| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| two reelers |
Posted - 06/10/2004 : 15:47:10
well, this is going to be a quite negative review...
i expected this concert to be bad, but not THAT bad. it was not the band's fault, they were in good shape. but they were completely misplaced and lost at this shit festival (rhcp, metallica, slipknot, life of agony,...). somewhere between 100.000 and 150.000 people attended it, maybe more. and as i expected, most of them came to get heavily drunk to heavy metal. additionally, the festival site is absolutely awful and depressing - industrial wasteland. the only reason behind this so-called festival is the maximation of money - it has nothing to do with music, there is no heart or soul behind it, and so there is absolutely no atmosphere. just really awful - and people like me are still stupid enough to spend money on it.
what about the pixies ? they played to 60.000 people (some number i heard at sometime). all those people knew the band which played before, and they knew the band after (rhcp). but maybe 5% knew about the pixies. and so was the response. being sqeezed like tuna fish, all i could see was the big video wall. really great. i had the notion when they walked up, in my area i was the only one who cheered, so i gave up quickly.
they started with bone machine, then followed the usual pilgrim/surfer/doolittle-program. pre-doolittle songs were velouria and u-mass only. drunken assholes with slipknots shirt next to me screamed, vomited and jumped around - much to stoned to have any idea what is going on. gigantic was recognized, and so was where is my mind - possibly everbody thought they are covering placebo. really sad. at some point kim said "today is my birthday" -people next to me started singing happy birthday, and when they came to "happy birthday, dear... " they didn't know the name. seeing frank on the video screen most people were obviously thinking "who is this fat guy ? he should make place for rhcp". to this non-existent audience-band relationship, which could be felt all the time, the pixies reacted by marching off after vamos, without any word or encore. but practically no-one asked for the latter one.
overall, the band and sound was very good, very tight. this concert would have been perfect in a smaller venue, with people who come and pay to see the pixies. but under this circumstances it was just awful and sad. so who is to blame ? they said they are basically doing this tour for money, and i knew. but i was optimistic enough to believe i would get something for my money - and i was wrong. terribly wrong. this concert left a very bad taste in my mouth. it was one of this things which you can only respond to in a cynical way, and that is never good.
i have seen fb&tc half a year ago - it was in small club, 400 people, assorted fans, if you like. it was the best concert i have ever attended. he also played pixies tunes, and i enjoyed them a lot. and it seemed he also enjoyed it - quite the opposite to today. to conclude, i can only say, i want my frank black back.
one last note: merchandising articles included a shirt with "pixies sellout tour" printed on it. i didn't buy one, that was too cynical, even for me. and at this evening, i felt cheated enough already.
 I joined the cult of this mouse / and now I occidentally tic-tac |
| 10 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| zole |
Posted - 06/23/2004 : 11:38:19
quote:
Originally posted by two reelers
well, this is going to be a quite negative review...
i expected this concert to be bad, but not THAT bad. it was not the band's fault, they were in good shape. but they were completely misplaced and lost at this shit festival (rhcp, metallica, slipknot, life of agony,...). somewhere between 100.000 and 150.000 people attended it, maybe more. and as i expected, most of them came to get heavily drunk to heavy metal. additionally, the festival site is absolutely awful and depressing - industrial wasteland. the only reason behind this so-called festival is the maximation of money - it has nothing to do with music, there is no heart or soul behind it, and so there is absolutely no atmosphere. just really awful - and people like me are still stupid enough to spend money on it.
what about the pixies ? they played to 60.000 people (some number i heard at sometime). all those people knew the band which played before, and they knew the band after (rhcp). but maybe 5% knew about the pixies. and so was the response. being sqeezed like tuna fish, all i could see was the big video wall. really great. i had the notion when they walked up, in my area i was the only one who cheered, so i gave up quickly.
they started with bone machine, then followed the usual pilgrim/surfer/doolittle-program. pre-doolittle songs were velouria and u-mass only. drunken assholes with slipknots shirt next to me screamed, vomited and jumped around - much to stoned to have any idea what is going on. gigantic was recognized, and so was where is my mind - possibly everbody thought they are covering placebo. really sad. at some point kim said "today is my birthday" -people next to me started singing happy birthday, and when they came to "happy birthday, dear... " they didn't know the name. seeing frank on the video screen most people were obviously thinking "who is this fat guy ? he should make place for rhcp". to this non-existent audience-band relationship, which could be felt all the time, the pixies reacted by marching off after vamos, without any word or encore. but practically no-one asked for the latter one.
overall, the band and sound was very good, very tight. this concert would have been perfect in a smaller venue, with people who come and pay to see the pixies. but under this circumstances it was just awful and sad. so who is to blame ? they said they are basically doing this tour for money, and i knew. but i was optimistic enough to believe i would get something for my money - and i was wrong. terribly wrong. this concert left a very bad taste in my mouth. it was one of this things which you can only respond to in a cynical way, and that is never good.
i have seen fb&tc half a year ago - it was in small club, 400 people, assorted fans, if you like. it was the best concert i have ever attended. he also played pixies tunes, and i enjoyed them a lot. and it seemed he also enjoyed it - quite the opposite to today. to conclude, i can only say, i want my frank black back.
one last note: merchandising articles included a shirt with "pixies sellout tour" printed on it. i didn't buy one, that was too cynical, even for me. and at this evening, i felt cheated enough already.
