Ich habe mir im Laufe meines Lebens als Musikfan, eine ganz feine auserlesene Musiksammlung zugelegt. Die so nicht jeder hat. da war ich immer sehr stolz drauf.
Aber ich habe auch einen kolossalen Fehler gemacht. Viele klasse Alben habe ich mir nie gekauft, weil die Freunde schon hatten.
Es war einfach so, Bohemain Rhapsody z.B. hatte jeder meiner Freunde und Freundinnen, das hörte ich jeden Tag zigmal am Tag. das brauchte ich mir nicht zu kaufen.
Ebenso sämtliche The Rolling Stones alben, die hatte mein Bruder. Da gibt es eine ganze Mege Alben, die ich mir deswegen nicht gekauft habe. Ebenso wie Kraftwerk, weil die mein bester Kumpel alle hatte.
Oder die Sex Pistols oder The Clash.
Ich habe mir lieber meien absoluten Lieblinge oder die ausgefallenen Sachen gekauft.
Heute fehlt mir das alles und ich muss teilweise Stück für Stück Sachen nachkaufen.
Schade, heute würde ich mir auch diese Alben zulegen.

I bought in my life as a musicfan a fine special musiccollection. Wich not everyone has. And i was always proud of.
But i made a really big mistake. Many great albums i didn't buy, as some freinds had they already.
It was like this Bohemain Rhapsody for example everyone of my friends had it, i heard it more often everyday. I didn't have to buy it.
Like every The Rolling Stones album, wich my brother had. A lot of albums i didn't buy for that reason. like Kraftwerk, wich my best friend owned.
Or Sex Pistols and The Clash.
I rather bought my personal favorit or special and fancy albums.
Today the big records are missing and i have to buy it pice by piece.
Sad, today i would have bought this albums.

Despite a severe weather warning being forecast for the majority England and Wales, the torrential rain and muddy conditions which many expected, and which did indeed befall the Staffordshire event, never seemed to materialise in Chelmsford at the V Festival 2008.

Having headed to the V Stage to catch Michael Franti & Spearhead, pretty much on the back of Everyone Deserves Music and a general expectation that they'd be a decent way to kick off the weekend, I found myself unwittingly watching half of The Futureheads (6) set instead! One of the biggest flaws with V, which materialised throughout the weekend, was how lineup changes were communicated to the crowds, and although we had fortunately printed our own timetable before leaving, the majority of those at the event had been effectively forced to buy overpriced programme cards because of the organisers' failure to provide any alternative. I must confess to not being the biggest fan of the Futureheads, (and did spend a fair amount of time wondering why Michael Franti had completely changed his sound and appearence!) but until Hounds of Love and recent chart hit, The Beginning of the Twist were played, the crowd seemed pretty lethargic and the set had little to really make it stand out. Admittedly a hard slot, but I remain unconvinced that the band are capable of producing much more than the occasional catchy single.

Alanis Morissette (6.5) had undoubted pulling power and seemed to suit the mid-afternoon billing on the main stage, keeping the setlist relatively short and ending with a couple of her biggest hits in Ironic and Thank U. Tagging issues aside, it still baffles me why Thank U is so criminally underrated on here, but needless to say, it was great to see the song performed live.

There's a reason I avoided Lostprophets (3) in the past, and on the basis of what I heard here, I doubt I'll feel particularly compelled to listen to them at any point in the future. Not a shockingly bad live performance, and they at least tried to get the crowd going at times, but from my own point of view, nothing special.

The Hoosiers (7) might not have the largest back catalogue or musical variety, but as a festival set, this was actually surprisingly good. With Irwin Sparkes arrived in a huge cloud of smoke from some kind of teleportation/cyrogenic capsule, a brass section running out of a wardrobe dressed as skeletons, and superhero dancers performing alongside them, the performance was as surreal and entertaining as it sounds. Again, I'm not their biggest fan, but they got the crowd going and didn't take themselves too seriously - in all, definitely one of the highlights of the weekend. Standout tracks were always going to be Worried About Ray and Goodbye Mr A.

