a Sasquatch 2011 patron (more by Josh Darr)

The new year is approaching, and while you're making last minute plans and thinking up your resolutions, you can also start thinking about what festivals to attend in 2012. Here are some updates on next year's US festivals (not in any particular order).

SXSW, which is taking place from March 9-18 in Austin, with the music portion form March 13-18, has already announced a bunch of bands. If you register before January 13, you'll be able to save a bit.

New Orleans Jazz Fest is taking place from April 27 - May 6. The lineup includes The Beach Boys 50th Anniversary Reunion, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Foo Fighters, Bon IverMy Morning Jacket, Feist, Janelle Monae, and others. The full lineup is below. Tickets are on sale now.

Sasquatch is taking place this year from May 25-28 in Gorge, Washington. 4-Day passes will be on presale through New Year's Eve, and general sale starts February 11. New for 2012, "Patrons who purchase a 4-day festival ticket will be allowed re-entry from the Festival grounds! This will not apply to any other ticket, only the 4-day pass."

Bonnaroo will be taking place from June 7-10 this year in Manchester, TN. Presale tickets have sold out but tickets will go on sale to the general public in the coming months. Also check out a Spotify playlist of the Bonnaroo staff's favorite songs of 2011.

Coachella, will take place over the course of two weekends this year (April 13-15 and 20-22). Other than a fake lineup poster that has been floating around, no artists have been officially announced yet.

Noise Pop will be celebrating their 20th anniversary in 2012 from February 21-26 in San Francisco. So far the lineup includes Archers of Loaf, Built to Spill, Big Freedia, Surfer Blood, Grimes, Bleached, John Vanderslice, Ume, and others. Check out the full list below.

Austin City Limits is taking place from October 12-14 in Zilker Park in Austin. Souvenir 3-day passes and early bird 3-day passes have sold out but regular 3-day passes are on sale now.

Lollapalooza will take place in 2012 from August 3-5 in Grant Park in Chicago. Tickets will go on sale this spring. As BVChicago mentioned, Lollapalooza is also taking place in Chile and Brazil this year.

Bamboozle, now in a new location, is taking place from May 18-20 in Asbury Park in New Jersey this year. So far the scary lineup includes Bon Jovi, Foo Fighters, Skrillex, Blink 182, Incubus, and Mac Miller. 3-Day wristbands are on sale now.

Bumbershoot is taking place from September 1-3 at Seattle Center in Seattle, WA. Tickets are available and Bumbershoot are currently having a holiday sale where single day tickets are half off (originally $150, now $75).

NYC's own Governors Ball, which took place at Governors Island in 2011, has been moved to the bigger Randall's Island and will take place over the course of two days, June 23 and 24. Like last year, there will be no overlapping sets. Compared to the others listed here, this is not quite a big "festival", but unlike anything else listed above, it does happen in NYC. Artist announcements and tickets are coming soon.

Current NoisePop and Jazz Fest lineups below...

Continue reading "2012 Music Festival Roundup (Jazz Fest, Sasquatch, Bonnaroo, Noise Pop, ACL, Coachella, Bamboozle, SXSW, Bumbershoot & more)"

words by Zach Pollack, photos by Grant MacAllister

Sorry for the delay of our third and final installmet of Lollapalooza 2011 coverage, but here it is! Due to the major downpour on the Sunday of the fest, Grant's pictures were almost lost forever in a wet camera, but are now recovered. If you're just joining us, check out parts one and two first. Here is part three...

My third and final day of Lollapalooza (8/7) kicked off at Music Unlimited Stage with an opening set from Titus Andronicus. The Garden State punks began things by playing the opening track "A More Perfect Union" from their incredible 2010 LP The Monitor. Titus generally would make for a fantastic start to the day, but their sound was a bit off, and by the look on frontman Patrick Stickles's face, I think he agreed.

After Titus, I decided to calm things down and went to catch Lia Ices. This was my second time seeing the Brooklyn, NY-based songstress this year, but that did not make her less interesting. Lia's well trained voice fluttered effortlessly over the avant pop she produces. I must admit I was skeptical that she and her band would translate well to an outdoor setting. The four-piece shattered any and all of my doubts.

The next set I caught was Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.'s at the quite favored Google+ stage. The kitschy group are infectious and totally unavoidable. I stuck around for most of their set which included their handmade "Jr. Jr." light boxes on stage and, more importantly, bubble machines.

