Deena's Lolla Experience--Saturday

I had trouble committing to most of the acts I saw on Saturday, mostly because I had already seen them or wasn't terribly familiar with their body of work. Thusly...

Saturday--Deena Has ADD

The theme song from Team America: World Police blared from the south stage just before Blues Traveler (left) took the stage for their set of uptempo blues-rock. They boldly opened with "Runaround," their biggest hit, and I gladly stuck around for more, including a playful cover of Sublime's "What I Got." I wandered off to see The Verve Pipe on the kids stage but was sorely disappointed by a set that didn't start on time. Then Brian Vander Ark and company took the stage in colorful shirts and ties and started singing something that sounded absolutely terrible--oh wait, they have a children's album?! I got back to Blues Traveler in time to hear them close with "Hook."

Against Me! (right) announced that they were working on about two hours of sleep for whatever reason, but they still delivered a set of great punk anthems. Using an accordion and unleashing tuneful 3-part harmonies is not always the norm when you're thrashing out on guitars, but they certainly pull it off well. Highlights were "Up the Cuts" and "I Was a Teenage Anarchist."

Energetic and talented as ever, Gogol Bordello are a perfect festival show band. This year I watched from afar since in 2008, I had to dodge a pack of sweaty drunkards pumping their fists in order to see them. Plus I was saving my energy for AFI, who hit hard from the start with "Medicate" and "Girl's Not Grey." Frontman Davey Havoc fabulously paraded around the stage soaked in sweat, and he freaked out security several times by jumping down from the stage to get close to the audience. They closed dramatically, leaving their satisfied audience with "Miss Murder" and "Love Like Winter."

I suppose I wanted to see Social Distortion just to say I had--you know, in case Mike Ness OD's or something. But really, I couldn't connect with the unintelligible lyrics, despite a pretty solid rock n' roll sound from the band. They opened with the catchy "Story of My Life" and did their well-known cover of the Stones' "Under My Thumb," but aside from that, Social D was kind of a downer. So I trekked across Grant Park to listen to some of Spoon's set, which didn't really interest me much either. I like their music, and it sounded pretty good live, but I just sort of sat and let my mind wander during their performance. What? Ice cream? Okay, sounds good.

Unfortunately I should have stuck around it seems, because by the time I came back to the north stages, Cut Copy (right) was kicking major ass and had everyone grooving, including themselves, to their '80s-esque dance-pop. There was such a great party atmosphere in the crowd, I think they would have made excellent closers for the evening. But Phoenix was still to come. The quiet Frenchmen opened with "Lisztomania" and closed with "1901," but that's about all I remember besides the really bright flashing lights on the stage.

Of course I strayed from Phoenix a few songs in, finding a picnic bench near Lederhosen's Biergarten where I watched the video feed from the Green Day (left) concert, which looked just as packed as Lady Gaga had been the night before. Their show seemed about the same as when I saw their American Idiot tour a few years back...but "about the same" for Green Day means "pretty damn awesome." I watched their cover of The Isley Brothers' "Shout" morph into other singable classics like "Satisfaction," "Hey Jude," and "Paint It Black;" then they followed with "21 Guns" as their "closer." Which was hardly a closer--after reappearing onstage to perform "American Idiot," they went on to play the epic 10-minute long "Jesus of Suburbia." Finally, Billy Joe came out to perform an acoustic mash-up of "She's a Rebel," "Good Riddance," and "Wake Me Up When September Ends" so we could all leave Lolla feeling warm and fuzzy.

Saturday's Top Acts:
1. AFI
2. Green Day
3. Gogol Bordello
4. Against Me!

My 5 favorite bands, May 2010

Every six months I do this. Here's the latest list of my favorites with video clips.

What's exciting is I just saw Jonsi last month and I'll be seeing the other four at Lollapalooza.

1 JONSI/SIGUR ROS


2 MATT & KIM


3 LADY GAGA


4 GOGOL BORDELLO


5 THE NATIONAL


Here's my last list, from November 2009.

