And at 10:30 p.m., Virgin Fest 2008 has come to a close.
Kanye West ended 30 minutes past schedule, with an epic rendition of "Stronger" off Graduation after Nine Inch Nails and Armin Van Buurin both closed down shop promptly at 10 p.m.
Now, for the mad rush to the parking lots and the congestion on the small streets leading to Park Heights Avenue.
Kanye West was, expectedly, late to the stage.
But he opened with the song "Good Morning" off Graduation, which 92Q uses in their promos for "The Big Fat Morning Show." Coincidence? Probably. I can only assume his fashionably late entrance was because of Lil' Wayne throwing everyone off on the South stage.
But even when Stone Temple Pilots took the stage late on the North side of the infield, they still got off in time for Nine Inch Nails to kick off their Festival closing set only three minutes past schedule.
So for now, Trent Reznor and Co. tear through their industrial hits, even dabbling in tracks from the instrumental Ghosts I-IV; Kanye (not Kayne) West dazzles the crowd with his performance that is more style than substance; and Armin Van Buurin mixes beats for a conspicuously small crowd in the dance tent. And thousands in Charm City dance, head bang, and rave the night (and remainder of the weekend) away.
Remember the music videos for "Closer" and "The Perfect Drug?"
Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor looks like a totally different person now. He's clean cut with short hair and a little more weight on his upper torso. Somehow this makes his live show even freakier. I think it's because you don't expect the nasty nasty chorus to "closer" to come from a dude who could be your neighbor.
(Associated Press Photo of Trent Reznor in July)
Stopped by the dance tent on my way to see Nine Inch Nails. European mega DJ Armin Van Buren was playing mostly instrumental techno but the tent was only half full. He didn't seem to mind though. He kept thrusting his hands in the air and pointing or making devil horns. Rock on.
Bob Dylan, as per usual lately, didn't talk to the crowd at the South Stage, or even look at them, really. He came out, played his songs and then left. Regardless, he was a crowd pleaser.
Favorites like "It Ain't Me Babe" and ""Rainy Day Women # 12 & 35" were played with Dylan's new, more jazzy and less acoustic (he favors the keyboard these days) sound and the crowd was still hyped. Especially when he pulled out the harmonica.
So hyped, in fact, that some were attempting to inappropriately crowd-surf. Maybe they got their stages confused.
(An earlier version had an incorrect song title. The Sun regrets the error.)
The crowd wanted the hits, and the recently reunited Stone Temple Pilots delivered their brand of dirty '90s rock in spades.
Their short set was mostly a hit parade, with singer Scott Weiland strutting and spinning around the stage. Between songs, he semi-incoherently babbled until the band cut him off with the next tune.
Weiland on the crowd: "A sea of energy, a sea of synergy."
The band: "The beautiful thing about this band is we write the songs ourselves."
When was the last time they wrote a song together? What year is Weiland living in?
An energetic Moby has the dance tent in a bigger tizzy than it's been in all day. It's packed to the brim and it looks like everyone in there is just getting warmed up for his hour and a half long DJ set, ending at 8 p.m..
As the Black Keys neared the end of their rousing set, the band let the crowd know that they weren't exactly thrilled with Lil' Wayne's late arrival delaying their stage time.
"We have two more songs for you," lead singer and guitarist Dan Auerbach said. "You can thank Lil' Wayne for that one."
And then Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney stuck it to that proverbial man and played three more songs.
As they left the stage following their final song, the crowd responded with the chant "[Expletive] Lil' Wayne!"
Best Dressed
Zooey Deschanel: When she performed as the front-woman for She & Him earlier today, she wore a light, airy blue dress with a faux- flower in her hair that perfectly suited the band's light, airy tunes. The tambourine she was holding didn't make for a bad accessory.
Worst Dressed
Hollywood Undead: the entire band was decked out in 90s gear (baggy pants and tees), not to mention the creepy masquerade theme they had going on with bandit scarves and face paint.
