"And please don't take handfuls of diet pills." That's what I heard Fred Schneider of The B-52s tell the crowd before he briefly left the
stage while Kate Pierson and Cindy Wilson took over vocals duties on their hit
Roam. I have no context to out that quote in, but it sure sounds like good
advice to me. Schneider returned for Party Out of Bounds, which partially
described the sizable crowd who seemed to be having a fine time.
Just down the path from that stage was Gloriana on the
Budweiser stage. The young country band seemed well received by an attentive
crowd. Singer Rachel Reinert introduced Fleetwood Mac's Say You Love Me as the
band added some country swagger into the classic rock chestnut.
There was a significant police presence in the infield, and
it didn't have the vibe of an Oaks or Derby Day. The layout was well designed,
and the stages were situated so that sound didn't blend. There were booths,
video games, vendors, and ample concessions. Oh and there were concert
t-shirts, but there seemed to be more at Forecastle earlier this month at
Waterfront Park.
Even a cursory scan of shirts Friday afternoon and evening provided
proof that the most popular band shirt belonged to Friday's headliner Bon Jovi.
Multiple Dave Matthews Band shirts surfaced, but that's not a surprise since
they are Sunday night's headliner (oh and well, they're sort of a big deal).
Other shirts of note were: Bruce Springsteen and The E
Street Band, The Beatles, John Lennon, Bob Marley, Guns & Roses, Pearl Jam,
Elvis Presley, KISS, Melissa Etheridge, and HullabaLOU performers The Asbury
Jukes and Dierks Bentley.
My pick for band
t-shirt of the day goes to the guy wearing a Rumpke Mountain Boys shirt. This
bluegrass-jam-psychedelic band out of Cincinnati may not be too well known yet,
but their cover of Pink Floyd's Nobody's Home and Vera from The Wall is very
cool.