I then made my way over to watch The Cars, who again consist of their original lineup, except for Benjamin Orr who passed away in 2000. The Cars ran though many of their hits like "Just What I Needed," "My Best Friend's Girl," "Good Times Roll," and a few new ones too. I didn't initially plan on catching their set, am glad that I did.

I then headed to the Sony stage where Portugal. The Man were setting up. I had caught their aftershow with Wye Oak at the Double Door on the first night of Lolla, and they blew me away. I was psyched to hear so many cuts off of their 2009 LP The Satanic Satanist. I was NOT psyched to hear that their van and trailer (gear and all) had been stolen later on that night. The van and trailer have since been recovered... and so has most of the gear!

I left Portugal's set a bit early in order to make it to Best Coast at Google+. Frontwoman Bethany Cosentino entered the stage and jokingly stated, "Fuck you, we're Best Coast." Unfortunately halfway through their set storm clouds that were hanging over Chicago all day finally burst. It poured for a good hour, letting up just before Explosions In The Sky's set.

The Austin, TX-based post rock band entered the stage stating, "I think you just saw 'us,' but now we're going to play some music." I was glad to hear some of my favorite songs like "The Birth and Death of the Day," "Six Days At the Bottom of the Ocean," and "Your Hand In Mine." Their awesome set was more than enough to keep the muddy, sopping festival-goers around.

Everyone legitimately thought the rain had let up, so I headed across to Music Unlimited for Foo Fighters' headlining set. Their set included a handful of songs from the recently released Wasting Light LP and a bunch of older cuts too. A few songs in it started pouring again and I decided to leave the festival along with Grant whose camera had officially stopped working. Unfortunately that meant that I missed Perry Farrell (of Jane's Addiction and founder of Lollapalooza) joining the band on stage for a second during "Everlong," which included the Foos playing a piece of Jane's Addiction's "Mountain Song."

Day 1 pics are HERE and Day 2 pics are HERE. More pictures from Day 3, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart and Arctic Monkeys included, below...

Continue reading "Lollapalooza 2011 -- Day 3 pics & review (EITS, TPOBPAH, Best Coast, The Cars, Portugal the Man, Arctic Monkeys & more)"

words by Zach Pollack, photos by Grant MacAllister

a member of Cee-Lo's band

Day two of Lollapalooza 2011 began with a slight drizzle over Grant Park, but it didn't deter the determined early festival-goers from moving about the grounds. After a long Friday, I began Saturday over at the Sony Stage with an extremely tight set from Phantogram. What I assumed was a simple setup from listening to their albums, was actually a complex live rig which kept the trio extremely busy. How many times have you seen an electronic-tinged band who just cue samples all set? Phantogram are not that.

Up next on my schedule were Chicago hometown act Maps & Atlases (which unfortunately meant I missed Friendly Fires). Maps & Atlases drew a very large crowd to the Google+ Stage, which has my favorite area of the whole fest. There's no other stage opposing it, it's a bit smaller than most, and massive trees block out much of the blistering sun. What's not to like?

I then attempted to head back towards Music Unlimited for Fitz and The Tantrums, but that didn't seem to be in the cards due to some unexpected foot traffic. Instead I ate and then headed to the oposite side of the grounds to catch the Black Lips at Playstation. The crowd was enormous for the garage-rockers who usually play to a quarter as many people. A few songs in they pulled out "Family Tree," the opening track to their great Mark Ronson-produced album Arabia Mountain. In typical Black Lips fashion, singer/guitarist Cole Alexander threw up on stage without missing as much as a note, and almost all over the Lollapalooza film crew!

From there things just got more and more massive. I caught Death From Above 1979 for the second time this week, and it was just as thrilling and brutal. Kicking things off with the Y.A.W.I.A.M. staple "Turn It Out," the massive beyond massive crowd went completely insane. Not needing to see the full set, I rushed across the complex to catch a bit of Big Audio Dynamite. The reunited group opened with "Medicine Show," and continued to awe the crowd with "A Party." From there I ran to Google+ to catch the tail end of The Drums.

