Photo by Brad Bretz

Maybe this is what Justin Vernon was referencing when explaining why Bon Iver won’t be performing at the Grammys. As the Associated Press reports, this year’s ceremonies will include a special electronic music segment featuring Foo Fighters, Lil Wayne, Deadmau5, Chris Brown, and David Guetta, “all performing in a tent space amid 1,000 fans.”

According to the AP, Foo Fighters and Deadmau5 will come together for a live remix of the former’s song “Rope.” Weezy, Brown, and Guetta will then follow with their own joint performance.

Other scheduled performers at this year’s Grammys include Adele, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Paul McCartney, Coldplay, Rihanna, Katy Perry, and Nicki Minaj among others. Tune in Sunday, February 12th at 8:00pm ET to see it all unfold.

Below, you can listen to Deadmau5′s remix of “Rope”.

It’s been a long year. Scratch that, it’s been a veeerrrry long year. From social revolutions to the end of our occupation of Iraq, from the death of celebrities and dictators to a man who sneezes bullets and the mystery of planking, the world experienced a slew of emotions and all sorts of cultural and political upheaval in 2011. And that’s not even counting the plethora of music news that had the blogosphere abuzz this year.

So, as the question begs, what comes next? Well, 2012. If you were to believe certain factions, it’ll be the end of days. A more likely scenario, though, is that it will be another busy year, with people to meet, triumphs to celebrate, disasters to mourn, and a whole other set of memories to file away as we march perpetually onward toward the Great Unknown. A dreary prospect for sure, one that almost makes the impending Apocalypse sound warm and fuzzy. However, there is temporary respite in the form of New Year’s Eve.

New Year’s Eve is that magic night where one year is all but over. It’s the chance to stop worrying for a moment. It’s an opportunity to celebrate surviving the last 364. It’s the start of a whole new scheme or design for the upcoming 365. Rather than chugging cheap champagne and letting off fireworks, NYE should be commemorated with the one thing that makes any year bearable: music.

As we have for every other major celebratory occasion, CoS has your back with our handy-dandy New Year’s Eve 2011 Concert Guide. From the beaches of Miami to life in the City of Angels, and everywhere between, our guide has everything you’ll need to know to see your favorite bands live. Whether you’re planning to rock out with Patti Smith at New York’s Bowery Ballroom, get freaky with The Flaming Lips and Yoko Ono in Oklahoma City, or hit up BOTH of Kaskade’s NYE shows (in two different state mind you), our guide is the only New Year’s Eve accessory you need (save for maybe a noisemaker). Plus, if you’re not one to brave the weather and the sea of drunks, we’ll tell you what you should be watching on the old boob tube. The point is, if it’s happening on NYE, it’s in this guide. Your only concern will be how to get home and/or where to pass out at the end of the night.

If we’ve missed any gathering or shindig, please let us know in the comments below. Call this a cliché bit of writing, but we’d like to leave you with some parting words from the immortal Benjamin Franklin to guide you into what lies ahead: “Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man.”

See ya in 2012.

-Chris Coplan
News Editor

New York City

– AarabMUZIK, Balam Acab: 285 Kent

– Assembly of Dust: Mercury Lounge

– Avicii: Pier 34

– The Bad Plus: The Village Vanguard

– Charles Bradley, The Budos Band: Music Hall of Williamsburg

– Chuck Berry: B.B. King Blues Club

– Dark Star Orchestra: Wellmont Theatre (Montclair, NJ)

– Deadmau5: Pier 36

– Deer Tick, J. Roddy Watson and the Business, Dead Confederate: Brooklyn Bowl

– Fitz and the Tantrums: The Gramercy Theatre

– Gogol Bordello: Terminal 5

– Gov’t Mule: Beacon Theatre

– Infected Mushroom: Best Buy Theater

– The Knocks: Gansevoort Park Avenue

– Laidback Luke: Pacha

– Lee Fields & The Expressions: The Bell House

– Los Lobos: City Winery

– Matt and Kim, Super Mash Bros., Body Language: Hammerstein Ballroom

– Neru: Webster Hall

– The New Deal: B.B. King Blues Club

– New Kids on the Block, Boyz II Men: Roseland Ballroom

– Nick Catchdubs: Loreley

– Nosaj Thing: Glasslands

– O’Death: Spike Hill

– Patti Smith: Bowery Ballroom

– Phish: Madison Square Garden

– Steve Lawler: District 36

– Ted Leo and the Pharmacists: Maxwells (Hoboken, NJ)

Chicago

– Alkaline Trio: Metro

– Big Gigantic: Riviera Theatre

– Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears: Double Door

– Cage the Elephant, Sleeper Agent: Aragon Ballroom

– Cave: The Hideout

– Disco Biscuits, Future Rock: Auditorium Theatre

– The Hood Internet: Lincoln Hall

– Keys N Krates: Chicago Urban Art Society

– Local H: Bottom Lounge

– Murder By Death: Subterranean

– Old 97s: Intercontinental Hotel Grand Ballroom

– Rusko, Sinden, Switch: Congress Theater

– The Spits: Cobra Lounge

Los Angeles

– The Aggrolites: Alex’s Bar

– Benny Benassi, Paul Van Dyk, Kaskade, Dada Life: Anaheim Convention Center (White Wonderland)

– DJ Quik: Key Club

– Duck Sauce, Diplo, Chromeo, Felix da Housecat, The Bloody Beetroots, LA Riots: Oak Canyon Park (Together As One)

– The Henry Clay People, Races: The Satellite

– Give Up the Ghost: Ukrainian Culture Center

– Jenny and Johnny, Cults: The Standard Hollywood

– John Digweed: The Avalon

– Junkie XL: Detroit Bar

– L.A. Guns: Whisky A Go Go

– Lupe Fiasco: Hollywood & Highland Center

– Musiq Soulchild: House of Blues

– Wanda Jackson, Best Coast, Dan Sartain: Club Nokia

San Francisco

– The Fresh & Onlys, Thee Oh Sees: Brick and Mortar Music Hall

– Furthur: Bill Graham Civic Auditorium

– Kreayshawn: The Regency Ballroom

– The Limousines: Rickshaw Stop

– Maceo Parker: Yoshi’s

– Santigold, Amon Tobin Islam Live, Beats Antique, Claude Von Stroke,: Concourse Exhibition Center (Sea of Dreams)

– Primus: Great American Music Hall

– The Slip: Cafe du Nord

– Sonny & The Sunsets: Amnesia

– Talib Kweli: Sloane Squared

– Tedeschi Trucks Band, The New Mastersounds: The Warfield

– Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue: The Fillmore

– X: Slim’s

– Yeasayer (DJ Set): W Hotel

– DJ Z-Trip: Fort Mason Center

London

– The 2 Bears: XOYO

– Adam Beyer: Fabric

– Ferry Corsten: Brixton Academy

– Gabby Young and Other Animals: Royal Festival Hall

– Gary Numan: All Star Lanes

– Gross Magic: The Victoria

– Joker, Brekage, Roska, Plastician, Sigma: Electric Brixon

– Kasabian, Chase & Status, Zane Lowe: The O2

– Toddla T: The Nest

– The Wedding Present: Dingwalls

Elsewhere

Aspen

– Jane’s Addiction: Belly Up

Athens (Georgia)

– MartyParty, Dubconscious: New Earth Music Hall

– of Montreal: Go Bar

– Reptar: Georgia Theatre

Atlanta

– Against Me!, Fake Problems, Franz Nicolay: The Masquerade

– Cake: Fox Theatre

– JJ Grey & Mofro: Variety Playhouse

– Kylesa: The Earl

– Naughty By Nature, Ed Kowalczyk: Hyatt Regency

– Perpetual Groove: Center Stage

– STS9: The Tabernacle

– Zac Brown Band: Philips Arena

Atlantic City

– Brand New: House of Blues

Austin

– Big Freedia: The Mohawk

– The Black Angels, Wooden Shjips, Ume: Emo’s East

– Bob Schneider, Quiet Company: Paramount Theatre

– Designer Drugs: Austin Music Hall

– Gary Clark Jr.: Antone’s

– Groupo Fantasma: Beauty Bar

– Hayes Carll: La Zona Rosa

– Penguin Prison: American Legion Hall

– Russian Circles: Red 7

– White Denim, Royal Bangs: The Empire Space

– Willie Nelson: Moody Theater

Australia

– Arctic Monkeys, Crystal Castles, Dan Deacon, The Naked and Famous: The Falls Festival (Lorne)

– Fleet Foxes, Beirut, CSS, CANT, Unknown Mortal Orchestra: The Falls Festival (Marion Bay)

Baltimore

– Carbon Leaf: Hyatt Regency

– SOJA: Baltimore Soundstage

Boston

– David Wax Museum: Lizard Lounge (Cambridge, MA)

– Lucero: Paradise

– New York Dolls: New England Conservatory

Charlotte (North Carolina)

– Widespread Panic: Time Warner Cable Arena

Dallas

– Girl Talk, Ghostland Observatory, MSTRKRFT, Neon Indian, Pendulum (DJ Set): Lights All Night

– The Polyphonic Spree, Centro-matic: House of Blues

– Quinton and Miss Pussycat: Zubar

Denver

– Flux Pavilion, Doctor P: Colorado Convention Center

– Gauntlet Hair, Pictureplane: The Larmier Lounge

– Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad: Cervantes’ Other Side

– Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk, Orgone: Cervatnes Ballroom

– Ladytron (DJ Set): City Hall

– Pretty Lights: 1stBANK Center (Broomfield, CO)

– Railroad Earth: Ogden Theatre

– Truckasauras: The Summit

– Ween: The Fillmore

Detroit

– The Detroit Cobras: Magic Stick

– Greensky Bluegrass, The Macpodz: Majestic Theatre

– Maze featuring Frankie Beverly: Masonic Temple

Greenville (South Carolina)

– The Avett Brothers: Bi-Lo Center

Houston

– Blue October: House of Blues

– Christopher Lawrence: Stereo Live

– Young Jeezy: Reliant Arena

Lake Tahoe

– Bassnectar, Pretty Lights, Thievery Corporation, The Glitch Mob, Childish Cambino, A-Trak, Theophilus London, YACHT: Snowglobe Music Festival

Las Vegas

– Chris Brown: Pure Nightclub

– Guns N’ Roses, Sebastian Bach: The Joint

– John Legend: Pearl Concert Theater

– Kaskade: Marquee

– NOFX, Lagwagon: House of Blues

– Paul Oakenfold: Rain

– Steve Angello: XS Nightclub

– Stevie Wonder: Cosmopolitan

Louisville (Kentucky)

– The Pass: Butchertown Pub Studios

Miami

– The Heavy Pets: Tobacco Road

– Spam All-Stars: The Catalina Hotel

Minneapolis

– Dawes: Varsity Theater

– EOTO: Skyway Theater

Milwaukee

– Skrillex, Dillon Francis: The Rave

Nashville

– Bassnectar: Bridgestone Arena

– Moon Taxi, Apache Relay: Exit/In

New Orleans

– Big Sam’s Funky Nation: The Joy Theater

– Black Lips: One Eyed Jacks

– Dr. John: House of Blues

– Funky Meters: Tipitina’s French Quarter

– Galactic, Anders Osborne: Tipitina’s Uptown

— Rebirth Brass Band: Howlin’ Wolf

Northampton (Massachusetts)

– Josh Ritter: Calvin Theater

– Rubblebucket: Pearl Street Nightclub

Oklahoma City

– The Flaming Lips, Yoko Ono: Brickstown Events Center

Orlando

– Trivium, Sevendust, Black Tide: House of Blues

– Slightly Stoopid, The Expendables: Hard Rock Live

Ottawa

– Electric Six: Mavericks

Philadelphia

– Clutch: Trocadero

– Eternal Summers, Bleeding Rainbow: Level Room

– Good Old War, River City Extension: Theatre of Living Arts

– Lotus: Festival Pier

– Man Man (DJ Set), Dr. Dog (DJ Set), Sun Airway (DJ Set): Johnny Brenda’s

– Smoking Popes: North Star Bar

Phoenix

– Meat Puppets: Clubhouse Music Venue

Portland (Maine)

– moe.: State Theatre

Portland (Oregon)

– Leftover Salmon: Roseland Theater

– Nurses, Radiation City: Mississippi Studios

– Pierced Arrows: Ash Street Saloon

– Red Fang: Star Theater

– Reverend Horton Heat, Supersuckers: The Crystal Ballroom

– Talkdemonic: Misson Theater

San Diego

– Fedde Le Grand, Porter Robinson, Hardwell, Bart B More: Valley View Casino Center (OMFG! NYE)

– Kinky: 4th & B

Seattle

– Mustard Pimp: King Cat Theatre

– Starfucker, Champagne Champagne: The Crocodile

St. Louis (Missouri):

– Cowboy Mouth: Old Rock House

– Devon Allman’s Honeytribe: Blueberry Hill

– Excision: Koken Art Factory

– Umphrey’s McGee: The Pageant

Toronto

– Elliot Brood: Lee’s Palace

– Kyuss! Lives: Cherry Cola’s Rock N’ Rolla Cabaret & Lounge

– The Sadies: Horseshoe Tavern

– Steve Aoki, Thomas Gold: Kool Haus

Vancouver

– Tiësto: Pacific Coliseum

Washington, DC

– Animal Collective (DJ Set), Le Tigre (DJ Set), ANR (DJ Set): 1800 L Street NW (BYT NYE)

– Drive-By Truckers, Booker T, Alabama Shakes: 9:30 Club

– Gucci Mane: Love Night Club

– Morgan Page: Fur Nightclub

– Painted Face: Rock and Roll Hotel

On TV

– Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve (ABC): Lady Gaga, Florence and the Machine, Blink-182, Nicki Minaj

– New Year’s Eve with Carson Daily (NBC): Drake, The Roots, Cee-Lo Green

– NYE in NYC (MTV): J. Cole

– Coldplay New Year’s Eve: An Austin City Limits Special (PBS)

The fans, the fans, the fans. It’s who all bands take the time to acknowledge. At concerts, artists will always shout out partially histrionic statements like, “We couldn’t do this without you…the fans!” And as a result, every fan’s devotion soars through the roof (if not eternally). It’s somewhat silly, though, not to realize that the fans do make everything possible. People like bands, so they buy their records, see their shows, sometimes blog about them (hey there), “Like” their Facebook pages, live chat with them on Twitter, and on super-rare occasions, even get to meet them. It’s all fine and dandy, but sometimes simple fandom turns into lifestyle choices and obsession.

There are a chunk of bands out there whose fans should never be referred to merely as fans. These fan bases are more or less a cult. Somehow, over the years, a few musical acts have completely shaped people’s worlds. Liking them on Facebook just isn’t enough; their followers have to paint their faces or attend every show the band plays. Some of these cult acts you might understand and think, I can see why people like them. And others make little to no sense at all; in fact, you wonder how the hell somebody got into them in the first place.

It’s simple. It’s called loyalty.

-Ted Maider
Media Specialist

X Japan

Sure, you don’t see them make surprise appearances to wow audiences at Bonnaroo, but X Japan is a group of Japanese metal freaks who have the Eastern Hemisphere stoked. For over 30 years, drummer/pianist Yoshiki and vocalist/guitarist Toshi have been successfully issuing metal records. The even stranger, more alluring facet of the group is their stylistic choice. X Japan specialize in making glam metal that is reminiscent of stuff like KISS, or even Iron Maiden.

This is one band that has become too big for Japan. On X Japan’s Facebook, thousands of people leave remarks proclaiming undying love and how happy they were to see them live. Meanwhile, people in Malaysia are stating they’ve been waiting 20 years just to see them on stage! One reason for this may be because X Japan mainly tour Asia; in fact, it was only a little over a year ago that they first hit the States. Because of this, they might not even hit your country. This leaves fans plenty of time to obsess over old records while desperately awaiting their heroes’ return. It’s almost like poetry…

The Smiths

Morrissey has an uncanny ability. He can make your day turn into absolute shit with just a simple lyric.

There is a great quote at the end of 24 Hour Party People where “God” tells Tony Wilson, “It’s a shame you didn’t sign the Smiths,” and I couldn’t agree more. Had Tony Wilson discovered them, maybe Morrissey would have been a little more cheery. (Wilson was kind of funny.) Most people regard The Smiths as two things: 1) a unique 80s act and 2) the most depressing band on the planet. But there is a sub-group of society that believes The Smiths were (or, are) the greatest thing to ever happen in music. They made some good albums and recorded plenty of good songs, but that just isn’t enough for some people.

Morrissey has gone solo, still plays Smiths songs, and his fans eat it up like Jack in the Box. They love him no matter what. Meanwhile, Johnny Marr spends his time with Issac Brock, The Cribs, or Hans Zimmer. The former Smiths apparently hate each other, too, which makes the cult around them somewhat complex. People are constantly praying for Smiths reunions, and if you don’t believe me, go read the Coachella message board. To pass the time, there are Morrissey conventions that are headlined by Smiths cover bands. Bottom line: The Smiths may never play again, and that in no way satisfies the people who get down on their knees, pray, and listen to “How Soon Is Now?” while asking for a  reunion.

Primus

The cult of [Les] Claypool is a pretty diverse one. You can find just about any type of “_____ music fan” in a Primus crowd. This includes metal-heads, hippies, stoners, e-tard jamtronica kids, hipsters, and on a good day, a couple gangsters. Primus and its whacky-yet-talented frontman Les Claypool have established themselves as one of the strangest popular rock bands of the past 20 years. How a band whose motto is “Primus Sucks” got so far is crazy to consider. One minute they’re popping up in Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey, and the next they’re showing up onstage with Phish. Primus has released a total of just seven albums (five of which are amazing) in over 20 years, but people are still devoted to their lunacy.

It took Primus 12 years to release their latest work, Green Naugahyde, and in between, the cult of Primus still thrived strong. Whenever Claypool brought back the mighty trio, though, the Primus fans came out of the woodwork. Their return show at the Great American Music Hall just one year ago sold out in lighting speed. So it would seem that the less Primus do, the more in demand they are by their nuttiest of worshippers. And now that they’re back and touring regularly, there is more time for the cult of Claypool to further deform and mutate for future generations.

Claypool will inevitably go down in history as the only bass player to lead the masses. Primus certainly do not suck.

Dave Matthews

Here’s something you probably already know: Dave Matthews and his band have made millions off bros, hippies, Abercrombie models, and college kids alike. Over the years, Matthews has become less a musician and moreover a pal to ring up on a rainy day. Most fans feel comfortable enough to call him simply “Dave”; you know, because they’re longtime pals. Somehow, the South African frontman has exuded enough friendly pheromones to keep an amassing cult following.

As a result, wherever “Dave” goes, they go. Just take a look at their live shows. The band hasn’t been Billboard royalty in ages, yet they continue to sell out gigs in every city. They’re a live wunderkind, as diehards will tell you. Whether it’s a solo gig, a headlining set with Tim Reynolds, or the band’s own shindig, aptly titled the DMB Caravan, you’re bound to see the same teary-eyed fans – whom all skipped classes to grab tickets, no doubt. To quote Carmine Falcone a la 2005′s Batman Begins, “That’s power you can’t buy.”

Some may never understand Dave Matthews, or his music, but a hell of a lot of other people sure do.

Elvis Presley

Some people believe the world’s flat, others think Elvis Presley never croaked. To borrow from Jim Morrison, “People are strange.” There’s a reason for the latter, though. No musical artist has left a legacy greater than the King of Rock. Elvis arguably set the standards for what a “cool rock star” is supposed to be. He abused narcotics, he ripped off his superiors, he had an unbelievable live show, he danced sexually, he starred in movies, he sang like an angel, and he had a signature hairdo/slogan. Few in the genre have been as iconic. Note: That’s as iconic.

When Elvis died on August 16, 1977, he left behind the biggest cult of crazies any artist could ever hope to have. Let’s just start off with the tip of the iceberg: His home in Memphis is referred to as “Graceland”. Not even Kanye West would be that bold. His legacy is continued by two different factions of devoted fans. The first you can find anywhere in Las Vegas. Across the sin city, men pose as Elvis and engage in a number of different moneymaking activities, including performances. The other subset consists of obsessed women who feel they should have been born years ago just to have a shot at sleeping with the King. People love him so much that they even make movies about his legacy that have nothing to do with Elvis (e.g. 3000 Miles to Graceland, the underrated classic Rock-A-Doodle).

Salma Hayek once said, “That’s why [Elvis] is the King, and you’re a schmuck.” We’re all schmucks compared to the King; that’s why we worship him.

Radiohead

It’s hard to brand any band that is considered one of the biggest in the world as having a cult following, but the cult of Radiohead certainly exists. In their time, they’ve released three game-changing records (OK Computer, Kid A, In Rainbows), and have only continued to excel in creativity, diversity, and overall uniqueness. There has never been, and probably never will be, a band like Radiohead.

The Radiohead Cult, on the other hand, believes half of the above paragraph. Die-hard fans constantly post setlists online to show how unique their Radiohead show was (thank you, 58hours.com). They also don’t believe Radiohead released three amazing albums; they believe Radiohead has released nothing but amazing albums to a point where they will argue the legitimacy of Pablo Honey all night until you want to kill them. They’re those people you hate who constantly claim “they are the best band in the world.”

It’s hard for this writer to disagree on that one, but that’s because he got his membership card years ago.

Black Flag

Members of the Black Flag cult include just about every famous rock star of the past two decades (like Kurt Cobain), every SoCal skate punk since 1981, Daniel Dassario from Freaks and Geeks, and actual members of the band (Henry Rollins was a huge fan before he was their singer). Black Flag is most notorious for doing the unthinkable: touring the nation with no money, no fame, no agents, and playing in whatever shithole club would allow them to. Today, every band that is on MySpace tries to follow that template. They made some pretty good punk records, most notably 1981′s Damaged, all of which reshaped the sonic assault of punk rock. People even branded punk as something else after that: hardcore.

Nowadays, every punk who takes themselves seriously belongs to the cult of Black Flag. While the band will undoubtedly never reunite again, they still get the respect and credit of any other cult band. Any cult members who have a band today cover their songs ad-infinitum (usually the song “Six Pack”). Many punks, including their singer Henry Rollins, have the Black Flag bars tattooed on their body somewhere. And the thing is, the Black Flag cult isn’t necessarily underground anymore like it was in the ’80s. People proudly pledge allegiance to Black Flag by getting ink, reading the (many) books about them, cranking “Rise Above” when they’re feeling blue, and seeing any former member’s side project if they can.

As long as punk lives, people will buy Black Flag records.

Wu-Tang Clan

When you have nine members in your group, it’s kind of difficult not to get a following. Logic would dictate that at least one person has to be good. The Wu, though, defied all logic; almost all of them were good. Wu-Tang have made some moves in the music industry that are admirable and clearly the ideas of a moneymaking genius (RZA). They have changed the sound of underground hip-hop, released far too many records to count, and are still living large after almost two decades. The only other rappers who have done that well at this point are Public Enemy, Run-DMC, and Dr. Dre,

The reason the Wu-Tang Clan have remained so successful is this: Their fans, or Wu-Disciples, will buy just about anything they stamp that huge W on. Aside from records, Wu-Tang have issued: re-released kung fu movies, video games, comic books, and books with titles like The Way of the Wu. Not to mention a few of them have made appearances in film and television (Ghostface on 30 Rock was just one of hundreds of highlights). Their Disciples buy all that stuff, along with the insane number of solo records that exist beneath the streets. People follow these ninjas blindly through Shaolin, and life, and don’t stop to question where the group is at now.

They have followed the way of the Wu for so long, they don’t know any other rap lifestyle to live.

deadmau5

I don’t think Joel Zimmerman, aka deadmau5, had any intention of leading masses to his glowing cube for the past few years, but if you light it up, they will come. Deadmau5 has had the best past few years any musical act could ask for, despite the fact he only has one commercial album. You don’t see his poster hyping up a new release at Best Buy, but his fans are certainly always waiting for more. He has done it all at this point, including DJing the VMAs, heading the top tiers of music festivals, and slaying the evil Chtulhu with Harley Morenstein and Muscles-Glasses.

The fans of deadmau5 are what constantly make his shows an experience worth remembering. For one, they love to dance, and they know his songs all too well. They know when to jump, grind, and scream perfectly. And people don’t go to his shows to hear him “spin” for hours. No, they go to hear actual songs like “Ghosts N Stuff” and “SOFI Needs a Ladder”. What really separates deadmau5 from many other cult acts, though, is that his fans like to sport his headgear. At any of his shows, you will find Mau5 helmets in different shapes, colors, sizes, and all with different abilities (some have LED blinking eyes). One such fan recently informed me he spent 40 hours on his helmet! Hey man, ask Zimmerman for a job with that kind of dedication!

Soon those helmets will start to be mass-produced, and that will certainly open the floodgates for more members to join the cult of Mau5.

Misfits

I wish I could have been alive to enjoy the benefits of the Fiend Club. When New Jersey muscle-heads and horror geeks Glenn Anzalone (Danzig) Jerry Caiafa (Jerry Only) formed a punk band in the Caiafa family basement, they probably didn’t see their legacy stretching much further than that. Here we are, though, 30 years later, and the Misfits remain one of America’s most notorious cult acts. In their time, The Misfits played a brand of “hardcore punk” that essentially started with the pop sensibility of a Blink 182 riff. Their recordings were low quality, and the songs were simplistic. The lyrical content was a bit on the weird side, and their stage show complimented all of that perfectly, all the way down to their signature Crimson Ghost logo and devilock hairstyle.

As it turns out, most people in the Misfits cult enjoy two things: 1) Danzig and 2) ripping off the Misfits (see: Metallica). The Misfits cult, though, is more a dress code- and attitude-based society rather than a legion that follows them to every show. Lots of darker skateboarders idolize them (e.g. Jamie Thomas, Bam Margera, Adrian Lopez, etc.), goth kids appreciate them, and even the Aqua Teen Hunger Force seems to like Danzig, if not fear him. The Crimson Ghost is still everywhere (like the hood of Bam’s car) in America and is sold on t-shirts at Hot Topic. Some people even wear their clothes without knowing what that skull really means.

I once told a friend that I considered the Crimson Ghost to be “the Stealy of punk rock.” Considering how fiends nod to each other in passing when they see the mark, I feel that remark holds some validity.

Minor Threat

I once got to hear Ian MacKaye speak and, almost predictably, the first question anybody asked was “How do you feel about what the straight edge movement is today?” He replied by saying this was the most commonly asked question in his life.

Ian MacKaye is one of those “accidental rock stars.” He didn’t necessarily want to be famous, but he is, and he also turned a few thousand heads along the way. When he responded to the question stated above, he replied, “I didn’t think we’d be talking about this now. I wrote that song for my friends and myself.” The cult of Minor Threat is one that involves a lifestyle change for sure; you have to be completely substance free. MacKaye started Minor Threat in the mid-80s, and they quickly blew up as one of hardcore’s most influential (and valid) acts. They wrote songs about the things kids went through, the pressures of the Reagan world, and how staying above the influence could help you remain on top.

The best part is that people believed it then and still believe it to this day. The straight edge movement is still at large and will always seem to have a home in punk counterculture. Minor Threat didn’t just get fans to like their music; they got them to completely change their lives. Chuck Klosterman once laughed about a guy who said, “Punk saved my life,” but for some people strung out on H all the time, straight edge music might have legitimately saved them. It showed people that even the toughest and meanest kids on the block could have a good time by drinking milk. Ian MacKaye didn’t just create a cult; he created a movement.

Insane Clown Posse

Two videos have been released recently to convince me that Juggalos are not as bad as we think. One is a documentary on Vimeo, entitled American Juggalo, which chronicles a weekend at the infamous Gathering. The second is the Juggalo episode of Workaholics, Comedy Central’s mashup of Always Sunny and The Office. Insane Clown Posse is one of the most mocked, hated, and somehow slightly underrated rap groups of our time (The Great Milenko is a freaking 90s classic). This isn’t surprising considering they dress like clowns and talk about decapitating bitches. Their words, not mine.

What is admirable, though, is how dedicated their Juggalo fans are, not just to them, but to every band they are affiliated with (Kottonmouth Kings, Twiztid, Dark Lotus, Tech N9ne… I could go on forever). They spend oodles of cash, not just on CDs and tickets, but on jerseys, Hatchet-Man chains, and an over-abundance of tattoos. The Hatchet-Man is pretty much everywhere, whether spray painted on your local 7-11 or staring at you from somebody’s back windshield. The Juggalos have no problem with their undying love for two white-trash knuckleheads from Detroit and go out of their way to prove their loyalty. Sometimes, this involves painting your face and going to the mall.

Consider the Gathering of the Juggalos on this writer’s bucket list. There are apparently 0 conflicts there.

Phish

Phish’s four-night run at Madison Square Garden for this New Year’s Eve sold out in under 10 minutes. The saddest part is that this happens almost every single year.

There have never been fans more ruthless than those obsessed with Phish. The Phans are all out of their mind. Phish is working their way even further up the ladder of jam-band success, and there is a possibility they will some day surpass the Grateful Dead. Their live shows are indeed astounding, complete with a spectacular light show, sporadic song choices, and glow stick wars. Phans (now thanks to the internet) are constantly swapping sets, but that’s even becoming less of a need as the band posts all of them on their site. It’s almost as though they are trying to lure you in. After all, Phish like bait.

While the Phans might appear all hippy-dippy, do not be deceived; they are absolutely ruthless. One such Phish Phriend of mine paid $700 for two Telluride tickets, and he considered that a good deal. That’s dedication. At any festival the band plays (Bonnaroo particularly), the crowd closest to the front goes into lockdown mode, takes a seat, and ensures nobody will get in front of them. The Phish lot scene consists of loads of shirts, all made by different groups of Phans, usually to fund their drug-induced tour of America as they follow the band. And that’s the other thing: People follow the band. Everywhere. If they don’t have tickets, they find a way in. And if they don’t find one, they will sit in the parking lot and listen. That definitely happens way more than you think, considering their shows always sell out.

KISS

If you don’t believe this article, then go watch 1999′s Detroit Rock City.

People who love KISS, love them. Sure, they’re gimmicky, but they’re also skilled musicians and have a stage presence even some 30 years later. (Think about it: Who wants to follow a guy who spews blood and hangs above fire?) Their acclaimed live album, 1975′s Alive, remains a staple amongst the bravest rock aficionados and still motivates kids to pick up axes themselves. But above all, their escapist rock ‘n’ roll fantasies are responsible for one of the biggest cults of the genre: the KISS Army.

During the late ’70s, KISS legitimately owned America. They started as openers for acclaimed rock acts, but that didn’t last too long. In due time, their spell washed over millions of sex-crazed souls, thanks in part to the band’s seminal hit “Rock and Roll All Nite”. The craze spread everywhere. KISS released movies, Christmas specials, comics, lunchboxes, and all sorts of ridiculous merchandise, and the KISS Army continued to arm themselves to the teeth with the memorabilia.

Today, the KISS Army isn’t nearly as strong as it was back in the days of disco, but some embers in the fire remain. The band still cops a pretty penny when they tour (even without two of its original members), Gene Simmons has his own reality TV show (and cologne), and Peter Griffin threatened to divorce Lois on the grounds of not knowing KISS lyrics. Not too shabby.

The Grateful Dead

The original name for the kings of the jam scene was the Warlocks, a title that seems far too fitting. Jerry Garcia certainly was some sort of magical pied piper, as he was able to lead thousands of hippies all over the world. The Grateful Dead are probably the first band to have such a devoted cult following, and rightfully so. Over their 30-year career, the band played well over 2,000 shows! And even though Jerry Garcia died in 1995, people are still following any Dead offshoots, side projects, and former members to this day. The most recent offshoot, Furthur, even headlined multiple festivals last year and continue to tour with full support from Dead Heads around the world.

The Dead Heads are more than your ordinary supporting cult; they go to great lengths to stay devoted. Some of them give up their homes, cars, diet, and all sorts of belongings to stay on tour with the Dead. People usually eat a lot of drugs, which also compliments the chaotic lifestyle the actual band lived back in the day. And unlike any of the other bands listed here, people follow them around the world. In 1978, the band played a huge show at the Egyptian Pyramids, and yes, people followed them there, too. Dead Heads know no boundaries on this planet; they are all about universal harmony and good vibes.

As long as there is music, people will listen to the Grateful Dead. Even if their music someday becomes totally irrelevant, the grandchildren of hippies will keep alive their grandparents’ legacy of taking blotter acid in San Francisco at Ken Kesey’s parties. The Dead Head cult will always take new members, and that’s a beautiful thing, because everyone is always welcome.

Photo by Brad Bretz

It goes without saying: Radiohead‘s “Codex” remains one of the sharpest cuts off the group’s latest LP, The King of Limbs. Affecting, heart-wrenching, and isolated – three solid adjectives to describe one equally solid track. Apparently Joel Zimmerman, aka deadmau5, is a big fan of the tune, too. That could only explain why he spent so much time on a sample-less cover. Utilizing only computer effects, Zimmerman’s cover strips away Thom Yorke’s falsetto, and replaces it with some digital whistling. Surprisingly, it’s just as effective. Now, that doesn’t mean we’ll ever replace Yorke with a computer, but it’s reassuring to know the power of Radiohead has the ability to evolve beyond human capabilities. Check it out below, courtesy of The Daily Swarm.

