Made in America Festival, Day 2 ~ Santigold, Jill Scott, Eve, Run DMC, Drake, Pearl Jam, and Jay-Z

Day 2 of the Made in America Festival "guest-starred" rain.  I waited out the rain by heading to brunch with friends, but decided to head over the Made in America Festival in time to see some of Santigold.  To be honest, I didn't see enough of her set to draw any conclusions. 

After Santigold, it was Jill Scott's turn.  I'll admit right now that there is only one song by Jill Scott that I "know" (i.e. the song where she wants to go on a long walk).  Regardless my favorite part of Jill Scott's set was when Eve (i.e. E-V-E) came out and they performed one of Eve's songs on stage.

 After Eve and Jill Scott left the stage, I noticed Eliza Dushku and Rick Fox checking out the show from one of the monuments. 

Rick Fox still look great!

Run DMC was out next and they were phenomenal!  I flashed back to my younger days and jammed with them to "It's Tricky".  It was great and the crowd was excited.  Just when you thought the crowd couldn't get any more excited, I spotted Jay-Z and Beyonce coming over with Ron Howard and the camera crews.  For those of you that didn't know, the Made in America Festival was being taped and there will be some sort of footage/movie/documentary produced (i.e. at least that's my understanding).

As soon as I saw Jay-Z, I moved over to take some more pics, and EVERYONE seemed to follow.  At any rate, it was wild to see him and Beyonce get down to Run DMC's performance.  Jaden Smith (i.e. Will Smith's son) was there too.  When someone in the crowd, yelled "Karate Kid", Jay-Z literally laughed out loud.

After Run DMC, Drake came out to do his thing.  I'll admit right now, that I'm not a Drake fan.  I don't understand all the hype around him, but it could be that I'm not as young as his biggest fans.  I don't think he's a great performer, and I don't think he's good looking.  Oh well.  To each, his/her own, because it did look like other people enjoyed his set...

After Drake, it was time for the main event: Pearl Jam.  I'd never seen Eddie Vedder and Pearl Jam when I was in college, and I hadn't listened to them in years.  I was amazed at how many of the songs I remembered the words to and how many of their hits they performed.  They were on the stage for two hours and performed through the rain.  I'm THRILLED that I finally saw Pearl Jam perform live and that they were AMAZING on stage.

As an extra treat, Jay-Z came out on stage and performed with Pearl Jam, when he sang "99 Problems".

Day 2 was the perfect finale to a fantastic festival!  I really hope that Jay-Z, his sponsors, and the city of Philadelphia make the Made in America Festival an annual Labor Day event.

THE WIRK

Made in America Festival, Day 1 ~ MMG, D'Angelo, Passion Pit, and Jay-Z

I was in the US for Labor Day and that meant that I could attend Jay-Z's Made in America Festival in Philadelphia.  The MIA Festival was a 2-day festival (i.e. Saturday and Sunday) and with Labor Day off, you know I was planning on making the drive up/over to Philly to check out the festival.  I bought a 2-day VIP pass, which gave me a free T-shirt, a souvenir ticket, a bottle of water, a special VIP tent, and a special VIP viewing area.  For someone like me, this was THE PERFECT way to go.  The VIP viewing area had its own bathrooms, but the tent had better bathroom facilities and it offered a buffet for $20.  There were also bars for your convenience.  ****  The Platinum VIP tent had open bar, but for someone like me who attends these festivals by myself at times, I don't usually drink.

There were two stages and a tent where DJs spun (i.e. I think).  I stayed in the VIP viewing area for 99% of the day, and only listened to the other stage and watched the screen, when I was interested.  Luckily for me, I could see the screen from my makeshift perch.  The way the barricades were set up, there was a line of seats in the VIP area, so about 20 of us were able to sit, without having to do so on the ground. 

Day 1 of the festival was a long one, but it was worth it to see Jay-Z perform, especially with special guest star Kanye West.  I'm a huge Kanye West fan, and having Kanye come out on stage was a dream come true for this fan.

My day started out with Rick Ross and MMG.  For those of you that don't know, MMG, stands for Maybach Music Group. 

After MMG, I saw D'Angelo again.  ****  I'd seen D'Angelo the week prior when he was in concert with Mary J. Blige.  D'Angelo's performance was shorter than the performance the week prior, but it was about the same with regard to tone and style.  The guy to my left said it perfectly, when he said, D'Angelo sounded like a mix of Prince and James Brown.

After D'Angelo, Passion Pit was on the main stage, and they definitely warmed the crowd up for Jay-Z.  Inflatable beach balls bounced around the general admission section (i.e. directly in front of the stage) and the energy of the crowd went up.

Each act, earlier in the day, was on for about an hour, but Jay-Z had 90 minutes.  If you want to see Jay-Z rock a show, by himself, for more than 90 minutes I suggest that you see him in concert.  This was a festival and with guests like Common and Kanye, etc. Jay-Z definitely shared his time on stage.

All in all, I had a great time on day 1 and couldn't wait for Pearl Jam on Day 2.

Oh, and for those of you that are curious, OF COURSE Kanye and Jay-Z ended the show "in Paris".

THE WIRK

Look out Hollywood ~ Extra work on the TV show "Do No Harm"

Keep an eye on the upcoming NBC show, "Do No Harm".  You just might see me in an episode.  I recently worked on the show as an extra, and I may have landed some camera time. 

If you're unfamiliar with the show, here's a link to the show's website. 

That's right ladies and gentleman, the count is now at 2 (i.e. for the number of TV shows I've worked on).

I don't want to go into any details about the scene I participated in, but I will let you know that Heery Casting handles the extra work for the show, which films in Philadelphia.

If you're heading to Philadelphia and looking to do some work as an extra, do a Google search and find out the details.  It never hurts to try!  Who knows.  You might get to work with Steven Pasquale, Alana De La Garza, and/or Phylicia Rashad.


THE WIRK 

Pass on SugarHouse ~ It's not worth it

When I walked in SugarHouse, I knew to expect the worst.  I'd been there before.  As I sat down at the blackjack table, I cashed in for chips and was asked for my players' card.  I went ahead and tossed the man my driver's license and he looked it up for me.  Yes, I had one from the initial visit I made last year.  They were signing people up at the door back then, by swiping driver's licenses.

Not much has changed since that visit last year.

Picture it: $15 min craps and a guy with a half-gallon of lemon drink at the craps table just swigging from the jug.  People sleeping at the slot machines, $25 min blackjack, and crazy money being wagered by folks who should be using those funds on "dental"...   Yes, that's the SugarHouse casino in Philadelphia.

This was my second trip to the venue.  I would've skipped it, but my coworker wanted to check it out.  My best advice for you: Skip it.

My coworker and I are still laughing about last night.  "I was only scared half the time," was her quote.  I'm still laughing...

THE WIRK