The last time I saw The Kooks (5), it was at a particularly tough gig supporting The Rolling Stones at the o2, and I left distinctly unimpressed by their stage presence and performance. I had hoped that this time around they would show some signs of improvement, but this didn't seem to be the case. Lead singer Luke Pritchard seemed to be pretty drunk, forgetting a lot of his lyrics and then bizarrely trying to get the crowd to sit down. The main stage was plagued with sound problems through the whole weekend which meant that it was almost impossible to hear any of the sound unless you were close to the front - one of the side speakers, in particular, seemed to be fading in-and-out repeatedly, which didn't help things. Ray Davies of The Kinks appearing on stage to perform an accellerated version of Victoria was a redeeming moment, along with the crowd pleasing Naive and Ooh La, although these came surprisingly early in the set, leaving the band to finish with songs from Konk, which I feel was a mistake.

Stereophonics (7.5) were always going to be one of the highlights of the weekend - a solid set which suited the later billing and benefited in part from a crowd forming to see Muse, who were scheduled to perform next. Maybe Tomorrow and Have a Nice Day went down well with the crowd, with the band closing brilliantly on Dakota.

Muse (8) were one of the obvious draws for quite a few people in attendance, and it seemed like quite a few of them had plans to see them twice in the same weekend, traveling to Staffordshire the following day. Whilst I was obviously aware of their reputation for fantastic live performances, I've never really progressed beyond listening to their albums a couple of times. Certainly this was the most theatrically impressive of any of the sets on offer over the weekend, with the huge satellite dishes that had been positioned on either side of the stage all day suddenly coming to life and firing lasers and beams of light into the crowd. Apparently the band had even wanted to land a spaceship on the stage as part of the performance, and I've no doubt that this will remain one of the most technically impressive shows I get the chance to see. Closing track Knights of Cydonia got the audience going, thanks to the lyrics being projected onto the satellite dishes on stage.

A solid performance from The Stranglers (6.5) followed, despite not having the largest crowd due to their opening the V stage quite early. Although I didn't catch the set in its entirety, I was impressed and will definitely check out some of their back catalogue in the near future.

Other than hearing their name banded about around the music press and the internet, I hadn't looked into The Rifles (7) in any real detail, and their set on the V Stage offered an ideal opportunity to hear what all the fuss was about. Again, a solid set, and I'll definitely look out for them again in the future. Thanks to the organisers making a complete mess of the scheduling in the JJB Arena, I only caught the last couple of minutes of Captain's set, and didn't gain enough of an impression to be able to pass much judgement on it.

Noah and the Whale (7) packed out the Union tent and again, were entertaining viewing. 5 Years Time was a standout, and it was nice to see a little variety and humour to the performance, especially when compared to some of the music on offer which tended to be solely guitar-led indie fare.

The Courteneers (6) were fairly average - thanks to a friend's insistence that we would be going to see OneRepublic, who were due to follow them on the 4Music stage, we ended up watching their entire set. Again, I wasn't hugely familiar with the material, and there was nothing especially bad about the set, but but I saw little which really stood out for me. OneRepublic (5) were as I had expected - having attempted to listen to their album (Dreaming In Colour) and not getting particularly far with it. Although, Americanised spelling aside, Apologize is admittedly catchy, and Ryan Tedder was entertaining in between songs, I found the rest of the set turgid and uninspiring.

Lenny Kravitz (7.5) was next up, and suited the venue perfectly - with the sun shining pretty brightly by this point, this was a really enjoyable set from the veteran rocker which included Fly Away and Are You Gonna Go My Way which injected a bit of class into proceedings. At this stage the lineup for the second day was already shaping up to be far better than Saturday.

A quick dash across the site, we managed to catch Travis (8) running through a surprisingly energetic set at the JJB Arena. The entire band was on great form, leaping around on the stage, and at one point trying to climb up the lighting rig to the side. Gathering the rest of the band around a single microphone, Fran Healy led an acoustic version of Flowers in the Window, halted only when he managed to lose his ring halfway through, and then suddenly resuming where they had left off a few seconds later when the crisis was averted! For me, this was one of the surprise hits of the festival, and closing tracks Turn and Why Does It Always Rain on Me? generated a huge response from the crowd.

Unfortunately a scheduling clash with Amy Winehouse (6) meant that I wasn't able to see Amy Winehouse Hot Chip, and Winehouse was, to say the least, disappointing, though I can't say I expected much else. Again, speaker malfunctions made it hard for people to hear her voice, but she really struggled to get the crowd going and to me, seemed dazed and slightly confused. By her standards, this was a fairly good performance, especially when compared to her showing in Staffordshire the previous day, but her performance left a lot to be desired, and she seemed to rely heavily on her talented backing band to carry her through. There was unfortunately a morbid fascination from a fair few members of the crowd, and whilst I'm pleased I have had the opportunity to see an artist who will undoubtedly achieve legendary status (if she hasn't already), it's a shame she currently seems incapable of reaching the heights set on her recorded material.

