Rank the Artists You Saw from Best to Worst

Oof. I have too many to rank. I’ll leave notes and letter grades.

orphan the poet: like i figured, the band’s pretty cringe and pretty much entirely lack talent, but they’re fun and catchy as hell... so. Yeah. C

radattack: i’ll be saying this a few times — didn’t really pay much attention. They were alright. A lot of people bitching about them but decent. C-

candescents: more catchy good stuff. enjoyed the sheryl crow cover. C+

great good fine ok: saw these guys before. they’ve grown on me. not my kind of music but... this is a theme... catchy. They put on a good show. C+

flora cash: so many sound issues but they handled it well and i sort of like when hiccups happen. they also aren’t really my think but I know about three songs and enjoyed it. C+

joywave: a lot of energy and a lot of fun. i liked the blink-182 diss. a highlight for sure. B+

poppy: dude, poppy is weird. good weird, but... jeez. cut out early to catch joywave, but i didn’t hate what i saw or heard. “Monster Energy Drink” is burned into my mind now. C

the aces: such a great show. i thought they had potential to be good live and they killed it. B+

streetlight manifesto: shit, it made me sad to see so many people not at all into it. I counted about ten people within ten rows of rail who were into it including my girlfriend and I. disrespectful dickheads waiting for 1975 literally had their backs turned to the stage and hands to their ears. some even held their phone over rail and texted the whole set. the dudes are super talented and i honestly thought their set was one of the best of the weekend, even with the lack of crowd energy. i also will never know if they were kidding when they said “hey indiana” or something like that. B+

bayside: the fit the bill of older pop punky sort of band to play the fest. they were alright. not memorable at all. i like the genre but don’t think they were special at all. C-

lovelytheband (aftershow): this doesnt really count probably. the singer was BLITZED as hell and they didn’t play very long at all (40min at best?) but it was cool. $15 was a little expensive, but it was also my fault for getting there at 11:50. Didn’t even see Orphan/Poet. Did they literally play for 15min? Or just not show up? Anyway, for what it’s worth, B. The singer had big ups for Ohio (means nothing to me coming from Michigan) and claimed their Columbus show last year (?) was their highest selling show in the country. Again, B.

pigeons playing ping pong: the dudes can jam. loved the RHCP cover. super talented and have a lot of fun playing. i didn’t quite stay the whole set, but i’d really like to see them at their own headline show locally. B+

dashboard confessional: tf happened to Chris? that hair and beard and WHAT? in any event, my girlfriend and i jammed the hell out of their set. lots of fun, but it seemed like very few people cared. great show as usual. the guy nails those high notes. B

stone temple pilots: wow. i considered skipping them to have a better spot for FOB, but i stayed for about half the set or so. completely worth it. i wish i stayed the whole time. the new singer dude (no idea what his name is) has great energy and an awesome voice. would absolutely consider seeing a full set from them in the future. Here, have another B+.

awolnation: i know of a lot of their songs, but not many lyrics. they went hard as hell. i thought the Led Zeppelin riff was a wry knock on Greta, and that’s whatever. you do you. they’re popular, but i still find them underrated. one of the best “hypers” of the weekend. Oh, another B+.

run the jewels: Saw them somewhat from a distance a couple years back before I really knew who they were. Being three rows back is an experience, even in a sea of teens waiting for 1975. Never a dull moment at an RTJ show. I’m gonna cop out again with another B+.

1975: surprisingly great live. the lead singer seems like a mess, but that doesn’t shock me. i always forget how many 1975 songs i actually know. despite what people think, i’d consider them headline-worthy. Bruh, gonna drop another B+.

greta van fleet: i’m biased. i’ve seen them 6-7 times previously. i will say though that i think it was one of the worst shows i’ve seen them play. i’m disappointed they really did only play an hour and not the 75min. they did a great job and it was a seriously cool thing to have rail for their first headlined festival (and get a pick and setlist), but they’ve done better. maybe i’m also just seriously nitpicking their performances, because they’re fantastic live. B

fall out boy: pretty much all that i expected. first though, if sucked seeing Pete possibly probably maybe being high as fuck. i know he’s been in rehab before, and it would appear he’s having problems again. they felt really ... gimmicky, but Stump is a great singer live. it sucks their sound has shifted so much since 2007, but they did play 4 older songs, so that was cool. also really appreciated them playing after 11. Bonus points. B.

phew. that was long.