Rain Washes Out Earth Day Festival @ DC National Mall 4.20
Rain Washes Out Earth Day Festival @ DC National Mall 4.20
Filed in ARTISTS, Green Apple Festival, O.A.R. on April 21, 2008 with View Comments
What a joke. First Green Apple Festival announces lineups in 8 cities. In Washington DC they never posted anything that resembled a schedule for the supposed festival from noon until midnight on 4/20. Upon checking a few bands websites the day before the show I discovered that Gov’t Mule and Umphrey’s McGee were to play 20 minute sets!
We arrive at the National Mall at 12:30 to gray skies but an other wise pleasant afternoon. The organizers were expecting a big crowd with huge screens and additional concert speakers through out the mall. O.A.R. came on as soon as we arrived. They quickly played a couple of their usual songs and made way for speakers who rambled on for quite a while.
Umphrey’s came on and were rewarded with a loud greeting from the young smoking masses enjoying their holiday. They played a tight set and exited after 30 minutes. At this point it was 2:30 and I’m pretty sure the last act of the day.
As the band exited the stage it began to rain like I haven’t seen since Mountain Jam in 07.
Chevy Chase was introduced very quickly and the only thing I remember him saying as I was running for cover was “There is an electrical storm on its way please take cover – but not under and trees – and don’t use your sell phone” by the time he had those words out were halfway back to the car. At one point my friend Shawn turned to me and said “is this what the weather man meant by ‘heavy soaking rain?!’ ”
Gov’t Mule, The Roots, and Toots never took the stage. If the Green Apple organizers want people to attend their festivals and receive their message from the coveted 18 to 34 year old they need to speak in a language they can understand. Good music and concessions in an outdoor setting is a great start. Having 50 different personalities come on stage and bark at people about recycling is not going to work. Telling fans your going to have bands who have 25 minute songs that their to play a 20 minute set is insulting to both the fans and the bands themselves.
Okay that’s the end of my rant. Here’s some sounds from the event…
Many thanks to Timothy Brown for braving the elements, and taping the Umphrey’s and O.A.R. sets. You can hear the rain on the umbrella for some of the quieter songs. If your curios check it out. 
MP3′s
here Umphreys McGee Live at The National Mall on 2008-04-20
- “Ed Begley Jr. Intro”
- In The Kitchen ->
- Glory ->
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- In The Kitchen
- Nemo
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- Plunger
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For more pictures including a gray haired Chevy Chase and photos of some of the acts check out this article from georgetownvoice.com
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About the Author
Peter Stergion is a music lover, photographer, & editor of Bands That Jam.com. He lives in Buffalo and covers live music in the northeast.