Crowds at Bonnaroo swelled to capacity on a typically over-the-top Saturday that saw some of the music world’s most popular live acts perform. The teeming horde that filled the What stage field for Eminem’s headlining set rivals any assemblage of humanity in the event’s history, and the masses made for tight quarters at many of the shows.
2011 marked the 10th anniversary of the Sasquatch! Music Festival, one of the most beloved and well-attended of its kind in America. Held at the breathtaking Gorge Amphitheatre in George, Washington, Sasquatch mixed indie rock, folk, punk, hip-hop and experimental music over the course of four full days. Selling out all 25,000 daily tickets in a mere couple of days, the popularity of the festival is only eclipsed by the consistent strength of its annual lineups. This year, headliners the Foo Fighters, Death Cab for Cutie, Modest Mouse and Wilco in no way embody the flashy, the opulent or the minimal; however, their solid rock-based performances were heartfelt, powerful and undeniably compelling.
As Bonnaroo built to a head on Friday, the day turned out to be a hectic and overwhelming one. More than a few attendees were roundly confused by an evening stunt that featured parachuters dropping several thousand fluttering LED lights, and that can be attributed to the monumental amount of activity at the festival. They could hardly be expected to comprehend the stunt or the cryptic messages borne by the cargo’s QR code after such a day. Plus, many of them had seen Ron Jeremy in the flesh, or perhaps been berated by Lewis Black.
Attending a comedy show at Bonnaroo is a dubious proposition for a music addict. There are at least a couple of hours of waiting time involved with gaining entry, thus many veterans and greenhorns alike have never even seen the inside of the air conditioned theatre. A great opportunity presented itself in the form of Henry Rollins’ performance.
A summer staple, this year in its fourth annual installment, The Legendary Roots Crew hosted The Roots Picnic presented at Festival Pier at Penn’s Landing on Saturday, June 4th with an eclectic group of artists ranging from indie rock to jazz to the latest in the rap/hip-hop scene.
Delayed by drummer Mike Andrepont’s uptown gig, The Rough Seven didn’t get started until well into Sunday morning, but no matter as the garage gospel band brought all that was holy into the night’s darkest hours. These 7 had the exuberant crowd eating out of its hands from the get go with sing-a-long favorites “Sugar Daddy” and “Give Up Your Dreams” echoing out into the nearby Mississippi.
Dawes were mighty impressive opening up for Brett Dennen at Higher Ground, so much so that the headliner must’ve been more than a little intimidated at the prospect of following them on stage.
It is now 2011 and lo and behold Cheap Trick are still around, still selling out venues, while playing on massive tours with the likes of Def Leppard and Poison. In fact, the gentleman sitting next to me could barely contain himself when they ripped into “Surrender”. The Blotz wasn’t kidding when he said the music would take you back to a time and a place when youth was taken for granted.
Just days before masses of people descended on the District of Columbia for Memorial Day, Paul Simon paid a visit to D.A.R. Constitution Hall, one of the city’s most patriotic venues. Whatever political subject may have been on the 69-year-old legend’s mind, he kept banter to a bare minimum, quipping only that he recalled “playing here with Artie in the 60’s.
Drawing heavily from their forthcoming album, Nothing Is Wrong, Dawes wowed the room, getting people shaking and pumping their fists and even inspiring a sing-a-long during the set-closing “When My Time Comes”, no easy feat as Cradle patrons are usually a bit sedate in showing their enthusiasm.