I walked in just as they were speaking about the release of their forthcoming record Portamento (coming out in the US on Frenchkiss). They then played its single, "Money." The band has definitely matured since I last saw them and they sounded super full live. Just to make my legs die a little bit more, I rushed back over towards Sony and Music Unlimited to catch Local Natives. As mentioned, it was the largest crowd the band had ever played to. Opening with "Camera Talk," as per usual, their live sound even surpassed their great recordings. Towards the end of their set, across the way at Unlimited, things started to fall into place for Cee Lo's set.

His band of attractive studio musicians took the stage sans Green around 6:30PM, and jumped into a short intro track. Complete with matching Gwar-like kinky warrior outfits (strange choice), Cee Lo and his band played to a massive audience, many of whom were camped out to see Eminem on the same stage. I left early, before the booing...

"The soul singer scored a huge crowd, but holding its attention seemed to be another matter. Dressed in shoulder pads topped with huge spikes and a chunky neck chain, Cee-Lo channeled his inner-dungeon master/Billy Idol; he even played an R&B-flavored cover of the 80s star's "Flesh for Fantasy." But the set was anything but smooth: Between tunes, which included Cee-Lo's own "Satisfied," "Bright Lights Bigger City," and Gnarls Barkley's smash "Crazy," he turned the spotlight to his DJ, who inexplicably spun Lenny Kravitz, Nirvana and Depeche Mode - a move that inspired boos from the crowd. "Don't you dare let this wonderful outfit go to waste," he said, palpably annoyed. But the irritation may have worked in his favor (and sent a subliminal message to his fans): On his closer, the Motown-inflected kiss-off "Fuck You," his voice sounded richer than it had all night. " [Rolling Stone]

Li and her amazingly talented band were a perfect fit for the stage, and drew as many people as would fit in the area. They started things off with the haunting Wounded Rhymes track "Jerome," and continued in that fashion with "I Follow Rivers", "Sadness Is A Blessing" and other songs as My Morning Jacket started to set up for their headlining set over at Bud Light.

Jim James and Co. kicked off a two hour long set at 8PM. It spanned their entire catalog with crowd favorites like "Off the Record," "Touch Me I'm Going To Scream," "One Big Holiday," and much more. Songs were extended with jam sections, brass solos, etc. Their stage setup was absolutely massive, as was the lighting. That said, I snuck away back to the smaller Google+ to check out some of Beirut who was closing out that stage.

Zach Condon and band played mostly older songs in the more intimate setting, and though tight, I was craving some more My Morning Jacket and so headed back to finish off the night with Jim James.

Friday pictures HERE. Sunday on the way. B.A.D. pics HERE. More pictures from Saturday, Dom included, below...

Continue reading "Lollapalooza 2011 -- Day 2 pics & review (My Morning Jacket, Beirut, Cee-Lo, DFA1979, Lykke Li, Maps & Atlases & more)"

photos by Grant MacAllister

B.A.D. @ Lolla

Big Audio Dynamite brought their reunion back to North America this month. It included another visit to NYC in the form of a show at Brooklyn Bowl (on 8/3) and an appearance on Jimmy Fallon where they played two songs (one was a web exclusive). They since hit Lollapalooza (on Saturday). More pictures from Chicago, both Fallon videos and the entire Brooklyn Bowl setlist, below...

Continue reading "Big Audio Dynamite played Brooklyn Bowl (setlist), Fallon (video), and Lollapalooza (pics)"

words by Zach Pollack, photos by Grant MacAllister

Bright Eyes / Mountain Goats

Despite being out late in the name of DFA1979 on Thursday, I arrived at Lollapalooza on Friday in time for Wye Oak at noon on the Sony Stage. The duo had the uncomfortable job of playing one of the first sets of the weekend, and unfortunately their Civilian-heavy set was also plagued by technical problems. They thought at first it was singer/guitarist Jenn Wasner's amp (which they replaced), but then realized it was pedals. Regardless, the band and audience stayled calm. And the crowd especially appreciated the finer moments like pounding single "Holy, Holy".

From there I headed to the near-by (and quite massive) Music Unlimited Stage for The Vaccines. Frontman Justin Young thanked the crowd for "rolling out of bed this afternoon," and the band proceeded to dive into their raucous set. Hanging behind them was a large banner of their album cover What Did You Expect From The Vaccines? from which they played choice singles such as "Wreckin' Bar," and "Post Break-Up Sex." I was liking it, but decided to run and catch a bit of Tennis on the Google+ stage.

