On January 14th, Matador Records and its subsidiary True Panther Sounds will release an 11-track vinyl-only sampler entitled Intended Play. Pressed on cherry red vinyl, the collection includes new and unreleased music from Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, Sonic Youth’s Lee Ranaldo, Perfume Genius, Ceremony, and Tanlines, as well as previously released tracks from Fucked Up, Girls, Cold Cave, and Kurt Vile. As per above, it also comes wrapped in a pretty bad ass cover.

Here’s the best part though: the thing costs only $1.98. Pre-orders are now ongoing at Matador’s web store.

Intended Play Tracklist:
01. The Young – Don’t Hustle For Love *
02. Kurt Vile – Life’s A Beach
03. Girls – My Ma
04. Ceremony – Hysteria *
05. Tanlines – TBA
06. Lee Ranaldo – Off The Wall *
07. Fucked Up – Into The Light
08. Esben and the Witch – Hexagons II
09. Perfume Genius – All Waters *
10. Cold Cave – Confetti (edit)
11. Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks – Polvo *

* = Unreleased

I promised the staff I would not go all Masterpiece Theater with this intro, so I’ll be brief. Our Annual Report has reached its halfway point with our Top 50 Songs of the Year. The many flags of our staff are hoisted high — and we couldn’t be happier with what we’re saluting. From Cults’ very first song to Tom Waits’ thousandth song, we put up the tracks that left us with more thoughts, feelings, and impressions than any other. We think we done good.

But just to make sure the world still spins on its axis, let us know what you think we missed from our list and what you liked in the comments. We thrive on that stuff.

Additionally, we’ve got the de rigueur Top 50 Songs of the Year Spotify playlist for you, a quick link to purchase the song on Amazon, and an easy ctrl-c +ctrl-v list for you at the very end immediately following our #1 song of the year.

As always, our profuse thanks for reading, enjoy these tunes, and we’ll see you again next week for the second half of our 2011 Annual Report.

-Jeremy D. Larson
Content Director

50. Ellie Goulding – “Lights”

At age 24, Ellie Goulding’s folktronica turned heads across the world, especially with “Lights”. Remixed from here to high heaven by killer producers, sampled by Lupe Fiasco for his latest mixtape, and dropped by DJs looking to get well-dressed girls on the dance floors from the Bay Area to Eastern Europe, its appeal lies in its honest vocals, minimalistic beats, and stark, raving energy. It’s Goulding’s first charting single in the U.S. and Canada, and judging from the widespread allure (and the thousands who camped near her stage at festivals nationwide), it likely won’t be her last. -Paul de Revere

49. Cults – “Go Outside”

Going from relative obscurity to indie stardom isn’t anything new, but the way Madelline Follin and Brian Oblivion of Cults did it with such New York coolness and style still seemed incredibly refreshing. By the time the mainstream caught wind of Follin’s adorably unique, helium-filled balloon voice, “Go Outside” was already a bona fide song of the summer contender. Its lyrics are like a mantra for anyone in a going-nowhere relationship, delivered in an irresistibly sweet, poppy tone. And how can you not dig that crazy glockenspiel solo? -Gilles LeBlanc

48. Big K.R.I.T. – “Country Shit” (Remix)

The original version of “Country Shit” showed up on last year’s K.R.I.T. Wuz Here, but this remix, featuring all-new bars from Ludacris and Bun B, goes harder in every way. Over a chopped and looped vocal sample and thunderous bass, K.R.I.T. delivers an unusually aggressive verse for “the folk in Texas that’s forever wreckin’ with the Styrofoam cup and the purple fluid.” This is a rave-up, no doubt, and it just might be the greatest Dixie rap get-together this side of “Int’l Players Anthem”. -Mike Madden

47. Mikal Cronin – “Apathy”

So much good came out of the fertile ground of the San Francisco psych/garage scene this year, and Mikal Cronin’s debut LP may be best in show simply because he’s got the hooks. “Apathy” digs in with stopgap verses and a vintage 60’s underground sound. Cronin is wrestling with that all-too-real twentysomething identity crisis; he’s a man who’s sure he doesn’t want apathy or empathy. Or everything. Or anything. His generation struggles with defining themselves, and finding a fine line between slacker and sincere is difficult. This loud and splashy confession pretty much nails that frustration. -Jeremy D. Larson

46. Cold Cave – “The Great Pan Is Dead”

The primal themes and screams of Wesley Eisold on “The Great Pan Is Dead” could have been penned by the Vikings or the Huns or some dodgy Germanic tribe. It’s ostentatious like an arena song with more than enough of Eisold’s hardcore/noise/new wave bent to make it sound like it could have been out on Wax Trax! Records. “Yeah/I will come running/gunning through the years/hunting heart/crushing fears,” except Eisold makes it seem like he’s going to do this while completely on fire. All the while, at its core, it’s just a romantic ode to someone who warrants truly epic imagery — imagery that would fall flat without the high-stakes propulsion of the music below it. If love songs are played in Valhalla, this may be the only thing allowed. -Jeremy D. Larson

45. Das Racist – “Michael Jackson”

“I’m fucking great at rapping!” With those five words, Himanshu “Heems” Suri embraces the new identity that he, Victor “Kool A.D.” Vazquez, and Ashok “Dap” Kondabolu have forged as Das Racist. Where elsewhere they’ll make you wonder whether this whole rap thing is just a lark, here D.R. take the simple to the nth degree. Whether it’s that ultimately basic brag, the “Michael Jackson/a million dollars/you hear me?/holler” chorus, or A.D.’s lithe “You go girl, it’s your world”, this song embraces the brilliance of simplicity. The beat kills, and references to Richie Valens, “Parenthood”, and McGuyver all smashed together somehow just makes sense. -Adam Kivel

44. The Horrors – “Still Life”

To be one of the 50 best songs of the year, at least one element of your introduction has to grab attention. With “Still Life”, The Horrors gave us three options. There’s the wobbly tape loop that gradually fades in, the body-vibrating drumbeat, and the bell curve synth melody. All that before we even get to the vocals! Faris Badwan sounds cautious, almost fragile, in the speak-sing verses. Once the chorus kicks in and the melody lights up, though, he richly belts out line after line, guaranteeing a sing-along from even the most casual fan. -Joe Marvilli

43. Bill Callahan – “Riding for the Feeling”

Bill Callahan is one of America’s most low-profile existentialists. “Riding for the Feeling” is a great example of why. Callahan’s smooth baritone lightly jogs along his own acoustic strumming, impressionistic organ, reverb-soaked electric guitars, and salt-and-pepper drums to craft a statement of beautiful futility. Mr. Callahan is capital letters THE TRUTH, and he spits a lot of it: “With intensity, a drop evaporates by law/In conclusion, leaving is easy when you’ve got some place to be.” How ’bout that for some cold, hard facts? But as the song progresses, it becomes clearer and clearer that the place Callahan has to be doesn’t really exist–that he’s just riding somewhere else, merely riding for the feeling. And so are we. -Drew Litowitz

42. Dum Dum Girls – “Coming Down”

A single of anguish, “Coming Down” is the side of Dum Dum Girls no one has ever seen. During the six-minute ballad, the ladies leave the mystery of their personas to find bliss in the wake of something awful, the death of front woman Dee Dee Penny’s mother. The same fuzz can still be found, but this time there’s more emotion and urgency. Penny wanted fans to feel something, and it’s hard not to at 3:31 with Penny’s declarations of departure. Lo-fi becomes a thing of careful beauty on “Coming Down”. -Lauren Rearick

41. Lykke Li – “I Follow Rivers”

Though it’s called Wounded Rhymes, Lykke Li’s second LP could have easily been titled Wounded Rhythms. For proof, take a listen to “I Follow Rivers”. The melody drunkenly sways alongside her vocals, ranging from subdued verses to triumphant choruses. Clanging, hollow beats don’t just stick to the tempo, but occasionally flair and boost the background up. The woozy synth line remains laid-back but isn’t sloppy. Instead, it loosely drives the song forward without becoming the focal point. That’s saved for Lykke Li’s playful performance. On an album with as many heavy songs as this one has, that’s certainly a breath of fresh air. -Joe Marvilli

40. Wilco – “One Sunday Morning”

Jeff Tweedy warns us that this majestic 12-minute closer to The Whole Love is long in the very first line, but it’s a caution that proves to be moot. Despite the length and refusing to change its basic rhythm or structure, the song never tires, keeping the listener’s attention by sneaking in layer upon layer of instrumentation at strategic moments, then pulling it away. The whispering patter of Mikael Jorgensen’s piano may not drive the melody but blossoms and wilts at the mention of key words like “bells” and “the Bible.” Lyrically, it’s in the same vein as Sky Blue Sky closer “On and On”, a meditation on the relationship between Jeff Tweedy and a past acquaintance that only they understand. But its autumnal feel and confessional tone mean something different to everyone, the perfect tune for looking back on the year in non-linear terms. -Dan Caffrey

39. Liturgy – “Generation”

Brooklyn’s Liturgy have spent the last couple of years working up quite the shitstorm in metal circles for their admittedly ostentatious attempts at re-conceptualizing the genre from the ground up in what they call “transcendental black metal”. Critical response to their latest LP Aesthethica, was pretty much split down the middle largely for that reason. But all talk about the band’s perceived pretension is shot to bits by the initial blast of noise that kick off the album’s best track, the starkly minimal instrumental “Generation”. Seven minutes of blazing guitars and cracking snares, this slab of molten no-wave fury is more akin to early-day Swans than anything remotely “transcendental”, or even “black metal” for that matter. Even so, they’ve catalyzed progress and conversation in a genre that has, for decades now, stagnated in Norse Mythology and church burning scandals. Who says you need corpse paint to rock? -Möhammad Choudhery

38. Washed Out – “Amor Fati”

Washed Out’s Ernest Greene continues to distance himself from chillwave, creating one of the year’s most danceable tracks in “Amor Fati”. Fans have come to expect an inclusion of synths, but it’s the addition of an infectious chorus from Greene that makes for an unexpected moment of pop. The prominent vocals provide a break of warmth from the chillwave lull of its counterparts. Its latin title “amor fati” translates to love of fate. If this is where Greene’s destined, we’re lovestruck, too.   -Lauren Rearick

37. Adele – “Rolling in the Deep”

Each year, there comes a song that is seemingly everywhere, from non-stop radio play to appearances in TV ads and basic cable shows. In 2011, that song was Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep”. Musically, it appealed to a plethora of audiences, as if it were assembled from an equal number of dark, bluesy soul tunes and light, airy disco tracks. The vocals are among Adele’s finest, with an undercurrent of immense wisdom driving forward the larger-than-life, emotionally devastated cries of pain and confusion. But it’s the song’s overall sentiment, of having immense romantic regrets and laying every last one of them on your ex, that made this cut such a massively universal experience. Rare is the track that can mend wounds and help sell the iPhone 4S, but “Rolling in the Deep” does all that and more. -Chris Coplan

36. AraabMUZIK – “Streetz Tonight”

Don’t let the trance label deter you. AraabMUZIK’s Electronic Dream is an atmospheric trip from beginning to end. Best experienced as a whole, there are moments that jump out from the rest, perhaps none more than “Streetz Tonight”. Here, AraabMUZIK dials back his trademark drum machine ingenuity in favor of woozy synth grooves and airy, simplistic female vocals for a different, more laid-back type of head rush. -Austin Trunick

35. Tom Waits – “Hell Broke Luce”

Listeners had to be surprised the first time they heard this jarring, psychotic, nightmarish romp through a combat zone. “Hell Broke Luce” takes the form of a deranged boot camp march (“I had a good home, but I left, right, left”), with the time between Waits’ grating barking filled with banging and clanging, in-and-out guitars, sampled machine gun fire, and even a tuba during one brief lull. Lyrics include drill sergeant/grunt vulgarities, embittered questioning of authority, and lines that suggest the soldier protagonist sees himself as forever severed from the person he was before the war. (“What did you do before the war? /I was a chef, I was a chef/And what was your name? It was Jeff, Jeff”). I have no basis to judge whether or not Waits has captured the hellish realities of war on “Hell Broke Luce”, but I can say that if you’re listening to this track while out walking, it’ll keep you in step. Left, right, left. –Matt Melis

34. Kurt Vile – “Jesus Fever”

Ars longa, vita brevis, as the old adage goes: “Art is long, life is short.” On Kurt Vile’s “Jesus Fever”, the heartland rocker deals with this inevitable fate, all over a jangly progression that feels curated by Lindsay Buckingham circa 1975. One biting line: “When I am a ghost, I’ll see no reason to run/When I’m already gone/If it wasn’t taped, you could escape this song/But I’m already gone.” The lesson? Art is forever. In the digital age – especially a booming one like this year’s – that line takes on a whole new meaning. Art is forever… and everywhere. Now, how meta would it be if kids are listening to this in 100 years? Guess we’ll never know. -Michael Roffman

33. The Black Keys – “Lonely Boy”

“These guys just don’t stop. The late-in-the-year arrival of “Lonely Boy” signaled a much anticipated dose of the Akron blues mongers, even though fans were still simmering from 2010’s Brothers. El Camino’s complete rip-roaring genius aside, the stealthy emergence of the lead single’s video of a solitary man dancing his ass off became an instant sensation as “Lonely Boy” could be heard leaking out from city bus riders’ headphones for a good week after its internet landing. And for good reason. The song is an infectious smack in the face of gritty blues riffs and powerful, rockabilly-influenced fury. Dan Auerbach’s muddy guitar rips into the single as Patrick Carney’s attack drums and a smattering of quirky backing keys propel the song into a spaced-out rock stratosphere where Mark Bolan and blues greats serve as ruling deities. As our own Harley Brown attests, the Keys are at the height of their game, and “Lonely Boy” is Exhibit-A of their zenith status. -Liz Lane

32. Battles – “Ice Cream”

When Gloss Drop single “Ice Cream” dropped, it was the test for many of whether Battles would be the same after losing frontman Tyondai Braxton. The verdict? Not exactly the same, but that is no disappointment. The track wades familiar territory for Battles while placing itself among the trio’s more accessible work. Guest vocalist Matias Aguayo shines with a keen impersonation of Braxton’s trademark vocal manipulation over an irresistible, glitchy two-chord jam. Recommended with a scoop of cake batter on a waffle cone, but maybe not in the bathtub. -J. Harry Painter

31. Kate Bush – “Wild Man”

50 Words for Snow is a rare album themed to winter holiday months while not being pigeonholed as a Christmas album. “Wild Man” is a testament to that. It’s a seven-minute journey through the snowy crags of Tibet, name-dropping countless faraway places and romanticizing the fabled Yeti as only Kate Bush could. That said, it’s a very different Bush song in a lot of ways, with guest vocalist Andy Fairweather Low providing the chorus and Bush swapping out her usual vocal stylings with a husky Mark Knopfler-esque dialogue for most of the track. The sweetness of Bush’s words and the song’s misty, musical veil make it easy to mistake “Wild Man” as a love song, but that’s not quite it. It’s a tribute to the mysteries still hidden in the natural world and the figments we chase, rounding the corners of distant hills, just out of reach. -Cap Blackard

30. Mr. Muthafuckin’ eXquire – “The Last Huzzah” (Remix)

This Mr Muthafuckin’ eXquire remix, paying homage to Craig Mack’s “Flava in Ya Ear remix”, dilutes the year’s cattle call of mixtapes, guest spots, and debut LPs down to the strongest collective showing from any five rappers on a single track. Everyone’s got their fuel, whether its Despot’s “vodka soda,” Danny Brown’s “straight shots of Cuervo,” or El-P’s “straight shots of Sterno.” The track’s an ode to getting lit up, a celebration of skill and saying, “Fuck it all.” If these five guys stumble into 2012 with this much moxy, the same as Biggie, Craig Mack, LL Cool J, and Busta Rhymes did back in 1994, they’ll be the ones coming up big and making great comebacks. -Jeremy D. Larson

“The Last Huzzah” (Remix) (feat. Despot, Das Racist, Danny Brown & El-P)

29. The Strokes – “Under Cover of Darkness”

It is the oft-used “return to form,” right? The yearning Julian Casablancas vocals and the doo-wop exchange between the guitarists and drummer Fab Moretti. Top it off with another great solo courtesy of Nick Valensi, and you have the makings of classic Strokes. We may not be talking about Angles years from now, but I’ll let you know the moment this song finally stops dancing around my head. -Justin Gerber

28. Beirut – “East Harlem”

The way Beirut toys with sense of place is so darn impish and charming. With the title and lyrics of “East Harlem”, you can’t tell whether Zach Condon is crooning about Amsterdam or New Amsterdam (NYC). Yet, at the same time, the details hardly matter. In this song about distance, you don’t know where you are for sure; you’re too lost in the sonic neighborhood or city block Condon has constructed. “Uptown, downtown” can seem like a “thousand miles between us” when you’re intent on studying the gorgeous detail of “East Harlem”, this city-song of blinding lights and gorgeous brass melodies. Go on, dwell in it. Stay awhile. -Paul de Revere

27. The War on Drugs – “Come to the City”

The anthemic centerpiece on one of the year’s most road-ready albums, “Come to the City” is to be played either with the windows down while  drifting along highways or in a stadium/field of a thousand pumping fists. It’s that kind of Arcade Fire-meets-Tom Petty power spun over reverberating organs and snapping drums that makes you want to lean your head out the car window and let the emotion wash over you with the wind. With Kurt Vile off on a solo career, frontman Adam Granduciel’s contemplative lyrics get to shine on their own. “I’ve been drinking up the sweet tea/It was made just for me,” he sings in a Dylan-esque warble. It was made for you, too, so drink up. -Benjamin Kaye

26. Frank Ocean – “Novacane”

If the majority of Odd Future is the id, then R&B crooner Frank Ocean is the ego. His depravity is just as endless, but he exemplifies his more reserved, complicated side on Nostalgia, Ultra standout “Novacane”. The beat is a monstrous amalgamation of hip-hop bass, random, glitchy noises, and, most important of all, a solid groove that sounds stuck between genres and intentions. Establishing a drug-fueled storyline involving porn stars and a trip gone bad, Ocean paints a picture of a stunted youth in search of the next big high to cure what ails him. The diagnosis for Ocean’s soul is grim, but the pursuit of absolution never sounded so intoxicating. -Chris Coplan

25. Girls – “Vomit”

“Vomit” is an anthem of solitude. Like Elliott Smith and Nirvana before him, Christopher Owens struggles with his own opiate addiction. This song is a declaration of an inescapable torment, an unanswered longing, a tender futility. The beginning guitar riff echoes with loneliness like a flickering lightbulb in a dark room. Owens repeats the line “looking for love” as he and Chet White descend into instrumental insanity: A guitar solo wracked with distortion erupts, an organ hums beneath, and melismas sound out through the song’s climax. “Vomit” is its own manifesto, expressing the belief that madness is freedom, that pain is inspiration. -Summer Dunsmore

24. Beastie Boys – “Make Some Noise”

Hip-hop is always boasting how it’s a young person’s game, but “Make Some Noise” proved that the Beastie Boys are dogs who still have some bite left in them. The fortified funk they sic on us at the start of Hot Sauce Committee Part Two is aggressive, witty, and sweeping. It’s classic Beastie Boys… and then some. In light of their recent setbacks – from “MCA” Adam Yauch’s struggle with cancer to the album’s various delays – the Brooklyn legends ferociously returned to the spotlight. This single is a testament to that. While there’s a lot of wax-scratching nostalgia going on, there’s just too much energy at hand to ignore. So, when Yauch says, “The best is yet to come, and yes, believe this,” we most certainly do. -Gilles LeBlanc

23. Real Estate – “It’s Real”

A good-natured single, “It’s Real” by Real Estate defines California surfer rock. It’s a song about puppy love, as singer Martin Courtney croons, “I carved our names into a tree/I walked on decomposing leaves/I skated on a frozen sea/It’s real as far as I can see.” It does what indie music does best: weaves poetic, charming lyrics with a hooky chorus. However, it’s unique to many other love songs, which usually express the pains of heartbreak or the dark side of obsession; this love song is a revelry, an exposition of energy and enthusiasm that comes with the fascination for a loved one. It’s real. -Summer Dunsmore

22. Childish Gambino – “Bonfire”

Donald Glover plays the clueless Troy Barnes on Community. So, why take his nom de rhyme, Childish Gambino, even the slightest bit seriously? Because of “Bonfire”, dummy. The lyrics encapsulate Gambino’s wit (“This Asian dude, I stole his girl, and now he got that Kogi beef”) and even offer up the nastier side of the MC’s rainbow-colored personality (“The shit I’m doin’ this year? Insanity/Made the beat then murdered it, Casey Anthony”). It’s also got one of the LP’s most beloved and recognizable beats, equal parts bouncy club anthem and gritty garage rock jam. But really, it’s Gambino’s impassioned and visceral delivery style, like he’s barking at the listener, that makes this track a true burner. -Chris Coplan

21. Fleet Foxes – “Helplessness Blues”

Fleet Foxes’ titular track off Helplessness Blues is a lovely distillation of their sound, with the spectral doves of musicians like Roy Harper and Van Morrison flitting around for company. It’s such an epic poem that five minutes can hardly contain its beauty or its magnificent scope, which ranges from jangling folk to heavyweight, ethereal rock. By now, everyone knows the group’s sublime harmonies are their namesake, but when entwined with urgent guitar work and despairing language, it only adds deep emphasis to that fact. Feeling helpless has rarely felt so nourishing, building up to what can only be called a dappled sunlit kind of music, “my light in the dawn.” -Siobhan Kane

20. Radiohead – “Lotus Flower”

Anybody who heard Thom Yorke’s live versions of “Lotus Flower” back in ’09 and ’10 never could have imagined what it would morph into when it eventually made its way onto this year’s The King of Limbs, a surprise in and of itself. That finger-picked guitar ballad is now long forgotten thanks to the skittering rhythms, distant hand claps, and other ridiculous noises that now constitute “Lotus Flower”. The song is as dub-dance-y as Radiohead has ever sounded, with a backdrop culled from fractured loops of god knows what. But what makes “Lotus Flower” so noteworthy is how Yorke embodies it: with a healthy dose of croon-swagger. Confidence hasn’t always been Yorke’s vocal forte, but he straddles the line so perfectly between that and melancholy that it opens up a lot of doors for what Radiohead is capable of. That’s a shitload of open doors, by the way. -Drew Litowitz

19. Cut Copy – “Need You Now”

It’s a tough feat to render six minutes of addicting hooks. But that’s what Cut Copy managed to do with “Need You Now”. That explains why it opens the Australian outfit’s latest LP, Zonoscope: Hit ‘em with a punch, snag ‘em with a hook. Vocalist Dan Whitford employs a slick baritone throughout, which certainly pushes this number ahead, but it’s when he lets loose four minutes in that the heat turns up. While not as immediate as tracks like “Take Me Over” or “Where I’m Going”, it’s all about the payoff sometimes, and you won’t find a better one than here. It’s so heavy they need a downer at the end to bring things back to element. Talk about a trip. -J. Harry Painter

18. Neon Indian – “Polish Girl”

Ever wondered if the Super Mario coin-grab effect could be sampled successfully in a song? Welcome to the world of Neon Indian. Alan Palomo’s wistful cadence tells of lost love on Era Extraña standout “Polish Girl”, while spaced-out 8-bit synths evoke the longing, inescapable feelings of shoegaze. Yet, the result is a blissful four and a half minutes itching for a spin on the dance floor. With “Polish Girl”, Neon Indian has traded their signature chillwave stylings in favor of a dreamy spin on dance pop and set the new standard for retro chic. -Frank Mojica

