BFD 2007 @ Shoreline Amphitheater, 6/9/07

Dear Live 105,

My, how I look forward to BFD each year. It’s one day of seeing bands that make my heart go pitter-pat.

This year was no exception. Most of my faves, as expected since I am a self-proclaimed hipster, were on the local lounge and festival stages. I stick around for some of the main stage acts, but leave early, because, as said before, I am a stuck-up hipster.

Before I tell you which bands I liked and didn’t like and why, I’d like to comment on the set up of this magnificent festival.

First of all, my entourage and I arrived to a huge, ridiculous line that snaked around the venue and into the parking lot. Like, deep into the parking lot. I couldn’t believe my eyes. We couldn’t even use that expensive sponsorship Sleep Train shuttle because there was no point. And, for the second year in a row, I had to hear Every Move A Picture from afar (last year was a schedule issue). This makes me sad.

Secondly, I would like to commend you on the genius set up of the festival stage. Two side by side stages so that one band can go right after the other? That is some intelligent thinking! It really makes this festival a lot of bang for your buck.

However, Live 105, this is also where you made another mistake. You see, even though I may be a dumb hipster, I can figure out once I see the first act which side each band will play on. And when my friends and I fight our way to the front to see our favorite band of the entire day play up close, and then you change stages at the last minute, it makes a hipster hella mad. I’m sure you had your reason, but a little communication goes a long way.

So that favorite band I mentioned- that’s The Faint. We got to see them and that was great. But we were really excited to utilize this new feature that you advertised where we could get an autograph from said band. After the set, we rushed to the autograph area. You see, I collect posters, and a signed one would’ve been super neato. However, after waiting twenty minutes and missing Scissors For Lefty, we were first told we’d have to wait longer while Bloc Party signed, and that was soon followed up by an announcement that we were SOL- no Faint autographs for us. My crew and I were very disappointed.

So, Live 105, that’s my two cents. If you could also ban selling tickets to hoochies with cheap hair extensions, that’d be nice, too.

Anyway, here are the Hard Rock Chick’s notes on BFD ’07

~The Matches: They got the kids moshing at noon. That takes finesse. I didn’t know them going into this, but I’m open to introductions now.

~CSS: Probably my favorite set. Wasn’t too keen on their album, but they are a great live act. It’s like a professional stage version of the dance parties I put on when I was 12 with my sleepover friends. The fashion is pretty similar, too. P.S. Brazilians are just cool.

~Honeycut: My second time seeing them, and they got better. They’re fun, high energy, and the lead singer is a kook, in the best possible way.

~The Lovemakers: Another favorite set. I liked the new songs they played- and that they didn’t kill anybody in the crowd when they threw CD singles into the audience.

~Tiger Army: meh. No me likey.

~Shiny Toy Guns: Also wasn’t a big fan of this album, though some of the songs are great fun to dance to. But, they are pretty good live. Also, since my manfriend doesn’t usually like chick singers (exceptions: Peaches, Lad Sov, and his fave, Gwen) there’s a dude to balance it out.

~Immigrant: I really liked their style. I’d like to hear their album though before I make a complete judgment.

~Cold War Kids: One of the most accomplished sets of the day. Kind of a strange mix with the other bands that graced this stage, but it was a drop of smart rock in a pool party of dance beats.

~The Bravery: True to their name, as they were plagued with technical problems. The guitarist provided the most humorous moment of the day, when during the first song he just threw his guitar behind him in exasperation of it not working.

~Silversun Pickups: They sounded great, though I mostly couldn’t see them (I was positioning myself for The Faint, see above).

~The Faint: Always the best. And they did ‘Take Me To The Hospital’, which, after 5 hours of sunshine and drinking and being on day 2 of a major migraine, is particularly relevant. Dapose was up to his usually quirky guitar moves, and Jacob was bending over backwards so far that I thought he was going to fall over. The large stage gave Todd the room to do his usual microphone tricks, which include practical asphyxiation and swinging the mic stand around to near casualties of band members, all in his cute little aussie hat. This band moves around like they are in a swaying boat, trying to keep their balance. This ties in nicely to their name.

This video rocks. I am so jealous!

~Scissors For Lefty: Just saw some of this on a TV while I was involved in a situation mentioned above. It looks like they did some stripping? Unsure…

~Kaiser Chiefs: These guys lived up to everything I had read. And, my, the 12 year olds love them. They have good taste.

~Interpol: They ooze swanky coolness. Please stop saying She Wants Revenge ripped these guys off. So not true. They’re a bit stiff on stage…but that’s what happens when you wear a suit.

~Queens of the Stone Age: Loud, earplug worthy music. They have some great songs, but they just never really pop for me. I think the lead singer looks too generic, and is a mismatch for their music. Hey, this is Hard Rock Chick- I analyze the total package.

And we left Social Distortion and Bloc Party to remain a mystery. Another BFD behind me, and already looking forward to next years. Hopefully, you’ll take my comments in stride, and the next one will an even Bigger FD.

Keep Rockin’

~Hard Rock Chick

P.S. Boys listen up, white jeans are in. I saw it twice on stage.

P.S.S. Even though mullets were present, they are, by no means, back in. I don’t know where they came from. The Charlie Daniels Band was playing the following day, maybe they got mixed up.