Lollapalooza 2012 takes places August 3-5th in Chicago’s Grant Park. According to Chicago Sun-Times, Black Sabbath will top this year’s bill, performing their only North American tour date of 2012. They’ll be joined by fellow headliners Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jack White, The Black Keys, Justice, and Avicii.

Other heavyweights include At the Drive-In, Sigur Rós, Florence and the Machine, The Shins, The Afghan Whigs, The Weeknd, M83, Passion Pit, Bloc Party, Franz Ferdinand, Frank Ocean, Childish Gambino, Miike Snow, The Gaslight Anthem, Alabama Shakes, J. Cole, and Metric.

Also playing are Delta Spirit, tUnE-yArDs, The Tallest Man on Earth, Die Antwoord, Dr. Dog, Dawes, SBTRKT, The Walkmen, Neon Indian, Gary Clark Jr., Sharon Van Etten, Polica, The War on Drugs, Doomtree, White Rabbits, Washed Out, Of Monsters and Men, Tame Impala, Bowerbirds, The Temper Trap, The Black Angels, Bear In Heaven, Chairlift, Oberhofer, First Aid Kit, and JEFF the Brotherhood.

The festival’s electronic stage, Perry’s, will also return, boasting a lineup that includes Bassnectar, Kaskade, Santigold, Calvin Harris, Nero, Knife Party, Little Dragon, Skream & Benga, Zeds Dead, Big Gigantic, Sub Focus, Porter Robinson, and Star Slinger.

Three-day and VIP passes are currently on sale via the festival’s website.

Against juggernauts like those, I feared The Temper Trap’s set list of mostly unreleased songs—especially in the somewhat unflattering acoustics of the Bowery Ballroom, which tend to swallow textural differences in the mix—wouldn’t hold up. But last night, The Temper Trap demonstrated that their ability to produce borderline guilty pleasures remains unparalleled.

They had a hard act to follow in Penguin Prison, a New York-based quartet that follows the electro-funk footsteps of acts like Chromeo and The Human League. Chris Glover, who records solo but performs as a vocalist and guitarist with a full band, only waited one song before climbing offstage into the audience. It was refreshing seeing him bop around without the usual mic cord handler at first, even though one eventually emerged, giving two tattooed thumbs up when Glover was returned to his rightful place onstage.

Even though their frontman stumbled and slurred his speech, possibly suggesting some degree of inebriation, Penguin Prison brought their A-game opening for The Temper Trap. Glover moved fluidly between singing, playing his guitar backwards and over his shoulder, and smashing the toms for a few songs. The addition of a tight live band fleshed out the bounce behind tracks like “Funny Thing” and closer “Multi-Millionaire”.

The Temper Trap emerged with some degree of fanfare, but I wasn’t taken with the two new songs that opened their set. “Repeater” was unremarkable, and “Need Your Love” featured awkward shredding that sounded like Ratatat if they played with cheap synths in the ‘80s instead of the aughts. It wasn’t until The Temper Trap’s first released single, “Rabbit Hole”, kicked into explosive palm-muting after building for two-thirds of the song that I thought, “Oh, yes.” As soon as it ended, I wondered if (and, to my lasting regret, decided) it would be totally uncool to request it again.

Fortunately, the rest of the set kept building off that song’s momentum, aided by bassist Jonathon Ahern’s emphatically expressed bass lines. The band tore it up for the last minute of “Science of Fear”, hair hanging and doubled over their instruments as strobe lights swept the audience. It was epic, until it was “Sweet Disposition”. The Temper Trap didn’t even start with the telltale guitars: They built layers of texture before launching into the song’s true beginning, at which point the audience promptly lost its collective mind. Shortly after, however, the band inched into an encore, during which most people started leaving. Even though The Temper Trap said they don’t want to get pegged as the “Sweet Disposition” band, and even though their new songs show the potential for at least one of them to be the new “Sweet Disposition”, at that moment, it looked like they might be out of luck.

Photography by Harley Brown.

Penguin Prison Setlist:
Golden Train
Fair Warning
Something I’m Not
Funny Thing
Don’t Fuck With My Money
The Worse It Gets
Multimillionaire

The Temper Trap Setlist:
Repeater
Need Your Love
Love Lost
Happiness
Rabbit Hole
The Sea
Trembling Hands
I’m Gonna Wait
Dreams
Science of Fear
Sweet Disposition
Encore:
Resurrection
Drum Song
—

[nggallery id=344]

Bonnaroo has added more acts to its 2012 lineup. Set for June 7-10th in Manchester, TN, this year’s festival already promised Radiohead, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Phish, The Beach Boys, Bon Iver, The Shins, Feist, Black Star, and Ben Folds Five, among others.

Now joining them are Puscifer, Santigold, The Temper Trap, fun., and The Cave Singers. Plus, Glen Danzig will deliver a “Legacy” set, which consists of music from Danzig, The Misfits, and Samhain. Good thing it won’t be chilly in Manchester.

Even more additions are coming soon, including a full comedy lineup. In the meantime, check out the updated lineup at Festival Outlook. Three-day and VIP passes remain on sale at the festival’s website.

Last night, Jimmy Fallon added Virgin FreeFest’s killer noon act The Temper Trap to his long list of buzzworthy musical guests. The Australian rockers of course played one of the two catchy singles that everyone knows them for — this time around it was “Fader” — and did so well, but however good the music was, there are two things that overshadowed the song that you’ll want to look out for. 1.) Singer Dougy Mandagi’s awesome mahogany-red shoes and 2.) bassist Jonathon Aherne’s elbow dancing. That is all.

Enjoy the clip, via The Audio Perv.

With the July-like heat that always finds its way into early fall, FreeFest was one last dose of Summer. Heat aside, I’ve never seen Merriweather Post Pavilion more alive than I did this past Saturday. The sound was great and everything seemed to go off without so much as a bad mic. I didn’t get to see every set I had hoped to– I couldn’t have– but those that I did see were absolutely fantastic. It felt like a marathon, but Merriweather is a very comfortable venue. Isn’t that really all anyone could want in a festival, let alone a free one? So what if it took massive corporate backing, and thus endless banner ads for phones, to make it happen? It was more than worth all the pennies you didn’t spend.

The Temper Trap
West Stage, 12:30 p.m.

Photo by E.N. May

Playing the opening set on a stage can usually mean sparse crowds and a mixed reaction. It seems, though, that this early afternoon set made an exception to that rule as The Temper Trap drew in a sizable and rambunctious crowd to the West Stage. Their introduction was just as dramatic as the rest of their set, filled with harmonies of ‘ooohs’ and ‘aaahhs’. From there the set took off with a surprising amount of energy for their style of dark new wave rock. Dougy Mandagi’s voice sounded pitch perfect hitting Prince-like high notes as they built anthemic crescendos that never peaked. Multiple percussions were used throughout the set to jam things up a bit in between those intense rock moments. While still very much a sleeper band on the rise, Temper Trap proved to be a great way to kick off this second year of free music. Their set foreshadowed how the day would shape up — curious, yet always exciting.

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
Pavilion Stage, 3:00 p.m.

This band has been unstoppable all summer. Hitting every festival and touring nearly every city, they’ve built a following that only gets bigger. They’re winning converts at every show. What’s more, as proven by their set here, the Edward Sharpe show is very consistent. Opening with “40 Day Dream” into “Janglin”, Alex Ebert greeted the crowd and spent most of the first half of the set embracing the first five rows. It’s just what he does– he loves his fans, and if he could have performed from the middle of a massive group hug on the Merriweather Floor, he would. His adorable partner, Jade Castrinos, twirled on stage and was her usual bright and flowery self, smiling so sweetly as she sang her parts and they skipped through their set. Like I said, this is how all their shows go. Consistency aside, it’s a show well worth seeing because there’s nothing quite like it touring today. No band brings as much love to a stage as Edward Sharpe, and by the end, the pavilion was overflowing with it.

Photo by E.N. May

Yeasayer
West Stage, 3:45 p.m.

It was the hottest part of the day on the hottest part of the grounds when Yeasayer took the stage. The sun at 4 p.m. glared right on top of the audience at the West Stage, and in a sweaty mess, Yeasayer opened with the soaring harmonies of “Wait for the Summer”. From there, they treated the crowd to a solid bohemian trip. By now their tunes span from the tribal to the Phil Collins, and they make it all sound so great together. The new material has turned them into the dance party they’ve aimed to be with the older, more drawn out tunes being reinvented to fit that mix and keep the energy up. The vocals were stunning on “Grizelda” with Chris Keating and Anand Wilder owning those harmonies. Ira Tuton was killing on the falsetto. “2080” was reworked to be ultra bohemian like much of the mid-set as we all roasted under the sun. It was the final three songs, the apt “Sunrise” into “ONE” and “Ambling Alp” that revitalized the audience one last time. They were huge, much bigger than the record could ever show, and isn’t that what you hope for in the live setting? Yeasayer may still be hit or miss live, but they’re getting their gig down. When it works like it did this past Saturday, it’s fantastic.

Matt & Kim
Pavilion Stage, 6:15 p.m.

Photo by E.N. May

Running onto the pavilion stage with the excitement of 10-year-olds, Matt & Kim had no idea what to do with that much space, so they turned everything up and went wild. Matt & Kim live are more about the party experience than just playing from their albums, thus their set was all about the energy. They threw in ODB and Biz Markie references between their high-energy video game punk songs, and for their hour set, worked the packed pavilion. For being on such a big stage, Matt & Kim have gotten great at re-creating their over-the-top house party that, up until recently, was reserved for much smaller venues. They jumped all over their set-up, Kim danced on the crowd, balloons were tossed, and they had an energy that doesn’t quit. As the set went on, they played faster with bigger smiles like it was their first show all over again. It’s this young and humble attitude that radiated over the crowd, which was now perfectly shaded by the pavilion. The cool air woke everyone up, and the music got them to jump around. The cavernous pavilion and wide lawn didn’t seem to feel so big anymore. It was surprising to see the field so packed, but when their top songs played and they threw in a huge cover of “Better Off Alone”, it was easy to see why it did. They are magnetic and innocent fun. They can hype you up and get you moving, never stopping to let you catch your breath. Everyone ate it up and kept up with them all the way through.