17. Drake – “Take Care”

“Take Care” is one of six or seven tracks that could easily be deemed the best of the batch from Drake’s enigmatic, epic sophomore album of the same name. Set firmly atop impeccable (and unconventional) production by Jamie xx, the track soars with an unstoppable, sensual hook by hip-hop diva Rihanna: “If you let me, here’s what I’ll do/I’ll take care of you.” I defy any heterosexual man to refuse that offer. But what makes this track stand out more than anything is the potency with which Drake raps. As he battles insecurity, brutal honesty, and harsh reality, we see the side of Drake that was promised from the beginning – the talented side. -Winston Robbins

16. Jamie xx – “Far Nearer”

Between his masterful Gil Scott-Heron collab/remix LP We’re New Here, the slew of top-notch remixes he put out (including a HUGE rework of Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep”), and a couple of choice spots on Radiohead’s TKOL RMX compilation, Jamie xx’s huge 2011 quelled any and all doubts that he could succeed out of the shadow of the xx. And all that goes without mentioning “Far Nearer”, his debut solo release and crowning achievement to date. Built around a sun-drenched Caribbean steel drum line and a mangled Janet Jackson vocal, it’s a dance anthem for the ages and one hell of a way to launch one’s solo career. How’s that for setting the bar high? -Möhammad Choudhery

15. The Mountain Goats – “High Hawk Season”

Revolution hung thick in the air this year, and John Darnielle’s prescient salvo seems to be the people’s anthem that never was (meanwhile, 3EB turned this in). Darnielle’s boilerplate solo voice/acoustic guitar is backed by a four-part male a capella chorus that, despite The Mountain Goats’ obscene prolificacy, paves whole new avenues for a guy who’s been doing this for a long, long time. Darnielle’s vocals vary in dynamics and enunciation, causing the words to teem with frustration and resolve, something arena-worthy with just doo-wop harmonies and earnest songwriting. Sadly, Post-Barbershop-Quartet is not a genre I can throw on Pandora…yet. -Jeremy D. Larson

14. The Weeknd – “Wicked Games”

House of Balloons is fraught with tracks that are going to make you wish you lived a different, sexier life, but not one of them is more powerful than “Wicked Games”. As The Weeknd croons in his phenomenal upper register, “Bring your love baby, I can bring my shame/Bring the drugs baby, I can bring my pain,” you might honestly find yourself wishing you were addicted to codeine and emotionless sexual encounters. The track’s appeal to everyone’s dark side is endless. And while most listeners won’t ever pick up a Styrofoam cup full of prescription cough medicine and Jolly Ranchers to get faded, the song provides insight into a twisted life of beauty with a deep layer of abhorrent immorality looming just below the surface. -Winston Robbins

13. The Throne – “Niggas in Paris”

It’s still baffling that one of the hardest-hitting tracks on Watch the Throne contains a Will Ferrell sample from the figure skating parody Blades of Glory. “No one knows what it means, but it’s provocative,” Ferrell explains. “It gets the people going!” The long-anticipated collaborative record between rap’s reigning monarchs is a celebration in excess, but it comes packed with knowing winks like this one. Jay-Z and Kanye West roll in with a slow burn on top of piercing synth loop, gaining momentum as the song unravels, propelling one another into top form on this explosive club-pleaser. It’s Jay-Z’s methodical, fast-firing approach that sets the stage for West’s urgent, free-flowing (if a bit bonkers) rhymes; on an album grounded in the spirit of a healthy competition between the two powerhouse emcees, it’s on “Niggas in Paris” that they come together as a single, unstoppable hip-hop dream team. -Austin Trunick

12. Destroyer – “Kaputt”

In the world of the album’s title track, drugs and women are indiscernible — two intangible forces that are meant to be chased across clubs, kingdoms, and radio airwaves around the globe. Destroyer frontman Dan Bejar never catches either one, but decides to write a song about it and dedicate it to America, a fact that he blatantly states in the final verses. Amidst wind effects, slowed-down disco bass, synthesized bleeps, and foggy trumpet, the band topples the fourth wall, then builds it back up again to continue their quest across time, space, and celebration for a high they may never get, but in turn bestow upon their audience. -Dan Caffrey

11. Wild Flag – “Romance”

“Romance” is the most unabashedly pop song on Wild Flag’s self-titled debut. More Bow Wow Wow than Bikini Kill, it shows a different, deliriously infectious side of this burgeoning supergroup. With a ringing, crunchy guitar punch over pounding surf drums, it’s the killer hook in the chorus that will keep you coming back again and again. (If you’re not tapping your toes by the time it gets to the hand clap-driven “shake, shimmy, shake” breakdown at the song’s climax, you’re probably not a warm-blooded human.) Straight-up rock and roll this irresistibly catchy is a rare treat in this day and age; “Romance” should be finding its way onto feel-good mixtapes for a long, long time. -Austin Trunick

10. Foo Fighters – “Rope”

The glorious possibilities of a three-guitar attack in Foo Fighters is truly felt with this tune from Wasting Light. With Pat Smear having officially returned to the lineup, the band created some of their most aggressive music to date. The echoing intro gives in to a track that bops between pop and alt-rock, before launching into Chris Shiflett’s thrash-metal solo near the song’s conclusion. Of course, it’s Dave Grohl’s constant that ties it all together. That being the tireless Taylor Hawkins, who proves once more why he’s one of the finest drummers in the game today, yesterday, and tomorrow. As the first single, “Rope” announced the return of the Foo, and in hindsight, it’s the cattle call that would go on to cement the band as the biggest rock act on the planet. They’ve had a good year. -Justin Gerber

9. James Blake – “The Wilhelm Scream”

The first thing anybody who listens to James Blake’s true breakout track notices is how undeniably incessant it is. It’s a classic study in repetition.

With Blake’s cyborg croon evaporating into palm-muted guitar masked as a digital processor, interspersed with the sound a black hole makes when you throw the whole genre of dubstep into it, the song slowly explodes into a haze of static, processed synth-organ, and the deepest bass around. It’s like a noised-out tribute to every sub-genre of reggae-inspired dance music, that both mourns its present dilution in the mainstream and celebrates the places it still has yet to go.

What’s most interesting about “The Wilhelm Scream”, though, is what this repetition means to Blake and why he’s created this song in the first place. At its core, the song is Blake re-envisioning something he must have heard incessantly over the past few years: his own father, soft rocker James Litherland’s “Where to Turn”, from his 2006 album, 4th Estate. Under this context, the song becomes a manifestation of Blake’s nostalgia and love for his pops — his memories and emotions aurally orchestrated into an infectious haze of confused sounds that come together perfectly. Cool, right? -Drew Litowitz

8. SBTRKT – “Wildfire”

As SBTRKT, Aaron Jerome has been one of the year’s most buzzed-about breakout artists. On “Wildfire”, the masked producer recruits 2011’s must-have collaborator, Yukimi Nagano (of electro-soulsters Little Dragon), for the year’s essential dance floor jam. Between a bassline that can only be described as downright filthy and the irresistible allure of Nagano’s velvety vocals, “Wilfire” is pure sonic sensuality. Drawing inspiration from South London post-dubstep to house to R&B, “Wildfire” takes everything that ever made someone dance in the past 20 years and spins it into something futuristic. As it deftly defies any single label, SBTRKT’s scorching style on “Wildfire” is a reflection of how the future will one day remember 2011. -Frank Mojica

7. EMA – “California”

Equal parts Psychocandy, Sinead O’Connor, Patti Smith, and Lou Reed, Erika M. Anderson’s (aka EMA) “California” turns heads with its aggressive-yet-vapid delivery and lyrics that spin tales of reckless abandonment. “What’s it like to be small-time and gay?” she crudely asks mid-song. “What does failure taste like? To me it tastes like dirt,” she asks and answers herself towards the end. It’s a slow shuffle that never really leads to an anthemic release as its rusty sprawl suggests, but that’s sort of the point. On paper, it’s just as seclusive and cyclical.

Sort of like madness. Anderson’s a native of South Dakota, so one has to wonder what her perspective is here. Here’s a supposition: It’s the struggle that California – the land of dreams and mystery, as suggested even by the likes of Steinbeck – isn’t what it appears to be. It’s a wasteland. It’s a falsity. But, she’s not alone there. When she says, “Fuck California,” so do we. Because if there’s anything we’ve learned from reality television, MTV, or reading short bios on any musician who’s ever surfaced on the Sunset Strip, California breeds a special sort of crazy. Anderson may never find her small-town roots again (“Schizophrenic rules the brain”), but she’s created one powerful ode to it. One of the best of its kind. -Michael Roffman

6. St. Vincent – “Cruel”

If you’re going to write a rock song around a single riff, it better be a ridiculously good one, something that you’re happy to get stuck in your head. There have been a few that fit the bill in indie rock over the last few years; Modest Mouse’s “Float On” and MGMT’s “Kids” come to mind. Add St. Vincent’s “Cruel” to that exclusive list. Annie Clark writes a completely oddball, vaguely old-timey verse melody, complete with saccharine background strings. But when she sings “oo-eh-oo-eh-oo-llll” on the titular lyric, that distinctive synthesizer riff comes into focus and simply owns you. It’s silly, it’s uplifting, it’s catchy, and it can completely carry the song. Throw in a majorly danceable backing track, a languid distorted guitar solo, and Clark’s wispy but powerful voice, and it’s indie rock gold. -Jake Cohen

5. tUnE-yArDs – “Bizness”

Merrill Garbus’ wonderful first single from her second record, w h o k i l l, reflects her decision to focus some aspects of the live experience into studio recordings, and certainly, the wild energy of “Bizness” is hardly constrained by the medium of a record. Perhaps this is what makes her great: The medium of music is the vehicle through which she has chosen to convey her creativity, but it cannot bind her. “Bizness” begins with the kind of vocal gymnastics that brings to mind David Longstreth dancing in a frying pan — lovely, gloopy, roaming sounds that also act as a warm vocal harpsichord of sorts.

Then there is the percussive aspect. The way Garbus layers sounds and percussion is a joy to hear, the military beats, along with a kind of skeletal, clickety-clack kind of sound that reconnects to her fascination with African rhythms. Her world is one that is anchored by a childlike sense of wonderment, and when the arresting, strident horns step in, you cannot help but smile. This is also because you sense her giddy reverie in taking apart traditional song structures and building them up again in her own image. When she sings “I’ll bleed if you ask me,” you really believe it, because her thoughtful sincerity is clear, amidst the revels. The visual accompaniment to the song (the video directed by Mimi Cave) is a perfect rendering of tUnE-yArDs’ ethos – to reach out to the child in all of us, keeping us young, keeping us strong, keeping us dreaming. -Siobhan Kane

4. Beyoncé – “Countdown”

At this point in her exceptional career, Beyoncé has transcended the traditional confines of pop diva status. Her latest album, 4, is full of the finest cuts of her career, be it for their infectious, poppy nature or for their demonstration of real, relatable emotional displays. And one could easily say “Countdown” is the best song on that album and leave it at that. To do so, however, is to discredit a track that is not only great, but a step above on a record whose primary notion is of stepping further into sonic grace.

From the initial wail of Bey’s voice to the marching band vibe, the track is the heart and soul, the lifeblood of a record that is a dynamo of R&B gold, both new and old. Queen B has built an empire of love songs and tributes to her boo(s), but none, be it on this album or the three before, come off as easily and thoroughly as they do here. We dare anyone to resist falling under the spell of the chorus where, like a Gucci-wearing version of The Count, Beyoncé counts down the ways in which she loves her man. It’s everything we love about Beyoncé: the sing-along-ability, the bombastic nature, and the beat that digs its nails into your hips to make them shimmy all night. Count it any way you want, this number’s a shining gem in Beyoncé’s bangin’ catalog. -Chris Coplan

3. M83 – “Midnight City”

A Parisian M83 fan said to me this year that Anthony Gonzalez is “the best French music producer, more famous in [the] U.S. than France.” So what’s made “Midnight City” and its double album source, Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming, catch fire like it has in the States this year? Well, “Midnight City” is a great single, for one. And it’s in a Victoria’s Secret commercial, which doesn’t hurt its exposure stateside, either. Surely, at this point, M83 has never been more popular than they are right now. And this year, a lot of that gets chalked up to “Midnight City”.

But look deeper. “Midnight City”, like all of M83′s music, touches on feelings valued deep within the American heart: light, innocence, and youth. M83 just shrouds them behind synth sheen and vocal processing on Gonzalez’s voice. When you imagine its abstract, misty mood piece in the classic Americana setting of Lover’s Lane or Makeout Point, it clicks. The narrator and a girl look out over how “the night city grows” a “mutating skyline.” “The city is my church,” Gonzalez sings. “It wraps me in the sparkling twilight.” It’s so gorgeous and wondrous, how can you not weep from its beauty? And how many songs this year have done that? O beautiful, for spacious skies, indeed. -Paul de Revere

2. Tyler, The Creator – “Yonkers”

Cast aside all preconceived notions or any conclusions that you may have drawn about Odd Future for just a second. Try and get back to the moment when you first heard “Yonkers”. Whether you were a longtime fan or you were victim to the viral video that got tossed around for a few weeks, it moved you. It moved some to anger, and it moved others to excitement; regardless of direction, though, it moved you. There are few times in life when a song will force you to stop everything you’re doing because you’re too busy picking your jaw up off the floor. Even fewer are the times when those selfsame songs are written and produced by a 19-year-old. Much criticism has been cast in the direction of this song and at Tyler in general; many found his lyrics involving misogyny, brutal violence, and even rape to be supremely offensive. And ultimately, that’s a decision best made on an individual basis. But you cannot deny that, for better or worse, “Yonkers” is one of the most powerful hip-hop singles in recent memory. Still sends chills down my spine. -Winston Robbins

1. Bon Iver – “Holocene”

For as often as Justin Vernon’s cabin hibernation is parodied, doesn’t it sound just a little enticing? Leaving it all, sequestering yourself away from a world that won’t stop spinning? In some ways, Vernon never left that seclusion. The songs on Bon Iver may sprawl and breathe more, but they’re still born form Vernon’s desire for privacy and escape. They’re rural, surreal, and separate, and “Holocene” captures the essence of Vernon’s world, just as he tries to capture the essence of our current epoch.

The song pivots around the lyric “All at once I knew/I was not magnificent” and the garden of romantic words and loosely related imagery around it. Acoustic crescendos push the plot along, and the band’s woodwind and found sound arrangement provide the scenery. Whole ages of emotions advance and recede throughout its course, yet it manages to stave off melodrama.

Vernon recalls three hazy memories in three verses and gives them context with that pivotal lyric — an ego check. These are the lasting moments that Vernon hangs on to through it all. Can we find meaning outside of ourselves and inside missed connections or little moments we have with friends and family? This truly is what outlasts things. Now, none of this ideology is revolutionary, but Bon Iver renews its vows in the context of 2011 — a year of exponential speed and growth, of revolution and dissatisfaction, of disillusionment and displacement across whole swaths of culture and class. “Holocene” is that moment of reflection on the escape vessel as you float away from the wreckage and towards Bon Iver’s world. If escapism is increasingly how we deal with our problems, that ubiquitous cabin in the woods sounds better and better with each coming year. -Jeremy D. Larson

50. Ellie Goulding – “Lights”
49. Cults – “Go Outside”
48. Big K.R.I.T. – “Country Shit” (Remix)
47. Mikal Cronin – “Apathy”
46. Cold Cave – “The Great Pan is Dead”
45. Das Racist – “Michael Jackson”
44. The Horrors – “Still Life”
43. Bill Callahan – “Riding For the Feeling”
42. Dum Dum Girls – “Coming Down”
41. Lykke Li – “I Follow Rivers”
40. Wilco – “One Sunday Morning (Song for Jane Smiley’s Boyfriend)”
39. Liturgy – “Generation”
38. Washed Out – “Amor Fati”
37. Adele – “Rolling in the Deep”
36. AraabMUZIK – “Streetz Tonight”
35. Tom Waits – “Hell Broke Luce”
34. The Black Keys – “Lonely Boy”
33. Kurt Vile – “Jesus Fever”
32. Battles – “Ice Cream”
31. Kate Bush – “Wild Man”
30. Mr. Muthafuckin’ eXquire – “The Last Huzzah” (Remix)
29. The Strokes – “Under Cover of Darkness”
28. Beirut – “East Harlem”
27. The War on Drugs – “Come to the City”
26. Frank Ocean – “Novacane”
25. Girls – “Vomit”
24. Beastie Boys – “Make Some Noise”
23. Real Estate – “It’s Real”
22. Childish Gambino – “Bonfire”
21. Fleet Foxes – “Helplessness Blues”
20. Radiohead – “Lotus Flower”
19. Cut Copy – “Need You Now”
18. Neon Indian – “Polish Girl”
17. Drake – “Take Care”
16. Jamie xx – “Far Nearer”
15. The Mountain Goats – “High Hawk Season”
14. The Weeknd – “Wicked Games”
13. The Throne – “Niggas in Paris”
12. Destroyer – “Kaputt”
11. Wild Flag – “Romance”
10. Foo Fighters – “Rope”
09. James Blake – “The Wilhelm Scream”
08. SBTRKT – “Wildfire”
07. EMA – “California”
06. St. Vincent – “Cruel”
05. tUnE-yArDs – “Bizness”
04. Beyoncé – “Countdown”
03. M83 – “Midnight City”
02. Tyler, the Creator – “Yonkers”
01. Bon Iver – “Holocene”

One second. Sometimes that’s all a photographer gets – and hardly in ideal conditions. At worst (and most likely), a photographer may be squeezed between 15 others in the pit, mere feet away from pyrotechnics, finding support from stress-rattled knees, while focusing on a spastic frontman and sheltering oneself from a downpour, which may or may not involve a hailstorm. Truth: A great photographer handles the unenviable task of capturing that one moment everyone goes home thinking about. Half-truth: There’s probably a statistic somewhere that discusses what the job does to the heart. If not, there should be a study. Double-truth: It’s just a sweaty, life-threatening task.

Hi, I’m Michael Roffman, President and Editor-in-Chief of Consequence of Sound. You may know me from such stories as “Look Out! The Gaslight Anthem is Coming!” or “Scratch that… Brian Wilson is not returning to The Beach Boys.” This year, I sent out dozens of writers and photographers to hundreds of shows and just about every major music festival this side of the Atlantic (some even overseas). Without a doubt, our eyes were everywhere.

More specifically, our photographers’ multiple weighty lenses. In the past 12 months, we’ve published countless, fully-stocked galleries, featuring some of the most awe-inspiring shots on the ‘net, all thanks to our brave and inordinately talented photographers. Actually, that’s an understatement. These artists bleed talent – to get somewhat histrionic. Look, we value words, but as Fred R. Barnard so famously wrote, “a picture is worth a thousand words.” Cliche, but you spend over four years putting these live and festival reviews together. You’ll quickly see how true that statement is. To date, I still feel like I’ve attended Bonnaroo.*

For our annual report, we put together our 100 favorite photos of the year. Lots of colors, lots of locales, and plenty of popular mugs to savor. So, throw on some tunes, grab a bag of chips, and enjoy the trip. You’ll go places, kiddo.

-Michael Roffman
President/Editor-in-Chief

* Would never happen. This guy in mud? Nah.

Weezer

Event: Weezer at Chicago’s Aragon Ballroom
Date: 1/7/2011
Photographer: Heather Kaplan

The Walkmen

Event: The Walkmen at Atlanta’s Variety Playhouse
Date: 1/13/2011
Photographer: Max Blau

Girl Talk

Event: Girl Talk at Atlanta’s Tabernacle
Date: 1/21/2011
Photographer: Max Blau

Sad Brad Smith

Event: Sad Brad Smith at Chicago’s Schubas Tavern
Date: 1/23/2011
Photographer: Brad Bretz

The Church

Event: The Church at Chicago’s Park West
Date: 2/11/2011
Photographer: Brad Bretz

Robyn

Event: Robyn at Chicago’s The Riviera Theatre
Date: 2/14/2011
Photographer: Meghan Brosnan

The Dismemberment Plan

Event: The Dismemberment Plan at Chicago’s Metro
Date: 2/19/2011
Photographer: Heather Kaplan

Ben Kweller

Event: Ben Kweller at Chicago’s Vic Theatre
Date: 2/23/2011
Photographer: Joshua Mellin

Bright Eyes

Event: Bright Eyes at Miami’s The Fillmore
Date: 3/2/2011
Photographer: Lauren Guagno

Raphael Saadiq

Event: Raphael Saadiq at SXSW 2011
Date: 3/16-20/2011
Photographer: Cap Blackard

Baby Headphones

Event: SXSW 2011
Date: 3/16-20/2011
Photographer: Heather Kaplan

Owen Pallett

Event: Owen Pallett at SXSW 2011
Date: 3/16-20/2011
Photographer: Heather Kaplan

The Strokes

Event: The Strokes at SXSW 2011
Date: 3/16-20/2011
Photographer: Cap Blackard

The Kills

Event: The Kills at SXSW 2011
Date: 3/16-20/2011
Photographer: Heather Kaplan

TV on the Radio w/ Yo Gabba Gabba!

Event: TV on the Radio w/ Yo Gabba Gabba! at SXSW 2011
Date: 3/16-20/2011
Photographer: Heather Kaplan

Matt & Kim

Event: Matt & Kim at SXSW 2011
Date: 3/16-20/2011
Photographer: Heather Kaplan

Odd Future

Event: Odd Future at SXSW 2011
Date: 3/16-20/2011
Photographer: Heather Kaplan

Odd Future

Event: Odd Future at SXSW 2011
Date: 3/16-20/2011
Photographer: Heather Kaplan

Hollerado

Event: Hollerado at Axis of Audio Showcase: SXSW 2011
Date: 3/19/2011
Photographer: Cap Blackard

Astronautalis

Event: Astronautalis (& Four Fists) at Axis of Audio Showcase: SXSW 2011
Date: 3/19/2011
Photographer: Cap Blackard

P.O.S.

