2012: Year in Review

Another year of concerts. Even with spending almost a quarter of the year in a country where live music is illegal, I was able to match my 2011 total number of attendances with 27, including 21 concerts (exact same as last year), 1 single day festival, 4 multi-day festivals in which I only attended one day, and 1 multi day festivals in which I attended each day, bringing my average up to an event every 13 days. At least thirteen of these shows were sold out, perhaps more that I didn’t realize.

Again, I saw more shows in the DC area than anywhere else (14), with 9:30 Club (5) the most common venue. The cities and venues were a lot more varied this year than many previous including five shows in Chicago and additional shows in Harrisburg, Los Angeles, Dover, New York, and Philadelphia. Oddly, I only made it to one show in Baltimore, the city I called home for most of the year.

Again, I saw at least one show on every day of the week, but this year Sunday (9) was the leader, following by Tuesday (5) and Thursday (5). I didn’t end up going to too many shows on Friday (2) and Saturday (4) nights.  July was the leading month (7) with June (6) close behind. Somehow January and March were both barren. October and November were also, but that is because I was abroad for nearly the entire time in a country which live music doesn’t exist.

Including all the bands that I specifically remember seeing, and therefore wrote about, I saw a total of 69 performances by 62 artists. Of those, only 12 were bands that I have seen before; the remaining 50 were artists that I was seeing for the first time. This included 23 acts at single concerts, another 16 at the multiday Firefly Music Festival , and 30 at other festivals. I saw Modest Mouse three times and several bands twice, including Bruce Springsteen, Death Cab for Cutie, Explosions in the Sky, The Killers, and Sigur Rós. For both Bruce Springsteen and Sigur Rós, neither event was at a festival. Both Explosions in the Sky performances were at a festival, though I would have gladly paid to see them do their own show.

Concerts are always more fun with friends, but this year due to various circumstances, I saw five shows, including two festivals, by myself. For the first time since I’ve been keeping track, Jeff Schiz (5) wasn’t the top person to attend with me, though he was still high on the list. Ben Trajtenberg (8) was number one followed by Lindsey Havko (6). Rick Nieves (4), Eric Stahl (4), Ben Summers (2) and Samet Gursel were the only others with more than one. 

I also went to a much pricier set of shows with year with a total ticket cost of $1,565, over 40% more than last year.

The Killers, Patriot Center, Fairfax, Virginia

Consistently Among the Best

A chilly December evening would be my fourth time seeing the Killers, including my second time seeing them this year and my second time seeing at George Mason's Patriot Center, a modest size arena capable of holding about 10,000 people. Unlike my previous time at the Patriot Center and other times further back on the lawn at festivals, I arrived earlier enough to be fairly close and have a dead center view of the stage. Even though I wasn't particularly close for all of my other Killers' shows, they have been one of the most consistent live acts that I've ever seen. Every Killer's show that I've seen has been amongst my favorite of the year. I love their whole catalogue, they always have spectacular visuals, and their music is very danceable. Every time that I've seen them has just been a blast.

So I had set the bar very high and despite a few issues making it far less than a perfect show, it was more or less a great show. One of these issues was the sound. For starters, the Killers had cancelled their past few days on tour because lead singer Brandon Flowers was getting over some laryngitis. While he sounded pretty good, his voice wasn't all there and I could hear the difference. This was exacerbated by poor speaker placement. Despite being reasonably close to the stage and dead center, there weren't any speakers pointed directly towards us, so the overall clarity and detail wasn't up to snuff.

My other complaints related to the setlist and the visuals. The Killers put on an amazing visual performance - a large LCD, lights, lasers, and pyrotechnics. However, none of it kicked in till after they had finished their first song. I'm not sure if they were just delayed in getting it set up or if it was purposeful, but when they took the stage and kicked off the evening with “Mr. Brightside,” a high energy anthem and one of my favorite of their songs, it all just fell a little flat. While I never like waiting longer than necessary for an act to hit the stage, this time I would have gladly waited a few extra minutes for everything to be ready. I would have preferred to hear “Mr. Brightside” later in the set no matter what the conditions but the lack of aesthetics made it particularly noticeable. I'm not sure if it was because of any of these issues or not, but the crowd was not nearly as lively as I would have preferred. They gradually warmed up a bit toward the end though. Flowers also introduced the band at the very end of the show, after they had already finished the bulk of their final song; I thought it a bit strange, but it wasn't a big deal.

Otherwise, the show and the setlist were great; lots of jumping and wiggling. They played nearly all of the same songs as they did the last time I saw them, at the Firefly Music Festival in Delaware, though a little longer (which I liked) and a few less old songs in favor of a few newer songs (which I didn't like as much). All and all, they played seven songs from their new album Battle Born (2012), three from Day & Age (2008), four from Sam's Town (2006), and five from Hot Fuss (2004). I hadn’t been as crazy about their new album as I had some of their others, but hearing some of the newest album live made me appreciate a few of the songs much more, including great versions of "The Way It Was, "From Here On Out," "Miss Atomic Bomb," and even the title track "Battle Born," even though I wish they wouldn't have ended the show on it. So despite a few issues, the Killers remain one of the consistently best bands I’ve ever seen.

