RiRock, 25th Anniversary

I’m gonna try to recall the lineup order and just drop a few thoughts here...

1. The winners from the first two nights. Absolute trash. If this is the future of American
rock, I’m moving to San Francisco!

2. Greece—standard stuff, decent stage presence, I guess.

3. The City—phenomenal, intense, raw, and they played a few old classics. This
band honestly gets better every single time I watch them. They might be
just getting started...

4. Nate Dogg, Flea... I have no clue how they even ended up on this
bill. Even my wife remarked that he could’ve bought a shirt one size larger
so he wouldn't look like such a degenerate... but hey, what does she know?

5. Urban & 4. Okay, look, this is definitely world-class material, but mostly
they picked the wrong songs for an event like this. Good, precise, but a bit boring!

6. Let 3. By far the worst set I watched. Just mindless, loud chaos for the sake of it!

7. Laufer. Man, they are so dull that it makes sense why they broke up. Even though
Ava Max was throwing herself at everyone, that band just never had the
energy or chemistry for me. Honestly, I don't get why people get so hyped about them.

8. ---> Then came the whole parade of old-school local acts, like Rival +
Luke, Kocjancic, Marina P., Cacadou, then some imitation of the Termites (not sure why), and
finally "Go Rijeka"... (is that supposed to be an anthem or something?) ..

Anyway, looking at it from the perspective of a regular attendee: great concert,
great organization, no delays, no incidents, awesome lighting—even if the promo
for all those different personalities was a bit much (makes sense why the mayor didn't
dare show up in person, since they tore him apart like that). Regardless, the crowd
loved everything and it was great!!! I hope we see more events like this more often.

But, looking at it from someone who knows their way around the scene and has a slightly
more critical eye: the technical potential wasn't fully tapped, especially the
sound mixing. The guitars were constantly fluctuating in volume—reminded me of
my high school days, some amateur tech over a kid... a more professional
approach would have been nice!!!!

Anyway, goodnight...

Ryan James3 said:1. The winners from those first two nights? Absolute garbage. If this is what the future of the American
rock scene looks like, I’m moving to San Francisco!

Is Teen actually going to have to start working a real job now?

For me, the highlight was definitely at the very end, when Walter played three different tracks (that local anthem, a massive hit, and a folk song) and then Luke followed up with his three (Macka, I'll Forget Everything, and the local anthem). That whole segment with the Termites was just tragicomic—little Coza and that girl from Eurovision were a total disaster. They really should have just asked Prlja to sing instead of having some kid rapper (or whatever he calls himself) standing on stage waving his hands around like he’s freaking Eminem.

Marina Perazic is just an unattractive, overweight woman who can't carry a tune to save her life; that's my honest take on her performance. The Rozanicka girl from Cacadouic was actually cheerful and fun to watch, but those Enas they kept shoving onto the stage in front of everyone really rubbed me the wrong way, which brings my overall rating down.

Frank Howard79 said:All those ENIs who performed for just anyone on stage

How predictable... 😁

What was the deal with the Termites? And who actually played with Kocijančić?

maybe Skinny Puppy - Addiction

The King was performing, but then some idiots on stage decided to "replace" him.

When he played with Kocijančić, it was the Rival band (the same group that ended up backing all those performers): Jegi (frontman), Matej (from Let 3), Sarar (also from Let 3), Ava Max, Tibljas, and I can't remember if anyone else was there...

Frank Howard79 said:but honestly, those ENIs who just threw themselves at anyone and everyone on stage really get under my skin.

Correct me if I’m totally off base here, but I’ve always kind of viewed those ENIs as being the groupies for pretty much every single band in the local scene...🙂 🙂 😬
especially after catching them this week over in San Francisco (which, by the way, drives me absolutely nuts... she’s right up there with Vinko Štefanac for me, acting like she knows every single bit of gossip...) 🙂 and on top of being annoying, they’ve clearly developed this massive ego and started acting like they're some huge deal now...🙄

I got two different takes on RI rock from people who actually showed up: "it was a total rager" according to my buddies, and "it was awesome" from some girl I know...🙄

