by Andrew Sacher

Sigur Ros at MSG in March (more by Dominick Mastrangelo)

As mentioned, Sigur Ros will release their new album, Kveikur, next week (6/18) via XL. It's their second album since coming back from hiatus, after 2012's Valtari, and while that album was arguably their most ambient, Kveikur is the exact opposite. It's the closest Sigur Ros have ever come to industrial rock, and though they've been known to get dark and loud at their shows, this is the heaviest they've ever sounded on record. It's noticeably different than anything else in their catalog, but still sounds entirely like Sigur Ros. Check out the whole record a week ahead of its release date at Amazon, where its streaming in its entirety.

They also just announced more North American tour dates (none in NYC though), all of which are listed, along with three videos from the new album, below...

Continue reading "Sigur Ros streaming new album, announce more tour dates"

Savages at Coachella 2013 (more by Dana [distortion] Yavin)

As mentioned, Savages are going on a tour this summer, which includes a NYC show happening at Webster Hall on July 11 (sold out). The band is coming back to North America in September to play Detroit's Laneway Festival and will be stopping in NYC on the way there for their biggest show here yet: Terminal 5 on September 12. Tickets for that show go on sale Friday (6/14) at noon.

This is the inaugural Detroit Laneway Festival (which has happened in other cites since 2004) which will take place at Meadow Brook in Rochester Hills, Michigan. The line-up also includes The National, Sigur Ros, Alunageorge, Charli XCX, Chet Faker, Chvrches, Deerhunter, The Dismemberment Plan, Flume, Frightened Rabbit, Haerts, Icona Pop, My Brightest Diamond, Phosphorescent, Run The Jewels (El-P + Killer Mike), Solange, Warpaint, Washed Out, and Youth Lagoon. Tickets for the are on sale now.

Updated dates are listed, along with the videos of Savages performing two songs on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, below...

Continue reading "Savages playing Terminal 5 in September before Detroit's Laneway Festival (updated dates & lineup)"

by Andrew Sacher

Sigur Ros in Austin in April (more by Tim Griffin)

As mentioned, Sigur Ros are releasing a new album, Kveikur, on June 18 via XL. They've already revealed the first single, "Brennisteinn," and have also been debuting material live, and now they've released the studio version of the album's title track. After their very ambient 2012 comeback album, Valtari, it looks like Kveikur is turning out to be their heaviest and most rock-oriented album yet. Listen to the new song in a video made from the band's live show visuals, below.

Continue reading "listen to the title track of the new Sigur Ros album"

photos by Wei Shi

New Order / The xx / Danny Brown

Weekend 2 of Coachella 2013 continued on Saturday (4/20), and this time around we caught sets by New Order, The xx, Hot Chip, Danny Brown (who debuted a new Rustie-produced track, "Dope Song," during his set which you can watch a video of below), Action Bronson, Trash Talk, Janelle Monae and more. Pictures of Weekend 2 Day 2 are in this post.

In case you haven't been keeping up with our coverage, pictures of Weekend 2 Day 1 are HERE. For Weekend 1 pictures, check out day 1 (HERE and HERE), day 2 (HERE) and day 3 (HERE).

More Coachella Weekend 2 Day 2 pictures and the Danny Brown video below...

Continue reading "Coachella Weekend 2 Day 2 in pics (New Order, Trash Talk, Danny Brown, The xx, Hot Chip, Action Bronson & more)"

photos by Dana (distortion) Yavin

Sigur Ros / Bat For Lashes / Spiritualized

"It was a mixed bag for veteran acts on Saturday. On one hand, The Evens, featuring ex-Minor Threat and Fugazi man Ian MacKaye, drew a respectable (and respectful) Gobi Tent crowd early in the day; the Descendents' influential melodic-punk found a fairly large following at the Outdoor Theatre under the stars; and New Order brought a solid throng along for its night-capping Mojave Tent performance (despite going up against headlining Phoenix and post-rock favorites Sigur Rós, among others). But reunited D.C. garage-soul outfit The Make-Up, underground hip-hop icon El-P and British ska survivors The Selecter played to some of the weekend's sparsest audiences in the Gobi Tent." [Las Vegas Weekly]

UPDATE: Pictures from Sunday are HERE.

