thinnerair
07-29-2007, 10:18 AM
I went to Rock The Bells yesterday and let me say that it was the worst organized festival I have been to, but there were certain cool parts to it.
There was a shuttle bus that came from the subway that brought you right up to the ticket windows. That was cool.
The lines to get in were insane (the show was sold out) and security was either super strict or just tapped your pockets and let you in.
The concessions were located terribly and they spit the field up into two sections. They had an area in front of the main stage, which was gated off from the second stage. This prevented you from roaming freely from one stage to the other. The other thing is that the main stage area had only two entrances, so you had to wait in line to get into the front area. That front area only had 2 food sections, so people waited literally an hour and a half to get a $10 burrito (salsa/beans/cheese?!)
The festival ran out of water by 2:30!!! The festival (sponsored by Heineken) ran out of Heineken by 6:30!!! It was disastrous.
As for the bands....
I didn't get to roam to the second stage as I had my ankle sprain, so I stayed near the main stage and tried to tough it out.
We missed IMMORTAL TECHNIQUE and I was disappointed but we did manage to catch PHARAOHE MONCHE. His band was tight and their levels were good. He had great presence and energy and was a really good kickoff for the day...most people were walking in as he was on. 7/10
EPMD came on and did a bunch of medley type stuff. I forgot that they were even performing. Nothing outstanding. They kept promoting their new record. Nobody cares about EPMD anymore. 5/10
Talib Kweli came on and just ripped through the hits. He was spittin' fire and running across the stage. Most energetic I have ever seen him. He killed it and added little freestyles between lots of tracks. 8/10
Mos Def came out to join Talib and they ripped through Black Star classics. They then did some freestyles and some old classics. They really got the crowd amped!! 8/10
Mos Def then did a set of solo material that was good, but at this point I got distracted and needed to find a place to sit down. 7/10
At this point, I had found a handicap platform that I was allowed to stand on due to my cast, which was a great spot to watch the show. I then brought my friends up and we watched from an elevated platform for the rest of the show. It was awesome.
Public Enemy came out and just went nuts. They busted into BRING THE NOISE and brought out Scott Ian from ANTHRAX on guitar. Their levels were terrible and didn't get it right until the end of the track. It was great to see Scott Ian out there. They ripped through some great gems and then Flavor Flav bright his kids out on stage to talk to the crowd. Flav then went on and on about how the people made him Number 1 in cable history...but it went on and on for waaay too long. They played their last song and Flav begged to get behind the drums and end the set with a drum solo. Weirdo. 6/10
The Roots came on and I am convinced that I have no more interest in seeing The Roots in a festival setting. It seems as though they use their festival slots to jam out on medleys with the occasional classic joint thrown in. Not interested. 6/10
Cypress Hill came on and did the Cypress Hill stuff 6/10
Wu-Tang Clan rolled out and though they had some serious technical difficulties due to so many mics on stage, they ripped it up. Method Man was going apeshit and crowdsurfing through most of the show, choosing to vibe with the crowd over actually spitting his lines. They did a good solid set of tracks, including some ODB tracks. I was expecting more solo spotlights, highlighting each of their solo careers. Redman came out with Method Man and they did 'Da Rockwilda' together. . 9/10
At 9pm on the dot, the lights went out and a big red star illuminated on the backdrop. It looked great! Black backdrop with this fading red star. Rage takes the stage and tear the shit out of 'TESTIFY' as the opener. The band was super tight. Way tighter than their Coachella set. Zack's energy was fierce. He was going apeshit throughout the set and the band held it down.
The only lowpoint in their set was their playing "CALM LIKE A BOMB" which was the only point where the band's energy dropped a bit.
They went into an extended version of "WAKE UP" in which Zack called out FOX NETWORKS for taking his words from Coachella out of context and accusing him of wanting to asassinate.