Superstar DJ Deadmau5 has just unleashed his latest single, the synth-heavy “aural psynapse”. Find a stream below and/or buy the mp3 via iTunes.

In related news, Deadamu5 has also announced the release of a live DVD documenting his show at Toronto’s Rogers Centre tomorrow night (November 5th). According to an issued press release, he is the first Canadian-born musician to headline a show at the venue. Pre-orders for the DVD are now ongoing at HotTopic.com.

Below, you can find the rest of Deadmau5′s upcoming tour dates. And, in case you missed it, check out Brad Bretz’s photos from his recent performance in Chicago.

Deadmau5 2011 Tour Dates:
11/05 – Toronto, ON @ Rogers Centre
12/01 – Cape Town, ZA @ Ratanga Junction
12/02 – Durban, ZA @ Wavehouse
12/03 – Johannesburg, ZA @ H2o
12/07 – Doha, QA @ La Cigale Hotel *
12/08 – Abu Dhabi, AE @ Creamfields
12/27 – Ottawa, ON @ CE Centre *
12/30 – Quebec City, QC @ Resolution 12 *
12/31 – New York, NY @ Pier 36 *

* = Unhooked

Our eyes are everywhere. Whether it’s the bar around the corner, the stadium four to five train stops outside town, or the muddy, rain-ridden festival overseas, our writers and photographers are present, scribbling and snapping away. Recently, we decided to compile our favorite shots from the month, offering the spotlight to our brave photographers once more. They’ve even provided some insight into the shots. So, given that November’s still stretching before it runs away from us, we thought we’d reflect on last month some. Here’s our October 2011 collection. It was a wild time.

Event: Gabby Young at London’s Koko (10/13)
Photographer: Saul
What Saul Says: “Gabby’s shows are extremely theatrical with elaborate stage sets and performers which photographically are often distracting. I like to shoot profiles of performers and isolate them against the relative darkness of the stage wings. When you only have three songs to get your shot, the press pack typically clamor around the mic stand but a little patience often leads to more dramatic images.”

Event: Laura Marling at Central Hall in Westminister, London (10/26)
Photographer: Lauren Keogh
What Lauren Says: “Photographing a sold out show without a photo pit for the UK’s best female solo singer sounds like a difficult task on paper. Luckily, Laura Marling fans are sweethearts and allowed me and my gear up to the front to capture this shot during the delicate yet haunting performance from Laura and her band.”

Event: Portugal. The Man, Givers at Terminal 5 (10/20)
Photographer: Nate Slevin
What Nate Says: ”The stage was dressed like some kind of sprawling, glowing molecule-model science project. It was mysterious, other-worldly, and dark. OH, SO DARK. Chain-smoke machines exhaled heavily on the band, who played their first few songs in colorful silhouette, only peering out from behind their oceans of thick vapor to make some serious sound. This photo chanced upon one of those moments where the mist gave way to meet the dying burst of a strobe, briefly revealing the creatures behind this psychedelic space-rock.”

Event: Sims and Lazerbeak at Minneapolis’ Fine Line Music Cafe (10/15)
Photographer: Harley Brown
What Harley Says: ”Sims is not an easy person to photograph. Like most rappers, he never stands still onstage; and I’m usually fumbling with my camera the few seconds he does lean into the audience. But this time I got lucky, managing to capture his sweaty face mid-rhyme.”

Event: Deadmau5 at Chicago’s Aragon Ballroom (10/22)
Photographer: Brad Bretz
What Brad Says: ”One of the great things about concerts is the elaborate and sometimes dizzying light shows that many musicians craft to enhance their musical performances. While he’s perched atop his towering DJ platform, it’s hard to get a good look at Deadmau5 up close, for fans as well as photographers covering the show. It was great when he came down to take a break from spinning and we saw Deadmau5 up close and personal, Swiss cheese ears and all.”

Event: St. Vincent at Chicago’s Metro (10/5)
Photographer: Katie Scheuring
What Katie Says: “It was a sold out show. Viewers and photographers pushed around, both on the main floor and the upper balconies, all happy to catch a glimpse of the ever-charming and talented Annie Clark. I was very surprised at how authentic she looks to her videos and album covers. She just has a natural beauty to her. “

Event: Portishead at Chicago’s Aragon Ballroom (10/12)
Photographer: Jeremy D. Larson
What Jeremy Says: ”At the Aragon in Chicago, the stage is elevated about 10 feet off the ground, so it’s hard to grab different angles in the pit. In the back, on the balcony, you can get some cool shots. This one was taken during the song “Wandering Star”, and projections of real-time video of Beth Gibbons were being displayed behind her in this silhouetted black and white style. I did my best to get the projection of Beth and Beth herself.”

Event: Moby @ Moogfest 2011
Photographer: Cap Blackard
What Cap Says: ”Inyang Bassey, Moby’s regular touring vocalist, is amazing to photograph – this was my second time shooting her. Not only is her voice positively gorgeous, but her energy is wild. This shot was a shocker to have caught something so crisp in the low-light amidst all the dancing. Just as Jean-Paul Goude painted Grace Jones blue-black, Bassey is swathed in deep indigo darkness, emphasizing her skin tone to an amazing luster.  The yellow stage lights accent this perfectly – the power of complementary colors in action.”

Event: Duran Duran at the Chicago Theatre (10/21)
Photographer: Brad Bretz
What Brad Says: “As the night progressed, Simon Le Bon & Co. gave the fans what they needed and it was appreciated and communicated back to the stage. Fans love Duran Duran and Duran Duran loves their fans. As they played their encore, I tried to capture that moment of admiration.”

Event: Odd Future at Minneapolis’ First Avenue (10/12)
Photographer: Joe Runge
What Joe Says: “This was my first time shooting for a website, so I felt a lot of pressure to get the best shots I could. The atmosphere of this show was, to say the least, hectic. The crowd was so rowdy that I got kicked out of the barricade within the first song. This photo was taken t0wards the end of the show as I slipped past all of the screaming fans.”

Photo by Brad Bretz

Electronic DJ/festival wunderkind deadmau5, aka Ontario native Joel Zimmerman, melted fans Saturday night at Chicago’s Aragon Ballroom. The first of two sold out gigs in town, Zimmerman received support by Canadian dubstep producer Excision, in addition to Tommy Lee (of Mötley Crüe fame) and DJ Aero, who all together revved up the crowd before the highly-celebrated cube arrived.

From 15 feet above, and behind his trademark helmet (this time looking oddly enough like Swiss cheese), deadmau5 orchestrated the crowd. The perpetual grin on his mask complemented the tribute masks on the ballroom floor, which was peppered with neon mouse ears that made it look like an electronic Mouseketeer convention. In a word: chaotic.

CoS Photographer Brad Bretz captured the night…

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If there’s anything we here at CoS love, it’s getting filthy and listening to great music. That explains our deep adoration of San Francisco’s Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival. And for the fourth installment of the fiesta, we went all out in our coverage. From a ticket giveaway and a survival guide to the piece de resistance that is the actual review, there wasn’t a moment of the fest that everyone couldn’t live through like they themselves were caked in mud and feeling the vibes live from Golden Gate Park.

But just becuase the fest’s over and done with until next August doesn’t mean we’re through giving you more of our patented coverage. Below is a short documentary of the festival’s in’s and out’s courtesy of Cluster 1 and our friend Sami Jarroush from Rock it Out! Blog. In the feature, viewers get a first-hand look at the rich musical history of the Bay Area along with the importance of the fest itself. We think this should facilitate everyone’s trip-planning efforts rather nicely.

Oh, but wait, it doesn’t end there. Along with the documentary, we’ve also got interviews with Deadmau5, Toro Y Moi, and The Stone Foxes, from the festival grounds. In said clips, each act reveals a little insight into their time at OSL and what they’ve got going on career-wise.

Now, let’s hope that’s enough to tide you over for another 12 months or so.

R!OB/Cluster 1 Interview with Deadmau5 at Outside Lands Festival ’11

Cluster 1 and R!OB Interview Toro Y Moi at Outside Lands ’11

Cluster 1 Interview with The Stone Foxes at Outside Lands Festival ’11

Sami Jarroush of Rock it Out! Blog and Cluster 1 interviews Deadmau5 and Sofi at the Outside Lands music festival in San Francisco, CA. Topics discussed include how Deadmau5 puts together his light show for concerts, staying active with fans on Twitter and Facebook and what it was like to team up with the internet phenomenon, Epic Meal Time.

Filmed by: Ted Maider

Outside Lands marked its fourth year by showing that after all this time, San Francisco still remains one of the coolest cities on the planet. Hosted by Another Planet, a company known for having their fingers on the pulse of the Bay Area’s musical community, Outside Lands took all the elements of the Bay’s music culture and tossed them into the city’s most beautiful natural environment: Golden Gate Park. There was pretty much something for every Nor-Cal dweller to enjoy; from the jams of Phish to the electronic-dance of deadmau5 and the electro-dance-jams of bands like STS9 and Lotus. Not to mention indie rock icons like Arcade Fire, Arctic Monkeys, and The Shins.

But Outside Lands also kept it local in terms of everything else, which is inspiring to see in a time when everything is done via internet, with people who might live thousands of miles away. Between the food trucks, local wine tasting, local musical acts (Stone Foxes anybody?), and aspiring artists who filled the park with their good vibes, Outside Lands was a festival that compacted all the artistic elements of the city into the polo fields at Golden Gate Park. It literally was a taste of the Bay Area.

Photo by Ted Maider

And while they did encompass all the good things about the city, they also managed to showcase some of the downsides of it. For example, there was too much going on at once. Like any night you spend partying in the Bay, Friday involved a million conflicts, the worst being Vermont’s Phinest up against indie-rock legends The Shins. And Sunday contained another hard decision: deadmau5 or Arcade Fire? And there even managed to be rush hour traffic similar to that found on the Bay Bridge whenever you tried to get from the Lands End to the Twin Peaks stages. It was just utter chaos in that small, grassy section outside the trees.

But it didn’t matter, though, because in the end, everybody’s spirits were lifted. Everybody inside just cared about the good vibes, hearing some groovy jams, and enjoying the rare sunshine. In San Francisco, that’s just about all you can ask for.

-Ted Maider
Media Specialist

Friday, August 12th

The Joy Formidable – Sutro Stage – 1:10 p.m.

Blaring their noisy, little pop gems that are fast proving too big for tiny clubs around the world, Welsh trio The Joy Formidable continued their world domination with a stellar early afternoon set at the Sutro Stage. The band found themselves sudden stars, their foot-stomping rhythms and shout-along chorus of “Austere” proving especially effective as they drew the weekend’s first big crowd. -Möhammad Choudhery

Phantogram – Sutro Stage – 2:25 p.m.

Photo by Debi Del Grande

The surprisingly large crowd that showed up for Phantogram received a treat: two brand-new songs from a forthcoming EP and…the duo of vocalist/keyboardist Sarah Barthel and Josh Carter on guitar/electronics just sounded good. Really good. Yet Sutro Stage and moments on other large stages weren’t exactly “sound,” but more on that later. Phantogram pulled heavily and at an efficient pace from its debut, Eyelid Movies. (“When I’m Small” and “Mouthful of Diamonds” got great reactions; “As Far as I Can See” live sounded like Portishead doing club bangers.) Barthel and Carter, joined by a live drummer here, debuted “Don’t Move”, which has a distinct shimmer similar to U2’s The Edge. New song “Sixteen Years” didn’t mess around with a pretty gloss, however. Carter plugged a straight Kevin Shields-type shoegaze solo in, showing that while most of the crowd gawked at the beautiful Barthel, she wasn’t, as Karen O put it, “bigger than the sound.” -Paul de Revere

Foster the People – Sutro Stage – 3:40 p.m.

Photo by Debi Del Grande

Apparently, lots of people seem to enjoy Foster the People. This was evident by two things: 1) Their crowd was huge in the sense that you could not get close to the stage if you arrived “just in time” for the show and 2) People did not stop talking about their show all weekend. Foster the People have literally skyrocketed in fame this past summer and rightfully so. They don’t just write catchy songs like some of their electro-pop counterparts; they know how to play. Members switched up instruments constantly in a playful, yet talented fashion, while the crowd sang along to tracks like “Houdini”, the charming “Waste”, and mega-sensation “Pumped Up Kicks” (even though everybody left after that song). Foster the People’s Torches album certainly has put them in the spotlight. Let’s just hope they stay lit. -Ted Maider

Toro Y Moi – Twin Peaks Stage – 3:50 p.m.

For an artist with such lively, fresh beats, Toro Y Moi’s Chaz Bundick is, as Bay Area bros would put it, “hella” subdued. But there’s still something imposing about Bundick’s sounds. The Stevie Wonder-like monosynth tone of opener “New Beat”, possibly Bundick’s best song to date, filled the large Twin Peaks Stage like it was gaseous. And the vamp only one minute into the song? Forget it. It was full. Toro’s sound filled up the space exactly as much as it needed to. Screw “chillwave,” this is ambient funk. To paraphrase old-school rapper 4-Ever Fresh, “Creating funk music ‘cause I never dug chillwave.” Indeed. -Paul de Revere

MGMT – Lands End Stage – 4:35 p.m.

Photo by Debi Del Grande

As the initial racket over how very antagonistic and unfriendly Congratulations was dissipates, people finally seem to be coming around to the record. Not that MGMT mind how long it took. In what more than a few in the crowd interpreted as arrogance (but was probably a bit closer to a “told you so”), MGMT blasted through a stellar sub-headlining set with their usual sort of understated awesomeness. Even as many in the crowd sounded legitimately disappointed at the lack of props, onstage antics, and the conspicuous absence of the band’s megahit “Kids” from the setlist, MGMT simply did what they do best. Andrew VanWyngarden cut surprisingly close to a young Mick Jagger as he howled his way through the band’s neo-psychedelic gem “Weekend Wars”, while James Richardson played guitar hero for a couple minutes, finger-tapping his way through a stellar solo at the end of “The Handshake”. Extra points for the dreamy little jam at the start of “I Found a Whistle”. -Möhammad Choudhery

Ellie Goulding – Sutro Stage – 5:00 p.m.

One of at least three victims (all female) to vocal issues due to the San Francisco’s seasonably cold August, Ellie Goulding hung in there for her set like a champ. She hit some of her vocals tremendously well, holding back a bit of her soaring vocals, of which there’s much in her light, airy, feminine dance-pop. Some of her vocals weren’t ideal. And it was her last U.S. date on her first earnest U.S. tour. But no matter, because it was ladies night (er, late afternoon) at Sutro Stage. The crowd’s female-to-male gender makeup was approximately 5-to-1, and Goulding dressed for it, looking amazing in her bright red coat (she is British, but somehow I don’t think she’s politically in the tank for King George) and heels. -Paul de Revere

Phish – Lands End Stage – 6:30 p.m.

Photo by Debi Del Grande

A giant billboard appeared on the monitors shortly after MGMT left stating, “Phish 6:30-10:30.” To some, this was a sign to turn around and head as far away as possible, but to others, it was a glorious declaration. After Furthur headlined Outside Lands last year, it made total sense for the Vermont quartet to take the reigns this year.  And Phish festival sets…well, they’re a different breed.

See, Phish plays nothing but solo shows throughout the country. It’s never Phish on tour with MGMT or Foster the People or The Shins for that matter. It’s just Phish. The band has played two big rock festivals since their reunion (Bonnaroo and Austin City Limits), and both times they played shows that were not necessarily geared towards their core fan base but rather baiting newcomers. At Outside Lands, plenty of people in the crowd had never seen Phish nor necessarily listened to them, so what happened for the next three hours with tens of thousands of people was a sensation you can only experience in this setting.

Photo by Debi Del Grande

Phish arrived with “Kill Devil Falls” and continued to amp the pace for the entire first 90-minute set. The band cut deep with pieces meant to get people moving such as “Wilson”, “Funky Bitch”, “Possum”, the exhilarating “Axilla I”, and a rendition of “Sample in a Jar” that was one of the best versions of the past year or so. After delivering a sonic punch of a first set, Phish left the crowd for 40 minutes as everyone tried to cram in even further. The next set involved more spacey jams like “Piper” and “Fluffhead”, including a showy new track titled “Steam”. But that didn’t stop them from continuing to crank out gold: a cover of “Life on Mars?”,  the now-rare “Birds of a Feather”, and a “Tweezer Reprise” that made Bassnectar’s bass sound like complete shit. It was the perfect way for Phish to play Golden Gate Park.

Basically, what I’m trying to say here is, you haven’t lived until you’re in a 30,000+ Phish crowd, sweating, dancing, singing, and jammed up against the barricade. -Ted Maider

Big Boi – Sutro Stage – 7:00 p.m.

Ah, the set that never was. Big Boi did not, in fact, end up performing on Sutro Stage after having his set pushed back 40 minutes (a fairly last-minute announcement by the festival), leaving the audience, much of which slowly peeled away, hanging for another 30 minutes. Instead, Dave Chappelle, who had a stand-up gig in South Bay that weekend and is a known lover of San Francisco, came out and riffed for about five minutes. ”A lot of black youth never get to go to a concert where there’s beach balls,” Chappelle said.

With great resistance from the wind, the crowd passed one Chappelle’s way. And with seemingly great glee, Chappelle kicked the ball back into the crowd. It almost made up for the fact that Big Boi would end up not performing at all.

According to Big Boi’s Twitter, his DJ went to the wrong stage (apparently taking a fair amount of time getting to the right one). Big Boi continued on Twitter, saying festival staff would only give him 20 minutes to perform because of the delays, which he judged as not worth it. “I will NOT do a half-ass show,” he tweeted. “Tried to go on after Badu. Not possible. Sorry.”

Big Boi cited “artistic integrity” in the matter. -Paul de Revere

Best Coast – Panhandle Stage – 7:50 p.m.

No joke: Best Coast‘s Bethany Cosentino rivals Neko Case, a singer-songwriter nearly twice her age, in withering stage banter. In response to a random audience question between songs: “On a scale of 1-10, how much do you love rock ‘n’ roll?’” Cosentino answered back, “Negative zero.” Ouch.

To be fair, Cosentino talked as well as rocked. She had to save her voice, too, which held up well. And guitar-wise, it sounded better than ever in terms of her live sound, which stayed true to Crazy for You’s analog studio drone, no doubt using the remainder of the Panhandle Stage’s solar power for her and guitarist Bobb Bruno’s amps. There was the one-two step of slow dance numbers “I Want You” and “Our Deal”. “Bratty B” and “Honey” drew sweet coos from Cosentino, where charm actually snaked its way into her repertoire.

“This is our last song,” she said before launching into “Each and Every Day”. “After this, we’re gonna watch Phish.” Deadpan. “Just kidding. I don’t even know what Phish sounds like.” -Paul de Revere

The Shins – Twin Peaks Stage – 8:40 p.m.

Photo by Debi Del Grande

Though they haven’t played a proper show in four years, haven’t put out any new material since 2007, and James Mercer is their only remaining original member, The Shins still warranted a headlining slot way across the park from Phish’s three-hour jam extravaganza. Mercer’s placid voice and The Shins’ calm, serene back-catalog were a perfect fit for the breezy, starlit evening, taking the reported crowd of 40,000 on a nostalgic trip back to cardigans, high school, and otherwise related sweet, sensitive times. Rather than devolving into a greatest hits affair, Mercer sounded as fresh as ever, indeed infusing his tracks (which, at their oldest, are now a decade past) with the energy of his work with Danger Mouse in Broken Bells. Classics such as “Caring Is Creepy”, “Australia”, and “New Slang” were delivered in pitch-perfect fashion, as was the new track — reportedly titled “For a Fool” — that the band debuted. So, uh…how about that new album? -Möhammad Choudhery

Saturday, August 13th

The Stone Foxes – Sutro Stage – 1:25 p.m.

Photo by Ted Maider

As stated, Outside Lands always showcases local talent, so they booked some of San Francisco’s hottest, homegrown acts. The Stone Foxes were one of the coolest bands of the entire weekend, not just because they lived up the street, but because they brought the rock. The blues-based quartet rocked super hard, thrashing about on stage like raccoons with broken necks to tunes with names like “Psycho” and “Stomp”. It was a call to go wild. Hook, line, and sink… they made me a fan. -Ted Maider

The Vaccines - Twin Peaks Stage – 2:00 p.m.

Photo by Debi Del Grande

The UK’s very latest guitar-buzz band is actually pretty good. Who would’ve guessed? Armed with a handful of late-night TV performances, a solid debut record, and the huge sort of performance they put on Saturday afternoon at the Twin Peaks stage, the quartet don’t look like they’ll flounder anytime soon. Blasting through highlights off of their debut, this year’s What Did You Expect From the Vaccines?, The Vaccines peaked with an uproarious cover of Minor Threat’s hardcore classic “Sometimes Good Guys Don’t Wear White”. -Möhammad Choudhery

Paul F. Tompkins, Moshe Kasher – The Barbary Tent – 3:00 p.m.

Why perform comedy under a tent? Mr. Show alum Paul F. Tompkins isn’t sure why (“We have structures!” Tompkins protested), but, boy, the dapper gentleman sure dressed for the Barbary Tent’s grand occasion. It worked for Tompkins, but Tompkins’ hilariously offensive opener, L.A. comedian Moshe Kasher, just had to keep swearing he wasn’t gay.

Kasher’s story about witnessing a woman in an airport using Fritos to scoop the filling out of a king-sized Snickers ice cream bar is borderline surreal in its gross-out factor. Tompkins kept to his standard 10 minutes of riffing and then a structured story, mostly talking about his pre-comedy career odd jobs and his days at the Largo nightclub in L.A., striking up a creative relationship with director Paul Thomas Anderson and, subsequently, reading through Magnolia seated next to Tom Cruise, a punchline in his own right. It was a regular circus. -Paul de Revere

STRFKR- Twin Peaks Stage – 3:40 p.m.

Photo by Ted Maider

Portland synth-poppers STRFKR couldn’t contain their excitement at the start of the biggest show of their young career, busting out their camera phones to capture the reported crowd of 15,000. With two records worth of tunes that are at turns emotive and very, very danceable, STRFKR turned in what was easily the breakout performance of the weekend. Touring guitarist Patrick Morris’s overdriven lead guitar lines stole the show on tracks like the hook-filled “Rawnald Gregory Erickson the Second” and “German Love”, while Josh Hodges’ hushed vocals lent the songs a nice, breezy touch. A bouncy, tripped-out cover of “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” was capped off by the raucous “Go Crazy”. At which point, of course, everyone did. -Möhammad Choudhery

Vetiver – Sutro Stage – 4:15 p.m.

Photo by Debi Del Grande

Maybe it was because Vetiver was going up against Arctic Monkeys or even because of the band’s local residency, but Vetiver’s set was not well-attended. It was all well and good, as it gave the Sutro Stage’s isolated blanket liers, dancers, and the like more room to relax, which was at a premium on the festival grounds. Vetiver’s textured, mellow folk-rock mostly put a relaxed, spa feel to everything… if the spa had pot-scented everything. A cover from The Grateful Dead (“Don’t Ease Me In”) picked up the energy a bit and Michael Hurley’s “Be Kind to Me” was a nice, simple song to change up the sonic drawl of songs like “Can’t You Tell” off Vetiver’s latest, The Errant Charm. -Paul de Revere

Arctic Monkeys – Lands End Stage – 4:45 p.m.

Photo by Debi Del Grande

Arctic Monkeys really have harnessed the modern indie sound. You can always tell when it’s them and their high-octane brand of rock. The British crew arrived on the scene playing cuts like “Brainstorm”, a track that is enough to turn the crowd into a boiling pot of water. People sluggishly sang along while glancing at their iPhones to tracks like “Brick by Brick”, but it was during moments like “I Bet That You’d Look Good on the Dancefloor”, “Fluorescent Adolescent”, and “The View From the Afternoon” that people began to bring out the party. Overall, it made for a good afternoon set, but it seems like a waste that they didn’t play “Fake Tales of San Francisco”. Oh well. -Ted Maider

Ximena Sariñana – Barcade Tent – 5:30 p.m.

Photo by Debi Del Grande

It’s worth emphasizing this much smaller, more intimate set of Ximena Sariñana’s in the festival’s Barcade Tent, a welcome break from the vast atmospheres of even the festival’s smaller stages. Sariñana performed mostly for die hards and Spanish-language fans, with at least half of her set sung in Spanish. “Wrong Miracle” and “Bring Me Down” were an English language stand outs, conjuring the semi-formal, sweet and quirky songwriting of Regina Spektor. The jazzy torch song “Mediocre”, which Sariñana said would probably “shred” her remaining voice (again), was an incredible peak to end the set. She left it all out on the field and her fans were left wanting more, chanting “Otra! Otra!” -Paul de Revere

Eskmo – Panhandle Stage – 6:05 p.m.

In what was likely one of the best-sounding sets at Outside Lands, San Francisco-based electronica producer Brendan Angelides, aka Ninja Tune Records artist Eskmo, absolutely tore apart the Panhandle Stage with few there to notice. It hardly mattered. Eskmo was too busy recreating his own production: ripping pieces of paper against a microphone and using various wood blocks and a frying pan among other items. Angelides also created his own vocals and vocal loops live on stage. You can’t say that for, you know, 99% of electronica producers. If Four Tet and Squarepusher had a club-banger collaboration project that defied you to dance, it might sound like Eskmo. Truly one of the best sets of the weekend. -Paul de Revere

The Black Keys – Lands End Stage – 6:15 p.m.

Photo by Debi Del Grande

In the four years since the White Stripes forfeited their seat as the blues’ ambassador to indie rock, The Black Keys have seen a huge ascent that culminated in Brothers’ smashing success last year. Here, sub-headlining at Outside Lands’ main stage, the duo proved to be every bit the monolithic force they’re reputed to be, as they tore through renditions of their golden oldies “Thickfreakness” and “Busted” before inviting a couple other band members to play through highlights off of their latest record, including “Tighten Up”, “Howlin’ for You”, and “Next Girl”. The duo closed things out with the one-two punch of Attack & Release’s “Strange Times” and their very own blues epic, “I Got Mine”. -Möhammad Choudhery

The Roots – Twin Peaks Stage – 6:50 p.m.

Photo by Debi Del Grande

Everybody likes a show from The Roots. I mean, Jimmy Fallon picked them to be his house band for a reason. The Roots kicked back with their brand of funk-rap, and so did the San Francisco crowd. As the sun set behind everybody, people danced, climbed trees to get a better view, and enjoyed tracks like a sped up version of “The Seed 2.0” and the oft-covered “Jungle Boogie”. Seeing everyone in such high spirits certainly indicated that the Roots were there for the right reason: to spread the good vibes. -Ted Maider

Muse – Land’s End Stage – 8:10 p.m.

Photo by Debi Del Grande

How’s this for an opening trifecta? “Uprising”, “Supermassive Black Hole” into a Jimi Henrix-style “Star-Spangled Banner” in full view of a United States full-sized stars and stripes flapping in the cool breeze, and then “Hysteria”. Perhaps the interlude paired with “Hysteria” makes an implicit comment about the state of U.S. politics. Perhaps. But wait, what about Muse’s home country? Things are literally on fire there.

Well, Muse didn’t say a word, curiously. Though, the band’s cover of “Negative Creep” (yes, the Nirvana song) could’ve been a nod to a violent rioter’s state of mind. Nonetheless, “Negative Creep” isn’t very epic, and that’s what this show was for the most part.

Photo by Debi Del Grande

But, really, Muse is epic in a totally different way. Muse is theatrical not like U2 but like actual theater. “United States of Eurasia” is basically the disembodied finale reprise of a musical. A really, really big rock musical, one akin to 80′s progressive rock band Queensryche… or Rush. A riff or two of “House of the Rising Sun” into “Time Is Running Out”? Come on, how is this even Britpop anymore, except that it’s from Britain?

Yes, Muse fans, you like what is essentially a progressive rock band. This band’s ambitions don’t just reach into politics (which singer/instrumental genius Matt Bellamy spoke not one word about), they reach for the stars, they reach for fantastical heights. This band wants to grab starlight in its collective hand and throw it onto a stage for its fans’ viewing pleasure. And the band’s lasers are cooler than Coldplay’s, anyway. Just sayin’. -Paul de Revere

Girl Talk – Twin Peaks Stage – 8:40 p.m.

You can try to prep yourself for a Girl Talk performance with what seems to be everyone’s simple description: a guy puts a 90-minute dance/electro set together on the fly by meshing together a ridiculous assortment of samples from nearly every genre imaginable. What you can’t quite prepare yourself for is how well said meshing is done. Or how perfectly it all comes together, for that matter. Kicking things off with the ominous opening riff to the Sabbath classic “War Pigs”, Girl Talk mashed together everything from 80′s radio hits to rap acapellas to Neptunes beats to create a sort of otherworldly dance music. The best part: a confetti-burst finale set to the solo from “November Rain”. -Möhammad Choudhery

Sunday, August 14th

tUnE-yArDs – Sutro Stage – 1:15 p.m.

Photo by Debi Del Grande

tUnE-yArDs, that’s one-woman band Merrill Garbus in particular, is so talented, it’s not even funny. So, why was she forced to play so early in the day? Perhaps because Garbus, an Oakland native, just had to cross the Bay Bridge to get to work. Who knows? Regardless, Garbus punched in early, and delivered one of the best sets of the weekend. Her performance on songs like “Powa” (for which the crowd stayed quiet during its long buildup), “Bizness” (the crowd followed Garbus’ instructions to limber up before dancing), and “Gangsta” (the crowd obliged with the song’s ritual fist-raising) speak for themselves. “I think this is the biggest crowd we’ve ever had at a festival,” Garbus stated. Yeah, that’s because you’re easily one of the best acts of the festival. -Paul de Revere

Junip – Twin Peaks Stage – 1:30 p.m.

Photo by Debi Del Grande

Led by folksinger José González (already with a successful solo career to his name), Swedish quartet Junip broke it down at the Twin Peaks stage while most of Outside Lands seemed to be racing down to Golden Gate Park’s other end for tUnE-yArDs. Though a bit more steeped in electronica than González’s solo work, Junip’s set mostly played like a fuller take on his own, spacious sound, as on the expansive “Without You”. -Möhammad Choudhery

Mavis Staples – Land’s End Stage – 1:45 p.m.

To be blessed by Miss Mavis Staples is a beautiful thing. It’s a passing of the torch, if you will. Colin Meloy of The Decemberists got the endorsement at Newport Folk Festival and so did Win Butler during Staples’ set at the Land’s End Stage, the festival’s largest. In a beautiful rendition of The Band’s “The Weight”, Butler took the fourth “Crazy Chester” verse of the famed song to huge screams. Otherwise, Butler demurred toward rhythm guitar. After he left, other Staples classics rolled out, including the Staples Singers’ “I’ll Take You There” (“The Staples Singers have been takin’ y’all there for 61 years… Now we want you to take US there,” Miss Mavis said) and gospel standards like “Wade in the Water”. Staples, at over 70 years old, still has it and had the best voice, gutbucket soul and all, of the festival. -Paul de Revere

Grouplove – Panhandle Solar – 2:20 p.m.

Photo by Debi Del Grande

With an opening tour with Florence + the Machine and a highly regarded EP under their belt, Grouplove seem poised for a big break. Christian Zucconi led the LA-based five-piece through a set of rootsy folk-pop that leaned heavily on their acclaimed self-titled EP, while offering a peek at their forthcoming full-length, Never Trust a Happy Song, in the lilting harmonies of “Lovely Cup”. -Möhammad Choudhery

Latyrx ft. Lyrics Born and Lateef – Sutro Stage – 2:30 p.m.

Photo by Ted Maider

Latyrx had a big band to organize on stage, but the band was assembled on time by 2:30 p.m.. Ten minutes later, Lyrics Born and Lateef took the stage and began to rap. Their flows were totally on point, and their antics were appreciated by the crowd, as they gave shout-outs to towns in the Bay like Vallejo, San Jose, Emeryville, and of course, San Francisco and Oakland. Meanwhile, a majority of the backing band just stood there, while the two rappers stole the show. They should have just hired a DJ, and nobody would have batted an eye. -Ted Maider

!!! – Twin Peaks Stage – 3:05 p.m.

Photo by Ted Maider

So, if LCD Soundsystem is retired and James Murphy stops performing, does that mean !!! inherits the live-disco DFA sound? Because it sure sounds like it. Like LCD, !!! use no computers of any kind (none that I saw, anyway) to create its disco jams. !!! lead singer Nic Offer is younger and less sedate than Murphy, jumping his silly ass around everywhere as a frontman. But similar to Murphy, he leans toward a bandleader role, indulging in an extended series of James Brown-style “hit me”’s. “Two times!! Three times!!!” And the band’s sonic textures make for interesting listening and great dancing: a rare combination. -Paul de Revere

Major Lazer – Twin Peaks Stage – 4:40 p.m.

Asses shaking everywhere on stage after cute girls get brought up, serious towel-swinging hype men, silly string sprayed everywhere, and a field of people helicoptering their shirts: This is a Major Lazer show. You might expect it on the beach or somewhere with warm weather or indoors in a club. Would you expect anything else? But the setting of Pacific Northwestern redwoods, pines, and oaks swaying in a chilly breeze with Major Lazer’s music? Well, that’s just incongruous as hell. And fun as hell.

