V-Fest Recap, Day 1
After the first day of the festival, V-Fest already blew my mind. Hopefully tomorrow's going to be as good if not better.
Not guaranteeing that I'll be able to get online before Thursday -- I'm going out to Alabama Monday; I'll explain later -- so I wanted to do a quick recap of the shows I saw today while it's still fresh in my head.
Cat Powers - B+ -- this was the music that I listened to as I waited through the long line to get in. It was good, so I made sure I made it to the rest of her set. She really kind of reminded me of Portishead, which I'm a big fan of. I liked her minimalist approach to the set, and her voice gives me chills. I'd love to listen to her completely let go.
Erol Alkan (DJ) - B -- good dance set, but I think the DJ could have done a little bit better than setting up a "clap along" dance set which is what it devolved to at a couple of inopportune times. Still some solid D&B and I'll write it off as maybe it was too early for him to get the crowd working the way he wanted. My only other real complaint was that everybody was lighting up and I didn't feel comfortable there.
Duffy - B+ -- you might have heard this little firecracker in her hit song "Mercy," and live -- it really kind of rocks, especially performed with a great ensemble of "just enough" instrumentation. Quite impressed, but she didn't have much of a stage presence to get the crowd going.
Lupe Fiasco - D -- Some people were totally into them, but that's *so* not my music. Left halfway through the second song.
Soft-Shell Crab Wrap Sandwich - B -- Awesome sandwich and ridiculous considered it's over-priced festival food, but $10 for a sandwich is asking too much.
Bindlestiff Family Cirkus & Highwire Act - A- -- I think I've seen these guys before, but it was still well-done. A chill burlesque mini-show. May watch it again during lunch if I get the opportunity tomorrow.
Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings - A- -- Awesome set that gives a nod to the late great Soul King, James Brown. A lot of it was an old-skool dance instruction set (see: funky chicken, boogaloo), but she really got the crowd going and had incredible energy through her set. The Dap Kings (a separate band that's currently touring with her) also got the house going and are in a class of their own.
Rodrigue y Gabriela - A -- had to leave this early, but this guitar duo knocked my socks off. It was great seeing them live because you listen to them on CD and you think, "no way there's only two people" but the two are respective masters of two different forms of Spanish guitar. The combination was astounding.
The Offspring - A+ -- Left Rod y Gab for these guys, and I was not disappointed. They've been around long enough that their music connects with a large audience where everybody knows the words and can do a sing along to their whole set. They finished with "Self-Esteem" and it was like I was 16 again, had just got my license and driving my mom's minivan with the radio turned all the way up, singing along and screaming over the engine as I was speeding down the highway. You could tell that's the sort of association everybody there had with the band, and everybody was connected with the band. One of the best moments so far this concert.
The Silver Beats - D- -- this was sort of a mislabel. In the program, it lists Chuck Berry & the Silver Beats for the show. Chuck used to go around with Ed Wood, so I was thinking that maybe this was his version of the All-Starr Band. Not so much. Turns out the Silver Beats and Chuck split a one hour segment, and the former are a Tokyo-based Beatles tribute band. Have I ever mentioned how much I hate the Beatles? The one thing they had going for them was they had the look and the all right instruments, including Paul's Vintage Violin-head Hofner, so you could tell they were playing "Day Tripper." I just couldn't buy into their music when they were pronouncing it "Date Lipper." I was duped into watching this shit.
Chuck Berry - A+ -- as much as I will rag on the Silver Beats, how could they follow this guy? The bill technically listed him as opening for the Foo Fighters, but how could even they follow him? He *invented* Rock & Roll and he still has it at 80-something years old. I can't talk about what this was like, but I know that, with all the bands I will see this weekend, this is the one going down as being worth the price of admission.
The Foo Fighters - A+/B- -- It really was bad planning on my part, but astonishingly few people saw Chuck Berry so I had an amazing place for watching the Foo. Grohl is my idol and his stage presence alone would've commanded anyones' -- fan or no -- attention. And it's the Foo. Everything I said above about the Offspring also applies to their music. After his first couple songs, Grohl issued a challenge -- he was well rested up and he was going to play until the *crowd* told him to stop playing. He said that he could play longer then the crowd could keep interest in his songs. Them's fighting words, and perhaps he's still playing now. But I was too close to the stage. Yeah, that's right. I had a midget's shoulder in my armpit for the first hour and nobody could move around, but everybody was trying to dance. But somehow, some moshers created a pit and I wound up getting shoved so hard into the security railing that a guard had to speak with me (no lie). It wasn't a problem though, because I wound up having to leave the concert to check my ribs. Ow. So great music and great live set, but the experience of being there sucked. Too bad, but I think I learned my lesson... I'll be all the way in the back for NIN tomorrow.
