On April 10th, Baltimore electro-rap kingpin Spank Rock will release a four-song remix EP of cuts from his latest LP, Everything Is Boring and Everyone Is a Fucking Liar. Included is the Shabazz Palaces remix/total overhaul of “Car Song”, which features Santigold. What was once a feel-good explosion of Charm City bump has been reconfigured into something decidedly Shabazz-esque, with jarring, disheartening blasts of wobbly bass and vocals that sound like angered cries of help from a bomb shelter. Stream it below (via The FADER).

We’re still two months away from South by Southwest 2012, but today the schedule for the music portion went live, adding a slew of new names to the bill. Previously confirmed acts include Built to Spill, The Magnetic Fields, Talib Kweli, Against Me!, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, Cloud Nothings, and a keynote speech by Bruce Springsteen.

Update: As a number of readers have pointed out, several acts listed on the festival’s schedule yesterday have since disappeared, including Best Coast, ASAP Rocky, Dan Deacon, Zola Jesus, YACHT, Nicolas Jaar, Azari & III, Bear In Heaven, Caveman, Anika, Cerebal Ballzy, and Charlift. According to festival organizers, this is the result of a number of reasons, including incomplete paperwork. It’s also possible that an artist initially applied to play the festival, but has since changed its plans. As of now, it’s unclear which of the aforementioned acts will end up playing. Stay tuned to our Festival Outlook page for lineup additions and updates.

Now joining them are Best Coast, M. Ward, of Montreal, ASAP Rocky, Danny Brown, Mr. Muthafuckin’ eXquire, Dan Deacon, The Drums, Astronautalis, Bear In Heaven, Ceremony, Chairlift, Crystal Antlers, Little Boots, Deerhoof, Dragonette, Gossip, Matthew Dear, Miike Snow, SBTRKT, Sharon Van Etten, Zola Jesus, Nicolas Jaar, Oneohtrix Point Never, Thundercat, The War on Drugs, Youth Lagoon, and Tennis.

Also set to appear are Lana Del Rey, The Ting Tings, Action Bronson, Apparat, Buraka Som Sistema, Spank Rock, Corrosion of Conformity, Jimmy Cliff, Rye Rye, K’naan, YACHT, Band of Skulls, White Rabbits, Beth Jeans Houghton and The Hooves of Destiny, Supreme Dicks, Caveman, Cerebral Ballzy, Freelance Whales, Here We Go Magic, Free Energy,  Eleanor Friedberger, The Black Angels, Blondes, Busdriver, Ezra Furman, Friends, Memoryhouse, Mikal Cronin, Miniature Tigers, Zechs Marquise, and Purity Ring.

The massive bill also includes Counting Crows, Tommy Stinson, The Wedding Present, Andrew WK, Brendan Benson, Hot Water Music, Gauntlet Hair, Grieves and Budo, Imogen Heap, Ingrid Michaelson, Michael Franti and Spearhead, The Henry Clay People, Justin Townes Earle, The Love Language, Cymbals Eat Guitars, Micachu & the Shapes, The Fresh & Onlys, Gardens & Villa, P.O.S., Anika, And So I Watch You From Afar, Fake Problems, Azari & III, Sleepy Sun, Bahamas, Japanther, The Knux, Carter Tanton, Cassettes Won’t Listen, Jacuzzi Boys, CHALI 2NA, Cities Aviv, Is Tropical, Javelin, Kids These Days, Living Things, Scattered Trees, and Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin.

Update: Despite previously being on the lineup, The Polyphonic Spree are no longer slated to play the festival.

Check out the complete lineup at our Festival Outlook. And stay tuned for additional lineup news and updates — typically, the biggest acts aren’t revealed until just days prior to the festival.

The music portion of South by Southwest 2012 runs March 13-18th in Austin Texas. Registration is now ongoing, with various types of badges to chose from. Click here for all the details.

In the past, L.A’s celebrated Check Yo Ponytail 2 monthly concert series has welcomed everyone from Justice and Matt & Kim to The Horrors and Dan Deacon to venues across the City of Angeles. Come later this month, however, organizers will bring the CYP2 show on the road with the shindig’s first national tour.

The 10-date tour will feature Spank Rock, Big Freedia, The Death Set, Pictureplane, and Franki Chan (one of the event’s organizers) rocking clubs across the country. In addtion, surf-rockers Wavves will act as special guests when the show kicks off on October 20th at LA’s The Mayan. From there, the tour will hit up San Diego, CA, Seattle, WA, Chicago, IL, and beyond before wrapping up on November 5th in Miami, FL. Check out the entire tour schedule below.

Just before those dates, though, is the tour’s announcement trailer. In said clip, Spank Rock welcomes us from his post-apocalyptic throne before the viewer is treated to a rapid-fire highlight reel of each act. Should be an intimate, sweat-soaked good time in your neck of the woods.

Check Yo Ponytail 2011 Tour Dates:
10/20 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Mayan * ^
10/21 – San Francisco, CA @ Mezzanine ^
10/22 – San Diego, CA @ Voyeur ^
10/25 – Denver, CO @ Summit ^
10/26 – Portland, OR @ Branx ^
10/27 – Seattle, WA @ Nuemos ^
10/28 – Chicago, IL @ The Mid ^
10/29 – New York, NY @ Brooklyn Bowl ^
11/04 – Austin, TX @ Fun Fun Fun Fest
11/05 – Miami, FL @ Grand Central

* = w/ Wavves
^ = w/ The Death Set

It’s amazing to see how many videos can come out in a week. Back in the day, MTV used to premiere one video at a time and each time it was a big deal. Sometimes entire hours of programming were centered around the premieres of videos. Nowadays, dozens of music videos go live every single day, and it can be easy to miss some of the coolest ones. Luckily, you have Cluster 1 dishing out the goods, and keeping you in check with the best music videos of the week.

