While MUTEMATH may have captured the overall “beautiful swagger” mood of the three-day festival, plenty of the other 80+ acts brought different styles. Oakland, CA’s WALLPAPER. wasn’t afraid to turn the low end up and shake the foundation of the resort festival’s three hotel properties. The group’s two drummers exchanged battling drum beats while lead singer Ricky Reed traded spastic tribal dance moves with wild child singer Novena Carmel. That wasn’t the only dancing to be had. Earlier in the weekend, Dinosaur Feathers had audience members dancing about like happy muppets thanks to their simple-yet-smart ‘n catchy Brooklyn melodies. And by Sunday evening, Nico Vega laid down big ballad vocals, channeling Karen O and Florence Welsh over distorted octave riffs and DFA1979 style drums – no doubt a disastrous recipe for crowd control.

Photo by Toni Tronu

On the main stage, however, Big Boi and Manchester Orchestra had no problems flipping the genre switch on the crowd. While Big Boi was not touring with a wind section or multiple backup singers, he easily made DeLuna Fest remember its slogan, “America’s Original Beach Party.” Girls from the audience were pulled onto the massive stage, many of them only wearing bikinis, and danced like Notorious B.I.G. was holding open auditions for his new music video. Whereas Manchester Orchestra, coincidentally nearby locals of Big Boi (they’re both from ATL), followed after the sun had gone down, only to effortlessly show the crowd that big rock riffs and loud vocals can also make a crowd sway from side to side. Andy Hull’s voice translated wonderfully from the album to the live stage, and people who were not the biggest fans of the outfit simply exclaimed afterward that they “brought it.”

Other notable acts included The Parlotones, Kevin Devine and the Goddamn Band, The Limousines, Stars, Cold War Kids and The Airborne Toxic Event. Having been in the industry for over a decade, South Africa’s The Parlotones are finally beginning to open America’s eyes to whatever is currently winning the rest of the world over. The eccentric post-punk quartet only added to the core positivity that DeLuna Fest tries effortfully to convey on paper. Though, they weren’t alone. Sets by Kevin Devine and Ra Ra Riot kept this feeling alive. Devine had open dialogue with front row audience members, and Ra Ra frontman Wes Miles took the time out of the set to repeatedly tell the audience the importance of hydration.

It’s a festival. A beach-side festival, no less. Naturally, there were some wild-eyed incidents. The Airborne Toxic Event claimed one of them. Mid set, lead singer Mikel Jollett climbed roughly 35 feet up a rafter and sang from atop the stage. While above, he mentioned that he felt like a swim, and did just that. He returned to ground level, threw off his boots and ran with about 40 audience members into the Gulf of Mexico while the band stretched out a melody. Again, more evidence that this festival strives to keep its mantra true.

Photo by Toni Tronu

But only one incident of many. Those with cameras had plenty of jaw-dropping memories to capture and take home. By weekend’s end: Girl Talk sprayed confetti into the night sky, Matt and Kim crowd surfed on audience members’ hands, Stars coated their crowd in rose pedals after almost every song, The Constellations poured drinks for each other on stage, Ghostland Observatory likely scared aliens away for another 100 years with their light show, and Rivers Cuomo danced atop protected sand dunes with a handful of daring audience members. In its second year now, DeLuna Fest finds itself amidst a wonderful identity crisis. It wants to be a music festival, but at its core, it’s really just one swingin’ party. Pensacola should be proud.

Gallery by Toni Tronu

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

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

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

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

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

-Jeremy Larson
Content Director

Friday, July 22nd

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Saturday, July 23rd

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

9:45 p.m. – Goddammit.

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

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

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

Sunday, July 24th

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Culture of Capitol Hill Block Party

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New York indie rockers Ra Ra Riot have mapped out on an extensive leg of North American tour dates behind last year’s LP The Orchard. Featuring a slew of stops in both Canada and the U.S, in addition to appearances at DeLuna Fest and DeLuna Fest, the trek will keep the band on the road through the end of November. Check out the band’s complete touring itinerary below.

Also, Ra Ra Riot recently recorded a recorded a three-song session with LaundroMatinee. It took place in a library and you can watch a clip of them performing “Too Dramatic” right now:

Ra Ra Riot 2011 Tour Dates:
07/22 – Seattle, WA @ Capitol Hill Block Party
07/24 – Philadelphia, PA @ XPoNential Fest
07/30 – Niigata, JP @ Fuji Rock Festival
08/02 – Hyannis, MA @ Cape Cod Melody ^
08/03 – Danbury, CT @ Ives Concert Park ^
08/04 – Newport, RI @ Newport Concert Series ^
08/05 – Brooklyn, NY @ Celebrate Brooklyn @ Prospect Park Bandshell %
08/06 – Portland, ME @ Concerts on the Waterfront at Ocean Gateway ^
08/07 – Baltimore, MD @ Pier Six ^
08/09 – Asbury Park, NJ @ Stone Pony ^
08/11 – Philadelphia, PA @ Festival Pier ^
08/12 – Boston, MA @ Bank of America Pavilion ^
08/13 – Canandaigua, NY @ CMAC ^
08/14 – East Hampton, NY @ Music To Know Festival
09/09 – Big Indian, NY @ Truck America
09/10 – Valparaiso, IN @ Sourcestock
09/23 – Victoria, BC @ Rifflandia Music Festival
09/24 – Vancouver, BC @ Malkin Bowl #
09/25 – Kelowna, BC @ Habitat *
09/26 – Nelson, BC @ The Royal *
09/28 – Calgary, AB @ The Gateway Bar *
09/29 – Edmonton, AB @ Avenue Theatre *
09/30 – Regina, SK @ The Exchange *
10/01 – Winnipeg, MB @ Pyramid Cabaret *
10/02 – Minneapolis, MN @ TBA
10/04 – Grand Rapids, MI @ Pyramid Scheme
10/06 – Toronto, ON @ Lee’s Palace *
10/07 – Ottawa, ON @ Mavericks Bar *
10/08 – Montreal, QC @ Il Motore *
10/14 – Pensacola, FL @ DeLuna Fest
10/28 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle +
10/29 – Atlanta, GA @ The Earl +
10/30 – Birmingham, AL @ Bottle Tree +
10/31 – Memphis, TN @ Hi-Tone Cafe +
11/02 – Oklahoma City, OK @ ACM +
11/03 – Dallas, TX @ Granada Theatre +
11/04 – San Antonio, TX @ Backstage Live +
11/05 – Austin, TX @ Fun Fun Fun Fest
11/07 – Santa Fe, NM @ Santa Fe Brewing Co. +
11/08 – Tucson, AZ @ Club Congress +
11/09 – San Diego, CA @ Belly Up +
11/10 – Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey Theatre +
11/11 – San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall +
11/12 – Santa Cruz, CA @ Catalyst +
11/15 – Boulder, CO @ Fox Theatre +
11/16 – Lincoln, NE @ Bourbon Theatre +
11/17 – Des Moines, IA @ The Blue Moose +
11/18 – Chicago, IL @ Metro +
11/19 – Madison, WI @ The Sett +
11/21 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Carnegie Lecture Hall +

^ = w/ Guster
% = w/ Delicate Steve and Buke and Gass
# = w/ Broken Social Scene
* = w/ Dinosaur Bones
+ = w/ Delicate Steve and Yellow Ostrich

For anyone who’s seen a Ra Ra Riot show, it’s almost fact that the six-piece puts a lot of themselves into their stage show. In fact, it’s a sight to behold their violinist Rebecca Zeller and cellist Alexandra Lawn rocking out the hardest. So, after some well-deserved rest, the group is bringing back la pasión when they start their latest North American leg.

In further support of their fall 2010 release The Orchard, the New York-based indie band will team up with Guster for a two-week run along the East coast in August. Along the way, Ra Ra Riot will also headline a free show in Brooklyn on August 5th and they’ll appear at the Music To Know Festival in East Hampton, New York on August 14th.

Yet West Coasters should not lament their course of action. On June 18th, the band will be kicking things off their summertime travels with a free show at the Make Music Pasadena Festival. From there, they’ll stray from the Eastern seaboard twice more for appearances at the Capitol Hill Block Party in Seattle and the Fuji Rock Festival in Japan. Check out the entire schedule below.

Before you start marking your calendar, don’t let Ra Ra Riot’s bassist Mathieu Santos’ solo work pass by without notice. Today is the last day to pre-order his album Massachussetts 2010 through Barsuk, which has the first 500 copies hand-pressed in white vinyl for your ogling. The album is due sometime later this summer, as Santos is still putting the finishing touches on the album art. Get introduced to his music here while you get back to penning in those dates.

Ra Ra Riot 2011 Tour Dates:
06/18 – Pasadena, CA @ Make Music Pasadena
06/23 – Ballston Spa, NY @ WEQX Presents Concerts in the Park @ Wiswall Park
07/17 – Ottawa, ON @ Ottawa Bluesfest
07/22 – Seattle, WA @ Capitol Hill Block Party
07/24 – Philadelphia, PA @ XPoNential Fest @ Wiggins Park
07/30 – Niigata, JP @ Fuji Rock Festival
08/02 – Hyannis, MA @ Cape Cod Melody ^
08/03 – Danbury, CT @ Ives Concert Park ^
08/04 – Newport, RI @ Newport Concert Series ^
08/05 – Brooklyn, NY @ Celebrate Brooklyn @ Prospect Park Bandshell FREE %
08/06 – Portland, ME @ Concerts on the Waterfront at Ocean Gateway ^
08/07 – Baltimore, MD @ Pier Six ^
08/09 – Asbury Park, NJ @ Stone Pony ^
08/11 – Philadelphia, PA @ Festival Pier ^
08/12 – Boston, MA @ Bank of America Pavilion ^
08/13 – Canandaigua, NY @ CMAC ^
08/14 – East Hampton, NY @ Music To Know Festival

^ = w/ Guster
% = w/ Delicate Steve and Buke & Gass

Set to run October 13th-16th, this year’s festivities leads with Weezer, Jane’s Addiction, and Big Boi. Other highlights include Cut Copy, The New Pornographers, Ghostland Observatory, Matt & Kim, Stars, Ra Ra Riot, Mute Math, Cold War Kids, Ladytron, and Manchester Orchestra.

The initial bill also includes The Airborne Toxic Event, Wanda Jackson, Betty LaVette, K. Flay, Toubab Krewe, Bear Hands, Royal Bangs, PS I Love You, Asobi Seksu, AWOLNATION, The Constellations, The Limousines, The Hood Internet, Grouplove, Free The Robots, Gary Fields, GIVERS, Bad Books, Motonpony, wallpaper., and JJ Grey & Mofro, among many others.

Expanding on last year’s set-up, DeLuna will now feature a total of six stages of music this year, with performances taking place on both the beach and the pool decks of the festival’s three high-end resort hotels (The Hampton Inn Pensacola Beach, The Hilton Pensacola Beach, and the Holiday Inn Resort Pensacola Beach). Lifeguards, beware!

Both the Early Bird and Early VIP ticket packages are sold out. Currently, two packages are available for purchase: the VIP Weekend package, which goes for $800, and the Advanced package, available for a cool $149.95. For complete ticketing information, visit the festival’s website.

Set for August 13-14 in East Hampton, New York, the festival — known properly as the Music to Know Festival — will also feature Matt & Kim, Cold War Kids, Chromeo, Tame Impala, M. Ward, Fitz and the Tantrums, and Dawes.

Rounding out the bill are Ra Ra Riot, Tom Tom Club, We Are Scientists, The Limousines, The Naked and Famous, Francis and the Lights, Suddyn, Nicos Gun, and Young Empires.

Two-day passes go on sale Tuesday, May 10th to the general public for $195. Two Day VIP passes can be purchased for $645. Visit the festival’s website for more information.

In recent months, much of the music world has caught Strokes fever. From their new album to their raucous South by Southwest appearance, Julian Casablancas and friends are on a roll after having returned from their self-imposed hiatus. The group has an even busier summer in the works, and we want you to be a part of us. So, to make that a reality and give some lucky readers the sweetest May ever, we here at CoS are giving away two VIP and four general admission tickets to see The Strokes at this year’s Sweetlife Festival.

Set for May 1st in Columbia Maryland, the festival will also feature Girl Talk, Lupe Fiasco, Crystal Castles, Ra Ra Riot, and Cold War Kids, among others. Plus, festival organizers sweetgreen will work with multiple partners to curate experiences throughout the festival grounds that extend sweetgreen’s hip and eco-conscious ethos. Fans will have the opportunity to purchase not only traditional concessions and sweetgreen products, but they will also be able to visit an on-site farmers market, featuring produce and snacks from the region’s local growers.

To enter into the contest, just do the following:

1) Follow @coslive and @cluster1tv on Twitter.
2) In 140 characters, tweet us why you deserve to go.

The person with the best answer will win the VIP passes, while the second and third best will earn general admission passes*. The deadline for entry is April 12th.

To peep Sweetlife’s full lineup and information on purchasing tickets, head to our Festival Outlook page and the official festival homepage.

* = Note winners must make own travel and lodging accommodations.

The remix is a techno-trance track that keeps the vocals mostly intact, replacing the string-laden Ra Ra Riot sound with groovy keyboards and background bleeps. It’s all capped off with a fuzzed-out version of Wes Miles’ singing in the chorus. At the very least, this remix deserves to make some appearance in the Brooklyn club scene/your favorite PBR serving bar.

Ra Ra Riot are currently on a month-long break from their North American tour, which will resume in Baltimore on March 3rd. Both the tour dates and the remix can be found below.

“Too Dramatic” (The Kids Are Radioactive Remix)

Ra Ra Riot 2011 Tour Dates:
03/03 – Baltimore, MD @ Rams Head Live
03/04 – Charlottesville, VA @ Jefferson Theatre
03/06 – Jacksonville, FL @ Jack Rabbits
03/07 – Ft. Lauderdale, FL @ Culture Room
03/08 – Orlando, FL @ The Social
03/09 – Tampa, FL @ Crowbar
03/11 – New Orleans, LA @ One Eyed Jacks *
03/12 – Baton Rouge, LA @ Spanish Moon
03/14 – Columbia, MO @ Mojo’s
03/15 – St. Louis, MO @ Firebird
03/16 – Indianapolis, IN @ Earth House
03/18 – Louisville, KY @ Headliners Music Hall
03/19 – Newport, KY @ Mad Hatter Club 219
03/20 – Charleston, WV @ Culture Center Theater
04/07 – Syracuse, NY @ Westcott Theater
04/09 – Columbus, OH @ LC Pavilion

* = w/ Givers

As a music fan, sometimes it just feels good to see a band get exposure on national TV. While Ra Ra Riot doesn’t have as much steam behind it as the band did when it last played Letterman in 2008, that didn’t stop the indie pop sextet from making an impression last night. This time around, Ra Ra Riot chose the most popular track off 2010′s The Orchard, the dancey “Boy”.

It’s sort of annoying that The Late Show decided to film almost the entire performance via rotating closeups of each band member, and more annoying that foxy cellist Alexandra Lawn seemed to get the least face time out of any of them. But the closeups highlighted something one might not otherwise notice — glasses and matching striped shirts. Nerd alert!

Video courtsey of The Audio Perv

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

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

Photo by Ted Maider

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

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

Photo by Ted Maider

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

Feature photo by Harry Painter.

Saturday, October 16th

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

Photo by Ted Maider

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

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

Photo by Ted Maider

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

Holy Fuck
Bridge, 1:30 p.m.

Photo by Ted Maider

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

Jamaica
Tunnel, 2:15 p.m.

Photo by Ted Maider

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

Die Antwoord
Bridge, 3:00 p.m.

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

Photo by Ted Maider

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

Phantogram
Tunnel, 3:45 p.m.

Photo by Ted Maider

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

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

Photo by Ted Maider

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

Four Tet
Tunnel, 5:25 p.m.

Photo by Ted Maider

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

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

Photo by Ted Maider

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

Little Dragon
Tunnel, 7:05 p.m.

Photo by Ted Maider

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

Deadmau5
Bridge, 7:55 p.m.

Photo by Ted Maider

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

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

Miike Snow
Tunnel, 8:45 p.m.

Photo by Ted Maider

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

LCD Soundsystem
Bridge, 9:35 p.m.

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

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

Photo by Ted Maider

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

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

Photo by Ted Maider

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

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

Sunday, October 17th

Phosphorescent
Tunnel, 12:00 p.m.

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

Photo by Harry Painter.

The Mumlers
Tunnel, 12:52 p.m.

Photo by Ted Maider

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

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

Photo by Ted Maider

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

Papercuts
Tunnel, 1:55 p.m.

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

Superchunk
Bridge, 2:30 p.m.

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

Photo by Ted Maider.

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

Photo by Ted Maider

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

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

Photo by Ted Maider

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

Monotonix
Tunnel, 4:50 p.m.

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

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

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

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Photos by Harry Painter.

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

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

Photo by Ted Maider

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

Surfer Blood
Tunnel, 6:25 p.m.

Photo by Ted Maider

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

The National
Bridge, 7:15 p.m.

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

Photo by Harry Painter

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

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

Rogue Wave
Tunnel, 8:15 p.m.

