popwreckoning

Lollapalooza is celebrating its 20th anniversary and as promised, the recently announced delivers some pretty hefty acts. 

Eminem, Foo Fighters, Coldplay, Muse, My Morning Jacket, Deadmau5 and A Perfect Circle will headline the annual event in Grant Park from August 5-7, 2011.

If you missed Death From Above 1979‘s Coachella reunion, Lolla gives fans another chance. There’s also many other classic acts such as The Cars to up and comers The Naked and Famous. You can see the rest of the announced lineup below:

Eminem, Foo Fighters, Coldplay, Muse, My Morning Jacket, Deadmau5, A Perfect Circle, Cee Lo Green, Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley & Nas, the Cars, Ween, Bright Eyes, Arctic Monkeys, Big Audio Dynamite, Deftones, Beirut, Explosions in the Sky, Death From Above 1979, Ratatat, Crystal Castles, Flogging Molly, Atmosphere, Cold War Kids, Lykke Li, Cage the Elephant, OK GO, Local Natives, The Kills, White Lies, Portugal. The Man, Two Door Cinema Club, Ellie Goulding, Delta Spirit, Beats Antique, Mountain Goats, Sleigh Bells, Manchester Orchestra, Smith Westerns, Best Coast, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, The Drums, Black Lips, Fitz & the Tantrums, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, City and Colour, Ryan Bingham and the Dead Horses, Cults, Noah and the Whale, Sam Adams, J. Roddy Walston and the Business, Tinie Tempah, Lissie, Dom, The Vaccines, Foster the People, Titus Andronicus, Mayer Hawthorne and the County, Chico Trujillo, The Naked and Famous, Phantogram, Rival Schools, Friendly Fires, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr., Reptar, Maps & Atlases, Fences, Tennis, An Horse, Young the Giant, Los Bunkers, Imelda May, Grouplove, Wye Oak, The Joy Formidable, Lord Huron, Disappears, Walk the Moon, Gold Motel, Iration, Ryan Leslie, Tab the Band, Skylar Grey, Christina Perri, Black Cards, The Pretty Reckless, Boy and Bear, Patrick Stump, Kids These Days, Young Man, The Kingston Springs, Lia Ices, The Chain Gang of 1974, Ximena Sarinana, Typhoon, Electric Touch, Kerli, Ruby Jane, Julia Easterlin, and DJ Mel.

On Perry’s Stage:

Girl Talk, Pretty Lights, Kid Cudi, the Bloody Beetroots Death Crew 77, AfroJack, Modeselektor, Skrillex, Perryetty vs. Chris Cox, Chuckie, The Glitch MOb, Busy P, Joachim Garraud, Super Mash Bros., Jay Electronica, 12th Planet, Daedulus, Feed Me, JackMaster, Collie Buddz, Savoy, Kyle Lucas and Captain Midnite, Ana Tijouxana, Midnight Conspiracy, L1ght, and Lady D.

Early Bird tickets have already sold out, but you can now buy regular priced tickets for $215 while supplies last. VIP Passes and Travel Packages are also available. A limited number of
Single Day tickets will go on sale June 7. Go here to buy tickets.

Organizers are expecting over 240,000 people.

Fun Fun Fun Fest (FFFun Fest) is a festival in Austin, Texas that is a blend between both Austin City Limits (ACL) and South By Southwest (SXSW). FFFun Fest is a quad-fecta of punk rock music, dance music, indie music, and standup comedy on four different stages located at Waterloo park in downtown Austin.

This year, FFFun Fest brought in a few bigger named bands that might appear at ACL, as well as some other smaller ones that you might find in the lineup of a venue during SXSW. However, since it is an Austin festival, and we do like to keep things on the weird side, this festival had it all. Everything that the concert goer might want at a music festival, they could find at FFFun Fest. The festival was equipped with the good eats of Austin, a few local shops, the 101x radio crew booth, as well as a half-pipe for whom ever wanted to skate it between bands.

The first day was filled with music pleasurable to your ears with such bands as The National (8:40 pm – 9:40 pm), Atmosphere (7:35 pm – 8:35 pm), Deerhoof (6:30 pm – 7:30 pm),…And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead (4:50 pm – 5:35 pm), all of which played their hearts out. Whether it be lions and tigers masquerading on the stage during Deerhoof or the drunkenness of The National, everything went pretty smoothly, other than the technical delays that occurred after every single band that went on. However, it did not make that big of a difference in the waiting time between each band. Unlike most music festivals, there was no hour long wait between each band. Each one went on right after the other with only a five to ten minute wait between them.

