Franz F, Sonic Yth, Chemical Brs, Mylo, Underworld, Pixies, etc.

craigcharlie

I know there's already a few threads going about the different events, I just thought since I went to all the Bud Rising shows I'd post what I thought were the highlights. Be interesting to hear from people who saw a few of the shows, to see what they thought the highlights were....

So here's my two cents....I was working at all 4 of the recent Bud Rising gigs...the 2 in Marlay and the 2 in Landsdowne. The artists I thought were the best were, in this order:

Franz Ferdinand - These boys did everything right; they were confident and cheerful, communicated with the audience, played off each other, great chemistry, and they *rocked*! Dynamic playing, soft and loud, slow and fast, full of character and charisma. Just such a breath of fresh air to see a band that know's what rock n' roll is all about, so few decent young rock bands coming out at the moment, that it's great to see someone get it right!

Sonic Youth - Great show. I know a lot of people complained it was ****e, but I totally disagree. They were phenomenally experimental, which I think threw a lot of people. I was blown away by the sounds they were creating, really wierd s**t, cool harmonies. Great to see that they're still such great performers after being around for so long.

Chemical Brothers - Ok, these guys were f**king geniuses. A stage full of electronic equipment, utterly live performance, hopping from one board to another throughout the set, brilliant rhythms, totally worked the crowd. Sometimes I feel that techno performances are too pre-programmed, barely live at all, but watching these guys in action you could really feel how much they were improvising. I'll be honest, as well - I didn't particularly like the Chemical Brothers before this gig - I thought that the music was great, but totally a studio production. After seeing them in Marlay, though, I was blown away by the degree to which they are true 'performers'.

Mylo - Fantastic gig. I love dance/techno music, and to see it played with guitars, keyboards, drum sets etc is absolutely fantastic. Those boys really delivered, beautiful, driving music that was full of energy and gorgeous sounds. Really had a connection with the crowd; we're talking honest, righteous, groovin music.

Underworld - These guys were one of the surprises of the Bud Rising Festival for me... I didn't know any Underworld song besides "Born Slippy", so I guess I expected a garden-variety house techno group... they were fantastic though! The music was beautiful, awesome rhythms, great effects...also, the lead singer was full of energy and attitude, and fantastically into the music. Great set!

Basement Jaxx - Great set, but we all knew that was gonna happen. Good solid performance, a lot of fun.

Pixies - They were very good, very tight, as always, but I felt that only a few of the songs had the energy that I associate with the Pixies. For most of the concert I felt like I could have been listening to a Pixies CD, though there were a few moments when Frank looked like he was really pouring his heart into a song. It was nice to see Kim so smiley and happy about playing, I'd heard that she hadn't been doing well recently, so it was nice to see her having such a great time on stage.

eskimo

I was at all of them too....

I saw: Chemical Bros, Basement Jaxx, Pixies, Jem, Maroon 5, Franz Ferdinand, and Scissor Sisters.

To be totally fair, all of them put on very satisfying shows.

My top 5 were:

1) Franz Ferdinand
2) Basement Jaxx
3) Scissor Sisters
4) Chemical Bros
5) Pixies (even though I didn't know any of their songs!!)

JC 2K3

eskimo wrote:

5) Pixies (even though I didn't know any of their songs!!)

For shame!

Squirrel

JC 2K3 wrote:

For shame!

Lol! And seconded