Event: P.O.S. at Paid Dues Festival 2011
Date: 4/2/2011
Photographer: Winston Robbins

The Mountain Goats

Event: The Mountain Goats at Chicago’s Vic Theatre
Date: 4/5/2011
Photographer: Meghan Brosnan

Queens of the Stone Age

Event: Queens of the Stone Age at Oakland’s Fox Theatre
Date: 4/11/2011
Photographer: Karina Halle

The Strokes

Event: The Strokes at Coachella 2011
Date: 4/15-17/2011
Photographer: Debi Del Grande

Kanye West

Event: Kanye West at Coachella 2011
Date: 4/15-17/2011
Photographer: Debi Del Grande

The National

Event: The National, Arcade Fire at Chicago’s UIC Pavillion
Date: 4/24/2011
Photographer: Lauren Guagno

Arcade Fire

Event: The National, Arcade Fire at Chicago’s UIC Pavillion
Date: 4/24/2011
Photographer: Lauren Guagno

Battles

Event: Battles at Chicago’s Lincoln Hall
Date: 4/30/2011
Photographer: Brad Bretz

tUnE-yArDs

Event: tUnE-yArDs at Chicago’s Lincoln Hall
Date: 5/10/2011
Photographer: Wallo Villacorta

Lykke Li

Event: Lykke Li at Chicago’s Metro
Date: 5/23/2011
Photographer: Meghan Brosnan

The Gorge

Event: Sasquatch! 2011
Date: 5/27-30/2011
Photographer: Heather Kaplan

Death From Above 1979

Event: Death From Above 1979 at Sasquatch! 2011
Date: 5/27-30/2011
Photographer: Heather Kaplan

Robyn

Event: Robyn at Sasquatch 2011
Date: 5/27-30/2011
Photographer: Heather Kaplan

Fitz and the Tantrums

Event: Fitz and the Tantrums at Sasquatch! 2011
Date: 5/27-30/2011
Photographer: Heather Kaplan

The Flaming Lips

Event: The Flaming Lips at Sasquatch! 2011
Date: 5/27-30/2011
Photographer: Heather Kaplan

The Decemberists

Event: Sasquatch! 2011
Date: 5/27-30/2011
Photographer: Heather Kaplan

Melvins

Event: Melvins at Chicago’s Double Door
Date: 5/31/2011
Photographer: Katie Schuering

Bonnaroo Fan

Event: Bonnaroo 2011
Date: 6/9-12/2011
Photographer: Ben Kaye

Buffalo Springfield

Event: Buffalo Springfield at Bonnaroo 2011
Date: 6/9-12/2011
Photographer: Max Blau

Eminem

Event: Eminem at Bonnaroo 2011
Date: 6/9-12/2011
Photographer: Max Blau

Future Islands

Event: Future Islands at Chicago’s Subterranean
Date: 6/15/2011
Photographer: Meghan Brosnan

Florence + the Machine

Event: Florence + the Machine at Chicago’s Aragon Ballroom
Date: 6/18/2011
Photographer: Meghan Brosnan

Glastonbury

Event: Glastonbury 2011
Date: 6/22-26/2011
Photographer: Laura Page

Eddie Vedder w/ Glen Hansard

Event: Eddie Vedder at The Chicago Theatre
Date: 6/28/2011
Photographer: Heather Kaplan

Phish Heads

Event: Phish Super Ball IX
Date: 7/1-3/2011
Photographer: Jake Cohen

Fucked Up

Event: Fucked Up at Chicago’s Lincoln Hall
Date: 7/2/2011
Photographer: Jeremy D. Larson

Cold Cave

Event: Cold Cave at Pitchfork 2011
Date: 7/15-17/2011
Photographer: Jeremy D. Larson

OFF!

Event: OFF! at Pitchfork 2011
Date: 7/15-17/2011
Photographer: Meghan Brosnan

Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti

Event: Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti at Pitchfork 2011
Date: 7/15-17/2011
Photographer: Meghan Brosnan

tUnE-yArDs

Event: tUnE-yArDs at Pitchfork 2011
Date: 7/15-17/2011
Photographer: Meghan Brosnan

Fleet Foxes

Event: Fleet Foxes at Pitchfork 2011
Date: 7/15-17/2011
Photographer: Meghan Brosnan

Soundgarden

Event: Soundgarden, Queens of the Stone Age, Mastodon at Washington’s Gorge Amphitheater
Date: 7/30/2011
Photographer: Karina Halle

Paul McCartney

Event: Paul McCartney at Chicago’s Wrigley Field
Date: 7/31/2011
Photographer: Heather Kaplan

Lolla Chicago

Event: Lollapalooza 2011
Date: 8/5-7/2011
Photographer: Brad Bretz

Le Butcherettes

Event: Le Butcherettes at Lollapalooza 2011
Date: 8/5-7/2011
Photographer: Heather Kaplan

Crystal Castles

Event: Crystal Castles at Lollapalooza 2011
Date: 8/5-7/2011
Photographer: Brad Bretz

Coldplay

Event: Coldplay at Lollapalooza 2011
Date: 8/5-7/2011
Photographer: Heather Kaplan

The Chain Gang of 1974

Event: The Chain Gang of 1974 at Lollapalooza 2011
Date: 8/5-7/2011
Photographer: Brad Bretz

Ellie Goulding

Event: Ellie Goulding at Lollapalooza 2011
Date: 8/5-7/2011
Photographer: Heather Kaplan

Foo Fighters

Event: Foo Fighters at Chicago’s Metro
Date: 8/6/2011
Photographer: Heather Kaplan

Foster the People

Event: Foster the People at Outside Lands 2011
Date: 8/12-14/2011
Photographer: Debi Del Grande

Muse

Event: Muse at Outside Lands 2011
Date: 8/12-14/2011
Photographer: Debi Del Grande

Arcade Fire

Event: Arcade Fire at Outside Lands 2011
Date: 8/12-14/2011
Photographer: Debi Del Grande

Bush

Event: Bush at Chicago’s Congress Theatre
Date: 8/18/2011
Photographer: Brad Bretz

Rubblebucket

Event: Rubblebucket at North Coast 2011
Date: 9/2-4/2011
Photographer: Lillian Cai

Pearl Jam

Event: Pearl Jam at PJ20 at Alpine Valley
Date: 9/3-4/2011
Photographer: Jeremy D. Larson

Erykah Badu

Event: Erykah Badu at New York’s Rock the Bells 2011
Date: 9/3/2011
Photographer: Jake Cohen

Lauryn Hill

Event: Lauryn Hill at New York’s Rock the Bells 2011
Date: 9/3/2011
Photographer: Jake Cohen

The Kills

Event: The Kills at Vancouver’s Commodore Ballroom
Date: 9/5/2011
Photographer: Karina Halle

James Vincent McMorrow

Event: James Vincent McMorrow at Chicago’s Hideout
Date: 9/15/2011
Photographer: Matt Hyland

Delta Spirit

Event: Delta Spirit at Austin City Limits 2011
Date: 9/16-18/2011
Photographer: Debi Del Grande

My Morning Jacket

Event: My Morning Jacket at Austin City Limits 2011
Date: 9/16-18/2011
Photographer: Nate Slevin

Kanye West

Event: Kanye West at Austin City Limits 2011
Date: 9/16-18/2011
Photographer: Nate Slevin

Randy Newman

Event: Randy Newman at Austin City Limits 2011
Date: 9/16-18/2011
Photographer: Nate Slevin

Incubus

Event: Incubus at Miami’s Bayfront Park
Date: 9/20/2011
Photographer: Lauren Guagno

Blink-182

Event: Blink-182 at West Palm Beach’s Cruzan Amphitheatre
Date: 9/23/2011
Photographer: Lauren Guagno

Deerhoof

Event: Deerhoof at Chicago’s Bottom Lounge
Date: 9/25/2011
Photographer: Katie Schuering

Radiohead

Event: Radiohead at New York City’s Roseland Ballroom
Date: 9/28/2011
Photographer: Nate Slevin

St. Vincent

Event: St. Vincent at Chicago’s Metro
Date: 10/5/2011
Photographer: Katie Schuering

Portishead

Event: Portishead at Chicago’s Aragon Theater
Date: 10/12/2011
Photographer: Jeremy D. Larson

Sims

Event: Doomtree at Minneapolis’ Fine Line Music Cafe
Date: 10/15/2011
Photographer: Harley Brown

The Stepkids

Event: The Stepkids at CMJ 2011
Date: 10/18-22/2011
Photographer: Jeremy D. Larson

Duran Duran

Event: Duran Duran at The Chicago Theatre
Date: 10/21/2011
Photographer: Brad Bretz

Deadmau5

Event: deadmau5 at Chicago’s Aragon Ballroom
Date: 10/22/2011
Photographer: Brad Bretz

Moby

Event: Moby at Moogfest 2011
Date: 10/28-30/2011
Photographer: Cap Blackard

Moby

Event: Moby at Moogfest 2011
Date: 10/28-30/2011
Photographer: Cap Blackard

Childish Gambino

Event: Childish Gambino at Moogfest 2011
Date: 10/28-30/2011
Photographer: Catherine Watkins

Suicide

Event: Suicide at Moogfest 2011
Date: 10/28-30/2011
Photographer: Cap Blackard

The Flaming Lips

Event: The Flaming Lips at Moogfest 2011
Date: 10/28-30/2011
Photographer: Catherine Watkins

Mayer Hawthorne & County

Event: Mayer Hawthorne & County at Moogfest 2011
Date: 10/28-30/2011
Photographer: Cap Blackard

M83

Event: M83 at Moogfest 2011
Date: 10/28-30/2011
Photographer: Cap Blackard

Zola Jesus

Event: Zola Jesus at San Francisco’s The Independent
Date: 11/1/2011
Photographer: Summer Dunsmore

Feist

Event: Feist at Chicago’s The Riviera Theatre
Date: 11/4/2011
Photographer: Brad Bretz

The Raconteurs

Event: The Raconteurs at Orlando Calling 2011
Date: 11/12-13/2011
Photographer: Cap Blackard

Pixies

Event: Pixies at Orlando Calling 2011
Date: 11/12-13/2011
Photographer: Cap Blackard

YACHT

Event: YACHT at San Francisco’s The Independent
Date: 11/17/2011
Photographer: Summer Dunsmore

M83

Event: M83 at Chicago’s Lincoln Hall
Date: 11/17/2011
Photographer: Jeremy D. Larson

The Cure

Event: The Cure at Los Angeles’ Pantages Theatre
Date: 11/23/2011
Photographer: Debi Del Grande

Tinariwen

Event: Tinariwen at Minneapolis’ Cedar Cultural Center
Date: 11/26/2011
Photographer: Harley Brown

Iggy Pop and the Stooges

Event: Iggy Pop and the Stooges at Hollywood’s Palladium
Date: 12/1/2011
Photographer: Debi Del Grande

Gossip from the weekend in Austin, TX included the filming of Terrence Malick’s upcoming film Reckless with stars Rooney Mara and Ryan Gosling appearing on every stage, and even causing the creation of a Tumblr account dedicated to taking photos of the Drive star. Transmission Entertainment did an incredible job of creating an environment that is intimate enough to run into familiar faces (The Flaming Lips’ Wayne Coyne roamed about on Saturday) while also meeting music lovers from across the country. Night shows (FFFNights) located downtown in the Red River district were a new, free addition to the sixth year of the Fest, and included scenes like Sexy Sax Man playing live to George Michael (erm, Michael Cera) at Beauty Bar on Saturday night.

Photo by Jennifer Sinski

In hindsight, Danzig was the only major disappointment (festival creator Graham Williams released a long statement regarding the debacle of a late-start time, supposed sickness, and Diva-demands of the washed-up rocker) during a weekend of controlled chaos set along the waters of Ladybird Lake at downtown Austin’s Auditorium Shores. Deciding to focus on the positives, however, Marie Prescott and I chiseled down the weekend into 12 of our favorite sets.

-Jennifer Sinski
Contributing Writer

Feature image by  Dillon Williams

Yacht

Photo by Jennifer Sinski

Blue Stage – Friday – 4:00 p.m.
It’s no secret: YACHT loves Texas. Throughout the Portland duo’s Friday evening set, enigmatic frontwoman Claire E. Evans highlighted her affinity for Texas by answering questions from the surrounding local crowd, eventually namedropping her favorite Austin dig (vegetarian South Austin haunt Boudin Creek Cafe). One highpoint arrived when the very Annie Lennox-like Evans sung into the faces of those in the first three rows, her long microphone wrapped around her tight, see-through white skirt as she belted an electro-punk cover of The B-52s “Mesopotamia”. With tracks like “Dystopia (The Earth is on Fire)”, “Utopia”, and the endlessly bouncy “Psychic City (Voodoo City)” to kick around, YACHT makes you want to live in the world they’ve created, dancing for eternity. -JS

Okkervil River

Photo by Jennifer Sinski

Orange Stage – Friday – 6:30 p.m.
Dust, exhaustion, and passion—all of these things peppered the faces of Okkervil River as they stormed through songs like “The Valley”, “John Allyn Smith Sails”, and “Our Life is Not A Movie or Maybe”. Anthemic was the word of the night, with Will Sheff thrashing back and forth to the beat, crashing to the stage at one point, only to get up and exclaim “Oh shit, the dust! Fuckin’ A!” An Austin favorite, Sheff and his band were warmly welcomed by a large crowd, many with bandanna-covered faces to avoid that aforementioned dust. A highlight of the evening was when the band played older song “For Real”, the lyrics true and touching: “Those blue bridge lights might really burn most bright/As we watch that dark lake rise.” Okkervil River doesn’t play Austin often, but when they do, it’s always a delight, and Friday was no exception. -MP

Clap Your Heads Say Yeah

Photo by Marie Prescott

Orange Stage – Friday – 7:30 p.m.
“I feel like I’m experiencing everyone at the same time right now,” Clap Your Hands Say Yeah (CYHSY) frontman Alec Ounsworth said to an adoring crowd Friday night, between a solid set including “Satan Said Dance”, “Misspent Youth”, and “Ketamine and Ecstasy.” Ounsworth showed the world that a man of small stature can still belt heart-wrenching vocals to the sky. The energy on stage was evidenced by the keyboardist, who bounced between keyboards, guitars, and drums for the entirety of the set. While CYHSY occasionally lapses into moments of homogeneity in their songs, the set was driven by the screaming vocals of Ounsworth and the resonation of lyrics like “turns out the man with all the answers/wrote from within the asylum,” a wrenching line from newer song “The Witness’ Dull Surprise.” There are a lot of ways to describe this band, but “affecting” is the most fitting. -MP

Passion Pit

Photo by Colin Budd

Orange Stage – Friday – 8:30 p.m.
“We haven’t played together in like a year, so I hope everything’s alright.” There was no doubt this concern was unfounded as Passion Pit bounced and gyrated through crowd favorites like “Sleepyhead” and “Let Your Love Grow Tall”. Michael Angelakos was frenetic, a characteristic he imbued on the crowd with entreaties for arm-waving and synchronized crowd-jumping. The band made full use of synthesizers on new songs “American Blood” (a less-upbeat-than-usual, very lovelorn song) and a song that is still untitled, but is very clearly about taking a walk. The latter started the encore, which was followed by “Little Secrets”, a terrific ending to a festival evening filled with flashing rainbow-colored lights and electro-pop music. -MP

Active Child

Photo by Jennifer Sinski

Blue Stage – Saturday – 1:00 p.m.
Let’s be honest: Harpist/singer Pat Grossi, with his haunting high note operatic-vocals as singer of the ever-serene electronic outlet Active Child, invokes many feelings, but perhaps the most overwhelming of them all is, um, sex. (Quite an unexpected feeling when you’ve been covered in dirt for two days, and you can’t tell how attractive your neighbor is, thanks to their survival gear of sunglasses and bandanas.) Opening Saturday’s festivities, Grossi and Active Child brought some soulful R&B to the fold, especially with standout track “Hanging On”, off this year’s You Are All I See. After they closed with “Playing House”, the audience lingered around, still stuck in the dazy tar. That’s some power. Or, just a very peaceful way to start the day. -JS

tUnE-yArDs

Photo by Jennifer Sinski

Orange Stage – Saturday – 4:00 p.m.
No one was happier to be on stage this past weekend than Merrill Garbus. As the head of tUnE-yArDs, Connecticut’s most eccentric export to date, Garbus’ powerful vocals hike over the looping trail mix of everything from ukuleles to saxophones, drums to stellar guitarwork (courtesy of Nate Brenner). At times, Garbus even fiddles about with glass bottles. On Saturday afternoon at FFF Fest, they did all that, running through most of their sophomore LP – this year’s fantastic who kill – with some dabbling in 2009′s Bird-Brains. In front of them were a sea of adoring fans, some who, like Garbus, donned vivid face paint. (One fan asked nearby, “How much to paint my face?” Another girl answered, “Free, of course! Let’s just dance, this is beauty.”) Garbus worked with these vibes, jumping up and down for afro-beat hit “Bizness” and undeniable favorite “Gangsta”. Somewhere in there, she pounded at the drums so hard, it felt as if her beats broke one’s bones. By the set’s end, clouds had rolled in, but so did a slew of new fans. There just wasn’t enough face paint. -JS

Turquoise Jeep

Photo by Jennifer Sinski

Yellow Stage – Saturday – 4:45 p.m.
Believe it or not, but satirical hip-hop crew Turqoise Jeep has nearly six million view on YouTube, all for their low-budget, high-camp video, “Lemme Smang It”. (The group answers the dilemma of what to do when you meet a beautiful women after a night in da club: Do you smash or bang it? Answer: You smang it). Crowds packed the Yellow Stage to witness an internet-meme IRL, but stayed because of catchy tracks from the group’s release Keep The Jeep Ridin’ and their shockingly hilarious, impossible-not-to-love dance moves. One standout moment (out of many) arrived during “Fried or Fertilized”, which contains this golden nugget of a lyric: “How you like your eggs, girl? Fried or fertilized?…When I say fried I’m talking breakfast eggs, but when they fertilized — those the eggs between the legs.” Plenty of fans re-sung that throughout the weekend. -JS

Childish Gambino

Photo by Dillon Williams

Yellow Stage – Saturday – 4:15 p.m.
Well before Donald Glover, aka Childish Gambino, took the stage, a crowd had gathered inside the tent, spilling out, and bowing around the sides, reaching for a glimpse of the new funniest man in comedy. Upon starting, he ran through a litany of mostly crowd-pleasing jokes, keeping everyone laughing. His shining moments came during his jokes about television—regarding his dislike for Glee: “…No, I don’t care! Put that shit on YouTube! What’s gonna happen? More people are gonna start watching Community? Oh, no! Like two people watch Community. My mom and Chevy Chase watch Community.” As evidenced by the laughing– and at times roaring– crowd, Glover was one of the biggest acts of the day, demonstrated also by the length of the line waiting for him outside the autograph tent. -MP

Cold Cave

Photo by Dillon Williams

Blue Stage – Saturday – 5:20 p.m.
Touring on their latest release, Cherish the Light Years, Cold Cave brought a gothic, synth-driven sound to FFFFest Saturday afternoon. From NYC, frontman Wesley Eisold is a sight to behold on stage—tall and skinny, dressed in solid black, he exudes no-nonsense confidence. What Eisold and his band lack in crowd engagement and eye contact, they make up for with violent, jerky dancing and striking keyboard performance. While dark and intense, the songs maintained an upbeat, electro-pop sound reminiscent of New Order, the obvious comparison for a band like this, with the keyboards and Flock of Seagulls-esque hairdos. Eisold certainly has his musical priorities figured out, as this show confirmed. -MP

Girls

Photo by Jennifer Sinski

Orange Stage – Saturday – 6:30 p.m.
San Francisco’s Girls took the stage with mic stands covered in bright clusters of flowers, a celebratory ornament for quite a celebrated performance. Surrounded by three backup soul singers, whose black glitter tops shone as the sun set over the festival’s second day, Cobain-look alike Christopher Owens (it’s the hair) broke into favorites like “Die”, “Vomit”, Just a Song”, and “Honey Bunny”. The fuzzy, melodic rock attracted a very eccentric audience – packed with celebrities, too. (Later on, Lips’ frontman Wayne Coyne tweeted photos of himself with Owens, Ryan Gosling, and Lykke Li.) During the performance, one fan drew everyone’s attention by crowd surfing via boogie board. Wild stuff, exceptional set. -JS

Spoon

Photo by Jennifer Sinski

Orange Stage – Saturday – 8:00 p.m.
Prior to Spoon‘s headlining performance on Saturday, a hype man of sorts strolled out, announcing that this wasn’t actually the only set for the band in 2011 – they had performed the previous night at Austin’s east side club, The ND. But, the audience there “fucking sucked”, so the hype man screamed out, “You all need to be better.” (Word is the last minute announcement of a secret show brought in an audience of non-fans. Oops.) Within the first notes of “Walk”, the crowd fell in love with Spoon again, especially its hits-heavy set of Gimme Fiction favorites “I Turn My Camera On”, “The Delicate Place”, “My Mathematical Mind”, “Was It You?”, “Merchants of Soul”, “Sister Jack” (one slight blunder for singer Britt Daniel struggling some on the vocals with a quick recovering), and “The Beast and Dragon, Adored”. Members of Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears and Grupo Fantasma tagged along as the horn section for “You Got Yr Cherry Bomb” and “Underdog”, while the crowd helped out on Kill the Moonlight single, “The Way We Get By”. Thanks to hometown adoration and one lovable frontman in Daniel, Spoon’s FFF Fest set served as a loud reminder that they’re still a formidable force in the scene. -JS

MNDR

Photo by Dillon Williams

Blue Stage – Sunday – 3:45 p.m.
Amid a sea of indie pop and sludge metal bands, there was MNDR (man-dar), a woman named Amanda Warner in a bright pink t-shirt and ponytail. From NYC, Warner collaborates with Peter Wade to create fun electronic beats, supported by her rollicking, howling vocals. Her show Sunday afternoon on the Blue Stage was perfectly accented by the weather—stormy, dark clouds and on/off rain showers drew the crowd closer in and made her presence on the stage that much more clear. MNDR has only released a few songs so far – namely “C.L.U.B.” – but she’s someone to watch. -MP

The Culture of FFF Fest

Gallery by Jennifer Sinski

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Set for November 4-6 at Auditorium Shores, this year’s edition also promises Rakim, Major Lazer, Okkervil River, Kid Dynamite, Henry Rollins, Reggie Watts, Flying Lotus, the recently reunited Hum, The Murder City Devils, Lykke Li, Four Tet, Neon Indian, Blonde Redhead, The Damned, Diplo, Ra Ra Riot, Cave In, and and Del The Funky Homosapien.

If that weren’t enough, the bill also features Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Spank Rock, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, Ra Ra Riot, tUnE-yArDs, The Radio Dept., Boris, D-Generation, Zero Boys, Childish Gambino, Big Feedia, YACHT, Cecil Otter & Swiss Andy present: WUGAZI, The Joy Formidable, Mates of State, Cold Cave, Austra, G-Side, and Le Butcherettes. You can check out the entire bill at our Festival Outlook; we also have the lineup poster below.

Three-day and VIP passes are priced at $135 and $270, respectively and go on sale via the festival’s website. Single day passes ($55) will be available beginning September 1st.

This was my first time ever in the Pacific Northwest, much less Seattle, and based on my experience, I can safely say that everyone in Seattle lies about the rain because it was 75 degrees and sunny all weekend long. Don’t believe them when they tell you it always rains – they’re dirty fibbers fibbing the fibbiest of fibs.

Weather: perfect. Mix of local acts and national acts: just right. Seattle hot dogs: intimidating at first, delicious after several beers. I snapped some pictures and jotted some notes at various points during the day concerning bands, people, and experiences. I was welcomed into Seattle’s hood like an old friend, and it felt like I was a part of something special in Capitol Hill, and not just a tourist taking in the scenery and local fare. Thanks for the hug, Seattle.

-Jeremy Larson
Content Director

Friday, July 22nd

1:14 p.m.– I walked around Capitol Hill, and a homeless guy pointed toward the barricade where the fest is being set up and asked, “Are you going to the parade?” I didn’t correct him because he’s probably more right than wrong about festivals being parades.

2:45 p.m. – Zion’s Gate Records is a great little dive of a vinyl store. There are tons of rare 7”s on the wall and really good hip-hop 10”s, as well. Got a Los Crudos 7”. Chicago represent.

4:05 p.m.  – The first official act of the fest kicks off with Fresh Espresso, a Seattle party-rap crew who inaugurated things nicely. Before going into another “get yr hands up” jam, they rhetorically asked, “What’s the best thing about Michigan? Girls and fast cars.” I didn’t correct them because he was probably more right than wrong, again.

