Author Topic: Virgin Free Fest returning to Merriweather  (Read 377349 times)

Got Haggis?

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Re: Virgin Free Fest returning to Merriweather
« Reply #960 on: September 26, 2010, 08:44:20 pm »
I was disappointed there were no steamed crabs this year

dortiz

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Re: Virgin Free Fest returning to Merriweather
« Reply #961 on: September 26, 2010, 08:47:22 pm »
VIP

Backstage tour was not much but probably all it could be if that makes sense. A quick walk behind the stage.

The bar with a bag chips was a bit of a welcome let down. I would suggest some cheap punch drinks or something.

Never was able to get to West Side VIP because the crowd was too deep when I tried. (maybe add a balk path between the two area for VIPs)

On the other hand no line to walk in. *

Great seating the entire show in the pavillion (worth it alone).*

A bar right by the great seating (also worth it alone)*

I will certainly do it again. I would also pay more for a step up similar to the VIP areas at Pimloco.

Great job as always and fun, fun, fun!****

wml7

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Re: Virgin Free Fest returning to Merriweather
« Reply #962 on: September 26, 2010, 10:51:45 pm »
So, I missed Sleigh Bells but everyone I heard from last night said they were awesome. I thought someone in here mentioned they were boring and dull live.  Maybe that was from some article or something.  Either way they are coming to Charlottesville next Saturday with LCD so might have to go check em out  ;D I should have checked them out while waiting in line watching Pavement.  Didn't want to not get into the pit.  I then noticed that people who were in line for the pit saw that people from the pavilion just ran to the floor when it was opened.  So, that caused a lot of bitching and moaning which was quite amusing  ;D 
« Last Edit: September 26, 2010, 10:55:47 pm by wml7 »

atomicfront

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Re: Virgin Free Fest returning to Merriweather
« Reply #963 on: September 27, 2010, 02:58:32 am »
Best act I saw was Matt & Kim.  Great energy and I love their music.

The worst Pavement.  I guess a bunch of guys playing guitars to straight and head rock n roll was old in the 70's.  I don't get the whole Pavement thing.  Great bands from the 90's like Pulp, Suede, and Primal Scream are virtually ignored and these guys get worshiped.  Well not by the crowd because the lawn was virtually empty but I guess by the music press.

K8teebug

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Re: Virgin Free Fest returning to Merriweather
« Reply #964 on: September 27, 2010, 07:58:33 am »
Someone please explain the appeal of Matt and Kim besides the fact that Kim is cute.  Totally irritating songs and voices.  They looked like fun, but the music was terrible.

Pavement is just fun slacker rock.  Good lyrics, and I like their attitude :)

DeathFromAbove1979

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Re: Virgin Free Fest returning to Merriweather
« Reply #965 on: September 27, 2010, 09:55:04 am »
While Ive been a fan of MIA's for a couple years now, and saw her a couple of year's ago at Sonar and she blew my mind, i thought she was amazing. Stuck around to see her at Freefest and after the 20 minute "intro" or whatever the hell it was and just a pure travesty after that. The crowd had no energy and was given no energy, after about a song or 2 I was over it, we stuck around for the whole thing somehow, Born Free was kind of fun to hear live, but it was otherwise just sad. She was wasted and her sound was awful.

On the plus side, Ludacris was just beyond entertaining, so much fun. Didn't think I'd come out of Freefest saying that.

Next year I hope they bring in more carnival rides!
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wml7

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Re: Virgin Free Fest returning to Merriweather
« Reply #966 on: September 27, 2010, 10:18:39 am »
While Ive been a fan of MIA's for a couple years now, and saw her a couple of year's ago at Sonar and she blew my mind, i thought she was amazing. Stuck around to see her at Freefest and after the 20 minute "intro" or whatever the hell it was and just a pure travesty after that. The crowd had no energy and was given no energy, after about a song or 2 I was over it, we stuck around for the whole thing somehow, Born Free was kind of fun to hear live, but it was otherwise just sad. She was wasted and her sound was awful.

On the plus side, Ludacris was just beyond entertaining, so much fun. Didn't think I'd come out of Freefest saying that.

Next year I hope they bring in more carnival rides!

Did she play that XoXo song???  I kind of like that one but with the Jay Z remix or whatever that is  ;D

tobyd

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Re: Virgin Free Fest returning to Merriweather
« Reply #967 on: September 27, 2010, 10:20:09 am »
Quote
Best act I saw was Matt & Kim.  Great energy and I love their music.

