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:: 5.10.2002 ::
this year was my fourth Music Midtown in a row. I first went back in '98 with my sister and she and I made a return trip this year. every year they've had some amazing and diverse lineups, but each year it seems to double in attendance. given, it's a large area in which the event is held, the area around the stages aren't so huge. the 99X stage was just ridiculous this year. once you got about halfway to the stage (by halfway, I mean almost close enough to see the SCREEN and barely hear the music), it was just shoulder-to-shoulder people and crowd surges that left you hoping that everyone around you could stay on their feet.
due to the circumstances, we missed a few great bands that I would have loved to catch. yet at the same time, I was introduced to couple of new bands that I might have never heard.
friday night we caught Butch Walker, Hoobastank, and Incubus:
the Walker guy was a little crazy. I'm not familiar with his music at all, but he seemed to play a lot of cover songs. a highlight for me was the cover of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody". just after the for meeee, fooor meeeeeee, for meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! part, they ROCKED OUT. the entire crowd, and it was a massive one, was pulsating with energy.
Hoobstank surprised me. I had written them off as an unoriginal Incubus rip-off, but they were actually a decent band. they had a great stage presence and a nice sound live. they're OK in my book.
Incubus were just great. a guitarist with great licks, strong and smart basslines, a very versatile drummer, a perfectly infused DJ, and a great frontman with such poetic lyrics. a very full live sound and the band seemed to be having a blast. their signature song "Drive" seemed to drag a bit, but they made up for it with intense renditions of "Stellar" and "Pardon Me" among others. an overall great night of modern rock.
saturday was an odd day:
we got there too late for Jack Johnson's set, but just in time to see Bone Thugs-N-Harmony. I can't say I'm a huge fan of theirs and I don't have any of their albums, but I've been hearing their music since my early days of high school. they put on a LIVE show and had a huge crowd bouncin'. they played a standard festival set of the hits, along with a new song for which they brought out a member of The Outlawz, who gained much recognition for their work with the late Tupac Shakur.
we then went to see Counting Crows, but this is when we encountered the ridiculous crowd amassed at the 99X stage. after about 10 minutes in the mix and about 1 minute of deliberation, we decided to liberate ourselves from that mess. after browsing around the artist's market, we made our way over to the Fox5 stage. it was a smaller stage off to the side and the feature that night was Zydeco music. I'd never heard much before until seeing Lil' Brian and the Zydeco Travelers at Midtown last year. it was a great time then and this night was the same. Rosie Ledet and her band put on a great show and they were immediately followed by Gary DeLafonse. both were great groups and played music that kept a smile on my face. and we were front row and not crowded at all, to boot.
sunday, our last day there:
this was my personal favorite of the weekend. it seems that I always have great sundays at Midtown. as soon as we got to the gate, we headed for the Z93 stage. walked right up to the front and found a nice spot, dead center and about 5 rows back. we just missed the Disco Biscuits, who would've been nice, but got there just in time to see Karl Denson's Tiny Universe come out. they had a great set of funk-jazz, showcasing the entire band's talent. they played one particularly jazz-heavy tune that I loved and did a nice around-the-world band intro build-up that led into another jam. another nice surprise was a visit from the Flecktones' Jeff Coffin for a song.
up next was Bela Fleck & the Flecktones. what else can I say about them? AMAZING. as tight as always, full of character, and playing wonderful music. a few new tunes mixed with some of the classics. of course, Vic had a couple of mind-blowing solos. a huge highlight was Bela sitting on a stool solo and picking a classical piece. wild what he can do with a banjo..
our last performance came from the wonderful Bonnie Raitt. "I Can't Make You Love Me", an acoustic "Angel From Montgomery", a guest appearance with Oliver Mtukudzi and a couple of members of his band, and a welcomed surprise with a cover of David Gray's "Silver Lining". she told the crowd of her new album entitled "Silver Lining", and gave high regard to Gray's music.
all in all it was a great weekend. I said I'd never go again, but I was just ill from the big crowds. I've heard that this year may have been the last, but if they do have a Midtown '03, you'll probably find me there.
my pictures didn't turn out so well, but there were a few keepers. as soon as I get this scanner back on its feet, I'll post them up for your viewing pleasure.
:: posted by Michael at 2:29 AM
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