Jnelson wrote:From my encounter with him that lasted a minute or two I got the impression of him being a complete dick head. I could be wrong though......

I hung out with him at a BBQ while he cooked pork chops and drank near beer. He was very nice and fun. This was in 2001 in Chicago. Maybe LA has turned him into a dickhead? Somehow I doubt it.

Ben Adrian

I had a great time as well. I saw a whole lot of people I hadn't seen in ages. Some of them were expected, some of them were not...this made me feel like I was back in '96 again...fun times.

I was impressed with how many people brought their kids out. I thought it was really great. There was definitely nothing but positive energy out there the whole weekend.

I wasn't able to go Sunday because of a friend's wedding. Oddly enough, there was someone else (a friend of the Groom's) who still had his waistband on. We compared notes.

Thank you Corey (and all others involved). I hope we were able to raise some money. It's obvious we all had a grand time at your party!

So nice.

Damn.

So nice.

highlights:

-the firecrackers prior to Big Black

-Enon covering the Big Boys

-Calexico covering the Minutemen and Arthur Lee, and just being the perfect band to cap off the weekend, IMO.

-Seam starting their set with "Rafael", and also Chris Manfrin's little speech to the crowd prior.

-Tim Midgett and Andy Cohen's elegiac set. truly moving.

-Todd Trainer's standup routine with Shellac and Brick Layer Cake

-Bob Weston coordinating all the sound and PA. everything sounded great.

-The Ex were fantastic, easily making it worth showing up early on Sat.

-seeing David Yow cart around a gurney of beer with a sense of urgency on Friday afternoon

-seeing Matt Besser sporting a tattered Big Black shirt on Sat.

-running into friends i knew and also meeting tons of cool new people from near and afar

-seeing Corey Rusk up front during every act totally into it, and the overall cameraderie.

-Tara Jane O'Neil's really beautiful set, particularly the last 2 tracks with Chris Brokaw.

-loved the elongated versions of "Billiard Player Song" and "End of Radio" on Sat night

-I even liked !!!'s set. they were fun. Sue me.

jvan wrote:I even liked !!!'s set. they were fun. Sue me.

I kind of wanted to see them, but as far back as the Whole Foods tent the bass was way too much.

This was by far the best show/shows I have ever seen. Many bands were before my time, Scratch Acid, Killdozer, The Digits etc. I never thought Id get to see these bands play, now I did and wasnt let down. My friend Alex said to me while watching Killdozer, "these guys are old, but they still rock harder than all the new bullshit coming out." Amen, I wasnt there to see all this in its heyday, but at least now I got a taste of how good it was. I have only one complaint, its over.

Jnelson wrote:...buying a very warm reversable Shellac t-shirt from Todd Trainer...

Is there supposed to be any text on the yellow side of the shirt?

Jnelson wrote:From my encounter with him that lasted a minute or two I got the impression of him being a complete dick head. I could be wrong though......

huh. i said hello (not having run into him in about 12 years) & gave him a flyer for my show last night, which he carefully examined & then heartily thanked me for. (also heard from a new acquaintance that YOW was one of three who went to see his band in LA. kudos.) sorry yr experience was otherwise.

(oh, and regarding said show, next time i play in Chicago i won't do it the night after everyone has been standing up in a parking lot & killing their backs & legs for 3 days, so that no one comes. i forgive y'all - my bad.)

re the Shellac shirts, no, the yellow side is supposed to be blank. cooh in my opinion - you can choose whether you want to be a Shellac fan like the one guy in Pinback or go incognito...

I put up some photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/45572493@N00/

Got back from Chicago last night, and despite the crap weather it was a great weekend with much outstanding music. Just as important, for a big-ass multi-stage outdoor music festival thing, there were a startlingly low number of total assholes or vomiting losers ... most of the people were actually courteous, dammit. The sound was good to great throughout -- big up to Bob Weston and his crew for a difficult job well done. And the security people, vendors and other folks working the event were with rare exceptions pleasant and not surly. I've rarely been to a show like this that was better run and more fun to attend, and everyone involved deserves a cold beer and a cheeseburger on my tab. Salut!

As for the music, I'll be doing a big-ass blog entry when I get a chance later and I don't want to repeat myself, but the highlights were Shellac, Uzeda, Man or Astro-Man?, Scratch Acid, Calexico, Killdozer and Jon Lanford/Kat. !!! were better than expected, but that singer pisses me off -- he's gotta be the Napoleon Dynamite of dsico-punk, and that's no compliment. The Tim & Andy's performance really choked me up. And Rob Crow gets my prize for most goofy/charming fanboy of the fest.