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[andrewvb]

ratboys were great at subterranean last night. their songs are good on the album but they really kill live.

[teekoh]

Agreed. That was my first time seeing them and I was super impressed.

[Deleted]

As many of you know, I went to the Maha Festival in Omaha over the weekend. Aside from this festival being only 50 bucks for 1 day, there were several other perks that I feel compelled to mention.

- Getting into the festival was a breeze. I was even able to bring in an insulated mug that held two beers in it at a time and kept cold throughout the day. Needless to say that didn't matter b/c I still had about 9 beers total and they never had time to get cold.

- The stages are set up to provide plenty of shade coverage for the artists performing, which I haven't seen at some of the major festivals. Obviously the bigger the stage, the less coverage, but Priests were totally shaded and so was the section directly in front of them which was really nice.

- Only thing I don't care for is the "pay for drink tickets" process. They are definitely making a profit off of that, but it's just kind of annoying that I can't just go buy a beer, I have to have drink tickets first.

- Didn't eat anything but the food selection looked to be rather adequate and included vegan and vegetarian options.

- Location is really nice, drop off and pick up was a piece of cake.

- Last time I went was in 2015 and there were major sound problems for Modest Mouse and Speedy Ortiz, but this time they seem to have corrected it.

Onto the music:

Torres - My favorite Torres album is her first one, but Sprinter has some good tracks on it as well. At 3 in the afternoon at a festival, Torres played a mostly sleepy set, not sure why. Within her 45 minutes she mostly chose to play breezy, synth infused tracks that I'm guessing are from her new album. I recognized only a few bits from Sprinter material like Cowboy Guilt and the title track. Her more driving tracks like Strange Hellos and Honey weren't played which I feel was a bit of a misstep. No matter b/c the next act made up for it...

Priests - fucking amazing live. First time checking them out live and I was worried that it would be a typical festival set, but as soon as they ripped into Appropriate I knew I was in for a treat. All of the Nothing Feels Natural cuts sound great live, and Katie's stage presence is excellent. It was nice to see a crowd really digging them (some a little too much - a few guys tried to start a mosh). Best show of the day by far.

And yes, I got to meet the band afterward and Katie (not me) asked to do a selfie.

New Pornographers - Pretty boring actually. I watched them from a distance too as they were my least anticipated band to see, so take my review as a grain of salt, I just didn't care for the set. Seemed rather safe, but then again they were coming off of a blistering set from Priests so...

Built to Spill - full album set of Keep It Like a Secret, shitty crowd. Awesome set. little to no conversation from the band, but my buddy noted that he could tell they were seasoned performers who went seamlessly through tracks. Very glad I finally got to see BtS and even better to see them play their best album (imo) in full.

I didn't stick around for anything else, B & S don't interest me, and I plan on checking out RTJ at Buzz Beach Ball in two weeks. Overall a great experience, and way better than the last time I attended. They've tightened this ship and done a much better job at stacking their line up. I'd definitely attend again.

[zircona1]

I was at Maha Fest as well, adding on to Timbo's post:

- Parking at Maha Fest was simple. They have free parking garages around the area, and it's just like a block or two to walk.

- Boulevard makes some of my favorite beers, so even though the ticket thing was a pain, there was excellent beer.

- Downtown Boys were a good start early in the day, but I couldn't help thinking they'd be a lot better in a small club. 

- I agree that Priests were excellent, and that Katie has great stage presence.

- New Pornos were fine, good mix of old and new stuff, they just come out and play the songs and that's it. My girlfriend liked them.

- Sorry I don't know much Built to Spill material, but I enjoyed their set!

- Belle and Sebastian were good, they played while the sun was setting and had a backdrop which really helped cut down on the glare. Stuart's stage banter is still as charming as ever. My GF liked them too, thought they were better live than the songs she's heard by them.A bunch of people - including band members from Downtown Boys and Priests (didn't see Katie, Timbo) - were on stage to dance during 'Boy With the Arab Strap'.  

We left after B&S. Nice little fest.

