popwreckoning

On the back of their very successful, first-ever tour of North America, Irish electropop rock trio Two Door Cinema Club have announced another tour of our continent for this fall. The band are also scheduled to appear at Austin City Limits Festival on October 09. Tickets for the Webster Hall date on October 21 are already on sale; others will go on sale this weekend. Don’t miss your chance to see the energetic band at a venue near you.

Catch a very special set the band recorded for Spinner here.

Tour Dates
Oct 07 – Warehouse Live / Houston
Oct 08 – Loft / Dallas
Oct 09 – Austin City Limits Festival / Austin
Oct 11 – Mercy Lounge / Nashville
Oct 12 – Loft / Atlanta
Oct 13 – Norva / Norfolk
Oct 14 – First Unitarian Church / Philadelphia
Oct 18 – Royale / Boston
Oct 21 – Webster Hall / New York City
Oct 22 – Black Cat / Washington, DC
Oct 24 – Le National / Montreal
Oct 25 – Phoenix Concert Theatre / Toronto
Oct 27 – Lincoln Hall / Chicago
Oct 28 – 7th Street Entry / Minneapolis
Oct 30 – Bluebird Theatre / Denver
Nov 02 – Henry Fonda Theatre / Los Angeles
Nov 03 – Belly Up Tavern / Solana Beach
Nov 04 – Slim’s / San Francisco
Nov 05 – Hawthorne Theatre / Portland
Nov 06 – Neumo’s / Seattle

Two Door Cinema Club: website | myspace | Two Door Cinema Club To Tour with Phoenix in Spring, Headline First North American Tour | “Something Good Can Work” video | @ Constitution Hall | Interview with: Sam Halliday of Two Door Cinema Club | @ Johnny Brenda’s

Photo: Mary Chang

It was Kansas City Gay Pride week on Friday, the organizers of Pride week gave supporters a special treat: La Roux.

High off the energy of a Parade down the streets of Kansas City, colorfully-dressed (some broke away from the standard t-shirt and jeans look to as extreme as shirtless and caped) people poured into the Power and Light District for the celebratory event. Power and Light was decorated with posters and banners supporting Pride week.

It’s a bit hard to even begin to explain what was happening at P&L, but the best description I can come up with is a very, very large house party. As excited as people said they were for La Roux, I think a mooing cow on stage would have pleased this exhuberant audience.

A drag queen came out to pump the audience up (not that it was needed, but this was still a fun host) and said that the lady of the hour would be on in just “2 and 2.” I’m not entirely sure what that meant, but my best guess is that it either means “just after Lady Gaga and Ke$ha music videos” or “30 minutes.”

La Roux, aka Elly Jackson, came skipping out in a gold jacket and immediately got the crowd dancing to its electrop pop hit:  “Quicksand.” The red-haired singer embraced her title of “La Roux” even more thoroughly as she was bathed in a wash of red lights.

Jackson was backed by a live band and by some pre-recorded vocals, which were pretty evident when she held out the microphone to the crowd, stopped singing, but the vocals kept going. This isn’t to say she was lip-syncing the show because her overshot pitches made it clear that there were times when she was doing the real thing as well.

La Roux played through a short set of roughly eight songs that included songs such as the upcoming single, “In for the Kill,” “Colourless Colour,” “Fascination,” “I’m Not Your Toy,” and of course, the popular “Bulletproof.”

I love the album and it is hard to not want to dance to this music, but I think if La Roux didn’t have such an enthusiastic audience to begin with and if the group would have had to work to build up the energy, anyone else would have noticed that this set fell flat.

It’s been nearly a year since “(500) Days of Summer” was in theaters with a soundtrack introducing a then little-known-Australian-band to America. The Temper Trap‘s “Sweet Disposition” was a stand out track with its soaring melodies and harmonies: it was a fitting title for such a beautiful and not to sound cliche, but “sweet” sounding track.

Throw in some radio play and an album filled with more fantastic and rich, harmonious tracks and the Temper Trap was ready for an American takeover. But can the live show live up to the high standards set forth by the recordings? Well, if you’re in the United States, you might be running out of time to find out.

The Temper Trap has two shows left in Missouri, followed by a performance at Bonnaroo, before they leave the States and go abroad. On Tuesday, June 8, they’ll be playing the Crossroads in Kansas City with Warpaint. Then on Thursday, they’ll be at the Pageant in Saint Louis.  These are there last stateside headlining gigs, though they will appear June 10 at Bonnaroo in Manchester, Tenn.

If you can’t make it to these last two shows, the band will be back briefly in August to appear at Lollapalooza and to play a mini-tour in Denver, Seattle and Portland.