Ludacris
West Stage, 7:15 p.m.

It’s surprising how much mainstream rap fits into the indie/alt rock setting. Virgin has always embraced this, this year picking up Ludacris to fill that need. Walking over to the West Stage, the audience swelled and packed the place from stage to the porta-potties in the back. With Ludacris, there was no ego, no starting late, and no making a big deal out of himself. It was exactly the huge dirty rap party you would imagine it to be. He played abbreviated versions of his hits, and everyone went ballistic when the hook would drop. Ludacris saw this, and you could see he was genuinely amazed at how much energy was coming from this crowd. He gave it all back, too, got raunchier, and thanked us endlessly throughout. Like his music or not, it’s much easier to like the show, not to mention the man behind it.

Sleigh Bells
Dance Forest, 8:00 p.m.

Set in the very intimate Dance Forest, the tiny space was filled with bodies, and over a short 40 minutes, Sleigh Bells tore it down with thrashing bass and abrasive riffs. This band is freakier live than they seemed on their debut Treats. Alexis Krauss acted sadistically seductive throughout. Opening with the metal bounce of “Infinity Guitars”, everyone’s hands were in the air as they were pummeled with bass and ear-splitting guitars. There’s one word that just about sums up the Sleigh Bells live sound: relentless. After “Tell ‘Em”, the beats picked up a more macabre style and ground us down with the chainsaw buzz of “Kids”. In that setting, surrounded by the neon glow of the trees, it was loud as hell, but that’s really the only way to listen to a band like that.

M.I.A.
West Stage, 9:00 p.m.

Photo by E.N. May

It took 30 minutes for M.I.A. to get on stage, and after two warm-up club thumpers from her MC, she walked out in her gold sunglasses and long gold rain jacket with the hood up. M.I.A. warmed everyone up as she gyrated and got friendly with the front several rows and photographers. Her show is a club experience and wasn’t half bad. The bass took over and she let the beat do all the work, turning her more into her own hype person. Due to an overlap with LCD Soundsystem, I could only catch the first half of the show. What I saw was a solid performance and a monstrous crowd all excited and ready to move. It was mostly older material to start, and it gave the people what they wanted to hear– something they knew they could dance to. After stripping off her rain jacket revealing a pink silk number, she stepped up her game, jumping right into the crowd. And that was only the first half.

LCD Soundsystem
Pavilion Stage, 9:30 p.m.

In the past couple years, LCD Soundystem have gone from facing a questionable future to being a headline-worthy band. FreeFest certainly helped with that as they closed out the pavilion stage and played the best set of the day. M.I.A kept me from the opening song “Dance Yrself Clean”, but walking over to the first verse of “Drunk Girls” while watching people skip toward the music was a wonderful moment.

By this point in the day there were two different dance parties happening. LCD was the underdog success story with a full house cheering them on. James Murphy sounded great as his band took us from rock to club, melting the two styles together the way they should be. What LCD does for dance rock is like what the Talking Heads did for pop; they took it to where it needed to be. They’ve created a live show that drives that point home creating an energy that never let up and saw one last dance party take over the main pavilion. “All My Friends” summed up the vibe of the day as people hugged, jumped around, and sloppily sang together. For a song about good times, it suited the moment like a movie soundtrack. With the night pleasantly cooled off, LCD sealed their headliner status, and left us wanting more.

I could only imagine what Merriweather looked like from above with M.I.A. and LCD all going off at the same time, the masses glowing from the stage lights, swelling and bouncing. It was a hell of a way to end a free festival, and I can’t help but feel lucky that such a thing exists now. I was skeptical when Virgin moved its festival to Merriweather last year, but it seems that they’ve figured out exactly how to make this work, especially for a niche whose stereotypical front tries to be anti-corporate. But as it turns out, that niche is more than willing to put up with a few banner ads to see free music, and really, who wouldn’t be. Bring another line-up like this, and we’ll see you all next year.

Photography by E.N. May, with additional help provided by Jayne Wallace (via Virgin Mobile Free Fest).
——

]]> The Temper Trap West Stage, 12:30 p.m. Photo by E.N. May Playing the opening set on a stage can usually mean sparse crowds and a mixed reaction. It seems, though, that this early afternoon set made an exception to that rule as The Temper Trap drew in a sizable and rambunctious crowd to the West Stage. Their introduction was just as dramatic as the rest of their set, filled with harmonies of ‘ooohs’ and ‘aaahhs’. From there the set took off with a surprising amount of energy for their style of dark new wave rock. Dougy Mandagi’s voice sounded pitch perfect hitting Prince-like high notes as they built anthemic crescendos that never peaked. Multiple percussions were used throughout the set to jam things up a bit in between those intense rock moments. While still very much a sleeper band on the rise, Temper Trap proved to be a great way to kick off this second year of free music. Their set foreshadowed how the day would shape up -- curious, yet always exciting. Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros Pavilion Stage, 3:00 p.m. This band has been unstoppable all summer. Hitting every festival and touring nearly every city, they’ve built a following that only gets bigger. They're winning converts at every show. What’s more, as proven by their set here, the Edward Sharpe show is very consistent. Opening with “40 Day Dream” into “Janglin”, Alex Ebert greeted the crowd and spent most of the first half of the set embracing the first five rows. It’s just what he does-- he loves his fans, and if he could have performed from the middle of a massive group hug on the Merriweather Floor, he would. His adorable partner, Jade Castrinos, twirled on stage and was her usual bright and flowery self, smiling so sweetly as she sang her parts and they skipped through their set. Like I said, this is how all their shows go. Consistency aside, it’s a show well worth seeing because there’s nothing quite like it touring today. No band brings as much love to a stage as Edward Sharpe, and by the end, the pavilion was overflowing with it. Photo by E.N. May Yeasayer West Stage, 3:45 p.m. It was the hottest part of the day on the hottest part of the grounds when Yeasayer took the stage. The sun at 4 p.m. glared right on top of the audience at the West Stage, and in a sweaty mess, Yeasayer opened with the soaring harmonies of “Wait for the Summer”. From there, they treated the crowd to a solid bohemian trip. By now their tunes span from the tribal to the Phil Collins, and they make it all sound so great together. The new material has turned them into the dance party they’ve aimed to be with the older, more drawn out tunes being reinvented to fit that mix and keep the energy up. The vocals were stunning on “Grizelda” with Chris Keating and Anand Wilder owning those harmonies. Ira Tuton was killing on the falsetto. “2080” was reworked to be ultra bohemian like much of the mid-set as we all roasted under the sun. It was the final three songs, the apt “Sunrise” into “ONE” and “Ambling Alp” that revitalized the audience one last time. They were huge, much bigger than the record could ever show, and isn’t that what you hope for in the live setting? Yeasayer may still be hit or miss live, but they're getting their gig down. When it works like it did this past Saturday, it’s fantastic. Matt & Kim Pavilion Stage, 6:15 p.m. Photo by E.N. May Running onto the pavilion stage with the excitement of 10-year-olds, Matt & Kim had no idea what to do with that much space, so they turned everything up and went wild. Matt & Kim live are more about the party experience than just playing from their albums, thus their set was all about the energy. They threw in ODB and Biz Markie references between their high-energy video game punk songs, and for their hour set, worked the packed pavilion. For being on such a big stage, Matt & Kim have gotten great at re-creating their over-the-top house party that, up until recently, was reserved for much smaller venues. They jumped all over their set-up, Kim danced on the crowd, balloons were tossed, and they had an energy that doesn't quit. As the set went on, they played faster with bigger smiles like it was their first show all over again. It’s this young and humble attitude that radiated over the crowd, which was now perfectly shaded by the pavilion. The cool air woke everyone up, and the music got them to jump around. The cavernous pavilion and wide lawn didn’t seem to feel so big anymore. It was surprising to see the field so packed, but when their top songs played and they threw in a huge cover of “Better Off Alone”, it was easy to see why it did. They are magnetic and innocent fun. They can hype you up and get you moving, never stopping to let you catch your breath. Everyone ate it up and kept up with them all the way through. Ludacris West Stage, 7:15 p.m. It’s surprising how much mainstream rap fits into the indie/alt rock setting. Virgin has always embraced this, this year picking up Ludacris to fill that need. Walking over to the West Stage, the audience swelled and packed the place from stage to the porta-potties in the back. With Ludacris, there was no ego, no starting late, and no making a big deal out of himself. It was exactly the huge dirty rap party you would imagine it to be. He played abbreviated versions of his hits, and everyone went ballistic when the hook would drop. Ludacris saw this, and you could see he was genuinely amazed at how much energy was coming from this crowd. He gave it all back, too, got raunchier, and thanked us endlessly throughout. Like his music or not, it’s much easier to like the show, not to mention the man behind it. Sleigh Bells Dance Forest, 8:00 p.m. Set in the very intimate Dance Forest, the tiny space was filled with bodies, and over a short 40 minutes, Sleigh Bells tore it down with thrashing bass and abrasive riffs. This band is freakier live than they seemed on their debut Treats. Alexis Krauss acted sadistically seductive throughout. Opening with the metal bounce of “Infinity Guitars”, everyone’s hands were in the air as they were pummeled with bass and ear-splitting guitars. There’s one word that just about sums up the Sleigh Bells live sound: relentless. After “Tell ‘Em”, the beats picked up a more macabre style and ground us down with the chainsaw buzz of “Kids”. In that setting, surrounded by the neon glow of the trees, it was loud as hell, but that’s really the only way to listen to a band like that. M.I.A. West Stage, 9:00 p.m. Photo by E.N. May It took 30 minutes for M.I.A. to get on stage, and after two warm-up club thumpers from her MC, she walked out in her gold sunglasses and long gold rain jacket with the hood up. M.I.A. warmed everyone up as she gyrated and got friendly with the front several rows and photographers. Her show is a club experience and wasn’t half bad. The bass took over and she let the beat do all the work, turning her more into her own hype person. Due to an overlap with LCD Soundsystem, I could only catch the first half of the show. What I saw was a solid performance and a monstrous crowd all excited and ready to move. It was mostly older material to start, and it gave the people what they wanted to hear-- something they knew they could dance to. After stripping off her rain jacket revealing a pink silk number, she stepped up her game, jumping right into the crowd. And that was only the first half. LCD Soundsystem Pavilion Stage, 9:30 p.m. In the past couple years, LCD Soundystem have gone from facing a questionable future to being a headline-worthy band. FreeFest certainly helped with that as they closed out the pavilion stage and played the best set of the day. M.I.A kept me from the opening song “Dance Yrself Clean”, but walking over to the first verse of “Drunk Girls” while watching people skip toward the music was a wonderful moment. By this point in the day there were two different dance parties happening. LCD was the underdog success story with a full house cheering them on. James Murphy sounded great as his band took us from rock to club, melting the two styles together the way they should be. What LCD does for dance rock is like what the Talking Heads did for pop; they took it to where it needed to be. They’ve created a live show that drives that point home creating an energy that never let up and saw one last dance party take over the main pavilion. “All My Friends” summed up the vibe of the day as people hugged, jumped around, and sloppily sang together. For a song about good times, it suited the moment like a movie soundtrack. With the night pleasantly cooled off, LCD sealed their headliner status, and left us wanting more. I could only imagine what Merriweather looked like from above with M.I.A. and LCD all going off at the same time, the masses glowing from the stage lights, swelling and bouncing. It was a hell of a way to end a free festival, and I can’t help but feel lucky that such a thing exists now. I was skeptical when Virgin moved its festival to Merriweather last year, but it seems that they’ve figured out exactly how to make this work, especially for a niche whose stereotypical front tries to be anti-corporate. But as it turns out, that niche is more than willing to put up with a few banner ads to see free music, and really, who wouldn’t be. Bring another line-up like this, and we’ll see you all next year. Photography by E.N. May, with additional help provided by Jayne Wallace (via Virgin Mobile Free Fest). ------ ]]> http://consequenceofsound.net/2010/09/dance-yrself-free-cos-at-virgin-mobile-freefest/feed/ 18 http://consequenceofsound.net/2010/09/the-hundred-in-the-hands-confirm-debut-album-fall-tour/ http://consequenceofsound.net/2010/09/the-hundred-in-the-hands-confirm-debut-album-fall-tour/#comments http://c438342.r42.cf2.rackcdn.com//wp-content/uploads/2010/08/WARPCD193_Packshot_480.jpg Sun, 05 Sep 2010 15:30:36 +0000 Steve Mcgillivray http://consequenceofsound.net/?p=65366 Brooklyn’s The Hundred in the Hands are set for a big end to 2010. After the release of the their critically acclaimed EP This Desert in May, the duo of Eleanore Everdell and Jason Friedman are now set to release their self-titled debut album via Warp Records on September 21st. What’s more, band have now announced that they will embark on a North American tour in support of the album, which will include several dates with Temper Trap, beginning September 26th.

