Killdozer - Forward Music Fest
I knew coming into this past weekend that Forward Music Festival (FMF) would be fun and a chance to return to the city of my college years, but I was also impressed at how easily that fun was had. It was one of the better weekends that Madison has ever had to offer me, and that’s coming from a city that has two of the largest parties I have ever seen in Halloween and the Mifflin Street Block Party. Maybe it has more to do with my tendency to enjoy concerts more than Badger games, but whatever the reason, it’s Monday and my neck is sore from rocking out. Always a good sign.
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The Duo are one of those bands. They sing barely a sound during their entire set, but they converse with each other through casual banter with the audience. They drink Maker’s Mark convincingly. They turn cartoons themes into anthems. They are addictive. This only my third time seeing the two Italians, Andrew said it was near his tenth. All glory aside, there wasn’t a huge crowd at the north side venue. Even still, everyone who was there stayed past midnight on a Sunday, which Benevento acknowledged right before he told everyone where to stash the drugs (under his van’s left tire). It was a perfect way to cap off a long and strange weekend in Chicago. READ MORE
I wrote to FMF organizer and Dane101 editor Jesse Russell for some comments on the slew of updates coming from Madison in anticipation of the September music festival. He seemed pleased. The tickets are selling out quickly, Killdozer is still on board and the local music scene seems to be rallying around the fest. He also mentioned that at first they knocked on more doors than were opened, but now that momentum is building, there is a ton of interest and many acts that will have to wait until next year. So, about those updates…
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The concept of the super television screen is hardly unfamiliar to anyone. Better known to the populous as a JumboTron, the screen that changed the way we look at live events can be seen everywhere from Times Square to Tokyo. While the word JumboTron is technically a brand name developed by Sony in the 80′s, it has become synonymous with large screens in the same way Kleenex is with tissues. It is so prevalent that anytime I go to a large event and there are no JumboTrons, I get a bit upset. Good thing I’m not a Cubs fan.
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On Friday it was pretty clear what the modus operandi of All Points West is: There is Radiohead and there is everybody else.
By day, All Points West was a nice festival with some strong sets. Andrew Bird played to an adoring audience, mixing old favorites (“Fake Palindromes,” “Plasticities,” “Tables and Chairs”) with a couple new songs in a set right around 75 minutes. Despite missing alt-country chanteuse Neko Case, the New Pornographers’ set sounded great, at least what I saw of it did. I caught the first four songs of Carl Newman and Co. before heading over to Grizzly Bear. It took me a little while to get into their set. I’m not sure their music is ideal for the late afternoon time slot, but their almost haunting melodies are still rolling around in my head, and by the end of their shortened 45 minute set I was pretty impressed.
But all the day music was really just a lead up to the main event, and All Points West made it seem like Triple A vs. the Majors. At most festivals I’ve been to, the headliner plays the biggest stage in the last time slot, but that’s generally what sets them apart. Last night Radiohead took to the main stage with a series of long metal pendants hanging from the rafters. The pendants worked in conjunction with an unbelievable light show, at times appearing like prison bars, green rain, candles, and rainbow strobe lights. Radiohead also had the ace video setup, with cameras trained on all members of the band projected up on the jumbo screen in washed out sepia tones.
Even without the A/V and special effects the band would have shined. There’s really no question that Radiohead is in the upper echelon of live bands playing today. Last night they did not disappoint. In fact, for my money, I think they blew away their Bonnaroo set from 2006. Thom Yorke and co. were in top form, playing for well over two hours, and playing cuts from across their catalog. The sound was crystaline clear and I couldn’t help but wonder if lower Manhattan, the festival’s dramatic backdrop, was being treated to the same fantastic show that I was.
Yesterday I plugged a documentary airing on the Sundance Channel, Wetlands Preserved. I’ve been exchanging emails with the producer and director about the film, and he agreed to answer some questions. Dean Budnick is a name all jam fans should know, if they don’t already. He created (with he help of others) Jambands.com, The Jammys and a documentary profiling one of the most significant venues in the genre’s history. If you lived on the East Coast during the 90′s and were into any band that ever graced the stages at H.O.R.D.E. then you know Wetlands. You probably met Dean, too. He is an active fan, one that was kind enough to take the time to answer some questions about his excellent documentary, Wetlands Preserved, which we told you is going to be on the Sundance Channel all this month and is available on DVD as well. He produced and directed the film, so I asked him to indulge the readers of LMB as both personalities. Given the hectic summer schedule for music, many thanks to Dean for taking the time to answer our questions.
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Just what is it about Madison Square Garden that makes it so special? I heard someone pose this question the other day, and it got me thinking. After all, it is just a basketball stadium (and ice rink); there are 29 other NBA stadiums in the country, and countless college stadiums.
But it’s more than just a basketball court. Madison Square Garden has history, and lots of it. Championships have been won and lost, political conventions have been played out and concerts, countless historic concerts have happened. So I think that’s what really separates MSG from the rest. There on that stage the Rolling Stones recorded Get Yer Ya Ya’s Out, George Harrison staged the Concert for Bangladesh, Led Zeppelin played three sold-out shows which made up The Song Remains the Same, Phish headlined New Year’s Eve 1995, and then 1997, 1998 and 2002. U2 has played the Garden 17 times, The Grateful Dead 52 times, and Elton John 60 times. He’s even got his name hung in the rafters next to Mark Messier.
For bands that have a sense of history and a reverence for live music’s past, Madison Square Garden is hallowed ground, a stage to prove yourself, and if you really have the chops, add your name to the pantheon of amazing performances. For bands like this MSG is a star on the calendar, a date to gear up for. Pearl Jam has already entered that pantheon, so their first performances at the Garden in five years were definitely highly anticipated.
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The last few installments of the The Union Forever dealt with the possibility of a cinema that is purely online. Not a reproduction of the movie industry on the Internet, but an entirely different mode of creation. The medium is so similar to that of the traditional cinema that few make a distinction or even care to entertain the thought that online content, which is dominated by amateurs, can be an alternative outlet for filmmaking.
One of the most interesting developments has been the Take Away Shows on France’s La Blogotheque. Directed mostly by Vincent Moon, they have come to be a standard for indie artists to showcase their work in a unique environment. Looking further into Moon’s portfolio reveals that he is a filmmaker testing the boundaries of the online realm. He has several projects going at once, but his notoriety as the auteur of the Take Away Shows attracted Michael Stipe of R.E.M. to commission Moon to make the video for the band’s first single off their new album, Accelerate.
Most recently he released a documentary about the making of The National’s latest LP, Boxer, entitled A Skin, A Night. In this instance, it was given an online trailer, but released exclusively as a DVD with the Cherry Tree EP. I expressed some displeasure that the online world failed to be an adequate forum for the documentary and Vincent wanted to explain some things. So, last week we spoke via Skype about some things and here is what I learned.
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