Remember The Strokes? Everyone’s favorite band for half a decade, before suddenly disappearing into the wilderness? Well it looks like they aren’t dead and gone after all as they have been slated to perform at the seemingly epic Isle of Wight Fest in England. Performing alongside such talented acts as Jay-Z, Blondie, Orbital and even P!nk, it should be an interesting three day summer fest to say the least. For more information about the festival, go to their website.
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Since last seeing The Walkmen and White Rabbits, as they opened for Spoon just a year and a half ago at the Vic, the two bands have changed a surprising amount in a short period of time. White Rabbits, who were just gaining attention with their relatively prominent single “The Plot”, are now getting radio play with their lead single “Percussion Gun” off of the Britt Daniel (Spoon) produced album, and have supremely polished their act. While the obvious influence of The Walkmen is still in tact, the band has also found a way, perhaps under the tutelage of Britt Daniel, to strip down their sound, while still maintaining the rhythmically-inclined musical structures that became the bands signature. This translated beautifully to their live performance at the intimate Lincoln Hall, as every subtlety to their sound was represented superbly. While they abbreviated their most popular songs such as “Kid on My Shoulders” and “The Plot”, they did deliver, once again, on sounding even better than the studio counterparts when playing the songs from It’s Frightening.
The Walkmen, who at the Vic came off as surprisingly tame at the Vic show, were really on point at this Lincoln Hall showing– with Hamilton Leithauser displaying incredible confidence in performing the quieter tunes from their critically acclaimed album You & Me. The local horn section was a welcome addition, and the band did an admirable job of mixing in their older songs with the new. The ebb and flow of slow-fast-slow paced songs caused a palpable sense of anticipation before the band finally went into playing “The Rat,” but even with that, it was hard not to appreciate their performance.
If you haven’t had the opportunity to go to Chicago’s latest venue Lincoln Hall, do yourself a favor and go the first chance you can. A wonderfully executed venue from the folks behind Schuba’s, White Rabbits and The Walkmen did a great service to the venue’s outstanding acoustics.
The last act makes a film. Wow them in the end, and you got a hit. You can have flaws, problems, but wow them in the end, and you’ve got a hit.
-Robert McKee from the film Adaptation
The above quote can all but sum up what was Lollapalooza 2009. A festival whose lineup was already in question prior to the Beastie Boys having to drop out due to health reasons, Perry had to make sure that all stops were pulled out in order for Lollapalooza to work, and he did just that and then some.
“We’ve had some massive nights, we’ve had some crushing lows”
First and foremost, a giant kudos to Perry’s, which was easily the most consistently entertaining spot at Lollapalooza. A-Trak was a personal highlight with Kid Cudi not too far behind, but I know there were a few other acts that really got the crowd going as well. Unfortunately it wasn’t completely immune from the mundane, as Animal Collective put on a pulse-stopping snoozefest of a DJ set, and Hercules and Love Affair didn’t do much better. The one improvement that they must make next year is actually making it more open, so that people have an easier time of getting in and out– some parts of the day were just brutal to get over there.
This also turned out to be the year for headliners, with Yeah Yeah Yeahs surprising the heck out of me with a top 5 set. Likewise, Jane’s Addiction was also in top form, even getting the helping hand of Joe Perry to perform “Jane Says” as a closer.
Food, Glorious Food
First and foremost, the Lobster Corn Dogs (and everything else at Graham Elliot) were absolutely delicious. The turkey burgers and sweet potato chips from BJ’s Market were also a good bet. Unfortunately, the selection appeared to be a bit more limited this year than it was last year (you can only have so many variations of chicken tenders, etc.), but it was nice that some places were actually selling fruit this year.
This Bud’s for You
While I understand that Budweiser is a big sponsor for Lollapalooza, I still can’t wrap my head around the fact that there’s only one place to find any other kind of beer, and even then you’re stuck with the Stellas and Becks of the world. To add insult to injury, you have to pony up six bucks for a Bud Light or a Bud Light Lime. Granted, on a weekend where the average temp hovers around 90 degrees one would think that alcohol would be secondary– but one look at the continuously half-baked crowd (both in sun and alcohol/drug exposure), would say otherwise. That being said, why don’t they try to bring in some microbrews next year– at least have some Goose Island beers on hand a la Pitchfork.