Saturday photos are in this post and continue below...

Continue reading "Coachella Day 2 Photos (Sigur Ros, Bat For Lashes, Major Lazer, Descendents, 2 Chainz, Phoenix, Postal Service, more)"

photos by Tim Griffin

Jónsi of Sigur Rós @ Cedar Park Center - 4/10/2013

If you've been reading BV regularly or other music sites in the past week, you are aware that Coachella 2013 starts today (4/12), the first of two mostly identical weekends of music and extreme heat in Indio, CA. The fun/sweating starts at noon PDT and you can stream it live too. One of the big acts performing is Sigur Ros, who'll headline the Outdoor Theatre stage on Saturday (4/13). On their way to Coachella, the Icelandic band's tour  stopped in Austin on Wednesday (4/10) for a show at Cedar Park Center. The night opened with frontman Jonsi playing solo behind a giant mesh curtain while projections illuminated the fabric. The curtain dropped and the rest of the band appeared for their set which was pretty identical to what other cities (like NYC at MSG) have gotten. Quite a show.

Setting a relaxed mood for the evening was opener Oneohtrix Point Never. Check out more pictures from the Austin show, plus the setlist and current tour schedule, below...

Continue reading "Sigur Ros played Austin on the way to Coachella (pics, setlist)"

Evian Christ

UK producer Evian Christ has a few festival dates scheduled this year, including Pitchfork Festival in Chicago. His only other US date that we're currently aware of happens in NYC as part of the previously announced Red Bull Music Aacademy residency. He'll share a bill with Oneohtrix Point Never on May 26 at Saint Vitus. Also on the bill are Bill Kouligas, Kid Spml, and ANNALOVE. Tickets for that show are still available.

Evian Christ is set to release a new album at some point this year, and though not much has been revealed about that, he recently did a new mix on Benji B's BBC Radio 1 show, which features an unreleased track. You can stream that mix HERE.

Meanwhile, Oneohtrix Point Never is currently touring as an opener on Sigur Ros' North American tour. All dates for both artists are listed below...

Continue reading "Evian Christ working on new material, playing festivals and NYC show w/ Oneohtrix Point Never (dates & BBC mix)"

photos by Dominick Mastrangelo

Sigur Ros @ MSG 3/25/2013

They started the show with a giant screen draped over them, casting a giant silhouette of Jónsi towing away with his bowed guitar. Looking like he was the wizard of oz of MSG, he has all of us instantly transfixed. When the screen dropped, the band seemed to take it as a cue to take things up a notch. This was because the band (now a 3-piece) was backed up by a large set of backing musicians who played just about every instrument you could think of.

Playing for nearly 2-hours, it seemed like a lifetime journey spent with the band, in the best way possible. One minute they have you on the verge of tears, and the very next your feeling a spiritual high. A Sigur Ros show has the power and emotional transgression of a religious experience, an amazing feat considering not a single word of English was uttered other than a quick hello or thank you. They do so with their sounds and sight, giving us a spectacular light show backed by moving images that were breathtaking enough to be considering another band member. - [We All Want Someone to Shout For]

Continue reading "Sigur Ros played Madison Square Garden (pics, setlist)"

Sigur Ros at Osheaga 2012 (more by Dominick Mastrangelo)

Sigur Ros returned last year with Valtari after a four-year hiatus, and it looks like they've got no plans to stop again anytime soon, because the band have announced that Valtari's followup will be out this year. The new album is called Kveikur and it comes out on June 18 via their new label home, XL Recordings. Along with the album announcement came the video for its first single, "Brennisteinn," which you can watch below. They've also recently been playing other new material live, and some videos of those performances are below.

