Tag Archives: Festival

Revisited: My @Lollapalooza 2012 | Running down the festival from top to bottom

8 Aug

I can sum my Lollapalooza experience up quite easy: an incredible time with great friends.

Any chance I get to return to the city of my birth I’m excited but add in a music festival with 100,000 people in Grant Park and you crank it up to 11.  This year I approached Lolla a bit different and wasn’t running from show to show.  I took the pace down a little and really stepped back to enjoy it a bit more. I was late to some shows which was unfortunate but at the end of the three days I was still stoked about who I saw and just wonder what may have happened if the Saturday afternoon storm evacuation didn’t cancel acts like Alabama Shakes, The Temper Trap, B.o.B. and the band I was most hoping to see, The Dunwells.  Props to C3 Presents for acting swiftly to recover and push back start times, reschedule bands like fun., Chairlift, Empires, etc.  C3 also did an incredible job of scheduling overall forcing the crowd to pick and choose like I’ve never seen.  When you are looking at a mile walk from the Bud Light Stage to the Red Bull Stage, it’s just not really possible to get everywhere you want to be unless you are a marathon sprinter.

A breakdown of who I saw each day:

Friday: O Rappa, Michael Kiwanuka, The Black Angels, The War On Drugs, Metric, Die Antwoord, Passion Pit, Black Sabbath, The Black Keys

Saturday: Of Monsters and Men (off the grounds), fun., The Weeknd, Red Hot Chili Peppers

Sunday: Outasight, The Devil Makes Three, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Trampled by Turtles, Gary Clark Jr., The Gaslight Anthem, Of Monsters and Men, Florence + The Machine, Miike Snow, Jack White

Headliners:  I have to be honest, you shouldn’t have gone to Lollapalooza just for the headliners. Talented musicians indeed (and ones I like) but you can’t compare The Black Keys, Black Sabbath, Avicii, Justice, Jack White and Red Hot Chili Peppers to last year’s of Coldplay, Muse, My Morning Jacket, Eminem, Foo Fighters and Deadmau5.

My First Show: O Rappa

My Final Show: Technically Jack White but essentially I caught all four final acts bumping to Kaskade, hearing Childish Gambino drop “Heartbeat” and hearing one of my favorite Justice songs, “On’n’On.”

My Moment of Joy: Seeing the rambunctious overfilled crowd on hand for Of Monsters and Men Sunday night time slot.

My Favorite Show: Didn’t actually happen at Lollapalooza.  Off-site Of Monsters and Men show on the rooftop of a condo tower for Gilt City’s ‘Better Than Backstage’ party.  Thanks to my friend Nicole for making it happen!  Seriously one of the top three bands I was dying to see at the festival and here I am just inches away as they rocked out.  A tip of the hat to an amazing group of musicians doing big things.

Best Overall Show: Die Antwoord, my second time seeing them and this was just flat out awesome. They had the crowd mesmerized and loving every moment of this high energy set.

Best Bud Light Stage Show: For me, Passion Pit – flat out great performance but easily it was Florence + The Machine, she had at least half the festival goers on hand to hear that incredible voice.  I remember the first time I saw her was in a small tent at Bonnaroo and she owned Lollapalooza.  Say hello to next year’s festival circuit headliner.

Best Red Bull Stage Show(s): I guess The Black Keys, those guys are just so honed in and solid in front of big crowds.

Best Playstation Stage Show(s): Die Antwoord, Gary Clark Jr.

Best Sony Stage Show: Last year I spent the most time at this stage.  This year I only really saw Miike Snow.

Best Google Play Stage Show: The Gaslight Anthem, the Jersey rockers did exactly that making the most of their 45 minute set.

Best BMI Stage Show: Well the only one I actually got to this year was Outasight and he had the crowd bouncing.

Best Perry’s Stage Show: In truth, I didn’t even see a show here, passed by a lot but didn’t get caught up in the pandemonium but the stage setup that may have been the best show.  LED bonanza creating quite the visuals.

