Projekt Revolution 2008 Band Rankings

[zuben7o7]

Projekt Revolution 2008 Band Rankings

 

Since I had the opportunity to see every band more than once (and more for some) I thought I would rank all the bands and such from PR 08. I'm not ranking based on stage just overall performance and entertainment throughout the shows. Starting with the worst....

 

9 | Hawthorne Heights

I saw them twice and was not impressed. I had never been a fan but I did download one track earlier this year and became somewhat interested in the band after the death their guitarist. But they were average in Raleigh and almost rude in Atlanta - not to mention they didn't even show up to West Palm Beach because they were filming a music video. If you're on tour, show up at every stop. Music videos should be done before or after tours.... in the end, they just didn't do much for me at all.

 

8 | Ashes Divide

The worst of the main stage acts. They just did not engage enough for me and I wasn't familar with any of their (or Billy's work). They had fair production for an up-and-coming band and their bass was out of this world in Atlanta, but I was constantly bored throughout each time I saw them. Julien-K was a much better main stage opener in 2007.

 

7 | Street Drum Corps

SDC really wasn't that bad but they played 4 songs and were practically done by the time you got settled if you were up front at the Rev. stage. Never understood what the "marching" thing was all about as I never saw anything like that happen. They had some nice theatrics and I gotta good vibe from them in the pit in Tampa - they are funky. Still, not enough and it didn't help that they didn't do much for me on LP's intro's. They have to open their genre up a bit more to be more prominent but they were descent.

 

6 | Armor For Sleep

Pretty good way to start the day considered most people (including myself) had never heard of them. Strong and rhythmic sound along with great energy was a great way to kick off the Rev. stage. Still, a bit too emo for me and, like with most opening bands, they just didn't have the "ooomph" to royally impress.

5 | The Bravery

I'll admit that I thought they would outright blow before PR started.... but they really weren't that bad. Certainly helps that I caught a drumstick from them in Tampa. Their banter was good, just so rhetorcal (same stuff every.... single..... show). But their sound was much better than HIM's or TBS in 2007 and I started to enjoy a few of their bigger songs by the end of my southeast tour. Overall, they were surprisingly entertaining in the middle slot on main stage but they are fairly one-dimensional for a bigger act.

 

4 | Chris Cornell

I know it seems pretty low for such a legendary rock star but I didn't think his production and stage presence was that great especially in Raleigh and what I saw in Charlotte. His FOH mixer is terrible and at times, especially in Tampa, he was inaudible. I didn't really enjoy the acoustic "Like A Stone," one of my favorite songs from Chris with Audioslave, and really wanted them to play the song normally. With that said, I enjoyed his set very much, he got better as the shows went on, and I absolutely fell in love with his new stuff (Watch Out, Long Gone). He had great camaraderie in Atlanta, a city he loves to play in, and I love that stuff. He was fantastic overall, but I had more fun with.....

 

3 | 10 Years

Only disappointment here is I didn't know how good they were coming in to the tour so I only got to seem them three times on PR (but saw them again at Buzzfest and get to see them Friday 12/19 in ATL). They really, really impressed me. They had the best sound of any band outside of LP and they were sincere and thankful to be on the tour. Very well-rounded setlist that I thought was very entertaining and has since become one of my favorite bands. Great stage presence and you could tell they were genuinely having a good time.

 

2 | Atreyu

The almighty Atreyu. They were a fucking riot. From the get-go you could tell people were either there to see LP or Atreyu. They did not disappoint. I had some interest in them before PR so I was familiar but they definitely reminded me of LP back when they were first touring. So much energy and so much crowd interaction - and it was interesting and different every day. West Palm Beach was absolutely insane. The circle pits and the last-song knee jump extravaganza made Atreyu a definite highlight of the tour.

 

1 | Linkin Park

I would say more.... but I think everything is obvious about LP.

Edited December 18, 2008 by Preston

[linkinmetalfanatic]

i like Linkin Park, Atreyu and 10 Years, but other than that i dont really like any of the bands

[_c2_]

German PRs featured HIM, The Used, The Blackout, N*E*R*D and of course LP.

