popwreckoning

For much of my adolescence, I wished I had been born years earlier so that I could have been the right age to experience – and appreciate – the 1980s, the way it had been meant to be experienced by a British new wave fan. I’ve had the opportunity to see several of my heroes of that era in concert already (including Duran Duran, Morrissey, OMD, and David Byrne [sans the rest of Talking Heads unfortunately]) but Erasure was still not checked off the list. Until this past Tuesday at the 9:30 Club, the first of 2 nights the electronic duo would be performing in the Nation’s Capital. To be fair, I was never an uberfan of the pair and really went to go hear the hits and get a preview of tracks from their new album Tomorrow’s World coming out in October on Mute Records, but that didn’t matter. There were plenty of obsessed and and terribly devoted Erasure fans at the front who had been queueing outside the venue for hours, appropriately attired in electric blue ponchos to battle the drenching rain remnants of Hurricane Lee tracking up the Eastern seaboard. I’ve never seen such soggy fans so happy.

I was so pleased when I heard Frankmusik (aka Vincent Frank to his mother) would be opening for the ’80s titans. South Londoner Frank released his debut album, Complete Me, in early 2009 and I still adore it to this day: it’s synth pop at its finest, and Frank is just the singer/songwriter to do this style. The selection of him as opener makes sense: he produced Erasure’s latest album Tomorrow’s World, and there’ s a definite respect and reverence going between the two acts. The unfortunate part: as he so cruelly pointed out at the start of his set, he said he realized that no one knew who he was and that he was going to do some old stuff, some new stuff, and some covers, no doubt to appeal to a crowd that were obviously only there for the headliner.

Personally, I would have preferred if he and his backing band (a singer/keyboardist and a drummer) had played more songs from his debut album (I wanted to hear my favorite song of his, “Confusion Girl,” but no dice), but I have to give the man his due. These fans, mostly 30 years old and up, took to him once he broke outs snippets of covers like Paul Simon‘s “You Can Call Me Al” and Stardust‘s “The Music Sounds Better With You.” He did finish with two newer songs, both with more of a r&b bent than I usually like, but I think they have a chance of doing really well here in America. The single “No ID” was just released this week and according to the Frankmusik Twitter, the track has already made it to #48 into the iTunes electronic chart, no thanks to the American mainstream radio market. “Do It in the AM,” a song Frank collaborated with Far East Movement, is the title of his forthcoming album due out on September 27, and it’s a hot tune. Check out the video for the song below.

Erasure fans from way back packed the 9:30. Was it because they were nostalgic for the music of their youth? Did they want to hear their heroes’ new music? Or maybe a little bit of both? I’ll never know for sure, but gosh, Erasure fans can be loud and unrelenting in their approval of their favorites. As mentioned in this review previously, I don’t know the band’s back catalogue as well as many of the other people in attendance that night, but it didn’t matter. Like most ’80s bands who have dutifully gone back on tour to wow their devoted and to proffer new tunes, Erasure does it with style and plenty of campy charm. This mostly has to do with frontman Andy Bell, and I apologize in advance now, but I can’t help but use his name and “flamboyant” in the same sentence. How else do you describe a man who arrives onstage with a Trojan helmet and a red sequined jacket? Once the jacket was removed, a diamond-encrusted belt and leather corset were revealed. (My good friend who went with me to this show said the first time she’d seen the band at Merriweather Post Pavilion in the late ’80s supporting Duran Duran, Bell was wearing buttless chaps, so this was a definite improvement in style.) This corset was later cut off, literally with a pair of scissors, by his bandmate Vince Clarke (programming/guitar) and replaced by Devo t-shirt shreds held together with safety pins. I mean, you can’t dream up this stuff!

But forget the “look” for a moment. Here is a band that has released 13 albums (Tomorrow’s World their 14th) and you can’t do that unless you’re incredibly talented and incredibly dedicated to the process of making music for the masses. The uberfans I mentioned earlier? They were contorting their bodies to the music, singing along to every word. Me? While I adored the live versions of their classics of “Chains of Love” and my personal favorite “A Little Respect” (a new version of this song’s video is above), I also really enjoyed songs like the flirty “Push Me Shove Me,” the attitude of “Love to Hate You,” and the majesty of “Oh L’amour.” New songs like “Fill Us With Fire” and “A Whole Lotta Love Run Riot” prove Bell and Clarke still have it, even after all these years. The two great backing singers in red and black were both visually and musically stunning additions to the performance. I’m a little confused by the gigantic gargoyles that were sitting onstage during the show, but I’m guessing it has something to do with Tomorrow’s World. That might be the album’s title, but on Tuesday night, the 9:30 Club was most definitely Erasure’s world. Fab show, guys.