Overall Stage With The Best Performances: Hands down Google Play, they stacked the deck with this stage and fans responded packing all of these shows. Big time acts like The War on Drugs, Blind Pilot, SBTRKT, Band of Skulls, Dawes, Wale, GIVERS, fun., Washed Out Twin Shadow, Frank Ocean, Of Monsters and Men, The Gaslight Anthem, Hey Rosetta!, The Big Pink, Childish Gambino

Biggest Surprise: How much I enjoyed the Metric show.

Best Legend Show: I just have to say Black Sabbath for the sheer fact that I saw Black Sabbath, even if Ozzy is starring into gigantic teleprompters and not sounding too good.

Random Moment(s) Of Awesomeness: fun. show being rescheduled after the Saturday evacuation and just owning the crowd for a 35 minute set filled with their hits.

Most Entertaining Show: Die Antwoord, if you’ve never seen them, you can’t help but be entertained

Most Disappointing Moment: not getting to see a bunch of acts I was super excited to see for the first time like Milo Greene, First Aid Kit and The Dunwells (the rain ruined that one for me) and some of my favorites like GIVERS, Chancellor Warhol, DAWES.

Next Big Thing: I want to say The Dunwells but the evacuation for the storm forced a cancellation of this show. And I sincerely hope more people discover Michael Kiwanuka; he’s got an incredible voice, great songs and is an absolute treat to listen to live.

Giving it a shot: The Devil Makes Three and I absolutely loved them.

Top Party: I’m giving this to Passion Pit because it was entertaining, full of energy and well I am a fan.

Funky Good Time Show: Gary Clark Jr.

Band I Was Sad To Miss: Sigur Ros

Best Intro: Rahm Emanuel introducing The Black Keys

What Would Have Been Great: Having less scheduling conflicts so I could see more bands

Top Moment: Choosing to skip Milo Greene, Chancellor Warhol, JEFF The Brotherhood and GIVERS for a once in a lifetime moment with Of Monsters and Men on the rooftop with the Chicago skyline serving as the background.

Best Festival Eat/Drink: Uncorked Wine Lounge

Best Place To Cool Off: I didn’t really find one and it was hot and humid

Biggest Waste of Time: The Toyota Crane game thing that totally wasn’t a crane

Evacuation Nation: Wow, getting 100,000 people out of the park in approximately 30 minutes before the torrential storm came in was pretty incredible.  Holed up in a steamy Irish Pub with $6 Bud Lights wasn’t ideal but it was festive and one of those random things you won’t soon forget.

Clutch Move: Popping out a little early on Friday night to head over to Big Star, my favorite taco and mescal joint in town.

Tip For Next Year: Coming a day early again and leaving on a later flight on Monday.

More Tips: drink water, more water, sunscreen is your second best friend after water, if you see someone struggling give them a hand or find someone to help.

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Holler for Lolla! Chicago, Grant Park, Lollapalooza, Let’s Go!

3 Aug

Oh how sweet it is, the second city becomes numero uno in the music world this weekend as Lollapalooza gets underway today!  If you can’t make it, stream it.  If you can’t stream it, listen to this little Lollapalooza playlist I made on Spotify.

Will try to get some updates on the blog throughout the festival and you can expect a full recap following.
Cheers!

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New Music – Lollapalooza Edition: The Dunwells

30 Jul

So this week it’s all about Lollapalooza on DoYouHearTheMusic.com. Most everyone is familiar with a lot of the acts performing this weekend so I’m going to throw some info out there on some artists and bands you may not be up to speed on.  Today’s group is actually a band I cannot wait to see, one of the must see shows for me.

Two words: The Dunwells

Who? Two brothers, two cousins and one more mate from Leeds, England.

What?  A five piece band destined to make it across the pond in America.  Check out their debut album, Blind Sided Faith.

Why you should listen?  Their indie-folk sound is full of beautiful harmonies any music fan will love – plus they add a little slice of Americana to their music.