Sigur Ros are also touring extensively and will be in NYC very soon for a previously discussed huge show happening on March 25 at Madison Square Garden with Tim Hecker (tickets are still available). They'll also be in NYC tonight (3/22) to perform a new song on Fallon. Plus, anyone who bought tickets for their US tour get a free digital EP with three new songs.

Updated Sigur Ros dates are listed, along with those live videos, below...

Continue reading "Sigur Ros announce new album, playing 'Fallon' before MSG (updated dates & video for new single)"

Sigur Ros sent out the following message today:

a band note about madison square garden show

almost a dozen years ago we played our first nyc show at irving plaza. we'd originally booked to do angel orensanz, but it blew out fast and we had to move to the bigger room. even so, all the way through the subsequent beacon theaters, united palaces, radio city music halls, even, we never thought we'd get to play madison square garden. it just seemed so...iconic?, establishment?, or maybe just big? when we performed downstairs at the madison square theater in 2006, billy joel was doing a 15-night run above us. that seemed like the right order of things. and yet, here we are, two weeks out from what we can only described as the big one!

we are currently "warming up" in europe, so that when we hit the east coast we are the real hot tamale for y'all. of course, we would say the show's great, but, you know what?, it is. there will be a bunch of new songs and all the stuff we currently love the most from our back pages, all set to the best and brightest production we've ever managed to cram in a small fleet of trucks. most of the show's sold, but there are still some tickets left with the building just having opened up more seats at $35. plus, everyone buying tickets gets a free 3-track digital ep of new material, which will be sent out in advance of the show. we're excited. we hope you are too.

- sigur rós

Says the PR

On the heels of a highly successful, critically acclaimed sold-out 2012 festival, the Sasquatch! Music Festival unveils its 2013 lineup, which once again features 4 days of music. The festival, hailed as "a model of well-paced programming...in a four-day schedule as efficient and natural feeling as an expertly built algorithm" by NPR Music while Wired notes, "leave the landscape out of it and Sasquatch! has a lineup to kill for," runs May 24-27 (Memorial Day Weekend) at The
Gorge, the internationally acclaimed concert venue carved in the basalt cliffs high above the Columbia River Gorge in Quincy, WA.

Continue reading "Sasquatch! Music Festival 2013 lineup is here"

Click it for the bigger poster.

words and photos by Dominick Mastrangelo

Sigur Ros @ Skyline Stage

For those counting at home, Dana (distortion) Yavin, Amanda Hatfield, David Andrako and Fred Pessaro // BBG have all dropped of their favorite photos that they took in 2012, and now comes a set from another long-time contributor, Dominick Mastrangelo. We'll let him take it from here...

I'm pretty sure everybody who photographs for this site has a list of bands they want to shoot before they hang up their camera or move on to something other than music. I'm no different and 2012 was the year I was able to cross a handful of those bands off my list. All were personal favorites from before I ever picked up a camera; some I had seen a bunch, some I hadn't seen in years and some I had never seen. To have photographed The Afghan Whigs twice, Sigur Rós twice, as well as Wilco, the reunited Ben Folds Five and The Old 97's (a band I saw in countless sweaty venues in my thirteen years in North Texas) over the span of six months, well, I consider myself very fortunate.

Also, Canada was very good to me. I covered Osheaga in August then returned a month later to cover POP Montreal for the second time. The following morning I was on a train to Toronto to cover the Polaris Prize gala. Nearly half of the photos below were taken north of the border and only a desire to not turn this into an all-Canada post kept me from including more.

Of the twelve I've selected, the above shot of Jonsi, the lead-singer of Icelandic band Sigur Rós, taken in Philadelphia at the Mann Center for the Performing Arts is probably my favorite. It was the band's first show in four years, the first time I was getting to photograph one of their shows and my first time seeing them since the last North American show of their Takk tour in February of 2006.

More of my favorite shots from 2012 are below.