Setlist:
Mr. Brightside
The Way It Was
Smile Like You Mean It
Spaceman
Heart of a Girl
Bling (Confession of a King)
Miss Atomic Bomb
Human
Somebody Told Me
Here With Me
For Reasons Unknown
From Here On Out
A Dustland Fairytale
Read My Mind
Runaways
When You Were Young
Encore:
Jenny Was a Friend of Mine
All These Things That I've Done
Battle Born

Punch Brothers, Vic Theatre, Chicago, Illinois

Proof bluegrass can be fun, even without the foot stomping

The Punch Brothers are the new project of mandolin virtuoso Chris Thile, who first gained famed as part of Nickel Creek in the 90's and early 2000's. Since the Punch Brothers' formation in the 2006, they have released three progressive bluegrass albums. I had actually seen them twice before, once at Bonnaroo and another time opening for the Dave Matthews Band. So I knew what I would be getting but looking forward to seeing them on their own set. An all string quintet, the Punch Brothers' music is often based on complicated instrumentation and classical music elements. This makes it a relatively quiet variety of bluegrass. Unlike the catchy, foot stomping sound of Yonder Mountain String Band, The Steeldrivers, or The Wailin' Jennys, the Punch Brother's are much more subdued and introspective.

With several of the members hailing from the Midwestern US, they were excited to sell out the Vic Theatre, a 1,400 person venue in Lincoln Park. We were fairly close to the stage, which was helpful considering just how quiet their music is. Certainly didn't need my earplugs that evening, except for a few loud cheers from the crowd. While I don't have their setlist, I remember a good mix of songs from each of the three albums, with only a few familiar enough with the audience for everyone to sing along. Chris Thile sang lead vocals on most of the songs, though I found Chris Eldridge's voice, who lead on one song, as good or even better than Thile's. I was even willing to look past his southern accent despite his Wikipedia page indicating he's from Fredericksburg, Virginia (accent is not impossible, just a bit suspect). At the beginning of the encore Chris Thile played the 4th Movement from Bach's G Minor Sonata, without the aid of a a microphone. After all the shhhing, it's nice to hear a completely silent audience with everyone keenly listening to the strings. The band, as well as opening act, The Milk Carton Kids for one song, joined to finish up the show.

Of Montreal, Metro, Chicago, Illinois

Let your freak flag fly

After a three month hiatus from concerts, mostly due to being abroad in Saudi Arabia, a country completely devoid of live music, I finally got to attend a show in Chicago, my new city. The show was at Metro, a venue holding about 1,100 people in Wrigleyville, less than two miles from my apartment. The venue is a lot like 9:30 Club, with a similar size and set up but perhaps a bit wider and shallower meaning that even if you’re in the back, you’re still pretty close to the stage.

While I have always enjoyed indie pop ensemble of Montreal, I have never been a huge fan. I ending up recognizing about half of their songs, but there weren’t any that really got me jumping. Part of the reason I was excited to go was that I heard they put on fun, wild shows. The band has a lot of vaudeville and psychedelic influence which they mix in with electronica, funk, and glam rock. The stage  was filled with lights and imagery. Throughout the show, there was always something crazy happening on stage, including a variety of costumed actors running around pantomiming as animals, police officers, and other characters, shooting confetti or dropping balloons into the audience. A performer in American flag spandex impressively surfed his way to nearly the back of the audience, and then made his way back to the front without touching the ground. The band partakes in the antics as well. At one point, the flamboyantly dressed lead guitarist passed his guitar into the audience then crowd surfed his way over to it to play a few chords. Of course, the most over-the-top of all was androgynous frontman, lead singer, chief songwriter, and principle creative talent Kevin Barnes. He was wearing what I assumed was women’s clothing and moved his hips and body in a very feminine way – very reminiscent of David Bowie. He also adorned an elaborate costume or two, at one point singing atop an actor’s shoulders, dressed like a butterfly and wearing a Pope hat.

The antics dominated the experience, but the music didn’t disappoint. Their sound incorporated a lot more hard and jam rock and less pop than I would have expected. It was plenty loud too; I regretted not having my earplugs. The set was fairly short, only about an hour plus an encore, but I didn’t feel cheated. They packed a lot in. My Chicago concert experience returns to fine form.

Setlist:
Suffer for Fashion
Sink the Seine
Cato as a Pun
Micro University
Oslo in the Summertime
Beware Our Nubile Miscreants
For Our Elegant Caste
She's a Rejecter
Enemy Gene
Plastis Wafers
St. Exquisite's Confessions
Hydra Fancies
Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse
The Past is a Grotesque Animal
Encore:
Id Engager
Gronlandic Edit
A Sentence of Sorts in Kongsvinger

Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, Wrigley Field, Chicago, Illinois

Worse. Sound. Ever.

It was the second night of a two night run for the Boss at Chicago’s historic Wrigley Field.  Even though I had just seen him a few months ago and tickets are very expensive, I decided to join a big group of family to see him again so I could squeeze in one last concert before shipping off to Saudi Arabia in a few weeks, where concerts are in likelihood illegal. Besides, if there’s one concert that never disappoints, it’s Bruce Springsteen.

It was a fun evening out with everyone, and we made the best of it, but the show itself left a lot to be desired. While I could tell that Bruce was killing it up on stage, the problem was that our seats were located in the last row of the 200 section, the covered area behind home plate. Decent seats for a ball game, TERRIBLE seats for a concert. The sound coming from the main speakers on the field was blocked and muffled and lacked any power, and there were few if any speakers pointed in our direction to combat the problem. I just felt very isolated from the rest of the concert and what was happening on stage. The music didn’t come alive the way it normally does for me at a show. It’s too bad too, because Bruce played a great set, had tons of energy in the pouring rain and was joined on stage by Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam and Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine, two artists I love in their own right. All and all, it was a total bust and lesson learned. The state of my Chicago concert going experience goes from bad to worse.

