Virgin Mobile FreeFest at the Merriweather Post Pavilion

On September 21, Virgin Mobile FreeFest took place at the Merriweather Post Pavilion. The steady rain and the cold did not stop the tens of thousands of people in attendance from gathering to appreciate one of the most impressive lineups ever presented (entirely for free!) by Virgin Mobile FreeFest. As a first-time music festival goer myself, I, along with the thousands of others lacking umbrellas and raincoats, was entirely unprepared for the muddy chaos that was to follow. Strangely enough, however, I felt that the weather brought the concert goers together in a way that could not have been achieved by bright sunshine and dry clothes. We, as a collective whole, came together to appreciate music for a solid 12 hours, even in spite of the rain and the misery.

My friends and I drove to Merriweather around mid-afternoon, sadly missing two of the most anticipated acts of the festival, Sky Ferreira and Chvrches, while arriving just in time for Icona Pop. I had always found Icona Pop's DGAF anthem, "I Love It," annoying (let's be real here--you'd care if you crashed your car into a bridge), but the Swedish duo surprised me with catchy pop tunes that infused the audience with an infectious energy and the uncontrollable need to dance.

One of the highlights of FreeFest was Kaskade's set.

I can honestly say it was Kaskade's performance that began my forays into the EDM world (more on that in a later post). It was through the mist that Kaskade began to weave his magic, his music evolving and building, tweaked and reworked for the live performance. For a solid sixty minutes, the thousands of people packed into West stage lost themselves in his music and as Kaskade brought the performance to a close with a mashup of "Turn It Down" and Martin Garrix's "Animals", we were all thrust back into reality; it was pouring and it was chilly. What do we do now?

FreeFest ended the night with closers, Vampire Weekend and Madeon.

I'd always been a fan of Vampire Weekend--I easily consider "Modern Vampires of the City" one of the top albums of 2013 (more on that in a later post), but boy was I surprised by Vampire Weekend's performance. I just wish mp3 recordings could do Ezra Koenig's live vocals justice. Just as some beautiful people are not photogenic, studio recordings can not come close to capturing the intangible quality that defines Koenig's stunning vocal ability. I left Vampire Weekend's performance early to finish off the night with Madeon and I still regret doing so.

It was amidst the trees at Dance Forest that the crowd fist-pumped to Madeon's set. And as the audience cheered and danced during his unplanned encores, I felt a special sense of unity.

We braved the weather and we thrived. 

The XX at the nTelos Wireless Pavilion

On September 20, The XX performed at the nTelos Wireless Pavilion. I'm still not quite sure who the opening act was, but after about an hour of the opener and an intermission that lasted over an hour itself, you could almost feel the collective restlessness buzzing through the audience by the time The XX finally came onstage.





In retrospect, the concert was everything you could have expected with a band like The XX. I do remember feeling a distinct sense of disappointment with their performance--their lateness tainted the entire show with the slight feeling that they did not truly appreciate their fans. Despite all that, I think I walked out the venue satisfied all the same.

There was a special kind of intimacy between Romy Madley Croft and Oliver Sim; I felt like I was witnessing musical sex as they swayed back and forth, walking slowly towards each other with a certain deliberateness and chemical pull.

But that's exactly the kind of mood evoked by The XX's songs. When they ended the show with "Intro" and "Angels", I almost felt like crying.

Muse at the Verizon Center

On September 11, 2013, Muse performed at the Verizon Center as part of their "The 2nd Law" world tour. I actually had not planned on attending until maybe the night before. The concert took place on a Wednesday night and the tickets were maybe sixty or so dollars, but these were measly excuses at best--this was perhaps the best impulse decision I've ever made.



I wish I could begin to convey the true awesomeness of the performance and I do not use the term, "awesome," lightly. Even if we were to completely ignore Matthew Bellamy's unparalleled falsetto, Muse spared no expense for its stage effects. A pyramid of screens took its place at the center of the stage and these screens had a life of its own, consuming the band as it sunk and revealing the band as it ascended. Synchronized lyrics flashed across the screens and I suppose you don't even have to question the presence of laser and strobe lights with this kind of show.



Matthew Bellamy himself had a unique kind of stage presence. His skill with both the guitar and the piano, together with his totally distinct falsetto, inspires a sort of incredulity; how can one man be so talented?



As Bellamy got down on his knees and thrust his microphone into the crowd during "Starlight", I felt a certain sense of unity, a collective love for his music, the kind that can only be brought upon by thousands of people singing "Our hopes and expectations. Black holes and revelations," in unison.