B.O.M.B. Fest Review

(Of Montreal performing at B.O.M.B. Fest)

When you combine some your favorite bands with a great place like the Durham Fairgrounds, there's really no way you can go wrong. That's what B.O.M.B. Fest was on Sunday. And it was a beautiful day, which made it that much better.

Of Montreal was definitely my favorite part of the festival. I saw them last year at Toad's Place, but their performance at B.O.M.B. Fest was crazy better. They played mid-day, and I think the outdoor stage was a better setting for their fun, sunny indie pop rock. And they rocked it, really playing to the crowd with lots of danceable songs - including a lot that people knew. And they played my two favorite songs of theirs - "Heimdalsgate Like A Promethean Curse" and "Bunny Ain't No Kind of Rider"! And it wouldn't be an Of Montreal performance without Kevin Barnes wearing a wacky outfit with colorful makeup or a crazy spectacle with guys and girls in wild costumes, doing everything from whipping one another to stabbing puppets with balloon heads to forming a pyramid. Or confetti. And they delivered on all of the above. You really can't watch Of Montreal and not have any fun.

The other two bands/musicians I couldn't miss were Girl Talk and Ra Ra Riot. Both were awesome. This was my third time seeing Girl Talk and second Ra Ra Riot.


(Girl Talk set)

Girl Talk at a festival was a very different experience from an indoor venue. There was still the crazy dancing crowd and the riot onstage, but Greg Gillis, who is Girl Talk, really put it best: He said it was like playing at a party in someone's parents' backyard. I love seeing Girl Talk live because he'll mash up songs you've heard him use before - like parts of his "Bounce That" but also throw in songs the crowd can sing along to, like "Shout" and "Since U Been Gone." Also, you get to see him at work, dancing harder than everyone else and stopping to slow it down every once in a while. He ended with a very heartfelt "Imagine," and with everyone waving their arms from side to side, it was beautiful.

After Girl Talk performed, I was pretty much set for the rest of the festival. That was a pretty nice feeling. But the day was young, and everything we got to see afterward was just a bonus. Actually, that counts the stuff beforehand too.


(Ra Ra Riot)

Ra Ra Riot was really good. So were Cool Kids, who were very fitting, and a pretty good tie-in between the indie bands and Lupe Fiasco. Also matching with those two was G-Eazy, a hilarious but awesome rapper from California whose party lyrics were totally fun. Garrett and I actually really liked him. Like, everyone thought he was funny at first, but we totally listened to his CD (Which he gave out for free after his performance) on the way home. Definitely throwing that on at the next party and waiting to see how many people ask who it is because it's so awesome. We also saw Mute Math, 40 oz. to Freedom and Clarias. The stage setup for stages 1 and 2 was pretty cool because after one band ended, the band on the other stage would be set up and could start right away.

30 Seconds to Mars reminded me that I'm not a 15-year-old emo kid anymore, so we didn't stick around for them. Instead, we saw Quintron and Miss Pussycat, a wacky, screamy and electronic duo from New Orleans. They were a lot of fun. We also took a ride on the Ferris wheel before heading over to Lupe Fiasco's set (which I was totally content with once he performed "Kick, Push" //hip hop class memories).


(Quintron and Miss Pussycat on Stage 3. Just a small group walked over to the stage for them, but they had fun.)

The free carnival rides were pretty cool, though definitely underused - probably because everyone in line was asking other people if the ride was free. I'm pretty sure the Ferris wheel operator's line to me, "It's all inclusive," was well rehearsed by the time I asked him if the ride was actually free. (Maybe that should have been advertised better.) The Ferris wheel was pretty cool because I could see all the stages, and I was in a good spot to listen to States Away playing at Stage 4, which was way out of the way from stages 1 and 2. They sounded really fun, and I was glad the ride was pretty long (we went around maybe 4 times), so we could enjoy at least some of their set, which ended just as we got off the Ferris wheel and started to walk over.

