VirginFest

After the tickets sold out practically immediately, I didn’t think was going to get to go to VirginFest. However, earlier last week one of my friends gave me a tip that a few thousand tickets had been made available directly from the Merriweather Post Pavilion box office (limit 2 per person), which kicked off a mad rush involving Rachel leaving work, picking up my brother, and ending up with six tickets.

We got there around eleven AM and waited in a line until about 1:20 to get seats inside the actual pavilion, which meant we had a great view of the stage and were out of the direct sunlight to boot. Unfortunately, whenever we left the pavilion and wanted to come back they made us wait in an ever-growing line filled with everybody else that was hoping to get a seat inside. This meant that if I left to go to the bathroom or buy something the only way to get back in a reasonable time was to “merge” with the mob clustered around the entrance gate and push myself along whenever they let a new group of people through. Each time I did this I felt a twinge of sadness for the poor suckers waiting at the back of the line hundreds of yards away, but it was quickly forgotten somewhere between the gate and my seat.

I was a little disappointed with my “lesser” bands. I was very excited to see Mates of State, The Bravery, and Franz Ferdinand, but Franz played on the West Stage during Blink-182 so there was no way I could make it out of the pavilion and over there in time; The Bravery ended their set halfway through their alloted time spot; and while I enjoyed them, all of the people I was with hated Mates of State. Bummer.

The rest of the bands on the main stage were entertaining, with Weezer putting on an excellent performance that definitely made the day for me. They had a trampoline on stage, for crying out loud, not to mention playing themselves offstage at the end of the set with Keyboard Cat. Blink-182 closed the night with an elaborate electronic backdrop and energetic performances of the hits we sung along to in high school. It makes me a laugh a bit, because all of their songs are about being a frustrated teenager and they’re now in their mid-thirties (they were formed in the same year my little brother was born). Like it or not, most of you were big fans when you were that age and they’re one of the dwindling number of multiplatinum music artists.

While many of the performers were not ones I would have paid to see individually, I had a wonderful time. I very much enjoy the whole “unique experience” of going to concerts, and this one was definitely worth the $10 ticket price (which actually went to charity)—even with the $7 lemonades.