The tour proper will kick off in Philadelphia on September 26th. Prior to that there will be a date with Bear In Heaven at Washington, DC’s Rock N’ Roll Hotel on September 12th and a headline show at Coco 66 in New York on September 24th. Once the tour gets onto full swing there will be stop offs in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, Detroit and San Francisco amongst others, as well as stops in Canada. There’s also a show scheduled on October 8th in Cleveland with The Thermals and Cymbals Eat Guitars. A full list of dates can be found below.

The eponymous debut is an album of “deceptively complex pop songs” and references the underground disco scene and the clubs that made it popular, such as Paradise Garage. The album is also a combination of home-recording and studio time split between New York and London, with the aid of some producer friends including Jacques Renault, Richard X, Eric Broucek and Chris Zane. Switching from disco to avant pop to post-R&B dub to synth-pop, the bands debut is sure to feature a myriad of musical influences that initially drew Everdell and Friedman together. Head on over to Warp for pre-orders of the new album.

While you wait for the new album and tour, you can check out the new version of the first single from The Hundred  in the Hands LP, “Pigeons” here. The track was recently given the remix treatment by Kwes, who has handled production duties for The xx and Micachu, remixed Damon Albarn and Hot Chip, and created some of his own original music. You can check out the end result below.

The Hundred in the Hands 2010 Tour Dates:
09/12 – Washington, DC @ The Rock N’ Roll Hotel *
09/24 – New York, NY @ Coco 66
09/26 – Philadelphia, PA @ Trocadero ^
09/29 – Boston, MA @ House of Blues ^
09/30 – Montclair, NJ @ Wellmont Theater ^
10/01 – New York, NY @ Terminal 5 ^
10/02 – Montreal, QC @ Le National ^
10/03 – Ottawa, ON @ Capital Music Hall ^
10/05 – Toronto, ON @ Phoenix Concert Theater ^
10/06 – Rochester, NY @ Water Street Music Hall ^
10/07 – Columbus, OH @ Newport Music Hall ^
10/08 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom +
10/09 – Cincinnati, OH @ MOTR Pub
10/11 – Detroit, MI @ St. Andrews Hall ^
10/12 – Chicago, IL @ Metro ^
10/13 – Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hall ^
10/14 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue ^
10/21 – San Francisco, CA @ Popscene
10/22 – Pomona, CA @ The Fox Theater ^
10/23 – Los Angeles, CA @ Club Nokia ^

* = w/ Bear In Heaven
^ = w/ Temper Trap
+ = w/ The Thermals, Cymbals Eat Guitars

It’s already been a gloomy summer on the coast of California, so we needed this festival. SoCal already had its dominating festival, Coachella, and it was time for the Bay Area to strut its own breed of music festival again. And what better place to spend a weekend at than the legendary Golden Gate Park? The California coast might not have brightened up, but everybody was certainly in high spirits. In retrospect, how couldn’t you be?

This year, Outside Lands came off like a modern hybrid. For one, the lineup bridged a number of generation and stylistic gaps, opening up some people’s perceptions. This was one of the first festivals in which I can safely say a large chunk of the audience was over 40, and it didn’t seem creepy, or weird (a young girl asked about Furthur posting their set list online and everybody looked at her like she was insane). You had bands catering to the aged crowd who remembers what things were like “back in the day,” like Levon Helm, Al Green, and Social Distortion, but you had the top acts of generation-now like the Strokes, the Kings of Leon, Phoenix, and My Morning Jacket. This was a festival for all the freaks of the Bay to come out of the woodwork and unite under the sun, even if it wasn’t out.

And the freaks came out, rest assured, and it was wonderful to remember that if it weren’t for weird people like us, there wouldn’t be a festival to talk about. Outside Lands was a place this year where everybody could gather, be themselves, and rock out in one of America’s most historic spots in one of its coolest cities. Overall it was alright, I guess I’ll go next year.

Saturday, August 14th

People Under the Stairs
Lands End, 12:00 p.m.

Nothing could have made me happier than walking into Golden Gate Park to hear the San Francisco Knights themselves conducting some turntable Scientifics. “I think we got this party started,” they boasted to a crowd of “old hippies”: as they so eloquently put it. The titan twosome of Thes One and Double K threw it down to kick off the first day of the festival. The group had no problem representing the Bay Area, with their classic tune “San Francisco Knights”, and even discussed the weather, just before dropping into “Acid Raindrops”.

People Under the Stairs genuinely wanted to get the party going with their Mid-City Fiesta antics. Everyone around was totally indulging, as they lit joints all over the place, which was relished by the MCs themselves, who stated “shit was kicking in.” But they wanted to keep it positive, “It’s a little cold, but it could be warm if you believe,” Double K said. The group then launched into “Tripping at the Disco” to close their set of stoned age hip-hop for the early risers. -Ted Maider

Electric Six
Sutro, 12:40 p.m.

“That opening act was amazing. Rap rap rap. rap ra rap rap rap (in mock-rap tone). We are trying to start shit with the other bands so maybe they fight us and we get more press.” – Dick Valentine

Electric Six are instigators. They were out to start a party, get in trouble, make you dance, anything, really, to get you out of your 12:45 p.m. trance. And if you base you enjoyment of music by your engagement rather than what you actually hear, they were a success. Lead singer Dick Valentine is a ham, thrusting his pelvis, shaking his arms, and cracking jokes like he was at the Brea Improv, but I laughed at all of them, so I guess his mission was a success. When the group busted out “Danger, High Voltage”, I expected some kind of mass hysterics (like when I perform the same song at karaoke), but, alas, it was still the early afternoon and the moderate enthusiasm that was prevalent for everything was about as much as they were going to get. We sure had some laughs, though. - Philip Cosores

Freelance Whales
Twin Peaks, 12:45 p.m.

You can only read a band’s name so many times, and see them on so many festival lineups before you get curious enough to see them. Freelance Whales‘ brand of mellow indie seemed to win over the San Fran hipster crowd at Outside Lands on day one. Their music seemed mystical, and slightly warming on this dreary Bay day. But it wasn’t their show that drew me in, it was their bizarre instrumentation. For example, percussionist/keyboardist/guitar player Kevin Read had a watering can that he repeatedly beat with a mallet. Not to mention, Doris Cellar played some sort of tabled squeeze box for one of their slower and more melodic numbers. “We’d like to thank San Francisco for the last six months of our lives,” they said with pride towards the end of the show. So they thanked us, by playing some more cheery tunes. -Ted Maider

Sierra Leone’s Refugee All-Stars
Lands End, 1:25 p.m.