And don’t forget, we want to see your videos as well, so remember to submit them so the airwaves can keep raging.

Aeroplane Pageant – “Brief Confessions of a Bear”

This video is as weird and surreal as it could get. By combining catchy electro-pop with random 16mm footage, you get this Aeroplane Pageant music video. Some of the footage shows a man by the ocean, other footage reveals strange dudes in the woods playing in bear costumes. Either way, there is little to understand here, other than that the weirdest shit makes good art.

Alma

As time has gone on animation has become darker and darker. Maybe kids are getting more evil, or maybe animators are getting more twisted, but whatever the case, Alma will scare the shit out of you. Just imagine being a child and going doll shopping on your own. Sounds exciting, right? Until you get your soul taken by the dolls!

Astronautalis – “Measure the Globe” (Live)

Astronautalis goes to a barbershop armed only with himself, Ceschi Ramos, and an acoustic guitar. He lights the place up. While Astronautalis is usually known for his strange breed of hip hop, he sings a soft folk song here for those getting their hair done. The scene is very candid, but that doesn’t stop the rapper from getting emotional with the song and belting out the words.

Cut Copy – “Blink and You’ll Miss a Revolution”

In true Planet of the Apes fashion, Cut Copy assembles a group of Earth’s finest future beings for a cave party. While the ape-humans can’t make the music themselves, it comes in handy that they have the heads and hands of Cut Copy stored away. By using the body parts, the gorillas are able to dance the night away without missing the revolution.

Fionn Regan – “100 Acres of Sycamore”

Teamed up with the sounds of an acoustic guitar and the natural world, artist Fionn Regan plays his folk gem “100 Acres of Sycamore”. The performance is especially crisp, and professional, but at the same time seems very candid. It’s almost as though we are witnessing the artist practicing in the park, which in some ways, is almost more unique than a professional performance.

Kid Cudi – “Mr. Rager”

This week, Kid Cudi channeled his inner “the One”. With “Mr. Rager”, Kid Cudi finds himself in a dark building, as evil dwellers close in around him. His only response is to fight back, busting out karate, and doing gymnastics off the walls. Will Cudi make it out alive? He just has to believe….

King Creosote ft. John Hopkins – “Bats in the Attic”

There is a lack of bats in this video, but it sure captures the feeling of an attic. Dusty furniture and objects of the past loom in a dark forest, suspended in the air looking ghostly. The attic is a place where you put things away forever, and this must be what happens when their spirits or memories escape.

Ryan Adams – “Dirty Rain”

In an oddly lit, blown out video, Ryan Adams performs “Dirty Rain” acoustic. He closes his eyes and rocks back and forth so slowly it’s almost as though he’s in a trance. It’s reasons like this Adams is such a renowned songwriter and performer. Somehow, he always knows how to hit the right notes, and strike the right emotions.

Spank Rock – “#1 Hit”

Our protagonist in this video is crazy or at least he seems to think so. As he keeps glancing in mirrors, his reflection reveals a black man who desperately needs some dental work, singing that he can “make you famous.” It’s when this main character breaks the mirror though that the magic really starts going down.

Summadayz Colourfornia

The combination of Calvin Harris’ music and girls smothering themselves in paint is almost too much to ignore. The photography is crisp and sharp, the colors are spellbinding, and the women are absolutely gorgeous. This is what life is all about, the beautiful people getting dirty…or unique and colorful.

Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, “Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness.” And if there’s anything that Baltimore-based electro-rap group Spank Rock does best, it’s missing the point of good advice.

The music video for “#1 Hit”, the second single off Everything Is Boring and Everyone Is a Fucking Liar, sees a mild-mannered dweeb become consumed by his own inner demon, played wonderfully by group mastermind Naeem Juwan. It’s only when said poindexter gives into his personal darkness, his hip-hop Mr. Hyde if you will, and start taking drugs and dancing the night away does any happiness ever truly come his way. Showing that they may have heeded Dr. King’s advice, though, the ending has a Twilight Zone-esque twist to make anyone think twice about ever being a jerk. -Chris Coplan

Director: Allen Cordell
Producer: Project Fathom and Cause & [Effect]

Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, “Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness.” And if there’s anything that Baltimore-based electro-rap group Spank Rock does best, it’s missing the point of good advice.

The music video for “#1 Hit”, the second single off Everything Is Boring and Everyone Is a Fucking Liar, sees a mild-mannered dweeb become consumed by his own inner demon, played wonderfully by group mastermind Naeem Juwan. It’s only when said poindexter gives into his personal darkness, his hip-hop Mr. Hyde if you will, and start taking drugs and dancing the night away does any happiness ever truly come his way. Showing that they may have heeded Dr. King’s advice, though, the ending has a Twilight Zone-esque twist to make anyone think twice about ever being a jerk. Watch it below, or at Cluster 1.

Everything hits shelves and digital retailers on September 27th via Bad Blood Records.

In rather rapid-fire succession, Baltimore hip-hop maestro Spank Rock has unveiled the fourth sneak peek of September’s Everything is Boring and Everyone is a Fucking Liar, and, boy oh boy, is it a filthy little gem. Featuring Big Freedia and Tyette, “Nasty” is a bass-heavy ode to sweat-soaked club perversions, one and all. Get your freak on below, courtesy of Some Kind of Awesome.

Everything hits shelves and digital retailers on September 27th via Bad Blood Records.

Everything is Boring and Everyone is a Fucking Liar Tracklist:
01. Ta Da
02. Nasty (Feat. Big Freedia)
03. Car Song (Feat. Santigold)
04. Birfday
05. The Dance
06. #1 Hit
07. Turn It Off
08. Race Riot
10. Hot Potato
11. Cool Shit
12. DTF DADT
13. Energy

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.

