Well, my expectations were big for X-Fest. Killer bands, three days and we were staying at a campsite in town which made for much drunken madness. Unfortunately, God intervened and said "Get it out bitch" and slapped me across the face. I missed almost all the bands on Saturday cause I was A) too hungover to get there early B)it was raining all day and none of the people I went with wanted to make the trek out of their tents to the campsite C)I was just plain lazy. So those are my excuses. So yes, I am partially to blame for this, but most of the blame can be attributed to shitty weather. I did manage to catch all the bands on Sunday though, and most on Friday, but seeing as all the good bands were Saturday, I was still a teensy bit disappointed.

Anyway, to make a short story long, we headed out about 12:30 on Friday. Amazingly, it only took us two hours to get there so I was impressed by the time we made. We arrived at our campsite (Sunrise Park I believe) and found it to be a big field with very little space left. So we camped on the bottom of a hill about as far away from the entrance as one could get. Anyway, we set up, drank some beer, ate, drank some more beer, drank a bit more beer, and headed for the concert.
If anyone wonders who I was, I was the drunk guy offering to pee in your car's radiator to stave off overheating, or the guy that opened the bathroom door on you while you were peeing. And before I knew it, we were in, greeted by the shitty sounds of Nickelback. I guess I just wasn't too impressed by them, and since I was a bit inebriated, I don't remember much of their set anyway.

Next up was Three Doors down. They have a song playing on the radio quite a bit that I thought was decent, but when I saw them live, they were a bit slow and kinda twangy to me. I wasn't too impressed. There just wasn't anything new to it. And I need newness. Basically they were a glorified bar band.

Then came Godsmack. If you've perused my sight (Ozzfest 99 review) you know that I'm not the biggest Godsmack fan in the world. I think their songs are simple and boring. Well, that opinion hasn't changed, but they did put on a decent show. Their drummer is pretty good, and when the lead singer started banging on the drums it was kinda cool. But I still think they need to find a guitarist who can play some cool riffs. I really dislike their riffs. Just boring boring boring shit.

Finally, we had Stone Temple Pilots. Beside my jailbait and don't drop the soap taunts, I thought they were pretty good. For a band that probably hasn't played together too much recently, they sounded pretty solid. Again, coming in I wasn't a real big fan, but Weiland had lots of stage presence (although in a weird way...that thing he does with his hands around his head is really weird to me), their drummer was really good, and the guitarist and bassist are both solid. Although I think they need to let their guitarist go off a bit more. He's a good player and a lot of their songs could be livened up with some guitar solos and other interludes to make the songs a bit less repetitive. But hey, who am I to criticize a band with platinum albums?

Anyway, that did it for the brief Friday night session. Overall, I was glad I was drunk cause I wasn't a huge fan of any of the bands anyway, so there was no need for me to be sober and listen. So I plodded home, drank some more, took a tour of the campsite, and fell asleep, hoping for a glorious show on Saturday.

Day 2
I awoke with a massive headache and hearing the sound of raindrops falling on my tent. But they soon subsided leaving just an overcast sky, which kinda fit my mood really. We ate, and as soon as we had put the fire out, the floodgates opened again. So we spent most the day inside our tent playing cards, drinking and having the occasional orgy. I kept trying to coerce people to go to the concert with me, but to no avail. So finally, around 8 o'clock, I said "Fuck it, I'll go by myself." And I did.

As I pulled into the concert, I could hear Sevendust just finishing up. Well, when I say concert, I mean mudhole. The whole area was like a big pit of quicksand. And there weren't a whole hell of a lot of people there either. So I wandered down near the stage (but not too near) and Staind came on. They had played last year when they were relatively obscure. And then this year when they were relatively huge. And I must say, they are a damn good band. The lead singer has an incredible voice. The drummer is solid as a rock, and I was more impressed by the guitars and bass than I had been at last year's show. They are just a solid all-around band. With solid songs. And solid stage presence. I really wasn't disappointed. They put on a good show. You could tell they'd been touring for the year. They seemed a bit tighter and more refined than last year.