Setlist:
The Promised Land
The Ties That Bind
No Surrender
Hungry Heart
We Take Care of Our Own
Wrecking Ball
Death to My Hometown (with Tom Morello)
My City of Ruins
The E Street Shuffle
Pay Me My Money Down
This Depression (with Tom Morello)
My Hometown (with Eddie Vedder)
Darkness on the Edge of Town (with Eddie Vedder)
Because the Night (Patti Smith cover)
Working on the Highway
Shackled and Drawn
Waitin' on a Sunny Day
Who'll Stop the Rain? (CCR cover) (solo/acoustic)
The Ghost of Tom Joad (with Tom Morello)
Badlands (with Tom Morello)
Thunder Road
Encore:
Rocky Ground
Born to Run
Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)
Dancing in the Dark
Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out
American Land (With Tom Morello & Eddie Vedder)

North Coast Music Festival, Union Park, Chicago, Illinois

Worst. Concert. Meetup. Ever.

I had just moved into my new apartment in Chicago, and even though there was still lots of unpacking to do, I took a little break to hit up the North Coast Music Festival, an annual electronic music festival held over Labor Day weekend in Union Park on the south side of the city. While I don’t spend a lot of time listening to EDM, I generally like what I hear and can easily get into it at a show or festival. However, there weren’t any acts at North Coast I was particularly excited to see, I was more going to join up with my little brother, who was much more into that scene, and I was planning to meet up with at the show.

I arrived a little after 7:30. The park was set up very much like Pitchfork, which I attended earlier that summer. The main difference was the crowd was much younger, seemingly all teenagers and college kids. I texted Michael on way in and walked over to catch some of southern hip hop artist Big Boi on the North (second) Stage. Unfortunately, I never heard back from Michael.

I moved over to the Red Bull (third) stage to see electro house musician Steve Aoki, who was quite good but not good enough to distract me from my unfortunate situation. By 8:30, I was at the Coast (main) stage to see Pretty Lights, the headliner for the evening and the artist I was most familiar with. Fun little distraction, nothing amazing. I bounced back over to Steve Aoki one more time before leaving around 9:15. Since hanging out with Michael, the real reason I even came, had fallen through, I figured there wasn’t much point to staying any longer since my absence from unpacking wasn’t scoring any points with the girlfriend/new roommate. My Chicago concert going experience is not off to a good start.

The Hawkeyes, The National Underground, New York, New York

Good little show, but too damn loud

We ventured into Manhattan to The National Underground, a small bar/club a block away from the famous Katz's Delicatessen. Lindsey’s cousin Brian and his band, The Hawkeyes, had come from Pittsburgh to play a show late that evening. The club was busy on that Saturday night and The Hawkeyes had a small stage at the one end of the club. They played a nice blend of hard and blues rock throughout the evening, sticking with all originals as long as we were there. I would have liked to have stayed longer, as they were quite good, but it was just too damn loud in the club that evening. Without my earplugs, the sound was borderline painful. I hope to see them again a little more prepared.

Sigur Rós, Mann Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Lightning strikes twice

With my delays in getting out to Saudi Arabia and the various shuffling of tickets for the Sigur Rós shows, I ended up with an extra ticket for the second night. Since I had it, I figured I might as well go a second time. I assumed that the second night couldn’t come close to matching the first, but was hoping that it still might be worthwhile. I walked in only ten minutes before Sigur Rós took the stage and without evening having to push my way through, I easily made my way to about forty feet from the stage, aiming for slightly to the left because I had been slightly to the right the previous day.

It was a great spot in that I was still close enough to see what was going on but far enough to have a sweeping view of the entire stage, directly in front of the sound from the main side speakers. It was refreshing to be a little further back and have a little more wiggle room. The vantage point gave me a better view of the complexity of their stage light and projection show, instead of just watching the band. The visual elements of the show were spectacular, particularly considering that it was all done on a fraction of the budget that larger bands like U2, Radiohead, or the Red Hot Chili Peppers have for their concerts. They did not have any moving LED screens or advanced computer generated graphics. Instead, they used clever lighting schemes and showed simple images, real-time video, and shadows through old school projectors

The setlist was nearly identical to the previous night, thought they did replace a few songs, including one different song from ( ) (2002), one song less from both Ágætis byrjun (1999) and Valtari (2012), and three more songs from Takk…[Thanks…] (2005). I had my ear plugs in but took them out for the start of “Sæglópur” because I wanted yesterday’s disappointing bassline to have every advantage in redeeming itself. It still fell kind of flat. I did however notice different aspects of some of the songs that I didn’t the previous day, such as the subtle use of strings and horns at certain times. I wondered if I didn’t notice the previous day or if they added it in that night. Considering they it was just their second show in four years, the latter certainly seems possible. Once I again, I really like “Hoppípolla” and “Festival,” but the definitive moments was still “Popplagið,” for which the being a little further back for the spectacular light show really paid dividends.

Despite knowing I wouldn’t be blown away today the same way I was yesterday, I got a lot more out of the show than I thought that I would. I had a more mild sense of the euphoria I felt the previous day, in which everything felt right with the world and I was happy to be wrapping up my concerts on the east coast for the time being and head to Saudi Arabia and then Chicago.

