Back in the day, when WHFS 99.1 FM still existed, summer festivals weren’t just for music fans in Indio, Calif. (Coachella), Chicago (Lollapalooza) or Manchester, Tenn. (Bonnaroo). Local fans of rock and hip-hop mourned the day the festival died; were they doomed to shows at small clubs forever?
Enter the Virgin Mobile Festival. In recent years, the festival has brought dozens of acts to Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, and this past weekend was no different. Thousands of fans packed the race course this weekend for headliners such as The Offspring, Nine Inch Nails, Stone Temple Pilots and Kanye West, but just because there were crowds didn’t mean there were good performances all around. Read on for Diversions’ list of the best, the worst and the just plain boring.
BEST HEADLINER: Nine Inch Nails
DAY: Sunday
SET TIME: 8:05 p.m. to 10 p.m.
VENUE: North Stage
Trent Reznor is a rock god. After releasing two free albums this year, Reznor has hit the road with the Lights in the Sky tour, which capped off Sunday’s performances. Hitting the North Stage a little after 8 p.m., Reznor – with tourmates-but-not-official-band-members Alessandro Cortini, Robin Finck, Josh Freese and Justin Meldal-Johnsen – brought out both the rage and the rhythm, performing some of the band’s most popular singles and a lengthy interlude of instrumental pieces. Though the crowd wasn’t nearly as big as the one flocking toward Kanye, audience members went crazy for the newer singles “1,000,000” and “Discipline” and favorites such as “Closer,” “Only” and “Head Like a Hole.” Only adding to the greatness was the phenomenal light show, which featured two huge projection screens that were raised and lowered throughout the set and displayed ridiculous effects, like a night sky and a thunderstorm. Oh, Trent. Is there anything you can’t do?
BEST SET LIST: The Offspring
DAY: Saturday
SET TIME: 5 p.m. to 6 p.m.
VENUE: South Stage
Dexter Holland’s not just smart at science. The Offspring’s lead singer is also pretty damn good at crafting a bangin’ set list, which featured tons of the band’s best singles – who knew they had so many? – but mainly focused on 1998’s Americana and 1994’s Smash, the best-selling independent-label album in history. Want to hear new songs “Hammerhead” and “You’re Gonna Go Far, Kid”? Check. Older stuff such as “Come Out and Play (Keep ’em Separated),” “Gone Away” and “Self Esteem”? Got it. Even “Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)” made an appearance, during which the humongous crowd – which stretched from the South Stage, where The Offspring was performing, past the Dance Tent – thoroughly enjoyed themselves.
BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT: Lil Wayne
DAY: Sunday
SET TIME: Supposed to be 3:50 p.m. to 4:50 p.m.; actually showed up 40 minutes late, at 4:28 p.m.
VENUE: South Stage
Oh, Weezy. Couldn’t you have phoned home and let the disgustingly huge crowd – poor Taking Back Sunday, who was scheduled for the same time at the North Stage – know you were going to be so late? As the minutes ticked by, the crowd grew more and more antsy – booing and throwing up the middle finger – and when Lil Wayne finally appeared at 4:28 p.m., neither the crowd nor Wayne immediately got into it. And an appearance by Kanye West couldn’t even help things – two egos, one stage and not nearly as good as expected.
WORST NEWCOMER: Hollywood Undead
DAY: Sunday
SET TIME: 11:30 a.m. to noon
VENUE: South Stage
Bands wearing masks have never been cool (see: Slipknot). So why, exactly, would new band Hollywood Undead think it was a good look? The group, whose first public performance was at Virgin, not only proved their lack of fashion sense, but their set was almost pitiful. Most members of the six-person group seemed exceedingly nervous, hiding toward the back of the stage, and their efforts to pump up the crowd often fell flat. Poor kids – they tried, but it’s hard when your specific brand of music makes Hannah Montana almost bearable. Almost.
WORST STAGE PRESENCE: Bob Dylan
DAY: Sunday
SET TIME: Supposed to be 6:45 p.m. to 8 p.m.; was later because of Lil Wayne’s delay
VENUE: South Stage
Bob Dylan may be America’s best living songwriter, but a lot has changed since the ’60s. Though Dylan may have created classics such as “Blowin’ in the Wind” and Blonde on Blonde, seeing him live in recent years was, to put it bluntly, a blower. Listless and lackluster, he may be a legend, but it doesn’t excuse that Victoria’s Secret commercial – or his complete lack of energy and disinterest in his fans. Apparently, the times really are a-changin’.
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