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

Photo by Ted Maider

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

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

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

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

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

Photo by Ted Maider

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

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

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

Photo by Ted Maider

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

]]> Photo by Ted Maider The festival also featured all the usual (and some not-so-usual) festival amenities, such as a ferris wheel, a cybercafé/DJ Hero station, a silent disco, and various sponsored tents (one, of course, was a cannabis club tent offering coupons for free "medijoints"). There was a salon tent giving out free haircuts, a workshop for learning crafts, and a skee ball booth. The food was mostly the usual fare, but there were some interesting options, including a booth for organic health food and a vendor offering potato and spinach knishes along with the hot dogs. A French truck featured escargot lollipops and what were called Maine lobster cappuccinos. Yum. Only real downside to all of this? It's cold as hell. In San Francisco, you can expect the weather to be cold, windy, and foggy at any given time of year, and in October there's just no way you're going to get your comfy, dependable, 100-degree-plus summer festival weather. On Saturday, no amount of dancing could have prevented the unprepared from shelling out for a hoodie or flannel shirt; the heavy wind was a disaster for the myriad hipsters in hot-pants. The wind chill Sunday was equally cruel, and the intermittent rain that marked the first three hours of the fest was actually a welcome change. Photo by Ted Maider But outside of one stage change and a short set time early on for The Mumlers, the music was unhampered by the weather. And the music is what matters, right? Right. Feature photo by Harry Painter. Saturday, October 16th Maus Haus Bridge Stage, 12:00 p.m. Photo by Ted Maider The first of several local bands, San Francisco's own Maus Haus kicked things off with an energetic set of experimental electropop jams. The sextet was heavy on the synthesizers (there must have been at least three up there), but Maus Haus is no generic dance pop band. There was a little of that, but there was also a little ambient noise and electro rock. Also, as any good festival opener should, Maus Haus opted to take some time between numbers to educate the early crowd on some of the history of Treasure Island. All of it was equally welcome, and hopefully the next time the band plays the fest it will be at a well-deserved later slot. wallpaper. Tunnel Stage, 12:45 p.m. Photo by Ted Maider When the highlight of your show is bringing out your "band" of brightly dressed hipsters with cowbells, you're probably a bit of a gimmick. Like Mayer Hawthorne, Oakland's Eric Frederic -- one-half of wallpaper. -- makes his living as a skinny white guy singing ironic soul songs. Both corny, except wallpaper.'s music is even less authentic, if that's possible. The duo (Frederic on vocals and iPod, Arjun Singh on drums) played song after mailed-in neo-disco song about sex and booze, Frederic playing the backing tracks on his iPod while Singh drummed along. Of course, the iPod handled the complex drum parts. Oh well, being bored at a festival at one in the afternoon is nothing to complain about. Besides, it was all in good fun; Frederic was charismatic and made some choice jokes about casual sex and selling drugs at the merch booth. And he apparently has a song called "Laptops from Methadone Clinics", so there's that. Holy Fuck Bridge, 1:30 p.m. Photo by Ted Maider If you haven't seen these folks yet, go go go. I won't profess to have any idea what Holy Fuck does on stage, but I know it sounds great and the novelty hasn't worn off yet. Visualize a drummer and a bassist backing two guys standing opposite each other twisting knobs and screaming into distorted microphones. You're already probably halfway to knowing what the Toronto four-piece sounds like, but basically it's noisy, improvisational, sometimes psychedelic, and all live (*cough* wallpaper. *cough*). Instruments include analog synths and a 35mm film synchronizer, but that translates into a bunch of gadgets on a table tangled in a mess of wires. It's fun to watch. I had the thought, Holy Fuck's sound would fit an arena quite nicely, so Radiohead, if you're reading this, first stop reading and put out your album, and then invite Holy Fuck to open for you please. Jamaica Tunnel, 2:15 p.m. Photo by Ted Maider Fun fact: Eight of the 13 Saturday acts were foreign, and only three of those were from primarily English-speaking countries. Another fun fact: Jamaica isn't from Jamaica, but Paris. The band also doesn't play even remotely electronic music, so what was it doing on the Saturday lineup? Never mind, it's dancey rock music so close enough. Jamaica, dressed for climbing Mt. Everest, put on a set of catchy grunge-pop songs in the vein of fellow slackers Free Energy. There wasn't much beneath the surface, but it was kind of nice to have a token riff-rock band on Saturday. Die Antwoord Bridge, 3:00 p.m. What does it say about the state of indie hip-hop when Die Antwoord is the only hip-hop act at a festival that previously signed on acts like Murs, Cut Chemist, Zion I, The Streets, Aesop Rock, and Crown City Rockers? Screw it, what does it say about the state of indie hip-hop that Die Antwoord is even popular (and not even technically indie anymore)? Yes, the South African trio is a joke, but the band is not any funnier than ICP, which everyone hates (or Ali G, who Ninja is shamelessly biting). Photo by Ted Maider Anyway, a certain portion of the crowd ate this shit up. Die Antwoord came out dressed in the same outfits from the "Enter the Ninja" video, Yo-Landi Vi$$er making a wardrobe change halfway through and Ninja gradually undressing. Ninja can flow and both of them have stage presence and can work a crowd. But maybe I'm a little old to be impressed by generic electro-rap beats and fart-joke lyricism. One crowdmember remarked after it was over, "Some people will dance to anything with that type of beat." Exactly. However, like wallpaper. earlier, Ninja and Vi$$er did not take themselves seriously; they actually made the butterfly gestures during "Enter the Ninja", for example, and ended the set by yelling out "Be happy!" No arguments here. Phantogram Tunnel, 3:45 p.m. Photo by Ted Maider Phantogram, one of the best acts Saturday, also turned out to be one of the mellowest. The duo, guitarist Josh Carter and keyboardist Sarah Barthel (accompanied by a live drummer), plays a blend of shoegaze, trip-hop, and psychedelic pop backing dark, atmospheric vocals from both members. This was the first band that really packed the stage, and if that's a sign of rising popularity, it's well deserved. Phantogram played a dance-friendly set but sported some substance to go along with the style. And, okay, elephant in the room, Sarah Barthel is cute. It's just a little crush. !!! Bridge, 4:35 p.m. Photo by Ted Maider Everyone should be familiar with what !!! does by now. The Sacramento dance-punk outfit is a nonstop ball of kinetic energy, particularly metrosexual frontman Nic Offer, who made his way into the crowd several times and was never standing in one place for five seconds - despite having performed in Tokyo the day before, according to Offer, and getting a mere three hours of sleep. While the band is much more suited to the club, like say the Noise Pop festival earlier this year, than a large festival stage, it's not for lack of presence. !!! is no stranger to festivals and handled the large crowd gracefully. At times, Offer seemed out of breath and couldn't quite nail his parts. In hindsight, it wouldn't have killed the energy for him to slow down a little -- there is plenty else to focus on at a !!! show, with the band's multiple guitars, keyboards, a backing vocalist, and a saxophonist. Four Tet Tunnel, 5:25 p.m. Photo by Ted Maider Kieran Hebden's main live instrument is a laptop, and his light show came across as modest with full daylight still out. However, flashiness was not required and Hebden, better known as Four Tet, put on an irresistible set. Probably the second-best of the day, in fact. It's understandable that IDM doesn't get a lot of love at festivals where people just want to wear mouse masks and dance, but artists like Hebden lend credibility to the mainstream-again dance music community. Still, it's hard to tell what Hebden was doing up there besides checking his e-mail and bobbing his head. Kruder & Dorfmeister Bridge, 6:15 p.m. Photo by Ted Maider The Austrian duo Kruder & Dorfmeister are renowned for their downtempo remixes, but they kept the tempo up in a rare live show Saturday. Peter Kruder and Richard Dorfmeister, the first nighttime act, rocked the turntables in front of some stunning visuals, while two well-dressed MC's kept the crowd involved. This meant prancing around stage and yelling inane things like "everybody go boom!" but the crowd would surely have lost interest otherwise. Actually, for a crowd that was oblivious even to LCD Soundsystem's early material, the audience was rather enthusiastic about K & D. This performance marked the end of the duo's first North American tour in 10 years, and whenever K & D does it again, it won't be soon enough. Well, a couple months or so would be fine. Little Dragon Tunnel, 7:05 p.m. Photo by Ted Maider Let's get this out of the way right off the bat -- Little Dragon is known more for frontwoman Yukimi Nagano's appearances on Gorillaz' album Plastic Beach than its own music, and it would have delighted people to hear a line from "Empire Ants" during Little Dragon's set. But there was no need to pander, because believe it or not, Little Dragon has some fantastic songs in its own right. The Swedish quartet played a new one for the Treasure Island crowd, and it fits right into the band's tiny canon of subtle dance pop. These songs are to be heard live, not only because of Nagano's infectious dancing and sexy crooning, but because the band is pretty damn good too. Sure, Little Dragon plays some simple, atmospheric pop songs, but the guys can also jam a little -- and that's when they're at their best. Deadmau5 Bridge, 7:55 p.m. Photo by Ted Maider Firstly, Deadmau5 apparently flew to the Smokeout Festival in Southern California after his set to perform another set there, but he does wear a giant mau5 mask, so he could've swindled us -- we'll never know. Either way, a plethora of Treasure Island attendees were there just to see Deadmau5, whose star has risen swiftly. It's not clear why; is he doing anything dozens of other artists aren't doing, besides wearing a giant, glowing mouse mask and performing behind a v-shaped structure and a bunch of cool visuals? Maybe that's the point, to drug up, dance, and be impressed with the lighting, but why is Deadmau5 better than Mickey Mau5? Besides "Ghosts n Stuff", most of the tunes he played at Treasure Island were relatively tuneless, which is fine if done right; it's just hard to get into the repetitive noodling. Further, the energy never really built up; he would tease at something explosive before reverting to stagnant, lifeless minimalism. Once again, that single of his was the only exception. Like K & D, Deadmau5 had an MC come out to hype the audience, but she was only on stage for a song or two before leaving the man to his work. The DJ (real name Joel Zimmerman) is certainly hard-working, and has put together a beautiful show. The question is whether people would care about that show if a couple of French robots hadn't popularized the concept of masked DJ's and personalized stages in the first place. I suppose it doesn't matter, because if you want to see Deadmau5 for the visuals and the drugs, you will not be disappointed. If it's the music you care about, just don't expect anything special. Miike Snow Tunnel, 8:45 p.m. Photo by Ted Maider Deadmau5 concluded the rave portion of the evening, meaning people began to leave, but Miike Snow and LCD Soundsystem kept the vast majority of folks there for the rest of the night. The former, which played amidst a thick cloud of smoke, played to an enthusiastic but exhausted crowd -- an inevitable side effect of a long and relentlessly cold day. The Swedish band, which American singer Andrew Wyatt insisted was a band and not a person, strolled through songs like "Burial" and "Black and Blue", the latter of which went through a pretty ugly and unnecessary distortion job. However, Miike Snow nailed singles "Sylvia" and "Animal", the song that will never escape this band. "Animal", which seemed to go on extra long just for shits and giggles, obviously elicited the largest crowd response. LCD Soundsystem Bridge, 9:35 p.m. How do you follow up a career-defining headlining gig at the Hollywood Bowl with a short headlining set at a small festival? The way James Murphy and co. pulled it off was to do everything the same but cut out a few songs. Literally, we're talking the same set in practically the same order, minus "Get Innocuous!", "Someone Great", and "Losing My Edge". Those are three songs that it sucks to have missed out on. But let's focus on the positive, namely that LCD Soundsystem murdered this festival. As Murphy has neared the end of his tour -- like so many other acts at Treasure Island -- he and his band have begun playing "Dance Yrself Clean" live, and now it's hard to imagine being satisfied without hearing the This is Happening opener. Everyone knew when the beat was going to drop, everyone was waiting for it, and most reacted appropriately and danced thmselves clean. The other two This is Happening tracks which opened the set were also well received, although "Drunk Girls" is kind of a snoozer, at least coming between "Dance Yrself Clean" and "I Can Change". Photo by Ted Maider LCD continued to murder with "Daft Punk is Playing at My House", although the audience shockingly seemed to lose interest. This trend continued for the other old songs; there were singalongs for the new ones, but anything off of the self-titled (almost half the set) was met with half-assed response. Even "Tribulations", for God's sake. Was 2005 really that long ago? The band ignored Sound of Silver material with the exception of "All My Friends", which was probably not a wise choice for this crowd, but if Murphy is really going to be easing off of LCD Soundsystem in the coming years, it was the right choice. Photo by Ted Maider Lame crowd notwithstanding, the show was the best you could hope for in one hour and 15 minutes. Murphy really sings nowadays instead of just yelling into the mic, and you can tell his band is having a good time. The highlight was Murphy leading the audience in a slow clap which built directly into the opening of "Movement", which just so happens to shred live. Murphy acknowledged that the show was just too short, however: "I don't make the rules," he quipped as he introduced the final number, "Home". Finishing up at just after 10:50 p.m., LCD was not allowed an encore, which was expected given the strict start and end times to every set. Still, here's hoping Murphy comes back before he abandons the project. Sunday, October 17th Phosphorescent Tunnel, 12:00 p.m. Phosphorescent was booked for the main stage, but the weather had different plans for indie folk musician Matthew Houck and his band. Thankfully, no cancellations, because damn if Phosphorescent wasn't one of the best acts all day. There's no good reason Phosphorescent should have been on so early -- this meant a lot of people missing him, rain or not. Houck's guitarist Jesse Anderson Ainsley and his keyboardist Scott Stapleton were some of the most technically proficient musicians at the festival. Phosphorescent's set included a good mix of vocal harmonization and good, old-fashioned rock soloing. Houck is quite the musician himself, and an even better vocalist. "The Mermaid Parade", in particular, was a moment of brilliance. Photo by Harry Painter. The Mumlers Tunnel, 12:52 p.m. Photo by Ted Maider Thanks to Phosphorescent being switched to the Tunnel stage, The Mumlers held the distinction of being the only act with a snipped set time. The San Jose sextet, which was also the only act with a guitarist dressed like a pirate, was able to make it on stage 12 minutes after scheduled. The Mumlers, despite the pirate (bloody face makeup and all) and a french horn or two, got kind of lost in the shuffle of chill indie rock acts on Sunday. They're more than just an indie rock band, though -- they displayed classic rock, jazz, and folk sensibilities and aptly followed a Phosphorescent set everyone seemed to love. When The Mumlers weren't allowed to play their final song, the audience let out a loud groan. The pirate took it all in good humor, leaving us with "The greatest treasure was having you for an audience." Arrr, matey. Ra Ra Riot Bridge, 1:15 p.m. Photo by Ted Maider My, oh my, I can't believe I've ignored this band for so long. Ra Ra Riot is much more than a pretty cellist -- she also has a good voice. Kidding, kidding. Really, Ra Ra Riot was perfect. If you're a sucker for strings in your indie pop, jump on this bandwagon. The Syracuse sextet has a penchant for playing cheerful, emotional music with marching skins and sweeping strings. Frontman Wes Miles, who seems comfortable with the band's popularity, can make the main stage feel like the most intimate place on Earth, like you're up there with them just watching them rehearse. Ra Ra Riot will certainly be on much later next time the band plays this festival; the band was an absolute pleasure so early in the day. Papercuts Tunnel, 1:55 p.m. Local musician Jason Quever's project Papercuts is another act that failed to leave an impression amongst the several laid-back indie acts Sunday. Quever makes droning dream pop accompanied by soft, almost whispering vocals. He and his band had a couple of genuinely interesting moments, but the majority of Papercuts' set was background music. Superchunk Bridge, 2:30 p.m. The old guys of the festival, North Carolina's indie rock heroes Superchunk, were touring behind new album Majesty Shredding, their first album since 2001's Here's to Shutting Up. Superchunk's DIY riff-rock fit in just fine in an era when people suddenly care about Pavement again. The band played new tracks such as "Rosemarie", "Digging for Something", and "Crossed Wires", along with old faves like "Slack Motherfucker" and "Throwing Things". The band looked happy to be there, but also made a point whether they meant to or not -- bring back the fucking rock and roll. Photo by Ted Maider. The Sea and Cake Tunnel, 3:15 p.m. Photo by Ted Maider The Sea and Cake, which has opened for fellow Treasure Island band Broken Social scene in the past, probably isn't the best example of bringing back the fucking rock and roll, but the Chicago indie act did partake in some quality jamming. The Sea and Cake's set wandered into everything from chill surf rock (which was becoming quite tired by now) to smooth jazz to post-rock. The mood wasn't exactly befitting of the band, coming after Superchunk, but anyone who skipped The Sea and Cake is going to have to put the band on his list. She & Him Bridge, 4:00 p.m. Photo by Ted Maider If Zooey Deschanel wasn't the queen of all that is indie, She & Him would not be booked at every damn festival on the planet. Half the people there are watching for the novelty of seeing Deschanel sing -- and she's pretty good at it, but the songs are another story. They range from poppy indie folk to doo-wop anthems, none of which are very original. And while Deschanel can sing, she just lacks power, the same way Charlotte Gainsbourg does. Deschanel has the better voice, but she either gets drowned out by the band or simply trails off at the end of each line. M. Ward is a little more reliable on the guitar, but he couldn't save this set. If you were forgiving, however, you could have appreciated Deschanel's earnestness on the ballad "Take it Back" or her cheeriness on Vol. 2 track "In the Sun". Monotonix Tunnel, 4:50 p.m. My God, what did I get myself into here? These three hairy guys from Tel Aviv may have sounded nothing like they do in studio, but I wouldn't have known that beforehand and it wouldn't have mattered anyway. Where do we begin? Singer Ami Shalev was dressed like an aging former soccer player making a final comeback just to break some bones. Guitarist Yonatan Gat and drummer Haggai Fershtman looked like the guys MGMT modeled themselves after before turning it into a lame fashion trend. The band, Monotonix, doesn't play on stage. The trio set up in the middle of the crowd from the start and proceeded to jam. Shalev was all about crowd participation, standing on top of the bass drum, crowd surfing, going out of his way to make everyone part of the show. The crowd formed a circle around Monotonix, Gat doing his best to keep on track while being shoved from behind. Periodically, the band would pick up its instruments and relocate, with fans doing what they could to help (it's amazing the guitar cord made it through the show intact). The very indie crowd wasn't prepared for 40 minutes of garage punk between the She & Him and Broken Social Scene sets, but the mosh pits soon began. Anyone within 30 feet of the band couldn't hum a single line from a Monotonix song, but everyone will remember three things: the impromptu Shalev-led singalong to "A Hard Day's Night", Shalev dumping a bag of garbage onto Fershtman, and the finale of Shalev tossing a tom into the stacked drum kit. Shalev is no GG Allin, but crazy is crazy and he was crazy enough. [nggallery id=136] Photos by Harry Painter. Broken Social Scene Bridge, 5:35 p.m. It can only be described as a shame that Broken Social Scene was limited to 50 minutes, but that's the nature of Treasure Island -- it was actually one of the longest sets of the day. The band started things off with Forgiveness Rock Record track "Meet Me in the Basement", then quickly squeezed in some longtime favorites like "7/4 Shoreline" and "Texico Bitches", both of which rock so much more live than on record. No Emily Haines, but BSS managed a sweet rendition of "Anthems for a Seventeen Year-Old Girl". Photo by Ted Maider Kevin Drew dropped his guitar early on, which didn't seem to matter, as BSS has four or five guitarists at once. Drew joked that he literally breaks a guitar at every show, which may not have been a joke at all. By the end of the set, Drew took to the crowd, making sure to leave his mark on the fest in case the music wasn't enough. It really wasn't, but that's because there just wasn't enough of it. Surfer Blood Tunnel, 6:25 p.m. Photo by Ted Maider This band so deserves all that hype it gets. There was plenty enough surf rock going on at Treasure Island, but if it's good it's good, and none was better at it than Surfer Blood. Touring behind its only album Astro Coast, Surfer Blood tore through tracks like "Swim", "Take it Easy", and "Floating Vibes". The quintet even did a cover of Pavement's "Box Elder", which was appropriate considering the band is pretty much a cross between Pavement and Modest Mouse. The songs did blend together late in the set, being that most of them are similar in tone and tempo, but all in all Surfer Blood left a promising impression. Skipping even one song, the last song, to get a spot for The National was a tough decision. The National Bridge, 7:15 p.m. Yet it was the right decision, because The National was the best act at Treasure Island this year. The National has gotten better and better over the years, and in 2010 has found the ideal mix between being sensitive, artsy poets and outright rock stars. This is especially the case with the Brooklyn band's live output; songs that amount to midtempo hummers on record, like "Squalor Victoria" and "England", become fiery and full of rage when performed live. The difference is the Dessner brothers' love for loud, unhinged distortion and Matt Berninger's willingness to scream -- when Berninger gets red-faced and shouts "afraid of the house, because they're desperate to entertain," you realize he means every last word. Or maybe it's the wine he drinks before he performs. Photo by Harry Painter The National also appear increasingly comfortable being on stage. It takes a lot of confidence to be a rock star, and it didn't feel like the band had or wanted that confidence in 2008. Now, Berninger and the Dessners pose on stage and exchange witty banter like they're in a living room with 8,000 friends. "He doesn't let us wear suits," complained Bryce Dessner about Berninger's wardrobe choices. Berninger responded with, "Respect the suit; you guys are frumpy." Before "Slow Show", Dessner pointed out the song makes reference to Berninger's genitalia, to which Berninger clarified that it wasn't true: "A small area of the song is about my dick." The set was heavy on High Violet and Boxer stuff, including only the essentials from Alligator ("Abel", "Mr. November") and nothing from the band's early albums. This was doing pretty well for a one-hour festival set though, and the band covered a pretty good range of the stuff people wanted to hear. The National, at the end of its tour, played all the late-set mainstays in the expected order: "Fake Empire" into "Mr. November" into "Terrible Love" -- a lineup there's no complaining about. Dessner dedicated "Mr. November" to the Democrats, after which Berninger, not wanting to be uncool, dedicated "Terrible Love" to the Republicans, and then to babies, because "everyone loves babies." Rogue Wave Tunnel, 8:15 p.m. "Following The National sucks," sighed Zach Rogue, frontman of Oakland's Rogue Wave. He wasn't kidding, but his band held its own coming between the two big Sunday names on the smaller stage. Rogue Wave may have been the indiest band at this mercilessly indie musical gathering, but performances of songs like "Lake Michigan" and "Bird on a Wire" were anything but indie kitsch. The band made the performance something special by bringing out fellow Oakland musician Ted Nesseth of The Heavenly States for a collaboration. Both Rogue Wave and Nesseth had their fair share of supporters at the festival. Photo by Ted Maider Rogue Wave brought the politics much more readily than The National, dedicating "Solitary Gun", a track off the band's latest album, Permalight, to Oscar Grant, the man who was shot and killed by a police officer at an Oakland train station while face down and unarmed. Trade secret: If you want to get a Bay Area crowd on your side, it's a good idea to bring up Oscar Grant. The set consisted of material spanning Rogue Wave's career, and it felt like the band was a miniature headliner for the local folks. Nothing but love from the Bay Area audience. Belle & Sebastian Bridge, 9:05 p.m. There was no one more deserving to headline the Treasure Island fest than Belle & Sebastian, but the Scottish indie poppers were an anticlimactic close to a great festival. Any huge fan would have been just fine with the set -- it was heavy on If You're Feeling Sinister and Dear Catastrophe Waitress material, and gave equal attention to new album Write About Love. To top it all off, the band was accompanied by a five-piece string section. Stuart Murdoch was crowd-friendly, exchanging banter incessantly and even making a couple of kids' days by pointing them out in the audience. In fact, it was a good show. Belle & Sebastian just isn't the band to close a festival. Photo by Ted Maider Guitarist Stevie Jackson at one point led the crowd in a relatively complex singalong for new track "I'm Not Living in the Real World", featuring an "ooh" in three different keys. Jackson joked that we could handle it, because "San Francisco is a musical city." SF handled it just beautifully, and it was one of the highlights of the set. The band of course played "Piazza New York Catcher", which features lyrics about the San Francisco Giants playing the New York Mets, and also references SF's Tenderloin district. Murdoch remarked that he had not realized how many of Belle & Sebastian's songs were based on San Francisco. He then did a little pandering: "The Phillies don't stand a chance, man. Give it to them!" Sorry, Philadelphia, he's right. "The Boy with the Arab Strap" had people all the way across the grounds dancing jovially; this was on a weekend when people were reluctant to dance even on the dance day, and the talkers came in droves. But for this one song, Belle & Sebastian had everyone's attention and there was nothing but happiness in the air, which is kind of what this band is about. Photo by Ted Maider So what made this the wrong band to close the festival? It's just that they're so damn...twee. By about halfway through, Belle & Sebastian had overdosed us on the upbeat four-minute pop songs, and I just wanted them to depress me for once. Where was the soul? Belle & Sebastian is such a lovable band in moderation that it's hard to see how stale the band can get until it happens. Not once did Belle & Sebastian ever turn a head or wow anyone, not the way The National, LCD Soundsystem, or even Broken Social Scene did. Perhaps it just wasn't an ideal setlist. The performance never felt important, not even during the encore of "Judy & the Dream of Horses", which is a fantastic song, but not one with which to close a weekend of great music. Oh well. ]]> http://consequenceofsound.net/2010/10/cold-days-on-the-bay-cos-at-treasure-island-10/feed/ 6 http://consequenceofsound.net/2010/09/ra-ra-riot-returns-to-rock-brooklyn-0923/ http://consequenceofsound.net/2010/09/ra-ra-riot-returns-to-rock-brooklyn-0923/#comments http://c438342.r42.cf2.rackcdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2010/09/rarariotthumb.jpg Sun, 26 Sep 2010 16:00:23 +0000 Joe Marvilli http://consequenceofsound.net/?p=72258 After Ra Ra Riot’s recently released album, The Orchard, proved to be somewhat disappointing, thoughts moved on to how the record would translate live. At the Music Hall of Williamsburg, the quintet’s latest stood well alongside their older hits in a set that catered to both hardcore and casual fans alike. First though, We Barbarians and North Highlands took to the stage to warm up the small, yet excited crowd. Both acts put on very different performances that displayed a lot of energy and future promise.

