Concert Gallery: Bonnaroo 2013

Last weekend, me and my friends descended upon the magical land that is Bonnaroo. It was first time ever visiting the farm. And it ended up being one of the most memorable, wonderful, and life-altering experience of my life.

We drove in Thursday from Missouri after a six-hour drive and headed straight to see one of the most buzz-about up-and-coming bands in the fest- Haim. We got there early enough to enjoy swinging set by JD McPherson and his band. Haim, put on their game (and bass) faces on and rocked their way through, only stopping to bring a young boy on stage to join them after the band spotted him holding a “Kiss Me Este” sign. We went for a little break to grab a quick dinner but came back just in time to catch a super-packed super-fun dance party heralded by Django Django. People were shoulder to shoulder and jumping along to every beat of the songs. Afterwards, we were entranced and serenaded by Father John Misty, proving he is his own act, apart from Fleet Foxes. To close the night, we tried to stop by the Alt-J tent, but the place was so full of people, it was impossible to get in. It was amazing to think how the Alt-J boys have ascended to the throne of unofficial Thursday headliners when one year ago they were still a relatively unknown band.

Friday was an early start for us as we went to see Local Natives. We were charmed by their musicianship, their harmonies, and their facial hair. And wow, were they rambunctious live! I separated from my friends next to see Grizzly Bear and the hazy sun provided just the right mood for the boys and their choir-boy harmonies. Solange even came out to sing a beautiful rendition of Two Weeks with the band. Everyone then started heading to the main stage to see Sir Paul McCartney live. It was a surreal experience to be seeing a living Beatle in the flesh and Sir Paul rocked out with the best of them even in his seventies. For almost everybody, seeing Sir Paul was worth the price of the ticket itself and more. With tons of consternation, I ducked out halfway through Sir Paul’s set to go see The xx. The regret eased a little when The xx started playing as the band put out a fantastic set, complete with moody light shows and dramatic poses. We even sand Oliver Sim happy birthday!

Saturday was a shorter day for us as we slept in to get our energy back. But we got up in time to see Dirty Projectors as they harmonized for us in their own beautiful oblique way (catching the end of The Tallest Man on Earth‘s set as well). We then headed over to a different stage to wait for The Lumineers. And while waiting, we were able to glimpse a happier more stage-savvy Cat Power. When The Lumineers came on, we were charmed by their aw-shucks earnestness. They made us feel better about wanting to stay their whole set since Mumford & Sons cancelled from the festival yesterday because of an emergency brain clot surgery for bassist Ted Dwane. We eneded the night light as we stayed for the Jim James and John Oates led Super Jam. I was kinda bummed though when I heard the next day that R Kelly, Billy Idol, and Brittany Howard of the Alabama Shakes joined the Super Jam after since we left halfway through the set.

As Sunday rolled along, we were starting to feel kinda sad that this magical experience was coming to an end but not before we danced our behinds off for Macklemore & Ryan Lewis. No guilty feelings here for thoroughly enjoying the goofiness of Macklemore. Things became serious quickly as Kendrick Lamar came out next. Lamar flashed a different side of rap, and it’s brilliant. Afterward, we waited patiently for The National (one of the acts I was looking forward to seeing the most personally). Matt Berninger and the guys completely rocked the show out, bringing Bonnaroo 2013 racing towards an epic conclusion for me. Before leaving early to beat the traffic though, we went over to see the end of David Byrne & St Vincent‘s wonderfully choreographed set. And with that, Bonnaroo 2013 was a memory, forever etched in my mind and heart.

Check out photos and videos I took from the festival embedded below.

Entrance

Beautiful library

JD McPherson

Haim

Haim

Haim

Django Django

Father John Misty

Alt-J

Ferris Wheel at night

Fountain by the day

Local Natives

Grizzly Bear

Paul McCartney

Paul McCartney

Paul McCartney

The xx

The xx

Dountain by night

Tallest Man on Earth

Dirty Projectors

Cat Power

The Lumineers

The Lumineers

Super Jam

Macklemore

Macklemore

Kendrick Lamar

The National

The National w/ St Vincent

David Byrne & St Vincent

David Byrne & St Vincent

David Byrne & St Vincent

Album To Check Out: Braids – In Kind // Amends EP

Raphaelle Standell-Preston, the lead singer of Braids has had a busy year so far, one that is marked by progress and change. Earlier this year, she and her friend Agor Cowan, as part of the electronic music duo Blue Hawaii, released their sophomore album – the lovely, tender Untogether. Blue Hawaii allows Standell-Preston to tap into the rhythm-focused side of her musical brain and this showed up in the dancier tracks of Untogether.

