Little Green Cars, an indie band from Ireland, was one of the first bands to play at Virgin Mobile Freefest over the weekend.
Virgin Mobile FreeFest is unique in that it gives a majority of its general admission tickets away for free, encouraging audiences to make charitable donations. FreeFest also garners a broad audience; every year, the festival gathers artists of all genres with fan bases large and small, from the synth-pop trio CHVRCHES to R&B superstar Robin Thicke. However, the most definitive characteristic of FreeFest was its distinctive feel; combined with the aesthetics of its venue, Merriweather Post Pavilion, and this year’s lineup, which included big names such as Vampire Weekend, the festival experience was almost religious. Every year, thousands of beanie-wearing hipsters and music lovers take a pilgrimage to the small park in Columbia to listen to a diverse group of artists’ musical interpretations. It hearkens back to the fact that these concertgoers are united by one single festival, but go to enjoy a plethora of sounds. This year, I was one of those concertgoers.
My FreeFest experience kicked off with Little Green Cars, an underrated indie rock quintet from Dublin. Despite holding the No. 1 spot on the Irish music charts, the band had a relatively tiny American fan base at the festival, barely filling the stands and pit of the Pavilion Stage. The band’s persona was stoic as it performed, giving off a sharp vibe that did not match the fluid sound of its music. Still, the band commanded attention with its Simon & Garfunkel-like harmonies. Both the band and the audience grew more lively during the band’s last, most popular song, “The John Wayne,” which included dance-worthy electric guitar riffs.
Another small but well-loved act was CHVRCHES. I was amazed that the entire lawn in front of the stage was packed — the band has only released the five-song Recover EP and a handful of singles. However, CHVRCHES’ set lacked a kind of “wow” factor; lead singer Lauren Mayberry’s high-pitched, breathy voice incited the dancing of her fellow bandmates but not the crowd.
City and Colour was also disappointing to a certain degree. Though vocalist Dallas Green’s folksy songs sounded beautiful and clear on the pavilion’s advanced sound system, I felt as if I were listening to the same song on a loop. Green’s songs blended into each other to the point of no distinction; the only noticeable variety in his set was when he stripped down to an acoustic guitar for the anthem “The Grand Optimist.” Green connected with the audience during this song; even I felt goose bumps while listening to the reflective lyrics. It seemed as though the direction of the set was about to change with this mellow tune, but unfortunately, Green launched into more of the same in an attempt to excite the crowd.
The festival wasn’t without its lively performances, however. Black Joe Lewis gave a hopping performance full of rock ‘n’ roll riffs and jazz trumpets that woke the crowd, but he was more of a warm-up for those who were ever-patiently waiting for one of the main stage’s highly touted sets, MGMT. I had been forewarned that MGMT plays pranks on audiences and gives disappointing live performances. Yet MGMT played a fairly straightforward set, covering a plethora of material from all of its albums in the short hour the band had on stage. Lead singer Andrew VanWyngarden emerged from backstage in a striped turtleneck and his signature bedhead, ready to croon “Weekend Wars,” but false started, blaming it on technical difficulties. (Or was it a prank? We may never know.) The band omitted its most popular song, “Kids,” as it did when it performed at Art Attack in the spring, but compensated by playing other Oracular Spectacular favorites “Electric Feel” and “Time To Pretend.” The psychedelic quality of the music reached the audience while a colorful LCD picture show played in the background as the band performed. It was trippy and nonsensical, in typical MGMT fashion. Some aspects of the performance were slightly off: VanWyngarden’s muddled diction, the band’s shameless self-promotion of its latest album, MGMT, and the scent of illegal substances that wafted over the pit.
Finally, Columbia University quartet Vampire Weekend was next in line to play. I noticed that this stage was the most decorated, featuring a large Baroque-style gold mirror above Chris Tomson’s drum set and a floral backdrop. Once the band emerged (well-dressed in button-down shirts and blazers), the members launched into their Contra single “Cousins,” and the crowd went wild. Everybody seemed to know every word that front man Ezra Koenig sang. However, the best part of Vampire Weekend’s performance was the band’s stage presence. Each member smiled the entire time. Koenig’s charisma was apparent as he used hand motions and facial expressions to convey the stories told in his songs, a leftover characteristic from his days as an English teacher. This was especially noticeable during “A-Punk,” a song that reflects upon the convoluted misadventures of a girl named Johanna who steals a ring from a Sloan-Kettering patient. Bassist Chris Baio followed Koenig’s lead, twitching and hopping around on stage. The band also promoted its latest album, Modern Vampires of the City. A majority of the set came from the album, including “Ya Hey,” “Diane Young” and “Step.” In addition, the band managed to successfully engage the audience by calling on members to participate during “Horchata.” At the end of the show, the audience showered the band with gifts of bras and stuffed lions. Vampire Weekend bid its audience farewell with “Walcott,” the song with which the band closes all of its concerts. The dynamic performance was unforgettable — definitely worth waiting two hours in the pouring rain for a spot in the pit.
I am officially a FreeFest convert and I look forward to next year’s event. Though there are a few organizational issues that Virgin Mobile needs to work on, the great audience experiences outweigh them. In “The John Wayne,” Little Green Cars sings about how it is easy to fall in love. I realize now that they were talking about how easy it is to fall in love with FreeFest.