Google+ (yes every stage has a corporate sponsor) is located in a heavily tree-covered area of the park, which gives you a nice break from the scorching sun you're subjected to on the larger stages. Drawing from their 2011 debut LP Cape Dory, Tennis locked into a tight groove felt throughout the crowd. Alaina Moore's vocal stylings and the band's instrumentation were spot on, though a bit boring compared to The Vaccines who I wish I stayed for more of.

It was then over to the Music Unlimited stage to catch Delta Spirit. Matthew Vasquez and Co. offered the crowd 100% of their energy in the now-blistering sun. The band of five makes the sound of ten and upbeat songs about past lovers like "Bushwick Blues" remind the audience why they love this band.

With barely any time to catch my breath, I ran across the festival to catch Grace Potter & the Nocturnals who happened to be playing at the Bud Light stage on the complete opposite side of Grant Park. Her powerful vocals and talented band could be heard echoing loudly for a long distance as I approached.

After a break to re-hydrate and eat I returned to Bud Light to watch The Kills. The duo consisting of Alison Mosshart, and (recently married) Jamie Hince took the stage and started playing the loundest band I saw that day. Their flawless performance included songs from their four-album catalog, drawing heavily on the recently released and fantastic Blood Pressures. I stuck around to watch their entire set. I might catch them again at one of their two Terminal 5 shows in NYC this week.

From ther it was to the Playstation Stage to catch The Mountain Goats. John Darnielle, Peter Hughes, and John Wurster walked on stage accompanied by some loud metal entrance music (Darnielle is famously a metal fan). The Mountain Goats mostly drew from their early catalog, not bypassing 2011's All Eternals Deck completely, but instead just slightly grazing it. Their Merge Records labelmate Jenn Wasner (from Wye Oak), joined the trio to sing "Last Year", a major highlight of the day. I left a bit early, and headed back to Bud Light to get a good position for Bright Eyes who went on around 6:30pm.

Connor Oberst and Co. brought their full band sound found on their recently released LP The People's Key. The crowd-pleasing set focused heavily on the album but also featurd older cuts like "Lover I Don't Have To Love" (another major highlight). I didn't really want to, but again took off early in favor of catching some of Crystal Castles across the grounds at the Sony Stage.

The crowd was not as insane as when I saw them this past year at the Riv, and that's partly what made this set so enjoyable. They played a mix of Crystal Castles I & II, including tracks like "Untrust Us" and "Baptism." Frontwoman Alice Glass' ankle is now fully healed (she was in a cast at the Riv), so she was actively surfing the crowd and thumping around the stage.

Keeping it electronic, I then headed to Perry's to catch Girl Talk which would be my final set of the day (I didn't catch any of Muse'sor Coldplay's headlining sets).

Perry's, named after fest co-founder Perry Farrell, is more so a Coachella-like tent than a stage. Girl Talk was as energetic as ever in the tent, and Greg Gillis probably lost about five pounds running around the stage to amp up the crowd. He played all of the usual mixes featuring hits like Black Sabbath's "War Pigs" and Phoenix's "1901", along with new subtle additions.

Lollapalooza continues Saturday and Sunday in Grant Park and is streaming online.

Other bands who played Friday, that that we got pictures of, include Cults, Foster the People, The Smith Westerns, and Two Door Cinema Club. The pictures continue below...

Continue reading "Lollapalooza 2011 -- Day 1 pics & review (Bright Eyes, Cults, Mountain Goats, Wye Oak, Kills, Tennis, Vaccines & more)"

Lollapalooza 2011 begins today, Friday, 8/5 in Chicago, and is streaming select sets on YouTube on two channels, now through Sunday. The full schedule is listed below.

Speaking of Lolla, congrats to the six winners of our Lollapalooza ticket contest. Winners were chosen, confirmed and contacted yesterday.

Speaking of our contest, contest & Lolla stream sponsor DELL is also giving away a trip to Austin City Limits via their Facebook and Twitter. Click the links for more info.

Stream schedule below....

Continue reading "Lollapalooza begins --- stream it online"

Just in time for an announcement of a new set of tour dates, Rival Schools have a new video in "Eyes Wide Open" from their latest LP Pedals. Check out that video, making its debut here, below.