Setlist:

Ekki Múkk [Not a Sound]

Varúð [Caution]

Ný batterí [New batteries]

Í Gær [Yesterday]

Vaka

Sæglópur [Lost at Sea]

Gong

Andvari [Zephyr]

Viðrar vel til loftárása [Good Weather for an Airstrike]

Hoppípolla [Hopping Into Puddles]

Með Blóðnasir [I Have a Nosebleed]

Olsen Olsen

Festival

Hafsól [Sea Sun]

Encore:

Glósóli [Glowing Sole]

Popplagið [The Pop Song]

Sigur Rós, Mann Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

A beautiful post rock symphony

Icelandic post rock band Sigur Rós has been at the top of my bucket list since U2 relinquished the top slot following their 2009 show at FedEx Field. I should have made going to a show of theirs in 2008 when they last toured a priority, but they skipped DC and I did not venture up to New York. After releasing 2008’s Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust [With a Buzz in Our Ears We Play Endlessly] , Sigur Rós took a four year hiatus, not releasing any material or playing any live shows. I did see lead singer Jónsi’s 2010 New York solo show, but he did not play any Sigur Rós songs. So despite that small taste, my excitement to see a full Sigur Rós concert had been percolating for four years.

I arrived at the venue plenty early, around 6:15pm for doors that would open at 7pm. All tickets were general admission, so it would be a bit of a rush to secure an optimal spot. There were lots of people there already, but the crowd was quite disorganized with little order. I spent the next 45 minutes in nervous excitement for the doors to open and to get as close as I could. When the doors finally opened, I found myself within the first 15 people to enter the gate in front of me, easily within the first hundred or so people to enter the venue. I made my way to the front of the stage and found a spot in the second row, slightly to the right of center but with a spectacular view. My feet were on the front riser so I was even slightly elevated off the grass. I killed the next hour chatting with the folks around me, sharing stories of previous shows and expectations for the one forthcoming. I was surprised how small the venue was. It was out on the back lawn area of the Mann Center, which was not particularly expansive. The stage itself was fairly small and several trees and some fencing cut down on the size of the viewing area.

Chamber pop singer-songwriter Perfume Genius was the opening act. Other than being obviously nervous to be performing in front of such a large crowd, he did well. He was pretty fitting for Sigur Rós, though a little quiet. Plus, I was just ready for him to get off the stage so Sigur Rós could come out so I might not have given him a fair shot.

Sigur Rós came onstage about 9:15. The stage itself was beautifully lit, with dim household lightbulds all around the stage. The visuals would only get better throughout the show, with intense lights and interesting closes ups of the band and their instruments. The five band members, several of who would often switch instruments throughout the show, for example when the lead guitarist would jump to the organ or Jónsi would hop on the keys. Several members of the band would also play bells throughout the show. Sigur Rós was also accompanied by three horns (trumpet, French horn, and trombone) and three strings (violins, violas, or a combination of the two), making for a total of eleven on stage. I was so close that I couldn’t even get a picture of all of them at once.

Sigur Rós unorthodox sound often stems from the unconventional ways they play their instruments. Jónsi played his guitar with a bow string throughout the show. The bassist also played one song, Hafsól [Sea Sun], which I consider to include one of the band’s most iconic basslines, using a drum stick on his bass string. It was cool to watch adjacent to Jónsi’s guitar bow.

Their set list was amazing. It started out with two tracks from their new album, Valtari (2012), including the ethereal opening track and then “Varúð,” which I consider to be the best on the album. The background vocals on the latter sounds more like children on the album, but the female string players provided a good substitute. Following that they went immediately into older songs for the rest of the main set, including one from Von [Hope] (1997), four from Ágætis byrjun [A good beginning] (1999), one from ( ) (2002), three from Takk… [Thanks…] (2005), one from live/compilation album Hvarf/Heim [Haven/Home] (2007), and one from Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust [With a Buzz in Our Ears We Play Endlessly] (2008).

Even though it was their first show in four years (it was also the inaugural show of the Mann Center’s back lawn), the band brought great energy and didn’t strike me as being rusty at all. Jónsi doesn’t say much, but he and the rest of the band are visually and sonically engaging. There were few solos if any true throughout the night. Their music is more layered and nuanced, so most of the band and their accompanying orchestra are always playing something, even if ever so slightly to accentuate something else.

The only slightly disappointing part of the show was “Sæglópur,” which is the first of their songs that I ever heard and has always remained one of my favorites. They sped through the beginning part in my opinion, during which the piano was overpoweringly loud as compared to the bells. All that was forgivable, but the crucial part of the song is when piano dips down a few octaves and a wave of bass hits your ears, almost like a post rock bass drop. It’s easily my favorite single transition and moment in any of their songs. But even without my earplugs, the bass just didn’t really pop the way I thought it would. It was almost anticlimactic; I nearly signed with disappointment. A second disappointing bass drop within a little more than a week. Perhaps I need to recalibrate what kind of bass is possible at a live venue. A single disappointing moment though is nowhere near enough to ruin an otherwise spectacular show. Renditions of additional songs that I’ve always enjoyed were very strong, including “Hoppípolla” and “Festival,” which were both unexpected highlights of the night.

The encore started with one more low key, more experimental song from Valtari before breaking into “Popplagið,” their go-to final song and the pièce de résistance of their set. It’s another that starts slow, build for quite a while, then releases an explosion of sound. It was incredible; seeing that one song made my drive and the cost of my ticket worthwhile. It just has so much going on at once, perfectly crafted together. The guitars, drums, and strings create a series of sounds that if you don’t know what to listen for, it sounds like cacophony, but once you do, it is pure symphony. Plus, in this atmosphere, the accompanying lights only added to the experience. During that final song, I achieved the level of ecstasy that I always chase at concerts but few shows are able to provide for me. Just pure happiness and getting lost in the sound. For that Sigur Rós goes to the top tier of all the shows. However, it was again just shy of that coveted top five, perhaps because they weren’t able to sustain that feeling the whole way through. Damn close though.