The Kings of Leon (8) provided the ideal remedy for Winehouse's lackluter performance, belting out a succession of past hits, alongside new tracks including Crawl. It's saying something when every song hits the mark perfectly, and whilst I was a fan before, I don't think I really appreciated how brilliant they were until this point. Other than cups of piss flying through the air, there was very little to fault in the set and I think they justify the hype as one of the biggest bands in the world at the moment. The Bucket, On Call and Knocked Up were fantastic.

However, the best was saved until last as The Verve (9) took to the main stage to close the weekend. One of the best live performances I've experienced, and with 'Forth' due to be released next week, I really hope I'll have the opportunity to see them again, but amid rumours of a split and huge tension between the band, there was an ominous feel about the whole event and sadly, I don't know if it will be replicated in the future. Needless to say, Ashcroft was immaculate, even dedicating The Rolling People to the recently deceased Isaac Hayes. The majority of the material was drawn from 1995's Urban Hymns, with appearances the from newer material of Sit and Wonder, Rather Be and closer Love Is Noise, which is already becoming anthemic in their live sets. Whilst Muse the previous night had more spectacular visuals, the driving rain that started to fall as the band took to the stage, and the sheer energy in the performance was in many ways more impressive. I have no idea how I missed last year's tour, but will not make the same mistake if the opportunity to see them again presents itself.

Although V has a reputation for being one of the more commercial summer festivals, the bands on offer this year did just about enough to redeem the event. Despite issues with wristbands which led to us spending at least an hour trying to exchange our tickets and gain entry into the site due to some terrible organisation, horrendous queues for toilets (although this was to be expected), the attitude of certain festivalgoers, and significant litter problems, the weekend on the whole was a success.

EDIT: YOU MOTHERFUCKING IDIOTS, THIS JOURNAL IS _NOT_ SERIOUS!! THOSE BANDS MENTIONED HERE ARE MY FAVOURITE ARTISTS!! (some insults could be serious like Stabbing the Drama is mediocre. Ok, they have got 1 mediocre album and 6(or 5, havent heard SBS) great.)

List of epic morons who thought that I don't like mentioned bands:
real_4_ever
bodomdrunk
OneForAll
Vanguard_Beggar
JayJay2k6


ines_8 apologized so she doesn't count :P But those gays mentioned above are just perfect examples on how dumb can humanity be.


Yeah, yeah, provocative title and it's only another 'bash your own top artists'.
So let's start.