 

I'd rank them like this:

 

5 - The Used

4 - The Blackout

3 - HIM

2 - N*E*R*D

...1 - LP (that's why we all went...)

[linkinmetalfanatic]

of those 5 i only like LP and HIM lol

[Astat]

Of the bands I actually bothered to watch:

 

1. Linkin Park

2. Chris Cornell

3. Ashes Divide

4. Street Drum Corps

5. Atreyu

6. The Bravery

7. Armor For Sleep

 

I really only enjoyed the first 4.

[Geki]

This year I enjoyed watching

 

Linkin Park

Chris Cornell

Busta Rhymes

Armor For Sleep

 

That's about it.

[Papelbon]

1. LP (obviously)

2. Atreyu - fucking great show and stage presence

3. 10 Years - one of my new favorite bands

4. woulda been CC, stupid M&G

5. Busta - he really put on a great show

6. Prolly ASHES dIVIDE but it was early and i was washing the blood off my face from atreyu so i didnt see the entire set...

 

The other bands were good but i wasnt really into them, SDC i heard was great, but the stupid blood on my face...

Edited December 21, 2008 by eng42ine

[hahninator]

American leg of Proj Rev (aka the REAL PR08), here we go:

 

9. Hawthorne Heights. Pitiful. From what I managed to watch, they were terrible. The only song I knew of theirs, This Is Who We Are, sounded awful live. I was not impressed. Really bad sound live, boring to watch. Like Preston said, they didn't even fucking show in West Palm, lmao. I should have saved and framed the poster they put up saying "Sorry, Hawthorne Heights will not be performing today".

 

8. Street Drum Corps. Far too short of a set to be on Proj Rev in my opinion. They didn't do the march from the Rev -> Main Stage like the press releases for the tour said they would. Once Atreyu finished, it was a clusterfuck to get to the main stage and by the time you got there, they were already like 2-3 songs in! I'm glad in Tampa I skipped the Rev Stage because I was actually able to see SDC. They had a song I liked called Crazy. I think they'd be better with a longer set, etc. The drum opening to the LP set was interesting but I prefer the kabouki or something else. Not the type of band I'd like to see on PR, but whatever. They were cool on BIO I guess.

 

7. ASHES dIVIDE. Talk about boring. I couldn't get into them at all. The Stone was decent...I liked their fog and lights for their set, but that was about it. I spent their set time in Tampa looking through Preston's camera at Alex on the keyboards, haha. Not my type of music. They did have loud bass in Atlanta but that was it. Not entertaining for me.

 

6. Armor For Sleep. Excellent Rev Stage opening band. Nothing but compliments for these guys. They got the crowd into it, they were very fun to watch. Williamsburg was kickass live. I liked it when they came out in Atlanta and said "WHAT'S UP YOU SMELLY MOTHERFUCKERS", haha. I got into their music. Perhaps they'd be a better Main Stage opening act but then again, it's mostly seats so I dunno. They were good though.

 

5. The Bravery. Good ole Bravery. They said the same shit every show, aka "So this is Projekt Revolution, how ya feel about that?", but besides that they were cool. I had downloaded some of their material before going to the shows and I liked it, so I mean they weren't bad. I think in Tampa this other girl halfway back and I were the only 2 standing for their set. Believe, Honest Mistake, Fearless, Swollen Summer, and Time Won't Let Me Go were all good. I found them alright to watch...I'd pay to see them again (if it was a cheap price) I guess if they came with another good band. Not a bad band to have on the bill, and definitely better than The Killers. The only song that sucked was Every Word Is A Knife In My Ear. That was absolutely obnoxious with the "OHH OH OH OH OH OHHHOHHH" with the song title repeated after it like 20 times throughout the song. I will still say that that is the worst song ever written. But yeah Honest Mistake and Believe were great...not a bad band in my opinion. Maybe work a tad on stage presence but they are a B+ in my book. Good position in the lineup.