A reason you’ll be excited?  These boys are now on a mini US Tour so get out and see them at a venue near you.

Why I’m excited: These guys just bring it and I can’t wait to see them perform live.  From their folk to blues and rock to soul, they are all over the place but in a unique way that blends together perfectly.

If you like: Mumford & Sons

Final thoughts: At Lollapalooza these guys have to compete in the same time slot as Alabama Shakes, The Temper Trap, fun. and B.o.B – how’s that for being relative nobody’s right now? I’ve seen every act but The Dunwells and I cannot wait to see them rock the BMI Stage this weekend.  I promise that for anyone opting to check these guys out, you will be thankful and have one heck of a story to tell when they break it big.

My recommendation, catch the top half of Alabama Shakes and make your way to The Dunwells.

Saturday, August 4, 4:30-5:10 p.m.

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Five For Friday: Lollapalooza Edition No.1

27 Jul

So here we are, one week away from Lollapalooza and the excitement is building.  So many great bands and musicians over three wild and crazy filled days in Chicago!  As Grant Park gets ready to be invaded by 100,000 people, I’m running down a small little guide if you find yourself attending and for those who plan to watch the YouTube stream.

  1. Let’s get it out of the way, headliners.  Night One: pits Black Sabbath vs. The Black Keys – only US date for Black Sabbath, Night Two: Avicii vs. Red Hot Chili Peppers – RHCP dominated Bonnaroo with a fiery set, Night Three: Justice vs. Jack White – what I’m most interested in is how the crowd sways, when Childish Gambino and Kaskade play at the same time.
  2. Some afternoon delights for you.  Bands like First Aid Kit, The Growlers, Michael Kiwanuka, The War On Drugs, Milo Greene, JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound, Kopecky Family Band, Chancellor Warhol, Moon Taxi, GIVERS, Bombay Bicycle Club, Outasight, Hey Rosetta!, Oberhofer and more pull early time slots but I promise will be worth arriving for.  These bands are awesome and this is some new music you should really be checking out.
  3. Time Conflicts.  A tip of the hat to the schedulers for finding the easiest way to pull a crowd a part as there are many times over the three days that will have festivalgoers torn.  For instance, on Saturday at the same time you’ll have to decide between Alabama Shakes, The Temper Trap, The Dunwells, B.o.B and fun.  Good luck!
  4. When the sun goes down, the action heats up.  Late night Lollapalooza brings forth some amazing late night shows and some of the best memories of the weekend.  Tickets are sold out to the advertised shows but make a few friends and you’ll find out where the rocking parties are. (Last year I caught CULTS, The Black Lips, Crystal Castles, Skylar Grey)
  5. Who I’m excited for.  Well I’ve been fortunate enough to see so many of these acts live before that I’m mostly craving the opportunity to see many for the first time like Of Monsters and Men, The Gaslight Anthem, The Dunwells, Miike Snow, M83, The Weeknd, Twin Shadow, Amadou & Mariam, Dum Dum Girls, The Devil Makes Three, First Aid Kit, Milo Greene, DEV, Dry The River and Moon Taxi.  Plus after finally seeing Alabama Shakes live at Bonnaroo, I can’t wait to see them again, simply amazing live.

 

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Five For Friday: Passion Pit, The Gaslight Anthem, Slightly Stoopid, Firefly, Guest Blogging

20 Jul

Check it out.  I’m trying something new at DoYouHearTheMusic.com with a Five For Friday post.  The Triple F is five nuggets of musical goodness to get you through the weekend.  In other words, the soundtrack to your weekend begins right here!