Erasure Set List
Sonos Luminos (new song?)
Always
When I Start to (Break It All Down)
Blue Savannah
Fill Us With Fire
Drama!
Save Me Darling
Ship of Fools
Chorus
Breathe
Victim of Love
Alien (acoustic version)
Push Me Shove Me
Love to Hate You
I Lose Myself
A Whole Lotta Love Run Riot
Breath of Life
Chains of Love
Sometimes
A Little Respect
//
Oh L’amour
Stop!

Tour Dates
Sept 08 Philadelphia, PA. Theatre of Living Arts
Sept 10 Boston, MA. House of Blues
Sept 11 Toronto, ON. Sound Academy
Sept 13 New York, NY. Terminal 5
Sept 14 New York, NY. Terminal 5
Sept 16 Chicago, IL. Congress Theatre
Sept 17 Chicago, IL, Congress Theatre
Sept 18 Milwaukee, WI. Pabst Theater
Sept 20 Indianapolis, IN. Vogue Theatre
Sept 21 St. Louis, MO. The Pageant
Sept 23 Austin, TX. ACL Live
Sept 24 Houston, TX. Verizon Wireless Theatre
Sept 25 Dallas, TX. House of Blues
Sept 27 Denver, CO. Ogden Theater
Sept 28 Salt Lake City, UT. Kingsbury Hall
Sept 30 Las Vegas, NV. The Palms Concert Theater
Oct 01 Los Angeles, CA. Hollywood Palladium
Oct 02 San Diego, CA. House of Blues
Oct 04 Oakland, CA. Fox Theater
Oct 05 Portland, OR. Crystal Ballroom
Oct 06 Seattle, WA. Neptune

Erasure: website | myspace | Erasure eyeing October album release, touring North America this Fall
Frankmusik: website | myspace | @ 9:30 Club, 2010, on Perez Hilton Tour

I had the opportunity to ask Chris Freeman of Manchester Orchestra a few questions. The band is currently in the midst of a national tour with co-headliner Cage The Elephant.

Devon Mueller, Popwreckoning: How does it feel to be releasing your third album Simple Math?

Chris Freeman, Manchester Orchestra: It feels great. We’re really very proud of this record and we’re just happy that it’s finally out. After sitting on this thing for as long as we did, one begins to gain a growing desire for feedback. You start to get into your own head about the whole thing in hopes that people will like it.

DM: Did you ever imagine the band being where it is today?

CF: Everybody hopes to be the biggest band in the world, or at least I think they do. On the slow climb that we’ve been on for the past few years, there are always moments of disbelief when we realize that we’ve been blessed enough to be able to do what we do and be successful at it.

DM: How does the writing and recording process work for you guys as a whole? Lyrics, instrumentation, live recordings, etc.?

CF: It varies a lot, but the constant is Andy writing the basic ideas for everything that we come out with; Sometimes he brings in a riff, or a fully fledged out song and we just sort of write parts around whatever he brings to the table.

DM: One could consider you a multi-instrumentalist. Is there a certain instrument you’re particularly fond of?

CF: I really enjoy playing the vibraphone. Sounds stupid but it’s a really versatile instrument; it can sound very beautiful or very haunting. We didn’t get to use one on Mean Everything To Nothing but I jumped at the chance to use one for this record.

DM: During Manchester Orchestra’s live Facebook chat/premiere of “Virgin,”  Andy said the songs on Mean Everything To Nothing were meant to scare people. What is the main focus and goal of Simple Math?

CF: We just wanted to make the best record that we could. It’s definitely an experience as a whole album and each song speaks for itself in their own unique ways. Its a growth album and that growth is evident in the sequencing and we just wanted to bring people along with us in that growth for us as a band.

