A very cool video of an early version of “Arpeggi” performed by Thom and Jonny with a full orchestra at the Ether festival in 2005. Thom is truly in the music here, great stuff. Plus, that cellist to his left kind of looks like Ed a little, no? Radiohead need to do a full tour with an orchestra sometime so that my life can be complete.
audio files can be found here.
Here is the link to Popsense’s brilliant mockery of Pitchfork and their review stylings. It’s not as good as that awesome Onion article, but it’s funny as hell nonetheless. The post includes reviews of each individual news piece, track review, and album review that Pitchfork had up yesterday. In Pitchfork fashion, reviews with a score over 8? are put into “Best New” categories. Can someone please explain to me how Pitchfork decides something is “Best New Music,” because I’ve seen 8.0’s that have made it and 8.3’s that haven’t. Anyways . . . 9.8 from Drewviews! Best New Mockery
Bonnaroo 2009 was pretty damn good, let’s get that out of the way. If last year was tightly packed with stellar acts, this year was claustrophobic due to the lack of breathing room in between them.
Too much rain? Meh. Too much mud? Maybe a little. Too many good performances? Well, kind of. My left ankle is swollen from standing around for 14 hrs a day watching some of the best live music that the world has to offer. Over the course of 4 long days, I stood around in chilly terrential downpour, blistering heat, and some of the things that fall in between. But it was all worth it, as I caught show after show until I could no longer stand anymore, at which case I would stumble to my tent and pass out, only to have the Manchester humidity awake me early the next morning.
So with all of the amazing artists to choose from over Bonnaroo’s 4 unbeatable days, which were the best? Who should you have seen? Who should you have missed. Hopefully my top 10 list will help you make some decisions if faced with the opportunity to go see these fine bands perform again. Or maybe you’ll be able to agree or disagree with me. The choice is entirely yours. Anyways, here we go.
10. Grizzly Bear:
Friday, This Tent: 5:00-6:15 PM
The harmonies that fill Veckatimest and Yellow House made their way into the Manchester farm over the weekend. Ed Droste, Daniel Rossen, Chris Taylor, and Chris Bear delivered the stunning orchestrations they are known for with ease. It wasn’t hard for most in the crowd to be pleased with such a nice performance.
9.Crystal Castles:
Friday, That Tent: 12:45-1:45 AM
(couldnt get any good photos)
It’s hard to say what went on during Crystal Castles’ late night set. It is a literal hazy memory (smoke poured into the sizeable That Tent). There was a DJ, an Alice Glass, and a live Drummer. There were lights. Big lights. And the rest really had to be seen. As glass laid across the front row of the raucous crowd, screaming her heart out, eyes outlined by black, chaos ensued. It was the type of spectacle that was completely incomprehensible, but in a good way. An interesting, fun bonnaroo experience, creepiness and all.
8.Animal Collective:
Friday, Which Stage: 2:45-4:00 PM
Close your eyes. Let the waves of water drenched electric fuzz swash their way into your innocent ears. There goes your innocence.
After experiencing the event that is Animal Collective, most other things can seem pretty normal. Animal Collective is a group that grabs hold of the boundaries and beats them as hard as they can against the ground. This seemingly violent display of originality, however, is achieved through sheer eloquence. No matter the caliber of an Animal Collective performance, it is sure to leave some in awe, some downright disappointed, others simply bemused. They’re a band that’s as polarizing as they get. But Friday’s mid-day jaunt saw the boys perform the beach boys infused pysch-pop of Merriweather Post Pavilion in the sunny conditions it was inspired by. Sure, Animal Collective would seem better fitting as a late night act (they do translate better in the dark), but on the flipside, it doesn’t get much sunnier than MPP. And what better setting to perform such bright tracks than under the blazing Tennessee sun?
