Satellite Party - July 30, 2007 - Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Saratoga Springs, NY

Date: July 30, 2007
Location: Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Saratoga Springs, NY
Recorded: N/A
Status: Confirmed / Canceled
Type: Concert
Lineup: N/A
Artwork:
 

Show Information:

Satellite Party was supposed to headline the 102.7 EQX Fest, but cancelled at the last minute.

Thanks go out to 'bman' for the cancellation info.

Via the Times Union:

EQX FEST, SPAC, 7/30/07

By Casey Seiler, senior news editor on July 30, 2007 at 11:55 PM

Farrell-less fest still a hit

By MICHAEL LISI
Special to the Times Union

SARATOGA SPRINGS … You’ve got to hand it to WEQX-FM for making the effort to put on the 102.7 EQX Fest at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center on Monday night.

That the all-day affair lost its headliner … former Jane’s Addiction leader Perry Farrellnand his Satellite Party ¦ late last week was no fault of the Vermont-based rock station. Band personnel problems and changes caused the cancellation.

But with Hasidic reggae rapper Matisyahu and reggae rockers 311 on the main stage and a second stage that featured up-and-coming acts such as Shiny Toy Guns and TV On The Radio, there was a lot to like about EQX Fest.

A crowd of close to about 7,000, made up mostly of high school and college-age students in tattered shorts and T-shirts on the lawn, milled between the amphitheater main stage and two smaller stages, one of which was devoted to local bands. Most fans were interested in main stage acts, which featured headliner 311, Matisyahu and Rage Against The Machine guitarist-gone-solo Tom Morello ¦ who more than made up for Farrell’s no-show.

311 had fans dancing and jumping in their seats during a pounding, lengthy 105-minute performance with lots of winding, grinding guitar solos and a way-too-long drum solo. Boring drum solos aside, 311 was fun and full of energy, with vocalist/guitarist Nick Hexum and vocalist/rapper Doug “SA” Martinez trading raps and vocals. Moving between reggae and jam band-style rock, 311 had fans on their feet from start to finish, blowing through versions of “All Mixed Up” and the spacey “Beyond The Gray Sky.”

A slow reggae version of The Cure’s “Love Song” … with a rap cameo by Matisyahu ¦ was quite nice. Morello, who uses The Nightwatchman as his stage name, spent his 40-minute set raging about President Bush and his administration the old-fashioned way, singing fiery songs of revolution. He laced “Flesh Shapes The Day” and the anthemic “The Road I Must Travel” with disgust and frustration, propelled by his gritty voice and lone guitar.

A musical cross between The Clash, Hamell On Trial and Woody Guthrie, Morello ripped through a biting reading of Rage’s “Guerrilla Radio” and closed his too-short set with Guthrie’s classic “This Land Is Your Land.”

Matisyahu put on an energetic performance on Monday night, churning out an hour’s worth of infectious, intense reggae spiked with rap and some swirling, jam band-style guitar. Wearing a yarmulke and sporting a long black beard, Matisyahu hopped and spun his way across the stage, spitting out his rapid-fire raps one minute and singing in a strong tenor voice the next as
his searing five-piece band pulsed out bass-heavy beats.

Reggae-soaked versions of “Chop ‘Em Down” and “Fire of Heaven/Altar of Faith” were pleasing but lacked the spirituality evident during his stellar show last October at the Washington Avenue Armory.

Michael Lisi is a freelance music critic from Schenectady and a frequent contributor to the Times Union.

MUSIC REVIEW
EQX FEST
Featuring 311, Matisyahu, The Nightwatchman,
The Urgency, Shiny Toy Guns,
TV On The Radio, Lughead, The Loyalty,
Maggie Mayday and Sunset Aside
When: 3 p.m. Monday
Where: Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Spa State Park, Saratoga Springs
Length: An all-day affair, with bands alternating sets on three stages. 311, 105 minutes; Matisyahu, 60 minutes; The Nightwatchman, 40 minutes.
The Crowd: An excited late summer crowd of about 8,000, made up mostly of students in their teens and twenties making the most of their waning summer vacations soaking up heavy reggae-influenced sounds of Hasidic rapper Matisyahu and
rock/reggae band 311 on a muggy Monday.
Highlights: 311: “Beyond The Gray Sky,” “Love
Song.” The Nightwatchman: “Flesh Shapes The Day,” “Guerrilla Radio,” “This Land Is Your
Land.”