More star wattage, more choice, more tough choices. V-Mo Fest V. 3, Part II offered more of the same, and in this case, that’s a very good thing. In addition to the words and visuals you saw yesterday, today we’ve also got audio of several on-the-spot interviews Chris conducted at the festival.
Copious sound + vision follows!
Ace photographer DCist Kyle kicks it off:
I thought Sunday’s bill was much stronger and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club got things off to a great start. Their droney, feedback-drenched, psychedelic rock makes strange bedfellows with the noon-time sun, but it gave the crowd a chance to ease into all the rock acts yet to come on the North Stage that day. The short set time did wonders for them, forcing them to cut some of the filler they perform during their headlining tours and focus on their best cuts.
After a few songs I headed to the South Stage to catch The Go! Team, who’s stage act is the exact opposite of the rooted-in-place BRMC trio. With two drummers, multiple guitarists and a rapper, they had energy and and showmanship to spare. It did seem like they were playing to a backing track for a lot of the songs, but it was hard to take your eyes off of Ninja, the lead singer.
Shudder to Think looked and sounded like they haven’t missed a step, but the crowd — mostly teens waiting for the upcoming Paramore and Taking Back Sunday — weren’t very into them. Craig and Co. opened with “Red House” and soon followed with “Hit Liquor.” The two emo acts did nothing for me but at least they ran around on stage quite a bit, making for some good photos. She and Him were respectable, although a bit breezy, but Zooey Deschanel looked gorgeous in her bright blue outfit.
DCist Chris cuts in:
Yes, accolades all around for Zooey in blue. I was surprised by the strength of her pipes. This is a subject on which Reasonable People Can Disagree, but I thought her version of Smokey Robinson’s immortal “You Really Got a Hold on Me” was worthy of the memory of Smokey Robinson. (Wait, what? Smokey is still alive and suspiciously wrinke-free? Why yes, in fact. He’s playing Wolf Trap this week.)