4:35 p.m. – Capitol Hill Block Party has four stages:  A main outdoor stage, a smaller outdoor stage (Vera stage), and two indoor venues, Cha Cha’s and Neumos. The Neumos lineup on Friday was stacked, so I spent most of my time in and out of there. Unknown Mortal Orchestra started the bill at Neumos, and, for the second time in a row that I’ve seen them, they asked for there to be no lights on the stage. I’m still not quite sure of the reason for that (other than opening themselves up for really easy jokes about their name), but it’s frustrating.

Being shrouded in dull darkness notwithstanding, UMO bleed talent, and with only one album under their belt, they play those songs to the bone. Singer/guitarist Ruban Neilson is a guitar virtuoso. It’s not often you get to say that about a young indie band, but Neilson shreds. He pulls at the strings without a pick, and his solos call back classic garage rock stuff from the 60′s, like if Eddie Van Halen were drunk. I mean, there was an older guy with a Sleep hoodie playing air guitar in the back of the house. UMO aren’t afraid to improvise and jam like on the highlight of the set, “Boy Witch”. During the middle of a solo, Neilson went back to his Fender amp and just cranked up the volume and continued shredding. I can’t verify this, but I’m pretty sure it went to 11.

5:10 p.m. – I stood outside long enough to catch some of Kurt Vile’s set/hair. “Jesus Fever” may be one of my favorite songs of late, and I got miffed that the crowd wasn’t screaming those lyrics. Back inside Neumos, The Fresh & Onlys kicked off their set with that hale and hearty psych-garage stuff that I trip and fall in love with all over the place. Maybe it’s that the mean age of The Fresh & Onlys is far older than most bands here, or maybe it’s their confidence onstage, but I trust that every song they play is one of the best songs ever written. It sure seems like it at their show. If nothing else, boat hats should really make a comeback.

5:45 p.m. – Fucked Up played in a coffee shop. That’s a real thing that happened.

6:47 p.m. – What makes Woods so enjoyable to listen to? Why do I sit around and listen to their entire set? They’re a band that has a great arc to their performance–sequenced meticulously and yet it feels elastic and free. The brevity of their warm, short songs (“Be All Be Easy”) is interpolated with focused improvisation that rolls steadily like a water just before it boils. In lieu of noodling solos and self-absorbed jams, Woods work with tension, letting minutes of psych play out with tape effects and folksy textures. They captured a big outdoor festival crowd at Pitchfork, and most of Neumos were wrapped in their arms. Any jam-heads (or anyone for that matter) who hasn’t heard Woods live should really check them out, but if that’s not an option, NYCTaper has a recent set from their June show at Northside Festival. Cop that.

8:35 p.m.– I read somewhere that Cults front lady Madeline Follin sounds terrible, “like The Shaggs terrible.” That’s a fierce aspersion to cast, and it stuck with me up until the first note Follin sang. Nah, Cults are on the real. There was an older couple next to me just knockin’ boots during “You Know What I Mean”, and Follin received an unexpected ovation mid-song for her climactic turn on the chorus. Extended to a five-piece, Cults’ retro ditties were filled in with vibrant indie rock colors. “Go Outside” didn’t just sound like a jangly summer anthem, but a punchy head-nodder, as well.

8:45 p.m.– Ra Ra Riot were just finishing their set, the crowd’s hands were in the air, and everyone seemed to really be picking up what they were putting down.

9:50 p.m.– Another riotous Fucked Up show in the books. I overheard someone say Seattle was notorious for not moving at shows, but leave it to Damien Abraham to transform Nuemos into a stage-diving, crowd-surfing clusterfuck. Every dude that made their way onstage fumbled into a mic stand or slipped into a band member. It was hardcore chaos. Two firsts for this show: Madeline Follin from Cults singing Veronica’s part on “Queen of Hearts” (with lyric sheet in hand) and bassist Sandy Miranda diving into the crowd. Neumos was razed.

Also, Ben Cook is probably the only dude in a hardcore band that can pull off shorts.

10:40 p.m. Over on the Vera stage, I laxed to local hip-hop group Brothers From Another/Kung Foo Grip. The Seattle hip-hop scene seems notoriously insular and self-affirming; is that a bad thing? I’m still trying to get a beat on what Seattle hip-hop stands for or sounds like, but “kickin it in the 206” seems to be these guys’ M.O.

11:15 p.m. After seeing them perform as guests in Shabazz Palaces set at SXSW, I was anxious to see how Seattle’s female hip-hop duo THEESatisfaction would fare as a pas de deux. They take cues from femmes of the past, giving nods to KP & Envyi and Rhianna in a matter of songs, and they give it that confidence that I’ve come to expect from 206 hip-hop. The two ladies would trade verses and work with each other across songs that had them alternating from the fronts to the backs of their heels. The bass and the lyrics made my heart pump. It was a welcome sign that empowerment is both wide-reaching and catchy. One song about how fellas are trying to knock down their doors sent a hard message to the male-heavy crowd. “No dickie, dickie/I’m a lezzie,” they hooked.

11:40 p.m. – Back at Ghostland Observatory, and look at all those lasers. There’s one for every color of the rainbow! And, oh shit, that strobe light is syncing up with that egregiously long build before the cheap drop hits! All this ado is a fine distraction from whatever nonsense is happening onstage. The duo brings an energetic show, they have a great time, and the crowd loves it, but it’s truly nonsense music bereft of form, substance, influence, and it’s just a visual and sonic rotten carrot dangling in front of false synesthetes and entry-level electroheads and–whoa. That last laser array was dope!

Saturday, July 23rd

2:15 p.m. – I ask people where to take a good picture of The Space Needle, and they tell me, and I realize that I don’t want a picture of The Space Needle because everyone, including myself, couldn’t care less about The Space Needle. They’re just The Watts towers or the towers in Flushing Meadows for The Worlds Fair, and unless it’s a secret alien spaceship, don’t care.

2:32 p.m. – Another dose of Seattle hip hop with Champagne Champagne has me warming up to some of these local crews, but I still don’t know what they stand for. Champagne^2 have a Das Racist vibe with several portions of levity removed from their flow, or a Jurassic 5 vibe with no trace of jazz in the production. Weed, girls, Seattle: all delivered under semi-swirling beats made less avant by the propensity for getting the party started. The two MCs worked well as a duo bolstering each other and trading spotlights when necessary and had enough energy to shotgun the first set of the day.

3:17 p.m. – The spectral songs of Austra drew me in to the coffee shop to witness some of their KEXP set. Her voice is a ghost, aided by her two other ghosts/female back up singers. Austra benefits from playing cloaked in the darkness of a club, as opposed to surrounded by burlap sacks of coffee beans, so their brooding ethos was kind of tampered by the venue. None of this affected Katie Stelmanis’ power as a vocalist, especially during “Lose It” – a quivering and painful song, the Arabica beans notwithstanding. Maybe it’s not as Poe as all that, but the blank expressions on Austra’s faces don’t exactly make me think Leslie Gore or anything.

3:47 p.m. – Fences: I’ve seen this Seattle band a few times now, and each time inked-out Chris Mansfield becomes more confident, and less trembling. His trials seem cemented and reflective as opposed to maudlin heart-on-sleeve bellyaching. Guitarist Jonathan Warman could really take the band to another tier with some of the volume swells and elastic jams he includes live, and would separate them from the rest of the saturated pop-folk scene. Carry the emotion of the lyrics into the music and find a connection there so that each everyone matches Mansfield’s mood. Promise?

4:10 p.m. – Getting from stage to stage can be a bit of a maneuver here, as Nuemos is a 21+ joint so you have to walk through a checkpoint to get there. If you want to leave Nuemos and go back to the Mainstage, you can’t exit where you entered, you have to walk up a block and come back around. I’m sure there’s a good infrastructural reason, but the contained spirit of each stage/venue wasn’t optimal for the old “wander around and see what grabs me” trick.

4:35 p.m. – Eleanor Friedberger stood on a bare stage. The whole setup looked very intimidating, and she appeared nervous performing her prolix-folk set to a restless crowd, much like I would expect a young Patti Smith/Joni Mitchell would have done pre-fame. Friedberger’s songs weren’t met with the attention they deserved, which is too bad because that particular style of distaff beat folk was in oddly short supply over the weekend. Even though her set was marred by some tech issues, Friedberger pleased this fan, who thinks she has a lengthy solo career and prefers the earnestness of her voice and an acoustic guitar as unencumbered by the often thoughtless instrumentation of The Fiery Furnaces.

5:10 p.m. – I’m full up on less-than-Superchunk power pop, Telekinesis. You sound great, but I have no desire to learn your songs so I can sing along to them in my car, which seems like the only boon to repackaging college power pop these days and the thing is I don’t even own a car because I live in Chicago and take the train.

6:10p.m. – Whatever misgivings I had about Handsome Furs‘ latest synth-driven album were washed clean by their set. I miss Wolf Parade, I’m coping, but Dan Boeckner looks so much happier playing up there with his wife Alexei Perry rocketing through his own material. Or, I guess as happy as a veritable shadow of a dude who asked the crowd right-out for shrooms can be. Boeckner’s synths hit harder than his guitar, the four-to-the-floor beats got the crowd bouncing, and was a great precursor to TV on the Radio’s forthcoming set. “All We Want, Baby, Is Everything” raised my fist and voice in hedonistic delight, something I’m sure Boeckner and Perry champion as a lifestyle and not to be macabre or portentous or anything but really they look like Sid and Nancy up there. Or at least their unleashed stage presence makes me think that.

6:50 p.m. – So usually when a band has the technical prowess thing going on, there’s a lot of stasis on stage. Stationary crowd watches stationary band watches their fingers dancing on fret-boards. Not so with Ravenna Woods, who sounded like Kaki King meets The Dodos with everything — including the lead singer’s dance moves — having a percussive quality. Like UMO, Ravenna Woods birth these rare sounds from their guitars with exuberance and celebrate with high-test energy. The burst picking and tapping at times sounded like a synth loop it was so clean and on time. I look forward to seeing these guys again in any capacity.

7:45 p.m. – I honestly thought Seattle would be the last place you’d see Nirvana t-shirts, but they’re everywhere at CHBP. I had drinks at a bar where Kurt Cobain was last seen alive, and even a bar felt reverent to me, but it seems like people have either moved on to indifference or pride in Nirvana’s legacy. And yes, I’ll watch Hype as soon as I can.

8:15 p.m. – I’m up in the clouds at Teen Daze’s set. Dude’s wearing a cardigan, dropping some 4/4 grooves with chillwave synths and I’m feeling it all around. It’s sad that the Vera Stage feels auxiliary and disconnected from the rest of the fest, and Teen Daze’s music needs to spread out as opposed to filter down a small street. I only stay for a few songs, long enough to overhear a guy in the crowd say, “Man that bass is really killer.”  I never want him to hear a dub step track ever and he’ll die, for several reasons, a happy man.

8:47 p.m. – I’m waiting in Neumos for Cold Cave to go on, which I know I won’t stay for the whole thing because Les Savy Fav is playing opposite and I should get pictures of Les Savy Fav cause Tim Harrington does wacky shit and they make for good pictures.

8:50 p.m. –But Cold Cave are superlative live, and if I can just see a couple minutes of Dominick Fernow’s dance moves and hear some high Hz noise mush for like a couple more minutes I’ll be satiated. Plus they make for great pictures, too. Everything’s coming up Jeremy! Get ready for this sick coverage, conflicts be damned.

9:45 p.m. – Goddammit.

9:47 p.m. – So, Cold Cave lit their show with predictably minimal light for their first song — the extricating “Icons Of Summer” — none of which was on Fernow and his fly-ass dance moves so strike one. I wanted desperately to stay for the rest of their set, but I knew I could run out and get into the pit for Les Savy Fav and watch the rest of their set and just deal. For reasons I won’t go into here, I was not allowed in the pit for Les Savy Fav. So instead of capturing with photos, I’ll ashamedly recapture the events with the pitiful 1:1000 ratio of words. Harrington: left the stage and ran into an adjacent apartment building, dipped his head out of the window, ran back downstairs, grabbed a potted plant from the foyer of the building, brought the plant on stage, hurled it into the audience effectively destroying it. Then, Harrington put on a blond wig and aviators, stripped down and put on corduroy cutoffs, posed like an ingenue actress, grabbed a camera from the in-house film crew and filmed the crowd, threw a tarp in the crowd and stage dove on it, danced with a man in a bald eagle costume, put on the head of the bald eagle costume, pushed the man eagle into the crowd perhaps injuring the man he’s not sure, eased tension by singing the “higher than an eagle” line from “Wind Beneath My Wings”, grinded on the stage, posed like an ingenue actress again, threw confetti all over himself, put on a crudely fashioned head dress cape thing with streamers, jumped off stage, ran through crowd with microphone in hand, pushed through to the back, jumped the security fence, threw a bucket of water on the crowd, and disappeared into the night. Incidentally, they played some peppy post-punk songs, too.

10:15 p.m. – Akimbo saved the whole day for me. Entering the Cha Cha venue is like stepping into a basement jam, and for all intents and purposes, this was a legit basement jam. Akimbo were set up on the floor, no stage, and just ripped into the sweaty walls of the place with sludge punk of the highest pedigree. Beer sprayed everywhere, two big dudes were preventing the mosh pit from overtaking the three piece and the 100 or so people in the venue clawed were fully into Akimbo’s ballsy shitshow, ending with what I’m pretty sure was Black Flag’s “Thirsty and Miserable”, inciting a punk scrum just the way it should be.

10:50 p.m. — In the long corridor of Pike St., sound is can ricochet off the walls of the apartment buildings and storefronts causing for some sound difficulties. I had trouble hearing some of TV On The Radio’s vocals – but other than that, they delivered a similar performance as we reported on last week, only this time welcoming “DLZ” to the setlist. Check out the video of deftly wrangling Fugazi’s “Waiting Room” (and please try not to cringe when the lady sings during the rest at the beginning).

Sunday, July 24th

Sidebar concerning that Pacific NW Folk-pop sound – (The Head and the Heart, The Lumineers, Campfire OK, Loch Lomond, The Cave Singers)

These bands don’t obfuscate their aesthetic at all, which is almost punk in and of itself these days. It’s the importance of being earnest, right? I don’t think that’s a shallow choice, but I think it’s an easy one to make, and not one that offers many rewards in the long-run. I’ve heard and read harsh words regarding the easy-listening jimmy-jangling sentimental strains of bands of this particular ilk, and I agree – to a point.

It’s unfair of me to lump these talented bands into one group because they are truly unique from one another, but someone who’s more aligned with their ethos would be able to describe their emotional effect better. I just don’t jive with they they’re throwing out there. Blame it on me being an outsider, or blame it on the bands’ nationalistic pastoral tendencies, I just can’t connect. However, each band had a few kernels that made me tune in.

The Cave Singers at least know there’s more rain than sunshine in Seattle, and when they incorporated a more southern-blues tinge to their sound and allowed for vocalist Pete Quirk to detach from his folk yolk, I listened. The Head and the Heart pleased a huge crowd on the Mainstage, but at the cost of mawkish mugging and if they’d simply show me their hearts and not tell me ad nauseum about their hearts, I’d be listening. Ritchie Young’s voice of Loch Lomond was hidden behind sleepy instrumentation, and when I could hear the timbre and versatility of his sound, I listened. Campfire OK brought like five people on stage to dance around and play tambourine to their songs which seemed like an insular celebration of themselves and when they briefly forewent the antics of a hempy hootenanny, I listened. The Lumineers actually were a stately, confident young band from Denver, but never really grabbed me with any of their songs, which may bode well for some deeper listening to their studio recordings. I’ll be listening to them.

3:55 p.m. Do you have to be 15 years removed from your prime to ‘rock” on stage? The Posies could give fellow aging 90’s act Guided By Voices a run for their money in terms of old hat rock moves. I expected a polite trip down power-pop lane, but the Seattle natives ripped into their seven-album career like they were playing them for the first time. As previously stated, I’m doing just fine with my power-pop reserves, but it wasn’t really about the songs but how much fun they had playing them. It was hard to look away or stop listening, especially when they nailed their singles of yore “Dream All Day” and the finale with “Solar Sister”. Tingly feelings from 1993 – another good use for power pop other than car-jamming.

4:22 p.m. I eat a Seattle hot dog with cream cheese, grilled onions, hickory BBQ sauce, sriacha sauce, on a toasted bun and it’s five stars, 100%, and most assuredly BNHD.

5:15 p.m. – You want math rock? Cacophonous noise noodling + taught instrumental prog + watching Ian Williams and Dave Knopoka subtly conduct each other like classical musicians + John Stanier’s crash rigged 1,000 ft in the air + projections of delicious Ice Cream during “Ice Cream” + faithful tension wrought from two tweaky synths played simultaneously by Williams + including “Atlas” on the setlist + a flawless, seamless, nonstop show = Battles and Battles are tantamount to none.

5:42 p.m. – The wall of low-drive guitars that Papercuts pushed out didn’t really mesh with the crowd at Neumos. Jason Quever’s hushed, reverb-caked songs have a Galaxie 500 by way of The Shins vibe which may be a tough sell to a crowd after a long weekend. But they strode through their set, playing ambling, lush indie pop. “Do What You Will” sounded particularly pristine as Quever just nailed that chorus.

6:30 p.m. – Some final thoughts about Capitol Hill Block Party: Sucks that I didn’t see Federation X, a touted band by many locals. All the security crew on the grounds were local bouncers and were the most genial, helpful people I’ve ever encountered at a festival. The fact that you can see shows at a club and outdoors is the festival’s greatest boon. For all the Fauxlk running rampant in Seattle, it was pleasing to hear a defined sound reach so many people, and if that’s Seattle’s current identity it’s something to take pride in. On the other side of the coin, a lot of Seattle hip-hop in its current iteration came across as amateurish and near-sighted party bangers, and perhaps afraid to follow the path of Shabazz Palaces has forged. I spoke with several Seattleites about their take on the town’s identity with regards to music, but I was only there for three days and would love more insight. I would wager the fest was ballpark 75% local, 25% visiting, and it did a fantastic job of catering to that percentage, especially with the selection of headliners. Finally, logistically speaking, the fest ran with nary a hitch. Save for some odd 21+ ordinances and no real place to sit down in the grounds, it’s a model for any large-scale block party, you know, if you can get Best Coast and TV on the Radio to show up like they did.

8:35 p.m. –The sun was setting behind the stage with the perfect light hitting everyone’s faces. With a weather anomaly of clear skies and 80 degree heat, I couldn’t imagine the harsh noise of Mogwai of the brooding intensity of Godspeed You! Black Emperor capturing the mood of this weekend of quite like Explosions in the Sky did. Even though every song is unabashedly hyperbolic, Explosions aren’t just “< >”. Their use of space and silence, notable in the opener “The Only Moment We Were Alone”, shows that their keen ear for compositions don’t simply adhere to the primal human need for simple build ups and come downs.

The purified, triple reverse osmosis guitar tones paid dues to The Edge by extending major mode riffs to the end of the block and skipping off to infinity. You could close your eyes and feel transported to the end credits of the weekend (or whatever time-frame you choose, really) and reflect and transcend. Or, you could nod your head and sync up with the band’s exuberance rollicked through their songs matching their intense stage presence. Or, you could hop off the epic wave of sound at any moment, grab a beer, and hop right back in. Music is rarely this inviting for all ears. The grand finale, “Let Me Back In”, swelled to such an ultimate emotional intensity that the fest had no other choice but to come to a close or it surely would have skipped off the space-time continuum. It ended on a good note, stacked upon thousands of other good notes.

The Culture of Capitol Hill Block Party

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It’s a testament to the spirit of discovery that Pitchfork champions. Their passion for unearthing, promoting, and booking remarkable bands for Pitchfork Music Festival is always exciting, as many bands are new to the festival scene and aren’t used to thousands of people staring back at them. And during Fleet Foxes’ set especially, it became clear that one website’s passion for music has been transferred to the masses. Now that’s a feat.

Save for the controversy surrounding Odd Future’s performance (and the performance itself), this year turned out to be a very polite festival, and that’s not necessarily a good thing. Not to say there’s nothing to blog home about, but the bands that are still with myself, Adam Kivel, and Paul De Revere in the days after the festival are but Fleet Foxes, HEALTH, Deerhunter, TV on the Radio, Cold Cave, Woods who all seemed to be playing at their peak with definition, confidence, and clarity. They delivered some of the best sets of the weekend and, in hindsight, I wish there were more bands that were taking the next step up in the ambiguously tangible music ladder. Many of the bands on the bill were making nostalgia candy for all, in flux trying to carve out a new sound, or cutting their teeth much like the Fleet Foxes did three years ago.

There were plenty of acts we loved and very, very few we didn’t (see below), but there was an overall imbalance that lingers with me. Maybe last year’s lineup was too perfect, too timely to compare to this one. Maybe the music of 2011 is too unsettled to have found its vanguard. Maybe the PR fracas and the anarcho-punk of Odd Future’s set was the most relevant, most indelible memory of the weekend which can make for a hard pill to swallow. But the best thing about Pitchfork Music Festival is that there’s a needle for every groove — vegans get vegan gyros, record hounds get a bountiful record fair, interior decorators get 20 or so different graphic designers selling band posters at Flatstock, and everyone got three days of sun, weed, beer, friends, and over 30 of the best bands around.

-Jeremy D. Larson
Content Director

Feature photo by Meghan Brosnan.

Friday, July 15th

Gatekeeper – Blue Stage – 3:20 p.m.

Photo by Meghan Brosnan

Do you think that if Gatekeeper had named themselves Headliners, they’d be closing the night instead of keeping an eye on the gates as the huge line trickled in? Either way, most of the reasonably large crowd at the side stage seemed enthusiastic, dancing along to the dark, pulsing beats of the Brooklyn/Chicago duo of Matthew Arkell and Aaron David Ross. Some of the dancing looked ironic, but considering the unfortunate fact that the arcade game/bad horror soundtrack aping set was happening out in open air in the middle of a bright afternoon, it might have just been uncertainty. Either way, the beats won out, as they typically do, and the duo wound up with a big reaction. -Adam Kivel

EMA – Red Stage – 3:30 p.m.

Photo by Jeremy D. Larson

Erika M. Anderson’s first album under her acronymous band EMA can be an uncomfortable listen, with lyrics of butterfly knife kisses, disenfranchisement in California, and many more touchy subjects. It’s a delicate album that might ought to be handled delicately live, but EMA don’t wanna wallow. It’s always good for a band to kick things up in real life, and EMA does exactly that. The thinning production on Past Life Martyred Saints became lush drone backed by the precision-in-the-pocket drumming of Nicole Anderson, Erika’s younger sister. Introverted songs turned extroverted, like “Butterfly Knife” and even the heart-wringing ballad “Breakfast”.

At her show at The Empty Bottle on the Thursday before the festival, EMA crammed the venue with power, and played a much looser set than they did opening up Pitchfork on Friday. I was really blown away at her show in a club, and even though it didn’t have the spark it did on Thursday, their festival sound weaved through enough of the crowd to pique intersest while maintaining the personal nature of the songs themselves. -Jeremy D. Larson

tUnE-yArDs – Blue Stage – 4:30 p.m.

