Lollapalooza Day 1: Dancing ninjas, diva pigs, and frying our little brains

Day 1 of Lollapalooza 2008. Photos and videos taken by your intrepid reporters, Deena and Scott. Reviews by both of us except where noted.

12:30 Holy Fuck

Kicking off the event with electronic rock band Holy Fuck was a great way to start the weekend. “Royal Gregory” was a treat, with Brian Borcherdt using some sort of vocoder device to create the song’s distorted vocals. With electronic music, there’s often the risk of being repetitive, but their songs constantly evolved and grew in just the right places. They closed with “Lovely Allen,” a brilliant instrumental that they slowly built up into a massive climax.

Video clip: Holy Fuck – "Lovely Allen"


2:15 The Go! Team

The Go! Team’s lively dance-pop music provided one of the most fun shows of the day. The colorful British ensemble perfectly replicated tracks from 2007’s Proof of Youth like “Grip Like a Vice” and “The Wrath of Marcie.” The Lollapalooza program touted The Go! Team’s lead singer, Ninja, as a “frontwoman/force of nature,” and they weren’t kidding. Ninja gripped the crowd like an overzealous aerobics instructor, giving us dance moves and encouraging participation. One great thing about this sextet is that their musical roles changed a lot during the 60-minute set, showing a breadth of skill and creating an interesting dynamic. Though they didn’t play the songs which resemble cheerleading chants (it would’ve been sweet to hear “The Power Is On” or "We Just Won't Be Defeated"), the show was still plenty fun without them.

Video clip: The Go! Team - "Titanic Vandalism"


3:15 Duffy (Scott)

This was my first Duffy experience, and it was quite a surprise. Based on all the buzz I’ve been hearing, I was expecting rich, soulful pipes along the lines of Joss Stone, but instead, Duffy has this little baby voice, like a cross between Paris Hilton and Porky Pig. It was unsettling. Her performance was quite polished and professional, but not nearly as impressive as I’d hoped.

3:15 Louis XIV (Deena)
I only knew a few of Louis XIV’s songs, but quickly realized that was all I needed to know. Their brand of “cock rock” was not terribly appealing and frontman Jason Hill’s style of sing-speaking got old after a few songs. Their lyrics seem similar to those of Electric Six—highly sexual, innuendo-filled, and dirty—except instead of being cute and tongue-in-cheek, they are serious, which is a bit obnoxious.

4:00 The Kills (Deena)

This male-female duo produces a more mellowed style of music than I typically enjoy, but their slinky, stripped-down songs grew on me. They closed strong with “Cheap and Cheerful” and “Fry My Little Brains,” a fitting song for how everyone felt out in the sweltering heat today.

4:15 Gogol Bordello

These crazy Gypsy freaks are probably not capable of putting on a bad show. What’s not to love about passionate eastern European music with accordions, fiddles, screaming dancers, and an indefatigable frontman? They rocked the mainstage with a set closely resembling their Bonnaroo performance, “Wonderlust King” and “American Wedding” being the main highlights.

5:15 Your Vegas (Deena)

Your Vegas was a last minute addition to my itinerary after hearing several of their songs on last.fm’s Lolla radio station before leaving for Chicago. These boys from Leeds serve up what sounds to me like the love child of Keane and The Killers. Their set did not disappoint, with soaring vocals and beautiful falsetto from their pleasant and gracious frontman, Coyle Girelli.

5:15 Mates of State (Scott)
Lately, I like my pop music overflowing with fun and excitement, like !!! and the Go! Team. And while their harmonies are pleasant enough, I didn’t have the patience for the easygoing, relaxed pop Mates of State were serving up. Sorry, kids.

5:45 Grizzly Bear (Scott)

You can’t be a blogger and not love Grizzly Bear, but I'm only just coming around to appreciating their slow, old-fashioned music, after seeing their performance of "Two Weeks" on Letterman. They opened their Lolla set with it, to a surprisingly tepid response. About half of the band’s songs were engaging and the other half were uninteresting.

6:15 Bloc Party (Deena)

The crowd roared as Bloc Party’s Kele Okereke stepped onstage wearing an Obama shirt, but that was about as excited as I got about Bloc Party’s set. There didn’t seem to be much energy or showmanship in the performance, though it was technically fine. I decided I’ll just stick to listening to their CDs, and I left early to get a good spot for CSS.

