All Points West, Day Three

Although my favorite act of all three days was Q-Tip on day one, day three was definitely the most successful. Back on the first day, because the weather was so shitty the organizers of the concert announced that all single day tickets would be good for entry on all three days. Sucks for me because I shelled out an unneeded $110, but how was I supposed to know. Fortunately, we made some money scalping our old tickets and let another friend living in NYC join us for free.

We arrived in the late afternoon, just in time for Silversun Pickups, an indie rock shoegaze-ish quartet from LA at the main stage. Their sound is a happy medium somewhere between My Bloody Valentine and Smashing Pumpkins, yet at the same time seems totally original. I have been listening to them obsessively for the past few months, so having the opportunity to see them play live was a real treat. Unfortunately we missed about half their set due to unexpectedly long lines and the fact that the maintenance crew completely failed at handling the muddy mess resulting from two days of heavy rains. We managed to catch them playing “Substitution,” “Panic Switch,” and “Lazy Eye,” three of my favorite songs by them, so not all was lost.  The singer/guitarist is so immensely talented, it isn’t hard to imagine a bright future for them. Check out their new album Swoon. Fantastic band, even better live.

Since Mogwai, Black Keys, and, gasp, MGMT were over at the Bullet stage, we decided to trudge over there. We Are Scientists, an alt-rock/post-punk/what have you group from Cali was starting their set. Not bad, not bad at all. I’ve never heard any of their albums, but judging by how they sounded on stage, they are definitely worth checking out.

After the ferocious Silversun and upbeat We Are Scientists, a dose of mellow post-rock was just what I needed. Enter Mogwai, the Glaswegian masters of musical escapism. Everyone just sort of stood there, stunned by the gorgeous soundscapes emanating from the stage. The coolest part was the guy doing the vocal effects on I think a talkbox. He would sing into a mic while playing the keyboards, warping his voice into an ethereal sound that meshed perfectly with the rest of the band. On top of that, we kept moving closer and closer toward the stage…

I was so excited for the next act, The Black Keys. You know when a pretentious music snob mentions that he has liked Popular Band X since waaaayy before they were big? Yeah, that’s me and The Black Keys. I’ve been rocking out to them since middle school. Seeing them play Thickfreakness on Conan back in either ’03 or ’04…amazing. They are a blues-rock due from Ohio and my gosh can they play. Dan Auerbach is an incredibly soulful guitarist and singer who Howlin’ Wolf or Junior Kimbrough would be proud of. And I’ve got to say, no drummer is as entertaining to watch as Patrick Carney. What he lacks in gracefulness he makes up in sheer badassery (see pic below). As good as the show was, I was just a tad disappointed that they exclusively played their high-energy rockers. Don’t get me wrong, that stuff is great, but it would have been nice to hear “Lies” or “The Lengths” or maybe “Midnight In Her Eyes” in all of its beauty. Also, I knew it was impossible, but I was kind of hoping Danger Mouse, the widely acclaimed, genre-blind producer of the Keys’ latest album Strange Times. Hey, I can dream can’t I?

Finally, the moment we were all waiting for, MGM fucking T. I caught the tail end of their set last year at Bonnaroo, and believe me, the bar was set high. Needless to say, they did not disappoint. The eminently danceable psychedelic synthpop duo tore it up. We had about .005 square inches of personal space at this point, but that didn’t stop anyone from going crazy. Nothing beats singing along to “The Handshake” or “Electric Feel” or just rocking out to “Time to Pretend”. They also introduced us to some new material, including the title track off of their upcoming album, Congratulations. Definitely excited for that release after hearing a preview. The encore was the best part of course. Goldwasser and VanWyngarden ran back onstage to annihilate the audience with party favorite “Kids.” The excitement in the air was palpable.  The best part was when the guitarist lazily sauntered back on stage solely to unleash an unstoppable shredding guitar solo that just blew me away, and then quietly disappeared back stage. While Q-Tip back on day one remains my favorite performance of the weekend, and maybe of all time, MGMT is a close second.

Last but not least least was French DJ extraordinaire, Etienne de Crecy. Words aren’t really enough to describe his show. YouTube does a better job. Check out this video of him performing in London:

None of the pictures I took came out particularly well, so check out Phrequency’s pictures from APW.

That does it for this year’s All Points West festival. Overall it was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had, musical or not. If you love music, nothing in this world beats a festival. Make sure you get to one at some point!

All Points West, Day Two

After a good night sleep at my old friend Chel’s appartment, we headed back out to Liberty Park. We hadn’t heard of most of the bands playing this day, so we headed out there late. Unfortunately, we were a little too late. We missed The Arctic Monkeys (whose show I heard sucked) and Gogol Bordello (who I saw at Bonnaroo). We only ended up seeing two bands, My Bloody Valentine and Tool.

