My unbearable HFS experience

[myuman]

Where must I begin without writing all night while achieving the satisfaction of venting.  That is the first time I've been to M&T Stadium and hopefully the last.  And by the way, Baltimore is a slight notch above my local landfill when it comes to visually pleasing.  Maybe this is over the top, but everytime I venture inside city limits, filthy always seems not far from being uttered.  Now the concert:  Somehow the lineup at the b-stage was screwed very early on, not sure why, but I thought I'd catch Stereophonics while I was out there before catching interpol.  I suffered through Jimmy's Chicken Shacks set while waiting.  You know what you're in for when a band climbs on stage with Sombreros and immediately directs the the audience to scream the "F" word at the top of their lungs.  I don't have virgin ears, but I tend to search for a tad more class.  Things were delayed and Interpol was coming up, so I left the b-stage after one sterophonics song.  Interpol started great, then... just as they were hitting stride, they were gone... not to return.  I kid you not... 20 minutes.  Four mediocre old songs, and one mediocre new song.  I was baffled.  Really the band I was most looking for, haven't seen them in over 2 years.  Then next thing I knew... no Echo!?  Never did know why.  The HFS communications department is pretty much nonexistent.  So one whole band pulled out, and they were still running behind by the time Idol came out.  This is not the coachella on the clock crew.  Garbage was a pleasant surprise for me.  Never got much into her thing, but I was entertained.  New York Dolls and Social D were exactly what you'd expect, and if you were big fans, I'm sure it was great.  I thought it was fine, but...  Time to grab a three or four dollar water (depending on where you shopped) only to be blessed with not being allowed to keep the cap.. now what in hades name am I supposed to do with that!  Sure I found one... but this is an outfit that makes no attempt to secure the safety of anyone that would like to get within 50 metres of the stage and actually listen to music (without being abused by moshers/surfers during Interpol of all bands) or clear the line of females out of the men's room, but those soda/water caps have to stay!  The rain that came didn't help anything.  The whole upper deck was sectioned off limits, so there was no place to "expand" to all day.  Just stumbling over people and very few open areas to sit.  Setting aside exactly the same number of seats as tickets sold just doesn't work so well at a GA concert.  So now everyone is moving toward one concourse.  Just one big pain.  Too many tailbone tattoos, nose rings, stoned looks... I had had enough.  It was time to sell this loosing stock.  Lightning bolts in the area was the clincher.  I was looking forward to Foo Fighters, but I was cashing out.  I have no idea how the evening concluded, but I was in need of convenience, and this experience needed to be forgotten.

[distance]

Originally posted by myuman:
  I thought it was fine, but...  Time to grab a three or four dollar water (depending on where you shopped) only to be blessed with not being allowed to keep the cap.. now what in hades name am I supposed to do with that!  

thanks for the idea.
 i'm going to save all my plastic bottlecaps from now on and buy the cheapest ticket i can to get into shows, sneak in said bottle caps and sell bottlecaps for $1.00 each!
 i will be rich!

[SPARX]

Damn,sorry you had such a bad time.My experience was almost completely opposite.Plenty of places to sit,no long lines,was able to literally walk right down front for the Dolls,who easily stole the show,at least from the bands I saw.Songs from what I can think of off the top of my head by NYD were Pills,Looking for a kiss,Puss n Boots,Jet Boy,Lonely Planet Boy,which they dedicated to Johnny Thunders and closed with Personality Crisis.Few more I can't think of.They were tight,and if they due any club dates,I'd highly recommend it.No self parody with them.They were all smiles and riffs,definitely been puttin in the practice,as they were nearly flawless.Ian and Co. on the other hand was a complete joke.If he gets paid in full,somebody's  crazy.Couldn't even remember the words to Lips like Sugar he was so out of it.Wearing a leather jacket to boot.reminded me of Dave Kendall.Anyway,after storming off,coming back,trys to give the mic away for someone else to sing and they stop again.That's your echo show today folks,blamed it on losing his voice,but he looked ROUGH.Garbage,of which I've never been a fan,put on a good solid set,as did Social D who brought out the moshers in full effect.Dedicating Mommy's Little Monster to Dave Grohl and a new one,Don't Take me for Granted dedicated to the Dolls.All in all,I enjoyed my six hour visit.Started raining as Social D  ended which suited me just fine.The 12 year olds were taking over for the field for  Good Charlotte and I high tailed it for the hills.Missed WSC,Louis xiv,but other than that,no problems.Can't wait to hear the recordings!Interpol sure looked uncomfortable in those shirt and ties in that heat,and they headed off after a lackluster 23 minute 52 second set..

[sonickteam2]

please please
 
 if they  have another one of theses godawful sorry excuse of a concert ever again, and i express interest in going....shoot me
 
  the HFStival is the devil.  its terribe, it was a nightmare.
 
   i would have been better off giving the $200 i spent there to a homeless crackhead.

[jardison]

You guys act surprised, this is an all day festival!  What do you expect?  That being said, I am glad to hear that NY Dolls killed and that Social D played Mommy's Little Monster.

