Sunset Strip Music Festival takes over Hollywood

Becky Kinder

Staff writer

Date: Friday, July 4, 2008
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Photo Courtesy of Becky Kinder

Photo Courtesy of Becky Kinder

Celebrities, stories of being discovered, and stories of being high — what more do you expect from a festival in Hollywood, let alone on the Sunset Strip?

More to honor the music industry icons that founded and have owned some of the most well-known venues on Sunset would be nice.

Opening night of the Sunset Strip Music Festival began on Thursday at the House of Blues with a tribute, hosted by Mark McGrath, to little-known Sunset Strip celebrities, Lou Adler, Mario Maglieri and Elmer Valentine. Two familiar celebrities, Cheech & Chong, were together again to honor the men, as well as Slash and Michelle Phillips.

The tribute had too much talk about topics Sunset is notorious for: partying and drug and alcohol use. It could have mentioned more about the festival's honorees and their venues.

Following the tribute, Thursday's lineup began with Camper Van Beethoven, who even admitted to not knowing what a song meant because they were, "very, very high when (they) wrote it." Ugh. Overall, their performance was enjoyable, with sounds of a fiddle adding a pop of energy, as did some of the band members' movements while playing.

Best known for the 1990s hit song "Runaway Train," Soul Asylum is an example of the past having a future on Sunset and in the music industry. Visually they were quiet entertaining with a presentational style performance. Their sound, particularly the voice of lead singer Dave Pirner, was record-quality. They haven't lost their 1990s vibe or left out the new century, and after an eight-year hiatus they may be better than ever.

Everclear closed the night with a luminary performance, playing well-known hits like "Father of Mine." The audience was noticeably pleased with their set in its entirety, dancing and jumping to the beat of each song. It was a shame to not be able to see them play a full-length show.

Godhead and Hot Hot Heat were two of the bands playing Friday night, showing the array of scheduled artists. The Cat Club, House of Blues, Key Club, The Roxy Theatre, Viper Room and Whisky A-Go-Go have a united interest in promoting the experience of music on the Sunset Strip. It's needed, considering a venue like the Whisky was once thought a highlight of Sunset is now said by some to be in decline. With a modern flare outlining the musical history of Sunset, the festival is sure to bring in more and more fans every year, surging a new life into each venue.

Wasted Space was an all-ages event that ran Saturday afternoon and into the evening and was broadcast live on 103.1 FM. It closed before the main venue's events began. Saturday night included Mickey Avalon, who played to a severely packed (and seemingly hazardous) crowd at the Key Club. His performance was just boring and sad. One girl who had previously liked his music said that she lost her taste for him after seeing him live.

The only noteworthy performance on Saturday was that of a band playing covers: Starf**kers. Though their name is not my favorite, they played some really great songs, including some classic rock, and did so with their own style at times.

As the festival grows, the quality and variety of artists will grow, too. Packed with too many bands at too many venues to attend it all, there is something for every one at the Sunset Strip Music Festival, which was filled with a lot of fun.