Spank Rock mastermind Naeem Juwan already has a “#1 Hit” on his hands, but the defacto leader of the Baltimore-based electro-rap group apparently has a violent side too. Just watch the video for “DTF DADT” below (via P4k).

Presented to interested eyes in black & white, this three-minute clip for the 12th track of Everything is Boring and Everyone is a Fucking Liar shows the kind of carnage that can ensue when 1950’s-era hipsters get their backs pushed against the wall. There are baseball bat beatdowns, ironic glasses, and lots of blood and red wine.

Everything hits shelves and digital retailers on September 27^th (via Bad Blood Records), and a full tracklist is available below.

Everything is Boring and Everyone is a Fucking Liar Tracklist:
01. Ta Da
02. Nasty (Feat. Big Freedia)
03. Car Song (Feat. Santigold)
04. Birfday
05. The Dance
06. #1 Hit
07. Turn It Off
08. Race Riot
10. Hot Potato
11. Cool Shit
12. DTF DADT
13. Energy

Photo by Bryce Ward

Baltimore hip-hop maestro Spank Rock returns with his awesomely titled sophomore LP Everything Is Boring and Everyone Is a Fucking Liar on September 27th via Bad Blood Records. Following “Energy”, our second taste from the album comes in the form of Boys Noize-produced “#1 Hit”. Check out a stream at Some Kind of Awesome.

Photo by Bryce Ward

Five years after storming onto the indie dance-rap stratosphere with Yoyoyoyoyo, Naeem Juwan (aka Spank Rock) returns with the equally awesome titled sophomore LP Everything Is Boring and Everyone Is a Fucking Liar. Due for release on September 27th via his personal imprint Bad Blood Records, the LP features production work by longtime Spank Rock collaborator XXXChange, German dance maestro Boys Noize, N.E.R.D./The Neptunes’ Pharrell Williams, N.A.S.A.’s Sam Spiegel, and Chris Rockswell. Also, Philly dance queen Santigold and New Orleans MC Big Freeida lent their voices for guest spots.

Below, you can exchange your email address for an mp3 download of the album track titled “Energy” (via P4k).

They’re not yet listed on the festival’s website, but Queens of the Stone Age will play La Zona Rosa on March 16th, according to an issued press release. Also, Yoko Ono has been confirmed as the festival’s featured speaker, and she’ll also play Chimera Music night at The Elysium on March 20th.

Update: Expect to see The Strokes, too. According to the band’s latest newsletter, they have “something cool planned for SXSW.”

Other newly confirmed acts include B.o.B., …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead, Duff McKagan’s Loaded, Panic! at the Disco, Lucinda Williams, Liz Phair, Meat Puppets, Robert Earl Keen, X Japan, The Black Angels, Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears, Reggie Watts, Kurt Vile & the Violators, Sasha, Calvin Harris, J. Cole, The Cool Kids, Megafaun, Jamie xx, Jesse Malin & The St Marks Social, and She Wants Revenge.

And if that weren’t enough, Spank Rock, Cyhi Da Prynce, Curren$y, Dawes, Chiddy Bang, Theophilus London, Rainbow Arabia, Big Freedia, Cass McCombs, Phantogram, The Cave Singers, Liturgy, The Fresh & Onlys, The Preservation Hall Jazz Band, An House, AWOLNATION, Ben Sollee, Boats, Colin Stetson, The Ferocious Few, Hanson, Papercuts, Parlovr, and Peanut Butter Wolf are all also confirmed.

Again, this about 1/10 of the currently announced roster for this year’s festival, so head over to Festival Outlook for a even more extensive glimpse. The music portion of South by Southwest 2011 runs from March 16-20 in Austin, Texas. For ticket information and all other necessary details, visit sxsw.com.

While the electro-rockers started work on the followup to 2008′s Worldwide over 13 months ago, the process came to a halt when guitarist/songwriter Beau Velasco was found dead of an overdose in September of 2009. But the remaining members have made the most out of the sessions and stayed close to Velasco’s mission to “take this tape and blow up ya fuckin’ stereo.” To assist in the destruction, the trio relocated full-time to Brooklyn and brought in producer XXXchange (Kele, The Kills) and the talents of Diplo and Spank Rock. And if you’re feeling a little droopy from multiple turkey leftovers, rejuvenate with “Yo David Chase! You P.O.V. Shot Me In The Head” featuring Dipo below.   

Michel Poiccard is set for release March 1st here in North America, but will drop February 28 in Europe. Since the name Michel Poiccard may be a bit hard to remember, just describe the album cover to your local music store clerk: “Ya know, that yellow one…with the naked chick and the arm comin’ out of the old time camera lenses.” While you’re listening to the new track, take a sec to explore the odd collection of track titles.

Check Out:
“Yo David Chase! You P.O.V. Shot Me In The Head”

Michel Poiccard Tracklist:
01. I Wanna Take This Tape And Blow Up Ya Fuckin Stereo
02. Slap Slap Slap Pound Up Down Snap
03. We Are Going Anywhere Man
04. Can You Seen Straight
05. Chew It Like A Gun Gum
06. Is That A French Dog? (ft. Beau Velasco)
07. I Miss You Beau Velasco
08. Michel Poiccard Prefers The Old (She Yearns For The Devil)
09. I Like The Wrong Way
10. A Problem Is A Problem It Don’t Matter Where You From
11. Too Much Fun For Regrets”
12. Kittens Inspired By Kittens
13. 7PM Woke Up An Hour Ago” (ft. Spank Rock)
14. It’s Another Day
15. Yo David Chase! You P.O.V. Shot Me In The Head (ft. Diplo)
16. I Been Searching For This Song Called Fashion
17. Is It The End Again?

