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.