popwreckoning

As previously announced, Popwreckoning will be hosting a Kansas City and Lawrence music showcase at Aggiefest 2011 in Manhattan, Kansas. This year’s festival has morphed into the 6th Annual Multi-Genre Live Music and 1st Ever Visual Arts Festival. In this post you will find details regarding the Popwreckoning line-up and the festival in general.

Have a look at the bands we picked!

Friday September 23rd:
Auntie Mae’s Parlor • 614 N. 12th St. • Manhattan KS • 785.539.8508

6:00pm to 6:45pm Lucky Graves
7:00pm to 7:45pm Not A Planet
8:00pm to 8:45pm Quiet Corral
9:00pm to 9:45pm Dead Girls
10:00pm to 10:45pm Janet the Planet
11:00pm to 11:45pm Spirit is the Spirit
12:00am to 12:45am Parts of Speech
1:00am to 1:45am YAM

Saturday September 24th:
Outside Stage at Triangle Park, Manhattan Kansas

4:00pm to 4:45pm Various Blonde
5:00pm to 5:45pm Sage n Sour
6:00pm to 6:45pm The Phantom
7:00pm to 7:45pm Vi Tran
8:00pm to 8:45pm BROKENMAST
9:00pm to 9:45pm Jillian Riscoe and the 21st Century
10:00pm to 10:45pm Bravefellow

Auntie Mae’s Parlor • 614 N. 12th St. • Manhattan KS • 785.539.8508
9:00pm to 9:45pm Jenny Carr
10:00pm to 10:45pm Sour Babies
11:00pm to 11:45pm Everyday/Everynight

Now, let’s get to the details.

Aggiefest 2011 will offer a plethora of shops, pubs & eateries which will feature art pieces from various local & regional artists.  Here you’ll have the opportunity to hob knob with the rich and famous (i.e. starving artists and Aggies) and pay them for their goods and services.

Let’s see how this shindig works.

Get a ticket from On the Wildside or Sisters of Sound in Aggieville.
$20 adults
$15 minors
$10 to bands to sell for a profit *stop by Sisters of Sound

Alright, just a few more steps for you to follow. Take your tushie to the festival, exchange your ticket for the appropriate wristband and partake in the lovely music and merch! You’ll find there are several all-ages venues for those of you who haven’t yet fermented to the ripe ol’ age of 21 (or 18)! The all ages venues include the Dusty Bookshelf, Bluestem Bistro, Radina’s, Triangle Park and Pat’s BBQ’s Backroom until 10pm. Campus Tavern and Ale House accomodates those who are 18 and over. O’Malley’s will be 18 and over until 8pm then go 21 and up only; Auntie Mae’s allows entry to those who are 21 and up. Check out this Map of Aggieville for your convenience.

But wait, there’s more! Enter the RAFFLE to win a quality quilt made from Aggiefest T-shirts of yore. The raffle proceeds will benefit Morning Star Inc., a company with a mission to provide consumers of mental health services with the resources needed to break through the barriers of stigma & isolation. Also, maps/schedules will be provided for both the music and the art fair, and will include the Aggiefest 2011 sponsors.

Finally, without question is the most important step of them all. Rock your ass off for 2 straight days with live, local music and art and show your support in Aggieville. We can’t wait to see you there!

The Script used to be my guiltiest pleasure: when you’re a female music blogger, you get a lot of sniggering from boys in bands when they hear you’re seeing any act that is manufactured, whether real or perceived. But I’ve seen the Dublin band twice now, and I can say without a doubt that they have the goods and they bring the goods live, so the argument that they’re manufactured holds no water. I’d also like to point out that singer/piano man Danny O’Donoghue has the kind of smile that could melt a million hearts, but I digress…

The importance of a good opening band cannot be stressed enough: when they’re good, they psych up the audience, setting the stage for the rest of a great evening; but if they’re bad, it can leave a bad taste in your mouth. (The latter was true when I saw Abe Vigoda open for Vampire Weekend in April 2010 at the same venue, DAR Constitution Hall.) As I predicted, opener Hot Chelle Rae was an immediate hit with the MTV teeny crowd right from the start. The high-pitched screams as the band took to the stage nearly rivalled the headliner’s entrance later.