While Blue Hawaii is lighter and sweeter, Standell-Preston’s main band Braids focuses more on the intense and sensual side of music. The first record they released, 2011′s Native Speaker was one of the my favorite albums released from recent years. Later this August, Braids will be releasing their follow-up to it with Flourish // Perish. Progress does come with change though as original Braids band member Katie Lee has left the band. Thankfully, Braids have soldered on. And to help prepare it’s listeners for Flourish // Perish, the band has released an intermediary EP In Kind // Amends.

In Kind // Amends, as its name describes feature two tracks from the upcoming Flourish // Perish along with two additional B-Side tracks, Near Enough and A Dawn In Me. After listening to the EP, my appetite for new Braids music has substantially been whetted. The new tracks feel like a progression from what Native Speaker has started – they flow and seep into your skin like a warm dose of embrace. These are beautiful tracks and I can’t wait to hear more. August can’t come soon enough.

Listen to In Kind, my favorite of the two main tracks embedded below.

Braids – In Kind // Amends EP comes out 6/11 via Arbutus (order here)

Album To Check Out: Jagwar Ma – Howlin

When you first listen to the sound of Jagwar Ma, you may be forgiven for thinking that they are a 90s British band. The duo of producer Jono Ma and singer Gabriel Winterfield are in fact tried and true Aussies, hailing from that magical land of Sydney. But the music that they present is deeply rooted in the sounds of the late 80s – early 90s British rock scene. That was the time of The Stone Roses and of Blur. That was the time of the Madchester scene.

So yes, the songs that Jagwar Ma creates in their debut record Howlin have this beachy psychedelic gauze to it. It is dance music that combines garage rock with a club sound. There’s hip-hop beats to it and there’s extended fuzzy outros. And it’s all done in a manner that make you yearn for that memory when that flavor of Brit rock was king. Well done.

Stream throwback first single The Throw embedded below.

Jagwar Ma – Howlin comes out 6/11 via Mom + Pop (order here)

Album To Check Out: Surfer Blood – Pythons

The first time I listened to Surfer Blood, the alternative pop four-piece from West Palm Beach, I was immediately intrigued. This was before the debut of their breakout first record Astro Coast. Surfer Blood were the openers for a Japandroids show that I was attending and I went in not knowing anything about the band. Turns out that the band plays immediately catchy tunes. Definitely owing a debt to Weezer, Surfer Blood creates ear-worming beach-worthy tunes. I liked what I heard. and apparently so did the rest of the listening public as Surfer Blood found success, leading the band to sign a major label deal with Warner.

However before the release of their highly-anticipated sophomore record, an unfortunate thing happened. John Paul Pitts, the lead singer was arrested for domestic battery with his then live-in-girlfriend. Though the charges were eventually dropped, this incident has definitely soured a lot of people’s opinion about the band, me included. This incident made me not actively seek out or even listen to new Surfer Blood music, even as the band got ready to release Pythons, their second record. I finally got over this disenchantment with the band enough to finally give Pythons an objective listen, not letting the arrest cloud my judgement.

And you know what? Pythons maintain that same wonderful, fun rhythm that Astro Coast has. Pitts knows how to write a melody, and Pythons is once again full of them catchy tunes. It feels more streamlined and less aggressive than Astro Coast which gives it more of  a laid-back vibe. Give this an objective listen and you’ll remember why you liked Surfer Blood in the first place.

Dance your way to the aptly-titled first single Demon Dance embedded below.