[SPARX]

It seemed like any other HFstival to me,maybe a little less crowded.You didn't really expect them to be like,giving away water and stuff did you?As usual,all about the benjamins is par for the course.Boy,I do admit though I would've been bummed if I had to set thru "the Shack"    :eek:

[Herr Professor Doktor Doom]

wow... myuman, that was a very vivid post -- it sounds like utter hell!
 
 http://www.alex.to/doomlink

[andyrichter]

Best sets of the day belong to NY Dolls and Social Distortion.  Echo apparently played 1 measly song, Garbage was good, Billy Idol is a jackass, and Foo Fighters were a good closing band.  Having said that, I hope I never have to go to another hfstival ever again.

[ggw]

I give it 6.1 Z's.
 
 It's a festival at a mega stadium, so short sets, overpriced concessions, and a high concentration of white trash are to be expected.
 
 Louis XIV - meh....
 
 Interpol - Par for the course.  Solid playing as always.  Nothing spectacular.  23 minutes and then they left the stage.
 
 They Might Be Giants - Quirky, fun.  Ana Ng has always been a favorite of mine.
 
 Echo - Ian stopped in the middle of Lips Like Sugar, bitched about the vocals volume, and walked off.  Came back, started again, bitched again, walked again. Came back a few minutes later, asked if anyone knew how to sing Rescue; tried to do it himself, asked for more volume on the vocals and then walked off again.  His voice sounded shot.
 
 Garbage - Like others in this thread, I've never been a fan of their music, but they definitely put on a good set.
 
 New York Dolls - HFStival fact of the day: David Johansen is seven years younger than Keith Richards, but he looks thirty-five years older!  Honestly, he was downright scary.  But they put on a very good set and showed Louis XIV how to be a glam band.
 
 Social Distortion - Thanks to poor ticket sales, I had no problem walking to within 20 feet of the stage to rock out.  No one will ever be as cool as Mike Ness.  Ever.
 
 Good Charlotte - Did they mention that they are from Maryland?
 
 Billy Idol - Exceeded my expectations again.  Was it just me, or did he have much of the crowd eating out of his hand?  A lot of people in the section where I was sitting started out smirking and laughing and ended up giving him a standing ovation.  Weird.
 
 Coldplay - They are the safest band ever. They are like gelatin - you know it's a food, and it doesn't make you sick, but it doesn't really have a taste and it's just kind of like there isn't much there.
 
 Foo Fighters - criminally short set ended just as they were hitting their stride.  The guitar solos seemed a lot more metal than in the past.  Lots of screaming.
 
 All in all, the festival was nothing special.  Not a bad way to spend a spring day, but I abhor that stadium and doubt I would go again.
 
 I would also like to recommend that the nation's schools and colleges look into adding a new fashion field to the curriculum -- it will aim to teach the youth that not every body type should wear bikini tops, hooters-style shirts, and really short shorts.  For males, it would instruct that the ass-crack should remain concealed in public.  This is especially true if you have a prominent "gut" that may or may not be bordered by a tatoo of your name in an Old English font.

[thatguy]

my key ingredients for a good day at any festival are free shade and water.  i had both today, so i had a good time.  garbage, ny dolls, social d, billy idol, and foo fighters were the highlights.  all those rock and roll geezers put on quite a display.  
 
 a little birdy told me that social d will be playing multiple nights at smaller venues this fall, and a two or three night stand at 9:30 seems likely.  nothing confirmed of course.

[kosmo vinyl]

can we pair up New York Dolls with Social D at the club?  that would be awesome...
 
 Sounds like the two groups i wanted to see killed, but am glad i stayed home and djed the super diamond show instead.  After the band left it started with Cutting Crew and ended with Spandu Ballet. and people dancing up a brief storm for tunes in between.

[sonickteam2]

Originally posted by ggwâ?¢:
  I give it 6.1 Z's.
 
 It's a festival at a mega stadium, so short sets, overpriced concessions, and a high concentration of white trash are to be expected.
 

sometimes i just love you!
 
 and you're right about Mike Ness.
 
 
 i guess after Coachella , no HFStival will ever compare.  

[SPARX]

Originally posted by kosmo vinyl:
  can we pair up New York Dolls with Social D at the club?  that would be awesome...
 
 Sounds like the two groups i wanted to see killed, but am glad i stayed home and djed the super diamond show instead.  After the band left it started with Cutting Crew and ended with Spandu Ballet. and people dancing up a brief storm for tunes in between.

Agreed,I'd love to see that.The Dolls SO exceeded my expectations,I must admit I was quite skeptical going in but they pulled it off with flying colors.David looked genuinely giddy to be there and it showed in their performance.I think he was the only frontman to introduce his band,big plus in my book.

[dtqjr]

Those HFStivals bring out the most bizarre gathering of people I have ever witnessed in one place.  There is the entire spectrum starting with any extreme goth/glam/punk superfan to ghetto dwellers to streetwalker wanna-be to genetic wonders that have found there way from the depths of WVA.  And so many people have no clue how to manage a day in the sun with alcohol and drugs.  It is truly disgusting.
 
 I very much enjoyed the Sterophonics and was impressed by the NY Dolls.  Billy Idol is cheesy but he puts on a decent performance.  Dave Grohl needs to stop performing those prom-theme songs - they really grind their sets to a halt.  
 
 The funniest sight of the day was the lead-singer Madden boy in GC sporting a GC shirt.

[SPARX]

Originally posted by Efram:
  Those HFStivals bring out the most bizarre gathering of people, genetic wonders that have found there way from the depths of WVA.  

Where'd you see me,you should of said hi!