I joined the cult of this mouse / and now I occidentally tic-tac
you took words out of my mouth, and ive travelled 1000 km to get to aerodrome. AWFULL. im mad at myself that i bought tickets to that shitty festival,instead one for southside festival in germany. and ljubljana was sold-out already. I HATE SLIPKNOT & KORN AND ALL OF THOSE BANDS. only thing that i could listen except pixies were motorhead.  |
| melancolia |
Posted - 06/13/2004 : 12:21:55
well, i bought the shirt and was quite content that I saw the band.
it was not a nice venue, indeed. and the lineup was marketed as "a metal fiesta."
if they would have other venues slated in Austria, i could have chosen them rather than this cesspool of a festival. but there was none. (i have a day job.)
but Pixies, as a comebaking band, it is a sort of gamble to be accepted and to be recognised again by the old fans and to be discovered by the new followers.
but what do you expect with a NU metal crowd such as this one. i noticed that most of these kids were wearing either a Slipknot or a Linkin Park shirt. they didn't mind being fryed under the sun or get terribly drunk. If and if Cocteau Twins would play there, the situation would be the same. Everyone would walk out.
While we left the crowd in the middle of Die Toten Hosen's set, the number of people was quite huge. as soon as they were finished, hordes of people started to abandon the area.
the organisers even admitted that the band was the least expected. and yeah, money talked.
while frank black and co. were performing, the people near to us were having their own party. i was singing, dancing and cheering all the while and the others were oblivious of what was happening. then suddenly, "where is my mind" started playing, that was the only time i heard a bunch of teenies began to sing along.
i have this impression that the band had a bad day and they really failed to connect with the audience. only Kim tried to and it was abrupt. when she declared that she wanted to dedicate one mini song to Joey Santiago, not everyone didn't get the joke. (at first she said it was her bday and then she said it was "Joe's birthday" and then she started to sing "In heaven everything was fine" sort of...)
in terms of the setlist, it was fine. though i was kind of disappointed that they didn't include "Dig for Fire" and "Ed is Dead." but that was ok. you cannot please everybody. |
| two reelers |
Posted - 06/13/2004 : 04:55:54
Uh, thank you all for taking my grieve...
but it was really horrible. it was so clear how bored all 4 were, like they knew this is a no-win situation. during one song, frank blew air through his lips for 2 minutes or longer (you know, this thing you do when you want to show how bored you are). it was sad, but very funny too, since it got projected on the big screen.
also, i've heard it's the only show so far where DiscLive was not recording.
curiously enough, in austria the pixies have a quite good reputation. but even if 3000 pixies-fans attended this concert, they vanished among the other 57.000. and among younger people, the pixies are not known at all. the average pixies-fan in austria is somewhere around 30, i guess - which dates back to their active period. and also, that with 60.000 listeners, no-one except me made a report, has something to say...
i was thinking before to go to slovenia instead and watch them there. too stupid i didn't.
I joined the cult of this mouse / and now I occidentally tic-tac |
| whoreatthedoor |
Posted - 06/13/2004 : 03:39:52
Felt so sorry man. You must do something!!!
Borrow some money and fly to another festival. Don't let this chance to pass away!!! You will repent all the days of your life!!! Believe me!!!
 "Join the Cult of the whore at the door / And You'll find no answers, but real fun" |
| n/a |
Posted - 06/13/2004 : 02:17:51
I´m sorry for you. They just went to Portugal on the 11th and I saw the opposite reaction. I went there thinking that there will be a few fans and that most of people should be there for L. Kravitz or Massive Attack. But they were there for the Pixies! And the band felt that! They seemed surprised with all of that. The crowd went completly crazy!
rita.r |
| the thing |
Posted - 06/11/2004 : 03:49:22
Always a risk at festivals that people aren't there to see the band you want to see, I hate when bands I like make that leap from "Top of Second Stage" to "Bottom of Main Stage" status, and end up playing to a bunch of pissed up idiots instead of hardcore fans.
 How does lemur fur, reflect the sea? Someone should do tests |
| ispini tapaidh |
Posted - 06/11/2004 : 03:12:56
Kinda worried now. I'm going to see them on Saturday supporting the RHCP in a big park, although I reckon there should be a few more Pixies fans in Ireland going along than there were in Austria. Hopefully. |
| vilainde |
Posted - 06/11/2004 : 01:39:39
Oh God, I feel sorry for you. This is the most depressing review I've ever read (and funny at the same time the "Happy Birthday dear..." part made me giggle). I really hope you'll be able to see them in a proper venue.
Denis
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| billgoodman |
Posted - 06/11/2004 : 01:10:18
Well let's just hope the pixies made a lot of money out of it
I hate those 'alternative' rock crowd
that only know mainstream bands
Fuck them!
RHCP fans have no idea about music history and
although they don't have to like the music
shut up and pay some respect!
 "I joined the Cult of Frank/Nobody wanted to join my Culf" |
| Lex |
Posted - 06/10/2004 : 16:15:39
Great review..................but I so wish you could see them in a "proper" venue because you would see and hear that you do have your Frank Black back!!!......and Kim, David and Joe. |
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