99 Problems
Here’s a short list of problems that they need to fix before next years Lollapalooza:
Top 10 Performances
Top Disappointments
The WTF Moment of the Weekend
So if you haven’t heard by now, there was a bit of a mishap on Sunday evening– one that will probably stay in most people’s minds when they look back on Lolla 2009. Lou Reed was, well, Lou Reed, and decided that he wanted to hear himself play for an extra thirty minutes or so, thus delaying the Band of Horses performance. Not to be shortchanged, Band of Horses decided to keep on playing over time, despite the fact that Jane’s Addiction, fronted by none other than Perry Farrell (who runs the freaking show), was supposed to play at 8:30. Jane’s Addiction waited for about ten to fifteen minutes before playing anyway, causing what has to be considered one of the oddest pairings of sound to take place in Grant Park, and in retaliation Band of Horses decided that they would attempt to “blow that shit out” and keep playing anyway. Well, fellas, sorry that Lou Reed had a senior moment, but you don’t try to upstage the guy that brought you to the festival in the first place. Nevermind the fact that any real Band of Horses fan surely got their fix between you guys playing at the Kids stage and having a House of Blues aftershow– welcome to the Lollapalooza banned list.
Final Verdict
With Lollapalooza getting bigger every year, it’s beginning to show some signs of growing pains. Perhaps the biggest offender in general was the lack of any real rock-n-roll prowess. Oh sure, there were lots of quaint bands, lots of solid bands, but very few blew me away. That being said, I hope that next year packs a bit more excitement, if not bigger names, and please Perry, let’s have more quality hip-hop next year, yeah?
What turned out to be one of the better Chicago festivals attended, Pitchfork 2009 puts a lot of pressure on the upcoming Lollapalooza festival, as the little festival that could has slowly crept up on its counterpart in terms of not only attracting quality bands, but also in the overall atmosphere. With nearly 55,000 fans entering Union Park during the course of the three-day festival, this little brother packs quite the punch.
Of course, there were things to nitpick over, whether it be the bleeding audio (which Lollapalooza still hasn’t even figured out in the much larger Grant Park setting), bathroom/beer lines, etc., but for all intents and purposes, Pitchfork was perfectly imperfect– a fantastic weekend of music.
Highlights
The Flaming Lips put on an expectedly exquisite show.
Of course the highlights begin with the heavy hitters of The Flaming Lips, Built to Spill and The National, all of which lived up to the hype and then some. The Lips played some new material and also a rare b-side just for fans, but otherwise most bands stuck to the Write the Night list based on what the fans voted.
Pharoahe Monch was incredibly solid, bringin the soulful flair that's sorely missing from most hip-hop.
Other highlights include Pharoahe Monch, who really energized the crowd, as well as Yo La Tengo and Blitzen Trapper. Also, the music and art vendors deserve a lot of props as well, as there was a ton of worthwhile shopping options (particularly for vinyl lovers).
Lowlights
There weren’t many, but one of the notable ones was of course DOOM (aka MF Doom, aka Viktor Vaughn, aka King Geedorah, and more), who looked to be more interested in hitting up the food vendors afterwards than actually performing. He’s never been known as a terrific live act to be sure, but at points it would have been equally interesting to simply have his music piped into the festival speakers. Tortoise was equally uninspiring as they looked to be going through the motions, seemingly forgetting that they are in fact playing in front of an audience.
As far as the festival itself was concerned, bathroom lines were a problem to the point that Pitchfork organizers had to call in an emergency shipment of portable johns. Another point of contention for many was the food selection at the festival– apparently the higher ups overestimated the number of people interested in vegetarian/vegan options, because there were definitely a large number of people bemoaning the lack of “normal” food options.
A Great Event
Yes, that is indeed the line for the Green Line post-Pitchfork.
Of course those are minor quibbles, and in the grand scheme of things, they really don’t amount to much. The fact is that Pitchfork put together one hell of a festival this year and are poised to overtake Lollapalooza in quality in the next year– if you don’t think they have already.
Pitchfork may attract a smaller crowd, but it's enough to shut down Ashland Ave.
With Pitchfork just a day away, the other major “bang for your buck” festival out in Colorado announced their stellar lineup. With headliners like Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Phoenix, Girl Talk, and Of Montreal, to name a few, its sure to be quite the event. Single day passes run $52, with two day passes going for a mere $95.