The list of drops is too many to count, much less list. Major Lazer debuted a new, untitled song (with a martial snare riddim and clipped robot-rock vocals), two big dubstep drops that actually got the white folks really into it, a mash up of “6 Foot 7 Foot” by Lil’ Wayne with the Jamaican traditional “Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)”, sung by Harry Belafonte, and a drop of “Jump Up” that shook the earth of Golden Gate Park when Diplo instructed everyone to pogo. Louder sound and better subs on the Twin Peaks Stage would’ve really put this over the top but it was insane fun regardless. -Paul de Revere

Wye Oak – Panhandle Stage – 5:30 p.m.

One of the most confident young bands in indie rock today, Wye Oak took to the Panhandle Stage with poise, having already performed earlier on Sunday. To a warm, setting sun, Jenn Wasner’s guitar growled and howled like a well-trained bear the way a trainer wields it. Wasner may be one of the best guitarists in indie today, as she may have already gained a Thurston Moore/Neil Young-like confidence in her guitar sound after only three Wye Oak records in five years. Andy Stack’s double-duty as drummer and keyboardist provides the ground on which Wasner’s trained animal can roam, providing so much bottom end. For a duo, Wye Oak make a lot of noise like Young or Sonic Youth but can be tender like Yo La Tengo. Their set’s second song “Holy, Holy”, off its Merge Records-released Civilian, was a perfect example. Wasner braved the chilly wind hurting her hands to bust out wash after wash of guitar. If Sunday was good for any kind of performer, it was good for scrappy, determined bands like Wye Oak. -Paul de Revere

STS9 – Twin Peaks Stage – 6:15 p.m.

Photo by Ted Maider

Sound Tribe Sector 9 (STS9) was exactly what a festival in the Bay Area needed, a band that combines elements of jamming with electronic music, although their blend was more hip-hop-based. Girls climbed on boyfriends’ shoulders and were still rocking harder than most people on the ground. People waved everything in the air, ranging from giraffe heads to inflatable chimps, all to emphasize their joy, excitement, and the fact they could feel the groove. Dancing refused to subside as STS9 ripped their many synthesizers, bongos, and bass heavy grooves. It was easily one of the most surprising sets of the weekend. -Ted Maider

The Decemberists – Lands End Stage – 6:15 p.m.

Photo by Debi Del Grande

Following up a great performance by legend John Fogerty, The Decemberists were in high spirits late Sunday afternoon, playing a set heavy on songs from the old-timey The King Is Dead. Frontman and indie-folk’s poet laureate Colin Meloy cut a charming figure, as he worked his way through his own wordy lyrics and clever between-song banter, even offering up the band’s “The Soldiering Life” as camel-fighting music. (It worked. No less than three camelfights broke out in the crowd.) And who knew “The Mariner’s Revenge Song”, that weird nine-minute sea-shanty off of Picaresque, could be such a huge, crowd-pleasing festival set closer? -Möhammad Choudhery

Deadmau5 – Twin Peaks Stage – 8:00 p.m.

Photo by Ted Maider

“I’m with deadmau5! And where you at, hater?” –Haley Morenstein

It’s clear that Joel Zimmerman, aka deadmau5, is appreciative of his fans. Just “Like” him on Facebook to find out. But everybody at Outside Lands was able to see it in person. deadmau5 and his cube of glory graced us with their presence 15 minutes ahead of schedule, and with the sun setting just in front of him, no less. That didn’t stop the one-man wonder from turning the crowd upside down. To kick things off, the celebrated DJ delivered newer cuts like “Bad Selection” and a rendition of “Some Chords” that caused the temperature in the crowd to raise to at least 10 degrees. But he also brought it back, playing the most hypnotic (and perfectly timed) version of “Arguru” and teasing with “Sometimes Things Get, Whatever”. People did not stop moving, though, and they continued to shove through the crowd to try and get closer. Their attempts were made more difficult when “SOFI Needs a Ladder” (complete with SOFI) and a new mix of “Ghosts N’ Stuff” came out of the speakers. People may knock on him as an artist in the blog world, but he can put on one hell of a show. Where you at, hater? -Ted Maider

Arcade Fire – Lands End Stage – 8:10 p.m.

Photo by Debi Del Grande

If nothing else, Arcade Fire winning last year’s Grammy for Album of the Year cemented their place as indie rock’s first graduate to stadium rock supremacy. Between headlining every festival in the book over the past year and earning the egotistical rep that comes with their new stature, Arcade Fire have grown rather nicely into themselves. Closing Outside Lands out across the fields from deadmau5’s electro-party, they put on a dance party of their own. Even though they work the same stage setup and Spike Jonze-directed film clips and rock the same setlist as they have this whole tour, nothing felt remotely canned as the musicians switched parts, beat at their instruments, and howled into their mics with a fervor more akin to a circus troupe than a band of Canadian arena-rockers.

Photo by Debi Del Grande

At points on The Suburbs, such as the molten “Month of May”, it’s a bit hard to sell. Live, though, the band chug right through it, very at home in the heavy riffage before breaking into a spirited rendition of “Rebellion (Lies)”. The crowd was on their toes, dancing along and singing every line throughout the night. The band soon took their bows and left the stage, returning with their unforgettable symphonic anthem, “Wake Up”. For all I’d built it up to be, I couldn’t have possibly braced myself for that transcendental moment when all 30,000+ in attendance burst into the same wordless yell at the top of our collective lungs. Chills, man. Chills. -Möhammad Choudhery

The Culture of Outside Lands

Gallery by Ted Maider and Debi Del Grande

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Photo by Brad Bretz

“Professional Griefers” is the latest offering from Ontario-bred electro wizard Joel Zimmerman (aka Deadmau5). Give it a spin below (via Beat My Day).

And, more importantly, here’s what it’s like live — at Lollapalooza 2011:

Whether or not that was the methodology behind Perry Farrell’s Lollapalooza in Chicago, IL, remains to be confirmed. However, that’s what he’s done. Stepping into the gates at Congress and Michigan, one can’t help but feel they’re about to enter another plane of existence. Yeah, yeah, what a cliché, simplistic statement, but let me ask you this…

Over the weekend, did you see:

• Hall & Oates look-alikes, complete with the leisure suits, dancing in 85-degree heat
• A “lobster corn dog”
• Chic Euro-looking women–or, those who look “primed for the runway”–rocking out next to a slew of Jim Belushi look-alikes
• Sweaty, exhausted teenagers, crying their eyes out at a colossal rave; it’s also only noon
• Thousands of people singing about the Cubs winning
• Fireworks behind an award-winning rock act
• Drunken fortysomethings asleep atop Connie’s Pizza slices
• ?uestlove chatting food with Graham Elliot
• Skateboarding youths, rolling away to their next favorite band
• Lasers washed over the Chicago skyline
• Mud-covered fans, diving in for more… mud
• Ironic shirts next to sports shirts next to a pair of male nipples
• War-torn Converses and sod-stained high heels tapping to the beats
• People stumbling out of Port-o-Potties shoeless
• A fairly short line to eat a burger from Kuma’s
• Shoes tossed at fans by a frantic lead singer
• Perry Farrell

Odds are if you weren’t in Grant Park this past weekend, you didn’t catch any of this… let’s call it… chaos? Hmm, that’s not fair. Chaos is such a frowned-upon term; it’s usually linked to things like “riots” or “fires” or “talking to yourself alone in the car.” With Lolla, this sort of orchestrated chaos tastes nothing short of delicious. It’s the sort of madness that builds character… or just crosses things off on those proverbial bucket lists. C’mon, lobster corn dog.

This year, the festival celebrated its 20th birthday–you could say, in style. Perry’s Stage received a face-lift (or, a temporary warehouse). Festivalgoers had the choice of four headliners per night. After-parties continued to thrive. One can’t dismiss Farrell’s electronic extravaganza, either. Over three long days, the new installment never witnessed a dull moment. As a result, it bred countless “believe it or not” tales of folklore, contributing a great chunk to the laundry list above.

While not the best Lollapalooza, it did produce some of the greatest memories in the festival’s history. That’s what matters, right? Also, think of it this way: Who ever remembers their 20th birthday, anyhow? It’s the following year that glues to the mind.

Until then…

-Michael Roffman
President/Editor-in-Chief

Friday, August 5th

Wye Oak – Sony – 12:00 p.m.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

Baltimore indie duo Wye Oak took the stage in the sweltering midday heat, launching into the gnarled dreamscape of “The Altar”, followed by the Sonic Youth-isms of “Holy Holy”. Despite the addicting, sped-up shreds and mournful howl of vocalist/guitarist Jenn Wasner, bolstered by Andy Stack’s ethereal keyboards and simultaneous drumming, the band kept stopping to adjust their equipment, ceasing to play entirely midway through “Plains”. They switched out amps and had the same wonderfully rough quality for the rest of the set, but Wasner continuously (and needlessly) apologized in a fashion similar to her back pain complaints during a Decemberists show at The Riviera earlier this year, another killer set plagued by momentum-halting repents. While altogether a solid show, Wasner needs to stop making excuses for a band that needs no excuses at all. -Dan Caffrey

Tennis – Google + – 1:00 p.m.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

Out of the ashes of the 1980′s and Roxy Music album covers rose Tennis, who played every hot moment of their 45-minute set, with an abundance of “whoa-oh-ohs.” Lead singer/keyboardist Alaina Moore let the crew know she was having some problems with her keyboard for the first couple of songs, but she didn’t let any technical issues dampen the afternoon. Moore (jokingly?) suspected airport security sabotaged her keyboard before leaving from Moscow, but it’s hard to imagine anyone damaging anything of Moore’s; she’s too likeable. Breezy surf-pop followed, including the jaunty “Seafarer” and “Robin”, the latter of which borrowed lovingly from “Love” off the Robin Hood soundtrack. -Justin Gerber

Reptar – Google + – 2:15 p.m.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

The Google + Stage got a little bigger this year, which upped the ante for many of the young, fresh-out-the-club bands. Reptar were one of the younger, erm, Rugrats on that stage, and they showed up with heaping portions of excitement and eccentricity to carry their set. They have a kind of Portugal. The Man by way of a Cuisinart blender sound to them, with Graham Ulicney’s vocal performance warranting the most notes. “I’ll get you next time, Gadget,” I wrote about his voice, and for a band whose namesake is a made-up cartoon inside of another kids cartoon show, it felt justified. But add to the odd pot the synth player dancing about in a jet blue unitard, and it all sort of came together in a garagey synth fun house kind of dance party. -Jeremy D. Larson

Foster the People – Sony – 3:00 p.m.

Photo by Brad Bretz

“This is the most amount of people we’ve ever played in front of before,” said Mark Foster, lead singer/multi-instrumentalist of Foster the People. From the crowd reaction, you’d have thought they were Lolla pros, as the band played instruments ranging from standard guitars to maracas, then had three members playing keyboards/effects simultaneously. No one had a bigger smile on his or her face during day one than Foster, whose onstage dancing was simply infectious, leading to crowd surfing, sing-alongs, and clapping to every beat. Standout songs included the big beats of “Miss You”, a cover of Neil Young’s “Heart of Gold”, and set closer “Helena Beat”, which sent the crowd dancing out the exit. -Justin Gerber

Le Butcherettes – Google+ – 3:30 p.m.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

“I want to lick your tongues with my loving.” Yep, that’s Teri Gender Bender for ya. Fearless and wild-eyed, the Le Butcherettes singer annihilated both the stage and her body, tossing and turning with antics as erratic and visceral as her cannibalistic punk rock. In a word, it was filthy. But, in two words, we’ll go with filthy sexy. Dangerous yet sludgy cuts of “Dress Off”, “Henry Don’t Got Love”, and new tune “No Owe” left quite a mess on the Google + floorboards, especially as drummer Gabe Serbian threw up water after every other song and bassist Jonathan Hiscke treated the cozy stage as a sauna. They rained sweat. But that’s because they never stopped moving. And although Teri remained barefoot throughout most of the performance–she threw her shoes at her fans, who scooped ‘em up as a prize–she made several advances into the engaging crowd, including some post-show crowd surfing. Punk rock? Perhaps. We’ll just call it violently entertaining… and demand more. -Michael Roffman

Exclusive: Cluster 1 HANGOUT – CoS/C1 correspondents Nick Freed and Michael Roffman hang out with Teri Gender Bender and Jonathan Hiscke at Lollapalooza, pulling crazy hi jinks all around the park. Things get “wild.”

Feed Me – Perry’s – 3:45 p.m.

Photo by Brad Bretz

Currently representing deadmau5′s Mau5trap record label, UK’S Jon Gooch broke in the newly renovated Perry’s Stage early Friday under his electro-house/dubstep moniker Feed Me. Gooch kick-started his set by sending effervescent bubbles of electronica, kept aloft with a heavy bass line, across the audience. As the set progressed, Gooch often seemed rushed by the time limitations associated with a festival performance, shuffling between electro-grime, melodic dubstep, and glistening synth runs. As soon as the growing audience could get into a rhythm, Gooch was already pushing a new genre and tempo. Still, there’s little wrong with leaving an audience anxious for a club-setting return. -Derek Staples

Kids These Days – BMI – 4:15 p.m.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

Chicago’s own Kids These Days (KTD) made a well-earned splash with this year’s Hard Times EP, a funky simmer of a debut that seamlessly blended blue-eyed soul, R&B, jazz, and hip-hop. At a breezy 23 minutes, the entirety of the record is usually played at their shows, leaving the rest of the set to be filled in with live mash-ups and newer material, as was the case with their Lolla performance. But while KTD’s musicianship and stage presence is consistently uncanny, the more recent tunes feel somewhat insincere and far-reaching, skirting the band’s genre-melding to lean heavier on rapper Vic Mensa. His latest rhymes go for a harder edge than exhibited on the band’s nostalgic single “My Days”, with an entire song devoted to how much he likes to smoke weed. While he’s surely tried the stuff (hell, maybe he does it a lot) and while there are plenty of classic hip-hop songs about that very topic, it appears he wrote it because he thinks that’s what rappers are supposed to do, as opposed to the words coming out of genuine love for the herb. -Dan Caffrey

Cults – Google + – 4:45 p.m.

Photo by Michael Roffman (via Colorizer)

The sun was angled directly at the crowd, but it was also in the 50′s during Cults. Twee throwback does a body good in the middle of the afternoon, and the original Cults duo of Madeline Follin and Brian Oblivion punch up their sound a bit live by adding three equally long-haired bandmates. However, it was a tentative performance, with Follin’s voice being swallowed up by the festival setting, and it almost seemed like she was afraid to commit to the politeness of the record. When she went for it on “You Know What I Mean”, it was fantastic, and sound and vocal discrepancies notwithstanding, I left their show feeling just the tops, because while they may not have carved out their live sound yet, they can still rest on the laurels of their outstanding songs. -Jeremy D. Larson

The Bloody Beetroots Death Crew 77 – Perry’s – 5:00 p.m.

Photo by Brad Bretz

Although relegated to the Lollapalooza dance tent, The Bloody Beetroots Death Crew 77 are led by one of the most skilled and enigmatic musicians today, Bob Rifo. During their epic live performance, the classically trained Rifo manned two stacks of synths, the guitar, bass, and was also the sole vocalist, although that mainly consisted of yelling. With Tommy Tea DJing and Edward Grinch on drums, the trio pumped out an hour of sweat-drenched, punk-inspired, raucous electro-house. As soon as the first few notes of “Warp 1.9″ filled Perry’s, the entire crowd broke into hysteria, forcing those not familiar with a Death Crew experience to scurry toward the back. To keep revelers from overheating, Rifo controlled the set’s tempo with periods of atmospheric house and beautiful synth solos. -Derek Staples

The Mountain Goats – Playstation – 5:30 p.m.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

John Darnielle and The Mountain Goats have been plugging away for years and are finally getting their just due. They snagged a prime, late-afternoon spot this year, and I’m sure made some new fans. The band came onstage to loud metal music—something I’m sure metal fan Darnielle handpicked—and an enthusiastic crowd that grew larger and larger as their set went on. Starting slow with Get Lonely’s “Wild Sage”, they blasted through the opening half of their set, which included “Going to Georgia”, “Charles Bronson”, and “Birth of Serpents”, before Darnielle went solo for crowd favorite “You Were Cool”. He then said, “We haven’t been playing many solo songs on this tour, but I couldn’t do just one solo song, so these others have only been so I could play this for you, Chicago.” He then launched into “Cubs in Five”, a song that most Cubs fans miss the meaning of, I think. Darnielle closed out their energetic set with fan gems “No Children” and “This Year”, which included Jen Wasner from Wye Oak, and a fantastic cover of “Babe” by “a favorite Chicago band of [The Mountain Goats],” Styx. -Nick Freed

A Perfect Circle – Music Unlimited – 6:00 p.m.

Photo by Brad Bretz

Excerpts from The Sound of Music played just before A Perfect Circle entered the stage. It makes sense in some universe, but the band switched moods quickly enough as the short “Annihilation” led into an even more melancholy version of John Lennon’s “Imagine”, with James Iha on keyboards. As the band’s logo took up most of the backdrop, lead singer Maynard James Keenan made his presence known throughout the show by stomping along to either the thudding percussion during “Weak and Powerless” or the crunching guitar of “Pet”. “I’ve done this five times,” Keenan said, referring to previous Lolla gigs. “You’ll probably have to speak up. I’m a little old.” His vocal delivery during the one-two punch of “The Package” and “The Noose” sounded like the same man who graced the Lolla stage nearly two decades earlier. -Justin Gerber

Skrillex – Perry’s – 6:15 p.m.

Photo by Brad Bretz

Skrillex, aka Sonny Moore, has spent most of 2011 on the festival scene, but that still doesn’t ensure a smooth set, and the onset of Moore’s Friday performance was very, very rough. After some volume issues, Moore was set to drop the bass on a La Roux “In for the Kill” remix, and with just a single, accidental space bar touch, the track lost all definition and momentum. Moore quickly regained composure and spent the next few minutes blasting ear drums with his signature bass aesthetic. Following fan favorite “Kill Everybody”, Moore brought forward a series of remixes, including House of Pain’s “Everybody Jump” mashed up with DJ Kool’s “Let Me Clear My Throat” and the Jackson 5′s “One More Chance”. Moore will probably remain best known for his bass music, but when he lets the oscillator rest, turns down the volume a few notches, and expands on his melodic undertones, he will get any club rocking, be it filled with househeads, candy-kids, or nu-disco fans. -Derek Staples

Bright Eyes – Bud Light – 6:30 p.m.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

Fans who may be weary of seeing Bright Eyes play a huge festival like this because they don’t want to watch Conor Oberst mope around the stage should eat their words and fears, because Bright Eyes easily nailed one of the best sets all day. They were dynamic, fun, loud, and most of all damn entertaining. The crowd grew louder and more enthusiastic as hit after hit was delivered with a precision and an energy no one was expecting. The set list spanned nearly their entire catalog from The People’s Key’s “Jejune Stars” and “Shell Games” (which Oberst said was for “all the phonies in the audience”) back to Fevers and Mirrors favorite “The Calendar that Hung Itself”. The band expertly adapted normally electronic songs like “Take It Easy” and “Arc of Time” into catchy, beautiful rock songs. Bright Eyes filled the huge space and huge crowd like nothing I was expecting or had seen from such an introverted band. Even the slower songs like “Old Soul Song” and “Land Locked Blues” had an urgency that was captivating. Oberst himself spun like a tornado and ran all over the stage during faster tracks like the fantastic “Road to Joy”. By the set’s conclusion, everyone was left thinking the same thing: “Since when did Bright Eyes become such an amazing stadium rock band?” -Nick Freed

Crystal Castles – Sony – 7:15 p.m.

Photo by Brad Bretz

With the sun still occupying the picturesque Chicago skyline, Ethan Kath and Alice Glass of Crystal Castles could not hide behind their trademark panels of white light. The daylight didn’t seem to affect Kath, who is rarely actually seen producing live, but the fully healed Glass never seemed totally committed to the performance. Maybe that’s because it was just too hard to jump in and out of the crowd due to the elevation and distance from the audience of the Sony stage. Glass did come to life during “Crimewave”, stepping atop the drum kit platform and banging away on live drummer Christopher Chartrand’s cymbals. To the crowd’s enjoyment–and the stage crew’s worry–Glass did make it into the audience for the majority of “Baptism”. But just as the sun dipped and Glass seemed to find a spark, the band stepped offstage at least 20 minutes prior to the set’s scheduled conclusion. A smattering of hardcore fans stayed for several minutes chanting for one more song, but the vast majority had already had enough and were more than ready for Friday night’s headliners. -Derek Staples

Ok Go – Google + – 7:15 p.m.

Photo by Jack Edinger

OK Go‘s crunchy power pop has always been a party, but it didn’t really start kicking until they accompanied it with colorful theatrics such as elaborate music videos and jovial live spectacles. Their dusk performance at Lolla was no different. After taking the stage in their trademark solid, pastel suits amidst a sea of rubber balls and bubbles in the audience, the band chugged through the finest from their catalog, adding whimsical but never overwhelming touches such as crowd sing-alongs with set closer “This Too Shall Pass”. The highlight of the evening was an unexpectedly moving rendition of “Return” performed entirely on hand-bells by all four band members. -Dan Caffrey

Coldplay – Bud Light – 8:30 p.m.

“We’re gonna try to rock your fucking socks off this evening!”, lead singer/guitarist Chris Martin promised near the beginning of Coldplay’s set, their first ever at Lollapalooza. It was an evening of colors; for “Yellow”, yellow lights shined across the sea of thousands. Likewise, a purplish light was served out during “Violet Hill”. Rumors of a Jay-Z cameo, heightened even more thanks to a “99 Problems” intro before the band took the stage, were for naught, though “Lost” was performed to a still-receptive audience without Chris Martin’s besty. Cameos weren’t necessary, though. All the crowd needed to whip itself into a frenzy was a beefed-up “God Put a Smile Upon Your Face”, during which Martin and Co. lined up in front of drummer Will Champion for its pounding buildup.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

But the story of the night was the new songs, which is a risk, especially if you’re headlining. In the same time slot last year, The Strokes stuck to their past glories instead of creating new ones. Coldplay opted to go for it, opening with a laser light show with fireworks for the uplifting “Hurts Like Heaven”, indicating an album full of “Lover in Japan”-esque tunes (compliment). Martin claimed the acoustic “Us Against the World” was inspired by a love affair between Bill O’Reilly and Sarah Palin (he was kidding), and they actually finished their encore with “Every Teardrop is a Waterfall”. The new songs sound infinitely better live than they do on computer speakers, so that’s certainly encouraging. Fireworks and new songs wound up bookending the evening, as Coldplay continued to defy the critics and entertain their throngs of fans. -Justin Gerber

Muse – Music Unlimited – 8:15 p.m.

It’s only been four years since Muse last headlined Lollapalooza, and god, how so much has changed. Back then, the English trio were a year out in supporting 2006′s Black Holes and Revelations, and they were coming off an oddball supporting slot for, ahem, My Chemical Romance. Now, they return as arena rock saviors. Why? Blame it on Guitar Hero (“Knights of Cydonia”, anyone?), opening slots for U2, Twilight, the Grammys, or that mediocre 2009 effort, The Resistance. Whatever the case, and suffice it to say, America arrived late.

“Thanks for coming out and seeing us,” Matt Bellamy exclaimed. “We know you had options. You chose the right one.” Did they? Sure, highlights ricocheted in a three-hit punch of “Supermassive Black Hole”, “Hysteria”, and “Map of the Problematique”, with the latter syncing up beautifully to a nearby fireworks display, but lukewarm additions of “Guiding Light” and “United States of Urasia” teleported much of the crowd’s energy–and plenty of fans, who likely trekked north to salvage what was left of Coldplay’s set. The mood just fell flat midway through, and it didn’t pick up until they flirted with the trademark riff of “House of the Rising Sun”, which segued naturally into “Time Is Running Out”. As you could have guessed, they closed with crowd favorite “Knights of Cydonia” but not before dusting off “Plug in Baby”. Ah, there’s another Origin of Symmetry track–they punched out “Citizen Erased” earlier–but where were the rest? We won’t ask about Showbiz, either. Yes, things have changed. -Michael Roffman

Photo by Brad Bretz.

Ratatat – Google + – 8:45 p.m.

Photo by Derek Staples

While Coldplay took the Bud Light stage and wowed fans with an epic spectacle of fireworks and state-of-the-art lights, Ratatat put on a smaller, but equally dazzling show. The only words uttered by the soft-spoken duo were polite thank yous between songs, allowing the band’s bizarre instrumentals and digital imagery to do the talking for them. As random as the footage from Predator may have seemed, the majority of the audio-visuals conjured an aesthetic of perverse classicism, melding the video game guitar and farting robot keyboards of fan favorites such as “Seventeen Years” with projections of fluorescent busts of Venus placed next to a large black woman dancing in a Hawaiian skirt. Elsewhere, synthesized harpsichord bubbled over the band’s twin electronic drum solos and films of blindfolded chamber musicians. “Wildcat” was the crowd favorite of the night, a sparkling gem of lucid performance art where a film of a rhythmically bouncing necklace transformed into the face of a golden cougar with every canned feline growl in the song. -Dan Caffrey

Girl Talk – Perry’s – 8:45 p.m.

Perry’s Stage came off as either a wicked fun dance party or a shitshow, depending on your personal preferences/level of intoxication. I walked over there, and there were six ambulances, two of which had actual patients in them. I don’t recall anyone passing out during The Mountain Goats, nor did anyone appear to be “rolling hard” at Bright Eyes, but the mood shift was jarring. I arrived just at the end of Afrojack’s set, which–come on, dude. It was like being bludgeoned with an inflatable hammer; it was irritating, immature, and totally predictable. He was self-aggrandizing and flippant onstage, periodically just turning his back to talk to his friends backstage while everyone waited for “that drop.” It was condescending to say the least.

Photo by Will Rice

Then Gregg Gillis bounded onstage, hopped up onto his DJ table, yelled, “Chicago come with me!”, and opened with an unaltered “Oh No” from All Day. Perry’s is where you want to be if you favor sensory stroking due to a state-of-the-art sound and light system that rivals any I’ve seen and a barrage of electronic acts that are down to get your hands up. And to be honest, I was in the the right mood to just turn my mind off and play name that tune with Mr. Gillis. Little did I know that I would only really dig it for a scientifically precise 15 minutes. With the displacement of people moving in and out of the very crowded canopied area, it was hard to really be in the fray without having to stop and let someone out (or worse, someone in). But that’s a part of every fest. What bothered me most about Girl Talk‘s show was that it was just too easy, and it felt like a goddamn wedding reception with people around my half shouting lyrics to MOP’s “Ante Up” or Drama’s “Left, Right, Left”.

Photo by Will Rice

When I go to a wedding, I expect to just get drunk and begrudgingly sing along to songs I really don’t care for. I don’t want to do that at a festival. I think I reached my breaking point when Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance” was met with Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”. People went ape; I moved to the back. The thing I like about Girl Talk are the moments of surprise, and there were precious few at the show. (The Waka’s “Hard in the Paint” with Heart’s “Baracuda” mashup got my attention.) Gillis had to cut his set short due to some sort of security issue, adding that security were “straight being dicks” and disparaging Perry’s Stage; he said that he wished he could play on a regular stage “like a normal band could play.” I kind of felt for him, and perhaps if he were given more time to dig deeper into some different mashups, it would have felt less like I was surrounded by my drunk relatives. He (almost) closed with “Shout”. Do you need more proof that this was like your cousin’s wedding reception? Fun but lacking practically anything to remember it by. -Jeremy D. Larson

Saturday, August 6th

Typhoon – BMI – 1:15 p.m.

Photo by Brad Bretz

Shortly after Typhoon began their set, the rain started to come down. Coincidence? Well, yes, but the band managed to fight through the conditions and play through their allotted time slot. The music attempted to reach the production swells of In the Aeroplane over the Sea but fell a bit short. The issue with Typhoon wasn’t necessarily the talent; it was having too much talent on the stage. Thirteen members crammed together on one of the smallest stages of the venue made for a claustrophobic experience. The horn- and string-filled sections weren’t allowed to breathe within a lineup that could be condensed by half. -Justin Gerber

Friendly Fires – Bud Light – 2:15 p.m.

Photo by Brad Bretz

The main thing that drew me into Friendly Fires was Ed Macfarlane’s carefree dance moves. He dances like me, and it’s proven (somewhere) that we like things that we can associate with. In addition to the Gumby white-boy dance, Friendly Fires played essential festival music: feel-good, sun-kissed dance tunes with nothing but positive vibes. The fact that their whole show made me forget about how anti-kinetic their album is on speakers was a formidable feat. There may even have been some shivers up and down my arms during “Hawaiian Air”. It’s hard to reject something that uplifting, even if at times they border on 30 Seconds To Mars-esque mugging and cringe-worthy lyrics. (“A thousand butterflies from your lips to mine” makes me angry.) 2:30 p.m. big, happy dance party achieved. -Jeremy D. Larson

Dom – Google+ – 3:30 – 4:15 p.m.

Photo by Jeremy D. Larson

I’m still not sure who’s gonna win the Lolla cover battle, but a strong contender might be Dom‘s take on The Cure’s “Boys Don’t Cry”. I get it, though. I know smaller bands throw in covers so people are like, “What’s that one band that did The Cure?” “Dom, I think.” “Oh yeah, those guys are pretty good, too.” And they are, with their could-give-a-fuck amalgam of sounds from lo-fi garage to chillwave beach tunes, which prevents me from comparing them to any other band. Highlight “Burn Bridges” has this arena chorus that belies the rest of their DIY aesthetic, which makes me think they’ll be on to bigger and later set times throughout their career. -Jeremy D. Larson

TBD Special Guest – Kidzapalooza – 3:45 p.m.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

Let’s look at the timeline, shall we? 2005: Peter DiStefano & Perry Farrell/Saul Williams & Ladybug, 2006: Patti Smith, 2007: Jim James, Patti Smith, Ben Harper, 2008: Jeff Tweedy, Rogue Wave, Perry Farrell & Slash (complete with cigarette, if memory serves correct), and G Love, 2009: Yuto Miyazawa, 2010: The Verve Pipe, and for 2011? Little Hurricane. Not that anyone’s going to hang out at the Kidzapalooza stage for hours on end, but the surprise guest has always been a fun little break at the festival. This year, it was a letdown, especially given the celebrity presence in Grant Park. Sadly, many left an otherwise tight little set from the San Diego duo. Hard to blame them. Again, it’s just Kidzapalooza, but something special was slightly lost. -Michael Roffman

The Chain Gang of 1974 – BMI – 3:45 p.m.

Photo by Brad Bretz

Frontman Kamtin Mohager, smoking a cigarette and dressed semi-Goth, may have given off the perception that this was going to be a dour 45 minutes. Quite the contrary. “It’s a fucking honor to be here,” Mohager declared, and you’d believe him as he launched into “Heartbreakin’ Scream”. The Chain Gang of 1974 launched into a set that had the crowd hopping up and down from the get-go. The reaction to the New Wave-tinged dance music was only enhanced when Mohager brought his mic stand with him into the crowd for “Devil Is a Lady”. There was a dance party at four o’clock in the afternoon inside a forested area. Must be Lollapalooza. -Justin Gerber

PerryEtty vs. Chris Cox – Perry’s – 3:45 p.m.

Photo by Steve Wruble

As if Lollapalooza founder Perry Farrell would expand his titular tent to roughly the size of a football field and not take at least one stab at ultra-stimulating the constantly packed crowd. Farrell has long been comfortable with a DJ set–just watch footage of early DJ Peretz–but people still flocked to the tent with hopes of catching the legendary frontman in front of the decks, and he definitely did not disappoint. With Chris Cox spinning the tracks seemingly solo, Farrell was busy fist pumping, supplying vocals, and performing with his wife and third member of the collective, Etty Lau Farrell. The electro set was decent, and with the exception of Farrell at the helm, it did not stand out among the rest of Perry’s international talent. Most likely, PerryEtty vs. Chris Cox will make a return at Lolla 2012, hopefully with a companion Porno for Pyros or Satellite Party set to keep Farrell occupied throughout the weekend. -Derek Staples

Death From Above 1979 – Bud Light – 4:00 p.m.

Photo by Brad Bretz

Canadian duo Death From Above 1979 have released exactly one studio album, 2004′s universally acclaimed, dance metal thrasher You’re a Woman, I’m a Machine. The group disbanded citing creative differences, and their recent reunion has been one of the most hyped acts at Lolla. However, their set, while energetic, displayed little chemistry between the members. It’s always a marvel to see how many twisted sounds Jesse F. Keeler can pull from his bass, and drummer/vocalist Sebastian Grainger blazed through spastic yet scary cuts such as the album’s title track and “Romantic Lights” with precision and snarl, but their apathetic communication made you wonder how much fun they were really having. -Dan Caffrey

Big Audio Dynamite – Music Unlimited – 4:30 p.m.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

There were several elder statesmen represented at Lollapalooza this year, and though Big Audio Dynamite definitely fit the bill as “elders,” their youthful energy was impossible to dismiss. They began with a revved-up version of “Medicine Show”, which saw frontman Mick Jones slinking back and forth across the stage as he’s been doing for over 30 years. “This is the first B.A.D. song we ever wrote,” Jones informed the crowd before beginning “The Bottom Line”. The reception to that song was only surpassed by that for set closer “Rush”. The mud that stuck on people’s shoes, sandals, and feet was being kicked up into the air by the time that classic was ringing out of the Music Unlimited Stage. -Justin Gerber

The Drums – Google + – 4:45 p.m.