Photo by Meghan Brosnan

The Merrill Garbus faithfuls stood in the hot Chicago summer with Björk-meets-Bushmen war paint melting down their faces. You’ll forgive me if I call tUnE-yArDs a movement. When Garbus starts the funky, locomotive-like chug of her amazing pipes, loop pedals and ukelele; when she holds up her “fight the power” fist on “Gangsta”, one of the sets rollicking opening songs, clenching a drum stick, it feels more like a small rally than a concert. “You’re a very moving site to see out there,” she said. Garbus’ talent for arrangement, improvisation, and, most of all, groove (through the use of her loop pedals, which inspired gawks and giddiness among the crowd) is among the best of the new class of indie artists of the last few years. Definitely one of the strongest sets of the festival’s first day. -Paul de Revere

Battles – Green Stage – 4:35 p.m.

Photo by Meghan Brosnan

Sure, there’s a bit of novelty to the way that Battles drummer John Stanier hangs his crash cymbal five feet in the air, but, as the roar of the crowd attested on his first swipe at it, there’s something invigorating about it as well. In their new, singer-less incarnation, one had to wonder how the guest vocalist songs from Gloss Drop would translate, and the answer was a bit of a surprise. Pre-recorded videos of Blonde Redhead vocalist Kazu Makino and Gary Numan sang along to the insane math-jazz-rock drumming of Stanier, Ian Williams’ double-synth, guitar tapping, and foot kicking, and Dave Konopka’s complexly looped and effected bass lines. The biggest surprise of the set may have been the faithful rendition of “Atlas” (though without a video of departed vocalist Tyondai Braxton), but the biggest response came for the brain-scraping “Ice Cream”, with video of piles of ice cream flashing in between shots of vocalist Matias Aguayo bobbing along to the beat. -Adam Kivel

Curren$y – Blue Stage – 5:30 p.m.

Photo by Jeremy D. Larson

The wave of pot fumes wafting through the crowd during Curren$y’s performance was simply overwhelming. And the chronic stench started promptly within the first few seconds of the Young Money Entertainment rapper’s first song. Without a doubt, Curren$y and the crowd were wasting no time getting the party going. But as intensely a weed rapper Curren$y is, it’s important to point out the dude’s not unengaged either, which is a refreshing change of pace in the niche stoner rap subgenre. He also has lyrical skills. But he hardly needed the constant adulation of the crowd. “You ain’t gotta clap for me,” he said. “Just light something.” -Paul De Revere

Thurston Moore – Red Stage – 5:30 p.m.

“You guys wanna hear some songs about rape, murder, and carnage?” a darkly sun-glassed Thurston Moore smirked out at the audience. Ever the imp, Moore continued to dumbfound some expectations, shooting down shouted requests for “Kool Thing” and its noise-rock brethren, instead going “on noise strike”, and performing acoustic with a violinist, harpist, second guitarist, and drummer. Playing most of Demolished Thoughts,  Moore quietly strummed through gems like “Benediction” and “Illuminine”. Hush Arbors guitarist Keith Wood, and one of so many possible Sunburned Hand of the Man drummers laid down a soft groove, Mary Lattimore’s harp and Samara Lubelski’s violin added accents, and Moore stood front and center, being undeniably himself. His cooed lyrics on Trees Outside the Academy’s “Never Did” and his vows to “stay in ecumenical gangster mode” were playful and cool, which is Moore on auto-pilot. A little more noise and intensity may have been more exciting, but this set won on its relaxed, calming breeze. – Adam Kivel

Guided By Voices – Green Stage – 6:25 p.m.

Photo by Jeremy D. Larson

If you ain’t in the know, you’d be hard pressed to tell the difference between Guided By Voices (GBV) and roadies these days. As GBV loaded in, Robert Pollard asked the crowd if we were ready for some “real profession rock & roll,” and, in retrospect, I think it was a sincere, unironic question. With a cigarette in one hand mouth bottle of Jose Cuervo Gold in the other which for him must be is own personal Fountain of Youth, Pollard led the aging indie godfathers to a fun and chunky set playing about 20 songs from their careers, culling mainly from their “seminal lo-fi album” Bee Thousand (now that quip was dripping with irony). While those classic standbys sounded great, it was their even more garagey/lo-fi tunes that got the best kind of bump like ”Expecting Brainchild” or “Cut-Out Witch”, showing that seminal is not just one album, it’s a whole career (or at least “early” career, not much stuff was played form their 21st century albums). With GBV on their final reunion lap, they still got plenty of gas left in the truck. Just look at those pictures of guitarist Mitch Mitchell. Any guitarist not aspiring to be like Mitch Mitchell needs to break their whole situation down for retooling. -Jeremy D. Larson

Das Racist – Blue Stage – 6:30 p.m.

Photo by Meghan Brosnan

Long before Das Racist took the stage, the huge crowd rolled joints, shouted “Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell” lyrics, and squeezed as close to the front as they could. The anticipation for that one song was so large that they had to do it, right? Instead, the trio burst through some other great songs (opener “Who’s That? Brooown!”‘s boasts about being the brown Elvis or Larry Bird got some big laughs, while the White Castle critique in “Rainbow in the Dark” may have got more), and even gave time to Detroit MC Danny Brown. The off the cuff request to “get some more Adderall in this microphone, some orange juice in this monitor” may have been the single best line of the day. But, in the end, the song didn’t make the cut. Maybe for the better, as it didn’t seem like too many people were complaining, instead wrapped up in all the fun. -Adam Kivel

James Blake – Blue Stage – 7:30 p.m.

Photo by Meghan Brosnan

Nearly everyone coming to the festival seemed to be talking about getting to see James Blake. Despite the massive anticipation, the quiet, mixed set seemed blurry and difficult to piece together. Perhaps it was the fact that Blake regularly went for the quiet, mellow, and polite (his many cooly British-accented “thank you”s between songs seemed super sincere), but the large, expectant crowd seemed to suggest something more powerful. His smooth, electronic pieces were largely employed to background his strong voice, a sort of mix between Antony and Dave Longstreth, equal parts operatic croon and acrobatic warble. His jazzy piano intro to “I Never Learnt to Share” was impressive, as was his ability to loop and harmonize with himself so beautifully. One loop caught a big holler from the front of the crowd, effectively giving himself a rolling applause with every added harmony. But, in the end, the set lacked a dramatic punch, instead lingering in the quietly darkening evening. -Adam Kivel

Animal Collective – Green Stage – 8:30 p.m.

Photo by Meghan Brosnan

Despite their sort of new-found massive popularity (they really packed in that headlining spot!), Animal Collective have a pretty fair reputation for putting on a challenging live show. So many recent setlists seemed to have totally or nearly totally ignored any song they’d already recorded, instead pumping out new jam after new jam. While this can be exciting, there are bound to be contingencies of fans there to hear the hits. So, Avey Tare, Panda Bear, Geologist, and Deakin mixed in a little more familiar stuff, but still relied on showcasing material that will likely make up their next record. The opening new track played out that challenge to the extreme, with Deakin taking the lead vocals. After another new cut of exciting electronic, jungle beats, an amped up, electrified rendition of Feels standout “Did You See the Words?” finally got to a large portion of the crowd, howls ripping through the waves of people.

Sitting behind a technicolor bat mobile and glowing paper crystals, Tare asked if everyone was “feeling pretty sweet,” which, it seemed, they were. The octave glitching, almost Yeasayer-y sounds of a track bootleggers have been calling “Knock You Down” magically melded into Merriweather Post Pavilion favorite “Brother Sport”, which received the biggest applause of the night. A slowed down version of “Taste” followed, and an electric version of Sung Tongs gem “We Tigers” didn’t get as much recognition as the other old songs. “Summertime Clothes” and its cries of “When the sun goes down we’ll go out again” played perfectly for the howlers at the front of the stage who couldn’t get enough. With 10 minutes to park curfew, the quartet called it a night, waving goodbye to day one of the festival. -Adam Kivel

Saturday, July 16th

Julianna Barwick  - Green Stage – 1:00 p.m.

Photo by Meghan Brosnan

After a short respite, day two fell upon Union Park, and the combination of hangovers and increased heat was keeping a good portion of people down…that is, until Julianna Barwick‘s lithe, angelic vocal harmonies flew out over the field, taking some of the edge off. The droopy, unready audience caught onto her moaning and cooing, finding solace as much in the occasional cool breeze as they did in Barwick’s lush looped compositions. As time passed, more people poured through the gates and into the thronged congregation, the mass of vocals weaving overhead like a glowing tapestry. The spotty early afternoon attendance was appreciative, if un-enthusiastic, and Barwick seemed plenty glad to be there. – Adam Kivel

Woods – Red Stage – 1:45 p.m.

Photo by Jeremy D. Larson

One of the highlights of the whole festival. Their sky-gazing pysch-folk were focused testaments to the longevity of jam bands. Though, labeling Woods as a jam band would be a disservice to jam fans and detractors as they live in a genre all to their own. The delicate tenor voice and treble guitar of Jeremy Earl take focus on their shorter songs, like opener “Pushing Onlys” or “Be All Be Easy”, but between those delightful pop numbers were extended kraut-jams that focused on repetition as opposed to crunchy solos. Ambient textures were interlaced by their pedal-monger and these seven-10 minute sessions hit my heart like rays of sun. It was a perfect choice for a relaxing afternoon set with just enough punch at the end to eke some movement out of the tranced-out crowd. -Jeremy D. Larson

Sun Airway – Blue Stage – 1:55 p.m.

Photo by Meghan Brosnan

The airy, synth-laden electro-pop pushed out by Sun Airway came across ultimately relaxed, almost to a fault. The twinkling effects backing vocalist Jon Barthmus were difficult to differentiate from song to song, as if the group had found a nice, dreamy sound that worked on one song, and then continued it in as many different permutations of the same pieces that they could find. Barthmus’ lyrics were consistently evocative, though a bit overly sentimental. “I’ll be there to lasso you the moonshine,” he promised on “Oh Naoko”, sounding very much like he realizes how sweet that is. The synth drums also proved to be a bit much, and the band continued on, digging at the same spot for the entire set. – Adam Kivel

Cold Cave – Green Stage – 2:30 p.m.

Photo by Jeremy D. Larson

The hard-synth trio pumped some heretofore absent adrenaline across the grounds of Union Park, and they did so with oppressively black overtones tantamount to their all black attire. With the heat of Saturday afternoon already clamping down on the crowd, Wesley Eisold wasted no time in exorcising his demons over synths that could have easily doubled for distorted guitars, which synced up nice with his former past as a vanguard of the Boston hardcore scene. On their latest album Cherish The Light Years, Cold Cave sneak past the new-wave revival label by adding generous globs of industrial waste to their album to great effect. Live, this becomes the focus of their set, aided in large part to Dominick Fernow of the NYC noise-rock band Prurient. Eisold and Fernow attacked their synths with fury leaving behind any trace of politeness, and made the effort to leave it all on stage. I longed for Fernow to have a mic so we could have heard his screams in unison to Eisold’s baritone. While the crowd danced along to “Icons Of Summer”, Eisold made evident his inner demons, even saying after the song “Escapism will never work, You have to embrace it.” He could be referring to any number of tangible or intangible things, but as the closing number “Villians of the Moon” played and hands were lifted up in the air, it was evident that Cold Cave’s noir came second to the power of a truly great song. – Jeremy D. Larson

G-Side – Blue Stage – 2:50 p.m.

Photo by Meghan Brosnan

Furthering its rap music focus onto Southern rappers, the Pitchfork Music Festival’s Blue Stage hosted Huntsville, Ala.’s G-Side, a pair of thoughtful rappers with bluesy wisdom and a friendly swagger. (One lyrical sample, “Do what you do, boy/Just know what you do it for.”) Near the end of its set, preparing to perform the Beach House-sampling “How Far”, the duo asked, “Anybody here fuck with Beach House?” Yes, G-Side. Yes, we do. -Paul de Revere

No Age – Red Stage – 3:20 p.m.

Photo by Meghan Brosnan

The Red Stage seemed to be haunted this year, as almost every band had some tech issues there. After some delay in the beginning, No Age‘s drummer/vocalist Dean Sprunt yelled “Fuck this!” and they dove into the second real heavy set of the day, delivering some much needed force into the pillowy afternoon. It’s an odd balancing act with these guys, as noise-punk doesn’t seem to have a wide radius at a festival. Sprunt’s sloppy vocal execution is all-too clear and specific — two words you don’t really want associated with lo-fi cacophonous rock. With raucus older stuff like “Boy Void” and a choice covers like Misfits’ “Hybrid Moments” and Black Flag’s “Six Pack”, the rapid-fire set effected those closest to the band — like about the size of a club. No Age really isn’t a festival band, and their set lacked the cohesiveness and form of their smaller shows, but one good thing about fests is that the circle pit can get as large as it wants. By the end of their set as Sprunt got out from behind the drums and screamed to the audience from the photo pit, it was about 50 ft. in diameter. Can’t get that at a club. -Jeremy D. Larson

Wild Nothing – Blue Stage – 3:45 p.m.

Photo by Meghan Brosnan

You want pretty? You want dreamy? You want Nothing. Wild Nothing, that is. Although in-studio the whole thing rests on the shoulders of one Jack Tatum, on-stage Wild Nothing expands into a quartet, with Tatum leading the way. This arrangement seems obvious live, as there’s little chatter amongst the group – even between songs. Instead, at least in Union Park, Tatum let the guitar pedals do the talking. Lead effects guitars danced alongside slow six-string melodies while a meaty bass sound provided the main driving melody that altogether bred a classic post-punk/shoegaze sound. Wild Nothing provided lush grooves that paired well with a much-needed cool breeze. Nice. -Paul de Revere

Gang Gang Dance – Green Stage – 4:15 p.m.

Photo by Jeremy D. Larson

Was there a more funky and joyous band at Pitchfork Music Festival than Gang Gang Dance? The sound throbbing out of the Green Stage’s speakers was confounding: disparate worldbeat influences from Latin American clave, African polyrhythmic drumming, Balinese gamelan… it goes on. It was all combined with a dancing, sage-burning assistant I took to calling a hype-shaman. Lizzie Bougatsos, Brian DeGraw, and their band of freaky, art-school avant-gardists are charismatic practitioners of syncopated, unrestrained joy and put on one of the best sets of the festival, bar none. Believe it. -Paul de Revere

Off! – Blue Stage – 4:45 p.m.

Photo by Meghan Brosnan

It’s always sad when this happens. Old men who insist on still being “punk” and finding something to be aggressive about and finding nothing broadly good to embrace about the world or music. Punk will always be young, not old because young people are not satisfied with anything, nor should they be. Keith Morris and the other members of OFF! have plenty to be happy about, like decent, even long, careers in music. At best, the band’s set was a perfectly fine genre piece. But at worst, obnoxious and super annoying. Pass. -Paul de Revere

Destroyer – Red Stage – 5:15 p.m.

Photo by Meghan Brosnan

When Dan Bejar, aka Destroyer, leapt into his new disco territory on this year’s Kaputt, it seemed necessary that his live show would have to change pretty drastically to keep up. Could he play anything from old fan favorites like Streethawk: A Seduction, or Your Blues, or would the necessary shift in instrumentation also mean he’d rely solely on new material. And, moreover, how would that smooth electro-chamber sound convey over a huge field in the middle of a bright, sunny afternoon? Turns out, not super well. Portions of the large crowd around Bejar’s stage spoke among itself, carrying almost as well as Bejar’s band. An abundance of noodling from the ever-present trumpet and tenor sax demanded as much attention as Bejar did, kneeling at the front of the stage. Not even a light, lilting version of Destroyer’s Rubies favorite “Painter in Your Pocket” could change the underwhelming atmosphere of the set. – Adam Kivel

The Dismemberment Plan – Green Stage – 6:15 p.m.

Photo by Jeremy D. Larson

“My guitar’s real hot,” Jason Caddell smirked as The Dismemberment Plan loped on stage, huge grins looking out at the mass of waiting fans. The “at least for now” reunited D.C. art-punkers filled their set to the brim with smart-alecky jokes, banter, full speed ahead songs, and plenty of smiles. From the start, vocalist/guitarist Travis Morrison was ready to give the fans what they wanted, which was equal parts cracking wise and rolling out the hits. The straight-ahead rockers like “What Do You Want Me To Say?” and “The Ice of Boston” killed, bassist Eric Axelson punching out contagious line after contagious line. Even the overly goofy, unfocused, vaguely dance-y sections (including a keyboard solo from Morrison’s forehead) won plenty of chuckles and dancing feet. Even the softer side got some focus, as on the charming “You Are Invited”, which brought a nearby attendee to tears. This is the kind of band that people make lifetime connections to, and this reunion brought a lot of sincere joy to those same. – Adam Kivel

Twin Shadow – Blue Stage – 6:45 p.m.

Photo by Meghan Brosnan

An eccentric bit of soul music has always been deep down in the whiny, maudlin musings of Morrissey and Robert Smith of The Cure. And maybe instead of trying to be sexy, soulful, and showing off his pipes, maybe there’s a bit of deep sadness and longing for an emotional connection when Prince yowls and yelps like James Brown. Twin Shadow knows these gray areas well and his performance at the perfectly suited Blue Stage hit the sweet spot between the sounds of those three. Who knows, more killer performances like this one and George Lewis, Jr. could become the Dominican Morrissey. -Paul de Revere

DJ Shadow – Red Stage – 7:25 p.m.

Photo by Jeremy D. Larson

In a quintessential This Is Spinal Tap moment, which you, dear reader, have likely heard about, DJ Shadow could not get his orb/techno-boulder to operate correctly, leaving him unable to get to his turntables. It was a brief snafu and all went fine for Shadow but the Derek Smalls-trapped-in-a-pod jabs and “Hello Chicago!” jokes just kept coming from my swaying/dancing section. Shadow’s live sound of drum and bass, instrumental rap, and soul music is immaculate and his bass, which puts James Blake’s to shame, drowned out any haters, teasers, detractor or skeezers, of which I was all four. -Paul de Revere

Zola Jesus – Blue Stage – 7:45 p.m.

Photo by Meghan Brosnan

Nika Rosa Danilova seemed surprised that she had the penultimate performance at Pitchfork. “Wow…What are you all doing here?” she beamed, looking out over the masses not interested in setting up camp for Fleet Foxes. In the end, Zola Jesus proved to deserve the attention, Danilova’s throaty, rich vocals powering over churning, choppy electro-pulses. Skipping back and forth across the stage, swinging her arms wildly and trying to keep control of the wild dress composed of metallic gray ribbons, it seemed as if Zola Jesus were pushing away from their occasionally abrasive, regularly goth-y persona, and into some new indie pop world. And, to both hear their new, less foreboding sound and see the serious dancing in front of the stage, it’s clear that this journey is working. “There is a fire that burns on my tongue,” she howled on “Manifest Destiny”, and that fire was catching on in a big way. – Adam Kivel

Fleet Foxes – Green Stage – 8:30 p.m.

Photo by Meghan Brosnan

The lush instrumentation the present day Fleet Foxes embrace seems to reach back years and years to the earliest American folk musicians. Every string that was struck sounded timeless, as if the roots of music still survived solely on the water from drops of Fleet Foxes’ songs. As opposed to the scatter-shot sonics of Animal Collective’s headlining set that required a focused ear, Fleet Foxes aligned their spectrum which allowed for the broadest range of pleasure across a sold out crowd who stood, swayed, smiled, and sang along to their entire set. With Helplessness Blues raised as their new standard, Pecknold and his band, armed with a variety of stringed instruments and even a bass clarinet, touched on their entire catalog, from “Mykonos” to the multi-part 8-min “The Shrine/Argument”, the latter of which swelled and receded with vast dynamic contrasts and those halcyon harmonies that the band is known for. Their voices, carried by Pecknold’s iconic pinched tenor, reverberated throughout the fest. Just three years after the band sat on chairs and waylaid Pitchfork onlookers with their music, they had people rapt from note one, onto their rapturous “Helplessness Blues” finale. A canonical performance. -Jeremy D. Larson

Sunday, July 17th

The Fresh & Onlys – Green Stage – 1:00 p.m.

Photo by Meghan Brosnan

The Fresh and Onlys are from the same laid back, hazy San Fran scene that bred other psych-garage-poppers Thee Oh Sees, Sic Alps, and Sonny & The Sunsets. So, it’s no surprise that the tough job of having one of two opening spots on the broilingly hot third day of the festival seemed not to faze them all that much: the heat isn’t all that unusual in California, and Haight-Ashbury isn’t known for its temperance. Vocalist/guitarist Tim Cohen’s floppy hat, dark sunglasses, and tie-dyed Grateful Dead shirt seemed to say it all, as he and the rest of the band rolled through a solid, if heat-stricken set of garage-ready jams. -Adam Kivel

How To Dress Well – Blue Stage – 1:55 p.m.

Photo by Jeremy D. Larson

I give big ups to How To Dress Well (or the name behind the name Tom Krell) for this show, as it was really unlike anything else at the fest, and that seems to be more of what the Blue Stage is going for this year (Oh, how soon it will become the Altered Zones stage just you wait). With a synth, and a sparse drum kit, a mothafuckin string quartet, Krell serenaded the audience with heart-rending songs in falsetto. Unlike some of the other bass-heavy bangers played throughout the day, Krell’s R&B-tinged ambiance was ethereal, but it didn’t quite hush the crowd like it may have done in a smaller setting. Still, for those with a sharp ear, Krells’ sparser tracks like “Suicide Dream” mixed nicely with his newer, more aggresive material. Oh, and the whole set was bookended by R. Kelly’s “Waking Up To Life Sometimes Seems Worse” and Janet Jackson’s “Again” which was just thug and beautiful. -Jeremy D. Larson

Kurt Vile & the Violators – Green Stage – 2:30 p.m.

Photo by Meghan Brosnan

It was a surprise to see Kurt Vile‘s name on the Pitchfork lineup two years in a row, but his set last year was a solid success, and the dude didn’t name an album Childish Prodigy for nothing. Vile’s back catalog is long enough to fill two festival slots, and his rip-roaring, classic rock tinged jams pumped up the portion of the crowd not already waiting in front of the opposite stage and chanting “Swag!” at the drop of a hat. The rollicking “Freak Train” and a killer turn on “Runner Ups” energized a crowd in need of a serious energy boost, and Vile’s sly smile seemed just as greatful. “You guys hot?” he asked, before adding a quiet “I’m sorry…” But “Society is My Friend” may have been the strongest of the set, Vile’s long mane of curls floating in the breeze, his lazy range providing some of the best straight-ahead rock of the weekend. -Adam Kivel

Twin Sister – Blue Stage – 2:50 p.m.

Photo by Meghan Brosnan

In their relatively short career, Twin Sister has managed to carve out a nice cozy corner of music that is all their own — somewhere amid Beach House, Cocteau Twins, and The Talking Heads bubbles their music with as much room to dream as there is to dance. I found myself lost between the two options at her set for the first half as the leaned on their more serene and reserved tracks, but when they kicked into “Bad Street” of their forthcoming LP, things coalesced for the band and the crowd and people started to feel it. Well executed, but kind of waffled between moods which, incidentally, doesn’t work well for the lay listener trying to get a bead on the sound. -Jeremy D. Larson

OFWGKTA – Red Stage – 3:20 p.m.