The bucket list grows ever shorter. French electronic duo Daft Punk now holds the top slot, another act that has not released anything new (the Tron: Legacy Soundtrack doesn’t count) or toured for quite a few years.

Setlist:

Ekki Múkk [Not a Sound]

Varúð [Caution]

Ný batterí [New batteries]

Í Gær [Yesterday]

E-bow

Sæglópur [Lost at Sea]

Svefn-g-englar [Sleepwalkers]

Viðrar vel til loftárása [Good Weather for an Airstrike]

Hoppípolla [Hopping Into Puddles]

Með Blóðnasir [I Have a Nosebleed]

Olsen Olsen

Festival

Hafsól [Sea Sun]

Encore:

Dauðalogn [Dead Calm]

Popplagið [The Pop Song]

Tallest Man on Earth, 9:30 Club, Washington, DC

Farewell 9:30 Club

I really liked the Tallest Man on Earth’s 2010 album, The Wild Hunt, but perhaps what made me really love his music was listening to his last show at the 9:30 Club, as podcasted by NPR All Songs Considered’s Live Concert series. So I had high expectations for getting to actually see his live show myself. Instead of my normal spot on the left side of the venue on the main floor, we climbed the stairs and found a good vantage point from above on the left of the stage. We could still hear well and it was nice to be able to see the whole stage and audience. A solid spot for a more chill show such as this.

I don’t know exactly where Swedish singer Kristian Matsson picked up the moniker, the Tallest Man on Earth, because it certainly isn’t true. To look at him, you’d think he was barely 5’7” and 120 pounds soaking wet. As he took the stage and started playing, I thought he was more like the squirrelliest man on earth, darting and lurking around the stage like Lord of the Rings’ Gollum/ Sméagol. However, this man of below average height has a huge voice. The entire show was just him on his guitar or piano, but his voice was captivating. Concerning his lyrics and vocal style, he can’t help but remind you of Bob Dylan. But while the poetry of his lyrics could never really match a true giant like Dylan, the Tallest Man on Earth’s voice is vastly larger and better.

 I was shocked to learn that he recently released a new album, There's No Leaving Now. Normally, I’m much better about keeping up with new releases of artists I enjoy. He played a mix of old and new songs. I wish I would have had the chance to hear some of his newer songs before the show, but I still enjoyed all of them. And I loved his rendition of the familiar ones. He also had good stage presence and rapport with the crowd even though I couldn’t understand a word he was saying. So even though the Tallest Man on Earth doesn’t quite live up to his name, he certainly lived up to my expectations. It was a beautiful show and the perfect way for me to part with the 9:30 Club for the time being.

Firefly Music Festival, Dover Downs, Dover, Delaware

Bonnaroo Lite: Not as intense, not as far

Friday, July 20, 2012

While it can’t claim the history or grandeur of Bonnaroo, it was great to devote a weekend to camping, music, and shenanigans with some of my best friends. And the fact that the festival was in the Mid-Atlantic and boasted a solid line up made it all the better.

Firefly Festival is held on the grounds surrounding Dover Speedway. We arrived at the campground on late afternoon/early evening on Friday to set up our somewhat minimalist campsite. There would be no large canopy or tent community. The weather was overcast with clouds and while the sky looked ominous, the rain was so far holding off. For late July in Delaware, it was actually quite pleasant. Our campsite was pretty far away from the venue, about a 25 minute walk to the gate, so like Bonnaroo and unlike All Good, once we went into the venue for the day, we would stay till the end. The campsite was a lot like Bonnaroo in terms of set up, although food options near our campsite were pretty limited. There also did not seem to be much of a Shakedown Street either. Unlike Bonnaroo in recent years, at least the lines to get into the venue did not take more than a few minutes.

By the time we were all set up, had our fill of relaxing at the campsite, and were ready to see some tunes, it was after 8pm. We entered the festival area to find that Firefly was set up as four stages, arranged in two pairs, with a major and minor stage within each pair. When the major stage on one side was playing, the minor on the other side would play. This meant that there were always two acts on stage, but one of acts was less well known. This meant there weren’t too many conflicts and tough choices to make; a very good set up.

As we entered, dubstep electronic dance musician Bassnectar was midway through his set on the Lawn Stage right in front of us. Since the last time I saw him at All Good several years ago, his show had become larger than life. Bright lights were shining, even to the back of the lawn, casting red, blue, and green hues on a feverous crowd. Everyone in the audience was dancing and jumping. After learning more about dubstep, which has gained substantial mainstream popularity in the past few years, I was particularly excited to hear a live bass drop. I had my ear plugs in and was ready for it; I could hear the build up of sound and anticipation, but the crescendo didn’t blow me away as I might have thought it would. Perhaps we weren’t close enough to really feel it. Or perhaps my ear plugs kept even the vibrations I was expecting to hit my chest from producing their full effect. That slight disappointment didn’t diminish that Bassnectar is an amazing live act.

After Bassnectar, all that was left for the evening was Jack White, a trek over to the Firefly (main) Stage on the other side of the venue. Firefly goers are required to take the long way around venue. At times, this would prevent us from seeing an act because we just didn’t feel like making the trip. Though most of the time we didn’t care and just followed the mass exodus from one side of the venue to another. Jack White was great. He’s just an amazingly talented musician. Equally incredible were the rest of his band, one more talented than the next. I don’t know where he found all of them, but he really knows how to put a top notch band together. They joined him on a mix of his new solo stuff, some Raconteurs , some Dead Weather, and some White Stripes. He played a variety of instruments as well. One particularly cool part was when he played back to back dueling pianos with one of his band mates. As I expected, Jack is an act to behold, and getting to knock him off my bucket list at a festival was the perfect opportunity.