There’s nothing objectionable about Hot Chelle Rae: the Nashville band look like they’re trying to be really “rock” (their bass player Ian Keaggy has tattoos up and down both of his arms) but they come out sounding like lite mainstream rock. Their music has a good, infectious beat and the band members appeal to what my companion for the night refers to as “the Disney crowd.” (Not far off: think about it. They’re signed to Jive, aka the first label home of Backstreet Boys and still Britney Spears‘ label.) While their set was short (only 7 songs), it looked like the predominantly female and underage crowd would have been up for much more.

Hot Chelle Rae Set List
Beautiful Things
I Like to Dance
Alright
The Distance
Bleed
Teenage Dream
Tonight, Tonight

It’s interesting attending a show filled with teenagers. None of them can drink of course, so the line for the bar is short or nonexistent, and because they can’t drink, they’re all trying to look cool by milling about near the merch table. But once they’re seated and the show starts, something magical happens. I won’t show my age by revealing when I saw my first show, but watching all those girls in their micromini summer dresses jostling each other to take photos of the bands and fighting each other for guitar picks was, shall we say, rather heartwarming to me. And if you have to choose a band for your first gig, I don’t think you can do much better than the Script in a nonthreatening, huge venue like Constitution Hall that can support a spectacular light show featuring flashing lights, interactive backdrops, and live zoom-in shots of the Script (primarily for the benefit of those unfortunate souls up in the nosebleed sections).

This Dublin band is both disarming and incredibly charming. They sneaked their way into everyone’s heart by being apologetic for their June gig cancellation due to illness. They told stories about whiskey and getting drunk and let’s face it, these kinds of stories go down better when told by Irishmen. They complained about the DC heat and said they wanted to move here so they could work on their tans. To say they had the audience eating out of their hand is an understatement. Still, it was the music that wowed the most.

“Nothing” is probably one of the saddest pop songs ever written; it’s the musical equivalent to drinking yourself to death after getting dumped. I had to pat myself on the back for not crying when this song came on. If guitarist Mark Sheehan is to be believed, it was written after a night of boozing when O’Donoghue’s heart got broken and he made an ill-advised cell phone call to his ex. The only weird part about the live performance of this song is that O’Donoghue had the biggest of grins on his face while he was singing it. I guess life as the frontman of one of the biggest bands in Europe (and now the world) isn’t too bad.

Of similar topic and with a decidedly more lighthearted bent, “If You Ever Come Back” was a definite highlight of the night, as everyone’s arms were raised and waving in time to O’Donoghue’s own. “Rusty Halo,” with its r&b groove and aggressively red lighting, segued effortlessly into the song that finally broke them here in the States, “Breakeven.” I wasn’t sure how the band could top that when they returned for the encore but a similar singalong broke out for the closer, “For the First Time.” My only complaint: the set list was far too short. Maybe they were trying to follow the DC curfew laws and make sure all those kiddikins could leave the place on time? All in all though, it was a superb night of much and atmosphere, ending on a high note.