DM: Any weird pre-show rituals?

CF: We started doing this high-five thing, like in the NBA where they slap hands really low and then immediately pull back. We do that now.

DM: If you could interview any band, dead or alive, who would it be and what’s the one burning question you’d ask?

CF: I’d ask David Byrne if he’d show me how he found those grooves on Remain In Light and Speaking In Tongues. I just want to know what they started with in the building process of the songs on those records.

DM: Funniest tour moment?

CF: I saw Tim slip today outside of the bus and then I yelled “NERD!!!” That was really funny.

DM: Where do you see yourself in five years?

CF: Hopefully still making records with my friends, playing shows, and living in Australia.

DM: If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing?

CF: Probably crying in a closet in Ohio somewhere.

Manchester Orchestra’s website: www.themanchesterorchestra.com

If you’re not smiling fifteen seconds into We Live In Rented Rooms by East River Pipe, you have no soul. “Back room deals,” sings F.M. Cornog. “The whole world is built on backroom deals. You better get used to it.” It’s business as usual for Cornog. He’s made a career of singing about the maladies of society. The drifters, the drunks, the homeless drug addicts standing at your favorite off ramp with a cardboard sign. Cornog has been there, which is why he sings about what he does. So have I, which is why I appreciate it. You probably haven’t heard his music, but you should.

The list of musicians that covered his songs is staggering: David Byrne, Okkervil River, Lambchop, The Mountain Goats and others. It’s a sad commentary on the music industry that a musician this talented has gone ignored. Cornog likes it this way, though. He has his wife, his daughter, his dog and a forty hour week job at Home Depot. He’s happy. For a person to come from the kind of lows he has experienced, happiness is a pretty big deal.

Cornog’s gift is stories. “Tommy Made A Movie” is about a guy who sits around in his bedroom making movies inside his head. Cornog says very little about Tommy. All we know is Tommy tries to write, but can’t. He sits around watching porn, and thinks about girls. It’s very, very sad. To the tune of simple keyboards recorded in a home studio I feel my heart breaking.

“When You Were Doing Cocaine” is a simple piano ballad about a guy who let his life get away from him. Cornog sings about what it looked like the guy had, and compares it to the reality. It’s the kind of common life stuff you don’t often hear in pop music. Even The Arcade Fire never have it this dead on. You want to know what life really looks like? Listen to an East River Pipe album.

We Live In Rented Rooms is as good an album as East River Pipe has ever made. This Average Joe making records alone in his bedroom has been responsible for some of the most brilliant songwriting of the last twenty years. Routinely, I put on two or three of his records at a time, lay back, and soak it in.  Buy this album. Then go buy everything else he has ever released. Start with The Gasoline Age, but don’t stop there.

We Live in Rented Rooms is out on February 15.

Track Listing:
1. Backroom Deals
2. Cold Ground
3. Payback Time
4. Summer Boy
5. I Don’t Care About Your Blue Wings
6. Tommy Made a Movie
7. The Flames Are Coming Back
8. When You Were Doing Cocaine
9. Conman
10. Three Ships

Editor Jess recently got in touch with Brooklyn’s Javelin, an almost indescribable duo thanks to their unique musical methods and eclectic tastes. The pair kicks off a national tour this week, so we’re excited to have gotten to speak with the fellas before they hit the road hard.

Jessica McGinley, Popwreckoning: You guys have been making music as Javelin for 5 or 6 years now — while it’s great to hear that you’re “one the most notable acts to emerge this year” from the likes of the LA Times, is this sentiment at the same time frustrating since you’ve been making music for so long?
Javelin: We can’t blame anyone but ourselves for that one– it took us a long time to “throw our hat into the ring.” If we had pushed our music out there before “it” was ready (our music OR the world) maybe things would have happened differently… We like how it worked out.

JM: No doubt. I’m glad it got out there at all myself! How has the move from your native Rhode Island to Brooklyn helped push Javelin forward? Do you ever regret the change of address?
Javelin: We miss our friends and loved ones who we don’t see as often. I don’t think we regret moving to Brooklyn as many beautiful things have happened as a direct result.

