Lollapalooza 2010 Review Day 3
Aug 11, 2010 at 8:47 am.
Sunday, August 8
There were tons of incredible bands that played Sunday morning, but because I’m an old person, I showed up after 2 to get close for Yeasayer. The Brooklynites came out for their own sound check, perhaps enforcing the idea that they’re still on the brink of really exploding. Their set was solid, and even though many of the people in the crowd were camping out for MGMT, tons of fans could be found singing every word to every song. Still, singer Chris Keating poked fun at the fact that they were not perhaps the main attraction. After talking about the band’s performance at Lolla two years prior, he said, “But I’m guessing a lot of you weren’t there. In fact, you’re probably standing there wondering, when are they going to play something I know? Well, here’s something you know.” The strains of “O.N.E.” rang out, and the crowd erupted in cheers. The set was mostly made up of song from Odd Blood, and “Ambling Alp” closed everything out with high energy.
Lollapalooza 2010 Review Day 2
Aug 11, 2010 at 8:42 am.
Saturday, August 7
Saturday morning, the sound of the Pixies’ “Where is my Mind” echoed through the trees, beckoning fans toward the PlayStation stage, where the Kissaway Trail were acing a cover of the song. It was their second-to-last, and they made me regret not showing up earlier to catch their whole performance. After their set ended, people gathered in preparation for the Wild Beasts. The group’s two vocalists, Tom Fleming and Hayden Thorpe, performed a free in-store at Chicago’s downtown Apple store, and the semi-acoustic set put the pair’s vocals front and center. At the Lolla performance, the vocals blended more in the sea of keys, guitars and drums. Thorpe’s unique countertenor is incredible to hear in person; its high pitch soars through the air and gives the Beasts’ songs an otherworldly flair. However, the scene-stealer was Fleming on “All the King’s Men” from the group’s sophomore album. He hits the opening “Watch me!” on-pitch, and then his voice dives down, coming out like rich, smooth chocolate. Both at the in-store and at Lolla, a few crowd members let loose howls and applause after Fleming hit his “Watch me!”’s for the second time. The Beasts excel in live settings, and unquestionably had a breakout Lolla performance.
Lollapalooza 2010 Review Day 1
Aug 11, 2010 at 8:32 am.
Review by Caitlin Wittlif
If I were forced to pick two words to sum up Lollapalooza 2010, they would have to be crowd surfing. I’ve attended four years of Austin City Limits festivals, and there has certainly been moshing and surfing, but never with the consistency and intensity Chicagoans possessed this past weekend. Kids leapt on top of one another with crazed eyes, like the end of the world was nigh. It was simultaneously terrifying and awe-inspiring, and set the tone for a high-energy weekend filled to the brim with unforgettable performances.
Friday, August 6
Friday was a battle of the female drummers, the most bad-ass of battles. The Ettes played the shady and cool BMI stage bright and early at 12:30, and drummer Poni was a sight to behold. When she rocks out, her full-bodied, curly hair flies all over the place, wildly accompanying her sharp punk beats. Between her and the sassy swagger of lead singer Coco, the band managed to get heads banging early on. They played a mix of songs from all four of their albums, plus some yet-to-be-recorded tunes with their signature lo-fi sound. The set was well-attended, and fans fist-pumped in time as they lip-synched lyrics.
Ducktails Preps New LP; Releases Fresh Track: “Hamilton Road”
Aug 06, 2010 at 4:04 pm.
DOWNLOAD MP3: Ducktails – “Hamilton Road”
Part-time Real Estate member/chillwave extraordinaire Ducktails has a new LP set to drop in the fall entitled Ducktails III: Arcade Dynamics and with this bit of news also comes a fresh track. “Hamilton Road” may be recorded by Matt Mondanile under the moniker Ducktails, but it easily can be confused with a Real Estate song, mostly due to it’s superfluous, major key acoustic guitar work. The vocals are doused in reverb, while an additional electric guitar wobbly makes its way to the forefront thanks to some kicked up wah-wah. It’s a quick, easy listen that is light and lilting; something that Mondanile has become very successful in offering.
Titus Andronicus Bring “A More Perfect Union” to Fallon
Aug 06, 2010 at 2:38 pm.
