2013 Virgin Mobile Free Fest | The Review | 9.25.13
The 2013 edition of the Virgin Mobile Freefest proved to be a test of true grit, indie nostalgia and monsoonal dance techniques. With years of experience under their belt and a high propensity for goodwill, the awesome peeps at Virgin Mobile put together another super solid one day line-up, leaning heavy on electro goodness while laying on a balanced dose of indie rock to help enhance the taste. Virgin Mobile did all this for FREE, continuing to support the great cause of bringing awareness to youth homelessness, while raising funds for its RE*Generation Project. The culmination of all this though, was a soulful return to the musical roots of rock and roll.
Like with any festival, the build up and anticipation almost always supersedes the outcome. This is often due in part to the dishing out of crappy set times, occasionally running into extreme weather conditions and an every so often poor performance. It’s an unknown mixed bag when you drop the credit card on ‘em to buy a ticket - lucky for us - this weekend was on the house, so whatever preconceived anxiety we had got thrown out the window, with the only thing left to do on our end was enjoy ourselves!
Washed Out
And that we did, catching Washed Out play to a decent crowd early in the day at the danceforest, who was getting used to the new stage placement on the festival grounds and wondering if the trees at the old spot were jealous they weren’t almost getting cut down by the sound of heavy electronic music and laser beams piercing through the leaves. But Washed Out was more subdued, playing a mix of new songs off of Paracosm, which lead some in the crowd to yell out, “play that Portlandia song!” before they started reaching back into their older stuff. Great start to the day to say the least.
This kicked off what turned out to be a rock n roll infused afternoon that included for us, the highly impressive likes of Little Green Cars, rocking out some “John Wayne,” Black Joe Lewis, and The Avett Brothers, as every band focused on the authenticity of their genuine sounds.
Black Joe Lewis
Specifically Black Joe Lewis, who brought a top notch crew of brass to support his narley, nasty, rawfully dirty riffs, giving us the feeling, as if for a second, 90’s hip hop artist Mystikal had reemerged onto the scene as Jimmy Hendrix. Whatever you call him, Black Joe takes the soul of James Brown, guitar licking bravado of a young Hendrix and infuses it into a true gritting bluesy jam fest. And that’s just what we’re calling Mr. Lewis moving forward - “True Grit.”
The Avett Brothers
After the emotional gut check that was City and Colour ’s set, the surprise of the day came from the Brothers Avett, a band known for their melancholy album releases and folksy aesthetic (our experience with them is tied more to songs coming from a disc or a record than a live performance) when they dropped an energy pumping set that can’t be described from a simple record spin, but rather needs to be experienced in person. Mixing in their signature bluegrass, country and rock melodies, they connected to the crowd with an authenticity that’s seldom seen these days in rock music, and could only be felt from a true musicians passion for their craft and their attention to detail in presentation - just another reason we feel that this genre is in great hands.
Pretty Lights
While we enjoyed this renaissance of rock music, the big capper was Mr. Derek Vincent Smith himself. Who no matter the circumstance, never disappoints. Tying together magically, old school jams with new catalog hits, the man put on a show that transcended weather and mood, to give the audience the feeling of invincibility while doing rain dances to the music gods. It was intense, it was surreal, it was sweet soul.
And even though Pretty Lights signed us off for the evening, it was a day filled with the rejoicing notion that the soul of rock roll music is what ultimately shines through, regardless of what’s going in the environment around you. It’s what brings us together, while simultaneously preventing us from falling apart. “Hey Hey, my my, Rock N Roll will never die.“
Truth.
Writers | Rene Ramirez + Ditto Ramirez
Pretty Lights
MGMT
Dance Forest Action
Little Green Cars