[sthubbins]

Aug 21, 2017 9:13:29 GMT -6 @tima said:

Built to Spill - full album set of Perfect From Now On, shitty crowd. Awesome set. little to no conversation from the band, but my buddy noted that he could tell they were seasoned performers who went seamlessly through tracks. Very glad I finally got to see BtS and even better to see them play their best album (imo) in full.

I thought they were doing Keep it Like a Secret? 

[borracho]

is built to spill still a 3-piece?

[Deleted]

Aug 21, 2017 9:31:10 GMT -6 sthubbins said:

Aug 21, 2017 9:13:29 GMT -6 @tima said:

Built to Spill - full album set of Perfect From Now On, shitty crowd. Awesome set. little to no conversation from the band, but my buddy noted that he could tell they were seasoned performers who went seamlessly through tracks. Very glad I finally got to see BtS and even better to see them play their best album (imo) in full.

I thought they were doing Keep it Like a Secret? 

how did I screw that up...... facepalm. 

[zircona1]

Aug 21, 2017 9:35:49 GMT -6 borracho said:

is built to spill still a 3-piece?

Yes

[Deleted]

Psycho was possibly even better than last year. a few logistical issues regarding security and crowd flow from last year were fixed, lines were (mostly) non-existent despite it selling noticeably better, and generally really great vibes. they went all out on merch and really dressing the venues up for the Fear and Loathing aesthetic this year which i thought made it even cooler. also the fact that all the bands just hang out at the hard rock before/after their sets and drink and talk to the fans. i met pretty much all my favorites from the weekend and got to have normal conversations with them, not lip service "omg take my picture" moments or anything. talked to scott kelly about wrestling, matt pike about guitars, etc.

security could've been better about handling smaller issues and also understanding how mosh pits work, and the PA on the joint stage was iffy at times but not coachella-radiohead-debacle level bad.

got in early thursday and check in was much simpler. went to the strip for brunch and drinks, met up with wyoming, and did the usual preshow ritual of getting way too drunk before the fest even started. was moving slow once we got back so we missed the early pool bands but still had a couple hours of buckets on the beach during goya, conan, and pentagram (sans bobbie which was honestly better than the last time i saw em with him.) aftershow with subrosa and yob was kickass but again we were struggling to stay awake at that hour after 12 hours of drinking and walking around in the desert

wolves in the throne room to start friday was pretty fucking brutal. hadnt seen them yet and they played a lot of the older black metal stuff which was awesome. also all the bands at the joint got to use the headliners' lighting rigs for their sets so all the small bands who usually do like the empty bottle or whatever had full visuals and such which was great. slo burn (kyuss side project thing. idk i know it was garcia on vocals anyway) was a big surprise -- i mean it sounded exactly like kyuss, i just didnt know who they were before and just stumbled into the set and loved it. chelsea wolfe's new stuff is awesome and she brought out aaron from isis for vocals and it was killer. melvins were melvins -- in the best way possible. the fest only gave themselves like 10 minutes to set up for magma so of course that one started realllllly late and took forever to tear down. we saw the first song (which tbf is like 20 minutes) and then caught royal thunder who were top notch as always. vhol (mike from yob's silly space metal project) was fun. sleep was sleep -- again in a good way. went back to swim in the pool and catch dark castle who were terrifying and pelican who played some new stuff.

cough first thing on saturday was another really loud way to wake up. i dont think they had rehearsed any stuff from the new album so they just played ritual abuse songs which is kinda neat actually. diamondhead was pure 80's cheestastic. fucking carcass was incredible because it's fucking carcass and that's kinda what they do. ace frehley was actually cheesier than diamondhead -- and he made several comments about "shit is fucked up in the world right now...gimme a knife and i'll take care of isis" or something to that effect. weedeater at the pool was fucking nuts, really great crowd. gojira probably should've been a headliner friday instead with how big and intense their crowd was. got to use the full the stage gear they have for headlining shows too which was perfect. neurosis did the same set they did at the bottle and thalia last month which is still great and terrifying. king diamond did a bunch of mercyful fate stuff then all of Abigail and he sounded perfect (despite the pa issues.) lots of great and silly shit happening on stage as always. he also hung out on the stage for quite a while afterwards to literally thank every person on the floor who stuck around. what a guy. gost was a good silly late night dj set that had a surprisingly big crowd.

