Now it's raining and the crowd is scattering, seeking shelter in the shade tents. I saw two guys -- both about 18 or so -- rolling in the mud. They looked drunk.

I just caught Velvet Revolver's set on the south stage. Very strong show. It's the first on the national tour behind Libertad, the supergroup's tight new album. The band rocked as if the guys had something to prove. And maybe they do. Libertad is the follow-up to the quintet’s multi-platinum debut, 2004’s Contraband.

During the well-paced hourlong set, Velvet Revolver dipped almost equally into both albums, opening the show with the rollicking "Let It Roll," the first song on the new release. The steely approach of lead singer Scott Weiland doesn’t always mesh with the high-powered playing of his bandmates. But he is a charismatic frontman, and he shone on the surging rock ballad, "Fall to Pieces," a big hit from Contraband.

Posted by Rashod Ollison at 8:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Posted by Rashod Ollison at 7:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Back from the Wu-Tang Clan show. Was it actually a show? More like 10 guys lumbering around the stage shouting rhymes in mikes that cut in and out. 

Even if the sound equipment was pristine, I don't think it would have saved the rambling performance. The group, which included high-profile members Method Man and Ghostface Killa, barrelled through its greatest hits, including "Protect Ya Neck" and "Sucker M.C.s."

Posted by Rashod Ollison at 7:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

The Charm City Rollergirls are back at Virgin Festival for a second year, and they're really liking the changes. For one, they're better promoted and have a better position on the festival grounds. And second, "There's way less groping," says Raven "Large Marge" Baker, 25 of Baltimore, adding that the crowd is a lot more mellow and a lot less drunk this time around.

When they're not performing, they're rolling around the festival grounds, which definitely has its advantages, even though they wish there was more asphalt. "Even the grass is fun to roll around on," Melanie "Minerva VaVoom" Zeigler, 27 of Baltimore. "It's just the sand pits that suck."

Posted by Tim Swift at 5:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

The music today so far hasn't been very thrilling. Spoon gave a loose-limbed performance that felt more like a rehearsal than an actual show. The music, though, wasn't too bad. The beats were tense, the guitar chords choppy. But the quartet needed to tighten up the act.

Panic! At the Disco gave a blah show. Why oh why did the band cover "The Weight," one of the most overrated songs of the late '60s? Everybody, including Aretha Franklin and the Staple Singers, has done the song. And if those legendary acts weren't able to add interesting to it, what made the guys of Panic think they could?

Posted by Rashod Ollison at 5:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

With a festival this big, sometimes you gotta have wheels.

Warren Polinsky is on his second day of his job as a pedicab driver, and he didn't know what he was getting himself into. He's been pedaling festivalgoers everywhere from the South Stage to the Port-O-Potties since 10 this morning, and he's pretty much exhaussted.

He's on until about 8 p.m., but in the meantime, Warren has a new fare. A surly, drunken guy who insists on calling him Brian needs several attempts to get on the cab. He falls twice, saying, "Call me Grandma!" as his pants dropped to his ankles. He pulls them back up and at long last, successfully gets in the cab.

Finally, a colleague takes the drunken mess off his hands so Warren can get a much-needed break.

"I'm really exhausted," he says again with a defeated look as he pedals away.

Posted by Tim Swift at 5:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

With thousands of fans and tons of trash, Virgin Festival organizers are literally putting the crowd to work.

I realized this as I saw a girl in designer sunglasses, a tube top and hippie skirt trudging her way around the outside of the dance tent grabbing beer cups and water bottles along the way. Laura Tugwell, 19 of Knoxville, Tenn., wasn't doing this out of the goodness of her heart, but for free T-shirts.

She and her friends had a haul of about three bags worth of items. For every 15 items, they earn a point. For a certain number of points, a T-shirt was the goal. You could also get hats, pins, etc., a la the Chuck-E-Cheese prize model.

Come for the music, stay for the trash-picking. 

Posted by Tim Swift at 5:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

34-year-old Nathan Brant came all the way to Baltimore's Virgin Festival from Akron, Ohio, and he brought a chair.

