MUSIC | Basilica Block Party 2010: Weezer, Spoon, Eric Hutchinson, Grace Potter, and a hip-hop trio raise the roof on Friday night

The Basilica Block Party was founded in 1995 as a fundraiser for the restoration of the Basilica of St. Mary, and proved such a success that it’s been reprised every summer since. Though proceeds still support Basilica maintenance—if you bought a $1,500 VIP pass, fully $1,300 of the cost was tax-deductible—the event has become a sort of diffuse PR push for the Catholic Church generally. Staff and volunteers were designated “patron saints” (press badges read patron saint of media), and people were encouraged to confess their “musical sins” on the event’s website. Snarky tweets suggested that the event probably didn’t produce many converts, but nonetheless, the 2010 BBP was a win-win-win event for preservationists, Papists, and partiers alike.

(JG)

I arrived, with photographer Meredith Westin, on Friday afternoon to find a relaxed freestyle jam happening on the small Vita.mn Happy Hour Stage as No Bird Sing’s Joe Horton and indie hip-hop luminary Eyedea joined Kristoff Krane in a (literally, not figuatively) shady corner among food vendors.

Kristoff Krane (MW)

Kristoff Krane and Joe Horton (MW)

Eyedea (MW)

After grabbing snacks, we headed down to the M&Ms Stage (Catholics have no aversion to the enjoyment of the succulent fruits God has placed upon the earth, from beer to M&Ms—especially when their manufacturers are paying sponsors) to see Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, a pop-soul band with a growing reputation for strong live shows.

(MW)

Grace Potter (MW)

Grace Potter and the Nocturnals (MW)

Grace Potter (MW)

Say this for Grace Potter: she knows how to make an entrance. After her surprisingly loud (even for the occasion) band warmed up the crowd for a few bars, she came dancing out in a summery dress, grinning her head off and waving a tambourine in the air like Stevie Nicks on Prozac. By the end of only her first song, she’d worked her way up to a full-throated scream. By a couple of songs in, though, Potter and her band had settled into an easy groove that was pleasant but not enough to keep us—we crossed under the freeway to check out the scene at the bigger Sun Country Stage.

(JG)

An ocean of people had already filled a parking lot by the end of a sunny set by Eric Hutchinson, who gave them exactly what they seemingly wanted in the form of some very blue-eyed soul. When Hutchinson segued from the Temptations’ “My Girl” into R. Kelly’s “Ignition,” those who were straining their ears for a whisper of irony heard only crickets.

Eric Hutchinson (MW)

Eric Hutchinson (JG)

(JG)

Eric Hutchinson (MW)

(JG)

At that point, Meredith and I parted ways; she went to hear and shoot indie-rock darlings Spoon while I stayed in the parking lot. I hear that Spoon played an average set by Spoon standards—in other words, a fantastic show.

Britt Daniel of Spoon (MW)

Spoon (MW)

Having spent the 1990s dismissing contemporary popular music and holing up with Bruce Springsteen and the Velvet Underground, I’d been aware of Weezer as a hit-making machine but was never particularly interested in making any effort to gather their wares on my iPod. On Friday night, that changed. I was reminded just how many good songs Weezer have, and discovered how many good songs they have that I hadn’t even heard before.

(JG)

Further, Weezer’s buzzing anthems are perfect for large-scale live performance. The band was born to be big, and their live show was completely irresistable. Frontman Rivers Cuomo and his bandmates manage to play to the audience with genuine affection while also maintaining a certain self-mocking detachment that gives their stage presence a timeless quality—you can succeed with that act whether you’re 20 or 70, and it seems entirely plausible that they’ll be back as headliners three decades from now. We’ll still need them, we’ll still feed them, in the shadow of 694.