These days, it seems rarer and rarer that you get an opening act that gets the audience as pumped as the main band. We Barbarians definitely succeeded though on getting the Brooklynites dancing and jumping around. You remember when you were in a classroom in grammar school and couldn’t wait to get out so you could run around the playground? Well, for We Barbarians, replace classroom with a 3,000 mile car ride from L.A. to New York and replace the playground with the stage at the Music Hall of Williamsburg. From the first song to the last, this band did not stop moving. Guitars were swinging, foots were stomping, and faces were grinning at the overwhelmingly positive their brand of rough indie rock received. Expect to see these guys headlining at the Music Hall themselves soon enough.

Next up was the calmer, less entrancing psychedelic sounds of North Highlands. The quintet’s set was performed really well, but failed to captivate the audience’s attention. In between songs, and even during softer numbers, conversations could be heard taking place all over the venue. Still, North Highlands won a good portion of the crowd over with quick energetic punches and more epic, arena rock-style songs such as “Sugar Lips”. The best performers were both frontwoman Brenda Malvini, who alternated between playing the keyboard and jumping to the beat, and drummer Jasper Berg who joked with his bandmates as well as the audience.

After what felt like a long set-up time, Ra Ra Riot took the stage to “A Manner To Act”, a song off their first EP and a surprising choice to open the show. While the few hardcore fans who knew the track were happy, the rest of the crowd looked on in confusion. Luckily, the following four numbers, “Boy,”  “Each Year,” “Oh, La”, and “St. Peter’s Day Festival” officially started the band’s homecoming party.

While Ra Ra Riot has always had a charm in their live performances, assisted by Wes Miles’ natural talent as a frontman, it was clear that years of constant touring had boosted their confidence and showmanship. Bassist Mathieu Santos held his bass like a dance partner, swinging around while still playing with precision. Miles’ attempt at playing guitar on “Kansai” was nervous yet competent for his second time (though a crowd-thrown tambourine seemed much more his style). The most improved member though was drummer Gabriel Duquette, whose addition of drum rolls and fills gave new life to familiar hits like “Too Too Too Fast”, while propelling The Orchard’s tracks forward.

While songs from The Rhumb Line were still the better received, The Orchard works much better live than it does on record. “Too Dramatic” and “Massachusetts” were played with so much conviction and joy that the crowd’s unfamiliarity became a moot point. The setlist was well-built as a whole, alternating between their two albums to avoid a string of lesser-known tracks. More surprising than what was included was what was excluded, namely fan favorite “Run My Mouth” and the soulful “You and I Know”. The former always created a wonderful singalong that was missed and the latter would have been a fairly unique live track in Ra Ra Riot’s catalogue.

Despite minor setlist setbacks and a couple technical difficulties, Ra Ra Riot’s return to Brooklyn came off as energetic and joyful as their shows in support of their debut. All that’s changed is that they’ve improved in both showmanship and musicianship. If they keep performances like this up, it seems doubtful they’ll still be playing such small venues in another two years.

First, let’s get some positives out there. This is a much more confident band than the one that surfaced two years ago. Miles has impressively grown as a singer, pushing his range far past anything he’s done before. He also has some chops on the keyboard, which you’ll quickly learn since it fills out almost every song. That’s not a bad thing, per se, as it almost always adds a nice touch and isn’t shoved in your face as a display of innovation. Finally, special mention must be made to Gabriel Duquette for his superb drumming throughout the record. His different styles and sounds are a big part of what’s right and what works here.

Now, on to the music…

The Orchard starts with the title track, a string-laden affair with a touch of bass and piano, which makes for a great introduction, but not a very good song. The problem is its length, clocking in at what seems like a short three minutes and 33 seconds. However, there are almost no changes throughout the piece. If it was half as long, the song would be a great way to kick things off. As it stands though, it only serves to kill any type of momentum from building.

The next three tracks make up for this though, getting the closest to the energetic dream-pop of “Dying Is Fine” or “Ghost Under Rocks.”  A walloping drumroll welcomes the high-powered first single, “Boy.” Mathieu Santos’ rumbling, bouncy bass creates great support for the shoutable chorus. The song returns to the great combination of strong instrumentation and sweeping melodic strings. “Too Dramatic” is another must-hear number, dropping away most of the music to focus on the cello, violin, and vocals in the chorus. “Foolish,” a mid-tempo piece with heavy emphasis on piano, is the most dream-pop song on the record. Click-clack drums and light synths fill in the space around Miles’ saddened voice.  The track is a nice expansion of the band’s sound while staying true to what they developed on their first album.

The only other song that moves in a new direction is the beautiful, almost cabaret “You and I Know.” The keyboard-driven number (sensing a theme here?) presents Alexandra Lawn on vocals, a first for Ra Ra Riot. Her bluesy, low key singing is the biggest and best surprise on the record. It makes for a nice change of pace compared to Miles’ often joyous, high-range melodies. The music behind the voice is also pretty impressive, bringing out the guitar in force with a rapid solo. One of the best songs on the album, and sure to be a live favorite in the future.

Sadly, that’s about it for this one. The other half of the album is the very definition of filler. “Massachusetts” drags on forever. “Shadowcasting”, “Do You Remember”, and “Kansai” all sound too similar, containing nearly no changes in style. “Keep It Quiet”, a stripped-down track of deep, resonating drumbeats, sluggish keys, and tired vocals, actually makes for a good closer. It’s just tough getting to the end without skipping through several numbers.

The main problem with this album is its lack of great songs to support their style. Their first album was an energy-soaked ride that kept listeners engrossed, even during the slower numbers. Tracks like “Too Too Too Fast” and “Suspended in Gaffa” offered a change in pace that kept you wondering what’s next. On The Orchard, only “You and I Know” creates that sense of surprise and engagement. The first and last track try to do this as well, but they work better as bookends than as actual songs. Hopefully, this record will come to life on the road. If not though, Ra Ra Riot should take a good hard look at where they went wrong here when considering album number three.

Ra Ra’s release, titled The Orchard, arrives on August 24th via Barsuk and today we received our first official taste off it. Simply titled “Boy”, the track drips with stunning instrumentation, ranging from crisp guitar and bass solos to the band’s trademark violin and cello. It all comes together to form one melodic orchestra-pop sound — something which serves as the basis for some of the more unique music in the “indie genre” today.

Stream “Boy” for yourself below. You can grab it as a free download via the band’s official website. Also below, find the band’s upcoming tour dates. Trust me, the sound translates live.

RaRaRiot_Boy1.mp3

Ra Ra Riot 2010 Tour Dates:
07/21 – Hiroshima, JP @ Club Quattro
07/23 – Yokohama, JP @ Blitz
07/24 – Tokyo, JP @ Zepp
07/27 – Kyoto, JO @ KSB Hall
07/28 – Kyoto, JO @ KSB Hall
08/01 – Montreal, QC @ Osheaga Festival
08/04 – Columbus, OH @ Columbus State Fair *
08/28 – Toronto, ON @ Molson Amphitheater %
09/05 – Seattle, WA @ Bumbershoot
09/09 – Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom (Musicfest NW)
09/12 – North Dorset, UK @ End of the Road Festival
09/21 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
09/22 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
09/23 – Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
09/24 – Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
09/27 – Northampton, MA @ Pearl St.
09/28 – New Haven, CT @ Toad’s Palace
09/29 – Providence, RI @ The Met
10/01 – Boston, MA @ Royale
10/02 – Philadelphia, PA @ Trocadero
10/03 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Diesel
10/04 – Ann Arbor, MI @ Blind Pig
10/05 – Chicago, IL @ Metro
10/07 – Minneapolis, MN @ Varsity Theatre
10/08 – Omaha, NE @ Waiting Room
10/11 – Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theatre
10/12 – Salt Lake City, UT @ In the Venue
10/13 – Crystal Bay, NV @ Crystal Bay Club
10/19 – Pomona, CA @ Glass House
10/20 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Music Box
10/21 – San Diego, CA @ Belly Up Tavern
10/22 – Tempe, AZ @ @ The Clubhouse
10/24 – San Antonio, TX @ White Rabbits
10/26 – Austin, TX @ Emo’s
10/27 – Houston, TX @ Warehouse Live
10/28 – Dallas, TX @ Granada Theatre
10/29 – Little Rock, AR @ Exit/In
10/30 – Nashville, TN @ Exit/In
11/01 – Birmingham, AL @ Workplay Theatre
11/02 – Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade
11/03 – Asheville, NC @ Orange Peel
11/04 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle
11/05 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
11/13 – Vancouver, BC @ The Commodore
11/17 – Calgary, AB @ MacEwan Hall
11/19 – Saskatoon, SK @ Louis’ Pub
11/20 – Winnipeg, MB @ The Garric

* = w/ Devo
% = w/ Tegan and Sara & City and Colour

Among the tickets on sale Friday include Gary Numan, Matisyahu, Ra Ra Riot, and Hot Hot Heat.