Relive all the action below, via The Audio Perv.

My Morning Jacket & The Roots – “Wordless Chorus”

Gogol Bordello – “Pala Tute”

Mark Ronson & The Business Int w/ Alex Greenwald & Spank Rock – “The Bike Song”

Mark Ronson w/ Pill & MNDR – “Bang Bang Bang”

For 2010, organizers have once again round together quite the overwhelming bill. Deadmau5, Armin Van Buuren, Above & Beyond, Swedish House Mafia, and Benny Benassi top the festivities, while noteworthy acts like Moby (DJ Set), Kaskade, Basement Jaxx (DJ Set), Infected Mushroom, Groove Armada (DJ Set), Sasha, DJ Z-Trip, Boys Noize, and the Black Eyed Peas’ Will.i.am are also set to perform.

Other scheduled acts include MSTRKRFT, Travis Barker & A-Trak, Steve Aoki, Spank Rock, Felix Cartal, Wolfgang Gartner, Duck Sauce, Armand van Helden, Dada Life, Christopher Lawrence, Claude von Stroke, Dieselboy, Evol Intent, Xample, and Andy C. A full list of confirmed acts can be found here; day-by-day schedule here.

Electric Daisy Carnival 2010 takes place from June 25-26. General admission tickets for Friday and Saturday (priced at $65 and $75 respectively), two-day passes ($129), and VIP packages are now available.

During each of Lollapalooza’s three days, we blogged the latest updates with tidbits ranging from The Weakerthans’ unexpected cancellation to Perry’s surprise guest. Once arriving back to the weekend’s official headquarters, aka Michael Roffman’s living room, and finding some food, we spent the next several hours recapping and reviewing all of the day’s events.

And while it was limited, a few of us did manage to squeeze in some sleep as well.

To recap all of our coverage for both Lolla and non-Lolla attendees, as well as provide a few additional memories and friendly links, we not present you Consequence of Sound’s most extended and thorough piece of Lollapalooza coverage yet. We remember, Lollaplooza 2008…

Table of Contents:
I. Day 1 in Review
II. Day 2 in Review
III. Day3 in Review
IV. Interviews
V. Day 1 in Photos
VI. Day 2 in Photos
VII. Day 3 in Photos
VIII. Lollapalooza by the Numbers
IX. Lollapalooza Bootlegs
X. Lollapalooza in Videos
XI. Lollapalooza.com 2008 Blogs
XII. Special Thanks
XIII. Comments

Day One: Friday, August 1st

The Main Event: Radiohead

Tonight, Chicagoans (and out of towners) were finally treated to the British spectacle that’s been in the cards for four to five months. Riding on a hype that would benefit most summer blockbuster films, Radiohead headlined the first night of 2008′s Lollapalooza. Thom Yorke and Co. were welcomed with open arms, literally, and they responded with a warm, balmy performance.

It’s a wet dream for Perry Farrell that the British quintet matched the hype. The buzz over the past few months has been deafening, with fans scorching up the web and tickets for Friday leaving the box office. This morning, it wasn’t really a surprise to see several fans, well actually hundreds, catapulting through the entrance and racing to the front of the AT&T stage, where they’d be camping for a mere ten hours. As the day aged, more and more eco-friendly Radiohead shirts were bought and worn. It seemed as if they were the only band that mattered.

To some, they were.

Continue reading…

The rest of the day…

Day one of Lollapalooza 2008 started off with a bang. Though with a line of festival-goers stretching more than five blocks, most folks didn’t start rolling in until Holy Fuck and Black Lips kicked off their respective sets, unofficially signaling the start of this year’s festivities.

Neither band shows signs of early morning hangovers as Holy Fuck thrilled an already crowded AT&T Stage, many composed of those diehard Radiohead fans in hour one of their day-long camp out, with the electro bliss of “The Pulse”. While fans of Yorke and company didn’t seem all too captivated by the Canadian natives, perhaps because no remix of “Nude” was offered, Holy Fuck did offer the other willing recipients a set of overpowering sounds that brought reminders and memories of LCD Soundsystem’s ruckus set last Lollapalooza.

Those who choose to make the long trek over to the Bud Light Stage for Atlanta’s Black Lips received a set that while lacking a bit of the band’s characteristic inane stage antics, was equally enthusiastic. Kicking off with “I Saw A Ghost (Lean)” and “O Katrina!”, the band’s 16 song set offered the mostly still sleepy concert goers with a style that blended Phil Spektor with early Rolling Stones.

Before heading over for our interview with the Black Lips, we made a quick stop at the AT&T Stage to check out a few minutes of Yeasayer. While the band presented themselves well on the larger than life main stage, most of their set seemed a bit underwhelming, with the exception of a captivating rendition of their hit “2080″. Though their synth, electro-heavy sound was tight, Yeasayer frontman Anand Wilder was a bit sloppy on the vocal side of things.

One of the day’s more surprising performances was the set delivered by Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears on the BMI Stage. The grooving Austin blues outfit delivered some of the festival’s coolest sounds under the overhang of Grant Park’s greenest areas, allowing for a refreshing scene of comfort and music. Though a rather unknown act on the bill, anyone walking by the BMI Stage during their set couldn’t help but be stopped by Black Joe Lewis, even if it was just for a few minutes.

Under scorching heat (as expected at 2:15) and with refillable water bottles of wine flowing( $24 at the bar tents), The Go! Team joined a host of other Friday bands in setting a great tone for Lolla 2008. With their usual, six person band on stage, Go! played a balanced selection of tracks off both albums. They scored with their instrumental and more melodic tunes, getting everyone moving in the sun, only a few hours before The Black Keys would do the same on the exact stage. Ninja, the main singer, came out with a special energy and with a bright colored pair of sunglasses that matched with many of the crowd watching. Compared to 2006, The Go! Team was able to switch instruments easier and sounded very polished in their performance, which can be hard for the electronic samples and tempo changes in every other song. This was another breakout Lolla performance from The Go! Team, who at this point might as well be penciled into a middle of the day slot every year.

