popwreckoning

As a relatively new fan of the Brazilian electro-pop quintet CSS, I had few expectations for what kind of a live show they might put on. I mean, I’ve been to enough shows by now and lived in New York for long enough that well, how crazy could a bunch of art school rockers really get? Well, you can imagine my surprise by what turned out to be a riotous, naked, drunken, eccentric electro-party punk circus from outer space that bounced hard enough that the rickety wooden floors of Webster Hall felt as if they just might buckle beneath us. Webster Hall’s main stage is upstairs, so we very well could have collapsed the place last night, and no one seemed to care.

It was non-stop hedonism from the first song. Fans were rabid, chanting “CSS” and jumping in unison with camera phones held high. They kept the place pretty dark so instead of feeling like you were at some well-orchestrated show, it felt more intimate and spontaneous, almost like a giant house party. Better yet, imagine it’s your BFF’s sweet sixteen and her parents hired Cirque du Soleil to perform, but they showed up on acid wielding electric guitars instead of swings. That’s more like it.

I have to admit, as I looked around, I noticed that it was a somewhat younger crowd. Regardless, those of us mingling towards the back couldn’t believe what we were seeing and with dropped jaws, we put our drinks down every once in awhile to bang around a bit, too. Lead singer, Lovefoxxx was a dancing, head banging, and gyrating machine. Her sweet breathy early 90’s pop croon bounced atop seering electric guitars and keys. It was just the right mix of craft and fun.

About midpoint through the set things got really rowdy. Fans were jumping up on stage every few minutes, and the frustrated bouncer dragged them off by the hooks of their backpacks. I have to mention the wasted girl that kept appearing on stage every few songs. She donned a crown, a ripped mesh tube top, guzzled beer, shook her ass, fell down, and crawled off stage only to reappear a few songs later. We don’t know what she was all about, but it certainly got the debauchery churning.

As the night progressed, fans continued jumping up on stage so frequently that the band relented and began taunting and pulling fans onstage themselves. By the encore, there must have been at least 30 people onstage dancing, taking their clothes off, stage diving, and possibly performing lewd acts (this is where mesh tube top girl made her final appearance and then passed out flat on the stage); it was one big rock and roll orgy.

For a band that calls themselves Cansei de Ser Sexy (translation: “tired of being sexy”) they were anything but that.

“Rat Is Dead (Rage)” (download)

CSS: website | myspace | Donkey review | @ lollapalooza 2008 | @ austin city limits 2008

Although Hot Lava’s Lavalogy is an October release with song titles that include “Mummy Beach” and “Ghosties,” this is not a special Halloween collection. In fact, it is a summery, effervescent garage pop album filled with hot tracks. Seriously, you can actually hear a sizzle on album opener “Brainex.”

Allison Apperson often sings of weird subject matters like in “Blue Dragon” or “O Retorno Da Lovefoxxx,” the latter being a little tribute to buzz band CSS. But the odd topic choices make for a fun album. I enjoyed hearing her get fired up over technology in “Apple+Option+Fire.”

The album struggles between the norm and the abnormal, not just lyrically, but instrumentally as electronic effects are paired with catchy guitar hooks and bass lines.

Hot Lava’s Lavalogy is released by Bar/None Records October 7.

Tracklisting:
01. Brainex
02. Apple+Option+Fire
03. Blue Dragon
04. Over It
05. Mummy Beach
06. Iggy
07. O Retorno Da Lovefoxxx
08. Resolutions ‘08
09. JPG In The Sun
10. Ghosties

Hot Lava: website | myspace

Written by: Bethany

Arriving in Austin to sun and 90 degrees was only the beginning of an amazing weekend after leaving a gray and blustery Philadelphia behind. I stepped out of Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, soaking in the sun and admiring the native cacti growing freely, not a sight I’m used to. I soaked in the city’s sights via the 350 and 331 buses (oh yeah) and was beyond stoked for kicking off Austin City Limits with the Paste pre-party at Emo’s.

media wristband

After partying into the early hours with other media people, music lovers, and PopWreckoning staff, I headed back to Driver F’s pad to catch some sleep before heading to the bus station to pick up Editor Joshua at 6am (ugh, so early!). After some nappage upon returning from the bus station, Josh and I prepared ourselves for the promising first day of Austin City Limits. We scored some breakfast at Mr. Natural, a delicious 100% vegetarian ‘fast food’ restaurant on South Lamar Boulevard before walking the couple miles to Zilker Park.

Once we’d arrived at the park, Josh and I stopped by Press Check-In to get our wristbands for the weekend and headed into the park to catch some music we loved and some music we’d never heard of. There was a bit of a snafu with photo passes, so we don’t have great photos, but we’ve hooked up with new friends at Quiet Color to use some of their shots.

