From the classic to the downright bizarre, the Sunset Strip Music Festival paid homage to its rock and glitter roots and everything in between.

Kicking off Thursday night, the boulevard opened the doors of its iconic clubs to the public with a chance to listen in the same air that Slash, the festival’s 2010 honoree, had his initial success.

The street festival on Saturday is where the event distinguished itself from any other outdoor festival. Sunset Strip was shut down between San Vicente and Doheny. The debauchery began outside by The Viper Room, however, with the corner liquor store lit up and hosting constant business and the continued traffic of the featured Viper Room bands for the day. 

Once inside the enclosure, the street looked like something out of a movie. This marked the second time in the history of the Sunset Strip that Sunset Boulevard had been closed off for an event and the crowd barely recognized the street. Audience members filed in and out of the Whisky a-Go-Go and Cat Club near the entrance while others threw their hands up in giant dance parties in front of the main stage.

Lady Gaga's favorite band, Semi Precious Weapons from New York City, looked and sounded like they belonged in the heyday of the Sunset Strip. Justin Tranter, the charismatic and fabulous lead singer, squirted the crowd with champagne, “sticky champagne” in fact, called for girls to flash the band and jumped around in an outfit that was smaller than a potato sack. It was something that no one could look away from, even if the crowd had never heard of the band before.  The entire band was in ragged attire, but they rocked harder and turned more heads than anyone else at the festival.

Travie McCoy, of Gym Class Heroes, although a great performer, could not generate the same energy further down the strip. It might have been the lack of alcohol or girls flashing, but the crowd was easily distracted by the theatrics of Semi Precious Weapons. McCoy, who performed his current radio hit, “I Wanna Be a Billionaire” and Gym Class Heroes favorites, “Cupid’s Chokehold,” was a solid performer, but lacked the driving energy of his entire band.

Slash drew the most enthralled crowd of the event, if not the most excited. As smoke filled the air, most audience members, who packed into the area enclosed by the stage in front of the Key Club down to the Rainbow Bar & Grill, just stared in disbelief as Slash shredded and displayed his awesome talent for all to see and here. It was difficult to tell if being an incredible guitarist had become a chore or remained his dream job, but regardless, backed by Myles Kennedy and Fergie, Slash brought back another facet of what Sunset Strip is all about – rock. Semi Precious Weapons may have embodied the debauchery the Sunset Strip is remembered for in history books, but Slash represented the raw talent that came out of the strip.

Common, Kid Cudi and Neon Trees were all excellent performers, but did not quite fit into the persona of the festival. Many of the attendees came specifically for the hip hop, club or electronic music scene, but in this writer’s opinion, those performers could not communicate the same energy in the festival’s environment.

An honorable mention for the day, besides the Smashing Pumpkins (one of the most accessible and inaccessible performers at the same time), is Oh No Not Stereo, which performed at the Cat Club during Slash and Common.  Possibly one of the most difficult and unfortunate timeslots of the festival for a band without main stage power, they had equal energy to anyone else playing out on the street. It did not matter that there were no more than 20 people in the tiny room, the Los Angeles natives played with the same energy as if they had filled an arena. Rock needs more of them.

To reach reporter Gretchen Meier, click here.