Later in the day, after everyone was done wandering from stage to stage checking out the different kinds of music that Fun Fest had to offer, when …And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead came on, it was then that everyone started to stake out their own spot for the headliners that were to come on shortly thereafter. I must say Trail Of Dead put on quite the performance for their fellow Austinites. It was not until Atmosphere came on that first night that anyone could really tell how many people where there at the festival (or how dusty it had gotten from the loose dirt on the ground that everyone seemed to be kicking up). Everyone in the audience was ready and Atmosphere knew it. And like all great musical front men (or women), he knew exactly how to work the crowd and get them involved to feel like a part of the music.

Once the crowd used up the last of their energy that they had for the day, it was time for the National to come on to play their mellow indie rock, which would end the night on a perfect note. Having never seen them live, I was unaware of how much alcohol the band could consume in one night, which only added to their performance: Matt Berninger fell over after trying to sit down on one of the monitors, randomly threw his mic stand into the audience in the middle of one of his songs, and ended the night by throwing his mic into the audience to fight over as he walked off the stage. No matter how drunk he might have been, the music was perfect. And that was only the end of the first night.

The second day was not as dramatic as The National’s performance, but was nonetheless entertaining. The headlining bands of the second night included Clap Your Hands Say Yeah (8:40 pm – 9:40 pm), Minus the Bear (7:35 pm – 8:35 pm), St. Vincent (6:30 pm – 7:30 pm), and Bad Brains (8:45 pm – 9:45 pm). Starting with St. Vincent (whom I had the pleasure of meeting after her set, lovely lady!), goes above and beyond when playing everywhere that she goes. She played her music from her soul and everyone listening knew it. Unlike the day before, the technical delays of day two were minimal, so Minus The Bear went on right after St. Vincent with perfect ease. Having played several songs off their new EP, the feeling that people got from their music was contagious and spread like a wild fire in California. The night ended with Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Perfect is about all I can say: it was beautiful.

Make the journey to Austin next fall to see what all Fun Fun Fun Fest is about!

Fun Fun Fun Fest: website | myspace

Dearest PopWreckoning friends and Austin natives Driver F hit up this year’s Fun Fun Fun Fest in their urban Texas oasis to bring us some highlights of the festival. Much thanks to Jeremi, Tyler and Dane for being so awesome and getting so much goodness on film.

Fun Fun Fun Fest: website | myspace
Danger Films: website | myspace | youtube
Driver F: website | myspace | Chase The White Whale review | interview with

Winners of the fifth annual “mtvU Woodie Awards” are:

Woodie of the Year – (Artist of the Year)
Paramore (Atlantic Records)

The Breaking Woodie – (Best Emerging Artist)
There For Tomorrow (Hopeless Records)

Left Field Woodie – (Most Original Artist)
Chromeo (Vice Records)

Best Video Woodie – (Best Video of the Year)
Motion City Soundtrack “It Had to be You” (Epitaph Records)

The Good Woodie – (Greatest Social Impact)
Jack’s Mannequin (Warner Bros Records) – “Dear Jack Foundation” – Established by lead singer, Andrew McMahon, a leukemia survivor, this group raises money and awareness for cancer research.

Performing Woodie – (Best Tour)
Atmosphere (Rhymesayers Entertainment)

College Radio Woodie – (Best Campus Radio Station)
91.7 FM, WICB Ithaca College

Best Music on Campus Woodie
The Bride Wore Black

Congrats to all the winners! Don’t forget to watch the awards on November19th at 8PM!

mtvu: website | “Woodies”

Monolith Music Festival at Denver’s Red Rock’s Amphitheatre was unbeatable with its gorgeous scenery and great line up. Below you will find a continuation of Saturday’s festivities on Sept. 13. Be sure to come back and check out what I thought of the following day and if you missed it, here is what I thought of the first part of Saturday here.

Saturday, Sept. 13, 2008. Pt. II.

4:30 P.M. to 5:15 P.M. Cut Copy – Esurance Main Stage

Cut Copy is one of those bands I was very excited to see, but much lik Foals, the guys came out and looked less than thrilled to be at the show. So, when they started off their synth heavy set a little slow, I was worried that they would be boring. I learned that appearances could be deceiving and they soon kicked up the beat and had the audience on their feet, dancing. Singer Dan Whitford‘s voice was the perfect compliment to the band’s electronica pop.