Photo by Meghan Brosnan

“I can’t hear what you’re saying….That’s cause I’m talking over you” a smiling, leg-casted Tyler, the Creator answered to a shout from the audience, quite nicely summing up the role that he and his Wolf Gang brethren inhabit. Every time he’s challenged for his homophobic, misogynist, violence-endorsing music, his response is whatever will get the most attention. That’s why group members delivered cupcakes to the anti-violence groups and other non-profit booths. That’s why Tyler gave a “big shoutout to the domestic violence groups,” adding that he hoped they could hear him moments before diving into “I Got a Gun”. Tyler, on crutches, wound up diving into the crowd, sucked in for a while, admiring the adulation. But, the high school button pushing (shouts of “Kill people! Burn shit! Fuck School!”), the irony (coming out to “One Love” and “Where is the Love”)…it was all a little too much to bear. But, then again, the set was one of the most widely attended, the rowdiest, and most talked about, so Tyler and Co. got exactly what they wanted: More attention.

Do I believe that Tyler actually goes about ready to “smack a bitch,” rape, or murder? No. Do I believe that hearing this music will breed intolerace, hate, and violence? Entirely possible. Do these kids have some serious talent? Yes, definitely (their eccentric, minimal production, and quick flow were exciting). Are they wasting that talent on antagonistic, offensive stupidity? Yes, definitely. -Adam Kivel

Shabazz Palaces – Blue Stage – 3:45 p.m.

Photo by Jeremy D. Larson

While the Odd Future show was clamoring on, Shabazz Palaces performed with understated confidence of the highest nature and displayed superior flow, lyrics, production, and message. That’s that truth. Now, I really really like Shabazz Palaces’ new album Black Up, so I’m gonna play both sides of the coin on this. For those unversed in Palaceer Lazero’s ways with words, it could be a tough sell to fall into the nooks and crannies of his songs. The multi-part, futurist hip hop that Shabazz tossed up to the crowd, again, didn’t quite fit into a tidy package. The Blue Stage seems to suffer this plight, but it also can be looked at as an advantage. Come over to the shade and really listen to some music and you can be greatly rewarded. For me, I spaced out and bopped hard the whole set. -Jeremy D. Larson

Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti – Green Stage – 4:15 p.m.

Photo by Meghan Brosnan

The reality of following Odd Future is that everything must become a response to Odd Future. So, it’s no surprise that Ariel Pink suggests that Tyler, The Creator ought to be on stage with his band, later jumps around with middle fingers flying, shouting fuck you, and even later adds that “chillwave isn’t about hate…that’s hatewave.” But, ignoring the forced reactionary attitude, Pink’s brand of 80s psych-pop suffered from some serious microphone problems. The vocalist’s Garth Brooks’-styled headphone mic sounded like a walkie talkie coming in and out of range, crackling and humming with a cool distorted effect at times, the distortion overbearing or the vocals fading out entirely at others. The music was tight, freewheeling, and disturbingly cute after Odd Future, but the mic issues likely forced an end to their short set. -Adam Kivel

Baths – Blue Stage – 4:45 p.m.

Photo by Jeremy D. Larson

If there was one unexpected smash success on the Blue Stage of the Pitchfork Music Festival’s final day, it was Baths. His jittery, spastic IDM made sprightly enough rhythms to get a large crowd, some of whom seemed down for a little nu-rave action, moving. Maybe they were there for shade, maybe they just came out of curiosity, but most of them ended up dancing. If Richard D. James (better known as Aphex Twin) had a side project that specialized in club bangers and smooth slow jams, and alternated between them at a sometimes-frenetic space, I’m tempted to say it would sound exactly like Baths. -Paul de Revere

Superchunk – Red Stage – 5:15 p.m.

Photo by Meghan Brosnan

Superchunk, along with The Dismemberment Plan on Saturday and Thurston Moore and Guided by Voices on Friday, proved that age can actually increase one’s ability to rock, not inescapably stifle it. In fact, even in his 40′s, lead singer Mac McCaughan’s voice still contains the same boyish wail that so thoroughly defined the ‘90s indie sound for vocalists. Combine that with his continued ability to pump out killer riff after killer melodic riff and that he and Superchunk bassist Laura Ballance co-founded Merge Records, one of the best labels in indie history, and you’ve got one helluva legacy band. McCaughan’s signature work ethic and no-nonsense rock ‘n’ roll is so well-known and revered in indie rock circles, it’s a wonder he hasn’t been more widely considered for Bruce Springsteen-like sainthood in the genre. On Sunday afternoon, dad rockers with future-hipster babies everywhere swayed with content that, in their minds, McCaughan, already had been. -Paul de Revere

Kylesa – Blue Stage – 5:45 p.m.

The almost entirely frill-less stoner metal put out by Savannah, GA’s Kylesa bum-rushed the side stage, a breath of fresh air, as the rare heavy rock act popped up in the midst of a lot of electronic and indie rock. The metal contingency supporting the band may have been smaller than that for other acts, but they were certainly no less enthusiastic. A real mosh pit erupted, and the head-banging spread far and wide. Drummers Tyler Newberry and Carl McGinley’s technical prowess may have set the whole beast in motion, but guitarist Laura Pleasants’ chainsaw riffs, bassist Corey Barhorst’s chugging rhythms, and guitarist/vocalist Phillip Cope’s barks and howls all locked together in a triumphant march step. The impressive musicianship, memorable hooks, and serious depth all combined for a well respected, much needed cathartic moment. -Adam Kivel

Deerhunter – Green Stage – 6:15 p.m.

Photo by Meghan Brosnan

The field surrounding Deerhunter‘s triumphant return to the Pitchfork stage were packed with casual listeners and diehard fans alike, dripping with sweat and hungering for the band’s cool, summery melodies. Relying heavily on last year’s excellent Halcyon Digest, Bradford Cox, Lockett Pundt, Moses Archuleta, and Josh Fauver swayed slowly through some seriously entrancing grooves, letting pop gems fall where they may. “Desire Lines” pulsed its way out of a long noisy wind to open the set, while later the cooing “Little Kids” off of Microcastle caught the attention of the long time fans, earning a big response. After proudly describing the band’s return from Europe, Cox stated that you could “fuck anybody that tells you this isn’t the best country…fucking crypto-fascists.” After that brief bit of strange patriotism, the band twinkled through the gorgeous, Jay Reatard tribute, “He would Have Laughed”, before finishing on another long, dreamy jam. -Adam Kivel

Toro y Moi- Blue Stage – 6:45 p.m.

Photo by Meghan Brosnan

Toro y Moi‘s Chaz Bundick seems to be running away from that chillwave misnomer with a fury. Or at least he’s been listening to a lot more Headhunters or 80′s disco and imposing that we chill out to that. His voice can coo anyone to sleep, but the music underneath begged us to get up or get down or however you chose to boogie. There were some new songs with flippy synths in the set from his forthcoming EP out sometime later in the year that added a welcome aggression to his sound. Bundick, at 23, is an explorer of the highest mark and his set was evident of that. The displacement of detractors and fans caused for a some dance pods to sprout during “Still Sound”, one of the best songs he’s written so far, and the highlight of the set. -Jeremy D. Larson

Cut Copy – Red Stage – 7:25 p.m.

Photo by Meghan Brosnan

…And now we enter the epic dance party. Melbourne, Australia’s sharply dressed Cut Copy was armed to the teeth with sequencers, drum machines and synths with one mission in mind: get booties moving. The trio looked as good as its light show, one that got progressively more pronounced and colorful as the sun went down behind it.

Its brand of New Order-like, slick synth-pop was full of sheen and gorgeous, tight harmonies akin to The Beach Boys, especially notable on its performance of “Where I’m Going”, the first single off the band’s latest LP, Zonoscope. To see the giant mass of people jumping and grinding on each other as one organism at, say, the chorus of “Lights and Music” when people lost their shit, it was obvious that the band played one of the festival’s most danceable sets. -Paul de Revere

HEALTH – Blue Stage – 7:40 p.m.

It’s almost hard to believe that the HEALTH that completely crushed their set as the penultimate act of the weekend this year was the same act that played the very same stage three years prior. While their set in 2008 was masterfully chaotic, heart-racingly cluttered, and electrically charged, this year upped the ante by showing their matured sense of theatrics and somewhat more traditional songwriting. Opening with “Girl Attorney” style feedback bursts and the haunting falsetto of “Nice Girls”, the crowd erupted into a sort of dancing mosh pit. The noise-rock perfected “Zoothorns” followed, proving that no matter how grimy, hot, and overtired any festival goer can get, there’s enough gas at the bottom of the tank to freak the fuck out. BJ Miller’s drumming acted as the rollicking beast, exploding with furious energy, while Jupiter Keyes, John Famiglietti, and Jake Duszik all hooted and screamed through their heavily affected microphones, bouncing about the stage. Their cover of Pictureplane’s “Goth Star” seethed with dark dancefloor energy, and the rambunctious, squared off screaming of “Tabloid Sores” ended with Famiglietti looking up, long black hair covering his face, as he shredded out a last incredibly distorted/altered bass note. The new stuff was welcomed as much as the old, and the dancing caught on as much as the moshing. HEALTH brought the best of both worlds, and their infectious, radioactive set was easily the best of the weekend. -Adam Kivel

TV on the Radio – Green Stage – 8:30 p.m.

Photo by Meghan Brosnan

TV on the Radio (TVOTR) has reached a plateau rarely seen among major label bands: The Flaming Lips has, so did Radiohead. They retained the artistic integrity of an indie artist while gathering the resources they needed from a major. So with a nearly perfect batting average amongst rock critics and the final slot to close the weekend out at Pitchfork, what did TVOTR do with this newfound power?

First, they celebrated themselves, in a sense. Kicking off with “Halfway Home”, the dramatic lead track from its critically acclaimed 2008 full length Dear Science, TVOTR scooped up Union Park in one fell swoop, delivering a tough, clock-shattering punch to the crowd, resulting in a temporary case of amnesia. Cut Copy, what?

Second, they took advantage of the new, promising young talent around. Seattle rap duo Shabazz Palaces’ set couldn’t help but get a bit ignored being scheduled against Odd Future’s, so it was good that TVOTR decided to bring the two, an equally progressive-thinking group of black musicians, up on stage.

Photo by Meghan Brosnan

Third, they paid tribute to the shoulders of those musical giants the band continues to stand on. Easily a weekend highlight, TVOTR assembled a faithful cover of Fugazi’s “Waiting Room”, an anthemic, punk classic that’ll stick with us for decades to come. Surprisingly, the band didn’t retrofit the song with surges of electronic noise or guitar washes; instead, they kept things minimal. There was just the nimble, picked bass guitar and its signature vocal delivery, with more than a touch of urgent humanism, which was well captured in lead singer Tunde Adebimpe’s voice.

After all, if there’s any one obvious trait that TVOTR and Fugazi share, it’s that. But more than that, it was about music: an affirmation of past and present independent music and, with Shabazz Palaces, perhaps a nod to the future. That’s what a band, possibly one of the greatest this generation of indie rock will have to offer music history when all is said and done, does: forge a path and remind folks of the ones we’ve taken so far. Oh, and showing younger bands who’s still boss. -Paul de Revere

The Culture of Pitchfork

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Rolling Stone‘s Matthew Perpetua said it best: “This is gonna be a weird day to write about music news.” Those who aren’t at work are probably busy watching CNN. Or, they’re reacting yesterday’s events on Call of Duty. But music news is happening today, so if you have a few minutes: Above, you can watch the brand new video for Cold Cave’s “Villains of the Moon”, the first clip in support of the band’s recently released Cherish The Light Years.

Also, Cat’s Eyes — the side-project of Horrors singer Faris Badwan — mark tomorrow’s release of their self-titled debut with a new video for “Face in the Crowd”. And Canadian indie upstarts the Rural Alberta Advantage have unleashed a clip for “Under the Knife”, off their latest LP Departing. Watch both videos below.

It was almost a sensory overload this year. It’s safe to say there was too much to do. I can honestly say it didn’t help much adding a sixth stage to the schedule, and turning the Do-Lab from Smurf Village to a more practical stage. Friday was this year’s “Conflictchella” in which around the hours of two and five p.m. involved so many good acts playing simultaneously on various stages that it damn near caused aneurysms (OFWGKTA vs. Warpaint vs. the Drums vs. you get the idea). Saturday will forever go down as one of the most well-planned days in the history of the festival because, let’s face it, Bright Eyes -> Mumford and Sons -> Animal Collective -> Arcade Fire is modern music’s wet dream. And Sunday was a mixed bag of goodies (the Strokes murdered) and definitely some odd moments (Kanye, where were all your fellow rappers?).

And then there was the artwork…which took a whole new step up. This year, Coachella partnered with The Creators Project, adding a game-changing visual element to certain shows, as well as an in-between stage show that literally lit people up. There was the Spiritualized exhibit, which from the outside was a large silver cube in the back near the main stage, as well as the various usual oddities spread out all over the grounds. The stages themselves received massive upgrades — each tent, including the small Oasis Dome, now had screens on either side of the performers. Brazilian designer Muti Randolph upgraded the Sahara tent with a roof-spanning light installation, and the main stage underwent some awe-inspiring if unnecessary transformations before the top acts each night. In terms of the Coachella design, they took a step up, and in terms of the music, they just confused the shit out of everyone.

Photo by Matt Gainty

What matters here though isn’t the band selection, or the weird things scattered on the Polo Fields, but it’s the experience. People were skeptical this year with some of the choices, but you can’t get Radiohead to headline every year, and Coachella has already billed the biggest bands of the previous generation multiple times (do you all want Tool and the Peppers again?). The people at Coachella certainly know what they’re doing, and will always be able to deliver the public a fantastic weekend. It’s those who have had unwavering devotion to the festival that have to worry though. Times are changing, people, and so is Coachella…accept it.

-Ted Maider
Media Specialist

Friday, April 15th

The Rural Alberta Advantage – Outdoor Theatre – 1:15 p.m.

Fun fact: The Rural Alberta Advantage are not from Alberta at all, let alone rural Alberta. They’re actually from Toronto, Ontario, and they rock some. The singer has a bit of a Billy Corgan thing going, which is good or bad depending on whether you’re a Corgan fan. One member alternates between keys and a floor tom, while the third member annihilates the drums. As festival openers go, you can’t ask for more. -Harry Painter

!!! – Outdoor Theatre –  2:20 p.m.

Photo by Debi Del Grande

Disco-punk is taking over the world whether you want to acknowledge it or not. Despite the Friday afternoon heat, !!! vocalist and mascot Nic Offer was able to get the crowd on its feet and thrash about in the sun. Nic and company were no slouches themselves as they rocked through numbers like “Heart of Hearts” and “Must Be the Moon” to get everyone in a dance frenzy. Heat, good music, and lots of dancing can always get the party going, and this was a worthy start to the weekend. -Ted Maider

Brandt Brauer Frick – Gobi – 2:05 p.m.

These guys sometimes perform with an ensemble, but it was just the three of them (Brandt, Brauer, and Frick) at Coachella. The setup was one member manning the electronic drums while the other two toyed with synths. It got a little samey after a while, but Brandt Brauer Frick‘s original and hands-on take on techno was a delight at two in the afternoon. -Harry Painter

Cold Cave – Mojave – 3:00 p.m.

It seemed strange to have a band like Cold Cave playing in the middle of the day, but their dark mystique and catchy electro tunes sure had a place at Coachella. People bobbed their heads and grooved (somehow, to such dark music), while vocalist Wesley Eisold belted out his cynical and twisted lyrics. Even after all these years, and a total genre swap, the guy still knows how to channel his anger through a musical performance. Plus, he got people to rock out in the heat to “Confetti”, easily one of the band’s most badass tracks. -Ted Maider

Photo by Ted Maider

Omar Rodríguez-López – Gobi- 3:15 p.m.

Titus Andronicus conflicting with Omar Rodríguez-López so early in the day was a crime. Especially since he brought out The Mars Volta bandmate Cedric Bixler-Zavala to accompany him on vocals. You got basically the same thing you’d get from a Mars Volta show, at about half speed — much easier on the ears, actually. It would be nice to hear the guitarist without Bixler-Zavala one of these days, but no one is complaining about an unadvertised Mars Volta appearance. -Harry Painter

Skrillex – Sahara – 3:30 p.m.

The things one has to put up with to watch a damn hip-hop show at Coachella; with Odd Future coming on next, getting to the tent during Skrillex was a must. The former From First to Last frontman has some bangers, but whoever told him bringing out a nu-metal band was a good idea was yanking his chain. Yes, Jonathan Davis and Munky of Korn came out to do whatever it was they did, and helped Skrillex become the first in a long series of catastrophic Friday acts. Didn’t this used to be the dance tent? Wait, scratch that. Korn at Coachella? Really? -Harry Painter

Titus Andronicus – Outdoor Theatre – 3:30 p.m.

Photo by Debi Del Grande

When I learned Titus Andronicus was going to play the Outdoor, at three in the afternoon, I thought the Coachella planning team had just about lost their fucking minds. Civil war punk rock songs in sweltering heat are enough to take you back to the feelings of the soldiers alone, but Titus did what they do best…they shredded. Opening with “A More Perfect Union”, people embraced the punk and heat, kicking up dust and a flesh storm that sort of went out of control. Regardless, the band marched on, rocking out tracks like “No Future Part III: Escape From No Future”, “Richard II” and, of course, “Titus Andronicus” (complete with harmonica). Yes, it was hot, but lead singer Patrick Stickles encouraged us to drink our electrolytes, so we could rock as hard as he. -Ted Maider

Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All – Sahara – 4:30 p.m.

Photo by Ted Maider

Despite Odd Future‘s lack of danceability, it was the only tent that was going to be able to hold the flow of people. Still, if you’re going to take over the beloved Sahara, you’d better bring it — and Tyler and crew were not up to the challenge. Odd Future has put out some promising material, but you wouldn’t be able to tell if Coachella was your first experience with the group. OFWGKTA came out late in a burst of energy, but forgot to rap. Those who lament Wu-Tang’s live show don’t know how bad it can get; Odd Future’s formula was to scream lines, ignore the beat, and if one guy accidentally spoke over another, curse loudly to save face. Wu-Tang Clan? Please, at this point Odd Future’s live show is an unfunny, low-production Insane Clown Posse show. -Harry Painter

Cee-Lo Green – Coachella Stage – 4:50 p.m.

At Coachella, there are five stages, and if one act disappoints, there are always other options. Unfortunately, leaving Odd Future for the main stage was like moving from Port-au-Prince to Tokyo. Cee-Lo Green was even tardier than Odd Future, and by the time he came on at 5:30 p.m., the crowd had already let out several loud waves of boos. Cee-Lo apologized, offering the excuse that he had “just landed.”

Photo by Debi Del Grande

Okay, fair’s fair. However, Cee-Lo, who arrived not in a flamboyant peacock outfit or a Star Wars getup but a white tee, made things worse by bitching about his set time, then waiting two minutes for his Josie and the Pussycats knockoff backing band to play an uncoordinated “Iron Man” riff before finally singing a note. His set was half-assed, and his bassist was truly a disaster; she was off-key the whole afternoon, ruining both “Crazy” and the set closer, a comically mailed-in “Fuck You”. To his credit, Cee-Lo apologized and took the blame, before inciting a short-lived “Don’t Stop Believing” sing-along. Still, it’s going to take repeat views of that Grammy performance to wash off the stink. -Harry Painter

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart –  Mojave – 5:20 p.m.

Photo by Debi Del Grande

“Oh my God, can I just say I am having the best time at Coachella right now?” – Peggy Wang (keys)

With a great new album, and a true appreciation for the Coachella vibe, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart had no reason to be as depressed as their music makes them out to be. Sparking the early evening rays, the band came out looking hip yet excited. It wasn’t necessarily the show to catch if you wanted to jump-start your weekend, as most people sat longingly and watched their (beautiful) distortion wail, but it worked. When the band dished out a couple new tracks off their latest effort, Belong, including the new single “Heart in your Heartbreak”, people shuffled their feet and danced like playful children. It was happy, but that’s all. -Ted Maider

Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti – Gobi – 5:45 p.m.

Did I mention Friday didn’t work out so well? Ariel Pink and his band, but mostly just Ariel Pink, contributed to a hell of an afternoon with one of the funniest meltdowns in memory. Was it a joke? It appeared so. The show was going rather well, but Pink inexplicably stormed off stage after cutting off a song with, “I know you all hate me, but we’re going to stop playing now, so, sorry.” He shortly rejoined his Haunted Graffiti, all smiles, and finished the set — but half of the time, he stood there dancing awkwardly and let the band do the work. The chorus of “Round and Round” is actually rather soothing without a lead vocal part. -Harry Painter

Lauryn Hill – Coachella Stage – 6:05 p.m.

Photo by Debi Del Grande

Considering the train wrecks, you’d think watching Lauryn Hill, the reigning queen of unapologetic derailments, had zero chance of making the day any better. Then again, she wrote “Doo Wop”. Hill’s set worked out for a little bit; “Everything Is Everything” sounded okay. Then Hill proceeded to ruin “Lost Ones” beyond all recognition — okay, one more chance. Hill’s backup singers handled all the hard-to-reach notes on “Ex Factor”, which Hill sang with none of the passion that made it great over a decade ago. That was it for me; I like “Doo Wop” just the way it is, thank you. -Harry Painter

YACHT – Mojave – 6:25 p.m.

YACHT was a band many people were talking about prior to the festival. When it came time to see them though, it was quite surreal. They gave shout outs to disco-punk gods LCD Soundsystem, asked us if we believed in aliens, and played their brand of atmospheric dance tunes that went over quite well with the tent crowd. Tracks like “Dystopia” had the crowd chanting “The Earth is on fire,” and when they performed their hit, “Psychic City”, the whole place went bananas. -Ted Maider

Interpol – Coachella Stage – 7:25 p.m.

Photo by Debi Del Grande

In 2007, it was Interpol, not Kings of Leon or even Arcade Fire, that everyone thought would be headlining next time around. Instead, Interpol was demoted for Coachella 2011, having lost a bassist (or two) and popular momentum. New bassist Brad Truax filled in okay, although a timing slip-up during “Evil” was a drag; it didn’t help that the bass was way too high in the mix. Otherwise, Interpol went through the motions on hits like “Slow Hands”, “The Heinrich Maneuver”, and “Obstacle 1″, but never acted like they belonged at night on a big stage. New song “Lights”, backed up by some animation from David Lynch, was the surprise highlight. -Harry Painter

Cut Copy – Mojave – 8:35 p.m.

Cut Copy‘s popularity this year is reminiscent of Hot Chip’s popularity the first year they played Coachella. It’s only getting bigger from here. Cut Copy wasn’t in the Sahara, but the band turned that audience into a Sahara crowd. Dan Whitford’s vocals aren’t very flexible, so you have to really like that sort of thing to get into it. -Harry Painter

The Black Keys – Coachella Stage – 8:40 p.m.

Photo by Debi Del Grande

It was drummer Patrick Carney’s birthday, so the surrounding members of the now non-duo The Black Keys made note to rock extra hard. To kick off the set, older numbers like “Thickfreakness” took precedence, but soon enough newer material off of last year’s Brothers – “Tighten Up” and “Next Girl”, namely – rolled out. Carney celebrated his birthday in style, as the band thrashed about like dying sharks, absolutely annihilating their instruments in the process. The problem? The sound was unnecessarily low, causing the crowd to engage in a “Turn it up!” chant. This performance had gold all over it, but sadly, it was reduced to silver. -Ted Maider

Beardyman – Oasis Dome – 9:00 p.m.

