My Thoughts on Wall of Sound || September 25, 2007
I try to do my best to keep from editorializing on here (save for a snarky remark about Todd Lewis or over the top support of Eleven Hundred Springs), but I have been hearing way too much of a negative spin tossed about (albeit mainly by the local press - looking at your DMN).
I am also not going to bore the shit out of any of you with a 3000 word essay about how this festival is more important than most people are giving it credit for (though i really do feel this way).
Instead I am going to cover the subjects I thought were good about this year's Wall of Sound and, if I feel like it, I might touch on some bad as well.
(Warning, it might seem as though I am gushing, but i really thought the fest was a blast.)
The Good:
Record Hop turned in the first great set of the day. Their 30 minutes (or so) were on fire and they didn't lose a beat when Ashley broke her guitar string and was forced to transform into Patti Smith for their final song.
Doug Burr had to tackle the task of going against one of the day's more buzzed about bands (OM) and delivered the goods without hesitation. He played mostly tracks from his forthcoming, and fantastic, album and had one of the bigger crowds of the day at the 3rd stage.
Mom were one of the other 3rd stage bands that drew a solid crowd and converted some shade seeking passers by. You can really tell that these guys are something special and I really don't think it will be long before they are being talked about all over the next.
Explosions in the Sky stole the show with their 25(ish) minute set. The collective "Holy Shit" looks on the faces of the crowd said it all.
Paperchase, Pinback, Hogpig and Baptist Generals were major musical highlights for me as well.
As far as the set up went, I thought it was a success as well.
The venue was perfect. Ample parking allowed for easy in and out.
Save for a few sight line problems from the stands, there was plenty of opportunity to stay out of the sun and still catch the bands you wanted to see early in the day.
There were never lines for beer or food.
I really felt that this was as close to a Fry Street Fair from the early to mid 90s than any other local festival has come in quite a while. (albeit with a higher price tag)
The only complaints I can really think of (save for majorly disappointing sets from Ghost Hustler and Ghostland Observatory) were the delays at the end of the day and the lack of attendance.
I have a feeling both will be addressed before next year and we can look forward to a fantastic WoS 08.
-Jasun
I am also not going to bore the shit out of any of you with a 3000 word essay about how this festival is more important than most people are giving it credit for (though i really do feel this way).
Instead I am going to cover the subjects I thought were good about this year's Wall of Sound and, if I feel like it, I might touch on some bad as well.
(Warning, it might seem as though I am gushing, but i really thought the fest was a blast.)
The Good:
Record Hop turned in the first great set of the day. Their 30 minutes (or so) were on fire and they didn't lose a beat when Ashley broke her guitar string and was forced to transform into Patti Smith for their final song.
Doug Burr had to tackle the task of going against one of the day's more buzzed about bands (OM) and delivered the goods without hesitation. He played mostly tracks from his forthcoming, and fantastic, album and had one of the bigger crowds of the day at the 3rd stage.
Mom were one of the other 3rd stage bands that drew a solid crowd and converted some shade seeking passers by. You can really tell that these guys are something special and I really don't think it will be long before they are being talked about all over the next.
Explosions in the Sky stole the show with their 25(ish) minute set. The collective "Holy Shit" looks on the faces of the crowd said it all.
Paperchase, Pinback, Hogpig and Baptist Generals were major musical highlights for me as well.
As far as the set up went, I thought it was a success as well.
The venue was perfect. Ample parking allowed for easy in and out.
Save for a few sight line problems from the stands, there was plenty of opportunity to stay out of the sun and still catch the bands you wanted to see early in the day.
There were never lines for beer or food.
I really felt that this was as close to a Fry Street Fair from the early to mid 90s than any other local festival has come in quite a while. (albeit with a higher price tag)
The only complaints I can really think of (save for majorly disappointing sets from Ghost Hustler and Ghostland Observatory) were the delays at the end of the day and the lack of attendance.
I have a feeling both will be addressed before next year and we can look forward to a fantastic WoS 08.
-Jasun
4 Comments:
i only hope the attendance from the past 2 years can justify a festival for next year. that being said, i had a blast as well. ive said before already, acl is dead to me, long live wall of sound.
I had a great time Saturday too. I loved it being at LaGrave Field. I saw a lot of great sets. And just for the record...The Sword blew Om away.
Events like this never come to Fort Worth, so it's really a shame it was so sparsely attended. I can't imagine it was cheap to book LaGrave for the weekend.
I also wonder if attendance would have been better if it hadn't been the weekend after ACL -- there's a lot of overlap between those two crowds, and I'm sure people who were sapped of energy from a hot weekend at ACL aren't going to bother with WOS when there hasn't been time to recover.
I'm certain the attendance would have quadrupled (at least) if it had been half the price. Charging $35 for a bunch of Texas indie-rock acts was a sign of overconfidence, to put it mildly. And with such a steep ticket price, cutting that much time off the headliners' sets was inexcusable.
That said, I still had an awesome time. It was a lot of great music.
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