Mike: The Show: Virgin Fest 2008, wrap up!

I left for the show a little later then expected, but made it. I hung around the entrance of the race track trying to buy a ticket. Last year it only took like 10 minutes to get into the show. This year it was a bit longer, about 45 minutes. And I paid $50, which was still about half price. That's life. I missed KT Tunstel, the opening act I wanted to see. I did catch the next group Gogol Bordello. I was surprised how good these guys were! They were very energetic and kept the place rockin!

This year I found a spot by the VIP area and stayed there. It had kind of a seat, so I could sit down or stand on the seat to see over the crowd. This gave me a great view to take some pictures. I think the pictures this year came out a lot better then last. Also unlike most concerts, the sun was right onto the stage, which made things very bright and clear.

The next group that came up was Lupe Fiasco. Some of the people around me told me they were good. They weren't very good. They did some kind of hip-hop/R&B thing that really wasn't good. And they kept messing with the stage monitors, which destroyed any pacing that they may have had.

Then came Bloc Party. These guys were okay, if you like shitty music. They were professional and all, but I just didn't like their music.

Finally, The Offspring! I was afraid that they would load up the set list with their new album or the one right before it, NOPE! They played all the classics a couple off of 'Conspiracy of One' that I really liked, and ended with Low Self Esteem!

A mushpit broke out, and all in all, the best time I've had at a show in a while, just rockin' out!

After The Offspring left, the place cleared out, FAST! I guess the kids weren't keen about seeing Chuck Berry. Well, I should have went with them. This is what happen:
The Silver Beats came out first. When I read this on the program, I thought this was Chuck's backing band, but no. This was a Japanese, Beatles tribute band. I guess they played cheap. The music was fine, but it was just the wrong venue for this group.

So Chuck finally came out. I know he's old, and he looked every day of his age. But I was hopeful. Well, it went bad. He started every song like it was Johnny B Goode, and then sing a different song, but destroy the lyrics. This went on for all the songs he did. I was just hoping he would wrap it up and get off the stage. Then it got worse. He said something like, "For the last number I want to let some girls up here on stage! Four on the left, four on the right, and four in the center. Security, help them up here!" Well, it was actually creepier then it sounds. And none of the girls wanted anything to do with it. Finally the rounded up a bunch of them. The song went on, and he left the stage while the band was still playing. What a mess!

Then waited around for the Foo Fighters! They were good. The crowd was into it, the whole bit. I'm just not a big Foo Fan. I watched them for about half an hour and rolled out.