I knew there was a reason today why I did not want to walk my dogs.
It was not too hot out, the sun was shining, and I was not tired…so why did I not want to take the little monsters on their daily walk? There was something I was supposed to do this morning that I forgot all about.
Today was the day to request a free ticket for the 2009 Virgin Mobile (Free) Fest through TicketMaster and I completely forgot.
Damn.
Back in April I wrote a little blog about the Virgin Fest possibly being cancelled. Having been to every single V-Fest since 2006 I was a little bummed that it might not go on this year. For weeks I could not find any news about if the festival would be cancelled or relocated. With the threat of Pimlico Horse Race Track going bankrupt it was not clear if the festival would go on in 2009. Finally just last week it was announced that the festival would go on this year with one big change…it would be free.
Free? A free festival?
It’s true.
Although the festival does have some changes such as going back to one day instead of two as well as being relocated to the other side of Balitimore at the Merriweather Post Pavilion the festival is indeed 100% free.
Limited to only 30,000 tickets previous Virgin Festival goers had gotten emails offering first dibbs on grabbing a free ticket. Today the remaining tickets were offered to the public by going to TicketMaster and requesting up to two. The only fee that would come from TicketMaster was if the person requesting the ticket wanted the ticket shipped to their residence for $5.00. That might be the lowest fee in the history of TicketMaster.
Still I am mindless and forgot. I knew that this road trip to Baltimore would be without Matt as he is festivaled the hell out, possibly for life. I am sure I could have suckered someone into going with me to the event on a Sunday for a free concert.
I have always enjoyed my time at the Pimlico Race Track while attending the Virgin Festivals so I am sure this event will be just as fun even if it no longer is held in the middle of a horse track.
With a smaller venue I am sure there will only be one large stage as compared to the two that were set up on the North and South ends of the track. I am also thinking there will be less shade tents so I know Matt will not want to be at that festival at all.
I’ll still try to find a way in to the Virgin Mobile (Free) Fest. Honestly there are not a lot of bands I really want to see there but Weezer and Public Enemy alone are worth the drive out.
Anyone out there get lucky and score some tickets?
It’s no news that everyone has heard about the late pop-star Michael Jackson. The King of Pop is no longer with us.
I really was not going to blog about this instance because everyone already is and I was not quite sure what I really had to say about it.
Twitter was overloaded with updates and Facebook seemed to have endless comments but fans as well as people who thought it would be a good time to start with the jokes.
This morning I thought maybe I should just post something about the musician seeing on how he had a pretty big influence on me musically as I grew up.
I was getting a tattoo yesterday when I found out. I was just killing some time during the process and checked Twitter where I started seeing posts that Michael Jackson was taken to the hospital, then rumors of his death followed by statements of the artist falling into a coma. Finally it was confirmed, Michael Jackson died from cardiac arrest.
I did not know what to think at the exact moment it hit me that the pop star passed.
I can tell you one thing, Michael Jackson was the last person I would have ever expected to pass away on a summer day. The news was shocking and it took me a few visits to various websites to finally learn it was the truth. I realize sometimes things get blown out of proportion but this was real.
I was a Michael Jackson fan when I was a kid and I am not ashamed to say it. I am pretty sure everyone was and I do not believe you if you say you did not like any of his material. I rocked the parachute pants, did the moon walk, but never had a sparkling glove.
One of my favorite memories of when I went to Epcot Center at Walt Disney World in the late 80’s was when I saw the 3-D adventure Captain EO. Just a few weeks ago I was actually talking about it to some friends and watched the movie in two segments on YouTube. (Part 1 & Part 2 for those of you that have never seen it and are wondering what I am talking about…)
Then there was Moonwalker a movie/music video that I watched over and over on VHS. Sega actually even created a video game based on the movie that was easily one of my favorite Sega Genesis video games of all time.
I’ll never forget the first time I saw the video for “Thriller” on MTV. It was late at night and my Aunt warned me it was going to be scary. I loved every minute of it.