The worst Pavement.  I guess a bunch of guys playing guitars to straight and head rock n roll was old in the 70's.

I think we need to start seeing other people.   :)

joeposh

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Re: Virgin Free Fest returning to Merriweather
« Reply #968 on: September 27, 2010, 10:50:24 am »
Decided to go VIP at the last minute and it was totally worth it. First off, we had unlimited access to the pit from the pavilion area and they never overfilled either area (perhaps to a fault, nearly 1/4 of the pit was vacant). This is probably what some people here interpreted as "people from the pavilion just pouring into the pit". There were also leather couches by the side bar (which had the same prices as the regular bars if anyone was wondering), which made for a cool experience during some of the more laid back acts and seemed to attract a few band members throughout the festival.

I only checked out the west side VIP area during Ludacris, and it was not clearly defined. I wouldn't have even known it existed if I hadn't run into the barricade while trying to navigate the crowd. This area seemed a lot more active/packed than the pavilion but that's not surprising considering the huge crowd Luda seemed to attract.

The only disappointing aspect for me was the backstage tour. Not sure what I expected, but it wasn't the rush job that I got. The tour was consisted of a "tour guide" that we couldn't actually hear herding us past a series of trailers and bar setups. It literally lasted less than 5 minutes. We then had the opportunity to take a picture in front of a sign that read "I WAS BACKSTAGE AT VIRGIN MOBILE FREE FEST!" which the vast majority of my group rightly declined. We spent more time holding for that than taking the actual tour. The one highlight was getting to watch about 20 seconds of Joan Jett's set through an open side stage door. Not a big deal in the grand scheme of things, but if I had paid 30 bucks just for that, I would have felt kinda ripped off.

Overall, the level of access was really great and I can't imagine spending the day any other way.

As for the acts, my favorites were:
LCD Soundsystem
Wolfgang Gartner (Why was he slotted so early? He destroyed and made later acts look bad in comparison)
Ludacris
Matt and Kim (for the energy level if nothing else, they got the pit going)

Disappointments:
Neon Indian (Just didn't connect with me, no real energy)
Maximum Balloon (lay off the air horns and "m-m-m-maximum" sound effect)
Missing Jimmy Eat World (It sounds like it was a great set)

Got Haggis?

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Re: Virgin Free Fest returning to Merriweather
« Reply #969 on: September 27, 2010, 11:04:15 am »
Loved:

Matt & Kim - their music is basic and isn't really all that inspiring in anyway...but they are so happy when they play and it rubs off

Neon Indian - I didn't like the few songs I knew so wasn't that jazzed to see them, but needed some shade time so hung out and watched them...and I thought they were great live

Location - except for the west stage (see below), I dig having the festival at merriweather - lots of shade and a great vibe.

Price - can't argue with free.

Hated:

West Stage - lack of shade.  I had this problem last year as well, there were bands I wanted to see, but just couldn't deal with the direct sunlight right in your eyes for the entire set.  it would be much better to have the stage on the otherside (where the fire stuff was) - but then I guess it would be in the artists eyes instead of the audiences eyes, heh.

Beer Prices - but this is always a problem, isn't it?  Nothing like paying the price of a 6 or 12 pack for 1 beer.

Bowl Urinals in the barn - get with the times and replace them with waterless urinals


meh:

Maximum Balloon - would have been interesting I guess - but what was up with the 'Maximum' and air horn samples...seriously.....

Schedule - wasn't able to see all the bands I wanted to due to scheduling conflicts..

DeathFromAbove1979

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Re: Virgin Free Fest returning to Merriweather
« Reply #970 on: September 27, 2010, 11:08:10 am »
While Ive been a fan of MIA's for a couple years now, and saw her a couple of year's ago at Sonar and she blew my mind, i thought she was amazing. Stuck around to see her at Freefest and after the 20 minute "intro" or whatever the hell it was and just a pure travesty after that. The crowd had no energy and was given no energy, after about a song or 2 I was over it, we stuck around for the whole thing somehow, Born Free was kind of fun to hear live, but it was otherwise just sad. She was wasted and her sound was awful.

On the plus side, Ludacris was just beyond entertaining, so much fun. Didn't think I'd come out of Freefest saying that.

Next year I hope they bring in more carnival rides!

