Ok, so the day starts out. I got there at noon and strolled around for awhile. I found out that Blur had cancelled, which was probably for the best (you know, because NO ONE knew who they were, since their only real hit in the US has been "Song 2"). Saw that everything is still over-priced. Different venue, different day, same prices. It was cloudy out, unlike the past 2 River Raves, and it was held at the Tweeter Center (while the other two were at stadiums).

The first band I saw was the Dresden Dolls, who were like Evanescence would be if they were fronted by Fiona Apple. I watched them for 2 decent songs and left for the front entrance to get a pass into the mosh area.

Once I got to the mosh area in front of the main stage, Seether came out. Damned Nirvana sound-alikes these days, without not even a HUNDRETH of the songwriting talent Kurt Cobain had. The firsthighlight of the day, though, was seeing Amy from Evanescence come out to sing for part of a song. They also covered Nirvana's "You Know You're Right." They must've noticed that they sound like a sucky version of a mediocre band, huh?

Next up, The Donnas. They rawked hard, but the crowd didn't seem into it. I'll probably pick up more of their stuff in the future, though. Anyway, the drummer is freaking beautiful and the lead singer has a nice... stage presence. Yeah. VERY fun band, though.

The Used were next, and they were about average from what I saw. I missed the middle of their set to check out Hot Hot Heat, and they were pretty cool. I'll probably check them out in the future. Very garage rock-y stuff, and they would also wind up being the last band on the small stage I would see.

Next was Evanescence. I always thought they were a mediocre band. They were awesome here, though. I tried to get into the mosh area, but made a wrong turn somewhere. Tried to climb over the wall seperating the seats from the mosh area, and security got to me before I could pull it off. I have the bruise marks on my bicep to prove it:)

I DID get into the mosh area on the other side of the arena and got to watch Evanescene rock the mother down... Then I left and sat in one of the seats for AFI, who I might check out some other time. Fun stuff. From that seat, I also saw Jane's Addiction. Perry Farrell still has THE MOVES~!, and it's nice to know Dave Navarro is still in good enough shape to play guitar shirtless.

After the JA performance, they cleared out the stadium area so reserved seating could begin. I never thought they were serious about the reserved seating stuff. I was actually planning on camping out in the mosh pit so I could stay up front for Beck, but it's nice to know I didn't waste my time trying that out.

After the break, Saliva came out. Not bad, but not very good, either. Josey Scott pissed me off by dissing Pearl Jam for their stance on the war, but I'll leave my politics away from my music for now. Stupid comments and generic, cookie-cutter, crappy, half-assed "tributes" to our country (the song "Pride of America" or some BS opportunistic thing like that), they weren't impressive in the least.

Jack Johnson brought the mellow to the hizzouse for the first time since the day began, and aside from some metalheads and pop-punkerz in the back rows telling him to get off the stage, it was a nice change of pace. Mellow and nice, you know...

Next came the man I was looking forward to... BECK. "DAMN" is all I have to say. Opened with a funky heavy version of "Loser," he simply brought the house (or at least my house) down. I was wondering which side of Beck would come out -- the mostly acoustic singer-songwriter from Mutations and Sea Change, or the funky, genre-bending, mixing and barrier-breaking Beck of Odelay and Mellow Gold. Thankfully, the latter came out (for the most part). Multiple selections from Midnite Vultures and Odelay were played, plus 3 slightly reworked songs from Sea Change. All in all, despite its brevity (and despite a lack of "Lord Only Knows" and "Sexx Laws"), the best live show I've seen to date.

Good Charlotte's generic nature was saved by their un-ending energy and the same energy brought about by the crowd. They were better than I expected them to be, but that's not saying much. And, finally, the Dropkick Murpheys closed the night in a loud, drunking, POWERFUL display that showed those GC-loving teenyboppers (no offense) how it's done.

All in all, it was better than last years, still not up to par with the year before, and while I was not there, from what I hear, nowhere near the year before THAT. These thigns seem to get mroe tame as the years progress, too. Awesome acts, but one of the weakest mosh pits I've witnessed in while. It might be because the space was extremely small, but the crowd seemed like it was there for the sake of obeying command from the artist, like "I wanna see you JUMP!" and "Sing with me!"

Oh, and note to all bands (namely Saliva and Good Charlotte): Stop over-using the state/city/town you're in to get a cheap pop from the crowd. There are better ways to get a reaction... like playing better music than everyone else.