Head to the thetempertrap.com for tickets and more information. You can check out “Sweet Disposition” live below:

Innerpartysystem has been seen all over the electronic dance scene lately, since after touring with Warped Tour last year when they had almost fallen off the map entirely. After announcing their “American Trash Bundle” for $25, including a limited edition gold 7” LP and limited edition T-shirt, they announced this press release via their email list.

“Phew, glad to get that all out of the way.  We wanted to mention something on a more personal note.  Outside of the 140 character variety if you’ll stick with us.  If you happen to live in Northeast ‘Merica, you know that the weather has gone from spring-jackets to swamp-ass in no time.  Which is symbolic of one thing to us:  Times, they are a’ changin’… FAST.

In the vein of change, we’ve been getting a lot of inquiries from fans as to exactly what are release plans are.  We’ve got a policy of crystal clear honesty with fans, so we wanted to let you know exactly what we’re thinking:

We’ve taken a lot of time to explore our future label/release options in the past few months feel pretty strongly that rushing out a full album right now doesn’t make sense.  Our solution was to start putting out singles ourselves.  We want to give each song the attention we feel they deserve.  For the time being we plan on releasing 2 more bundles in the coming weeks/ months, and each one better and more developed then the last.

This is not the easiest route because we’re not millionaires with tons of scratch to sink into marketing and promo.  We lead pretty modest existences by any standards, and over the past few months we’ve been keeping it “incredibly real” as anyone in Mohnton, PA will attest.  So income from ‘American Trash’, will directly fund the release of the second single ‘Money Makes the World Go Round’, and each single’s sales dictate what we can spend on future singles, albums, DVD’s, etc.

To us, that was a big flaw in contemporary label system logic.  You’re taking a huge gamble on something that ‘might’ happen, and if it doesn’t right away everyone gets a wicked case of the Mondays.  With our single sales method, it’s not as much gambling as fighting to prove your worth.  A ‘working band’s’ model.  If people believe in this band enough to buy singles, t-shirts, etc. all the profits come back to us, and allow us to invest back into marketing future singles, the live show production, touring in more areas, etc.  It’s not a revolution, it’s simple logic, and looking at the most productive use of resources.

It gets tricky because (again, crystal clear honesty) our music takes a pretty extensive process to make.  There’s a lot of ‘No this isn’t good enough.’ And each track gets written, and rewritten until it we feel it’s up to release standards.  It’s much more time consuming then a band who walks in with a producer, cuts vocals, and awaits the final mix.  Infact, this is the first time since the Download EP (besides remixes of course) that you’re hearing new IPS music untouched.  No extra producers or mixers like we were blessed with on the self titled album.  This music is recorded by us, and handed directly to your hard drive.

And that means a lot to us.  We know that if you want music today, you’re going to get it.  Just ask a friend for a link.  Once one person has it, everyone has it.  Anyone thinking they can contain that is straight trippin.

But we’re not 100% sure how to pay our mortgage if all music is free and clear.  In fact these past few months we’ve been really caught up doing extra remixes and auxiliary production work so we can bring you this release.  We’ve been fortunate enough to find some exciting commercial scoring work for promos and film to help connect the dots, more details on that to come in the near future.

Weather you buy a bundle, or you just make the extra effort to pick up the album on itunes, amazon, etc. that means something to us.  If you happen to think our music’s worth more then we’re asking and have cash to blow, we’re not going to discourage you, you can name your own price at our Bandcamp site (insert link here) If you like what we’re doing, and take the time to twitter, facebook, blog, etc. that you like it to other people you know, that REALLY means something to us.  And if you’ve actually got the motivation to call or email a radio station, sirius / xm show, etc. and let them know how much you like what we’re doing… well, shit, you get the idea.  This has always been a band that has existed on the back of people’s natural enthusiasm for what we’re making.

We don’t know what the future will hold for music, and we don’t know exactly what it will hold for us.  We may not be the band to reinvent the system, but the beauty of being a musician right now is that you have direct communication with any fan that cares enough to listen.  You are important to us.  We promise to make the best music we possibly can, we just want to figure out what the best way is for you to hear it.

Thanks for being a part of this.
-IIIII”

The bundle was released on May 25^th, and I have to say, the single and remix of American Trash is beyond amazing. The lyrics, beat, and structure are clearly of the IPS variety with some seriously sick beats and full of the brilliant ingenuity that have been a signature of IPS since The Download EP. Both the single itself and the Starkey remix are included on the LP and the T-shirt designs are pretty rad all on their own. The bundle is definitely worth the price you pay and the LP is fully functional (just make sure you play it on a decent turntable- if not you’ll scratch up the nice sparkly finish). With over half of these packs sold, there are only 250 or so left. Jump at this chance and help support Innerpartysystem now and for the next two LP releases and maybe, just maybe, we will see them on tour sooner rather than later.

