Just got home. Good day. Not my favourite BDO but there were enough highlights to make it worthwhile.
First band I saw was Karnivool. Very tight band, and the singer has an amazing live voice.
Next was Mastodon. The mix was pretty bad for the first part of their set, I could hardly hear the vocals. It either got fixed up, or I didn't notice it as I got closer to the stage, cos the second half sounded really good. They're some very talented musicians, and one of the guitarists uses a 12 string for most of the songs so they have a really original sound. He even had the double-guitar for a couple of tracks. Very impressive band.
Saw some of Kasabian, some Temper Trap. Hilltop Hoods were meh.
Dizzee Rascal was okay. It's the second time I've seen him and both times I've had the same complaint - his backup rapper is so annoying. He shouts the last few words of every line, I'm sure he does it to fatten up the sound of the vocals but it doesn't do it for me. Dizzee knows how to work a crowd though, I'll give him that.
Lily Allen is a chain smoker. She was good though, she wore a nice short skirt and put on a decent show.
The Mars Volta were the main band I wanted to see. They were really good, they're an awesome live band and it would be a challenge to find a more talented group of musicians. The new drummer is great, and it didn't take him long to grow an afro like the rest of the band. They played most of the tracks I wanted to hear, and closed with my favourite, Roulette Dares (The Haunt Of). Not as good as the 2006 BDO, but still second best set of the day.
And the set of the day goes to Fear Factory, by a country mile. They were SO heavy. Burton C Bell has such a strong voice and the whole band sounded like a well-oiled machine. I was really into Fear Factory when I was 15 years old and this was like going back 10 years to when I was rocking out in my bedroom. It's been quite a while since I've gotten that much into a live show. Probably half of the tracks were off Demanufacture. A few off Soul of a new machine and Obsolete, a few new tracks too. They closed with Replica. It was nothing short of intense. My ears are ringing right now and it's all their fault.
First band I saw was Karnivool. Very tight band, and the singer has an amazing live voice.
Next was Mastodon. The mix was pretty bad for the first part of their set, I could hardly hear the vocals. It either got fixed up, or I didn't notice it as I got closer to the stage, cos the second half sounded really good. They're some very talented musicians, and one of the guitarists uses a 12 string for most of the songs so they have a really original sound. He even had the double-guitar for a couple of tracks. Very impressive band.
Saw some of Kasabian, some Temper Trap. Hilltop Hoods were meh.
Dizzee Rascal was okay. It's the second time I've seen him and both times I've had the same complaint - his backup rapper is so annoying. He shouts the last few words of every line, I'm sure he does it to fatten up the sound of the vocals but it doesn't do it for me. Dizzee knows how to work a crowd though, I'll give him that.
Lily Allen is a chain smoker. She was good though, she wore a nice short skirt and put on a decent show.
The Mars Volta were the main band I wanted to see. They were really good, they're an awesome live band and it would be a challenge to find a more talented group of musicians. The new drummer is great, and it didn't take him long to grow an afro like the rest of the band. They played most of the tracks I wanted to hear, and closed with my favourite, Roulette Dares (The Haunt Of). Not as good as the 2006 BDO, but still second best set of the day.
And the set of the day goes to Fear Factory, by a country mile. They were SO heavy. Burton C Bell has such a strong voice and the whole band sounded like a well-oiled machine. I was really into Fear Factory when I was 15 years old and this was like going back 10 years to when I was rocking out in my bedroom. It's been quite a while since I've gotten that much into a live show. Probably half of the tracks were off Demanufacture. A few off Soul of a new machine and Obsolete, a few new tracks too. They closed with Replica. It was nothing short of intense. My ears are ringing right now and it's all their fault.
. Not such a fan of Powderfinger's new stuff, but overall they were pretty good. Didn't like Mars Volta (whilst waiting for Muse). Also saw a stack of other bands, including Lisa Mitchell and Girl Talk who were pretty good.
