SXSW Wrap Up Part 2

Now for SXSW Part 2, almost a month later.  Worth the wait perhaps because I have some interesting footage below, including the Death From Above 1979 1st reunion show/riot and Odd Future crew who are on the booster rocket to stardom.  Onward…

Day 4

Odd Future

Part of Odd Future’s success is certainly due to their unhinged live shows.  These guys are young, virile, and reckless and you know it by watching them perform.  They whip the crowd into a frenzy even before they take the stage, simply because the legend of violence and chaos from their previous shows precedes them.  Of course, you need good beats to start with and that combined with Tyler the Creator’s gravelly voice have the makings of good, grimy, hip hop.  And outlandish, immature lyrics certainly help to get the kids into it (as someone over 30, I’ll try to pretend to be offended so the kids can think they’re being rebellious).

A couple notes about the video from the show below – I wanted to see OF at the Thrasher Party @ The Scoot Inn because it was being billed as an all-ages show, which I thought would add to the energy.  That was true, but upon arriving well over an hour before their set, the line to get in was around the block.  Instead I decided to get a spot on the chain link fence outside with a clear, if distant, view of the stage and good sound.

The Scoot Inn is located east of I-35 in a light industrial zone and judging by the bouncers and other staff, is probably a punk bar/venue.  These are guys you don’t want to mess with.  Fortunately, for my entertainment, many who couldn’t get in decided to do just that.  The first few to jump a high rear fence made it, but soon the staff got wise and started semi-violently ejecting jumpers.  One guy hesitated while still at the top of the fence, and a bouncer nimbly bounded up the interior wall, forcibly shoved him off.  The would-be trespasser fell backwards a good 8 feet.

At one point, after Odd Future went on, the plastic ties holding two pieces of the chain link fence got snipped and people about 6 feet to my left started pouring in.  I was content to stay outside as I saw several of those people get the “hammerlock shove-out” from bouncers that were getting increasingly ornery.  Of course, at least 20-30 people got in scot-free.

The show itself didn’t disappoint.  The kinetic energy generated by OF was off the charts.  The music was decent for a hip-hop show – shows I usually find disappointing  sound-wise.  I can’t say the music is insanely new or overwhelming, but that’s what the performance is for.

Tyler and crew stage dove from increasingly higher points: first from the stage, then the speaker tower, then the rooftop.  At some point a stage dive by Tyler broke some poor kid’s nose.  In the video below, during Tyler’s high profile track, “French,” the first thing you see is the broken-nose kid talking with staff.  Then you can see Tyler and I believe Hodgy Beats up on the speakers, just above the blue tent in the foreground.  Tyler jumps from there, then later (at 2:38 on the video below) you see Hodgy fall from the sky (actually stage rooftop), feet first:

Toro y Moi

After that chaos, I was ready for a mellow afternoon.  I walked up around the corner to the Pitchfork #Offline festival that was winding down.  Toro y Moi, major buzzband with its second release just out, was just starting their set.  It was nice afternoon set, the sound set up there was very good as far as Austin venues go and the sun got low while the breeze picked up.  I have a hang-up with Toro mastermind Chaz’s voice that no one else seems to mention – a little hollow and off-key at times – but with a full backing band, the music was great.   The last time I saw Toro, it was just Chaz and a laptop as I recall.  This is a major step up.

Gayngs

Later that evening I headed to the Dickies party at Lustre Pearl.  During the Interactive conference part of SX, the Pearl was a great spot not too far away from the convention center, but away from the chaos of downtown.  It’s an old house with a huge backyard.  For the Dickies showcase that backyard had a fairly big tent in it for Noah & the Whale, Gayngs, Black Lips and Little Dragon.

Gayngs, a super-group of indie rock that has come together to make smooth “yacht rock”/70s am gold, is great.  I have a soft spot in my heart for this kind of music.  Plus what’s better than Justin Veron of Bon Iver doing backing vocals with an auto-tune or vocorder effect?  Toward the end of the set, they brought out Har Mar Superstar who brought the house down with a rendition of George Michael’s “One More Try” (forgotten single from the Faith album), which you can see in the second clip below.

Black Lips

The Black Lips predictably led to some good old fashioned moshing.  I took a little video, but it wasn’t any good, which is saying something.  I enjoy the Black Lips.  I never saw them when they were really reckless, but they still messed with the crowd a bit.  Just good old dirty garage rock, nothing wrong with that.

Little Dragon

Little Dragon was incredible.  Up to this point I hadn’t seen them before, seemingly missing every one of the countless shows they seemed to be doing around LA in the last couple years despite KCRW DJ Garth Trinidad’s constant hyping of them.  I even missed their Coachella set last year.  Anyway, it was good stuff, but I only have one album (Machine Dreams) so wasn’t sure what was what.  Was too ‘in the moment, man’ to take any video.

Day 5

My last day of SX started with the Mog party right back at the Mohawk again, where it seemed long ago when I had seen No Age and Washed Out (along with some band in which comedic actor Michael Cera was playing bass).  It was actually only 6 days, but SX has a way of stretching and contracting time in strange ways.  By the way, Mog is a slick app/web-service if you’re into the subscription based model of getting music (I’m not a paid spokesmodel).