For anyone who has seen Gogol Bordello live in the past, their set on Friday was your typical performance. In other words, an hour long of furious, gypsy punk rock that is unique as it is fantastic. Under the watchful eye of a blistering sun and accompaniment of Lollapalooza’s best creative dance moves, the Brooklyn rockers played a set of mostly hits, highlighted by the frantic, rootsy “American Wedding” and jaw-dropping closer “Think Locally Fuck Globally”.

The musical/husband and wife duo of Kori Gardner and Jason Hammel took the Myspace Stage soon after the finals rings of Gogol Bordello faded. While begining in classic Mates of State form, the drummer and keyboardist were soon accompanied by an orchestral section as they made their way through the set heavy in Re-Arrange Us’ material. Though Mates of State seemed a bit too small for the stage, their innocent grace brought memories of Broken Social Scene’s epic 2006 Lollapalooza performance.

After Cadence Weapon, the crowd at the BMI Stage began to overfill as fans rushed in to catch local rap duo The Cool Kids. Despite taking the stage 15 minutes late (iit seems that even a rock festival can’t curb Late Rap Show Syndrome) they were met by a rabid crowd ready for a hometown party. And The Cool Kids delivered, tearing through the entirety of their wildly popular Bake Sale EP, a couple tracks from their forthcoming EP, and a rollicking medley of covers that included The Pharcyde’s “Passing Me By”, Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s “Raw”, and the obligatory rap anthem, “Nuthin’ But A ‘G’ Thang.” They were playful (directing the crowd specifically on how to behave for each song), helpful (Mikey Rocks showed genuine concern and extended a hand to a crowd surfer about to fall), and creative (taking their self-proclaimed title of “Black Beastie Boys” to new levels by throwing lines from “One Two” over the Beasties’ beats.) In short, The Cool Kids were just about everything you would expect from a great hip hop show; they put on a party and it’s not hard to see why they have built up such a positive reputation without even releasing a full-length album. Given Lollapalooza’s favoritism of local rap acts you would have to imagine The Cool Kids will be back. But don’t expect to see them on the street stage again.
If lucky enough to evade the sun, Radiohead fans camping out, and girls wearing headbands, Bloc Party provided one of the more solid crowd pleasing sets of Friday. The crowd for Bloc Party was different, containing many casual music fans and college radio fans. It was definitely a show for the tried and true Bloc Party fan, the set list seemed to contain more tracks off Weekend in the City and earlier songs by the band were done with some new live twists. Parts in the middle of the set allowed Kele and the rest of the band to play some of their slower and more calming tracks, which surely had to be appreciated by thousands showing up for Radiohead in a few shorts hours. “Helicopter” and “Waiting for the 7.18″ stood out as the best tracks of the performance and had the crowd loving their choice to stick it out with Bloc Party.

As Jack White led his bandmates on stage for their Friday night performance on the Bud Light stage and the first sounds of Lollapalooza’s most notable rock and roll band overcame the packed crowed gathered to see the Raconteurs, the collective feeling was one of awe. Between the guitar solos, extended jamming, and dueling vocals between White and Brendan Benson, the four-piece outfit reaffirmed why that with only two albums under their belt, The Raconteurs are already widely considered one of today’s best rock bands. Though the performance was largely affected by sound problems, renditions of “Conolers of the Lonely”, “Level”, and “Keep It Clean” still provided enough captivating sounds that the delayed echos circulating the crowd were easily forgiven.

While most gathering in Grant Park’s south side as the sun began to set below Chicago’s famous skyline were focused on the long-awaited headlining performance to come, Stephen Malkmus led his Jicks in a 45 minute se that best can be described as fun. Heavy in material from his recently released album Real Emotional Trash, Malkmus not only offered a taste of his vast talents and decades of live experience, but also presented himself as someone full of innocence and modesty, reflecting a pleasant down-to-earth persona.

But by the time 8:00 p.m. came around, most of the day’s more noteworthy memories were, at least temporarily, forgotten as Lolla-goers got their first sites of Radiohead.

Day Two: Saturday, August 2nd

The Main Event: Rage Against the Machine

The walk from Buckingham Fountain to the AT&T Main Stage featured a variety of sites as 8:30 p.m. approached on Saturday night. A line of ambulances were parked horizontal to the path full of bruisers in an all out sprint to ensure a piece of the action, while those too young, too small, and perhaps too smart, positioned themselves on hills, stairs, and any other sort of barrier that would provide safety from the scene about to take place.

The Toadies were engaged in an appealing 45 minute set across the south field of Grant Park, but like Stephen Malkmus the night before, it was viewed, if anything, as background noise. Festival-goers grew impatient for the first signs of Zach de la Rocha, Tom Morello, Tim Commerford, and Brad Wilk on the field of dead grass.

Darkness and for the first time, anticipation, began to fill the Chicago air.

Continue reading…

The Main Event: Wilco

There weren’t any fireworks over this headliner, but the Chicago natives didn’t need them. Strutting across the stage after a very impressive performance by Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings, Jeff Tweedy brought out his rag tag band for a universally sound set. Even if it was only months after their career defining residency here at the Riviera, Mid-westerner’s galore were eager to see what is quickly becoming an American musical past time, Wilco.

