Why It Matters

This weekend’s Midtown Music Festival in Atlanta, Georgia has been the buzz on social media.  Me, I’m on the other coast so I’ve had to follow along as my friends and colleagues giggle and titter about Pearl Jam, the Foo Fighters, and Adam Ant (anonymous quote:  “I don’t think Adam Ant knows how old he is”).

But Why It Matters has a mighty reach, much like Rush Limbaugh at a seafood buffet.  Alert reader and music fan Valerie Paty was among the 52,000 gathered at Piedmont Park on Friday night to hear Joan Jett & the Blackhearts get it done, and she passed along her notes and photos to share with you.

If you think of Joan Jett at all, you probably think of her as the “I Love Rock and Roll” lady, but she’s a badass.  She’s survived almost forty years in the music business, which is no mean feat, and she’s done so by keeping her songs, her band, and herself tight.  She keeps the crew on point, too: At one point during the show Jett gave a sound engineer a dressing down.  Rock ‘n’ roll ain’t for sissies.

She and her band brought it: the black clothes, the cock rock moves, and a career-spanning set that included everything from Runaways nuggets to new cuts.  Here is their set list:

1. Bad Reputation
2. Cherry Bomb
3. Do You Wanna Touch Me?
4. I Love Playing With Fire
5. TMI
6. Hard to Grow Up
7. The French Song
8. Love is Pain
9. Naked
10. Reality Mentality
11. I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll
12. Crimson and Clover
13. I Hate Myself for Loving You
14. A.C.D.C.

If  that wasn’t enough Joan Jett for the capacity crowd, she hopped on stage during the Foo Fighters set for a “Bad Reputation” run-through.

Here’s a slide show of Joan in action.  All photos are copyright Valerie Paty and have been used with permission.

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