Anamanaguchi @ BV-SXSW 2013 (more by Sarah Frankie Linder)

8-bit heroes Anamanaguchi are now out on tour in support of their long-awaited new album Endless Fantasy which also has a very successful-so-far companion Kickstarter that you should check out when you're done listening to the new songs from the album posted over at BrooklynVegan.

That tour, which adds Chrome Sparks as opener on 5/24 in Detroit, hits Lincoln Hall in Chicago on 5/25 and tickets are still available. Infinity Shred and Sharpless are also on the bill.

Watch Anamanaguchi's tripped out video for "MEOW" below...

Continue reading "Anamanaguchi touring to Lincoln Hall with Chrome Sparks, raising money on the Internet"

by Parker Langvardt, photos by James Richards IV

The sun baked the lawns and wide streets of downtown Chicago's Grant Park as Lollapalooza 2012 started off on Friday with bands on all stages minus the two main stages at either end of the park. Aside from the stages, fences, booths, and some Lollapalooza signage, the park remained fairly untransformed for the festival.

I caught the very end of First Aid Kit's set, and at the time entirely forgot the duo's Swedish nationality due to the accent they sang with, closer to a mild Southern US drawl. The softness in their voices gave way to an excited and slightly jarring scream before one of the final choruses. I walked to the south end of the park for The Growlers. Vocalist Brooks Nielsen's nasally twang was the constant as they shifted through relaxed and eclectic styles of rock.

Chiptune quartet Anamanaguci played at the shaded Google Play stage, with a recorded keyboard backing their synthy guitars. Their instrumental electro-punk would make a great soundtrack for a pixelated arcade racing game.

Yellow Ostrich's upbeat indie rock was made slightly more diverse by drummer Michael Tapper's focus on clean drum sounds (no snare buzz) and rattling auxiliary percussion. Alex Schaaf began one song by creating a slightly off-putting guitar loop, which he managed to fit a pleasant vocal melody over before the instruments transitioned into their usual style.

Back at the north end of the park, The Black Angels vamped on heavy southern blues rock as vocalist Alex Maas shook a tambourine and sang with a slight Southern accent and a bit of vibrato. The guitars were dirty when loud, and psychedelic when soft or soloing. They touched on standard blues progressions with choppy, reverb-soaked guitar.

Tame Impala

Tame Impala's floating melodies are vaguely similar to a variety of classic rock and pop bands, but their choice of tone obscures it in a psychedelic haze. They performed their hard swinging new single "Elephant", which twists through strange transitions in what is definitely their most complex and heavy work yet, though it did not sound as thick as the recording. There were some minor technical difficulties - Kevin Parker's guitar seemed to short out and he mentioned that he thought one of his pedals was melting (presumably the electronics inside), though his tone remained similar to their recordings.

Perry's electronic stage, upgraded from it's previous tent status, was packed all day with mainstream electronic offerings. Considering the bass dropped every time I walked by, it was fitting that SBTRKT's set took place at the Google Play stage instead, with their chilled tones - largely created live on keyboards - and varied rhythms, which were often played on drums by producer Aaron Jerome. Sampha contributed vocals throughout the set.

Passion Pit

Though they cancelled a few shows, Passion Pit returned to Chicago to play a club show at House of Blues and a set at Lolla on Friday. Frontman Michael Angelakos appeared in good spirits as he greeted the crowd. They opened with the pulsing drums and bold synth of "Take a Walk," which sounded like a near-reproduction of the recording. I then traversed the festival grounds to catch The Shins, who were in fine form. They took some songs a slower pace than I anticipated. James Mercer embellished some of his vocals when he wasn't accompanied by lead guitarist Jessica Dobson's singing.

Five minutes prior to Black Sabbath's set, Ozzy Osbourne's laugh was heard over the PA, followed by sounds of rain. Unfortunately, what followed were only videos of the band and brief samples of their music. Ozzy was heard once again, and the curtain raised for three-fourths of the original Black Sabbath to play classic doom metal piece "Black Sabbath". It was slightly slower than Ozzy seemed to want to take it, hedging ahead at times. His cries of "Oh no, God, please help me" were convincing enough, though I'm not sure he could ever recreate the terror in his voice that was first heard over 40 years ago, especially in sobriety.

Ozzy played harmonica throughout "The Wizard", and urged the crowd to clap during the time-shifting "Behind the Wall of Sleep," saying, "Come on, you fuckers!" They wrapped up their Black Sabbath portion of the set with "NIB," beginning with Geezer Butler's wah'ed out bass. Tony Iommi played masterfully throughout, leading off the vaguely Latin sludge of "Into The Void" with precision. He used more modern sounding effects on "Electric Funeral", which were paired by Bill Ward replacement Tommy Clufetos' clicky drums. The former Alice Cooper, Ted Nugent, and Rob Zombie drummer was given a drum solo prior to "Iron Man," which he blasted through on his two bass drums. I felt this was kind of a slight to Ward, and totally unnecessary as many drum solos are, but it did hype up the crowd, who weren't loud enough for Ozzy. "I can't fucking hear you!", he screamed more than once. And that was the end of the first of three long, hot days in Chicago.

Check out Black Sabbath's setlist HERE. Check out more pictures from Day One, The Afghan Whigs, Metric, and M83 included, HERE. Pictures from Day Two are HERE. More about the fest, and day three pictures, coming soon.

Lollapalooza 2012 has revealed the full schedule for their 3-day festival, set to take place from August 3-5 in Grant Park. Check it out HERE.