Gary Numan:

What: North American tour

When: October – November

Tixs: Price varies depending on location

Buy: Ticketmaster at 10:00 AM Local Time

Hot Hot Heat:

What: North American tour

When: August – September

Tixs: Price varies depending on location

Buy: Ticketmaster at 10:00 AM Local Time

Matisyahu:

What: North American tour

When: July – August

Tixs: Price varies depending on location

Buy: Ticketmaster at 10:00 AM Local Time

Ra Ra Riot:

What: North American tour

When: August – November

Tixs: Price varies depending on location

Buy: Ticketmaster at 10:00 AM Local Time

Did we miss anything? Let us know before

Below, you can find both a full listing of Ra Ra Riot’s upcoming endeavors and a teaser trailer featuring a bit of the music you’ll be hearing on both The Orchard and their upcoming tour. Tickets for those dates go on sale starting Friday, July 2nd via Ticketmaster.com.

Ra Ra Riot 2010 Tour Dates:
07/21 – Hiroshima, JP @ Club Quattro
07/23 – Yokohama, JP @ Blitz
07/24 – Tokyo, JP @ Zepp
07/27 – Kyoto, JO @ KSB Hall
07/28 – Kyoto, JO @ KSB Hall
08/01 – Montreal, QC @ Osheaga Festival
08/04 – Columbus, OH @ Columbus State Fair *
08/28 – Toronto, ON @ Molson Amphitheater %
09/05 – Seattle, WA @ Bumbershoot
09/09 – Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom (Musicfest NW)
09/12 – North Dorset, UK @ End of the Road Festival
09/21 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
09/22 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
09/23 – Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
09/24 – Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
09/27 – Northampton, MA @ Pearl St.
09/28 – New Haven, CT @ Toad’s Palace
09/29 – Providence, RI @ The Met
10/01 – Boston, MA @ Royale
10/02 – Philadelphia, PA @ Trocadero
10/03 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Diesel
10/04 – Ann Arbor, MI @ Blind Pig
10/05 – Chicago, IL @ Metro
10/07 – Minneapolis, MN @ Varsity Theatre
10/08 – Omaha, NE @ Waiting Room
10/11 – Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theatre
10/12 – Salt Lake City, UT @ In the Venue
10/13 – Crystal Bay, NV @ Crystal Bay Club
10/19 – Pomona, CA @ Glass House
10/20 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Music Box
10/21 – San Diego, CA @ Belly Up Tavern
10/22 – Tempe, AZ @ @ The Clubhouse
10/24 – San Antonio, TX @ White Rabbits
10/26 – Austin, TX @ Emo’s
10/27 – Houston, TX @ Warehouse Live
10/28 – Dallas, TX @ Granada Theatre
10/29 – Little Rock, AR @ Exit/In
10/30 – Nashville, TN @ Exit/In
11/01 – Birmingham, AL @ Workplay Theatre
11/02 – Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade
11/03 – Asheville, NC @ Orange Peel
11/04 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle
11/05 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
11/13 – Vancouver, BC @ The Commodore
11/17 – Calgary, AB @ MacEwan Hall
11/19 – Saskatoon, SK @ Louis’ Pub
11/20 – Winnipeg, MB @ The Garric

* = w/ Devo
% = w/ Tegan and Sara & City and Colour

Whatever the case may be, we decided to do it all over again. You see, our first “35 Albums to Buy in 2010″ only covered a fraction of 2010 and since then, plenty more quality new releases have been unveiled. So the CoS news team came together and etched out a list of “35 More Albums to Buy in 2010″. Below, you’ll find a paragraph preview for each of said “35 More Albums…”, complete with mp3 (if available), cover art (if available), and release date (if available). Whether you buy, steal, or download, we hope you find it as a useful resource. Just remember, musicians are people too. So please support them in some way or manner.

Eminem – Recovery

With his last album, Mr. Mathers suffered a Relapse. Now, with his seventh album, Detroit’s finest plans on entering Recovery. Not because slipping back into his vices is particularly bad, but the last album was, in the rapper’s own words, “ehhh”. In our first taste from the LP, “Not Afraid”, Eminem gets pretty serious in the pro-personal strength mantra. And while it lacks some of the jester-esque flow of his previous efforts, the rest of the album’s got us pretty stoked. With cameos from both Pink and Rihanna, plus production work by Jim Jonsin and Just Blaze, the album could be a step in the right direction toward regaining the hip-hop throne Em held before essentially taking a step back after the release of 2004′s Encore. One day at a time, Marshall, one day at a time. -Chris Coplan
June 22nd via Aftermath Entertainment

Check Out:
“Not Afraid”

M.I.A. – /\/\ /\ Y /\

Say what you will about her music; M.I.A. is a genius of self-promotion. Whether releasing made-to-be-banned videos of children getting executed or stirring up web beefs with New York Times writers, it’s the rare week where the singer doesn’t pop up in the headlines. Soon she may actually be making waves for her music (imagine that). Though it features the most godawful cover ever, /\/\ /\ Y /\ (a creative way of spelling Maya, her real name) promises to deliver 10 more world-fusion tracks ready for clubs and stoner film trailers alike. And while first single “XXXO” hasn’t exactly blown up the charts, don’t forget it took “Paper Planes” almost a year to make a splash. And if the recent controversies have shown anything, it’s that you underestimate M.I.A. at your own peril. -Ray Padgett
June 22nd via N.E.E.T.

Check Out:
“XXXO”

The Roots – How I Got Over

How far they have come. What was once a little jazz hip hop outfit out of Illidelphia is now the house band for Mr. Jimmy Fallon, lest we forget that they have cut some seminal hip hop records in the past. Maybe it’s ?uestlove watching indie band after indie band perform on Fallon that influenced The Roots’ new album  How I Got Over, featuring Jim James, Joanna Newsom, Dirty Projectors, John Legend, and a litany of other guests. Always in the pocket, always fresh, always The Roots, these guys are sure to let the needle drop on some new grooves, while still maintaining that live-band 215th sound they’ve cultivated over the years. Pick this one up OK, Player?. -Jeremy Larson
June 22nd via Def Jam

Check Out:
“Dear God 2.0″ (feat. Jim James)

Big Boi – Sir Luscious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty

As one-half of hip-hop royalty Outkast, it’s no doubt we were as giddy as school children for the first solo album of Big Boi‘s already illustrious career; now we just want it out and done with already. We first got whiff of the album as far back as 2007. Since then, it’s been coming and going at regular intervals; it was even to be joined by other Outkast albums at some point. But now the album actually seems to be a reality. And oh what a reality it will surely be. In a song so good even Big Boi loses his head, “Shutterbug” is full of lots of influences, hoping around from energy to energy and with a signature sound that only Big Boi could be the ring leader of. Whether or not the rest of the album’s as good is still up to debate. We’re just happy we get to hear it before Outkast’s kids decide to make music. -Chris Coplan
July 6th via Def Jam Records

Check Out:
“Shutterbug”

How to Destroy Angels – How to Destroy Angels [EP]

Ever since Trent Reznor began posting cryptic studio shots to his blog, fans have wondered what the Nine Inch Nails mastermind had up his sleeve. Well, the secret’s out: it’s How to Destroy Angels, a collaborative project with Reznor’s new wife Mariqueen Mandig, and NIN producer/bass player Atticus Ross. The songs are as dark and ambient as you would expect from Reznor, though the hotel-murder video is particularly gruesome. In another now-standard move, he released the EP for a free download on his website, with the option of a $2 upgrade for high-quality FLAC files. Fans who prefer a physical release will have to wait until July 6th, when the CD drops. Reznor has indicated the EP represents only the earliest experiments by the band; look for a more fleshed-out full length in early 2011. -Ray Padgett
July 6th via The Null Corporation

Check Out:
How to Destroy Angels [EP]

Best Coast – Crazy for You

If we’ve learned anything about buzz bands these past few months, it’s that most (if not all) of them fizzle out. However, as with anything, there are exceptions. Case in point: Best Coast. Maybe we’re just crazy for Bethany Cosentino, but there’s nothing better than the sunny distortion and distant melodies that the group’s 7″ singles and digital releases have trademarked. But we’ve yet to hear a solid effort from the Los Angeles trio. That’s what makes the group’s forthcoming debut, Crazy for You, so exciting, and so delectable, too. Instead of tiptoeing from one single to the next, we’ll be able to digest the fuzzy lo-fi pop punk in large, healthy quantities. The real cherry on top is that the band recorded in the same studio where they hashed out hot singles like “When I’m With You” and “This Is Real”. Hace calor! -Michael Roffman
July 27th via Mexican Summer

Check Out:
“When I’m With You”

Menomena – Mines

If there’s one tragedy to remember in the indie circuit, it’s that 2007′s Friend and Foe didn’t land on any critic’s top year-end lists. In addition to some of the most incredible cover art in recent memory, Menomena‘s third LP packed in so much instrumentation you’d think an orchestra came on board. But truth be told, only three members were responsible. Three musical geniuses, really. Now the Portland geniuses return, ready to make good on their untold promise of creating more with very, very little. Mines, the group’s long awaited fourth LP, culls together portions and portions of material to become something that, as Justin Harris insists, is “more emotional than any previous album.” We’ve had a taste of the new sound with non-album track “Pilgrim’s Progress” on Record Store Day, in addition to current haunt of a single “FIVE LITTLE ROOMS”, but come July 27th, we’re likely to pounce on the whole shebang. -Michael Roffman
July 27th via Barsuk

Check Out:
“FIVE LITTLE ROOMS”

Arcade Fire – The Suburbs

The status of Arcade Fire‘s new album as everyone’s most anticipated of 2010 has not changed — if anything, we should all be hungrier after all the details. Between now and August 3rd, there will be two more months of idle talk (natural, being that this is the world’s biggest indie band that’s actually still indie). There will be elitism: “The new singles are so uninspired and mainstream; this album’s gonna suck.” There will be fanboyism: “Arcade Fire can do no wrong; just look at those thematic new song titles! Best band alive.” And there will be obsessive analyses of meaningless minutiae: “Win Butler’s new haircut is… what the hell is he thinking? This album’s gonna suck!” And while the hair is awful, the healthy thing to do is to calm down, listen to The National’s High Violet on repeat, and not build up expectations to unrealistic proportions. That being said, we’re still incredibly psyched. -Harry Painter
August 3rd via Merge

Check Out:
“The Suburbs”

Autolux – Transit Transit

While Autolux has had some trouble (six years’ worth) getting a second album out, the band has been playing tracks off of it live for years. It’s a shame that the live show has been the only chance for most people to hear these songs, because they’re every bit as good as much of the neo-shoegaze trio’s 2004 debut Future Perfect. Furthermore, Autolux is one of those bands that should be much bigger than they are. Come August 3rd, if the record, titled Transit Transit, doesn’t drown in the half-decade of anticipation, Autolux has a chance to make that happen. -Harry Painter
August 3rd via TBD Records

Wavves – King of the Beach

Here’s how to describe Wavves’ sound on the Nathan Williams-led project’s last two albums: Place two speakers on either side of your ears, turn it way up, and enjoy as cascade after cascade of lo-fi surf rock annihilates your inner ear and shatters your bones in the most nihilistic groove you’ll ever experience, dude. But not one to be predictable, Williams (and new backing band made up of the old Jay Reatard band) has decided to switch things up. Williams has claimed in interviews that King of the Beach is going to be an album unlike anything else the unit has produced. And based on the first couple of tracks, that means high-end production value, lots of experimentation with sounds and layering, and, gasp, songs more than a couple minutes long. Growing up is totally rad, bro. -Chris Coplan
August 3rd via Fat Possum

Check Out:
“Cool Jumper”

Chromeo – Business Casual

The lovable soul-pop throwbacks known as Chromeo return with their first album since 2007’s Fancy Footwork. Singer Dave 1 told the Wall Street Journal the record is more “sophisticated” than previous releases, but added, “Our music is music you play when you’re making out or getting ready – for when your suit-with-no-tie comes on or comes off.” Unsophisticated track titles include “You Make It Rough”, “I’m Not Contagious”, and “Hot Mess”, which is about the most perfect Chromeo song title imaginable. In a blog post Dave cited Michael Jackson, the Alan Parsons Project, and keytar player Reggie Griffin as inspirations for the album, which can only mean more smooth lady-killing funk. Another likely muse: mentor Daryl Hall, with whom the pair will perform at Bonnaroo next week. -Ray Padgett
August 17th via Atlantic

!!! – Strange Weather, Isn’t It?

Less than a year after the tragic death of drummer Jerry Fuchs, the un-Googleable dance-punk outfit !!! is ready to soldier on and release its fourth LP this August. “AM/FM”, the first single from their fourth album, bounces along as spastically as any of their previous work, though frontman Nic Offers promises “really dark moments” elsewhere. Yet somehow it’s hard to imagine anything too sinister coming from Sacramento’s most unabashedly dance-happy octet. Like MGMT before them, the band claim Brian Eno as a heavy influence, which suggests perhaps more dense production that previous efforts. If all that isn’t enough to get you excited for the party record of the fall, tracks titled “Wannagain Wannagain” and “Jamie, My Intentions Are Bass” sound like must-listens. -Ray Padgett
August 24th via Warp Records

Check Out:
“AM/FM”

Ra Ra Riot – The Orchard

Ra Ra Riot is already a relatively poppy band (we’re inclined to make a joke about the band and the dictionary definition of “poppy”). With lots of quaint melodies and both a cello and violin in the band, they’re a pop band who wear their love of all that is sweet and bittersweet on their vintage tees. But for their sophomore album, they’re promising to go beyond The Rhumb Line and its effervescent aura and orchestral arrangements . According to the band, its sophomore LP The Orchard is going to be “so poppy you will want to throw up on yourself.” Whether or not that means we actually suffer from some kind of insulin overload or this is a slight but of hyperbole from Syracuse, NY’s second best export is neither here nor there; we’re counting the days till August, that’s for sure. -Chris Coplan
August 24th via Barsuk Records

Röyksopp – Senior

After taking four years between albums the last two times around, Röyksopp is dishing out a sequel to 2009′s Junior rather quickly. This doesn’t spell haste, though — the two albums are, as the names suggest, closely connected. The band described Junior as having a spring feel, while Senior will have an autumn feel (out in late August). So, despite the off-chance Senior could turn out to be a really corny atmosphere piece, we have high hopes for the Norwegian electronic duo’s fourth effort. -Harry Painter
August via Astralwerks

The Thermals – Personal Life

You’d think we wouldn’t be so hungry for new tunes by The Thermals. After all, it’s only been a year or so since they released Now We Can See. But, lo and behold, here we are now, and yes, we’re demanding that Hutch Harris, Kathy Foster, and Westin Glass entertain us. That they will, come September 7th, when Personal Life, the trio’s fifth LP to date, surfaces. We don’t anticipate much change (nor do we want to), but if we’re to believe the band’s latest press release, we should expect a darker and deeper LP. One that, and we quote, “obsesses over love and lies with the same passion The Thermals have reserved for politics and death in the past.” Given Harris’ “sunny” lyricism on those subjects, we anticipate this shit is gonna be heavy. Right on time for the angsty weather of autumn. Choice. -Michael Roffman
September 7th via Kill Rock Stars

Black Mountain – Wilderness Heart

Everyone needs help once in a while, an idea which Black Mountain is currently implementing for its third record, Wilderness Heart, set for release on September 15th. On the followup to 2008′s In The Future, the Canadian psych-rock band is using outside producers for the first time in its career, as the reins have been handed over to Dave Sardy (Oasis) and Randal Dunn (Sunn O). According to vocalist Amber Webber, “We knew exactly what it would sound like if we did this own our own. It just seemed like if we were going to do the third album, we just needed to do something different that would be exciting to us.” Those of you familiar with the band’s past work, get ready for a change. Gone are the epic 10 minute tracks; instead, replaced by short, straightforward rockers and an improvised, lyrical approach. Case in point, the album’s first single “Old Fangs”.  -Joe Marvilli
Fall/Winter 2010 via Jagjaguwar

Check Out:
“Old Fangs”