Twin Shadow

I was very excited to see Twin Shadow.  I really dig his debut album.  And I’m not sure why.  This music draws from a genre – New Wave – I’ve only sometimes understood or enjoyed, and from artists that often revolt me, well, namely Morrissey.  But there is something different with Twin Shadow that I can’t put my finger on.  Maybe the music is bouncier and the voice more smooth and slightly less vulnerable.  Maybe it’s the production on the album.  Maybe it’s the nostalgia for an 80s prom I never had, yet for some reason actual New Wave is from actual 80s proms so it’s tainted (wow that’s convoluted…).  Maybe I just haven’t given the Smith’s and Morrissey a fair shake.  (Hey I like some of The Cure and Depeche Mode.)  At any rate, this set in the tiny Mohawk indoor stage was much anticipated.  It was fairly up close and personal, but the music sounded pretty good for the room.  When Mr. Twin Shadow, George Lewis Jr., said “see you next time” I shouted “at Coachella” to which he responded “you guys can’t get enough, can you?”  I think he was in awe of the music appetites of SX attendees in general.

TV on the Radio & Big Boi

Unfortunately after watching Twin Shadow, TVOTR was already playing and the patio stage area was packed.  So I took it in from much less crowded but also less enjoyable VIP terrace.  The stiff breeze and high perch was no way to take in a TVOTR show.  I look forward to seeing them here in May.

Big Boi was easier to hear for obvious reasons, but I was still upstairs.  He spent what I thought was an inordinate amout of time playing Outkast hits.  Be a big boy, Big Boi!  Eventually he played some of his own stuff from the underrated Sir Luscious Leftfoot.  His flow is impressive.

DFA 1979

There were some tempting options on hand for Saturday night, but in the midst of planning my final moves, I caught wind of something that almost flew under the radar: Death From Above 1979′s 1st show back since breaking up 5 years ago.  I had not seen them the first time around, and though there was a chance to see them coming up at Coachella, I had to see the first show back.  I got to the venue just in the nick of time.  While the wristband line was quite long, there were only two people ahead of me in the badge line.  Within minutes it was more than 10 people.  I still had to wait awhile to get in, but eventually I did.

Footage of the riot outside can be found in plenty of other places.  Suffice to say when the fence came down, I was ready to bolt to the Beauty Bar’s backdoor to escape the on-rush of people.  (Note: This show was in a small tent in the alley behind the actual Beauty Bar.  Its capacity was said to be capped at 200 people.  There were at least as many people outside the tent as in it.)  At the time when the fence came down, I found it curious there wasn’t immediately a dangerous crush of people.  Only found out later it was due to a small band of security and police pepper-spraying and tasering people who tried to cross the fence.  It was a song or two later, after the fence was put back up that you saw the mounted police who were actually beating people.

Below you get all the rocking hits (sorry too lazy to label them all) as well as a lot of DFA’s banter to calm down the ‘rioters’ outside.  Call your mom.  Right now.  Call your mom.

SXSW wrap up Part 1

Welcome to Austin

So SX is already old news, but I’ve got a lot of semi-crappy iPhone video for you!  Actually the audio in most cases is pretty good…still surprised the at capabilities of the 4.  Now if I could just stand still at these shows…

Day 1

While I had seen a little from the likes of Washed Out and No Age during the Interactive part of SX, I couldn’t really give them my full attention.  So Day 1 for me was March 15th – the crossover day where Music begins picking up even though it doesn’t officially start until the next day.  It was a warm up day for me as well, with only a couple bands.  (Didn’t take any video).

First, was The Foo Fighters at the closing party for Interactive.  I had actually been anticipating the originally billed group, Fitz and the Tantrums, but the Foo took their spot.  (I learned later that Fitz went on much later in the evening, but at the time had no idea whether they would be performing or whether Foo had been a last minute replacement.  Hope to see Fitz et. al.’s soul re-hash someday).  I respect the Foo Fighters, dig Dave Grohl’s sense of humor and charisma, but I would never pay to see them.  However, seeing them for free at the less than 2000 person Stubbs was a nice treat.  They played their forgettable new album in its entirety and then 6 or so of the hits everyone wants to hear.

Not knowing the status of Fitz and curious about looking forward musically rather than backward to Fitz’s Motown-soul, I moved on to Emo’s for Mount Kimbie and Golden Panda.  I only caught the last two songs of Mt. Kimbie, but all of Panda.  Both acts to me reveal a future direction for music – I have a feeling the bands who follow in these guys footsteps will create so much bass, chopped vocals and noise that I will have to admit old-man defeat (aka my musical glass ceiling).  But for now I find myself very curious about these acts and actually enjoyed their sets.  The way both of these acts play and manipulate their electronics and how they combine them with vocals and/or “regular” instruments seems novel compared to a lot of electronic artists.  Hoping to see Mount Kimbie for a full set at Coachella so I can get a better reading on them.