You got to have yourself some sort of reggae act at a festival to get the early and sunny crowd in high spirits. Well, there was no sun for Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Star’s performance, but they brought forth hypothetical sunshine with their slick reggae grooves. All throughout the crowd, girls splashed with tie dye and dancing in hula hoops were present, as well as several other patrons smoking copious amounts of marijuana to accompany the world music Sierra Leone and company put on. People didn’t necessarily sing along with lyrics that were a) in a different language or b) indecipherable, but the vibe of the music asked everyone to groove, and that’s exactly what they did. -Ted Maider

Pretty Lights
Sutro, 2:15 p.m.

I wandered around for quite some time before Derek Vincent Smith, aka Pretty Lights (aka the sole DJ I wanted to see at this festival), took the stage, and I planned on staying for every second of his jaw-dropping show. Just one year ago, I saw the guy at one of the tents at Bonnaroo, at 3 am, with the e-tard crowd coming down from Phish. Now he had his own slot on one of the bigger stages at Outside Lands in the middle of the afternoon, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t know how to throw down.

The thing about Pretty Lights is he embodies everything about the modern DJ. He’s got some sort of turntable scenario going on (whether they are digital or not is beyond me), as well as two laptops (one Mac, one PC) set up on both ends of his operation. Then, he takes his fantastic contraption of an instrument and brings in samples from all over the spectrum, from eerie piano to distorted guitars, thus getting everyone in the crowd to break it down. But he turns these samples into all different types of electronic music, making his work totally accessible to anyone endorsing in that medium. Pretty Lights is going to make things happen in the electronic world if his show keeps building and building up like his live music. -Ted Maider

Gogol Bordello
Lands End, 3:05 p.m.

Just prior to Gogol Bordello arriving on stage, I passed their singer while roaming through the VIP section. He looked, for lack of a better term, fucking menacing. And let me tell you, that menacing dude can rock in quite the menacing fashion. The high-tempo Gypsy insanity that is Gogol Bordello was a sound to be reckoned with at three in the afternoon. The band blasted through songs like the sonic insanity of “Start Wearing Purple” and “Wonderlust King”, while the audience proceeded to go into a gyrating frenzy. It’s not like the band took it easy either, though. Lead singer and guitar player Eugene Hutz sweat out his entire body weight as he rocked to the band’s furious songs.  To pronounce their ending, Hutz jumped up onto the drum set and took a bow. Everybody was quite pleased. But did you expect anything less from them? -Ted Maider

Levon Helm Band
Twin Peaks, 3:45 p.m.

Levon Helm and his gang of cronies showed up at the Twin Peaks stage in the mid-afternoon to lighten up the mood a bit. Between all the electronic, hip-hop, and rock music, it was finally something the older and Dead-Head crowd could truly appreciate. The group launched through some Band classics (like “The Weight”), covered the Dead (“Tennessee Jed”), and played a number of post-Band tracks, as well. His 10-plus unit performed some crunchy tunes that hippies gladly twirled around to in the grass. Meanwhile, the band had a good time by improvising with acoustic fury as they used their unique and large group of instruments to perform tunes for a sleepier, more laid-back crowd. -Ted Maider

Bassnectar
Sutro, 4:05 p.m.

Bassnectar is the scariest DJ ever. In fact, the whole time I was watching him all I could wonder was how in the fuck he became a DJ. As soon as the guy came out, everyone immediately lost their shit and began to rock their hardest electronic moves. Accompanied with hundreds of giant, black, beach balls, Bassnectar broke it down with his rare form of alternative metal dub-step, mixing bits from all over (most notably his remix of “No Sleep ‘Til Brooklyn”). The multi-genre mixer caused the earth to quake, people’s hearts to pump up a few notches, and me to freak the hell out. -Ted Maider

My Morning Jacket
Lands End, 5:00 p.m.

“God bless you, San Francisco.” –Jim James

My Morning Jacket never ceases to amaze me. The Bay Area crowd was genuinely stoked that Jim James and company had come to grace their presence with their rare, intellectual, and fantastic style of rock. The band kicked it off slow with tracks like “Tonite I Want to Celebrate with You” and “Gideon”. As the band jammed, escalated, rocked, and shocked, it really struck me that they truly work to perfection as a complete unit. If one member were to be replaced, the whole show would be at a loss. It’s the chemistry they share that speaks volumes. That… and their donkey, which happened to make an appearance at Sasquatch, too.

Eventually, the band busted out a chilling and hypnotic version of “Touch Me, I’m Going to Scream (Part 1)” and churned out a triumphant version of “I’m Amazed”, which sequed into a jet-fueled speedball rendition of “Highly Suspicious”, which fueled the crowd into a furious mosh. Towards the end, they brought it all back full circle as they lurched on with “Touch Me, I’m Going to Scream (Part 2)”.

Throughout the set, the band played a number of older tunes, too. “Golden”, “Off the Record”, “Steam Engine”, and “Anytime” were all showcased and all well-received. But, nothing came close to their powerful performance of “Wordless Chorus”, which saw the crowd uniting together under rain and through harmonies and reverb. But it wouldn’t stop there, either. Before they left, the group carved out a magnificent, 10 minute cut of “One Big Holiday”, which pumped out enough octane to tear apart the crowd. These guys may not be a jam band, but they sure do fucking jam. -Ted Maider

Wolfmother
Sutro, 6:30 p.m.

The biggest surprise at Outside Lands goes to Wolfmother, hands down. I attended mainly because my brother is a big fan and he dragged me along. However, thank goodness he did. It was the best decision I was forced into making all weekend. Little did I know this would be one of the most unexpectedly awesome sets of the festival. The only person who had more fun than the crowd at Wolfmother was frontman Andrew Stockdale. And why shouldn’t he have a bit of fun? With lineup changes galore since 2005, he deserves to smile. Despite the group’s latest effort, Cosmic Egg, they stuck to mostly material off their self-titled album. Climax? When the band busted into “White Unicorn”, transitioning midway through into a very fitting version of The Doors’ “Riders on the Storm”, only to transition back into the end of “White Unicorn”. Like I said, unexpectedly awesome. -Winston Robbins

Cat Power
Twin Peaks, 7:05 p.m.

I’ve never seen Cat Power before, so I won’t be too hasty in my judgment. But is she always so boring? Julian Casablancas nonchalance is one thing, but seeming utterly bored is something different entirely. Maybe it’s just her steaz, but she looked like she just rolled out of bed for this show. With her hair pulled back in a ponytail, and frumpily dressed in a hoodie and jeans, she spent most of the set with her hands in her pockets. There was a portion of her show where she got down off the stage and into the photo pit to sing two songs, which I’m sure was awesome for all 53 people who could still see her, but eventually the rest of us just forgot she was there. It’s not like her being onstage was that much more exciting. But enough about stage presence. Musically, Chan Marshall couldn’t have been more spot on. “Sea of Love”, “The Greatest”, and “Metal Heart” were all pitch perfect. Every note hit, every inflection impeccable. I just wish she would have been a little more excited about her own talent. -Winston Robbins

Furthur ft. Phil Lesh and Bob Weir
Lands End, 7:25 p.m.

“They really did take it one step further…” –Dead-Head in Sculpture Garden after the show.

I have to start by admitting this straight up; I am not the biggest Dead-Head in the world. This has always been the biggest problem amongst my friends and I. Granted, I enjoy some of their songs quite thoroughly (how could you not), but I have never been one of those kids who goes through phases and phases of nothing but obscure Dead sets. But this entire set-up seemed like something I would totally be all about. For one, you have Phil Lesh and Bob Weir back together on-stage. Secondly, you have John Kadlecik of the Dark Star Orchestra, stepping in Jerry Garcia’s shoes, which he seems to have already done for a portion of his career. Take notice of the setting, though. It was the climax of Jerry month in the Bay, and the band was in Golden Gate Park, the place that pretty much spawned them.

Needless to say, all the tell-tale signs of a Dead-Show were there. All day, my buddy kept saying, “In San Francisco, Dead-Heads just seem to grow up from the ground.” Sure enough, this is what happened. Just prior to Furthur’s show, I watched the kid behind me drop a tab of acid into his friend’s mouth as a surprise. There were more Stealies than I could ever fathom in one place. And people had managed to sneak in recording gear to obtain what they would believe to be a priceless piece of live memorabilia. Well, this night, they were right.

The band was no longer slow, dreary, and too-hypnotic. They were back to the old Dead-style, quicker and extensive jams that kept the pace up. Opening with songs like “Cassidy” and “The Loser” got people on their feet, and scribbling song titles on their notepads all around me. The band launched into a rendition of “Let it Grow”, which they wove into a cover of Pink Floyd’s “Time”. People were hip to the cover, considering cheers emanated throughout once those all-too-familiar sound of clocks chimed in.

But the band also launched into a number of Dead staples that belonged in Golden Gate Park. Extended jams on “Fire on the Mountain” and “Terrapin Suite” caused people to astro-project themselves back to the ’70s. To close off the single set, the band started up “Morning Dew” which spiraled into “I Know You Rider”, leaving all the Dead-Heads, who’d coughed up the 70 bucks to get in, very, very pleased.

When I was younger, I saw Ratdog and all the offshoots, but this to me was something far greater than a Grateful Dead recreation. This wasn’t a reincarnation; this was the future of the enterprise that is the Grateful Dead. Even I’ll admit it; they have had one of the best careers in history that any band could possibly ask for. Their material still impacts kids today as it did 50 years ago. So, the bottom line? I may not be a Dead-Head, but I can see that they have done a lot in their time, and they will continue to bedazzle their cult as time goes on. As I wandered off into the night, I heard techno drums going, infused the Furthur’s jamming, which somehow seemed to work in this modern age. Who knows what the future of music will bring? -Ted Maider

The Strokes
Twin Peaks, 8:45 p.m.