JM: David Byrne‘s Luaka Bop label will be releasing your first full-length, No Mas, on April 20th. How different was the process of creating and recording No Mas from the self-released Jamz and Jemz demos and the Thrill Jockey 12″s?
Javelin: Well, Jamz n Jemz was recorded over a long period of time and was always changi

ng around, like a greatest hits album. We wanted the Thrill Jockey and Luaka Bop releases to be distinct from one another and cohesive in a way J+J wasn’t (by design, mind you). It still feels like channel surfing the radio, but maybe on a good day where the radio knows what’s going to go with what.

JM: You have such a variety of sounds and have said you’re not trying to figure out “your sound”; has this helped or hindered with trying to find a core audience?
Javelin: We have yet to see the result of our practices on a mass scale, but I think our sound is more cohesive than we think. When I describe how different we think we sound from song to song, many friends tell me it all goes together and to stop worrying. We are starting to realize that old truth that whatever you make, it’s yours. Our core audience maybe has been built by our live show, which has a way of making everything gel.

Javelin – “Oh! Centra”

JM: After giving No Mas a few spins, I would definitely agree that its very cohesive. Oh, and awesome. For the recently released 2 12″, you allowed fans to send in their own record sleeves, which you screen printed and then, for a another $5, you also screen-printed a provided t-shirt or hoodie for custom merch. Who came up with this great idea and how challenging was it to actually execute?
 What was your favorite record sleeve from all the submissions?
Javelin: Bettina who runs Thrill Jockey came up with the idea for people to send their records and t-shirts in– The Wall Street Journal actually called and was interested, which is an achievement for any enterprise. We haven’t seen any of the sleeves that were sent in yet, but the good folks at TJ are documenting the entire run. The sleeves we have seen really look amazing.

JM: The Wall Street Journal? Yowah. Thanks for still talking with me! From what I’ve read, your live show is something very special and very unique. Does anything in the live show match up to what you’ve recorded or is there a lot more improv based on whatever cassettes you’ve been able to find in the thrift shop that day?
Javelin: Well, there is definitely a lot of cohesion between our live / recorded musical thing. That video to which you are referring (where we take thrift cassettes and make a song out of them) is only partially representative of how we work– it is maybe one way that we work, but then we usually add way more of our own sounds and take away even more sounds that aren’t ours.
But YES improvisation takes place throughout our live performance. Tom [van Buskirk] gets on the mic and improvises lyrics, sings lyrics that were once improvised, or straight steals other peoples’ vocal parts and lays them over Javelin beats. And George [Langford ] plays electronic drums standing up and dances, which livens our songs up big time. But all the songs we are playing now in our set are songs that, if you’ve followed our releases, you will have heard before.

JM: I’ll be at the Philadelphia show on Friday, so I’m definitely excited to see you fellas do your thing. How did you get involved with playing at one of my favorite museums, MoMA, and what was that experience like?
Javelin: We were invited by our friends Graffiti Research Lab to play at the screening of a movie they had made for a Poprally event. We brought along our dancer friends from Providence, who were at the time known as Jazz Hand Job. It was surreal. One of the male dancers’ homemade underwear snapped open, revealing serious junk shots every now and again. Our moms were present!!!

JM: Whoa! Sounds like quite a show. You guys just finished up a tour with Yeasayer in the UK and this week are hitting the States hard for the next couple months. With less than a week in between tours, how do you unwind and then psych yourselves up again?
Javelin: Time at home with our lovely ladies, Miami weddings, hanging out with our pets. Then go!

JM: “Miami weddings” sounds like a show on one of those lady networks…that my roommates and I may or may not watch all night long on Sundays…But back to the topic at hand: How does touring in the UK differ from touring in the US?
Javelin: The audiences are, in general, a bit more reserved (as you would imagine). But ultimately people really love music and pay attention to good music there so it isn’t as if they are ignoring you. Plus we totally lucked our way onto a deluxe tour bus with Yeasayer so that will soften any bruised egos.

JM: I am stoked to see you Friday in Philly at the Trocadero with local favorites Man Man. What can Philadelphia expect from your performance?
Javelin: Sweat stains and hollerin’.

JM: That’s how we like it here! You join up with Yeasayer again in April — after having toured the UK with them, are you excited to get back together through the US?
Javelin: Very much so. Those guys still owe us money.

