Virgin Free Fest 2009

August 31, 2009

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: Image via Wikipedia

Spur of the moment, J the 13 year old and I took off for the Virgin Free Fest yesterday afternoon. It’s the latest iteration of the Virgin Festival that’s been tearing it up the past few summers, and yesterday was no exception. And I give Virgin huge props for making it free, due to the economy, but still scoring absolutely top-notch talent.

The lineup included The Bravery, Public Enemy, Weezer, Blink-182, and Franz Ferdinand, as well as many, many other bands.

But I’ll confess, I abandoned my usual rabid festival-goer must see attitude and figured we’d get there when we got there, and see whoever we saw- as long as we saw Weezer.

I’m an old school Weezer fan from pre-sweater song days, and have never seen them live. So to take my kid, who really only knows them from “Beverly Hills”, was a treat. Only surpassed by my joy at mortifying him by singing loudly and doing a dorky mom dance during “Buddy Holly”.

One of the coolest things was, as we waited for Weezer to take the stage, watching two dudes hurtle out of a helicopter and do some crazy combo of skydive/jetpacking down to the crowd, in a coordinated stunt which ended with Sir Richard Brason spraying the crowd with water.

No, I did not make that up. Seriously,

Dude In the Sky

Preparing to land

And, one of my favorite people from the day: Free Hug Guy. Sometimes maligned, occasionally tackled by drunk frat boy types, but basically in it for the love.

A lovely hugger!

The crowd right before Weezer:

This turned into a singalong quite quickly

Weezer opened with Black Sabbath’s “The Wizard”, which really showcased what I’ve always known: those dudes are heavy. They’re seriously tight musicians, and sounded stellar.

The bassline from “Hashpipe” was just as amazing live as I’d always imagined it. That’s the song that caused me to coin the term “Chuggy Bassline”. Hey, it may not be technical, but think of that riff: Does it not chug?

And, speaking of Weezer’s bass player, his wife is a pretty awesome writer and observer of the world, as well as a mama to a lovely little fellow: Check out her blog, at www.jillianlauren.com . You will be smarter. (Or, at least, I always kind of feel smarter after reading Jillian’s insights. And less coordinated. But that is totally not her fault.)

And J now has some new career ambitions, that involve skydiving and maybe owning an airline and getting a bunch of rock bands to play for him.

Category Posted in Adventures, DIY, Fangirl, Miscellaneous, Music, Old School, Rock and Roll Mama

10 Responses to “Virgin Free Fest 2009”

Ali said:

August 31st, 2009 at 8:07 am

alesia and i were there too!!!! weezer definitely put on the best show of the day. i have loved them since i was 10, but had never seen them live. my love is only stronger now! i loved blink’s show too- hadn’t seen them in 8 years- and i turned back into a 16 year old during their show public enemy and jet were great too!
Alesia said:

August 31st, 2009 at 8:07 am

It was amazing. To think, we were in the same place as Flavor, Sir Richard, and a human garden gnome. Good day.
Ri, The Music Savvy Mom said:

August 31st, 2009 at 8:47 am

I’m SOOOO jealous. Is all.
Ri, The Music Savvy Mom´s last blog ..Mothball Monday: A Post from the Vault
Allison said:

August 31st, 2009 at 2:38 pm

Man, seriously, not a bad day in the life of you. Would have loved to have been there rocking right along next to you. I’d love to see Blink 182 in concert.
Susan Helene Gottfried said:

August 31st, 2009 at 3:16 pm

I want your life. And I checked out Jillian’s blog after you Tweeted it last night. I’m hooked.

You are very very good for me. Thank you.
Susan Helene Gottfried´s last blog ..Lyric Fiction: Robin Hood
rockrollmama said:

August 31st, 2009 at 5:25 pm

You guys! We need to all road trip to Mamapalooza next year and see tha Mama rockers kicking it.

Alesia and Ali, I KNEW you would be there! My 3g ws so spazzy, I had no network. I almost called you, then forgot while steering J away from a drunken (friendly) shoving match. Next yer!!!

Susan- You are very very good for me too.:) As are all of you lovelies. I’m going to throw us a big party for sure, with wigs and bands. The list keeps growing.
Lauren said:

September 1st, 2009 at 1:49 am

I love Weezer. I’ve seen them a billion times and I agree – they are heavy! One of their favorites is Kiss!
Lauren´s last blog ..I don’t think you’re ready for this jelly.
Devilish Southern Belle said:

September 1st, 2009 at 4:01 pm

Weezer, Blink and Fall Out Boy are coming near here in a few weeks. I really want to take my sons. I’m a huge Weezer fan from way back, too, and have never seen them live.

Glad you all had a great time! I love it when my kids and I have fun at something *I* enjoy doing as well
Devilish Southern Belle´s last blog ..Some days it’s just hard to keep a straight face.
lest said:

September 25th, 2009 at 6:21 am

What an great day! My son and I love the heavy stuff, and Weezer was awesome! my son has been asking me about some $10 120 minute virgin mobile deal, but I heard it might only e available to “welfare candidates”…? Does anyone know anything more about this deal??
Merle Lindt said:

September 26th, 2009 at 6:10 pm

I have a question about Virgin Mobile. Are they offering a low-cost plan for unemployed and other people who need a basic phone w/o the big bills? I keep hearing that they make a $10 a month plan available for those who can’t afford more but I don’t see it on their site.

Do they have it? If so why don’t they announce it?