Those new Rival Schools dates will kick off in October with fellow punks Hostage Calm, hitting Brooklyn at The Bell House on October 27th with Balance & Composure. Tickets for the NYC show are on sale. The tour ends one day later at Mexicali Live in NJ. Full schedule is below.

Those of you in Chicago for Lollapalooza (maybe you even won your tickets!) can catch the band sooner though. They play a sold-out official afterparty with the not so punk White Lies at the Double Door in Chicago on August 6th, and at the fest at 1:45 on the Playstation Stage the next day (8/7).

All tour dates and "Eyes Wide Open" are below.

Continue reading "Rival Schools --- 2011 tour dates & new video (premiere)"

Lollapalooza starts in Chicago FRIDAY (8/5). When we posted our first contest for THREE 3-day passes to the sold out fest, we mentioned we'd have three more 3-day passes to give away. Well, those tickets are now available to win right here right now, courtesy of DELL. Details on winning this 'last chance' contest below...

Continue reading "last chance to WIN MORE 3-day Lollpalooza TICKETS!"

As mentioned, Lollapalooza will celebrate its 20th anniversary in Grant Park in Chicago this weekend from August 5-7. Due in part to huge names like Foo Fighters, Muse, Eminem, and Coldplay, tickets for the festival have sold out. If you weren't able to get tickets, we're giving away THREE 3-Day Passes (!!) right here on BrooklynVegan, and another THREE 3-Day Passes via Facebook! Details on how to enter this contest are below. The Facebook contest will follow very soon.

These free Lollapalooza tickets are courtesy of DELL, who in addition to having the Dell Lounge onsite at the Chicago festival, are sponsoring the festival's live stream which can be viewed on the Lollapalooza YouTube account all weekend long.

Lollapalooza contest details and video below...

Continue reading "WIN tickets to Lollapalooza this weekend courtesy of DELL!"

photos by Ryan Barkan

The Cars @ Roseland Ballroom

In case you missed it, we wrote our own little Lollapalooza preview for Lollapalooza.com, The Cars included. Bill wrote:

So many bands have cribbed from The Cars' new wave playbook you may have forgotten that they did it first. (Hear that Phoenix and The Strokes?) Ric Ocasek hasn't been behind the driver's seat of The Cars in 24 years, which is reason enough to see one of New Wave's most popular bands reunited. Five more reasons: "Just What I Needed," "My Best Friend's Girl," "Good Times Roll," "Let's Go" and "Shake it Up."

Bassist Benjamin Orr died in 2000 from pancreatic cancer. In case you were wondering...

"I wondered how they would replace singer/bassist Ben Orr, who passed away a few years ago. It turns out, they really didn't. Ric sang all of Ben's songs, and keyboardist Greg Hawkes played some basslines on keys, and picked up the bass guitar (which actually belonged to Orr) on a few songs. (On the album, Hawkes played some bass, as did producer Jacknife Lee)." [No Expiration]

Continue reading "The Cars played Roseland (pics, setlist), playing Lollapalooza"

Lollapalooza last year (more by Josh Darr)

Lollapalooza celebrates its 20th anniversary this year with some huge names on its just-announced lineup. See it in full below.

The festival has obviously changed over the years. What started out as a farewell tour for Jane's Addiction with a 'touring festival' lineup that included the Rollins Band, Nine Inch Nails, Butthole Surfers, and Souxsie & The Banshees, has turned into a one-weekend Chicago festival that Lady Gaga co-headlined last year. As leaked a while ago, Foo Fighters, Muse and Eminem all play this year, as will Coldplay, Cee Lo Green, and My Morning Jacket along with the reunited Cars and the continuing-to-be-reunited Big Audio Dynamite and Death From Above 1979, and a bunch of other bands which may or may not be worth the ticket price depending on how you feel about the headliners and generally seeing bands in big, hot, outdoor crowded parks (Lollapalooza happens in Chicago's Grant Park from August 5th - 7th).

Full 2011 Lineup and a couple of videos (one from 1991, one from 2010), below...