7:00 CSS

Having been devastated last year when CSS cancelled, we gave them another shot, and they justified our faith in them. The Brazilian electro-rock group played most of their self-titled debut as well as some of the more rocking tracks from their new release Donkey. Though “Music Is My Hot Hot Sex” was slowed to an almost-undanceable tempo, “Alala” and “Rat is Dead” offered the energy we were expecting. Lovefoxxx wore not one but two full-body leotards, and the entire band interacted with the audience throughout the extremely entertaining show.

8:00 Radiohead

OK, we’re going to say it, and we defy anyone to prove us wrong: This show was boring by Radiohead standards. Maybe we’re grading on a curve here, because even the worst Radiohead show is going to be better than 90% of rock concerts, but this band is capable of so much more. Why they continue to fill half their set with lifeless, uninspiring tracks like “The Gloaming” and “House of Cards” is beyond us. Dudes, you need to RAWK! Even “Paranoid Android” was lacking in the guitar-heavy sections where we could have been blown away. Thrown by the lack of crowd enthusiasm, Thom Yorke said, “You’re all so quiet out there.” And the obvious response was, “Yeah, because you’re putting us to sleep!”

Enough of that, let’s talk about the highlights: The spacey “Everything in Its Right Place” is simply one of the best live songs ever; “Fake Plastic Trees” was beautiful; the brooding “All I Need” was one of the few songs from In Rainbows that stood out; and “Idioteque,” the Radiohead-does-techno number from Kid A, was a stellar show closer.

Friday’s top 5:
1. Gogol Bordello
2. The Go! Team
3. CSS
4. Radiohead
5. Holy Fuck

My 5 favorite bands, May 2008

It's time for the usual rundown of my favorites...

1 DRESDEN DOLLS
At some point I may tire of the Dolls' simple piano-and-drum style, but it hasn't happened yet. Next month they release a collection of B-sides, No, Virginia..., featuring some of their well-known concert songs that had never been put to tape. It's quality stuff, especially the jangly first single "Night Reconnaissance." The band is going on tour again this summer, and later this year singer Amanda Palmer releases her solo debut.
MP3: Modern Moonlight (live 10-23-06)

2 SIGUR ROS
They are the number one reason I purchased Bonnaroo tickets. Whether it's Icelandic, Hopelandic, or instrumental, Sigur Ros make some of the most breathtaking music in the world, and seeing Jonsi play the guitar with a violin bow is a beautiful thing.
MP3: Hljomalind (Hvarf-Heim)

3 RADIOHEAD
I stand by my assertion that In Rainbows was massively overrated, but it's slowly growing on me, track by track. And the best part about Radiohead is their live show, which never fails to impress. They're playing a whole bunch of festivals this summer, so anyone who still hasn't seen them just isn't trying.
MP3: All I Need (In Rainbows)

4 TAYLOR SWIFT
I've liked Taylor ever since her cute debut single "Tim McGraw" two years ago. And though I knew she played guitar, I only recently became aware that she also writes her own songs. Playing an instrument and writing one's own material are quite rare in the country music world, especially for an 18-year-old girl. If this is the future of country music, I am all for it.
MP3: Our Song (Taylor Swift)

5 TOKYO POLICE CLUB
Last year they were this little band that bloggers adored, with just a 16-minute EP. Now they're signed to Saddle Creek, with a full-length debut, an American tour, national TV appearances, and the same peppy, 2-minute songs. The excellent Elephant Shell is likely to keep them on the road for the rest of the year.
MP3: In a Cave (Elephant Shell)

Others earning consideration: Madonna, Alison Krauss, New Pornographers

Archive:
My 5 favorite bands, November 2007
My 5 favorite bands, May 2007

March Indie Madness

PART 1, Posted by Scott

It's March Madness time. This time of year, I'm obsessed with tournament brackets. Not just the NCAA brackets, but any kind of brackets. You could put the names of 64 foods into a bracket, and I'd be determined to fill it out. I can't help myself.

So I was excited when I saw that the folks over at We Listen For You have created an indie rock March Madness bracket, with 64 bands competing for the prize. You can participate in their tourney, if you're so inclined, by emailing them your selections for each round. There's an unnecessarily complicated scoring system involved, but it's a cool idea nonetheless. The bracket is viewable here.

For me, I'd rather just fill the bracket out with my own personal choices. In round 1, I had two major upsets: #16 Liars took out #1 Magnetic Fields, and #15 The Hold Steady barely edged out #2 Daft Punk.