If B.O.M.B. Fest does go down next year, the fourth stage may be too much. I'm sure the bands that played were good, but it's really sad that they got such small crowds. It's like having a birthday party and inviting your entire class only to have one kid show up. (Not that I know what that's like..) I also thought some bands on the third stage got the shaft - I was super sad that M.T. Bearington's set was during Of Montreal.


(View from our Ferris wheel ride)

Another point: I don't understand why there was only alcohol in the VIP area. I could see it being a way to keep booze under control, kind of like how All Points West had closed-off beer gardens, but if that was the case, why wasn't there a non-VIP beer garden-type area? People with VIP tickets only represented a small percentage of everyone in attendance, so the festival lost money on potential sales. The festival obviously had to bring the beer onto the fairgrounds to supply it to the VIP section, so why not sell it to more people?

All in all, though, it was a great festival. It was definitely well organized, and the Durham Fairgrounds was the perfect place to hold it. There were plenty of bathrooms, enough vendors and a good variety, nice local causes allowed to sell stuff (like the Boy Scouts selling delicious Lime Rickeys), lots of benches and picnic tables to sit down and plenty of garbage and recycling receptacles so there wasn't much litter. Very impressive. Plus it was super close to home. And I got to see some great music, which was the point.

(All photos taken from my cell phone. They actually didn't come out too bad this time!)

Brand New out, 30 Seconds to Mars in at this year's B.O.M.B. Fest

B.O.M.B. Fest is officially going to be like Warped Tour mixed with All Points West.

Brand New recently dropped out of this year's B.O.M.B. Fest due to family obligations, which could be good news or bad news for you, since their replacement is 30 Seconds to Mars.

I found out about this change through another blog and some talk this weekend, but I wanted to wait until B.O.M.B. Fest officially announced it to make a post. Then this morning, I got an email from the ticketing website saying that my tickets could be refunded because of the band change. Here's the message from the friendly guys at B.O.M.B. Fest:

"We're excited to announce 30 Seconds to Mars will co-headline with Lupe Fiasco at the 2010 B.O.M.B. Fest. 30 Seconds to Mars stepped in after an unfortunate family obligations led Brand New to pull out of this year's festival. We hope you are as excited as the rest of the northeast music community to see 30 Seconds to Mars join the show. For more information read more here - http://www.bringourmusicback.org/30-Seconds-to-Mars-joins-Lupe-Fiasco"

It's totally cool that they're refunding tickets, by the way. I know there are people who go to festivals for one band, and they sometimes can't return their tickets if their band cancels. So that was really nice.

And I say B.O.M.B. Fest is going to be like Warped Tour mixed with All Points West because it's close to home (Warped Tour usually stops in a spot easy for us CT folk to get to), and the line-up is like if you blended the two. I actually saw 30 Seconds to Mars at Warped Tour in Fitchburg, Mass. back in summer 2006. I remember it vividly because when I was stuck in traffic on my way there, there was a 30 Seconds to Mars car near me - this girl seriously had the band name painted huge on her car, all the band member bobbleheads on her dashboard, stickers and 30 Seconds to Mars attire. I recall my friend saying, "Hey, I think that girl really likes 30 Seconds to Mars." (If you're reading this, girl with the 30 Seconds to Mars car, I appreciate your fandom.) So add that with the other acts like Of Montreal and Girl Talk - bands you would see at an indie hipster festival like All Points West, and you've got yourself a pretty fun combo. I'm pretty excited. It'll be like high school (I was even in a Girl Scout troop in Durham in high school) mixed with college (We listened to Girl Talk non-stop my senior year.)

Just in case you didn't see my last post on B.O.M.B. Fest, it goes down Sunday, May 30 on the Durham Fairgrounds. Tickets are $50 plus fees and can be purchased online at http://www.bombfest.com/. According to the website, you have 27 days left to purchase tickets! You can also buy them for no fees at Redscroll Records in Wallingford.