In the foreground of a bold Chicago skyline, the Bud Light stage shined a bright red, with fans gathering nonchalantly, as opposed to the rough housing going down across the park. It was pleasant and as many continued chatting or sharing joints, what was left of the wafty Saturday sun diminished quietly. A breeze joined in, just in time, as the band swept in to open with Being There‘s “Misunderstood.” Within seconds, multi-instrumentalist Pat Sansone was already throwing various instruments as Tweedy carried on with Yankee Hotel Foxtrot‘s pivotal, “I Am Trying To Break Your Heart.” Not much else was said, but most of the fans were too busy swaying, or clapping, or… wondering what the hell they were wearing.

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The rest of the day…

Saturday mornings are usually filled with either sleep in’s, hang overs, or plans to stay in and watch TBS all day. But today, not only was it the second day of Lollapalooza, but the weather was out of this world. Under clear blue skies and a sun that wasn’t even half as harmful as yesterday’s, everything was in it’s right place… to borrow from yesterday’s act, which was still running on all our minds.

The angular guitars and rhythmic snyths and drums of Foals almost made a mockery of other shows across the park. With a crowd that seemingly never ended inside an already small space of the Citibank stage, Foals brought their style of dance-rock to another level. With people closer to the stage dancing and moving, the people in the back were left to wonder who the hell is “Foals” and why didn’t they hear of them sooner. Surely, these crowds will walk away from Lollapalooza with one more new band to check out. While many of the people who saw Foals did so on their way to MGMT, many walked away with a performance that made MGMT’s job that much harder and a new band to follow. As for the already-a-Foals-fans, the highlight of the set was Balloons, a solid song made stronger by a band clicking in all gears on tour and a raucous crowd who found a band to stop and groove or dance to.

Coming off of a few months of touring, Greg Dulli and Mark Lanegan, aka The Gutter Twins, brought their gloom rock outfit to Lollapalooza. Seeing the underground legends again was nothing short of fantastic, but it was odd to hear and see it all go down in daylight. Most of the downtrodden songs off of this year’s Saturnalia, namely set opener “The Station” or even “God’s Children”, were awkwardly juxtaposed against an even more surprising cool, crisp August day. No one could argue that the show’s pivotal moment came when Dulli ripped right into his other band’s (The Twilight Singers) material, specifically “Bonnie Brae.” Although Rage fans had begun gathering, it was great to see such a large audience for such an underrated band. Next time, give ‘em an evening shift.

MGMT did indeed make an attempt of this difficult task with a hour-long performance on the MySpace Stage. Though enthusiastic and fun, thanks to a multitude of the Brooklyn duo’s indie-approved hits like “Electric Feel” and “The Youth”, sound problems seemed to ravage a good portion of the audience. In some spots, the electro-heavy sound was overpowering, while in others, the banging DJ beats of Booka Shade bled into MGMT’s air. However, in the end, the mix of the band’s recent indie cred and catchy as hell music seemed to attract more than a fair share of folks.

Perry Farrell made his much-awaited Lollapalooza 2008 debuted with a performance on the newly created performance area that is his namesake. While more spectacle than anything else, special guests appearances from Slash and Samantha Ronson certainly helped Perry deliever one of the more unique performances so far this weekend. Though, between Ronson’s DJ set, Perry’s lively sing-a-longs, Slash’s acoustic strums, and the nearly 800 folks overwhelming the side stage, the set’s mixbag of material certainly made it hard to comprehend what was actually going on.

Spank Rock dazzled the crowd with a host of guest singers including Amanda Blank. Letting some of the producing and beats start things off, the Baltimore duo eventually turned the stage into the sexiest place in Grant Park, with electronic sounds and lyrics geared to get everybody moving. One of the great things to watch was Naeem Juwan and Amanda Blank bump and grind like no one was watching. This brand of entertainment even inspired many of the more bohemian ladies in the crowd to yell any sexist, crazy, or weird lyrics with Spank and with the rest of the people in attendance. Known for being a live staple at Spank Rock shows, “Shake it till my dick turns racist” had either the crowd laughing, dancing, or screaming the entire time and with personal Lollapalooza and Chicago references being made throughout it, no one can blame them. After seeming reluctant due to the blazing heat and energy of the crowd dying, Spank Rock did close the show with “Bump” and made sure everyone walked away with yet another great band to listen to or another great Spank Rock performance in their memory.

With some of the crowd from Spank Rock leaving, fans of Battles got close, fast. Renowned for intense live shows, the Citibank stage yet again was packed for the experimental noise dance of Battles. Similar to Foals in angular guitars and creating musical layers on stage, Battles rocked hard for even the most stiff of concertgoers. With much of the band being trained adults, who have been playing for years, this was an easy show to impress the people watching. With an almost nonsensical drum set up, John Stanier showcased his amazing drum skills on a very special day, his 40th birthday. The four-piece outfit played nearly without stops creating a sort of jam session feeling, albeit a technically stunning jam session. Interesting to note was the translator for the hearing impaired being rendered useless by Battles not really having distinguishable lyrics. Also two shirtless fans were able to get onto the stage and dance before eventually being escorted off by security. Battles did come back for a short encore after the main set was finished, this of course to make sure they closed off the stage properly for the night before everyone headed over for Rage Against the Machine right next door.

It was exactly 6:30pm on Saturday, when the montage friendly horn section from the Rocky theme song began to play over the mounting speaker system of the AT&T Stage; breaking the sitting silence of the crowd and giving way to the arriving night. With a few electric roars and sporadic applause from the heat pressed audience, the Second City’s second son, Lupe Fiasco, entered the south stage with backflipping charisma (literally). Never dumbing it down for one moment. The live, achromatic set of Lupe blended past hits from his Grammy winning debut Food & Liquor with the fiercely sharp tracks of 2007’s The Cool; opening with the string-enriched skate anthem, “Kick-Push” and closing with an extended rendition of the red-carpet single, “Superstar,” featuring Matthew Santos.