Relying on his background as a backpacker, Nathan brought a foam Crazy Creek backpack that turns into a chair, becoming the envy of all the concertgoers around him. They were all making due with crummy blankets.

"It's pretty awesome. I didn't bring it yesterday, and I regretted it," he said. Brant says the backpack-turned-chair is more commonplace at crunchier festivals like Lilith Fair, and he hasn't spotted another one here today.

And if you're interested, they are about $35 at camping stores, Brant says.  

Posted by Tim Swift at 4:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

It's overcast, but that didn't stop some people from feeling the pain of sunburn.

Eric North, 24 of Baltimore, started his day around 10:30 tailgating in the parking lot. It wasn't until a few moments ago when people started asking to take pictures of his back that he realized that something had gone horribly wrong.

"I put on sunscreen, but I guess I only got my head and my shoulders," he said as a sharp pink line demarcated between his pasty sholders and his fried lower half. "Now that you say something, it feels like someone smacked me on my back."

Posted by Tim Swift at 4:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

TRL darlings Panic! at the Disco are in full swing on the North Stage, playing their hit singles, but also, strangely, the "We've Got More Bars Than Anyone" song from Cingular (aka "The Wait" by the Band).

In any case, the crowd (at least the ones not swarming Paco the Bush) is happy, including a woman swaying happily -- and unsteadily -- with a beer in each hand and screaming. 

P.S. It's starting to spit rain, so mud might be the next obstacle. 

Posted by Tim Swift at 4:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Over by the dance tent, people were lining up to get their picture take with a bush. No, not a member of the First Family, but a man clad in Pippi-Longstocking style tights on his bottom half and as a plant on his top half.

Paul "Paco" Fish, 25 of Baltimore, performed as a half-man, half-woman stilt-walker yesterday at the festival, but he says he prefers his job as a walking foliage today even though the heat is almost unbearable.

"You'd think it wouldn't be that bad since I'm under all this shade," he quipped. "But it's worth it. People get so happy. They scream, 'Yay, bush!' I've been taking pictures all day."

Indeed, flashes were going off throughout the interview, with some of the crowd giving Paco more attention than Panic! at the Disco, which was performing on stage.

He added that the highlight off the day was getting on the stage with Brazilian electro-rockers CSS (mentioned in an earlier post by pop music critic Rashod Ollison). 

Posted by Tim Swift at 4:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

With the sun covered by clouds, the medical tent has been seeing a lot less action today.

At one tent, only one of 10 cots was occupied by a sad-looking soul covered in a blanket. The first-aid crews said today's primary factor was alcohol, not the heat. With about 150 cases total, which includes even minor things such as blisters, there's been a huge drop from yesterday's 500 cases.

While about 300 people were sent to hospitals yesterday, only a handful were transported to Sinai Medical Center today.

But the first aid crew is ready for more, with cots and even IV drips ready for the intoxicated they expect later in the day.

Most of the crew had the same sentiment: It's not that bad today ... yet.

UPDATE at 5:40 p.m.: The EMTs say the numbers have risen to about 200, but it's mostly scrapes, headaches and blisters. Even the alcohol-related cases are slowing down. The Baltimore police officers say the crowd has been pretty calm and controlled, with no major security problems.

Posted by Tim Swift at 4:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Tim Swift here ... Rashod has graciously allowed me to steal, I mean borrow, his laptop. I'm here looking for the offbeat. Well, nothing gets more offbeat than Virgina Beach's Patrick Wrye. "Still partying hard at 24," Wyre has the frat boy look down pat. Aviator glasses. Check. Cup of warm beer. Check. Crazy possibly made up story about his wild night. Check.

Wrye says he decided to crash in his car after last night's Modest Mouse show. But he wasn't counting on getting towed -- with him in the car. Luckily, he says he talked his way out after a few feet of towing. About 3 a.m., he finally got a hotel room. "Not to be a ... hobo." Classy.

More to come -- that was just my first 20 minutes here.