Buy the American Trash LP Bundle here

The beginning of June means a few things here in Seattle: Sasquatch! is over and summer is here (despite the overcast skies of late), the Seattle International Film Festival is in full swing, and of course, the announcement of line ups for four of the Pacific Northwest’s biggest music festivals of the year! Here are the details about the most anticipated events of the summer and how you can get in on the action.

Capitol Hill Block Party : July 23^rd-July 25^th (Various Venues on Capitol Hill, Seattle, WA)
CHBP has added a THIRD day to their  14^th year of this infamous festival, making this a great way to kick off your summer with a dose of great indie music. With 60 bands on three stages over the three day weekend, three day passes are just $60 – but don’t wait, as they are already over half sold out! It’s a great price for one heck of a party. Bands include MGMT, Yeasayer, The Dead Weather, and over 55 more. Come dance and party with some of the coolest folks in town while meandering one of Seattle’s greatest neighborhoods full of the best bars, eateries, and culture in the Emerald City.

Bumbershoot: September 4^th – September 6^th (Seattle Center)
Bumbershoot has been Seattle’s biggest music festival for the past 40 years, and this year is no exception. Ringing in with seven stages and over 75 bands performing over Labor Day weekend at Seattle Center and packed with booths, cultural events, live comedy, and more to help you celebrate the holiday the right way. New this year are the “Bumbershoot Standard Ticket” and “Bumbershoot Economy Ticket” differentiations. For the low price of $66 you can purchase your Economy Ticket, which allows access to all 6 stages but does NOT include access to the Main Stage. For $120, you get a three day ticket with guaranteed Main Stage access. This is a feature that Bumberfans have been asking for for the past few years and has now been granted. Headlining this year are Bob Dylan, Neko Case, The Decemberists,  Weezer, Hole, Rise Against, Mary J. Blige, J. Cole, and a special unannounced guest (I’m personally voting Arcade Fire or We Were Promised Jetpacks ). Pick up your tickets now for this incredibly fun event and mark that weekend off on your calendars because this is an event you won’t want to miss.

Music Fest North West: September 9^th-September 12^th (Portland, OR)
Taking over downtown Portland, MFNW is Portland’s biggest indie music festival. Taking place the weekend after Bumbershoot, the party keeps going with another 150+ bands in 19 venues across Rose City. With different ticket options starting at $16 for single show tickets to $175 for VIP wristbands, there are varying levels of entrance for the festival. Headlining this year are The Decemberists and The National, as well as performances by Ra Ra Riot, The Thermals, Baroness, and many, many more amazing bands. This is definitely a festival to check out if you have a chance or if you want to continue the party that is Bumbershoot!  Stumptown has some amazing culture and with the addition of the historic Pioneer Square stage, this is a great opportunity to check out all of the great art, music, and sights of Portland.

Decibel Festival: September 23^rd – September 26^th (Capitol Hill, Seattle, WA)
Decibel Festival is a four day festival of some of the world’s best dance, trance, hip hop, dub, electronic artists across the world. Along with live shows comes panels, forums, and workshops to help celebrate the diversity of technology in music. With over 400 acts, this promises to be one of the best electronic music festivals in the US this year. Announced so far are 35 artists with more announced each day. Most anticipated are Starkey, Gold Panda, Truckasauras, and Beats Antique. More details to come on the 6^th year of the festival. Tickets available 6/15 for $157 for all four days and are all inclusive. Check out this awesome chance at getting a better look at these genres and music in general from a technical standpoint at one of the last chances to celebrate summer in Seattle.

A lazy journalist could easy get out of actually reviewing American Slang, the newest album from Gaslight Anthem. It honestly wouldn’t be that difficult to revisit reviews of The ’59 Sound, referencing the same bullet points and similarities. At the end of the day it would look something like this: One part witty Bruce Springsteen reference here, respect for the New Brunswick music scene there. Throw in 500 words about the differences between punk and radio friendly power pop bands and you’ve got copy. Yet reviews like that, made famous by trash rags like Absolute Punk and Pitchfork, run rapid as the leaders of music journalism.  But, they really are just bullshit reads, hiding behind its falsely perceived elitist views of music folklore and punk history, aren’t they?  I mean, seriously, do you really think “God Save the Queen” and “Rudy Can’t Fail” will be historically better pieces of art if Green Day hadn’t existed to destroy punk?

More importantly, that mentality does nothing to actually promote a band for their accomplishments on an album they’ve worked hard to complete. I meant, if Gaslight Anthem wanted us do nothing but reference their previous albums and influences, what would be the point of even recording a new cut?  Why ignore the constant lyrical content, catchy guitar riffs and strong story lines to simply state, “Hey, this album sounds like the last one.”