The Script Set List
You Won’t Feel a Thing
Talk You Down
We Cry
The Man Who Can’t Be Moved
If You Ever Come Back
Before the Worst
The End Where I Begin
Science & Faith
Nothing
Dead Man Walking
Rusty Halo
Breakeven
//
This = Love
For the First Time

Tour Dates
Sept 04 – Stage AE / Pittsburgh
Sept 06 – LC Pavilion / Columbus
Sept 07 – Fillmore Detroit / Detroit
Sept 09 – Ryman Auditorium / Nashville, TN
Sept 10 – PNC Pavilion @ Riverbend Music Center / Cincinnati
Sept 11 – Murat Theatre / Indianapolis
Sept 13 – Palace Theatre / Louisville
Sept 14 – Pageant / St. Louis
Sept 16 – Hartman Arena / Park City, KS
Sept 17 – Table Athletic Center @ Carthage College / Kenosha, WI
Sept 18 – Ogden Theatre / Denver
Sept 20 – Crystal Ballroom / Portland
Sept 21 – Paramount Theatre / Seattle
Sept 23 – Fox Theatre / Oakland
Sept 24 – Palladium / Los Angeles, CA
Sept 25 – Marquee / Tempe
Sept 27 – Riverwind Casino / Oklahoma City
Sept 28 – Coins Ballroom / Tulsa
Sept 30 – Stubbs Waller Creek Ampitheatre / Austin, TX
Oct 01 – House of Blues / Houston
Oct 02 – Palladium / Dallas
Oct 04 – Mahalia Jackson Theatre / New Orleans
Oct 05 – Ruth Eckerd Hall / Clearwater, FL
Oct 07 – Fillmore Miami Beach / Miami
Oct 08 – Hard Rock Live / Orlando
Oct 09 – Tabernacle / Atlanta
Oct 11 – Fillmore Charlotte / Charlotte
Oct 13 – Roseland Ballroom / New York City
Oct 14 – Paramount Theatre / Huntington, NY
Oct 15 – MGM Grant Theatre at Foxwoods / Mashantucket, CT

The Script: website | myspace | The Script – “Breakeven” | Science & Faith review
Hot Chelle Rae: website | myspace

As I mentioned yesterday in my Bumbershoot preview for Saturday, Seattle’s own Pickwick is amazing, fantastic, the next big thing. I haven’t changed my mind from yesterday, so I’ll elaborate.

Last weekend I saw Pickwick for the first time at KEXP’s Concerts at the Mural at the Seattle Center (it was free!) and I was flabbergasted. If you take one look at these guys, you wouldn’t expect the beautiful soulful jams that came from this group of white guys with great hair.

They’ve been all over local blogs like Seattlest, Sound on the Sound, Another Rainy Saturday, among many others.

The band started in 2008 when lead singer Galen Disston left Los Angeles and came to Seattle, and he established Pickwick as an alt-country band. Then spending the next couple years bringing themselves into the Seattle folk scene – finding dozens of like-minded artists. Needless to say, in Seattle, folk is the new grunge.

And it was when Disston began playing with his voice after hearing Sam Cooke’s “A Change is Gonna Come,” that Pickwick made a name for themselves.

In the past year, they’ve been on the heels of the Head and the Heart, in terms of local buzz, and hopefully they can make their way to at least getting signed. It’s blasphemous to me that someone hasn’t picked Pickwick up yet, but I guess in Seattle that doesn’t really matter – seeing that they’re playing Bumbershoot with plenty of other unsigned artists.

Back to last weekend’s show. I cannot tell you how much my feet hurt at the end of their performance. I did not stop dancing. At one point they brought up several other local artists FROM THE CROWD and had a dance party on stage. There was even a little girl with a shaker dancing along to the effervescent soul beats.

I, for one, am glad that Pickwick found their current sound. It’s refreshing. I love the Head and the Heart and all, but we don’t need a dozen clones of them running around Seattle. We’re known for our innovation in this town, and sometimes the most innovative thing to do is to go back to our roots. And that is what Pickwick has done with their music.

One last thing, it’s come to my attention that Pickwick has posted something about “big news” today on my MySpace page. Once I find that out, you’ll hear it first from me.

Catch them at Bumbershoot on Saturday on the EMP Level 3 Stage tomorrow at 6p.m. You won’t be disappointed. And if you are, what’s wrong with you?

*EDIT* Here’s a video of one of my favourite songs from the KEXP Concert at the Mural last weekend.

