Just wanted to share how f*cking awesome it is that there’s a deftones needledrop in an early 2000’s dbz movie- makes me laugh a bit but simultaneously makes me remember being a kid in the 2000’s and i love it
Reddit threads on Highwater this year, echo much of the same issues as the previous events. The artists and the music itself outside of our personal preferences is mostly just fine. I agree with Chris, that there should be more local representation, but was happy to see Babe Club got to be part of things.
The vast majority of complaints I’m seeing are all about poor planning, inadequate resources, high prices, lack of security and an information desert, for which people simply couldn’t get...
Reddit threads on Highwater this year, echo much of the same issues as the previous events. The artists and the music itself outside of our personal preferences is mostly just fine. I agree with Chris, that there should be more local representation, but was happy to see Babe Club got to be part of things.
The vast majority of complaints I’m seeing are all about poor planning, inadequate resources, high prices, lack of security and an information desert, for which people simply couldn’t get the information they needed.
I was feeling a little FOMO having not gone this year, but honestly, seeing photos and video clips, and not being a ‘huge’ fan of the lineup along with the weather goin’ kinda south on day 2, I don’t feel like I actually missed out on much other than the commaraderie with my fellow photogs in the pit… I do lament that a little.
I think Loserfest at the RA a few weeks back was probably a lot more fun.
High Water was fun. We have a lot of coverage in the works from the festival this year.
I have a lot to say of course. There was some good music to be had, and some shenanigans to be noted. I already wrote a bit about Noah Kahan’s set on this forum which you can find here.
Definitely room for improvement across the board but some of the sets were fire. I didn’t stay for Hozier last night, not because I have a problem with Hozier, but mostly because I just didn’t have a lot of interest in...
High Water was fun. We have a lot of coverage in the works from the festival this year.
I have a lot to say of course. There was some good music to be had, and some shenanigans to be noted. I already wrote a bit about Noah Kahan’s set on this forum which you can find here.
Definitely room for improvement across the board but some of the sets were fire. I didn’t stay for Hozier last night, not because I have a problem with Hozier, but mostly because I just didn’t have a lot of interest in seeing him. Also it was cold AF, rainy, and I wanted to go home, so I did.
There are a few things I want to discuss about this event that I will dig into later this week on the blog.
Noted lack of local bands. The local music scene doesn’t really embrace the event like it should for many reasons but this is one of them. It’s not nearly an accurate cultural representation of the city and there is a lot of work to be done there. Babe Club was awesome though.
The water situation left something to be desired. Two water fillup stations that were really hard (for me) to find. The reason for this is pretty clear to me: Live Nation owns a stake in Liquid Death. Increase demand for water, sell more $6 cans of Liquid Death. Pretty lame.
Parking. This was the most popular gripe about the event, and since I left early both nights, I did not have to deal with this.
Liquor was hard to find. This was due to permitting issues that meant all liquor was served in the corner of the event at the “Cocktail Oasis” or whatever they called it. I don’t drink liquor so this really did not affect me at all. However, a bunch of people were pissed about it. Definitely shitty.
Yes, I’m going to be critical, because I’ve realized that if I don’t use my platform to say this stuff, everybody else is just going to talk about how great all the bands were and share positivity on social media. We’re moving past that phase with Extra Chill and it may ruffle some feathers in the media tent, but frankly I don’t care. As an independent journalist I feel a responsibility to speak my mind.
Just an update on this — the show in Charleston got canceled but it has been rescheduled for September. Jeff asked me to hold the article until then, so we’re going to hold it.
I interviewed Illiterate Light back in 2019 though, in the office at the Pour House. It was one of my earliest interviews and sometimes people still mention it to me. This is how we met and we’ve just stayed in touch over the years whenever they come to town.
Just an update on this — the show in Charleston got canceled but it has been rescheduled for September. Jeff asked me to hold the article until then, so we’re going to hold it.
I interviewed Illiterate Light back in 2019 though, in the office at the Pour House. It was one of my earliest interviews and sometimes people still mention it to me. This is how we met and we’ve just stayed in touch over the years whenever they come to town.
Our upcoming interview brings things full circle, five years down the line. This band is really cool and fun to see live. Since they’re just a two piece everything happens in real time on the stage, and they embrace the fuckups and keep it moving.
They’ve now got their own studio spaces and have been writing and recording a lot of music lately. Solid dudes who have guts and value the right things about music.
You will eventually come to the end of the cliff. Follow your dreams ✨️ 💖 Not someone else. Practice safe sex. Regardless what your gender stands for your body is your temple 🛕 💯 you only have one. Ask before you leap hell showe the docs…I’m worth it……there w/ b no Scandal Here.