I knew he was a beatboxer, I came to watch him beatbox, and when I got there I didn’t know he was beatboxing. Beardyman is pretty good. -Harry Painter

The Aquabats – Mojave –  9:45 p.m.

Photo by Ted Maider

Oh! The fury of The Aquabats! For a while now, Coachella attendees have wanted the famous ska team, known for their comic book gimmicks, to grace to Polo Fields with a show. Finally, they obliged, by delivering the goods complete with giant inflatable enemies, a superhero video intro, and evil cavemen. And it helped that they played jams like “BFF”, “Pizza Day”, and “The Cat with 2 Heads” to cause a dedicated, partly costumed crowd to rock out. Not to mention an on-stage appearance from Danny DeVito, as well as two members of the Kings of Leon, who claimed to “love the Aquabats” before rushing off. -Ted Maider

Kings of Leon – Coachella Stage – 9:55 p.m.

Unlike Muse, who took about as long as Kings of Leon to finally hit it big in America, the Followills don’t care much for relying on impressive visuals. There was smoke and there were lights, but beyond that, Kings of Leon put on a bare-bones rock (okay, soft-rock) show. There’s certainly something admirable about that; however, people expect something from a headline act, whether it’s visuals, unbelievable musicianship, or just an outstanding physical performance. The band has been through this fest-headlining routine in both Europe and America now, but none of these traits were evident at Coachella. 

They didn’t feel like Kings of anything, but they delivered a well-constructed set friendly to longtime fans. Caleb declared the band was “tired of playing the new stuff,” just before diving into a one-two punch of hits “Molly’s Chambers” and “The Bucket”. There was a healthy selection off Aha Shake Heartbreak and Youth and Young Manhood, but all the new songs that you’re sick of made appearances as well. Predictably, Kings of Leon saved “Sex on Fire” and “Use Somebody” for the end, before closing with Because of the Times track “Black Thumbnail”.

The first of two headliners who weren’t really headliners put on a better show than the indie crowd will admit. Plus, they came out to “Bitches Ain’t Shit”, which is a truly unhateable move. Still, Kings of Leon deserve some of that hate — even with plenty of old songs, those new ballads are just too much. Now that they’re officially rock stars with a bunch of American hits, maybe it’s time to rock again so that next time the Followills play Coachella, the fellas can have some fun, too. -Harry Painter

The Chemical Brothers – Coachella Stage – 11:40 p.m.

Photo by Harry Painter

Goldenvoice had to do this…a main stage Chemical Brothers show to wrap up day one. The “brothers” were 45 minutes late (thus the brothers never truly got to “work it out”), and the candy crowd certainly hates to wait. But, as soon as the opening of “Galvanize” came over the speakers, everybody in the crowd went absolutely ape shit. Nobody stopped dancing for the entire hour and 20 minutes they played. Everyone was treated to their favorite gems like “Star Guitar”, “Hey Boy Hey Girl,”  and the new hit, “Swoon”. When the plug was pulled on them around 1:20 a.m., everyone begged them to play one more song, but instead Ed and Tom waved good night, and day one was officially over. Maybe next year, we’ll get Daft Punk. -Ted Maider

Saturday, April 16th

EE – Gobi – 11:50 a.m.

EE was one of the artists collaborating with The Creators Project, which to almost everyone watching meant nothing. To the layperson, it meant the first act in the Gobi was a Korean indie pop group with a DJ and b-boys, and lots of colorful, crazy outfits and good photos. Swag? -Harry Painter

Photo by Ted Maider

The Joy Formidable – Gobi – 12:55 p.m.

Every year at Coachella, there’s at least one band that comes on before three in the afternoon and turns out to be one of the best acts at the festival. The Joy Formidable was that band this year. The three-piece from Wales plays blistering, crunchy, indie rock with a hint of shoegaze, and boasts a winner in frontwoman Ritzy Bryan (winning name too). After demolishing the tent and inciting way too much applause for the time slot, the band went old school and broke its equipment. It seemed kind of out of place, but that’s because rock and roll is dead, right? -Harry Painter

The Twelves – Sahara – 1:30 p.m.

The Brazilian duo that is The Twelves has garnered praise for its remixes, some of which the duo showed off early Friday in the Sahara. Many a dance was to be had to versions of Metric’s “Help, I’m Alive”, Daft Punk’s “Aerodynamic”, and the infectious “I’m Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance with You” by The Black Kids. -Harry Painter

The Tallest Man on Earth – Gobi – 3:00 p.m.

Photo by Debi Del Grande

It was pretty hot at this point in the day, and the music of Kristian Matsson was the perfect cure for everyone’s exhaustion. The solo performer arrived on stage for sound check, and jammed the whole time, making up songs on the spot just to tease the crowd. When it finally came time for his set to begin, he had already been playing for 10 minutes. People in the crowd squirted water at one another, as he soothed us with tracks like “King of Spain”, “Troubles Will Be Gone” (afterward, he assured us they would), and “You’re Going Back”. All by himself, he hypnotized that crowd to the point that despite how hot and sweaty they may have been, they really didn’t want to leave. -Ted Maider

Foals – Mojave – 3:15 p.m.

Several text messages and a packed-to-capacity Mojave tent indicated that Foals clearly had something radical going on for their set. Upon my arrival, the entire tent was bouncing furiously as the U.K. export banged their instruments in a fit of dance-punk fury. They had the entire tent on its feet jumping in unison to gnarly cuts of “Spanish Sahara” and “Two Steps, Twice”, all while expelling loads of energy. Exciting. -Ted Maider

Gogol Bordello – Coachella Stage- 3:35 p.m.

Photo by Debi Del Grande

Everyone’s favorite gypsy punks concentrated mostly on Trans-Continental Hustle material, but it never really makes a difference what Gogol Bordello plays. Every time, you are going to get a) a Sean Connery-looking fellow with a fiddle, b) accordion solos, and c) approximately nine people on stage looking to give you the best show of the year, if not your life. Eugene Hutz, one of the best frontmen in rock, shirtless with red wine dripping down his chest, succeeded in getting all the Erykah Badu fans to scream “Break the Spell” like they meant it. That’s how you do a show. -Harry Painter

Delta Spirit – Outdoor Theatre – 4:05 p.m.

Talk about a wrong stage at the wrong time. Delta Spirit were giving it their all at the Outdoor Theatre, but this did not coincide with what other people were feeling. Songs were met with dull cheers, as the crowd lay around sluggishly watching the band play fairly new material. If this show had been going on in a tent, they might have received a better reaction. As it was, people looked too fatigued to enjoy the Long Beach quintet. -Ted Maider

Photo by Harry Painter

Cage the Elephant – Outdoor Theatre – 5:20 p.m.

As the sun started to wither, and people began to rehydrate, Cage the Elephant called to arms. Immediately upon hitting the first notes of “In One Ear”, the audience rushed the stage like a rogue wave. This set the tone for the whole performance. Singer Matthew Shultz arrived sporting a red sundress, and ran around the stage, periodically jumping into the crowd (this clearly pissed off security, but hey, he’s there to put on a show). The band rocked through a number of its songs, and got a crowd sing-along for its gem, “Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked”.  To finalize everything, Shultz brought loads of patrons on stage to dance with him as they knocked out “Sabertooth Tiger”. Random note: Throughout the duration of the show, fighter jets above wrote Lady Gaga lyrics in the sky. -Ted Maider

Broken Social Scene – Coachella Stage – 6:05 p.m.

Photo by Debi Del Grande

Canada’s second most-popular indie rock band cued the setting of Friday’s Coachella sun with some of the fan favorites which have become standard in Broken Social Scene‘s sets: “Texico Bitches”, “7/4 Shoreline”, “Anthems for a 17-Year-Old Girl”, and “Meet Me in the Basement”. Lisa Lobsinger came to help out beginning with “Anthems”. It was low-key in the way only BSS can do low-key and it was spectacular as always. And those horns on set closer “Meet Me in the Basement”, the horns from heaven that erupted for an extended finale, they never get old. -Harry Painter

Elbow – Mojave – 7:00 p.m.

Photo by Debi Del Grande

I’ve never been one to rationalize a band’s status here by pointing out that they headline arenas in the U.K. — what terrible logic — but Elbow really deserves more exposure here. That they can only fill up a quarter of the Mojave is a sign of the direction of Coachella’s fanbase; bands like Elbow, Wire, and The London Suede would’ve filled their tents three years ago. Still, as empty as it was, Elbow was not taken aback and performed to high standards. Frontman Guy Garvey led the crowd in clap-alongs for nearly every song, and displayed multi-instrumental capabilities to complement his vocal talents. The band, which has previously performed its 2009 album The Seldom Seen Kid with the BBC Concert Orchestra, was accompanied by a string section for Coachella. -Harry Painter

Bright Eyes – Coachella Stage – 7:20 p.m.

Photo by Debi Del Grande

Conor Oberst returned to Coachella. This time, he brought his famed unit, Bright Eyes. Nevertheless, the crowd spent the hour buzzing about. What moved them even more was how hard Oberst actually rocked some of his finest tracks. He dedicated “We Are Nowhere and It’s Now” to all those who randomly came to Coachella, just as the sun dipped behind the mountains for a quick, eye-soothing natural occurrence. Soon after, the stage turned into a trippy light show for everyone, which highlighted tracks like “Approximate Sunlight” and “Old Soul Song”, the latter of which might have been the most beautiful moment on the Polo Field that day. In their 50-minute set, Bright Eyes captured the spirit of Coachella perfectly, as music and nature aligned with one another for one amazing set. -Ted Maider

Shpongle – Sahara – 7:50 p.m.

Photo by Harry Painter

I’m not sure the Sahara tent has ever been so empty at night; but then, One Day as a Lion was sparsely attended in the Mojave, and Elbow filled the Mojave to about 25 percent capacity at best. Welcome to the emerging career of Mumford and Sons, ladies and gentlemen. It’s a shame, though; The Shpongletron Experience is not something that people will be able to see whenever they like, and it’s worth seeing. Especially if mushrooms are involved. Shpongle deejays atop a giant, glowing, psychedelic fixture, complete with lights and Eastern religious imagery, and there are dancing girls and psychedelic trance. What’s not to like? -Harry Painter

One Day as a Lion – Mojave – 8:15 p.m.

After Zack de la Rocha showed up to the Empire Polo Field with Rage Against the Machine four years ago, people were expecting big things for the band’s future. When big things didn’t happen, out came a little five-song EP by One Day as a Lion. Nothing happened again, and now we’re here. And really, it’s not so bad. Along with Death from Above 1979, De La Rocha and Jon Theodore (still incredible behind the kit) may be the only bands ever to incite mosh pits with a dinky keyboard — and they were both at the same festival! De La Rocha doesn’t seem to rap anymore, which would be okay if he didn’t overuse that reverb effect on every song. Still, it’s such a relief to see De La Rocha can branch out and do something that doesn’t suck, unlike certain other Rage Against the Machine members. -Harry Painter

Big Audio Dynamite – Outdoor Theatre – 9:05 p.m.

Photo by Debi Del Grande

Mick Jones’ other band — not Gorillaz; his other other band — sounds awfully dated in 2011, just as dated as Duran Duran. But damned if they aren’t a riot. Big Audio Dynamite played songs your mother won’t remember like “E=MC2″, the BAD theme song “BAD”, and what Jones described as a “country western hip-hop ballad” (not far off), “The Battle of All Saints Road”. It’s not mandatory viewing, but any big fan of The Clash would get something out of a BAD set. -Harry Painter

Animal Collective – Coachella Stage – 9:45 p.m.

And the award for Best Visual Performance goes to….

The thing about Coachella that truly sets it apart from other festivals is the ability to watch bands grow. When Animal Collective played three years ago, they performed at one of the smallest stages…at the same time as Portishead. When they returned this year, with several new tracks and some classic cuts (“Summertime Clothes” finale, “Did You See the Words”), they brought with them the most spectacular visual show to grace the main stage this year. Flashes of color, creepy worm-like animations, and several large cubes loomed above their heads, making for one of the most unique sets of the weekend. This is the new age of psychedelic….and they are the leaders behind it. -Ted Maider

The London Suede – Mojave – 10:40 p.m.

Photo by Debi Del Grande

Coachella wasn’t able to pick up Pulp, but it got the next best thing — the band known back home as Suede. Only when you surround a Britpop mainstay like Suede with a bunch of 2010s indie bands do you realize how long it’s been since the ’90s. Suede got right back on the horse for its first U.S. show since reuniting, playing its heart out on favorites like “Animal Nitrate” and “Trash”, and closing with “Metal Mickey” and “Beautiful Ones”. Even without Bernard Butler, it wouldn’t be the worst thing if these guys stuck around for a while and made some green. They deserve it. -Harry Painter

Arcade Fire – Coachella Stage – 11:20 p.m.

“If you had told me in 2002 we’d be headlining Coachella with Animal Collective playing before us, I’d have told you that you were full of shit.” –Win Butler

In a career defining performance, the Arcade Fire proved via the Coachella ladder of success that they are officially one of the most important bands of our time. People furiously rushed the stage during set break, and camped out ruthlessly to wait for the band. Moments prior to their arrival, a series of odd Grindhouse trailers played, before the “feature presentation”. A timely female began singing about May, and I muttered “Month of May” under my breath. A split second later I was proven right, as the band vigorously launched into that one-chord intro, and immediately pulled the rug out from everybody’s feet.

Everyone sang, everyone danced, everyone screamed, and everyone was reduced to rubble by the show Arcade Fire put on. The band’s live performance has come so far, and this performance proved it. Win, Régine, and co. followed the hectic opener with “Rebellion (Lies)” that tugged at everyone to join in, various cuts from The Suburbs accompanied by imagery from their new film, and the most kickass version of “Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)” that resulted in crowd surfing and head-banging. Prior to their encore, they launched into “Wake Up”, which ended with several hundred white inflatable balls containing colored lights inside to fall from the stage. The crowd was covered to the point where they could no longer see.

To bring us back to life, the band returned for an encore of three more tracks, including the most epic finale version of “Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)”, wrapping up one of Coachella’s most well-planned days to date. Arcade Fire has come so far, from playing an afternoon slot on the Outdoor Theatre to headlining, and showing 60,000 people that it is the best band on the planet right now. This is their apex; enjoy it as much as they do. -Ted Maider

Sunday, April 17th

Delorean – Gobi – 2:00 p.m.

The Ibiza revival band from Spain, Delorean, is always a fun catch. Ekhi Lopetegi and co. are top-notch performers, and turned a half-empty tent into a full tent within the span of 40 minutes. Lopetegi’s vocals are weak live, however, and sound nothing like the recordings. Delorean would be a must-see event if he could work on that aspect of Delorean’s shows. Until then, they’re a see-it-if-you-know-what’s-good-for-you event. -Harry Painter

MEN – Mojave – 2:20 p.m.

Le Tigre member JD Samson is a hell of a frontwoman/man/whatever and makes for 90 percent of MEN‘s stage presence. The other 10? A combination of the trio of interconnected helmets, Bret “The Hitman” Hart pink and black jumpsuits, and lyrics like “I’m gonna fuck my friends.” MEN covered Bikini Kill’s (that would be, of course, Kathleen Hanna of Le Tigre’s old band) “Double Dare Ya” to end a raucous, fun set. However, let the “Are We Not Devo” jokes commence. -Harry Painter

Wiz Khalifa – Coachella Stage – 3:45 p.m.

Photo by Debi Del Grande

Wiz Khalifa‘s song “When I’m Gone” begins with “They say all I rap about is bitches and champagne.” Not true — his lyrics unsubtly cover the always-popular territory of cannabis as well, don’t you know. As a matter of fact, Khalifa spent as much time talking about weed as performing Sunday. At Coachella, on the main stage at 4 p.m., that is a problem. It’s too damn hot to pay mind to a guy who lip-syncs to uninspired Empire of the Sun samples, has his DJ cue up extended Nate Dogg tributes, and whose hype man finishes most of his lines for him. And he must have burned five minutes of his 50 allotted advertising Chuck Taylor shoes and his new album Rolling Papers (it’s out now in stores and on iTunes, by the way).

He had some moments, though. He played a few solid cuts off Rolling Papers in addition to the older stuff, and an a capella performance of his verse from his Snoop Dogg collaboration “That Good” was probably the best 30 seconds of hip-hop at Coachella. -Harry Painter

Nas and Damian Marley – Coachella Stage – 5:00 p.m.

Photo by Debi Del Grande

Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley was no rookie to the Polo Field, but with Nas, they brought a whole new kind of heat. As the Rasta flag was waved high, Nas spit fire, while Damian Marley and his band pulled the crowd to their feet and thus a dance party ensued. Of course, no Marley show is complete without a cover of his father’s work (“Could You Be Loved”) which sparked good vibes and several joints. But at the same time, the hip-hop crowd’s needs were met while Nas performed cuts like “One Mic”, and a (for some reason) no-Lauryn Hill version of “If I Ruled the World (Imagine That)”. What really rocked though was when Marley and Nas worked together on duets “Nah Mean” and “As We Enter”, as it brought on a whole new kind of party to the main stage on Sunday. -Ted Maider

Death from Above 1979 – Coachella Stage – 6:10 p.m.

Photo by Debi Del Grande

As excited as the crowd appeared, there was a lingering fear to this potentially riotous set. As soon as Death from Above 1979 started with “Turn it Out”, however, the fears became reality, and a huge hole for moshing ripped open amidst the crowd. It was difficult to breathe, several were pushed around violently, yet everyone screamed the lyrics. While people were hoping they’d be on a smaller stage for more mayhem, the crowd didn’t seem to have a problem stomping the crap out of each other on the biggest stage for one of the most intense shows of the weekend. The Toronto duo roared through “Romantic Rights”, a terrifying version of “Pull Out”, and even a sing-along of “Little Girl” to make it the deadliest show of the whole weekend. Blood was certainly spilled; it’s just that this time it was that of the fans, and not a police horse. -Ted Maider

Trentemøller – Mojave – 7:10 p.m.

Backed by a live band — and fronted at the beginning by a cage of, well, ribbons — Danish producer Trentemøller laid out an onslaught of arpeggios and downtempo ambient music to an early Sunday night crowd. Trentemøller was followed in the Mojave Sunday by Ratatat, Leftfield, and The Presets, all of which we missed. And that’s why we hate Coachella. -Harry Painter

The National – Outdoor Theatre – 7:25 p.m.

Photo by Debi Del Grande

The National is so appropriate to close the Outdoor Theatre at sundown it would almost be an insult to give them the exposure of a later Coachella Stage slot. Flawless as usual, The National played through the festival set it has been touring with since High Violet came out (two off Alligator, two or three off Boxer, the rest off High Violet). It would be nice to get an old song here and there, and “Abel” does not count, Mr. Dessner. The National invited Justin Vernon of Bon Iver and fellow Coachella band Gayngs to play guitar on “Terrible Love”. -Harry Painter

Duran Duran – Coachella Stage – 7:25 p.m.

Photo by Debi Del Grande

Frontman Simon Le Bon made it clear that he, along with his legendary unit Duran Duran, were more excited about playing Coachella than anyone else. While there wasn’t a whole lot of talk about the Polo Field of them, they sure rounded up a large crowd on Sunday, proving to the world that after 30-something years the ’80s still prove cool. Every soul found rhythm during a spot-on rendition of “Hungry Like the Wolf”, including the drunken fans at the nearby beer garden, who chugged along as they danced about madly. In addition to the nightclub anthem, the band also dusted off classics like “Notorious”, dedicated “A View to Kill” (yes, the Bond song) to the late John Barry, and keyboardist Nick Rhodes took photos of the audience as they finally brought the house down with “Girls on Film”. Apparently, Coachella will always have a home for the ’80s. -Ted Maider

The Strokes – Coachella Stage – 8:55 p.m.

Sure, The Strokes shared the headlining slot on the bill with Kanye West, but everyone knew who the real headliner was, regardless of personal taste. The Strokes were second banana, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t earn their top billing. Playing a career-spanning set as well as five new songs, The Strokes continued their bid to re-endear themselves to the world at Coachella.

Plus some newcomers, as well. There were throngs of kids in the pit who couldn’t have been older than five or six when Is This It came out, waiting eagerly next to the 20-somethings who grew up on the likes of The Strokes and The White Stripes. It doesn’t feel like it’s been that long, but hey, five years of inactivity can make you into a legend these days.

Photo by Debi Del Grande

Anyway, young Strokes fans, old Strokes fans, and Kanye fans alike were all bouncing by the time the opening riff of “I Can’t Win” tore into the field. The Strokes play the songs people want to hear, so outside of the Angles cuts, it was all hits from there. The sing-alongs manifested throughout the whole set, but were most prominent for “Last Nite”, “Reptilia”, and “Under Cover of Darkness”. The only slow moments were the new wave revival tune “Games” and fellow Angles track “Gratisfaction”.

Julian Casablancas was uncharacteristically chipper; the random trucker hat he was wearing along with his leather jacket and shades might have had something to do with it. He made fun of Duran Duran (“Was that a flute solo I heard? Just checking.”) and more energetic rock frontmen (“Generic lead singer-speak: You motherfuckers ready?!”). This kind of humor lasted throughout the night and it was nice to see all of them in good spirits. -Harry Painter

Bloody Beetroots Death Crew 77 –  Sahara – 9:35 p.m.

The techno-metal masters of insanity played Sunday night to a very rowdy and visually nutty Sahara tent. The noise that the Bloody Beetroots Death Crew 77 call music was accompanied by a light show that really took things to a whole other level. But it was the Beetroot’s craziness that was getting this crowd hopped up. While I only was able to catch the end of their set, what I saw totally freaked me out…and now I fear the assault the Death Crew 77 could possibly do to our ears. -Ted Maider

PJ Harvey – Outdoor Theatre – 9:45 p.m.

Photo by Harry Painter

It was very hard to leave PJ Harvey‘s set for Kanye West, which was obviously the point, those evil bastard schedule monkeys. It’s a tragedy that there’s ever something more important than PJ Harvey going on at the same time, but such is Conflictchella. She was scheduled to leave her stage around the time he took his, but Harvey’s Outdoor Theatre-closing set ran well into the third or fourth Kanye song, which was disastrous for the stage conflict but awesome for Harvey fans. Harvey played mostly songs off Let England Shake, but gave oldies like “Meet Ze Monsta” and “Down by the Water” some life. -Harry Painter

Kanye West – Coachella Stage – 10:30 p.m.

Mr. West claimed his Coachella closing set, something of a redemption show after Swiftgate and a year of gay fish jokes, was his “most important show since [his] mom died,” and he backed up this claim by dedicating it to her and even closing with “Hey Mama”.

So how’d he do?

Mama should be proud. Sure, he didn’t bring out Rihanna or Jay-Z or Nas or Ludacris or Talib Kweli or Die Antwoord. Sure, there were some ups and downs and some kinks that need to be worked out. But by and large, Kanye West proved Sunday he deserves and can handle a major headlining spot.

West landed a first at Coachella, dare I say a one-up on Prince — he was delivered to the Coachella Stage on a giant crane as he carefully spit out the words to My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy opener “Dark Fantasy”, accompanied by Justin Vernon, who had a busy weekend. When he finally touched ground, he quickly broke out “Power” (a song he claimed he thought about performing at Coachella as soon as he wrote it) and early hit “Jesus Walks”. His set, as expected, was made up almost entirely of hits, from “Diamonds from Sierra Leone”, “All Falls Down”, and “Through the Wire” to later singles like “Stronger”, “Heartless”, and last fall’s omnipresent banger “Monster” (fucking hands were seen at the concert). The climactic combination of “Runaway”, with guest Pusha-T, and “Lost in the World”, with Vernon again, was simply stunning.

