Virgin Fest: Day 2

I hit up the second day of the Virgin Mobile Festival.  The weather was nice, the food was tasty and the crowds weren't too bad.  Most importantly, the music rocked.  Here's the rundown from Sunday's festivities:

The Go! Team -- There aren't much better ways to start your day than listening to a set from The Go! Team.  They have so much energy it's contagious.  It's such happy music.  They are one of the few bands that is an exception to my "bands with more than five people suck" rule.  They have two drum kits, for crying out loud!  But I still love them.  That must mean they are something special.  I rarely tolerate such shenanigans.

Andrew Bird -- Wow, was this guy awful.  I wanted to get close to the stage for She & Him so I had to tolerate Bird's performance.  It was horrendous.  He played a violin like a guitar.  Not cool.  But what was perplexing was that everyone else LOVED this guy.  It was like I was taking crazy pills.  He had more people than either The Go! Team and She & Him (who sandwiched him on the south stage).  When his set was over everyone cleared out.  What were these people thinking?!? She & Him were next!  It's times like this that I lose faith in humanity.

She & Him -- They were fantabulous.  They mixed it up with their set -- a new song (which was awesome), some covers, some songs with a full band, some songs with just Zooey and M. Ward, and one song ("Sentimental Heart") with just Zooey.  "Sentimental Heart" was the high point of the set for me, but I did love the full sound that came with the songs they did with a band.  The set was near perfect.  The one downfall was that they let one of the back up singers sing one of her own songs.  Big mistake.  I knew we were in trouble when she dedicated the song to "the planet earth, because we have the most beautiful planet."  It was all downhill from there.

Taking Back Sunday -- This was a big letdown.  I love Taking Back Sunday.  I've seen them three times in concert and they were all pretty good -- not great, but not bad.  At Virgin Fest they were bad.  The only thing that kept the set from slipping into a disaster was Adam Lazzara's trademark microphone swinging.  Thank goodness for that.

Iggy and The Stooges -- Wow is Iggy Pop insane.  Not a little insane.  A lot insane.  And boy does it make for an entertaining live show.  You never knew what he was going to do next.  Hump a speaker?  Check.  Jump into the crowd and practically insight a riot?  Check.  Smash the microphone into his chest repeatedly?  Check.  Bounce around on stage like a maniac?  Check.  I loved it.

Stone Temple Pilots -- They were so good (definitely the best of the day) that I forgive them for going on stage twenty-five minutes late.  They exclusively played their old hits.  I crowd surfed.  Twas an enjoyable time.

Bob Dylan -- I only caught the end of his set, but let me tell you -- it made me feel very good about selecting STP over him.  It was bad, in a really sad kind of way.  Because no one wants to see Bob Dylan like that -- he's a legend.  But he was not good.  He did "Like a Rolling Stone" as his encore and you could barely even recognize the song.  It was incoherent.

Kanye West -- I have a love/hate relationship with Kanye West.  He is so talented and puts on a great show but is so annoyingly full of himself that I want to smack him.  The quality of his live show was awesome but on several occasions he would extend his songs and either free-style rap or just talk to the audience.  The content of such extensions was him complaining about being famous.  Cry me a river, Kanye.

Comments

[BATMAN]

Sounds like a great day... I'll take partial exception to your Andrew Bird putdowns. I've only heard two of his songs, but just yesterday, I did a "stop - what's that great song?" when my pod shuffled to his "Heretics."

And I think it's par for the course to be disappointed with Dylan live. And it's always upsetting because you don't want to be one of THOSE jerks like the ones in 1965/66 who booed him because they weren't ready for his most brilliant music (Highway 61/Blonde on Blonde). But ultimately you have to trust your own faculties and accept that it really is unpleasant to listen to.

[Cindy]

augh! You beat me to it, I'll have a Day 1 review up soon! Can't wait till the new computer comes... and I'm still quite jealous you got to see the Go! Team and She & Him.

[bobo]

Pizzicato (pronounced /ˌpɪtsɪˈkɑːtoʊ/)[1] is a playing technique that involves plucking the strings of a string instrument. The exact technique varies somewhat depending on the type of stringed instrument.

Its quite a common string technique.

Go educate yourself. Or stay listening to Taking Back Sunday

[linked]

OMG! U have a blog!

[Caryn]

I'm with you, Bobo. man - yes, pizzicato is a bit like playing a guitar, in that you're plucking instead of bowing. Did you even stop to listen to the fact that the guy is LOOPING against himself, after he's done sampling his violin? Then he'll pick up a guitar?!? It's completely astounding! Can YOU play 2/3 instruments at once, layer them and sound brilliant? Yeah, you'd probably better stick with Taking Back Sunday.

[Hippies Are Dead]

We're with you - saw Apostle Of Hustle open for Andrew Bird, decided to stick around, and was dismayed at the low quality of Bird's show. Frankly, it was musically boring and irritating. Plus all that whistling...ARGH!

[Katie]

I have to agree with the 5 or more members = sucks rule. I've seen Arcade Fire before, and it certainly applies to them. At least when it comes to live performances.

[Drew]

I would give Andrew Bird another chance if I were you. It could've been the crazy pills you were evidently on.

[BATMAN]

The 5 or more members = sucks rule is invalidated by Polyphonic Spree and their chorus of 20 or so cult followers that jump and smile and sing in their white robes as the band plays.