Photo by Jeremy D. Larson

Many people think The Drums are from the UK, and rightly so as their records could fall right in line with New Order or The Cure. But live they add a drummer, and their sound takes a direct flight to their actual home of NYC with Television bass lines and J. Casablancas swagger. The sort of lackadaisical ennui that singer Jonathan Pierce exudes is dampened by a sneaking suspicion that you could probably kick his ass if you wanted to, which makes his stumbling around the stage and limp posture actually kind of endearing. New song “Money” created the most tenacious earworm of the day and also sees the band taking steps toward carving out their own sound that comes out ahead of post-punk and New Wave revival acts. -Jeremy D. Larson

Exclusive: The Drums Interview – Frontman Jonathan Pierce and Jacob Graham discuss the new LP, changes in sound, and shifts in lineup.

Local Natives – Sony – 5:30 p.m.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

Taylor Rice is related to John Oates, right? Winner of this year’s Best ‘Stache goes to the Local Natives frontman, who led the lineup through their Vampire Weekend-meets-Fleet Foxes musical stylings. “Camera Talk” started things off on the right foot, and you can’t deny the afro-pop sensibilities. “This is insane!” Rice exclaimed. “This is the biggest crowd we’ve played by far.” He echoed the sentiments of Foster the People’s Mark Foster from the day before. Humbled and gracious is the best way to describe the young acts that played Lollapalooza. And mustached. -Justin Gerber

Chuckie – Perry’s – 5:45 p.m.

Photo by Derek Staples

So, when exactly did moshing and crowd surfing become part of the dance music community? Because I definitely missed the memo. Sure, the bass monsters, like Friday performer Skrillex, can get revelers heated, but one would expect the hip-hop/house arrangements courtesy of Surinese-Dutch DJ Chuckie to result in a more subtle dance party. Chuckie’s deep-house set began with a remix of David Guetta’s “One Love”, then flowed into a mashup of his own “I Like the Way You Move to the Drum” with Justice vs. Simian’s “We Are Your Friends”. Other remixes included Daft Punk’s “Around the World”, the crowd-pleaser “Where’s Your Head At”, originally done by The Bassment Jaxx, Dead Prez’s “Bigger Than Hip Hop”, and “Warp 1.9″, which many in attendance recalled from the Bloody Beetroots’ Friday performance. Chuckie cultivated an amazing flow, but next time, a tiny bit more dancing room would be much appreciated. -Derek Staples

Ellie Goulding – Google + – 6:00 p.m.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

It happens every year at Lollapalooza: A big fish swims in a small pond. For 2011, the tradition continues with the UK’s latest addictive export, Ellie Goulding. Through power pop numbers “Lights”, “Salt Skin”, and “Starry Eyed”, the 24-year-old multi-instrumentalist — yep, she sings, plays guitar, and hits a drum (sometimes) –bottled up the hearts of every male and female that walked by the Google + Stage. Was it really that hard, though? Try watching one of Goulding’s videos; within two minutes you’re in love. Now, imagine what it’s like onstage. If her cute-as-hell wardrobe didn’t win you over (Those leopard print platform shoes? Puh-lease!), then her little sound bites worked their magic. When she exclaimed, “You’ve been fucking brilliant,” a thousand Americans let her know she’s more than welcome in the States. Some might have offered her a place to stay, too, but yeah, let’s not go there. -Michael Roffman

Lykke Li – Google + – 7:15 p.m.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

The Google + Stage was blessed with the presence of two great back-to-back pop acts. After Ellie Goulding pawed at the crowd, Swedish femme Lykke Li made us work a little harder. Her gothic undertones and tom-centric grooves are easily digestable pop fare but far less “Baby you’re a firework!” than her contemporaries. The allure of Lykke Li is that gothic danger lurking beneath those hooks, made evident by her slithering about the stage in her flowing outfit–sultry and sad. When Li strummed the zither on “I Know Places”, the crowd was rapt in the newborn power being infused in the song. Not long after, though, we’re back to Li attacking her tom and getting everyone moving and shaking to “Youth Knows No Pain” mixed with Kanye’s “Power”. It was a great, brooding set that was as uplifting as it was noir. (n.b. Her cover of The Drifters’ “Please Stay” was inspired, fine, but a far cry from some of the other covers heard at the fest.) -Jeremy D. Larson

My Morning Jacket – Bud Light – 8:00 p.m.

My Morning Jacket is no stranger to the festival circuit, and they were a highly anticipated headliner for day two. The crowd at the Bud Light Stage consisted of fans that had been camped out most of the day waiting for the high-energy jammers to blow them away. When the time came, Jim James and company blasted onto the stage with the opening track to Circuital, “Victory Dance”, and barely took time to breathe as they barreled through song after song. James gave the band a five-minute break to tell the story about how his first concert experience was at Lollapalooza in 1994 and how it was “fucking amazing” to be playing here now in 2011. That was the only break they took.

Photo by Debi Del Grande

The set included tunes from their last four albums all played at a fevered and energetic pitch–everything from new tracks like “Circuital” and crowd favorite “Holdin on to Black Metal” to older tracks “Gideon” and “One Big Holiday”, the latter of which was used as an epic closing jam session. Jim James maintained a breakneck energy level throughout, jumping around the stage, shaking violently like a joyous born-again, and even adding a rock star knee slide across the stage that was met with crowd uproar and a stagehand placing a James Brown-esque cape over his shoulders. In the end, the crowd seemed completely content with the amazing set, while the band was soaked head to toe in sweat: a true sign of a job well done. -Nick Freed

Pretty Lights – Perry’s – 8:30 p.m.

More than ever, the Pretty Lights moniker is fitting for Derek Vincent Smith’s unique fusion of funk, soul, and electro. Perched atop a wall of ever-changing visuals, Smith bangs away at his controllers and dual laptops, as multiple towers of light dazzle grind-happy, well-baked fans. Due to the complexity of the new rig–a look of concern was recognizable on the face of at least one of the stage crew–Smith took the stage 10 minutes late but was still received with a boisterous reaction.

Photo by Derek Staples

With only an hour to perform, Smith shelved his growing list of popular music remixes, choosing instead to start the set with “High School Art Class”, and then he continued to fill the city’s skies with tracks from across his already expansive catalog, including “How We Do” and the Chicago-inspired “More Important Than Michael Jordan” off of Filling Up the City Skies, Passing By Behind Your Eyes‘ ”Sunday School”, and the hip-hop-heavy ”Hot Like Dimes” from Spilling Over Every Side. The vibrant set selection kept the earlier moshers at bay, offering those up front with a sense of relief and a little more safety in cozying up with friends old and new. -Derek Staples

Eminem – Music Unlimited – 8:30 p.m.

Photo by Ashley Garmon

A vast majority of those Lollapaloo’ers squeezed into Grant Park’s South Side on Saturday night were raised on Eminem. Hell, my first CD purchase was his 1999 breakout, The Slim Shady LP. But the days of Eminem as Slim Shady/Stan/a captivating yet terrifying rapper who blew minds and caused a generation to bleach their hair (me included) left us long ago. Unfortunately, the Detroit-bred rapper has struggled to find a new identity–sobriety and maturity are double-edged swords–and his headlining performance at Lollapalooza was both unfocused and uninspiring.

The 90-minute set was in part a real-time commercial for Relapse; Eminem’s hype man, D12′s Mr. Porter (aka Kon Artis), has no qualms of squeezing a CD sales pitch into the middle of every song. Another 15 minutes were dedicated to hearing how loud the crowd could scream. Right after Eminem reached back to two of his most exposing narratives, “Cleanin’ Out My Closet” and “The Way I Am”, pop super star Bruno Mars showed up for a good 180 seconds, dishing out a glitzy chorus for Bad Meets Evil’s “Lighters”. There was a tribute to Nate Dogg, then a brief performance of Dr. Dre’s “I Need a Doctor” (sans Dr. Dre). And then, for the most uncomfortable part of the performance, Eminem “tried” to “relapse.”

“I love Chicago so much because Chicago and Detroit are so close to one another, there are so many similarities,” Eminem explained. Apparently, this provided a good enough reason to relive the glory days by “relapsing,” with Eminem then asking the crowd, “Can I relapse with you tonight?” It gets better: After swigging a giant bottle of voda, he proceeded to “leak” through his hoodie. “Give my man a hand for staying sober this long,” followed Kon Artis. Not even his 8 Mile acting chops could save this one.

Eminem relapsed anyway, capping off his set with “My Name Is”, “The Real Slim Shady”, and “Without Me”. For the encore, the rapper dished out his underdog anthem “Lose Yourself”; the song ends with the line “You can do anything you set your mind to.” If Eminem’s goal was to awkwardly bridge two eras that couldn’t be more different, then mission accomplished. -Alex Young

Photo by Dave Mead

Beirut – Google + – 8:45 p.m.

Photo by Debi Del Grande

I have never seen a crowd go nuts for trumpets. Trumpets! Every time Beirut‘s Zach Condon and his horn section would put those things to their lips, people just screamed as if doleful gypsy/mariachi music was the only answer for anything ever. When Condon and his fellow horn section about-faced, stood bolt-upright, and sounded off on “The Shrew”, it was like the crowd was welcoming a guest artist onstage. But, you know, classically trained musicians and composers getting a chance to show off in a headlining spot at Lollapalooza certainly is an occasion worth honoring at every opportunity.

Beirut’s show was a virtuosic display of musicianship, songwriting, and showmanship all while not shoving theatrics and hype down the crowd’s throat (and considering who they were up against, there was a very big turnout for these guys). Condon’s wealth of talent reared its head at every turn, from the drunken waltzes of their earlier material to the chamber-pop celebrations from their latest LP, Rip Tide. The die-hards swooned and sang along to the classics like “Elephant Gun” and the heart-squeezer “Postcards From Italy”, the latter of which purportedly underscored a marriage proposal in the audience. It was a perfect setting for Beirut, not too big to get swallowed but big enough for their strident brass to echo through the crowd.

Photo by Debi Del Grande

I think “East Harlem” might be the best song they’ve recorded, and hopefully it’ll flex a bit more live in the future, as it leaves plenty of room for some improvisation. My only qualm with Beirut’s show is that it seemed scripted and stiff at times. For as talented as everyone is, I’m surprised they didn’t take the opportunity to unpackage their songs a bit more and let sections of songs breathe into the night. Having a tight show has its perks, though, like keeping the Lolla audience rapt for an entire show plus encore. Must be the trumpets. -Jeremy D. Larson

Titus Andronicus – Reggie’s – 11:00 p.m.

Photo by Jeremy D. Larson

I’ve seen Titus Andronicus five or six times now and was kind of just going to see them raze a small club, but it turns out that it was a pretty special show, as the NJ arena punkers trotted out two new songs. Both were (comparatively) shorter, furious, east coast drunken punk burners, so get excited for that. Of note, too, was the new bass player, who blended well with the group, the commitment Patrick Stickles still has to these golden songs he’s been playing for well over a year on the road, and the cover of Nirvana’s “Breed”, which, if they forgo at Lolla, will be the worst decision they’ve ever made. Another great Titus show in the books. -Jeremy D. Larson

Foo Fighters – Metro – 11:00 p.m.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

“I gotta be honest,” a sweaty, breathless Dave Grohl digressed. “I was kind of looking forward to this, instead.” He wasn’t alone in his sentiments. As the lucky hundreds attested, Foo Fighters‘ Saturday pre-show at the Metro–announced less than 72 hours prior–may have set an unapproachable benchmark for the weekend. With a full performance of the band’s latest acclaimed LP, Wasting Light, a rotary’s worth of hits, and one dazzling opening set by The Joy Formidable to boot, well, you sort of forget about the dried mud on your shoes and ankles.

Amicable as ever, Grohl ingested the surrounding die-hard fanaticism feverishly. It was rare to see him without that hyena-like smile of his or without a chummy quote that always incited laughter. He couldn’t help but note the difference in setting, especially since his arena rocking troupe would be performing to thousands a mere 21 hours later. “You see, tomorrow night we only got two hours, but tonight we can play for as long as we fucking want.” Enthusiastic roars were near-deafening. It was a mini arena rock show.

After being tied down to the stage for Wasting Light and dishing out seven solid hits (“All My Life”, “Learn to Fly”, and “The Pretender”, to name a few), the straggly hair guru abandoned his post during the jammy midsection of “Stacked Actors”, appearing on the balcony above to duel on his guitar with Chris Shiflett, who remained onstage below. Think Bruce “The Boss” Springsteen connects with his fans? Try this on for size: To get back to the stage, Grohl handed his Gibson to adoring fans below, where he trusted them to deliver it to him onstage as he made his way back. It was returned sans a knob, but hey, it was the thought that counted.

The midnight oil could only burn for so long. Two-and-a-half hours in, even Grohl seemed wrecked, adding, “How many songs are we doing? Shiiit.” Still, Taylor Hawkins, more or less a mustachioed drum machine at this point, managed to ignite an electrified closer in “Everlong”. There was no following that. Before he walked off, Grohl waved and said, “Thank you for letting us practice with you.” No problemo; just keep us in the loop for next rehearsal. -Michael Roffman

Gallery by Heather Kaplan

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Sunday, August 7th

The Joy Formidable – Bud Light – 1:00 p.m.

Photo by Brad Bretz

The sun was bright for the Welsh trio’s set, and they met the heat with a towering wall of poppy guitar-gaze and pysch.Ritzy Bryan’s vocals are sharp and powerful, dwarfed only by the sheer volume she pulls from her guitar. It sounded like 100 Fender Strats coming out of the speaker, especially during the second half of “Austere” where the guitar tones were so thick you could have stood on them. Her happiness and elation to be playing Lollapalooza was endearing, and she played for keeps during the finale and smashed that magic guitar against a gong upstage as three black cat heads inflated around the band. A perfect primer to a a very rock-centric day. -Jeremy D. Larson

Rival Schools – Playstation – 1:45 p.m.

Photo by Brad Bretz

And I didn’t really want Joy Formidable to end, so I kind of approached Rival Schools with a bit of a “you don’t love me like my real dad does” vibe. They are in many ways like a step-parent, trying their best to fit in and do a good job appealing to everyone, but it just isn’t the same as, well, real music. It wasn’t as bad as all that, but it was a rather toothless outing that could desperately have used at least some hardcore touches that the band members tout in their artist bio. I think those corners could be sharpened a bit to just get out of the murky waters of indie pop-punk. -Jeremy D. Larson

Exclusive: Rival Schools Interview – Frontman Walter Schreifels discusses what’s next for Rival Schools, festivals and touring, and the alleged third studio LP from Quicksand.

Ryan Bingham and the Dead Horses – Music Unlimited – 2:15 p.m.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

Ryan Bingham and his bandmates came dressed for a show at a local pub, with Bingham’s cowboy boots as their most telling accessory. They wound up playing one of the main stages at Lollapalooza and kept the audience involved with their alt-country brand. The extended jam during the mid-tempo “Bluebird” saw their lead guitarist attempt to jump upon a speaker, only to slip off in spectacular fashion. He leapt back up and kept playing through the rest of the song, the crowd roaring with approval. The weather was at its hottest during this set, the sun at its brightest, but it wouldn’t last much longer. -Justin Gerber

Lia Ices – BMI – 2:30 p.m.

Photo by Brad Bretz

First, Lia Ices is wearing an evening gown, which effectively makes everyone in the crowd look like her hand servants. Second, the lovely Ms. Ices should really be surrounded by melty wax candles and flowing, slow-motion fabric. As an unapologetic balladeer, Ices cooed and crooned into the shade of the small BMI Stage, evoking a Tori Amos timbre often but adding her own unique vocal quirks–like a quick leap into her upper register at the end of a phrase. If you wanted an escape from the clamor of eager-beaver rock and roll, Ices’ melancholic dirges were your best bet. Her version of Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here” felt right at home, which is not often said when that song is touched on at a festival. -Jeremy D. Larson

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – Sony – 3:00 p.m.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

Shortly after three in the afternoon, the sugary synths of “Heart in Your Heartbreak” coated the fetid southern fields, where New York’s The Pains of Being Pure at Heart reconstructed its latest LP, Belong, onstage. With a crowd as apathetic as the band’s music, frontman Kip Berman kept things relatively “chill”, leaving most of the talking to keyboardist Peggy Wang. It wasn’t like he had a chance to speak, either. Thick slices of distortion concealed much of Berman’s vocals, especially on 90′s burners like “Heaven’s Gonna Happen Now”, “My Terrible Friend”, and “Come Saturday”. It was odd seeing an act that capitalizes on moody noise pop both outdoors and under a lethal, unforgiving sun–though, in hindsight, somewhat humorous, given the sludgy downpours that would follow hours later. However, the quintet’s ample followers enjoyed the set, even clapping at a few beats, which is more than anyone should expect from a shoegazing crowd. Wang appreciated this, exclaiming, “This is the best crowd we’ve ever had.” Well, they have that…which is nice. -Michael Roffman

Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Jr. – Google + – 3:15 p.m.

Photo by Brad Bretz

Shtick aside (and that may take a while ), Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. have the most chutzpa out of any young band I saw at Lollapalooza. Their carpe diem attitude was so sincere I almost pitied them, and I would have if it weren’t for their fully fleshed-out live show complete with perhaps the most fun cover of the weekend, Steve Winwood’s “Higher Love”. Thousands of bubbles blew out from the front of their stage while they delivered happy-go-lucky indie synth-pop that drew more and more people in by the minute. Though they will probably be remembered as the band with the “Your Ad Here” t-shirts, the skeleton-masked helpers, and their band name alone, their closer “Nothing But Our Love” was a damn near perfect song. -Jeremy D. Larson

The Cars – Music Unlimited – 4:00 p.m.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

It’s easy to rag on a group of four old guys. It’s easier when the four old guys act, well, old. For all the hoopla surrounding their reunion, one would like to think Ric Ocasek returned to The Cars for a reason. If one were to find that reason at Lollapalooza, they’d be hard-pressed. With perfect weather and a hungry audience, the legendary Boston quartet had the perfect opportunity to repeat what Devo accomplished in 2010: reclaim their fame. Unfortunately, given the snail-like renditions of “Good Times Roll” and “My Best Friend’s Girl” early on, it quickly became apparent that wasn’t going to be the case. To be fair, keyboardist Greg Hawkes at least made some attempts to kick things up a notch, but it was the stoic nature of Ocasek that soured things. The prolific songwriter lurched forward through each hit as if he were a depressed animatronic on display, hardly acknowledging his dedicated fans or his music. By the time “Just What I Needed” or “Moving in Stereo” whizzed by, so did the crowds. -Michael Roffman

12th Planet – Perry’s – 4:00 p.m.

Photo by Derek Staples

Touted as America’s first king of dubstep, 12th Planet (born John Dadzie) didn’t work into his set, he simply took to the controls and performed a brand-new dubstep production. With the track blasting, Dadzie stepped atop his setup and hyped the crowd of bass fiends. In between his own bass-heavy electro production, Dadzie once again delivered a slowed-down, chopped-up remix of The Bloody Beetroots’ “Warp 1.9″ to the Perry’s faithful and closed out his set with “All of the Lights” by Kanye West, Rihanna, and the evening’s stage closer, KiD CuDi. Throughout the performance, Dadzie was continually working the crowd, getting the audience to jump, calling out beat drops, and spending a considerable amount of time at the front of the stage communicating with fans. -Derek Staples

Cage the Elephant – Playstation – 5:15 p.m.

Photo by Brad Bretz

As Sunday afternoon strolled by, the northern section of Grant Park hosted some of its largest crowds–just as a conglomerate of deadly clouds circulated nearby. Perhaps it was a combination of Flogging Molly fans leaving that band’s set at the Bud Light Stage and the influx of fans turning out for the Cage the Elephant‘s program, but whatever the reason, it was an ocean of sticky flesh for as far as the eye could see. Opening song “In One Ear” grabbed everyone’s attention, though the line “We ain’t got the tunes that’s goin’ to put us on the map” was apparently inaccurate. Halfway through the set, those trusty clouds delivered, and the rain came pouring down. However, like every other act, the band played on. The difference? You can’t beat that hungry, dedicated crowd; no wonder Matthew Shultz jumps into them religiously.  -Justin Gerber

Best Coast – Google + – 5:45 p.m.

Photo by Brad Bretz

Best Coast may have had one of the poppiest sounds at Lollapalooza, but the band was greeted with a torrential downpour that lasted for the entirety of their set. “You can tell your grandkids that you saw a band known for singing about the sun play in the rain at Lollapalooza in 2011,” joked frontwoman Bethany Cosentino. Older audience members (CoS staff included) huddled under umbrellas while gangs of teenagers jubilantly skanked and played in the mud, all while the band blazed through California pop punk gems such as “Bratty B” and the apt-titled “When the Sun Don’t Shine”. The music itself was moodier than on record, with Cosentino’s vocals and Bob Bruno’s guitar both taking on a more ghostly tone. The spacious sound made for compelling juxtaposition; melancholy renditions of sunny songs played in the rain while a celebration happened in the mud. Rays of sun burst through the trees as soon as closer “When I’m With You” began, capping off one of the most memorable and uplifting sets of the festival. -Dan Caffrey

Busy P – Perry’s – 6:00 p.m.

Photo by Derek Staples

Pedro Winter, better known in clubs worldwide as Busy P, is the manager/owner of France’s Ed Banger Records and is currently on a mission to bring real dance music back to the United States. Winter’s electro-house tracks kept the bass on medium, with more emphasis on the middle and high end, resulting in bright bangers more fit for booty shaking than crowd surfing. The pinnacle of the performance came near the end when the first few bars of Rage Against the Machine’s “Killing in the Name” crept over the loud speakers, and the entire crowd screamed the first few verses in their entirety. Let’s all hope that some more French-electro makes its way to Lolla 2012. Well, one big name would do. -Derek Staples

Arctic Monkeys – Music Unlimited – 6:00 p.m.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

The rain from early in the morning returned late afternoon and soaked all concertgoers straight through what limited clothing they had and turned the field in front of the Music Unlimited Stage into a stinking mud pit. Unfortunately, it also delayed the Arctic Monkey’s set for nearly 20 minutes. The boys from “Highfield, Sheffield, Australia” (as lead singer Alex Turner put it) didn’t let the delay ruin their moment. After blasting through new song “Library Pictures”, Turner returned to the mic to say, “Thank you all so much. We have a short amount of time, so we’re just going to get to it.” The band sounded tight, and Turner was playful and upbeat. The set included highlights “She’s Thunderstorms” (Turner dedicated it to Mother Nature with a fantastic, sardonic laugh), “Crying Lightning”, and set closer “When the Sun Goes Down”. They were the perfect band to get the crowd to shake off the water and mud in order to get back to the business of rocking. -Nick Freed

Modeselektor – Perry’s – 6:00 p.m.

Photo courtesy of Lollapalooza

One of the bonuses of a DJ set is the lack of set change-over time. Not even two minutes after Busy P left the table, Gernot Bronsert and Sebastian Szary of Modeselektor were already declaring the benefits of “German engineering.” The duo’s set was unlike any performance beneath the massive tent over the three-day festival, based predominantly in mid-tempo IDM. The 75-minute set was mixed atop earth-rattling bass, and neither Bronsert nor Szary were thinking about letting up, even as a torrential downpour soaked everyone in attendance. Modeselektor demonstrated just how much they love their audience as they flipped everyone the bird during “Black Block”; we all chose to take it as a compliment. As the crowd dispersed to seek shelter from the rain, or catch the day’s headliners, the duo had one powerful request: “We need the bass drum! We need the hardcore!”  The rare American performance featured custom visualizations, including the ape face, dripping blood over a static whiteout, and a dark forest scene near the set’s conclusion. -Derek Staples

Explosions in the Sky – Sony – 7:00 p.m.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

Unlike Best Coast, whose sunny sound was fascinatingly offset by the rain, Explosions in the Sky is characterized by dramatic instrumental sweep that felt right at home in the storm. As the band energetically thrashed through opuses of cinematic ether, the clouds swirled, and the mud thickened. When they closed with “The Only Moment We Were Alone”, one couldn’t help but picture the Dillon Panthers trudging through the state playoffs and heartbreak with the band’s fans on the field. -Dan Caffrey

Foo Fighters – Music Unlimited – 8:00 p.m.

Photo by Heather Kaplan

After a merciful reprieve, the rain returned a few songs into Foo Fighters’ headlining performance. Dave Grohl wasn’t phased. “I don’t give a fuck if it’s raining tonight,” he howled to the thousands of adoring fans getting drenched. The feeling was mutual, as plenty leapt up and down throughout the band’s set – especially on a rousing, iconic cut of “My Hero”, just as the torrential downpour hit the hardest. A jam session during “Stacked Actors” put My Morning Jacket to shame, and the chaotic lights during “White Limo” rivaled that of Coldplay’s performance two nights earlier (well, maybe not that so much).

Photo by Heather Kaplan

After playing nearly three hours the night before, the ageless group didn’t seem to be dealing with any exhaustion. Grohl still delivered his screams and shouts during every song but dialed back when the moment called for it, notably for the solo-electric intro to “Times Like These”, before the band returned to blast the song into the rain-soaked fans. As for the new songs, “Bridges Burning” proved to be a worthy intro, and “Walk” seems destined to become a staple for future live shows. Foo Fighters stole the weekend with their passionate shows at the Metro late Saturday night and the Music Unlimited Stage on Sunday. Hell, they might have stolen the whole year. -Justin Gerber

deadmau5 – Bud Light – 8:30 p.m.

Photo by Brad Bretz

It has been rare for an electronic artist to headline at Lollapalooza, so deadmau5 seemingly had something to prove Sunday evening. Wearing his customary LED-laden mau5head, deadmau5 (aka Joel Zimmerman) was surrounded by visualizers. Like the tension and acceleration of a deadmau5 performance, the visualizers were only meant to highlight the tracks, not as a crutch to make the set palpable. Zimmerman chose not to bring along a live drummer for the set, a feature that has prevailed during his sets at other electronic festivals, but he did bring along vocalist SOFI. Roughly midway through the performance, the lovely SOFI came onstage to sing “SOFI Needs a Ladder” followed by  ”One Trick Pony”, each off deadmau5′s latest album, 4×4=12.

Photo by Brad Bretz

After SOFI left the stage, Zimmerman paid tribute to another legendary electronic Lollapalooza headliner by remixing “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger” by Daft Punk. Next, Zimmerman traded the mau5head for a white bed sheet for “Ghosts ‘n’ Stuff”, which also featured giant Pac-Man-esque blobs floating their way around the stage. But a deadmau5 set is more than progressive-house thumpers. Zimmerman mixed in electrifying piano/synth runs, techno tracks, and the surprisingly refreshing “Raise Your Weapon”. And the mau5 did it all while sporting an ironic kitty tee. -Derek Staples

The Culture of Lollapalooza – Part 1

Gallery by Brad Bretz

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The Culture of Lollapalooza – Part 2

Gallery by Heather Kaplan

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Lollapalooza by Windows Phone

Images created using Apict & Colorizer

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Other notable acts include Patti Smith, Empire of the Sun, Cut Copy, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, Okkervil River, Big Sean, and Two Door Cinema Club.

Plus, James Murphy, Calvin Harris, Ghostland Observatory, !!!, and the Teddybears will hold down the festival’s Dance Forest.

Interested attendees must first “like” Virgin Mobile Live on Facebook before they are eligible to secure free tickets, which will be available on Friday, July 15th at 10:00 AM EDT. Virgin Mobile customers and Virgin Mobile Festival ticket holders from the past five years will be invited via text and email to a private “free-sale” (much like a pre-sale, except free) to be held on Thursday, July 14th at 10:00 AM EDT.

Also available will be a limited number of FreeFest Premium Ticket Packages (aka VIP passes), which include early admission to festival grounds and souvenir items. You can buy these tickets at the Merriweather or Ticketfly websites.

The film, which is directed by Kevin Kerslake and airs 9:00 p.m. local time, will feature performances and interviews from the event. Performers include Deadmau5, Kaskade, Will.I.Am, Swedish House Mafia, Above & Beyond, Benny Benassi, Moby, Fedde Le Grand, Laidback Luke, Steve Aoki, TRVS x A-Trak, Duck Sauce, MSTRKRFT, Afrojack, and a special tribute to DJ AM.

The film will be shot at a private July 26th event at the Music Box in Los Angeles before hitting silver screens nationwide. Check out a PDF listing all theaters showing the film, and a teaser video here.

Promising “at least fifteen ‘headline-level’ artists of all music genres,” the immediate standouts are Deadmau5, Opeth, Jukebox the Ghost, Silverstein, The Head and The Heart, and Sharon Van Etten, in addition to Riot’s previously announced Descendents, Dead Milkmen, Naked Raygun, X performing their album Los Angeles, and others.

Other notables on the Philly F/M bill include Marissa Nadler, Hoots and Hellmouth, Thao With The Get Down Stay Down, Reading Rainbow, Nicos Gun and Viva Voce. Also appearing will be Buried Beds, White Birds, Toy Soldiers, Neutral Uke Hotel, Papertrees, and many more. You can see the full lineup on the Festival Outlook page.

The second incarnation of the Philly F/M Fest will run from September 22nd through the 25th, with Riot Fest falling on the 24th. Located mainly in the areas of Fishtown and Northern Liberties, the festivities will take place in over 15 indoor and outdoor locations, including The Festival Pier, Trocadero Theater and World Café Live.

In addition, the first films to be shown during the four day event have been revealed. Included on the agenda are a Jay Reatard documentary entitled Better Than Something, Echotone about the culture of music in Austin, TX, The Replacements doc Color Me Obsessed, and a Dutch short about Dan Deacon called Hilvanbeek.

Tickets are currently listed at $80 and go on sale July 1st, and the price of admission includes access to RiotFest.

Deadmau5 needs to pay his mortgage, so he has mapped out yet another North American tour. Following a stint on the European festival circuit, the much celebrated DJ will return stateside in the first week of August for an appearance at Lollapalooza. From there, Deadmau5 will travel west, playing the San Francisco-based Outside Lands as well as headlining shows in Vancouver, Seattle, and Hollywood to close out the month. He’ll then hit the legendary Red Rocks Ampitheatre in Morrison, CO on August 30th before playing three shows in Texas and one-offs up the U.S. East coast. The trek is set to end November 5th in Toronto.

You can find all of Deadmau5′s confirmed tour dates below, and tickets are available via Ticketmaster.

Deadmau5 2011 Tour Dates:
05/29 – Las Vegas, NV @ XS Nightclub
06/03-05 – Nürburgring & Nürnberg, DE @ Rock am Ring & Rock im Park
06/11-13 – Landgraaf, NL @ Pinkpop Festival
06/18 – Milan, IT @ ElectroVenice
06/25 – Wohlen, CH @ Touch the Air Festival
06/29-07/01 – Arendal, NO @ Hove Festival
06/30-07/03 – Gdynia, PL @ Open’er Festival
06/30-07/03 – Roskilde, DE @ Roskilde Festival
07/08-10 – Kinross, UK @ T in the Park
07/08-10 – Naas, IE @ Oxegen
08/05-07 – Chicago, IL @ Lollapalooza
08/12 – Vancouver, BC @ PNE Forum
08/13-14 – San Francisco, CA @ Outside Lands Festival
08/18 – Seattle, WA @ Paramount Theatre
08/25 – Hollywood, CA @ Hollywood Palladium
08/30 – Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre
09/01 – Phoenix, AZ @ Phoenix Convention Center
09/08 – Atlanta, GA @ The Tabernacle
09/14 – Austin, TX @ Austin Music Hall
09/16 – Houston, TX @ Verizon Wireless Theater
09/17 – Dallas, TX @ The Palladium Ballroom
09/23 – Philadelphia, PA @ Festival Pier at Penn’s Landing
10/01 – Montreal, QC @ Metropolis
10/05 – New York, NY @ Roseland Ballroom
10/12 – Boston, MA @ House of Blues
10/20 – Detroit, MI @ The Fillmore
10/26 – San Diego, CA @ Soma
11/05 – Toronto, ON @ Rogers Centre

Other heavyweights include A Perfect Circle, Bright Eyes, The Cars, Big Audio Dynamite, Ween, Arctic Monkeys, Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley and Nas, Explosions in the Sky, Death From Above 1979, Deftones, Cee-Lo Green, Beirut, Flogging Molly, OK Go, The Kills, and Cold War Kids.

A number of indie favorites are confirmed, including The Mountain Goats, Atmosphere, Titus Andronicus, Ratatat, Best Coast, Crystal Castles, White Lies, Lykke Li, Local Natives, Black Lips, Delta Spirit, Sleigh Bells, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Wye Oak, The Drums, Smith Westerns, The Naked and Famous, Phantogram, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr., The Joy Formidable, Young the Giant, and Cults.