Let’s begin here: Why was Furthur headlining this festival? Look, we all know that Bob Weir and Phil Lesh are local Haight-Ashbury legends and were once a part of one of the most influential jam bands in the history of Rock and Roll, but does that really warrant a headlining slot? Seems like an irrelevant stretch to me. The tickets for day one sold, but they certainly didn’t sell out. The Deadheads are slowly dying off. The Strokes should have headlined. But that’s an argument for another time. It was funny, however, what a tangible barrier Furthur versus The Strokes created. In the impeccable words of Philip Cosores, everyone 30 and under was at one side of the park watching The Strokes, while everyone else was re-living their Dead days across the park.

At any rate, Julian Casablancas and company returned to performing on American soil once more after their Lollapalooza appearance, and I can only imagine that the shows were incredibly similar. I say that because tit for tat, the setlists were exactly the same, except Lolla got one more song that Outside Lands did. It was an unbelievable set in every way, musically, visually, you name it. But they were obviously missing one thing: chemistry. It was sad further proof that The Strokes might be on their way out.

However, it was fantastic to hear the songs that got me through the hard knock life of Middle School. They played mainly old favorites such as “Someday”, “Last Night”,  “Reptilia”, and “Hard To Explain” interspersed with only a couple First Impressions of Earth cuts. In between each song, they seemed to stall and talk amongst themselves about what they were doing, which showed a lack of preparation, perpetuating the rumors that they’re imploding. On a lighter note, though, Casablancas will never stop being one of the greatest frontmen of our time. He kept crowd interaction at a maximum and all night he made jokes and basically said whatever the hell came to his mind. It was an endearing, nostalgic run down memory lane that was ultimately enjoyable, but painful in that these are very much so not The Strokes I saw back in ’06. -Winston Robbins
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Gallery by Philip Cosores

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Sunday, August 15th

Amos Lee
Lands End, 12:45 p.m.

The Philadelphia singer/songwriter had the misfortune of playing to a tired crowd in the early afternoon, but made the most out of it. Amos Lee has the kind of voice the can sooth both the weary soul and the weary bones, managing to bring the crowd both to lie for the moment and awaken them at to the fun that laid on the horizon. Lee sings with conviction, and for a writer who had never heard him before and feels a slight bit of shame admitting that he enjoyed the set, it was a pleasant surprise to start a day.  -Philip Cosores

Mayer Hawthorne and The County
Sutro, 1:30 p.m.

If this day was about voices, Mayer Hawthorne was up to the challenge laid down by Amos Lee. Luckily for Hawthorne, where his voice lacks the immediacy of Lee’s, he has Mayer-ettes to provide the eye candy that the singer may lack himself. Sure Hawthorne may seem like a nerd, but he has soul and can get a giant crowd behind him. And somehow most of the crowd knew all the words (maybe this guy is huge) but even those that didn’t seemed to have a blast. Hawthorne may have made the most new fans of anyone at the festival. -Philip Cosores

The Temper Trap
Lands End, 2:15 p.m.

Well, I guess I just don’t get the appeal here. But people were sure excited to see The Temper Trap, to see their weird looking singer, to hear their harmless songs, even a new one that appeared three songs in and went absolutely nowhere. In hindsight, they are known for a song that came out last year with 500 Days of Summer, and oddly enough, it’s not really catchy whatsoever. <Shrug> -Philip Cosores

Janelle Monáe
Sutro, 3:05 p.m.

Most deserved Best New Music handed out by the almighty P4K should go to Janelle Monáe. Not only was her ArchAndroid fantastic from beginning to end, but she is quite the musician/dancer/fashionista. Playing mainly tracks from her most recent album, the crowd seemed to show particular interest in “Cold War” and “Tightrope”, and rightly so, as they were both spot on in every way (except Big Boi didn’t show up for his verse on the latter). Personally, I was quite moved by the stop-free four song medley which contained “Suite II Overture”, “Dance or Die”, “Faster”, and “Locked Inside” in one fell swoop. Impressive. Furthermore, her style is something that is to be simultaneously marveled and envied. Monáe is so much cooler than any of us will ever be, but we should love her for it, not be jealous. Some people were born to front bands (and Janelle is without question the best frontwoman I have seen in recent years), and others were born to write for/read music blogs. To each his own. -Winston Robbins

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
Twin Peaks, 3:40 p.m.

“This is a fucking miracle!” –Edward Sharpe (Alex Ebert)

I made it to the front of the crowd by the skin of my teeth, but goddammit, I made it. And thank the lord I did. Four months ago, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros were just some band that seemed to be playing every festival I wanted to go to. Now, they’re a crucial portion of my 2010 soundtrack, with a record that continues to sell and a fan base that continues to grow. Hey, you can only appear in so many car commercials before everybody understands your band rules that much.

The 10-piece band wasted no time kicking things up, opening with “40 Day Dream”, one of the stand-out and triumphant tracks from their debut record. The crowd went nuts at the opening drum beats, and then began to sway majestically while singing all the words. Luckily for them, the band played the majority of their album, Up From Below, and in order. Following the opener, they launched right into the happy-go-lucky tune of “Janglin’” and then continued with the album’s titular track.

The Magnetic Zeros did some great renditions of “Desert Song” and even let Jade Castrinos take over on lead vocals for awhile. The real gem though, of course, was “Home”, which the crowd screamed for the entire time. When the hot single finally did come on, everybody leapt up and down in a united frenzy, which seemed warranted for the song’s enthusiastic beat. During the breakdown, though, Alex Ebert and Castrinos discussed the first time they came to San Francisco, and what they did, but most all Castrinos wished the sun would shine. We were all right there with her, but it didn’t matter, because everybody was just elated to be in the presence of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, a band who will clearly be remembered when 2010 music is discussed for years to come. -Ted Maider

Al Green
Lands End, 4:00 p.m.

After Furthur took us back to the 60’s, somebody had to represent the 70’s, and no man was better for the job than Al Green. At 64, our beloved soul singer took the stage to a massive, loving crowd to give them a taste of his era. Not only did he come out belting his own barn burners “Tired of Being Alone” and “Let’s Stay Together”, but he did a tribute to all his contemporaries. He covered The Four Tops’ “I Can’t Help Myself”, The Temptations’ “My Girl”, and Otis Redding (whom he referred to as ‘Big O’)’s “Sitting On the Dock of the Bay”. At the end of the set, the soul mastermind was all smiles, as was the crowd. -Winston Robbins

Slightly Stoopid
Sutro, 5:00 p.m.

How many Slightly Stoopid shows do I normally hear about within a summer? Way too many is an accurate answer. Slightly Stoopid has been able to strike a chord with the cannabis culture, and in California, that’s about ¾ of the population. Basically, these guys picked up right where Sublime left off, and now their brand of reggae-rap-rock has begun to get extremely popular. Throughout the entire show, a cloud of smoke loomed over the crowd, while the band played their cheery reggae tunes. However, they were not afraid to bust out the punk rock when things got a little too mellow. This has always been one of the band’s more positive traits; that they appreciate their punk roots. Not to mention, they covered Ol’ Dirty Bastard, while the crowd held W’s in the air with their hands. After enough Slightly Stoopid, I began to feel slightly stupid due to how spaced out I was, so it was time to vacate the smog and see some other aspect of our culture. -Ted Maider

Chromeo
Twin Peaks, 5:15 p.m.

As soon as the sexy leg keyboard stands were unveiled, the cheers began to roar: Chromeo was on their way. Taking the stage to their signature Fancy Footwork intro, the crowd went berserk. It was a very distinct crowd too, filled with college frat boys, but that didn’t take away from the show in the slightest. Dave 1 and P-Thugg know how to work any audience. By the first song, they had us in the palm of their hands and we loved every minute of it. Unfortunately, they didn’t play anything from their forthcoming album (due out in September),  but maybe that was for the best because hearing their old songs just got me super pumped to hear the new record. The kids went nuts for Chromeo classsics “Tenderoni” “Bona Fide Lovin’”, and “Needy Girl”, and they had every right to. Chromeo knows how to write quirky electro love songs like no one else. -Winston Robbins

Phoenix
Lands End, 5:55 p.m.

Holy… shit… dude. Phoenix has become somewhat of a cultural icon. Singer Thomas Mars has begun to acknowledge this, as he embodied what is true rock star persona while running around the stage with his bright red microphone chord. The rest of the band kept it going too, as their drummer pounded on each head mercilessly to keep the beats of all their high-energy songs going. This was easily one of the best shows of the weekend, and it’s so easy to see why the French five-some were given a sub-headlining spot.

The band kicked it off with “Lisztomania” and the crowd wasted no time diving into the grooves. But neither did the band. While they tore through the majority of their opus, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, playing songs like “Lasso”, “Fences”, and a thrashing “Armistice”, they were not conservative about pulling out past numbers. Tracks like “Run Run Run”, “Consolation Prizes”, and “Long Distance Call” resonated well with those watching, even though they didn’t necessarily sing along.

But the band kept everything interesting. Mars climbed up the amps, over the audience, and across the stage, all while his band kept mixing up instruments, bashing their equipment, and rocking their hardest. It was all straight up amazing and with so much energy.  As they’ve done for the past year now, the band closed things off with a nearly 10-minute rendition of “1901”. It didn’t drag, but at one moment I felt they were playing a different song altogether. As the band’s set came to a close, all the clouds parted for the day, and the sun finally came out. It felt good to feel the warmth again, but it wasn’t the miracle we needed. The miracle we needed was another four songs from Phoenix. -Ted Maider

Nas & Damian Marley
Twin Peaks, 6:50 p.m.