I've embedded "The Kill" above because I really liked that song in 2006 when it was big, and when 30 Seconds to Mars played Warped Tour. I also enjoy playing it on Rock Band.

100 Posts! /Check out B.O.M.B. Fest!

Just noticed when I signed in today that I hit 100 posts with my last one. Wow!

Thanks for reading, everyone. Garrett said he wanted to contribute to my blog, but I don't think that makes sense for one called "The Freesia Fix," so I might start a new one in the near future. We'll see where our collaboration goes.

In the meantime, I got my B.O.M.B. Fest and Lady Gaga tickets in the mail this week!

If you haven't heard of B.O.M.B. Fest, it's May 30 at the Durham Fairgrounds, and it's for a good cause. The line-up includes Lupe Fiasco, Of Montreal, Girl Talk, Brand New, Mute Math, Ra Ra Riot, Jay Electronica, Cool Kids and many more bands including one of our local favorites, M.T. Bearington. Definitely check this festival out: http://www.bombfest.com/

You have 33 days left to buy tickets, which are $50 plus fees and well worth it. I saw Of Montreal last year at Toad's Place, and the show was incredible. They're one of my favorite bands to begin with, but they really put on a fun show - complete with crazy guys in stretch suits rolling around and doing stunts and lots of wacky costumes. I've also seen Girl Talk twice, and it's always a party when he comes around. I'd pay $50 to see two of the bands listed, but it's an all-day festival with a lot of bands. It starts at noon and goes 'til 10 p.m. that night, and there's going to be bunch of vendors and a Ferris wheel!

Another bonus: This is pretty much in my backyard. So all you CT friends who ever thought we don't get many good shows (myself included), this is a pretty great exception. I can't wait.

Matinee shows are awesome!

Just a few updates all rolled into one blog post.

Went to the Mates of State and M.T. Bearington matinee show at The Space on Saturday afternoon, and it was tons of fun. (I was really close and could have gotten a photo, but my phone died because I forgot to charge it the night before!) Anyway, because it was a home show for Mates of State husband-and-wife duo Jason Hammel and Kori Gardner, they were able to bring their kids, and lots of friends and family made it out. We got there around 3 and noticed there were a lot more kids than usual. We also couldn't help but gush over an adorable kid in a Mates of State shirt enjoying his root beer. Then we realized the home show/matinee atmosphere was perfect for friends and family, both young and old, to come. Aha! The show was awesome. M.T. Bearington rocked it. I bought one of their CDs at a Toad's Place show, but I only thought of this on Saturday: They kind of sound like Modest Mouse, except not as wacky. I like it. Then the Mates of State definitely had fun, playing lots of familiar stuff and some new songs that as danceable as ever. For a new dance song, they even brought up their daughter Maggie on stage and some of her classmates, including the one who enjoyed his root beer. Another bonus? It wasn't even 7 by the time we left! It felt much later because we had already done so much that day and went to a concert, but we still had so much time left in the day. Sweet deal.

And I never reviewed the Girl Talk show. We didn't end up in the general admission pit, but the balcony wasn't that bad. Sure, we were dancing in our seats and really far away, but there were some good parts. I never heard of Black Violin before, but they were the perfect openers for Girl Talk. They played violins over some hip hop and pop songs, and it was pretty cool. They also showed off their classical violin skills. Then Girl Talk came out with a lot of variations of his old mixes and some new stuff. Interesting point: Girl Talk is limited by the music that's out already. He doesn't call himself a DJ, but he "composes" music by mashing up songs. I saw him over a year ago, and I have two of his albums on my iPod, but those are kind of older. Seeing him live last week was pretty cool because he could play some Lady Gaga songs and mix Miley Cyrus' "Party in the USA" with Snoop Dogg. We weren't dancing in the pit, but it ended up being for the better. We didn't get hot or faint, and we could get drinks without trudging through a thick crowd. (A lot of people snuck in/pushed through to the downstairs after the opener.)