View the full lineup below:
SATURDAY 9/12
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Girl Talk
Of Montreal
M. Ward
DOOM
The Walkmen
OK Go
Ida Maria
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
Frightened Rabbit
Thao with the Get Down Stay Down
Hollywood Holt + Million $ Mano
Starfucker
Thunderheist
Woodhands
These United States
Cymbals Eat Guitars
The Antlers
Cotton Jones
Gregory Alan Isakov
Lydia
Generationals
Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros
The Answering Machine
Roadside Graves
Danielle Ate the Sandwich
Speakeasy Tiger
Autovaughn
Avi Buffalo
Wendy Darling
Boulder Acoustic Society
Caitlin Rose
SUNDAY 9/13
The Mars Volta
MSTRKRFT
Method Man & Redman
Phoenix
The Dandy Warhols
Chromeo
The Glitch Mob
Passion Pit
WALE
The Thermals
Harlem Shakes
Monotonix
The Grates
HEALTH
Deer Tick
The Twilight Sad
The Features
Spindrift
Savoy
Bad Veins
We Were Promised Jetpacks
Beats Antique
Tigercity
French Horn Rebellion
The Pirate Signal
Neon Indian
The Knew
A Shoreline Dream
The Royal Bangs
Red Wire Black Wire
Jim McTurnan & the Kids That Killed the Man
Rachel Goodrich
Yes, you read that correctly. As you may recall, Fuzzy Thoughts joined Twitter just a short while ago, and here’s one of the main reasons why. The live updates will begin at around 4:30 CST and will continue throughout the evening.
Here are the acts that will be playing at Union Park in Chicago tomorrow:
Tortoise 5:00 (C)
Yo La Tengo 6:10 (A)
The Jesus Lizard 7:20 (C)
Built to Spill 8:40 (A)
Beastie Boys headline a slew of what look to be solid aftershow sets during Lolla weekend (August 5-9). If there’s a band that you don’t think you’ll have a chance of seeing during the day, definitely check to see if they’ll be playing later on at night. Beastie Boys tickets go on sale June 26 at 10 am, while the rest of the shows go on sale June 27 at 10 am. The full schedule is below:
| Wednesday, August 5 | |
|---|---|
| Last Band Standing Remix Competition | Double Door- 21+ |
| Thursday, August 6 | |
| Beastie Boys | Congress Theater- 17+ Doors- 6:30pm Show- 8:00pm |
| The Decemberists & Heartless Bastards | Metro- 18+ Doors- 8:00pm |
| Thievery Corporation & Federico Aubele | House of Blues- 17+ Doors- 8:00pm |
| Friday, August 7 | |
| Arctic Monkeys & Modey Lemon | Metro- 18+ Doors- 10:00pm |
| Band of Horses & Cass McCombss | House of Blues- 17+ Doors- 10:00pm |
| TV on the Radio & Chairlift “A healthcare benefit for Colleen Malone” |
Double Door- 21+ Doors- 10:00pm |
| Crookers, Major Lazer, Simian Mobile Disco DJ Set, Bloody Beetroots DJ Set, KiD CuDi, Rye Rye, and Willy Joy |
Congress Theater- 17+ Doors- 8:00pm |
| Delta Spirit & Other Lives | Schubas- 21+ Doors- 10:00pm |
| Lykke Li & Mike Snow, Esser | Bottom Lounge – 21+ Doors- 9:00pm |
| Saturday, August 8 | |
| Fleet Foxes & Dungen | Metro- 18+ Doors- 10:00pm |
| STS9 (Sound Tribe Sector 9) & Special Guest | House of Blues- 17+ Doors- 10:30pm |
| Joe Pug & The Low Anthem | The Hideout- 21+ Doors- 10:00pm |
| Dan Auerbach & Cage the Elephant | Schubas- 21+ Doors- 10:00pm |
| Kaskade w/ James Amato and DJ Nigel O’Reilly | Smart Bar- 21+ Doors- 10:00pm |
| The Raveonettes w/ Living Things and Pretty Good Dance Moves (DJ Set) |
Empty Bottle – 21+ Doors- 10:00pm |
| Blind Pilot and Ezra Furman & The Harpoons | House of Blues Back Porch – 21+ Doors- 10:30pm |
| Sunday, August 9 | |
| Deerhunter w/ No Age and Dan Deacon | Logan Square Auditorium- All Ages Doors- 10:00pm |
| MSTRKRFT w/ LA Riots and Dark Wave Disco | Bottom Lounge- 18+ Doors- 9:00pm |
If you haven’t received the news directly from Lollapalooza yet, this year’s schedule has been revealed and it certainly doesn’t do any favors for those that were weary of this year’s lineup. Anyone with remotely eclectic musical tastes will have a difficult time figuring out what band to see. One such example is the Sunday, 6:30pm slot where Deerhunter, Lou Reed, Snoop Dogg are all lined up against each other.