I mean, if you take a second and look at American Slang as a unique piece of Americana, rather than a chapter in Gaslight Anthem’s novel of a music career you’ll see it not only stands perfectly fine on its own two feet, but hits the ground running from the word go.  Flooded with working class references and blue color pride, the music represents exactly what the band itself stands for; clocking into and doing what it takes to earn your paycheck.  The band has earn the respect of both press and fans by touring endlessly and promoting themselves extensively along the way. That’s why they’ve landed spots on festivals stages and radio stations nation wide. It’s not selling out. It’s not taking the safe road following the success of a brilliantly constructed album. It’s not because they sound slightly similar to The Boss. It’s sticking to their roots.

Giving this band anything less than your respect for that is a cop out by the banner waving lowest form of music critics selling you their copy with insults for sake of insult.

Track Listing:
1. American Slang
2. Stay Lucky
3. Bring It On
4. The Diamond Church Street Choir
5. The Queen of Lower Chelsea
6. Orphans
7. Boxer
8. Old Haunts
9. The Spirit Of Jazz
10. We Did It When We Were Young

“Are you ready to rock?” asked a jovial Barry Hyde of the Futureheads Friday night. Cheering ensued. He flashed an evil grin. “You’re in the right place, because we are too!” The Sunderland, England punk rock quartet played a blazing set of favorites old and new to a crowd raring to go at the Black Cat in Washington. Their latest album The Chaos was released in America this past Tuesday on Dovecote Records.

The first of two support acts, the Static Jacks, seemed perfectly matched to the punk sensibility of the headlining Sunderland rockers. This five-member New Jersey band is a band primed for success that you’ve probably never even heard of by name before. According to Wikipedia, tunes by this self-described garage-soul band have graced “The Hills” and “The City” and have been featured on stateside satellite radio. Despite sporting a haircut reminiscent of Lyle Lovett, singer Ian Devaney has the swagger and aura of coolness of Joey Ramone and the magnetism of the Horrors‘ Faris Badwan. I was standing in front of bassist Spencer Kimmins and guitarist Henry Kaye and nearly got hit in the head by wayward guitar necks; this didn’t put me off at the slightest, because this is what you should expect during a high energy punk set. You don’t expect the bass player to hit a suitcase with a stick like it was a drum either, but you go with it if the music is good. Despite their young age (all of them under 21, according to the Xs on their hands), they have a polished but aggressive sound. If they keep this up, expect big things from this band soon.

The Like, an all-girl group from Los Angeles, have previously toured with some heavy hitters – Muse, the Arctic Monkeys, and Razorlight, just to name a few. Given their sometimes punk, sometimes sunny pop sound, the comparison to the Go-Go’s is inevitable. There are also whiffs of the Beatles (check out the video for “He’s Not a Boy” below, which reminds me of the nightclub dance scenes in “A Hard Day’s Night”) and the Beach Boys with their harmonies. Oddly, their set sandwiched in between the Static Jacks and the Futureheads almost felt like a rest period because they couldn’t match the liveliness of the other two acts. I would have preferred if they stuck to punk (and showcase their technical chops) than with retro pop. Their next album produced by Mark Ronson, Release Me, will be released on June 15 on Downtown Records.

He’s Not A Boy from The Like on Vimeo.

Sunderland, nestled in the far reaches of Northeast England, has been criminally neglected by music pundits in the past, but mark my words, it won’t be for much longer. One of these days someday soon, America will come to its collective senses and realize the wealth of music there, from the likes of Field Music, Frankie and the Heartstrings, and Friday’s headliners the Futureheads. I should have known I was in for an amazing nights simply from a message lead singer/guitarist Barry Hyde sent me hours before the show, “we’re going to rock your socks off!”

The moment Hyde and his band stepped on the Black Cat stage, you could sense the electricity in the air. The driving count-in of “5-4-3-2-1!” of “The Chaos” was a superb way to begin a set that never let up in sheer intensity and fun. “Heartbeat Song” was prefaced by Hyde with, “imagine it’s the ’80s. You’re in a John Hughes film, and you’ve just fallen in love.” Wow. It’s the obvious earworm single of The Chaos, and was simply breathtaking live as a pop-punk masterpiece. I previously linked to the excellent promo video for the song on a tour announcement 2 months ago, but check out this “making of” video that shows you just how fun these guys are.