windhand was great as always and set things on fire. zeal & ardor is my new favorite band what the fuck that was so absurdly cool. abbath was almost as goofy as ace frehley except abbath can play still play his own music decently. ended up taking a lunch/beer/nap break during cirith ungol and cult of luna which i probably regret. corrosion of conformity did coc stuff as expected -- played a few new songs that were good but also sound like every coc song ever. minsk was obscenely good and tight, for how jammed their set was in the middle of the day on the tiniest stage despite a packed room and like 6 people on stage with a billion pedals and keyboards and such. really impressive. gatecreeper at the pool (it fucking rains in vegas, who knew?) was fun and also hilarious cause for a while security kept trying to stop people from moshing and eventually the vocalist had to point out that it's not gonna stop so the security guys might as well just join in, which they did. swans was fucking epic. gira still terrifies me and the new album sounded perfect live. pretty tiny/sparse crowd but i figured that'd be the case for this kinda fest. warning do their one album was really neat and i'd see it at reggie's again in a few weeks. mastodon just did their normal set from this tour, no scott kelly or surprises unfortunately.

so yeah overall amazing weekend and really glad im gonna make this my new staple. sounds like this one already did exceedingly better than last year so hopefully 2018 is locked in soon.

[zircona1]

Sounds awesome, and I'm glad to hear that it probably sold better. Would love to go back, it's one of the most unique and best fests I've been to.

[thebosma]

This description made me wish I liked metal more.

[alady]

Same. I had several very random friend groups that went this year and it looked like a great time. I hate Vegas tho.

[Deleted]

y'all got a year to get into stoner/doom stuff


tbf they did a great job grabbing nonmetal stuff this year to expand the crowds (bjm, mulatu, and swans especially had their own crazed fanbase that i wouldnt say fell into the usual headbangers)



and yeah i've never had any desire to go to vegas and still dont outside of this fest. but    both times have been A+

[teekoh]

Did you see any of the Mulatu set?

We might be planning a trip to Ecuador for next summer, but I'm gonna really try and plan on Psycho for next year.

[Deleted]

Aug 21, 2017 21:04:00 GMT -6 teekoh said:

Did you see any of the Mulatu set?

We might be planning a trip to Ecuador for next summer, but I'm gonna really try and plan on Psycho for next year.

I saw most of the set while waiting for Brian Jonestown Massacre. Normally not really my thing but they were excellent. 

[Deleted]

I continued my tradition of getting sick at festivals. At this point I should either bring my own doctor with me or just drink myself into such a stupor it doesn't matter.

I echo everything Wretched said: this is the best fest. It was run so much better this year and the lineup was just great. Though I didn't get to see nearly enough acts between feeling like crap and losing a bunch of money at poker. My favorite sets were SubRosa, Brian Jonestown Massacre (half of it; the only hitch of the weekend was the hour and half delay on Friday at the main stage. I had to bail on them when it hit 2:30), Chelsea Wolfe, Cough, Gojira, Neurosis, Windhand, Swans, and my set of weekend: Cult of Luna w/ Julie Christmas (god, was that great).

[borracho]

my cousin went to psycho and echoed pretty much everything wretched said about it. then thurs my cuz said he had an extra pass and hotel room for me if i wanted it, and i found cheap airfare out there, but my wife had to go out of town and i couldn't figure out what to do with my dog on that short notice, so i ditched the last-minute vegas trip idea :–( maybe next year...

[Deleted]

you should absolutely join us next year! im trying to get natureboy to go again. he seemed to enjoy it last year but didnt like the lineup as much this time around.

and yeah im regretting not going to cult of luna based on all the responses i've heard :/ i just really needed a nap after getting up early for windhand and not eating (ive seen CoL before but not with Julie. i think they're playing reggies in a few weeks...)

and teeks nah i poked my head on the way to the pool and mulatu was still setting up. the backlog of magma's setup and tear down set that whole stage back an hour or two and while i was interested in seeing mulatu, i wasnt willing to give up the rest of my night for it.

