With single day tickets for music festivals hitting upwards of $90, the Virgin FreeFest near Baltimore this past weekend was a welcome relief for cash strapped concert lovers. Headlined by the twin pillars of Blink-182 and Weezer, the August 30th show featured performances by Jet, The Hold Steady, and Public Enemy among others.
Our first review is from Sam Sessa, the nightlife and entertainment reporter at the Baltimore Sun:
I still can’t believe it was free. My goodness: 11 hours of music, 20+ acts, all kinds of wacky stuff on the side (like karaoke, a fortune teller, etc.). It’s almost pointless to criticize this year’s Virgin Mobile FreeFest because, well, it was free. And free makes everything better. [Read the rest of the review…]
Most reporters raved about Weezer’s set, including David Malitz from The Washington Post
It was everything a festival set should be — heavy on the hits, fast-paced, fun, massive sound, some choice covers. Give Rivers Cuomo and the boys credit, they delivered big time. I knew something special was happening when “Hash Pipe” — a song I’ve never liked — sounded amazing. [Read the rest of the review…]
Chris Klimek at DCist has his review of the day complete with photos, but our favorite part was his opener:
Everyone knows the fourth installment is a bitch to get right. Witness Superman IV: The Quest for Peace. Or Batman and Robin. Or The Phantom Menace. Or Thunderball. We could go on. (Virgin Mobile Festival and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, anyone? No?) But faced with an economy gazing into the abyss and a steady attrition of big-name talent to other, more established summer festivals, Virgin Group Chairman Sir Richard Branson and event promoter Seth Hurwitz pulled off an unlikely feat of largesse, reducing the scale of this weekend’s fourth iteration of their eclectic summer bash, and reducing the cost of entry further still. [Read the rest of the review…]
