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Midtown Festival, Atlanta, GA 1997The Music Midtown Festival was three days of great music, food and drink, art, culture, and large, interesting crowds. Held in the Midtown area of Atlanta, the festival ended up attracting many more than the promoters had originally planned. The weather early Saturday morning did pose an initial threat to the good times, but by mid afternoon, the sun was shining and there was a crisp breeze to keep the thousands of bodies cooled down even in the most vicious of mosh pits. Although it was very crowded and at times obnoxious, it was still a great time with a diverse set of bands playing on eight different stages. Of course, my main reasons for attendance were Barenaked Ladies and Ben Folds Five, but I also enjoyed seeing several other acts that I will describe below. I was only able to attend for one of the three days, Saturday, but that was OK, because that lineup held my favorites. My friend and I arrived at the festival at around 3pm, and walked around the grounds to scan the situation. We first caught a band called The Nields that was an interesting group composed of two sisters, Katryna and Nerissa Neilds, David Nields (Nerissa's husband, he took HER name), Dave Chalfant, bassist, and Dave Hower, drummer. They comprise a folksy alternative sound that is predominated by acoustic guitars. With clever lyrics on songs like "My Best Black Dress" and "Gotta Get Over Greta" (also the title of their recent album), this group was musically solid and entertaining. They played mostly original music, but humorously stuck in a Beatles tune, "Lovely Rita", saying that their record label asked them to record it to help out a struggling British band. Currently hailing from Connecticut, this group combines the energy of current acts like Counting Crows and Natalie Merchant, with the folksy sounds of the sixties in acts like Joni Mitchell. Check out their web site with the link above, 'cause it's cute, funny, and informative, and gives a better insight on their already enormous popularity. The next act we caught was the 80s pop band, Modern English , from the UK. Yes, they are still together, even though they were virtually a one hit wonder in the US with "I Melt With You" from 1983, which is now used to hawk burgers for Burger King. Although they played a mix of old and new numbers, you knew the crowd was waiting for the finale of that one song. So did the lead singer as he cringed, "This is what you've been waiting for Atlanta". Oh, the curse of the successful pop tune. The only other song I recognized was "Hands Across the Sea". The next act was the Belgian group, K's Choice with current hits "Not an Addict" and "Don't Take it Personally" from their Paradise in Me CD. The lead singer, Sarah Bettens, has a haunting voice that guides you through the depressing lyrics. This band has been receiving extensive commercial airplay recently, mostly due to their exposure by touring with acts like Alanis Morrisette and performing radio-sponsored events with No Doubt, The Wallflowers, and Better Than Ezra. So, as the K's Choice crowd disseminates, we make our move to get as close as possible for Ben Folds and BNL. The crowd was a bit rowdier up front than is typically at either of these groups' shows, but the festival format brought out all kinds. The beer was free flowing, so the crowd was primarily young and drunk. Nevertheless, we get a decent spot up near the front and are treated to a great performance when Ben Folds and gang hit the stage. Having just seen these guys a few weeks ago, I am ready with newly learned lyrics and band information. (See my review of the Houston Ben Folds Show). The lineup is Ben Folds on grand piano, Robert Sledge on bass and Darren Jessee on drums. They opened with "Philosophy" and proceeded to play my favorites "Kate" and "Brick", which was slightly disappointing due to the inappropriate crowd surfing that ensued even during the slower numbers. However, as they closed with "Underground" the crowd went nuts for the line "Show me the mosh pit". Ben Folds sings poignantly of youth, alienation, and fitting in, within clever, contemporary references. Their sound is so unique and full of energy, with Ben supplying piano riffs that remind you of Billy Joel and Mozart at the same time. Although there is no lead guitar, Robert's bass style is so accomplished that he supplies more depth than just the average bass line. This band is poised on huge success as they appeared on last night's MTV Alternative Nation and will be coming up on the Jenny McCarthy show. Sounds like they're in good with the big guns at MTV. Finally the men that are Barenaked Ladies hit the stage after a brief delay with a technical problem. Playing an abbreviated set for the festival format, they opened with "Life in a Nutshell", and continued to play the favorites, "Hello City", "Great Provider", "Bryan Wilson", "Alternative Girlfriend", "Jane", and "If I Had $1M". The crowd was dancing and singing along to most songs, but mostly got into the recent hit "The Old Apartment". The guys were on as usual with their Atlanta banter, making fun of all the pointy buildings in the area (Pointlanta) and calling out to the people who had climbed trees to see the show. Ed started the banter with describing their premature announcement before the amp was fixed, like Evil Kneivel taking a test run up the ramp before making a jump. Of course, Steve lit into a song about Evil Kneivel, Robbie Kneivel, and eventually worked into Robbie Benson. Ed got the already insane crowd fired up when he told them to give the finger to rock bands when they liked them, so he proceeded to get flipped off for the entire show. He also directed the crowd to flip off the tree people. Ed started the first verse of $1M replacing the words with the lyrics from "I Melt With You" (see Modern English above). Finally, during the closing Barenaked Rap, in addition to the Biz Marque and Spice Girls that they have been doing, they added Tyler doing "Firestarter" (Prodigy), but now having cut out the "Hey Something Spanish" (I missed Jim and Tyler doing the Macarena). Due to the amp delay, they were cut short, so obviously missing were my favorite, "These Apples" and "Box Set". Good thing I get to see a full length BNL show in DC this Wed. As always, BNL was just the best, completely funny and full of energy. I met some very nice BNL fans during this show, so hello to John, Stacey, and Kevin. If you're interested, check out my reviews of other BNL shows at Barenaked Corner. By this time, the crowd was so large and insane that we opted to head out for a bathroom and water break, thus relinquishing out primo spot for the Squirrel Nut Zippers. Unfortunately, with the 150,000 other people that wanted to see this show, I was not able to really get a good feel for their show. I heard several songs that I recognize from the "Hot" CD including their closing number "Hell". Their stage show seemed to be excellent with lights and costumes that reflected their New Orleans jazz style (although these guys are from Chapel Hill, NC). I will definitely have to see them next time around, hopefully in a less crowded format. During the day, we got to hear pieces of some other good acts including Edwin McCain and Shock Lobo. There was just so much going on that you couldn't take it all in. I also missed some good acts on the days that I didn't make it to the festival, like Better Than Ezra, Cake, Jump Little Children, and Jonny Lang. However, I couldn't have had a better time, and definitely recommend this show to all music lovers in the southeast. Maybe next year, they will move the location to a larger area!!! On That Note, I'm outta here...... C |
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