[nanafish]

Aug 21, 2017 19:51:58 GMT -6 @wretched said:

slo burn (kyuss side project thing. idk i know it was garcia on vocals anyway) was a big surprise -- i mean it sounded exactly like kyuss, i just didnt know who they were before and just stumbled into the set and loved it.

diamondhead was pure 80's cheestastic.

corrosion of conformity did coc stuff as expected -- played a few new songs that were good but also sound like every coc song ever.

these and frehley would have been my 4 favorite sets, I think, if I went to vegas.

slo burn played the side stage at ozzfest 97 at tinley, and they are apparently still as fantastic 20 yrs later.  still need to see diamondhead and coc really bad.

[Deleted]

Zeal And Ardor was just as good if not better than the Psycho set cause they had a full headlining set and proper backing tracks.

crowd was going nuts for it too

[teekoh]

Easily one of the best shows I've seen this year.

[Deleted]

Aug 22, 2017 23:58:34 GMT -6 @wretched said:

Zeal And Ardor was just as good if not better than the Psycho set cause they had a full headlining set and proper backing tracks.

crowd was going nuts for it too

Checking out their album, and I'm digging it. 

[borracho]

wish i could've given a review of the yes/todd rundgren/carl palmer show from last night, but after carl palmer played, it stormed and flooded the venue, canceling the rest of it. i couldn't even drive down there because roads were flooded and closed. here's a view from the stage.

[fiveiron83321]

Swans was v good last night

played 6 songs for ~2 hrs or so it seemed.

Loved being able to check out The Independent. great venue fora show in SF

[Deleted]

yeah i was partially bummed i didnt see their whole psycho set but also i cant imagine trying to handle 2.5 hours of it after 4 days of festing.
we saw nearly 90 minutes and that felt cranium-shattering enough.


i hadn't really listened to the Glowing Man much either and then on the plane ride back monday it "clicked" and now i wonder if it should've been top 5 for me last year.

[jazzpolice]

I saw 2 Chainz last night (full disclosure: I will never be able to accurately explain what constitutes "trap" music).

He has an injured leg so he performed in a wheelchair with bicycle-style spokes and pink tires. He had a "nurse" (dancer) wheeling him around the stage, plus a pair of backup dancers and a four person choir cycling in and out. He played slightly more than an hour, and overall it was a good set but lacked some energy. He did the best with what he had, and the extra crew helped but not quite enough to overcome his lack of mobility. Still it was a good time and I am glad I ventured out.

The only downside was the unusually obscene amount of cigarette smoke - I came home smelling like an ashtray.

[Pale Hose]

Green Day did their thing at Wrigley last night. A fun show, although essentially the same setlist they performed at the Aragon last October minus a couple of rarities and new songs. The box office had all price levels available when I walked up, so I splurged and bought GA since there were no fees. I'm guessing that will be the last time they get to play Wrigley, since almost everything else they book sells out. There was noticeably more room and shorter lines than any other show I've been to at Wrigley.

Catfish and the Bottlemen only got 30 minutes, which is a shame, but they made the most of their time.

[concertgoer]

Green Day were awesome as always
Got a p good seat in the 200s for $29 at the box office

[teekoh]

I went and saw Alejandro Escovedo and Joe Ely at City Winery last night through Jukely. I hadn't been to City Winery before, so that was cool. It's a nice room, although kind of an odd setup.

The show was great. They ended up performing at the same time and alternating songs, which was a bummer since I got there like 35 minutes late. Still saw almost an hour and a half since they played a combined two hours. Both dudes have such great voices and the stories were awesome. I'm glad I went.

[rango420]

if u have the opportunity go see Dave Rawlings Machine jeez. Look At Miss Ohio-->8 minute Queen Jane Approximately-->Method Acting(bright eyes)/Cortez The Killer was probably the best 25 minutes of live music I've seen this year. 2 and a half hours of great tunes and seeing Dave and Gillian like being in each others company so much was p necesarry with how shitty the world is.