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Popped! Music Festival
Rating Details »
Category: Performing Arts [Edit]
Neighborhoods: University City, Powelton Village33rd St & Market St
Philadelphia, PA 19104
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
6 reviews for Popped! Music Festival
I am used to the big indie summer music festivals being in NYC, and had no idea Philly had anything like it until Popped!. Not only did I attend this eco-friendly (and did the nature gods shine down on us with the beautiful weather or what!), indie-fest but I had the honor of being able to represent Yelp on Saturday! I came for the music, I stayed for the Yelp...
Everyone was out and in great spirits...and I must say, some of the best style I've seen in one place in the entire city! Damn Philly youth, you are stylish!
It definitely reminded me of a smaller, Philly-version of Siren. I particularly liked how they had a food stand with fresh wraps and salads directly across from the hot dog/hamburger stand. Definitely the healthiest food I've seen at a music festival.
Sunday was much different than Saturday. It was held at World Live Cafe in W. Philly. You can read my review of WLC for the details. The band roster for the day was a smaller and more local one. Gildon Works, who I mainly came to see, were fabulous - of course. They got to play on the monster stage downstairs. The sound was amazing. I also saw Tickley Feather - who really didn't do it for me, The Swimmers - who I had heard so much about and they totally lived up to my expectations, Sam Champion - who were fun as always, and Project Jenny Project Jan - who I looooove and were sooo good live. Danceparty central! It was more of a straight up show with two rooms on Sunday; you wouldn't have known it was Popped if it wasn't for the little itineraries they had printed up.
My only criticism of the weekend would've been trying to work on the cohesiveness of the entire event. Other than that, it was a long (but fun) weekend of music!
Awesome. Just awesome. If I weren't so tired from representin' Yelp Philly all day I'd go into more detail. But let's just wrap it up by saying it was a full day of rad bands, lovely people who met our friend http://Yelp.com for the first time, new and old Yelpers (including some who were more than happy to give their day over to spreading the yelpy love) and beautiful weather on the campus of Drexel University.
The Ting Tings rocked, though. Holy Mother of Goodness...not only was it a great show by my two daughters favorite band, but I have officially developed a girl crush on the chick who is the lead singer. And Vampire Weekend were pretty darn good too. Dude looks like an '80's John Mayer but I was crushing on him for 25 hot minutes, anyway. Actually, now that I think about it, it was probably the nicest day I've had in ages. Sigh...
The festival kicked off on Friday night with a performance from Slick Rick & His Band at the Troc, which was a lot of fun, if not my exact cup of tea. But fun was had for sure.
There's a Sunday, too, at World Cafe Live, which will showcase local bands as well as Daniel Johnston and The Capital Years. The answer when it comes to Popped! is a resounding YES! Plus, they love Philly and are really into being eco-friendly, so how could you not love that?
BONUS! Lots of your Yelp friends were in attendance AND we were a sponsor - so of course I embrace it with open arms!
I'm generally not a fan of festival shows (mediocre acoustics and over-large crowds, difficulty in seeing the bands you're paying so much for, etc.) - but this one was pretty awesome! I'm sure it helped that my helpin' Yelp got me in for free.
I had never heard of the Ting Tings, but I must agree, they were awesome! Naturally, my faves of the show, Gogol Bordello and Vampire Weekend, tore it up and got everybody dancing.
There was tons of free schwag to help you stay cool and hydrated in the summer heat, and the VIP area was extremely generous (and air-conditioned!)
If my liveblogs seemed incoherent, it was because I used up all my words when talking my face off to the 302948 people who stopped by the http://yelp.com booth - but ya know what? it was totally worth it. we're going to have some badass new reviewers in the near future, i can tell ya that.
all in all, i had an excellent time! fun in the sun + great music + vendor perks = happy emily. way to go Popped!
When Mama Philly needs help McThrill will travel regardless. But of course when it involves pimping out Yelp during a fun festival, and getting the chance to scope out great bands like Gogol Bordello and Mates Of State it doesn't take much convincing.
For lack of a better term to sum it up, Popped was indeed quite popping! the set line up wasn't without it's disadvantages. Dan Deacon wasn't able to be as interactive with the crowd as he normally is (see him the next time he plays the church and you'll know what I'm talking about), It would have been cool if the Ting Tings had a longer set, and I thought that Gogol Bordello would have been a better headliner. But the line up was one of the most diverse that I've seen in awhile. And even the bands I'm not too big on, like Vampire Weekend, gave the crowd a good energy (they sure had me dancing!).
Tonight World Cafe is going to feature Daniel Johnston, and some awesome local acts like The Swimmers and Gildon Works. So if your looking for something to do then get popping!
I went for The Ting Tings and Gogol Bordello on Saturday. The bands put on an awesome show, but this review is about the festival not the show so:
I read about the whole "green" aspect of the festival but I didn't understand the glossy cardstock printed programs. For the green appeal, I would've at least gone with a recycled paperstock or maybe none at all? What about one sign in a central location posting the bands and times? I arrived early and I also saw a sprinkler hooked up in a tent to cool people off. Again, awesome! Buuuuut, if this is all about the environment and recyling and whatnot, isn't this counterproductive?
Anyhow, the location was great! I've never been to a festival with so much shade to escape to. I also appreciated the stands with local college radio, clothing, and jewelry.
I think someone mentioned the no re-entry being a bust. I agree with that. If you want to keep your audience there for ten hours, then you need much more to keep them entertained while bands are playing that they are not interested in. I could only go to the same dozen stands so many times. I know this is only the second year though, so I look forward to some positive changes to next year's.
Great time - weather was awesome! Kinda sucked that once you were let in, you couldn't leave and come back - especially since it was a ten hour festival - so we came towards the end. I added a great pic, via Britt M and GPTMC, above - someone in the middle of the crowd is rockin one of the Yelp fans!