JM: Ha! Lastly, after doing a search on music scrobbler site last.fm, I found three other results for bands with the name Javelin: a visual kei (glam metal according to Wikipedia) band from Japan; a metal band from Germany; and a stoner/doom metal band from Boston. Has this caused any problems? Some long-haired dudes in sleeveless shirts looking to head bang and looking all confused from the front row.
Javelin: No mishaps yet. We were thinking about throwing a show in New York where we invite every band named Javelin and any band with the word Javelin in their name (Javelins, The Javelins, Javelina…). Maybe once we get them all into one room there would be a free for all, a meleé– but the idea is that we are all in the same gang.

JM: I like it. Bold move. If you can do it anywhere, New York is the place. Javelina is local, so maybe your people can talk to theirs and get that party started. Thanks for talking, guys. See you Friday.

Friday, March 5, 2010
Javelin with Man Man and The Skin Cells
@ The Trocadero
1003 Arch Street, Philadelphia
8PM | all ages | $14

Check Javelin’s MySpace page for more upcoming tour dates!

Javelin: website | myspace | @ DC9

Live Photos: Mary Chang

What is there to say about Day 2 of ACL? After such a beautiful Day 1, the rain came and stuck around for the most part of Day 2. When I realized this rain was not going to pass anytime soon, I invested in a poncho. The beautiful Zilker Park was left a muddy mess in mere hours, but festival goers embraced the rain and mud, most opting for bare foot and whatever plastic they could find to shield themselves from the elements.

Starting off my day was Deer Tick who I had heard such good things from coworkers, but I was left underwhelmed, perhaps due to the dreary weather. I made my way to the Livestrong stage to see Alberta Cross (who later received a shout out from Mr. Dave Matthews during his headlining set). The rained eased up as they made their way through their bluesy set, but I had other places to be so I made my way to the Felice Brothers to get a good spot for Grizzly Bear as well and that’s unfortunately when the skies opened and the downpour began. Grizzly Bear pushed themselves rather far back in the stage and didn’t move or interact all that much. So while I appreciate the songs, I left feeling a little mixed on their set.

With a quick jaunt to the media to load up on free snacks on my mind, I made my way back in the rain. Once I was full of Coca Cola and all natural snacks, I braved the elements to see my personal highlight of the day and that was Bon Iver. I had not heard much about his shows, but I was floored at his soulful vocals and haunting harmonies with his backing band, making the rain feel insignificant. After Vernon’s wonderful set on steel guitar, I made my way through the mud to Mos Def. While I was initially disappointed by his tardiness and hiding behind a drum kit for the first two songs, the showman Mos Def I have come to love and respect graced the front of the stage mic in hand working the rain shocked crowd into a frenzy.

After enjoying the wonderful catered BBQ in the media area, I made my way to Dave Matthews Band. Now while I’m not what I’d consider a fan, I do have an appreciation for the sheer musicianship Matthews and gang demonstrate on a nightly basis; I also have to appreciate a cover of Talking Heads “Burning Down The House” While nothing can live up to David Bryne’s vocals on the track, DMB’s version was rather lively and Dave’s dance moves worked the mud-covered fans into hysteria. After their set, I decided to call it a night and waited for my free shuttle back to my hotel to rest up, clean off my shoes (remember, ALWAYS pack more than one pair of shoes) and rest up for Day 3.

Austin City Limits: website | day 1

Welcome back, readers!  The summer is winding down and I’m still listening to danceable hip hop and R&B jams that make me want to shake my tailfeather on the dance floor.  Well, kitchen floor really.  Last week I unleashed a Sampling Edition, Part 1 to whet your musical appetites and had so much fun that I decided I’d double down on your asses with a two-parter.  Not for the A.D.D. musical aficionado, these tracks featuring a plethora of samples in unique and unlikely capacities.  Sometimes it’s fun just trying to see if you can figure out what part of the song belongs to which artist.  Either way, it’s a luscious mix of sounds and beats that make some of your favorite songs a tad more danceable.  And that’s always good.
–

.Destiny’s Child - “Bootylicious”
Sample: Stevie Nicks – “Edge of Seventeen“
Who doesn’t love that chugging guitar riff that sets the tone of the Stevie Nicks classic “Edge of Seventeen?”  Apparently, Destiny’s Child wanted to pay homage to one of the foremothers of rock n’ roll by pilfering the sound for the intro of “Bootylicious,” a cheeky video that actually features a cameo of Miss Nicks herself.  As is the case with all great art, ironically Nicks and her writing team were subconsciously channelling their inner-Sting as it’s been said that the guitar and drum parts sound eerily similar to The Police‘s “Bring On The Night” and they only realized it afterwards.  Wow, I wasn’t ready for that jelly.

