----- Original Message -----
Sent: Monday, July 30, 2001 11:14 AM
Subject: NCR: Review of Xfest 2K1
Wow! Where do
I begin?
Let's see, my buddy
and I got there at 10, with parking opening at 11, so we got GREAT parking
(which allowed us to get out at the end of the show in about 2 MINUTES; I'm
STILL stunned over that).
Gates opened at
noon, which then left us 2 hours to wander before the first show at 2 (and of
course it was about 95 in the shade). So we caught a bit of "MIDGET
WRESTLING", which was actually kinda cool, and FAR more realistic than anything
seen on TV. After that we wandered some more, checking out the
booths (and let me just add that Marines look REALLY STUPID in BDU pants
and RED T-SHIRTS!). At 1:45 we headed for the second stage to catch
Saliva, who pretty much rocked the house. I now have to add them to my
list of CD's to get. The only bad part was they only played for 30
MINUTES! But they made the most of those minutes. When they
finished, we headed for the main stage (which ended up taking about another 30
minutes to get 500 feet; the place was PACKED). We got there just in time
to catch Zoo Story, who were a late addition to the bill. I had never
heard of them, but these guys ROCKED! It was kind of a Jane's Addiction
sound, with a slightly harder edge. Also an addition to my CD wishlist,
and I'm going to check out their site today (www.zoostory.net). Next up was
Lifehouse on the main stage, at 4:30. Not bad, though it probably would
have been better if I knew more of their stuff than the two radio hits. A
POSSIBLE addition to the wishlist. They finished just before 5 (again,
half-hour sets for just about ALL the bands; let me reiterate that 30
MINUTES for a band SUCKS, except for one band, which I'll get to shortly).
From Lifehouse, we headed back to the second stage to catch Static-X, who quite
simply ROCKED THE HOUSE! A MUST-HAVE CD now that I've heard more than
"Push It". These guys were awesome, and quite humorous (when they finished
their set, the lead singer said they were headed to Beni-Hana's, where they had
reservations for 5,000!).
GOD, I HATE line
limits! Maybe it'l work now that I've broken in in
half.