Grinderman – Grinderman 2

Though we’re promised something different from the first Grinderman installment, Nick Cave and his grunge cohorts are sure to churn out some massive tracks on the forthcoming sequel. Cave and his three separatists from The Bad Seeds engaged in a grunge-heavy, sex-fueled mayhem first time around that razed clubs with their tour with The White Stripes, so expect similar results this time around both live and out your speakers. We’re still hanging on [read: drooling over, perplexed regarding, and a little aroused by] band member Warren Ellis’ quotes from last year regarding the album, “It’s kind of like stoner rock meets Sly Stone via Amon Düül… Nick’s got a different thing going on with the lyrics than he would have from the Bad Seeds. Less sex? I wouldn’t say that.” I wouldn’t suggest it, either, Warren. -Jeremy Larson
September 14th via ANTI-

Kid Cudi – Man on The Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager

Oh, Cudi. What can we say about Mr. Cleveland himself? He’s worked with Kanye West and Jay-Z, kind of toured with Lady Gaga, and genuinely been pushed as a guy to watch out for. And while there’s been talk of him quitting after a certain number of albums and then talk of some kind of collaborations album, it seems as if his second LP will be a trip back to the moon. This time, though, Cudi says it’s not about taking us into his bad dreams; instead, Cudder will be “bringing you into my reality, good and bad. It will explain more of who I am as well as pushing the envelope musically.”And that envelope involves working with hip-hop mastermind Jim Jonsin, cameos from Ratatat, Chip Tha Ripper, Cage, and Mr. West himself, and even some Duran Duran sampling. One ticket, please. -Chris Coplan
September 14th via GOOD Music

Beastie Boys – Hot Sauce Committee, Pt. 1

The Brooklyn hip-hop trio was all set to release Hot Sauce Committee, Pt. 1 in 2009, but was forced to delay the effort when Adam “MCA” Yauch was diagnosed with cancer. Thankfully, he seems to be on the road to recovery, as does the album. What we do know is that the outfit’s first traditional LP since 2004′s To the 5 Boroughs, Hot Sauce Committee, Pt. 1 is said to be loaded with obscure samples, hardcore punk (“Lee Majors Come Again”), and even an a cappella piece (“B-Boys in the Cut”). What we don’t know is whether the album originally announced will be the one we actually hear. After letting it age for a year though, the Beastie Boys are currently looking over the tracklisting and songwriting to see if any adjustments need to be made. “We finished the record over a year ago, so we want to take a look at it and re-evaluate and make sure it is what we want to put out there and that we are still happy with it,” explained Yauch to NME. Whatever the end result may be, it finally appears the Beastie Boys’ long-awaited comeback is finally within our reach. -Joe Marvilli
September 2010 via Capitol

Check Out:
“Lee Majors Come Again”

Brandon Flowers – Flamingo

Ever since The Killers announced their hiatus at the end of last year, the band members have quickly scattered to various side projects. Perhaps what may be the least surprising but most anticipated of them all is Brandon Flowers’ forthcoming solo debut Flamingo. While not much has been said about the upcoming album, a few tidbits have slipped out to the Internet. First off, it’s chockful of big name producers, including Daniel Lanois (U2, Neil Young), Brendan O’Brien (Pearl Jam, Bruce Springsteen), and Stuart Price (The Killers, Madonna). Flowers also confirmed a duet with Rilo Kiley frontlady Jenny Lewis on a song called “Hard Enough”, and that the album also features a Gospel song. A release date for single number one is set for the end of June, with the release of his album Flamingo in September. -Joe Marvilli
September via Island Records

Interpol – Interpol

Things weren’t looking good for our dapper post-punk heroes. In the bottom of the whatever, they were down a bass player, a tour, and a release date or name for their new album. But as is the way of most Disney sports movies, Interpol pulled it together, hired a great bass player, and announced a release date for their forthcoming self-produced, self-titled album Interpol. And they also added a bunch more UK and Europe tour dates. Cue Angles In The Outfield theme song. Though, I guess there’s the whole “what does this album sound like” deal. The Interpol boys have baffled us with polarizing statements such as, “it certainly doesn’t sound like anything we’ve ever done before” and “the new record falls back towards the first.” Take those two statements, add “Lights”–their first release from Interpol– divide by overcoming adversity and you get a no contest spot on this list. It certainly can’t be boring and stuff, right? -Jeremy Larson
September 14th via Matador

Check Out:
“Lights”

Kanye West – Good Ass Job

If you take much stock in the comments of fellow rappers and the recently revealed first single “Power”, Kanye West is back to doing what Kanye West does best — good ol’ fashion raps behind equally thrilling samples and beats. Tentatively titled Good Ass Job, the Chicago rapper’s fifth LP promises to be a throw back affair, one which hears Kanye abandoning the Auto-Tune of 808s & Heartbreak in favor of the styles that made him into the hip-hop super force that he is today. There’s also guests a plenty, with everyone from Q-Tip and Kid Cudi to Mr Hudson and Soulja Boy said to be making an appearance. And if all that hype wasn’t enough, Drake is already calling the record “one of the best hip-hop albums of the last 10 years.” Time will tell about that, but, at the very least, this is going to be one captivating listen. -Alex Young
September via Roc-A-Fella Records

Check Out:
“Power”

Les Savy Fav – TBA

Woods, LCD Soundsystem, and Superchunk are synonymous with the labels they are on, Woodsist, DFA, and Merge respectively, because they (or their members) are the owners. Les Savy Fav also holds this distinction, but flies under the radar in this class because its focal point is larger than life singer Tim Harrington, not Frenchkiss owner and bassist Syd Butler (their acts include The Dodos, The Hold Steady and Passion Pit). The five-piece will return in September with a still untitled follow-up to Let’s Stay Friends that Butler told NME will be “heavier” than the previous record, with the sound going back to the 90’s, to which Harrington added “we’re trying to get back to when we didn’t have any friends.” Judging from new songs CoS heard at their recent LA show, “Outta Here” and “Appetites”, it’s not hard to imagine falling in love with this band all over again. -Phil Cosores
September via Frenchkiss

Mark Ronson & The Business – Record Collection

It’s been a few years since Mark Ronson focused on his solo career. Following his 2007 acclaimed cover album Version, the English artist has mostly stayed busy by serving as a producer for the likes of Nas, the Kaiser Chiefs, Adele, and Daniel Merriweather. However, this year promises to see Mark Ronson, now accompanied with the backing band The Business Intl., at center stage again. Titled Record Collection, Ronson’s third album is also his first of all originals in seven years. The first single, “Bang Bang Bang”, features Q-Tip on rapping duties and MNDR, Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ touring keyboard player, on vocals. (Both that song and another new track, “Circuit Breaker,” can be found on his official website.) The record will also include appearances by Boy George, The Drums’ Jonathan Pierce, Kaiser Chiefs’ Nick Hodgson, and Miike Snow. -Joe Marvilli
September via Sony BMG

Check Out:
“Bang Bang Bang”

Of Montreal – False Priest

Kevin Barnes, Of Monreal’s flamboyant frontman, has kept uncharacteristically quiet about the band’s new album, its first since 2008’s Skeletal Lamping. Here’s what we know. The band teamed up with veteran producer Jon Brion, who has worked with everyone from Kanye West to Elliott Smith in the past, for False Priest, tentatively due in September.  The quintet recorded the disc at L.A.’s Ocean Way Studios, where the Beach Boys cut “Good Vibrations”. Song titles include “Enemy Gene”, “Famine Affair”, and “Teenage Unicorn Fisting” (we shudder to imagine the lyrics for that one). Most enticingly, Solange Knowles, Beyoncé’s sis and longtime buddy, recorded with the band, so expect her to make an appearance or two. -Ray Padgett
September via Polyvinyl

Panda Bear – Tomboy

Animal Collective was sooo 2009. But vocalist Noah Lennox, aka Panda Bear, will keep his crew on the radar when he releases his fourth solo album in September, titled Tomboy. Details are still being held under wraps, but we do know a series of singles, including the title track in July, will precede the record. But whether you see this as the followup to his beloved album Person Pitch (the album beat LCD Soundsystem’s Sound Of Silver for #1 on Pitchfork’s 2007 album of the year list) or as the followup to last year’s inescapable release Meriwether Post Pavilion, the expectations are probably through the roof. Can’t wait? Go to YouTube and search for his performance clips from the Primavera Sound Festival where he performed almost exclusively new tracks, including “Drone” and “Surfers Hymn”. -Phil Cosores
September via Paw Tracks

The Walkmen – TBA

The Walkmen and The National are like opposite sides of the same coin. Both New York based, with singers who exude cool without really trying. Both bands combine instantly recognizable voices with technically adventurous yet unassuming backing bands, five pieces strong, and filled with people with long-term connections. Prior to this year, both had four albums of original material, have been shifting from rockers to more moody material, and find general acclaim from the critics. So will the upcoming untitled album from The Walkmen, speculated for a September release date, be as successful as High Violet? Doubtful. Who knows why one band is given the key to the city while the other is examined for chinks in their armor, but The Walkmen don’t let their music sound like underdog fair. And with dates at Reading & Leeds and Lollapalooza scheduled, having something to prove may be their greatest asset. -Phil Cosores
September? via Gigantic Music

Antony & The Johnsons – Swanlights

With Antony & The Johnsons, you are either along for the ride, or you are not. If you want to look into its new album, Swanlights, on the band’s official website, you will encounter the image of two men jailed for homosexuality in Malawi, Antony’s personal environmental concernsm and news of the death of Kazuo Ohno, the Japanese dancer who appears on the cover of their last album, 2009’s The Crying Light. This is not light reading, and Antony Hagarty’s music is not light listening, but it is often beautiful and reflects a point of view generally ignored in the arts. Antony uses his warbly voice for more than singing, and on October 6th, we will see what the record, alone with the accompanying 144 page art book featuring Antony’s paintings, collages and writing, have to say. If history is any indicator, it will be worth seeking out. -Phil Cosores
October 5th via Secretly Canadian

Fleet Foxes – TBA

Fleet Foxes was, without question, one of 2008′s best albums and gave rise to not only the band, but a jump in the popularity of indie folk in general. Fleet Foxes set an unbelievably high standard for themselves, and anticipation will be appropriate for the band’s sophomore effort. They’ve said it will be rawer, as well as less poppy and upbeat than the first album. While that likely means no more songs like “Ragged Wood”, “Blue Ridge Mountains”, and “He Doesn’t Know Why”, it is comforting to know the band is recording honest material. Unless the band is just pulling an MGMT and disowning pop to be contrarian; after all, Robin Pecknold has shown in the past to be very unwilling to enter the mainstream. Either way, while the last bit of new information we have is an evil little MySpace blog post from January reading “Progress is being made,” the album is planned for the early- or mid-second half of the year. -Harry Painter
Fall via Sub Pop

Tron: The Original Soundtrack

It’s time I leveled with you. I’m what you guys call a User…er…Tron nerd. My geek factor is so through the roof with this I  don’t think I can even write in complete sentences from here on out. Remake of Tron? How about yeah! Amazing trailer? How about of course! Jeff Bridges is in it? How about shut the hell up! Oh and you know what? What! Daft Punk is scoring the entire movie. Je t’encule! Incredible. So there’s the hype. There’s also a purported tour supporting Tron and purported cameo in Daft Punk will make in Tron and the fact that this will be some of the first new Daft Punk we’ll be hearing in like half a decade. A caveat: publicists for Daft Punk aren’t even sure if it’s going to be a 2010 release, but here’s hoping they come in close. End of line. -Jeremy Larson
December?

Belle & Sebastian – TBA

If any band needed a break, it was Belle and Sebastian. After releasing seven albums in 10 years and touring relentlessly behind The Life Pursuit, the T-Rex influenced record that many considered the band’s finest since The Boy With The Arab Strap, the Glasgow popsters took a four year break and are just now emerging with a full tour schedule for the U.S. in the fall, including rumored appearances at the Matador at 21 and Treasure Island Festivals. Oh yeah, and they are curating Bowlie 2 for ATP in December. But when will the album be released? If you have been waiting patiently since 2006, a little while longer shouldn’t hurt. We do know that they are in LA putting the final touches on it, and I would bet releasing it sometime from their fall tour to ATP is in the cards. -Phil Cosores
TBA via Matador

Dr. Dre – Detox

Detox is one of the most anticipated albums of the past decade, but lately it’s become something of a running joke. No one — not even it’s producers — knows if it’ll ever come out, but hopes are still high. Hopefully it’s not hip-hop’s version of Chinese Democracy. In a Sirus XM radio interview, Scott Storch – whose name plasters the credits on Dre’s Chronic 2001 – said “Detox is a departure from stuff Dre and I have done it the past” and that the doc was looking for “three more records” until he finally releases the damn thing. He added that, “it should take about 400 records to get three. He has pretty high standards.” No shit. No word on whether this thing will actually drop, but we’re keeping our fingers crossed. In the meantime, start saving up for the inevitable super deluxe version that comes with a pair of Beats headphones. -Ray Roa
TBA via Aftermath/Interscope

Check Out:
“Flashing” (feat. Snoop Dogg)

Jenny and Johnny – I’m Having Fun Now

Even though it’ll always be ladies first in this relationship, we’re sure that Jonathan Rice doesn’t mind riding the coattails of his girlfriend’s popularity on this still untitled recording. In fact, one could argue that, in this instance, the 27-year-old Rice might be the brain behind the beauty. He wrote the Elvis Costello collaboration “Carpetbaggers” from Lewis’ sophomore release, Acid Tongue, and Costello liked singing his part so much that he invited the duo to work on his own 2008 album, Momofuku. No release date has been set, so for now you’ll just have to catch the lovebirds when they support Pavement and play a show with Superchunk in September. -Ray Roa
TBA

Justice – TBA

Even though the Paris-based duo been accused of being dance music’s MIlli Vanilli, fans are still eagerly awaiting their next proper LP. Justice‘s last album was 2007’s “disco-opera” — † — and a 2008 live disc/documentary barely satiated a thirst for new music. Last year, they won a Grammy for remixing MGMT’s “Electric Feel”, and tapped the newly reformed Elektra Records to handle stateside distribution of this still untitled record. God knows what it will sound like, but let’s hope it’s gets us dancing. -Ray Roa
TBA via Elektra/Ed Banger

The always present threat of a new Radiohead album

We know Radiohead has made substantial progress on its upcoming eighth album, but we don’t know much else. But as curious as we are about Phil Selway’s solo record, a Radiohead album without details is more exciting than 99% of albums that will come out this year, including his. We can probably expect this thing to be out before the end of the year, but no way it comes out before Selway’s late-August release. We can also only speculate on how it will sound, but if “These Are My Twisted Words” tells us anything, it’s that Radiohead is weird again! Add to that Ed O’Brien tossing around words like “different” and “new,” and it sounds at face value like another successful Radiohead album. -Harry Painter
TBA

Check Out:
“These Are My Twisted Words”

As expected, legendary singer/songwriter Bob Dylan, hip-hop superstar Mary J. Blige, the recently reunited grunge band Hole, and alternative staple Weezer will headline this year’s festivities, set to run from September 4-6 at the Seattle Center.

Other scheduled acts include The Decemberists, Rise Against, Billy Bragg, Neko Case, Ozomatli, Jenny Lewis and boyfriend Jonathan Rice, Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeroes, The English Beat, The Thermals, Ra Ra Riot, Atlas Sound, HEALTH, Japandroids, Surfer Blood, The Dandy Warhols, The Bouncing Souls, The Clientele, Baroness, Meat Puppets, The Moondoggies, Jeff the Brotherhood, Balkan Beat Box, Booker T., and Justin Townes Earle. For a full list of confirmed bands, click here.

Economy and standard tickets (priced at $22 and $40 respectively) go on sale starting today. VIP and Platium packages are also available. For additional information, click here.

But what would be the point of that? Let’s face it: these are given facts.

So before you head out for the holidays, feel free to catch up on this “mixed bag” of a week. Below you’ll find a listing of the most pivotal as well inane news items in music. Think of it as a source of ice breakers for all of those barbecues and beach parties that you’ll be attending within the next few days.

– U2 canceled its North American tour due to Bono’s recent back surgery, but dates will be rescheduled for 2011. The group also cancelled its appearance at the Glastonbury Music Festival next month. Organizers enlisted Gorillaz as a replacement.

– The Sasquatch! Music Festival in George, WA begins this weekend. Never been anywhere near the  festival grounds? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.

– In other festival news, Rock the Bells dropped its initial 2010 lineup this week. And four headliners for Bumbershoot leaked. Look for an official announcement in early June.

– David Byrne filed a $1 million dollar suit against Florida governor and senate hopeful Charlie Crist after he used the Talking Heads single “Road to Nowhere” in a campaign advertisement.

– Paul McCartney is to receive the Library Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. The televised awards ceremony will feature performances by many special guests, including Jack White and Dave Grohl.

– New York state legislators are reinstating an anti-scalping law in the wake of the Live Nation Entertainment-Ticketmaster merger.

– Apple’s selling practices became the subject of an antitrust inquiry.

– Rage Against the Machine’s Zack de la Rocha unveiled The Sound Strike, a boycott against Arizona’s controversial immigration bill.

– Ra Ra Riot, Röyksopp, and Grinderman promised new albums in the coming months.