.Notorious B.I.G. feat. Puff Daddy & Lil’ Kim – “Notorious B.I.G.”
Sample: Duran Duran - “Notorious“
One of my favorite hip hop artists of all time (may he rest!), Notorious B.I.G. enlisted the help of some of his Bad Boy family members to create one of the more memorable hip hop and rock mash-ups from the 1990′s that is the quintessential personal anthem of his own self-proclaimed notoriety.  Big up to Biggie for being able to make narcissistic songs so damn catchy by sampling a Duran Duran chorus and jangly guitar licks.  Or was it Puff Daddy‘s idea?  After all, he does claim to have invented the remix.

.Jay-Z feat. Memphis Bleek – “It’s Alright”
Sample: Talking Heads – “Once In A Lifetime“
Oh Jay-Z, can you ever do wrong?  It’s a  song like this that makes me wonder what the hell does Talking Heads lead singer David Byrne have to say about this?  It takes balls to sample Talking Heads for a hip hop song about maxin’, relaxin’ and chillaxin’.  Apparently Jay and Memphis Bleek borrow from a Kraftwerk song (“The Hall Of Mirrors”) here too so the musical sample is essentially an ambitious composite of the two.  Does Jay-Z really listen to new wave and synthpop?  If so, holler back, young’n.

.Puff Daddy feat. Mase – “Been Around The World”
Sample: David Bowie – “Let’s Dance”
This track may be too slow to do the Harlem shuffle, but it still does make me long for the golden days of 90′s hip hop.  With the help of then bromantic musical partner Mase, Puff Daddy had innovation on his mind when he laced this track with the inventive music of David Bowie‘s classic “Let’s Dance,” while stealing the chorus from Lisa Stansfield’s soft-rock hit “Been Around The World.”  Whatever happened to her?  Is she still looking for her baby?  Does Puff Daddy have a soft spot for the light music station?  This is another example of odd musical pairings that totally work and leave it to Puffy to pioneer the art of musical interpolation and mixing the unlikeliest songs.

.Girl Talk – “Shut The Club Down”
Sample: Aphex Twin – “Girl/Boy Song” (among 16 other song snippets)

It was hard selecting a sample of DJ Girl Talk‘s dizzying, creative as hell, genius mash-up tracks off Feed The Animals, but “Shut The Club Down” is one of my favorite tracks.  In this one song he samples everyone from Avril Lavigne, Aphex Twin, Jay-Z, Rod Stewart, Butthole Surfers and Ray J, among others.  I chose to feature the Aphex Twin track because he selects the breakdown of the incredible “Girl/Boy Song” during this track’s breakdown, while lacing in Rich Boy’s “Throw Some D’s.”  Girl Talk finds a way to satisfy any type of musical enthusiast: 80s, rock, hip hop, synthpop, and pop.  I can’t wait to finally catch a set of his at Street Scene San Diego next month.  I’m going to wear my “Engineers Do It Better” t-shirt and hope he picks me out of the audience to jump in his inflatable raft and crowd surf.  Sigh, I love me some Girl Talk.

Lessons learned from Day 1‘s crash course in surviving Bonnaroo, but not so well-rested (it is hard sleeping in a muggy tent in the Tennessee weather), we awoke early to check out the first real day of Bonnaroo. Thursday was like practice Bonnaroo, which turned out to be much needed for Friday’s and the rest of the weekend’s adventures.