Not guaranteeing that I'll be able to get online before Thursday -- I'm going out to Alabama Monday; I'll explain later -- so I wanted to do a quick recap of the shows I saw today while it's still fresh in my head.
Cat Powers - B+ -- this was the music that I listened to as I waited through the long line to get in. It was good, so I made sure I made it to the rest of her set. She really kind of reminded me of Portishead, which I'm a big fan of. I liked her minimalist approach to the set, and her voice gives me chills. I'd love to listen to her completely let go.
Erol Alkan (DJ) - B -- good dance set, but I think the DJ could have done a little bit better than setting up a "clap along" dance set which is what it devolved to at a couple of inopportune times. Still some solid D&B and I'll write it off as maybe it was too early for him to get the crowd working the way he wanted. My only other real complaint was that everybody was lighting up and I didn't feel comfortable there.
Duffy - B+ -- you might have heard this little firecracker in her hit song "Mercy," and live -- it really kind of rocks, especially performed with a great ensemble of "just enough" instrumentation. Quite impressed, but she didn't have much of a stage presence to get the crowd going.
Lupe Fiasco - D -- Some people were totally into them, but that's *so* not my music. Left halfway through the second song.
Soft-Shell Crab Wrap Sandwich - B -- Awesome sandwich and ridiculous considered it's over-priced festival food, but $10 for a sandwich is asking too much.
Bindlestiff Family Cirkus & Highwire Act - A- -- I think I've seen these guys before, but it was still well-done. A chill burlesque mini-show. May watch it again during lunch if I get the opportunity tomorrow.
Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings - A- -- Awesome set that gives a nod to the late great Soul King, James Brown. A lot of it was an old-skool dance instruction set (see: funky chicken, boogaloo), but she really got the crowd going and had incredible energy through her set. The Dap Kings (a separate band that's currently touring with her) also got the house going and are in a class of their own.
Rodrigue y Gabriela - A -- had to leave this early, but this guitar duo knocked my socks off. It was great seeing them live because you listen to them on CD and you think, "no way there's only two people" but the two are respective masters of two different forms of Spanish guitar. The combination was astounding.
The Offspring - A+ -- Left Rod y Gab for these guys, and I was not disappointed. They've been around long enough that their music connects with a large audience where everybody knows the words and can do a sing along to their whole set. They finished with "Self-Esteem" and it was like I was 16 again, had just got my license and driving my mom's minivan with the radio turned all the way up, singing along and screaming over the engine as I was speeding down the highway. You could tell that's the sort of association everybody there had with the band, and everybody was connected with the band. One of the best moments so far this concert.
The Silver Beats - D- -- this was sort of a mislabel. In the program, it lists Chuck Berry & the Silver Beats for the show. Chuck used to go around with Ed Wood, so I was thinking that maybe this was his version of the All-Starr Band. Not so much. Turns out the Silver Beats and Chuck split a one hour segment, and the former are a Tokyo-based Beatles tribute band. Have I ever mentioned how much I hate the Beatles? The one thing they had going for them was they had the look and the all right instruments, including Paul's Vintage Violin-head Hofner, so you could tell they were playing "Day Tripper." I just couldn't buy into their music when they were pronouncing it "Date Lipper." I was duped into watching this shit.
Chuck Berry - A+ -- as much as I will rag on the Silver Beats, how could they follow this guy? The bill technically listed him as opening for the Foo Fighters, but how could even they follow him? He *invented* Rock & Roll and he still has it at 80-something years old. I can't talk about what this was like, but I know that, with all the bands I will see this weekend, this is the one going down as being worth the price of admission.
The Foo Fighters - A+/B- -- It really was bad planning on my part, but astonishingly few people saw Chuck Berry so I had an amazing place for watching the Foo. Grohl is my idol and his stage presence alone would've commanded anyones' -- fan or no -- attention. And it's the Foo. Everything I said above about the Offspring also applies to their music. After his first couple songs, Grohl issued a challenge -- he was well rested up and he was going to play until the *crowd* told him to stop playing. He said that he could play longer then the crowd could keep interest in his songs. Them's fighting words, and perhaps he's still playing now. But I was too close to the stage. Yeah, that's right. I had a midget's shoulder in my armpit for the first hour and nobody could move around, but everybody was trying to dance. But somehow, some moshers created a pit and I wound up getting shoved so hard into the security railing that a guard had to speak with me (no lie). It wasn't a problem though, because I wound up having to leave the concert to check my ribs. Ow. So great music and great live set, but the experience of being there sucked. Too bad, but I think I learned my lesson... I'll be all the way in the back for NIN tomorrow.