  1. Passion Pit – yes some “mental health” issues of Michael Angelakos have forced the band to cancel some July dates but next week their new album Gossamer drops and boy oh boy should you be excited.  If you haven’t yet given a listen, hop on over to NPR to stream the album.
  2. The Gaslight Anthem – the Jersey Boys are back with another rocking album, Handwritten, which will also be released next Tuesday. Their fourth album may very well prove to be their best as the fellas once again bring that Springsteenesque rock and roll but with a more refined conviction.  This album can also be streamed via NPR, HERE.
  3. Slightly Stoopid – Miles and Kyle are back with “Top of the World,” the title track off their seventh studio album which drops August 14, 2012.  Give a listen HERE.
  4. Firefly Music Festival in Delaware began today and you better believe if I still lived on the east coast, I would be there right now.  Fantastic line-up which includes headliners The Killers and The Black Keys as well as some of my favorites, Michael Franti, Allen Stone, Lupe Fiasco, GROUPLOVE, Walk The Moon, CULTS, The Head and The Heart.
  5. Earlier this week I had the opportunity to guest blog for my friend Dayna Roselli.  Check out the post HERE.

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Rock on! Dogfish Head’s Firefly Ale

3 Jul

I’m all about good music and a good brew so naturally I thought this was pretty sweet.

 

From the Shanken News Daily:

“Milton, Delaware-based Dogfish Head Brewery has created a limited edition beer to serve at this month’s inaugural Firefly Music Festival in Dover, Delaware. Dogfish Head’s Firefly Ale is an English-style Pale Ale brewed with Marris Otter barley and English heritage hops, as well as a late addition of American Calypso hops. The 5%-abv offering will be available on tap at the festival alongside six additional varieties of Dogfish Head brews. Featuring musical acts such as The Killers, The Black Keys and John Legend, the Firefly Music Festival will run from July 20-22.”

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Revisited: My @Bonnaroo 2012 | Running down the festival from top to bottom

13 Jun

Bonnaroo is a lot like camp, you hang out with friends, create memories and have the greatest summer alive and when it’s time to say goodbye you don’t want to accept it and it can be sad. But those frowns get turned upside down when you realize it’s less than a year away from returning to the friendly confines and get the chance to rekindle friendships and make new memories.

Now that the sappy stuff is out of the way, let’s get to the meat and potatoes that was Bonnaroo 2012. First off flying in Wednesday night was the best move of the festival which besides getting to roll in to the grounds during daylight, I got the opportunity to enjoy a full Thursday and what a first day it was.

Over the course of the four days I exhausted myself trying to squeeze in as much music as possible. And at the end of the day, that was a tough task and personally I feel I fell short and should have squeezed in more but ultimately my body didn’t agree. I did however stay true to my top three to see: Dispatch, Alabama Shakes and Black Star and those were three shows I got so much joy out of. Dispatch was over a decade in the making for me and the fellas were enthusiastic, having fun and straight up rocking the way I imagined. Alabama Shakes reconfirmed to me what I have been preaching; amazingly talented, rock and roll has a new voice and Brittany Howard may be one of the most charismatic musicians in the business. And Black Star, a true honor to see some of hip-hop’s finest share the stage and just own the night.
As for the rest of my thoughts on Bonnaroo 2012, here we go:

A Breakdown of who I saw each day

Thursday:
Feist (did an impromptu set on Which Stage to prepare for her regular gig), Fort Atlantic, The Dirty Guv’nahs, Rubblebucket, Mariachi El Bronx, Danny Brown, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr., Kendrick Lamar, Marina Orchestra, SOJA and Phantogram (just tidbits walking by), Alabama Shakes, Big Gigantic, CHERUB
Friday:
Shahidah Omar, Electric Guest, Michael Kiwanuka (he ended 15 minutes early so only heard one song), Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings, Two Door Cinema Club, Caitlin Rose, Afrocubism, The Avett Brothers, Foster The People, Radiohead, Black Star, Major Lazer, Umphrey’s McGee
Saturday:
Charles Bradley, DAWES, The Temper Trap, Flogging Molly (one song), Oberhofer, Santigold, Childish Gambino, The Roots, Dispatch, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Superjam, (gulp) Skrillex
Sunday:
Sister Sparrow & The Dirty Birds, ALO, The Black Lips, Honey Island Swamp Band, GROUPLOVE, Mac Miller (Beach Boys was too crazy had to watch from a TV!), Kenny Rogers, Bon Iver, Machines Are People Too, Phish

My First Show: Feist (impromptu set)

My Final Show: Phish

My Moment of Joy: Seeing a throng of people overflow This Tent for the Alabama Shakes and watching them in amazement as they owned opening night at Bonnaroo. Want to try and capture the energy? Click HERE to download their set from Bonnaroo!