Well, then we waited for Slipknot. I'd seen Slipknot once (Ozzfest 99), had their cd (had played it so much I wore it out and hadn't listened in a bit) and liked them quite a bit. So anyway, they played an intro song (Janis Joplin???) which said Satan quite a bit, then at the end they skipped the record so it kept repeating Satan. Nice effect. And then broke into the screeching that starts their album for quite a long time. Finally, they hit the stage. Shit man. It was awesome. That band has stage presence oozing out their assholes. And their music is solid too. Anyway, highlights for me had to be Eyeless, Surfacing, Purity, and the closing song, Scissors. But who am I kidding. They all rocked. In between Corey had a lot to say. It was their one-year anniversary of being on tour (which started with Ozzfest 99). He also said it was great to know their album had gone platinum with no airplay, no MTV and none of that shit. And thanked the fans who made it happen. Also said something about not playing for money, but instead playing for the music Thanked all the bands that had come before them that day that they had played with (but left out Machine Head for some reason). And other random bits of information. I think he was basically astounded by the crowd really.

Anyway, highlights of the show had to be when Cory got everyone (and I mean everyone) to sit down in the mud for like a minute. It was amazing. Everyone was in the mud. At least everyone in front of me was. And then got them to pick up mud and throw it in the air. And apparently it was on some home video.

Anyway, during the last song, Scissors, the band really got going. By going, I mean on fire. They started the middle of the stage on fire. Then lit themselves. Then lit the extra sets of drums on fire. It was pretty cool really. And this was an extended version of Scissors. Very long. Very cool. They just sorta jammed out (if it can be called that) for what had to be 15 minutes. I guess they were biding their time until the time was right. And then, just like that it was over.

But man, what a fucking intense show. The crowd was going wild, the band was going wild. I list them as one of the top three live bands I've seen, and for good reason. They've got it all. Heavy fucking songs, enormous stage presence, they interact with the crowd, and the lined up headbanging thing is fucking cool. They don't just go up there and play (like most of the bands at X-Fest) but interact. Which reminds me. I didn't even mention the cool visual effects they had. They had their logo swirling around, the People=Shit thing showed up a few times, and a couple other cool lighting effects. It was really surreal because the steam rising off all the pit-dwellers really made it look eerie. It was intense.

Anyway, with that, Slipknot was done. An intense show by an intense band. And really, the highlight of the weekend by far for me.

Day 3

Well, I awoke for Day three praying for no more rain. I guess God was happy that I hadn't gotten drunk the night before (my beer was locked in the car with nary a key in sight) and decided not to make it rain. But he was still a bit pissed. It was still overcast.

Anyway, I was feeling better (mainly because I had taken a monstrous shit in a port-a-pot the night before (luckily, the shit was just inches below my asscheeks or I'd have someone else's crap on my ass)) and was ready for another show. Unfortunately, as I soon learned, the bands weren't conducive to such a thing.

Amazingly enough, we arrived at the show before it started. Man, that place was a mess. They had hauled in some woodchips and the like to soak up some of the rainwater, but the place was still a mudhole. It was really amazing actually. You could see where people were sliding down the hill into a vast expanse of water. I would have been there, had I not had to ride home that night in someone elses car. Oh well. Life sucks.
Anyway, the first band to hit the stage was U.P.O. As I write this I can't even remember any of the songs they sang. So I guess it's safe to say they made no impression on me. So we'll move on. Next up was 8 Stops 7. They were kinda decent. But still a bit twangy for my tastes. I think they have a song called Godless that's getting some airplay. It's an ok song. Nothing really great here, but they did try some crowd interaction and stuff, so I'll give them some credit.

After them, we tried to head over to the alley stage to check out Papa Roach. Unfortunately, that wasn't meant to be. For some reason they had a tent setup instead of an open stage. And the tent was full. So we could either stand outside the tent and listen to the music and not see it, or not see it and not hear it. We chose the latter. Whoever thought that tent was a good idea should get their head examined.