He did us the favor of opening with Dial Drunk so we could split after 20 minutes, beat the parking disaster and catching an awesome Mikaela Davis set at the Pour House
Go see The Bright Light Social Hour on Monday at Pour House. Came down to Jacksonville to see them and Mo Lowda. They put on one hell of a show and I can’t wait to see a full set.
I stand by my original sentiments. I did not enjoy Noah Kahan’s set at High Water Fest. Sorry to disappoint anybody who hoped to see me come back around on this guy.
Just got home. The anticipation for his set was insane all day long. People were talking about it, camping out at the stage, ready to faint from excitement (and the 90 degree heat). Fleet Foxes played an awesome set and when they were done, the crowd didn’t leave. They were all there to see Noah Kahan.
Seeing how famous he is,...
I stand by my original sentiments. I did not enjoy Noah Kahan’s set at High Water Fest. Sorry to disappoint anybody who hoped to see me come back around on this guy.
Just got home. The anticipation for his set was insane all day long. People were talking about it, camping out at the stage, ready to faint from excitement (and the 90 degree heat). Fleet Foxes played an awesome set and when they were done, the crowd didn’t leave. They were all there to see Noah Kahan.
Seeing how famous he is, I was really hopeful that I would enjoy it. I was caught up in the wave of anticipation for a moment, thinking that it might end up being pretty sick. I really wanted to like it.
In the end, it actually pains me to see how famous he is. He’s a good singer, I’ll give him that. But the actual music part was lacking to me. The volume on stage was not nearly loud enough, so the performance had this muted feel to it, except for the belting out of every word from the audience. I was not impressed by what they tried to pass off as a “guitar solo,” which was more like three planned measures of mediocrity.
I was wondering if the volume was kept low on purpose to keep the crowd from going too crazy. It really was insanely crowded. Everyone else seemed to really enjoy it.
I couldn’t handle it. I got the hell out of there after 30 minutes.
The stage banter to me was the most painful part. He told everybody to look at the person they came there with, and then notice the worst thing about them and remember it forever. Well, Noah Kahan, what about the people who came there with themselves?
I get it, nobody wants to hear the “love your neighbor” platitudes, but to me it seems to exemplify the poison of American culture. We are tuned to be negative and view each other and ourselves in negative lights. With a platform this large, I would hope he could have brought something with more substance.
Also, he had everybody in the audience put their hands up in the air and then said “Now give me all your money.” The person behind me said “you already have it.” Lol. I left shortly after that. The dude probably got paid at least half a mil for an hour and 15 minute set.
To me, this is bubblegum music that represents a moment in history that will be discussed in the future, and hopefully we will move on from into greener pastures. It represents a low point in American culture, and the state of the music industry. This is what sells tickets. This is what people are buying.
I wish I could have gone to Vegas to see Phish instead.
It is also reasonable to assume that they just figure they’re too big to be called out or that they can’t be hurt by this. Which may or may not be true, but what is true is that it was/is an asshole move.
Yeah, this is what I think happened. I sent them multiple emails and got no response. There’s not really much I can do about it, unfortunately.
Would have been cool if they acknowledged our presence and offered to collab with us in Charleston in some way. I mean...
It is also reasonable to assume that they just figure they’re too big to be called out or that they can’t be hurt by this. Which may or may not be true, but what is true is that it was/is an asshole move.
Yeah, this is what I think happened. I sent them multiple emails and got no response. There’s not really much I can do about it, unfortunately.
Would have been cool if they acknowledged our presence and offered to collab with us in Charleston in some way. I mean they have to know about the Charleston music scene, they’re only 6 hours away.
It’s just more corporate bullshit in my eyes. And I could end up getting sued for slander if I go on about it too hard. So…. I let it go and will keep building what I’ve got here to the point where it can’t be ignored.
If it turns out that you like the Gimp, and I think you will… one of the most powerful plugins, that adds just a ton of functionality is called G’mic… ostensibly “gimmick”.
Here’s an article explaining what it is, does, and how to get and use it.
I personally use this for creating montage/collage images for my photos, so that I can post multiple images in one, where otherwise it’s not easy to share more than one image at a time. You can see at least one example in my other thread...
If it turns out that you like the Gimp, and I think you will… one of the most powerful plugins, that adds just a ton of functionality is called G’mic… ostensibly “gimmick”.
Here’s an article explaining what it is, does, and how to get and use it.
I personally use this for creating montage/collage images for my photos, so that I can post multiple images in one, where otherwise it’s not easy to share more than one image at a time. You can see at least one example in my other thread here about the Jerkweed show last weekend.