Day 2

The second day was my first full day of music.  Things began in the afternoon at Club de Ville with Yuck and Smith Westerns.  I hadn’t really listened to either act very thoroughly, but was curious especially about SW as more than a few people had said their album, Dye It Blonde, was their new favorite.  I found both acts enjoyable, though I wasn’t blown away by either.

In the evening I saw James Blake back at Stubbs.  His smooth R&B croon combined with blasts of heavy bass had the girls in front of me swooning.  This is the more accessible future of music (as compared to somewhat less accessible Golden Panda and Mount Kimbie – the latter being a band he used to play with).  Here are videos of the two most popular song from his most recent album:

Freddie Gibbs – I wasn’t too impressed with.  Halfway through the show at the Mohawk he felt compelled to take off his shirt to show off his gym body.  Cool bro.  It is often hard for good hip-hop on albums to translate live, but this was especially poor.

Low – I left the hip hop showcase at Mohawk a bit earlier than I thought to go to church.  Yeah they use a couple downtown churches for showcases of mellow acts.  I knew nothing about Low but discovered they are quite popular – there was a sizable crowd waiting to get a spot in the pews.  I could see why, these guys make powerful songs (that was only enhanced by the setting).  This was my favorite song from their set:

Memoryhouse was the reason I came to the church.  After hearing just a couple songs from the blogosphere (probably GvB) I was curious to hear more from them.  I was into the “chillwave” acts from a couple years ago (Memory Tapes, Washed Out, etc.) and these guys seemed in that vein.  Their setup ran into a little trouble – a pedal for the guitarist didn’t seem to be working right – and they were delayed probably 15-20 minutes.

As an aside, probably the most common and difficult thing (for audiences and bands alike) at SX is not getting proper sound checks and/or quality sound people at various venues.  This was not the only time I saw technical difficulties delay a performance.  And of course, even if a band gets their set up done without a hitch, the sound systems at a lot of venues leave a lot to be desired.  To me, this SX fact of life might actually serve the beneficial purpose of putting bands through numerous trials by fire – if you can setup your own stuff and not get flustered by any problems you run into, it seems even the greenest of bands will be well seasoned after playing 4-8 SX sets.

Anyway, Memoryhouse was ok.  Coming after Low, whose music filled the room, Memoryhouse felt a little more hallow.  The lead singer has a pretty voice, but it is very stiff and mannered.  Listening to them live this aspect of her vocals seemed more pronounced than on record.  After spending upwards of two hours in church pews I got antsy and left about 3/4s into their set.

I ended my night at a bar on 6th Street, listening to DJ Cam.  His setup took longer than you would think for a DJ because he seemed to really need this little projection screen behind him that just showed still pictures of forest scenes.  His set was decent, but unfortunately the plug was pulled on him just as it seemed he was getting into the hip-hop portion of his set.

Day 3

Day 3 began with an afternoon Miami Horror DJ set put on by Om Records and some magazine.  They played a fun set mostly of forgotten 80s electro/house – the most memorable track included snippets from some old Arnold Schwarzenegger workout video.  I tried to ignore the ping-pong table that wasn’t being used (and to some degree abused) on the W Terrace.  Hey K-Swiss, if you’re going to put a branded ping pong table up at a party, maybe you should have someone there encouraging people to use it for something more than a drink table or bench.

In the evening, I made it an unheard of back-to-back nights in a church, this time the Presbyterian one, to see Julianna Harwick and Cults.  I really wanted to stay for Glasser as well, but had a conflict with The Kills who I can’t really get enough of.  Harwick is kinda a one-trick pony; using only her vocals and a device that loops her phrases, she creates these soaring, ethereal songs.  It is powerful stuff, again aided in no small way by the soaring ceilings and lit stained glass windows.

Cults followed Harwick.  This was another band whom I hadn’t heard more than 2-3 tracks from, but seemed to be gaining momentum on the internet and from music festival programmers (they are scheduled to play Coachella among other fests).  Yet again sound setup problems delayed their set, but it was not nearly as long as Memoryhouse the night before.  Cults trade in sugary sweet poppy songs.  Some of their songs sound like songs for toddlers.  That sounds like a putdown, but it’s not.  It’s incredibly catchy stuff.  I don’t think the church setting was too helpful for their sound, but they didn’t sound bad either.  And in the clip below can see a lady with some sweet hair bopping along to their song “Go Outside.”  Look for Cults songs to be licensed to any brand that wants to convey “summeryness” in its commercials this summer.

I hustled my way over the Emo’s so as to make sure I got in for The Kills and got there early enough to see Austra.  I had never heard of her, and I found it decent.  The frontwoman has an amazing voice.  The overall feel of the music and show was like “what if Fever Ray went glam?”  You can get more background on Austra and better video here.  But here is my crappy video from her set:

Ah the main event – The Kills.  I was very much looking forward to seeing them in such a small venue as Emo’s, and a venue that is grimy enough to fit the vibe of their whole sleazy aesthetic.  The couple new songs from their upcoming album I had heard before this set were very promising and the new songs they played during this set might have been even better, including the one I recorded below, “Heart is a Beating Drum.”  Their set was all new music except for “Sour Cherry” and “No Wow.”  I’m hoping we get a slightly longer set at Coachella so they can play a few more old songs alongside the great new album.

