Panorama of the scene at the 2007 Vegoose Double Down stage created by Las Vegas Sun Multimedia Producer, Zach Wise. Follow the link below to view.
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Official word has come down that this year’s two-day crowd numbered around 40,000, up from the 37,000 at last year’s festival, but far below the 72,000 figure in 2005.

No details on how the 40,000 broke down over the two days, but the guess here is it was roughly 20,000 apiece Saturday and Sunday. One difference: Saturday’s crowd seemed more consistent throughout, where Sunday’s showed up later, much of it arriving in time to see Muse and Rage Against the Machine after nightfall.

The first 2007 Vegoose audio bootleg is up, Battles, on free, bands-endorsed live music repository etree.org. Keep a close eye on that site for many more goodies throughout the week - nearly every performance from the festival’s first two years has appeared there in one form or another. (In fact, there are still some kind folks seeding 2006’s Raconteurs and Roots sets, among others. Snag ‘em while you can.)

Edit: Public Enemy, Daft Punk, Umphrey’s McGee, Umphrey’s late-night, STS9, STS9 late-night, The Shins, Atmosphere, UNKLE, Blonde Redhead, Ghostface Killah, Cypress Hill and Infected Mushroom also all now up for download.

There are 45 Daft Punk at Vegoose clips up at youtube.com, or at least there were when I checked some 30 seconds ago. By now there’s probably at least 46. My favorite so far

Forget what I said yesterday (well, technically two days ago at this late/early hour) about The Shins being a so-so live act. Sunday night in a far more intimate setting (The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel), the quirky-pop purveyors proved they’ve got the musical chops to go with James Mercer’s uncanny knack for penning addictive little ditties.

The Vegoose-at-night show, which closed out the band’s 2007 U.S. tour schedule, saw the quintet peppered with red roses - and one pair of Wonder Woman panties - from an adoring crowd.

Oh, and Mercer revealed he and his mates were dressed as androids at the festival proper, though no word as to which specific androids inspired the attire (nor what those odd screeching sounds were meant to convey).

For whatever it’s worth, I gotta toss my two cents into the ring and go with Josh on this one. I’m a marginal Rage fan at best and I thought they adminstered a sonic beat-down that easily ranked as one of the two-day festival’s overall best. Coachella might have had more audience intensity, but Rage sounded tighter and more powerful at Vegoose.

5. Either a guy dressed like Bono, or a guy who always dresses like Bono and thus wasn’t really in costume at all

4. Animated bar owner Moe…second row at moe.

3. A lighter

2. A keg

1. Either Kirk Hammett dressed as himself, or a guy who pulled off a really, really convincing Kirk Hammett

So my colleague Annie Zaleski was less than impressed with Rage Against the Machine’s Sunday-night headlining set, but for this longtime Rage fan who never saw the band live in their ’90s heyday, it was more than good enough. I found the loudness and intensity impressive rather than bothersome, and the band’s tightness was phenomenal. I saw Audioslave in concert twice, and I’m always amazed at guitarist Tom Morello’s ability to re-create his intricate blips and bleeps onstage with just his instrument and a few effects pedals.

It was odd that frontman Zack de la Rocha didn’t indulge in any political speeches (as he did at the band’s first reunion gig at Coachella back in April), but as someone who’s always preferred the band’s music over their politics, I found de la Rocha’s reticence refreshing. The set list was a nice mix of songs from the band’s three studio albums, and there was even a short, impromptu jam that hinted at the possibility of new material to come. It’s been almost six months since the Coachella gig without any word of a full tour or a new album, so even that small taste was enough to offer hope - especially since I expect the reunion to fall apart at any moment.

I had been tempted to wear my Audioslave T-shirt just for fun, but the preponderance of aggressive shirtless dudes made me glad I didn’t; I wasn’t really in the mood for a beat-down. Instead I got an energetic and accomplished (if a little short; the band played for less than 80 minutes) rock show, exactly what I was hoping for, and a good way to make up for what I missed back in the day. (Full set list after the jump.)

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