5:00 P.M. to 5:45 P.M. Holy F**K – New Belgium

Holy F**ck must have picked their name because they knew that after people saw them live, they’d say, “Holy f**k! that band is good.” The group’s experimentation with sound had the most interesting effects and the audience was especially curious to see what the band was going to do with the old fashioned tape machine they had set up on stage. They were a great band to follow the prior electronica group, Cut Copy.

5:45 P.M. to 6:45 P.M. The Fratellis – Esurance Main Stage

Brit imports The Fratellis has had audiences intrigued by their decorative stage set, but I can’t say I am one of the intrigued. I like their songs well enough, but they just didn’t blow me away like some of the other groups I had seen that day. Although, drummer Mince Fratelli was one of the most energetic drummers of the day and he seemed genuinely excited to be performing at Red Rocks.

6:30 P.M. to 7:10 P.M. A Place to Bury Strangers – Gigbot Stage

I had been hearing a lot of about how A Place to Bury Strangers just tears the stage apart, so I went into this set with high expectations. However, I think something was off because while the band sounded fine, they didn’t have people moving and dancing quite as well as Holy F**ck and Cut Copy. Granted, I think seeing them in a small club after having a few drinks would have been a better first encounter with this group.

7:15 P.M. to 8:15 P.M. Vampire Weekend – Esurance Main Stage

I love Vampire Weekend and I suggest buckling in for this bandwagon because this ride isn’t stopping anytime soon. While they were a bit more bubbly and pop sounding than many of the other bands at this festival, they had one of the best sets of the day. They pleased the crowd by playing all their well-known songs with a few twists on the arrangements. The band also made the crowd quite literally scream as the introduced two new songs. Vampire Weekend seemed quite at ease playing to an amphitheatre audience, so I would not be surprised if they shortly found themselves in a similar setting in more cities.

Set list:
Mansard Roof
Campus
Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa
M79
White Sky (new song)
Bryn
A-Punk
One (Blake’s Got A New Face)
I Stand Corrected
The Kids Don’t Stand A Chance
Giant (new song)
Oxford Comma
Walcott

8:15 P.M. to 8:45 P.M. Cory Chisel & The Wandering Sons – Madeloud.com Acoustic Stage

Cory Chisel & the Wandering Sons were tucked away on the acoustic stage, which is a pity because they were a set that it would have been a shame to miss. Relaxing piano melodies, Chisel’s sweet vocals and the Wandering Sons, which included the appearance of a Band of Horses member, made for a special treat.

8:45 P.M. to 10:00 P.M. Silversun Pickups – Esurance Main Stage

Silversun Pickups lead singer Brian Aubert does things with a falsetto I would not have thought imaginable if I hadn’t heard it in person. The only thing that was disappointing about this set was that the crowd size seemed somewhat diminished after the turn out for Vampire Weekend on the same stage. The band tested out some new songs, and the sophomore album sounds promising from those samples.

9:10 P.M. to 9:50 P.M. The Presets – Gigbot Stage

I hadn’t heard of the Presets until I arrived in Denver and discovered this was one of the most buzzed about groups at the festival. Determined to get out from under whatever rock I must have been living under, I checked out this electronic outfit. The overflowing crowd loved dancing to the group’s Faint-like numbers. And while I was entertained, I again thought the Presets didn’t quite live up to the high bar set by the day’s earlier electronica outfits.

9:45 P.M. to 10:30 P.M. Atmosphere – New Belgium Stage

Another hyped up act was Atmosphere. I really enjoy the single, “You,” but Slug seemed to spend so much of his time trying to get the audience to get their hands up inbetween songs that it seemed hardly worth the wait for the duo to get to their actual music. I seriously think he spent at least half the set saying stupid one-liners like, “Denver, put your hands up cause this is a stick-up.” This group is over-hyped.

10:30 P.M. to 12:00 P.M. DeVotchKa – Esurance Main Stage

Denver locals DeVotchKa headlined Saturday’s festivities. They quickly showed they earned that headlining spot by offering the audience an ecletic mix of instruments. As if it wasn’t enough to watch Tom Hagerman on violin and accordian, Jeanie Schroder on sousaphone and acoustic bass, Sean King on drums and trumpet, and vocalist Nick Urata on guitar and theremin, the group was also joined by a small string section. To see this group and hear their full sound reverberated off the rocks was the perfect close to the day.