I’ve always been intrigued by Damian Marley & Nas‘ collaboration. I respect both artists  in their respective genres quite a bit, and their duet on “Road to Zion” (off Marley’s 2005 album Welcome to JamRock) was fantastic. But a whole album? It seemed a stretch. I was wrong in thinking that. The second I heard the album, it all began to make sense. It was like I finally go the joke that had been eluding me for weeks. They’re obviously distant relatives due to their African-American complexion, but musically they’re distant relatives as well. Hip hop draws so much from reggae, and contemporary reggae is constantly borrowing from hip hop. And these two make for quite a pair. Two of the most talented in their respective genres, it only makes sense that they are incredible together.

At the Twin Peaks stage, the two played mainly tracks from their latest effort, Distant Relatives. They came out with barn burner “As We Enter” and hit us with a couple of curveballs just before exiting the stage. First, Marley (and his floor length dreads) pulled out his mega-hit “Welcome To Jamrock” out and got the entire place thrashing. Then, Nas and Marley both went back to play their JamRock collaboration “Road to Zion”. They closed the set off with a cover of Marley’s father’s classic hit, “Could You Be Loved”, which of course won the crowd over and had us all singing in unison like a bunch of drunk Irish soccer fans. Lesson learned? Damian Marley and Nas are a perfect combination. -Winston Robbins

Social Distortion
Sutro, 6:55 p.m.

True story: The last time I had seen Social Distortion, I stopped drinking for three years. Since then, I have not listened to the band nor paid any attention to where they are in their career. But, everything ends and so did my boycott of Social D on this Sunday afternoon.

The sun was finally out and the Orange County natives seemed no different that the tough thugs that drove me into a drunken frenzy of terror so many years back. Now that I can actually recall experiencing them, I was impressed by the level of professionalism they showed in their set. They covered all the bases of their long career, with Ness still as menacing as before. “Bad Luck”, “Don’t Drag Me Down” and “Mommy’s Little Monster” kicked things off, but as the set rolled on song’s like “Ball and Chain”, “Prision Bound”, and “Story of My Life” made their way into the set.

Even though their set has probably been similar for 20 years, the band never looks bored or withdrawn. In fact, Ness seems like he wants to relate to the fans just as bad as the young man who wrote these songs. In closing with “Ring Of Fire”, you can’t help but think that Ness has written some songs as timeless as Johnny Cash. It’s a weird thought, but remarkably, it’s true. -Philip Cosores

Kings of Leon
Lands End, 7:50 p.m.

When did the Kings of Leon become this big-time, American headlining band? I think I missed this part in recent pop culture, because I still find the Kings of Leon to be a good band, but not a spectacle worth headlining some of the biggest festivals in America. The thing is though, most people like the Kings of Leon, so they are able to draw a crowd. Kings of Leon just embodies that simple, classic, and timeless American sound, and they actually do a decent job of it.

The Oklahoma quartet of brothers looked like classic American figures as they rocked their finest in front of tens of thousands of people. Jared Followill was dressed up like James Dean, while Caleb Followill kept up his gritty and down-to-Earth persona. The band kicked things off with the ultimate creeper-track, “Closer”, which sent chills down my spine as I watched them grace the monitors in a black and white color scheme. One could feel the ground vibrating as they got closer to the stage and as the sun sank over Golden Gate Park to the Kings of Leon’s gritty, welcomin,g and rocking tunes.

The band also played their hit songs like “Sex on Fire”, “The Bucket”, and “Use Somebody”, while also covering the Pixies’ “Where is My Mind?”, which all seemed to keep the crowd genuinely pleased. The main stage was packed as far as one could see, so this was clearly a hot ticket for the last night of the festival. At the start, Caleb asked, “Mind if I have a drink?” and then toasted to the wonderful city of San Francisco. Clearly, the guy was the right man to finish off the show. As the band drew to a close, fireworks lit up the sky behind them and filled the polo fields with smoke. One had to ask, though… where was the crowd’s groove? -Ted Maider

Empire of the Sun
Twin Peaks, 8:25 p.m.

If you don’t listen to Empire of the Sun now, you will soon enough. The Australian electronic space bots from beyond will invade your stereo much like they invaded my brain Sunday night. For one, no band nowadays has a visual show like they do. It’s hard to explain (or do it justice), but the show involves spacey videos, frantic lighting, synchronized dancers in weird costumes holding even weirder props, and lots and lots of techno-future rock. Let’s just say that at one point I wondered if I was watching humans. Actually, looking back at the hour that was Empire of the Sun, I’m still trying to figure out what I saw.

Singer and proverbial captain of the group’s spaceship Luke Steele stood in what looked like a docking station in the center of the stage, surrounded by synthesizers, guitars, and microphones. You’d think this would be all overwhelming, and it probably would to an average musician, but Steele traded off instruments with no problem, and at times, he even managed to play several at once. Opening with the gem “Standing on the Shore”, the crowd found a perfect outlet to a.) find their groove and b.) trip the fuck out.

Basically, the band played their entire debut record, Walking on a Dream, but in an order that was more like a journey than an actual album. The group jammed on songs like “Swordfish Hotkiss Night”, keeping the drums loud, wild, and futuristic by mixing up all sorts of instrumentation from the great beyond. Other tracks like “Delta Bay”, “Half Mast”, and “We Are the People” were all accompanied by a light and video show that would make any performer rethink the entire visual aspect of their show. Think Bowie, but on a rare combination of steroids, coke, and MDMA. To close off the amazing spectacle, the band thrashed out its single, “Walking on a Dream”, as the ecstasy-starched crowd went nuts to finish off a night they didn’t want to end. -Ted Maider
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Gallery by Philip Cosores

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On Saturday, September 25th, the Virgin Mobile FreeFest returns, this time with a lineup that crosses indie, hip-hop, and dance boundaries. The much controversial M.I.A., NYC alt-dance outfit LCD Soundsystem, and recently reunited indie legends Pavement will headline this year’s festivities.

Also on the 2010 bill are the recently freed T.I., Ludacris, Joan Jett, Thievery Corporation, Jimmy Eat World, Yeasayer, The Temper Trap, Matt & Kim, and Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeroes.

In addition to two main stages, this year’s festival will also feature a “dance forest,” which will feature the talents of Chromeo, Sleigh Bells, Die Antwoord, Modeselektor, and Neon Indian. What’s more, New Orleans based Trombone Shorty will lead a special second line march from stage to stage.

Free tickets to the free festival will be available starting Saturday, July 24th at 10 AM EST via Ticketfly.com. Virgin Mobile customers and previous Virgin Mobile Festival ticket holders from the past four years will be invited via text and email to a private “free-sale” (much like a pre-sale, except free) to be held Friday, July 23rd.

Ticketfly is waiving all service charges when fans pick up their FreeFest tickets at Merriweather or the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C. or print the tickets at home. Customers also have the option to have their tickets delivered by mail for a nominal fee.

Also available will be premium tickets, which provides Pavilion seating, with a portion of the ticket price going to support homeless youth charities.

“Because we have the luxury of giving away the tickets it becomes a privilege to book the most important acts out there,” said chairman of I.M.P. and Virgin Mobile FreeFest concert producer Seth Hurwitz. “Our goal is simply to book the coolest bands we can. This year we’re breaking with the traditional format of monster headliner trickling down to baby bands, and instead we’re sprinkling fantastic acts all day long. It’s kind of like a festival on full-day shuffle.”

“Last year’s free festival was all about giving back to fans in the wake of a horrible economy,” explained Ron Faris, director of brand experiences, Virgin Mobile USA. “This year’s festival will focus even more on charitable giving. It’s a reminder to let people know that even as things are improving, there’s always someone out there less fortunate than you. Last year, we raised over $80,000 and generated 30,000 hours of volunteerism for youth homelessness. This year, together with the fans, we hope to do even better.”

Today’s announcement was made by Sir Richard Branson, Chairman of the Virgin Group, on Virgin Mobile Live, the company’s new Internet music stream available on Virgin Mobile websites.

It’s not all bad for the four-piece. They kick things off on August 4th in San Diego, CA. Of course, they then head to Cleveland, OH on August 6th, which makes absolute logistic sense. From there, it’s stops in Chicago for Lollapalooza and on to Salt Lake City, Philadelphia, New York, Montreal, and beyond. October sees the band on the road some more, including a stop at Austin City Limits, and dates in Detroit, Minneapolis, and Mexico City before wrapping up on October 23rd in Los Angeles, CA. And to further show their love, they’re bringing up and comers Delphic and The Hundred in the Hands on the road.

Stay tuned for more dates, which is likely as the band has a huge gap between the August 15th stop in San Francisco and the September 26th gig in Philadelphia, PA. Now, go show the band how much you love them and buy some tickets starting today at Ticketmaster.com.