Visit Pickwick on Bandcamp at http://pickwick.bandcamp.com/

Canadian quartet Tokyo Police Club announced an ambitious project with Polaroid and Red Bull Studios, recording 10 cover songs from the years 2001-2010 over the course of 10 days. The band has revealed the potential songs for each year for fans via the project’s official website, www.polaroid.com/tokyopoliceclub, created by Polaroid. The final track will be revealed each night prior to recording.

The project begins today at 12pm PST, Tuesday, August 23 at the Red Bull Studio Los Angeles when the band enters the studio to rehearse and record a cover song over the next 10 hours, to be premiered the following morning at 10am PST by one of seven exclusive media partners starting Wednesday, August 24. The final song will be premiered on Saturday, September 3. The band will be creating daily Polaroid photo diaries and filming the entire recording process. In addition, each song will have unique artwork created from a Polaroid image shot that day in the studio.

Song premiere schedule:

Wednesday, August 24 – 2001 – EntertainmentWeekly.com – 1pm EST/10am PST
Thursday, August 25 – 2002 – AlternativePress.com – 1pm EST/10am PST
Friday, August 26 – 2003 – AlternativePress.com – 1pm EST/10am PST
Saturday, August 27 – 2004 – Spinner.com – 1pm EST/10am PST
Monday, August 29 – 2005 – Mashable.com – 1pm EST/10am PST
Tuesday, August 30 – 2006 – AVClub.com – 1pm EST/10am PST
Wednesday, August 31 – 2007 – AVClub.com – 1pm EST/7am PST
Thursday, September 1 – 2008 – Filtermagazine.com – 1pm EST/10am PST
Friday, September 2 – 2009 – Filtermagazine.com – 1pm EST/10am PST
Saturday, September 3 – 2010 – ARTISTdirect.com – 1pm EST/10am PST

I would be lying if I didn’t admit that I had my doubts about Kanrocksas when I received the email regarding the press conference to announce the festival’s lineup. “A festival held at Kansas Speedway,” I thought to myself “will no doubt be a bunch a metal bands.”

Man was I was wrong. Offering a lineup featuring servings from some of the best bands in the world, Kanrocksas was the real deal and had landed right in my backyard. So, as I drove under the speedway into the VIP to catch the day’s first band, I felt as excited as I had for a festival in years. I parked, slid into the media center briefly, then bolted for my first band.

UME:

You know that groggy feeling that you sometimes will get when you wake up early for work on a day following a long night? You fumble to collect your clothes, somewhat unsuccessfully, gathering whatever laundry has pooled in piles on the floor of your bedroom. Skipping the shower, you rush to your neighborhood gas station to grab a red bull to supply whatever energy you can muster up to kick off the day.

In terms of the first annual Kanrocksas Music Festival, UME was that red bull. Taking stage early, these Austin, Texas firecrackers kicked open the door for what would be a great first day, with an energy and poise that left many bands standing in their shadow.

Rocking kind of a Jeckle and Hyde image, Lauren Larson sound checks and speaks in a shy and sheepish manner, before exploding into a large energetic ball of chaos. Sporting a great 1990′s sound, complete with swirling guitar and raspy snarling vocals, UME’s stage show is unquestionably worth mentioning. Their set left a thumbprint on me that would last the whole day, as they showed up several bands lower on the bill. I expect huge things from this band and will be disappointed if the world offers them anything less.

Fitz and the Tantrums:

There is no questioning the fact that the chemistry between Michael Fitzpatrick and Noelle Scaggs is real. While watching this band, every line of every song seems to be a tip of the hat to the passion that these two share for both each other and for music.