Everyone has heard loud things. Rock concerts, airplanes taking off, fire trucks, nuclear explosions. Loud has not truly been experienced until you see My Bloody Valentine play a live show. The best way to describe their set is a full scale assault on the senses. They blast a combination of simple, droning guitars, drums, and vocals as loud as humanly possible. That, augmented with the frenetic flashing lights, was pure intensity. The feeling I got while in the crowd was unlike any other. It felt as if me, the crowd, and the sounds emanating from the speakers all came together as one entity. Kind of a natural high, I suppose. The strangest part was my mind playing tricks on me. It was unclear whether certain sounds I perceived were coming from the band or were just in my head. I thought I was the only one who brushed shoulders with insanity during the show, but one of the guys with me told me he felt the same way. So bravo, My Bloody Valentine, for figuring out how to get into people’s heads: LOUD NOISES.

(this picture doesn’t do the show justice in the slightest)

Next up was Tool. The Tool fans I met in the audience and on past occasions are some of the most dedicated fans contemporary music has to offer. I am not particularly familiar with their music (other than what I’ve heard on Guitar Hero, admittedly), so I asked a random guy in a Tool shirt whether they would be as loud or as good as the previous set. He stared at me blankly for a couple seconds and then started laughing. Then he told me that Tool is and will always be the greatest band in history. OK then, my hopes were certainly high. Then the show started.

Having seen them play, it is safe to say that I just don’t get Tool. It’s kind of like seeing a very deep, complicated movie that tons of people absolutely adore, but after seeing it for the first time, you just don’t get it. Maybe Tool is over my head, or just not my style, but I didn’t like the music. The singer Maynard James Keenan is a charismatic frontman who certainly looked cool. The lighting shrouded him in silhouette, making his spasmodic dancing look awesome. Plus the laser light show was a real spectacle. Unfortunately the music just didn’t do it for me.

Despite my ear injuries from My Bloody Valentine and overall disappointment with Tool, day two was certainly not a failure. I was exposed to two largely unfamiliar bands in their most pure form – live performance. We headed back to the hotel for much needed recovery for day three, which was by far the best.

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All Points West, Day One

So this past weekend 3 buddies and I traveled out to beautiful New Jersey to see the second annual “Coachella East,” officially known as All Points West. In comparison to Bonnaroo, which I was fortunate enough to get to last year, APW is similar in many ways. Both festivals feature multiple stages with lesser known artists playing during the day, gradually moving towards the headliners at late hours. Also, both shows have interesting and overpriced food stands catering exclusively to the people with the munchies. Case in point:

The biggest difference is while Bonnaroo is a huge, privately owned tract of farmland, APW takes place at a public park. As a result, camping out at Liberty Park is strictly verboten. We had the distinct pleasure of trekking around super confusing north Jersey roads in search of the elusive Ramada Hotel as well as some much-needed après-show grub in the same vein as Harold and Kumar.

Anyway, on the the important part, the music!

Day 1:

Rain, rain, rain, great music and more rain. We started the weekend off with The National, an indie rock band from Brooklyn. I have heard a song or two of theirs in the past and thought they sounded alright. Seeing their set changed everything. Frontman Matt Berninger’s distinctive baritone laid over a talented band proved to be one of the best shows of the weekend. Witnessing Berninger jump out into the crowd, mic still in hand, at the peak of the final song showed that the relatively unknown band really means business. I am yet to give their recorded stuff a second try, but it is certainly on my listen-to list.

After The National, the already torrential rain really picked up, and my lack of any rain protection whatsoever was starting to get to me. That didn’t stop me from enjoying Vampire Weekend, everyone’s favorite New England-themed baroque rockers from NYC. They played through most of their debut album, of course finishing off with their lead single Walcott. Everything they played was good, although the two or three new songs were a bit lackluster. The highlight of the show unexpected. You know that song that everyone hates, Blake’s Got a New Face? Yeah, well that stole the show. I didn’t realize how powerful of a vocalist Ezra Koenig is until he belted out the usually obnoxious call-and-response chorus. I don’t know if it was the hypothermia kicking in, but I was stunned with joy the whole show. As a side note, right before MGMT on day three, we saw a guy in a drunken stupor hollering “BLAKE’S GOTTA NEW FAAAAACE!” at the top of his shithoused lungs. Now that’s entertainment.

We didn’t catch much of Pharcyde, but the few songs we heard certainly sounded good. Also, I got to tell them up close and personal how much I appreciated their work. Sweet.