The Temper Trap 2010 Tour Dates:
07/11 – Puncheston, IE @ Oxegen
07/12 – London, UK @ Somerset House
07/15 – Benicassim, ES @ Benicassim Festival
07/18 – Suffolk, UK @ Latitude Festival
07/22 – Perth, AU @ Metro City
07/23 – Adelaide, AU @ Thebarton Theatre
07/24 – Melbourne, AU @ Festival Hall
07/27 – Sydney, AU @ Horden Pavilion
07/30 – Woodford, AU @ Splendour in the Grass
08/01 – Auckland, NZ @ Powerstation
08/04 – San Diego, CA @ House of Blues
08/06 – Cleveland, OH @ House of Blues
08/08 – Chicago, IL @ Lollapalooza
08/10 – Denver, CO @ Ogden Theater
08/11 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The Depot
08/13 – Seattle, WA @ Showbox
08/14 – Portland, OR @ Roseland Theater
08/15 – San Francisco, CA @ Outside Lands
08/21 – Chelmsford, UK @ V Festival
08/22 – Staffordshire, UK @ V Festival
09/26 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Trocadero * #
09/29 – Boston, MA @ House of Blues * #
09/30 – Montclair, NJ @ The Wellmont * #
10/01 – New York, NY @ Terminal 5 * #
10/02 – Montreal, QUE @ Le National * #
10/03 – Ottawa, ONT @ Capital Music Hall * #
10/05 – Toronto, ONT @ The Phoenix * #
10/09 – Austin, TX @ Austin City Limits
10/11 – Detroit, MI @ St. Andrews * #
10/13 – Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hall * #
10/14 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue * #
10/16 – Mexico City, MEX @ Corona Capital Festival
10/22 – Pomona, CA @ The Fox * #
10/23 – Los Angeles, CA @ Club Nokia * #

* = w/ Delphic
# = w/ The Hundered and The Hands

For one, joining the previously announced Pavement as the 2010 headliners will be My Morning Jacket and Massive Attack, both of which will likely be making their 2010 summer festival debut at Sasquatch. Other heavyweights confirmed to take part include Ween, Vampire Weekend, LCD Soundsystem, Band of Horses, The National, Public Enemy, Kid Cudi, and Passion Pit.

But wait… there’s more! Broken Social Scene, She & Him, The New Pornographers, The Hold Steady, Dirty Projectors, Drive-By Truckers, Minus the Bear, The Mountain Goats, Caribou, The xx, OK Go, The Long Winters, Quasi, and Camera Obscura will all also be taking part, as will Deadmau5, Simian Mobile Disco, No Age, The Temper Trap, Miike Snow, Why?, YACHT, and Neon Indian.

Still not done: You can also expect to see Fruit Bats, Midlake, Brother Ali, City & Colour, Portuga. The Man, Mayer Hawthorne, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, Wale, Japandroids, Freelance Whales, Laura Marling, Cymbals Eat Guitars, The Low Anthem, The Very Best, Mumford & Sons, The Tallest Man on Earth, tUnE-YarDs, Fool’s Gold, DJ Z-Trip, Local Natives, The Middle East, Avi Buffalo, A-Trak, and Yes Giantess, as well as comedians like The Office’s Craig Robinson and The Daily Show’s Rob Riggle. Everyone who’s anyone? Duh.

Tickets, which you’ll need to attend, will go on sale this Saturday, February 20th via Ticketmaster.com. Three-day passes will initially go for $170.00, while single day tickets will start at $70.00. Camping spots will also be available then.

For your viewing pleasure, here is the Sasquatch! 2010 bill, in alphabetical order:

A-Trak, Avi Buffalo, Band of Horses, Booka Shade, Boys Noize, Broken Social Sceen, Brother Ali, Camera Obscura, Caribou, City and Colour, Craig Ronbinson, Cymbals Eat Guitars, Dam-Funk, Deadmau5, Dirty Projectors, Dr. Dog, Drive-By Truckers, Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros, Fool’s Gold, Freelance Whales, Fresh Espresso, Fruit Bats, Garfunkel & Oates, Girls, The Hold Steady, Hudson Mohawke, Japandroids, Jets Overhead, Kid Cudi, Laura Marling, LCD Soundsystem, Local Natives, The Lonely Forest, The Long Winters, The Low Anthem, Luke Burbank, Massive Attack, Mayer Hawthorne, MGMT, Midlake, The Middle East, Miike Snow, Minus the Bear, Morning Teleportation, The Mountain Goats, Mumford & Sons, My Morning Jacket, Nada Surf, The National, Neon Indian, The New Pornographers, No Age, Nurses, OK Go, Passion Pit, Past Lives, Patrick Watson, Pavement, Phantogram, Portugal. The Man, Public Enemy, Quasi, Rob Riggle, Shabazz Palaces, She & Him, Simian Mobile Disco, The Tallest Man On Earth, Tegan & Sara, Telekinesis, The Temper Trap, tUnE-YaRdS, Vampire Weekend, The Very Best, Veviter, Wale, Ween, Why?, The xx, YACHT, Yes Giantess, DJ Z-Trip

As for the end result of said attention? An initial lineup announcement headed by Jay-Z, Stevie Wonder, Dave Matthews Band, and Kings of Leon. Other noteworthy acts include Jack White’s The Dead Weather, Jack Black’s Tenacious D, Weezer, Norah Jones, Damian Marley and Nas, LCD Soundsystem, Phoenix, Regina Spektor, Tori Amos, John Fogerty, and Jeff Beck.

Also set to appear at this year’s edition, which runs from June 10-13, are the Dropkick Murphys, John Prine, Jimmy Cliff, Michael Franti and Spearhead, The Avett Brothers, The Black Keys, Deadmau5, Against Me!, Les Claypool, the Zac Brown Band, Steve Martin & the Steep Canyon Rangers, and Rise Against, as well as a few familiar faces, including the Disco Biscuits, Medeski Martin & Wood, and Calexico.

A number of high-profile indie acts will also perform, including She & Him, Blitzen Trapper, The Dodos, Local Natives, The Gaslight Anthem, Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros, Chromeo (who will be joined by the legendary Daryl Hall), Tokyo Police Club, and Neon Indian.

We should once again note that today’s announcement was billed as the initial lineup, and additional artists are expected to be named in the weeks ahead. We’ll of course update you when the information becomes available.

Tickets, available in the general admission and VIP varieties, are currently on sale and priced at $234.50 and $1,349.50 respectively. Payment plans are available, as are various rental packages. Hit up bonnarootickets.com for all the specifics.

Additional details regarding the festival itself can be read on bonnaroo.com. We also suggest bookmaring our Bonnaroo Outlook pages, as we’ll update it once additional lineup news is announced. Now would also be a good time to check out our recent interview with Bonnaroo co-founder Ashley Capps.

As previously mentioned, the lineup announcement will work something like this. Unlike previous announcements, the 2010 bill will not be unveiled all at once, but rather throughout the day, with the goal being to “generate conversations about the lineup a few acts at a time.” Starting at 10 AM EST (barring any early leaks), bands will begin announcing their participation via various social media outlets and bonnaroo.com. It’s basically like one giant, procrastinating-inducing puzzle. Fortunately, just in case we don’t figure it out by then, Bonnaroo will end our agony by announcing the full lineup later tomorrow night.

Given all this, it only makes sense that we start an open thread, where you guys can chat, complain, and post any discoveries you find. We’ll of course keep track as well!

7:30 pm Update: 90 minutes left! LCD Soundsystem, Les Claypool, Lucero, Kris Kristofferson, Martin Sexton, and Deadmau5 among the newest additions.

5:30 pm Update: Add The Dodos, Tori Amos, Tenacious D, Damian Marley & Nas, Lotus, Blitzen Trapper, Calexico, Mumford & Sons, Aterciopelados, and John Butler Trio to the mix. Still waiting for Neil, Pavement, and Roger Waters…

3:30 pm Update: A few more worthwhile confirmations: The Dead Weather, They Might Be Giants, The Melvins, Dave Rawlings Machine, John Prine, Mew, Dr. Dog, Clutch, and The Bakerton Group. Also, a few more expected: Alicia Keys, Pavement, and Spoon.

2:00 pm Update: So far, we’ve been going at this for a good five hours and we still only know about a 1/4 of the acts. Of those however, there are certainly a fair share of early highlights, including Jay-Z, The Flaming Lips, Regina Spektor, The National, Disco Biscuits, Jeff Beck, Norah Jones, Weezer, She & Him, and Phoenix.

We can also confirm the participation of Kings of Leon, Dave Matthews Band, Stevie Wonder, Dropkick Murphys, and Zac Brown band. As for what we can expect to see in the hours ahead? Neil Young, Spoon, Broken Social Scene, and Deadmau5. Also don’t be shocked if Roger Waters (performing The Wall), Pavement, and My Morning Jacket make an appearance.

Update: Here is the initial lineup…

Against Me!, Aeroplane, The Avett Brothers, B.o.B., Baaba Maal, The Black Keys Bassnectar, Baroness, Blitzen Trapper, Blues Traveler, Brandi Carlile, Calexico, Chromeo w/ Darryl Hall, Clutch, Cross Canadian Ragweed, Damian Marley & Nas, Dan Deacon Ensemble, Dave Matthews Band, Dave Rawlings Machine, The Dead Weather, Deadmau5, Diane Birch, Disco Biscuits, The Dodos, Dr. Dog, Dropkick Murphys, Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros, The Entrance Band, The Flaming Lips (w/ Stardeath and White Dwarfs) performing Dark Side of the Moon, The Gaslight Anthem, GWAR, Here We Go Magic, Hot Rize, Jamey Johnson, Japandroids, Jay-Z, Jeff Beck, John Prine, Kid Cudi, Kings of Leon, Kris Kristofferson, Ingrid Michaelson, Isis, John Fogerty, Julia Nunes, LCD Soundsystem, Les Claypool, Local Natives, Lotus, Lucero, Manchester Orchestra, Martin Sexton, Mayer Hawthrone & the County, Medeski Martin & Wood, Melvins, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Miike Snow, Miranda Lambert, Monte Montgomery, Mumford & Sons, The National, Needtobreathre, Neon Indian, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Norah Jones, OK Go, Phoenix, The Postelles, Punch Brothers, Rebelution, Regina Spektor, Rise Against, She & Him, Steve Martin with the Steep Canyon Rangers, Stevie Wonder, The Temper Trap, Tenacious D, They Might Be Giants, Thievery Corporation, Tinariwen, Tori Amos, Tokyo Police Club, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, Wale, Weezer, The xx, Zac Brown Band

Here are other expected and rumored acts.

Now, buckle up kids! It’s going to be a long and wild ride!