Jack White Setlist:
Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground (White Stripes Song)
Freedom At 21

Missing Pieces

I Cut Like A Buffalo (Dead Weather Song)
Love Interruption
Hotel Yorba (White Stripes Song)
Trash Tongue Talker
Hello Operator (White Stripes Song)
Weep Themselves to Sleep
Top Yourself (Raconteurs Song)
Steady, As She Goes (Raconteurs Song)
Ball and Biscuit (White Stripes Song)
We're Going to Be Friends (White Stripes Song)
Carolina Drama (Raconteurs Song)
Catch Hell Blues (White Stripes Song)
Seven Nation Army (White Stripes Song)

Saturday, July 21, 2012

Another nice tidbit about Firefly was that in addition to parking one car at the campground, campers are allowed to park extra cars in the companion lot, a reasonable walk from the campground. This gave us the opportunity to run a few errands in the morning, notably get some ice and a hot breakfast at good old Bob Evans. It was another overcast day, which was fine by me because it meant another relatively cool day for July. It would rain a bit here and there throughout the day, but never too hard or for too long.

We started in on the music fairly early with Kids These Day on the Porch Stage, the smallest stage in the venue. The looked really young, barely out of high school, and played a brand of rock music with horns and hip hop lyrics. Sure it’s been done before and perhaps by better musicians, but they brought more than enough energy and excitement to compensate for it.

Next up was Charles Bradley and His Extraordinaires on the Backyard Stage. Charles was a James Brown-esque figure, belting out some serious soul jams. The story going around was that he had been a long time soul musician who was recently getting the acclaim that he deserved. He was dressed in a fancy suit on a hot day and doing quite a bit of moving and shaking for an older guy. At one point, he took a break from the stage, while his band jammed a bit, but then he returned for the end of the set to belt out some more. His music, energy, and story were all a real treat.

We migrated over to the Firefly Stage for Michael Franti & Spearhead, who looks and sounds a lot like Lenny Kravitz and even covered one of his songs. I’ve seen him before and remember that he was a great festival addition. All his songs are about peace and love and being happy. It’s a little cheesy but perfect for a festival atmosphere. It’s the kind of music that I think everyone likes, but no one truly loves, just good music for hanging out with friends on a lawn on a summer day.

Following Lenny, er, I mean Michael Franti, was indie rock/pop band Grouplove on the Lawn Stage. I was looking forward to their set and they didn’t disappoint. It ended up being one of the better sets of the weekend. They’re just a fun concert band, with catchy little ditties and lots of energy. Being close to the stage and amongst a group of fun people helped too.

Grouplove Setlist:

Lovely Cup

Itchin' on a Photograph

Love Will Save Your Soul

Don't Say Oh Well

Gold Coast

Naked Kids
Spun
Chloe
Close Your Eyes and Count to Ten
Slow
Tongue Tied
I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Whitney Houston Cover)
Colours

Next we killed a bit of time on the Porch Stage watching Graffiti6 , but were mainly just killing time before Cake took the Lawn Stage. Benji is a big Cake fan, so he really wanted to see the entirety of their set up close. I was curious to see them as well. We were super close and it was packed. Ben and Jamie bailed and we miscommunicated about the time and place to meet up. I was worried that I wouldn’t find them, so after a few songs, I went to try to go find them. That didn’t work and I ended up waiting at the Firefly Stage before Modest Mouse’s set for 45 minutes or so, until they, along with Benji approached the area. So as much as I tried to engineer an easy meet up, it was completely bust.

Nonetheless, the four of us meeting up again for Modest Mouse at the Firefly Stage made me forget my previous stress. We had a decent spot on the left side but still had some room to move around a bit. Modest Mouse’s show was similar to the past two times, and truthfully it wasn’t their greatest set, but truthfully, they’re not the greatest live band. Nonetheless, finally seeing them live with this group of friends was the culmination of many nights spent in Blooming Grove and other places, belting out their lyrics while sharing cigars and stories. For a band we’ve listened to for so many years, many of which we were absolutely clueless as to where our lives would take us, it was cathartic to get to hear them live at a time when the road is starting to look a little clearer.

Modest Mouse Setlist
Fire It Up
Dark Center of the Universe
Shit Luck
Dashboard
This Devil's Workday
Satin in a Coffin
3rd Planet
Doin' the Cockroach
Tiny Cities Made of Ashes
The World at Large
Bury Me With It
Dance Hall
Missed the Boat
Float On
You Ain't Goin' Nowhere (Bob Dylan Cover)
Poison the Well
Encore:
Fly Trapped in a Jar
The Whale Song
The View

Passion Pit was scheduled to follow on the Lawn Stage, but was replaced by Yeasayer a few days before, who’s set we only caught a bit of and no one was particularly engaged with. Rather, we were content to catch our breath a bit before headliners, The Killers, another big draw for me, took the stage. It was my third time seeing The Killers and like every time before, they brought it. We found ourselves a great spot, just behind a pair of large speakers on the back lawn. The sound wasn’t exceptional, but it was certainly good enough and we had plenty of space to spread out and cut loose, and we certainly used it – dancing, jumping, and of course wiggling. Ben had a weekend penchant for wanting us to climb atop his shoulders. The Killers’ set list was great. I could have made a better one, but there’s damn good. It included lots of staples from Hot Fuss and Sam’s Town. Honestly, it was a solid contender for one of my favorite shows ever even if it wasn’t able to knock the top five from their perch. The Killers do however win the award for putting on an amazing show every single time I’ve seen them. Each time that I’ve seen them, I’ve just loved it.

