Hey there, everyone!

Not even sure anyone is reading this thread anymore, but we just wanted to say a huge THANK YOU to anyone who came out and made our reunion set perfectly incredible! We felt right back at home in Philly, in front of thousands of our friends, and we can't wait to do it again for ya!

Stay in touch, if you will!

http://www.plowunited.net/
http://www.facebook.com/plow united
http://twitter.com/#!/PlowUnited
http://plowunited.wordp ress.com/

And see you all soon!

So drunkwithpower is bitching about a show he wasn't even at. I guess that's being proactive.

I was there and it was great. Enjoying staying home from that show, maybe Get Him To The Greek will be on cinemax and you can watch it again, even though you've seen it before, but y'know it's just like a chill night anyway. Just as good, really.

I also want to add, for people who do want to know about the Dead Milkmen set, it was brief so it didn't have some of their greatest mix of songs. It was a great set energywise and qualitywise (sans shitty sound booth guy), but the song selection was tailored to appeal to a broader audience versus their core fans like their smaller shows usually are, so less of the goofier songs and silly banter.

There was a really cool moment where they brought out and supported a candidate for sheriff of Philadelphia. I know the out of towners couldn't have give a shit since it's not like they can vote here, but as a Philadelphian who loves their city it was a really cool move of them to do so. Even cooler was instead of walking off stage, she crowd surfed, haha.

I don't really see the brunt of people being critical of this review saying "BUT __________ IS THE BEST BAND EVER."
But if it helps you guys sleep at night, instead of actually reading constructive criticism then, well, fair enough I guess.

But but but JOE! ________ IS the best band of all time doooood! GET WITH IT! Also, I agree that you need an editor... (*snicker snicker*)

Oh... I had never heard the Holy Mess before and they were awesome. Def gonna buy their album now. I'm not a big Menzingers fan but they really had the crowd going. Larry and His Flask are too gimmicky for me but I enjoyed their set. Plow United, Excitebike, and Naked Raygun did nothing for me.

hey jelone, for what it's worth, i really like your reviews. in fact, if i see an album is reviewed by you––even if i've never heard the band or have cared about them in the past––i'll read it because you always have a clear and interesting way of reviewing the material. you got writing chops, man! keep on keepin' on. there will at least be one punknews reader that enjoys and appreciates your writing style and opinion.

In fact, Mister Pacer, ya know how YOU go onstage sometimes because of what you do professionally? I'm not that far off of that- the only difference I guess is that my work/involvement is always done by the time I get to the show. Great photos man! Really good stuff.

...and considering Milo and Rodney and other truly dedicated individuals have been singing their hearts out for your own damn enjoyment for over 20 odd years, you think you would not only look past them not sounding like a 20 year old, but admire the dedication, shut the fuck up and enjoy every minute of their performances while they are still nice enough to do so.

Pacer, I understand why you would want to imagine me as the big evil corporate promoter of the event, especially after the whole Seattle thingie this week but I regret to honestly inform you than I was totally not involved to any such extent. I am involved in a very outside / non direct way with the music biz in general so I was able to get up there for a few sets having known someone etc etc etc...

Believe it or not being a loyal 10 year of this website is the EXACT THE FUCKING REASON I take this piss poor review so personally. I've never gotten involved commenting on a daily basis because I find most of the "conversation" to be aggressive personal attacks waged against some of the hardest working middle class bands in the world- punctuated with a few hold out fans trying not to get stampeded with internet negativity.

The Descendents played to a massive sing along crowd with FIREWORKS going off behind them, you have to be pretty jaded not to have loved that. Oh and everything about Milo bringing his adorable kids on stage was awesome, what a great dad! Those two lucky kids will never forget that night. The crowd loved it. Every band I watched was enjoyable if not incredible.

Also you skipped The Dead Milkmen at a huge loud awesome rare outdoor show in their hometown.

You skipped the Dead Milkmen, therefore your review is completely invalid.

Also, people are exaggerating Milo's vocal difficulties.
Most of the older punk dudes sing the old songs an octave lower in general. That's not a huge secret. It happens. As you age, your body changes.
Yes. Milo has had vocal difficulties. And yes, he was struggling a little, but he wasn't unable to sing. If he couldn't perform, they'd have canceled. Plain and simple. And if they did, I'm sure the same exact people who are complaining about his vocals would piss and moan about them canceling too.
It wasn't really till towards the end that he was having too much of a problem and even then, it wasn't that bad. Also....remember the shitty sound guy? Yeah...that might play into it a little bit too.

Exaggeration isn't really good to do.