Feature image courtesy of Ryan Mastro…

Yes, The Temper Trap, better known as “the band who wrote that song for (500) Days of Summer,” plans to tour in a few months, all in support of last year’s under-the-radar debut, Conditions. And with a tour like this — stops in both Boston for St. Patty’s and a delectable Coachella spot — perhaps 2010 is the year this band truly surfaces.

That would certainly help the band’s disposition. Wah. Wah.

Tickets are available via Ticketmaster.com.

The Temper Trap 2010 Tour Dates:
01/22 – Sydney, AU @ Big Day Out
01/23 – Wales, AU @ Big Day Out
01/26 – Melbourne, AU @ Big Day Out
01/29 – Adelaide, AU @ Big Day Out
01/31 – Perth, AU @ Big Day Out
02/21 – Oslo, NO @ John Dee
02/22 – Copenhagen, DK @ Vega
02/23 – Copenhagen, DK @ Vega
02/24 – Stockholm, SE @ Debaser Slussen
02/26 – Hamburg, DE @ Molotow
02/27 – Berlin, DE @ Postbahnhof
02/28 – Cologne, DE @ Gloria
03/02 – Munich, DE @ Atomic Cafe
03/03 – Frankfurt, DE @ Nachtelben
03/10 – Los Angeles, CA @ Henry Fonda Theatre
03/12 – San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore
03/14 – Portland, OR @ Peter’s Room
03/17 – Boston, MA @ Hurricane O’Reillys, WFNX St. Patrick’s Day Party
03/20 – Boulder, CO @ Fox Theatre
03/22 – Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hall
03/23 – Minneapolis, MN @ Varsity Hall
03/24 – Chicago, IL @ Metro
03/26 – Columbus, OH @ Newport Music Hall, CD101 Low Dough Show
03/27 – Cleveland, OH @ Cambridge House at HOB
03/30 – Toronto, ON @ Mod Club
03/31 – Montreal, QC @ The Cabaret du Musee Juste Pour Rire
04/02 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall
04/03 – Philadelphia, PA @ Theatre of Living Arts
04/06 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
04/12 – Dallas, TX @ Pontiac Garage at HOB
04/13 – Austin, TX @ Emo’s
04/15 – Tempe, AZ @ Clubhouse
04/17 – Indio, CA @ Coachella
04/27 – Bournemouth, UK @ O2 Academy
04/28 – London, UK @ O2 Shepherds Bush Empire
04/29 – London, UK @ O2 Shepherds Bush Empire
04/30 – London, UK @ O2 Shepherds Bush Empire
05/01 – Cardiff, UK @ University
05/03 – Nottingham, UK @ Rock City
05/04 – Birmingham, UK @ O2 Academy
05/05 – Norwich, UK @ UEA
05/09 – Manchester, UK @ Academy
05/10 – Newcastle, UK @ O2 Academy
05/11 – Leeds, UK @ O2 Academy
05/13 – Glasgow, UK @ O2 Academy
05/14 – Edinburgh, UK @ HMV Picture House
05/16 – Liverpool, UK @ O2 Academy

“Sweet Disposition”, the track in question, is an atmospheric, jaunting lead single. Of all the tracks, it makes the best use of his falsetto, keeping it pure and simple in the build-up until the rest of the band make their respective entrances. Understandably, numerous articles have been penned on the topic of “the voice,” an instantly marketable aspect of this Australian five piece. Mandagi is the perfect frontman: mysterious, possessing a captivating stage presence, and equipped with one of the most distinctive voices in modern music.

Conditions is ambitious, jumping between numerous styles and tempos, a promo if you like. It does well to illustrate the diversity that the band can pull off, although simultaneously proves the frenetic fast paced singles are superior to the slower introspective songs such as “Down River” and “Fools”.

It’s hard to put your finger on what makes this group so different — they aren’t the sum of their parts, so logical analysis doesn’t work. For if you took away the voice, they still wouldn’t be your average guitar band. There are only so many things you can do with effects pedals, and Nick Zinner & The Edge pretty much have the bases covered. That Conditions closes with “Drum Song”, devoid of vocals, is telling. It takes cojones to end a fantastic album without it’s strongest asset. Yet the song rattles along with the same trademark energy. You would be silly to call it ‘weak’.

The same goes for the album as a whole. Six minute epic “Soldier On” opens as a sincere ballad, devoting four minutes to a winding acoustic build before the electric guitars kick in. “Resurrection” is a powerful number, well layered and with animalistic cooing from the front man. The over-riding tone is one of frustration. From what? Looking to the lyrics yields disappointingly few clues, and The Temper Trap will remain mysterious for a few years yet. It is one of very few pitfalls.

Although The Temper Trap are only just starting to make in-ways into the UK and US mainstream markets, they have been an Australian staple for many years, with their self titled EP released in 2006. Their rise to popularity, however, coincided with a move to London and the hiring of popular producer Jim Abbiss (Massive Attack, Arctic Monkeys) to add some sheen to their arrangements. In some cases, perhaps a little too much polish. Opener “Love Lost”, with its hand claps, is sickeningly kitsch and commercial, aiming squarely at the essentially non-existent musical-sensibilities of Joe Average. It’s an unnecessary attempt.

Their set-up works best when things are kept clean and simple- on the pounding, synth-clad “Fader”, they set about writing a great pop song, and succeed, with a chorus of falsetto ooo’s which prove that Mandagi isn’t the only one with that trick up his sleeve.

The band has a very strong grasp or rhythm and timing, ably led by drummer Toby Nixon — this is most obvious on stage, where Mandagi bobs from side to side, often with eyes closed, and seemingly out of touch with the surroundings. He clearly feels the music. In the live setting, their slower songs gel, with boosted arrangements.

If I had one nagging disappointment, it is that this album flies by. It is by no means heavyweight, running at just over 40 minutes, perhaps bred from the approach that each song should be a potential single. It’s an ambitious approach and one that might better suit a band well into their career.

Conditions is its own best friend and enemy. For whilst the diversity is a sure-fire way to prove the band’s worth, it also exposes a few flaws and removes focus. However, the inherent quality of their songwriting and performance carries some of the weaker tracks, and when they are switched on, the hits ignite using all cylinders. For their next effort, they will surely adapt a more focused approach, as there is simply very little left to prove. The Temper Trap has arrived with hits in abundance. This band is here to stay.

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Conditions

For its 18th edition, Australia’s largest outdoor music event has tapped the likes of Muse, The Decemberists, The Mars Volta, the newly unretired Lily Allen, Peaches, Rise Against, Mastodon, Kasabian, Dizzee Rascal, Powderfinger, Ladyhawke, the Horrors, and Girl Talk.

However, as Undercover reports, David Bowie, who had been heavily rumored to be participating in this year’s event, is missing from the initial lineup. Good thing initial only means initial, eh?

Big Day Out kicks off on January 15th in Auckland, New Zealand, before hitting the Gold Coast, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and concluding in Perth on January 31st. Tickets, ranging from $132 – $140, are available via bigdayout.com.

Today, organizers gave us a taste of what will be included in this fun, this in the form of the first batch of the 1,200 artists scheduled to perform at 75 of city’s venues between from October 20th and 24th. Among them are Atlas Sound, The Temper Trap, The Very Best, Pissed Jeans, and múm. Crystal Antlers, Cymbals Eat Guitars, Das Racist, Pitbull, Broadcast, and Japandroids are all also confirmed, as are The Budos Band, Malajube, Suckers, Screaming Females, Local Natives, Margret Cho, and Zac Brown Band.

“CMJ prides itself on musically taking chances by striving to present the most innovative and cutting-edge new music,” said CMJ Music Marathon Founder and Executive Producer Joanne Abbot Green. “As has been the case for 29 years, CMJ curates the best in new artists for fans and music business tastemakers to enjoy. As with each festival, we look for ways on how to make the experience more exciting for our attendees from around the world.”

Registration for this year’s Marathon is currently ongoing at cmj.com. As of now, Five-day passes are priced at $475 ($285 for students), while VIP passes can be had for $750.

Additional artist announcements will be made in the weeks ahead. Stay up to date on all official, confirmed, and rumored acts at our CMJ Music Marathon Outlook page.

And now, it appears as if Australia has struck gold. Of course, Cut Copy has recently dominated, but there are a number of other bands working tirelessly and now making a mark. The Temper Trap is the latest addition to this group, and early signs suggest the band might emulate Cut Copy’s international success.

The four piece from Melbourne (Australia’s hipster city) specializes in atmospheric rock music, and has been working together since 2005. The band found fame after a legendary performance at South by Southwest in March 2009, which tied in with the recording of the debut album, Conditions.

Of the tracks recorded thus far, “Sweet Disposition” is the strongest and most popular – unknowingly riffs Stellastar’s “In The Walls”, until the lead vocal kicks in. It is perfectly executed, boosted with jangling guitars and tight vocal harmonies, while soaring upward.

“Science Of Fear”- the first U.K ,single- showcases another sound, frantic and reflecting. The strings are well placed (Patrick Wolf could learn a trick or two- there is no need to beat people over the head with your violin). The core of the track is nuzzled nicely between the relentless drum beats and guitar. The video (below) is also worth a couple of viewings. Inspired by Frank Millar’s Sin City, the blanched visuals occasionally morph into a burst of color.

Taking “Sweet Disposition” on its lonesome, we have an anthemic single that kick-started the band’s career, but early previews have suggested this album is no different. The strength of “Science Of Fear” also goes a long way in proving we should be expecting  some surprises on the full release.

The contrast between these two tracks is monumental – one, quaint and lofting, the other, dark and frantic. This can partly be attributed to producer Jim Abyss and his previous work with Massive Attack and DJ Shadow … and all this seems to be pointing toward a rarity – a musically brilliant album that will also sell.

The Temper Trap’s debut album Conditions is to be released in Australia on July 19th. Everywhere else after that.

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