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

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.
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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.