To be honest, I'm not really digging this review and don't find it to be particularly representative of the day. But that's just me. I'm not a fan.
The reviewer brings up some good points. Yes, there were issues with the sound booths all day. In fact, the Descendents' guitar tech even reamed the sound guy for not following simple instructions on the mic during set up for all the crowd to hear. Yes, beer, water, and food were shitty and unreasonably prices, BUT A LITTLE RESEARCH WOULD TELL YOU THAT THE VENUE IS RUN BY LIVENATION AND SHIT LIKE THAT IS TO BE EXPECTED. So complaining about it is arbitrary at that point. Also, in Philly, there isn't any independent venue of that size that could support the capacity of a festival of that size. If anyone went in expecting this to be anything like Fest, they were pretty naive and ignorant.

BUT, the tone of the whole review is kind of bunk and shows a real lack in journalistic integrity. Some commenters bring up really good points about the reviewer's tardiness to the show, as well as saying "didn't watch, because I don't care" about the Dead Milkmen. When you are tasked to review something that means reviewing it objectively and . The comments about the girls in the X pit were rather offputting as well. I only say this because I really enjoy Punknews and like a lot of the people involved with it and enjoy seeing this site grow. But poor journalistic integrity hurts it and that makes me sad. If I want to go read about some super personalized, unobjective piece about someone going to a concert, I'll go look at peoples' blogs on Tumblr.

Also, it seems like they're complaining about the fact that Milo's children came out and did "All-O-Gistics" with them and if anyone didn't find that absolutely adorable, they're pretty heartless. From where I was standing (up front), the crowd seemed pretty damn stoked to be there. But it bears mentioning the crowd spent the entire day bouncing in and out of a hot ass tent, in which the alternative was the muggy weather which saps your energy, being dehydrated due to drinking alcohol or nothing at all due to the crazy water prices, and tearing it up for bands alllllll day, I think I can forgive the crowd for not going as nuts, and don't take that as them not enjoying it as much.

Also, there were motherfucking fireworks during Descendents' set. It was magical.

Naked Raygun should break up again?! Ouch! Dude, that's harsh.

boogersugar: I wasn't there, and I will not be attending the show in my hometown next week. I don't think it's unreasonable to expect a band that plays some big festival to actually be able to play. If the guitar player had broken all of his strings during the third song and then just kind of mimed along and strummed an air guitar for the rest of the set, you would be pretty disappointed. Singers shouldn't get a pass on this, especially if it has a history of happening.

I was really excited to go to this, despite the 10 hour round trip in a day. Missed The Holy Mess due to traffic, but The Menzingers killed it. Samhaim was kinda boring. I like them but couldn't get into the set. Hot Water Music set dominated the night and they played Turnstile.

Just spotted this in one of iwasthere's responses :

I watched from on stage

Yep, definitely involved in the organisation. How INCREDIBLY unprofessional.

Hey jelone, this is a really good review, you should do more, and definitely ignore creeps like this.

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say iwasthere is one of the organisers of this fest. If not, then they REALLY need to get over themselves. This is a pretty good review, that covers (i believe) every band on the bill that get regular coverage on here, which is what a good review does - reflects the tastes of it's audience. Why they're taking it so personally, I don't know (though it brings me back to my assumption that they're somehow involved in the organisation of this (corporate) fest, especially since they started an account just to rag on the review, and have only posted on this page).

MuhammadMormon , first off let me say- http://bit.ly/gnB3NG

Second,

I dont think it's too much to ask to have reviews and other contributions on punknews be QUALITY pieces. I realize that a review is opinionated, I believe what people are taking issue with (at least me) is the piss poor quality and general lack of effort on the part of the reviewer. Why should labels or bands or anyone for that matter take this place seriously if there is not standard of quality or even a minimal sense of integrity in the writing.

I love how every little underachiever instantly waves the "HEEY BROoooo ITS PUUNK ROCK" -aka- "I don't care enough to try, but I use fashion as my lame excuse" flag. If that were the attitude the bands you and I love took, you and I would have no reason to love them, punk or not.

Of course I'm also talking to someone with this STUNNING argumentative capacity- "What's that cunt's name... iwasthere? Grow a dick, moron. You got your flannel on too tight?" Wow mister tough guy, you really showed me!!

I'll let you get back to bullying other kids in your upper middle class high school now...

I did think the crowd reaction was pretty tame for the Descendents but I was completely into it the whole time. One of my top 5 favorite bands.

This festival used to be called Riot Fest, but its official name (at least this year) is Red Bull Riot Fest, just like how it's Vans Warped Tour. Those companies shell out big bucks to be the title sponsor, and I'm sure it's in whatever agreement they sign that the fest's name be amended to include their brand.

-Scott

P.P.S.
Fuck this Red Bull horseshit. Some good bands, sure sure, but the organizers are pathetic low lives. I flew out to the Chicago one a few years back with my buddy's band, and it was disgusting. Riot Mike, I believe is his nickname, should be barred from organizing any sort of musical event, along with his fat cronies.