As if there was any question before, it does look as though Pitchfork will be the ultimate destination this year. Click the link below for the full schedule:
After Pete Yorn finishes off supporting Coldplay on June 4, the singer/songwriter will embark on an extensive US tour in support of his upcoming release Back and Fourth. An album with great expectations, it will be interesting to see how Yorn’s material will translate live with his new backing band. Back and Fourth will be in stores on June 23 via Columbia Records.
Here’s the full list of dates below:
July 09 San Diego CA – House of Blues
July 10 Anaheim, CA - House of Blues
July 11 Tucson, AZ -Rialto Theatre
July 13 Austin, TX -La Zona Rosa
July 14 Houston, TX - Meridian
July 16 Nashville, TN - Cannery Ballroom
July 17 Atlanta, GA - CW Center Stage
July 20 Washington, DC - 930 Club
July 21 Baltimore, MD - Ram’s Head
July 25 Philadelphia, PA - XPN Radio Show - Wiggins Waterfront Park
July 26 Boston, MA - House of Blues
July 28 New York, NY - Webster Hall
July 29 New York, NY – Webster Hall
August 02 Pontiac, MI – Clutch Cargos
August 03 Chicago, IL - Park West
August 04 Chicago, IL - Park West
August 07 Kansas City, KS - Harrah’s Voodoo Lounge
August 08 Council Bluffs, IA - Whiskey Roadhouse at Horseshoe Casino
August 09 St. Louis, MO - Pageant
August 12 Minneapolis MN Fine Line Music Cafe
August 13 Minneapolis MN Fine Line Music Cafe
August 15 Denver, CO - Ogden Theatre
August 16 Salt Lake City, UT - Murray Theater
August 21 Vancouver, BC - Venue
August 22 Portland. OR – Roseland Theater
August 24 San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore
August 27 Los Angeles, CA - Henry Fonda Theatre
August 28 Los Angeles, CA - Henry Fonda Theatre
Supporting his solid 2008 release The Way I See It (which ranked 49th on the Fuzzy Thoughts Top 50 Albums of 2008 list), Raphael Saadiq will be on the road for much of the spring. Tickets for the majority of these shows are currently available via Ticketmaster.
Dates listed below:
|
DATE |
CITY, STATE |
VENUE |
|
Sat/Feb-28 |
San Diego, CA |
House of Blues |
|
Mon/Mar-02 |
Los Angeles, CA |
House of Blues |
|
Tue/Mar-03 |
San Francisco,CA |
The Fillmore |
|
Thu/Mar-05 |
Seattle, WA |
The Showbox @ The Market |
|
Fri/Mar-06 |
Portland, OR |
Wonder Ballroom |
|
Sat/Mar-07 |
Vancouver, BC |
Richard’s on Richards Cabaret |
|
Tue/Mar-10 |
Denver, CO |
Bluebird Theater |
|
Wed/Mar-11 |
Kansas City, MO |
Voodoo Lounge @ Harrah’s Casino |
|
Thu/Mar-12 |
Chicago, IL |
Park West |
|
Fri/Mar-13 |
Minneapolis, MN |
Fine Line Music Cafe |
|
Sun/Mar-15 |
Detroit, MI |
City Theatre |
|
Mon/Mar-16 |
Toronto, ON |
Phoenix Concert Theatre |
|
Tue/Mar-17 |
Montreal, QC |
Cabaret du Musse Juste Pour Rire |
|
Thu/Mar-19 |
Boston, MA |
Paradise Rock Club |
|
Fri/Mar-20 |
Philadelphia, PA |
Theatre Of The Living Arts |
|
Sat/Mar-21 |
New York City, NY |
Fillmore |
|
Mon/Mar-23 |
Baltimore, MD |
Rams Head Live! |
|
Tue/Mar-24 |
Washington, DC |
9:30 Club |
|
Thu/Mar-26 |
Charlotte, NC |
Wachovia Atrium |
|
Sat/Mar-28 |
Atlanta, GA |
Variety Playhouse |