A bunch of official aftershows have also been announced, happening from August 1-5. Here's a number of them (more TBA, including unofficial shows):

August 1
Alabama Shakes, First Aid Kit, Dry The River, Filligar @ Metro
Delta Spirit, FIDLAR @ Lincoln Hall

August 2
Passion Pit, GIVERS, Kishi Bashi @ House of Blues
Kids These Days, Overdoz @ Schubas
Dr. Dog, Kevin Devine, The Dunwells @ Lincoln Hall
Zedd, Gus K, DJ Gordo, DJ Torio @ The Mid

August 3
Bear in Heaven, YAWN @ the Empty Bottle
NERO (DJ Set), Die Antwoord, Anamanaguchi @ Congress Theater
Frank Ocean @ Metro
tUnE-yArDs, Washed Out @ House of Blues
The Black Angels, Night Beats @ Double Door
The War on Drugs, Milo Greene @ Schubas
Blind Pilot, Kopecky Family Band @ Lincoln Hall
Porter Robinson, Madeon @ The Mid
The Growlers, JEFF the Brotherhood @ Subterranean
Paper Diamond, Minnesota @ Bottom Lounge

August 4
White Rabbits, Dum Dum Girls, Oberhofer @ Cubby Bear
Doomtree, Naledge of Kidz In The Hall @ the Empty Bottle
Zeds Dead, Big Gigantic, Midnight Conspiracy, Big Chocolate @ Congress Theater
The Afghan Whigs @ Metro
Of Monsters & Men, Yellow Ostrich @ House of Blues
Trampled By Turtles, The Devil Makes Three @ Double Door
Childish Gambino @ the Vic
The Temper Trap, Poliça @ Park West
Gary Clark Jr., LP @ Schubas
Twin Shadow @ Lincoln Hall
Calvin Harris, Nathan Scott @ The Mid
The Big Pink @ Subterranean
Bombay Bicycle Club, Hey Rosetta! @ Bottom Lounge

August 5
Chairlift w/ Alt-J @ the Empty Bottle
The Walkmen @ Lincoln Hall

As seen on BrooklynVegan, this year's Lolla lineup includes everthing hinted on the #LOLLA ads, and much more....

Continue reading "Lollapalooza 2012 lineup announced (Black Sabbath, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Shins, Passion Pit, JC Brooks, much more)"

DOWNLOAD: Yourself and the Air - "Trampolines" (MP3)

Sondre Lerche @ Club DeVille for BV SXSW 2010 (more by Tim Griffin)

FRIDAY
My Morning Jacket, and Daniel Martin Moore will play the Auditorium Theatre.

Against Me!, Screaming Females, and Lemuria will share the bill at Metro.

The Postelles, The Dig, and The Kickback will play Schubas.

The Taste of Randolph Street Festival will kick off tonight, featuring: The Heavy, Shilpa Ray and Her Happy Hookers, and Anamanaguchi.

SATURDAY
Florence and the Machine, and Hanni El Khatib will play the massive Aragon Ballroom.

Sondre Lerche, Nightlands, and Kishi Bashi will play Schubas.

Beady Eye, and The Dig will play Metro.

The Taste of Randolph Street Festival continues. Today's lineup boasts: Swervedriver, JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound, Here We Go Magic, and In Tall Buildings.

Subterranean will host Yourself and the Air's record release show with special guests: Netherfriends, and Conductive Alliance.
At the top of this post you can download their track, "Trampolines."

SUNDAY
Hanni El Khatib, Bass Drum of Death, Pujol, and The Pleats will play Empty Bottle.

Sondre Lerche, Nightlands, and Kishi Bashi will spend a second night in Chicago. This time around they'll play Lincoln Hall.

Taste of Randolph Street Festival winds down tonight. You can catch sets from The Reverend Horton Heat, Peelander Z, and The 1900′s.

The 2011 edition of the Taste of Randolph Street Festival will take place this upcoming weekend (Friday, June 17th - Sunday, June 19th) in Chicago's West Loop.

Running on W. Randolph Street; between Peoria Street and Racine Avenue, the festival boasts two main stages as well as talented local chefs, and artisans.

Featured acts throughout the weekend include: Shilpa Ray & Her Happy Hookers, Here We Go Magic, Anamanaguchi, The Heavy, and more.

The festival will run from 5PM to 10PM on Friday, and noon to 10PM on Saturday & Sunday. All ages, and pets are welcome; with admission being set at just $10.

Head below to view the full lineup.

Continue reading "Taste of Randolph Street Festival - full lineup & details"

DOWNLOAD: Anamanaguchi / Starscream split 7" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Anamanaguchi - Airbrushed 7" (MP3)

Anamanaguchi / Starscream split 7" Cover Art

Anamanaguchi are gearing up for the release of their split 7" with Starscream, out June 21st via Insound. One day later, they'll headline a hometown show at the Music Hall of Williamsburg.

The band recently played a BrooklynVegan Day Party at SXSW 2011.

It is entirely plausible that both Anamanaguchi and Starscream would never have formed, met each other, or embarked on three tours together if it were not for skateboarding. Almost every member of both bands has or has had some sort of large personal connection with skateboarding in their past. "My Skateboard Will Go On / Shred the Gnar (Into the Stars)," is not only a tribute to how things came to be, but to how both bands hope to shape the future. [Press Release]

They'll play the Taste of Randolph Street Festival on June 17th, here in Chicago.
At the top of this post you can download the full Anamanaguchi / Starscream split 7", plus Anamanaguchi's previously released "Airbrushed" / "Penpal" 7".

Visit Insound to pre-order the split 7".

Head below to view all announced, 2011 Anamanaguchi tour dates.

Continue reading "Anamanaguchi releasing split 7" w/ Starscream, playing 'Taste of Randolph' Street Fair"