Posted by Rashod Ollison at 3:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Just saw Regina Spektor, the Russia-born, New York-raised singer-songwriter whose latest album, Begin to Hope, garnered rave reviews this year. I was indifferent to the album, and her performance didn't move me much, either. She accompanied herself on piano in a style that brought to mind Carole King and Laura Nyro. Although Spektor is a fine singer and pianist, her whimsical songs are too quirky for their own good. She seemed to favor showing off her broad style than letting a song form and breathe.

I didn't stick around too long for her. I saw most of Matisyahu, the acclaimed Jewish reggae singer-songwriter whose latest album, 2006's Youth, brought him a flood a mainstream attention and went gold. He's another artist whose music doesn't exactly thrill me. But his show was energetic, the music crackling with more life than it does on Youth. His tight six-piece band thickened the lilting reggae rhythms with lots of fuzz guitar and busy, funky percussion. Matisyahu, telephone pole-tall and lanky with a long beard, sang and rapped songs of political and spiritual uplift. He bounced around the stage and had the huge crowd bouncing, too. 

Posted by Rashod Ollison at 2:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

The acts I've caught so far on the second day of Virgin Festival by Virgin Mobile have been surreal. Granted, it's early in the day, and there's plenty more music from an array of indie and mainstream artists, including Interpol, Panic! At the Disco and the Smashing Pumpkins. But overall, today's lineup seems to come from a more specialized bag, because few if any of today's acts make concessions to mainstream pop.

CSS, the Brazilian electro-rock act, was today's first act on the north stage. Talk about weird. But the show was fun, and the stage set included plenty of multi-colored balloons. The lead singer, Lovefoxxx, was decked out in a gold catsuit adorned with blue, green and purple geometric shapes. Singing in English and Portuguese, she bounced around the stage flanked by two dancing shrubs. (These, of course, were band members covered in thick greenery. All you saw were their legs.)

I thought it was all really funny, like a strange musical dream come to life. The music, though, was accessible, a spirited update of '80s synth-pop.

I also saw Baltimore native Dan Deacon in the dance tent. Another weird but fun show. The audience was just as much a part of his show as the music. Self-deprecatingly funny, Deacon rolled around in the dust and made the audience form a circle in which attendees were asked  to "dance sassy." It all felt like a bizarre kids show where the lovable host occasionally cussed and made attendees dance to his manic music, which pulses with hyper beats and squishy synths.

More on him in my review on Monday. And more on the festival later.

Posted by Rashod Ollison at 1:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

By far, LCD Soundsystem gave the best performance on the South Stage yesterday. Their thumping dance punk got more people moving than any other band on that stage. I felt sorry for indie rockers TV on the Radio, who had to follow LCD's edgy dance jams with atmospheric indie rock.

TV on the Radio gave a solid performance, with plenty of atmospheric distortion and punchy vocals, but it was almost a let down after seeing LCD Soundsystem.

Modest Mouse went on 10 minutes late, which is fine at a club show, but made a big difference at the Virgin Fest, where every minute counts. So instead of an hour and 15 minute set, we only got an hour, including encore. But maybe that was all we needed.

Singer/guitarist Isaac Brock gave the craziest performance of the day. That guy really gets into his music: His stare was so intense it seemed like his eyes were popping out of his head, and sometimes his whole body shook with the force of his music like he was having a seizure on stage.

They made a mistake by playing both their hits ("Float On" and "Dashboard") in the middle of their set. People started to leave soon after, and by the encore, the crowd was thinning out fast.

Posted by Sam Sessa at 12:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

I've been sweating all day out here at Virgin fest, and I stink so bad that I don't even wanna get in my new car (a beautiful Mazda 6 I named Mavis Staples). But the day hasn't been so bad. Just hotter than I imagine hell to be.

I just caught the Beastie Boys, and they rocked hard. (Be sure to catch my review in tomorrow's Metro section.) I'm about to catch the Police, who's closing tonight. (See that in Monday's paper.) Then I'm outta here. Oh! I can't wait to see my shower.