– As if Arcade Fire hasn’t been getting enough press lately, two new songs are available for listening. The group also said something about an album release this summer.

– Did I mention the Arcade Fire-inspired high school musical?

– A new Kanye West song leaked.

– Slipknot bassist Paul Dedrick Gray passed away at age 38.

– Nick Freed reviewed The ArchAndroid,  Janelle Monáe’s audacious, genre-bending effort. He also shared his thoughts about Jamie Lidell’s Compass.

– The Dead Weather released its followup to last year’s Horehound. See what Chris Coplan had to say about it.

– Luke Steele, frontman for Australian dance outfit Empire of the Sun, confessed his love for hi-fi in an interview with Cap Blackard.

– What better way to end than with a shameless plug: CoS seeks online sales associates.

The 10-track effort was produced by the band and Andrew Maury (aka the dude behind RAC) and features the mixing talents of Death Cab for Cutie’s Chris Walla and Vampire Weekend’s Rostam Batmanglij. Below, you’ll find the album’s tracklist, as well as a schedule of the band’s upcoming itinerary. Expect even more dates soon.

The Orchard Tracklist:
01. The Orchard
02. Boy
03. Too Dramatic
04. Foolish
05. Massachusetts
06. You and I Know
07. Shadowcasting
08. Do You Remember
09. Kansai
10. Keep It Quiet

Ra Ra Riot 2010 Tour Dates:
05/30 – Durham, CT @ B.O.M.B. Fest
06/05 – Houston, TX @ Free Press Summer Fest
07/21 – Hiroshima, JP @ Hiroshima Club Quattro
07/23 – Yokohama, JP @ Yokohama BLITZ
07/24 – Tokyo, JP @ ZEPP Tokyo
07/27 – Kyoto, JP @ KSB Hall
07/28 – Kyoto, JP @ KSB Hall
08/28 – Toronto, ON @ Molson Ampitheater #

# = w/ Tegan & Sara and City & Colour

Among the acts lending their talents include Mogwai, Ra Ra Riot, Dan Deacon, Voxtrot, Marissa Nadler, A Place To Bury Strangers, The Antlers, Apostle Of Hustle, Patrick Wolf, The Veils, An Horse, The Spinto Band, Sic Alps, Crocodiles, Thao with the Get Down Stay Down, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, and Port O’Brien. You can find the complete list of participating artists, sorted by country, below.

In hopes of getting you further jazzed, Buffetlibre has provided us with a few mp3s from the project to post below. Scroll down to check out new selections from Voxtrot and Crocodiles.

Check Out:
Voxtrot – “Whiskey and Water”
Crocodiles – “Nothing To Be Done” (The Pastels Cover)

PEACE Lineup:
NORTH AMERICA:
USA: Micah P. Hinson And The Pioneer Saboteurs, Steve Wynn & The Miracle 3, Ra Ra Riot, Plushgun, Crocodiles, Dan Deacon, Voxtrot, Marissa Nadler, A Place To Bury Strangers, The Antlers, Asobi Seksu, The Spinto Band feat. The Beast Pageant , Port O’Brien, Bart Davenport, Dent May & Cowboy Maloney’s Electric City , KI: Theory, Mike Viola, Her Space Holiday, Pretty & Nice, Sic Alps, Blacklist, DeLeon, Gala, Jeffrey Lewis, Gregor Samsa, Thao + The Get Down Stay Down, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, Still Flyin’, Softlightes, Princeton, Odyzë, This Will Destroy You, Cruel Black Dove, Avian X
CANADA: Apostle Of Hustle, Buck 65, Malajube
MEXICO: Mexican Institute Of Sound, Hello Seahorse!, Sussie 4
CUBA: Martha Galarraga

SOUTH AMERICA:
BRAZIL: Bonde Do Role & DJ Chernobyl
CHILE: Javiera Mena, Francisca Valenzuela, Dj Raff
COLOMBIA: Frankie Jazz
BOLIVIA: Surfin Wagner
ARGENTINA: Entre Rios, Manosanta
VENEZUELA: Fordelucs, Kid606 feat. Barbara Panther

EUROPE:
UK: Marc Almond, 4hero, Mogwai, Patrick Wolf, Dubstar, Rose Elinor Dougall
Si Begg, frYars, Gyratory System, Darren Hayman, Cicada, Lucky Soul, Official Secrets Act, The Ultrasonics, Trouble Over Tokyo, The Boy Least Likely To, You Love Her Coz She’s Dead, Catherine A.D.
BELGIUM: Vive La Fête, The Neon Judgement, Girls In Hawaii
AUSTRIA: Fennesz, a life a song a cigarette
GREECE: Marsheaux, Mikro
NORWAY: Rockettothesky, Ane Brun, Ingrid Olava
GERMANY: Stereo Total, Ascii.Disko, Console, Escape With Romeo, Jeans Team, Kissogram, Maral Salmassi & Zero Cash, Kitbuilders, Locas In Love
FRANCE: Tahiti 80, Black Strobe, The Toxic Avenger, Titi Robin with Karim Sami “Diabolo”, The Delano Orchestra, Amélie-les-crayons, Saï Saï, My Broken Frame, Debmaster
FINLAND: Jori Hulkkonen
GREENLAND: Angu
DENMARK: Cartridge, The Broken Beats
ITALY: Dusty Kid, Amari, Amycanbe, Le Man Avec Les Lunettes, Perturbazione
IRELAND: Hystereo, Mundy
ICELAND: Amiina & Kippi Kaninus
HUNGARY: We Plants Are Happy Plants
SWEDEN: I’m From Barcelona, Peter Von Poehl, Napoleon, Lacrosse
FINLAND / GERMANY: AGF/Delay
SERBIA: sevdahBABY
PORTUGAL: X-Wife
NEDERLANDS: Don Diablo, Marike Jager, a balladeer
SWITZERLAND: Heidi Happy feat. Paul Niehaus (Calexico), Low Motion Disco
SPAIN: Miqui Puig, We Are Standard, Olimpic, Boat Beam, The Requesters, After After Hours, The Pinker Tones, Triangulo De Amor Bizarro, Elastic Band, Undo, The Amplid, Niki, Chinese Christmas Cards
RUSSIA: Tesla Boy, Cut2Kill
TURKEY: Gooseflesh

ASIA:
JAPAN: Ryuichi Sakamoto featuring Christian Fennesz
TIBET: Loten Namling, Karjam Saeji, Techung
CHINA: The Pet Conspiracy
HONG KONG: The Marshmallow Kisses, Tramgirl Karaoke Club feat. maskopet
REPUBLIC OF KOREA: EE
ISRAEL: Ivri Lider, Tamar Eisenman, Karni Postel, Nico Teen, The Biting Sheep
ISRAEL / FRANCE: Keren Ann & Shlomi Shaban
INDONESIA: Mocca, Efek Rumah Kaca, White Shoes & The Couples Company
INDIA: Motherjane, menwhopause, Sha’ir + func
IRAQ / DENMARK: Aida Nadeem
IRAQ: Salaam
IRAQ / FRANCE: Aïwa
PALESTINE: CultureSHOC
THAILAND: Cyndi Seui
SINGAPUR: sonicbrat

AFRICA:
SENEGAL: Malick Pathé Sow
TUNISIA / ALGERIA: DuOud
ALGERIA: MHD, Maghrebika feat Bill Laswell, Baâziz
GHANA: Wanlov The Kubolor
MALI: Vieux Farka Touré
UGANDA: Seby Ntege
EGYPT: Bikya
SOUTH AFRICA: Mujava feat Nonsense
MOZAMBIQUE / SOUTH AFRICA: 340ml
CONGO: Kiala

OCEANIA:
NEW ZEALAND: The Veils, The Phoenix Foundation
AUSTRALIA: Jeremy Fowler, An Horse, Operator Please, Birds Of Tokyo, Aeons

On June 8th, the San Diego based outfit will return with History From Below. Produced by My Morning Jacket’s keyboardist Bo Koster and Eli Thomson and recorded recorded at Prairie Sun Studio C in Cotati, CA — the same spot Tom Waits has recorded almost exclusively since 1991 (the band is known to be pretty fond of Mr. Waits), the record is said to be full of “incredibly deep and moving songs that are alternately grand and explosive, always eloquent and melodic.” An issued press release continues by noting, “It has a powerful energy that radiates musically, lyrically, and vocally from the moment you hit play as it finally captures the uncontainable spirit the band exudes on stage.” Of course, anyone who has seen Delta Spirit live can tell you this is great news!

“All we wanted to do is put the record together one song at a time,” explained Delta Spirit’s singer/guitarist Matthew Vasquez. “It’s been three years of straight touring off our last record so most of the songs were written in hotel rooms and tested in front of an audience. We spent spent six months of this last year making a record that sums up three years of growing up.”

What is also great news is the band’s plans to support the release with a massive summer tour that spans almost two months, starting in the band’s home state on June 8th. (Tickets go on sale starting Friday, April 2nd). Prior to that, they’ll take part in the “Daytrotter Barnstormer III” with Ra Ra Riot and Free Energy.

You can find the album’s tracklist along with a complete list of upcoming tour dates below. We’ve also include a video of the band’s performing a new song called “Bushwick Blues” during a recent performance in New York.

History From Below Tracklist:
01. 911
02. Bushwick Blues
03. Salt in the wound
04. White Table
05. Ransom Man
06. Devil knows you’re dead
07. Golden state
08. Scarecrow
09. Vivian
10. St. Francis
11. Ballad of Vitaly

Delta Spirit 2010 Tour Dates:
04/27 – West Liberty, IA @ Secrest *
04/28 – Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hall Ballroom *
04/29 – Lake Geneva, WI @ N1204 S. Hwy 120 *
04/30 – Monticello, IL @ Kalyx Center *
05/01 – Maquoketa, IA @ Codfish Hollow Barn *
06/08 – Solana Beach, CA @ Belly Up
06/09 – San Francisco, CA @ Independent
06/10 – Portland, OR @ Doug Fir
06/11 – Seattle, WA @ Neumos
06/12 – Vancouver, BC @ The Venue
06/14 – Boise, ID @ Neurolux
06/15 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge
06/16 – Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theatre
06/17 – Omaha, NE @ Waiting Room
06/18 – Minneapolis, MN @ Varsity Theatre
06/19 – Chicago, IL @ Metro
06/21 – St. Louis, MO @ Firebird
06/22 – Indianapolis, IN @ Radio Radio
06/23 – Columbus, OH @ Basement
06/24 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom
06/25 – Pontiac, MI @ Pike Room
06/28 – Boston, MA @ Middle East
06/30 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
07/01 – Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
07/02 – Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church
07/03 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
07/05 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle
07/06 – Charleston, SC @ Pour House
07/07 – St. Augustine, FL @ Cafe 11
07/08 – Orlando, FL @ The Social
07/09 – Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade
07/10 – Birmingham, AL @ Bottletree
07/11 – Haittesburg, MS @ Thirsty Hippo
07/13 – Little Rock, AR @ Juanita’s
07/14 – Tulsa, OK @ Cain’s
07/16 – Houston, TX @ Mango’s
07/17 – Austin, TX @ Emo’s Outside
07/20 – Santa Fe, NM @ Santa Fe Brewing Co.
07/21 – Tucson, AZ @ TBA
07/23 – Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey Theatre
07/24 – Santa Barbara, CA @ Velvet Jones

* = w/ Ra Ra Riot, Free Energy, & Nathaniel Rateliff

Like it or not, Pitchfork reports the always endearing Quinn sisters will release Alligator, an iTunes-only remix album of their single “Alligator”. Out March 30th, the collection features 17(!?) versions of the song. You know, because 18 would have been overkill. At least the band has a sense of humor about it all, with the pair noting, (how does a duo get quoted as one?) “If you’ve ever fantasized about having a dance party with 17 versions of the same song… watch out, this is your dream come true.” Seriously, you could really fuck with some people on a road trip with this one.

Taking part in the festivities, which will also include an eventual vinyl release, are Toro Y Moi, Ra Ra Riot, Holy Fuck, Four Tet, and professional badass Dave Sitek. And for the “Alligator” completest, the original demo recording will be the answer to your prayers.

Not helping their cred whatsoever, Tegan & Sara also have a lengthy tour this summer as support for Paramore, which will also include two yet to be announced bands. I bet they will be of high quality. Seriously, do you think they let just anyone on the “Honda Civic Tour”? Spin reports that the pre-sale tickets will be available to members of Paramore’s fan club (judges you) beginning at 3 P.M. on March 22nd. So, you’re late! Additional pre-sale tickets will be available via the tour’s official site starting on March 23rd. If you buy tickets like a normal human being, you can get them on March 27th via Ticketmaster.com. Now, someone kidnap these girls and show them those scared straight videos.

Alligator Tracklist:
01. Alligator (Holy Fuck Remix)
02. Alligator (Passion Pit Remix – 80s Mixtape Jam Flex Edit)
03. Alligator (Toro Y Moi Remix)
04. Alligator (VHS or Beta Remix)
05. Alligator (Doveman Remix)
06. Alligator (Four Tet Remix)
07. Alligator (Murge Remix)
08. Alligator (Ra Ra Riot Remix)
09. Alligator (Automatic Panic Remix)
10. Alligator (Hi-Deaf Remix)
11. Alligator (Dave Sitek Remix)
12. Alligator (Sara’s Original Demo Version)
13. Alligator (Morgan Page Remix) *
14. Alligator (Kevin St. Croix Remix) *
15. Alligator (Mad Decent Remix) *
16. Alligator (Josh Harris Remix) *
17. Alligator (Hamel Remix) *

* Bonus club track

The Honda Civic Tour featuring Paramore and Tegan & Sara:
07/23 - Raleigh, NC @ Raleigh Boutique Amphitheater
07/24 - Harrington, DE @ Delaware State Fair
07/27 - Wallingford, CT @ The Oakdale Theater
07/28 - Boston, MA @ Comcast Center
07/30 - Norfolk, VA @ Constant Convocation Center
07/31 - Columbia, MD @ Merriweather Post Pavilion
08/03 - Gilford, NH @ Meadowbrook Pavilion
08/04 - Philadelphia, PA @ Pier at Penns Landing
08/07 - Hershey, PA @ Hersheypark Stadium & Star Pavilion
08/08 - Darien Center, NY @ Darien Lake Performing Arts Center
08/10 - Cleveland, OH @ Time Warner Cable Amphitheater at Tower City
08/12 - Cincinnati, OH @ PNC Pavilion
08/14 - Milwaukee, WI @ Marcus Amphitheater Side Stage
08/15 - Detroit, MI @ Meadowbrook Music Fair
08/18 - Chicago, IL @ Charter One Pavilion at Northerly Island
08/19 - Indianapolis, IN @ The Lawn at White River State Park
08/21 - Nashville, TN @ Municipal Auditorium
09/01 - Atlanta, GA @ The Arena at Gwinnett Center
09/02 - St. Augustine, FL @ St. Augustine Amphitheater
09/04 - Miami, FL @ Bayfront Park Amphitheater
09/05 - Orlando, FL @ UCF Arena
09/07 - New Orleans, LA @ UNO Lakefront Arena
09/08 - Houston, TX @ Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
09/10 - Dallas, TX @ Nokia Theater at Grand Prairie
09/13 - Denver, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre
09/15 - Phoenix, AZ @ Dodge Theater
09/17 - San Jose, CA @ Theater at HP Pavilion
09/18 - San Diego, CA @ Viejas Arena
09/19 - Anaheim, CA @ Honda Center

But more than just the music, the two-day festival, this year held August 28th and 29th, is staged and planned to be as conducive to a good time as possible. Like last year, the whole thing went down back at the East Village near the Petco Park. Spread out over several city blocks, the event featured two main stages and three smaller stages, one of which was purported to be completely solar powered. Despite being a bit culinary challenged (the two main food options were bratwurst and Chinese or Thai food; oh joy), the drinks were flowing and the throngs of people from chiseled surfers to elderly hippies were ready for a good time. This silver anniversary showed that Street Scene is the little festival that could.

Day One

Dirty Sweet
Fulana: 4:20-5:20 p.m.

Kicking the day off were local boys Dirty Sweet. Despite its hometown advantage, the band drew a small crowd at first. From the first note, the first comparisons that came to mind were the Allman Brothers and Kings of Leon — something about their dirty blues and pseudo metal sound. The band’s technically proficient and that shined through as they moved to more down home jams that came off like free-form musical creations straight from some kind of hive mind. And before that got too developed, the band switched off to some acoustic lullaby that would make any rock-country heavyweight envious. Then, they finished it all off with a cover of Zeppelin’s “Kashmir”. It was a nice build toward new but related songs. That kind of diversity is perfect at a show like Street Scene.

Dungen
Green Stage: 5:30-6:15 p.m.

