Lollapalooza 2009 Day Three: Been Caught Stealing
If there’s anything quantifiable about Perry Farrell and the evolution of Lollapalooza is that the dude, and the festival, is destined for a crown in weirdness. Even if it was his point from the get-go in ’91, disguised as a farewell tour for Jane’s Addiction. But much like the many young hearts that jumped the perimeters of Grant Park, lightning-bolting through a concrete jungle of tunage and smiles for the glory of a free ticket, Lolla ’09 cruised the continuing frontier of rock and festival with several moments of bliss.... read more
Lollapalooza 2009 Day Two: I Wanna Be Your Dog
Perry Farrell, being the rock sheik that he is, kept wide-eying reminders to grumpy, rained-out folk on Friday about how the sun would dominate the rest of the weekend. But he failed to prepare along the way, kids hopping fences and stretching wristbands in his oversight. Or maybe he’s cool like that. Either way, combined with the hot, humid air you could cut with a butter knife, Saturday was a sweaty, unleashed mess of pop, beginning with the Iggy kind.... read more
Lollapalooza 2009 Day One: Crooked Rain
Chicago’s behemoth of pop festivals, though dampened by eight hours of fantastically annoying rain droplets, laced up its rock kicks in prime fashion yesterday, Grant Park playing a muddy host to everything from tribal DJ sets to David Gahan’s iconic Depeche Mode nightcap.... read more
All Points West 2009 Day Three: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
All Points West is the “McLovin” of music festivals. It tries so hard... read more
All Points West 2009 Day Two: White Rabbits, ...Trail of Dead, St. Vincent, Kool Keith, Neko Case and More
“New York’s a pretty cool place,” lisped Tool’s Maynard Keenan from the All Points West main stage... read more
Dfest Keynote: Risk-Taking 101 - The Wisdom of Andrew W.K.
Going into Dfest's keynote address, delivered yesterday by the inimitable Andrew W.K., I had no idea what to expect. Would it be over as soon as it started? Would he simply walk onstage, punch himself in the face and walk off? But as fans of the wily rocker already know, there's much more to Andrew W.K. than the bloody nose on the cover of his first album. Of course, that's not a bad place to start. The following are excerpts and paraphrases I scribbled down during W.K.'s hour-long keynote and Q&A session. Read and learn.... read more
Update from Tulsa on the eve of Dfest
When I arrived at the airport in Tulsa, Okla., earlier this afternoon, I was almost immediately held hostage by an incredibly friendly elderly woman at the visitor's desk. All I had asked was if she'd seen anyone waiting to pickup panelists for this weekend's festival. She hadn't, but she did let me know about as many of her hometown's latest improvements as could possibly be crammed into 10 minutes of one-sided conversation. But she was such an earnest sweetheart, and so endearingly proud of her city that I couldn't bring myself to cut her off. When her desk phone suddenly... read more
Pitchfork Music Festival 2009: Do You Realize??
Wayne Coyne and his bubble, albeit always entertaining, was the outlier of Pitchfork’s pushing stride of excellence. First of all, Lollapalooza just pulled that card a few years back. Second, a 10 p.m. curfew for an was doomed to be unsatisfying. Whatever. Forgiven. The bar on festivals has been raised, before anyone could even get in to Union Park at 1 p.m.... read more
Pitchfork Music Festival 2009: We Miss Being Ruffians
Pitchfork's festival has always fought the good fight to rise above the internet buzz of the now and host emergent, top-notch tuneage. Bursts of unbridled true colors have been spotted the past four years (see fire marshals suppressing the onstage parties of Girl Talk and Dan Deacon), and this year was no exception.... read more
Pitchfork Music Festival 2009: There Will Be No Encore...
