It was another successful year for the 2011 Capitol Hill Block Party, as the music and atmosphere were fantastic as always.

My favorite show of the weekend was surprisingly “The Rolling Stones.” Blame it on my dad for drilling Stones lyrics into my head for years, but I was belting out every tune for an hour straight. A random girl told me at one point, “Wow, you’re really into this!” (I swear it was a compliment.) 

But how could I not be into it? The band was doing a fantastic job covering some of my favorite songs growing up. They even played “Can’t You Hear Me Knockin,” which is one of my favorites of all time!

The only thing that would have made that set better was an encore of “Sympathy for the Devil,” but that song has got to be one of the tougher one’s to cover so I’m not too bummed.

I’m not too upset I missed Friday headliners Ghostland Observatory. I love electronic music, but their emo/electro/dance music just doesn’t do it for me. I did hear they had a badass light show which would have been cool to see.

Instead I got my electronic music fill from Teen Daze and Seattle’s own Beat Connection.

Both sets were great and included quite a bit of crowd interaction. Probably the highlight of my weekend came from that Teen Daze show, as I overheard some guy ask his friend, “Hey, have you ever listened to Deadmaufive?"

 

I am so glad Explosions in the Sky was at CHBP. I’ve wanted to check them out for a while now to see if their music is as impressive live as it is on record.

My expectations were blown away. EITS is just so epic.

Life’s most trivial tasks suddenly become life-altering experiences while listening to this band. Try it for yourself. Take the dog for a walk and fold your laundry listening to “Your Hand in Mine,” you’ll feel like you just conquered the world.

As always, TV on the Radio was a blast. Their music is so fun to dance to.

My favorite TVOTR song of is “The Wrong Way” and their live performance of that track is too good. They played it second (after “Halfway Home”) and sped it up much faster than the album version to set the tone for a fast paced, dance-to-every-song type of show.

Every show I saw was great, actually. Battles was fantastic, as usual. I saw them when they were in town a few months ago and they brought the same intensity, this time to an outdoor venue under the hot sun. If you haven’t heard them and enjoy rocking out, go check out their newest album, Gloss Drop. I love it.

I wish I had seen Washed Out, Cults and Fucked Up. I haven’t listened to too much from them, but what I have heard I really enjoy. From what writers here at NadaMucho.com and other friends have said, they put on great shows.

Beers and food inside the venue were reasonably priced compared to some other festivals which was nice. It’s so fun to pop into some of my favorite bars in Seattle and then walk outside to see some live and loud music. For lunch all three days I hit up Rancho Bravo which was just north of the venue. That place is amazing - absolutely the best Mexican food I’ve had in Seattle. As a San Diegan, it takes some serious flavor to get my approval. I’ll give props where props is due – nice work Rancho Bravo, I’m sold.

Yep. Capitol Hill Block party quenched my thirst for an exciting music festival with good friends, good food, good drinks and good music.

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