I still have Thriller on my iTunes and always will. It is easily one of my top 100 albums of all time.
Today Michael Jackson’s name is being said a lot. Good things and bad will be talked about him for days to come and just like many other music lovers out there I am saddened by his loss.
I really wish that Micheal Jackson could have toured just one more time not just for the millions of fans, but also for himself. The poor guy really went through lots of hell. Regardless if all those allocations were true or not, the guy changed the way people would listen to music forever. It would have been nice to see Michael Jackson back on the stage doing what he liked to do best…
Sony Comments on the Passing of Michael Jackson (on www.michaeljackson.com):
NEW YORK, NY – June 25, 2009 – Michael Jackson, one of the most widely beloved entertainers and profoundly influential artists of all-time, leaves an indelible imprint on popular music and culture.
Commenting on his passing, Sir Howard Stringer, Chairman, CEO and President, Sony Corporation, said: “Michael Jackson was a brilliant troubadour for his generation, a genius whose music reflected the passion and creativity of an era. His artistry and magnetism changed the music landscape forever. We have been profoundly affected by his originality, creativity and amazing body of work. The entire Sony family extends our deepest condolences to his family and to the millions of fans around the world who loved him.”
Rolf Schmidt-Holtz, CEO, Sony Music Entertainment, said: “Michael Jackson’s unsurpassed artistry and beloved music brought joy to every corner of the world. We join today with his millions of fans in expressing our profound sadness and we offer our deepest condolences to his family and loved ones. It was a true privilege for all of us in the Sony Music family to work with one of the most talented superstars in the history of music. We will miss him greatly.”
Martin Bandier, Chairman & CEO of Sony/ATV Music Publishing, said: “Michael was the kind of amazing talent that comes along once in a lifetime. He was an incredible recording artist, an insightful businessman, an unmatched performer, and a true icon. To all of us at Sony/ATV Music Publishing, he was also a trusted and passionate partner, who was very proud of our accomplishments. He will be dearly missed. We wish his children and entire family our deepest condolences.”
Five of Jackson’s solo albums – “Off the Wall,” “Thriller,” “Bad,” “Dangerous” and “HIStory,” all with Epic Records, a Sony Music label – are among the top-sellers of all time. During his extraordinary career, he sold an estimated 750 million records worldwide, released 13 No.1 singles and became one of a handful of artists to be inducted twice into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The Guinness Book of World Records recognized Jackson as the Most Successful Entertainer of All Time and “Thriller” as the Biggest Selling Album of All Time. Jackson won 13 Grammy Awards and received the American Music Award’s Artist of the Century Award.
Michael Jackson started in the music business at the age of 11 with his brothers as a member of the Jackson 5. In the early 1980s, he defined the art form of music video with such ground-breaking videos as “Billie Jean,” “Beat It” and the epic “Thriller.” Jackson’s sound, style and dance moves inspired subsequent generations of pop, soul, R&B and hip-hop artists.
Still feeling good and excited for today’s second installment of Bonnaroo I thought I would share the link of the review I did for Blogcritics.Org on my day one experience.
The first day was insane. It was just Adam and I as Matt decided to go to see the B-52’s play in Chattanooga. (To each their own my friends…) Being the nice guy that I am I dropped his ass off down by the river in Chattanooga and then headed to Bonnaroo with Adam for our first day of the four day weekend.
Bonnaroo is just as great as I remember it. Tons of people all sharing the same vibe. Music playing all over the place full of different genres. Vendors selling their crafts as well as food and taking donations for various causes including something called “Mountain Top Removal“.
It was a little scattered on the farm as many people would not be arriving until Friday. People would actually be piling in all night long as some were not as fortunate as myself in having an extended weekend.
There are plenty more booths that need to be checked out and I will be doing some more of that today.