If that weren’t enough, Fall Out Boy’s Patrick Stump, Ryan Bingham & The Dead Horses, Grace Potter & the Nocturnals, Cage the Elephant, Rival Schools, The Chain Gang of 1974, Friendly Fires, Portugal. The Man, Manchester Orchestra, Two Door Cinema Club, Noah & The Whale, Lissie, Foster the People, Mayer Hawthorne & the County, Fences, City and Colour, and Gold Motel are also confirmed.

This year’s edition will also feature an expansion of Perry’s Place, the festival’s electronic-oriented stage. Designed to accommodate a crowd of 15,000, the area will host the likes of Girl Talk, Kid Cudi, Pretty Lights, Skrillex, The Glitch Mob, Jay Electronica, Modeselektor, Daedulus, Feed Me, Busy P, and Joachim Garraud.

Find a complete list of confirmed acts at our Festival Outlook.

Three day and VIP passes are priced at $215.00 and $850.00, respectively, and are now available via the festival’s website.

Set for August 12-14 at the historic Golden Gate Park, the festival will be led by Arcade Fire, Muse, and Phish, the latter of which will perform two sets over the course of the weekend. Other heavyweights include The Black Keys, Deadmau5, MGMT, The Decemberists, Arctic Monkeys, The Roots, Girl Talk, Erykah Badu, and Beirut.

Also on the bill are musical icons John Fogerty and The Orignal Meters, along with the recently reunited Big Audio Dynamite. Plus, STS9, Big Boi, Major Lazer, OK Go, Little Dragon, Josh Ritter & The Royal City Band, !!!, Best Coast, Warren Haynes Band, Sia, and Mavis Staples will also play.

If that weren’t enough, Old 97’s, Charles Bradley, Phantogram, The Vaccines, Toro Y Moi, Vetiver, Wye Oak, Grouplove, Ty Segall, Junip, The Joy Formidable, STRFKR, Latyrx (featuring Lyrics Born & Lateef), and The Greyboy Allstars are also confirmed, as are The Limousines, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Pajama Party, The Infamous Stringdusters, Collie Buddz, Lord Huron, The Fresh & Onlys, Ximena Sariñana, Orgone, Ana Tijoux, and Tamaryn.

Three-day and VIP passes will go on sale Thursday April 14th at 12:00 p.m. PST via the festival’s website. A significant portion of every ticket sold will directly benefit San Francisco’s Recreation and Park Department.

Launched on the sands of South Beach in 1999 by business partners Alex Omes and Russell Faibisch as a Winter Music Conference closing event, Ultra grew into a full-day experience the following year,  then relocated to Miami’s downtown in 2001 to accommodate for the rapidly growing audience. In the mid-2000′s, Ultra fought off the festival challengers Bang and The Global Gathering, and in 2007 added a second day, cultivating an international brand.

In 2010, Ultra far overshadowed the week-long Winter Music Conference, to the tune of 100,000 attendees to a meager 3,763.The festival also solidified itself as a truly international series, hosting UMF events in electronic meccas Brazil and Ibiza. So, it was really not too big a surprise when Ultra 2011 sold out 34 days prior to its March 25^th kickoff.

But Ultra couldn’t roll into its 13^th anniversary without some unfortunate events. The Winter Music Conference decided to move its dates up by two weeks, forcing many participants and some attendees to choose between the two events. And apparently due to a conflict in booking fees, stage selection, and set time, The Swedish House Mafia decided to forgo Ultra in 2011, for their own “Masquerade Motel: One Night Stand”, which drew a sold-out 12,000 member crowd, and coincided with deadmau5′s Saturday headlining slot. And if those weren’t enough obstacles for Ultra’s organizers and promoters, due to construction at the Miami’s Bicentennial Park, the event’s homesite, organizers were forced to pack 200 acts across seven stages, and the expected 150,000 attendees in an area roughly two-thirds that in the past. No one ever implied setting up a massive festival was easy, just ask the folks behind Pemberton, Rothbury, or any of the other fallen US festivals.

Photo by Craig Yunger

Speaking with the Miami New Times days before the launch, co-founder Faibisch seemed undaunted by the challenges. With plans for the first ever Asian UMF event, Faibisch is set on building the diverse global brand from Miami,“Ultra Music Festival is all about the Magic City. We are very committed to keeping Ultra in Downtown Miami.”

So, with the stages up, set-times announced, and day-glow outfits planned, there is really just one remaining question: Can we last three days?

- Derek Staples
News Writer

Friday, March 26th

If you have ever been to Miami, Ultra weekend or otherwise, you already know that South Florida is one massive traffic jam. To make travel even more cumbersome, Miami International Airport suffered a massive fuel fire Thursday morning that canceled over 175 flights, delaying arrival for many attendees until late Friday night or even Saturday afternoon. With an opening day bill featuring Fedde le Grand, Benny Benassi, CSS, Röyksopp, Tiësto, Trentemøller, STS9, and legends Erasure and Duran Duran, the delay was a massive setback for many both domestic and international travelers.

The restructuring of the venue grounds, which has remained fairly constant since 2007, was surprisingly beneficial. While visually toned down slightly, the repositioning of the Main Stage along the southern boundaries of the park allowed for a much better flow of crowd traffic between the smaller house oriented stages on the Northern end – not to mention, given the reduced diameter of the park, it kept the sound from bleeding. What’s more, 2011′s Live Stage, which has been notoriously difficult to reach due to Main Stage crowds in the past, was secluded on a rocky embankment with Biscayne Bay on two sides, maximizing the live acoustics and shaping a more communal experience for attendees that appreciate more hands-on musicianship.

Apart from the additional day, 2011′s most recognizable change was the “two-story” Carl Cox Tent. Taking a few cues from Coachella’s Sahara Stage, the tent doubled in height, held 10,000 attendees, and increased the visuals overhead to create a more comfortable, fan/artist friendly environment.

The restructuring of the venue led to just one major issue: bathroom breaks. Dancing outside in the hot South Florida sun, it is definitely advisable to stay hydrated (especially when ravers brought along their friend Molly), but when attendees had to relieve themselves, waits often lasted longer than 30 minutes due to the bottlenecked placement. This is one problem that must be resolved prior to Ultra 2012, which has already been set for March 23^rd, 24^th, and 25^th.

Similar to Austin’s SXSW, Ultra’s talent flows into the host city’s streets, nightclubs, and anywhere else with a decent sound system. With a few extra pairs of eyes in Miami to assist in coverage, CoS was able to put the proverbial pen down and soak in the parties that kept feet moving, bodies swaying, and eyes dilated until sunrise…of Monday.

Fedde le Grand – Live Stage – 5:20 p.m.

With audiences still making their way into the venue, Fedde le Grand spun a fan-friendly remix-heavy set. Le Grand kept the set slightly toned down, especially compared to his Carl Cox performance on Saturday, but the audience reacted nicely to a remix of Empire of the Sun’s “Walking on a Dream” which slid effortlessly into “Otherside” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Laurent Garnier – Carl Cox & Friends Tent – 4:00 p.m.

Laurent Garnier embodies the international flair of Ultra. The 45-year-old French tech DJ first began spinning in Manchester, UK, and later fell in love with the Midwest, incorporating both Chicago House and Detroit Techno. With a three-hour long set to debut the newly redesigned Carl Cox tent, Garnier showcased the many sides of house music, keeping the audience moving, but providing ample mid-tempo repetition to keep bodies fresh for the rest of the weekend.

Holy Ghost! – Live Stage – 5:45 p.m

Ultra continued to broaden the lineup outside of traditional DJs in 2011 with an abundance of actual live talent. Holy Ghost!, originally formed by high school friends Nicholas Millhiser and Alexander Frankel out of Brooklyn as a studio only project, are still gelling as a four-piece live collective, but have amplified their energy from earlier LCD Soundsystem opening performances. Not every band with a live drummer and guitarist won over the Ultra crowd, but the live take on nu-disco anthem “Hold On” and “I Will Be Back” changed some minds, and helped add new fans to a quickly growing base.

Benny Benassi – Main Stage – 6:30 p.m.

Photo by Craig Yunger

Similar to Ultra 2010, Benny Bennassi took to the Main Stage with the bright Miami sun still beating down to work the audience into a sweaty, hard house hysteria. The dude is a legend, and sometimes he sticks to closely to his classic beats, but Friday evening Benassi kicked off his set with new bangers “Electroman” and “House Music”. Surprisingly, Benassi tipped his hat to what is next, remixing James Blake’s “Limit To Your Love”. But Benassi must have felt the track was about 40 BPM too slow, because he turned up the dial and knocked the fans with some electro-grime. Unlike the live performers and new acts like Rusko, Boys Noize, Simian Mobile Disco, Kaskade, or the rising masses of Colorado dub DJs, Benassi never really seems to be doing much on the decks. However, when you produce hits like “Satisfaction”, it’s perfectly acceptable to spend time checking texts during your set.

CSS – Live Stage – 7:00 p.m.

Sao Paolo’s CSS might get tired of being sexy, but fans always want a little more. Even with a sparse turnout of possibly about 100 – not enough bloops and bleeps for the typical attendee – singer Lovefoxxx tore through the outfit’s indie-dance staples. As “Jager Yoga” finished up, Lovefoxxx leapt into the crowd, and cracked a joke, politely asking what their favorite alcohol was. The band waited until about half-way into their set to play crowd-favorite “Music Is My Hot Hot Sex”. With the collective rocking, Lovefoxxx shed her leather coat, tore off her pants to reveal a pair of short denims, and rode the onstage lighting fixture – which was apparently as hot as CSS’s set.

Erasure – Main Stage – 7:30 p.m.

Friday night was not a good day for electronic legends. If the turnout for CSS was bad, the attendance for Erasure was almost disrespectful. Ultra has brought in fellow innovators like The Cure and Depeche Mode in the past, but the Main Stage area grew desolate as Andy Bell stepped up to the mic and the legendary Vince Clarke manned the programmer. Even with only a few hundred in attendance, Bell twirled around the stage as if he were performing for thousands. The production lacked some normal Erasure elements like glitter-throwing and multiple costume changes, but the group’s mystique was kept intact with Clarke’s five-piece red suit, Bell’s sequined Union Jack denim jacket and tank top, and the two backup singers resembling 1950′s carhops. Even after 25 years, Bell’s vocals are still amazing, and the flair in which he performs can only be topped by the best of mega-artists. While I try to take an objective view of the Ultra-culture, the lack of a crowd is further proof attendees are often more about the drug induced experience than listening to what the electro-world has to offer.

Röyksopp - Live Stage – 8:20 p.m.

Unlike 75% of the acts at Ultra, the vast majority of Friday’s crowd had never had the opportunity to experience Norway’s Röyksopp live. Whatever is in Norway’s water leads to some crazy creativity, and Röyksopp’s set was nothing less than mesmerizing, both musically and visually. The duo of Svein and Tjorbjor craft electronic mood music, ranging from the darkest of techno to much bouncier electro-pop tunes. In the live setting, the outfit takes fans by the gut and sets out on a visceral trip. The synthed out vocals and eerie costumes create a sense of haunting psychodelia, that they ease away with more easily digestible tracks like the super popular “Remind Me”. Accompanied by vocalist Anneli Drecker, Röyksopp stayed on stage for the one song encore performance of  “Tricky, Tricky”, which originally featured Fever Ray/The Knife’s Karin Andersson. As Drecker delivered the line “I’m about to lose it”, there was a mutual understanding and appreciation across the starry eyed crowd.

Duran Duran – Main Stage – 8:20 p.m.

Photo by Craig Yunger

Apparently, the promoters of Ultra missed the memo that live guitars and lyrics are now suitable raver repellant, because the Main Stage was empty for Duran Duran. The band opened with “Hungry Like The Wolf”, which predates roughly 70% of those on hand. The energy wasn’t there from the audience side, but Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes, and guest vocalist Anna Ross did their damnedest to keep those remaining from the Erasure set energized. Being 25, the set was like a soundtrack of adolescent car rides, with spot-on performances of “Girl Panic”, “Sunrise”, “Girls on Film”, and “Ordinary World”.

Trentemøller - Live Stage – 9:35 p.m.

Photo by Craig Yunger

Have you ever had a terrible brain freeze, but your beverage was so amazing that you just couldn’t stop drinking? Well, that is the easiest way to describe Trentemøller’s live performance. To define the sound is daunting – it hides in the dark shadows, and builds through both tribal drum beats and more minimal ambience, with added techno/breakbeat textures and live guitar riffs. At times, four of the five live members would all go at the drum kit at once, sending the track and the audience into a dizzying panic. Other times, it is all about the build, stretching four to the floor beats out for minutes. Trentemøller is not for the faint of heart, but have developed a sound that deserves to be explored by fans across musical genres.

Pendulum – Main Stage – 9:30 p.m.

If Australians are truly descended from the English penal colonies located there in the 19^th century, Pendulum demonstrated that social divide Friday night, finally bringing some energy to the Main Stage following the performances of Erasure and Duran Duran. Pendulum have strayed from their early live drum n’ bass and breakbeat days, into more of a Linkin Park knockoff, but their Ultra set was raw, brutal, and aggressive. In true Ultra style, the visuals brought the spectacle to the next level. With visuals of liquid metal rushing to coat the human skeleton, scorpions killing roaches, and other industrial imagery, Pendulum was striking fans on at least three senses – sight, sound, and due to epic bass, touch. Prior to performing “The Island Part 1”, Rob Swire announced that the track was “made specifically for nights like this.” As Ben Mount delivered the hook, “Left with no reason we come undone”, fans better understood Swire sentiment.

Tiësto

Photo by Craig Yunger

There is very little that hasn’t already been said about Tiësto, the man is truly a God in the field. He plays every mega-club, headlines festivals worldwide, and pretty much plays his signature feel-good dance music each and every year at Ultra. So, it’s best just to watch and enjoy.

(Shout out to Miami New Times for Live Stage video features)

Saturday, March 26th

The organizers of Ultra have never seemed too worried about schedule conflicts, with the sheer number of superstar DJs and growing number of must see live bands, creating a conflict free weekend would be a logistical nightmare. These schedule conflicts are often nullified by the ADHD that sets in upon entering the gate; fans perpetually wondering from stage to stage just to witness who is throwing down the dopest set. Even with the added day, schedule conflicts were abundant on Saturday -  Skrillex vs. Goldie, Boys Noize vs. Moby vs. Skream! And Benga, Cut Copy vs. Rusko vs. Underworld.

Don’t you wish all your problems had such guaranteed amazing outcomes?

Goldie – Tower of Ultra – 5:00 p.m.

Photo by Derek Staples

After hosting the house sound of UMF Korea Friday night, The Tower of Ultra was transformed into the home of Euro bass music Saturday evening. Backed with a pair of emcees/professional hype men, Goldie took to the Tower to construct his signature UK jungle and drum n’ bass beats. The emcee’s vocals added an extra layer for listeners to bite into, but sometimes it’s just better to let the bass in the lead.

Afrojack – Main Stage – 5:10 p.m.

Photo by Craig Yunger

At the age of 23, Dutch DJ Afrojack, born Nick van de Wall, has already earned acclaim worldwide as one of the 20 best DJs. Afrojack molds his own productions, but he excels at remixing popular artists across multiple genres. Clocking in at just over an hour, Afrojack sliced and diced tracks by The Black Eyed Peas, Daft Punk, Snoop Dogg, Pitbull, David Guetta, and even Imogen Heap with his razor-sharp tech-house tools.

Simian Mobile Disco – Live Stage – 5:45 p.m.

Photo by Craig Yunger

James Ford and Jas Shaw of Simian Mobile Disco had one of the more noticeable setups of the festival. Known for their analog productions, Ford and Shaw spent the majority of the show with their backs to the audience maneuvering around two large boxes filled with rows upon rows of various knobs and sliders. The duo utilized the device to deliver a mixture of both their earlier more club/electro-house tracks, “It’s the Beat” and “Hustler”, and their current much darker ambient techno productions of Delicacies. The guys are certainly perfecting their buildup, with fans ready to pounce as the duo break into more aggressive BPM.

Telekinetic Walrus – UMF Radio Stage – 6:00 p.m.

Ultra has always been proud to feature new local talent across the multiple smaller stages. Coming out of the University of Miami, Telekinetic Walrus combine electronic, jazz, and funk to make spectacular house party music. Like an updated Parliament Funkadelic with an oboe and some electronics, Telekinetic Walrus know how to start a party.

Kaskade – Main Stage – 6:10 p.m.

Photo by Craig Yunger

Whether in a club of 500 or headlining a festival of several thousand, Kaskade always delivers. Through his recent work with fellow progressive producer deadmau5, Kaskade has quickly moved up the ranks as one of the most in-demand live DJs. Not only for his style, but for the party atmosphere that he brings to the show. Crazy visuals were ongoing over Ultra weekend, but Kaskade went old school, sending out dozens of massive white balloons into the audience as he spun tracks including “I Remember”, The Ting Ting’s “Hands”, and even up and comer Skrillex’s “Scary Monsters & Nice Sprites”.

Moby – Carl Cox & Friends – 7:00 p.m.

Photo by Derek Staples

Moby’s fans can virtually be broken down into two camps – those who love Play, and those who have listened to Play but prefer to witness Moby set the radio tracks to the side and just deliver something fresh. Saturday’s performance was for the latter. Sporting a Minor Threat tee, Moby worked his set with the energy of a classic Minor Threat hardcore show. Even as electronic music evolves and new breeds of DJs break new ground, Moby remains relevant through continual innovation and cross over hits. Despite the noticeable grey whiskers of middle age setting in, Moby jumped the UFO shaped stage and worked the room. Bottom line: Moby brings the energy, and he expects the same in return.

Skream! + Benga – Tower of Ultra – 7:00 p.m.

Anyone who has listened to the new Britney Spears album understands that dub has made its way into American popular music; a feat probably not possible without the work of UK’s Skream! + Benga. The duo have been perfecting their dub step styles independently since the early 2000s, transitioning from the much darker birthplace of dub into a more melodically driven sound. That is not to say the two still do not possess the energy of their early dub bangers – going at their set so hard Saturday evening that they actually broke the fader button clean off the mixing board. But the guys are pros, and after a short a capella break lead by Benga, Skream! was back on the knobs seamlessly mixing the smooth melodies over the body rockin’ bass.

Afrobeta – UMF Radio Stage – 7:30 p.m.

Managed by the one of the execs of Ultra, Afrobeta have become the darlings of the UMF festival series. Being from Miami, Afrobeta brought several friends on stage during the set to help produce, add additional vocals, beatbox, or just whistle. They may not be headlining amphitheaters or mega clubs any time too soon, but the electro-pop duo have worked hard to create a unique sound, and an even more engaging live experience.

Cut Copy – Live Stage – 8:25 p.m.

Photo by Derek Staples

Thanks to Rusko setting up at the Tower of Ultra, the Live Stage opened up nicely for the bouncy beats of Cut Copy. Much like their older electro-pop counter parts Duran Duran and Erasure, Cut Copy arrived to Miami a little overdressed, considering Ultra has become nearly clothing optional for females. It is true that the Aussie’s just released the new album, Zonoscope, but the majority of fans remained to catch the more danceable tracks from their sophomore release, In Ghost Colors. New tracks like “Corner of the Sky” were well received, but when the four-piece live beast started playing “Lights and Music” and “Hearts on Fire”, lead singer Dan Whitford’s voice was nearly silenced by the sheer number of fans that knew every word and were more than willing to sing along.

Underworld – Main Stage – 8:45 p.m.

Photo by Craig Yunger

Deadmau5 may have been the official headliner of the Main Stage Saturday night, but fans of the seminal outfit Underworld traveled from countries around the globe to catch their penultimate performance. It’s understandably difficulty for Underworld to travel; they require an entire custom mobile soundboard for each performance. Underworld may only officially be Karl Hyde and Rick Smith, but it takes an entire team of producers, lurking in the shadows, to complete the band’s alternative dance tracks. Underworld started the night with a spot on performance of “Everything, Everything”, and continued to roll out the hits, including “Always Loved a Film”, “Two Months Off”, and, of course, “Born Slippy”. A stream of colorful, trippy, human-form visualizations synergized with Underworld ambient noise to dig deeper into the minds of the massive crowd. For a band called Underworld, they have an ability to pull lift a crowd about themselves into a communal cloud of electronic bliss.

Empire of the Sun – Live Stage – 9:45 p.m.

Photo by Craig Yunger

Empire of the Sun are less a band, and more of a musical experience, seemingly produced by Cirque de Soleil. The Australian performers write super catchy songs, too. Just one listen of “We Are the People” and you’ll be humming the hook for the next three days. However, the group also deliver one of the most spectacular live performances today. Multiple costume changes, light guitars, unbelievable backdrops, and Gaga-esque choreography have all become staples of Empire’s live sets. Sometimes amidst all the spectacle of Luke Steele a sense of the duo’s musical abilities can be lost, which is a shame because Nick Littlemore is one hell of a drummer.

Deadmau5 – Main Stage – 10:30 p.m.

Sunday March 27th

Body burned, brain fried, legs numb, keys/phone/wallet missing, friends possibly (and probably arrested), but onto day three.

Just one question: Can you last until the Chems?

Will.I.Am – Main Stage – 6:15 p.m.

Photo by Craig Yunger

Name alone should not place DJs on the Main Stage during Ultra. Will.I.Am is a decent DJ, especially when he is spinning tracks from the Black Eyed Peas, but the same sounds can probably be found at your local club on a busy Saturday night, even if that’s in the middle of Nebraska. Will.I.Am, you have a decent day job, just stick with it!

Steve Aoki – Live Stage – 6:35 p.m.

Photo by Craig Yunger

Looking at the draw to the Live Stage for Steve Aoki, and it seems the guy has become the king of the West Coast club banger. Whether working with other electro-heads like the Bloody Beetroots, or just tracking out his own techno remixes, Aoki fires on all cylinders all the time. The dude is perpetually running around the stage hyping the crowd, but always manages to get back to his Mac just as the next beat is about to drop. A note to Ultra: If you get Aoki to return in 2012, can fans see him rolling into dusk just to keep dehydration from all the jumping and dancing to a minimum?

Super Mash Bros. – Tower of Ultra – 6:30 p.m.

With the rise in popularity of Girl Talk, more and more mash-up artists are getting into the spotlight. And as their name implies, the Super Mash Bros. are all about the college-age pleasing mash-ups. Just in the short time spent in the Tower with the Bros., they cycled through Ja Rule, Genesis, Hanson, Lil John, and the East Side Boyz, and most likely a dozen other slightly less recognizable tracks. Unlike Girl Talk, who prefers to have the crowd on stage, the Bros.’ live act more closely resembled 2manyDJs and their video mash-ups montages.

Skrillex – Tower of Ultra – 7:30 p.m.

Photo by Craig Yunger

LA’s Skrillex was blowing minds all weekend with his own brand of Bass Music. Not grime, dub, dnb, or electro-house, the 23 year-old just does whatever he wants with the low end to keep teeth rattling. Thursday evening, he packed Miami’s Mekka for an afterparty, Saturday saw him packing the Live Stage, and then Sunday gave him a chance to perform a brand new track at the Tower of Ultra.

Crystal Castles – Live Stage – 8:05 p.m.

Photo by Craig Yunger

Still hobbled with an injured foot, and without the aid of their normal glaring light show, Crystal Castles could not deliver the full impact of their normal live performances. But the 1,200 mile trip was still pretty worth it. The near strobe-less set kept Ethan Kath and Alice Glass in the dark, with Glass seemingly more timid than usual to approach the crowd with her crutch. The crowd exploded as the intro for “XXXZXCUZX Me” filtered through the stage’s incredible sound system, but without the effects to distract audiences from Glass’s odd delivery style, some tracks just didn’t move the audience as anticipated.

The Glitch Mob – Tower of Ultra – 8:45 p.m.

The Glitch Mob have had the most dramatic shift in soundscapes compared to any other repeat performers at this year’s Ultra. Last year, the trio were still glitch-heavy bodyrocking remixers, but after the release of Drink the Sea, they have shifted to a more rhythmic, flowing production technique. On Sunday, a new breed of the Glitch arrived. Even though fans could not see their new live devices, the trio merged their two worlds, hitting “Animus Vox”, “We Swarm”, and “Fistful of Silence”, among others, with their old-school glitch effects. With inclusion of hip-hop vocals and beats, their sound has started to approach the hyphy movement of the late 90’s in San Francisco.

Beardyman – Live Stage – 9:10 p.m.

Beardyman is in a class all his own. Born Danny Foreman, he has mastered the art of beatboxing and uses the Korg Kaoss Pad 3 to live loop and sample his own vocals. The Briton also has a fondness for weed, speaking on the subject quite often, and sampling classic Bob Marley and other dub and stripped-down dancehall into his set.

MSTRKRFT – Live Stage – 9:30 p.m.

Photo by Craig Yunger

The duo only seemed to grow more ferocious with their time apart. Sharing a single laptop, and probably three packs of cigarettes, the Canadians just annihilated the packed crowd with their punk-fueled electro-house bangers. JFK and Al-P were relentless, pummeling the crowd with bass, tech effect shrills, and unruly drops. The set seemed absent of any mixes from their previous efforts,The Looks and Fist of God, so make sure to keep an ear to the ground for an upcoming third LP.

The Chemical Brothers – Main Stage – 10:30 p.m.

THE TIME HAS COME! No matter how many times you listen to Exit Planet Dust, Dig Your Own Hole, or the more recent Further, Tom Rowlands and Ed Simmons are going to straight up twist, turn, wreck, and turn your brain upside down. The 90 minute set had a slow build, with the massive Main Stage screen kept off to build a maddening level of suspense, until “Horse Power” dropped and all hell broke loose. There was no emotion or sense that was not somehow touched during the set. The Brothers’ visuals were truly beyond description – the massive scale, vivid colors, and total synchronization were a concert triumph on a level that has yet to be popularized on the US festival circuit. “Hey Boy, Hey Girl”, a track everyone at Ultra should know, sent the audience into a frenzy: glowsticks spinning, heads rocking, bodies bouncing, and voices screaming.

Photo by Craig Yunger

The show just continued to reach new levels of absurdity as each song built on the momentum of the last. Every second of the show seemed perfectly scripted, with seamless transitions for both the audio and the visual aspects of the performance. To separate the two does not seem fitting, as each part was equally important to the show as a whole. The set ended with radio favorites “Brothers Got to Work it Out” and “Block Rockin’ Beats”. Even after almost 30 hours of music, the set pulled every last drop of energy from the crowd, and captured the spirit so well, people would have stayed until the early working hours of Monday morning. Well, enough with the words, just know this…it must be witnessed.
——

Gallery by Craig Yunger

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It appears that the Foos could handle it all themselves but Joel Zimmerman apparently wanted to contribute to the madness. Hypetrak points out that the 30-year-old Canadian party starter better known as Deadmau5 has just remixed the Foo Fighters’ latest single, “Rope”. The regrind keeps frontman Dave Grohl’s vocal mostly intact, but the song’s reimagining is the type of pure club music bliss that begs to be a bonus track on a vintage CD single. The song’s hook becomes the perfect hand waving, sweaty dance floor anthem, and the pulsating beat is an ecstasy trip on tape. The best part is that it’s all streaming below.

Set to take place from July 8-10, the festival will also feature Bright Eyes, Weezer, Pendulum, My Chemcial Romance, Tom Jones, The Streets, Brandon Flowers, Manic Street Preachers, Crystal Castles, Diplo, Deadmau5, Jimmy Eat World. The Bloody Beatroots, House of Pain, All Time Low, Blondie, Cast, Eels, and Eliza Doolittle, among others. For a complete look at T in the Park’s confirmed lineup, head to Festival Outlook.

The festival grounds can handle about 85,000 people, and early bird tickets have already sold out. The final batch of tickets will go on sale Saturday, February 26th at 9 a.m. GMT (approximately 4 a.m. EST) via the festival’s website.

Whether you chose to remember it or not, New Year’s Eve always becomes an event – be it a swanky party full of beautiful people, or a sad, lonely remembrance of 2010 alone in your darkened apartment. But save yourself the embarrassment of either and get out to a club and see a band. Below we’ve listed some of the major events happening in cities around the US. Do yourself a favor: go.

There are few things I regret more than not going to see Girl Talk last year in 2009, so don’t make the same mistake I did. Spend NYE with your most favorite band. Whether you know it or not, you’ll be surrounded by new friends. Oh, and you can get tumultuously drunk and rage to some amazing music. Happy New Year from CoS!

– Jeremy Larson
Senior Staff Writer

P.S. If we’re missing something, please let us know in the comments below.

New York City

– Ariel Pink (solo): 234 Starr Street

– The Bloody Beetroots (DJ Set): The Wellmont Theatre

– The Butthole Surfers: Music Hall of Williamsburg

– Class Actress: Spike Hill

– Chuck Berry: B.B. King Blues Club

– Drive-By Truckers: Terminal 5

– Gov’t Mule: The Beacon Theatre

– Guided By Voices: Irving Plaza

– Har Mar Superstar: Littlefield

– Holy Ghost!: Standard

– Infected Mushroom, Shpongle: Hammerstein Ballroom

– Patti Smith & Her Band: Bowery Ballroom

– Passion Pit, Slick Rick: Wellmont Theatre (Montclair, NJ)

– Phish: Madison Square Garden

– The Roots: Brooklyn Bowl

– Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings: Best Buy Theater

– Steve Angello: Roseland Ballroom

– Titus Andronicus, Real Estate, Julian Lynch: Ridgewood Temple

– We Are Scientists: Mercury Lounge

– Zach Deputy: City Winery

Chicago

– Big Freedia, Nobunny: Empty Bottle

– The Black Keys, Greenhornes: Aragon Ballroom

– Cave: The Hideout

– Cursive performing Domestica: Subterranean

– Flosstradamus, Gemini Club: Lincoln Hall

– Future Rock: Kinetic Playground

– Japandroids, Light Pollution: Schubas

– Local H: Bottom Lounge

– Mannequin Men, Pegboy: Abbey Pub

– Mucca Pazza: Logan Square Auditorium

– Pretty Lights, Holy Fuck, Tobacco: Congress Theatre

– Robert Randolph & The Family Band, North Mississippi Allstars: House of Blues

– Smoking Popes: Reggie’s Rock Club

– Sublime with Rome, AM Taxi, The Dirty Heads: Navy Pier Ballroom

– Umphrey’s McGee: The Riviera Theatre

– Yeasayer, HEALTH: Metro

Los Angeles

– ATB: Hollywood Palladium

– HARD NYE (Mr. Oizo, Brodinski, DJ Falcon): The Music Box

– John Digweed: The Avalon

– Lucinda Williams: The Viper Room

– Mayer Hawthorne, Classix: Viceroy Hotel

– Nite Jewel: The Echo

– NOFX, Dead To Me: The Wiltern

– The Pharcyde: Key Club

– The Raveonettes, Autolux: The Standard

– Steel Panther: House of Blues

– Together As One (Major Lazer, Diplo, Rusko, Laidback Luke): Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum & Sports Arena

– Yard Dogs Road Show: Edison

London, UK

– British Sea Power: Koko

– Caribou: The Flowerpot

– Carl Barât (DJ Set): All Star Lanes Brick Lane

– Eastern Electrics NYE (Matthew Dear, Joker, Roska): The Tunnels

– Foals: HMV Forum

– Four Tet, James Holden, Jamie XX: Corsica Studios

– Friendly Fires (DJ Set): XOYO

– Sonic Youth, Factory Floor, Shellac: Hammersmith Apollo

– Together (Mark Ronson, Annie Mac, Katy B, Fake Blood): O2 Academy

Elsewhere:

Atlanta:

– Bassnectar, Ana Sia: The Tabernacle

– Charlie Wilson, Chrisette Michele: Atlanta Civic Center

– Coolio: Hyatt Regency

– The Glitch Mob: New Earth Music Hall

– Perpetual Groove: Variety Playhouse

– Zac Brown Band: Philips Arena

Atlantic City:

– B.B. King: Harrah’s Atlantic City

– Maroon 5: House of Blues

– Sarah McLachlan: Caesars Atlantic City

Aspen:

– Jane’s Addiction: Belly Up

Athens, GA:

– The Glitch Mob: New Earth Music Hall

– of Montreal: 40 Watt Club

Austin:

– Adolescents: Red 7

– Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears, Grupo Fantasma: La Zona Rosa

– Cake: Austin Music Hall

– N.A.S.A., Ladytron: Seaholm Power Plant

– The Sword: The Mohawk

Boston:

– Bettye LaVette: First Night Boston–Copley Square

– Cass McCombs: The Modern

– Dean & Britta, Nina Nastasia: Paramount Center

– moe.: House of Blues

– Soulive: Paradise Rock Club

– Third Eye Blind: Wilbur Theatre

Boulder:

– Crystal Castles, The Chain Gang of 1974: Boulder Theater

Dallas:

– Ghostland Observatory: Plaza of the Americas

– Jonathan Tyler & The Northern Lights: Granada Theater

– Old 97′s: House of Blues

Denver:

– Big Head Todd and The Monsters: Paramount Theatre

– Impact NYE (EOTO, Dieselboy, Freddy Todd): City Hall Events Center

– Nosaj Thing: Casselman’s

– Railroad Earth, Great American Taxi: Ogden Theatre

– STS9, Tipper: The Fillmore Auditorium

– Widespread Panic, G. Love & Special Sauce: Pepsi Center

Dublin, Ireland:

– Les Savy Fav: The Button Factory

Edmonton, AB:

– deadmau5: Shaw Conference Centre

Houston:

– Warpaint: Ground Hall

Las Vegas:

– 30 Seconds To Mars: Pearl Concert Theater

– Erick Morillo: Marquee Nightclub

– Jamie Lidell: Book & Stage – The Cosmopolitan

– Jay-Z, Coldplay: Cosmopolitan

– Paul Oakenfold, LMAFO: Palms Hotel & Casino

– Pitbull: House of Blues

– Santana: The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel

Louisville, KY:

– The Pass: Headliners Music Hall

Miami:

– Nicki Minaj: The Mansion

– Tiësto: Fontainebleau Resort

– Usher, Trey Songz: American Airlines Arena

Milwaukee:

– Girl Talk: The Rave

– The Hold Steady: Riverside Theater

Minneapolis:

– Brother Ali, The Hood Internet: Marriott City Center Grand Ballroom

New Orleans:

– Better Than Ezra: House of Blues

– Bonerama: 12 Bar on Fulton Street

– Galactic, Tea Leaf Green: Tipitina’s Uptown

– Tab Benoit: Mid City Lanes “Rock ‘N’ Bowl”

Oakland:

– Primus, The Dead Kenny Gs, Les Claypool: Fox Theater

Oklahoma City:

– The Flaming Lips performing The Soft Bulletin: Cox Convention Center

Philadelphia:

– Dada: North Star

– Lotus: Electric Factory

– Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue: World Cafe

Portland, OR:

– Crooked Fingers, Heligoats: Bunk Bar

– The Helio Sequence, Ramona Falls: Mississippi Studios

– Japanther: Artistery

– Langhorne Slim: Mission Theater

– Lazer Sword, Eliot Lipp: Branx

– The Shaky Hands: Backspace

Rome, Italy:

– Aphex Twin: Palazzo dei Congressi

San Diego:

– Crocodiles: Soda Bar

– Designer Drugs: Voyeur

– Dirty South: 4th & B

San Francisco:

– The Dresden Dolls, Pomplamoose: The Warfield

– Furthur, Phil Lesh: Bill Graham Civic Auditorium

– The Growlers: Hemlock Tavern

– John Lee Hooker Jr.: Biscuits and Blues

– Mike Posner: The Regency Ballroom

– Sea of Dreams (Thievery Corporation, Balkan Beat Box, Modeselektor, Beats Antique): Concourse Exhibition Center

– The Slackers: Great American Music Hall

– Steve Aoki: Fort Mason Festival Pavillion

Seattle:

– AC Slater: King Cat Theatre

– Lissie: Snoqualmie Casino

– Reverend Horton Heat, The Dwarves: El Corazon

– Z-Trip: Cirque Event Center

St. Louis, MO:

– The Crystal Method: Nightclub Europe

– Yonder Mountain String Band: The Pageant

St. Petersburg, FL:

– Cope: The Local 662

– Dead Kennedys: State Theatre

Washington, DC:

– Gogol Bordello: 9:30 Club

The 2011 Ultra Music Festival has a tall task ahead: it must compete against not one, but two similar electro-oriented events in the same city during the same month. Hell, one’s even taking place the same day. So the Miami, FL based festival has tapped heavy guns like The Chemical Brothers, Tiësto, deadmau5, David Guetta, Carl Cox, and Empire of the Sun to head its 2011 version, which is set to take place from March 25-27. Indie heavyweights Cut Copy, Crystal Castles, Klaxons, !!!, Chromeo, and Royksoop are also playing, as are electro favorites MSTRKRFT, Boys Noize, Rusko, Simian Mobile Disco, Steve Aoki, and Wolfgang Gartner. There are also a couple unexpected surprises, such as Danish music producer Trentemøller and English synthpop duo Erasure, which consists of Andy Bell and former Depeche Mode member Vince Clarke.

