UCSD SunGod Festival 05/18/07 with T.I., Third Eye Blind, Ben Kweller, Fifty on Their Heels, Ozomatli...

I know, I know, this is late. I had a busy weekend. I look like a lobster at the moment.


I enjoyed myself at this concert. I had mixed feelings going in because I'm not a big fan of the venue or of it's parking situation. My night started off with having a hard time finding parking and having to listen to Fifty on Their Heelswhile driving around. I was hoping to see them on stage, but what can I do. They sounded great, really clear and crisp from the parking lot and while I was walking towards the Rimac Ticket Window for my ticket (Thanks Cat Dirt!).

You can find a really, really good review of the concert over at Cat Dirt Sez. It's a lot fresher and probably more detailed than mine will be. I mean, it's been a couple of days. :)

Walking in around 7ish, I noticed that they were holding back the line and not allowing people to come in. I heard that they were holding this particular group of people for about 15 minutes. Perhaps it was the fact that all UCSD students got in free. I'm sure they were trying to regulate so that the security guards wouldn't get into trouble.

No beer or beer garden, which sucked, but was nice. I spent way less than I thought I would. They had your tasty fair food and some super cool big plastic slides. The stages were set-up right next to each other and the bands came on promptly at their said times. I liked the fact that I didn't have to wait 15-30 minutes in between acts - as one ended, the other went right on. I LOVED that.

The backstage goodies and seating area was a real treat. Plenty of food, drinks, and coffee, which kept me going towards the end of the night. It was great to be able to sit on a chair and not on the grass when I got tired. And it was fun to sit there and see people get carted away by the police. Do people ever learn?

The first band I saw was Ben Kweller. I had heard of the name, but not of the music. I was super suprised with the crowd reaction. He had a fairly large crowd and they were singing along to his songs. He played guitar and some keys and was the lead vocalist. He had a bass player and a drummer. I'm not a huge fan, but he did pretty good. He sounded like Weezer at times and he had a cool jazz number mixed in. From what I heard, they will be touring around California and they will be appearing on the Craig Ferguson show sometime this week?

Third Eye Blind came on next and man was I not ready for what was about to happen. They had a huge crowd and there were still people coming in during the set. They were supposed to play for an hour, but being 3EB, they played longer. They played a lot of their hits and people were singing along like crazy. When he played "Graduate" the place lit up. I'm sure there were a ton of graduates in attendence. They had a lit Third Eye Blind sign on stage, which was cool. Steven Jenkins came out looking normal, except for the velvet jacket and the top hat he wore during some songs. He did a great job working the crowd and keeping them with him. I like Third Eye Blind, and I sang along, but it got way too long towards the end. They should have stuck to their hits and dropped the lesser-known songs. I took a ton of pictures, which will be posted later and some video of Jenkins singing and of the crowd singing along. I'm not happy with the sound quality, but you'll get the general idea. Two songs were cut out because of them going over their time (God of Wine and Slow Motion). Why do they even want to play those songs?

Set List:

1) Losing a Whole Year
2) Crystal Baller
3) wounded
4) narcolepsy
5) never let you go
6) 1000 julys
7) graduate
8) deep inside you
9) motorcycle drive by
10) summer town
11) jumper
12) jumper
13) semi charmed life
encore
How's it Going to Be

Yeah, "Jumper" is on their twice. It's not a typo. This was the extended remix - WAY TOO LONG...

Ozomatli was up next. During Third Eye Blind's last song, you could hear Ozomatli fans chanting "Ozomatli" rather loudly. I found it funny and well-deserved as 3EB was well over their set-time. They came out in their usual fashion. I have seen Ozomatli several times over the many years they have been around and I still think that their original members rocked it and while they're still alive and kicking, it's not the same in my eyes. They had a great crowd, people dancing, and singing. After taking some pictures, I went and grabbed some coffee and chocolate to refuel and be ready for T.I.

There was a lot of anticipation for T.I. I had never seen him and I like his music, not love it, but like it. I think he's a total cutie and has talent. I managed to get a couple of pics of him walking onto the stage and when he walked right by me, I couldn't help but notice how small he was. I think he's my height or perhaps a tad bit smaller and he's so thin! But he still looked good. He came out in this gray hoodie and jeans and stole the show. He had 3 guys on stage with him, not including his DJ. He was all over the stage and all about the crowd, even asking if there were "any freaks" out there, if you know what I mean. And of course the whole crowd screamed. I would totally go see him at another concert. I think it would be fun. It might be a completely different crowd than the one at UCSD, but I bet you it would be fun.

I have to say many thanks to the CatDirt Family for including me in this little adventure. I had a great time and enjoyed myself immensly. I was super tired when I got home and woke up singing "How's it going to be" by Third Eye Blind. hahaha

Pictures to follow...