Welcome to my Edgefest 6 Page

Below is my review and picture of Edgefest 6. Feel free to respond by signing the guestbook or sending me an email. Read at your own risk. The word bitch is used on several occasions when describing that bitch Courtney Love. Don't worry, more pics are on the way so check back later. Just haven't developed Day 2 pics yet, and I still need to scan some Day 1 pics

Day 1

Picture it. Bright, warm, a clear blue sky shimmering above a sloping hill. Below twenty five thousand revelers, many of whom are blasted beyond belief. This was the scene as I entered FloatRite park for another installment of Edgefest, this surprising ly being the sixth installment of the rapidly growing event.

As mentioned, it was a glorious day, made all the more beautiful by the alcohol I had quickly ingested in the parking lot of the event. Having made a point to see Staind, I deemed in necessary to enter the concert at two thirty so as to get to the front by 2:40, when Staind was supposed to go on. Let me preface this by saying that Staind's Dysfunction is by far the best album of 1999. If you don't have this album, get it. Lyrically and musically diverse, this band has a sound that reminds me of a Tool, Alice In Chains, Deftones cross. Unfortunately for them, though, it seems a lot of 16 year old Limp Bizkit fans are getting into them. A quick read of their bulliten board at Electra shows way to many references to Korn, Limp Bizkit, and Kid Rock. This is mostly due to the Fred Durst sticker that showed up on the front of their album. Oh well. I must admit Fred does sign some damn tight bands (also check out Cold, not so heavy but still some emotional music). Anyway, this aside, let me repeat, buy this damn album. And go support Staind live (they'll be touring with LB and Kid Rock in July (the twelfth in Minnesota))

Enough of the hype. On with the show. Wow. They were tight. Sounded like the album, except with way more energy. I was thoroughly impressed. Just Go, the last song they played, was definitely a highlight. The crowd also seemed really into them. These Massachusetts boys really put on a good show. Lead singer Aaron Lewis was impressive . His vocals were clear, he showed some great range, and he hit all the right notes. This was definitely the highlight of Edgefest for me (along with Nothingface), it was only too bad they had to go on so early. Had they been on later, I'm sure more people would be snatching up their album.

Anyway, enough of my Staind ass-kissing. On to the next band. A band I won't waste my time with for more than a paragraph: Marvelous 3. They weren't good. They asked how many people knew there songs and I'm guessing two people raised their hands. And for good reason. They weren't good. I was especially unimpressed by the drumming. Hell, I've never touched a drum set in my life and I could do what their drummer was doing. To me the beat makes or breaks a band, and this band was definitely broken by their drummer. It was so unoriginal and boring I'm not going to waste any more precious time on them.

Next up (at around 4) was Sponge. I had managed to garner a spot up against the reinforced concrete fence by t his time, but was not a real Sponge fan. After seeing the show I'm still not. Although I was glad the lead singer repeatedly came off the stage and into the crowd. It's about time the band interacts with the crowd. Sure I almost got crushed as everyone surged to the front (where I was) to try to touch him, but who cares. As an extra bonus, the 300 lb. woman who was standing next to me got crushed against the railing and seemed to pass out. They subsequently pulled her out, giving me a little more breathing room. Anyway, back to Sponge, good live show, not great, and definitely no reason to go and buy any of their albums. Their sound just isn't for me. But the tight leather pants were retro cool, and they did manage to bring one incredibly hot girl up on stage and man did she have a nice rack. The crowd interaction was cool, and overall the band did decent. Just not my cup of tea.

Next up was supposed to be Hole, but the bitch wasn't ready so Econoline Crush came on. By this time I h ad to piss, so I was in the john enjoying their music. Ok, so I didn't really enjoy it too much, but it was music to piss to anyway. By the time I got back down to the pit area I had realized they weren't all that good. Just another band trying hard to emulate other industrial/rock bands and doing a not so good job of it. Again, a decent band, but nothing to write home about.

Local H took the stage next. I had seen them at one of the previous Edgefests, but must have been too drunk to really remember them. Once they took the stage I did get somewhat of a clue though. Drums. The man behind the kit was unreal. The great thing about it is they put him right up front on the stage, not relegated to the back so no one could see him. I've only seen this done a few times (Tool) and everytime I wonder why bands don't do this more often. It was incredible to see him work his magic. He was hitting incredibly hard, and headbanging all the way. An impressive display of rhythm, talent, and just plain craziness. The band itself was actually pretty good. It seems their popular songs (of which I don't know the names and are too lazy to look up) seem to be their slower numbers. They had some real heavy hitters in there. And they seemed half way intelligent. The lead singer/ guitarist reminded me a little of some of the old Seattle bands. The music was kind of like that as well. Overall they put on a pretty good show, but I couldn't see much as I had worked my way to the front of the other stage and wasn't budging. Again, I won't buy their album, but I wouldn't have a problem seeing them live again.

Next up was Hole. I have a lot to say about Courtney Love. But much of it would be expletives and my mom always said if you don't have anything nice to say don't say it. But mom, that woman is a bitch. You can tell she was a spoiled little brat when she was a kid. Mommy and daddy gave her everything, but love of course. Anyway, musically I never hated Hole. I don't own any albums and never thought of buying them, but I never thought they were bad. Their concert was no different. Good, but nothing special. The problem is with Courtney herself. She's taking this feminism thing too far. She wouldn't be anyone without Kurt anyway. But I digress. I'm not going to stoop to her level and degrade her like she degraded all the fans...and the weather....and the promoters...and the 93X DJ's...and the conditions of the crowd. I know more than one person who yelled "Shut up and play your fucking music". She's annoying. Anyway, to make a short story long, Courtney only played four or five songs because it was too hot (she only plays at night) and she didn't have enough energy. She covered it by lodging some type of protest against the conditions that the crowd had to endure (I thought they were just fine. Hell, they were great compared to some shows I've been to.)Whatever. She's the most selfish person I've ever had the privilege of seeing live. If she doesn't want to play, don't sign up to play. Don't sign up, collect your cash, and then complain the whole time.