With a jazzy retro sound and soul train moves, Fitz and the Tantrums plowed through a stellar set, which included covers “Steady as She Goes” by The Raconteurs (corrected at 11:46 p.m. 8/7/2011) and “Sweet Dreams” by Annie Lennox. As if that were not enough to please, their crowd interactive set lit the Kanrocksas crew up, causing a stir I hadn’t expected in the 192 degree weather. Dancing and grinding around the pit area of the speedway, one would have to assume those in attendance put their complaints of sunburns and dehydration on hold, trading them for a prom dance throwback.

A stellar set from a stellar band.    

D12:

Sadly, my streak of sets that captured my heart would stall right there. D12 seemed rack with technical difficulties and lackluster efforts in front of roughly 2,000 viewers, the group honestly serves as my biggest disappointment of Kanrocksas. Having seen D12 before (when I was like, 16) I remembered them as a high energy, wicked funny rap group, slightly out of place at Warped Tour. However, I also remember walking away both impressed and stunned enough to grab their albums off the shelves. Sadly, the D12 on stage at Kanrocksas was not the D12 I remembered loving. Flowing over beats that seemed misguided and somewhat sloppy, the set simply flopped.

However, that would not stop a large mass of fans to sit, hopeful to catch an early glimpse of Eminem. They would in the end walk away empty handed.

Jack’s Mannequin:

I was of the small percentage of journalists who skipped Arctic Monkeys set to catch former Something Corporate front man Andrew McMahon’s newish project Jack’s Mannequin. Having always been a fan of his emotional performances and energetic stage presence, I figured I would no doubt find a bit of recovery from D12′s lackluster set.

Without a doubt, I was. Busting out old favorites and premiering new singles Jack’s Mannequin left nothing to be desired. Shifting, twitching and switching between two mics, McMahon ran the gambit of emotional content, ranging from cancer, coming to age and coming to terms with breakups.

While I’m sure some people would question my choice to skip Arctic Monkeys for a band that causes 16 year old fangirls to crowd the stage with “I fucking love you Andrew” signs, I have no regrets with my decision based on one solid fact: Andrew McManon is truly the nicest man in music. That should always be supported.

Regardless, for those who desire them, here are Scott’s Arctic Monkey’s Photos:

Check out Kanrocksas: Day One, Part Two featuring  Kid Cudi, Ween, Bassnectar, Flaming Lips and Eminem soon!

Kanrocksas Music Festival recently released the official set times for the bands preforming at the event to be held at the Kansas Speedway on August 5th and 6th. Below are the times of each band, arranged chronologically by the start of each band’s set time. In addition, links to each band’s website have been linked to their name in order to allow our readers easier possibility for line up research. Enjoy!

Friday August 5th

• 1:30 – 2:00 p.m. Winner of the Local Band Contest – Main Stage
• 2:10 – 2:40 p.m. UME – Stageasaurus Rex Stage
• 2:50 – 3:30 p.m. The Joy Formidable – Ad Astra Stage
• 2:50 – 3:30 p.m. Fitz and the Tantrums – Main Stage
• 3:40 – 4:20 p.m. D12 – Stageasaurus Rex Stage
• 4:30 – 5:10 p.m. Jack’s Mannequin – Ad Astra Stage
• 4:30 – 5:10 p.m. Arctic Monkey – Main Stage
• 4:30 – 5:10 p.m. R/D – Critical Mass Tent
• 5:20 – 6:00 p.m. DOOMTREE – Stageasaurus Rex Stage
• 5:20 – 6:00 p.m. Paper Diamond – Critical Mass Tent
• 6:10 – 7:00 p.m. Ellie Goulding – Ad Astra Stage
• 6:10 – 7:00 p.m. Kid Cudi – Main Stage
• 6:15 – 7:00 p.m. 12th Planet – Critical Mass Stage
• 7:10 – 8:10 p.m. Primus – Stageasaurus Rex Stage
• 7:15 – 8:00 p.m. Treasure Fingers – Critical Mass Tent
• 8:15 – 9:05 p.m. Major Lazer – Critical Mass Tent
• 8:20 – 9:20 p.m. Ween – Ad Astra Stage
• 8:20 – 9:20 p.m. Bassnectar – Main Stage
• 9:20 – 10:50 p.m. Kaskade – Critical Mass Tent
• 11:00 – 12:30 a.m. Eminem – Main Stage

