Show: Sunset Strip Music Festival, SSMF
Date: August 26-28, 2010
Venue: Sunset Blvd.
City: Hollywood, CA
Sunset Strip Music Festival
Photos by Nicolas Bates
Written by Nicolas Bates
The residents of Hollywood, CA saw the closure of Sunset Blvd. during the last weekend of August to make way for the third annual Sunset Strip Music festival. Not only were there 2 stages erected on both ends of cordoned off Sunset Blvd., but many clubs, including The Roxy, The Cat Club and the Key Club, opened their doors to acts for the festival. Artists were diverse and ranged from the likes of new hip hop artist Kid Cudi to alternative rockers Smashing Pumpkins.
The Binges started out the evening, giving way to all the heavy hitting headliners. They played a phenomenally energetic set at The Cat Club (directly next door to the famous Whisky A Go Go.) exciting the large crowd as they gathered within the less-than-large venue. Vocalist Dylan Squatcho belted out his form of raw, unapologetic verses while guitarist Mayuko Okai shredded her Angus Young like riffs with ease. This girl can play, and play well. The Binges never cease to amaze, and this time was no different. They are a band that bring it hard. Every time. A true live rock ‘n roll band.
As if having the Smashing Pumpkins as a headliner was not completely unexpected, rock idol Slash was due to hit the stage with vocalist Myles Kennedy. At this point, most of the patrons were either at or were heading toward the West Outdoor Stage where Slash was to perform his magic. Guns ‘N Roses and Slash had a very powerful influence over many people, musicians and non-musicians alike, for many years. The large sing-a-longs by the enormous crowd was evidence of this. A quick look around would verify almost every human to be singing lyrics to tunes over 2 decades old. Slash and Myles Kennedy played a slew of Guns ‘N Roses covers, including “Sweet Child of Mine,” “Night Train,” and “Paradise City,” all giving the crowd more and more to be excited over. Slash’s playing was smooth, controlled and sounded every bit as you might expect. His calm demeanor adds to the “wow factor” of his playing. Black Eyed Peas’ Fergie joined Slash and Myles on stage toward the middle of their set for a few tunes, adding a bit of visual entertainment and vocal help. Although the very few original Myles Kennedy and Slash tracks that were played felt a bit like rehashed 80’s rock tracks, Myles Kennedy held his own and then some covering Guns ‘N Roses tracks, serenading the L.A. crowd no different than say, Mr. Axl Rose himself.
To change it up quite a bit, new on the hip hop scene, MC Kid Cudi was to play the East Outdoor Stage right after Slash. Some potential technical difficulties kept Cudi from playing promptly at his due start time, however, the younger audience did not seem to mind. Kids vied for spots closer to the stage, spots that would enable a closer look and listen to Kid Cudi. When he finally emerged, thunderous roars of applause from the crowd greeted him. One may say that Kid Cudi is inexperienced on stage and in performing, but his stage presence at SSMF was nothing short of what it should be. It was obvious from his body language and big smiles that he may as well have had an IV drip of adrenaline and excitement straight from the crowd to his arm. Kid Cudi played tracks like “Embrace the Martian,” “Man on the Moon,” and a brand new track called, “Ghost”.
Event headliners The Smashing Pumpkins were scheduled to start on the opposite end of Sunset Blvd., so we followed the masses over. The Smashing Pumpkins now have no original members, save for Billy Corgan. The SSMF crowd did not seem to be bothered or even notice, judging by the way they were enthralled with the Pumpkins. The band commenced their set with “Ava Adore,” a personal favorite of mine. From there they played a slew of their alt classics, like: “Cherub Rock,” “1979,” “Today,” and another of my personal favorites, “Bullet with Butterfly Wings.” Most people, it seemed, had never been able to see a live Smashing Pumpkins show, and thus, appeared 20-something and 30-something’s reminiscing about their earlier days as teens, unbeknownst to them that an outsider, such as myself, was on to them. New material was also played, which was well received and was commented on by Billy Corgan as, “…a return to the original Pumpkin’s sound.” Billy Corgan, although quite sarcastic at times, spoke to the crowd more than it seemed he would, given his on stage demeanor, even bringing out his two children at one point, saying, “…I don’t know, I guess I fathered them at some point in the 90’s,” after which he thanked them and they walked off stage. He also listed a plethora of Los Angeles bands that influenced him to play the music so many are interested in today. Although they played a set of at least an hour, The Smashing Pumpkins played on encore as well, of course, to the delight of SSMF concert goers.
After The Smashing Pumpkins wrapped up their set, the crowd dispersed quickly, although some Sunset Strip venues would still hold acts for another 2 hours. The Sunset Strip Music Festival was a diverse and fun way to finish out the summer months, and I, for one, am very delighted in the fact that I got to experience The Smashing Pumpkins live. From the Binges AC/DC, in your face rock ‘n roll style, to Kid Cudi’s new blend of hip-hop, diversity was key in this year’s line up. That only begs the question: who will be headlining next year’s SSMF?!