All jazzed up after The Kills, I was hoping to catch an artist named Woolfy.  I have his album but have never really investigated anything about him.  The album is just pure funky goodness.  Unfortunately after hoofing it across town to Malverde, I discovered he wasn’t playing for some unknown reason.  So Woolfy remains a mystery.  Instead I got a DJ set from Classixx (pretty fun, more 80s funky electro) and then a karok-ish act called Punches.  I felt compelled to record them because they have their very own Bez.  Bez was a member of the Happy Mondays, whose sole job was to dance ridiculously on stage during their shows.   Well this group Punches has their very own Bez, for better or worse.  Or maybe a redundant backup twin DJ since at the end of this clip the Bez takes control of the computer and the similar-looking DJ becomes the Bez.

COMING SOON:

Day 4

Odd Future chaos at Scoot Inn, Toro y Moi, the Dig, Dickies showcase: Noah & Whale, Gayngs, Black Lips, Little Dragon

Day 5

Mog party: Okkervil River, Twin Shadow, TV on the Radio, Big Boi.  And the DFA 1979 riot.

Jay Z, Coldplay, AND Jamie Lidell?? The Cosmopolitan Vegas – New Years Eve

Hey there Vegas fan, do you like the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino but hate how it’s away from the action on the Strip?  More importantly, do you hate how it continues to be associated with only the most douchey and/or has-been music acts of recent memory (check out the upcoming Tiesto residency, Disturbed and Korn double bill, and Santana here), and regret staying in a hotel where those douchey bands’ trashy fans stay?  And maybe your days of needing to score that 8 ball and a hooker at the Circle Bar for your buddy’s bachelor party are behind you, but you’re not quite ready for the lameness/corporate Disneyland-esqueness of the rest of Vegas?  Well the mad bankers at Deutsche Bank (not to be confused with Douche Bank) may have the hotel for you: The Cosmopolitan.  And it may very well become a music lover’s paradise.

Bellagio fountain and Paris view from my Cosmopolitan balcony

one important aspect that might not be getting a ton of press yet is that the Cosmo is going to be plying crowds with great music

If this were a travel blog, I might go into to some detail about the awesome column-sized lobby video installations (and other art), the 3 story Chandelier Bar, the outdoor balconies in most rooms (being outside 40 stories up or more looking down on the Bellagio fountain is pretty sweet), the touchscreen directories every 10 yards, the iPads built into the check-in desks for guest use, its prime location on The Strip between Bellagio and City Center, the free wifi that doesn’t require any logging in and isn’t hard to acquire like most hotels, unique stores like Stitched, and insane restaurants like Jose Andres’ Jaleo (and a $23 buffet that redefines what a Vegas buffet can be), but now having given you this run-on sentence overview, you can go find more about that stuff elsewhere.  Suffice to say, the only bad thing about this place is that its name tends to conjure up pink girly drinks and articles about “99 ways to slim you waist by revving up your sex life.”  And while you will find more aging boomers wandering about here than the Hard Rock (due to its central location), all the beautiful people are here too.

Same view with the fountain in action

The bankers took control of the property a few years ago after they loaned the original developer a bunch of money and that developer defaulted.  Now in an apparent quest to throw good money after bad, and drive the perceived value of the property up enough to sell in a couple years, the Germans are pulling out all the stops.  (read more about the whole ordeal here.)  And it started with a New Years weekend that probably won’t be topped anywhere anytime soon, at least for me: Jay Z and Coldplay with sorta surprise guests Beyonce and Kanye West.  All played in a less than 3000 person tricked-out ballroom with an open bar, champagne and snacks.

Oh and blue-eyed soul crooner/deconstructer/loop-master, Jamie Lidell, for free (as in, you didn’t need to have bought Jay Z tickets), in the casino’s sports book.  WTF?

You see, one important aspect that might not be getting a ton of press yet is that the Cosmo is going to be plying crowds with great music – meaning artists that play our favorite festivals: Coachella, ACL, Bonnaroo, Lolla.  They have hired Austin-based C3 Presents as the exclusive booking agent and that festival-connected company is bringing in the talent.  (Best Coast and Aloe Blacc for free!  Black Keys for pay!)

So this NYE party was the first salvo across the Vegas entertainment bow.  Are there enough indie/festival music fans to help the hotel be a success?  Are they really interested in coming all the way to Vegas for a free show in a sports book rather than paying $30 at their favorite local venue?  And are these music fans who are roughly aged from the mid-20s to late-30s really the audience they should be going after?  I can’t answer, but I hope they don’t change their strategy anytime soon.