I don't know what all you pussies are complaining about. This is a review. A review is the opinion of whoever-the-fuck is doing the reviewing.

Plus... THIS IS PUNKNEWS.ORG!!! Who gives a flying fuck!

P.S.
What's that cunt's name... iwasthere? Grow a dick, moron. You got your flannel on too tight?

mostly agreed. i think the descendents set got a lot better after the dumb fart jokes, and when Milo's voice warmed up they were pretty on.

Hot Water Music and the Menzingers stole the show in my opinion. i love HWM, but had never gotten to see them and their set was fantastic, the only problem was that no one up front was moving or singing. maybe people were just old or something. but it was frustrating because this girl and i are like freaking out and it seemed like everybody else just wanted to hear rooftops.

Huge Menzingers fan and although their set was short, it was highly emotional and a lot of fun. if you haven't seen them, do it now, before they end up playing all big stages.

I saw the Descedents the night before in NYC and they were soooo much fun. Bummer it wasn't as good in Philly, but then again, nothing really is.

Who gives a flying fuck about how professional his review was. This is punknews.org. What literary credibility do you think this website has? I got a pretty solid idea of what this event was like based on what he said. It may not play word for word how I would have typed it. But then again, I don't take the time to write reviews, like most of you bitching about this Im sure.

For the record, the ticket read Red Bull Riot Fest East. That's what it was billed as. I agree with you on the most parts. Descendents were pretty tame. But can we really blame a band who doesn't really do their thing anymore? I'm just glad I got to see them.

drunkwithpower: Dude if you feel like you didn't get your money's worth I doubt you would've been satisfied with anything and I dont know what to tell you. Drop the attitude that a band is a used car salesman trying to screw you out of your cash and just be a fan. You would've enjoyed yourself a lot more without the chip. There is pleasure beyond finding fault in things, I know that's an unbelievable concept.

Sorry Joe,

1) You barely watched half of the bands at an all day event. Again, fine if you are the casual attendee of course, but a piss poor effort for as some "official reviewer." If I were supposed to review an ENTIRE SHOW and only watched half of the bands I would recuse myself from the assignment knowing that I would be unable to give it an honest review.

2) You got the one song name you "cited" wrong (even though you had the arrogance to refer to a bands entire album and live set as "sophomoric") check out this great website called "google" next time you need to look something up that you clearly don't know.

3) You discredited yourself by bringing you own biases into the mix, poorly might I add.

4) You EVEN got the name of the event wrong!!

Motherfucking 5) If Punknews didn't have an editor for reviews this would be entirely your fail, but the review editor also shares the blame for this one. I mean WHY EVEN HAVE EDITORS if you don't bother reading or "editing" the content. If this was revised, I would hate to read the original.

Bottom line- just quit being a reviewer. You clearly dont give a shit. Why waste your time? Why waste ours?

If you would rather be sarcastic and immature in stead of owning up to your hack job review- fine. I'll just stop reading once I get to your name at the top... I have a feeling I'm not the only reader who does that based on your profile.

-I'm sorry I only watched about 8 hours of live music. I am a dick who is also a jerk.

-I'm sorry I undervalued ____ as much as you do. You're right, _____ is totally the best group of all time.

-I'm sorry I questioned the sound quality and schedule for this corporate event.

This is a perfect review if you were there. There were audio issues all day on both stages. I spent $30 - 3 waters, a Powerade, a pizza, & a hot dog. The Suicide Machines had the most energetic crowd. By the time the Descendents played, I was fucking stoked but the majority of people didn't seem to notice they were playing. Also, I'm 25 & the Dead Milkmen have never mattered to me. I've tried to like them & even checked out 3/4 of their set, but I just couldn't get into them. Weston fucking rocked but there were only aabout 15 of us who knew any songs.

Drunkwithpower:

I watched from on stage- the Descendents were as good Saturday as they were when I saw them years ago. Haters gonna hate.

What a terrible review... I've heard nothing but great things about that day. Also I'm pretty sure it was called Riot Fest East. Red Bull just sponsored it.

boogersugar:
I am fully aware of the situation. They should not be playing shows at all if he can't sing, they shouldn't show up knowing how excited everyone will be and take their money and not give them something worthwhile in return. That's the true definition of "sullying your legacy", to reunite and just totally not be able to do what you say you're going to do. Didn't this happen last time they played, like two months ago? Do some vocal exercises, buddy.

Plow United was legitimately incredible. Sean rule has to be the best/most fun to watch drummer in punk rock. Brian's voice sounded really good too
X also was great, I had only vaguely heard them a few times before but it was still a really fun set to watch.
Suicide Machines ruled and kids were going nuts for them. Descendents are another awesome band with another unbelievable drummer, but after Plow United and then X it was hard to fully watch another band.