In Flames - I'm not very keen on LS. BESIDEZ ZOMGZ THEIR NOT MELODETH ANYMOAR SO THEY MUST SUCK!11
Children of Bodom - Kinda stupid lyrics and vocalist has got provocative gay photos + black nails.
Rhapsody - lyrics lol. also SoEL 2 sucks.
The Offspring - CoO and Splinter have got many elements from pop-punk. And Splinter is just average.
Iron Maiden - (havent heard albums with Blaze yet) Well, too many chorus repetitions in BNW, AMOLAD and DOD. And DoD is average and BNW overrated imo.
Rage - Umm, really don't know what to say here... End of All Days is mediocre?
Sonata Arctica - Well, some lyrics are like taken from some emo band or something...
Queens of the Stone Age - Turnin on the Screw sucks :P I'm not very fond of their first album besides Regular John.
Megadeth - Risk. No, seriously. I don't like So Far either. And RIP is overrated as hell (i like it but 'best thrash metal album' my ass)
Helloween - THEYVE MADE A MISTAKE IN ALBUM TITLE LOLOLZ (Rabbit Don't Come Easy... unless I'm wrong). And sometimes they play too happy music :P (Far Away/Can Do It examples)
Soilwork - Stabbing the Drama is mediocre and I mean it.
Luca Turilli - 1. Lyrics, 2. third album.
Red Hot Chili Peppers - I'm still not sure how they got 999 plays in my charts. Oh, well. A lot of their songs are just plain boring.
Pink Floyd - Ok, you got me there. Hm, they have pink in their name so they must be some emogirl band :PP
Machinae Supremacy - SO THIS IS ALL THAT YOU CHOOSE? FUCKIN SILENCE AND ABUSE? NO R 4 U!!! :) and their webography is worse that their discography (its understable though)
Ensiferum - Huh, Dragonheads isn't as good as LPs?
Metallica - Load + Reload = BORING. S&M = nothing really special. St. Anger = wtf? And other CDs are overrated as well.
Dream Theater - LaBrie sometimes screams like a girl :P
Bruce Dickinson - Name lol.
Hunter - They were late on the show like 1,5 hour and they've only played 35 minutes :( (it was a free concert, but still). And Requiem is not that good. (quality sucks:/)
Judas Priest - zomg halford iz t3h g4y. on more serious note, nostradamus is... well, boring. angel of retribution is quite good, but still it can bore you sometime (like this gay ballad Angel wtf?). My opinion will propably get worse when I'll hear their stuff with Owens.
The Rolling Stones -some of their songs can be boring.
Dark Tranquillity - I don't like formatting C: :((( (though song is good, but idea of formatting C: sucks:P)
Nanowar - IT'S A HARD ONE. Seriously, how can you not like these guys? :P Um, they are Manowar fans and I don't like Manowar? :P Ok, bashed. Next.
Monstrum - HEAVY METAL! HEAVY METAL JAK WIATR O TAAAK!! // No i ta piosenka o stalowych koniach brzmi dwuznacznie :P
Ozzy Osbourne - His newer stuff can't really compare with his older stuff... not so bad, but still. Oh and he killed a bat. And Sharon Osbourne is a bitch. (this Iron Maiden bashing stuff... what the hell was she thinking?)
Disarmonia Mundi - They should get some live members and start touring. Although they wouldn't propably visit Poland and if they did, I wouldn't propably go to see them... Damn.
Porcupine Tree - Their stuff isn't really stable :) I mean, some of songs are boring (though not on In Absentia and Fear of a Blank Planet)
AC/DC - Too much singing 'bout sex? :P
Sum 41 - All Killer No Filler and the newest album (underclass hero i guess) suck. (exception: Pain For Pleasure. Goddamn, I love this song.)
Riverside - Huh, the last and the hardest one. Oh, I know. Their remix of Schizophrenic Prayer sucks hard. Their original is amazing, but remix... well.


That's it folks. As you can see, some of insults are half-serious, some are serious... not. And yes, I love you too.

Here are my (actually) fav. vocalists (favourite not the best):

50. Johnny Rotten (Sex Pistols, Public Image Ltd., solo)
49. Kazik Staszewski (Kult, El Dupa, Buldog, Kazik Na Żywo, solo)
48. Kurt Cobain (Nirvana)
47. Black Francis (Pixies, solo)
46. Joe Strummer (The Clash, solo)
45. Ian McCulloch (Echo & the Bunnymen, solo)
44. Alan Vega (Suicide, solo)
43. David Byrne (Talking Heads, solo)
42. Courtney Love (Hole, solo)
41. Bob Marley (The Wailers, Bob Marley & The Wailers)
40. Bob Dylan (solo)
39. Scott Weiland (Stone Temple Pilots, Velvet Revolver, solo)
38. Mark Burgess (The Chameleons, solo)
37. Ian Gillan (Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Ian Gillan Band, solo)
36. PJ Harvey (solo)
35. Morrissey (The Smiths, The Nosebleeds, solo)
34. Nick Cave (The Birthday Party, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds)
33. Patti Smith (solo)
32. Paul Banks (Interpol)
31. Tom Smith (Editors)
30. Yannis Philippakis (Foals)

29. John Lee Hooker (solo)

28. Liam Gallagher (Oasis)

27. Johnny Cash (The Highwaymen, solo)

26. Grzegorz Ciechowski (Republika, solo)

25. Jaz Coleman (Killing Joke, solo)

24. Bon Scott (AC/DC, Fraternity, The Valentines, The Spektors)

23. Mike Scott (The Waterboys, solo)

22. Layne Staley (Alice in Chains, Mad Season)

21. Thom Yorke (Radiohead, solo)

20. Mick Jagger (The Rolling Stones, solo)

19. Ian Curtis (Joy Division)

18. Iggy Pop (The Stooges, The Iguanas, solo)

17. Frank Sinatra (solo)

16. Bono (U2)

15. Roger Waters (Pink Floyd, Sigma 6, The Bleeding Heart Band, solo)

14. Chris Cornell (Soundgarden, Temple of the Dog, Audioslave, solo)

13. Czesław Niemen (solo)

12. Axl Rose (Guns N' Roses, Hollywood Rose)

11. Robert Plant (Led Zeppelin, The Honeydrippers, Page & Plant, solo)

10. Marek Grechuta (solo)

9. David Gilmour (Pink Floyd, solo)

8. Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth, Ciccone Youth, solo)

