Thank you Sir Richard!
For the second year in a row, Sir Richard Branson, offered up his annual Virgin Festival as a free event for those lucky enough to score tickets. Held at Merriweather Post Pavilion and the surrounding grounds, Virgin FreeFest is host to a few dozen acts on 3 main stages, including a main stage, an almost as big minor stage, and a dance stage. I started off the day with the Australian indie rock band the Temper Trap. Though I had just seen them at Bonnaroo a few months previous, I had been listening to their debut album a lot recently and was really excited to get to see them again. Since they were kicking off the day’s acts on the minor stage, I suspected that I wouldn’t have too hard a time finding a spot close to the stage. After rushing my friends up to the venue and through the gates, I headed over with Benny and Eric as far to the front and center as we could get. Though a little late, the Temper Trap took the stage and began with a long, drawn out, and somewhat awkward instrumental piece, as if they were building towards something spectacular but the crescendo never came. Eric and Benny quickly lost interest and headed back to the main stage. It was only after my friends left that Temper Trap started to settle down and begin playing some familiar and more focused music. Though only having a single album to their credit, they played a solid hour long set, mixing in their better work from the album along with a few of their newer works. Schiz joined me a few songs in and caught them during the pinnacle of their show. Naturally, I was having a grand time, dancing in the crowd. It was a solid set and not surprisingly, the highlight of my day.
Next up on the minor stage was New Orleans native Trombone Shorty and his band. He was aptly named, being that he was pretty short and rocked hard on the trombone. Like the Temper Trap, he had just played Bonnaroo where it was Schiz that saw him and liked what he saw and wanted to see him again. Another great live set, though not someone whose album I would want to pick up after the show. I left Trombone Shorty a little early to make sure I got to the main stage in time for Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, yet another band I had just seen at Bonnaroo and was looking to see again a little closer up. After not being even able to see the stage for Edward Sharpe at Bonnaroo, I excited that Eric and I were able to get close to the stage for the show to see this great live band.
We next headed back over to the minor stage for DC-based hip hop troupe Thievery Corporation, who despite not being something I would regularly put on, were a fun mid-afternoon show. Sometimes a decent act in the middle of the day that one enjoys but isn’t particularly excited about serves as a great break in the day. I next headed over with Eric to see indie pop couple Matt & Kim. I’ve always considered their music fun and danceable if not particularly complex or interesting. Seeing them live further solidified this perception, but it also made me realize just how fun and how danceable it really was. Both were great at interacting with each other and the crowd, mixing in a few fun covers on top of their own songs that had all the hipsters in the crowd moving their feet. No wonder Matt & Kim were able to sell out the 9:30 Club so quickly.
Eric and I left a little early to catch the last bit of Electrofunk duo Chromeo, which while fun, in retrospect probably wasn’t worth leaving Matt & Kim. After Chromeo wrapped up, our group went to get in line to make sure that we had a decent spot to see LCD Soundsystem, which was one of the more anticipated acts of the day for many of us. While waiting in line, we were privy to seeing cult indie band Pavement, which for me was forgettable, though there were plenty of slightly older hipsters that appeared to love it.
Like many others that day, I had just seen LCD Soundsystem at Bonnaroo. However, their set was at about 3am after a long day of music, so while I enjoyed it, I was also exhausted and looking forward to it being over for I could get some shut eye. So I was excited to get to see a set of theirs a little more rested and with a little more energy. They, or really, frontman James Murphy who essentially IS LCD Soundsystem, were incredible, cycling through a series of danceable hits while maintaining an ever-cool demeanor. They played a number of songs from their new album, This Is Happening, which despite the fact that I hadn’t even listened to it yet, ended up being fine with me. The songs from it were amazing and I’m looking forward to revisiting them in more detail on the album and very glad that I got another crack at seeing them.
