#bottlerock 2015

[indieej]

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[thegardenof]

BottleRock 2015 Review (Friday & Saturday)

Sunshine, food, wine and brew. What more could you want at a music festival? This year’s BottleRock Napa Valley boasted some great bands as well as some great food at the annual event that started in 2013. The three day fest spanning from Friday May 29th through Sunday the 31st had headliners such as Robert Plant, Portugal. The Man, No Doubt and The Chris Robinson Brotherhood as well as culinary showcases from some of Napa’s greatest chefs. There were even cooking demos by Flavor Flav and Snoop Dogg who also performed on the musical stages throughout the weekend. After many beers, a couple orders of the garlic and crab fries and lots of dancing, my two days at the festival came to an end and I was left with a pretty good weekend of fun and music to remember. This year definitely topped my first BottleRock two years ago and I was excited to see where the festival has grown and improved with another year of experience.

Day one:

My Friday lineup started with a band that I have grown quite fond of over the last year. Kopecky (formerly known as Kopecky Family Band) took the Jam Cellars stage and I got to hear some of my favorite tracks "Are You Listening" and "Heartbeat" as well as some songs off their new album Drug For the Modern Age, that the band has spent many years putting together. Aside from some evident tension between female vocalist Kelsey Kopecky and the band’s other founder and vocalist Gabe Simon, they put on a great show and sounded really amazing. They had a ton of energy and did a good job engaging with the audience, be it popping champagne into the crowd or calling people out for their energetic dancing and even getting off the stage and playing as they walked toward the people. The weekend was off to a good start after their set and I was excited for the rest of the acts to come.

The sun was pounding down and many $10 beers were consumed to stay cool as my boyfriend and I made our way around the festival. We took a stop at the culinary stage which would be our go-to spot in between musical acts. We could hear Courtney Barnett in the distance and I wasn't quite sure whether I was a fan of her sing-song fast-talking and odd melodies or not, but we went over for a listen anyways. The main stage went empty after Barnett to prepare for headliner Cage The Elephant and a majority of the festival attendees made their way over to the large field for the band.

Cage The Elephant’s lead singer Matt Shultz, whose brother Dave is also in the band, definitely has a very...energetic...stage presence. Bordering on aggressive and showcasing some slightly wanna-be Iggy Pop antics, Schultz undeniably gets the crowd riled up and excited. They played their most recognizable hit "Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked" before going into some of their more mellow songs from their last album Melophobia. They played my favorite song of theirs, "Cigarette Daydreams" and also “Come a Little Closer”. I’m a much bigger fan of their later sound compared to the louder and more punk/rap rock songs from their first album Cage The Elephant, but still enjoyed singing along to "Back Against The Wall" from Cage The Elephant.

In between acts, we made our way back over to the culinary stage to see some rather odd culinary expertise coming from none other than Public Enemy’s Flavor Flav. Watching him cook his famous fried chicken was definitely one of Friday's highlights and seemed more like a scene out of a weird dream. (Sort of like "I had a dream I saw Flavor Flav cooking chicken at a music festival last night..oh wait this is really happening.") The hip hop star wore his signature clock around his neck and was sharing hugs and even a kiss with people watching but wouldn’t give up the ingredients in his secret chicken coating. He just referred to it as his secret flavor crystals which was a little questionable but also very humorous.

Foster the People was another highlight for me and hearing songs from Torches took me back to the summer going into my senior year of high school. It could have been the nostalgia kicking in but I really had a good time listening to this group play again and as always, “Pumped Up Kicks” was a real crowd pleaser with everyone singing along to the chorus. However, as they went into the top track off of their second album Supermodel I realized I am not that into “Coming of Age” and that it was likely my fond memories of the band that have me thinking they are a bit better than they really are. Overall, a good show when they stuck to their older stuff!

Day two:

Saturday's sun was strong as we made our way to the Anchor Steam Brewing stand and plopped down in some nearby chairs awaiting the bands to come on. Of the three days, I was most excited for Saturday's line up with two of my favorites: Portugal. The Man and Robert Plant both performing on the main stage. Portugal’s performance was solid, just like every other one of their shoes I have been to. I always love when they play  Always Sunny in Phildelphia’s song “Dayman” which I first heard them do at Bonnaroo 2013, and was happy to hear it again this weekend in Napa . Another highlight was when they started in with another cover. The band used Pink Floyd's "Another Brick In the Wall" to lead into their song "Purple Yellow Red and Blue" off their Evil Friends album.

I wasn't too impressed with the following act, Young The Giant as they sounded like just about any other indie band out there. They still pulled a pretty large crown and people were happy to hear them but they weren’t too special, especially compared to another main stage act, the Avett Brothers. The Avett Brothers brought it down with a ton of raw energy and a unique country twang to perform their second year in a row at the festival.

