The Police/ Smashing Pumpkins/ Beastie Boys/ Velvet Revolver/ Yeah Yeah Yeahs/ Bad Brains - Pimlico Race Course, Baltimore MD - Aug. 4-5
Posted by Jesse Coy on 08.23.2007
A scaled-down review analyzing the bands, venue dynamics, local atmosphere, and bang-for-the-buck of 2007's Virgin Music Festival.
Virgin Music Festival – Police, Smashing Pumpkins, Beastie Boys, Velvet Revolver, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Bad Brains
August 4-5, Baltimore, MD
I’ve done a two-week extended treatment of this event in my column, but feel a quick overall overview should be included in the concert portion of 411Mania… so here it is. Bearing in mind that there were many bands in attendance, and since schedules conflicted, one person’s experience is likely extremely different from another person’s experience depending on what they saw, here’s my overview based off my particular experience.
Bands…
of the bands I saw, the Beastie Boys take the prize as best act, followed closely as far as energy and spirit goes by fellow New Yorkers, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Yeah, I know that the Beastie Boys haven’t really been New Yorkers for a while, but whatever. For overall energy and performance, I’d rank the Bad Brains as the third best act of the two days. There’s no reason to really rank the remaining bands I saw. The overview of each is as follows… the Police sounded studio perfect in their delivery, yet my assessment was that drummer Stewart was the only one who was really charged about being there. Sting seemed to be going through the motions in scripted fashion, at least to me. Andy was rather distant. I saw the entire Smashing Pumpkins show, but not being a huge fan, and only having the first two albums, the sophomore release I got the day before, I really feel like I’m not qualified to critique. I still say that since Billy wrote at least virtually all of the material on those first two albums, critics who say that this was not “really” the Smashing Pumpkins speak without merit. As for Velvet Revolver, there were some strong moments, but they were countered by moments where it felt like Scott was being far too unnaturally forced into some Axl mold.
Overall Rating… 8.5
Venue Dynamics…
this is very mixed. The biggest negative? I wasn’t too happy with some of the conflicts with band scheduling, most notably Smashing Pumpkins playing at the same time as 311, and secondly, the Wu-Tang Clan playing at virtually the same time as the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. I caught Wu-Tang Clan's last three songs from a distance. I don’t think setting these different bands to play at the same time is the way to go. On the flip side, I was impressed at how close I was able to get to these major acts. They weren't just dots far away on a stage. I was also happy to get an older Smashing Pumpkins CD the day before they played at a pretty good price (the Virgin Music tent). I liked very much the non-profit groups set up throughout the venue. Even the booze prices based off the size of the cups were quite decent. Port-o-potties were very plentiful and well distributed, and the music from one stage to the other did not overlap. Really, if it were not for the scheduling conflict, I’d give the Pimlico dynamics a 9. But every venue will have to deal with this issue. Oh, wait… there’s also the issue of parking. It wasn’t well thought-out and sort of a mess, although I will say that the local who worked for the venue when I called gave me the good suggestion of parking in the free park and ride metro lot which I ended up using.
Overall Rating… 7
Local Atmosphere…
this one is such a judgmental call. I am schizophrenic on it. No, not really. I’m taking a George Carlin tactic. Live a little, man! Yes, this northern Baltimore area is set amidst the slums. Anyone who tells you otherwise is sugar-coating things. But what the hell! Put a little danger in your life. I mean, if you’re not as much a boozer as me, you don’t have to go a few blocks deep into the slum to find a corner liquor store on Sunday to get your cheap booze to drink before the event. Bear in mind, too, this is coming from someone who graduated from north Philly’s Temple University back in the mid-90’s. I used to walk back from Delaware Avenue along Girad Avenue when I went to industrial and metal clubs, and the buses stopped running (around 3-4am). Talking to yourself and perfectly your loony act helps. And there was a corner liquor store on Broad Street where I got my 40. The Korean workers there bagged it without asking me what I wanted, I was such a regular. That said, had my car been stolen in Baltimore, I wouldn’t have been too happy. That said, I can’t wait to develop the photo I had taken of me and the one black chick advertising for parking. Lack of nearby sleeping accommodations kind of sucked, but better planning would allow anyone to stay downtown, taking the subway to the venue.
Overall Rating… 7.5
Bang-for-the-Buck…
despite my not-so-glowing review of the Police, and the fact that I wasn’t happy about some of the conflicts in scheduling… damn, I still wanted to see the Police this year! But their ticket cost sucked ass. So to see them in such an event for virtually the cost I’d seen their tickets selling for in Boston (maybe it was all ‘net scalpers selling for a sold-out show), and then to include the Beastie Boys, Bad Brains, Smashing Pumpkins, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Velvet Revolver, and all the other bands I didn’t get to see because of scheduling issues (that’s not good for bang-for-the-buck, actually) or because I wasn’t there early enough, that’s none too shabby.
Overall Rating… 9
Would I Go Next Year?…
last year was the Red Hot Chili Peppers and the Who? Damn in a bucket of spam, I haven’t seen the Red Hot Chili Peppers since ‘92’s Lollapalooza (or ever before that) and would've loved to see the Who. ’06 was a one-day event, and ’07 was two days. I'm sure next year will be two days, too. By the way, anyone who bitches about this being on the same day as Lollapalooza? Since that’s now become only a one-time event, not all of us can get to Chicago (so piss off). Who will the Virgin Festival reunite next year? Led Zeppelin or Pink Floyd? Certainly not Black Sabbath… Ozzfest has cornered that market. It really depends on the acts, and would such acts justify the price. I’d be careful to see if any schedules conflicted, too. So tell me the lineup, and I’ll decide then.
The 411: If you tally my scores and divide, it only comes to 8. But I'm going to bump it up half a notch. My experience was good here, and that’s about all I have left to say.