In a set that consisted mainly of Merriweather songs, the collective was as loose as ever, stretching three minute studio tracks into fifteen minutes, to no contest. It was clear that Avey Tare, Panda Bear, and Geologist, were letting the Bonnaroo vibes rub off on ther acid drenched sound. This was one of the jammiest Animal Collective sets we’ve ever seen. But, it was a great one at that. The thing is, with the Baltimore trio, you never do know exactly what you’re going to get. That’s where half the fun lies. As the guys fluttered through their noisy pop, at times the sound was a bit softer than it could have been, but at others you could shut your eyelids and hear waves of static crash against you. They built a wall of sound and it was easy to get lost in it, as was especially clear in the near 20 minute rendition of “Fireworks”. Ending with the dancy “Brothersport”, Animal Collective closed the door on another great Bonnaroo experience. (also available at Consequence of Sound)
7.Wilco:
Saturday, What Stage: 6:00-8:00 PM
Of course, at the Which Stage on Saturday, Wilco did what Wilco always does when they perform. They put on a solid show, filled with explosive energy, laid back whimsical philosophy, and heartbreaking tragedy all in one performance. Playing a great deal of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and highlights from most of their more recent studio albums, including the brand new Wilco (The Album), Wilco made a good choice by not trying to pull of a new album listening party in the form of a live performance. It was hard not to have a good time with Jeff and the rest of the guys in such highs spirits. Tweedy’s touchingly pathetic attempt at humor made fans remember why they fell in love with him in the first place: “If you guys start booing us, we have a built in excuse tonight. We’ll just pretend you’re saying Bruuuuce.” With little crowd laughter, Tweedy pleaded, “I worked on that all day.” But there was no booing to be seen as Nels Cline shredded his strings and bent his guitar’s bridge, Glen Kotche effortlessly flailed about his drum set, and every one else did their part. The controlled chaos that Wilco can bring forth to seemingly simple songs is always great to see live. At the end, the guys proved they aren’t lying when they say “Wilco will love you.” (also available at Consequence of Sound)
6.Okkervil River:
Sunday, The Other Tent: 4:30-5:45 PM
Will Sheff and the rest of Okkervil River may take a cynical stab at the concept of being a performer on both The Stage Names and The Stand-Ins, but that doesn’t stop them from taking on the role with flying colors. Sheff and his bandmates soar through ironic tracks such as “Pop Lie” to which every crowd member chants, “He’s the liar who lied in his pop song/And you’re lying when you sing along.” But highlights definitely came about in the form of older tracks such as “Black”, “A Stone”, “For Real”, and of course, the momentous “Westfall”. As Sheff bounced around stage, rubbing heads with his bandmates during their solos, there was more than enough energy on stage. The guys put on a great show, and despite some sound problems (the mix was a little high, and there was a buzzing when Sheff attempted the acoustic songs) the set was one of the best Bonnaroo had to offer. Songs like “A Stone” were executed with pure passion, probably invoking the “cryingest eyes.” Listening to Sheff sing his poetry is a more than worthwhile experience, and catching a beautiful lyric you may have missed in your home will put a smile on your face. I will say that Lauren Gurgiolo doesn’t exactly pull through with her mandolin playing on songs like “Westfall,” but nonetheless, Sheff steals the show and makes it all better. Watching the electricity on stage during Okkervil River’s set was a great way to finish out Bonnaroo, or at least begin to wind down. (also available at Consequence of Sound)
5.Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band:
Saturday, What Stage: 9:30 AM -12:30 PM
There’s a reason why they call him “The Boss” folks. It’s because he knows how to run a fucking show. Sure, it’s cheesy at times. Sure, Bruce wasn’t able to fully tailor his usual performance to the younger bonnaroo crowd. But did it really matter? Watching the 59 year old run around, sweat dripping from every ancient pore, using more energy than most people my own age (20) have is thrilling enough. But when that same guy is joined by the fucking E Street Band, performing brilliant renditions of classics such as “Thunder Road” and “Growing Up,” it’s hard no to be amazed. Even an ironic impromptu “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” (crowd sign request) was impressive. Bruce Springsteen can do whatever he wants by my book, completely planned routine (not setlist mind you) or not.
4.Nine Inch Nails:
Saturday, Which Stage: 1:00-3:00 AM
It’s hard to believe Trent Reznor when he says that this will be Nine Inch Nails’ final tour. After all, Reznor has taken long breaks in between albums up until his recent kick of productivity. But it sounded so sincere when mid-set Reznor stated, “It just dawned on me that tonight is our last show in the US.” If NIN genius is indeed calling it quits for good, then Saturday’s 1 AM set made everyone in attendance quite mournful of the loss. Drawing highlights from nearly every one of NIN’s albums, the set was chock full of raucous sing alongs and heart wrenching ballads that only Reznor could pin down. Skittish drum machines, ominous fog, and glaring strobe lights welcomed Reznor and touring band to the stage. The guys were at the top of their game, in a performance that was different from most other NIN shows. Instead of the usual, perfectly orchestrated, art-piece like NIN show, Reznor’s Bonnaroo performance came across as a raw, impromptu, intimate performance. Perhaps this was due to the rather informal way everything was done, the minimal band size (only four of them), and the lack of ornate lighting (though the lights weren’t completely simple). It was like seeing them in your backyard, despite the huge crowd that looked on. Everybody was chanting along to “Head Like A Hole” and “The Hand that Feeds”, and a surprise cover of Joy Division’s “Dead Souls” was exciting, but not until the stunning rendition of “Hurt” did it feel like this was the last time any of us would see NIN again. As Reznor sang the sad tune, nearly on the verge of tears, lighters went up, and he signed off, possibly for the last time ever on American soil.