Although the performance was only an hour long, the on-stage offering from Lupe and crew felt like a lifetime captured in the blink of an eye. The flawlessly pure combination of energy and raw talent lyricism made-up for the show’s short duration, as it showcased Lupe as not just one of hip-hop’s elite emcees, but one of the music industry’s top performers. Watch out Kanye, the star in your shadow is becoming a little brighter.

In what might possibly be the weekend’s greatest power hour, Will Sheff and his Texas outfit, Okkervil River, laid fire to the Playstation 3 stage. Culling most of the material from last year’s The Stage Names, the set list stretched back some, even bringing out material from 2004′s Black Sheep Boy and 2002′s Don’t Fall In Love With Everyone You See. Sheff commands the stage, checking over on fellow band members at each break, before bleeding out into the microphone. His rough voice seemed innovative in comparison to the clean syrup on record. Some highlights included an epic rendition of “Girl in Port”, a fan driving performance of “Our Life is Not a Movie or Maybe”, and a hard hitting cut of “For Real” which had Sheff scaling the drum set with guitar in hand. They may have inadvertently opened for Broken Social Scene, but they clearly stole the fire.

Broken Social Scene took the Bud Light Stage for what many fans considered an encore now two years in the making. Yet as special as the occasion was considered to be, the band’s return to Grant Park at their epic 2006 performance was for the most part, by the book. The Kevin Drew, Brandon Canning fronted Canadian band kicked off in standard BSS fashion with some instrumental experimentation on “Pacific Theme” followed by a rendition of “Cause = Time”. And for the most part, the set remained your typical Broken Social Scene performance – brilliant music, captivating vocals, and even a few guest appearances. (Amy Milan filled female duties, while Apostle of Hustle’s Andrew Whiteman was a member of the current traveling unit.)

But ultimately, it was by no means what most had been expecting. It was no 2006 performance. Gone were the tears of joys, cries for an encore that left such a memorable impression in the minds of all those who had witnessed the spectacle. In reality however, the expectations may have been a bit much, no longer are we talking about the same Broken Social Scene that was seen two short years ago. They are no longer music’s best kept secret, and with the success, has come a loss of intimacy. Still as underwhelming as the performance may have been for some, the sounds of “7/4 (Shoreline)” and “It’s All Gonna Break” couldn’t help but leave you smiling and dancing along.

Given that the crowd either devoted itself to spots for Rage or picnic space for Wilco, it was nice to hear Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings soldiering on. The band’s sound is unique in that it sounds neither modern nor retro, it just sounds solid. The Georgia natives went over some, but no one complained, as they brought out the best in everyone on the North side of the park. Smiles and swaying should be good enough in anyone’s book.

As darkness approached, it was time for Wilco and Rage Against the Machine.

Day Three: Sunday, August 3rd

The Main Event: Nine Inch Nails

Two stories fell over Grant Park tonight. South at the AT&T stage, Kanye West brought fans along on his extraterrestrial expedition, whereas up north, industrial guru Trent Reznor wreaked havoc on the Bud Light stage, opening his fans’ eyes to an apocalyptic future. Most, if not all witnessing, should agree that NIN told the proper story to end Lollapalooza 2008. The only problem is scaling back and remembering it all.

Ah, where to begin…

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The Main Event: Kanye West

Uncertainty filled Grant Park’s south end on Sunday night. With Kanye West just moments away from making his triumphed return to Lollapalooza, this time faced with the task of closing out the 2008 version of the festival, questions undoubtedly floated throughout the crowd.

What would Kanye do? Would Lollapalooza be a follow up to June’s Bonnaroo disaster? Would his seizuring light show be brightening the night’s sky? Would the Chicago native treat his hometown to something special? What’s more, would the city even embrace a performance?

One couldn’t help but wonder.

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The rest of the day…

The third day of any festival is always hard. Aching backs, sore legs, and trembling eyes are usually the sort that describe a third day attendee. It makes you wonder how anyone can survive the fourth day at Bonnaroo, let alone the late nights. Fortunately for those that attend Lollapalooza, things are wrapped up nicely on Sunday, usually. Unfortunately, this year’s Sunday was a bit stale in comparison to Friday and Saturday, with most of the acts smudged at the end, inviting chaotic scheduling conflicts that nobody should have to make. It didn’t help that the sold out crowd felt overbooked and unwarranted, either.

Heat and humidity didn’t stop vocalist Michael Kincaid from rocking out on a Sunday morning. Over at the Citi stage, What Made Milwaukee Famous churned out a few genre spanning songs, mostly picked from this year’s album, What Doesn’t Kill Us. Everything from Spoon to Dashboard Confessional bled from the set, though much to the audience’s pleasure, they never strayed too far from the garage. It was a good early morning set for the Austin, Texas unit, though not nearly as memorable as one would have expected.

Despite the prospects of playing on a stage missing a video screen and still rittled with sound problems (see MGMT’s Saturday set), The Whigs provided an early morning punch of grunge-friendly rock anthems that helped get many folks filling the south end of Grant Park out of Sunday morning hangovers. While there was a large contrast in quality between the Georgia native’s heavy rock oriented sounds vs. their slower, acoustic ballads, which almost seemed overwhelmed due to the size of the stage, the – fronted band’s passion and drenched, Cobain-like look, certainly left a lasting impression.

Though a Perry Farrell performance at Kidzapalooza has been a staple since the festival first kicked off in 2005, this year’s performance was one for the ages. Like yesterday, the former Jane’s Addicition frontman/Lollapalooza mastermind was joined on stage by Slash for a short, unannounced performance. Only this time around, the performed renditions of Stevie Wonder’s “Superstitious”, GNR’s “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” and Jane’s “Mountain Song” and “Jane Says” were for the children presented at the Kidzapalooza stage on Sunday afternoon. Though between Perry’s mystifying pieces of advice to the young boys and girls, Slash’s cigarette smoking guitar playing, and the massive amounts of adults overwhelming the tiny stage, the performance was anything from your standard lullaby.