You can find the complete list of confirmed acts at our Festival Outlook. Even more names are expected to be announced in the near future. Advanced three-day passes ($179.95) and VIP combo packs ($499.95) are now available via the festival’s website.

You can find the first part by clicking here. Keep an eye out for additional posts next week as well.

And be sure to keep checking out our site. As you can clearly see, December has gotten off to a great start. We intend to end it, and the year in general, on a high note.

– Consequence of Gorillaz, anyone? Damon Albarn and co. pretty much dominated our headlines this week, with everything from retirement rumors to new album details to, um, Olympic-related updates surfacing within a few days of each other. And I almost forgot to mention the new video with Snoop Dogg. And the scavenger hunt.

– Coachella doesn’t arrive until next spring, but we’ve already started our lineup predictions.

– Sir Paul McCartney made Saturday Night Live watchable.

– Robert Plant told us not to get our hopes up for a Led Zeppelin reunion anytime soon.

– Big comebacks: Jeff Mangum appeared in public, Godspeed You! Black Emperor performed for the first time in six years, and Rammstein delivered their first U.S. performance in a decade.

– Michael Jackson‘s new single, “the 2010 version of ‘Thriller’,” dropped.

– Peter Bjorn and John‘s forthcoming LP now has a release date.

– While we’re on the subject of Swedish indie stars, Jens Lekman wrote a song about stalking Kirsten Dunst.

– Heather Mills took credit for putting The Beatles‘ catalog on iTunes.

– Q-Tip clarified a few things about the upcoming A Tribe Called Quest documentary.

– On a sad note, Aretha Franklin was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

– Judas Priest announced their final world tour. Ever.

– Pete Doherty is set to make his acting debut soon.

– Need tips for Bonnaroo? Well, you’re in luck.

– Raekwon‘s s new LP is allegedly due out next year.

– The Cars put out even more new material. These guys haven’t been this productive in a long time. Twenty-three years to be exact.

– Pearl Jam announced plans to host their own music festival.

– Want special-edition Daft Punk headphones? Okay, but it’ll cost you.

– The new Death Cab for Cutie album now has a title.

– R.E.M. jumped on the holiday single bandwagon.

– Watch this clip of Feist and Broken Social Scene performing “I Feel It All” together.

– Don’t watch this Kings of Leon video.

– Chris Coplan reviewed Ryan Adams‘ latest effort. Coplan also took on lists in the latest edition of Nod Your Head.

– Ted Maider shared his thoughts on deadmau5′s 4 x 4 = 12.

– Jónsi has finally made his solo debut. Find out what David Buchanan had to say about it here.

– Ted Leo and The New Pornographers played NYC’s Terminal 5. Alex Young and Kelly Staskel were there.

– We debuted our podcast this week, something we like to call Audiography.

– Derek Staples interviewed Gang Starr‘s DJ Premier.

– Harry Painter sat down with Thomas Ross Turner of Ghostland Observatory to discuss, well, lots of different things.

Deadmau5 has been everywhere in the past year, and has gone from basement computer geek to a game-changing composer. What deadmau5 is doing for techno is kind of what the Ramones did for rock and roll about 30 years ago; he’s making techno simplistic, easily accessible, and catchy as hell. Not to mention the guy is everywhere; between touring, festival appearances, being the house DJ at the VMAs, and flying in helicopters to do multiple gigs in one day. His beats are techno textbook standard, yet somehow works of art. Maybe one drum line the whole time, that drops at given points throughout the song, two or three different hooks, and little sound effects added here and there. The thing is, though, these are all his composed loops, his original thought, and his genius at work. Listening to an entire deadmau5 record is a tour through Zimmerman’s head, and it’s smart and catchy as hell.

Those of you who actually listen to deadmau5 will have heard a majority of these songs. I mentioned the release of this album to an acquaintance and he immediately named off about five tracks, without ever having listened to the actual album. The album opens up with “Some Chords”, a gem that has graced his live show for some time now. It starts with a creepy organ that keeps building open itself, and continuously raises a few octaves every four bars. The drums eventually pick up, and when we’ve reached the highest pitch, all hell breaks loose. Then the drums heat up, dub-step sound effects pop up, and a synth line that will not leave your head anytime soon pound out of your speakers. It’s the pinnacle of a techno orgasm, and it’s only the first track. The song rages on for seven minutes, and you don’t want it to end.

Following the most epic deadmau5 opener since “Sometimes, Things Get Whatever” is the ever-popular “SOFI Needs a Ladder”, featuring the aforementioned SOFI (which stands for Some Other Female Interest). This song has been played live on many occasions, with SOFI herself, which saves photographers who are desperately trying to take pictures in the photo pit.  SOFI’s rhymes and flow are quite bratty, but compliment Zimmerman’s dub-step style composition. The rhyming is quick and hostile with lines like, “You’re just too sweet/Until you get on my nerves like cavity/You left a bad taste in my mouth/You sour patch kid.” Meanwhile the beat builds throughout each verse, getting more and more exciting. Basically, this is 2010’s “Ghosts N’ Stuff”.

From here, the album is basically a non-stop party, catering to various styles of electronic music, showing deadmau5’s wide range of sound and ability to compose, not just mix. “A City in Florida” sounds like Miami. I mean what other city could it be? (Tampa? Orlando? Why?) The drums remain at a high heart rate, while the melody is no more than two or three notes in chainsaw form and a few blips. But it sounds sweaty.  “Animal Rights” features Wolfgang Gartner and contains one of the catchiest hooks on the entire album, a harpsichord sounding riff, which goes high pitched every four bars, and then sounds like a robot dying in the midst of a musical.

Following is “I Said (Michael Woods Remix)” which is one of the trancey numbers on the CD. The creepy voice muttering “I Said” throughout the whole song gives it a dark vibe, while a blip goes on rhythmically and the sound of air speeds up. Every 16 bars or so, you get the second catchiest synth riff on the album, which lasts for no more than a few seconds. Eventually, you hit a breakdown, reminiscent of the deadmau5 classic, “Arguru”, which matches back into the song, for more trance chaos.

There’s the 10-minute epic “Chtulu Sleeps”, and the apocalyptic “Right This Second” which conjures images of trying to get somewhere in the nick of time, but it’s the final vocal tracks that make this album truly interesting. There is another track with SOFI, “One Trick Pony”, which caters more to the dub-step style of production. SOFI violently raps stating things like “I’ll never be sloppy seconds,” and “I’d rather be eating glass,” while the beat will surely make people in the rave scene get low. The track before it “Raise Your Weapon”, features the haunting singing of Greta Svabo Bech. Her beautiful singing is paired up with a haunting piano hook that builds with drums and synths throughout the song. About halfway through, the instruments drop out and, then everything turns into sludgy dub-step, paired with the still beautiful vocals. It’s such a contrast that makes you realize some sort of musical genius is at work.

Joel Zimmerman is revolutionizing electronic music, whether hates want to admit it or not, and this album is just another testament to prove it. He has built an enormous platform of success with his genius composition, amazing show and iconic figurehead, and it doesn’t look like he’s slowing down any time soon. And the reason he can maintain his status is because he’s not a DJ. He’s not relying on anybody else out there to make something unique for him to sample; he’s making them all himself. Joel Zimmerman only has to rely on deadmau5, and the party won’t ever stop. And the mouse is far from dead.

A lot went down this week. Shocking, right? (Especially if you read these posts on a regular basis). Regardless, enjoy the following round-up of totally random events. And be sure to check out our site to see what there wasn’t room for in this post because, trust me, there’s plenty more where this came from.

See you next week.

– Prince showed the NYC area some love when he announced the first round of dates of his upcoming tour.

– Beastie Boys detailed Hot Sauce Committe, Part 2. It’s a lot like Part 1 only different…not really.

– The good people at MTV offered their  picks for the “10 hottest MCs in the game.”

– Foo Fighters told us that we won’t be able to get them out of our hair next year.

– R.I.P. Sony Walkman.

– R.I.P. Limewire, too.

– It’s official: Coldplay will put you to sleep (along with Taylor Swift, Mozart,  and, um Radiohead).

– Crystal Castles teamed up with Robert Smith.

– We heard some “good/bad news” from the U2 front.

– A new Lupe Fiasco single dropped.

– Animal Collective will curate the next installment of ATP (All Tomorrow’s Parties).

– Deadmau5 will finally release a proper debut.

– We premiered an exclusive rendition of Oh Land‘s “White Lights.”

– Jay-Z commented on hip-hop’s lack of “true emotion.”

– Pearl Jam launched their own satellite radio station.

– A long-lost Ray Charles-Johnny Cash collaboration surfaced.

– T.I. changed the title of his forthcoming LP for one very obvious reason.

– There are now more Wu Tang Clan reunion dates on the horizon.

– Tommi Iommi and Ian Gillian proved that you can “bang your head for the greater good.”

– Rumor has it that a film adaptation of Michael Jackson‘s “Thriller” video is in the works.

– A new Devo museum exhibition will reportedly feature 400 energy domes.

– Aphex Twin said that he’s sitting on six album’s worth of new material. Whether or not we’ll get to hear any of it in the near future remains a mystery.

– According to Rivers Cuomo, we can count on 20 more years of Weezer.

– Guided By Voices added an NYE date in NYC to their touring schedule.

– And, of course, what recap would be complete without a little Kanye West? He confirmed tracklist for his next LP. While you’re at it, check out this new track of his.

– Adam Kivel reviewed Avey Tare‘s first solo outing.

– Dan Caffrey offered his take on Kings of Leon‘s Come Around Sundown.

– Liz Phair asserted that she “[reserves] the right to be multifacted and complex” in an interview with Karina Halle.

– PS I Love You‘s Paul Saulnier sat down with Philip Cosores for an in-depth discussion of, well, a lot of different things.

– How does chocolate-covered bacon sound? Find out how this question is relevant in Jeremy Larson’ s “Strange Bedfellows,” his look at the more  memorable collaborations this year.

On December 6th, Ultra Records will drop 4×4=12, an 11-track collection consisting of live Deadmau5 favorites such as “Cthulhu Sleeps” and “Some Chords” and a collaboration with fellow DJ Wolfgang Gartner called “Animal Rights”. There will also be a Sofi-feautring track titled, appropriately, “Sofi Needs A Ladder”, which will be released as the album’s next single on October 31st.

In support of the release, Deadmau5 is set to play some rather high-profile gigs, including a sold-out, three-night residency in New York City at the end of the month, a gig at the Voodoo Experience in New Orleans, and a New Years Eve date in Edmonton. Find confirmed tour dates, along with the album’s tracklist below.

4×4=12 Tracklist:
01. Some Chords
02. Sofi Needs a Ladder
03. City In Florida
04. Bad Selection
05. Animal Rights
06. I Said (Michael Woods Remix)
07. Cthulhu Sleeps
08.  Right This Second
09.  Raise Your Weapon
10. One Trick Pony
11. Everything Before

Deadmau5 2010 Tour Dates:
10/28 – New York, NY @ Roseland Ballroom (Full)
10/29 – New York, NY @ Roseland Ballroom (Full)
10/30 – New York, NY @ Roseland Ballroom (Unhooked)
10/31 – New Orleans, LA @ Voodoo Experience (Full)
12/31 – Edmonton, AB @ Shaw Conference Center (Full)

Treasure Island sits next to the Bay Bridge between Oakland and San Francisco. It was built out of landfill in the 1930s specifically to celebrate the completion of the bridge, along with the Golden Gate Bridge, and has been owned by the Navy since then. The Navy closed its base over a decade ago, however, so now its main functions are being an earthquake disaster waiting to happen and hosting more celebrations, like dragon boat festivals and music festivals.

The Treasure Island Music Festival, which by its fourth year has found its niche as California’s most worthwhile annual concert not in a desert, took place over the weekend. There are reasons it’s so worthwhile — the tickets have been great value from the start, the setting is top-notch, the transportation is efficient, and, most importantly, it knows what it is and doesn’t try to be anything else. Twenty-thousand-plus people came out for two days of music tailor-made for the Bay Area audience: one day of electronica and dance for the rolling-super-hard crowd, and a second day of chill indie rock for the rolling-fatty-joints crowd.

Photo by Ted Maider

The festival also featured all the usual (and some not-so-usual) festival amenities, such as a ferris wheel, a cybercafé/DJ Hero station, a silent disco, and various sponsored tents (one, of course, was a cannabis club tent offering coupons for free “medijoints”). There was a salon tent giving out free haircuts, a workshop for learning crafts, and a skee ball booth. The food was mostly the usual fare, but there were some interesting options, including a booth for organic health food and a vendor offering potato and spinach knishes along with the hot dogs. A French truck featured escargot lollipops and what were called Maine lobster cappuccinos. Yum.

Only real downside to all of this? It’s cold as hell. In San Francisco, you can expect the weather to be cold, windy, and foggy at any given time of year, and in October there’s just no way you’re going to get your comfy, dependable, 100-degree-plus summer festival weather. On Saturday, no amount of dancing could have prevented the unprepared from shelling out for a hoodie or flannel shirt; the heavy wind was a disaster for the myriad hipsters in hot-pants. The wind chill Sunday was equally cruel, and the intermittent rain that marked the first three hours of the fest was actually a welcome change.

Photo by Ted Maider

But outside of one stage change and a short set time early on for The Mumlers, the music was unhampered by the weather. And the music is what matters, right? Right.

Feature photo by Harry Painter.

Saturday, October 16th

Maus Haus
Bridge Stage, 12:00 p.m.

Photo by Ted Maider

The first of several local bands, San Francisco’s own Maus Haus kicked things off with an energetic set of experimental electropop jams. The sextet was heavy on the synthesizers (there must have been at least three up there), but Maus Haus is no generic dance pop band. There was a little of that, but there was also a little ambient noise and electro rock. Also, as any good festival opener should, Maus Haus opted to take some time between numbers to educate the early crowd on some of the history of Treasure Island. All of it was equally welcome, and hopefully the next time the band plays the fest it will be at a well-deserved later slot.

wallpaper.
Tunnel Stage, 12:45 p.m.

Photo by Ted Maider

When the highlight of your show is bringing out your “band” of brightly dressed hipsters with cowbells, you’re probably a bit of a gimmick. Like Mayer Hawthorne, Oakland’s Eric Frederic — one-half of wallpaper. — makes his living as a skinny white guy singing ironic soul songs. Both corny, except wallpaper.’s music is even less authentic, if that’s possible. The duo (Frederic on vocals and iPod, Arjun Singh on drums) played song after mailed-in neo-disco song about sex and booze, Frederic playing the backing tracks on his iPod while Singh drummed along. Of course, the iPod handled the complex drum parts. Oh well, being bored at a festival at one in the afternoon is nothing to complain about. Besides, it was all in good fun; Frederic was charismatic and made some choice jokes about casual sex and selling drugs at the merch booth. And he apparently has a song called “Laptops from Methadone Clinics”, so there’s that.

Holy Fuck
Bridge, 1:30 p.m.

Photo by Ted Maider

If you haven’t seen these folks yet, go go go. I won’t profess to have any idea what Holy Fuck does on stage, but I know it sounds great and the novelty hasn’t worn off yet. Visualize a drummer and a bassist backing two guys standing opposite each other twisting knobs and screaming into distorted microphones. You’re already probably halfway to knowing what the Toronto four-piece sounds like, but basically it’s noisy, improvisational, sometimes psychedelic, and all live (*cough* wallpaper. *cough*). Instruments include analog synths and a 35mm film synchronizer, but that translates into a bunch of gadgets on a table tangled in a mess of wires. It’s fun to watch. I had the thought, Holy Fuck’s sound would fit an arena quite nicely, so Radiohead, if you’re reading this, first stop reading and put out your album, and then invite Holy Fuck to open for you please.

Jamaica
Tunnel, 2:15 p.m.

Photo by Ted Maider

Fun fact: Eight of the 13 Saturday acts were foreign, and only three of those were from primarily English-speaking countries. Another fun fact: Jamaica isn’t from Jamaica, but Paris. The band also doesn’t play even remotely electronic music, so what was it doing on the Saturday lineup? Never mind, it’s dancey rock music so close enough. Jamaica, dressed for climbing Mt. Everest, put on a set of catchy grunge-pop songs in the vein of fellow slackers Free Energy. There wasn’t much beneath the surface, but it was kind of nice to have a token riff-rock band on Saturday.

Die Antwoord
Bridge, 3:00 p.m.

What does it say about the state of indie hip-hop when Die Antwoord is the only hip-hop act at a festival that previously signed on acts like Murs, Cut Chemist, Zion I, The Streets, Aesop Rock, and Crown City Rockers? Screw it, what does it say about the state of indie hip-hop that Die Antwoord is even popular (and not even technically indie anymore)? Yes, the South African trio is a joke, but the band is not any funnier than ICP, which everyone hates (or Ali G, who Ninja is shamelessly biting).

Photo by Ted Maider

Anyway, a certain portion of the crowd ate this shit up. Die Antwoord came out dressed in the same outfits from the “Enter the Ninja” video, Yo-Landi Vi$$er making a wardrobe change halfway through and Ninja gradually undressing. Ninja can flow and both of them have stage presence and can work a crowd. But maybe I’m a little old to be impressed by generic electro-rap beats and fart-joke lyricism. One crowdmember remarked after it was over, “Some people will dance to anything with that type of beat.” Exactly. However, like wallpaper. earlier, Ninja and Vi$$er did not take themselves seriously; they actually made the butterfly gestures during “Enter the Ninja”, for example, and ended the set by yelling out “Be happy!” No arguments here.

Phantogram
Tunnel, 3:45 p.m.

Photo by Ted Maider

Phantogram, one of the best acts Saturday, also turned out to be one of the mellowest. The duo, guitarist Josh Carter and keyboardist Sarah Barthel (accompanied by a live drummer), plays a blend of shoegaze, trip-hop, and psychedelic pop backing dark, atmospheric vocals from both members. This was the first band that really packed the stage, and if that’s a sign of rising popularity, it’s well deserved. Phantogram played a dance-friendly set but sported some substance to go along with the style. And, okay, elephant in the room, Sarah Barthel is cute. It’s just a little crush.

!!!
Bridge, 4:35 p.m.

Photo by Ted Maider

Everyone should be familiar with what !!! does by now. The Sacramento dance-punk outfit is a nonstop ball of kinetic energy, particularly metrosexual frontman Nic Offer, who made his way into the crowd several times and was never standing in one place for five seconds – despite having performed in Tokyo the day before, according to Offer, and getting a mere three hours of sleep. While the band is much more suited to the club, like say the Noise Pop festival earlier this year, than a large festival stage, it’s not for lack of presence. !!! is no stranger to festivals and handled the large crowd gracefully. At times, Offer seemed out of breath and couldn’t quite nail his parts. In hindsight, it wouldn’t have killed the energy for him to slow down a little — there is plenty else to focus on at a !!! show, with the band’s multiple guitars, keyboards, a backing vocalist, and a saxophonist.

Four Tet
Tunnel, 5:25 p.m.

Photo by Ted Maider

Kieran Hebden’s main live instrument is a laptop, and his light show came across as modest with full daylight still out. However, flashiness was not required and Hebden, better known as Four Tet, put on an irresistible set. Probably the second-best of the day, in fact. It’s understandable that IDM doesn’t get a lot of love at festivals where people just want to wear mouse masks and dance, but artists like Hebden lend credibility to the mainstream-again dance music community. Still, it’s hard to tell what Hebden was doing up there besides checking his e-mail and bobbing his head.

Kruder & Dorfmeister
Bridge, 6:15 p.m.

Photo by Ted Maider

The Austrian duo Kruder & Dorfmeister are renowned for their downtempo remixes, but they kept the tempo up in a rare live show Saturday. Peter Kruder and Richard Dorfmeister, the first nighttime act, rocked the turntables in front of some stunning visuals, while two well-dressed MC’s kept the crowd involved. This meant prancing around stage and yelling inane things like “everybody go boom!” but the crowd would surely have lost interest otherwise. Actually, for a crowd that was oblivious even to LCD Soundsystem’s early material, the audience was rather enthusiastic about K & D. This performance marked the end of the duo’s first North American tour in 10 years, and whenever K & D does it again, it won’t be soon enough. Well, a couple months or so would be fine.

Little Dragon
Tunnel, 7:05 p.m.

Photo by Ted Maider

Let’s get this out of the way right off the bat — Little Dragon is known more for frontwoman Yukimi Nagano’s appearances on Gorillaz’ album Plastic Beach than its own music, and it would have delighted people to hear a line from “Empire Ants” during Little Dragon’s set. But there was no need to pander, because believe it or not, Little Dragon has some fantastic songs in its own right. The Swedish quartet played a new one for the Treasure Island crowd, and it fits right into the band’s tiny canon of subtle dance pop. These songs are to be heard live, not only because of Nagano’s infectious dancing and sexy crooning, but because the band is pretty damn good too. Sure, Little Dragon plays some simple, atmospheric pop songs, but the guys can also jam a little — and that’s when they’re at their best.

Deadmau5
Bridge, 7:55 p.m.

Photo by Ted Maider

Firstly, Deadmau5 apparently flew to the Smokeout Festival in Southern California after his set to perform another set there, but he does wear a giant mau5 mask, so he could’ve swindled us — we’ll never know. Either way, a plethora of Treasure Island attendees were there just to see Deadmau5, whose star has risen swiftly. It’s not clear why; is he doing anything dozens of other artists aren’t doing, besides wearing a giant, glowing mouse mask and performing behind a v-shaped structure and a bunch of cool visuals? Maybe that’s the point, to drug up, dance, and be impressed with the lighting, but why is Deadmau5 better than Mickey Mau5? Besides “Ghosts n Stuff”, most of the tunes he played at Treasure Island were relatively tuneless, which is fine if done right; it’s just hard to get into the repetitive noodling. Further, the energy never really built up; he would tease at something explosive before reverting to stagnant, lifeless minimalism. Once again, that single of his was the only exception.

Like K & D, Deadmau5 had an MC come out to hype the audience, but she was only on stage for a song or two before leaving the man to his work. The DJ (real name Joel Zimmerman) is certainly hard-working, and has put together a beautiful show. The question is whether people would care about that show if a couple of French robots hadn’t popularized the concept of masked DJ’s and personalized stages in the first place. I suppose it doesn’t matter, because if you want to see Deadmau5 for the visuals and the drugs, you will not be disappointed. If it’s the music you care about, just don’t expect anything special.

Miike Snow
Tunnel, 8:45 p.m.

Photo by Ted Maider

Deadmau5 concluded the rave portion of the evening, meaning people began to leave, but Miike Snow and LCD Soundsystem kept the vast majority of folks there for the rest of the night. The former, which played amidst a thick cloud of smoke, played to an enthusiastic but exhausted crowd — an inevitable side effect of a long and relentlessly cold day. The Swedish band, which American singer Andrew Wyatt insisted was a band and not a person, strolled through songs like “Burial” and “Black and Blue”, the latter of which went through a pretty ugly and unnecessary distortion job. However, Miike Snow nailed singles “Sylvia” and “Animal”, the song that will never escape this band. “Animal”, which seemed to go on extra long just for shits and giggles, obviously elicited the largest crowd response.

LCD Soundsystem
Bridge, 9:35 p.m.

How do you follow up a career-defining headlining gig at the Hollywood Bowl with a short headlining set at a small festival? The way James Murphy and co. pulled it off was to do everything the same but cut out a few songs. Literally, we’re talking the same set in practically the same order, minus “Get Innocuous!”, “Someone Great”, and “Losing My Edge”. Those are three songs that it sucks to have missed out on.

But let’s focus on the positive, namely that LCD Soundsystem murdered this festival. As Murphy has neared the end of his tour — like so many other acts at Treasure Island — he and his band have begun playing “Dance Yrself Clean” live, and now it’s hard to imagine being satisfied without hearing the This is Happening opener. Everyone knew when the beat was going to drop, everyone was waiting for it, and most reacted appropriately and danced thmselves clean. The other two This is Happening tracks which opened the set were also well received, although “Drunk Girls” is kind of a snoozer, at least coming between “Dance Yrself Clean” and “I Can Change”.

Photo by Ted Maider

LCD continued to murder with “Daft Punk is Playing at My House”, although the audience shockingly seemed to lose interest. This trend continued for the other old songs; there were singalongs for the new ones, but anything off of the self-titled (almost half the set) was met with half-assed response. Even “Tribulations”, for God’s sake. Was 2005 really that long ago?

The band ignored Sound of Silver material with the exception of “All My Friends”, which was probably not a wise choice for this crowd, but if Murphy is really going to be easing off of LCD Soundsystem in the coming years, it was the right choice.

Photo by Ted Maider

Lame crowd notwithstanding, the show was the best you could hope for in one hour and 15 minutes. Murphy really sings nowadays instead of just yelling into the mic, and you can tell his band is having a good time. The highlight was Murphy leading the audience in a slow clap which built directly into the opening of “Movement”, which just so happens to shred live.

Murphy acknowledged that the show was just too short, however: “I don’t make the rules,” he quipped as he introduced the final number, “Home”. Finishing up at just after 10:50 p.m., LCD was not allowed an encore, which was expected given the strict start and end times to every set. Still, here’s hoping Murphy comes back before he abandons the project.

Sunday, October 17th

Phosphorescent
Tunnel, 12:00 p.m.

Phosphorescent was booked for the main stage, but the weather had different plans for indie folk musician Matthew Houck and his band. Thankfully, no cancellations, because damn if Phosphorescent wasn’t one of the best acts all day. There’s no good reason Phosphorescent should have been on so early — this meant a lot of people missing him, rain or not. Houck’s guitarist Jesse Anderson Ainsley and his keyboardist Scott Stapleton were some of the most technically proficient musicians at the festival. Phosphorescent’s set included a good mix of vocal harmonization and good, old-fashioned rock soloing. Houck is quite the musician himself, and an even better vocalist. “The Mermaid Parade”, in particular, was a moment of brilliance.

Photo by Harry Painter.

The Mumlers
Tunnel, 12:52 p.m.

Photo by Ted Maider

Thanks to Phosphorescent being switched to the Tunnel stage, The Mumlers held the distinction of being the only act with a snipped set time. The San Jose sextet, which was also the only act with a guitarist dressed like a pirate, was able to make it on stage 12 minutes after scheduled. The Mumlers, despite the pirate (bloody face makeup and all) and a french horn or two, got kind of lost in the shuffle of chill indie rock acts on Sunday. They’re more than just an indie rock band, though — they displayed classic rock, jazz, and folk sensibilities and aptly followed a Phosphorescent set everyone seemed to love. When The Mumlers weren’t allowed to play their final song, the audience let out a loud groan. The pirate took it all in good humor, leaving us with “The greatest treasure was having you for an audience.” Arrr, matey.

Ra Ra Riot
Bridge, 1:15 p.m.

Photo by Ted Maider

My, oh my, I can’t believe I’ve ignored this band for so long. Ra Ra Riot is much more than a pretty cellist — she also has a good voice. Kidding, kidding. Really, Ra Ra Riot was perfect. If you’re a sucker for strings in your indie pop, jump on this bandwagon. The Syracuse sextet has a penchant for playing cheerful, emotional music with marching skins and sweeping strings. Frontman Wes Miles, who seems comfortable with the band’s popularity, can make the main stage feel like the most intimate place on Earth, like you’re up there with them just watching them rehearse. Ra Ra Riot will certainly be on much later next time the band plays this festival; the band was an absolute pleasure so early in the day.

Papercuts
Tunnel, 1:55 p.m.

Local musician Jason Quever’s project Papercuts is another act that failed to leave an impression amongst the several laid-back indie acts Sunday. Quever makes droning dream pop accompanied by soft, almost whispering vocals. He and his band had a couple of genuinely interesting moments, but the majority of Papercuts’ set was background music.

Superchunk
Bridge, 2:30 p.m.

The old guys of the festival, North Carolina’s indie rock heroes Superchunk, were touring behind new album Majesty Shredding, their first album since 2001′s Here’s to Shutting Up. Superchunk’s DIY riff-rock fit in just fine in an era when people suddenly care about Pavement again. The band played new tracks such as “Rosemarie”, “Digging for Something”, and “Crossed Wires”, along with old faves like “Slack Motherfucker” and “Throwing Things”. The band looked happy to be there, but also made a point whether they meant to or not — bring back the fucking rock and roll.

Photo by Ted Maider.

The Sea and Cake
Tunnel, 3:15 p.m.

Photo by Ted Maider

The Sea and Cake, which has opened for fellow Treasure Island band Broken Social scene in the past, probably isn’t the best example of bringing back the fucking rock and roll, but the Chicago indie act did partake in some quality jamming. The Sea and Cake’s set wandered into everything from chill surf rock (which was becoming quite tired by now) to smooth jazz to post-rock. The mood wasn’t exactly befitting of the band, coming after Superchunk, but anyone who skipped The Sea and Cake is going to have to put the band on his list.

She & Him
Bridge, 4:00 p.m.