One nice thing about the artists at Bonnaroo is that they are very accessible. So instead of running off to see bands perform on stages first thing Friday morning, I took some time to sit in on a press conference that Big Hassle Media organized with Janeane Garofalo, Matthew Vasquez of the Delta Spirit, Grace Potter, Ani DiFranco, and Galactic Band. The artists spoke about their Bonnaroo experiences and struggles to get there. Things got a little heated between Garofalo and DiFranco. At the start of the conference, Garofalo and DiFranco joked how they looked alike with Garofalo reminding DiFranco to be at her set in the comedy tent at 2 pm. However, when things got a little political, the differences between the two came out:

“It’s so heartbreakingly disappointing how Obama has acquiesced in the name of bipartisanship,” Garofalo said. “I can’t find humor in that.”

DiFranco later said, “I don’t think one person can do everything. It takes all of us to make something radical happen.” She said Obama shows us how to be like “family and forgive.”

The two had their different opinions, but at the end of the conference, they hugged.

Leaving the press conference, a large crowd had gathered for Gomez‘s pop rock and audience members got extra excited when they realized that, “OMG! That song was on Grey’s Anatomy” as the band played “Moon and Sun.”

Over at This Tent, Kaki King impressed the crowd in her own way as her fingers flew across her guitar in blend of pressing and tapping on the strings.  Her backing band complimented her well with the typical drums and bass, but also some wind instruments on the occasional tune.

After Kaki King, Animal Collective got the crowd dancing at Which Stage. The audience danced as if they really were a collection of wild animals (the many masks probably helped, too). Arms flailing in dance, while singing along, some in masks, Animal Collective had some solid fan representation at the fest. The guys bounced around vocal and instrumental duties between each other and never had a dull moment in their set.

Playing against Animal Collective was the amazingly talented St. Vincent and she was probably one of the best secrets of the festival. There was a good crowd there, but if she hadn’t been up against Animal Collective, I think more would have discovered her greatness. She is like a feistier Feist. The indie darling’s powerful voice carried out far beyond the reaches of That Tent and instrumental solos from her violinist colored me impressed.

Another press conference was next on the agenda. This time, Julia Nunes, John Gourley from Portugal the Man, Kaki King, Justin Vernon of Bon Iver, Lucinda Williams, Justin Townes Earle and Ben Knox Miller from Low Anthem were the ones to join the press. Justin Vernon turned out to be quite the comedian. After Kaki King said the most challenging part of an outdoor festival were the “strings and sweatiness on the guitar,” Vernon said, “Sweatiness is what I’m going for. I’m trying to look as wet as possible.”

Several members of this conference were new to the festival and talked of their nervousness and experience, the legendary Lucinda Williams spoke of playing this festival since its second run and even gave her advice about the music industry.

“Can you imagine Neil Young trying to get a record deal right now? Or even Bob Dylan?” Williams said. “You have to believe in yourself. I was doing this without a label for 15 years. It took an English punk label to sign me because I fell in the cracks between rock and country.”

As the conference let out, Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs was starting her signature vocals on the Which Stage in front of a backdrop of blue swirl and the eye from “Zero.” We could hear her vocals the entire walk to Brooklyn very own Grizzly Bear on This Tent. The boys were running a bit late, but their indie rock soon filled the tent and they were quite tight, but we had passes to the comedy tent and had to get over there in time for Triumph the Insult Dog and other comedians. After a jam from the house band and a video introduction, Triumph was soon slinging the insults at everyone from the audience to the artists.

“You hippies can make anything out of hemp,” Triumph said. “Except deodorant.” With a paw over his face he explained, “You see? It is because you smell. Haha.”

He attacked Trent Reznor for ending his career and Flava Flav for setting back the civil rights movement with his clock. Even bands not at the festival weren’t safe from his insults.

“Not everybody could be here. Fall Out Boy couldn’t be here today,” said Triumph. “Because they all got their periods at the exact same time.”

After breaking ourselves away from the funny (and she swears unracist) comedian, Amy Schumer, we dashed back to the Which Stage (there is a lot of running at Bonnaroo) and watched TV on the Radio blast through “Wolf Like Me” and other hits. As always, the element of brass gave these guys an extra special element that made them worth watching.

Taking a breather before rocking out (err….rapping out with Beastie Boys), I had my first taste of true fest food and ventured to try an “arepa.” For those who were in the dark like I was, an arepa is a fried patty of corn with melted mozzarella in between the patties. Ridiculously greasy and ridiculously delicious. Stomach full at last, I somehow managed to work my way up nice and close to see the Beastie Boys who brought out all the hits and some guests. In the first big Bonnaroo surprise Nas joined the guys for a few numbers.

