Dispatches from Woodstock
Posted: Fri Jun 10, 2005 4:23 pmHey, so here I am in Woodstock, Georgia, which is about 40 minutes north of downtown Atlanta, and I just got back to my friend's house after the 1st day of the Music Midtown concert festival. Here is my report:
After driving for 9 hours from St. Louis, I arrive at my buddy Bill's house yesterday (Thursday). Today, with off and on showers, we arrive at the concert site in downtown Atlanta about 7 tonight. The first act we catch is Cross Canadian Ragweed, and all I can say is that they know how to rock! They hail from Yukon, Oklahoma, and they really put on a great 45 minute show. One song was about smoking weed, and one line in the song cracked me up. "Come on George W, legalize the shit!" Guess you had to be there. I turned to Bill and said, "We may as well go home now, 'cause no one is gonna top these guys tonight", and unfortunately, I was right.
Let me back up a second. The Music Midtown concert is on 6 seperate stages, each one sponsored by a radio station and business (Hooters/Kicks 101.5 stage, Miller Lite/99X/Comcast Stage, etc) spread across a large park, and there are 3 or 4 concerts going on simutaneously at all times, so you really have to make some hard decisions. So after CCRagweed was done, we walked from that stage (Kicks 101.5) to the 99X stage, where Interpol was ready to go on. Young crowd, and a BIG one, I would say around 30,000 or maybe more. It was in an area the size of 10 football fields, and it was really crowded, so who knows how many people were really there, but it was way more than a sold out arena that seats 18,000 for hockey. So anyway, Interpol was a big disappointment to me. The sound was lousy, with WAY too much bass, and they played quite a few "down" kind of songs, so we left after 5 songs. Off to the 96 Rock stage, where Lou Reed was finishing up, and he looks great. I was kicking myself for going to see Interpol instead. Like I said, hard choices.
Last was the Counting Crows, who were the biggest bummer. I like the band, but the song selection was terrible. They played a couple of really quiet songs, and with all these other stages nearby, the sound was bleeding over, and it just didn't work. I was hoping that they would bang out Long December or Hangin' Around, but then they swung into 'Round Here...a 25 minute version.
Think about that.
Unless you are the most hardcore Crows fan, that's a bit much. So about 20 minutes into it, we started walking out, and a few minutes later, the song ended (you could hear it for blocks). Oh, I forgot to mention that a steady light rain started falling about 8pm too, so it didn't help much. Tomorrow (Friday) the schedule includes Robert Randolph and the Family Band at 6 (it's an Atlanta thing), John Fogerty from 8 till 9:15(96 rock), and then hard choices: The Killers from 8:45 to 10(99x), Tom Petty from 10 to midnight, and the Pixies from 10:30 to midnight. I'm leaning Fogarty and Petty here... (by the way, for you country buffs, Alan Jackson plays the Kicks 101.5 stage from 10:15 to 11:45pm)
I'm tired and a little drunk right now, so I am going to bed, but there you go, a full and comprehensive report of the concerts today in Atlanta, which is a New Wave Outpost exclusive. Look for a full report on the Saturday activities tomorrow night after 2am! (Bonus coverage may include accounts of being soaked by downpours from Tropical Storm Arlene....the bitch) See y'all!
After driving for 9 hours from St. Louis, I arrive at my buddy Bill's house yesterday (Thursday). Today, with off and on showers, we arrive at the concert site in downtown Atlanta about 7 tonight. The first act we catch is Cross Canadian Ragweed, and all I can say is that they know how to rock! They hail from Yukon, Oklahoma, and they really put on a great 45 minute show. One song was about smoking weed, and one line in the song cracked me up. "Come on George W, legalize the shit!" Guess you had to be there. I turned to Bill and said, "We may as well go home now, 'cause no one is gonna top these guys tonight", and unfortunately, I was right.
Let me back up a second. The Music Midtown concert is on 6 seperate stages, each one sponsored by a radio station and business (Hooters/Kicks 101.5 stage, Miller Lite/99X/Comcast Stage, etc) spread across a large park, and there are 3 or 4 concerts going on simutaneously at all times, so you really have to make some hard decisions. So after CCRagweed was done, we walked from that stage (Kicks 101.5) to the 99X stage, where Interpol was ready to go on. Young crowd, and a BIG one, I would say around 30,000 or maybe more. It was in an area the size of 10 football fields, and it was really crowded, so who knows how many people were really there, but it was way more than a sold out arena that seats 18,000 for hockey. So anyway, Interpol was a big disappointment to me. The sound was lousy, with WAY too much bass, and they played quite a few "down" kind of songs, so we left after 5 songs. Off to the 96 Rock stage, where Lou Reed was finishing up, and he looks great. I was kicking myself for going to see Interpol instead. Like I said, hard choices.
Last was the Counting Crows, who were the biggest bummer. I like the band, but the song selection was terrible. They played a couple of really quiet songs, and with all these other stages nearby, the sound was bleeding over, and it just didn't work. I was hoping that they would bang out Long December or Hangin' Around, but then they swung into 'Round Here...a 25 minute version.
Think about that.
Unless you are the most hardcore Crows fan, that's a bit much. So about 20 minutes into it, we started walking out, and a few minutes later, the song ended (you could hear it for blocks). Oh, I forgot to mention that a steady light rain started falling about 8pm too, so it didn't help much. Tomorrow (Friday) the schedule includes Robert Randolph and the Family Band at 6 (it's an Atlanta thing), John Fogerty from 8 till 9:15(96 rock), and then hard choices: The Killers from 8:45 to 10(99x), Tom Petty from 10 to midnight, and the Pixies from 10:30 to midnight. I'm leaning Fogarty and Petty here... (by the way, for you country buffs, Alan Jackson plays the Kicks 101.5 stage from 10:15 to 11:45pm)
I'm tired and a little drunk right now, so I am going to bed, but there you go, a full and comprehensive report of the concerts today in Atlanta, which is a New Wave Outpost exclusive. Look for a full report on the Saturday activities tomorrow night after 2am! (Bonus coverage may include accounts of being soaked by downpours from Tropical Storm Arlene....the bitch) See y'all!