Continue reading "Dominick Mastrangelo's favorite Live Music Photos of 2012 ---------(that he took) "

BEAUTIFUL NOISE is an in-depth exploration of a music movement in the late 20th century, a fascinating period when some innovative musicians mixed guitar noise into conventional pop song structures while maintaining a philosophy of letting the music speak for itself.

Although many of the people interviewed are notoriously press shy they have opened up about their music and experiences from over 20 years ago; how they defied the rules and became sonic innovators that have inspired so many.

Currently the documentary is in the final stages for worldwide release, and we need your help to raise the $75,000 to pay for limited run licensing and finishing costs to distribute in Film Festivals and on DVD/Blu-Ray.

This documentary will finally be released only if the fans of this music believe in this project and contribute.

This comes shortly after the news that My Bloody Valentine plans to release an album by the end of the year.

Campaign video below...

Continue reading "My Bloody Valentine, JAMC, Cocteau Twins, Ride and more feature in shoegaze doc that launched Kickstarter campaign"

Sigur Ros at Prospect Park in July (more by Amanda Hatfield)

Tickets for the Sigur Ros show at MSG go on sale to the general public today at 9 AM. A few pre-sales already happened.

The NYC show is part of a huge tour that probably hits Coachella.

Tickets for the SIgur Ros tour, MSG show included, went on Fan Club presale yesterday, and today the AmEx/MSG presale begins at 10 AM (password: "VALTARI").

Tickets for the Russian Circles, Between the Buried and Me, and Coheed and Cambria show at Radio City go on presale today at 10 AM (password: "AFTERMAN").

Tickets for the Jeff Mangum show at The Great Hall in Union Station in Hartford, CT go on sale today at noon. Tickets for his Poughkeepsie show go on sale Friday (11/16) at 11 AM.

As mentioned, Lotus plays Best Buy Theater on January 26 and you can also catch them at the more intimate Knitting Factory (1/27) a day later. Tickets for the Knitting Factory show are available, but can only be purchased as a combo ticket for both shows.

Tickets are still available for tonight's Sharon Van Etten show at Town Hall with many special guests.

Sigur Ros at Celebrate Brooklyn in July (more by Amanda Hatfield)

Tickets for the SIgur Ros tour, MSG show included, go on Fan Club presale (password: "BRENNISTEINN") today at 10 AM.. The MSG show goes on AmEx/MSG presale Thursday (11/15) at 10 AM and general on sale starts Friday (11/16) at 9 AM.

Tickets for the newly-added Purity Ring show at Webster Hall go on AmEx presale today at noon.

Tickets for the Soundgarden shows at Hammerstein Ballroom go on AmEx/King Animal presale today at 10 AM. Soundgarden played Irving Plaza last night (more about that in a bit).

Flogging Molly are playing Roseland Ballroom on February 2. Tickets for that show go on Citi Cardmember presale today at 10 AM. Live Nation/Live Nation Mobile App presales start Thursday (11/15) at 10 AM and general on-sale starts Friday (11/16) at 10 AM.

Lotus are playing Best Buy Theater on January 26. Tickets for that show go on AmEx presale today at 10 AM. AEG Live presale starts Thursday (11/15) at 10 AM and general on-sale starts Friday (11/16) at noon.

Rick Ross has added a NYC date to his Maybach Music tour with Meek Mill, Wale, and Machine Gun Kelly. The group will hit Roseland Ballroom on December 16. Tickets for that show are on sale now.

Tickets for the They Might Be Giants show in Long Island go on venue presale today at 10 AM (password: "PULSE"). Tickets are also still available for their 12/30 show at MHOW, which is part of a three night run, but the other two are sold out.

Tickets for the Fucked Up show at Warsaw are on sale now.

Tickets for the Cannibal Ox reunion at Knitting Factory Brooklyn are on sale now.

Tickets for the Widowspeak show at Mercury Lounge go on AmEx presale today at noon.

Tickets for the Niki and the Dove show at Bowery Ballroom go on AmEx presale today at noon.

Tickets for the Solange show at Bowery Ballroom go on AmEx presale today at noon.