Completing the first three rounds results in the following Elite 8 matchups:
Radiohead (1) vs. New Pornographers (6)
The National (9) vs. The Hold Steady (15)
Bright Eyes (5) vs. Wilco (2)
White Stripes (1) vs. Cat Power (7)

My final four consists of Radiohead, The Hold Steady, Bright Eyes, and Cat Power, with Radiohead beating Bright Eyes to win the title.

Meanwhile, Architecture in Helsinki, Tokyo Police Club, and Gogol Bordello are sitting on the outside, wondering why they didn't get tourney invites. Perhaps someone should create an Indie NIT for those who were left out.

PART 2, Posted by Deena
Modern Rock Madness--Literally



Ah yes, I'd nearly forgotten about this tradition carried out by YRock since back in their Y100 days--the 5-day, 64-band Modern Rock Madness competition. And although everyone loves a good showdown, I can never quite seem to wrap my head around some of the details.

First off, sometimes several bands with members that overlap will be considered as one group:
Ben Folds/Five
The White Stripes/Raconteurs
The Smiths/Morrissey
Mike Doughty/Soul Coughing
Bob Mould/Husker Du/Sugar
Blur/Gorillaz/The Good, The Bad, and The Queen

Most of these combinations, in my opinion, aren't valid and I would vote in a completely different way if the groups were split up. My exceptions would probably be Ben Folds/Five and Mike Doughty/Soul Coughing, only because I equally enjoy the group and solo work in both instances. Now, pairing The White Stripes with The Raconteurs? It's no wonder they were beaten out by Tegan & Sara.

I suppose the competitors are pitted against each other randomly, but sometimes the pairing--and the results--are mind-boggling. Jimmy Eat World defeats The Smiths? Elvis Costello succumbs to Ben Folds? Every year I am disappointed in the lack of staying power demonstrated by the artists who make up the backbone of modern rock.

After poking around on the YRock message board, I've discovered that since its inception in 1997, Weezer has triumped over the most MRM competitions, with Green Day a close second. Other past winners include Bush (1997 must have been a bad year for music) and the Beastie Boys. Recent winners were 311 (2006) and Nine Inch Nails (2007). So basically, a handful of bands that got popular in the 90s dominate the competition year after year, which probably attests to their listening base of late 20-somethings feeling nostalgic.

The results and a PDF of the grid is available HERE for anyone who wants to follow along with the madness. My results with their grid would be as follows:

Elite 8:
The White Stripes (not counting the Raconteurs) vs. Beastie Boys
David Bowie vs. R.E.M.
The Ramones vs. The Clash
Garbage vs. Beck

Final Four:
The White Stripes vs. The Clash
David Bowie vs. Beck (I may be a Garbage fan but I give credit where credit is due)

The Showdown:
David Bowie vs. The Clash

The Win:
Bowie takes it in a 65-35 split. Ah yes, Bowie, the world is in your grasp...

I'm a summer music festival whore

Posted by Scott



Last week I scored earlybird Lollapalooza tickets - for only $60 each instead of the usual $200. I wasn't sure I wanted to attend Lolla this year, but after getting tix for so cheap, and finding out later that day that Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails will be headlining, I'm in!

That brings the number of music festivals I'm attending this year to three. I'm also planning to attend Bonnaroo (Metallica, Kanye West, Sigur Ros) and day one of the All Points West Festival in New Jersey (Radiohead, CSS, the Go! Team). I'm still considering the Austin City Limits fest, since I have a friend who just moved to Austin. I think the Pitchfork Music Festival is out --unless the lineup blows me away.

I'm going a little overboard, but why not? Might as well do it now, while I'm relatively young, can afford it, and still have the desire to endure 90-degree afternoons to see 40 bands in a weekend.

After Lollapalooza and Austin City announce their complete lineups, I'll be back with a lengthy post critiquing all the festivals. For now, some recent music from a few summer festival bands:

MP3: Radiohead - All I Need
MP3: Nine Inch Nails - 8 Ghosts I
MP3: Sigur Ros - Hljomalind

My 5 favorite bands, November 2007

It's been 6 months, so it's time again to run down my favorite bands, since they change fairly often. Except at the top, where for the past seven years my favorite band has either been Radiohead, the Dresden Dolls, or the Dave Matthews Band.