1:30-2:30 // Yeasayer // Dell Stage
Yeasayer was awesome. These experimental Brooklyn kids know how to put on a show. They definitely set the mood for the weekend, which is why I’d planned on catching them first. Their energy grew with each song, in turn pumping up the crowd for a rowdy weekend of music amongst the masses.

Having seen Vampire Weekend at Popped! Philadelphia and not having been super impressed with them there, Josh and I made our way to the media tent for some cold beverages and exited the park to a soundtrack of “Oxford Comma,” which sounded great, but not enough to deter us from our quest of Mango Green Tea Sweet Tea and XXX Vitamin Water.

2:30-3:30 // Jakob Dylan & the Gold Mountain Rebels // AT&T Stage
We happened back into the park as Jakob Dylan and the Gold Mountain Rebels were owning the AT&T Stage. Dylan, straying from success maker The Wallflowers‘ path, sounds strikingly like his famous father. Both Josh and I were absolutely impressed with the folksy tunes that flowed from the stage across Zilker Park.

3:30-4:30 // Del Tha Funkee Homosapien // AT&T Blue Room Stage
Nee Teren Delvon Jones, this man kept it old school and breathed new life into the air as one of the few hip hop acts on the festival’s 130 band roster. Admittedly new to loving hip hop, it wasn’t until Gorillaz’s “Clint Eastwood” back in 2001 that I first heard his rhymes. As recently as a few months ago, I scored Delton 3030 and knew that Del tha Funkee Homosapien was not to be missed.

Later in the day, I happened to be hanging out in the media area while Del was being interviewed. He is a very cool guy. Following Del’s interview, Gogol Bordello was had a photo shoot at the Paste tent, so Josh snapped some pictures while I sipped on a Tito’s and Red Bull.

4:30-5:15 // M. Ward // WaMu Stage
Matt Ward was born to play the guitar. While it was nothing short of having seen him play twice previously this summer at Virgin Mobile and in Philadelphia, it was nice to see Ward shine on his own without the beautiful distraction that is Zooey Deschanel, the She to his Him.

M. Ward, Photo: Jessica McGinley

5:15-6:00 // Mates of State // Austin Ventures Stage
Having seen them the previous night, I was more excited to hang in the media tent for happy hour, but lingered long enough to hear this duo’s delicious pop sounds.

5:45-6:45 // Jenny Lewis // WaMu Stage
Ms. Rilo Kiley herself played a strikingly beautiful set aided by friends such as Jonathan Rice as her backing band. Jenny belted with an enviable set of pipes as she played mostly songs from her recently released sophomore solo album Acid Tongue. Notables from the performance include the album’s title track, “Carpetbaggers” and “Fernando,” but then I also find those to be album highlights.

Photo: Zander, Quiet Color

The crowd, not surprisingly, adored her. While it’s come to my attention that there are two camps of Jenny fans, those who praise her solo efforts and those who believe she’s only great with fellow Rilo Kiley band mate Blake Sennett, I can only say that her live performance is dynamic and should not be missed regardless of your thoughts on her albums.

Photo: Jenny Lewis

6:30-7:30 // N.E.R.D. // AMD Stage
Following the lovely Ms. Lewis, I wandered past the Austin Ventures to catch a quick listen of Eli Young Band as I headed over to the AMD Stage for N.E.R.D.  who were just amazing! Pharrell, Chad Hugo and Shay Haley killed. The crowd was totally into it both on and off stage, as Pharell invited some ladies on stage to dance.

7:30-8:30 // The Swell Season // AT&T Blue Room Stage
I’ve heard nothing but wonderful things about The Swell Season, but actually found them to be quite boring at Austin City Limits. The audience was massive and the light show was fantastic, but I just never got into the music. I’d try my hand at an indoor Swell Season show, but I was left unimpressed.

Neither Josh nor I had any interest in The Mars Volta or Manu Chao, and though I was urged by a cab driver earlier that morning to check out Alejandro Escovedo, we split. A hot and dusty day in Zilker Park required showering and dolling up before we could hit downtown Austin for after parties galore.

9:00-11:59 // Gnarls Barkley // Stubb’s BBQ
On our way to the Antics after party at 508 House, featuring a DJ set by CSS, we stopped at Stubb’s to catch a brief chunk of Gnarls Barkley’s set. Josh and I knew we’d catch them Sunday, so we didn’t stick around long, preferring to hit up the Antics party instead.

