Sue and I went to the VirginFest this weekend. I like these festivals for several reasons: one venue and multiple bands means less travel time to see more artists, always a wide variety of acts, and sometimes there are interesting guest spots. We definitely had the benefit of the first two reasons at this festival. There were all sorts of non-music things there, including a ferris wheel by the West Stage.
Sue says: There are usually great vendors with interesting products too. Two years ago at this festival I purchased a ring carved out of wood with a peice of coral in it for like 8 bucks. It's still a favorite. This year I purchased a nice present for my friend!
Who did we see/hear?
Trombone Shorty - This was first on our list chronologically and it was a good way to start the day. I heard a buzz about him when we went to see Black Joe Lewis in York a few weeks back. He was fun and danceable. At the end of his set he took his horn and some percussion and led a parade of sorts through the remaining crowd.
Sue says: Travis was having fun singing, "Show Me Something Beautifullll!"
Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros - We saw them earlier this summer at XPN's festival and Alex (the lead singer) was losing his voice. This show was lots of fun. I always love happy dancing hippies!
Sue says: Love the lead lady in this group! I hope she does some more solo vocals on the next album. Her voice is unique and amazing.
Yeasayer - These guys were really good. I guess a couple of them are local to Baltimore. The one singer talked about having tickets to the Ravens game and he got mixed reactions from the crowd. Sue turned to me and said at one point, "Are they talking football?" Indie rockers like the NFL too.
Sue did say that!
Thievery Corporation - We weren't dancing at this point. We had to refuel with quesadillas and chicken fingers.
Sue says: Expensive but tasty and well-needed.
Matt & Kim - They are really just two people on stage. They sounded good. Nothing outstanding though. We moved onto the Dance Forest after a few songs.
Chromeo - This was in the Dance Forest, a neat venue within the venue. Several really tall and old trees stood proudly in this area. We had to go to this show because our son, Harry, really likes their song "Night by Night." Right before we went into the Dance Forest I tried to order a Red Bull/Smirnoff and they only had the yucky sugar free stuff, so I ordered a Tangueray and tonic instead. The bartender made it mostly gin and a little tonic. That was definitely a drink for sipping not gulping...
Ludacris - We only heard his first few songs. They were fun though. Some older songs that I recognized. There was a baby in front of us that just kept staring at me though. Sue thought it was hilarious.
Sue says: Luda! Ha. I think it is funny that I occasionally get to see this genre of artists at festivals because I would not necessarily just go buy a ticket for them, but end up having fun! In 2004 at HFStival I saw Jay-Z and Cyprus Hill with Violent Femmes and The Cure. Just picture them all hanging out back stage!
Pavement - We left Luda after a few songs to catch some of Pavement's gig on the main stage. I had created a playlist on my iPod of the bands playing a VFest this year and I really started to notice this band. Apparently everyone else I know already knows them. Our friends, Greg and Liala, just used their vacations to see them for four nights in NYC. I know that John and Katie like them too because when they visited our house this summer they were playing songs from iTunes by them. I truly enjoyed the set, but we had to move on again to hear Sue's new favorite band...
Sleigh Bells - This duo has fun with the noise rock thing, for sure! It was a short, rapid fire set of about thirty minutes and it was intensely fun. I saw the one tree playing air guitar too. ;) Sue can certainly choose some good tunes to like.
Sue says: I was not disappointed by them and the Dance Forest area was like we were in a storybook setting or something.
We went back to Pavement for the end of their set and then moved west across the venue to see M.I.A. As we were walking we heard a countdown and then...FIREWORKS! That was a fun surprise. (Unfortunately, at this point there was an amazing amount of dust kicked up in this area and so we had to walk through a cloud of dry and dirty air; it was nearly as bad as a bar back in the day when smoking was still allowed.)
M.I.A. - Sue was loving the tunes over there though. She was a dancing machine. I mean arms swinging, legs moving, and even an occasional skip or two. I was glad to see her shaking it. While Sue found the bathroom, I found a Bud Light bucket that doubled as a bongo in my hands. We stayed for several songs, none of which we knew beforehand, and then went throught the dust cloud back towards the main stage.
Sue says: Ouch! My legs killed me the next day. Must exercise more!
LCD Soundsystem - At this point we were getting tired and we wanted to beat the traffic, so we headed home.
What a fun day!