 

4. Atreyu. Oh yes, Atreyu. Really creative intro...nice buildup to let them come on stage. Opening with Doomsday, they got things started right away. They were quite entertaining to watch in West Palm. Alex throwing the baseball at the guy in the crowd like three or four times was hilarious...then they released all these beach balls with the Monster Energy logo on them that were fun to hit around. A+ stage presence. People were jumping, crowdsurfing, everything. They had a big circle pit and everything. Falling Down and Becoming The Bull were sick....Blow was good too. The highlight was the last song where yeah as you've heard by now the whole crowd gets down on one knee, jumps up on the count of three, and proceeds to fucking lose it. Like I said in the PR review I wrote, Preston started his own little pit so it was a riot. I really enjoyed their set and can't wait to see them again (in the pit of course, no doubt). I almost had a drumstick at the end too. This girl caught it on the end with one hand, then I stuck my hand in the middle, and some dumbass guy proceeded to yank the girls hand off, put his other hand on the opposite end, and attempted to turn my wrist every which way so he could get it. Once I gave up because I didn't want a fucked wrist, he got pissed and pushed me for no reason, but whatever, I mean I guess there are dumbfucks at every show. Anyway Atreyu was excellent. Quite impressive. They were loud, in your face, and got everyone into it.

 

3. 10 Years. My boys in 10 Years We walked up in West Palm right as they got their set going and listening to it all, I was impressed. They were very good....the sound was A+ and Jesse's voice was right on. We got into our spots at the Rev Stage as they finished Actions & Motives, then they moved into So Long Good Bye, Waking Up and Wasteland. The acoustic song was pretty good, then he got the crowd into it on Waking Up by yelling "ARE YOU THERE" on the bridge quite loudly. Of course the entire place went off on Wasteland, especially when he went into the crowd in the end. The outro was SICK...that's the first time I was able to hear their excellent outro to it. We missed 'em in Tampa but in Atlanta they were top notch. Russian Roulette is an excellent opener. Yelling "ATL" right when he came out, you could tell there were quite a few 10 Years fans in the house. Throughout the set the band was not only sounding good, they were entertaining and interacted with the crowd nicely. Actions & Motives with the whole crowd clapping was good. On Wasteland he went into the crowd again but I saw him spill his beer all over the place on the people up front...pretty funny. Anyway I was into their entire set and really enjoyed them. Can't wait to see them again. This exact performance was a huge factor in us deciding to go and see them in Nashville. A+ overall. I ranked them in front of Atreyu because I knew more of their songs, their music appeals more to my tastes, and overall they sounded just a tad bit better than Atreyu.

 

2. Chris Cornell. When they announced him for the Aussie Tour in 07, I was like "Damn, that's amazing....too bad he'll never play the USA with them now". Well I was proven wrong. I knew Chris would really appeal to me and he did. Cochise started it off and it was excellent. He did Long Gone and Watch Out from the new album...both were A+. Long Gone live has such a nice slow rock ballad feel, and Watch Out has a heavy rock crowd-appeasing mood to it. I loved Be Yourself...one of my favorite Audioslave songs. Show Me How To Live, Black Hole Sun, Rusty Cage, etc, it was all very nice. A highlight was in Atlanta when he did Fell On Black Days acoustically for the ONLY time on the ENTIRE tour. Awesome! He has some ties to Atlanta so he treated us nicely that day. And Hunger Strike. Holy shit. Absolutely amazing. I doubt Chester can guest appear on another song I see live and do as well as he did on Hunger Strike. I was very impressed, and obviously the rest of the crowd was too as everyone went nuts when he came out. Besides me missing CC in Charlotte (except for the last 3 songs) and the security fucking with me in West Palm, I enjoyed him a lot (especially Tampa/Atlanta). Chris had an awesome setlist and I can't wait to see him again as well.

 

1. Linkin Park. Self explanatory. Epic on all proportions. A+ from every aspect really. The sound is ridiculous for LP...the whole crowd loves them, etc. Had an absolute awesome time at all the shows. Atlanta was really cool too...Faint's outro was sick. Anyway yeah I mean what else can you say, it's LP

[Astat]

Am I the only person who saw the end of Atreyu's set and the beginning of SDC without missing anything? I left the Rev stage right at the end of Atreyu's last song and got to my seats with about 10 minutes to spare before SDC came on.