Next up on the main stage was Dope. Not being a real big listener of Dope, I was actually kinda impressed. The crowd was really into them, and they were pretty good. Maybe a bit too industrial for my tastes, but they were a solid band. Some solid riffs in there, a decent drummer and a lead singer who had some cool hair and who wasn't afraid to talk to the crowd. A good show by a good band. Not sure if I'd buy one of their albums, but I might check them out again if they were on a bill that I was going to.

American Head Charge, a local unsigned band who I'd heard a lot about, was up next. The show started out with some nice pyrotechnics, but it was all downhill from there. Seems this band is all show (pigheads on sticks? That's so European death metal) and no substance. Maybe I just wasn't in the mood, but I couldn't really find any distinguishable riffs or any really catchy drum beats or fills. (Which reminds me, the drummer from Slipknot is a god. The one behind the kit. Joey. Holy goddamn crap is all I have to say.) I was actually kinda surprised they gave American Head Charge such a good timeslot (between two national acts Dope and Static-X). They really deserved an alley stage slot with Papa Roach claiming their spot. Or Disturbed. Or someone else good. Anyway, I like to support local music, so I do regret ripping on American Head Charge. Maybe if I see em a few more times I'll like em, but who knows. Right now it's a thumbs down.

Next up was Static-X. Man, these guys really can put on a live show (Check out my CD Review or Ozzfest review for more info). There were some noticeable differences from last year's Ozzfest performance. Again, you could tell they had been touring for the past year. Much tighter, much more cohesive. Although there were some minor slip-ups such as before playing Push It, Wayne saying "This will be the first track off our new album." Hmmm. Odd. That track was on their old album. Anyway, they have a nice Fear Factoryish sound and Wayne has a one of a kind voice. Really a strange voice. Oh, and the hair was noticeably longer as well. They played pretty much all their staples off the Wisconsin Death Trip album (including the title track, which was ironic considering the state where the concert was, the guy that came out of the pit dripping huge amounts of blood from a head wound, and another guy who went down in the mud only to get up about five minutes later with a huge patch of bloody hair on the back of his head). On a side note (and as a challenge to all you people who think you're concerts rock) Wayne made a point of saying last year's Ozzfest at Somerset had been the best crowd of the year, and this year's was surely going to be the same. I know I know, every concert I've been to they say that, but I'm kinda sure they meant it. I hope.

Anyway, after Static X was Powerman 5000. Let me just say, I didn't like them the first time I'd seen them. Which must have been three years ago. And let me just say they didn't get any better. How did they get so big? Nice to see some crowd interaction (they did a lot of talking) but the music just didn't seem all that good really. I don't know, maybe it's just me, but it seems really old and clichéd and just not all that original. I like my music creative. Not drab.

Although there was a high point. Apparently they'd just come off a European tour with Pantera. And he started ripping on Europe. Which is cool. Europe does kinda suck. But anyway, we checked out before they were done (I think when they started playing Radiohead's Creep(aren't they European? Or at least faux European?) and I was actually kinda glad we were leaving early. Everclear was last, and I'm sure they played their usual boring show.

Man, I'm kinda negative eh? Well, let me say something positive then. Slipknot fucking ruled. OK See them. If you haven't seen them, check them out. If you have, you know what I'm talking about and you will see them again.

Anyway, as we pulled out of the show, an odd thing happened. They sun, dormant for nearly two days, made it's triumphant return. Yet another ironic happening in a weekend that didn't live up to expectations thanks to God, those kids, and that meddling dog.
Till next year Somerset. This is Uwillbeadsoon saying "Bite my fucking dick."

Feedback Wanted!

You got something to say about this review? Post it in the guestbook, or email it to me and I'll post it on here. Did you see bands I didn't? Well send your thoughts to me and I'll get that shit online. OK? OK