Saturday August 5th

• 12:30 – 1:00 p.m. Winner of the Local Band Contest – Main Stage
• 1:10 – 1:50 p.m. Rival Sons – As Astra Stage
• 2:00 – 2:40 p.m. Garden & Villa – Stageasaurus Rex Stage
• 2:50 – 3:30 p.m. The Black Angels – Ad Astra Stage
• 3:40 – 4:20 p.m. Best Coast – Stageasaurus Rex Stage
• 4:00 – 4:40 p.m. Local Winner of Critical Mass Contest – Critical Mass Tent
• 4:30 – 5:20 p.m. OKgo – Ad Astra Stage
• 5:00 – 5:45 p.m. Kerli – Critical Mass Tent
• 5:30 – 6:20 p.m. Grace Potter & The Nocutrnals – Stageasaurus Rex Stage
• 6:05 – 6:55 p.m. Bag Raider – Critical Mass Tent
• 6:30 – 7:20 p.m. Cage the Elephant – Ad Astra Stage
• 7:10 – 7:55 p.m. Krafty Kuts – Critical Mass Tent
• 7:30 – 8:20 p.m. Flogging Molly – Stageasaurus Rex Stage
• 8:15 – 9:05 p.m. Tinie Tempah – Critical Mass Tent
• 8:30 – 9:35 p.m. Girl Talk – Main Stage
• 8:30 – 9:35 p.m. A Perfect Circle – Ad Astra Stage
• 9:35 – 10:45 p.m. John Digweed – Critical Mass Tent
• 9:45 – 10:50 p.m. The Black Keys – Stageasaurus Rex Stage
• 11:00 – 12:30 a.m. Muse – Main Stage
• 11:15 – 1:00 a.m. Sound tribe Sector 9 – Critical Mass Tent

Additional Features:

• Fireworks Display – Friday night.
• MUSE Laser Light Show – Saturday night.
• Ferris Wheel of Lights – A seven-story rotating light Ferris Wheel will spin and light up the festival.
• Hot Air Balloon Glow – World champion balloonist John Petrehn brings multiple hot air balloons as backdrops for a “balloon glow” as night falls over the festival.
• Water Slide – At 40-feet long and 200-feet high, this is a water slide on steroids for festival guests to cool down in between sets at the Kanrocksas Music Festival.
• Bungee Jumping Trampolines – Jump to the music at up to 24 feet with bungee trampolines.
• Live Art – World renowned artist John Bukaty and Amanda Day Vance-Bukaty with DeltaBlu Visionaries (www.deltablu.com) will direct a cast of as artists and performers for live, interactive and functional art throughout Kanrocksas Music Festival.

Yuck ( http://yuck.bandcamp.com/)is an indie rock group hailing from London, England. They are currently enjoying buzz band status centering on their self-titled debut record which was released on Fat Possum last February. The album is full of fantastically catchy songs, including the noisy “The wall”

The band plays a brand of fuzz rock that rides a wave of ‘90’s alternative rock nostalgia. They’ve garnered comparisons to legendary acts such as a Dinosaur Jr. and Sonic youth. The comparisons are certainly justified, but Yuck updates the sound of ‘90’s Indie Rock with a sound uniquely their own.

Recent live shows have been well reviewed, and Friday’s set should be outstanding.  Their show is eagerly anticipated, and the crowd should be rapturous. Yuck are not one to miss.

Yuck will be playing on Friday at 10:15 p.m. at Neumos.

Lonely Twin starts with a blast of joy: “open up the door and let me in” sings frontman Jordan Geiger, through a nest of strange instruments. The song is a pop bomb, and it leads us into the new Hospital Ships record.

