Day two we decided to start late so we could make a HUGE dropoff at Goodwill first (I’m honestly starting to think that it’s weird I’ve never run into anyone wearing my old clothes because at this point statistically the odds have got to be in favor of that happening), and because nothing in the morning was on our MUST SEE list (which changed of course as the weekend went by).
Rhymefest: Super fun. I loved him. Super young, still seems a little raw. Lots of sass and fun and hello he threw himself into the audience and bodysurfed around. What a goofus. His band was great, his backup rapper dude did some great falsetto-y singing and it was a very enjoyable lively show. Tracy wanted him to use his band MORE and do the solo rappity rapping stuff LESS. I think he thinks of himself as a rapper first and a hip hop whateva whateva second so unlikely that he’s ever going to give that up. Even if about half the crowd ran away after his super serious a capella “this is how bad life can really suck and do you even have any idea about that” ditty.
The Roots: Since I just saw them in March, I wasn’t planning to watch this set, but as the plan of our day unfolded it just made more sense to stay down at that end of the festival. It was pretty good — high energy, good sound, etc. — but basically just a replay of that concert so I wasn’t like jumping out of my “seat” (prone position on the sheet) or anything. But if I hadn’t just seen basically a carbon copy of this set, I probably would have been!
Regina Spektor: So since I’ve already seen the Hold Steady three times, I figured why not try someone new? Yeah, and the reason would be because I don’t like Tori Amos-type freaky girl singers and I should have believed Michele G. when she told me that’s what Regina Spektor was. NOT MY THING. I stayed until she sang the hea-uh-uh-uh-uh-art song and then I took off…at a rapid pace.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs: Tracy really wanted to see these guys and I saw Snow Patrol (as with so many others today, right?) just last fall (and it’s not like they have a new album since then) so I didn’t really care one way or another. This was a set very much in the vein of, say, Of Montreal or Deerhunter. Just as much about the visuals and the wacky outfits/behavior of the lead singer as about the sound, and the visuals were definitely on the wacky sometimes you can’t even fathom what the “message” is side. So = OK. But nothing that blew my mind, and I know I’ve never even listened all the way through to the first album and this set isn’t going to make that situation change.
Spoon: We were too lazy to run a block north for Patti Smith so we sat through this one but we weren’t really paying attention. Spoon played Lolla last year also (weird). They sounded fine, but nothing that was really making me sit up and take notice.
And here’s where it gets REALLY weird is that I didn’t care whether we saw Muse or Interpol, whichever was fine (Muse I have no clue about, Interpol I don’t really like but I don’t hate, I’m just “eh” when it comes to them), but then it started raining and we were getting cranky and finally someone or other said “fuck it, couldn’t we just go check out the merch and maybe get home early?” The suggestion was met with resounding agreement and off home we went. I heard Muse’s show was great. So next time they come to town, I’ll make a point of checking them out. But considering how mediocre a lot of the rest of the day was, I was happy to go home and crawl into my dry bed! 😉
Rhymefest was definitely the highlight of the day, but I’m sure the fact that I didn’t really LOVE anything else I saw was my own fault due to bad choices. But if you balance it against day one, I’m still coming out ahead here in terms of stuff I loved….