They took a breather and did an encore of "FREEDOM" and "KILLING IN THE NAME OF" and the crowd went nuts. While watching Rage, I had the sudden urge to drop out of school and hate my parents....all over again. Thanks Rage. 12/10
There was a shuttle bus that came from the subway that brought you right up to the ticket windows. That was cool.
The lines to get in were insane (the show was sold out) and security was either super strict or just tapped your pockets and let you in.
The concessions were located terribly and they spit the field up into two sections. They had an area in front of the main stage, which was gated off from the second stage. This prevented you from roaming freely from one stage to the other. The other thing is that the main stage area had only two entrances, so you had to wait in line to get into the front area. That front area only had 2 food sections, so people waited literally an hour and a half to get a $10 burrito (salsa/beans/cheese?!)
The festival ran out of water by 2:30!!! The festival (sponsored by Heineken) ran out of Heineken by 6:30!!! It was disastrous.
As for the bands....
I didn't get to roam to the second stage as I had my ankle sprain, so I stayed near the main stage and tried to tough it out.
We missed IMMORTAL TECHNIQUE and I was disappointed but we did manage to catch PHARAOHE MONCHE. His band was tight and their levels were good. He had great presence and energy and was a really good kickoff for the day...most people were walking in as he was on. 7/10
EPMD came on and did a bunch of medley type stuff. I forgot that they were even performing. Nothing outstanding. They kept promoting their new record. Nobody cares about EPMD anymore. 5/10
Talib Kweli came on and just ripped through the hits. He was spittin' fire and running across the stage. Most energetic I have ever seen him. He killed it and added little freestyles between lots of tracks. 8/10
Mos Def came out to join Talib and they ripped through Black Star classics. They then did some freestyles and some old classics. They really got the crowd amped!! 8/10
Mos Def then did a set of solo material that was good, but at this point I got distracted and needed to find a place to sit down. 7/10
At this point, I had found a handicap platform that I was allowed to stand on due to my cast, which was a great spot to watch the show. I then brought my friends up and we watched from an elevated platform for the rest of the show. It was awesome.
Public Enemy came out and just went nuts. They busted into BRING THE NOISE and brought out Scott Ian from ANTHRAX on guitar. Their levels were terrible and didn't get it right until the end of the track. It was great to see Scott Ian out there. They ripped through some great gems and then Flavor Flav bright his kids out on stage to talk to the crowd. Flav then went on and on about how the people made him Number 1 in cable history...but it went on and on for waaay too long. They played their last song and Flav begged to get behind the drums and end the set with a drum solo. Weirdo. 6/10
The Roots came on and I am convinced that I have no more interest in seeing The Roots in a festival setting. It seems as though they use their festival slots to jam out on medleys with the occasional classic joint thrown in. Not interested. 6/10
Cypress Hill came on and did the Cypress Hill stuff 6/10
Wu-Tang Clan rolled out and though they had some serious technical difficulties due to so many mics on stage, they ripped it up. Method Man was going apeshit and crowdsurfing through most of the show, choosing to vibe with the crowd over actually spitting his lines. They did a good solid set of tracks, including some ODB tracks. I was expecting more solo spotlights, highlighting each of their solo careers. Redman came out with Method Man and they did 'Da Rockwilda' together. . 9/10
At 9pm on the dot, the lights went out and a big red star illuminated on the backdrop. It looked great! Black backdrop with this fading red star. Rage takes the stage and tear the shit out of 'TESTIFY' as the opener. The band was super tight. Way tighter than their Coachella set. Zack's energy was fierce. He was going apeshit throughout the set and the band held it down.
The only lowpoint in their set was their playing "CALM LIKE A BOMB" which was the only point where the band's energy dropped a bit.
They went into an extended version of "WAKE UP" in which Zack called out FOX NETWORKS for taking his words from Coachella out of context and accusing him of wanting to asassinate.
They took a breather and did an encore of "FREEDOM" and "KILLING IN THE NAME OF" and the crowd went nuts. While watching Rage, I had the sudden urge to drop out of school and hate my parents....all over again. Thanks Rage. 12/10