(Associated Press photo)

Posted by Rashod Ollison at 7:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Man it's brutal out here ... just saw one guy collapse during Amy Winehouse's set and ran to the guard rail to get some help. Shirts are off, sunscreen is on and people are sweaty and sunburned.

I'm guzzling bottle after bottle of water ... had an OK pit beef sandwich a little while back, but hot festival food really doesn't sound that appealing when it's almost in the triple digits out here. 

Posted by Sam Sessa at 3:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
                    

I'm back from Amy Winehouse's set. Great band: nine pieces, including two bright and punchy horns. Too bad the star's performance was mostly listless. Winehouse didn't appear to be "altered," but she didn't seem to be all there either as she coasted through her 50-minute set.

I'll have more details in my review.

(Photo by Christopher T. Assaf // Sun Photographer)

Posted by Rashod Ollison at 3:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

The crowd is swelling about an hour into the festival, and all seems peaceful so far. Fountains of Wayne got everything jumping at noon on the huge north stage. I'm not very familiar with the band, and I wasn't converted after its 45-minute performance. But the guys played a succinct set that easily tossed together elements of punk, progressive rock, even country, and it was glossed over with a definite pop sheen. (Sun features reporter Sam Sessa, who's sitting behind me, his shirt and hair soaked with sweat, will elaborate more on that performance in his blog.)

Cheap Trick (including Rick Nielsen, at left) is on now, and I'm not interested. Amy Winehouse, one of today's big draws, is on next. Let's hope she shows up lucid and sober.

(Associated Press photo)  

Posted by Rashod Ollison at 1:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
                    

Veteran pop rockers Fountains of Wayne got the festival rolling with a tight 45-minute set on the North Stage. They were pretty energetic, considering it was noon on a hot Saturday.

"I haven't been awake this early since the '80s," said lead singer/guitarist Chris Collingwood. Though most of the crowd didn't dance, a bunch of them bobbed their heads and sang along with the band.

Collingwood's voice started off rough and nasally but warmed up a couple songs into the set. The backing harmonies were spot-on. They played "Hackensack," "Strapped for Cash," "Hey Julie" and "Mexican Wine," among others. Before starting "Mexican Wine," Collingwood had a great exchange with the audience:

Collingwood: I had to quit drinking.

Audience: BOOOO

Collingwood: I started taking drugs though.

Audience: YEAH!

Collingwood: You know, Tylenol, Advil ...

Audience: ...

Collingwood: This is a drinking song, though.

Audience: YEAH! 

Posted by Sam Sessa at 1:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

It will be a miracle if I make it through today without having a heatstroke. At 11 a.m., it is a sweltering 90 degrees outside already.

Organizers are roaming around the festival grounds, some riding golf carts, others on foot. Sound guys are balancing PA levels in droning monotone: "Hey ... hey ... check ... check ..." While the general vibe seems to be business as usual, there is an undeniable sense of anticipation, both for the music and the sheer size of the event which starts in an hour.

With no fans and only a whisper of a breeze, the press tent is almost unbearable. I'm sweating through my shirt, and my press sticker keeps peeling off. A few minutes ago a horsefly mosquito with a nealy two-inch wingspan came at me fast, but I deflected it with my baseball cap and then crushed it with a water bottle. I was lucky -- those buggers bite you and they leave a welt the size of a 50 cent piece. Gotta love Pimlico.

Posted by Sam Sessa at 11:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

OK. I just got logged on here in this oven called the press tent at the Virgin Festival by Virgin Mobile. But I came prepared. I guess. I have a quart of chilled Smart Water, but I haven't even been here for an hour and it's halfway gone. I have fan, an umbrella and plenty of sun block. But I still think I'm gonna die out here. Lord have mercy!

I must say that so far everything seems tightly organized as stage hands and various festival workers zoom by on scooters. Check in was a breeze. Too bad there isn't one in this press tent.

I'm gonna walk around and maybe grab something to eat before all the fans rush Pimlico in the next hour or so.

Posted by Rashod Ollison at 11:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)