Flannel shirts everywhere, the fourth evolution of the Pitchfork Music Festival wafted over Chicago like a Seattle rain cloud circa 1992. And what a way to start: hometown fusion heroes, Tortoise, followed by the supreme thrash and fuzz of Yo La Tengo, another hometown reincarnation, the Jesus Lizard, and lastly, bearded shredders, Built to Spill.... read more
Bonnaroo 2009: Band of Horses Bring it on Home, Steal Our Hearts
I'd been hyping up this show pretty much all damn Bonnaweekend, but it fully met my expectations. Really, there were so many great acts I got to see at the festival (some old and familiar, some brand new to my ears), but Band of Horses and I, we've been going steady for several months now. Things are getting serious. And if you ask me, there's no better time to see a band live than when you're right in the thick of that phase. I was a bit late to jump on the Bandwagon of Horses, having immersed myself in Everything... read more
Bonnaroo 2009: Progging Out with The Decemberists, Mars Volta
Still royally tuckered out from some late-night Girl Talkin', day three at Bonnaroo was pretty mellow for me. I spent most of it catching the tunes at the Sonic Stage (Brett Dennen, Grace Potter, Heartless Bastards, etc.) where the lovely Paste oasis is stationed. In early evening, I caught a solid half hour of Athens, Ga. kooks, Of Montreal, who absolutely won me over. As soon as I return from Manchester, I plan on listening to their songs that have been sullenly sitting on my iPod, just waiting to be loved. ... read more
The Boss Rules Bonnaroo with a Pumped Fist
Usually at Bonnaroo, my musical ADD makes me hop from one show to another after six or eight songs—there’s just so much good stuff to hear. But two artists accounted for over five hours of my time yesterday—Wilco and Bruce Springsteen. A two-hour set from Wilco reminded me that the band has two of my favorite guitarists—Jeff Tweedy and Nils Cline—and Pat Sansone ain't no slouch. I Tweeted to the world (or at least the small portion of the world that gives a crap about my proclamations) that there are very few live bands better than Wilco right now. But... read more
Bonnaroo 2009: Phoenix, Crystal Castles, Girl Talk
My personal Bonnaroo setlist this year has taken a turn for the electronic. Last year's experience was steeped in folk and good ole' guitar rock, but so far, it's been a non-stop dance party this time around. Sometimes these musical selections feel a little odd at a festival known for its hippie garb and vegan fare, but I've noticed a strong following of young folks who want to pulsate to blaring techno beats until the wee hours of the morning. And last night, I pulsated with the best of 'em.... read more
My Friday at Bonnaroo Featured Animal Collective, Grizzly Bear and Beastie Boys, but Al Green Wins
In a day full of musical highlights from The Low Anthem, Animal Collective, Santigold, Grizzly Bear, Lucinda Williams, Beastie Boys and David Byrne, the most memorable came during Al Green's set on the big What Stage, when we broke into "Let's Stay Together." Hitting impossible high notes and sliding onto his knees, Rev. Al showed that his time in the pulpit has been just fine for the soul. He looked mighty dapper in his dark suit and tossed roses to pretty girls in the front the front rows.... read more
Bonnaroo 2009: Santi's Golden Performance
It sucks to be short at Bonnaroo. It sucks to be short at any concert, really. And at my meager stature of 5'3'', my typical view is all dreadlocks, all the time. With a year's practice, though, I've nearly mastered the art of squeezing through the throngs of unshowered neo-hippies.The key is to start from the sides and angle in toward the front, shamelessly taking every pathway that presents itself when the folks suffering from bad trips decide to exit the tents for much-needed timeouts. In the past, it's gotten me inches away from Lupe Fiasco and Iron and Wine,... read more
Little Rock Film Festival 2009: Final thoughts
The Eyes of MeIf you missed the biggest little film fest in the south here are some things to look forward to next year.... read more
Little Rock Film Festival 2009: More Films
LRFF organizers say attendance numbers have more than doubled over last year's festival. Part of the reason has to be the high quality of films screening. Here are some of my favorites.Daryl Wein (Breaking Upwards) & Logan Miller (Touching Home) at LRFF PicnicTouching HomeThink about this scenario: You've never written a screenplay. You've never directed a film. You've never acted in a film. Heck, you've never even been a grip. Try taking that resume and making a film with it, starring veteran actor Ed Harris. That is exactly what co-directors Logan and Noah Miller have done with Touching Home. Based... read more
Little Rock Film Festival 2009: Donahue talks
Raving about the city's downtown restoration to a glammed up crowd at the Clinton Library Gala, Phil Donahue gave the keynote address for the Little Rock Film Festival declaring "You look like you bought a pretty prom dress." The legendary talk show host had screened his documentary Body of War earlier in the day. Also, awards were distributed for best documentary The Way We Get By and best narrative That Evening Sun. Festival Organizers Craig and Brent Renaud with Phil DonahueThe Way We Get ByDirector Aron Gaudet follows three senior citizens who voluntarily spend their days, with others, greeting American troops as they arrive at... read more
Little Rock Film Festival 2009
First thing to do when arriving to the Little Rock Film Festival (if the films and parties haven't started) is to walk down Markham St. to The Flying Fish restaurant, just a rock's throw from the Bill Clinton Library. While waiting in line to order (there is ALWAYS a line) you giggle at the hundreds of photos of customers with fish that are posted on the wall . Then you grab a beer from the fridge and order from a choice of catfish, shrimp, oysters, frog legs, crawfish, calamari--fried, grilled, boiled, whatever. Today I kept it simple with a shrimp cocktail, a... read more
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