Hospital Ships is primarily Geiger, occasional member of Shearwater, and former frontman for obscure indie rock group Minus Story. Minus Story was a great band, criminally underrated, and sorely missed.  This is his second record under the Hospital Ships name.

The aforementioned track, “Love or Death” starts the album incredibly. It sounds like an outtake from the Flaming Lips’ The Soft Bulletin, while starting a theme of confusion and love that continues throughout the album. The album is at times painfully sad, but the melodies bring the reality of life to the surface, and turn a lot of it into a sing-a-long. The song is quickly reminiscent of the last (and best) Minus Story album My Ion Truss. It’s loud but not loud, and epic, especially for a pop song that lasts just over two minutes.

A few tracks later, “Galaxies” begins with a piano, and an easy to miss acoustic guitar in the background. The vocals kicks in quickly, which brings us to another fantastic thing about this album. Quick notes kick in and out throughout the record, and in this song especially. Even a couple dozen listens in a listener will notice new things. The songs are built with quirky sounds in a way that is a little mind bogglingly.

The next song, “Phantom Limb” is a sweet ballad that is at times a bit tricky. Odd vocal melodies float in, and at one point something that sounds like a train chugging comes along. Geiger begs for a relationship to die, and you feel the heartbreak throughout. The end of the song sounds like a funeral and it’s almost enough to leave a person weeping.

Immediately after, is “Carry On.” This kind of thing has been done before, but unlike “Float On” there is no sarcasm here. The song has an honesty that is missed in most “fuck it, we’ll get by anyhow song.” It feels weary and depressed, but that makes it all the more human.

A couple tracks later is “Old Skin,” a dirge of a pop song, and probably the best thing here. “We always knew these songs would get lost, and they’re gone, but we go on,” sings Geiger, and it’s a kind of manifesto for the entire album. A lot of the songs are centered around the idea of struggling through loss, and dealing with life’s mishaps. Geiger shapes his thoughts through pop melodies, and the random noises could be seen as a metaphor for life’s little struggles. The more you listen, the bigger the album gets.

You should buy this. You should buy all of the old Minus Story records all well. Lonely Twin is one of the best records of 2011, and it’ll provide you years of joy. It improves on the first Hospital Ships record in every way, and it’ll be exciting to see what comes next.

Tracklisting:

1. Love or Death
2. Honey Please
3. Bird in Furs
4. Galaxies
5. Phantom Limb
6. Carry On
7. Anyone Everyone (free mp3)
8. Old Skin
9. Reprise
10. Little Dead Leaf
11. New Life
12. Dani Love of Mine (Bonus vinyl only track)

The Mountain Goats’ fan base is made up largely of nerds. Don’t deny it. That’s probably the reason that they didn’t sell out the Showbox – because nerds generally don’t like leaving the house and being in large groups. But the crowd was surprisingly large, considering.

Arriving in just the nick of time, I walked into the Showbox, with people sitting on the floor waiting for the opening act, Midtown Dickens. Clearly, people were taking ownership of their rightful places in the crowd. So naturally, I sat down because everyone else was.

Once the members of the openers, Midtown Dickens, took the stage, people instantly stood up. The North Carolina natives put on a fantastic energetic show, considering the fact that vocalist Kym had just arrived to Seattle 20 minutes before they went on stage. Her guitar wasn’t even tuned when she got on stage, so they filled up that awkward time with some of the wittiest storytelling I’ve heard in a long time.

Midtown Dickens had a great stage presence, what they call on their Facebook page “post-folk punk grass,” preempting several songs with the story of their origin. It was the perfect precursor to the Mountain Goats, with the largely narrative songwriting.

After the highly entertaining set that Midtown Dickens put on, the Mountain Goats had one of the weirdest introductions I’ve ever heard. As they took to the stage, very excruciating indistinguishable death metal played over the loud speakers (emphasis on the ‘loud’). I couldn’t help but laugh, because of the sheer irony of the death metal juxtaposed to John Darnielle in his suit, tie, and nerdy glasses taking the stage. It was perfect.