I like 7 seconds usually but they sucked. Naked raygun and Dead Milkman I found boring. But Overall it was an awesome night!

This is a garbage review. I am very unimpressed with the professionalism within it. The Menzingers don't have a song called Sunday Drive it is called Sunday Morning. If you are going to review a festival, get your ass to as many bands as possible and don't be biased. Oh and get the song titles right. I didn't make it to Riot Fest, but i think I could write a better review.

Suicide Machines were easily the best band there.... put on a clinic. Weston, The Milkmen, 7 Seconds, and The Descendents all killed. And the ALL after party with Scott Reynolds was def a big highlight.

soon this guy will be reviewing shows from outside venues... here is a taste of the future:

"So I like, walked up to the show but there all these people everywhere who I didn't know and I hadn't heard of the openers so I didn't watch them. The closest parking was FIVE WHOLE DOLLARS so I parked across town and walked to the show missing most of the headliner's set. I wans't familiar with the headliner before the show so I guess they were OK or whatever... UGH it took me FOREVER to get back to my car. I wish Cities were more intimate... 2 stars"

To everyone bitching about Milo's voice: he blew it out before Riot Fest and probably shouldn't have been singing at all. That being said, it wasn't that noticeable to me and was a blast regardless.

yay! recognition from internet strangers! and you're right, i was totally stoked (shocker!)

very fun day

I had a great time at this. The tent vs. outside stage setup wasn't that tough to get back and forth to. Most of the bands on the tent stage were who I came to see anyway. HWM, Menzingers, Suicide Machines, Samiam, and 7 Seconds were all fantastic. Descendents were good, Plow great, and Weston weird. The food and drinks were terribly overpriced but I have been to enough of these types of shows to know thats what you get in these giant venues so it came as no surprise. Overall a great weekend with some friends I don't get to see often. Loved it.

oh and i could see milo's voice going out sometime during their riot fest set about a mile away. another reason i chose the roseland show.

To the commentor: The Descendents aren't touring, Milo is a research scientist at Dupont, they play festivals for fun. They looked like they were having lots and lots of fun, so I appreciate that a lot.

On the stage set up. The tent sucked but Naked Raygun was the only band in the later part of the day that didn't draw really big on the 'Main Stage." X, HWM and 7 Seconds probably all could've played the main stage, but even if you drop Naked Raygun in the tent you still just dont have time for everyone (and it seems doubtful they'd do that to Naked Raygun considering their history with Riotfest.) You could put those bands on early in the day, before anyone shows up, but then what are you acomplishing? They did the best the could with what they had.

I bought my ticket just to see Plow and I'm glad some people got to hear them for the first time. Sean Rule is one of the greatest drummers in the history of punk rock. So excited for them and the Third Year Freshman reunion on new years.

X really got screwed by playing right before the Descendents. Between that and the sound sucking that tent just emptied out halfway through the set.

And not liking the Dead Milkmen is nonsense. Its mindblowing how a band can be so tight at being sloppy.

i too am glad i picked the descendents/h2o/suicide machines show at roseland. all 3 bands brought it and the crowd gave it back to them 100%. if you missed that, you fucked up.

i can't comment on naked raygun's performance since i wasn't there. but when i saw them 2 years ago, they were excellent. would love to see them again.

To the Reviewer~ "After HWM ended, I skipped out on Dead Milkmen (never meant that much to me)"

This is where I stopped taking your review seriously. If I were reviewing a show for punknews I would be damn sure to watch every set. how deliciously smug of you to not bother watching the first few bands too.

You were right about Plow United being amazing- in fact they were HANDS DOWN the best set of the day... but the fact you had no idea who they were prior to this show tells me that you probably should not be writing reviews for punknews, at least when it comes to shows of this magnitude or gravity. This was the first show they played in over ten years and they were as tight as ever!

Oh and maybe "Intimacy" isn't a quality you should expect from a massive, all day long two stage outdoor concert attended by thousands of people in Philadelphia's largest outdoor venue. I cant think of a less "intimate" sounding show, but hey maybe that reality caught you by surprise.

Dead Milkmen never meant anything to ya Joe? Do you have Big Lizard in My Backyard? Up there with Descendents for me as far as 80s punk bands who got silly yet ruled. Revisit them, holmes!

Descendents should really not be touring if Milo can't sing a whole set.

well im glad i chose to see Descendants, H2O, Suicide Machines in roseland the day before. RIDICULOUS SHOW. Amazing stuff the whole time.

I heard mostly positive feedback from people. That's a lot of great bands for $35.

I had a good time, but Joe's right--the sound was awful, the concessions overpriced, and the schedule by stage seemingly the inverse of what it should've been.