Photo by Ted Maider

If Zooey Deschanel wasn’t the queen of all that is indie, She & Him would not be booked at every damn festival on the planet. Half the people there are watching for the novelty of seeing Deschanel sing — and she’s pretty good at it, but the songs are another story. They range from poppy indie folk to doo-wop anthems, none of which are very original. And while Deschanel can sing, she just lacks power, the same way Charlotte Gainsbourg does. Deschanel has the better voice, but she either gets drowned out by the band or simply trails off at the end of each line. M. Ward is a little more reliable on the guitar, but he couldn’t save this set. If you were forgiving, however, you could have appreciated Deschanel’s earnestness on the ballad “Take it Back” or her cheeriness on Vol. 2 track “In the Sun”.

Monotonix
Tunnel, 4:50 p.m.

My God, what did I get myself into here? These three hairy guys from Tel Aviv may have sounded nothing like they do in studio, but I wouldn’t have known that beforehand and it wouldn’t have mattered anyway. Where do we begin? Singer Ami Shalev was dressed like an aging former soccer player making a final comeback just to break some bones. Guitarist Yonatan Gat and drummer Haggai Fershtman looked like the guys MGMT modeled themselves after before turning it into a lame fashion trend.

The band, Monotonix, doesn’t play on stage. The trio set up in the middle of the crowd from the start and proceeded to jam. Shalev was all about crowd participation, standing on top of the bass drum, crowd surfing, going out of his way to make everyone part of the show. The crowd formed a circle around Monotonix, Gat doing his best to keep on track while being shoved from behind. Periodically, the band would pick up its instruments and relocate, with fans doing what they could to help (it’s amazing the guitar cord made it through the show intact).

The very indie crowd wasn’t prepared for 40 minutes of garage punk between the She & Him and Broken Social Scene sets, but the mosh pits soon began. Anyone within 30 feet of the band couldn’t hum a single line from a Monotonix song, but everyone will remember three things: the impromptu Shalev-led singalong to “A Hard Day’s Night”, Shalev dumping a bag of garbage onto Fershtman, and the finale of Shalev tossing a tom into the stacked drum kit. Shalev is no GG Allin, but crazy is crazy and he was crazy enough.

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Photos by Harry Painter.

Broken Social Scene
Bridge, 5:35 p.m.

It can only be described as a shame that Broken Social Scene was limited to 50 minutes, but that’s the nature of Treasure Island — it was actually one of the longest sets of the day. The band started things off with Forgiveness Rock Record track “Meet Me in the Basement”, then quickly squeezed in some longtime favorites like “7/4 Shoreline” and “Texico Bitches”, both of which rock so much more live than on record. No Emily Haines, but BSS managed a sweet rendition of “Anthems for a Seventeen Year-Old Girl”.

Photo by Ted Maider

Kevin Drew dropped his guitar early on, which didn’t seem to matter, as BSS has four or five guitarists at once. Drew joked that he literally breaks a guitar at every show, which may not have been a joke at all. By the end of the set, Drew took to the crowd, making sure to leave his mark on the fest in case the music wasn’t enough. It really wasn’t, but that’s because there just wasn’t enough of it.

Surfer Blood
Tunnel, 6:25 p.m.

Photo by Ted Maider

This band so deserves all that hype it gets. There was plenty enough surf rock going on at Treasure Island, but if it’s good it’s good, and none was better at it than Surfer Blood. Touring behind its only album Astro Coast, Surfer Blood tore through tracks like “Swim”, “Take it Easy”, and “Floating Vibes”. The quintet even did a cover of Pavement’s “Box Elder”, which was appropriate considering the band is pretty much a cross between Pavement and Modest Mouse. The songs did blend together late in the set, being that most of them are similar in tone and tempo, but all in all Surfer Blood left a promising impression. Skipping even one song, the last song, to get a spot for The National was a tough decision.

The National
Bridge, 7:15 p.m.

Yet it was the right decision, because The National was the best act at Treasure Island this year. The National has gotten better and better over the years, and in 2010 has found the ideal mix between being sensitive, artsy poets and outright rock stars. This is especially the case with the Brooklyn band’s live output; songs that amount to midtempo hummers on record, like “Squalor Victoria” and “England”, become fiery and full of rage when performed live. The difference is the Dessner brothers’ love for loud, unhinged distortion and Matt Berninger’s willingness to scream — when Berninger gets red-faced and shouts “afraid of the house, because they’re desperate to entertain,” you realize he means every last word. Or maybe it’s the wine he drinks before he performs.

Photo by Harry Painter

The National also appear increasingly comfortable being on stage. It takes a lot of confidence to be a rock star, and it didn’t feel like the band had or wanted that confidence in 2008. Now, Berninger and the Dessners pose on stage and exchange witty banter like they’re in a living room with 8,000 friends. “He doesn’t let us wear suits,” complained Bryce Dessner about Berninger’s wardrobe choices. Berninger responded with, “Respect the suit; you guys are frumpy.” Before “Slow Show”, Dessner pointed out the song makes reference to Berninger’s genitalia, to which Berninger clarified that it wasn’t true: “A small area of the song is about my dick.”

The set was heavy on High Violet and Boxer stuff, including only the essentials from Alligator (“Abel”, “Mr. November”) and nothing from the band’s early albums. This was doing pretty well for a one-hour festival set though, and the band covered a pretty good range of the stuff people wanted to hear. The National, at the end of its tour, played all the late-set mainstays in the expected order: “Fake Empire” into “Mr. November” into “Terrible Love” — a lineup there’s no complaining about. Dessner dedicated “Mr. November” to the Democrats, after which Berninger, not wanting to be uncool, dedicated “Terrible Love” to the Republicans, and then to babies, because “everyone loves babies.”

Rogue Wave
Tunnel, 8:15 p.m.

“Following The National sucks,” sighed Zach Rogue, frontman of Oakland’s Rogue Wave. He wasn’t kidding, but his band held its own coming between the two big Sunday names on the smaller stage. Rogue Wave may have been the indiest band at this mercilessly indie musical gathering, but performances of songs like “Lake Michigan” and “Bird on a Wire” were anything but indie kitsch. The band made the performance something special by bringing out fellow Oakland musician Ted Nesseth of The Heavenly States for a collaboration. Both Rogue Wave and Nesseth had their fair share of supporters at the festival.

Photo by Ted Maider

Rogue Wave brought the politics much more readily than The National, dedicating “Solitary Gun”, a track off the band’s latest album, Permalight, to Oscar Grant, the man who was shot and killed by a police officer at an Oakland train station while face down and unarmed. Trade secret: If you want to get a Bay Area crowd on your side, it’s a good idea to bring up Oscar Grant.

The set consisted of material spanning Rogue Wave’s career, and it felt like the band was a miniature headliner for the local folks. Nothing but love from the Bay Area audience.

Belle & Sebastian
Bridge, 9:05 p.m.

There was no one more deserving to headline the Treasure Island fest than Belle & Sebastian, but the Scottish indie poppers were an anticlimactic close to a great festival. Any huge fan would have been just fine with the set — it was heavy on If You’re Feeling Sinister and Dear Catastrophe Waitress material, and gave equal attention to new album Write About Love. To top it all off, the band was accompanied by a five-piece string section. Stuart Murdoch was crowd-friendly, exchanging banter incessantly and even making a couple of kids’ days by pointing them out in the audience.

In fact, it was a good show. Belle & Sebastian just isn’t the band to close a festival.

Photo by Ted Maider

Guitarist Stevie Jackson at one point led the crowd in a relatively complex singalong for new track “I’m Not Living in the Real World”, featuring an “ooh” in three different keys. Jackson joked that we could handle it, because “San Francisco is a musical city.” SF handled it just beautifully, and it was one of the highlights of the set.

The band of course played “Piazza New York Catcher”, which features lyrics about the San Francisco Giants playing the New York Mets, and also references SF’s Tenderloin district. Murdoch remarked that he had not realized how many of Belle & Sebastian’s songs were based on San Francisco. He then did a little pandering: “The Phillies don’t stand a chance, man. Give it to them!” Sorry, Philadelphia, he’s right.

“The Boy with the Arab Strap” had people all the way across the grounds dancing jovially; this was on a weekend when people were reluctant to dance even on the dance day, and the talkers came in droves. But for this one song, Belle & Sebastian had everyone’s attention and there was nothing but happiness in the air, which is kind of what this band is about.

Photo by Ted Maider

So what made this the wrong band to close the festival? It’s just that they’re so damn…twee. By about halfway through, Belle & Sebastian had overdosed us on the upbeat four-minute pop songs, and I just wanted them to depress me for once. Where was the soul? Belle & Sebastian is such a lovable band in moderation that it’s hard to see how stale the band can get until it happens. Not once did Belle & Sebastian ever turn a head or wow anyone, not the way The National, LCD Soundsystem, or even Broken Social Scene did. Perhaps it just wasn’t an ideal setlist. The performance never felt important, not even during the encore of “Judy & the Dream of Horses”, which is a fantastic song, but not one with which to close a weekend of great music. Oh well.

]]> Photo by Ted Maider The festival also featured all the usual (and some not-so-usual) festival amenities, such as a ferris wheel, a cybercafé/DJ Hero station, a silent disco, and various sponsored tents (one, of course, was a cannabis club tent offering coupons for free "medijoints"). There was a salon tent giving out free haircuts, a workshop for learning crafts, and a skee ball booth. The food was mostly the usual fare, but there were some interesting options, including a booth for organic health food and a vendor offering potato and spinach knishes along with the hot dogs. A French truck featured escargot lollipops and what were called Maine lobster cappuccinos. Yum. Only real downside to all of this? It's cold as hell. In San Francisco, you can expect the weather to be cold, windy, and foggy at any given time of year, and in October there's just no way you're going to get your comfy, dependable, 100-degree-plus summer festival weather. On Saturday, no amount of dancing could have prevented the unprepared from shelling out for a hoodie or flannel shirt; the heavy wind was a disaster for the myriad hipsters in hot-pants. The wind chill Sunday was equally cruel, and the intermittent rain that marked the first three hours of the fest was actually a welcome change. Photo by Ted Maider But outside of one stage change and a short set time early on for The Mumlers, the music was unhampered by the weather. And the music is what matters, right? Right. Feature photo by Harry Painter. Saturday, October 16th Maus Haus Bridge Stage, 12:00 p.m. Photo by Ted Maider The first of several local bands, San Francisco's own Maus Haus kicked things off with an energetic set of experimental electropop jams. The sextet was heavy on the synthesizers (there must have been at least three up there), but Maus Haus is no generic dance pop band. There was a little of that, but there was also a little ambient noise and electro rock. Also, as any good festival opener should, Maus Haus opted to take some time between numbers to educate the early crowd on some of the history of Treasure Island. All of it was equally welcome, and hopefully the next time the band plays the fest it will be at a well-deserved later slot. wallpaper. Tunnel Stage, 12:45 p.m. Photo by Ted Maider When the highlight of your show is bringing out your "band" of brightly dressed hipsters with cowbells, you're probably a bit of a gimmick. Like Mayer Hawthorne, Oakland's Eric Frederic -- one-half of wallpaper. -- makes his living as a skinny white guy singing ironic soul songs. Both corny, except wallpaper.'s music is even less authentic, if that's possible. The duo (Frederic on vocals and iPod, Arjun Singh on drums) played song after mailed-in neo-disco song about sex and booze, Frederic playing the backing tracks on his iPod while Singh drummed along. Of course, the iPod handled the complex drum parts. Oh well, being bored at a festival at one in the afternoon is nothing to complain about. Besides, it was all in good fun; Frederic was charismatic and made some choice jokes about casual sex and selling drugs at the merch booth. And he apparently has a song called "Laptops from Methadone Clinics", so there's that. Holy Fuck Bridge, 1:30 p.m. Photo by Ted Maider If you haven't seen these folks yet, go go go. I won't profess to have any idea what Holy Fuck does on stage, but I know it sounds great and the novelty hasn't worn off yet. Visualize a drummer and a bassist backing two guys standing opposite each other twisting knobs and screaming into distorted microphones. You're already probably halfway to knowing what the Toronto four-piece sounds like, but basically it's noisy, improvisational, sometimes psychedelic, and all live (*cough* wallpaper. *cough*). Instruments include analog synths and a 35mm film synchronizer, but that translates into a bunch of gadgets on a table tangled in a mess of wires. It's fun to watch. I had the thought, Holy Fuck's sound would fit an arena quite nicely, so Radiohead, if you're reading this, first stop reading and put out your album, and then invite Holy Fuck to open for you please. Jamaica Tunnel, 2:15 p.m. Photo by Ted Maider Fun fact: Eight of the 13 Saturday acts were foreign, and only three of those were from primarily English-speaking countries. Another fun fact: Jamaica isn't from Jamaica, but Paris. The band also doesn't play even remotely electronic music, so what was it doing on the Saturday lineup? Never mind, it's dancey rock music so close enough. Jamaica, dressed for climbing Mt. Everest, put on a set of catchy grunge-pop songs in the vein of fellow slackers Free Energy. There wasn't much beneath the surface, but it was kind of nice to have a token riff-rock band on Saturday. Die Antwoord Bridge, 3:00 p.m. What does it say about the state of indie hip-hop when Die Antwoord is the only hip-hop act at a festival that previously signed on acts like Murs, Cut Chemist, Zion I, The Streets, Aesop Rock, and Crown City Rockers? Screw it, what does it say about the state of indie hip-hop that Die Antwoord is even popular (and not even technically indie anymore)? Yes, the South African trio is a joke, but the band is not any funnier than ICP, which everyone hates (or Ali G, who Ninja is shamelessly biting). Photo by Ted Maider Anyway, a certain portion of the crowd ate this shit up. Die Antwoord came out dressed in the same outfits from the "Enter the Ninja" video, Yo-Landi Vi$$er making a wardrobe change halfway through and Ninja gradually undressing. Ninja can flow and both of them have stage presence and can work a crowd. But maybe I'm a little old to be impressed by generic electro-rap beats and fart-joke lyricism. One crowdmember remarked after it was over, "Some people will dance to anything with that type of beat." Exactly. However, like wallpaper. earlier, Ninja and Vi$$er did not take themselves seriously; they actually made the butterfly gestures during "Enter the Ninja", for example, and ended the set by yelling out "Be happy!" No arguments here. Phantogram Tunnel, 3:45 p.m. Photo by Ted Maider Phantogram, one of the best acts Saturday, also turned out to be one of the mellowest. The duo, guitarist Josh Carter and keyboardist Sarah Barthel (accompanied by a live drummer), plays a blend of shoegaze, trip-hop, and psychedelic pop backing dark, atmospheric vocals from both members. This was the first band that really packed the stage, and if that's a sign of rising popularity, it's well deserved. Phantogram played a dance-friendly set but sported some substance to go along with the style. And, okay, elephant in the room, Sarah Barthel is cute. It's just a little crush. !!! Bridge, 4:35 p.m. Photo by Ted Maider Everyone should be familiar with what !!! does by now. The Sacramento dance-punk outfit is a nonstop ball of kinetic energy, particularly metrosexual frontman Nic Offer, who made his way into the crowd several times and was never standing in one place for five seconds - despite having performed in Tokyo the day before, according to Offer, and getting a mere three hours of sleep. While the band is much more suited to the club, like say the Noise Pop festival earlier this year, than a large festival stage, it's not for lack of presence. !!! is no stranger to festivals and handled the large crowd gracefully. At times, Offer seemed out of breath and couldn't quite nail his parts. In hindsight, it wouldn't have killed the energy for him to slow down a little -- there is plenty else to focus on at a !!! show, with the band's multiple guitars, keyboards, a backing vocalist, and a saxophonist. Four Tet Tunnel, 5:25 p.m. Photo by Ted Maider Kieran Hebden's main live instrument is a laptop, and his light show came across as modest with full daylight still out. However, flashiness was not required and Hebden, better known as Four Tet, put on an irresistible set. Probably the second-best of the day, in fact. It's understandable that IDM doesn't get a lot of love at festivals where people just want to wear mouse masks and dance, but artists like Hebden lend credibility to the mainstream-again dance music community. Still, it's hard to tell what Hebden was doing up there besides checking his e-mail and bobbing his head. Kruder & Dorfmeister Bridge, 6:15 p.m. Photo by Ted Maider The Austrian duo Kruder & Dorfmeister are renowned for their downtempo remixes, but they kept the tempo up in a rare live show Saturday. Peter Kruder and Richard Dorfmeister, the first nighttime act, rocked the turntables in front of some stunning visuals, while two well-dressed MC's kept the crowd involved. This meant prancing around stage and yelling inane things like "everybody go boom!" but the crowd would surely have lost interest otherwise. Actually, for a crowd that was oblivious even to LCD Soundsystem's early material, the audience was rather enthusiastic about K & D. This performance marked the end of the duo's first North American tour in 10 years, and whenever K & D does it again, it won't be soon enough. Well, a couple months or so would be fine. Little Dragon Tunnel, 7:05 p.m. Photo by Ted Maider Let's get this out of the way right off the bat -- Little Dragon is known more for frontwoman Yukimi Nagano's appearances on Gorillaz' album Plastic Beach than its own music, and it would have delighted people to hear a line from "Empire Ants" during Little Dragon's set. But there was no need to pander, because believe it or not, Little Dragon has some fantastic songs in its own right. The Swedish quartet played a new one for the Treasure Island crowd, and it fits right into the band's tiny canon of subtle dance pop. These songs are to be heard live, not only because of Nagano's infectious dancing and sexy crooning, but because the band is pretty damn good too. Sure, Little Dragon plays some simple, atmospheric pop songs, but the guys can also jam a little -- and that's when they're at their best. Deadmau5 Bridge, 7:55 p.m. Photo by Ted Maider Firstly, Deadmau5 apparently flew to the Smokeout Festival in Southern California after his set to perform another set there, but he does wear a giant mau5 mask, so he could've swindled us -- we'll never know. Either way, a plethora of Treasure Island attendees were there just to see Deadmau5, whose star has risen swiftly. It's not clear why; is he doing anything dozens of other artists aren't doing, besides wearing a giant, glowing mouse mask and performing behind a v-shaped structure and a bunch of cool visuals? Maybe that's the point, to drug up, dance, and be impressed with the lighting, but why is Deadmau5 better than Mickey Mau5? Besides "Ghosts n Stuff", most of the tunes he played at Treasure Island were relatively tuneless, which is fine if done right; it's just hard to get into the repetitive noodling. Further, the energy never really built up; he would tease at something explosive before reverting to stagnant, lifeless minimalism. Once again, that single of his was the only exception. Like K & D, Deadmau5 had an MC come out to hype the audience, but she was only on stage for a song or two before leaving the man to his work. The DJ (real name Joel Zimmerman) is certainly hard-working, and has put together a beautiful show. The question is whether people would care about that show if a couple of French robots hadn't popularized the concept of masked DJ's and personalized stages in the first place. I suppose it doesn't matter, because if you want to see Deadmau5 for the visuals and the drugs, you will not be disappointed. If it's the music you care about, just don't expect anything special. Miike Snow Tunnel, 8:45 p.m. Photo by Ted Maider Deadmau5 concluded the rave portion of the evening, meaning people began to leave, but Miike Snow and LCD Soundsystem kept the vast majority of folks there for the rest of the night. The former, which played amidst a thick cloud of smoke, played to an enthusiastic but exhausted crowd -- an inevitable side effect of a long and relentlessly cold day. The Swedish band, which American singer Andrew Wyatt insisted was a band and not a person, strolled through songs like "Burial" and "Black and Blue", the latter of which went through a pretty ugly and unnecessary distortion job. However, Miike Snow nailed singles "Sylvia" and "Animal", the song that will never escape this band. "Animal", which seemed to go on extra long just for shits and giggles, obviously elicited the largest crowd response. LCD Soundsystem Bridge, 9:35 p.m. How do you follow up a career-defining headlining gig at the Hollywood Bowl with a short headlining set at a small festival? The way James Murphy and co. pulled it off was to do everything the same but cut out a few songs. Literally, we're talking the same set in practically the same order, minus "Get Innocuous!", "Someone Great", and "Losing My Edge". Those are three songs that it sucks to have missed out on. But let's focus on the positive, namely that LCD Soundsystem murdered this festival. As Murphy has neared the end of his tour -- like so many other acts at Treasure Island -- he and his band have begun playing "Dance Yrself Clean" live, and now it's hard to imagine being satisfied without hearing the This is Happening opener. Everyone knew when the beat was going to drop, everyone was waiting for it, and most reacted appropriately and danced thmselves clean. The other two This is Happening tracks which opened the set were also well received, although "Drunk Girls" is kind of a snoozer, at least coming between "Dance Yrself Clean" and "I Can Change". Photo by Ted Maider LCD continued to murder with "Daft Punk is Playing at My House", although the audience shockingly seemed to lose interest. This trend continued for the other old songs; there were singalongs for the new ones, but anything off of the self-titled (almost half the set) was met with half-assed response. Even "Tribulations", for God's sake. Was 2005 really that long ago? The band ignored Sound of Silver material with the exception of "All My Friends", which was probably not a wise choice for this crowd, but if Murphy is really going to be easing off of LCD Soundsystem in the coming years, it was the right choice. Photo by Ted Maider Lame crowd notwithstanding, the show was the best you could hope for in one hour and 15 minutes. Murphy really sings nowadays instead of just yelling into the mic, and you can tell his band is having a good time. The highlight was Murphy leading the audience in a slow clap which built directly into the opening of "Movement", which just so happens to shred live. Murphy acknowledged that the show was just too short, however: "I don't make the rules," he quipped as he introduced the final number, "Home". Finishing up at just after 10:50 p.m., LCD was not allowed an encore, which was expected given the strict start and end times to every set. Still, here's hoping Murphy comes back before he abandons the project. Sunday, October 17th Phosphorescent Tunnel, 12:00 p.m. Phosphorescent was booked for the main stage, but the weather had different plans for indie folk musician Matthew Houck and his band. Thankfully, no cancellations, because damn if Phosphorescent wasn't one of the best acts all day. There's no good reason Phosphorescent should have been on so early -- this meant a lot of people missing him, rain or not. Houck's guitarist Jesse Anderson Ainsley and his keyboardist Scott Stapleton were some of the most technically proficient musicians at the festival. Phosphorescent's set included a good mix of vocal harmonization and good, old-fashioned rock soloing. Houck is quite the musician himself, and an even better vocalist. "The Mermaid Parade", in particular, was a moment of brilliance. Photo by Harry Painter. The Mumlers Tunnel, 12:52 p.m. Photo by Ted Maider Thanks to Phosphorescent being switched to the Tunnel stage, The Mumlers held the distinction of being the only act with a snipped set time. The San Jose sextet, which was also the only act with a guitarist dressed like a pirate, was able to make it on stage 12 minutes after scheduled. The Mumlers, despite the pirate (bloody face makeup and all) and a french horn or two, got kind of lost in the shuffle of chill indie rock acts on Sunday. They're more than just an indie rock band, though -- they displayed classic rock, jazz, and folk sensibilities and aptly followed a Phosphorescent set everyone seemed to love. When The Mumlers weren't allowed to play their final song, the audience let out a loud groan. The pirate took it all in good humor, leaving us with "The greatest treasure was having you for an audience." Arrr, matey. Ra Ra Riot Bridge, 1:15 p.m. Photo by Ted Maider My, oh my, I can't believe I've ignored this band for so long. Ra Ra Riot is much more than a pretty cellist -- she also has a good voice. Kidding, kidding. Really, Ra Ra Riot was perfect. If you're a sucker for strings in your indie pop, jump on this bandwagon. The Syracuse sextet has a penchant for playing cheerful, emotional music with marching skins and sweeping strings. Frontman Wes Miles, who seems comfortable with the band's popularity, can make the main stage feel like the most intimate place on Earth, like you're up there with them just watching them rehearse. Ra Ra Riot will certainly be on much later next time the band plays this festival; the band was an absolute pleasure so early in the day. Papercuts Tunnel, 1:55 p.m. Local musician Jason Quever's project Papercuts is another act that failed to leave an impression amongst the several laid-back indie acts Sunday. Quever makes droning dream pop accompanied by soft, almost whispering vocals. He and his band had a couple of genuinely interesting moments, but the majority of Papercuts' set was background music. Superchunk Bridge, 2:30 p.m. The old guys of the festival, North Carolina's indie rock heroes Superchunk, were touring behind new album Majesty Shredding, their first album since 2001's Here's to Shutting Up. Superchunk's DIY riff-rock fit in just fine in an era when people suddenly care about Pavement again. The band played new tracks such as "Rosemarie", "Digging for Something", and "Crossed Wires", along with old faves like "Slack Motherfucker" and "Throwing Things". The band looked happy to be there, but also made a point whether they meant to or not -- bring back the fucking rock and roll. Photo by Ted Maider. The Sea and Cake Tunnel, 3:15 p.m. Photo by Ted Maider The Sea and Cake, which has opened for fellow Treasure Island band Broken Social scene in the past, probably isn't the best example of bringing back the fucking rock and roll, but the Chicago indie act did partake in some quality jamming. The Sea and Cake's set wandered into everything from chill surf rock (which was becoming quite tired by now) to smooth jazz to post-rock. The mood wasn't exactly befitting of the band, coming after Superchunk, but anyone who skipped The Sea and Cake is going to have to put the band on his list. She & Him Bridge, 4:00 p.m. Photo by Ted Maider If Zooey Deschanel wasn't the queen of all that is indie, She & Him would not be booked at every damn festival on the planet. Half the people there are watching for the novelty of seeing Deschanel sing -- and she's pretty good at it, but the songs are another story. They range from poppy indie folk to doo-wop anthems, none of which are very original. And while Deschanel can sing, she just lacks power, the same way Charlotte Gainsbourg does. Deschanel has the better voice, but she either gets drowned out by the band or simply trails off at the end of each line. M. Ward is a little more reliable on the guitar, but he couldn't save this set. If you were forgiving, however, you could have appreciated Deschanel's earnestness on the ballad "Take it Back" or her cheeriness on Vol. 2 track "In the Sun". Monotonix Tunnel, 4:50 p.m. My God, what did I get myself into here? These three hairy guys from Tel Aviv may have sounded nothing like they do in studio, but I wouldn't have known that beforehand and it wouldn't have mattered anyway. Where do we begin? Singer Ami Shalev was dressed like an aging former soccer player making a final comeback just to break some bones. Guitarist Yonatan Gat and drummer Haggai Fershtman looked like the guys MGMT modeled themselves after before turning it into a lame fashion trend. The band, Monotonix, doesn't play on stage. The trio set up in the middle of the crowd from the start and proceeded to jam. Shalev was all about crowd participation, standing on top of the bass drum, crowd surfing, going out of his way to make everyone part of the show. The crowd formed a circle around Monotonix, Gat doing his best to keep on track while being shoved from behind. Periodically, the band would pick up its instruments and relocate, with fans doing what they could to help (it's amazing the guitar cord made it through the show intact). The very indie crowd wasn't prepared for 40 minutes of garage punk between the She & Him and Broken Social Scene sets, but the mosh pits soon began. Anyone within 30 feet of the band couldn't hum a single line from a Monotonix song, but everyone will remember three things: the impromptu Shalev-led singalong to "A Hard Day's Night", Shalev dumping a bag of garbage onto Fershtman, and the finale of Shalev tossing a tom into the stacked drum kit. Shalev is no GG Allin, but crazy is crazy and he was crazy enough. [nggallery id=136] Photos by Harry Painter. Broken Social Scene Bridge, 5:35 p.m. It can only be described as a shame that Broken Social Scene was limited to 50 minutes, but that's the nature of Treasure Island -- it was actually one of the longest sets of the day. The band started things off with Forgiveness Rock Record track "Meet Me in the Basement", then quickly squeezed in some longtime favorites like "7/4 Shoreline" and "Texico Bitches", both of which rock so much more live than on record. No Emily Haines, but BSS managed a sweet rendition of "Anthems for a Seventeen Year-Old Girl". Photo by Ted Maider Kevin Drew dropped his guitar early on, which didn't seem to matter, as BSS has four or five guitarists at once. Drew joked that he literally breaks a guitar at every show, which may not have been a joke at all. By the end of the set, Drew took to the crowd, making sure to leave his mark on the fest in case the music wasn't enough. It really wasn't, but that's because there just wasn't enough of it. Surfer Blood Tunnel, 6:25 p.m. Photo by Ted Maider This band so deserves all that hype it gets. There was plenty enough surf rock going on at Treasure Island, but if it's good it's good, and none was better at it than Surfer Blood. Touring behind its only album Astro Coast, Surfer Blood tore through tracks like "Swim", "Take it Easy", and "Floating Vibes". The quintet even did a cover of Pavement's "Box Elder", which was appropriate considering the band is pretty much a cross between Pavement and Modest Mouse. The songs did blend together late in the set, being that most of them are similar in tone and tempo, but all in all Surfer Blood left a promising impression. Skipping even one song, the last song, to get a spot for The National was a tough decision. The National Bridge, 7:15 p.m. Yet it was the right decision, because The National was the best act at Treasure Island this year. The National has gotten better and better over the years, and in 2010 has found the ideal mix between being sensitive, artsy poets and outright rock stars. This is especially the case with the Brooklyn band's live output; songs that amount to midtempo hummers on record, like "Squalor Victoria" and "England", become fiery and full of rage when performed live. The difference is the Dessner brothers' love for loud, unhinged distortion and Matt Berninger's willingness to scream -- when Berninger gets red-faced and shouts "afraid of the house, because they're desperate to entertain," you realize he means every last word. Or maybe it's the wine he drinks before he performs. Photo by Harry Painter The National also appear increasingly comfortable being on stage. It takes a lot of confidence to be a rock star, and it didn't feel like the band had or wanted that confidence in 2008. Now, Berninger and the Dessners pose on stage and exchange witty banter like they're in a living room with 8,000 friends. "He doesn't let us wear suits," complained Bryce Dessner about Berninger's wardrobe choices. Berninger responded with, "Respect the suit; you guys are frumpy." Before "Slow Show", Dessner pointed out the song makes reference to Berninger's genitalia, to which Berninger clarified that it wasn't true: "A small area of the song is about my dick." The set was heavy on High Violet and Boxer stuff, including only the essentials from Alligator ("Abel", "Mr. November") and nothing from the band's early albums. This was doing pretty well for a one-hour festival set though, and the band covered a pretty good range of the stuff people wanted to hear. The National, at the end of its tour, played all the late-set mainstays in the expected order: "Fake Empire" into "Mr. November" into "Terrible Love" -- a lineup there's no complaining about. Dessner dedicated "Mr. November" to the Democrats, after which Berninger, not wanting to be uncool, dedicated "Terrible Love" to the Republicans, and then to babies, because "everyone loves babies." Rogue Wave Tunnel, 8:15 p.m. "Following The National sucks," sighed Zach Rogue, frontman of Oakland's Rogue Wave. He wasn't kidding, but his band held its own coming between the two big Sunday names on the smaller stage. Rogue Wave may have been the indiest band at this mercilessly indie musical gathering, but performances of songs like "Lake Michigan" and "Bird on a Wire" were anything but indie kitsch. The band made the performance something special by bringing out fellow Oakland musician Ted Nesseth of The Heavenly States for a collaboration. Both Rogue Wave and Nesseth had their fair share of supporters at the festival. Photo by Ted Maider Rogue Wave brought the politics much more readily than The National, dedicating "Solitary Gun", a track off the band's latest album, Permalight, to Oscar Grant, the man who was shot and killed by a police officer at an Oakland train station while face down and unarmed. Trade secret: If you want to get a Bay Area crowd on your side, it's a good idea to bring up Oscar Grant. The set consisted of material spanning Rogue Wave's career, and it felt like the band was a miniature headliner for the local folks. Nothing but love from the Bay Area audience. Belle & Sebastian Bridge, 9:05 p.m. There was no one more deserving to headline the Treasure Island fest than Belle & Sebastian, but the Scottish indie poppers were an anticlimactic close to a great festival. Any huge fan would have been just fine with the set -- it was heavy on If You're Feeling Sinister and Dear Catastrophe Waitress material, and gave equal attention to new album Write About Love. To top it all off, the band was accompanied by a five-piece string section. Stuart Murdoch was crowd-friendly, exchanging banter incessantly and even making a couple of kids' days by pointing them out in the audience. In fact, it was a good show. Belle & Sebastian just isn't the band to close a festival. Photo by Ted Maider Guitarist Stevie Jackson at one point led the crowd in a relatively complex singalong for new track "I'm Not Living in the Real World", featuring an "ooh" in three different keys. Jackson joked that we could handle it, because "San Francisco is a musical city." SF handled it just beautifully, and it was one of the highlights of the set. The band of course played "Piazza New York Catcher", which features lyrics about the San Francisco Giants playing the New York Mets, and also references SF's Tenderloin district. Murdoch remarked that he had not realized how many of Belle & Sebastian's songs were based on San Francisco. He then did a little pandering: "The Phillies don't stand a chance, man. Give it to them!" Sorry, Philadelphia, he's right. "The Boy with the Arab Strap" had people all the way across the grounds dancing jovially; this was on a weekend when people were reluctant to dance even on the dance day, and the talkers came in droves. But for this one song, Belle & Sebastian had everyone's attention and there was nothing but happiness in the air, which is kind of what this band is about. Photo by Ted Maider So what made this the wrong band to close the festival? It's just that they're so damn...twee. By about halfway through, Belle & Sebastian had overdosed us on the upbeat four-minute pop songs, and I just wanted them to depress me for once. Where was the soul? Belle & Sebastian is such a lovable band in moderation that it's hard to see how stale the band can get until it happens. Not once did Belle & Sebastian ever turn a head or wow anyone, not the way The National, LCD Soundsystem, or even Broken Social Scene did. Perhaps it just wasn't an ideal setlist. The performance never felt important, not even during the encore of "Judy & the Dream of Horses", which is a fantastic song, but not one with which to close a weekend of great music. Oh well. ]]> http://consequenceofsound.net/2010/10/cold-days-on-the-bay-cos-at-treasure-island-10/feed/ 6 http://consequenceofsound.net/2010/10/austin-remains-weird-cos-at-austin-city-limits-10/ http://consequenceofsound.net/2010/10/austin-remains-weird-cos-at-austin-city-limits-10/#comments http://c438342.r42.cf2.rackcdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2010/05/acl.jpg Wed, 13 Oct 2010 03:03:11 +0000 Winston Robbins http://consequenceofsound.net/?p=76106 You know the adage: Don’t mess with Texas. Never have I realized what this phrase truly meant until this weekend. Somebody must have broken that cardinal rule and dared them to throw one of the biggest music festivals in North America because they did exactly that, yet again. Another phrase I was introduced to was “Keep Austin Weird”, meaning keep the big corporations (McDonald’s, Wal-Mart, etc.) out and let the little guys have a chance. Yet another phrase I was introduced to this weekend was “Alabama Hot Pocket”, but we won’t go into what that means in the interest of keeping CoS fairly family-friendly.