Best What Stage Show: Phish – are you kidding me, besides having Kenny Rogers come out to sing “The Gambler,” the jam band legends did their legacy well.

I did also love The Avett Brothers show, those fellas are so damn good live.

Best Which Stage Show(s): Dispatch and Childish Gambino. Dispatch were on fire and had an aura of happiness that was contagious with the crowd. Gambino didn’t allow technology malfunctions to derail his time in the spotlight and a major upgrade from the tent last year.

Best Tent Show: GROUPLOVE (see below)

Best Side Stage Show: DAWES at Sonic Stage – after thinking it was going just be a “30 minute set and play some songs,” Taylor Goldsmith wasn’t shy about letting the packed legion of fans know “ you made this like a second performance at Bonnaroo” which in turn granted fans an encore after the show was well over! Wild stuff.

Best Overall Show: GROUPLOVE – there is something about this band that I feel and it gets me to the bone every time I see them live. I love their story, their music, the way they approach shows, how sincere they are and yeah, they are damn good musicians. The crowd was lively; the band was energized and together formed a beautiful hour of music euphoria.

Biggest Surprise: Marina Orchestra – no idea going in and left loving this band craving more.

Best Legend Show: Kenny Rogers (even if I did miss Lionel Richie coming out to sing with him).

Random Moment(s) Of Awesomeness: Seeing Kenny Rogers come out on stage to sing “The Gambler” with Phish; Flea taking a moment during RHCP set to reel off all the bands he had the chance to see and how awesome Bonnaroo is.

Overall Stage With The Best Performances: Got to go with the main one, What Stage, this year was packed with supreme talent that did not disappoint.

Most Entertaining Show: Rubblebucket – this show had it all, sick horn section, rocking lead singer, robots (yes really) dancing in the crowd courtesy of the band and all this happening on the Solar Stage!

2nd place – Mariachi El Bronx which was not only amazing but I love this hardcore punk turned mariachi band. Best part was lead singer Matt Caughthran finding a way to dedicate every song to someone and to see the sheer joy about performing at Bonnaroo.

Most Disappointing Moment: Missing a plethora of bands I wanted to see just based on schedule conflicts – Alice Cooper, Hey Rosetta!, The Civil Wars, St. Vincent, Kurt Vile, Trampled By Turtles, to name some

Next Big Thing: Electric Guest and GROUPLOVE (Alabama Shakes have already arrived)

Giving it a shot: I did two things I said I wouldn’t, caught some of Skrillex’s set and took in Bon Iver (actually found a song I like, “Skinny Love”)

Top Party: Superjam, c’mon were talking about ?uestlove bringing D’Angelo out! First show in the US in 12 years and man did he sound good.

Oddest Show That Was A Blast: Danny Brown

Funky Good Time Show: Charles Bradley

Band I Was Sad To Miss: The Civil Wars

Best Intro: Do my intros to friends going to see a band they never heard of count?

What Would Have Been Great: a fifth day to see some more of the acts

Top Roo Rookie: Dispatch, yeah the seasoned veterans played their first Roo and boy was it special

Top Moment: The entire crowd at What Stage singing “Under The Bridge” during the Red Hot Chili Peppers show.