Then came probably the most entertaining band of the show: Flipp. These guys have probably played almost every Edgefest, and for good reason. They put on a great stage show. Musically, I'd never buy one of their albums, but they sure do have stage presence. Kinda like Gwar meets Green Day or something. The electricity schtick, the alien light thing, the costumes, the schizophrenia, the huge bong...what more could you ask for from a band? Again, much like putting a good drummer up front, more bands should do stuff like this. It doesn't take away from the music, it enhances it. I saw some of the other band members from earlier bands enjoying the show immensely, as did I. A great live show from one of the most creative live bands

Buckcherry didn't appear due to lead singer illness, so Def Leppard was next. After about a 45 minute wait they hit the stage. Let me just say I never liked 80's hair bands, even in the 80's and Def Leppard is no exception. They just sound so cheesy to me. They write songs that will sell. There's no emotion, no intricacies, no nothing. Just pop music. Some people may like uncomplicated music, but I'm not one of them. We left after about 5 songs (thank God) and got out of there quite easy.

Overall day one was pretty good, with Staind, Local H, and Flipp being the highlights. Courtney Love had to be the lowlight, along with Marvelous Three. Day two promised to be better

Day Two.

Well, unfortunately for me, I found alcohol to be more of a lure than the early bands so we stayed in the parking lot until close to five, therefore missing some excellent metal acts (Hatebreed, American Headcharge, and Second Coming, who, from what I've heard, totally kicked ass). But we didn't miss all the metal. One band I was going to see was Nothinface, and they didn't disappoint. Ok, so they did a little. The guitars seemed a little too distorted and I couldn't pick up on their rhythms all that much because of it. They have some great riffs buried in their show, and unfortunately they didn't sound as clean as they could have. But I did enjoy the show nonetheless. The bassist was sporting some pretty cool horns as well. But anyway, the music was great: that aggressive heavy sound that I personally love. The vocalist, Matt Holte, does a pretty good job of varying the screams with some pretty solid singing. We had managed (quite easily actually) to work our way to the second row behind some pretty wasted pot smokers (who kept singing "I love the cocaine, I love the cocaine" in between every song) and before long a pretty nice pit erupted. Nothingface definitely kicks some major ass (to use an old metal cliche) so check them out if you ever get the chance. A highlight was definitely their last song, both in concert and on their An Audio Guide to Everyday Atrocity album, The Sick. Huge song. Anyway, Nothingface was solid indeed.

Next up was Grinspoon, some upstart Aussies. I think I had ran off to the pisser immediately after the Nothingface gig, so by the time I got back they were about half-way through their set. They were decent, a little too Silverchairish for my tastes. They looked even younger than Silverchair though. Since I don't remember much about their show, I guess I'll move on.

Bare Jr. All I have to say about them is they put half the crowd to sleep. Their brand of country rock isn't very entertaining. Seemed incredibly cliched. And they had some instrument up front (probably some country instrument I know nothing about) that I heard nothing from. It's great to try new instruments besides the old guitar, bass, drum thing, but at least let us hear it. I heard nothing. Overall, Bare Jr. sucks bad. Enough said.

The Flys were next, and much like Flipp, I thought they put on a great show. Again, I'd probably never buy their albums, but hey, their singer was all over the place. He never stopped moving. It's not fun being crushed by 10,000 people to watch some people stand still on stage. You need stage presence, and the Flys had it. Hats off to them. Their closing song also caught me completely off guard, and was quite a good pick considering some of the old timers who had showed up to catch Lemmy and the boys from Motorhead: Crazy Train. A staple of any hard rocker, Ozzy's work was reworked and redone. I even broke out my "Ozzy rules" cheer upon hearing the first couple drum beats. The Flys earn my respect for playing that tune.

Cake was next, and fortunately for me some hot chicks happened to be right in front of me, so I was too busy staring at large breasts than the band. They were good, groovy if you will, and tried their hardest to get the crowd involved. But it just wasn't happening. Not a real big Cake crowd I guess. It seemed most of the people had found their way down there for the following band, the Offspring.

Let me just preface this by saying, once again, I'm not a huge fan of the Offspring. They're good, but I own none of their albums. I probably never will own any. But I understand their allure. They're a good solid band, and Dexter Holland is a pretty solid lead singer. Anyway, after being crushed for about 20 minutes (note to self, you can get to the front with a lot less pain by just going nuts once the band actually starts playing. People will move aside for crazy people. Trying to get to the front before the band has started only causes a lot of unneeded broken ribs) the band came on and played a flawless show. I think they had some mic problems half-way through, although who really knows. Anyway, they left the stage for a while and before long were back. That's all I know. Anyway, they sounded great, did some good crowd interaction, brought some chicks on stage, and pretty much rocked, as all good bands should. Pretty good live, and intelligent as well.

The grand finale was Motorhead, but no one in my carpool wanted to stay so I had to leave (only to sit in the parking lot for an hour and half due to traffic). I'm sure Motorhead put on their usual great show. I saw them at Ozzfest a while back and they are decent. Much better than Def Leppard at least. Anyway, beside a few crazy drunks we met in the parking lot (anyone out there see the guy who was passed out in the back of the truck? Well a couple seconds later the truck stopped and before I knew it that guy was driving) the show was over. Overall it was another solid weekend, with bands for just about anyone and everyone, which is probably why so many people showed up. Hopefully the same will happen next year. It's no Ozzfest, but it's a pretty good show nonetheless. Anyway, that's all for now. See you next year.