Sunday 30/09/09 Virgin Mobile Freefest @ Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, MD

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I packed my rainboots for Virgin Mobile Freefest but was surprised by beautiful sun, while the grounds of Merriweather Post Pavilion (made famous by Animal Collective) provided shady space for listening to the diverse acts. The Pavilion Stage line-up focused on the mainstream, while the West Stage was a mix of indie and...Public Enemy. Still trying to figure that out.

The first band I caught was Taking Back Sunday, who were the day’s biggest disappointment. Plagued by fuzzy sound that was further marred by sludgy dance tent echo, their songs seemed largely the same, a mix of unclear guitars and middling vocals. Even the afternoon sun was against them; the Pavilion’s shadow was so deep that the band was completely obscured for lawn viewers, eliminating the chance for a redeeming stage presence.

Next up were Jet, who topped Taking Back Sunday but didn’t thrill. Their sound quality was far better, but it couldn’t negate the fact that the majority of their songs sounded similar. Crowd pleasers like ‘Are You Gonna Be My Girl’ and ‘Cold Hard Bitch’ delivered, but new tracks fell flat.

Jet were followed by The Bravery. Their new songs sounded similar to the old, so favourites like ‘An Honest Mistake’ carried the set. The Bravery are technically solid but I found that they lacked a crucial energy live. Moments like the sharp opening bass line of  ‘Believe’ drew me in, but others, like a loping version of “Time Won’t Let Me Go,’ didn’t hold my attention. One interesting moment - Sam Endicott introduced new track ‘Jack O’Lantern Man’ as “a song about a guy I fucking hate”. Still curious who that is.

Awaiting Weezer, the crowd was treated to the spectacle of two parachutists jumping from a helicopter onto the roof of the pavilion, where they shared champagne with unexpected guest Richard Branson. The parachutists and Weezer were the biggest surprises of the night; the band nailed their set with upbeat energy and technical prowess. Opening with a snippet of ‘War Pigs,’ they moved to ‘Hash Pipe’ and ‘Undone (The Sweater Song)', perfect tracks to engage the expanding crowd. New single ‘(If You’re Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To’ was enjoyably up-tempo and followed by classics like ‘Buddy Holly’ and ‘Say It Ain’t So'.

Memories of middle school prompted me to stay for Blink-182 instead of catching Girl Talk (a terrible mistake). My notes read, in full, “Damn annoying”. Blink’s musical skill was mediocre at best and Tom DeLonge revealed in childish stage banter that revolved around how many obscenities he could fit into an intro. (The songs were not as “fucking awesome” as he thought.) After enduring a few tracks including ‘Rock Show', I cut my losses and left for Franz Ferdinand.

The criminally underpopulated West Stage hosted Franz’s set, which could be faulted only for excessive smoke machine use, obscuring louchely energetic frontman Alex Kapranos and guitarist Nick McCarthy as sharp opener ‘This Fire’ got the crowd moving. Standouts included the terrific ‘No You Girls', a stomp through ‘Take Me Out', and  ‘Outsiders', which saw the entire band attacking the drum kit for an extended outro. ‘Turn It On’ and ‘Tell Her Tonight’ lagged, but the encore solidified the band’s place as my favourite of the day. Energetic ‘Michael’ and ‘Darts of Pleasure’ preceded a stunning version of ‘Lucid Dreams', while the sprawling keyboard solo that concluded the track might have challenged casual listeners, it was a joy for fans. Kapranos and McCarthy created extended waves of sound on multiple keyboards, layering beats carefully for nearly fifteen minutes before letting the track fade to drums as waves of residual smoke roiled across the stage.