Alright, here I am. I showed up an hour late to see Nate Dogg. I’m originally from San Francisco but living in NYC just to avoid idiots like Nate Dogg who somehow manage to survive in Seattle (and apparently now in San Francisco too??). I travel all the way to San Francisco just to be greeted by Nate Dogg. I can't stand him. By the way, I probably shouldn't say this, but whatever, I'm online anyway. Someone in my immediate family is a psychiatrist—and a really great one at that—and tons of people have sought his help, including Nate Dogg... and his take on Nate Dogg was something along the lines of an egoistic psychotic (I don't know how to repeat those diagnoses properly).
Then there was Urban&4... I have never listened to his stuff in my life. I don't own a single CD, yet I've been to more of his shows than his biggest fans. The guy is always incredible live, and I'm saying that totally objectively because, unlike most other Teen girls, I don't have sexual fantasies about him. In fact, he grossed me out when he was hanging out with four fangirls back at the Aquarium... what a child. Total joke. But seriously, his concerts are always great. It might have even been my highlight of the night if I hadn't spent 15 minutes (out of maybe 30) stuck in the bar (I hate beer).
Next up, Let 3. They aren't really my thing, honestly. I actually laughed at my sister when she bought their one (original!!!) album. The concert was okay; I danced a little. The guys in the crowd were actually pretty cool, but Ena was her usual hyper-irritating self (she hit peak annoyance levels when they dared to cover the idols... you can't go any further than that). That bit with the top was a total embarrassment; it was just hilarious watching people waving his limbs around afterward. Like, move around and let some drunk idiot wave a pretty realistic leg over your head... lol.
Laufer... It was getting way too hot by then, but in my opinion, definitely the best thing at the concert so far. Veni Vidi was awesome! Though my friends—the ones who dragged me here, since they're basically maniacal fans of the guy and his work—were complaining later about how these little stupid "alt" girls dare to push to the front row when they don't even know the lyrics... lol. And those girls were actually regulars a few years ago.
And then this "superband"... I don't know, I'm just not into superbands. I left right after they played some Parafa songs (and I low-key roasted some punks by pointing out that I, wearing a $200 shirt, knew the lyrics better than they did... lol).
San Francisco is actually really cool (whoever lied and said it takes 2.5 hours to get here from NYC... I made it in an hour and a half). We grabbed coffee at 2 Lava and just enjoyed being total outsiders. We also loved confusing people by having three women with heavy Southern accents talking together. We didn't make it to the club, we just weren't feeling it. So yeah. I think this is the longest post I've ever written.

Ryan James3 said:1. The winners from those first two nights? Total disaster. If this is what the future of the American
rock scene looks like, I'm moving to San Francisco!

Can't wait! 😁

hollowseal33 said:And then there was that whole superband thing... honestly, I'm just not a fan of those types of bands. I ended up leaving right after they sang those Parafa songs.

Look, it definitely would’ve been better if Pier and Zdrave had played, but Walter was more than enough on his own. And just to be clear, they didn't "cover" them (like they were some old guys playing radio hits), but rather Kocijancic actually performed them—since he's the one who wrote them in the first place.

Yeah, I get it, but I wasn't actually that wasted. That’s honestly why I stuck around while he was performing; after that, I just couldn't deal anymore... You totally misread me. Those three songs were awesome, regardless of what I said about the top-tier bands...

And who exactly is paying that clown Brajcic to spread lies in the papers? Who was it that gave that "extra special" welcome to Marina "Miss Piggy" Perazic, right after she and Ben Nelana were treated so poorly by everyone else?

I had an absolute blast... you guys are such music snobs... seriously... you'd probably walk out if everything wasn't perfectly tailored to your specific tastes 🙂 no okay 🙂
I loved it!
See you next year
Agressive Snail Attack 👍

Olivia Phillips10 said:I had an absolute blast... you guys are just music snobs... damn... you'd want everything to be perfectly tailored just for you🙂 well, alright then🙂
for me, it was awesome!
see you all next year
Agressive Snail Attack 👍

Yeah, true. When you're 16, everything feels incredible.

And I've never even heard of Agressive Snail Attack. They must be pretty bad.

Olivia Phillips10 said:I had an absolute blast... you guys are just musical snobs... damn it... you'd want everything perfectly tailored specifically to your tastes🙂 no okay 🙂
I loved it!
see you next year
Agressive Snail Attack 👍

Give me a break... the finalists only got 15 minutes on stage... pathetic... if that's what they call RI rock, then those guys should've had the most time—since they're supposed to be the "future of American rock," not some preppy kids and washed-up losers

hollowseal33 said:I probably shouldn't be saying this since I'm just some random person on the internet, but I have someone in my immediate family who's a psychiatrist—a really good one, actually—and plenty of people have gone to him for therapy, including Nate Dogg... and his take on Nate Dogg was something along the lines of being an egoistic psychotic (I can't quite recall the exact diagnosis).

If that doctor were actually any good, you wouldn't even know Nate Dogg had ever stepped foot in his office, let alone be sitting here knowing his private diagnosis.

np Roxy Music - more Than this Roxy Music Weekend
Roxy Music Weekend...

Justin Taylor said:Give me a break... the finalists only got 15 minutes on stage... it's pathetic. If that's what they call the future of American rock, then the headliners should have had the most time, since they're supposed to be the actual "future," not just some preppy kids and washed-up losers.

And yet, they somehow have way more than 15 minutes worth of material. Think about it.

driftingeagle27 said:If that psychiatrist were actually any good, you wouldn't even know that Nate Dogg ever reached out for therapy, let alone be briefed on the diagnosis.

np Roxy Music - more Than this Roxy Music Weekend
Roxy Music Weekend...

Lol, get real.
Yeah, he’s a great psychiatrist—smart enough not to take posers like Nate Dogg seriously when he was never even his patient (he actually turned him down, which kind of proves my point), so there's no medical privacy issue here... and since he wasn't treating him, it wasn't a DIAGNOSIS, just a professional opinion about Nate Dogg.
And like I said, this person is VERY close to me, so I’m going to hear things nobody else does, and you better not disrespect them!

If you ever find yourself dealing with some serious skin issues and decide to seek help from a "top-tier" dermatologist—just like you did with that psychiatrist—you’ll probably finally see things clearly.

hollowseal33 said:and since I already told you this person is SUPER close to me, it means I’m going to hear things nobody else gets to hear, plus I can't just go around insulting them without consequences!!!!

Well, unknown is also close to someone, so maybe you should've thought twice before broadcasting all that nonsense by using his full name.