POPPED! Music Festival Review

       This past weekend (September 23-24) Philadelphia held one of its greatest music festivals of the year. Originally the event was supposed to take place at the FDR Park, but due to rain, the show was moved to Temple University's Liacouras Center. Not going to lie, switching the festival from outdoors to indoors put an initial damper on my overall experience, but luckily the music prevailed. On Friday the doors opened around 2pm, and several bands that played were: Company of Thieves, Panda Bear, The Hold Steady, Cage the Elephant, The Shins who headlined. The second day's lineup included: Mates of State, Foster the People, DJ ?uestlove (from The Roots), Pretty Lights, and Girl Talk. 

       

 

Foster the People performing- "Pumped up Kicks." This band attracted a ton of fans to attend the festival. If you haven't heard about them yet, be prepared for this bands take-off into the world of mainstream. 

My main reason for attending this show, as I discussed in my previous post, was to see The Shins, and boy did they absolutely, positively, put on an incredible show. Phenomenal, breath-taking, euphoric, etc... are words to better describe my experience. However, others might rate their time at the POPPED! Music Festival differently. 

One thing that I observed as did several other critics, was that many people attended the Festival Friday for not the headlining band, rather Cage the Elephant. As I will, Cage was magnificent. The energy and motion, lead singer, Matthew Schultz carried throughout the band’s performance had a powerful effect on the crowd. Everyone was moving, singing, jumping, throwing fists, it was great! One critic from Lehigh Valley/ Allentown (PA) Morning Call website recalls, “Of the other acts Saturday, Cage The Elephant was next best, with lead singer Matthew Shultz is constant motion (he stage-dived and crowd surfed twice in the first 10 minutes and four songs alone.” Although I tend to disagree, I was really blown away by Cage’s performance. Check out a favorite song of mine and best performance of theirs that night:

          Regardless of the festival's venue switch and lame crowd, POPPED! Music Festival was an experience that I am lucky to have been part of. The Shins are still an epic band in the indie-rock genre of music, and I cannot wait for them to release their new album come 2012!

If 'The Beatles' Were to Resurrect and Go on Tour...

       Around 1 o'clock in the morning I received a text message from a good friend. The text read, "Just wait for my news for you my friend." Her message was of high priority, and that became clear when my phone started ringing within seconds after reading her text. What she proceeded in telling me was that "The Shins," a favorite band of mine, is on tour again. "A favorite band of mine" is an understatement when describing my love for this band. Their music is the type that one could easily wake up to, stream all day long, and ultimately fall asleep to. I couldn't believe my ears. The rush of excitement upon hearing this news kept me up for a great portion of the night. The Shins released their last album, "Wincing the Night Away," in 2007, and haven't gone on tour in what feels like a century.

       On August 1st, the indie band announced that they would be going on tour, and on August 8th they kicked off their tour in Eugene, OR. Friday, September 23, The Shins are headlining the Popped! Music Festival at Franklin Delano Roosevelt Park in Philadelphia, PA. I have been in shock since the night my friend broke the news to me, and I don't think I will fully recover until I am physically at the festival hearing/feeling the airy, melodious, country-pop tunes from the incredibly talented band. A dream come true, much like the concept of The Beatles resurrecting and announcing that they are going on tour. Check out a favorite song of mine, titled "Kissing the Lipless," off their album "Chutes Too Narrow," released in 2003.