3. David Byrne:
Friday, Which Stage: 8:45-10:45 PM
Man, can this guy put on a show. If the amazing renditions of Talking Heads classics such as “Born Under Punches,” “Once in a Lifetime,” and “Heaven” didn’t get you, then maybe the insane choreography going on the entire time did. Dressed in all white, Mr. Byrne stepped on stage, glowing with charisma. He came out, made a funny and humble joke, and then went right into things. Over the course of 85 minutes, Byrne wowed. His band was great, switching instruments and tasks, dancing behind and interacting with the man himself. Byrne was all over the place, and perfectly focused on the task at hand simultaneously. It was a stunning performance unlike many you will ever see. The guy is also so modest it’s hard to believe. He must realize that he was a member of one of rock’s most influential groups. Nah, doesn’t phase the guy. He’s what we call a show stopper.
2. Dirty Projectors:
Friday, That Tent: 1:30-2:30 PM
Where the hell do I start? This was a performance absolutely not to be missed. It’s hard to pack all of what Dave Longstreth and his Dirty Projectors do into one word, but as the name suggests, dirty is quite an appropriate descriptor. Not the kind of dirty that makes you want to take a shower, but the kind that makes you turn to the random dude next to you and say “Damn, that guy is dirty!” If Bitte Orca hasn’t hit your radar yet, or if you simply don’t “get” the Dirty Projectors, see them live as soon as you can. Hell, see them live as many times as you can. On the heels of their recent masterpiece, the folks that make up the experimental Brooklyn outfit brought forth enough goods to make the rest of Bonnaroo’s Friday, and maybe even most of the weekend, look like a shitshow. If it wasn’t Longstreth’s insanely glitchy, mind bending, intricate guitar work—something that seemed to wander aimlessly during solos, but somehow kept time (how that drummer kept it together was beyond me) — then, perhaps it was the triple (sometimes quadruple) threat of perfectly harmonized oscillating vocals that made it all so good. But, then again, maybe it was the intensely ornate breakdowns and power thrashing that went on in between during songs like ‘Temecula Sunrise’”. Oh hell, it was everything. All of it was almost too much to take in.
There’s nothing better than a pleasant surprise, especially at a music festival. The Dirty Projectors’ mid-day Friday set was that and more. It was a perplexing performance. One that was both awe inspiring and confusing. The crowd went nuts throughout the Bitte Orca heavy set, most notably while watching on as the ever-so-cute Amber Coffman stunned them with “Stillness is the Move,” one of the finest tracks on that record. These guys know what they’re doing, and the wow factor was as high as could be. But to really go for the gold, Longstreth invited “friend” David Byrne onstage to join the group (after all he did curate the stage and invite them to the festival) for a high energy rendition of their Dark Was the Night contribution, “Knotty Pine”, to end the set. Yes, it’s safe to say that the Dirty Projectors’ left their mark in Manchester this weekend. (also available at Consequence of Sound)
1. Bon Iver:
Saturday, This Tent: 3:30-4:45 PM
The name may translate to “Good Winter” in French, perhaps raising some doubts as to how the chilly, atmospheric folk would translate in the blistering Tennessee heat. But, for Justin Vernon and the rest of Bon Iver, the name could mean “Bad Band” and they would still blow everybody within a hundred feet right off their feet. Justin and the dudes that make up the impossibly humble, yet unbelievably powerful Bon Iver, did exactly that on Saturday. The large “This Tent” was packed tight with bodies. I mean packed. Rumor has it that Drew Berrymore and Justin Long watched on from the equally populated VIP area to the stages side. There really wasn’t a more electric crowd at all of Bonnaroo, and for good reason. This was a hair raising, bone chilling, downright beautiful thing to witness. And it wasn’t soft or cutesy either. Throughout the unbelievable performance, Vernon attacked his electric guitar, two drummers slammed their arms down with great force, and atmospheric textures still found their way in. Perfect control was the key here, and it was there in excess. Vernon sat down with his national resonator for a stirring rendition of “Skinny Love,” with every single audience member singing along. He stood up and thrashed on songs like “Wolves” in a set that included a wonderful cover of Yo La Tengo’s “I Feel Like Going Home” and highlights from the beautiful For Emma, Forever Ago.