Their roadie had painstakingly taped down all the guitar cords onstage, and this was because guitarist Ross Millard, bassist Jaff Craig, and most often Hyde himself could be found roaming the stage while frenetically going at their instruments with gusto. By the second song in, all of them were covered in sweat. Having never seen this band before live, I was not expecting the very funny stage patter from Hyde and the interaction between him, Millard, and Craig. It made an already stellar gig even better, and I’d argue they rank up there with We Are Scientists for pure during-gig hilarity. Early on in the show, Hyde chided a drunk couple who had been chatting throughout the set, one of whom had thrown a empty glass at his feet. “You do know this is a gig, right?” The crowd cheered in response.

During their cover of Kate Bush‘s “Hounds of Love,” Hyde involved the audience in a shouting contest, as Millard was unable to do his harmonies due to a sore throat, Hyde admitting he was scared to sing part of a song that he’d never done live before. Aww. (If you were wondering, my side singing along with Craig won the contest due to our enthusiasm in participating.) For the encore, Hyde indulged a devoted fan as the band played “Man Ray” from their 2004 self-titled debut album, saying to her, “after every single song we’ve played you shouted for this.” Just goes to show that persistence, in the presence of a obliging band, pays off. After such an energetic set, it was obvious that these chaps from Sunderland could have played on for hours and hours and the crowd would have eaten it all up. I can’t wait to see these guys again soon.

The Futureheads Set List
The Chaos
Meantime
Heartbeat Song
Decent Days and Nights
The Baron
Area
Struck Dumb
Sun Goes Down
Skip to the End
The Connector
I Can Do That
The Beginning of the Twist
Hounds of Love (Kate Bush cover)
Jupiter
//
This is the Life
Man Ray
Work is Never Done

Tour Dates
Jun 07 – Paradise / Boston
Jun 08 – Bowery Ballroom / New York City
Jun 10 – Mod Club / Toronto
Jun 11 – Magic Stick / Detroit
Jun 12 – Lincoln Hall / Chicago

The Futureheads: website | myspace | The Futureheads Ready for June North American Tour
The Static Jacks: website | myspace
The Like: website | myspace

Alex Frankel, one half of New York City electronic act Holy Ghost!, was kind enough to lend his typing fingers and answer some questions for me while he and his partner in crime Nick Millhiser are busy touring North America as support for LCD Soundsystem. The duo recently released their first “album” of material, the Static on the Wire EP, and they’re set for a summer full of shows and festival appearances. I ask him about how they got into recording music, his philosophy behind “good” dance music, and their recent cover of Friendly Fires‘ “On Board,” amongst other things. Have a read.

Mary Chang, PopWreckoning: I’ve read that you two met in grade school.  Did you bond immediately over music, certain bands, in band class, etc.?  How did you become friends?
Alex Frankel, Holy Ghost!: Nick was more skateboardy and I was more, sweat pantsy? We did play in a band in 5th grade (ages 9/10, respectively) that practiced in “The Cage” [a storage space in their elementary school] and was instructed by our social science teacher, Mrs. Preston, who was a very cosmic lady seemingly stuck in the late 1970s. But yeah, we always were doing some music here and there together.

MC: I’ve also read that you were members of a short-lived teen hip hop act in the ’90s called Automato. What instruments did you play, did you sing…? What happened with it?
AF: Nick played drums, I played keys. It started when we were 15 but we did it until 2005 actually. It’s how we met James [Murphy] and Tim [Goldsworthy, founders of independent label DFA Records], who produced the record. It faded out, too many cooks in the kitchen, too long spent on the same bunch of songs…we’re all still friends.

MC: How did you get involved with spinning and the making of dance music? Do you each have a personal philosophy towards dance music and what makes it great for you? Is this philosophy different when you yourselves are enjoying the beats in a club vs. when you’re DJaying or performing live?
AF: I like music that I have a pleasurable physical response to. I usually go “oooooooohhh” if I like something. And that means some wiring in my brain has been stimulated by the sounds or chords or whatever. But I guess what makes it GREAT is when the physical thing is there, but additionally there is also something emotional that I relate to on top of the music…like lyrics. Like LCD Soundsystem. Or Chic. Or David Bowie. Or Talking Heads.

MC: There are so many great clubs in New York. What are your favorites to spin at? What about when you’ve got a day off and you just want to hear good music and/or dance?
AF: This is such an interesting question because everyone asks it and here’s the deal: New York clubs rotate their musical style on a night to night basis these days. Meaning, one night the same club has techno, the next night is ska-fusion night. So, there are no clubs that are ALWAYS good. Like Paradise Garage once was. So I don’t know anyone who just “goes out to dance” and “hopes it’ll be good.” We go to places we know our friends or artists we like listening to will be at. But that venue changes every night. Places of interest are le poisson rouge, Santos Party House, Glasslands.