Best Festival Eats: Amish Bakery Doughnuts

Best Broo’ers Beer: Starr Hill Brewery Amber

Best Place To Cool Off: the RV

Biggest Waste of Time: anything that involved a line (again)

Shocker Of The Festival: Not too many surprise guests as expected

Worst Part: Scheduling conflicts

Clutch Move: Native Rain Boots, comfy and convenient to deal with the mud on Day 4

Tip For Next Year: Walmart is so close to the campground, don’t buy more than you really need, you can always go back for more, we did this year and it saved us close to $1,000.00.

More Tips: drink water, more water, sunscreen is your second best friend after water, if you see someone struggling give them a hand or find someone, Ben & Jerry’s is still my favorite thing to eat at Bonnaroo.

Photos coming soon, stay tuned!

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Countdown to Bonnaroo: Today is the day!!!

7 Jun

Bonnaroo, Bonnaroo,Bonnaroo

Feel The magic in the air,Bonnaroo

Bonnaroo, Bonnaroo,Bonnaroo

Feel the magic everywhere, Bonnaroo

You can feel the magic in the air

They’re havin’ a good time

Counting down the milesbefore we cross

That state line to lose these blues

Bonnaroo me and you Tennessee Bonnaroo

 

Just as the lyrics to “Bonnaroo (Feel The Magic)” there is nothing else that can describe today better.  The next four days are going to be filled with music, arts, great people and ever lasting memories.  Chances are the blog is going radio silent for the next four days but maybe there will be a surprise post here and there.  Catch you on the flip side!

 

Here’s last year, no fun at all!

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Countdown to Bonnaroo: 1 Day – Artist of the Day: Dispatch

6 Jun

Why is Dispatch my choice for this slot? Simple, I never thought I’d have the opportunity to see one of my favorite bands live.  When they broke up I was crushed as a music fan and having not seen them live before.  When the announcement came they had reunited and were going back on tour last year, I was elated. And now I will finally have the chance to see the fellas live; everything else going on at the festival stops for me when Dispatch takes the stage.

To tell you the impact this band has had on my generation, Dispatch recorded a documentary “The Last Dispatch” to turn the final two shows into a DVD/CD.  Expecting 10,000-30,000 fans, 110,000 showed up! That doesn’t just happen!  Three guys from the east coast redefined independent music and a legion of fans followed.  There were a few one off shows here and there (MSG, look it up) and each had side projects but nothing can signify what it means (at least to me) how thankful and happy I am to see this band back together.

Now on the biggest stage, Dispatch, will bring that musical joy and I hope everyone comes over to hear this special show.

Saturday June 09, Which Stage, 08:30 PM

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Livestream of Bonnaroo? Check. Tickets to a festival? Your chance to win big

6 Jun

Okay music fans, we are inching closer and closer to the best four days of the year, BONNAROO!!  But if you can’t attend, I highly encourage you to watch the festival from the Dell Livestream at www.youtube.com/bonnaroo.  Hope you are able to catch at least a handful of shows I’m excited about from the Countdown to Bonnaroo over the last 30+ days and find yourself some new bands to be grooving to.  Just because you can’t be on the farm doesn’t mean you can’t experience some of the joy and excitement that will be occurring and in true Bonnaroo fashion, surprises are always bound to happen so the more you tune in, the more you can see live!  The stream runs June 8-10 so check back with me after the festival to see what you missed on night one, June 7 when I’ll for sure be catching The Dirty Guv’nahs and Alabama Shakes among a handful of other talented musicians.

Want to attend a festival like Bonnaroo?  Thanks to the Dell Festival Tour, they are making your dreams come true, giving away trips for you to attend Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits.  Pretty cool, huh? All you have to do is click here and ‘like’ them on Facebook for your chance to win a Dell XPS 13 Ultrabook, more Dell prizes, festival tickets or exclusive VIP upgrades. Also, Dell are now running a PhotoFest competition on Twitter so post your best pics from Bonnaroo (and other festivals) with the hashtag #DellLive to win prizes!

Hope to see you at the next festival and if you are making your way to Bonnaroo, come find me and grab a DoYouHearTheMusic.com sticker.  Limited edition, once they are gone, it’s time for sticker number two.

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