Tickets for the Nude Beach show at Mercury Lounge go on AmEx presale today at noon.

Alex Bleeker and the Freaks are playing Mercury Lounge on December 29 with Prince Rupert Drops. Tickets for that show go on AmEx presale today at noon.

Sigur Ros at Prospect Park in July (more by Amanda Hatfield)

As we just posted, Sigur Ros are heading out on their biggest, most-ambitious tour of their career next year, including Madison Square Garden on March 25. The tour wraps up on the West Coast in April, with convenient availability during Coachella 2013's two weekends (4/12-14, 4/19-21). Hmmmm.

Who else do you think might be playing this year?

Per Consequence of Sound, two acts have confirmed their slots on the 2013 fest in interviews. They are EDM artists Kill the Noise and Paul Kalkbrenner. For various reasons, CoS also speculates that Atoms For Peace, Local Natives, Passion Pit, Tegan and Sara, and Wu-Tang Clan all might be playing.

Sigur Ros's full list of international tour dates is below.

Continue reading "Sigur Ros playing Coachella 2013? Who else?"

by Andrew Sacher

Sigur Ros at Prospect Park in July (more by Amanda Hatfield)

SIgur Ros made a triumphant return this year after a four-year hiatus with a great new album, Valtari, and an equally great return to the live stage on their tour which brought them to Prospect Park in July. Now the band have announced that they'll be back in North America next year for their largest headlining tour to date, including what is by far their largest NYC show ever at Madison Square Garden on March 25, 2013! Tickets for the show go on sale Friday (11/16) at 9 AM with a fan presale starting Wednesday (11/14) at 10 AM. All dates on the tour, which looks like it might hit Coachella, are listed below.

Sigur Ros recently played a new song, "Brennisteinn," at Iceland Airwaves, which you can watch a video of below.

Meanwhile, Nowness also premiered a film for the title track off Valtari today (11/12) which you can watch below. It's part of the band's Mystery FIlm Experiment and was directed by Christian Larson with choreography by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui.

As mentioned, their Mystery Film Experiment is screening worldwide soon and NYC will get their screening on December 7-9 at TBA location. Tickets are still on sale, however.

A list of all dates and both of those videos are below.

Continue reading "Sigur Ros announces huge 2013 North American tour, headlining MSG! (dates & videos)"

Sigur Ros at Prospect Park in July (more by Amanda Hatfield)

As you may know, Sigur Ros had been in the process of completing their "Mystery Film Experiment," for which they shot videos for every song on their 2012 album, Valtari. The project was recently finished and now the band plans to premiere the film across the world in unconventional venues, including "cinemas, cinema-like spaces, rock clubs, hardware stores, hairdresser salons, and beyond." The NYC screening will take place the weekend of December 7-9 in a TBA location. The band writes:

join sigur rós fans from around the world for a unique program of short films

the "valtari film experiment" program collects at least 17 commissioned "official" and fan-created short films created to coincide with the album valtari. the program will screen on all seven continents (yes, including antarctica). venues will include cinemas, cinema-like spaces, rock clubs, hardware stores, hairdresser salons, and beyond. with the band's live film inni, large venues were particularly pursued, but this time, smaller, more avant-garde film-type spaces are sought out, though there will be many exceptions.

directors of at least some of these films will be present at the screening.

upon the release of their album valtari, sigur rós gave a dozen filmmakers the same modest budget and asked them to create whatever comes into their head when they listen to songs from the album. the idea was to bypass the usual artistic approval process and allow people utmost creative freedom. among the filmmakers are alma har'el, andrea arnold, and floria sigismondi. at the same time, the band invited fans to contribute their own personal creations.

the exact new york location is to be announced, though it will be a cinema or cinema-like space within the five boroughs, and you will be sent location details well in advance. however, tickets are limited and only available for a limited time, so please order now.

All cities and locations that the film will screen in are listed at Sigur Ros' website. A YouTube playlist of the Mystery Film Experiment is below.

