OT: The Semi-Annual, Taste Optional Music Thread: Post Your Feel-Bad Hit of the Summer

[tom_servo]

I take pride in my last festival experience being me skipping Beck at Sasquatch because my back hurt too much.

I went to the cursed Field Day Fest in 2003. Beck cancelled because he fell off a ladder backstage IIRC.

 

[tom_servo]

Some of my non-main stage rap faves from Lolla:







https://youtu.be/PEEoaKwwxbg

 

[Big McLargehuge]

I went to the cursed Field Day Fest in 2003. Beck cancelled because he fell off a ladder backstage IIRC.

That line-up...even without Beck there's a few bucket list bands there that I never got to see. Pretty insane line-up for a smaller one.

The first year I went to Sasquatch was pretty much great from start to finish. Modest Mouse, The Flaming Lips, Beach House, Yeasayer, Flying Lotus...and in the middle of the day on the main stage Flogging Molly for some inexplicably hilarious reason all on the same day. The following year wasn't as strong for my tastes; EDM was becoming too dominant...and as great as Bon Iver can be, booking him as a main stage festival headliner just creates a weird environment where 3/4 of the audience is stoned and a further 1/5 is tripping...you had people trying to dance to Skinny Love and everyone in the grass taking the most pleasant nap possible.

Meeting Our Lady Peace and Moby at Rolling Rock Town Faire in Latrobe. OLP were very nice respectable Canadian boys and Moby was as much of a dick as you would imagine he is.

I still have a soft spot for some of Moby's prime stuff...but he's about a baby-step above a dictator in terms of people I'd have any interest in meeting or listening to say anything. He's up there with Mel Gibson in terms of number of people I know who have met them without being able to say anything positive about.

 

[Gurglesons]

That line-up...even without Beck there's a few bucket list bands there that I never got to see. Pretty insane line-up for a smaller one.

The first year I went to Sasquatch was pretty much great from start to finish. Modest Mouse, The Flaming Lips, Beach House, Yeasayer, Flying Lotus...and in the middle of the day on the main stage Flogging Molly for some inexplicably hilarious reason all on the same day. The following year wasn't as strong for my tastes; EDM was becoming too dominant...and as great as Bon Iver can be, booking him as a main stage festival headliner just creates a weird environment where 3/4 of the audience is stoned and a further 1/5 is tripping...you had people trying to dance to Skinny Love and everyone in the grass taking the most pleasant nap possible.

Back when festivals were actually worth going to..

 

[tom_servo]

That line-up...even without Beck there's a few bucket list bands there that I never got to see. Pretty insane line-up for a smaller one.

The first year I went to Sasquatch was pretty much great from start to finish. Modest Mouse, The Flaming Lips, Beach House, Yeasayer, Flying Lotus...and in the middle of the day on the main stage Flogging Molly for some inexplicably hilarious reason all on the same day. The following year wasn't as strong for my tastes; EDM was becoming too dominant...and as great as Bon Iver can be, booking him as a main stage festival headliner just creates a weird environment where 3/4 of the audience is stoned and a further 1/5 is tripping...you had people trying to dance to Skinny Love and everyone in the grass taking the most pleasant nap possible.

Field Day was probably better on paper because they never finalized the campsite permit so the whole thing was moved to Giants Stadium. It rained (that's why Beck slipped off the ladder), other artists cancelled (I think including Sigur Ros), Beastie Boys were kind of sloppy. Honestly, Underworld was the revelation for me because I didn't care for electronica at the time (except for short elements in songs, ie Radiohead). A lot of it was time and place and drugs, but they shifted my whole perspective that day.

 

[Big McLargehuge]

Back when festivals were actually worth going to..

Which is what boomers & Gen Xers were saying to us at the time.

The "problem" is when they become such big event that the music takes a backseat to the party. They get gentrified, more or less, and then replaced. The first year I went to Sasquatch felt like a music festival. One year later it felt like more of a party than anything.

As someone who can't dance because of a busted spine and never had any interest in dancing anyway, the party was never the appeal to me. Coachella used to get line-ups that had me deeply considering driving 1,000+ miles to go to, but now that it's a couple hours away you couldn't pay me to go to that rich kid status party We made the trek because it was just about the only way college kids in Montana were going to be able to see anyone other than The Decemberists or Wilco.

I'm cool with growing up and aging out of something. I do think festivals have become more about being seen than listening to music over the past decade, but then again I graduated high school around the time social media became a thing...being seen is undoubtedly a bigger part of their experience than it was mine. The reason I wasn't glued to my cell phone as a teenager has more to do with me not having a cell phone as a teenager than any sort of superiority.

 

[HandshakeLine]

Best festival set I ever saw was LCD Soundsystem at Pitchfork years ago, and man, it was transcendent.

 

[HandshakeLine]

But I think nostalgia colors a lot of it. Of course the festivals I saw in my 20s were great! I was rolling on E, and drunk on 4 Loko! I would have listened to a hairdryer.

 

[tom_servo]

Talking about Underworld reminded me of that cool Brian Eno/Karl Hyde record

 

[tom_servo]

Best festival set I ever saw was LCD Soundsystem at Pitchfork years ago, and man, it was transcendent.

Man I always wanted to see those Pitchfork shows. LCD Soundsystem would've landed so nicely for me back then.

 

[HandshakeLine]

Man I always wanted to see those Pitchfork shows. LCD Soundsystem would've landed so nicely for me back then.