The show was as much performance art as music; West won the more-people-on-stage-than-Arcade-Fire award by having on the whole team of ballerinas from the “Runaway” video back for a live rendition of that creepy choreography. There were costume changes, props, and most importantly, lots and lots of pyro. He overdid it on that front; by the middle of the show, there had been so much pyro it had long since shed its intended effect.

Photo by Debi Del Grande

Let’s face it: As West admitted during his little speech about 808s and Heartbreak, he can’t sing for shit. Which is why it was a good call to throw the three cuts off that album in the middle, so as not to detract from the flow. Still, he can’t sing for shit, and he made it worse by attempting these bizarre diva vocal breaks as if he were Christina Aguilera. “Love Lockdown” sounded more like a poetry reading at open mic night than a hip-hop concert. The night ended with more embarrassment for everyone except Kanye as he left us hanging with that whole “mamamam-m-mama” bit from “Hey Mama”, and no encore even when the crowd demanded one.

Still, he’s pretty good at hiding the weaknesses and highlighting the strengths. He has surprisingly good breath control, especially after a show just under two hours; he knows how to pace himself. He’s a born entertainer, as everyone knows, and for better or for worse concentrated on performing first and rapping second. Sure, there had to be some lingering disappointment after West closed such a high-energy, hit-filled set with an ode to his dead mother. But the two hours leading up to it earned him an excuse to play that song, and who are we kidding, Kanye will do whatever the hell he wants anyway. He’ll do it at Coachella and he’ll do it at Wrigley Field. -Harry Painter

Did you like the videos? Feel like you could do it yourself? You can! With a Sony Bloggie Touch HD, the festival’s yours for the keeping! Then again, you could always try and win one, too.

Gallery by Debi Del Grande

Our writers couldn’t make it everywhere, but photographer Debi Del Grande sure did. Her eyes went all over Polo Field, and now you, the reader, get to benefit from them.

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These additions complete a solid bill that sees Animal Collective, Fleet Foxes, and TV on the Radio as headliners, Guided by Voices, Dismemberment Plan, Cut Copy, and Deerhunter as sub-headliners, and Yuck, No Age, James Blake, and Das Racist as a few of many highlights the festival offers. Not enough for you? The full day-to-day lineup is listed below.

Three-day passes are sold out, but single day tickets priced at $45 are still on the market. You can pick them up here. Better act fast.

Friday
Animal Collective
Neko Case
Guided By Voices
Thurston Moore*
Battles*
James Blake
Das Racist
Curren$y
tUnE-yArDs*
Gatekeeper*
EMA*

Saturday
Fleet Foxes
DJ Shadow*
The Dismemberment Plan
Destroyer
No Age
Gang Gang Dance
Zola Jesus*
Twin Shadow*
Toro Y Moi*
Cold Cave*
OFF!*
G-Side
Woods
Sun Airway
Julianna Barwick*
Chrissy Murderbot

Sunday
TV on the Radio
Cut Copy
Deerhunter
Superchunk*
Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti
OFWGKTA
HEALTH
Kurt Vile
Yuck
The Fresh & Onlys
Radio Dept.
Baths
Kylesa
Shabazz Palaces
Twin Sister
How to Dress Well
Wild Nothing*
Darkstar*

* = New addition

“The Great Pan Is Dead” is such a large stake in a new tract of land for Cold Cave that it becomes the hitching post for the album to come. The tepid lo-fi new-wave influences of their debut album Love Comes Close are injected with a richer production (thanks to Chris Coady, who has helmed sessions with TV on the Radio and Yeah Yeah Yeahs) that begs to be let loose in an arena. If their debut felt like a one-off experiment for an ex-hardcore icon, then Cherish The Light Years is a fleshed out realization of Eisold’s previous endeavors. Ideas run deep throughout the record causing a fresh sound to be carved organically out of experience and not a cut and pasted from a record collection. Even after the immaculate opening track, Cold Cave manages to keep pace — dragging the listener by hand down dimly-lit streets, through seedy alleys, and into the club — where underneath its new gloss, Eisold guns through the years, hunts heartily, and crushes fears indeed.

Still trying to stay in overdrive after the first track, “Pacing Around The Church” propels forward filled with Manchester textures and mainstream radio formulas. It doesn’t take long to hear Eisold’s newfound confidence in his vocals. He still slips off many notes as if he’s unsure of his footing, but like Morrisey before him, there are these little melodic gems that couple great meter and rhythm, illuminating a tiny moment in a song. One instance is on “Confetti” as he trickles out the words in his baritone, “I feel guilty being alive/when so many beautiful people have died”, recalling something more akin to Poe than other Hot Topic tropes.

Then there’s the exciting finale of the album — the closing pair of the slowly screwed ode-to-industrial “Burning Sage”, and the brilliance and fireworks of the climactic “Villians of the Moon” best exemplifies Cold Cave’s brush with a 2011 album, and not a retro-genre act. Together they display, fangs out, what Cold Cave is driving at on CTLY: crashing into the hearts of those familiar with their 80′s context, and those not. This is the album that will make Cold Cave a common name, easing listeners out of the light and into the dark.

Elsewhere, swallowing Eisold’s ethos becomes a matter of persistence  and taste. The swatch book of genres on CTLY is focused, and includes more extroverted industrial and arena-rock tabs. But the palette Cold Cave works from rarely yields subtle results — the band paints with steady aggression and use exclusively dark colors from top to bottom. There’s no shortage of macabre catch-phrases and hooky shout-a-longs, but if you haven’t the patience for this much gloom, then the album’s 40 minutes can drag in the middle.

That said, Cold Cave never comes off as naive — only very deliberate, and trusting Eisold and his history helps CTLY‘s stock immensely. In fact, the confidence on display here is what makes each track so seductive. It may not have the subtle variety a band may possess at their peak, but every sound on here lands true. If Eisold is at his peak here, it’s still a remarkable imprint on the current landscape. But hopefully, this is just another strong step in his dynamic career.

Mark your calendars: On April 5th, snythpop risers Cold Cave will return with their sophomore LP, Cherish The Light Years. Recorded in New York City with producer Chris Coady (Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Smith Westerns), the follow-up t0 2009′s Love Comes Close is billed as “a tour de force of pounding synths and soaring romantic melody. Bandleader Wesley Eisold has taken Cold Cave worlds beyond 2008?s Love Comes Close with a massive, ambitious love letter to his adopted city. With Eisold’s newfound vocal strength fully to the fore on every track, Cherish The Light Years is a remarkable progression and we are confident that it will shake your world” (via yvynyl).

The record will be available through Matador. Also available will be a very limited edition test press of 123 copies, featuring handmade covers. Pre-order ‘em now.

In support of the release, Cold Cave will hit the road with The Kills starting April 15th. Between then and May 11th, they’ll play Coachella and a whole both of North American cities. The album’s cover art is above. Tracklist and confirmed tour dates below.

Cherish The Light Years Tracklist:
01. The Great Pan Is Dead
02. Pacing Around The Church
03. Confetti
04. Catacombs
05. Underworld USA
06. Icons Of Summer
07. Alchemy and You
08. Burning Sage
09. Villains of the Moon

Cold Cave 2011 Tour Dates:
04/15 – Indio, CA @ Coachella Music Festival
04/19 – Dallas, TX @ Granada Theatre *^
04/20 – Austin, TX @ La Zona Rosa *^
04/22 – Nashville, TN @ Cannery Ballroom *^
04/23 – Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade *^
04/24 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club *^
04/26 – Boston, MA @ Royale *^
04/27 – Philadephia, PA @ Theatre of the Living Arts *^
04/29 – New York, NY @ Terminal 5 *^
04/30 – Montreal, QC @ L’Olympia *^
05/01 – Toronto, ON @ Sound Academy *^
05/03 – Detroit, MI @ Majestic Theatre *^
05/04 – Chicago, IL @ Vic Theatre *^
05/05 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue *^
05/08 – Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom *^
05/09 – Seattle, WA @ Showbox at the Market *^
05/10 – Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom *^
05/11 – San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore *^

* = w/ The Kills
^ = w/ The Entrance Band

With each passing day, The Kills’ 2011 plans become increasingly overwhelming. First was the announcement of their fourth LP, Blood Pressures, then came a spot at this year’s South by Southwest 2011, and now the Alison Mosshart-led outfit unveils the rest of their forthcoming roadmap. Like today’s two announcements for Foals and Cut Copy, The Kills’ trek includes a noticeable gap on the West Coast during the weekend of Coachella. In fact, the outfit will kick off their endeavor with the aforementioned Foals in San Diego on April 15th. After that, it’s on to Austin, Nashville, and Georgia before The Kills make their up the Eastern seaboard and ultimately turn left for a series of Midwest performances. By mid-May, the band will find their way back west, culminating with a May 11th performance in San Francisco.

Cold Cave and The Entrance Band will supply support on all dates, except San Diego. Ticket information can be found on the band’s website.

Blood Pressures is due for release April 5th via Domino Records.

The Kills 2011 Tour Dates:
03/29 – Antwerp, BE @ Trix
03/30 – Amsterdam, NL @ Melkweg
03/31 – London, UK @ Heaven
04/02 – Milan, IT @ Tunnel
04/06 – Paris, FR @ Le Bataclan
04/08 – Berlin, DE @ Huxley’s
04/15 – San Diego, CA @ House of Blues #
04/19 – Dallas, TX @ Granada Theatre *^
04/20 – Austin, TX @ La Zona Rosa *^
04/22 – Nashville, TN @ Cannery Ballroom *^
04/23 – Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade *^
04/24 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club *^
04/26 – Boston, MA @ Royale *^
04/27 – Philadephia, PA @ Theatre of the Living Arts *^
04/29 – New York, NY @ Terminal 5 *^
04/30 – Montreal, QC @ L’Olympia *^
05/01 – Toronto, ON @ Sound Academy *^
05/03 – Detroit, MI @ Majestic Theatre *^
05/04 – Chicago, IL @ Vic Theatre *^
05/05 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue *^
05/08 – Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom *^
05/09 – Seattle, WA @ Showbox at the Market *^
05/10 – Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom *^
05/11 – San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore *^

# = w/ Foals
* = w/ Cold Cave
^ = w/ The Entrance Band

When I mention Boston hardcore, I’m sure the word “poet” doesn’t come immediately to mind. Oh, I’m sure a number of people who are about to read this have seen the (pointless) documentary series Boston Beatdown. Therefore, when you do think of Boston hardcore, you may think of fights, blood, brotherhood, unity, straight-edge, hardline, intense mosh pits, Blood For Blood, Converge, Death Before Dishonor, FSU, and broken faces. You certainly don’t think of quatrains, poetic cries for help and death, and sarcastic, yet thought-provoking song titles.

The Boston scene has always been about being the hardest, toughest, and meanest of the country. Just look at our sports fans. Hardcore is no different. We will make sure your ass is kicked. But this is what makes hardcore songwriter Wesley Eisold such an iconic leader of the scene.

Eisold deserves some documenting ever since his new project, Cold Cave, has come into existence and seen a bit of mainstream success. This was something that I could not have foreseen, because Eisold doesn’t seem like the kind of dude who was looking to please a crowd. Eisold is primarily known in hardcore for starting American Nightmare, a Bridge 9-affiliated band named after one of the finest Misfits songs ever conceived. They would later have to change their name to Give up the Ghost, after a lawsuit from a less noteworthy blues band. In their time as American Nightmare, however, the group released two EPs, an LP, and a demo. Each and every record was littered with Eisold’s dark imagery, high pitched shriek, bizarre sense of humor, intellectual wit, and poetic perfection, which set them aside from a lot of other bands.

Other Boston hardcore bands were pissed off, but Eisold had some damn good reasons for it. Boston is cold, for one, and it is also suggested through his songwriting that he could not find a girl to touch him. It could be because of the fact he has only one hand, or the fact he later wrote a song called “I Need Drugs”. I’m just speculating, but he seemed like a guy who might have a dark world view, and it definitely has fueled all his songwriting to a freakishly legitimate and honest portrayal of his personality. Eisold is his songs, plain and simple.

Anyway, American Nightmare put out a self-titled EP, complete with songs titled “The Ice Age is Coming”, “Please Die!”, and “Fuck What Fireworks Stand For”. The standout track is the finale, “Farewell”, a beautifully written track about a relationship turning to shit. “And know the innocence is gone/Move on/From this day forth/we’ll never be the same,” a line that says more about the loss of youth then it does the end of a relationship. If Simple Plan had said that, it would be stupid, but this guy was literally screaming it over lighting fast guitars and AK-47 drumming. Their LP, Background Music, is an amazing relic of the Boston scene. Tracks like “I Saved Latin”, “Hearts”, and “Your Arsonist” are amazing examples of Eisold’s wit, humor, and poetic skill. “Dreams are trash on the side of the road,” he screams in “There’s a Black Hole in the Shadow of the Pru”, a near hate-letter to the city. His dreams might be trash, but his lyricism is pristine.

Then they turned into Give up the Ghost, releasing Year One (an A.N. compilation), and We’re Down ‘Til We’re Underground. Underground is their farewell letter to the world and a brilliant one at that. In the first lyrics of the album, Eisold screams out “In a world full of sluts/we keep the wet dream alive.” Good to know somebody is trying. Songs like “No Lotion’s Gonna Unclog These Pores”, “Crush of the Year”, “Aeiou”, and “The Last Supper After Party” brought the hardcore level up a couple of notches for the band. They were better produced, faster, angrier, and more artistic than ever (see: “And Its Sometimes Like it will Never End”). At this point, their shows closed with that tune, as Eisold would stare out at the crowd motionless. I must note I never personally saw this; I merely borrowed a VHS of bootlegged shows from my friends.

Then what happened? Well, the band called it quits for “health reasons”, and went down as a notorious Boston outfit. Other members of the band joined the short-lived Bars, but Eisold went on with several projects. He began a synthesizer-based hardcore group called XO Skeletons, whom I still can’t tell whether I love. They released two EPs, neither sounding like a lot of mixing was involved. Asthmagasm came first and slightly denounced Eisold’s prior poetic ability. Their next effort, Bored by Heaven, harnessed the previous lyrical genius from before. Songs like “Town Crier” compared love and religion (“I read the Bible and I understand/I was bored by heaven in the holy land”), while tracks like “Live from Planet Death” brought an electronica element into the production. The final track, “California Needs You and Me”, almost mocked the idea of the West coast, which makes Eisold’s next career move ironic.

Eisold went out to San Diego, California and formed the grindcore outfit, Some Girls, with Justin Pearson of the Locust. The band released a number of EPs, the most memorable being The DNA Will Have Its Say. Karen O appeared with Eisold on the title track, but the song “A Sick Cult” will forever remain one of the only grindcore songs I ever mention to anybody. In the song, Eisold refers to his new band as “the best habit I’ve had in years.” Fifty percent of their actual LPs were decent. All My Friends are Going Death contains a number of staple tracks like “The Rains”, “The Blues”, “Up to Our Hips”, and “Gonna Set My Soul on Fire”. This was the band’s first commercial release; in fact, it was an album my friends and I did not initially want to enjoy. But, I think it was the liner notes that convinced us, which read, “Here’s to new beginnings, you fucks.” Thanks Wes, glad I bought your new record.

Eisold remained under the radar for awhile after Some Girls, releasing poetry collections and suing Fall Out Boy over single lyrical quotes (In 2007, Fall Out Boy settled the matter outside of court, stemming from the use of lyrics which had not been approved by Eisold.), but in a group of Boston hardcore scenester’s hearts, Eisold’s music has been playing on their stereos forever. Now he plays in Cold Cave, who have frequently been compared to The Smiths. The group released their debut, Love Comes Close, a year ago. On this album, Eisold’s style is a combination of his prior bands. There’s the electronica of XO Skeletons, the melody of American Nightmare, his humorous song titles (“The Trees Grew Emotions and Died”), and the dark lyricism of his entire career. Some songs even sound like they could be on pop radio. His style is getting friendlier. One day, when the Boston scene is properly documented, people will realize his influence on hardcore. And if he keeps composing brilliant work, it won’t be long before he goes from Boston icon to rock and roll icon.

Recently concluding their summer US tour at Chicago’s Pitchfork, the quartet will now head back to Europe for performances across Spain, Portugal, and the UK before returning stateside August 29th.

Delorean begins their new North American tour with an appearance at Brooklyn’s Pool Parties and then travel immediately to the west coast for late summer festivals, FYF Fest, and Bumbershoot. After Seattle, the tour halts for two months. During late September and October, Delorean will be performing as part of Australia’s Parklife series, but no details have surfaced as to their plans between October 4th and the beginning of November. Maybe the guys will be making some US tourist stops–Mt. Rushmore, Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, Hoover Dam–but hopefully they are just waiting to add more performances.

The tour heats up, as the seasons cool down. During November the guys will be performing 11 shows in 15 days, with stops in San Francisco, Vancouver, Chicago, Montreal, Cambridge, and a church in Philadelphia. The tour concludes Novermber 23rd in Washington, DC.

Delorean’s San Diego performance will feature Cold Cave and Abe Vigoda, plus Lemonade will be providing support for all November dates. The complete list of tour dates follows below. Only tickets for the Cambridge and Toronto dates are available through Ticketmaster.com. All other tickets can be acquired through the various venues. We’ll keep you updated if any dates are added.

Check Out:

Delorean 2010 Tour Dates:
07/23 – Santander, ES @ Santander
07/24 – Badajoz, ES @ Albuquerque
07/25 – Barcelos, PT @ Milhoes de Festa
07/30 – Barcelona, ES @ Razz
07/31 – Asturies, ES @ Ewan Fest
08/07 – Murcia, ES @ Electromar Festival
08/08 – London, UK @ Standon Calling
08/14 – Aranda, ES @ Sonorama
08/15 – Guipuzkoa, ES @ Donosti
08/29 – Brooklyn, NY @ East River State Park
09/02 – San Diego, CA @ Casbah #
09/04 – Los Angeles, CA @ FYF Fest
09/05 – Seattle, WA @ Bumbershoot
09/25 – Brisbane, AU @ Parklife Brisbane
09/26 – Perth, AU @ Parklife Perth
10/02 – Melbourne, AU @ Parklife Melbourne
10/03  - Syndey, AU @ Parlife Sydney
10/04 – Adelaide, AU @ Parklife Adelaide
11/05 – Denton, TX @ Hailey’s *
11/08 – Phoenix, AZ @ Rhythm Room *
11/10 – San Francisco, CA @ GAMH *
11/13 – Vancouver, BC @ Biltmore Cabaret *
11/16 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th St. Entry  *
11/17 – Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall *
11/18 – Toronto, ON @ Mod Club  *
11/19 – Montreal, QC @Le Belmont *
11/20 – Cambridge, MA @ Middle East Downstairs *
11/22 – Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church *
11/23 – Washington, DC @ Rock and Roll Hotel *

# = w/ Cold Cave & Abe Vigoda
* = w/ Lemonade

Cold Cave 2010 Tour Dates:
02/20 – Haverford, PA @ Haverford College
02/21 – Buffalo, NY @ Mohawk Place
02/22 – Pitsburgh, PA @ Garfield Artworks
02/23 – Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop
02/24 – Pontiac, MI @ Pike Room
02/25 – Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle
02/26 – Madison, WI @ The Project Lounge
02/27 – Urbana, IL @ Canopy Club
02/28 – Lexington, KY @ Al’s Bar
03/06 – Lincoln, UK @ Engine Shed *
03/07 – Preston, UK @ Guildhall *
03/08 – Bradford, UK @ St. George Hall *
03/10 – Glasgow, UK @ The Academy *
03/11 – Dundee, UK @ Fat Sams *
03/12 – Iverness, UK @ Ironworks *
03/13 – Aberdeen, UK @ Music Hall *
03/15 – Newcastle, UK @ The Academy *
03/16 – Manchester, UK @ The Apollo *
03/17 – Cambridge, UK @ Corn Exchange *
03/19 – Bournemouth, UK @ The Academy *
03/20 – Brighton, UK @ The Dome *
03/21 – Cardiff, UK @ Cardiff University *
03/23 – Folestone, UK @ Leas Cliff Hall *
03/24 – London, UK @ Brixton Academy *
05/07 – Minehead, UK @ All Tomorrow’s Parties
05/08 – Leeds, UK @ Nation of Shopkeepers
05/09 – Glasgow, UK @ Captain’s Rest
05/10 – Manchester, UK @ Deaf Institute
05/12 – London, UK @ Cargo
05/13 – Brighton, UK @ The Great Escape
05/14 – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso
05/15 – Brussels, BE @ Rotonde
05/16 – Hamburg, DE @ Ubel & Gefarlich
05/18 – Stockholm, SE @ Svenska
05/19 – Copenhagen, DK @ Rust
05/20 – Berlin, DE @ Bang Bang Club
05/21 – Berlin, DE @ Offenbach
05/22 – St. Gallen, CH @ Theater Palace
05/23 – Fribourg, CH @ Fri-Son
05/24 – Bologna, IT @ Rocker Festival
05/25 – Turin, IT @ Spazio 211
05/27 – Paris, FR @ Point Emphere
05/29 – Barcelona, ES @ Primavera Sound

* = w/ Editors

As we approach the 2010 edition, set to go down from March 17-21, here’s a few newly announced, unexpected treats worth getting excited for:

First and foremost, the Alamaba surf rock outfit Man or Astro-Man? will reunite for their first performances in four years at this year’s SXSW. Yep, Starcrunch, Birdstuff, and Coco are coming back! Per the issued press release:

So indeed, for all of humanity, 2010 will be the year of contact, or, at least re-contact with the original space cadets themselves: Starcrunch, Birdstuff, and Coco. In addition to all the scientific experiments and live music demonstrations, MOAM? will host a variety of benefits and charities for earth specimens, predominantly in the human or animal form

If you need a refresher, Man or Astro-Man? is the Quarterstick Records trio that has two dozen releases to its name and prides itself for having played in 28 countries and 49 states throughout its decade-long existence. Anyhow, multiple reunion performances are planned, however, exact specifics have not yet been released.

Cool, huh? Well, how’s this sound? Also now scheduled to be included in SXSW’s festivities is a Saturday night showcase curated by none other than Fucked Up. The aptly titled Fucked Up and Friends showcase will feature the acclaimed Toronto outfit joined by the likes of Dinosaur Jr.’s J. Mascis, Cold Cave, Rival Schools, Titus Andronicus, and Katie Stelmanis.

And all this without mentioning all the other acts scheduled to perform throughout the week as well as that cool party going down on the 18th at the Compound. Yeah, go.

The Black Lips, Tim & Eric, Lightning Bolt, The Thermals, and Lucero will head F Yeah Presents Save Our State Parks, set to take place on September 5th at the Los Angeles Historic State Park. Also confirmed are Converge, No Age, Fucked Up, Glass Candy, Times New Viking, Wavves, Crystal Antlers, AA Bondy, and Alkaline Trio’s Matt Skiba. The full lineup can be found over at the Festival Outlook.

Tickets for F Yeah Fest ’09 will go on sale beginning Tuesday, August 4th via Ticketweb.com and will cost you only $21 — one dollar from each ticket be donated to Homeboy Industries and Harvest of Hope. Those who volunteer will gain free access into the festival.