7. Bruce Dickinson (Iron Maiden, Samson, solo)

6. Robert Smith (The Cure, The Glove)

5. Sting (The Police, solo)

4. Freddie Mercury (Queen, solo)

3. Andrew Wood (Mother Love Bone, Malfunkshun)

2. Eddie Vedder (Pearl Jam, Temple of the Dog, Bad Radio, solo)

1. Jim Morrison (The Doors)


Thanks for comments.
Dzięki za komentarze.

This list contains all artists that I have seen live (obviously ;) )

Formerly, I used to simply tag an artist as 'seen live'... But now in the new last.fm everything you have tagged is automatically in your library. Normally there is nothing wrong with that, but I have seen some artists live, but never scrobbled them to my profile. (And I probably won't ever do that) So there are some artists within my library with 0 plays and I don't like that! :D So here we go...

The Rolling Stones
Jane
Wishbone Ash ( 2 x )
Anathema ( 2 x )
Porcupine Tree ( 5 x )
Green Day
R.E.M.
Marilyn Manson
Iron Maiden
Arena
Dream Theater
The Machine
Uli Jon Roth
The Brimstone Solar Radiation Band
Riverside ( 4 x )
Amplifier
The Musical Box
David Gilmour
Fish ( 4 x )
Sylvan ( 3 x )
Steve Thorne & Gary Chandler
Pendragon ( 2 x )
Ray Davies
Roger Waters
Mostly Autumn
Seconds Out
Paatos
Purple Haze
Trigon
Mastodon ( 2 x )
Tool ( 2 x )
Iona
Toxic Smile
Rocket Scientists
Lana Lane
Sternkin
Marillion
Spock's Beard
Pure Reason Revolution
JEBO
IQ
Asia
The Watch
The Merlin Bird
Jethro Tull
Nektar
Crépuscule
Lazuli
Double Malt
Barclay James Harvest ( 2 x )
Last Supper
Grobschnitt
Solar Moon
HipGnosis
Isildurs Bane
Tangerine Dream
Klaus Schulze & Lisa Gerrard
Central Park
Magenta
Prisma
It Bites
The Flower Kings
Pain of Salvation
Knight Area
Gazpacho
Quidam
Neal Morse
Ray Wilson & Stiltskin
Roger Hodgson

Okay. This is going to be nowhere near complete, ever, but it'll always be a work in progress, at least. I've easily been to a few hundred live shows, and most of the memorable ones are the ones that were either really good, or REALLY bad. Rated *-*****, with ***** being the best.

In the order I remember them. If you're looking for something specific, just use the "find" thing in your browser:

Lightning Bolt, PussyGutt, and a couple other bands that weren't as good. *****

Pussygutt wasn't having a great night, and honestly, the outdoor amphitheater on the greenbelt was probably not the best place for their music. Lightning Bolt, on the other hand, fucking killed it. Best show I've ever been to.

Wolves in the Throne Room, Manville, and a couple others. *****

This show was out in the woods last October. WitTR are probably my favorite metal band right now, and seeing them play around a fucking bonfire in the woods is probably a good bit of the reason for that.

Jeffrey Lewis *****

This show was actually a lot more fun than it should've been. It started in a record shop. Then it kinda moved to a basement. This was when he was touring 12 Crass Songs, and his girlfriend was playing keyboards. Five stars because he played Williamsburg Will Oldham Horror and Back When I Was 4.

The Halo Benders *****

A lot of fun. I can't remember who all opened, but it didn't really matter because it was the fucking Halo Benders. Calvin Johnson seemed surprisingly okay with being there. Some dude drove to Boise all the way from Pennsylvania to come to this show. That guy ruled. Comical moments included watching Calvin Johnson attempt to sell t-shirts that say "Impeach" on them to a predominantly red state crowd from the stage, and hearing some dude tell him (Calvin) a story about a time he (Calvin) was rude to one of his friends.

The Rolling Stones ***

I'm glad I didn't pay for this one. My cousin managed to get me tickets. While they're still entertaining enough, arena shows just never fail to leave a bad taste in my mouth. I understand that there's no other way the Stones could really tour, but I'm not really taking that into consideration here. Also, Blue October was opening, and honestly, they bored the hell out of me.