MC: As for dance scenes, do you each have a favorite?  London?  Ibiza?  Berlin?
AF: I’m not sure how to answer that, I guess every place is different? I really love the classic sounds of New York City and Chicago and Detroit. The grit. But I also love the clean, sharp music from Germany, starting from Kraftwerk all the way up to today. We’re pretty open-minded.

MC: Your 2008 single “Hold On” has really taken on a life of its own.  During an informal trawling of the Web, I found evidence that fans of dance music think it’s one of those tracks that will live on in dance music history forever (for one, check this link out).  Did you have any idea that “Hold On” was going to blow up as big as it did?
AF: Absolutely no idea it would go beyond our circle of friends!!

MC: When you started writing and recording music as Holy Ghost!, did you already have an idea of where you wanted to go musically? Did you / do you feel influenced by any artists past or present, dance or not?
AF: We wanted to make something that didn’t embarrass our friends, and we wanted to make something that sounded like the music we liked. We wanted to make music that people could dance to but that also was in line with our love of pop music structures.

MC: Let’s switch gears and talk about your releases for this year. In March, you put out a split single with one of PopWreckoning’s favorites, Friendly Fires. The BBC and British music media did a pretty good job of covering their side of what happened on this came about.  Is it true that the idea came up over a drunken haze at Calvi on the Rocks in Ibiza last summer?  How do you guys know each other?  Tell us more.
AF: Haha! Yeah, me and Ed [Macfarlane] met at Calvi last year during our DJ set, and I think about 30 minutes later we had agreed on a cover swap. Just clicked right off the bat. Good bloke.

MC: I really liked what you did with “On Board”, the DFA Celestial Choir was a nice touch, as was the bounce of “don’t stop, don’t stop” in the middle.  How did you choose that track, and how did you approach doing this cover?
AF: Thanks!!! It took forever. There were a bunch of huge personal and technical setbacks during the recording, and it took about 6 weeks. In the end we were really happy with it, felt like we made it our own but kept their original ideas relatively intact. Really fun project.

MC: It must have felt really different doing a full-fledged cover than a remix, being so famous for doing remixes for such high-profile friends like Moby and James Murphy / LCD Soundsystem.
AF: Eh, not really. Our “remixes” are often times covers. See the Moby remix (“I Love to Move in Here”) for evidence, where not one sound from the original was used, including vocals.

MC: Your first album-type release, the Static on the Wire EP, was released last month (May 18) on DFA Records. Only four songs but I think it’s a great taster to get people into what Holy Ghost! the recording act is all about.  How long did it take to record them? Was it quick from start to finish or have these ideas been percolating since the days of “Hold On”?
AF: I don’t know, it’s hard to distinguish things in retrospect. But we’ve been working on a batch of about 13 to 14 songs for 2 or 3 years. These are four. The rest are on the album.

MC: Last month you played your first live, non-DJ gig at Under 100 on May 15. I didn’t have the privilege of being there but some friends were there and really enjoyed the show. What was going through your mind before you went on?
AF: STAGE FRIGHT!!!! (Alex provided us with the below YouTube link)

MC: What’s it been like touring with LCD Soundsystem on your first “tour” of the continent?
AF: AMAZING AMAZING AMAZING. BEST PEOPLE IN THE WORLD. BEST BAND IN THE WORLD. WE WAKE UP SO HAPPY EVERY DAY.

MC: You have some high profile appearances in Europe coming up this summer – Calvi on the Rocks to do a live set, London appearances at [the now endangered] Fabric club and the Groove Armada-founded festival Lovebox, and a festival slot at Germany’s Melt. Are there any particular shows that you are most looking forward to? I know I’m looking forward to your appearance in DC at the U Street Music Hall in less than 3 weeks.
AF: Actually, aside from Calvi, I’m most psyched for U Street. I’ve heard unbelievable things about the club! Oh, and Summerstage in Central Park because my mom and dad can walk from their houses.

MC: When will your first full-length album hit store shelves? (Or maybe “available for electronic download” is a more appropriate phrase.) Anything you can tell us about it now?
AF: It’s not dissimilar from what you’ve heard already. Some shorter, “poppier” songs, but not really. It’s funky. I hope. January [2011 release]?

MC: Some last questions. Your name Holy Ghost! with the exclamation point – who came up with it? Were you ever concerned about the obvious religious connotation?
AF: It’s from a Bar-Kays‘s song [a soul, r&b, and funk band founded in the mid-60s that had a single called "Holy Ghost Pt. I / Holy Ghost Pt. II" in 1975], we needed a name. We think it looks cool too.

Holy Ghost!‘s Static on the Wire EP is available from DFA Records now.