As for the shows themselves, well Jamie Lidell was just flat out weird and fun.  Which is what you expect from Mr. Lidell, but the venue only made it more entertainingly incongruent.  He was playing behind the bar and behind a pyramid of bottles on a stage that was strangely oriented.  Very few people in the sparse crowd seemed to have any clue or otherwise even care about this “lounge” act.  (Note: I saw part of his first set on NYE from 10pm-10:40 when people had other places to be.  Saw him again – not knowing it was a multi-day residency (!) – on Jan. 1st for his second set after midnight.  That set had a few more people watching and cheering, but still few seemed to be actual Jamie fans.)  Was it better than seeing him at the Avalon a couple years ago?  No.  But it was free.  And it was fun.  And not for one second did Jamie or his band act as if this wasn’t anything other than a show they should be bringing their A game to.

The videos:

As for Coldplay/Jay Z and guests, well it was a star-studded affair (so I found out later – not good at celeb spotting), and well produced with all the lighting you’d expect at a bigger show.  All the artists seemed loose – old-school-feather-head-dressed Vegas show girls stood at the wings on each side of the stage with trays of fresh bubbly that Jay Z and Kanye took advantage of -  yet still professional, and Jay Z had no problem letting Kanye perform more than a few of his songs, including “Homecoming” with Chris Martin.  I’ll let the videos do the rest, and apologies for the bad camera work but the sound I think is excellent.  Vegas on NYE + open bar + fun songs makes steady camera work difficult.

The videos:

The pictures:

Bellagio fountain and Paris view from my Cosmopolitan balcony

Same view with the fountain in action

The Next Big Thing – Janelle Monae

Janelle Monae belts it while some spooky masqueraders lurk

Janelle Monae is hands down the breakout artist of 2010.  I believe she’s been around making music before this year, but this is the year she released The ArchAndroid which included the “Hey Ya” of 2010: “Tightrope” (which in keeping with the Outkast comparison, features Big Boi).  First, I saw the music video for Tightrope featuring her super-fluid, James Brown by way of MJ moves.  This video also established her fashion template, composed almost entirely of equestrian and formal-wear.  Next, came her stellar performance on David Letterman – including a James Brown cape homage and a worshipful P. Diddy anointing her – that proved that the voice and those moves could be reproduced at will in a live setting.  Then came the album itself which is all over the map stylistically (in a good way, blending R&B, future-funk, classical overtures, pop, rock, and more) and is unified by a vague theme of futurism and robots.  She claims to be an android and it’s hard to tell if she’s serious, much the same way Lil Wayne claims an extraterrestrial heritage.  Finally, there was the powerful video for the strongest emotional song on the album, “Cold War”, apparently done on the first take, which recalls Sinead O’Connor’s video for “Nothing Compares to You” all the way down to a single tear.  So… she’s cute, a little crazy, has an incredible voice and the best moves, and could probably talk to you intelligently about the Singularity.  Is there really anything else you need in a pop superstar?

No surprise then that I was very excited when I heard she was opening for Of Montreal over Halloween weekend.  (I was decidedly less excited for Of Montreal and left for other Halloween festivities just a few songs into their set.)  And Janelle lived up to the high expectations I had built up for her.  The show was well orchestrated and highly entertaining.  And nothing detracted from or confused who the star of this show was; not the cool projections, the even cooler band members who were all swagger, nor shrouded characters roaming the stage.  It was clear Ms. Monae was the star and everything else was complementary window dressing.  Her voice was even better than I imagined in a live setting.  And her moves were there, though the low Palladium stage obscured most of them.  (Seriously Palladium, raise the stage a foot or two!)

The following videos are: 1) “Locked Inside” which compares favorably to Michael Jackson at his smoothest best; 2) “Cold War”; 3) “Tightrope.”  Apologies for shaky camera, but it is hard to stand completely still at a Janelle Monae show.

forestforthetreesblog.com – Janelle Monae – Locked Inside – Hollywood Palladium 10/30/10

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Forestforthetreesblog.com – Janelle Monae – Cold War – Hollywood Palladium – 10/30/10

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forestforthetreesblog.com – Janelle Monae – Tightrope – Hollywood Palladium – 10/30/10

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Kruder & Dorfmeister – Club Nokia – 10/15/10

Last spring I was surprised to get an email saying that Kruder & Dorfmeister would be playing together, as Kruder & Dorfmeister (as opposed to their individual side projects Tosca and Peace Orchestra), in Los Angeles at the antiseptic Club Nokia.  The Austrian duo created the seminal trip-hop/downtempo/drum’n'bass double disc album “The K&D Sessions” which is still one of my favorite albums and holds up well over a decade later.  I had seen Dorfmeister deejay at a small club in Oslo once, but other than that had no idea what to expect.

What would an actual K&D show be?  The show info said it would be “live” but would that even be possible, considering these guys traded in remixes almost exclusively?  So although I was excited for the show, my expectations weren’t all that high.

Turns out, the show exceeded my expectations, especially from a visual standpoint.  The lightshow consisted of three rectangular LCD screens stacked on top of each other but at different depths and widths that could do all sorts of patterns, video and visuals timed to the music.  Kruder and Dorfmeister stood behind the lowest screen with the middle screen behind them and the top screen hanging above.  Basically this was the Daft Punk pyramid, Austrian-style.

