436 on Jun 18, 2013 14:07:56 GMT -5
I was disappointed with Animal Collective and Pretty Lights. I split time between them and both sets never materialized into anything. It was like they had a chance to build something up and get the crowd to explode because they were ready for it and then nothing.
I had never seen PL before but he is very lazy. He just plays a track, then another and then another. With that kind of setup, he could do something amazing by actually being a musician and mixing and doing a little improvisation but he is basically no different than a wedding DJ playing songs for the crowd. That was very disappointing for me.
Turtles are, actually quite sexy, if you think about it. I’m getting an erection just thinking about turtles. No, not a stripper named turtles, that’s not funny. Actual turtles.
—?Thom Yorke
I thought the sound was significantly improved from last year. I was actually able to hear but learned this year that the acoustics are setup to go to the right side of the stage (right while facing it) so positioned myself on that side and it was much better this year.
This makes sense. I keep reading about the sound issues, but I was on the right side for every act on Which that I saw and wasn't hearing any problems. I just tended to prefer that side because there was a chance for the pit area to be less crowded (because it was only VIP/Rockstar, etc.) and therefore give better sight lines. This is good to know about in the future.
Post by 3post1jack1 on Jun 18, 2013 14:10:44 GMT -5
Sounds like I somehow made nothing but perfect decisions this 'Roo. A lot of the shows people are complaining about, notably Nas, Wu-Tang, and Wilco, are all acts i seriously considered seeing, but ending up skipping for other sets I loved.
I got lucky. Its hard to know when a set will be a stinker sometimes, whether it be because of the sound, the song selection, or the performance itself.
In general I've learned to avoid Which at all costs. DB&SV sounded fantastic on Which though, probably because it was so easy to get a close spot.
Post by cory's beard on Jun 18, 2013 14:15:39 GMT -5
About Japandroids, I agree with everyone on the mixing problems. The guitars weren't as big sounding as they should have been. But I disagree about the crowd, it was really fucking into some Japandroids.
I was disappointed with Animal Collective and Pretty Lights. I split time between them and both sets never materialized into anything. It was like they had a chance to build something up and get the crowd to explode because they were ready for it and then nothing.
I had never seen PL before but he is very lazy. He just plays a track, then another and then another. With that kind of setup, he could do something amazing by actually being a musician and mixing and doing a little improvisation but he is basically no different than a wedding DJ playing songs for the crowd. That was very disappointing for me.
That's the problem I have with PL these days. His roo 2009 show and his sold out Masquerade show in ATL in 2010 were awesome. He seemed to be doing more live and he had a live drummer. Now he basically hits play behind an awesome light show. This is coming from someone who is beyond in love with his music too.
