A Billy Idol guitar solo in the rain, under the lights in front of 60,000 screaming fans rounded out a half-hour long version of “Rebel Yell” and brought an end to the most amazing performance in a day full of amazing performances. It felt almost like an impromptu finale, seeing as how—despite the rain-or-shine label on the tickets—event staff had begun to patrol the corners of the stage and looked ready to call off the concert over concerns for “artists’ safety.” There was almost a backward sense of urgency behind Idol’s thirty-minute “Rebel Yell.” Both the audience and the artist feared that once the song ended, so would the concert, and tens of thousands of angry, drunk fans would be left literally out in the rain with nothing to do. All of this tension built up during one of arguably the best songs of the past twenty-five years and made for an incredible musical performance.
It’s in hopes of witnessing moments like these that every year hundreds of thousands of concertgoers flock to stadiums, parks, and even fields all over the nation every summer. Nice weather and free time are characteristic of any summer and also lend themselves to day- or even week-long concerts at large outdoor venues.
One of the largest of these summer concerts is Baltimore’s annual HFStival. Every year, usually around mid-May, Baltimore’s WHFS 105.7 radio station, ironically enough known more for its talk radio than for its music, puts on one of the largest single-day concerts on the East Coast.
This year nearly every major band that has a new album coming out this summer was there. With a lineup that more than rivaled the US leg of the recent Live 8 benefit concert, the HFStival brought together bands that probably would never play together were it not for these types of massive concerts. From rock legends like Idol and early glam rockers the New York Dolls, to relative newcomers like San Diego’s Louis XIV, the HFStival’s main stage saw bands that ran the gamut including Garbage, Social Distortion, Interpol, Good Charlotte and The Bravery. In fact, so many acts were packed into the twelve-hour event that even established bands like Sum 41 were relegated to the second stage among refreshment stands and porta-potties.
That’s the beauty of these summer concerts. Bands that could sellout a stadium on their own end up having to share the stage with others. The mix of bands from all over the music world that perform at these events always bring together crowds just as diverse, and whether fans are looking to or not, they are often exposed to new music. While this is certainly true of daylong concerts like the HFStival and Live 8, nowhere are more musicians with different musical backgrounds brought together than in concerts that span a number of days and usually leave some small farm community in ruins afterwards.
Bonnaroo is probably this summer’s best large-scale, multi-day concert. This year’s Bonnaroo, which took place from June 10 to June 12, drew more than 80,000 people to a field outside of Nashville, Tenn. Fans from across the country camp out and brave all types of weather to see bands ranging from west coast rappers Jurassic 5 to rockers the Mars Volta. Simple rain couldn’t deter a Bonnaroo fan; ask the Torch’s own Matt Pryce. He’s been trekking out to Bonnaroo and becoming one with nature for years.
In Baltimore, however, rain did end up stopping the show. After a delay that ran about an hour and half emptied M&T Bank Stadium, Coldplay came on and mellowed everyone out with songs from their new album X&Y. While they did play a well-received rendition of their new single “Speed of Sound” off of X&Y, Coldplay’s “Fix You” in light rain silenced everyone that had waited out the worst of the storm. Chris Martin’s performance was unforgettable and had it not been for Idol, would have been the best of the night.
After Coldplay left the stage sometime past midnight, what was left of the audience quickly turned into a mosh pit when the headlining Foo Fighters opened with “All My Life.”
The Foo Fighters’ energy perfectly counterbalanced Coldplay’s peaceful piano-heavy rock, and both were extraordinary live. Still, Idol stole the show with his ending to “Rebel Yell” with what can only be described as a five-guitar-solute, standing back to back with three other guitar players and the lead bass.
To say Idol was remarkable is almost an understatement. The most amazing thing ever, in the history of the world? Probably.
A Billy Idol guitar solo in the rain, under the lights in front of 60,000 screaming fans rounded out a half-hour long version of “Rebel Yell” and brought an end to the most amazing performance in a day full of amazing performances. It felt almost like an impromptu finale, seeing as how—despite the rain-or-shine label on the tickets—event staff had begun to patrol the corners of the stage and looked ready to call off the concert over concerns for “artists’ safety.” There was almost a backward sense of urgency behind Idol’s thirty-minute “Rebel Yell.” Both the audience and the artist feared that once the song ended, so would the concert, and tens of thousands of angry, drunk fans would be left literally out in the rain with nothing to do. All of this tension built up during one of arguably the best songs of the past twenty-five years and made for an incredible musical performance.