10:00-?? // Antics After Party feat. CSS // 508 House
Kickin’ it to 508 House was so worth every single second spent there. The line was around the corner for a good part of the night and with good reason. We hadn’t realized that “House” in the name was so apt — we were literally at a house party. Tito’s had some handmade vodka free-flowing, Antics/Toyota were set up making shirts on the far and of the yard, chicks were hanging out of windows, CSS was DJing as kids danced madly and Wayne Coyne (yeah, that guy from The Flaming Lips) sat in a patio chair sipping a drink and casually chatting.

Following CSS’ sweet DJ set, we were treated to a new set which include cheesy dance jams “Vogue” and “Bootylicious.” Once we’d danced our faces out, we hit the streets of downtown again, wandering 6th Street in hopes of a new form of entertainment, but were mostly surprised to find a lot of bros and hos. Bored and slightly annoyed at the bro/ho-deo, we high-tailed it back to chez Driver F for some sleep to prepare for day 2!

Austin City Limits: website

Up next: Day 2

The other day we strongly recommended checking out this year’s Monolith Festival held September 13th and 14th in Morrison, CO at Red Rocks Amphitheatre. We’ve already posted Saturday’s schedule and now you can check at the amazing line-up for Sunday posted below:

Esurance Main Stage
10:30 PM :: Justice
8:45 PM :: TV on the Radio
*7:15 PM :: Band of Horses
*5:45 PM :: Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings
4:15 PM :: The Avett Brothers
*3:15 PM :: Tokyo Police Club
2:00 PM :: The Rosewood Thieves
1:00 PM :: Fox 31 “Fox Rocks” Contest Winner

New Belgium Stage
9:45 PM :: CSS (Cansei de Ser Sexy)
8:00 PM :: Akron/Family
*6:30 PM :: The Kills
*5:00 PM :: Tilly and the Wall
*3:45 PM :: The Cribs
*2:45 PM :: Snowden
1:45 PM :: Astra Moveo
12:45 PM :: The Elms

WOXY.com Stage @ Southwest Airlines Heart of the Rock Theatre
8:30 PM :: Dan Le Sac vs. Scroobius Pip
*7:10 PM :: Does It Offend You, Yeah?
*5:50 PM :: The Whigs
*4:30 PM :: Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson
3:10 PM :: Grampall Jookabox
2:00 PM :: Pomegranates
1:00 PM :: Jukebox the Ghost

Rock Room Stage
9:10 PM :: The Giraffes
*7:50 PM :: Airborne Toxic Event
6:30 PM :: Chester French
5:10 PM :: Hearts of Palm
3:50 PM :: Moonspeed
2:30 PM :: American Bang
1:30 PM :: The Chain Gang of 1974

MadeLoud.com Acoustic Stage
10:00 PM :: Dave Beegle
8:15 PM :: Paper Bird
6:45 PM :: The Wheel
5:15 PM :: Joshua Novak
4:00 PM :: Lynsey Smith
2:45 PM :: David Moore
1:15 PM :: Alyse Black
12:30 PM :: Miles Nielson

Monolith Festival: website | customize schedule | buy tickets

*recommended sets!

Despite some rain late Thursday night, the weather in Chicago’s Grant Park was perfect for this year’s 2008 Lollapalooza festival. A nice breeze off the lake made this the perfect weekend to host the excellent and diverse lineup of music. The park was kept in pristine conditions as crews constantly walked around encouraging recycling and a cleaner environment. This festival knows what it’s doing and is one of the best organized and most considerate (they even had lots vegetarian options at the food booths!) shows in the business.

Lollapalooza by Jeff Gentner

The whole weekend was sold out for the first time in the history of the festival. Friday had a record-breaking turnout as headliners Radiohead drew a sold out crowd of 75,000. Although, the earlier portion of the day wasn’t quite as packed, a solid crowd showed up to see the fine bands performing at the different stages leading up to Radiohead.

Starting off my day was Butch Walker on the PlayStation 3 Stage. Walker started his set solo with some fun loops on two new songs off his highly anticipated new album Sycamore Meadows before his band joined him on “State Line.” Walker performed a solid set showing that he is just as good an artist as he is a producer. If the new songs from his set are any indication of his new album, it is going to be phenomenal.

Butch Walker by Adam Bielawski

Any act following up the strong set by Walker would have a hard time not falling a little flat. Sure enough, the next act on the Bud Light Stage The Go! Team did just that. Maybe it is all that jumping around, but just because you want to be energetic in your presence doesn’t mean you should let the vocals suffer. Instrumental tracks like “Junior Kickstart” were just fine, but anytime Ninja would open her mouth I kind of wanted to go ninja and karate chop her throat.