My Saturday lineup continued at the other side of the festival to catch some of the Capital Cities set and we were treated to a cover of Sinead O'Connor's "Nothing Compares to You". The sun was setting and the night’s lineup was coming to a close.  My last act for the day was the one and only Robert Plant. Ever since falling in love with Led Zeppelin when I was 11, I have been obsessed with Robert Plant’s voice. No one carries the power and presence that the long haired vocal God has fostered for nearly 50 years. He did a mix of classic Zeppelin hits like "Going to California" and “Black Dog” as well as his own music like the song "Rainbow" off of his latest album.  Plant has been smart with his voice as he's aged, knowing his limits and also his reputation. Where he can't shriek up as loud or high as he once did, he adds in some narrative or different vocal runs. He lost some of the crowd to Passion Pit at another stage and started to lose people as he started talking for a good bit in between sets. He went into something that was partly a tribute to the late BB King, partly paying honor to the history of rock and roll in African American culture and the rest was a bit hard to follow. I joked that his rambling was just a clever prelude to another Zeppelin song "Ramble On" but no such luck. Still, I enjoyed listening to his sultry british voice and was happy to hear sim say or sing whatever while I could. I had to leave shortly after his ramble to get on the bus back to St. Helena, but the day was definitely a success.

Unfortunately I didn't make it to Sunday's performances but I was filled in by friends and family and heard that Snoop Dogg rolling sushi at the culinary stage, and the final act of The Chris Robinson Brotherhood stole the day’s shows. I was looking forward to listening to Trampled by Turtles, and seeing Gwen Stefani’s onstage fashion but there are always more shows and festivals to come.

 Thanks for another great year, BottleRock!

-REF

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BottleRock 2015

[whowhat-whenwhyhow]

Bottlerock 2015 (Or, What I Learned About Festivals)

As you guys know, my roommates and I went to Bottlerock over the weekend and for all three of us it was our very first time camping out at an outdoor music festival. I am no stranger to concerts though, in my high school days I spent many a weekend at concerts and most of my summer traveling around california to hit up summer tour dates. I am also no stranger to camping, girl scout’s honor. What I found out though is when you combine the two there’s a whole new level of preparation that, to be completely honest, I was definitely not prepared for. 

Camping:  The camping situation at Bottlerock wasn’t completely ideal. We stayed at a nearby national park with over a hundred other festival goers and 15 porta-potties. As far as the actual camping went, we came relatively well prepared. We brought snacks, sleeping bags, our tent and enough alcohol for three days (or so we thought). After setting up the first day, we thought we’d have it easy. Us three city girls set up our tent without a hitch and enjoyed the warmth of the sun with mimosa filled solo cups. That night though was a completely different story. It seems obvious now, but a dried out fairground does not offer the most comfortable ground. Bring something for extra padding! Saturday we were smart enough to grab a few pool floaties to use as air mattress from the nearest grocery store (we needed more booze too), but the hard ground played hell on us for the next two concert days. Also, ear plugs! The campsite wasn’t very well spaced out, we ended up with being closed off on two sides by what I can only describe as a 9-piece acoustic vocal group, and behind us were three spots taken up by what had to be an entire fraternity. Being woken up every hour by an awkward rendition of John Legend’s “All of Me” or a rousing game of rage cage does not lend itself well to one’s beauty sleep. 

Food:  Bottlerock had some of the best food of any concert situation I’d ever been to. Unlike a place like Warped Tour where half of the booths are merch and other souvenirs, Bottlerock’s tents were almost exclusively liquor or food. I am completely in love with food, especially craft food and weird fusions, so it was basically heaven on earth. On Saturday alone I had food from about 7 different booths. What I found though is when you combine all of the delicious foods you can afford with harsh conditions and porta-potties as far as the eye can see, you will find yourself in an incredibly uncomfortable situation. I guess the point is, eat whatever your heart desires, just make sure your brain is aware of the consequences. 

Liquor: Must have for the concert goer of legal drinking age. If you’re camping or even just broke, pre-gaming is essential. We started off our mornings with a glass of mimosas, followed up with a cup or two of the “strong stuff” if you know what I mean (whiskey). By the time we got on to the shuttle for the real day’s events, we were already raging and ready to go. The cheapest drink available at the festival that I could find was $8 for a small cup of the shittiest red blend on the shelf. Pre-gaming cuts your drink budget in half, and if you have any left over at the end of your trip you can have the after party at your place!

Music: Of course, the most important part of any music festival is the music, and Bottlerock was in no short supply. What Bottlerock did that was a step up from a lot of other festivals, was to give each performer about 45 mins to an hour long set. At other concert events, there is never enough time to see all of the booths, the bands that you love, and have enough downtime to not die of heatstroke. Bottlerock allowed plenty of time to wander between bands, and when it was finally time for your band to play you oftentimes got all of the songs that you wanted to hear. During our weekend we had enough time to see every booth, get all of the food we wanted to try, keep our drink cups refill and had plenty of energy to jam out to the headliners at the end of the night. Favorite performers of the weekend: No Doubt (still ugly sobbing forever), ZZ Ward, Snoop Dogg, People Under the Stairs, Cage the Elephant. 

Lastly, always, always, no matter what you end up doing this summer, be aware of the conditions that you will be in and prepare for that. Summer essentials: sunscreen, reusable water bottles, emergency cash, advil, plenty of weed. 

[billboard]

Some more photos from our exclusive backstage portraits from BottleRock 2015!

[musichead84]

Can’t wait to ask Boss Man how BottleRock was! 

[billboard]

Here’s a sweet picture of Capital Cites at our exclusive backstage photoshoot! Check out more pictures here: http://www.billboard.com/photos/6582938/bottlerock-2015-photos-exclusive-backstage-portraits?i=558428