They were solidly at the top of their game then too. That same year I think was also Jon Spencer, Kurt Vile (solo!), Raekwon, Titus Andronicus, El-P, etc.

 

[tom_servo]

They were solidly at the top of their game then too. That same year I think was also Jon Spencer, Kurt Vile (solo!), Raekwon, Titus Andronicus, El-P, etc.

2003 was a special year for me. In anticipation of that Field Day show I was researching all the bands like My Morning Jacket and Bright Eyes and Tortoise, which led me to Pitchfork. Then, my music downloading became a full time pasttime. I remember the first album I burned to CD-R thanks to Pitchfork:


(Under the name Manitoba at the time)

We'd drafted a stud goalie prospect in MAF that summer... I was feeling optimistic about life.

 

[gopens66]

You guys talking about festivals made me realize the last two I was at was H.O.R.D.E. fest in 95 & 96. '95 was headlined by the Black Crowes. King Crimson played that day and I got to meet John Popper after he left the stage jamming with Taj Mahal. The following year Blues Traveler headlined their own music festival after several years of other artists taking the last spot.

However Lolapalooza 93 was insane. I saw Rage Against the Machine, Alice in Chains, Fishbone, and Primus in one day. (Plus countless other acts)

 

[Gurglesons]

They were solidly at the top of their game then too. That same year I think was also Jon Spencer, Kurt Vile (solo!), Raekwon, Titus Andronicus, El-P, etc.

One of the few bands I’ve walked out on. And I did it twice LOL.

 

[gopens66]

Anyone here catch the Black Crowes last Wednesday at Starlake? I thought it was great.

 

[dogthateats]

One of the few bands I’ve walked out on. And I did it twice LOL.

Why? I saw them play a few times and I thought they were good.

 

[Gurglesons]

Why? I saw them play a few times and I thought they were good.

Never really been into that style of music. Them and Mewithoutyou were so god damn pretentious.

 

[HandshakeLine]

One of the few bands I’ve walked out on. And I did it twice LOL.

I can totally get that. I didn't really like them at Pitchfork, tbh, but I saw them the year before at the Empty Bottle (200 people max.) and they were pretty great. But my tolerance for pretention was probably at its highest in 2010.

I will say my 2nd favorite set at Pitchfork was The Wrens who are maddeningly good but also, super bad about putting out records and playing shows. Meadowlands is a stone-cold classic tho.

 

[Deport Ogie]

You guys talking about festivals made me realize the last two I was at was H.O.R.D.E. fest in 95 & 96. '95 was headlined by the Black Crowes. King Crimson played that day and I got to meet John Popper after he left the stage jamming with Taj Mahal. The following year Blues Traveler headlined their own music festival after several years of other artists taking the last spot.

I had this psuedo memory of being at H.O.R.D.E. in 97 but a slight bit of research tells me it was not that , but R.O.A.R. tour instead. Iggy Pop, Sponge, Bloodhound Gang, Sevendust, and randomly, the lead singer from 4 Non Blondes performing solo. I have no idea why I was there. It was held at Three Rivers but not inside, a series of stages were built in the parking lot outside. I seem to remember Lajon from Sevendust randomly asking folks in the crowd to share his joint with him, Bloodhound Gang dropping trou repeatedly during their set, and Iggy being wholly insensible while he performed. Sponge was good though.

 

[HandshakeLine]

Sponge, as in the grunge band? I feel like there were about 5 different bands with the same name.

 

[Deport Ogie]

Sponge, as in the grunge band? I feel like there were about 5 different bands with the same name.

Were they considered grunge? I guess they were kind of grunge-adjacent. Probably more in line with that wide variety of 90s alternative bands that all mostly sounded the same: Spacehog and Seven Mary Three and Toadies and Candlebox etc etc. There were a few good songs in that mix though.

 

[HandshakeLine]

Were they considered grunge? I guess they were kind of grunge-adjacent. Probably more in line with that wide variety of 90s alternative bands that all mostly sounded the same: Spacehog and Seven Mary Three and Toadies and Candlebox etc etc. There were a few good songs in that mix though.

Yeah, "Plowed" was a hell of a radio earworm. How were they live? I sort of missed out on a lot of that period because I was in the punk scene in Pittsburgh and had a weird complex about listening to anything remotely popular.

 

[Deport Ogie]

Yeah, "Plowed" was a hell of a radio earworm. How were they live? I sort of missed out on a lot of that period because I was in the punk scene in Pittsburgh and had a weird complex about listening to anything remotely popular.

They were decent live. I hardly fell into the "huge fan of Sponge" crowd but everyone knew Plowed and Molly and I seem to recall the set being pretty solid.

I spent most of the 90s without any real musical identity. It's probably why I saw such a wide range of bands and often went to the multi-band festival type shows. I just sort of flittered around what my friends liked and what was popular on The X until around 97-98 when I learned, to my shock, that I really liked nu-metal which quickly gateway'd into quote-unquote real metal. It's weird to say now, but joining the old Pens official team message board was a big part of that because posters there introduced me to stuff like Insomnium, Meshuggah, Dark Tranquillity, etc.

 

[tom_servo]

Sponge, as in the grunge band? I feel like there were about 5 different bands with the same name.

Sponge. Filter. Helmet. Bush. Candlebox. Fuel. Chevelle.

Yeah bands used to go no further than dad's garage for names.

 

[HandshakeLine]

Sponge. Filter. Helmet. Bush. Candlebox. Fuel. Chevelle.

Yeah bands used to go no further than dad's garage for names.

Then why did we not get Bigg Juggs : the Band?