Continue reading "Lollapalooza 2011 lineup announced"

by Andrew Sacher

Like he did on stage in California in December (they played "Marigold"), Dave Grohl is bringing together the surviving members of Nirvana for the seventh Foo Fighters album, due out April 12. Produced by Butch Vig, who produced Nirvana's breakout album Nevermind, Grohl has chosen to record the entire album in his garage on entirely analog equipment. He has also confirmed that Nirvana's touring guitarist Pat Smear is again a full time member of Foo Fighters and has recorded on every track on the new album. But most importantly, Nirvana bassist Krist Noveselic recorded bass and accordian for the track "I Should Have Known." Butch Vig talked to MTV News about the recording:

"We had Krist Novoselic come in and play bass [on the song], and I'm not exactly sure what the song's about, but to me, it seems there's definitely some references about Kurt Cobain, and it's one of the most primal, raw things the Foo Fighters have ever done, and I think it's one of the best tracks on the record," Vig said. "It's distorted and raw, and Dave, the take on the vocals is like the first take he did at the end of the song. He's just blowing his lungs out. ... We played the record for some people yesterday, and the whole record is great, but that song, God, it's quite an emotional roller-coaster ride when you hear it."

The Foo Fighters are also planning a documentary spanning Dave Grohl's career from his time as the drummer of Nirvana through The Foo Fighters' 16 year career. The film also includes in-depth footage regarding the release of the new album. The film will be making its premiere at the SXSW Film Festival, and the band is rumored to be performing at SXSW, as are Queens of the Stone Age and the Strokes (all rumors at this point).

Other festivals Foo Fighters will appear at include the recently announced Sasquatch Festival, Hang Out Fest in Alabama, and according to Greg Kot, Lollapalooza along with Eminem and Muse.

In other Dave Grohl related news, on Wednesday, Matador Press tweeted an illustrated letter from a 15-year old Dave Grohl to Seattle band Aerobic Death about a compilation tape in 1984. That letter and all tour dates below...

Continue reading "all living Nirvana members play on new Foo Fighers (rumored to be playing SXSW like the Strokes & Lollapalooza like Muse)"

"BV interviewer Federico Rasperrini on the scene @ Lollapalooza" - brooklynvegan

Frederico Rasperrini & WAVVES @ Lollapalooza 2010

Move over Best Coast and Freddie Gibbs at Pitchfork, Wavves and Frederico Rasperrini (pictured above) had a little smoke session of their own at Lollapalooza. For those that don't recognize intrepid BV reporter Frederico Rasperrini (pictured above in the white hat), it's true, he's none other than John McCauley of Deer Tick in disguise.

Deer Tick played the Chicago festival too last weekend, just like they'll play Webster Hall tonight (8/13) after a special opening set by Delta Spirit's Matt Vasquez. Tickets should be available at the door.

Wavves' next NYC show is at Music Hall of Williamsburg (tickets). Before and after that they're on a tour that also brings them to Madison Square Garden to open for Phoenix who also played Lollapalooza (while some guy was starting a fight with the police).

The Wavves/Frederico video footage does not involve any fighting or police (luckily), but there is some illicit behavior in the form of marijuana smoke being sucked out of a beer can, talk of HPV, and whatnot... That and more, below...

Continue reading "Frederico Rasperrini talked & smoked pot w/ Wavves @ Lollapalooza (video), Deer Tick in NYC tonight "

"holy shit....saw this guy on saturday? night, freaked the fuuuck outta me, thought he was gonna kill me the way he was acting and looking...scarry shit." - alltheircharity

"i hear? phoenixxxxx!" - DESTROYBOY001

video below (maybe there's no taser actually)...

Continue reading "kid pushes cop, gets tased @ Lollapalooza (video) "

most photos by Josh Darr

Dodos w/ special guest Neko Case / The Antlers

"There were no special effects during Soundgarden's performance on the last night of Lollapalooza -- no lasers, no costume changes, no props or hydraulics. Even the video screens switched over to black and white. But the band didn't need any added visuals: Soundgarden delivered an explosive set of classic '90s songs in front of their biggest audience since their breakup 13 years ago. Chris Cornell underplayed the band's return, suggesting their decade-plus break was more like a few years. "It's good to be back!" said Cornell, who's grown his hair back out to its late-'80s length. "We just took a little break, but now we're back."" [Rolling Stone]

Continue reading "Lollapalooza 2010 - Day 3 in pics, Soundgarden setlist, videos"

photos by Josh Darr

"With Soundgarden grinding out giant slabs of sludgy metal on one end of Grant Park in Chicago, Arcade Fire closed out Lollapalooza with an epic batch of songs from their three critically-acclaimed albums. While they didn't have any costume changes (as Lady Gaga did) or T-shirt cannons (which Green Day had), they still managed to pack a tremendous amount of drama into their set.