Kruder & Dorfmeister – High Noon (The Message – Grandmaster Flash remix)

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Musically it wasn’t very different than their albums.  But Club Nokia’s sound system made the tracks come alive in a way that your living room stereo can’t quite match.  Everything was clean and crisp – the bass was there, but so was the high end, and the dub echoes would swim through the speakers and sometimes swirl behind you before dissolving.  Of course, it wasn’t too exciting to watch the two aging Austrians bob their heads slightly and play with whatever buttons they had behind the lightshow bank – an extra dub effect here or loop there added to the album tracks – and it would’ve been cool if the Nokia’s in-house cameras that fed flatscreen TVs all over the venue could have given us a view behind the console to see what exactly they were or weren’t doing.  (The cameras showed us KCRW DJ Jason Bentley’s head bob awkwardly for the hour leading up to the show).  Also toward the end of the show the upper half of the lowest screen shorted out, but it didn’t detract from the overall awesomeness of the lightshow.

An extra “live” element was added by two MCs who would pop on and off stage for certain tracks.  One of the guys looked like the English version of the bald bespectacled old man weirdo from those Six Flags Magic Mountain ads.  The other guy more like Will.i.am.  Sometimes their appearance seemed a little cheesy and I felt like I was going to some sort of gimmicky electronica musical (Starlight Express Dub-style) – especially the beginning when the bald guy came on stage to introduce the whole act as an adventure through the “past, present and future of G Stoned sound” (G Stoned is the record label K&D founded).

However, this Christmas Carol structure of past, present and future worked fairly well.  The show started out with High Noon, a remix of Grandmaster Flash’s “The Message” that appeared on K&D’s first album of remixes.  Then came a handful of tracks from the seminal K&D Sessions, including the remix of Depeche Mode’s “Useless” and Bomb the Bass’ “Bug Powder Dust.”  I would’ve liked to have heard some more from K&D Sessions, but they played enough to be satisfied.  As the night progressed into the present and future, it got more uptempo and pretty much turned into a club night with the crowd really starting to move.  I didn’t recognize any of the tracks so not sure if these are things they’ve released already or might be coming out in the near future – will have to check Beatport.

Toward the end of the set the MCs led a “G-Stoned, G-Stoned, rockin” chant to the tune of Queen’s “We Will Rock You” (mixed with “Speechless” another K&D Sessions standout) furthering the cheez factor, but I found the finale of “K&D” to the tune of The Beatles “Let It Be” to be a bit endearing.  16 years of wisdom, yes, but I’d say a fairly intermittent 16 years!

The videos below are of many of the above mentioned tracks.  Shot on my iPhone and I am surprised by the audio quality, but it also goes to show you how crisp the sound is at Club Nokia.

Kruder & Dorfmeister – Useless (Depeche Mode remix) – Club Nokia 10/15/10

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Kruder & Dorfmeister – Aikon (?) – Club Nokia 10/15/10

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Kruder & Dorfmeister – G-Stoned Rockin (We Will Rock You) vs. Speechless – Club Nokia 10/15/10

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Kruder & Dorfmeister – Speechless – Club Nokia 10/15/10

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Kruder & Dorfmeister – K&D (Let It Be rework) – Club Nokia 10/15/10

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Coachella 2010 wrap up

I’m finally getting around to a Coachella summary.

Dusk the 1st day of Coachella 2010

Towering cyclones of fire; naked men climbing speaker towers, humping the ground, bleeding profusely from headbutting car windows; raver chicks wearing pasties; riot police summoned to quell a restless queue of attendees…all part of the unexpected to be expected in a Coachella weekend.

Did I mention world-class musicians?  Oh yeah, there’s that too.  In fact, this year’s Coachella was the most stacked I think I’ve ever seen it.  From 1pm on there was a band I wanted to see…and usually there were several bands at once, leading to inevitable conflicts.

But the amazing lineup led to some drawbacks.  First, Coachella sold out all three days.  Second, Coachella may have also “sold-out” – the number of wristbands handed out jumped around 25% from 60,000 per day in previous sell-out years to more than 75,000.

This led to a number of headaches, starting with the parking situation.  In years past Coachella seemed to have the parking/traffic issues figured out which meant not too big of a hassle for drivers.  But this year with a new “in/out allowed” policy and expanded camp ground, the parking situation became more crowded and confused.  Or so I heard.  Fortunately, I discovered the joy of staying close to the venue and biking in each day which lessened the hassle.  But the first day wasn’t without hiccups.  I encountered a large line of people at the eastern entrance where there were only 2 (!) security personnel checking bags.  After talking to about 10 different event staffers, hardly any of whom had any idea of what was going on, I surmised that there might be a more fully staffed entrance near the main box office and thus was only temporarily delayed.  Those who remained in the long line had to wait anywhere from 2-3 hours to get in and as the afternoon wore on and the crowd grew restless, riot police were called in.  (from what I heard they didn’t do anything except establish their presence)