Last night, Jersey rockers Titus Andronicus brought “A More Perfect Union” to Late Night with Jimmy Fallon along with the addition of a female rhythm guitarist — that’s three guitars in total, ladies and gentlemen. Patrick Stickles’ guitar work was perfectly orchestrated and most importantly, the band looked like they were having a great time. Enjoy it boys, you’ve earned it.
On a side note, Jimmy Fallon has apparently replaced Conan as being the late night show host with the best/most indie bands. Watch the video above via Audio Perv.
New Video: Kanye West – “Portrait of Power”
Aug 06, 2010 at 9:40 am.
Focusing highly on a stylized finished product, Kanye West teamed up with artist/director Marco Brambilla — creator of the video piece “Civilization” which can be viewed here – to drop this 90 second video, excuse me, I mean “painting” entitled “Portrait of Power” for his latest single “Power”. Sure it’s a step in a new direction and yes, the vibrancy of it’s rich, thematic layout is applaudable, but 90 seconds doesn’t do the cut any sort of justice. Then again, I shouldn’t be complaining too much, especially when so much effort was put into an art form — music videos, sorry Kanye, that’s what it is at the end of the day — that has slowly been on the decline over the past decades.
Check out the highly discussed piece above.
New Video: Autre Ne Veut – “OMG”
Aug 06, 2010 at 9:14 am.
Olde English Spelling Bee just sent over this new fabulously NSFW approved video from the retro-fitting, tape scrambler Autre Ne Veut for a new track entitled “OMG” which will make an appearance on the debut LP later this month. Transparent said the track consisted of “Paul Simon-esque West African gospel-tinged chorus” which sounded pretty spot on in describing it. The video is definitely cringeworthy, but it’s this sort of ironic pairing that makes it funny to begin with. Check it out above.
Fresh Track: Prizes – “Rumours”
Aug 05, 2010 at 12:27 pm.
DOWNLOAD MP3: Prizes – “Rumours”
This fresh track comes from a newer artist named Prizes, who was actually once known as Treasure — do not search for any sort of wry joke within that statement, I’m just telling it like it is. Prizes is the one-man sampling project of Hari Ashurt. A native to London, Ashurt creates woozy, hazy summer music that adds a more tragic sound to the genre of chillwave that only a person who is more familiar with rain than sun can provide. “Rumours”, the latest track from Prizes, will fit nicely on a playlist right between Toro y Moi and Memoryhouse. A perfect blend.
Check out the Princess Di (R.I.P.) featured video above and grab the MP3 as well.
via DS.
New Mix: A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Aug 05, 2010 at 10:00 am.
I figured it’s taken long enough for Neon Musical Insight to get a mix together earlier this week, so without further ado, we present our very first mix entitled A Midsummer Night’s Dream. With summer being right around it’s midway point, It seemed like an appropriate time to offer up some free music that wasn’t restricted by any sort of timeframe. Some songs you may know, some you may not. Either way, hopefully you value it as being an enjoyable listen. Some of these songs are our favorite songs of all time, so don’t be surprised if they lean a little heavy on a particular musical mentality. A direct download can be found here or by clicking the image above, while the tracklist is viewable after the jump.
Fresh Track: How to Dress Well – “You Won’t Need Me Where I’m Goin’”
Aug 05, 2010 at 9:54 am.
DOWNLOAD MP3: How to Dress Well – “You Won’t Need Me Where I’m Goin’”
Tom Krell — better known under the moniker of How to Dress Well — is easily one of the most promising acts of the year. He has first full-length LP entitled Love Remains set to drop on September 21 via Lefse. in which he plans to re-record a large portion of past releases — the man has consistently banged out tracks at random ands released them all on his blog throughout. That beautiful image that you see above is the album artwork. This fresh track and first taste of the album is a re-recorded version of “You Won’t Need Me Where I’m Goin’” off of his most recent EP, Can’t See My Own Face – The Eternal Love 2.
Krell’s R&B influences shine through on this one with his very matter-of-fact style lyrics. You may hear this track and point out the crackles of sound and clarity and think to yourself, “This was re-recorded?” But Krell has said in the past that he values that lo-fi quality; an interesting juxtaposition with a voice that’s nearly perfect.
Stream/download “You Won’t Need Me Where I’m Goin’” above.
In Constant Rotation