For Arcade Fire, it's all in the songs, which use an eclectic combination of instruments (chiming guitars, humming organs, languid strings, ramshackle percussion) to stack bits of melody on top of each other and create a head-spinning swirl of quiet moments, crescendos, comedowns and climaxes. There's a distinct possibility that Arcade Fire are the best band in the world right now, and they do it with exquisite songwriting and passionate commitment.

And sweat. Lots and lots of sweat." [MTV]

Continue reading "Arcade Fire played Lollapalooza (pics, setlist), got the #1 spot on the Billboard chart"

Dawes @ Lollapalooza 2010 (more by Josh Darr)

"So it was back to the Sony Bloggie stage to catch a pair of Americana/roots-rock acts, Dawes and Deer Tick, a pair of bands I knew nothing about and, hell, that's what Lolla's about, right? Discovering new acts you might not have otherwise ever had to the chance to see. I knew nothing about either band but found both enjoyable and great compliments to the mid-afternoon sun and shade mix of the stage. Dawes had an amiably country-fried sound that fits somewhere between two other bands at the fest: they're rootsier than Blitzen Trapper while easing up on the honky-tonk of the Drive By Truckers. And if I'm not being clear enough, I mean that in a good way. Deer Tick followed with their own brand of roots/soul, lead singer John J. McCauley crooning "I can't hang around with you like this my friend/ Our time has come to an end" on "Baltimore Blues No. 1" and his gravelly voice lent an edge to recent single "20 Miles." Both bands provided a great respite from the larger crowds without slowing the momentum of the day. There was no lag in energy and I barreled on." [Chicagoist @ Lollpalooza 2010]

PWC, after touring with Midlake and Rogue Wave, opens most of the new Dawes dates before being replaced by The Moondoggies whose new album "Tidelands" will be released by Hardly Art/Sub Pop on October 12th...

The album's title was chosen by Moondoggies songwriter/frontman Kevin Murphy (vocals, guitar) as a nod to his old stomping grounds in Ketchikan, AK where he used to go to escape from civilization. Listening to the songs, the subtle, recurring themes of water throughout the album underscore that the songs are crafted to provide solace, sense and cause for celebration in a world fraught with turmoil.
"What the water represents can be taken many different ways," says Murphy. "Many of the lyrics came to me while trying to be constructive in how I dealt with feeling depressed, rather than just getting wrapped up in my own head."

Continue reading "Dawes touring w/ Peter Wolf Crier, Vetiver, Moondogies & the Romany Rye (2010 dates) "

most of the photos by Josh Darr

The Strokes

Lady Gaga & Semi Precious Weapons (pic via Krista Davis)

Phoenix

"Lollapalooza wheeled out some big headliners in its sixth year on the Chicago lakefront, as a record 240,000 people poured into Grant Park over three days to see 130 performers, including Lady Gaga, Green Day and reunited grunge-era icons Soundgarden.

Size matters at Lollapalooza, as the festival expanded its reach westward by shutting down Columbus Avenue and spreading eight stages across 110 acres, up from 80 acres in previous years. Columbus Avenue was converted into a giant sidewalk lined with portable toilets, a simple but effective improvement that allowed fans to avoid the dreaded Buckingham Fountain bottleneck that had turned previous festivals into human traffic jams. The festival topped its previous three-day record of 225,000, reached the last two years.

Still, there was little room during some performances at the northernmost stages on Butler Field, where fans jostled shoulder-to-shoulder for space to see performances by Metric, Phoenix and Arcade Fire. Note to Austin, Texas-based promoters C3 Presents: How about widening the southern entrance to Butler Field or moving one of the stages onto Columbus Drive to relieve what is becoming an annual problem? It's only going to get worse if the festival approaches its new capacity of 95,000 a day in future years." [Chicago Tribune]

Continue reading "Lollapalooza 2010 -- Day 1 & 2 in pics "

It's Lollapalooza 2010 this weekend and you can watch the webcast HERE.

