Virgin Day Two: Wu, Yahu and You!

Just wrapping up things at V-Fest 2007 enjoying a little Wu Tang Clan.

In trying to gauge the vibe, I'd say the unofficial impression indicates spectacular music moments were had by festival-goers, artists, promotors and the numerous organizations represented.

Sources are telling us now that over 42,000 concert-goers attended Saturday and another 30,000 on Sunday.

So when you add it all up...that's over 70,000 concert-goers blistering in the sun at Pimlico for a festival that's just in its second year. Not bad at all. And the concept of having just two stages, versus the 5 or even 12 at, say, an Austin City Limits or Bonnaroo, respectively, I think puts V-Fest in a niche' market for fests; it's more compact and makes it easier to choose between artists.

We'll try to find out what kind of commitments Virgin Mobile has to future V-Fests in Baltimore later this week. Word on the street, though, is the company is very, very happy with Baltimore as a music city!

Top 5 highlights of V-Fest 2007 for me:
1. Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals performing the best outdoor music set...I've ever seen.
2. The Police getting their act together and sounding, well, like The Police! I saw them at another show this summer, and as Stewart Copeland pointed out himself, he, Andy and Sting were not on the same page musically. On Saturday night...ALL the kinks were worked out and the band that got me loving music in the first place, reminded me of why.
3. The closest thing to a gospel tent: Matisyahu bringing a much needed dose of spirituality to the throngs of fans lined up very far back in the infield.
4. Regina Spektor: "Summer in the City"
5. Meeting everyone who stopped by the TMD booth! Thanks for that!

Vote For The Cold War Kids

If you hadn't heard Virgin Festival 2007 is taking place here in Baltimore on August 4th & 5th and the people at Virgin put the public in control of booking the opening band for the 5th. I can only hope that the boys in Cold War Kids will be blowing open the second day of the festival with their highly energetic stage presence and razor shap lyrics. If they are opening i'll be bobbing around like a chicken hooked up to a car battery just like CWK. The band will be opening up for another one of my favorites, Muse, I'm a sucker for prog rock, August 9th at the Partiot Center in Fairfax. So if they lose the fight to open at Pimlico there is still a chance to catch them while they are around.

Stop by and come say hi to the WTMD staff at our booth while you're at Virgin Fest we'll be broadcasting live. See you at Pimlico