The true high point of the best performance at 2009’s installment of Bonnaroo (yep, I said it), however, came at the set’s bittersweet end. Nobody wanted the guys to exit the stage, but it would have been wrong to attempt to follow up all the raw energy and utter passion that Vernon and the rest of his band brought out during the impossibly climactic “Wolves”. With the crowd filling in by chanting the mantra-like ending lyrics “What might have been lost” Vernon was able to take his falsetto to immeasurable heights, impossibly crooning his way to a finish. Drums crashed, and chaos ensued before it was all over and the guys walked off of the stage, drenched in sweat (at least Justin was). Not one person could say it didn’t leave them standing in amazement, and the festival’s true highlight left everybody wanting to see Bon Iver again as soon as humanly possible. It may not have been a good winter, but it was definitely a phenomenal something. (also available at Consequence of Sound)
I’m also just in the beginning of this awesome video. I’m famous!
So I got to do a Bonnaroo Press conference with Gregg Gillis, aka Girl Talk a few months ago. I asked him the question I have been dying to know the answer to for quite a while: Whether it was just my inherent tendency to overanalyze all music, looking for meaning deep within something that has none, or if the music of Girl Talk does indeed contain a great deal of social commentary. Here’s how it went down:
Drew Litowitz: Hey Gregg. I have always been curious. A lot of people say that there is a lot of social commentary, very subtle social commentary in your mashups.
Gregg Gillis: Yes.
Drew Litowitz: I was wondering how you feel about that and whether or not – if you feel that that is true how it translates in a live setting.
Gregg Gillis: You know I definitely think there is a level of commentary in the music. It is something I don’t want to push on people I think first and foremost. You know I like to just make you know music that is interesting. You can wrap your head around, sit down and just listen to it as an album like any other album.
But there is definitely – I think on the album for me you know I think I am kind of pushing my general philosophy on music and art and life in general and just that you know there is a lot of moments on the album where it might be very explicit ((inaudible)) or next to very sincere heartfelt 70s soft rock ballads, or you know potentially like you know an aggressive guitar riff next to soft singing or you know something like that.
But I liked it. You know I think when doing this style of music, and to make it transform, it is nice to take elements that are from different worlds and kind of combining them together to make something new. So I feel like the commentary in all of that would be that for me, I feel like all music has value. And I feel like what we understand you know the critically acclaimed album of this era, or the album that everyone is bashing in this era.
It is just – it is – a lot of times it is a mob mentality. And I don’t think just everyone thinks one particular – just because all the magazines and press people think one particular album is important for right now. I don’t think that is necessarily has to be important for you as an individual you know. So I think with all the music, I try to break it down and say this is – everything I sample is primarily within the top 40 spectrum.
You know radio music, major label release music. It’s all entertainment. And some things are viewed as artistically valid and artistically important. Other things are viewed as trash or pop or throwaway. And to me, it is like all of those songs impact different people. And all of them are important to different people. And all of them make people happy or sad or whatever. And it is all – you know it is all in the eye of the beholder, and it is just you know.
So I try to kind of break all the songs down and say you know Sonic Youth is no more artistically relevant than Paul McCartney who is no more artistically relevant than this person, or there is that person or you know people with different impacts in the history of music. But for right now it is all pop music. And they all are songs.
So yes I think that is kind of the level of commentary in the music to just to kind of open up your ears and not kind of get caught in that mob mentality of you know liking what everyone is telling you to like, and it is OK to embrace all these different forms of music. And everything is valid and everything is important to somebody.
And I think for the second part of your question you know I think a lot of the commentary stuff absolutely gets lost in the context of the show, which is fine. I have used this show and the albums as two different experiences. And I feel like I play them differently. And the last (setting) I can’t really edit and cue samples to the level of detail that I can on the album you know. I think in the last setting it is very live. And sitting down to edit an album, maybe one minute of the album will take me you know eight hours to edit together, whereas I could do a live take of it in Real Time in one minute.
So I feel like a lot of the stuff you know it is not about that. I feel like the last show is a bit more functional you know. It has a functional role as the celebratory sort of environment. You know something you might dance to or get on stage or you know get ((inaudible)), too.
So I feel like the difference in the album where I feel like you can celebrate to it and party to it. But it is something where I want it to also be a hedge for an album where you can sit down and kind of on a Sunday afternoon and just take it all in.
Drew Litowitz: All right great. Thanks a lot.
So yeah. I’m not a complete moron, from the man himself. But, really, Gregg is the one making the music so I give him all the credit. Thanks for giving me an amazing answer, see you at the ‘Roo.
So I have been to many a show of late, but haven’t exactly been doing my part to review each one. Here’s a collection of photos from recent shows I attended, some reviews for others are over at Consequence of Sound. These were all pretty spectacular.
Iron and Wine @ Abrons Art Center, NYC 5/17/09
Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy @ The Birchmere, Alexandria, VA 5/23/09
The National @ 930 Club, Washington, DC 5/25/09
Rock Plaza Central @ The Black Cat, Washington, DC 6/3/09 – link to a great interview I did with Chris Eaton and review of the show. CHECK IT OUT!
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