The Beastie Boys were a blast to “Jump, jump, jump around” with, but I couldn’t miss the chance to catch a Talking Head perform. Across the park, David Byrne was rocking out with his own tunes after a busy day of curating some of the other tents.

Phish jammed out at the What Stage after the Beasties finished, but knowing they had a second performance, I snagged a spot up close for the much buzzed about French band Phoenix. “Lisztomania” started things off and I was surprised with how energetic and bold the band was after seeing them acting rather shy back in the press area. It wasn’t long before other hits off their American debut had the crowd dancing and the singer joined them out in the audience.

They were just the start of a crazy night at That Tent. Alice Glass from Crystal Castles had the crowd rapt with her blend of electronica goth. In a zombie like manner she wrapped a strobe around her neck and jumped on the crowd multiple times. Glow sticks began to appear during this set and That Tent was quickly transformed into a rave. They didn’t disappear until well after Girl Talk‘s performance. Instead of jumping on the crowd like their predecessors in That Tent, Girl Talk brought the crowd up on stage to join in the dance party. The DJs were joined by costumed characters and blow up seats. It was an oraganized chaos that was fun for everyone (except maybe security). Girl Talk’s set lasted well into the night, but even they couldn’t keep up with Paul Oakenfold‘s set, which didn’t stop until after 6 am in the morning. People staggered back to camps or just passed out in the main grounds before they were ready to embrace an even bigger Day 3 of Bonnaroo.

Stay tuned…

Bonnaroo: website | Day 1 | Quick News

Photos by: Joshua Hammond

The Ireland-based Bell X1 evolved out of the Damien Rice-fronted Juniper. After Rice quit over an argument with the band about packaging their CDs with recyclable material, drummer Paul Noonan took over front man duties and the band changed their name. Though perhaps lacking the grandeur of Coldplay and Keane, Bell X1 fit nicely into the aforementioned’s category of UK bands boasting intelligent writing and sturdy composition, but lacking the edge needed to enthrall North American listeners not yet detached enough to listen to adult-contemporary radio stations. The touches of decidedly pretty piano and singer Noonan’s calculatedly gentle vocals all further indicate the band’s target audience to be 30+ers that prefer their music subdued and unchallenging.

On the first and more interesting half of Blue Lights On The Runway, this is less apparent. The songs are crafted around beats and contain some of the “oomph” the later half fatally lacks. Opener “The Ribs Of A Broken Umbrella” starts the album off well, with a variety of euphoric electronic sounds wrapped around its basic two-chord structure. On “The Great Defector”, with only a subtle shift in intention, Noonan’s vocals takes on a David Byrne-like character. He playfully sing-speaks lyrics like, “the accountants have taken the movie,” while interesting harmonies, 8-bit keyboards and an animate bass line all flit around the soundscape. Without question, it’s the album’s best track.

The rest of Blue Lights on the Runway, however, goes downhill from there. “A Better Band” shows more of the Talking Heads influence, but completely lacks the manic element that made Byrne and company so compelling. “Breastfed”’s chorus is a valiant attempt at harder rock but fails to convince. “Light Catches Your Face” is the shmaltzer you can expect to hear on “Grey’s Anatomy”.

On Blue Lights on the Runway’s better tracks, Bell X1 show that they have the ability to write music meant for more than network drama placement. Perhaps they just choose not to because there’s simply more money to be made off the “Grey’s Anatomy” audience than hipsters who’ll download the album (without paying for it), blog about how it’s the greatest thing since OK Computer, and then forget about it the next week. If a smart band isn’t necessarily a good one, in this case, Bell X1 is a very smart band.

Blue Lights on the Runway comes out March 3 on BellyUp Records.

Tracklisting:
01. The Ribs of a Broken Umbrella
02. How Your Heart Is Wired
03. The Great Defector
04. Blow Ins
05. Amelia
06. A Better Band
07. Breastfed
08. Light Catches Your Face
09. One Stringed Harp
10. The Curtains Are Twitchin’

Bell X1: website | myspace