“Mountain Song”

As Perry and Slash were entertaining the kids, the electro-friendly duo better known as Chromeo offered those gathered around the Myspace stage an incredibly vibrant and loud performance full of familiar favorites from their much-acclaimed debut album, Fancy Footworks. Unlike some of the other indie approved acts who struggled on the massive stage (see: MGMT, Mates of State), Chromeo seemed to flourish in the setting.

This is the conversation we imagined taking place when Girl Talk was scheduled to perform on the much too small Citi Stage:

C3 Presents Staff Member: Hey Perry, I have a fantastic idea!

Perry Farrell: About Lallapaloooza?

C3 Presents Staff Member: I think we should book Girl Talk, a mishmash DJ from Pittsburgh that everyone seems to be talking about these days.

Perry Farrell: Anything for Lallapaloooza!!! But since his name doesn’t have the “Jane’s Addiction,” “Slash,” or “Rage Against the Machine,” in it, I feel like he should be put on the Citi Stage.

C3 Presents Staff Member: Anything you say, boss!

The result: sheer and utter mayhem. While those who actually saw Gregg Gillis would have only seen the DJ jumping up and down around his custom made laptop, the suffocating crowd size certainly put a damper on what sounded like another trademark Girl Talk performance.

Over on the modest MySpace stage, New Jersey’s own Blues Traveler rocked through some good ol’ blues rock. Frontman John Popper looks the same as usual these days, though he’s a bit more engaging, and with good reason. The band managed to grab a larger than expected crowd, which enjoyed the set list ripe with new and old. No surprise that old timing hit, “Runaround”, received some accolades; however, the audience stuck around ’til the end. Good news for the Princeton quintet.

English rockers Love and Rockets played a loud set, and stress the loud, as the sun settled once and for all. While most of the audience could have been waiting for the industrial madness to come, the gothic rockers benefited from a crowd who loved hard hitting rock. Borderline shoegaze, Love and Rockets was a pleasant surprise. Drummer Kevin Haskins proved to be one of the better drummers for the weekend, shining towards the end in songs “Kundalani Express” and “Mirror People.” The shining moment came during closer “Yin and Yang (The Flowerpot Man)”, where a group of dancers, hidden behind black and white striped costumed and dome faced heads, ricocheted around and around. It all came down into a culminating crash and burn, ending a powerful and unlikely set. Before leaving the stage, bassist David J tipped his hat to the audience, and then held it out, for God knows what.

A member of the audience gathered at the Playstation 3 stage around 8:00 p.m. said it best. “The National just sound perfect.” Though not your prototypical festival-friendly band, especially considering the Brooklyn based rockers were performing right before Nine Inch Nails, the Matt Berninger led band delivered a performance of unmatched musical quality, mixing stunning, vibrant sounds, somewhat reminiscent of Nick Cave, with equally captivating lyrics. The National’s hour long performance was quality throughout, but the set’s final two pieces, “Fake Empires” followed by “Mr. November” in all its perfection, was easily one of the biggest highlights of not only the set, but entire third day.

As the final day of Lollapalooza 2008 came to a close, two of music’s more intriguing names, Kanye West and Nine Inch Nails, took their respective stages for the last performances of the day.

Lollapalooza Interviews

• Will Sheff of Okkervil River
• The Black Lips
• Michael Kincaid and Jason Davis of What Made Milwaukee Famous
• Jeremiah Edmond of Manchester Orchestra
• Sofia Talvik

Day One in Photos:

Day Two in Photos:

Day Three in Photos:

Lollapalooza by the Numbers:

• Performances by The Weakerthans: 0
• Kanye West Look-a-Likes: 1
• “Glow in the Dark” sunglasses: 1
• Myspace stickers using pasties sightings: 1
• Perry Farrell sightings: 3
• Radiohead t-shirts: 5
• Total Broken Social Scene Members Appearing On Stage: 10
• People Too Many at Perry & Friends: 800
• Attendees: 225,000
• Samples used by Girl Talk: Infinite

Lollapalooza Bootlegs:

via Lollapalooza Message Board and largehearted boy:

• Radiohead
• Rage Against the Machine
• Wilco
• The Raconteurs
• The National
• Bloc Party
• MGMT
• Explosions in the Sky
• The Whigs
• Blues Traveler

Lollapalooza in Videos:

Radiohead – “No Surprises”

Radiohead – “Paranoid Android”

Rage Against the Machine – “Testify”

Rage Against the Machine

Kanye West

Wilco – “New Song”

Nine Inch Nails – “The Big Comedown”

The Raconteurs

Girl Talk

The National – “Apartment Story”

John Butler Trio – “Ocean”

Love and Rockets

Riots

Perry Farrell & Slash – “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door”

Bloc Party – “Like Eating Glass”

Lollapalooza.com 2008 Blogs:

This year, Consequence of Sound’s Lollapalooza coverage was featured on Lollapalooza.com’s Blogapalooza. Also taking part in the fun was Ross Hebert, the official, fan-approved Lollablogger. Be sure to check out all of his entries as well!

Special Thanks:

Consequence of Sound would like to thank the following people for helping us out this weekend: Art Pena, Hattie Trott, Ross Hebert, Alex Bonami (bmanders), Bryan Hawkinson, Maggie Gryske, Brendan Telzrow, Zach Hinkle, Megan McDiffitt, Nicole Orbe, Laura Hamlett, Brittany Pearce, Jacqueline Thompson, Nick Travers, and of course, Perry Farrell.

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