This was the point when I realized that this crowd was full of nerds – because a.) most people danced like dorks, and b.) personal space was honored more than usual. People were spread out, which made the venue much more comfortable for the night.

While I love the Mountain Goats music, I just love listening to Darnielle speak. He’s incredibly eloquent and quite funny. At one point, bassist Peter Hughes brought up the idea of narrating the set like a DJ would on the radio. “That was ‘You Were Cool’vby the Mountain Goats, and here’s another one from the Mountain Goats,” Darnielle said aloud with the quintessential radio voice.

Speaking of “You Were Cool,” that song really needs to be on an album, like legitimately recorded. Mainly because I feel like it is the perfect theme song for, well, life.

Seeing that Darnielle is one of the most prolific songwriters of our time, I had no clue which songs we were going to get. It’s definitely a different experience than seeing an emerging band with only enough songs to play a full set. While a lot of songwriters try and hide the muddle the meaning of a song with metaphors and vague references, Darnielle’s songs are painfully honest and easy to relate to – especially us nerds.

To end out the set, the Mountain Goats played my favourite song of theirs, “This Year.”

“If the members of Midtown Dickens are still in the building, would they please join us on stage?” Darnielle shouted to the audience. So Midtown Dickens quickly made it to the stage, and “This Year” turned into a joyous, triumphant dance party. Again, it was perfect.

But it wasn’t over yet, because we got not one, but two encores. Heck, there are enough Mountain Goats songs to fill almost an entire 24-hour day, so two encores wasn’t surprising.

In fact, I would like to see 24-hour Mountain Goats marathon. I’d be all over that.

Kanrocksas Music Festival is reaching out to local musicians and giving them the chance of a lifetime with Wild Bill’s Local Music Showcase, a music competition giving local bands and deejays the chance to compete for the opportunity to perform at the Kanrocksas Music Festival. Local bands and deejays will perform at Wild Bill’s Steakhouse and Saloon located in Legends Outlets Kansas City every Friday and Saturday in July for the opportunity to share the stage with national acts at Kanrocksas and to take home VIP passes with an additional cash prize.

Winners will be declared by a panel of judges as well as audience voting participation. Two final winners will be announced before the Kanrocksas Music Festival, including one winning band and one winning deejay that who perform on one of the three main stages at the music festival. Finalists who place in the top five during the weekly showcases will win festival passes and will be offered the chance to play on the “Camping Stage” presented by The Pitch, 103.7 The Dam, and 95.7 The Vibe.

No cover will be charged during each weekly showcase. The crowd will also have several opportunities to win official Kanrocksas Music Festival giveaways, including passes to the festival. After 10:00 p.m., each showcase is restricted to an audience of 21 and older.

Local Band Showcase:

July 1, 2011
• The Grisly Hand at 10:30 p.m.
• The Dead Girls at 11:30 p.m.
• Abandon Kansas at 12:30 a.m.

July 8, 2011
• The Beautiful Bodies at 10:30 p.m.
• Scott Allan Knost at 11:30 p.m.
• Soft Reeds at 12:30 a.m.

For more information, and to purchase tickets to Kanrocksas, visit www.kanrocksas.com

July 15, 2011
• Cowboy Indian Bear at 10:30 p.m.
• Signum A.D at 11:30 p.m.
• Queens Club at 12:30 a.m.

July 22, 2011
• The Atlantic at 9:30 p.m.
• Head Change at 10:30 p.m.
• Drakkar Sauna at 11:30 p.m.
• Maps for Travelers at 12:30 p.m.

July 29, 2011
• The Hearts of Darkness at 10:30 p.m.
• Evalyn Awake at 11:30 p.m.
• Approach at 12:30 a.m.