X96 BASH REVIEWED!

With promises of cold weather approaching, it was time for me to get in all of the last minute warm weather outdoor festivities that I could before it was too late. So I hauled my big ass out to the X96 Big Ass Show on September 27. Held at Usana Amphitheater, instead of its usual Utah State Fairpark stomping grounds, I was curious how the new set up would fly. I’ve only been to Usana one other time about six years ago.

The band roster included 12 headlining acts—including Yellowcard, Hawthorne Heights, Head Automatica, and Lostprophets—most of which I have never heard of, but that could just be my age showing. Perhaps I’m getting a little too nostalgic. If memory serves, past Big Ass Shows seemed to include an impressive lineup of bands that surpassed the amount showing for this year. Generally this included four stages with music going at all times. This year seemed to be lacking that completely.

I arrived in time to catch Local H. Once they started, I had some hope that this would be a pretty amped up show with a bevy of bands going on, but mid-set, I looked out into the crowd and thought that maybe it is time to lower the Ritalin dosage in today’s youth. During a very energetic set the band was met by a crowd of kids standing in a zombie stance, not even bobbing back and forth. You could tell that the band was not even that into it and they mentioned that they will be back in November, probably to a more welcoming crowd I hope.

Even security looked bored at this point, their eyes practically begging for just something to happen. Local H ended far too quickly and being overdressed for the seasonal the trickery of fall; I was overheating and headed out to look for a beer while waiting for the next band to show up onstage.

Ironically, the concert was sponsored by Budweiser, which meant I was able to purchase a frothy beverage for a harrowing $8 a pop (which leads me to believe that maybe it is about time that Budweiser started sponsoring me). At this point I didn’t mind though. I just needed something to take me up a couple notches for the next band that came up.

Ludo came on, and again it may just be my age showing, but it was just your average clichéd pop/punk. Some bands think if they say “fuck” enough it will get the crowd riled up and it did wake up a few audience members, but the set was too predictable. That is until they led the crowd into a confusing sing along to the Star Spangled Banner. Maybe that Bud was worth every penny?

Part of going to a concert and enjoying it however, is being able to get up close by the stage. Something about our wristbands got many a languid headshakes "no” from security, though the area in front of the stage was only 1/3 full. This kept me at a far distance from being able to witness anything but dots onstage. That feeling of being left out began to burn less when Ten Years went on, making it seem like that amount of time that they were playing. This was really beginning to feel like the Half-Assed Show to me.

I wandered off in a frenzied search for another stage in hopes that we had at least one local band playing somewhere. Lo and behold, off in the corner of the amphitheater performed our homegrown musicians The Elizabethan Report. This is where the show began to pick up for me, though I came to find out it was a little late in the game.

The band that was up went on to give a quick lecture on not smoking and dived right into their set. I realized if I didn’t watch the overzealous singer too much that this band was really good. Not only that, it was a sigh of relief to be over by these stages because you could get up close, and every single person over there was dancing and enjoying the show to the fullest extent possible. Right as I was noting to my friend that they were very reminiscent of the Talking Heads, they went into a rousing cover of Psycho Killer. It was very impressively done for a group of young kids, leading me to be suspicious that they were from Provo.

I searched high and low and could not find a roster at all for the local bands that were playing, which was disappointing because I was far more interested in this stage than I was at anything else going on around me. After speaking with the band, I found out they actually are from Provo. That place is an untapped well of amazing music that too rarely leaks down to SLC.

I was quite excited to see what other non-roster surprises that the Live & Local stage had to offer me, but when I left momentarily and came back, they were taking the stage down. At this point my interest had waned and I half-listened to the last band, Trap,t go up before sneaking my way out of the Usana Amphitheater, stepping over tired looking teens laying on the lawn. Maybe next year the ball that seemed to be dropped on this show will be picked up again, because this was one of the festival shows that I have really loved in days past, but this year it just didn’t quite cut it. I did get a sweet farmer’s tan out of the deal though.

(Dominique LaJeunesse)