Tempe Music Festival - Friday Concert Review 04.03.2009
April 4, 2009 by FromTheCrowd
Filed under Concert Reviews
by Melanie Nelson, FromTheCrowd.com Contributor
I was definitely looking forward to this year’s Tempe Town Music Fest. Having never attended before, I fully intended on enjoying all the bands and making the most of the people watching available (and it was extensive). So was the extreme variety in dress code. I have to admit the attending an outdoor lawn concert dressed in a three inch skirt, tube tops and stilettos never occurred to me, but at least she didn’t have clothing to flap annoyingly in the breeze.
The high winds on .Friday did little to deter the multiple vendors. We’d arrived early enough to enjoy checking out the grounds as well as prime restroom locations. The Mentos folks were out in numbers forcing fresh breath upon everyone they met (I’m a renegade and stuck with my preferred fruit flavor). For all of those seeking out free shwag, they were certainly in luck with Dr. Pepper, College Times, Ben & Jerry’s, Barefoot Wine, Scion and many others on hand with their assortment of giveaways and tastings. I’d had a terrible Hitchcock flashback moment until I realized that the birds hurtling towards the earth were actually free T-shirts for the crowd.
But on to the music! This year’s Friday line up brought such groups as Cowboy Mouth, The Outlaws, Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers and Kid Rock.
Friday’s official reviewing day started with Cowboy Mouth, a departure from their usual Saturday listing. The bands energy, especially that of lead singer and drummer Fred was great. He worked hard to get the crowds energy up, but the post work Friday crowd didn’t really build that night until about 8:00p.m. though it was reportedly higher than in previous years.
I had the benefit of sitting back and enjoying the music with some serious hard core fans behind me. Rhonda, Wendy and Mitch had specifically come for Kid Rock and Cowboy Mouth and were at home fans; this was their first live concert for Cowboy Mouth and they were happily trying to keep the noise and energy level of the crowd up on their own. It was a great set of songs, though I was personally fond of the cover of Pink Floyd’s Another Brick in the Wall and Tell her You’re Sorry. Fred kindly also sang a Happy Birthday tribute to lead guitarist John along with the whole crowd (who may have feared not participating at this point).
As the wind in the evening picked up, there was surprisingly little concern over the swaying tons of suspended speakers. From our convenient location, we had a great view of them. Speaking of tickets, should you ever be pondering the relative value of a VIP ticket compared to the basic ticket, between covering food and drink costs, the ability to have a set of designated restrooms and the stage side viewing area totally make the extra cost entirely worth it.
The Outlaws were a pleasant surprise of songs that everyone has heard and enjoyed, but hadn’t quite realized who performed them. Having been a band since the ‘60’s, their fan base had a very wide range of people. John and Mike, a pair of twenty something fans sporting Outlaw tees were simply there to “hear some live shit”. But huddling in the warmth of the charity Circle K, I found an interesting story with Barb Fisher. Barb and her boyfriend were given a set of VIP tickets by Paul Henry. Paul and her boyfriend Bill Morey had grown up together in Northern Florida and hung out playing music together in high school. Bill even remembered when “Green Grass and High Tide” was written. At the time though, Bill had to inform Paul that while he could certainly play music, he couldn’t sing worth a damn. This may have been a last laugh type of moment.
Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers were on next to a crowd that had caught on to all the bands spirit and were happily waving their Mentos in time to the beat and I was tickled to see a member of The Outlaws hiding at the edge of the stage foot tapping along. I did leave early at this point and missed Kid, but his fans were certainly pouring through the gates in a partying state of mind. Saturday should prove to be even bigger than Friday…
Tempe Music Festival: Line Up is Set are you ready?
April 2, 2009 by FromTheCrowd
Filed under Past Events
Tempe Music Festival Line Up:
Friday, April 3
Circle K Main Stage
4:30 pm Doors Open
5:00 pm POP EVIL
5:45 pm COWBOY MOUTH
7:10 pm OUTLAWS
8:45 pm ROGER CLYNE & THE PEACEMAKERS
10:30 pm KID ROCK
Schedule / acts subject to change.
Red Bull Wake Lab
4:15 pm RED BULL AIR FORCE SKYDIVING DEMO
4:30 pm PRO WAKEBOARDING DEMO
5:00 pm PRO WAKEBOARDING DEMO
5:30 pm PRO WAKEBOARDING DEMO
6:00 pm PRO WAKEBOARDING DEMO
Schedule / acts subject to change.
Corona Cove &Barefoot Sand Bar
5:30 pm BIG BANG DUELING PIANOS
6:45 pm BIG BANG DUELING PIANOS
7:45 pm BIG BANG DUELING PIANOS
9:15 pm BIG BANG DUELING PIANOS
Schedule / acts subject to change.
Saturday, April 4
Circle K Main Stage
12:00 pm Doors Open
12:15 pm RED LETTER DRIVE
1:00 pm TELESCOPE
1:45 pm WENSDAY
2:30 pm TONGUE DRIED SUN
3:15 pm VAYDEN
4:30 pm SHINY TOY GUNS
5:45 pm MUTEMATH
7:00 pm TOM MORELLO:THE NIGHTWATCHMAN
8:10 pm HIGH SCHOOL SRP GARAGE BAND COMPETITION WINNER
8:35 pm ALL AMERICAN REJECTS
10:00 pm COLLEGE SRP GARAGE BAND COMPETITION WINNER
10:25 pm 3 DOORS DOWN
Schedule / acts subject to change.
Red Bull Wake Lab
12:00 pm QUARTER FINALS COMPETITION
3:00 pm SEMI FINALS COMPETITION
4:15 pm RED BULL AIR FORCE SKYDIVING DEMO
5:30 pm FINAL ROUND COMPETITION
Schedule / acts subject to change.
Corona Cove &Barefoot Sand Bar
12:45 pm BIG BANG DUELING PIANOS
2:15 pm BIG BANG DUELING PIANOS
3:30 pm BIG BANG DUELING PIANOS
4:45 pm BIG BANG DUELING PIANOS
6:00 pm BIG BANG DUELING PIANOS
7:15 pm BIG BANG DUELING PIANOS
Schedule / acts subject to change.
SRP Music Shack
12:30 pm FALLEN ADRIFT
1:20 pm SIX SECOND REVIVAL
2:10 pm BLACK ANTEX
3:00 pm LONDON AIRSPACE
3:50 pm THE SEASON PREMIERE
4:40 pm THE DORSETS
5:30 pm WINNERS ANNOUNCED
Schedule / acts subject to change.
2009 SRPGarage Band Competition
Tune in to Channel 7 to see Arizona’s top garage bands compete for a spot at the 2009 Circle K Tempe Music Festival! Use your digital remote to vote and send your favorite top six bands to the final round of the SRP Garage Band Competition at the event on Saturday, April 4. The final six will play live on the Garage Band Stage where they will go through an additional round of judging to determine the top High School and College bands. The winners of the SRP Garage Band Competition will open for the All American Rejects and 3 Doors Down on the Circle K Main Stage.