The extra 15,000 people inside the venue did not make things significantly uncomfortable – rarely would you have to wait very long for food, water, beer or an outhouse – but you could feel the increased density at the stages, especially the Outdoor Stage (which plays second fiddle to the huge main Coachella Stage).  Bands that should have played the Coachella Stage – Vampire Weekend, MGMT, Phoenix – played on this smaller stage.  Fortunately, Goldenvoice (the promoter that puts on Coachella) sported for a second row of speaker columns many of hundreds of yards from the stage.  This led to the weird situation of hearing the music perfectly while hardly being able to see the tiny people far away producing this sound.  Some examples from Vampire Weekend:

Vampire Weekend – A-punk – dancing from way back to 2nd row of speakers

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This was the view from the back row of speakers (i.e. can't see shit)

People climbed the back speaker column to see above the massive crowd

Perhaps the most symbolic representation of the big Coachella sell-out was the disappearance of the twin Tesla coils.  These awesome nighttime displays of loud, raw energy had appeared a every Coachella I have been to (since 2004) and had become a reliable sight when everything around them changed year to year.

Twin Tesla coils - gone

But enough about the crowds and changes.  Despite these complaints, Coachella is still a must-see-to-believe, world class music festival.  The following is only a small sample of what I saw, consisting of the better and more eagerly anticipated sets from the weekend.  On then to the music…

The Do-Lab

The Do-Lab has been a Coachella “stage” for the last few years, but it’s so much more: you might find a DJ spinning dubstep or some other funky/tribal dance music, or a strange burlesque/acrobatic performance and this all while water misters and manned hoses cool off the crowd.   It is this last aspect that makes the Do Lab the first place I visited upon arriving each day, but the music and vibe is a close second.  I haven’t been to Burning Man, but I take it this is just a small sample of what you’d see there.  It appeared that more of the overall art budget was devoted to the Do Lab this year as the misting area had become a multi-tiered platform that not only had misters, but also doorbell-type buttons around its base that shot out streams of water in random directions when pressed.

The Do Lab from the outside

Do Lab stage (didn't get any performance pics)

Sleigh Bells

Little was known about Sleigh Bells other than a few tracks and performance videos from the ‘net.  But even from that scant evidence you could tell they rock.  And they did.  This is music both hipsters and bros can headbang to.  Singer Alexis Krauss has that rare “it” factor combination of voice and charisma.  She stalks the stage and interacts with the crowd, making eye contact with the audience and flirting with guys.  She repeatedly gave a shout out to a tall dude close to the stage who was rocking out especially hard.  However, occasionally Sleigh Bells flirt with screamo-squelchy Crystal Castles-style squalor.   (It was notable that they didn’t play their most accessible/poppy song, “Rill Rill.”)  Time will tell if Sleigh Bells want to be a Crystal Castles knock-off, or something more accessible but still heavy.  Here is a crappy video I took of their big song “Crown on the Ground”:

Sleigh Bells – Crown on the Ground

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LCD

James Murphy was hammmmmmered.  Not totally surprising since he was playing on the Main Stage right before headliner Jay Z and hadn’t played a show in a couple years.  (My observation of Murphy’s intoxication was confirmed by a recent Rolling Stone article in which he admits he doesn’t remember much of it after drinking Irish cunts – a whiskey/champagne cocktail.)  Murphy’s drunkenness did little to harm the show, although it must be said that putting LCD Soundsystem on the Coachella Stage was not ideal.  LCD belongs in an enclosed space like the Sahara tent in which they played in 2008.  Yes, Murphy messed up lyrics and complained about having to drop a few songs from the usual set, including highlight “Tribulations.” (Perhaps part of the reason songs had to be cut was that Murphy had long rambling monologues between almost every song.)  But he also was charmingly humble and blown away by the absurdity of the slot that was given to his band.   And, as usual, LCD got the kids to dance, and really that’s all that matters and all we expect.

LCD Soundsystem – All My Friends – Coachella 2010

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The Do Lab with fireworks ending Jay Z's set beyond

Beach House

Beach House simple stage decor fit their aesthetic perfectly

Beach House was another band I had never seen before, and they were one of the highlights of the weekend.  Listening to Beach House is like taking a nice warm bath in music.  They are opening for Vampire Weekend this summer.  If you’re going to those shows, arrive early and take in Beach House.

Beach House – Zebra – Coachella 2010

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Beach House – 10 Mile Stereo – Coachella 2010

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Gossip

Following Beach House in the same tent (Mojave) was Gossip – another band I had been meaning to see for awhile but for some reason hadn’t.  I wanted to see fatso Beth Ditto and her amazing pipes get the crowd moving.  And as expected, it happened.  Although musically completely different from Beach House, this back to back combo coming in the late afternoon Saturday (pretty much right at the halfway point of the entire festival) may have been the biggest highlight for me.   Oh yeah and it certainly didn’t hurt that some special guests, including James Murphy still in his (probably stinky) white suit from the night before on cowbell, (of course), came out for the funky breakdown finale.  See below:

James Murphy (still in his white suit from the night before) joins Gossip and other special guests to close the set

More to come on Dead Weather, Local Natives, Gorillaz and maybe some more…

Fever Ray (aka the electronic pagan forest goddess)

This past Wednesday was the Fever Ray show at the Henry Fonda.  After missing The Knife when they toured awhile back and subsequently seeing videos of how crazy those shows were, I knew Fever Ray was not to be missed.  (As quick explanation, Karin Elisabeth Dreijer Andersson is/was(?) part of the critically acclaimed duo of The Knife and Fever Ray is her solo project).  “Not to be missed” was an understatement.