[hahninator]

Am I the only person who saw the end of Atreyu's set and the beginning of SDC without missing anything? I left the Rev stage right at the end of Atreyu's last song and got to my seats with about 10 minutes to spare before SDC came on.

In West Palm it was a clusterfuck trying to get thousands of fans squeezed out of the one Rev Stage exit and to the Main Stage in an orderly and timely fashion. In Tampa I skipped Atreyu and saw SDC because I knew I'd miss them if I went to the Rev Stage. In Atlanta I had the same situation as West Palm. In fact I don't recall ever seeing SDC in Atlanta besides the soundcheck. When I showed up at my seats now that I think about it, I am pretty sure they had already finished. Don't quote me on that because I might be mistaken but I don't ever think I saw SDC's set in Atlanta.... (I did, however get to hear their soundcheck, lol).

 

Interesting that you had time to see them. I don't think they had enough time in the schedule to allow for a smooth transition, but I dunno.

[ChuckCheese]

Hmmm. There was plenty of time to see SDC after Atreyu's set in Charlotte.

[zuben7o7]

Hmmm. There was plenty of time to see SDC after Atreyu's set in Charlotte.

All the shows I went too, the only time I saw SDC was in Tampa and that is because I wasn't coming from the Rev. stage. In West Palm, as Mark said, it seems the played literally as Atreyu came off stage. By the time we left the Rev. stage, they were two songs into their 4-song set. And Mark, we did not get a chance to see SDC in Atlanta, I think we walked to the other side of Lakewood to get a drink or something so we might have glimpsed but when we sat down, AD were about to start (or maybe already started).

[Honu]

I only caught the last four acts on the bill, so I'll give my impressions of them. I chose not to rank, as I was only familiar with two of the bands at the time, but you can figure out what I thought pretty easily.

 

1. Ashes Divide- I was actually hoping to not like them when planning this excursion. I couldn't justify the price tag (two pavillion seats, I hate the lawn), distance (nearly two hour drive), and some of the other stuff (aka it took three shots to ask this girl to go with me) for one band. I checked Ashes Divide out on Myspace before deciding to go through with the whole thing. Good move. Billy Howerdel strayed enough from the A Perfect Circle formula to create something new, but stayed close enough to make it recognizable and listenable. The biggest problem with them was the sound lends itself more to an intimate club setting over a 20K+ outdoor show. On the plus side, they really connected with the crowd and performed well despite the limitations.

 

2. The Bravery- I hate to completely rip apart a band, but these guys didn't do it for me. Their songs all sounded the same, and try as they might, they either didn't bring any energy or it just went over everyone's heads. Having only two albums under their belts, they're still very green and may turn into an excellent live band, but that remains to be seen.

 

3. Chris Cornell- The man, the myth, the legend. Chris was the main reason I wanted to be there in the first place and I was running down possible setlists on the drive. Best case scenario: he gives a three-hour retrospective of his career. Worst case: he relies too much on his new album. His set started off with "Cochise" and though I wish he'd leave it off the setlist, it set the tone. He mainly stuck to the heavier material, and while I knew Chester Bennington would come out for "Hunger Strike," I was still blown away. The band quit the stage and Chris performed a solo number of "Like A Stone" (I was hoping for "Seasons," but this was more than an adequate substitute.) "Burden in my Hand" was a welcome surprise. "Black Hole Sun" was excellent, and it takes real talent to sing while crowd-surfing. The closer, an epic rendition of "Jesus Christ Pose" was straight out of Lollapalooza 92. Only complaint: His new songs were disappointing. He played "Watch Out" and "Long Gone" and both were completely ruined by the synthesizers.

 

4. Linkin Park- Going into the show, I really did not like their music. I was roped into staying for their set (see above), but had heard from many reviewers that they were an excellent live band. Their entrance rivaled Metallica's and they kicked right into overdrive from the opening notes of "One Step Closer." "Leave out all the rest" had this cool horror movie/ Stairway to Heaven vibe surounding it, as did "Shadow of the Day." They transitioned well from the slower songs to the all-out rockers, and the whole crowd went nuts when Chris Cornell walked out for "Crawling." Singing "Happy Birthday" was a nice touch as well. They closed with "Bleed it Out" which was just fricken' perfect. Needless to say, I've been converted and can't wait for the next tour.