The Killers Setlist
Somebody Told Me

Smile Like You Mean It

Spaceman

This Is Your Life

Runaways

Here On Out

For Reasons Unknown

Bling (Confession of a King)

Shadowplay (Joy Division Cover)
Human
A Dustland Fairytale

Read My Mind

Mr. Brightside
All These Things I've Done
Encore:
Flesh And Bone
Jenny Was a Friend of Mine
When You Were Young

Sunday, July 22, 2012

The duality of the final day of a camping music festival (or any camping trip for that matter): on one hand, you’re trying to squeeze in as much more of the experience as you can. On the other hand, you’re kind of just ready for the whole thing to be over so you can take a shower.

After another Bob Evan’s breakfast and a little prodding on my part, we packed up the car and were able to get into the festival in time to see at least part of indie folk band The Head and the Heart on the Firefly Stage. After seeing them on Sunday on the smallest stage at Bonnaroo last year, it was good to see that they had moved up quite a bit in terms of stage size, even if they were still the first act of the day.

Afterwards, we caught indie rockers Bombay Bicycle Club, who sounded quite familiar but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. Next we caught some Cold War Kids. Then, we moved over to Fitz and the Tantrums, who are more good festival music. Good set, good energy, and a fun band to see live. By mid-afternoon, it was time for Death Cab for Cutie, another band I’ve liked for a number of years. Unfortunately, frontman Ben Gibbard was sick and had to shy away from all the high notes. While his voice issues were pretty obviously, he seemed to power through the rest of the set and still performed well. There was no orchestra this time, but the stripped down set rocked pretty hard.

Death Cab for Cutie Setlist:

I Will Possess Your Heart

Crooked Teeth

Why You'd Want to Live Here

Doors Unlocked and Open

Long Division

Grapevine Fires
Portable Television
You Are a Tourist
The New Year
Amputations
A Movie Script Ending
Cath
We Looked Like Giants
Soul Meets Body
Marching Bands of Manhattan

We moved over to the Lawn Stage for psychedelic rock veterans, The Flaming Lips. It was my fourth time seeing them and this ended up being one of their better shows. What makes or breaks it for me every time is how much blabbering frontman Wayne Coyne decides to add. He always chats a bit, but I get annoyed when it gets excessive. The rest of the show was more or less the same as always – trippy music, dancing girls on the stage (this time dressed as Dorothy), loads of confetti, stage props, and Wayne walking atop the crowd in a big plastic ball.

As it turned out, everyone else was tuckered out as well, and we ended up leaving towards the end of the Flaming Lips’ set. I was a little surprised that no one wanted to stay for the Black Keys, but I certainly welcomed the chance to get back to Baltimore at a reasonable hour. Tomorrow was a regular day at work after all, so getting more sleep than expected was lovely. It’s difficult to gage whether a music festival is successive, but I certainly hope and expect that Firefly was. No doubt I’d be interested in going again. Of course, it is a plane ride away from Chicago.

Wilco, Wolf Trap National Park, Vienna, Virginia

No DC summer is complete without the Wolf Trap lawn

WIlco comes to Wolf Trap nearly every summer for a night or two, so I was glad to finally get to see a show. Though admittedly, a lot of the reason I was there was so I could have at least one nice night on the Wolftrap lawn with some friends before leaving DC. It was a pretty low key event and not sold out. Everyone on the lawn was sitting and unlike the Beach Boys, was instructed to do so by the staff. Ironically, folks in the pavilion who had seats were standing throughout the show. Wilco played a lot of songs that I knew and many more that I didn’t. We ventured down into to the pavilion for the encore. It was a totally different show down there, everyone was much more into it and everything was a lot harder hitting. It’s amazing how the crowd can make or break a show. I was glad that I got to see Wilco, though not sure if I would again, unless at a festival.

Setlist:
Dawned On Me
War On War
I Might
Ashes of American Flags
One Sunday Morning
Poor Places
Art Of Almost
Handshake Drugs
Impossible Germany
Born Alone
Too Far Apart
I'm Always In Love
Via Chicago
Hate It Here
Whole Love
Box Full Of Letters
Heavy Metal Drummer
I'm the Man Who Loves You
A Shot in the Arm
Encore:
California Stars
The Late Greats
Hoodoo Voodoo

Pitchfork Music Festival, Union Park, Chicago, Illinois

Chicago music festival, a preview of things to come

Of course if I was in Chicago over the weekend of Pitchfork Music Festival, I would find the time to go check it out. Turns out that Sunday was my only day to do so, but it was enough to have the experience. I funneled into the venue with the rest of the festival goers and made my way to New Jersey indie rockers, Real Estate, nothing special but a good start to the day. Afterwards, I headed over to revitalized math rock band Chavez, who had recently begun playing again after a long hiatus. Their mostly instrumental post hardcore music fit well with the daytime atmosphere. Unfortunately, I was not really feeling that well for some reason, perhaps a little too much walking around in the heat all day, so I did something I almost never do at music festival, lay in the shade and take a nap. After I got over my initial grogginess after waking up, I found it hit the spot (a concoction of caffeine, water, and Advil might have had something to do with it as well).

Next up was trance/electronic musician AraabMuzik. In my previous listening, I thought AraabMuzik was a duo or small band, so I was a little surprised to find just one guy with a laptop onstage. However, unlike some other electronic dance music DJs, he was more than just pulling samples. Though plenty of samples made up his beats he was also playing a small pad on his laptop such that when he would drum his fingers, the laptop would provide corresponding instrumentation.