1 DRESDEN DOLLS
The Dolls were fairly quiet this year, releasing only one cheeky music video, "Shores of California," whose video featured the "Shoes" girl. But they've just announced a late December mini-tour, featuring a New Year's Eve show in New York City, and Amanda Palmer is busy recording her solo album in Nashville with Ben Folds, so that is likely to keep the Dolls in the top position throughout much of next year. Amanda's introspective songwriting has always been the cornerstone of the Dolls' success, and I can't wait to see how that translates to a solo record.
MP3: Dirty Business

2 RADIOHEAD
They returned to the radar this fall with their name-your-own-price In Rainbows CD, and although I'm not joining the host of critics who think it's their best release in years (I actually believe it's their weakest since their debut), it is still great to have the world's greatest rock band back on the scene. The two best concerts I've ever seen are both Radiohead shows. Let's hope they launch an extensive U.S. tour next year.
MP3: 15 Step

3 JUNIOR SENIOR
The wacky dance duo released their second album Hey Hey My My Yo Yo in 2005, but only in Japan (!) Back then, I downloaded a few tracks and waited patiently for it to see the light of day here, and finally this summer the disc came out. It was worth the wait. There are a ton of happy silly pop bands around these days, but none do it as well as Junior Senior.
MP3:Itch U Can't Skratch

4 ALISON KRAUSS
The more I listen to Alison, the more I adore her. Her angelic singing voice blends perfectly with her easy-on-the-ears bluegrass style. She's performed with an amazing list of people (James Taylor, Sheryl Crow, Elvis Costello, Shania Twain, Sarah McLachlan), but she's just released her most shocking collaboration to date, an album with Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant. I can't stand him, but I owe it to Alison to give it a shot.
MP3: Crazy As Me

5 GHOSTLAND OBSERVATORY
I blogged about how amazed I was by Ghostland Observatory's performance at Lollapalooza 2007, and after that show I tracked down a bunch of songs from their recent release Paparazzi Lightning, which is still in heavy rotation on my laptop. Their live show is something to behold. Aaron Behrens' dancing is transfixing. Just released: A live DVD!
MP3: Vibrate

Other contenders for this list: Fiery Furnaces, Architecture in Helsinki, New Pornographers, Sigur Ros, Mickey Avalon, World/Inferno Friendship Society

Link: My 5 favorite bands, May 2007

In Rainbows

I got an email from the Radiohead fan club today announcing that the band has completed a new album: In Rainbows, which apparently will only be available online. Radiohead was my favorite band for most of this decade, and I'm sure this record will be genius, just like their last five.

The new release contains several songs they played when I saw them live in the summer of '06. "15 Step" and "Bangers 'n Mash" were among my favorites.

Rolling Stone has a track by track preview:
http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/16654550/radioheads_in_rainbows_trackbytrack_preview

YouTube video: "15 Step"

The best concerts I've ever attended

Feeling constrained by the tiny text column of my previous layout, and never having liked the name of my blog, I decided to do some rebranding today.

I thought I'd start the new blog with a list of the best concerts I've ever seen:

1 RADIOHEAD, Blossom Music Center, 8.8.01
My first time seeing Radiohead was magical. They had just become my favorite band, I was in the first row behind the pit, and their performance was phenomenal. I was blown away by how this band that was so experimental and weird on tape could rock so hard live. Having gotten past the doldrums that plagued him on the band's last tour, Thom Yorke was enjoying himself immensely and his enthusiasm rubbed off. This show also featured the first live performance ever of "Like Spinning Plates," a song most people thought they'd never play because its lyrics are sung backwards on the record.

2 RADIOHEAD, Blossom Music Center, 8.21.03
Another incredible show - it would've been better than the previous one, except that their encore was a letdown - they pretty much played the 6 songs I least wanted to hear. Everything else was great - "Sit Down, Stand Up" was one of the best concert-openers I've ever seen, because of the way it slowly slowly builds up and then finally goes berserk at the end. I also love "Myxomatosis" live - its guitars are so explosive, it might as well be a heavy metal song.

3 BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN & THE E STREET BAND, Mellon Arena, 12.4.02
I was really lucky to go to this show, as a friend had a spare ticket and invited me. This was simply a case of a legendary act, with a legendary band, being at the absolute top of their game. "The Rising" had just come out, and the set included all of its best songs, plus the best from Bruce's career.

4 DAVE MATTHEWS BAND, Post-Gazette Pavilion, 8.3.02
I've seen Dave 14 times, and while I try not to let where I'm sitting affect my overall review, in this case it probably did, because I was in the third row and the entire evening was nonstop euphoria for me. Objectively speaking, I still think it was an amazing show. When the band came out for the encore, the crowd started chanting for "Two Step," and while I hate the fact that it seemed DMB was being turned into a karaoke act that takes requests, they relented and played a kick-ass 12-minute version of it to top off a great show.