If festivals are for anything, it’s discovering new, fresh talent. My only previous experience with Dungen was knowing that this band was Swedish and weren’t a black metal band; truly a first from our friends to the very north. What the audience received at the beginning of the show was a rocking musical piece, full of chirpy distortion that gave a positive spin to the art of feedback and experimentation with noises. What we got for the remainder of the set was boring pop music that sounded like it’d been taken from the mixtape of your vegan Phish loving friend. This was grade-A bad bar band music or tunes from some low-grade wedding band. And if that weren’t the death nail for me and nay hopes of loving Dungen, the melodramatic flute playing (complete with a two-minute flute outro) surely did the trick. What had been a strong crowd left slowly in hopes of more deserving musical landscapes.

Wavves
Casbah: 6:10-6:50 p.m.

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t fear another Nathan Williams meltdown. But thankfully the mid-evening sun and massive crowd agreed with the lo-fi skate punk and he kicked off his set with a rather interesting version of “Bored”. A few fans had never experience any sort of Wavves before and his sound was re-welcomed by those of us who were aware as the cascade of distortion reverted off the face of the uninitiated. In what I thought was a nice touch, Williams refused to turn off his echo effect during crowd interactions, perpetuating the idea that there is no difference between the man and his sound. Williams was overly gracious and seemed to enjoy his set, even going so far as playing a few new songs. The first was a poppy sound that utilized the Pixies’ trademark stop and starts. The second unnamed new song was a bit less surf punk and more in the vein of the energy of the Sex Pistols, only without the yelping. Lastly, in a further nod to the Pixies, Williams squealed so good he’d make Frank Black proud. He kept his cool, shattered some bones with feedback, and left the crowd with an early favorite. Right on, Mr. Williams.

Band of Horses
Fulano: 6:40-7:40 p.m.

My first show at the main stage of Fulano… and there may have been no better way to kick it off then with Band of Horses. It was on the way to the BoH set that it dawned on me that this first day of Street Scene is going to be heavy with those bearded bands who play a style reminiscent of southern rock, country and blues. Whether it is BoH or Conor Oberst & The Mystic Valley Band or Devendra Banhart or Deerhunter, Friday was your chance to get down with the good old boys. And no one may have been more good and genuine than BoH. While a lot of the bands worry themselves with the dark and mysterious sound of some of the ’70s rock, BoH is a group that focuses on the pop and melody of some of those Southern stadium acts. It’s rock and its got that blues jam band element to it, but it’s got fantastic hooks and super deluxe playing that fills the night sky. That focus makes them perfect for an outdoor show like this. With an early slot on the bill, the band created a precedent that was hard to beat, despite the world-class competition.

Matt & Kim
Casbah: 7:15-7:55 p.m.

There may have been no better way in my entire life to spend a sunset than with the set by Brooklyn’s finest, Matt & Kim. Whether it’s coming on to a “Lean Back” remix or playing some samba/reggaeton beat that whipped the crowd into this nerdy furry of skinny awkward kids dancing around like hipster rave kids, the show was impeccable to say the least. When you go from a band like BoH and you have massive acts like Modest Mouse and Cake to come, two weirdos on stage with a drum and keyboards should not be as appealing; but their colossal effort is. Whether it’s Kim freak dancing on stage (who needs a sunset now) or the two of them asking for and receiving a circle pit as they play some hyperkinetic blast complete with a Slayer-quality light show, the two of them can get a crowd moving like no other band, even some of the headliners. In a perfect moment, they ended the day with “Daylight” and were the epitome of gracious musicians the whole time. An easy candidate for best show of night one.

Conor Oberst & The Mystic Valley Band
Fulana: 7:45-8:30 p.m.

In one of the first instances of the festival, Oberst and his merry band of musical compadres had the luck of being a band that was not a massive headline (like a Black Eyed Peas) but was in no way a Matt & Kim or a BoH. They’re not massive but they’re not unknown to the masses. This doesn’t mean they dealt with some crowds or competition from bigger bands, but rather an opportunity not often afforded to the audience: a chance to see them go for the gusto. Their set could have offered them the chance to grow more in the minds of fans, especially ones who have fallen in love with the depressive stylings of Bright Eyes and not quite the Eric Clapton version of Mr. Oberst. It’s safe to say they went for the big time and succeeded in their own laid back style. If BoH were the pop gods of the country stylings of the day, the Oberst and company were the Eagles of the show, bringing that slick, worldly-tinged jam band work to the entire affair. And as an added bonus, Jenny Lewis joined the band for a spirited musical get together. Everyone loves Conor Oberst and he gave them a better, more varied set of reasons to do so.

Cake
Fulano: 8:35-9:35 p.m.

You go to festivals because sometimes you want a big name to blow you out of your socks. Growing up, listening to Cake, this would have been my chance to see the band I loved and paid good money for. To say I was disappointed would hardly encompass my feelings. While the band played each and every song perfectly, and with passion and technical prowess, each member’s constant complaints regarding technical difficulties — especially those that the musically inclined (i.e. the vast majority of the crowd) couldn’t hear — ruined a nearly indescribable show. Even their cover of Black Sabbath’s “Black Masses” was plagued with comments like “Can I get more of this guitar, but in a good way and not a shitty way.” Play as great as you want, but if you’re going to be buzzkills and ruin the communal feeling festivals are meant to instill, then your sound means nothing and you harm the remainder of the fest.

Modest Mouse
Fulana: 9:40-10:40 p.m.

After the bad taste that was left in my mouth from Cake, Modest Mouse (even if it meant missing the sonic orgy of Girl Talk) was well worth it. What can one say about a Modest Mouse show that so many fans and critics have already said; the band’s skill and sound are beyond comparison and their passion to putting on an enthusiastic set is unmatched. They played a wide selection of songs and were efficient and eager to play as much as possible with as few breaks or unwanted silence, as well. But what spoke to me the most is the fact that there was a story told between their set and Cake’s that ended less than five minutes earlier. If Cake are the villains, who show that being a prima donna is alive and well at fests, then the dedication of Modest Mouse would surely make them the heroes. They put their hearts and minds into each and every song. Was it their best set or the most perfect? Not even close, but at least the audience will remember it and talk about it when they get home after the show.

Cage The Elephant
Green Stage: 10:30-11:15 p.m.

Sorry kids, but I missed out on the Black Eyed Peas. It has nothing to do with elitism or a hatred for Fergie and the boys. In fact, I listened to The E.N.D. on the way up and enjoyed it for being effective in terms of a smash club hit meant to be enjoyed with your friends on a drunken Friday night. I checked out Cage The Elephant for the same reason that I had to check out Cake. But rather quickly the young punks from Kentucky distanced themselves by playing through two, count them two total mic failures. Following this, they played through their self-titled album and even threw in a few new songs. The first was a bit of a change from their southern punk style and more in the vain of a less hectic Blur. The second, entitled “Indie Kids”, was less crazed and more in the vein of some old MC5, complete with a bit of condescending lyricism, all aimed at the “so cool” hipster kids. Of course, things got really going when they played “No Rest For The Wicked”, their big hit that nearly doubled the crowd. Sadly, many of the fans left after “No Rest For The Wicked”. The band showed that it has yet to reach a new plateau and that maybe a bigger stage instead of being a big fish in a small pond could have elevated them. Even still, a great way to close night one of there ever was one.

Day Two

Crocodiles
Casbah: 4:30-5:15 p.m.

For those unaware of the Crocodiles, the twosome has boiled down the rock dynamic, featuring a singer, a guitarist, and a drum machine. This is a band whose sound is danceable and light, without being dumb downed, and is still grimy and filthy with these vastly catchy hooks. But lead singer Brandon Welchez has a stage presence that is one part punk rock epileptic and one part dance hall Mick Jagger. However, at its core, their overall appeal is the minimalism of the show and the struggle to fill the void. In what was a lightning fast set, the band kept talking to a minimal, focusing more on the songs that partly heavy with effects and noise and partly elegant tunes that are truly pop songs in their most basic sense. With a show that ended the night before with Billboard lords of Black Eyed Peas, the Crocodiles were a lesson in making the most of nearly nothing.

Ra Ra Riot
Fulano: 5:10-5:45 p.m.

Here’s a band where the live setting truly makes their songs what they’re meant to be: Gorgeous examples of pop mastery. A great deal of bands try for that classic, ambient sound, complete with strings and light, effervescent keyboards, but the guys behind Ra Ra Riot are the true masters. The band lets the driving beats and hugely overarching base rock (y’know, the stuff that holds the songs together) compliment each other. It should also be noted that the live setting lets you understand how rich and complex their sound is; little touches and tweaks or tiny additions or extra notes create a landscape that comes alive in the middle of the San Diego summer. They’re also one of the more poppy bands of the fest to allow themselves unrehearsed yet unforced musical breakdowns and extended play that many are afraid would come off as too ferocious or, heaven forbid, rock-heavy.

Busta Rhymes
Zarabanda: 6:15-7:00 p.m.

In what could have been the first disaster of the festival, two things simultaneously occurred: One, Busta Rhymes, who has been around for longer than 90% of the other bands and acts that weekend, had to go on before 7 p.m. Secondly, due to technical errors, Busta didn’t get on stage until 6:45. But what occurred next is arguably one of the most profound musical experiences at a live show I have ever seen. He wasn’t mad or enraged, but antsy and ready to fight for his music, all with a smile and in an overall good mood. After all, while Busta’s ferocious, he’s also one funny, smart rapper. He took Yin Yang Twin’s “Wait” and made it his own with a creative and infective verse. He barked orders at the crowd and they ate it up, myself included. But the real treat that got the audience rocking back and forth was his medley of hits — some full verses, others just the hook and chorus — everything from “Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See” to “Arab Money” to “Pass The Courvoisier” and more. It was a rapid fire succession of about seven songs where he worked the crowd over with his swagger and rhymes and a genuine personality… and all in 25 minutes. That’s typically the same amount of time it took a lot of bands to get into their own swing. If any quote stuck in my head from any act this weekend, it’d be Busta when, after thanking the crowd and placing his very career on the fans, he said, “The beautiful part of growing older is you become a master at what you do.” True words, Busta, true words.

Silversun Pickups
Fulana: 7:30-8:30/8:00-9:00 p.m.

Because of some issues with technical mumbo jumbo, bands started going on late right around this point. Originally scheduled for 7:30, the SIlversun Pickups didn’t take the stage until 8 p.m. For the sake of saving time, I’ll be as curt I can with the LA band. Hearing its album, it occurred to me I may not be a steadfast fan of the group. I didn’t dislike their album, but I didn’t feel it move me or get my heart moving like other beloved acts and albums had. This is apathy if there ever was any. But after this show, I realized it’s time to reevaluate my feelings about their body of work. The band has built a career around Brian Aubert’s voice. At any second, the vulnerable, injured deer that is his means of musical expression could break down and die an agonizing death. I only realized how powerful this is when I see it live. When I hear him struggle to get to notes and the anguish and disgust and uncertainty in his voice when they’re blaring it across a parking lot and I’m 100 yards from the speaker, then I see it for what it is truly worth. It wasn’t my favorite show as I still have issues with their thematic choices and their often uninspired playing, but their live show, the real bread and butter of genuine bands, made me want to reintroduce myself to their discography, sans any preconceived thoughts or friend’s suggestions. This is the power of a festival: Music cannot be denied.

The Dead Weather
Fulano: 8:35-9:35/9:00-10:00 p.m.

To make up time, Jack White and crew started almost immediately as the Silversun Pickups ended. I can easily and readily confess that thanks to The Raconteurs, Jack White has an eternal place in my heart. But my fear going into the show was that he would still be the center of attention in this, his third band. That fear was quickly thrown back in my face as laughable and uninformed. That stage belonged to Alison Mosshart from the first note. There was a moment during the second song, “Hang You Up From The Heavens”, where I was 100 yards away and she sang the line about dragging someone to the devil and you believed she’d make good on her promise. She had this rock star presence that she owned the whole city during that hour, while at the same time being this menacing succubus who was possessed. And not the clichéd rocker who throws water to piss people off but like she was genuinely touched and in need of an exorcism. But she was still sensual and raw and you hoped she’d make good and “take you by the hand and walk you to my house.” And even when White got up to sing “You Just Can’t Win”, the audience longed for Mosshart to the point she nearly hid behind the drum kit. Of course, she gave White some of her dark energy as the two made sweet gritty harmonizing on the bluesy “Will There Be Enough Water?”. The world of rock is Jack White’s domain, but Mosshart usurped that power for one night and I’m hoping she does so again and again.

Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings
Zarabanda: 10:30-12:00 p.m.

I made the choice to avoid the headliner Thievery Corporation and try to discover new music in Bassnectar and Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings. As deliciously bass-heavy as he was, Bassnectar’s crowd was full of overly enthusiastic and touchy rave kids. The Sharon Jones show started late and I had to leave after an old soul intro. And when I got back to wait for M.I.A. to start, I was able to catch the last bit of Thievery Corporation. In the 10 minutes I saw, I witnessed an orgy of world music where I could’ve gotten both my soul and bass fix and much, much more if I stayed put and took in the sweat and bravado that is the Corporation. Lesson learned: Sometimes headliners are in their spot for a reason.

M.I.A.
Fulano: 10:45-12:00/11:00-11:50 p.m.

What can be said about M.I.A. that isn’t redundant or common knowledge? This is an artist who can draw the masses, sober the stoned, and break up couples (Long story; sorry, guy in plain white t-shirt). Regardless of what she does to relationships, M.I.A. takes the essentials of techno-ish dance music and gives it new life on stage. Whether it’s the horn-infused “Bucky Done Gun” or the straight out of Bollywood rendition of “Boyz”, M.I.A. slings a verse and rhyme beyond what she often demonstrates. Not to mention, she can move and grind it like a true class act. My whole pretense about her was that she’d be a bit of a pixie on stage, but she cracked the whip and worked out songs like “Galang” like a Valkyrie. And in honor or despite her no longer playing with Beastie Boys, she busted out a couple of verses over “Intergalactic” and “Sabotage”. Take that, Tenacious D! And in a moment that was sheer excitement for a music nerd like myself, she debuted a new song entitled “Born Free”. With a minimalized backing track reminiscent of some late ’70s New York punk band, she let off one of her most organized and biting songs ever, with the line “I throw this shit in your face when I see you, cause I’ve got something to say”. I’m not sure who she’s replying to/verbally assaulting, but it’s a step in a fresh direction. Sadly, it didn’t go over as huge as one might think with the remainder of the crowd. She then ended the whole shebang with a weak version of “Paper Planes” and said adieu at 11:50 to a set that lacked a bit in some parts, but brought the flash in other places, leaving the door open for something new real soon.

———–

Dungen

Holy Fuck

Wavves

Matt & Kim

Deerhunter

Calexico

Modest Mouse

Ra Ra Riot

Faint

Of Montreal

The Dead Weather

Thievery Corporation

M.I.A.

Grant Park didn’t make it any easier, either. As the hours skated by, and the day rolled forward, the south fields’ odors grew stronger — and more foul. If Saturday’s manure stench brought cringes from passerbys, Sunday’s nearly induced vomiting. It was unbearable. To quote Richard Lewis, it was the locker room…”from hell.” In retrospect, it’s kind of gross that hundreds of people were dining on the spoiled grass, let alone lounging on it!

But that’s all part of the festival’s, what do you call it, oh yeah, charm!

Ra Ra Riot
Chicago 2016: 12:30-1:30 p.m.

Ra Ra Riot is almost too cute for its own good. From the indie cheerleading name, to the cute female string players, and honey-toned vocals, it’s all a little overwhelming. They’re all accomplished musicians, and the songs are all pleasant, which might explain why the 12:30 p.m. crowd was about as large as the 5:00 p.m. crowd two days ago. Perhaps they were all here for Snoop Dogg, The Killers and Vampire Weekend, as fans of the latter should find the baroque indie pop of Ra Ra Riot appealing. Regardless of who came, the precious, sweet sounds were a “cool breeze,” just as vocalist Wes Miles had hoped. Not surprisingly, the set was, for the most part, very upbeat, light and… cute. While there wasn’t a ton of variety, the whole of it was extremely inoffensive and mildly entertaining. -A.K.

Bat For Lashes
Vitaminwater: 1:30-2:30 p.m.

Lying on a spectrum between Joanna Newsom, Tori Amos, and Bjork (definitely closest to Bjork), Bat For Lashes (alias of Brit Natasha Khan) did her best to help people ignore the overwhelming stench (which permeated the South field all weekend, but inexplicably was absent North-ward) and the overwhelming heat (which permeated damn near everything). Her clothes gave a pretty clear indication of her music, for those who like judging books by their covers: a sequined, rainbow leotard paired with blue leggings, moccasins and huge jewelery. The sort of flashy mysticism is Khan’s purview. With song titles like “Horse and I”, “The Wizard” and “Two Planets”, that’s all quite clear; the creepy twin baby dolls and stuffed crow perched on the synthesizers at the back of the stage. The biggest standout of the set could have been the superb drumming of Sarah Jones, whose set included a full-size timpani drum. -A.K.

The Airborne Toxic Event
Chicago 2016: 2:30-3:30 p.m.