The show was a perfectly choreographed spectacle.  And to take place at the Fonda was kinda ridiculous.  Although the place is one of my favorite venues, I never would’ve thought it could accommodate the lasers, laser mirrors, antique lamps and industrial smoke machines needed to pull this thing off.  They even needed to set up Fever Ray’s own special sound and light board on the ground floor in the back by the steps (the Fonda’s regular soundboard is in the upper deck).

The show started in almost pitch black darkness (would’ve been nice if they could’ve turned off the bar lights) and when the curtains opened, the entire audience was hit with a slowly creeping billow of thick smoke.  For a bit you couldn’t see much past the person in front of you.  Seriously, these guys re-created the foggy night I had just experienced with Bon Iver at Hollywood Forever, but indoors.  As the opener, “If I Had a Heart” slowly churned away, you could only catch glimpses of who was on stage, but it looked like the Gozer-esque warped vocals were coming from some kind of hunched/horned/buffalo/mossy log looking thing.  All of this gave the impression that we were being addressed by something – a force of nature, or a reflection of the darker side of our collective subconscious.

The group was only lit from behind – with antique lamps no less – to keep them shrouded in mystery.  The two laser beams were just a hint of to the lightshow to come.

(yes that lumpy horned mound is her)

Rounding out the band was a guy on a laptop looking like a combo of someone in a New Order video and Whoopi Goldberg in Star Trek the Next Generation (please just forget I made those two references), some skeleton monkey man on guitar and – what is missing on most of the videos – on the far left there was a shaman on bongos wielding a feathered rain-stick.  These pics reveal it a bit better than what we could see in the audience:

our pagan goddess revealed

the bongo shaman

Later, Andersson would abandon the Forest Goddess getup and reveal herself – even getting lit from the front for some songs including one of the album’s highlights, “When I Grow Up,” but she preserved the creepiness with cadaver-white make-up:

To get an idea of how powerful the smoke machine was, watch the band member disappear at the 2:40 mark.

One more clip, showing the lasers doing their thing:

The buzz on the internet from this tour is no joke, this was a supremely memorable show and that’s saying something with the number of memorable shows happening in LA these days.  Part of me wishes I had brought my camera to record for posterity but more of me is glad that I simply stood there and enjoyed every beautiful and creepy moment of it. Besides, like every show these days, it was well documented, as these videos attest.  For some reviews that did a better job of describing it than me, go here and here.

There seems to be a strong tribal/primeval streak in indie music today both in terms of the music itself and/or the performance of the music (e.g. Animal Collective, seeing Bon Iver in a graveyard, Dan Deacon – at least in terms of performing on the floor and having people encircle him like a campfire).  I’m wondering if that is just a currently popular style or if it’s in reaction to the same techno-dread Radiohead so effectively taps into.  Seeing Fever Ray was a reminder that – especially in these troubled, chaotic times – we are still irrational creatures with monstrous Ids but also full of mystic optimism.

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes @ Abbott Kinney Festival – 3 video clips

I was excited that the annual local street festival on Abbott Kinney had a bona fide “next big thing” playing on one of the stages – Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes.  After a summer of hearing them on KCRW and hearing a good thing here or there about their live act, you couldn’t really beat a free taste.  And they didn’t disappoint.  Now it seems to me they have only 4 or so super solid songs, but when you have the ramshackle large-group-revival vibe going with an energetic and charismatic front man, it really doesn’t matter.  Whether the rest of the country will catch the fever (or fervor?) that was already evident in half of the crowd here remains to be seen, but looks like there is an extensive fall tour.  Personally, I think they’d be perfect for a nice afternoon set on the Outdoor Stage at next year’s Coachella.

3 clips in HD below.  My Canon didn’t handle the sound quite as well as it did at Bon Iver (which really had an almost immaculate sound setup, helped by the fact everyone was quiet and sitting down) but still not bad…

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The Rest of Bon Iver @ Hollywood Forever

A few more videos taken from the Bon Iver show at Hollywood Forever.  These are from earlier in the show than the videos I posted yesterday…

First, a clip of the Buddhist monks chanting to wake up those who were still napping.  You can’t actually see them in this clip, but you sure as hell can hear ‘em.

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Next here is the beginning of Bon Iver, playing an extended intro to “Lump Sum.”  Why I cut it right as the main part of Lump Sum was kicking in, I’ll never know (although it was hard enough uploading this almost 1 GB file).

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Finally a little bit of banter to the crowd from Justin, “this has got to be the weirdest thing any of us have ever done.”

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Bon Iver / “Flume” / Live @ Hollywood Forever foggy sunrise show

This is from earlier in the set while the fog made it seem like it was still dark out.

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