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Welcome to Massachusetts, a place where the residents love their music, their booze, and -- above all else -- their team. All three were well represented at the East Coast's first Download Festival. Founded in 2003 as a three-day event in England, Download has since expanded to the U.S., coming to San Francisco in 2005 and, this year, making its way to Massachusetts.
Parker House and Theory, a local Boston harmonica-funk band, opened the event, playing to a remarkably small crowd -- many concertgoers chose to delay paying eight dollars for beer by getting good and sloshed in the parking lot. The small numbers persisted as American Irish-rock mainstays Black 47 opened their set. While the band's performance was tainted by technical difficulties, they band put in a spirited show and, by the end of the set, a large crowd had begun to swell. Unfortunately, a torrential downpour had as well.
While some fans flocked to the Volkswagen garage (part of a large corporate presence), many reveled in the water, receiving praise from members of Jurassic 5 who were being interviewed at a side tent near the second stage. As abruptly as it began, the rain cleared, replaced by a cloud of smoke -- just in time for the Wailers, who were introduced to the audience with "Do You Remember Bob Marley?" The band indulged the party-happy crowd with the late Bob Marley's more playful compositions, including "One Love" and "Jammin'", steering clear of their more politically oriented songs.
 State Radio
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Reggae-influenced alternative rockers State Radio, the current project of Bostonian and former Dispatch singer and guitarist Chad Urmston, followed with a solid, energetic performance. With self-effacing spirit, State Radio admitted to being humbled by the prospect of performing on the same stage as the Wailers, and attributed the large crowd size and participation to Dispatch's popularity, not their own. During a breakdown, Urmston shed his guitar for a rap session which included a verse of Rage Against the Machine's "Bullet in the Head". Following this questionable inclusion, Urmston plugged a rally to raise awareness for the genocide in Darfur and then concluded the band's set by playing with a guitar fashioned from an oil can.
After State Radio finished up, the festival switched to the main stage for a nightcap at the First Midwest Amphitheatre. Many fans took this time to refill their beer cups and grab a quick bite to eat, so Hawaii-based reggae funksters Pepper faced the same small crowds that had plagued earlier acts. Following Pepper, veteran hip-hop group Jurassic 5 took the stage. The group's stellar live show was somewhat stifled by the constraints of the seated venue and the tired crowd. J-5 treated those interested to what was essentially a hip hop class; seated at school desks, the group would improvise a beat with beat-machine textbooks and flow form there.
Up next, G. Love and Special Sauce busted out their quirky blues-rock hip-hop. G. Love (Garrett Dutton) came onstage rocking a blue leisure suit accessorized with a guitar and harmonica. The set had its highs, (the Special Sauce's bass and organ playing) as well as its lows (G. Love's hip hop-style speeches between songs, which included comparing himself to 50 Cent). While the group's music may be eclectic, anger is definitely not one of the moods portrayed or invoked in their songs. The crowd seemed to feel differently, though, as fight after fight broke out in the upper-lawn section of the amphitheatre.
 Dropkick Murphys
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The wealth of Red Sox hats and mispronounced r's throughout the day clearly reflected the location of the festival, but the point was really driven home as Boston favorites the Dropkick Murphys took the stage amidst an impromptu chant of "Yankees Suck!" The Murphys entered to traditional Irish music, joined by a local police and fire department bagpipe ensemble. On top of their game, the band played all the hits, working their way from Boys on the Dock to The Warrior's Code. In an effort to cram as much as possible into their hour, the band went light on the commentary, taking breaks from playing only to dedicate songs to soldiers, mention how nice it was to be home, and introduce their cover of "Tessie" -- a 1903 Broadway song that was used as a rally cry for the Boston Red Sox.
Just as Black 47's set ended with torrential downpour, their fellow Irish rockers faced severe thunderstorms. Most of the venue had cover, but the lawn section remained exposed to Mother Nature's wrath. Instead of running for cover, the crowd reveled in the nearby bolts of lightning and water, playing in the mud that had begun to form. As the rainfall grew stronger and the thunder louder, some in the crowd crammed into the aisles of the covered section, but many braved the elements for rap-rock veterans and festival headliners 311.
Starting at 9:30 pm, some eight-and-a-half hours after the concert began, 311 treated the near-capacity crowd to an hour-and-a-half of greatest hits, from Music's "Unity" and "Do You Right", to Evolver's "Creatures (for a While)". Noticeably absent was material from their latest album, 2005's mediocre Don't Tread on Me.
As the clock struck 11, 311 finished their encore, marking the end of the first Download Festival on the East Coast. The ten-hour-long festival had both good and bad moments: from technical difficulties and awkward crowd responses to impassioned performances by Dropkick Murphys and State Radio. Overall, it was a decent freshman effort for Download in the States. But, let's hope the sophomore Download is a little more mature and a little more polished.
— 7 September 2006
