I was worried about The Offspring’s live set. I feared they were going to play most of their newer material but they proved me wrong. Busting out tracks from their catalog, primarily older hits, they punk rockers pounded though an amazing set keeping it mostly old school. “Keep Em Separated,” “Gone Away,” and “Why Don’t You Get A Job” were three of the many tracks they dished out I found myself singing along to. The Offspring were one of the surprise highlights of the day, I was not expecting such a solid set.
Chuck Berry & The Silver Beats shared a set on the South Stage with the Japanese Beatles tribute act played for about thirty minutes before they exited the stage to allow Mr. Chuck Berry to grace his presence. Chuck Berry, one of the founders of rock 'n' roll, may be up there in age but they guy can still play. At times he looked a little spaced out during songs like “Johnny B Goode” but still put on a great show. I am happy to say I have seen Chuck Berry live and will not be forgetting about it anytime soon.
The Foo Fighters and Jack Johnson closed down the first day of the Virgin Fest on both sides of the race track. I am a Foo Fighter fan for life so I already had my evening planned out. Dave Grohl took stage and blasted through what I can now say is one of my top five favorite live shows. For over two hours the band rocked out to the fans with songs from their entire history. Not only were they amazing live, they were also hilarious with Dave Grohl dedicating “Skin & Bones” to “the kids in the rave tent” and then teasingly stated that the Foo Fighters would be playing a secret set in the dance tent on Sunday at 3pm (he admitted it was a joke).
Dave Grohl was so full of vigor taking full advantage of the stage running back and forth giving every close concert goers a fair chance to check him out. Oliver Tyler Hawkins (as Dave Grohl came clean to the crowd was his full name) destroyed the drum set for an astonishing solo and then there the greatest triangle solo ever, making this my favorite set of the day.
Foo Fighters Set List (I missed a couple of songs but this is a gist of their show):
Article comments
1 - Jordan Richardson
Wasn't STP there?
2 - Sandra Possing
I have to say, I was very impressed with the green aspect of the festival as well. Hopefully all festivals in the future will follow this example and build on it.