2006 Virgin Music Festival

It's been a week since we trekked to Baltimore's Pimlico race track for the first U.S. Virgin Music Festival. It was my first chance to attend a festival like this, and I had a blast. Since I often listen to Virgin Radio, I'd heard a lot about the UK's huge V Festival, and it looks like the Virgin Music Festival is an attempt to do the same thing stateside. The lineup varied from bands I'd barely heard of to bands I couldn't wait to see, and in both camps were some bands I knew I probably wouldn't see in Charlotte. It makes for a long day, but it's well worth it.

Right before the show I misplaced my camera, so I had to use a crappy disposable, which means I got lots of pictures of people's hats. I was also sorry that Keane had canceled, but I guess rehab comes first.

The music started with Kasabian on the main stage, and they sounded good. But at that point, we were just so overwhelmed with everything that we just wanted to walk all around the huge grounds and check out all the booths, where there was everything from environmental information to . And of course the "Freaklounge," where as part of The Thrilling Wonder Show, we caught a fire eater, the Burlesque Boot Camp Girls, Trixie Little and the Evil Hate Monkey (who later reappeared onstage with Flaming Lips), and more.

We caught the second half of Drive-By Truckers' energetic set on the second stage. They were the one band I had already seen. This was just before 1 PM, so the crowd was still pretty sparse. The Truckers closed with "Daddy's Cup," a NASCAR song that is both kickass and sentimental. It was perfect.

They were followed by AC Newman and The New Pornographers, one of those bands that I keep hearing that I'm supposed to like but for some reason don't (I say this based on the one CD I have of theirs, Electric Version, and the one song I've heard off their subsequent CD, "Twin Cinema"). Neko Case wasn't with them but they turned in a satisfying lightly-rockin' power pop set.

I didn't really care about seeing Wolfmother or Clap Your Hands Say Yeah (who I could hear enough of to know they were terrible). The first band I was really excited about seeing was The Raconteurs on the main stage. The stage was extremely crowded and incredibly loud.

When The Raconteurs were announced last year, I expected a more pop-oriented sound from Brendan Benson's influence, but the result has been a much heavier band. Despite my preference for more tracks like "Hands" and fewer noise-fests, they do seem to be gelling well as a cohesive unit.

Following the Raconteurs on the main stage was Gnarls Barkley. They took the stage in Roman costumes. Cee-Lo had a great stage presence and implored the crowd to get up and dance. Unfortunately, Baltimore really let him down on this one. Maybe it was the heat (though it was actually overcast), but the crowd response to Gnarls was really disappointing. They managed to shake it only for the closer, "Crazy." Still, for stage energy, overall sound and vibe, Gnarls was an early highlight to the day.

After Gnarls, we ran over to the second stage for Brazilian Girls. I had missed them in Charlotte last year, so I was also excited to see them. Sabina Sciubba took the stage with a white wrap around her face. She drew eyes and lips on the wrap on stage.

Sometime around this point, Jen and I got separated when I took off for the stage while she was turning in empty water bottles for stickers. This was my fault. It was the low point of the day.

When we finally hooked back up, we caught the rest of the Brazilian Girls' great, laid-back set, which included tracks from their just-released second album Talk To La Bomb.

After more general hanging out, drinking, and eating (the food selection was huge and, while overpriced, otherwise very good), we headed back over to the main stage for The Killers. They played tracks from both Hot Fuss and Sam's Town. They came the closest so far to sounding pretty much exactly as on record.

After The Killers, we had another chance to sort of catch our breaths. Thievery Corporation was only mildly interesting to either of us, as was - shocking - The Who.

From what we heard of them, The Who put on a pretty good show. Ringo Starr's son Zak Starkey played drums. I have to admit, I recognized most of the songs they played. Roger Daltrey's voice sounded great, and Townshend played well. It was a fun diversion.

The scheduling of the bands required people to basically run back and forth between the two stages. And I don't know if this is usual among festivals like this, but as the day went on, the better bands were playing at the same time and we were forced to make some tough choices. But choosing between The Who/Red Hot Chili Peppers and Scissor Sisters/Flaming Lips was a no-brainer.

By the time The Scissor Sisters came onstage at 7:35, the sun had gone down. The Scissor Sisters may have been the highlight of the entire day for me. Sure, they're "like Elton John, only gayer," but I knew most of the songs, and the entire thing was just a call to shake it.

They played an incredibly fun set, opening with "Take Your Mama Out," and segueing into "Laura," "Tits on the Radio," their Bee-Gees style take on "Comfortably Numb," and the brilliant new single "Don't Feel Like Dancin'," (cowritten with Sir Elton himself) from the new album Ta-Dah. There were several other tracks from the new album as well, and they all sound good.

I wonder if they'll ever be able to shake the perception that they are from Britain. Before they started playing, I overheard two different groups of people talking about how we just don't have any good bands like Scissor Sisters coming out of America.

As the night finally wound down, it was time for The Flaming Lips. I had heard about their shows for years and pretty much knew what to expect, but it was still amazing. From the beginning, Wayne Coyne made himself seen; he helped the roadies set up the stage. Then, there was a seemingly interminable soundcheck. There was a camera in the main vocal mike, so the backdrop video screen showed a picture of up Wayne's nose. Weird.

When the show finally began, Wayne wasted no time firing up the hamster ball and moving it out over the audience. I had seen this in the Coachella film, so it was good to just go ahead and get it over with. I wonder if he gets tired of doing this stuff.

Then, the band and a phalanx of friends and family (I saw an army of Santa Clauses and superheroes, as well as the fire eater) tore through the familiar tracks: "Yoshimi," (featuring the hand puppet. Weird) "She Don't Use Jelly," "Yeah Yeah Yeah Song," "Do You Realize??" At intervals, Wayne would launch confetti blasts or send huge balloons over the crowd.

 The only problem with this part of the show was that it was late - people were tired - and they started getting pushy. We happened to be next to two mountains of men who nearly blocked the stage. A guy yelled from behind, "Hey! I'm 6'-5" and I can't friggin' see anything!"

There was also a total loser next to us who was desperately trying to pick up this girl who was clearly annoyed. He kept saying the most ridiculous things, even I wanted to tell him to get lost. Drunk as she was, she wasn't that drunk, and finally slipped away from him.

On the way out, we listened to a few minutes of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and they sounded good, if a little bit low on energy. I didn't really feel like I had missed too much. We never made it to the DJ tent, but damn we could hear it. I'm not into electronic music, so I don't really care if the DJ is Carl Cox or Karl Marx, but it was pretty cool if you're in to that.

They did have an entire Virgin Megastore set up onsite, to serve all your shopping needs. I picked up a copy of Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs. Based on the first couple chapters, the author's self-absorbed, but it's still hilarious.

Overall it was a really good time and was totally worth $100 tickets and an 8-hour car drive. I hope Virgin Festival continues, and continues in Baltimore.

They wanted 60,000 people but got 40,000. It takes awhile to get your name out there. And supposedly the management of the thing could have gone a bit better.

Still, I appreciate what they're doing, I like what Branson's doing with his billions, and if there's a decent lineup again next year, there's a good chance we'll go again.