What proved to be the most brutal weather throughout the entire festival, day three of Lollapalooza certainly made itself clear that this was the mother lode to end on. After grazing the hot sands of Grant Park, Los Angeles’ own Airborne Toxic Event took to the stage. Right from the get go, the band seemed a bit ill-prepared as sound problems persisted throughout the band’s set. Overall their stage demeanor led by guitarist/singer Mike Jollett floated between elegant and energetic, but sadly their overall performance was shrouded in muddiness. It was as if the band were lost in some never-ending pipe that stretched for miles with no means of reaching daylight. Another factor that sealed the group’s slim performance existed in their constant dependence on the same stylistic musical progressions, much like in the vein of The Arcade Fire. While yes the band sounded tight, their sound had been done before countless times and by the end of the day, nothing really showed for it; ‘twas undercooked a bit much. Though, who doesn’t love a good cover of Q. Lazarus’ “Goodbye Horses”? -J.Z.

Gang Gang Dance
Citi: 3:30-4:30 p.m.

Manhattan’s world beats authoritarians Gang Gang Dance has a lot going for them. For one, they look hip. Vocalist and percussionist Liz Bougatsos can charm the trendiest hipster out there, while also impress the snottiest music instructor of any institution. Then there’s the fact that their fourth studio album, last year’s Saint Dymphna, won over several acclaimed critics. So, it’s unfortunate that their short set over at the lovely Citi stage happened to be overwhelmed with delays, sound technicalities, and an undersold crowd. For the first 15 minutes, Bougatsos appeared visibly upset with her mix, arguing with the sound team as her band triumphed through. It’s not their fault, and don’t let this performance underscore the band for you. They’ll be back Chicago, and you will, too. -M.R.

Dan Deacon
Vitaminwater: 3:30-4:30 p.m.

Electro-composer Dan Deacon has come a long way from house parties, but maybe someone needs to remind him of that. Despite the fact that his complex, orchestrated pieces are plenty interesting on their own, he still relies on goofy crowd interaction that’s not really ideal for a crowd as large as the one he had at Lollapalooza. No matter how hard you try, you’re not going to get thousands of people to dance through each others’ arms. His many discussions with the sound people over problems he had weren’t helping either. But, in the long run, the joys of songs like “Woof Woof” and “Snookered” outshone the annoying. With help from Make Cheer (a marching band with a full horn section and multiple drummers) adding to his already 13 piece live lineup, the sound tumbled off the stage just as easily as the crowd-surfers tumbled over the gates. By the end of the set, there were nearly thirty musicians on stage, which would probably come to a shock to anyone who saw Deacon’s early touring, with just him and his trippy green skull. Fan favorite “Crystal Cat” drew the set to a close, with plenty of ecstatic pogoing all around. -A.K.

The Raveonettes
Playstation: 3:30-4:30 p.m.

Getting into the hottest peak of the day, Copenhagen’s excellent shoegaze rockers The Raveonettes took the Playstation stage by force. Upon first viewing, these guys seemed like a perennial indie rock bonanza, leveling their sound with exquisite periods of quietness and cupcakes. These guys couldn’t be farther from that at all. Guitarist/singer Sharin Foo kicked on her fuzzy Fender Jaguar and shocked the Chicago faithful with an earful of heavy undertones. Mush like yesterday’s Scottish juggernauts Glasvegas, The Raveonettes preyed on simple heavy rock n’ roll progressions while injecting their swagger of shoegaze, spaghetti western guitar riffs and thickly layered harmonies. At times they reminded me of the late and great lost French alternative rock band Les Thugs in regards to their vocal strengths. Foo’s cute demeanor along with the rest of the band’s subtle aggressiveness made for a great surprise to hit the final calling of Lolla’s days in the Windy City. In between heavy handed numbers, the Danish quartet announced the release of its fourth record In and Out of Control on October 6th. Count this writer in as we should see more good stuff to come from these guys. -J.Z.

Vampire Weekend
Chicago 2016: 4:30-5:30 p.m.

If Sunday’s crowds were any indication, New York’s indie-darlings Vampire Weekend can no longer be considered New York’s indie darlings. This band, still supporting its 2008 self-titled debut, is on another level these days. By the time Ezra Koenig and his band pals arrived, looking like the hip kids from a posh country club in the Hampton’s, the headliner-sized audience erupted. Some threw up signs (“Ezra, say ‘Happy Birthday for…”), a few tossed hats, and there was even an inflatable sex doll passed around, though it popped sometime mid-set. Koenig acknowleded it all, especially the latter, to which he added shortly after its death, “That’s not a nice thing to do to a blow-up doll.” He’s a jovial folk, and when he’s not strumming away or caw-caw’ing, he’s putzing around with his neighboring bassist, Chris Baio.

As for the set itself, the band nailed each oldie with admirable precision. “I Stand Corrected” swooned every girl present (there were plenty), “One (Blake’s Got A New Face)” roped in some crowd interaction, “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa” honored John Hughes, and “Walcott” itched up the spine. More importantly, they punctuated the performance with b-sides (“Boston”) and new material (“White Sky”, “Fun”). “White Sky” has been a live staple since early ’08, but “Fun” came as a surprise. Those worried about the band experiencing the damning “sophomore slump” can sleep sound, as the new tune is a good harbinger for the highly anticipated follow up (release date, guys?): bubbly bass lines, marching drum beats, and more of that South African flair. It’s a different progression for the band, but they’re not necessarily leaving the beaten path, either. Smart move, because if they can continue to ride this wave, you shouldn’t be surprised to see them headline in the near future. No, we’re not kidding. -M.R.

Neko Case
Budweiser: 4:30-5:30 p.m.
Sometime New Pornographer Neko Case was a pleasant antidote to the nearly crushing ADD oblivion that was the Dan Deacon set. Her self-professed genre may be “Modern Independent Loud Singing” (according to a recent appearance on NPR’s excellent quiz show “Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me”), but in actuality, it falls somewhere closer to Indie Alt Country (as if that were any clearer). And, just as on her radio appearance previously mentioned, she was charming and very engaging. “Hold On, Hold On” (co-written with Toronto indie country group The Sadies and appearing on 2006’s Fox Confessor Brings the Flood) washed over the crowd serenely. Before stepping into an impressive rendition of “The Tigers Have Spoken”, Case revealed her affinity for writing songs relating to nature. “We’ve sung about birds and killer whales,” she admitted. “It’s the tiger’s turn now.” Two of the best tracks from this year’s great Middle Cyclone, namely “This Tornado Loves You” and a cover of Harry Nilsson’s “Don’t Forget Me” made for a perfect Sunday afternoon set, sitting in the grass as the sun slowly went down. -A.K.

Passion Pit
Citi: 5:00-6:00 p.m.

If there’s one thing to learn from Passion Pit‘s short but perfect afternoon set, it’s that each year, Lolla is going to book the hottest act at the small, uncomfortable Citi stage. Much like Girl Talk’s Sunday evening chaos last year, the electronic boys of Cambridge oversaw one hellish crowd, too, all with the intention of “getting down and jiggy with it.” That’s not their quote, but something that pretty much explains the dance-hall madness, where attendees topped the thousands, all in a location that could comfortably house maybe half of that. When band favorites “Sleepyhead”, “To Kingdom Come”, and “Moth’s Wings” grooved by, fans didn’t so much dance as move together, all in unison and all because that was the only way they’d comfortably experience the group. Call it an act of god, or perhaps a signature of approval, but during set closer “The Reeling”, an eerie, downright chilly breeze swept on through. It felt great, but heads turned in confusion. Maybe it’s just the indie-rock gods saying, “Keep an eye out on these, guys.” Or, maybe that’s just the words of a bias journalist. -M.R.

Cold War Kids
Vitaminwater: 5:30-6:30 p.m.

Lollapalooza 2006 proved to be a catapult of sorts for the Cold War Kids, propelling the California rockers from relative obscurity to the the year’s “it” band. Three years later, CWK returned to Grant Park in the wake of a rather disappointing year, the result of a sophomore studio effort that fell victim to the dreaded sophomore slump. Needless to say, the backdrop was perfect — “High-profile indie rockers regain their mojo with a masterful return to Lolla.” Unfortunately, this was not to be the case. It’s not that the Cold War Kids were bad. Anyone who has seen them perform “We Used to Vacation” or “St. John” live will tell you that. It’s more like there was nothing special, nothing unique to make you go “wow, these boys have something to prove!” Oh, well, there’s always next year. -A.Y.

Snoop Dogg
Chicago 2016: 6:30-7:30 p.m.

For those of you lucky to catch the legendary West Coast rapper’s stranglehold on the rap world at the Chicago stage, consider that not just a concert but a place in time that will never be the same again. Performing just as hard and heavy as the previous bands throughout the weekend, Snoop Dogg delivered a show for the ages. Donned in his goldenrod Lakers jersey and extravagant chains, Snoop and Co. kickstarted the party way early, but it served as a great wake up call. Pulling out no stops whatsoever, and launching into “Gin & Juice”, Snoop rose the troops so to speak amongst the Chicago faithful. For what seemed like miles upon end, everyone threw down their grooves, lifted hands high above their heads and frankly didn’t give a shit what else was going on. After Snoop’s savvy delivery, “Put ya muthafuckin’ hands in the air! I wanna get fucked up!”, the Chicago crowd cheered, hooted and hollered for the Chosen One of rap. Following this excellent marksmanship, the slinky rapper cut loose with the classic track “Ain’t Nothin’ But A G Thang” which riled the Lolla faithful. With his repetitive “Rock this shit!”, Snoop’s drummer broke into sick drum solos which followed into a snippet of classic rap favorites House of Pain’s “Jump Around”, which segued straight into “Drop It Like It’s Hot”. After ending the rap moniker with a band, he parted the stage with elegance and grace, but not before asking the Lolla crowd if they were there to see The Killers. Fo shizzle right? Talk about class. -J.Z.

Lou Reed
Budweiser: 6:30-7:30 p.m.

About 10 minutes over his slotted set time, elder statesman Lou Reed had yet to make his way onto the stage. With a large portion of the festival attendance over at Snoop Dogg, the largely middle-aged crowd waiting for the former Velvet Underground front man to arrive was getting antsy. Eventually, Reed and his crew climbed on stage and quickly kicked in to a rollicking version of “Sweet Jane”, a Velvet Underground cut off of 1970’s Loaded. 1976’s “Senselessly Cruel” showed Reed sounding maybe a little bit older than he did for its original release. Some of the crowd was still chattering aimlessly over the wailing sax solo and thrumming guitar, but nobody seemed to mind, as Reed and Co. worked very hard to keep things moving. 80’s tunes like “Dirty Blvd.” and “Waves of Fear” were kind of reminiscent of an older, deeper Bruce Springsteen. Tony “Thunder” Smith’s drumming lived up to his nickname on the annoyed “Mad” and the rambling, aggressive “Paranoia Key of E” (both from 2000’s overlooked Ecstasy).

What came next seemed to drive away some crowd, but it surely was a treat for anyone fond of the oft-deemed un-listenable Metal Machine Music: a long, unhinged feedback-covered drone freakout courtesy of Reed, saxophonist Ulrich Krieger and synth-man Seth Calhoun. Before too long though, the rest of the band rejoined the three experimentalists for crowd pleasers “I’m Waiting For The Man” (off the legendary 1967 release Velvet Underground & Nico) and “Walk on the Wild Side” (Reed’s most prominent solo hit, from 1972’s Transformer). All in all, the set was a terrific, genre and career-spanning effort, showcasing many of Reed’s creative high points (though I wouldn’t complain if he were to return to play a longer set). -A.K.

Silversun Pickups
Vitaminwater: 7:30-8:30 p.m.

After the block party Snoop Dogg landed on the Chicago stage, Los Angeles’ own Silversun Pickups sadly did not live up to the previous events. From a distance, the band thrashed and played a fairly decent set, complete with a rip roaring version of “Well Thought Out Twinkles”. However, the overall vibe meshed with dissonance, and unfairly docked the modern shoegazing quartet a few notches below expectations. Singer/guitarist Brian Aubert struggled at times to stay consistent, allowing his voice to become hoarse roughly halfway through the band’s set. To his credit however, the vocals were not as loud as the music, which may have caused the singer to strain more than normal. The band proceeded to rock out extensively on “Future Foe Scenarios” and “Little Lover’s So Polite” towards the end of their set which brought some great guitar work to the forefront. Overall, Silversun Pickups weren’t bad, but being the band to perform after Snoop Dogg’s ridiculously awesome performance? That’s truly just a tough call all in its own. -J.Z.

Band of Horses
Playstation: 7:30-8:30 p.m.

What a catastrophe this set could have been. After Lou Reed played the 20 minutes he lost from delays, possibly from sound technicalities, the frat-tastic crowd in front of the Playstation stage went, to be blunt, apeshit. Water-filled bottles were thrown –some from the ingenious security guards up front — and hundreds chanted, “Fuck Lou Reed! Fuck Lou Reed!” While the delays were irritable, sure, few could understand that Reed only performs every other decade (an exaggeration, but go with it). When’s the next time he’ll come back to the Second City, if ever? One person hip to this idea was frontman Ben Bridwell, who casually strolled out about 10 minutes to eight, and asked the crowd calmly, “What cha all been up to?” Finally, the irate fans were treated to an amped up Band of Horses-medley, with highlights being, of course, “The Great Salt Lake”, “Is There A Ghost”, “Funeral”, and the beautiful ballad, “No Ones Gonna Love You”. It went over time, even bleeding into Jane’s set, but fans were pleased. Lesson to be learned: Some people need to step out of the proverbial “idiot box” once and awhile. -M.R.

The Killers
Chicago 2016: 8:30-10:00 p.m.

90 minutes of over indulgent and directionless music led by a feather wearing prima donna. That’s how I would have liked to describe The Killers’ headlining performance on Sunday night.

Unfortunately, this I can not do. The fact is that for the 40,000 or so who gathered at the Chicago 2016 stage to watch Brandon Flowers and Co. close out this year’s edition of Lollapalooza, those 90 minutes were much more. The set was a spectacle of sorts, consisting of catchy music, eye-pleasing graphics, and a frontman whose confidence is only overshadowed by his ability to get a crowd of thousands believing they are watching the era’s greatest band.

So while a few cynical critics, like yours truly, may have viewed the performance with a “eh,” the crowd sure as hell didn’t. Set opener “Human” got the blood flowing, “For Reasons Unknown” had the bodies moving, and “Somebody Told Me” resulted in an all out chaos of mosh pitting, sing-a-longing chaos. By the time “When You Were Young” rang aloud, a sort of ecstasy was in the air, the type that proved to be perfect emotion to cap off a weekend full of all different kinds. – A.Y.

Jane’s Addiction
Budweiser: 8:30-10:00 p.m.

Everyone knows Lolla is Perry Farrell’s party. So naturally, if the guy’s on closing duties, he’s going to bring the festivities — and that’s exactly what he did. Some may argue otherwise, but they wouldn’t have much of a case. Between decorative, flashy backdrops, floating Michel Gondry-esque paper waves, and Asian burlesque dancers, there’s little to debate. Hell, a city chopper flew over the crowd with a flood light! Hands down, the reunited Jane’s Addiction received the full-star treatment, all from their own star.

Regardless of the over-the-top decadence — surely to compete with Mr. Brandon Flowers’ own across the park — the L.A. veterans brought plenty of grit. Don’t let Farrell’s glittery golden suit or guitarist Dave Navarro’s trendy bucket hat deceive you. In their hearts, they’re still the straggly, foul-mouthed, dirty alternative rockers from yesteryear, they’re just a little older, and maybe a little wealthier, too. In fact, the four look better. Farrell’s youth has hardly faded, Navarro seems healthy, drummer Stephen Perkins hits heavier, and bassist Eric Avery continues where he left off. This just might be the best looking reunion in years.

Everything sounds the same, too, just bigger. “Mountain Song” storms along and glides as it always has, only now it soars. The very progressive “Three Days” is the band’s essential jam now, and while it offers Navarro an opportunity to make guitar soloing look easy, it lets Farrell channel his inner-Jim Morrison (as if to persuade us that, yes, they’re still an L.A. band). When they finally reached “Been Caught Stealing”, arguably one of the band’s biggest singles to date, it’s as if they were debuting the tune right there on the spot.

To play Devil’s advocate, there was something odd about the whole thing. Maybe it’s that the band has such a questionable future and such a remarkable history of disbanding and reassembling. But there’s this bitter aftertaste that comes with such an explosive performance. Is this really a band? Or is this just another one-off tour? Furthermore, what should fans make of this, and most importantly, what should casual fans take from it? When it boils down to it, it’s just another chance to see a band perform its back catalog — nothing more, nothing less. There’s something disappointing about that, though, and it’s hard to find any enthusiasm beyond witnessing what is essentially a novelty performance.

Still, what they have right now is something impressive. This line up has and always will be thee Jane’s Addiction (even if 2003′s Strays was a blast to listen to), and tonight’s performance was a landmark in the band’s rattled and controversial career. Adding to the performance’s eccentricities, the band surprised the thousands watching when they pulled out Aerosmith‘s own Joe Perry for the encore cut of, yes, you predicted it, “Jane Says”. Reunion or not, this was Farrell’s party, and he could cry if he wanted to, and also do pretty much anything else, as well. Let’s just hope he manages to keep this thing going, before it becomes another entry in the long, never-ending history of Jane’s Addiction. -M.R.