Next up was the best show of APW, my favorite MC of all time, Q-Tip. FROM THE THIRD FUCKING ROW!!! His energy was unmatched. He started it off with some cuts from The Renaissance (see previous post), and gradually moved into his earlier Tribe Called Quest hits. Singing along to Scenario basically completed my life. All that was missing was Phife Dawg and maybe Busta Rhymes. Fortunately, the legendary DJ Scratch manned the turntables and laptop, providing Q-Tip with new and classic beats. To top things off, the rain had effectively stopped by this point, allowing me to enjoy the glory of the best rapper around working his magic from the third row. Did I mention I was in the third row? Oh yeah, I was in the third row.

Finishing off day one was Jay-Z, the replacement headliner. The Beastie Boys were supposed to be in his place, but Adam Yauch AKA MCA was unfortunately stricken with throat cancer. Hova paid his respects by starting off with an energetic cover of the Beastie’s No Sleep Till Brooklyn. Disappointingly, the show lost steam from then on. I’ve never been a big fan of Jay-Z, namely because all he raps about is himself. That gets boring after about five minutes. Everyone else in the crowd seemed to be having a blast, so who knows.

That does it for the first day of APW, more to come later!

Q-Tip – The Renaissance

If you are unfamiliar with, or think you don’t like hip-hop, please take the time to check out this masterpiece by one of the greatest MCs to ever live. It is the perfect introduction to a genre dominated by false stereotypes and negative perceptions, perpetuated primarily by much of the mainstream.

His new album takes the signature chilled out rap sound innovated by his old outfit, A Tribe Called Quest back in the early ’90s and makes it personal. When hip-hop was at its peak ten or fifteen years ago, the music was all about crazy sampling, amazing beats, and an energizing sound. Groups and artists like Tribe, Gang Starr, Mos Def, The Pharcyde, and Common intertwined positive lyrics with superior production in order to create masterful works that are just amazing to listen to. The Renaissance hearkens back to the good old days, but manages to keep it fresh and original sounding.

Q-Tip lives up to his moniker. When he gets in my ears, boy do they feel amazing. This man has got a gift for flow largely unmatched in today’s hip-hop scene. I’d listen to him read through one of end-user license agreements that everyone just clicks “I agree” and moves on. That’s how smooth he is. Just listen to “Gettin’ Up.” That man has a gift. His phenomenal vocals are is accented by diverse production, ranging from the piano driven and old-school R&B accented “Won’t Trade,” to the minimalistic guitar groove of “Johnny is Dead,” and the funky bass guitar + trap set on “Manwomanboogie.”

This album is great, regardless of your familiarity with the genre. It is perfect to throw on at a party, while driving, or just to enjoy by yourself with headphones at 2 AM. If you like what you hear, I recommend checking out any of the other artists mentioned above. It is a nice departure from the overproduced, vocoded cash cows (sorry Kanye) or the misogynistic, crime and money glorifying tracks dominating today’s scene. I’ll be seeing Q-Tip and some other fantastic music at the end of July at All Points West, so I’ll sure to write about that. Enjoy!

Listen to “Gettin’ Up”
Listen to “Won’t Trade”

Lets give this a try…

Hi everyone! Last night I was having trouble sleeping so I decided to evaluate my current state of affairs. I realized that there is a void in my life that has been bugging me for a long time. This void is the absence of free, creative writing. The only writing I ever do is for school, and believe me, philosophy papers are not exactly Disney World. While I love to write, the reason I never do it on my own is because I never had anything to write about. What is a subject that I am knowledgeable and passionate about? So, the big revelation I had last night is…how about I write about music! So here I am now, writing this rambling introductory post for all of you to read (“you” meaning the like 3 people I’ve told about this). How exhilarating. Expect an actual post regarding, you know, music, sometime soon!

The purpose of this blog is to enlighten the unenlightened about today’s independent music scene. Sometimes I will review albums, other times I will rant about current affairs, and sometimes I will copy and paste countless .gif images of 1 Girl 1 Cup over and over again (just kidding…maybe). While no one notable has declared that music is, in fact, dead, I do hear a constant stream of griping regarding 21st Century music as a whole. Cookie cutter club tracks dominate pop radio. The M in MTV barely stands for music anymore. Soulja Boy has made more in his teenage years than most people make in a lifetime. But behind the thick veil of straight businessmen in artist’s clothing, there is a rich, boundless music scene that can cater to anyone. The antithesis to modern music’s money grubbing vice is the sheer breadth of genres and subgenres and subsubgenres and beyond. Myspace, Youtube, P2P, iTunes, and the Internet in general has created a revolutionary way to discover new music. In the past, people depended on music magazines and the dude in the local record store for recommendations. That era has ended. Listen to your favorite song and your media player recommends other artists to check out. There are no limits.

Unfortunately, this boundlessness can be overwhelming. That is what I’m here for! I love discovering new artists and genres to listen to, so I spend much of my time doing so. In short, I will write about good music that you should listen to. So you should read it. And then listen. And then have an eargasm.