Here’s another great weekend video option from the fine folks over at Austin City Limits: Fleet Foxes and Joanna Newsom. READ MORE
{ 0 comments }
Fleet Foxes
The Voodoo Experience is now in the rearview and the relentless fall concert schedule is starting to slow down (although one could easily keep themselves busy on the live circuit until NYE) and therefore it’s time to start speculating about the 2012 Jazz Fest lineup. Hard to say who will be at the top of the bill when the lineup is announced but since we’ve probably got a over a month until the lineup release (or two months if released on last year’s timetable), here’s a handful of artists (however unlikely some may be) who could conceivably be at the Fairgrounds come Spring time. READ MORE
The final set that I shot at this year’s Austin City Limits Music Festival was a band I was super excited to see having missed their last roll through the Bay Area…Fleet Foxes. My buddy saw the show down in Big Sur and was totally blown away, so I was amped on this show from the get-go and I was singing along the best I could as their beautiful songs and melodies took over the festival field that final day at the festival. It was the perfect chilled out end of the “work” day for me and I enjoyed the vibe they brought ahead Empire of the Sun (which I caught from afar).
Read on for my photos from the set… READ MORE
As fall comes into full swing this week, we’re getting a really nice mix of interesting shows in NYC with some especially noteworthy bands in the indie rock and folk realms. Starting with the more eccentric artists, there’s tUnE-YaRds @ Le Poisson Rouge (tonight), Cymbals Eat Guitars @ Music Hall of Williamsburg (Wed), the triumphant return of the Rapture @ Webster Hall (Thurs), and Superhuman Happiness doing two nights at Zebulon in Williamsburg (Fri-Sat). For something eclectic but a bit more folk-oriented, there’s lots to choose from, including Beirut @ T5 (Thurs), Wilco @ Central Park (Thurs-Fri), Fleet Foxes @ the Williamsburg Waterfront (Sat), and Megafaun @ Mercury Lounge (Sat-Sun). If the Indie Folk thing’s not your bag, there’s also plenty of dance-oriented jams with Lotus playing T5 and the return of Particle at Brooklyn Bowl (both Saturday). >>>
I just noticed that we got a request for my TV on the Radio photos from the Pitchfork Music Festival, so I thought I’d post those along with my other remaining photos, and try to wrap things up with some comments about my experience this past weekend.
We’ve already posted photos from most of my key highlights of the weekend, including Battles, Animal Collective, Fleet Foxes, and Deerhunter. Battles — now stripped down to a core power trio — seriously tore things up during their Friday afternoon slot, freaking out some of the P-fork crowd by offering up a genre-bending display of electronics, effects-pedal pyrotechnics, and driving beats. Animal Collective also delivered another one of the more challenging sets of the weekend, playing only a few of their “hits” and instead focusing entirely on new material. At times, I’ll admit it was almost too much for me, but I dig their audacity to come out hard with the new material, and I found some of the new tunes to be entrancing and very interesting to my ears. I can’t wait to hear how some of these end up sounding on an official studio release. Another big highlight for me was Fleet Foxes, who took an entirely different approach from AC, hitting on all the key tunes from their last few releases and practically putting on a spiritual revival for the indie-folk congregation. And I already mentioned my take on Deerhunter’s set in some detail, but I was also thoroughly impressed with Cut Copy, who put on all-out dance party with what I can best characterize as a throwback to 80s new wave mixed with euro synth pop (as it happens, they’re Aussies).
Which brings me to the first of three trends I took away from the festival as a whole… READ MORE
A few weeks back I wrote up some thoughts on this year’s Austin City Limits Music Festival lineup and the bands I wouldn’t want to miss if I was able to attend this year.
And while a music festival can be a solid wonderment of new artist discovery and seeing those bands you may have never heard of before, I also find it’s one of the best ways to see heavy hitters in a compact “pop” setting. So I’d actually choose to see some bands I have seen before as a solid bet for a fun time in a festival setting where more distraction and casual listening can be a given. So if I can make it to ACL Fest this year there’s a pretty good chance I’d be lending my eyes and ears to the following five artists that I’ve had the pleasure of seeing in a club or a theater some other time in recent memory.
I felt like I chose easy: Arcade Fire, Pretty Lights, Big Boi, My Morning Jacket and Fleet Foxes. And turns out I got some good news recently; I’ll be covering this festival for the first time and returning back to Austin for the first time since I was down there for SXSW in 2008. I loved the city, loved the live music scene, and fully hoped on making a return visit before this September. Oh well, now I finally get to rock it down there again. Again.
The schedule has already been posted so I’ll be making my festival plans sooner rather than later. At first glance I see a Skrillex > Cee Lo > TV on the Radio > Stevie Wonder run as part of day two that will be an easy set of wins right there. OH man, this looks awesome. I’ll share some more thoughts on the festival as it approaches. To any readers in Austin, say hello and let’s plan on meeting up down there for a Shiner!
Fleet Foxes brought the second day of Pitchfork Music Festival to a close to plenty of fanfare and critical support from the blogs and news outlets I’ve scanned so far this morning. I’ve got to wait for @whitperson to round up some of his last batch of photos and maybe (just maybe) a few words supporting the festival, but ahead of that we can all enjoy his amazing gallery and imagine we were there.
I’m hopping a flight later today for Austin to take part in this year’s Austin City Limits Music Festival, my first time down there for this big event. The lineup is friggin’ stacked and I’m seeing so many good bands that I haven’t seen before, which will be the subject of another post first thing tomorrow to highlight some of the new music flows that’ll be coming your way following the fest. (Warning: you’re going to start hearing about Skrillex on this site. A lot).
Ahead of that I thought I’d re-publish the quick preview I did for the ACL Fest promoters to help get the word out on some of the heavier hitters on the lineup that I’ve seen before and will hope to see again (schedule permitting). Tomorrow I’ll have a bit more on what artists I haven’t seen before that I won’t want to miss. For now enjoy the obvious choices for bands to pay attention to at this year’s festival and get in touch with me on Twitter (@LiveMusicBlog) if you’re at the fest and want to meet up. Me and @LMBNOLA gonna be rocking it hard. >>>