Next stop: Bela Fleck - The Africa Project at Jorgensen this Thursday.

Girl Talk Ticket Craze at UConn

(Photo from joonbug.com)

Girl Talk tickets went on sale to UConn students today for his Feb. 13 show at Jorgensen. When I heard the news yesterday, I freaked out. Girl Talk shows are sick. Everyone goes up on stage. Everyone goes crazy. And his music is just a lot of fun. Girl Talk says he's not a DJ, but he mixes songs in incredible ways. You get well-known and obscure rap mixed with oldies and pop songs in all his mash-ups, and it's all ridiculously danceable.

So here's the deal: General admission tickets are $20 for students, $30 for non, and balcony seats are $20 for students, $10 for non. They went on sale to students this morning at 11, and they're on sale to the public Friday at 11. The show is Saturday, Feb. 13 at 8 p.m. at the Jorgensen theater on the UConn campus in Storrs.

And now here's the bad news: We got stuck with balcony seats because there was a crazy line at the Jorg, and by the time our friend got up to the window to buy tickets, general admission was sold out! We won't get the full-effect of a Girl Talk show since we'll be in seats, but I think we can make the most of it. Also, we're not giving up on trying to get general admission, so I'll be on the lookout for people selling them.

And now here's the ironic part: I saw Girl Talk at Trinity College in Hartford just over a year ago, and it was crazy fun, despite some security/finding a way home issues. Looking back on my review, it looks like I was rambling a lot, so excuse me for that, but if you're interested in seeing how the show went at Trinity, check it out here: http://freesiasingngam.blogspot.com/2008/09/926-girl-talk.html.

And let me just point out that the show at Trinity was free for students and $5 for non-students, and the field house venue wasn't nearly full. Either Girl Talk has since blown up or UConn students just have good taste in music. It sucks that we couldn't get general admission tickets and get the full effect, but taking a step back, it's pretty cool that Girl Talk is getting this response.

9/26 -- Girl Talk

You couldn't beat this deal: Admission was free for students and $5 for guests. But what most people didn't know was that non-students had to be guests of Trinity students, who could only bring up to 5 guests. Getting in was pretty chaotic. Non-students, like me, had to find some nice Trinity students to sign us in. Many were more than happy to, but others were afraid that they would be responsible for us, so that proved to be a bit difficult. This was the start of my general observation of the night: School security just seemed really overwhelmed from start to finish, which took away from the fun atmosphere of the concert.

Because doors opened later than expected and Girl Talk didn't even go on until around midnight, there were a lot of people tailgating outside and dropping tons of solo cups on the ground. Also, bags weren't checked at first, so people were able to drink and light up smokes inside. After about an hour of that, security started checking bags on our way in and out - and we had to go outside to use the bathroom. There were only port-a-potties outside the field house. That was kind of weird.

And then it got weird again: When Girl Talk did take the stage, I could hear people in the crowd wondering out loud if he was even up there. As per tradition of a Girl Talk show, people rushed onto the stage to dance, and with that huge group on stage, I, too, wondered if they were just trying to fake an appearance by playing his music and filling the stage. Also, the staff kept turning the lights on and stopping the music as if they wanted us to leave and as if Girl Talk wasn't there. People did leave. This was also a time when people started leaving for cigarettes and coming back to tighter security checking bags. It was pretty late, but the show kept going on, and after a lot of spins and sampling of hip-hop, pop rock, oldies, classics, etc., I was convinced Girl Talk was there, and he had people dancing the entire time, both on stage and off, when they got kicked off, of course.

Despite the weirdness of the night, I didn't see anyone standing still during Girl Talk's set, and I met a lot of cool people. There was a DJ playing while people were getting in, and The Dig opened up for Girl Talk, but they were just OK because they were kind of a generic alternative punk band.