Converge, The Red Chord, Genghis Tron, Blacklisted *****

Probably one of the best hardcore shows I've ever been to. Small venue. Complete disregard for its rules on the part of the fans. No barrier between the crowd and the stage. People were taking dives off the PA. A hell of a lot of fun.

Converge, Mastodon, The Bronx ***

The venue for this one was a bit bigger than the more recent show (above), and honestly, Mastodon bores the hell out of me live (sorry, but they do). The venue's security acted like a bunch of assholes through the whole show, but thankfully, The Bronx were fun, and Converge tore it up. I was ready to leave about a quarter of the way through Mastodon's set, but I decided to force a fair listen instead. I haven't liked them since.

Mastodon, Against Me!, Cursive, Planes Mistaken for Stars *

I could've done without Against Me! and Mastodon on this show because they brought out one of the shittiest crowds I've ever seen. During Against Me!'s set, it was a total bro-fest. They only played new songs, mostly off of New Wave, which at the time hadn't been released so no one knew the songs. All the Mastodon fans who'd been drawn in by promotion on the local "rock" (read: mostly nu-metal) radio station were heckling the other bands through their sets. During Mastodon's set the PA kept cutting out, and they actually sounded better that way. The rest of their set sounded like crap because of the earsplitting distortion. Apparently they brought their own PA. Cursive played an alright set, but they weren't really loud enough. Planes Mistaken For Stars started a half hour before they were supposed to because the venue decided to make them. Overall, they were the only band that ended up being worth watching, and it was nice that none of the Mastodon fans had shown up yet when they went on. Still, this show was a complete train wreck.

Cursive, The Thermals, Chin Up Chin Up ****

This show was a hell of a lot of fun. Before it I caught Tim Kasher playing an "acoustic" (it was billed as acoustic, but he played an electric guitar without distortion) set accompanied by a trumpet player at a record shop. He did an awesome version of At Conception. They were in good form at the show itself, too. The Thermals were fucking fun. That's all there is to it. Really, really awesome people, too. Chin Up Chin Up didn't do much for me, but they weren't awful. This was a pretty fun show.

Against Me!, The Epoxies, The Soviettes, Smoke or Fire ****

This show was a hell of a lot of fun. The Epoxies put on a killer set. Definitely the highlight of the night. Against Me! played their old songs and were pretty into it. The crowd was insane. The other bands weren't really my cuppa tea, but neither of them were bad.

Bright Eyes, Nik Freitas ****

Bright Eyes were good. They played a lot of their "hits" and threw in a couple more unexpected songs like True Blue and Padraic My Prince. Conor looked drunk as hell. Nik Freitas was pretty boring, though. Definitely nothing special. What I found particularly interesting was the mix of people this show brought out. There were people there I hadn't seen since the last time I went to a street punk show, and there were frat boys, middle-aged housewives, hipsters, and everyone in between. I wish more shows brought out crowds like that.

Planes Mistaken for Stars ****

This show was just confusing. It was originally two shows. It ended up just being one big overbooked mess. Gordie Howe Trio Unit played in a garage where the show was initially supposed to take place. Then for some reason, it was abruptly moved to the bar where the second show was taking place. Planes fucking killed it. They played a lot of songs off Mercy, which is definitely something I can get behind. I think The Adversives, Vagerfly, and a few others played this, too.

Sigur Rós, Amiina *****

Fuck the naysayers. Sigur Ros is awesome live. It was a relatively small venue (it would be big for anything else, but Sigur Ros are good at filling large spaces, so it worked out okay). They were really pleasant dudes after the show, too.

The Decemberists, Cass McCombs **

The Decemberists tried. They really did. But their fatigue showed through to the point where I just kinda wish they'd cancelled and come back some other time. They really didn't want to be playing that show, and all the stage antics came off half-assed and just kind of bummed me out. Cass McCombs was boring as hell. His whole band spent the entire show seated and looked bored through the whole thing. It was just kind of awkward, and they just played kind of generic coffee shop singer/songwriter stuff. Yuck.

The Old Haunts ****

This one was in a living room that I swore was going to collapse under the weight of all the people dancing in it. The bassist was playing in the hallway to the kitchen by the end of the set because the crowd had actually pushed him out of the room thanks to how awkwardly the band had set up.