Continue reading "Sigur Ros screening 'Mystery Film Experiment' in unconventional venues across all 7 continents"

"sigur rós would like to apologise to anyone disappointed not to see the band's bestival performance live online last night. early in the day a decision had been made to delay broadcast till after the show to give the band a chance to review the footage ahead of webcast, since they were dismayed that their guaranteed "darkness" slot had been pushed into daylight by the expansive demands of the headliner. the band's only uk show of the year, this would-be highlight of the 2012 calendar, would have to be conducted without proper lights or visuals. sadly then, a perfect storm of production issues and technical problems conspired to mean that the band went on to have a thoroughly miserable experience on stage too. and to spare everyone's blushes a decision was made to draw a discrete veil over proceedings. sorry, but we can be so much better than what you missed. another time, for sure." - Sigur Ros

Continue reading "Sigur Ros apologize for cancelling daylight Bestival stream, announce more international tour dates"

Telepathe at Glasslands, July 2012 (more by Amanda Hatfield)

today in NYC
* Jared Evan @ Joe's Pub
* Poundcake @ City Winery
* Mary Ehrlich @ The Stone
* Marta Topferova @ Barbes
* Neon Trees @ MLB Fan Cave
* Slavic Soul Party @ Barbes
* Stevie Jackson @ The Living Room
* New York Chamber Trio @ The Stone
* Cherokee, Kartell @ Mercury Lounge
* American Idol Live @ Prudential Center
* Alanis Morissette @ iHeartRadio Theater
* Kendra Morris, Julie Haltigan @ Mercury Lounge
* Rarechild, Treasure Teeth, Shadow Box @ Big Snow
* Fly Ashtray, Clay Dots, Hamish Kilgour @ Zebulon
* Dash Rip Rock, City Walls Autumn Falls @ Matchless
* Silent Drape Runners (Twin Peaks: The Beginning) @ The Bell House
* The Mast, Greg Barris, Mathias Kunzli, Oddlogic (DJ Set) @ Glasslands
* Telepathe, The So So Glos, Blonds, The Teen Commandments @ The Rock Shop
* Camp Sunshine w/ Nikki Glaser, Kelly Hudson, Jennie Sutton, Amanda Madden, Erin Anderson @ Public Assembly
* F. Stokes, Waayaha Cusub, Alsarah & the Nubatones, Toni Blackman, Humanitarian Bazaar @ 285 Kent Avenue

Public Assembly's "Masters of Social Gastronomy" series tonight will tackle the topic "Get Tipsy," discussing the science of booze... and drinking games. It's free. 7PM.

There's a send-off party at The Rock Shop tonight for some of the bands playing the Brooklyn, Sweden festival. Catch Telepathe, the So-So Glos and more. $15 but includes an open Brooklyn Brewery bar from 7:30 - 9:30 PM.

BrooklynVegan photo exhibit "480 Pixels" is up at 92YTribeca through September 6th. Stop by and check it out!

Follow @BrooklynVegan on Twitter.
Follow @bvChicago for just Chicago stuff.
Also follow @bvAustin for just Austin stuff.

Be our friend on Facebook too, and BV Austin's friend on Facebook and BV Chicago's friend on Facebook.

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Everything Everything have released the first video from their new album, Arc, which is out in January. You can watch "Cough Cough" below.

Julia Holter has a new video for "Goddess Eyes I," which you can watch below. Her tour with Hundred Waters hits NYC this Friday (8/31) for a show at Bowery Ballroom with Moon Diagrams.

Sigur Ros made a video for "Dauoalogn." Check it out below.