5 U2 & PJ HARVEY, Mellon Arena, 5.6.01
In this case, I know that my seating location did not affect my perception of the show, because I was in the next to last row in section E at the top of Mellon Arena. Still, I was blown away by how U2 commanded the attention of every person in the arena for more than 2 hours. Again, a legendary band at the top of its game.

6 SIGUR ROS, Byham Theater, 3.25.03
I was familar with the work of ethereal Icelandic band Sigur Ros, but their concert far surpassed anything I expected. Their songs are so quiet and beautifully crafted, and that surprisingly translated well to the stage. During the quiet parts, you could hear a pin drop, and the power of those moments was stunning. I never expected to see singer Jonsi play the guitar with a violin bow, or see the guitarist play the bass with a drum stick. The noises they made were beautiful and majestic.

7 PRINCE, Bryce Jordan Center, 4.18.04
Very rarely am I ever in awe of anybody. I can think of only two times it's happened - one was during a Bob Dylan concert, and one was during this show. It probably sounds cheesy to say, but being 20 feet away from Prince during the encore of "Purple Rain," when he played the emotional guitar solo while the crowd sang the "woo hoo hoo hoo" lines, was very nearly a religious experience. Thinking back to when that song came out during my childhood, it was hard to believe I was really there in that moment. I still maintain Prince might be the best guitar player alive, but he so rarely shows it, which made this experience all the better.

The rest of the top 15:
8 COLDPLAY & THE MUSIC, AJ Palumbo Center, 3.2.03
9 DAVE MATTHEWS BAND, Hersheypark Stadium, 8.1.01
10 WEEZER, Mellon Arena, 2.18.02
11 SANTANA & MACY GRAY, Star Lake Ampitheater, 8.16.00
12 DAVID GRAY, AJ Palumbo Center, 4.18.01
13 BRIGHT EYES & JIM JAMES, Club Laga, 2.22.04
14 CHER & CYNDI LAUPER, Madison Square Garden, 6.26.02
15 MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE & RISE AGAINST, Wolstein Center, 2.26.07

My dream festival lineup

It’s festival season, and thinking about the big ones – Coachella, Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza – got me pondering what my dream festival would be. So, if I could present a lineup of any artists I wanted, and I was magically given the power to reunite bands, this is what my festival would look like:

One note: This is meant to be an “of-the-moment” festival. In other words, I realize that in a few years no one will even remember who Humanwine & Busdriver are, but if I’m attending a festival now, in the summer of ’07, I want to see them.

Friday: Day of pop
The festival opens with my favorite current indie rock band, then a bunch of pop artists from now and the '80s. It would be sweet to see a reunited incarnation of Culture Club. (And Air Supply would be freakin' awesome.) I originally had Michael Jackson on this list, but his lip-synched and choreographed performances wouldn't fit the rock festival vibe so I replaced him with Prince, who would be a much better act for this kind of event. Using my all-controlling powers, I would insist that Prince play "Controversy," "Erotic City," and "D.M.S.R."

Friday schedule:
Tokyo Police Club
Mika
Peaches
Architecture in Helsinki
Junior Senior
Air Supply
Reunited Culture Club
Madonna
Prince

Friday late night:
Justice
Girl Talk

Saturday: Big name hip hop/rock
Today is headlined by the Rolling Stones. I’m not a huge fan but I want to see them play live at least once. I need some quality hip hop, but I couldn’t decide between Kanye and Jay-Z, so I’ve decreed that they play together. And I’d kill to see Soul Coughing reunite just one time. The post-midnight shows would feature the Dresden Dolls, and world’s biggest party band, the Scissor Sisters.

Saturday schedule:
Garbage
AFI
Reunited Soul Coughing
Weezer
Reunited Fugees
Marilyn Manson
TV On the Radio
Kanye West/Jay-Z
Dave Matthews Band
Rolling Stones

Saturday late night:
Dresden Dolls
CSS
Scissor Sisters



Sunday: Mishmash of chill/indie/critical favorites
Following the lead of Bonnaroo, I’d make Saturday the day of big names, and Sunday a more chill vibe with a lot of folkie types. I’ve been dying to see the New Pornographers and Ani DiFranco, and I couldn’t resist ending the festival with Radiohead, who have put on the two best concerts I’ve ever seen.

Sunday schedule:
Humanwine
Sophie B. Hawkins
Ani Difranco
Busdriver
Alison Krauss & Union Station
Damien Rice & Lisa Hannigan
New Pornographers
Bjork
REM
Radiohead