This past Saturday, I attended the first day of the Virgin Mobile Festival with a few friends. In its third year, the annual festival has been growing and is expected to continue its stay in Baltimore. The festival boasts two stages of music (South Stage and North Stage). Oddly enough, it was actually my first ever festival (of the music kind anyways). Having said that, I am still on the fence about whether festivals are really my bag or not.
Due to the overlapping sets, I missed some of the performers I would have liked to have seen, but, nevertheless, I was able to see a good amount of acts. Throughout the day, I managed to catch Cat Power, Duffy, Lupe Fiasco, Bloc Party, Chuck Berry and The Silver Beats, and Foo Fighters.
Cat PowerI was only able to catch the second half of Cat Power’s set, but I liked the vibe. A friend of mine later told me he caught the start of the set but said it was all over the place. I can’t vouch for that, obviously, but I’m assuming it must have gotten better as the set rolled on. Chan Marshall’s voice is certainly a unique one, but I must admit that her voice does seem like it could give out at any moment. Maybe it’s because of all of the smoking, but either way, her voice remains intact.
My only real complaint would have been the sound. The drums were quite high in the mix, with only a subtle sound of organ. The guitar was audible but you almost had to listen for it. And to my surprise and joy, I realized that Chan’s guitar player was actually Judah Bauer of The Blues Explosion (formerly The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion).
DuffyFollowing Cat Power’s set, my friends and I started walking towards the South Stage to catch Gogol Bordello, but ended up turning back around to watch Duffy. I’ve heard that Duffy is the “Amy Winehouse without the crazy.” I was familiar with her single “Mercy,” but aside from that hadn’t really heard too much from her catalogue.
It was an enjoyable set. It wasn’t anything mindblowing, and it wasn’t the most unique thing in the world, but it was pretty enjoyable. She was cute and endearing, with a strong voice. Unlike her benchmark Winehouse, she turned in a stable and clear performance. It had that Motown/soul/pop sound and it was well-delivered. Duffy showed command of the stage and genuine talent. If there's one thing you can conclude when comparing her to Amy Winehouse, it's that she will probably be around longer. She seems a lot more focused.
I checked out some more of her music last night. I quite liked this video and song:
Lupe FiascoI was only able to catch the tail end of his set, but there's really only one word I can come up with to describe what I saw: cool. He embodies it. I don't know what it is. It didn't come across as if he was trying too hard or being something he wasn't -- he was just awesome. His band was tight and he was always staying with the groove. I'd go see him again. It was a set to lift your spirits, one that made you excited. Lupe Fiasco is "The Cool."
Bloc PartyBloc Party was up next. I was looking forward to seeing them as the last time I saw them was in a seated environment inside D.C.'s Constitutional Hall (it has terrible acoustics). It was a pretty good set, but I must say I think the last time I saw them was much better. It had nothing to do with the lack of Gordon Moakes on bass and backing vocals. Maybe I just wasn't in the mood for the music, but either way, I still enjoyed the performance. I don't think too many people cheered when they began playing their latest single "Mercury." Although I find it's much, much better than the last single "Flux" (which I thought was a step down for them), it still is no where near the quality of their earlier work. Nevertheless, it's still a pretty good song, just not the most impressive thing they've done.
The OffspringI continued to stick around the South Stage as I was planning to catch Chuck Berry and the Foo Fighters. As a result, I caught The Offspring's set. All I can say is I relived some of my childhood watching the set unfold. It consisted mainly of their hits, cuts such as "Self Esteem" and "Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)," and the crowd definitely appreciated it. There were plenty of sing-a-longs as well as shout-a-longs. It was nostalgic more than anything else. They've been around since 1984 and are still going strong.
The Silver BeatsChuck Berry was billed as "Chuck Berry and The Silver Beats" which would lead anyone to automatically assume that The Silver Beats were his backing band. Turns out The Silver Beats are actually a Beatles cover band from Tokyo, Japan. Aside from the suits and instruments, the only person who resembled a member of the band was the guy playing John Lennon. He actually looks quite a bit like them.
From left: John (Hidemasa Mabuchi), Ringo (Yukinobu Kab E), George (Hajime Kubo), Paul (Tadaaki Naganuma).
They were excellent. Their set was well-paced and executed. George/Hajime nailed his solos. What's so great about these guys is that they actually sound quite a bit like the real thing. Check them out
here. It was inspiring to see how grateful and excited they were to be playing the festival, playing in America.
It wasn't until a few songs into their set that I began to wonder if Chuck Berry was ever going to play. I started wondering if he had to cancel and The Silver Beats were his replacement. However, a bit past the halfway mark in their set, they said that Mr. Chuck Berry would be on his way out shortly.
Awesome.
Chuck BerryThe man is going on 82 years of age, but he still has the pipes. He hit a few sour notes on guitar throughout the set, but it was easily forgivable watching a legend treat the crowd to some of the most well-known songs of all time. He moved around the stage to the point that you wouldn’t think he was in his 80s. He had fun and it was such a privilege and joy to see him perform. What a guy.
Before the last song, he asked security to allow eight ladies (four on each side of the stage) to come up and dance. He started the song and it didn’t seem like security was going to fulfill his request. Eventually, a group of girls who looked to be between the ages of 12 and 16 came on the stage. It appeared as though they were VIPs who had come along with their parents. They were probably there to see Lupe Fiasco and the Foo Fighers more so than the legend that is Chuck Berry. I glanced up at one of the screens flanking the stage and saw a close-up of some of the girls. They were standing and staring at their cell phones. One girl had the guts to just walk up to him while he was playing to snag a photo. As far as I could tell, he swatted away the picture-taking arm of the preteen girl and my friends and I were all for it. I don’t like to pass judgment, but I think it is safe to say she really did not understand who Chuck Berry is. She just understands that A) she’s got VIP access to a music festival with some of the biggest acts in the music industry B) Chuck Berry is on stage C) that must mean he’s famous or something. It was pretty amusing.
He ended up with probably more than 10 girls on stage. A few danced, one who seemed to dance provocatively enough that the camera guy just stayed on her for a while. When Mr. Berry noticed one girl dancing dirty next to him, he told the crowd, "I'm old enough to be her great great grandfather!" Like the pack of preteen, celebrity starved girls I first saw on one of the big screens, most of the other girls looked confused and almost embarassed being onstage. Not what Chuck Berry was expecting I'm sure.
Foo FightersWhere to begin. This set proved they are not a band to be forgotten. They know how to rock. The band ran through about five or six songs before taking a moment to talk or stop the flow of rock. Dave Grohl is a true frontman. He ran the length of the stage back and forth, playing and pushing for more noise and spirit from the crowd. It was a set that stuck primarily to their more well-known songs, the classics such as "Monkey Wrench," "My Hero" (a moving acoustic rendition), "The Pretender," and "Times Like These."
It was easy to see why they were able to sell out Wembley Arena this year. They broke out their cover of The Who's "Young Man Blues" with Grohl singing this time, unlike when they performed it on VH1's Rock Honors with help from Gaz Coombes of Supergrass. Chris Shiflett and Grohl traded solos, and brought a new heaviness to the breakdown of
There Is Nothing Left To Lose's "Stacked Actors." A few songs into the set, it sounded like Grohl's voice was starting to go, but he miraculously held it together and seemed to keep it up during the 16-song set. It was definitely one of my favorite performances I've had the chance to see.
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I didn't go to day two because the ticket would have been around or over $200, but I hear it was great.
See you next year Virgin Fest.