Not Dressed
Iggy Pop.
Iggy Pop and the Stooges heated up the North Stage up just as it was cooling down outside. Iggy, classically shirtless, rebellious and potty-mouthed, was begging security to let crowd surfing fans on stage.
When they refrained, he came off the stage himself to greet them. He addressed the mob as Baltimore, D.C., and the "surrounding puddles of weirdness" before he launched into a set list comprised of classic tunes like "I Got a Right" and "Little Electric Chair."
It was definitely one of the most energetic and classically rock and roll shows of the festival on the North Stage (yesterday's headliners on that stage were much more mellow Wilco and Jack Johnson) and it left the crowd is more than warmed up for Stone Temple Pilots and Nine Inch Nails.
(Sun Photo by Algernia Perna)
I go to a concert to listen to music, not create my own. It's probably why I'm so against the idea of clapping along to songs. The artist is there to perform "their" songs; why go and mess with that?
With the weekend-long Festival, attendees are given the opportunity to create their own music, from clapping along to Andrew Bird to playing Guitar Hero in various vendor tents. But one of the more unique opportunities is Lemur: League of Electronic Musical Urban Robots, a Brooklyn-based group that blends music and art.
They have on display this weekend the intriguing Slime-O-Trons, which are MIDI controllers that employ black goo (for a lack of a better term) applied to copper nails. These generate a MIDI signal which is then sent to a computer and turned into a sound. The result can be quite refreshing and strikingly haunting at the same time.
According to artist Leif Krinkle, who helped fabricate the musical sculpture after it was conceived by Lemur founder and director Eric Singer, Festival-goers have been slightly reluctant to approach the newfound musical experience.
"People are hesitant to tough things," he said. "We're in a culture where we're taught it's not OK to touch things." And yet, fans have no problem reaching from the barricades to slap Iggy Pop in the chest.
There is a nice breeze and a great view of the South Stage atop the skate ramp at Virgin Fest according to Stephanie Murdoch.
The ramp is there as a part of the SkatePark of Baltimore fundraiser, which is raising money to build a legitimate skateboarding park within the city limits.
This is the second year they've been at the festival but they are making a lot more money this year due to a much better location.
"[Last year] we were in a ditch... it was really hard to build a ramp," says Murdoch, the organization's president. This year, with the new and improved spot, people have been throwing (sometimes literally) much more cash toward the cause.
"It's great to reach so many Baltimoreans," she says.
There are a mix of ages representing the crowd on the Pimlico tracks this year at Virgin Festival. Acts like Bob Dylan and Iggy and the Stooges are bringing in the older folks, while acts like Lil' Wayne and Paramore draw the teen crowds.
I didn't see the Teletubbies or The Wiggles on the schedule, but I've noticed that there are a lot of small children tagging along with their parents this year. Matt and Shannon Smith have their 9-month-old Dylan in tow, making sure to cover her ears with an overpoweringly large pair of headphones.
Shannon's advice for parents who didn't think to bring ear gear? "Stay far enough away from the stage... it's just not good for their hearing," she says.
It's about 4:05 p.m. and Lil' Wayne has yet to take the stage. He was set to go on at 3:50 p.m., with an hour alloted for his performance (the first in the increasingly longer sets throughout the day).
And people were concerned that Kanye West would be the late one, especially after his Bonnaroo performance.
After a few requests to speak more slowly, Allan Diu Ruggiero manages to say in broken English that he came all the way from France "just for see Kanye West."
He is one of a handful of concert goers that I have seen in Kanye-style sunglasses (I have no idea how they see out of those things) who are undoubtedly hoping that Kanye will let the fact that his name is spelled wrong on the program ("Kayne" West comes on right after Bob Dylan) slide.
If you are reading this, Kanye, Diu Ruggiero just wants to say, "I love Kanye West."
Map: Festival grounds
Rashod Ollison
Sam Sessa