Surfer Blood – Pythons comes out 6/11 via Warner (order here)

Album To Check Out: Disclosure – Settle

If you have been paying close attention to the music community, you will no doubt notice one of the hottest acts going on among music circles right now. I’m talking about the UK-based electronic dance band Disclosure. Composed of the young brotherly duo of Guy and Howard Lawrence (they’re only 21 and 18, omg!), Disclosure has sky-rocketed from being a buzzy much-hyped band back when they released their great remix of the Jessie Ware track Running to being an in-demand megastar to their native UK, with the US audience quickly gaining traction.

Much of it, of course is well-deserved. Take a look at their debut record Settle. Instead of mining and exploiting the current EDM dance craze, Disclosure went the other direction and decided to create an eclectic mix of styles, using such varied sources as house dance, RnB, and garage rock. Their tracks zigs when most people expect it to zag, making the listen much more pleasurable.

Sure, none of what Disclosure does is new, but they combine so many elements so well that it’s hard to complain. And when paired with an all-star cast of other buzzy artists such as the after-mentioned Jessie Ware, AlunaGeorge, Jaimie Woon, and London Grammer, among others to sing in their tracks, well, it’s a no wonder Disclosure has stumbled upon a sure-fire way to make you listen. And dance.

Watch the video for my favorite track from the record, When A Fire Starts To Burn.

Disclosure – Settle comes out 6/4 via Island Records (order here)

Concert Gallery: Foals w/ Surfer Blood and Blondfire @ The Pageant

Last Friday brought UK dance rock outfit Foals to the Pageant for a night of intense dancing and fun. Foals have grown real big real fast, having just played at the smaller Firebird less than a year ago but have now moved on to the much bigger Pageant. I have heard great things about Foals‘ live shows from my friends, so I was very much looking forward to dancing the stress from my week and start the weekend off right.

And what a dancerrific time it was! Foals, in fact, are very much a superior band when experienced live. Their songs on record are great, but when played live, Yannis Philippakis and company are able to infuse a bigger life to their songs, extending and improvising on them such that they become an altogether different thing when all is said and done. These extended dance jams made the crowd go crazy in their dancing and about half-way through, I couldn’t resist anymore and jumped into the crazy mosh-pitting near the stage!

There were two openers for the show. The main openers were West Palm Beach power-pop rockers Surfer Blood who were touring in support of their fun new record Pythons. It’s been a while since I last saw Surfer Blood and I forgot how fun they and their songs are live. At one point, leadman John Paul Pitts painted whiskers on his face, donned a beret and brought out an electric cigarette before jumping into the audience and hammed it out with the crowd in the back. It was quite a spectacle.

The early opener were brother-sister band Blondfire. I was unfamiliar with them before the show, but they provided an fun pop sound to the early arrivers, even providing a wonderful cover of Fleetwood Mac‘s Dreams.

Check out photos from the show that I took as well as live recordings of Surfer Blood playing their new song Weird Shapes and Foals playing my favorite dance jam from their very good record Holy Fire, My Number.

Concert Gallery: The Tallest Man on Earth @ The Pageant

Last night bought Sweden’s The Tallest Man on Earth to The Pageant here in St Louis for a wonderfully intimate performance to an adoring crowd. I almost didn’t make it to the show as I was meeting up with some friends for some outdoor summer fun at the city’s botanical gardens. But those plans quickly got crimped as rain and thunderstorms came to St Louis, and I decided at the last minute to go see The Tallest Man instead.

And boy, I am glad I did. The Tallest Man on Earth is Kristian Matsson and he is known for his exceptional guitar picking skills. If you think seeing just a guy and a guitar for a show would be boring, you haven’t seen The Tallest Man in action then. Even though he’s just playing by himself and he’s only using a single guitar, Mattson easily filled the room with a full sound. Whether through booming strums or through meticulous finger picks, the songs that Mattson creates seem to just come alive and grab the listener.

And The Tallest Man himself is a very interesting performer. Hunched over and staring intensely at the crowd, Mattson makes full use of his bare stage which has no props beside a chair and a few amps. He would continually pick the guitar while marching to either end of the platform. There’s a forcefulness to his movements that can’t help but make you intrigued in watching him. I really, really enjoyed this show and I’m glad it rained.

Philadelphia’s Strand of Oaks started the night off right with a steady blend of sad songs before ending their set with some inspired guitar playing.

Check out the few photographs I took from the show below as well as a video I recorded of The Tallest Man playing 1904.