In all seriousness, though, Austin stayed true to both its claims to fame; it maintained its DIY aesthetic and its no BS policy. The combination of these two ideals created the glorious Austin City Limits Music Festival. Considered one of the four biggest music festivals in the country (Coachella, Lollapalooza, and Bonnaroo being the other three), it played house to seven stages, over 130 bands, and somewhere around 70,000 people. Needless to say, it was an event that needs some serious re-capping.

This festival is unique in its nature because it’s such a united front. Everyone is completely in agreement when it comes to the importance of this festival. Entering Austin, there are signs everywhere you turn in support of the festival. Businesses change their marquees to support the onslaught of people, people set up shops all up and down the ways in an out of the festival, and even the airport was nice enough to welcome all foreign ACL-goers with a pleasant sign as soon as we stepped off our respective planes. The city genuinely wants this event to happen, and they genuinely go all out. Even within the festival, things are different. People are more pleasant, more accommodating (not like Coachella, where I felt like I might get cut at any second for accidentally stepping on someone’s toes). This festival truly belongs to the city, which makes it truly special.

It wasn’t all fun and games, however. The logistics were unbelievably bad. The festival layout was straight out of an M. Night Shyamalan film – that is to say it was big, bizzare, and full of holes (ba-zing!). We may as well have all been blindfolded and left to the sense of feel to find our way anywhere. The lines in and out were misleading and literally miles long. The stages were far too close together, which made for frequent sound-bleeds, which is a big no-no at any reputable festival. And worst of all, they allow (take a deep breath) chairs. This was my first ACL, but it was not my first festival rodeo. Sweeping in and out of massive gangs of camping chairs reduces mobility to about a half of what it usually is at festivals. Getting from stage to stage was an absolute cluster-cuss. The set times were way too long for some bands and way too short for others, and the placement of hype bands on adjoining stages made for some confusing and maddening situations.

But we’re above logistics here at CoS, because at the end of the day, it’s still about the music. And that’s one thing this festival couldn’t have done more right.

Friday, October 8th

Miike Snow
Honda, 3:00 p.m.

The sun was relentlessly blaring down upon Miike Snow and their abnormally large crowd. The combination of the innate drawing power of heavy electronic beats and the close proximity of the Honda Stage to the AMD stage made for an absurdly large crowd at Miike Snow. Dressed in all black, with a black banner behind them, the six man electro-pop crew was sweating bullets in the Texas heat. Multiply the heat and their costumes by their intense sound and that makes for one supremely blazing performance. I mean that past sentence literally and figuratively, but mostly literally. Miike Snow only had a decent debut album, and performed slightly above par at ACL. Maybe it was the heat, but the show seemed to slump a bit after they inched a few songs into the set.

Girls
ZYNC Card, 3:00 p.m.

An unreasonably small crowd (considering the 70,000 people at ACL) gathered to hear one of the best acts to come out of 2009. Sporting a new haircut, Girls‘ Chris Owens was almost too calm as he and his band ran through their fairly small catalog. I’m sure that touring the same material for two years would be taxing on anyone, but they seemed downright bored. Don’t get me wrong, it sounded spot on, and I always love seeing Girls live, but I think the rumors of disharmony that surfaced at Matador at 21 might hold some water. They need to get off the road and into the studio soon. “Hellhole Ratrace”, “Laura”, and “Lust For Life” all got the crowd pumped, but it was only an intro to the great day that was to come.

The Black Keys
AMD, 4:00 p.m.

One of the more prominent victims of the strange scheduling was The Black Keys. They did get the amount of standing space to accommodate the massive hoard that came to listen to their unique style Blues-Rock, but the early slot was perplexing to me. Why book such a large act so early in the day?  No sense in playing the blame game, though, especially because The Black Keys took it in stride and rocked Austin to its knees. With hits from all over their vast back catalog, the Akron duo wowed everybody at the festival. “Your Touch”, “I Got Mine”, and newbie “Everlasting Light” all saw plenty of applause, and rightfully so. The Black Keys were one of the best acts booked at this year’s ACL, hands down.

Beach House
Honda, 5:00 p.m.

Photo by Paul Woodruff

In theory, Victoria LeGrand and Alex Scally’s dreamy pop tunes should not have fit in well with the blistering heat of Texas. It’s a bit more suited for a mirthless trip to the moon. But for whatever reason, the sights and sounds of Beach House went down blissfully smooth despite the dusty Texas heat. LeGrand’s never sounded better, and when the band arrived at their climactic version of “Norway”, the crowd couldn’t help but be sucked in by the stark musicianship and the star-show being put on as a background. The biggest cheers, surprisingly, were for their older songs “Gila” and “Heart of Chambers”.

Spoon
AMD, 6:00 p.m.

Photo by Paul Woodruff

Local Austin heroes Spoon took the stage to what was easily the biggest crowd at the AMD stage all weekend. But 16 years and counting behind the plate has given Britt Daniel time to polish his poise game. Completely at ease onstage, the natural-born frontman led the crowd through a set fraught with hit after hit. The hour long set played like a greatest hits album with the exception of when he invited The Fiery Furnaces’ Eleanor Friedberger for a duet version of “Someone Something”. That song was not only poorly delivered, but it received noticeably less fanfare. Every single other song, however, riled up the crowd. “I Turn My Camera On”, “The Ghost of You Lingers”, “Don’t You Evah”, “I Summon You”, “Don’t Make Me A Target”, and countless others made everyone remember why Spoon remains such a constant presence in independent music. They announced that this would be their last tour date for some time, and what better way to celebrate a wonderful album and ensuing tour than at one of the biggest festivals on earth which just so happens to be in their hometown.

Amos Lee
Austin Ventures, 6:00 p.m.

Mr. Amos Lee also fell victim to scheduling, easily out shined by Spoon, but that’s to be expected for an act as small as his. That’s not to say his performance was anything short of masterful, though. His particular brand of music is something of a dying breed, and the fact that he’s even keeping his head above water, let alone drawing a sizable crowd during one of ACL’s premiere acts, speaks volumes about this man’s talents. After he closed with “Seen It All Before”,  he thanked everyone for sticking with him, and you could tell he meant every word he said.

Photo by Paul Woodruff

Vampire Weekend
ZYNC Card, 7:00 p.m.

Poor Sonic Youth. Their entire crowd wasn’t even half of Vampire Weekend’s. I’m not a huge Sonic Youth fan or anything, but they are pioneers and deserve their fair amount of respect. But, in reality, Vampire Weekend deserves their fair share of props as well. They beat the hell out of the concept of having a sophomore slump by releasing an album twice as good as its already incredible predecessor. Contra remains one of the best albums of the year, however many times we have to hear the songs. This was my fourth encounter with VW this year alone, and I was still impressed with how tight their sound is these days. Contra tracks “White Sky”, “Cousins”, and “Giving Up The Gun”, when performed live, will never cease to impress me.

Sonic Youth
Honda, 7:00 p.m.

Photo by Jac Malloy

As mentioned, the majority of the people who could have been at Sonic Youth were at Vampy Weeks, for better or worse. Didn’t phase Kim Gordon, Thurston Moore, and friends, however. They played through a fairly solid set that was unfortunately a bit Eternal-happy. “The Sprawl” and “’Cross The Breeze” represented the old days pretty well, but had there been any actual teenagers in the audience, I think a teenage riot would’ve occurred at the fact that they didn’t play, well, “Teenage Riot”.

The Strokes
AMD, 8:00 p.m.

Fifty-five minute set, and still they were the best of the fest. In true Strokes fashion, the boys swaggered onstage nearly 15 minutes late, and proceeded to jump into an insane set that had people going bananas. Much different than their previous reunited tour dates of 2010, the band seemed to act as one cohesive machine. Nostalgia ensued as Julian Casablancas, clad in a leather jacket with a hoodie underneath, took the mic stand and made love to it during opener “Is This It”. He seemed to regain a bit of that lost youth that everybody’s been yearning to see, and so did the other members of the band. Back to sporting Chuck Taylors and frayed jeans (except for Albert Hammond, Jr., in his signature white three piece), the boys were back.

Casablancas acknowledged their youth by introducing “Someday” as a song they used to play in empty bars. Throughout the show, they were pitch-perfect on every classic hit and had only one awkward moment, when everyone went off for an encore, except Casablancas who wasn’t helping anything by his awkward rant about how cool The Thundercats theme song was (although his argument does hold water). They even played songs that they hadn’t played since touring in 2006 – “Evening Sun”, “Between Love And Hate”, and “Trying Your Luck”. It was a sizzling performance. Which is why I, along with the 10s of thousands of other fans, was perplexed when Casablancas announced 20 minutes ahead of schedule that this would be their last song and jumped into “Take It Or Leave It”.

On paper, they were allotted 90 minutes to do with what they pleased, yet they only used 55 of them total. Frustrating, sure, but it was still hands down the best set of the entire festival. Quality over quantity, I suppose. At the very least, it was a glimpse into the past that made me (a cynical a-hole) hopeful for the future of The Strokes.

Photo by Paul Woodruff.

Saturday, October 9th

First Aid Kit
Honda, 12:00 p.m.

Rabid Records label members, and sister duo First Aid Kit made a nice name for themselves on what would turn out to be a massively talent-filled day. The very first act of Day 2, they came on towing some unexpected confidence, especially for an act with as little experience as them. It actually reminded me of the first time I saw Fleet Foxes way back when. Strong, confident harmonies all following a confident melody. They played their still most popular song to date, “Tangerine”, with expertise, and debuted an ornate new song called “Lion’s Roar”, indicating that the follow-up to their debut, which dropped in January of this year, is close at hand. Best part of the show came when they covered labelmate (and technically label owner) Fever Ray’s “When I Grow Up” with a folk twist.

The Very Best
Budweiser, 12:30 p.m.

My favorite kind of performer is one that is having more fun than the audience. The Very Best‘s Esau Mwamwaya is exactly that kind of performer. He was all smiles in his 50 minute performance that was largely made up of Warm Heart of Africa tracks and samples of other popular tunes that he’d sing over. He did a rendition of “Paper Planes” that ended up being better than M.I.A.’s. He also sampled Yeasayer’s “Ambling Alp” and the late Michael Jackson’s “Will You Be There”. I was hoping Ezra Koenig would show up to do “Warm Heart of Africa” with him, but he didn’t. All the same, that song got the party jumping and the crowd ready for the great things to come.

NINJASONIK
Austin Ventures, 1:20 p.m.

The Brooklyn natives went on to a fairly large crowd on the second smallest stage at ACL. NINJASONIK was a fantastic breath of fresh air because there was very little hip hop happening at this festival. They came out with their crazy eccentric (and often hilariously obscene) rhymes and moved the crowd to a chant of “We are Ninja f***ing Sonik, we are Sonik f***ing Ninjas”, which they repeated over and over. They apologized for their explicit lyrics (somewhat unapologetically), saying “I know there’s kids in the audience, but we’re straightforward people.” Indeed they were. Other memorable chorus chants from their electric performance: “Somebody gon’ get pregnant!” and “We don’t do bars/We don’t do clubs/We drink PBRs/And we do drugs.” Gotta love it when a little known hip hop duo completely wins over a crowd they probably shouldn’t have.

Bear In Heaven
ZYNC Card, 1:30 p.m.

Photo by Paul Woodruff

Whoever delivered all the acclaim for Bear in Heaven’s debut album stands as one the most generous men or women on Earth. On a good day, I only kind of like hearing this band. The sound acts as regurgitated noise rock over a shaky vocalist. Not much to it. They aren’t great showmen, either – barely saying the obligatory, “How you guys doin’ out there?” The hipsters made a full-fledged showing though, always keen on whatever the next buzz blog’s buzzin’ about. However, they didn’t seem happy to be hearing the music. Instead, they sort of just stood around with their hands in their pockets and looked at each other. Then again, maybe that’s just how hipsters celebrate good music. Regardless of the energy, the music stayed true to the dingy studio recorded versions, and “Lovesick Teenagers” won over the crowd; that is, if getting kids to shove their hands in their pockets and eye one another can be considered winning.

Pete Yorn
Honda, 1:30 p.m.

Ah, the sultry vocals of Pete Yorn. Somehow, his music just felt right in Texas, even though the majority of it’s about Jersey, where he grew up. The audience just reveled in his easy on the ears music, many taking the opportunity to sit down and slow the day down a little bit. Yorn put on quite a show, playing many tracks off his latest record, the eponymous Pete Yorn. But he didn’t forget to pay tribute to the tracks that made him who he is, playing “On Your Side” and “Lose You” from his acclaimed Musicforthemorningafter.

Broken Bells
AMD, 4:30 p.m.

Unfortunately, I wish I could say better things about this once in a lifetime show. But there isn’t much to be said about Broken Bells. It may have simply been that they kind of got the short end of the stick on stage choice and time of day, but I think it had more to do with being a boring live band. Obviously, it was fun to see Danger Mouse, and it was instant Garden State nostalgia every time James Mercer opened his mouth, but this was a lackluster performance on the whole. The good news – “The High Road” sounds awesome live, and they even debuted new material indicating that the alleged new album may be closer than we thought. If that weren’t enough, they played an awesome cover of The Black Keys’ “Everlasting Light”.

Local Natives
Austin Ventures, 4:45 p.m.

Does it seem like Local Natives have been on tour since the day their album came out like 10 months ago? I swear they’ve been at every festival I’ve been at, and come through my local venues twice this year. Regardless, I had to see what kind of game they’d bring to this huge festival, and it was exactly what I expected tit for tat. They played their regular set, did it just like it sounded on the record, and had pretty minimal crowd interaction. The more I see this band, listen to their album, and really think about it, I think they’re another band who really didn’t deserve all the hype. (That is, if you buy into that sort of media hoopla.) Solid album, solid performance, but nothing special here, which is an act murderer when you’re directly up against artists who excrete creativity (i.e. LCD Soundsystem, Monsters of Folk – individually, of course, and  The xx).

The xx
ZYNC Card, 5:30 p.m.

Man, The xx have the music world by the balls right now. They have such a unique sound that everyone seems to love, and that point made itself very clear by the unthinkable amount of people that showed up to hear their sultry tunes. I will admit that I did get pretty excited when I heard the first notes of “Intro”, even though I’ve seen them twice in the past six months. Their debut was just so enthralling that it struck a chord with me. And by the showing of people at their ACL performance, I’m not the only fan of the album. The living statues of indie rock and roll got particular love from the crowd for the tracks “Crystalised”, “Heart Skipped A Beat”, and “Basic Space”. But their performance was the first domino to fall in a series of dominoes that turned out to be the biggest logistical screw-up done by the festival.

Photo by Jac Malloy.

Monsters of Folk
Austin Ventures, 6:00 p.m.

Photo by Jac Malloy

Right next door, some of the most creative men of our generation came together to jam – or in other words, they put on a Monsters of Folk show. Donning their Sunday best, M. Ward and Mike Mogis looked right at home in their smartly chosen suits, as well as Conor Oberst, who sported a brown three-piece, the jacket of which he quickly disposed of to reveal that rustic vest look. The only one who looked like he’d been forced by his girlfriend to dress up was Jim James, who seemed a little out of place without his magic cape and moon boots. Attire and pretentious name aside, these truly are some of the best independent folk minds of our generation, and to see them collaborate live was a thing of beauty, although I was only able to stay for the first three songs (if I ever miss an LCD show it’ll be because I’m dead). They came out guns blazing with arguably the best track they created together, “Say Please”. Following this, they took turns at the helm, Ward playing “Slow Down Jo”, James fronting “In The Right Place”, and Oberst showcasing a bit of his solo work with an awesome re-worked version of Cassadaga cut “Soul Singer In A Session Band”. It was truly a spectacle for the brief time I was there. But reluctantly I slide away to join my new best friend, James Murphy.

LCD Soundsystem
Budweiser, 6:30 p.m.

Photo by Paul Woodruff

Why was this set not at night? Why was it right next to The xx? Logistical nightmare part three. Bad move, C3. LCD Soundsystem‘s James Murphy acknowledged the terrible conditions himself by saying “I apologize for the asshole behavior of wearing sunglasses onstage, but if you could see what I see… Just forgive me.” The sun hit directly on the Budweiser stage, where all the hipsters from The xx had migrated, creating an unreal amount of human flesh. Not one to let his own fans down, Murphy and co. (joined by part time LCD part time Hot Chip man Al Doyle!) made up for the bad conditions, jumping right into “Dance Yrself Clean”, arguably the best singular track of 2010. However, ACL screwed up yet again, this time not getting the sound levels right, making Murphy’s vocals too loud and the synth (which is the most important component of the song) not nearly loud enough. It was no matter, however, and we all danced ourselves clean right there in the sweltering heat anyway.

The setlist continued with surprisingly few Sound of Silver tracks, or track, I should say. After giving his shout out to the “Drunk Girls” and proclaiming “I Can Change”, Murphy jumped into the always emotional “All My Friends” just as the sun set. From there it was an all out dance party with a seamless “You Wanted A Hit”/”Tribulations” medley followed by “Movement”, “Yeah” and finally “Home”. As far as top to bottom setlists go, this one wins best of fest.

Deadmau5
ZYNC Card, 7:30 p.m.

Commence logistical nightmare part three. So, highly the infectiously danceable LCD Soundystem has just finished playing their 11 minute beat-building track “Yeah” and called it a night, so of course, everybody’s pumped to go see Deadmau5 and continue their dancing. Only problem: people coming in early to line up for Muse (oh, and crossing the sea of chairs). It was like a mass emigration of dancers with a small, very enthusiastic immigration of Muse-heads. It was utter chaos. Deadmau5 should have been on any stage but the ZYNC stage, which faced the Budweiser mainstage, but logistics aside, this is when things got real. Deadmau5 put on his usual dazzling display of lights and colors multiplied by a cube stage multiplied by an unbelievable mouse head multiplied by grade A house music. When he put on a ghost costume to usher in “Ghosts n’ Stuff” (and a little bit of “Moar Ghosts n’ Stuff”), the crowd went berserk. He maintained this same energy throughout the remainder of his show with tracks like “I Remember”, “FML”, and “Faxing Berlin”.

Photo by Paul Woodruff

M.I.A.
AMD, 8:30 p.m.

I know it’s, like, the cool thing to hate on M.I.A. right now, but she makes it nearly impossible not to. In 2008 when I saw her at Sasquatch! Music Festival, I was blown away by her natural swagger and obvious knack to work a crowd. She took the stage at that festival with all the confidence in the world. The music scene was truly at her fingertips and the world was her oyster. But somewhere between that day and October 9, 2010, something changed in Maya Arulpragasam.

Her album was tangibly less authentic than its predecessors (although it was better than everyone made it out to be), and her image was rapidly depleting. A big spat with the press, and she was sort of on the outs with everyone. I gave her the benefit of the doubt through this time, but I now see that I was wrong to do that.

She’s gone Lady Gaga on us, I’m afraid, her live show filled with overly elaborate pyrotechnics, unnecessary costuming, and minimal focus on the task at hand: the music. It was fun to hear classic M.I.A. tracks like “Boyz”, “Bamboo Banga”, and “Galang”, but her new material just doesn’t pop live. I gave it three chances. I was able to hear “Lovalot” (my favorite track from MAYA), “Teqkilla”, and “Born Free”, but I was unimpressed. Even hearing “Paper Planes” was sort of depressing. Especially because The Very Best did it better earlier in the day. Let’s hope she can pull herself out of this slump because she’s been a solid musician over the years.

Muse
Budweiser, 8:30 p.m.

Part four of the logistical nightmare. After Deadmau5, the hoards of people headed directly towards the Budweiser stage, creating further confusion in the mishmash of human beings and chairs (damn those chairs). It took quite an effort for me to swim upstream to catch a bit of M.I.A. so I could finish up with Muse. But I should have just stuck with M.I.A. the whole time.

Photo by Jac Malloy

Three times have I seen Muse this year, and three times have I left feeling like I just saw an old friend who used to be really cool that is no longer very cool. At all. The Resistance easily makes my top five list for biggest let down albums of the past decade, and for some reason everyone seems to get that except for Muse themselves and girls in junior high. And for some other reason, I decided that I’d give Muse one more shot at redemption, which they blew.

When they opened with “Uprising”, I knew I was in trouble. But then they pulled “Supermassive Blackhole” out of their arsenal and I was pleased. Things improved when they unveiled “New Born”, but it was a slippery slope from there on out. It’s a dangerous territory to be in when you’re touring an album that’s downright awful and you have a pretty impressive back catalogue. Song placements can make or break you. And I’m afraid that in the end, it broke Muse. “MK Ultra”, “Undisclosed Desires”, and “United States of Eurasia” were the straws that broke the camel’s back.

Photo by Jac Malloy

Placed far too close to one another and next to outright blasphemous covers of Hendrix’s versions of “The Star-Spangled Banner” and The Animals’ “House of the Rising Sun”, the setlist proved to be an epic failure. One which could not be saved, even by at three hit combo of “Time Is Running Out”, “Stockholm Syndrome”, and “Starlight”.

Sunday, October 10th

Warpaint
ZYNC Card, 11:45 a.m.

Photo by Jac Malloy

L.A. art-rock up and comers Warpaint gave a dazzling early day performance. Despite not having much experience or even a debut album to speak of (it’s slated for release later this month on October 25^th), the all-female band played a solid set to fair share of folks. Logistically, they lucked out because Ted Leo and the Pharmacists were on an adjacent stage immediately following their set, which brought many onlookers unfamiliar with Warpaint’s small body of work. The incredible harmonies on the track “Bees” was especially moving.

Blind Pilot
ZYNC Card, 1:15 p.m.

Literally the only act that dropped my jaw early Sunday afternoon. Compared to day one and day two, day three was simply average. The allocation of talent over the three days was not proportionate in any way, but that’s not any of the bands’ faults, it’s the festival’s. So day three was a bit of a bummer comparatively. But a bummer at a music festival beats even the best day in the real world. Anyway, I digress. I’m surprised and disappointed that Blind Pilot hasn’t caught on with a larger audience yet. The audience at Zilker’s was pretty small, which is a shame because the Seattle folksters played some beautiful tunes as a cool breeze swept in to soften the rays of the blaring sun. “Oviedo”, “The Story I Heard”, and “Go On, Say It” were all received to big fanfare.

Photo by Paul Woodruff.

Portugal. The Man
Budweiser, 2:00 p.m.

This was a toss-up. On opposite ends of the park, Portugal.The Man and Devendra Banhart were playing. I’d tried my hand at experimental folk twice already at Warpaint and Blind Pilot, so I figured I’d go to see Portugal one more time before festival season was over. And I was greatly rewarded for doing so. They put on such an explosive live show. And they have such a devout following, who may have been the most impressive thing about the whole set. The 87 degree weather and the scorching sun did nothing to throw a monkey wrench in the sizable crowd that assembled to see The Man. Barnburners: “All My People”, “The Dead Dog”, and a sweet extended version of “My Mind”.

Dawes
Austin Ventures, 2:20 p.m.

The smooth harmonies sifted through the sweltering heat to match the mood perfectly. Now I know that Dawes are from L.A., but the music fit the outdoor Texas setting like a glove. Lead singer Taylor Goldsmith announced (after a spot-on performance of “When You Call My Name”) that this was their first show in about a month. He explained that their absence from touring was due to recording a new album. They promptly went into a new song entitled “Far Away” to close the set.

The Morning Benders
Honda, 3:00 p.m.

Well, I had no choice at this point. Well, technically, I did have a choice. Either I had to listen to the crap band that had to fill in for GAYNGS after the tragic theft of their equipment, or go see The Morning Benders. Either way, I’d be wishing I was seeing GAYNGS. But after seeing (and hearing) that the filler band used a mini-supercross motorcycle as one of their go-to instruments (sounds cooler than it was), I bounced. At least The Morning Benders wouldn’t make me feel like I was at a monster truck rally. Everyone who was hoping to see Justin Vernon’s side project decided to do what I did, so The MB’s was doubly packed. But they stepped up to the plate and didn’t hit quite a home run, but I’d say got at least a ground rule double with the spotless version of their acclaimed Big Echo track “Wet Cement”.

Yeasayer
AMD, 4:00 p.m.

Admonishing us with “Wait For The Summer” seemed like a cruel thing for Yeasayer to do, as there are like another nine months of chills ahead of us, but that’s what they opened with anyway. From there it was a thunderstorm of blissful power-pop that really picked the mood up for the day. Up until this point, there was not a whole lot of good that could be said about the day on the whole, due to a variety of reasons (mostly an unbalanced schedule that lacked anything entertaining). Yeasayer played a key part in lifting everyone’s spirits and getting us back into the jive. They stuck to their guts, playing some hits off Odd Blood “Ambling Alp”, “O.N.E.”, etc., but playing largely the good old tracks off All Hour Cymbals. Setlist aside, I couldn’t imagine a better primer for The Flaming Lips, who went on shortly thereafter.

The Flaming Lips
AMD, 6:00 p.m.

If you haven’t been to see The Flaming Lips, do so immediately. It’s not just a show, it’s an experience. The climax of the festival hit during the Lips incendiary performance, and it’s not mere happenstance. Wayne Coyne will take you on a zany ride you’ll never forget. He’ll preach to you (about how it’s important that we love each other and stay safe). He’ll make you laugh. He’ll get emotional with you (tears literally came to his eyes hearing the cheers from his adoring Austin fans during “Do You Realize??”).

Photo by Jac Malloy

This was my second Flaming Lips experience, and the Oklahoma natives have a knack for working a crowd, no doubt about it. First, can I say how impressive it is to me that they drop the whole “I’m better than you, I’m a Rock Star” bull? Each of the members of the band, including Coyne, came out and set up their own equipment, with the help of an experienced team of roadies (there’s a lot of equipment involved in these shows). Next, I’d like to openly criticize the festival for not only putting The Flaming Lips while the sun was still out, but only giving them one hour. Wayne Coyne was even irked by this, saying, “Honestly, from the bottom of our hearts, we would stay here and play all night for you guys. But the festival’s giving us one hour, which we thank them for, and we’re going to make it the very best experience possible for everyone involved.” He then went on to say, “This is a beautiful night in a beautiful city. You’re all beautiful and we’re at a festival where the point is we all get to do whatever the fuck we want, and we get to do it together.” His preach was powerful, but not nearly as powerful as the ensuing music and visuals.

Although it was a largely un-danceable Embryonic-heavy set, the crowd was kept incredibly involved. This was partly due to Wayne’s signature bubble ride, the band’s entrance through a large vagina, and about thousand pounds of confetti. The only tracks that were non-Embryonic were “She Don’t Use Jelly” and “Do You Realize??”, which were both sung along to with unshakable gusto from the Austin audience. Too short, sure, but man what a show.

The National
Honka, 7:00 p.m.

Coming directly off the highest of highs from Flaming Lips closer “Do You Realize??” and coming into The National’s earthy, ominous tones is like going from an especially nostalgic acid trip to a high you get from some skank weed. Maybe that’s too harsh. But truly, how could anything The National had to offer compare to what the crowd had just experienced together? Once the initial shock of the brutal comedown wore off, people were able to enjoy The National’s show. Matt Berninger and friends played solidly (are they capable of anything less than great?) through a setlist that incorporated songs from their last three (incredible) albums. Obviously, there were some higher points (“Abel”, “Bloodbuzz Ohio”, and “Mistaken For Strangers” come to mind quickly), but on the whole, they played a standard National show: packed with talent and flawless.

The Eagles
Budweiser, 8:00 p.m.

This was about the point in the night/three day experience that all the college age kids who had been partying way too hard threw in the towel. What was left was still enormous, from the entrance of Zilker Park all the way to the Budweiser stage, but it was mainly made up of people over the age of 30 and their children. I’ll give generation LOL their due credit, however. Peppered in the sea of graying faces were young music enthusiasts who wanted to see one of the most talented and influential acts of the 70’s play their relentlessly catchy folk-rock. And that’s exactly what they got. Kind of.

Photo by Jac Malloy

The Eagles took the stage with an impressive dive into their beloved cover of “Seven Bridges Road” before pulling out the more recent songs, which were highly less regarded by the crowd, even though lead single “How Long” is a pretty solid track top to bottom. Then they did something that I still don’t understand.

They jumped into a six song course that basically used up a great deal of their best material. Back to back to back (x6), they played “Take It To The Limit”, a trumpet intro-ed “Hotel California”, “Peaceful Easy Feeling”, “I Can’t Tell You Why”, “Witchy Woman”, and “Lyin’ Eyes”. It’s like they used all their magic early on, and then left the crowd bored for a long, long time. After two or three more new songs, people began to shuffle out of the park by the multitudes. Why they would play all the songs everyone wanted to hear so early in the set is perplexing. It was like an invite to leave early and beat the inevitable downtown Austin post-show madness.

Photo by Jac Malloy

For those who stayed and braved the not-so-good Long Road Out Of Eden material, though, they had a couple more tricks up their legendary sleeves. The band rolled out with closers “Heartache Tonight” and “Life In The Fast Lane” before coming back to a blistering encore of “Take It Easy” and “Desperado”. The legends finished out in style, rounding out what will certainly go down in the history books as one of the most incredible Austin City Limits festivals in years.

This new version of the game is no different. A total of 21 artists/bands have lent their re-recorded music to it, from indie rockers Free Energy and School of Seven Bells to dance outfits Hot Chip and Deadmau5.

Oh, and for the millionth —ahem — third expansion pack for the computer game, you can expect more of the same. A few of the songs from the console edition will be included, but in addition, you’ll be hearing both My Chemical Romance and Soulja Boy, among others.

As such, take a look at the full list of songs you’ll be hearing while setting your Sims on fire.

…that isn’t just me, right?

The Sims 3 Console Version Song List:
01. 22-20’s – “Latest Heartbreak”
02. 3OH!3 – “Double Vision”
03. Aceyalone and RJD2 – “Ever Seen This”
04. Aeroplane – “We Can’t Fly”
05. Alpha Rev – “Phoneix Burn”
06. Cody Simpson – “IY IY IY”
07. Crash Kings – “You Got Me”
08. Deadmau5 – “Some Chords”
09. Flo Rida featuring Jovi – “Fresh I Stay”
10. Free Energy – “Free Energy”
11. Hot Chip – “We Have Love”
12. Innerpartysystem – “American Trash”
13. Jasmine V – “All of These Boys”
14. Jessica Mauboy – “Saturday Night”
15. John Butler Trio – “Gonna Be a Long Time”
16. Kidz in the Hall – “Flickin’”
17. Lazee featuring Apollo Drive – “Calling Out”
18. Mickey Factz – “Dreamland”
19. Ozomatli – “Are you Ready?”
20. School Of Seven Bells – “Dust Devil”
21. The Dirty Heads – “Stand Tall”

The Sims 3: Late Night Song List:
01. 3oh!3 – “Double Vision”
02. Bryan Rice – “There for You”
03. Chiddy Bang – “Here We Go”
04. Electrolightz – “Miss Outta Control”
05. Eliza Doolittle – “Rollerblades”
06. Foxy Shazam – “Unstoppable”
07. Hadag Nahash – “Lo Maspik”
08. Hadouken! – “M.A.D.”
09. Jessica Mauboy – “Saturday Night”
10. Junkie XL – “Live Wired”
11. Kelis – “Brave”
12. Kelly Rowland – “Rose Colored Glasses”
13. King Fantastic – “All Black Ying Yang (The Party Song)”
14. My Chemical Romance – “Na Na Na”
15. Nikki & Rich – “Next Best Thing”
16. The Ready Set – “More Than Alive”
17. Soulja Boy – “Speakers Going Hammer”
18. Travie McCoy – “Need You”