Nothing could dampen the spirits of Popped! Festival’s ticket-holders as they poured into Temple University’s Liacouras Center for two days of music on a recent stormy weekend. The crowd was as upbeat as the music, in spite of the weather that precipitated a move from the concert’s original venue, South Philly’s FDR Park, to North Philly.
To fit the new venue, the previous three-stage festival lineup for was mashed into a one-stage with slightly shorter set-times. The planned comedy tent was canceled, and the Food Bazaar originally planned for FDR Park was moved to the Piazza in Northern Liberties, which wasn’t exactly in close proximity to the festival. This left festival-goers with few food choices.
But the crowd was nevertheless there, and they were there for the music. Acts like Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. played to an appreciative crowd. But not all was inspiring the first night of the concert. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart suffered technical issues and played a short set. The Joy Formidable dropped out at the last minute and The Hold Steady was borefest 2011. Elbow, an act celebrating 20 years together, attempted to woo a crowd who had no idea what the band was doing in the lineup in the first place.
The second half of the night was much better than the first. Panda Bear soothed the crowd with fog machines, projections, and synthesizers galore. Cage the Elephant worked the crowd up into a frenzy with stage dives, crowd-surfing, and some serious screaming. The Shins closed out the night, and despite the noticeable lack of an encore, the fans got what they came for.
Saturday, while rain-free, proved that a music festival could function indoors. Cults provided a healthy dose of glockenspiel, followed by local act Sun Airway, who bombarded the audience with a series of danceable, synthesizer-infused pop songs. A few hours later, Titus Andronicus took the stage. Within the first few minutes, mosh pits were formed. The next hour was one of the most epic, physically straining sets I’ve ever experienced. It was amazing, to say the least.
Kreayshawn, on the other hand, played one of the worst sets I’ve ever seen. Pacing back and forth around the stage, she attempted to stir up the crowd. Her DJ was as useless as she was, bobbing his head and smiling while the crowd boo’d them both into oblivion. But let’s cut her some slack, it was her birthday.
Foster The People rescued the crowd. They ended their set with their hit song “Pumped Up Kicks,” and the audience was ecstatic. One appreciative fan threw their bra on stage. The band’s Mark Foster responded: “Whose bra is this? I’m keeping it” and tied it on to his mic stand.
Girl Talk came on shortly after, rallying up the crowd with pyrotechnics and a giant LED light board. Within minutes, this one-man show dropped a track, and the whole place went wild. Toilet paper gunners unraveled hundreds of rolls, and balloons and confetti were launched into the crowd. Some of the crowd was even brought onstage. Girl Talk puts on quite a show. It’s no wonder why he’s constantly asked to play festivals.
After the day’s events, I had only one question in mind: Will Popped come back next year? Hope so.