Tour Dates
Jun 04 – Hollywood Palladium / Los Angeles*
Jun 05 – Standard Hotel – Los Angeles
Jun 08 – Stubb’s / Austin*
Jun 09 – Palladium / Dallas*
Jun 12 – 88 Palace / New York City (DJ set)
Jun 18 – Sonar / Baltimore
Jun 19 – U Street Music Hall / Washington, DC
Jun 25 – Making Time / Philadelphia
Jun 25 – Vinyl / Denver (DJ set)
Jul 26 – 9:30 Club / Washington, DC#
Jul 27 – Trocadero / Philadelphia#
Jul 29 – Bowery Ballroom / New York City#
Jul 30 – MEG Festival / Montreal#
Aug 02 – Capital Music Hall / Ottawa#
Aug 03 – Phoenix / Toronto#
Aug 04 – Central Park SummerStage / New York City^
Aug 05 – Majestic Theater / Detroit#
Aug 06 – Lollapalooza / Chicago
Aug 07 – First Avenue / Minneapolis#
Aug 10 – Flames Central / Calgary#
Aug 11 – Commodore Ballroom / Vancouver#
Aug 12 – Showbox Market / Seattle#
Aug 13 – Roseland Ballroom / Portland#
Aug 16 – House of Blues / San Diego#
Aug 19 – Twilight Concert Series / Salt Lake City
Aug 20 – Ogden Theater / Denver#
Aug 24 – Stubb’s / Austin#
Aug 25 – Palladium / Dallas#
Aug 26 – Cannery Ballroom / Nashville#
Aug 27 – Masquerade / Atlanta#
* supporting LCD Soundsystem
^ with Hot Chip
# with Chromeo

Holy Ghost!: website | myspace | Friendly Fires / Holy Ghost! – 12” Split Single

I woke up Monday morning to a thin layer of rainwater on top of my tent, hoping that the weather would still go our way that day.

What do you know? It did.

Determined to see more bands that day than I’d seen Saturday and Sunday, I went and stood in line at about 11:30, even before any bands started playing. We made our way onto the festival grounds to a small crowd watching local band Jaguar Love, which features one half of the former Blood Brothers. Let’s just say I didn’t stand there for very long. Instead I went to the Yeti Stage for Shadow Shadow Shade, a much more pleasant sound for that early in the day.

Shadow Shadow Shade sounded quite nice in the open air, with their multiple instruments and multiple vocalists to create sweeping harmonies fitting to both dance to, or just stand and listen to. I quite liked “Your Perfect Wilderness.” And even though they were playing at noon, they had a nice-sized crowd who had passed over Jaguar Love on the larger stage.

While waiting to head down to the main stage to see The Temper Trap, I caught a bit of Past Lives, also on the Yeti Stage. Unbeknown to me, Past Lives featured the other, less annoying half of the Blood Brothers. Literally, if you’d put Jaguar Love and Past Lives on stage together, you’d have the Blood Brothers. Past Lives weren’t bad. I’m not a big fan of hardcore music, but this was toned down a bit, mixing louder hardcore vocals with darker and subtler melodies.

Next, I went to see The Temper Trap, and I caught the last ten minutes or so of Mayer Hawthorne, who was quite fun from what I saw. I thought he was an odd choice for Sasquatch, but you really never know what to expect. The Temper Trap was about 15 minutes late to the stage, but it was worth waiting for. I have to say that they surprised me. In a good way. I expected a decent show for 2 o’clock in the afternoon, but they were awesome. Lead singer Dougy Mandagi’s falsetto mixed with the pulsating rhythms, and bassist Jonathon Aherne’s stage antics (and a glorious head of hair) made for a moving live show. At one point during “Drum Song,” Mandagi poured all the water out of his bottle onto the floor tom he was beating to create a cascade of droplets across the stage that went along with the light drizzle that had began. I didn’t even mind the rain actually, because at that time of day it was quite hot and the rain was refreshing. The Temper Trap’s songs also lent themselves to the crowd singing a long, like the repeated “lost, lost, lost” during “Love Lost,” and the “ooo-ooo-oos” during “Fader.” And especially for “Sweet Disposition,” which began with a drawn-out intro, everyone sang along. The songs have a driving tempo that’s just right for rocking out without looking like fools.

Looking like fools came later.

But I give The Temper Trap the honor of best performance (at least that I saw) of Monday. I was thoroughly impressed.

Following that great show, I went back to the Yeti Stage for a couple more shows, both starkly different from one another, but both local. First was Fresh Espresso, one of Seattle’s most promising hip-hop acts. Being so well known in the local scene, they drew a huge crowd for 3 o’clock, and I can see why. Mixing hip-hop, pop, and glam, they sure brought the energy. Also, during their set they brought this random guy out on stage, who then proceeded to propose to his girlfriend right now. That was sweet.