Check back for Sunday’s installment.

Monolith Music Festival: website | Saturday line-up | Monolith, pt. 1

Photos and Writing by: Bethany

This year’s Monolith Festival held September 13th and 14th in Morrison, CO at Red Rocks Amphitheatre has an amazing line-up. Check out Saturday’s schedule now:

Esurance Main Stage
*10:30 PM :: DeVotchKa
8:45 PM :: Silversun Pickups
7:15 PM :: Vampire Weekend
5:45 PM :: The Fratellis
*4:30 PM :: Cut Copy
3:15 PM :: Superdrag
*2:00 PM :: Foals
1:00 PM :: Dressy Bessy

New Belgium Stage
*9:45 PM :: Atmosphere
*8:00 PM :: Del tha Funky Homosapien
6:30 PM :: Mickey Avalon
*5:00 PM :: Holy Fuck
3:45 PM :: John Vanderslice
2:45 PM :: The Muslims
1:45 PM :: The Veils
12:45 PM :: Electric Touch

WOXY.com Stage @ Southwest Airlines Heart of the Rock Theatre
*8:30 PM :: White Denim
7:10 PM :: Pop Levi
*5:10 PM :: Liam Finn
4:40 PM :: The Hood Internet
3:10 PM :: Cameron McGill & What Army
2:00 PM :: Port O’ Brien
1:10 PM :: Lovelikefire

Rock Room Stage
*9:10 PM :: The Presets
7:50 PM :: The Night Marchers
6:30 PM :: A Place To Bury Strangers
5:10 PM :: The Photo Atlas
3:50 PM :: Blitzen Trapper
2:30 PM :: The Morning Benders
1:30 PM :: Colour Revolt

MadeLoud.com Acoustic Stage
10:00 PM :: Rob Drabkin
8:15 PM :: Cory Chisel and the Wandering Sons
*6:45 PM :: PWRFL POWER
5:15 PM :: Scratch Track
4:00 PM :: Rock Plaza Central
2:45 PM :: KaiserCartel
1:15 PM :: Noah Harris
12:30 PM :: Erin Ivey

Monolith Festival: website | customize schedule | buy tickets

*check these sets out for sure!

Atmosphere are ready to “Paint The Nation” and will do so by playing over 50 shows, including several major festivals, across the US this Fall in support of their new album, When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold, which makes me laugh every single time. The full lineup of the “Paint The Nation” Tour is Atmosphere featuring special guests Abstract Rude, Blueprint and DJ Rare Groove.

The first leg of the tour is below and the second leg will be announced next week.

Tour Dates:
Sep 10 – Fargo, ND @ The Venue
Sep 11 – Sioux Falls, SD @ Sioux Empire Expo Center
Sep 12 – Omaha, NE @ Slowdown
Sep 13 – Denver, CO @ Monolifth
Sep 15 – Boise, ID @ Knitting Factory
Sep 16 – Missoula, MT @ Wilma Theater
Sep 18 – Eugene, OR @ McDonald Theater
Sep 19 – Sacramento, CA @ Empire
Sep 20 – San Diego, CA @ Street Scene
Sep 21 – Bakersfield, CA @ the Dome
Sep 22 – Santa Cruz, CA @ Catalyst
Sep 25 – Los Angeles, CA @ Wiltern
Sep 26 – as Vegas, NV @ HOB
Sep 27 – Phoenix, AZ @ Edge Fest
Sep 28 – Tucson, AZ @ KFMA Fall Ball
Sep 30 – Houston, TX @ Warehouse Live
Oct 1 – New Orleans, LA @ Tipitina’s
Oct 3 – Ft. Lauderdale, FL @ Revolution
Oct 4 – Orlando, FL @ Firestone
Oct 6 – Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade
Oct 7 – Ashville, NC @ Orange Peel
Oct 8 – Richmond, VA @ Toads Place
Oct 10 – Baltimore @ Ram’s Head
Oct 11- New Haven, CT @ Toad’s Place

Atmosphere: myspace | watch “You” (live on Letterman)
RhymeSayers: website

In an attempt to give back to his fans, something rarely seen in the music industry thanks to greedy labels and management, Atmosphere has released a thirteen song album free of charge to his fans. The album, called Strictly Leakage can be found here.

I guess it really is the season for giving. Nice going, Slug.