Others earning consideration: Ke$ha, MGMT, The National, The Hold Steady, Crystal Castles

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

Lollapalooza downloads, Volume 1

Someone remind me why I'm going to the All Points West Festival again? Lollapalooza announced its 2008 lineup yesterday, and 3 of the 4 bands I'm going to APW to see (Radiohead, CSS, and The Go! Team) are playing Lolla as well. The fourth, New Pornographers, is coming to Pittsburgh next week and I'll be there.

Anyone want to buy an APW ticket?

After the Austin City Limits announces its lineup later this month, I'll be back with a massive post critiquing all the summer music festivals. For now, here's some music from a few bands that will be playing Lollapalooza 2008.

MP3: Black Lips - O Katrina! (from Good Bad Not Evil)
MP3: Girl Talk - LC and Lo (from Bone Hard Zaggin')
MP3: Cat Power - Metal Heart (from Jukebox)
MP3: Dr. Dog - Worst Trip (from We All Belong)
MP3: Gogol Bordello - Troubled Friends (live)

(Edit: I'm working to resolve the bandwidth issues...)

Bonnaroo lineup announced; should I go?

The initial 2008 lineup for Bonnaroo has been announced. I went two years ago and had a blast; I skipped it last year in favor of Lollapalooza. This year's lineup is a mixed bag but it's certainly better than Coachella (maybe not as deep, but the headliners are far superior.)

See the full lineup here or the poster here.

BANDS I'M SUPER EXCITED TO SEE:
Sigur Ros. One of my all-time favorite live bands, these guys are simply amazing. Their soft, beautiful sounds might get overwhelmed in a festival setting, but who cares. It's been 4 years since I've seen them; that's too long.

Metallica. They're one of those legendary bands I have to see at some point in my life, like Pearl Jam at Lollapalooza last year.

Kanye West. You can't deny Kanye's genius anymore. His arrogance is totally justified.

Robert Plant & Alison Krauss. My first chance to see Alison! And with the singer of Led Zeppelin. (I would rather have seen Zep play the festival, but oh well.)

B.B. King. Another legend I have to see before I die (or, more likely, he dies.)

Willie Nelson. See B.B. King.

Gogol Bordello. I've seen a bunch of other gypsy bands recently (DeVotchKa, Luminescent Orchestrii), but these guys are supposedly the best. They performed with Madonna at Live 8, for crying out loud.

Ghostland Observatory. Yeah. I've written enough about them, they kick ass live.

BANDS I'M KINDA EXCITED TO SEE:
Iron & Wine
Broken Social Scene
Vampire Weekend - now I don't feel bad about missing their show here next week
Fiery Furnaces
!!! - amazing live performers, but I've already seen them
MGMT
Solomon Burke
Nicole Atkins - the first artist I interviewed, continuing her climb toward mainstream success
Ladytron
Rilo Kiley
Jakob Dylan - this could be an interesting show
Tegan & Sara
Janeane Garofalo - but it's impossible to get into the comedy shows at Bonnaroo
The Allman Brothers Band

BANDS I WISH WEREN'T PLAYING:
Pearl Jam. I can't believe Bonnaroo chose the same act who just headlined Lollapalooza last year. They put on a good show, but been there, done that. I'd much rather have had Led Zeppelin. Or even just a band I haven't seen yet, like Arcade Fire or the Flaming Lips.

MIA. Horrible live performer.

The Raconteurs. I DESPISE this band.

Ben Folds. I've seen him several times already, including at Bonnaroo. He's not bringing anything new to the table.

My Morning Jacket. At least all the hippies will be at this show, so whoever I go see in this time slot will be less crowded.

THE VERDICT:
Tickets are $210, plus surcharges and shipping which are going to push the total to around $238 each, if I buy two. That's steep, but it's less than I'd pay to see all of these acts individually.

I'd love to see any of the following acts added to the bill: Architecture in Helsinki, CSS, Amanda Palmer, Band of Horses, The Go! Team, Digitalism, Patrick Wolf.

But even with the current lineup, I'm leaning towards going.