As the hot afternoon lingered on, the indie pop band Beach House was on deck. They were mellow but enjoyable, playing a lot of good songs from their recent album, Bloom. I cut out of their set early to venture over to the third, smallest, electronic-focused stage for The Field. Recently, their newest album, Looping State of Mind, has been a go-to choice for me. However, their show was a little disappointing. Their set was essentially fairly low key jamming and beats. I guess I do listen to their album mostly as background music at work, so I shouldn’t be that surprised that I didn’t get that excited about it. I didn’t stay very long and instead wandered back to catch some more of Beach House as the sun was starting to dip down to the horizon.

It was dark by the time that indie rock headliners Vampire Weekend started their set. They were the big draw of the day for me and it appears many others as well. I was a bit worried that Vampire Weekend would be hit or miss, but was quickly relieved that they hit. They brought good energy to the tired crowd at the end of a hot weekend and you could tell they were excited to headline Pitchfork even though they haven’t toured extensively recently.

Vampire Weekend Setlist:
Cousins

White Sky
Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa
M79
Run
Holiday
California English
A-Punk
Horchata
I Stand Corrected
I Think Ur a Contra
[Unknown New Song]
Diplomat's Son
Campus
Oxford Comma
Giving Up the Gun
Encore:
One (Blake's Got a New Face)
Mansard Roof
The Kids Don't Stand a Chance
Walcott

Not being a camping festival, Pitchfork seemed to lack a character or vibe of its own that other festivals like Bonnaroo or All Good seemed to maintain. There were people of all ages, but mostly a younger crowd in their 20’s, including lots of college aged kids and young professionals. As expected because it was the PITCHFORK Festival, there were lots of hipsters. Probably lots of people who like music festivals but are scared off by the idea of camping for a weekend. So I get to cross Pitchfork off my bucket list, even though I’m not sure the small, urban festival really deserved a spot there to begin with.

The Lumineers, Ram’s Head, Baltimore, Maryland

So tired but must...attend...concert

I hopped off of a plane from Chicago and had just enough time to get home, grab a bite, and get out the door to see The Lumineers. I was just at a pair of weddings over the weekend in Jersey and Chicago, so why not tack a Sunday night concert on to the weekend’s activities. It’s almost embarrassing that the Lumineers would be my first show at Ram’s Head since I’ve living in Baltimore, so it was good I was able to make sure to get one in before my move out of town, which was now official.

I arrived only a few minutes after the Lumineers had taken the stage. I wasn’t actually all that familiar with their music, but I really liked what they were doing with the indie folk sound that had become en vogue the past few years by the likes of Mumford & Sons, the Avett Brothers, and Of Monsters and Men. I was exhausted but that sound got my feet moving a little bit. Over the course of the night, they played most if not all of their debut eponymous album. They also played a few covers from the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan. On the latter, frontman Wes Schultz couldn’t help but incorporate a bit of a Dylanesque warble into his usual folksy voice. Since they didn’t have too much to play, their set was pretty short, only about an hour and ten including the encore. They invited their opening act on stage with them for their final tune of the evening as well, “Sweet Virginia,” with eight people on stage.

Reel Big Fish & Goldfinger, 9:30 Club, Washington, DC

Lesson of the Day: Don’t wear sandals in a mosh pit

I had certainly heard of both Reel Big Fish and Goldfinger and remember their moderate popularity in the 90’s along with other punk/ska bands of the day, but I was not too familiar with their music and probably could not even name one of their minor hits with any confidence. But in I’m always up for a show, even more with the likelihood of moving to Chicago is almost a certainty. Like Modest Mouse the previous week, the crowd was older and mostly male. We had a fairly similar spot, perhaps a little closer. Goldfinger was the first to take the stage. As they stepped out, it was clear they were clearly a group of middle aged guys, but they nonetheless brought the energy of a bunch of newbies.

As I knew it was a ska show, I was anticipating a lot of dancing. However, what I didn’t anticipate was all the moshing, perhaps because I didn’t realize how punk the show would also be. A mosh pit developed within a few minutes of the show starting and I quickly realized that getting a good spot before the show started was not really necessary. I had not been in a mosh pit for a little while, so I rushed from the middle of the venue up to within a few rows of the front and got right in the mix of it all. It was hot, sweaty, and a little gross, but fun, even though I wasn’t all that familiar or into the music. It was a very rambunctious crowd; the people in the pit were throwing themselves about, effectively opening up the middle of the floor and rushing from one side to the other, with Goldfinger egged them on. It certainly was exhausting as well. Everyone played the game well though, acting respectfully, like stopping to help find lost flip flops and immediately helping the fallen to their feet.

However, not anticipating what I would be getting myself into, I made the mistake of wearing Chacos. And while they’re very comfortable, they do very little to protect the top of your feet from people stepping on them. At first, it was just a minor annoyance, but as the night wore on and my toes became more tender, the series of slight missteps of my fellow concert goers onto my toes grew unbearable. So toward the end of Goldfinger, the breaks I would take out of the mosh pit to catch my breath and let the pain in my feet dissipate grew longer and my forays into middle grew shorter. I ended up knowing only one Goldfinger song, one I recognized from a Tony Hawk Playstation game in the early 2000’s.

After an hour or so of Goldfinger, Reel Big Fish took the stage as well. Fortunately, their show required a little less moshing (though still plenty) and a little more dancing. Considering the shape of my feet though, that was fine with me. Again, I only knew a few songs. Actually, the ones that I knew were because they were regularly covered by Free Lobster Buffet, the normal extent of my ska concerts.

The night was a little different from my normal concert going experience but it’s always good to keep yourself open to new experiences.