Continue reading "What's going on Tuesday?"

photos by Amoreena Lucero

Metallica / Sigur Ros at Outside Lands - 8/11/12

Metallica's headlining set on Saturday featured lots of the band's classic material ("Master of Puppets," "Ride the Lightning," "Creeping Death") paired with a fair amount of pyro and endless shout-outs to San Francisco. "We're very grateful to be playing in the backyard of the greatest city," said frontman James Hetfield. He also noted that a friend of his who lives a good distance from the park told him earlier that he could hear the band soundcheck all the way from his house. "So we're not only playing for you," said Hetfield. "We're playing for all of the Bay Area." [Rolling Stone]

Pictures of day 1 are HERE. More of day 2 are below.

Continue reading "Outside Lands Festival 2012 Day 2 in pics (Metallica, Sigur Ros, The Kills, Tame Impala, Explosions in the Sky & more)"

by Dominick Mastrangelo

Florence / Dum Dum Girls / the scene, Osheaga Fest 8/03/2012

"I can't believe we walked the whole thing."

This was the opening of an e-mail Saturday morning from my friend, the Montreal based singer-songwriter Leif Vollebekk. Day 1 of Montreal's Osheaga Music and Arts Festival (8/3) was in the books and instead of joining the crush of people all trying to get into the Metro, we opted to walk with a much smaller group of people from Parc Jean-Drapeau, the festival's home, over the closed-off Jacques Cartier Bridge back to the Mile End.

"You know," Leif's e-mail continued, "we could've all just waited for the subway, but then we might have been accused of being reasonable."

What came before the trek from the island to the mainland was a hot, dusty, sweaty blur of music and dancing and a sold-out crowd determined to pull every ounce of enjoyment from their day out.

The highlight for me on Day 1 was always going to be Sigur Ros, who I'd seen just a days before in Philadelphia. Sure, Justice may have been the official headliner on the day, but the Icelandic band, even restricted to their one-hour time slot, felt like the real headliner and reduced the electronic duo and their glorified DJ booth to the equivalent of an afterparty.

Earlier in the day, The Walkmen featured Skyler Skjelset of Fleet Foxes on bass and guitar and Icelandic band Of Monsters and Men packed the field at the Scene Verte stage on the other end of the park for their mid-day set.

The Dum Dum Girls set was delayed with sound issues and once they got going the tech guys spent most of their set running back and forth across the stage adjusting and fixing gear. It was the beginning of a trouble-filled weekend at the Scene des Arbres stage where delays were constant and, on Day 3, Zola Jesus' set was controversially cut short as thunderstorms rolled through. (Festival officials shut her set down just as the worst of the storm had passed.) She took to Facebook to voice her frustration (though what happened in Montreal was nothing compared to what went down at Lollapalooza in Chicago the same weekend).

Gary Clark, Jr. impressed over at the Scene Verte as his loud, fuzzy guitar riffs conjured dancing girls and good vibes.

Along with a beautiful set from Florence and the Machine and a raucous end-of-the-night set from Montreal's Les Breastfeeders, it was a great start to the festival.

Stay tuned for more on Day 2 and 3. More Osheaga Day 1 photos are below.

Continue reading "Osheaga Festival - Day 1 review and pics (Sigur Ros, Florence, The Walkmen, Dum Dum Girls, Of Monsters and Men, & more)"

photos by James Richards IV

At the Drive-In/Sigur Ros at Lollapalooza - 8/5/12

Lollapalooza wrapped up in Chicago's Grant Park on Sunday (8/5) after two previous days of music in the park. Luckily the weather was much better than Saturday.

Jack White was one of the headliners on Saturday., We weren't able to get pictures this time (see Firefly instead), but you can check out his Lolla setlist HERE and pictures and video of a surprise in-store that took place at Chicago's Reckless Records earlier in the day HERE. Other bands on Sunday included the reunited At the Drive-In, Sigur Ros, The Walkmen, Justice, Polica, Toro y Moi, The Gaslight Anthem (setlist and a video of their entire set HERE) and many more.

More pictures of day 1 are HERE. More pictures of day 2 are HERE. More from day 3 are below...

Continue reading "Lollapalooza 2012 day 3 in pics (At the Drive-In, Sigur Ros, Justice, Toro y Moi, Polica, Gary Clark Jr & more)"