I've done a lot of outdoor festivals. Did Midtown in Atlanta this weekend. Sort of odd to be going here the same weekend Mobile's Bayfest died a grisly death, but that's how it worked out.
Superb lineup. Elton John, Hozier, Icona Pop, Tove Lo, Billy Idol, Hall and Oates, Van Halen, Sam Smith, Lenny Kravitz, Drake, Panic at the Disco, Alice in Chains and a bunch of other bands, some of whom had songs I've heard of.
After the crowd debacle at JazzFest I was a little leery, but the lineup was so good I couldn't pass it up. Glad I made the trip. Probably the best festival I've ever attended.
Let's get the minor issues out of the way first:
a) So much weed. There was nowhere to go to get away from it. After a while it started to make you sick to just smell it.
b) Strange spacing. Was a long ass way to go to the only section serving food for four stages. Was also a long ass way to go to any bathroom.
c) Damn, stuff cost a shitload. A drink was $9.
Now the good parts:
a) The stage scheduling was awesome. Four stages and they never overlapped each other so you could watch a concert without having some other concert blaring away in your ear.
b) The venue was extremely nice. Grass, trees, hills, just really pretty.
c) People, for the most part, weren't assholes.
d) So much ridiculously hot ass in various stages of undress it could make a man go blind.
e) The event limits ticket sales to a set number to prevent overcrowding. And it worked.
Some individual reviews:
Van Halen
One of the bands that's been on my wish list forever. I missed a chance to see them in the 80s and really looked forward to seeing them with David Lee Roth. Can't remember being as disappointed in a band as I was with them tonight. David Lee is a crackpot. Something is seriously wrong with him. His stage patter was extremely weird. He sat in a chair and honked on a harmonica while playing a guitar and telling some long ass story about Tibetan monks in the middle of the concert. Maybe that was part of the deal for him to be back on tour, but I could just imagine Eddie standing backstage going "shut.the.fuck.up" He was off with his timing on the lyrics to the songs, he mangled them at times which threw everything off. At one point he made bl, bl, bl, bl sounds with his finger on his mouth in the middle of a song. It was out of sync, disjointed and not what I expected. Oh well, I still got to see Eddie.
Hall and Oates
Played pretty much every song I knew. Decent energy. One of my favorite bands to go see back in the 80s. Figure that's the last time I'll get to see them. Was pretty good.
Elton
Say what you will about the man's personal lifestyle, he can flat sing and he can punish the keyboards. Sounded amazing, played amazingly. And this time, thanks to the venue management, I was close enough to see him perform and hear everything well. Elton is another performer on my bucket list. I sort of saw him at Jazzfest. I assume he was there and occasionally I could hear snatches of a performance over the loud ass talking of all the intoxicated fucks around me. I was afraid that was the last and only time I'd have the chance to see him perform. Thanks to Midtown Music Fest, I actually saw him. And he was a master.
Panic at the Disco
Everything they played sounded the same with the exception of a very good cover of Bohemian Rhapsody. I didn't care for them much at all, but the people I was with enjoyed it.
Billy Idol
Didn't see all of his set, but the parts I did see were better than I expected. The guy looked good, sounded good and was clearly having fun. I'd go see him again.
Side note: Was getting a drink and the lady (rode hard and put up wet kind) in front of me asked if I liked his show. When I told her I did, she said "I met him in 2012. Nice guy. Fucked him from late 2012 over into 2013 for a while. Fun to hang out with." And then she moved on.
Lenny K
Also didn't see much of his set. Abandoned it to get to Van Halen which, in retrospect, was a bad idea. He reminds me of Prince. Good vocals, fun songs and can play well. Wish I'd seen more.
Hozier
He has one song. His set should have lasted five minutes.
Heard bits and pieces of Tove Lo, Icona Pop, Metric (they SUUUUUUUUUUUUCK) and Alice in Chains. Got my times messed up or I would have spent more time watching Alice. Left after Man in the Box -- which I love.
All in all, Atlanta did a terrific job of putting this festival on. Well worth the trip and the minimal cost of the passes. Looking forward to seeing what acts they'll schedule next year.
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