Lollapalooza 2009 (more by Paul Birman)

"The office of Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan is investigating Lollapalooza sponsors C3 Presents and their partners for anti-trust issues stemming from the radius clauses that the Austin, Texas-based concert promoters impose on all of the artists who play the giant, three-day concert in Grant Park, according to numerous sources familiar with the investigation." [Jim Derogatis]

Yeasayer @ Governors Island on June 5 (more by Andrew St. Clair)

One Step Beyond, the monthly dance party series at the American Museum of Natural History, is bringing Yeasayer to DJ its next party on June 11th. Also in the house will be Roofeeo and DJ Teenwolf (of Ninjasonik). Tickets are on sale.

Yeasayer play Lollapalooza's Budweiser Stage on Sunday, August 8th at 4pm. Arcade Fire play vs Soundgarden at the fest later that night. Phoenix goes up against Green Day one night earlier. Lady Gaga and the Strokes have competing time slots on the first night. That and more in the just-released Lollapalooza 2010 schedule.

More Yeasayer tour dates are HERE. A video of Yeasayer's Governors Island show is below...

Continue reading "Yeasayer DJing AMNH, Lollapalooza schedule released "

"The 2010 Lollapalooza line-up is official: Soundgarden, Green Day, Lady Gaga, Arcade Fire, The Strokes, and Phoenix will headline, joined by Social Distortion, MGMT, Jimmy Cliff, Hot Chip, and The Black Keys. With 130 bands on this year's bill, its sure to be a weekend long feast for the ears.

It's a monumental year for Lollapalooza, filled with homecomings, reunions, and first-times. Soundgarden, 1992 and 1996 Lollapalooza alumni, return to the Lollapalooza stage for their first performance since 1997. Green Day will rock Grant Park sixteen years after their first Lollapalooza appearance. While Lady Gaga will headline the festival only three short years after playing the BMI stage at Lollapalooza 2007.

Arcade Fire returns to Grant Park, having played the reincarnated Lollapalooza in 2005. This is the first Lollapalooza for The Strokes - and also their first show in four years. And making their Lollapalooza debut: Phoenix." - Lollapalooza

Continue reading "Lollapalooza actually announces 2010 lineup "

Lollapalooza is teasing people with a Wheel of Fortune style lineup-announcement. They've only filled in the O's. As the Daily Swarm points out, Soundgarden, Green Day, Lady Gaga, Arcade Fire, The Strokes, and Phoenix fit nicely into the top row. Tickets are on sale.

Lollapalooza tickets go on sale at 10am CST, or to be more specific ("Three-Day passes for Lollapalooza 2010 go on-sale March 30, at 10am CST. A limited number of Advance-priced three-day passes will be available for $190. When this allotment sells out, Regular-priced three-day passes will be available for $215. Prices are inclusive of all service fees. VIP Lolla Lounge passes will also be on-sale [too]"

in semi-related news, "We are excited to announce that Sasquatch! Music Festival has officially sold out! The sellout occurred in record time, selling the highest number of tickets since the festival's inception. Additionally, the day schedule has been finalized with the addition of comedian Aziz Ansari, They Might Be Giants, and more. See below for [the full lineup which also now includes Bobcat Goldthwait]."

Continue reading "Lollapalooza on sale, Sasquatch sells out & adds more acts"

"Just got off the phone with Julian Casablancas and he confirms that the Strokes will indeed be headlining Lollapalooza this summer as first reported here a few weeks ago.

He says he's pretty stoked about the band's string of festival dates this summer. "We're getting the biggest offers of our career," he says. "It feels great, because I remember people writing things like 'We'll see if they're still around in 10 years' when we first came out."

...Casablancas says the Strokes are wrapping up their fourth studio album, and first since 2006. "I think it'll be out in September," he says. "I've written a lot of melodies for it, but the other guys have also contributed a lot more: melodies, choruses, parts. It's way more collaborative. So it'll have a different feel than our other albums." [Chicago Tribune]

The show in Chicago can be added to the Strokes' upcoming gig at Isle of Wight Fest in England this June.

Julian's upcoming tour dates include a show at Irving Plaza in NYC and a March 30th show at Sayreville, NJ's Starland Ballroom.

Continue reading "Strokes confirmed for Lollapalooza, Lady Gaga still rumored"