Telekinesis was next, who I also saw back in November opening for The Lonely Forest. Frontman Benjamin Lerner was very at ease in this large arena, even if it was the smallest stage at Sasquatch. His light power-pop drew a less energetic crowd than Fresh Espresso had before, but Lerner’s songs were just as enjoyable. One girl from the crowd shouted a song that she wanted to hear, and Lerner replied with, “You really did your homework, that isn’t even on the record.” And then she spouted out something else I couldn’t hear. “That’s your favorite song? Ever? Dang.” Lerner said, very flattered.

As the sun was starting to set, Dr. Dog started their set on the Bigfoot Solar Stage, bringing their bluesy folk rock to the festival. I would have liked to hear their great cover of Architecture in Helsinki’s “Heart in Races,” but their set was still really good. At times it almost had a hint of a gospel vibe along with their strong 60s-pop influences, which I liked, especially “Army of Ancients,” with its relaxed melodies and passionate vocals.

The Mountain Goats, who came next, were one of the bands I was really hoping to see at Sasquatch, and I was not disappointed. Of all the performers, I’m pretty sure John Darnielle had the most fun on stage. He said, “I know it’s corny, but I love playing music.” It wasn’t corny, John. Of all the places to make that declaration, Sasquatch is it. With how much joy they had on stage, evidenced my Darnielle’s wicked awesome facial expressions, The Mountain Goats fans had even more joy. “No Children” turned into a giant sing-along, about “hoping we both die.” No really. It was charming and hilarious and joyous, and perfect for Sasquatch.

After the Temper Trap, the Mountain Goats got my second best performance of the day.

I made my way back down to the main stage for the final time that weekend to see Band of Horses and MGMT, who I wouldn’t say disappointed me, but didn’t wow me either.

I couldn’t get close enough to see anything but what was on the jumbotron, so that could be the reason why I didn’t react to their performances as strongly. Band of Horses were fine, good ol’ southern rock. And I was glad to hear that they did play a lot of songs off their first two albums, because I personally was a bit under whelmed with Infinite Arms. By far the best part of Band of Horses’ set was during “Funeral,” when virtually everyone started screaming the lyrics along with them, which always makes a concert better.  A concert shouldn’t just be great music, but also a shared experience with the dozens, or hundreds, or thousands of people surrounding you. Lots of people went to go see Band of Horses, so at least they accomplished that much.

Figuring that it would be a mass exodus leaving the amphitheater after MGMT and it would take forever, I went and sat on the grassy hill for the first and last time that weekend to enjoy them. I wasn’t expecting crazy stage-hopping MGMT, but I also wasn’t expecting the glazed-over possibly high MGMT either. The third song in Andrew Vanwyngarden introduced “Flash Delirium,” the inexplicable hit from their new album Congratulations, but instead they played “The Youth,” from their first album. Hmm. And about a third of the way through, bass player Matthew Asti asked the huge crowd of people in front of him, “has the sun set yet? No, it’s still holding on!” Okay. But the one thing that I do enjoy about MGMT is that their music is so odd and entertaining that you don’t really need a lot of stage presence to pull it off. By the last twenty minutes of MGMT set, the rain began to fall. It was like the sky couldn’t hold on the precipitation any longer and had to let it go.

But the best way to end Sasquatch when MGMT played songs like “Electric Feel,” “Kids,” and “Time to Pretend.” When they came on, I had to get up off the grass and dance around like a crazy fool, because that’s just what you do.

Here’s hoping next year’s Sasquatch is just as good. Or better. That’s always an option.

For the final set of photos from Sasquatch 2010, visit http://www.flickr.com/photos/abbigshmail/sets/72157624191722284/

Sunday’s coverage: http://popwreckoning.com/2010/06/03/sasquatch-festival-sunday-with-local-natives-kid-cudi-dirty-projectors/

Saturday’s coverage: http://popwreckoning.com/2010/06/02/sasquatch-festival-saturday-with-ok-go-the-national-vampire-weekend/

Villagers, the collective name of Irish folk singer/songwriter Conor O’Brien and his band, will be stopping by at several venues this month to promote their debut album, Becoming a Jackal (to be released on June 08 in America). The album was co-produced by O’Brien and Villagers guitarist Tommy McLaughlin. Last year the band supported Neil Young, one of their heroes, and this March they made their first appearances in America in New York and South by Southwest.

You can stream Becoming a Jackal in its entirely on NPR.

Tour Dates
Jun 16 – Knitting Factory / Brooklyn
Jun 17 – Union Hall / Brooklyn
Jun 19 – Armory Cafe Room / Boston
Jun 21 – DC9 / Washington, DC
Jun 22 – Side Chapel @ First Unitarian Church / Philadelphia
Jun 23 – Joe’s Pub / New York City

Villagers: website | myspace