Ninja of the Go! Team by Alberto Trevino

After the poor pitches of the Go! Team, Welsh singer Duffy’s soulful vocals were a welcome refreshment at the PlayStation 3 Stage. The young singer definitely has some pipes, but her stage presence could use a little work. Her hand motions quickly got repetitive, but maybe with a little experience, her set will get a little fresher.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pmk_DTKpAw]

Following Duffy, I caught a few songs by rockers Louis XIV over on the Citi Stage. Despite a few technical difficulties, the crowd went wild over radio single “Finding Out True Love Is Blind.” I didn’t stick around too long for Louis XIV because I didn’t want to miss a second of gypsy punk group Gogol Bordello over on the AT&T Stage and this was definitely not the set to miss. This raucous set was exactly what the crowd needed as an energy boost to get through the rest of the day. After walking around all morning in the sun, Gogol Bordello brought the crowd back to their feet for a big dance party as the band played through their accordion rock set.

Gogol Bordello by Chase Agnello-Dean

Next up was Lawrence, Kansas indie rockers Mates of State. Their gentler set on the MySpace Stage was beautiful and it was a nice touch when the couple was joined by some strings. The crowd loved them, but it was hard to settle into their set after jumping around with Gogol Bordello.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-3xCSSSkHA]

Playing at the same time as Mates of State across the venue at the PlayStation 3 Stage was songstress Cat Power. Cat’s voice was just as great live as it is recorded. It is a shame that her set had to be the same time as Mates of State because they attract the same crowd.

Cat Power by Alberto Trevino

Toward the end of Cat Power, the crowd quickly scrambled for a place to see The Raconteurs perform on the Bud Light Stage. Jack White and crew sounded great, but there was something a little off about their set. It could have been that they weren’t in their usual uniform, but street clothes or it could have been the technical difficulties causing Brendan Benson to drop out during the vocals of “Level,” but it just wasn’t as tight as their club performances.

Jack White of the Raconteurs by Stephanie Janisch

I stopped at the Citi Stage for a few songs from Brazilian electro group CSS. Lovefoxxx must be tired of looking sexy because she sported a bright red spandex outfit with ruffles wrapping around it. CSS sounded a lot better live than their recording, surprisingly, and the crowd loved dancing around to their beats.

CSS by Abbey Braden

Radiohead closed out Friday on the AT&T stage. Thom Yorke and the rest of the guys thrilled the crowd by combining their tight instrumental skills with an amazing light show and fireworks as they performed songs like “Airbag,” “Fake Plastic Trees” and “There, There.” Friday’s crowd went home pleased after Radiohead’s double encore.

The crowd during Radiohead by Alberto Trevino

Radiohead by Alberto Trevino

Radiohead wasn’t the only reason to attend this festival and Saturday looked just as packed. British group The Ting Tings was the perfect start to the day. Katie White (Interview at Diesel U Music Lounge at the Hard Rock Hotel) easily draws the eyes of the crowd as she energetically moves around singing their hits, but Jules de Martino should not be overlooked as he plays and sings with precision.

The Ting Tings by Alberto Trevino

There was a little lag after the Ting Tings. Dr. Dog took to the MySpace stage, but was unmemorable. Foals played some fun dance songs over at the Citi Stage, but didn’t stand up to the high standard for other electro dance groups set by the Ting Tings. MGMT sounded phenomenal live, but their disinterest in a majority of their own set detracted from the performance. They finally loosened up and started bantering by the end of their set.

MGMT by Abbey Braden

Brand New was the band to beat for best performance of the day, although Jesse Lacey’s attitude may have detracted from the musical experience causing many to quickly forget just how good this performance was in actuality. Joined by Kevin Devine for their first song, they took to the AT&T Stage and put on the most powerful performance of the day. Jesse Lacey’s performance is better than ever, but he appears just as moody.
He seemed to be in a good mood at first as he seemingly jokingly told the crowd, “You should all be at Explosions in the Sky. You’re all fools.” But as the set progressed through “Sowing Season,” “Sic Transit Gloria,” “Jesus Christ” and a new song (tentatively called “Bride”), Lacey grew more and more frustrated with a pocket of disinterested crowd members before finally climaxing and throwing his guitar into the drum set and leaving the stage a full fifteen minutes before the set was meant to end. Despite this mishap, this was still one of the best performances of the day and the part of the crowd that was interested was left confused and chanting for an encore.

After Brand New, I caught some of Okkervil River’s set across the venue at the PlayStation 3 Stage and their sweet indie rock was a nice respite. They were followed by Broken Social Scene over on the Bud Light Stage, but BSS is more suited for a smaller setting where their fun instrumentations can completely engulf the listener. As great as Okkervil and Broken were, they just couldn’t match the amphitheatric power of Brand New’s set.