The Lawrence Arms, The Draft ****

The atmosphere for this show was honestly pretty bad. Not nearly enough people showed up. Which is a damn shame, because The Lawrence Arms are one of the best pop-punk bands still around and played an awesome set, mostly from Oh! Calcutta!. The Draft were pretty good, too. I like them a lot better than most people seem to, and honestly, I think they're a hell of a lot better than most later Hot Water Music. I just wish more people had showed up.

Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, Foot Foot ****

Foot Foot didn't really do much to me, and I can't really think of much to say about Casiotone live except it was better than you'd think. It's really hard to put it into words. So basically it's some guy using a pile of keyboards as a confessional booth in a really awkward way. "Entertaining" or "fun" are definitely not the right words, but I enjoyed the show.

The Sword, Slough Feg *****

This is probably the most insane show I've ever been to at the Neurolux. Broken glass on the floor. Some girl mackin' on one of my friends all night. People actually acting like they're at a metal show in a bar. Probably one of the most fun shows I've ever seen at a place usually dominated by boring hipster types.

The Black Angels, Vietnam, The Heavenly States *****

I was tired as hell, and sort of drunk at this show. Still, this is some of the best modern psych-rock you're going to catch live. Good for a night out when you just need something to completely sonically destroy your brain.

The Hold Steady, The Heartless Bastards ****

I have to deduct a star for The Heartless Bastards, who have the "semi-attractive female singer in shitty bar rock band" thing going on in spades. People in the bar loved it, but man, they blew. Really generic and uninteresting, and their singer tries to pull off these embarrassing "bluesy" vocal inflections that just don't work. The Hold Steady were so incredibly goddamn fun, however, that I quickly forgot about them and had a really, really good fucking time.

Total Chaos, Naked Aggression ***

Total Chaos were pretty straight-up street punk stuff. At the time, I was going through a phase and ate it up, but in retrospect, they really didn't have much going on other than fancy haircuts and image-appropriate pants and jackets. Naked Aggression were better, but they have not aged gracefully. Apparently their singer went on to be a school teacher, and comes off much like you'd expect, considering. Three stars for nostalgia, but unless you're really into that sort of thing, you might not find either of these bands all that interesting.

Ceremony, Sabertooth Zombie, Life Long Tragedy, Hummingbird of death ****

All the touring bands set up on the floor of the venue and pretty much tore shit up. This show was fun as hell.

Trash Talk, The Carrier ****

Another fun-ass hardcore show. This one was in some kid's parents' garage out in Meridian. Funniest thing overheard that night: "I've never been hit that hard by a girl before."

Lair of the Minotaur ****

A rather average sort of "post-rock" band opened this show, and brought all their friends. After that, the place pretty much cleared out, which was a bummer. Hearing Doomtrooper live made my night.

65daysofstatic ***

This is why I wish The Venue would book good bands with more care. Sorry, but I don't give a fuck about the scene it claims it represents, and I don't want to see a bunch of shitty high school talent show bands at every show I go to. All the opening bands were just shitty scene kids with nothing to offer, and absolutely nothing in common with 65daysofstatic, musically, aside from maybe using guitars and drums and maybe a few of the same notes here and there. I ended up getting my wristband and then wandering off and back for a few hours wishing I had money to get drunk, coming back every now and then to see if this local band sucked any less than the last one. 65daysofstatic ruled, and they were really solid dudes, but I felt kinda bummed for having paid like 10 bucks for one good band and four utterly terrible ones.

The Appleseed Cast, The Impossible Shapes, Browningham ****

Browningham was awesome, for a novelty act. Cheesy synthesizer pop and cheerleading routines. The Impossible Shapes surprised me with how good they were, too. I don't really like them on record, but live they took full advantage of that really harsh single-coil tone a lot of Fender guitars can get. The Appleseed Cast were in top form, and a hell of a lot of fun.

The Appleseed Cast, Owen, Acute ****

Acute weren't very good. Not awful, but nothing to get excited about. Mike Kinsella was a lot more fun live than I was expecting him to be, although I guess I shouldn't have been surprised given the other bands he's been in. The Appleseed Cast were just kinda settling in a new drummer, but sounded great regardless, even though the new drummer only knew a handful of songs. Copeland was headlining, but I left before they went on. Actually, a lot of people did. It seemed like most of the crowd was there to see The Appleseed Cast.