[arbiter]

1.) Linkin Park - the only reason i bought the ticket and the only band i wanted to see. I saw them 3 times on this particular tour. They were awesome in mountain view, funny in Irvine, but kicked absolute ass in Dallas. probably biased because i was still on a high from meeting Mike and Chester.(Chester up close and personal has really nice skin and is better looking i noticed. pictures don't do him justice and Mike is all levels of cute and shy; at least when Chester is talking about him like he was a god.) Back on topic, Papercut was awesome at the dallas show. Chester and Mike were really lively and had high energy.

 

2.)10 years. - They were my absolute favourite new discoveries. I am forever grateful to Chester for inviting them on the tour or else, i would never have discovered them. Their music stood out to me for a band i've never ever heard any material from except for beautiful. I missed them in mountain view and saw them for the first time in irvine. I was blown away. the next time i saw them in dallas, i had already downloaded their entire collection. I agree with Chester, why they're not big is beyond me. They entertain and have great songs. And the singer being shirtless most of the time didn't hurt either. They should have been on the main stage above the bravery. They have better stage presence.

 

3.) Chris Cornell- i really loved watching him. in irvine, it was hard to hear him because whoever was the idiot responsible for his mike had the volume really low. But in dallas, he kicked butt. I really loved it when chester came out to sing hunger strike with him. it was beautiful. i also loved to hear the james bond theme song. a huge pleasure watching him work the crowd. he set a bar for LP to follow.

 

4.) Atreyu- Even though i'm not fond of most of their songs except for 2, they still managed to entertain me. I don't like screaming bands but i'll watch Atreyu any day. they work the crowd and seem genuinely pleased to be there to play for us as much as we were there to see them. huge stage presence.

 

5.) The Bravery - i liked three of their songs. they didn't bore me all that much. funny though, i saw them 3 times but i can barely remember them on stage besides their music.

 

from here on out, any of this bands could be interchangeable music wise so i am going to rank them presentation wise.

 

6.) Street Drum Corps - They get your attention with their crazy get-ups and glow paint. Plus i really liked their drum intro for one step closer.

 

7.) Armour for Sleep - the singer guy really annoyed me at first. but i liked when he sang hold the door so i forgave him his ugly tight jeans. seriously, skinny jeans was not meant for every one especially not the jonas brothers. they were not entertaining but were not boring either.

 

8.) Ashes Divide - None of their songs did it for me except for the stone though. at first in irvine, Billy the singer creeped me out before he got on stage. After that i noticed how gracious and honoured he felt to be there that i softened and saw that he wasn't a serial killer in disguise. although, they were really boring on stage.

 

9.) Hawthourne Heights should have been the opening band for the revolution stage because they suck every life and fun from the audience. their music is lackluster and sound like disney kiddy show tunes. They're really ugly and lack any sort of stage presence. How do they have any fans? The absolute worst on the bill. they were your get some snacks, pee a gallon place holder.

[lphavik17]

I missed Armor for Sleep and most of Hawthorne

 

7)The Bravery- I was so bored during them. I didnt find a single one of their songs to be entertaining and the only person i saw into it was a mom there with like her two daughters or something. Terrible

 

6)Street Drum Corps- Imma assume im the only one around here that thought they sucked. They were also very boring but they went by really quick so it was all good in the hood

 

5) Ashes Divide- I liked them alot and they sounded really good. The Stone was soo good live and their overall set was pretty good. I was impressed

 

now these final four are amazing

4) 10 Years- they sounded so fucking sick and my personal favorite song they played wad 11AM Daydreamer. The crowd was so into them and they did a really great job,needless to say i went home and downloaded a bunch of 10 years songs

 

3) Chris Cornell- Fuckin amazing. I loved Scream live it sounded amazing and i loved all the Soundgarden and Audioslave stuff as well. He was great

 

2) Atreyu- WOW!.Thats what I said after i was done watching them. They were insanely good. I was in the pit while they played and it was amazing. Doomsday was a good choice to open with IMO and Lipgloss and Black was a great closer to

 

1) Linkin Park-need i say more?