I saw some great acts I have never seen before as well as some favorites like Those Darlins. Yes, I am aware that I talk about them entirely too much but once you see them live you will understand my liken for the bunch. Not only is their music fun and catchy but the girls are super cool too. After their set Kelly Darlin spotted me and recognized me from her last show in Cleveland. She gave me a huge hug and chatted for a moment. I’m not starstruck or anything, but how cool is that? I know I am an unforgettable guy and all but for someone who has been non-stop touring for months and seen millions of faces, to remember one is pretty rad
John and Katie from Thirty Tigers were there too. I seriously love those two, they are great. Where I would have liked to have hung with them more after Those Darlins rocked out it was thunderstorming way too much and they had to help get the girl’s gear to their van. I’m hoping to run into them today.
So I leave you here with some photos I took with my little camera yesterday. I am not sure that I want to take in the good camera with the threat of storms and whatnot. I prefer to come home with no damaged equipment. We are prepared though. I purchased a rain jacket and waterproof box and Adam and Matt both got ponchos.
I finally had a chance to check out the Lollapalooza 2009 line up and I am a little excited about it. Ok, a lot excited…
Click HERE for the Lollapolooza 2009 line-up poster.
The poster is kinda large to be putting on my site so instead I will just copy / paste the list of bands that will be performing over the 3 day weekend:
Depeche Mode, Tool, The Killers, Jane’s Addiction, Beastie Boys, Kings of Leon, Lou Reed, Ben Harper and Relentless7, Thievery Corporation, Snoop Dogg, Rise Against, Andrew Bird, TV on the Radio, Vampire Weekend, The Decemberists, Neko Case, STS9 (Sound Tribe Sector 9), Animal Collective, Band of Horses, Of Montreal, Arctic Monkeys, Coheed and Cambria, Ben Folds, Fleet Foxes, Silversun Pickups, Kaiser Chiefs, Crystal Castles, Bon Iver, Santigold, Atmosphere, Dan Auerbach, Cold War Kids, Deerhunter, Lykke Li, Robert Earl Keen, Peter Bjorn and John, Heartless Bastards, Gomez, Glasvegas, Federico Aubele, Dan Deacon, Passion Pit, Zap Mama, The Raveonettes, The Gaslight Anthem, The Airborne Toxic Event, White Lies, Ra Ra Riot, No Age, Asher Roth, Los Campesinos!, Bat For Lashes, Chairlift, Gang Gang Dance, The Virgins, Amazing Baby, Portugal. The Man, The Knux, Ida Maria, Delta Spirit, Friendly Fires, Manchester Orchestra, Constantines, Ezra Furman & The Harpoons, Hockey, Miike Snow, Alberta Cross, Hey Champ, Sam Roberts Band, The Henry Clay People, Davy Knowles and Back Door Slam, Cage the Elephant, Living Things, The Low Anthem, Blind Pilot, Langhorne Slim, Other Lives, The Builders and The Butchers, Eric Church, Joe Pug, Kevin Devine, The Greencards, Carney, Thenewno2
See any bands in there you like? I know I see a ton of bands I would love to see, even if I have already seen them previously in the year! There is also a handful of other artists too listed to perform at another stage.
I’ve never been to Chicago so this may have to happen. I am sure my pal Matt will want to join me as has mentioned it to me a couple of times. Any of you other Cleveland bloggers thinking of invading Chicago too?
Tickets are $190 for the three day festival not including a place to stay. I will be highly considering this since I have still heard nothing about this year’s Virgin Mobile Festival.
I would like to say that I was going to the Virgin Mobile Festival for the fouth time in a row but if they move it from the Pimlico Race Track that will really put a damper on if I want to go. Part of the whole experience was being at that horse race track turned festival grounds… I wrote a little post about it a few weeks back you can read if you are curious on why they might move the Virgin Festival to another location.
I guess we will see what happens!
Until then here are some Lollapalooza related videos I found…
This video is footage of a terrible crowd in Charlestown, VA in 1995 not giving a good welcome to original indie artist Pavement:
I really wanted to go to Lollapalooza in 2007 because of this band:
Jane’s Addiction in Enumclaw, WA in 1991 with Ice T (NSFW, a little strong language going on here…):