Did she play that XoXo song???  I kind of like that one but with the Jay Z remix or whatever that is  ;D
I seriously think she played 5 songs... World Town, Bucky Done Gun, Bamboo Banger, Lovalot, Born Free.

I think maybe 1 other one somewhere in there, but I don't remember XXXO and haven't heard the Jay-Z version.
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wml7

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Re: Virgin Free Fest returning to Merriweather
« Reply #971 on: September 27, 2010, 11:14:55 am »
While Ive been a fan of MIA's for a couple years now, and saw her a couple of year's ago at Sonar and she blew my mind, i thought she was amazing. Stuck around to see her at Freefest and after the 20 minute "intro" or whatever the hell it was and just a pure travesty after that. The crowd had no energy and was given no energy, after about a song or 2 I was over it, we stuck around for the whole thing somehow, Born Free was kind of fun to hear live, but it was otherwise just sad. She was wasted and her sound was awful.

On the plus side, Ludacris was just beyond entertaining, so much fun. Didn't think I'd come out of Freefest saying that.

Next year I hope they bring in more carnival rides!

Did she play that XoXo song???  I kind of like that one but with the Jay Z remix or whatever that is  ;D
I seriously think she played 5 songs... World Town, Bucky Done Gun, Bamboo Banger, Lovalot, Born Free.

I think maybe 1 other one somewhere in there, but I don't remember XXXO and haven't heard the Jay-Z version.

I like the Jay Z version he just does a couple of lyrics with her, hell thats the only version I actually heard  ;D

tobyd

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Re: Virgin Free Fest returning to Merriweather
« Reply #972 on: September 27, 2010, 11:43:11 am »
M.I.A. did encore with Paper Planes.  That was pretty sweet.  I enjoyed her set but I knew what to expect from hearing the albums.

xneverwherex

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Re: Virgin Free Fest returning to Merriweather
« Reply #973 on: September 27, 2010, 11:50:20 am »
The festival itself was pretty awesome. My own personal experience was beyond a nightmare. I blame Virgin itself for the fiasco and the tickets at will-call, that were never at will-call. I do owe a HUGE thanks to some woman working who got me tix -- esp after the fact that my friends and I all gave ours away. 2 hours after running back and forth between will-call, I was at least in. Thankfully virgin follows twitter and soon I had virgin calling. No one knows what happened (epic FAIL!), but some other woman hooked me up with VIP tix.

Spent part of the day with free drinks - huge plus - (for someone complaining about the free drinks/food in the tent -- its free -- its alcohol - what more do you want). I appreciated the access to the pit/pavilion. I missed most of Edward Sharpe which was the one band I really wanted to see.

Caught some of Joan Jett. Ran into a friend of sonicks whom I knew from high school in California. 18 years later was a bit surreal. Caught some of Thievery Corporation (talking to friends and watching people dance moreso than paying attention). Matt & Kim were awesome live. So much fun. I never was into them for their music itself, but their live show is always a good time.

Pavement were awesome! One of my favs. After all my shows in Summerstage with them, this was up there with their first show. They sounded great. Malkmus was in great spirits. Had a great setlist. It wasnt 2 hours which I had been used to, but I really appreciated this. Plus, the pit was empty. Everyone there seemed to be die-hard fans (at least in the middle), singing along, dancing. Talking to each other. Im convinced the older crowds are so much better! (or it means Im old).

LCD SS were just awesome. Managed to get back into the pit, but it was damn crowded. So was on the left side and had a perfect view. Everyone was dancing, singing along. Some people who wanted to talk the whole time, which I never understand. If this is the last time Ill be seeing them, def was not disappointed. James Murphy seemed to be having a great time. Wished it were longer.

The 9:32 afterparty was a great bonus. Not sure who was dj'ing, but that was not good. The drinks alone were well worth it. It took me 40 mins to get back to the hotel as I could not figure out the way out of Merriweather, but I couldnt complain about that and some people were nice to tell me where the hotel was :)

All in all - Im undecided on the whole winning tix/free flight/hotel. Most of the things did not run smoothly. Ive never won something like this but all in all it turned out mostly to be a headache. And when I finally got home (naturally) I found out that someone stole my license plate.

HeyLa

fatskippy

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Re: Virgin Free Fest returning to Merriweather
« Reply #974 on: September 27, 2010, 12:00:12 pm »
Whats up with guys wearing skin tight jeans in 90+ degree heat?  You hipsters do make for some epic people watching.