DragonForce, HORSE the band, All That Remains **

HORSE were a good opening band. Unfortunately, All That Remains were fucking terrible, and played an excruciating 40 minute set, most of which I spent outside in the smoker pit (note: I don't smoke; the venue the show was at just doesn't let people back in after they've left). Dragonforce were a lot of fun, even if they were pretty trashed while they played. But the venue was shitty and having to spend All That Remains' set within earshot just to hear Dragonforce left a really, really bad taste in my mouth about this one.

Jana Hunter **

Don't get me wrong. I like the songs. But her stage presence is boring, and the crowd talked over most of her set. Definitely a pretty underwhelming show that just kinda made me wish I'd stayed in, instead.

Weekend Nachos, Hummingbird of death, Riot on Rosewood, Signs of Hope *****

This one was in a basement about the size of a small hallway. Shit was insane, awesome fun.

Charlie Louvin *****

This was a free show in a record shop. It was actually pretty great, and Charlie Louvin has held up surprisingly well considering his age. He still puts on a great show and I'd definitely recommend catching him live if you get the chance. I'd hurry, because there aren't anymore like him anywhere.

Isis, Jesu, Zozobra *****

Live is the only way to hear Isis. Their records are great, but their live set is something else entirely. They're a band that fully understands the psychedelic potential of repetition, and they're not afraid to use it. Jesu sounded great, and I wasn't that familiar with Zozobra as anything more than a "less wanky" Old Man Gloom sister band, but they were excellent, as well. This show was a hell of a lot of fun. So much fun that even being at a venue that's ruined or almost ruined a couple of the other shows on this list - easily the shittiest venue in town - couldn't ruin it.

Ted Leo and The Pharmacists, Love of Diagrams *****

A fun show, for sure. Five stars by default because they played The High Party and Dirty Old Town. Love of Diagrams were really good, too. Australian new-wavey stuff that somehow didn't come off as some kind of boring nostalgia thing. Both bands were really solid people after the show and were cool to hang out with the kids who stuck around. Always a plus, I think.

Fu Manchu, Saviours ****

This show was really fun, but, unfortunately, I got really sick at it. Saviours put on a great set. Fu Manchu destroyed on a practically unprecedented level. Unfortunately, I went home with one of the worst colds I've ever had, and that's all that kept this from being a five star show.

Saviours, Manville ****

I like Saviours live a lot better now that I know the songs better. And I liked them live to begin with. They seemed to be having a bit of an off-night, though. They didn't sound bad, but they didn't sound great, either. Manville were pretty rad, too, of course. Those dudes are always good.

Kingdom of Magic, Giants, Fall From Grace **

Two stars because Kingdom of Magic and giants killed. These bands are both fucking great and I'd recommend seeing either of them. Minus one because they both played to about 12 people. Minus another two because most of the crowd left after Fall From Grace, by far the worst band I've heard in at least a year, played. Apparently they won a contest hosted by a company called... "Bodog." Seriously. Someone actually thought it would be cool to call a company "Bodog." Sounds like they either sponsor mixed martial arts or online gambling, or at least, something equally shitty that appeals exclusively to complete douchebags who vote for things with their cell phones. And apparently the prize for winning this contest was a record deal. I think their singer is trying to look like Mike Ness, but he just looks like that dork from Green Day, plus about fifty pounds. Fuck this band times a hundred.

Anything to avoid my quite-overdue summer reading assignments...

1) How did you get into 29?
Blacktop Manhattan
Heard the song Hollywise on that guitar playing game thing on addictinggames.com last fall and downloaded it from newgrounds.

2) What was the first song you ever heard by 22?
Filter
Well, the first time I listened to them was after I stole Title of Record from my brother, so I guess technically the opener Sand, but seeing as how it's not really a "song", track 2 Welcome To the Fold.

3) What is your favourite lyric by 33?
Sublime
Well, I would say the entire lyrics for Smoke Two Joints, but since that's a cover, I'll go with:
The moral of the date rape story
It does not pay if you're drunk and horny.
But that's the way it had to be,
They locked him up and threw away the key.
Well, I can't take pity of men of his kind
Even though he now takes it in the behind
DATE RAPE!
from Date Rape, obviously... always cracks me up.

4) How did you get into 49?
Frank Zappa & Captain Beefheart
Part of the soundtrack of my childhood.

5) How many albums by 13 do you own?
Jane's Addiction
The two classics: Nothing's Shocking and Ritual de lo Habitual

6) What is your favourite song by 50?
I actually have a 4-way tie for the coveted 49th position haha... my favourite out of any of these though would be