By Val Tapia, BADS Contributing Writer
Photos by Fred Kuhlman
I have to concede that I had been wondering all week if the weather was going to cooperate for Innings Fest 2023. Fortunately, it did— although it was pretty cold on Sunday night (2/26) after it rained early that morning.
Saturday (2/25) was nice and sunny, but cold by the time pop-punk veterans Green Day took the festival’s Home Plate stage around 9:00 p.m. for a (roughly) 110-minute, 21-song, hits-heavy set that kicked off with the title track from 2004’s American Idiot, the album widely considered to be the band’s finest artistic moment of their 30+ year career.
Holiday and Know Your Enemy followed, then yet another tune from American Idiot, Boulevard Of Broken Dreams. Personally, I can’t say I’m a big fan of Green Day. However, there’s no doubt that they deliver the goods onstage for the audience— at a virtually non-stop pace I might add. Bonus points for that.
I suppose if I had to pick my “favorite” song from them, I’d have to say it’s Welcome To Paradise. I consider it quintessential Green Day, if you will. All things considered, this writer was won over.
Of course, I had a grin on my face when they did their take on KISS’ trademark (but far from their best… by a country mile) song, Rock and Roll All Nite. As much as I hate to say it, Green Day’s “bratty” take of the song buries the way the current KISS lineup plays it onstage these days. Sorry, the truth hurts… I have to give credit where it’s due.
Meanwhile, on the Right Field stage, there was a new incarnation of The Black Crowes that were for the most part pretty tight musically. Kicking off a 12-song set with No Speak No Slave and Sting Me, this version of the Crowes mostly stuck with music from their first two albums, the debut album Shake Your Moneymaker and 1992’s The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion.
It might have been from where I was standing, but it seemed like lead vocalist Chris Robinson struggled a bit vocally during Twice As Hard. Perhaps he wasn’t “warmed up” yet, because after that he was pretty solid for the rest of the 75-minute set.
One song I was hoping they would play was Sister Luck off Moneymaker. No such “luck” though.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention one of the staples of Innings Fest is the popular “live talk show” called Off The Mound with Ryan Dempster that took place on Left Field.
I wanted to make sure I saw this because I missed it completely last year. The fans were not disappointed. The cool thing about this is I was told that it’s never announced who Dempster’s guests will be on either day.
At its core, Off The Mound… is a hybrid of ESPN meets the late-night talk shows. There’s even a “house band” that plays between interviews. On Sunday night, Dempster’s guests were members of Umphrey’s Mcgee, followed by second-night Home Plate headliner Eddie Vedder, and former Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Randy Johnson.
I must admit I was surprised that Dempster asked pretty decent questions, particularly when he interviewed Johnson. He talked briefly about his time living in Seattle when he received a drum set from none other than former Queensryche drummer Scott Rockenfield.
Problem was, there was seemingly only two people in that audience who knew who Rockenfield was—Johnson of course, and the guy writng this weekend recap! But I digress.
Another highlight was when Johnson talked about meeting Geddy Lee, bassist and vocalist of Rush in 1990. He told the crowd he was in awe of Lee’s extensive baseball collection that he has in his house. A friendship developed as time went on.
Eventually, Johnson would photograph the band live onstage, which was a dream-come-true for a longtime fan who “first heard Rush in high school via (the album) 2112“. Needless to say, the audience roared in approval after hearing that.
There was quite a bit of chatter on social media about the capacity crowd on Saturday. The final numbers haven’t been released at press time, however, it’s a safe bet to say that 24,000 people attended the first day, while I’d guess about 17,000 showed up Sunday.
I mentioned earlier about the cold weather. Funny enough, even one of the acts on Sunday, Marcus Mumford, made mention of the cold. Being from the U.K., he’s “used to it”. But, “this is the desert”, he said. Then added, “Who’s idea was it to put together an outdoor festival here in February?”
By the many happy faces in attendance, I’d say that the majority of fans handled the cold as best they could. Perhaps they can add a few outdoor heaters next year!