Okkervil River by Amrit Singh

To be quite honest, the crowd gathering for Saturday’s headliners Rage Against the Machine didn’t really appeal to us and we headed out early to get a head start home, which is lucky we did because the Chicago Transit system got backed up by three hours from the large crowd leaving Lollapalooza.

Lollapalooza continued on to Sunday and featured the usual buzz acts like Black Kids, but the real buzz swarming the venue all weekend was the suspected appearance of democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. Unfortunately, Obama didn’t put in an appearance, but there were still plenty of special guests present at the festival. While Stars member Amy Millan joined the boys in Broken Social Scene on the Bud Light Stage, guitarist Slash joined festival co-founder Perry Farrell for a few songs. Plus, there were plenty of celebrities to spot like Lindsay Lohan and the Wentzes if you just kept your eyes open. This festival was filled with fun surprises and definitely not a weekend to miss.

Lollapalooza: website | schedule | setlists

Written by: Bethany

Black Kids Partie Traumatic :: review | stream album | download “I’m Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance”

¡Forward, Russia! Life Processes :: review

CSS Donkey :: review | download “Rat Is Dead (Rage)”

Dr. Dog Fate

The Curse of Company Leo Magnets Joins A Gang

Brothers and Sisters Fortunately

Sunfold Toy Tugboats

Low vs Diamond Low vs Diamond

Pas/Cal Raised on Mathew, Mark, Luke & Laura

Sky Eats Airplane Sky Eats Airplane

Avett Brothers Second Gleam

Bodies of Water A Certain Feeling

Brendan Canning and Broken Social Scene Presents… Something For All of U

Brian Jonestown Massacre: Just Like Kicking Jesus EP

Candlebox Into the Sun

Captain Beefheart It Comes to You in a Plain Brown Wrapper

The Classic Crime The Silver Cord

Clientele That Night a Forest Grew

Doap Nixon Doap Nixon Sour Diesel

Eliza McCarthy Dreams of Breathing Underwater

Faun Fables A Table Forgotten EP

Gentleman Auction House Alphabet Graveyard

Individuals Fields/Aquamarine

Jay Reatard/ Deerhunter split 7″

Lackthereof Your Anchor

Miley Cyrus Breakout

Nine Inch Nails The Slip

One Day As A Lion One Day As A Lion

Pacific! Reveries

With a band name that, in Portuguese, stands for an alleged Beyoncé quote that says, “I got tired of being sexy,” Brazilian act Cansei de Ser Sexy, or CSS, already sounds like they should be a fun and witty group. They have been praised for blending Portuguese and English as well as daily life with pop culture, but they are most noted for having their song “Music Is My Hot Hot Sex” featured in popular mp3 players’ commercials. Their 2008 release Donkey on Sub Pop should have been just as witty and fun, but after listening to it I feel more like a jack ass for thinking Donkey could live up to my hype.

While the album has a better production quality than their previous release, stylistically and lyrically it is lacking. The first track, “Jager Yoga,” starts off promising with a slow build from the crashing cymbals to the smooth bass line, the addition of the first guitar and then the second guitar comes in. Quite pleasant so far, but then Lovefoxxx comes in with Tilly and the Wall style vocals and her bold claim that this group, “Didn’t come into the world to walk around.; / We came to take you out.” This turns out to be a boast that the group is unable to live up to as few of the tracks remaining on the album are really worth getting up to go out and dance.

Even if that song made you want to go out and party with the group instead of sitting passively by, the next track will have you grounded. “Rat Is Dead (Rage)” borders on grunge and features a slower tempo, angsty lyrics and an obnoxious screech from Lovefoxxx’s vocals.

As the band starts to get back into the electronica dance sound and leave the grunge and rock behind, the songs do improve. Rock is just not suited for the vocal stylings;again and again, poor vocal matching with the instrumental patterns was a problem for this record. However, songs like current single “Left Behind” and “Move” really do make you want to go out and maybe party with the band like the first track promises.

This group has potential with their amazing bass riffs and funky drum beats, but this album isn’t quite ready to be the soundtrack for all the dance clubs.

Donkey by CSS is released on Sub Pop on July 22, 2008.

Tracklisting:
01. Jager Yoga
02. Rat is Dead (Rage)
03. Let’s Reggae All Night
04. Give Up
05. Left Behind
06. Beautiful Song
07. How I Became Paranoid
08. Move
09. I Fly
10. Believe Achieve
11. Air Painter

CSS: website | myspace | download “Rat Is Dead (Rage)”

Written by: Bethany