so yeah, this year on August 22-24, some of the time's coolest bands will be in Golden Gate Park, SF for the Outside Lands Festival. The headliners are *DRUM ROLL*:
TOM PETTY!
RADIOHEAD!
and
JACK JOHNSON!
other great artists to look out for: Andrew Bird and Black Mountain
see the entire lineup HERE
so yeah, if you have a few hundred bucks to spare, you should definitely go.
TICKETS go on sale Sunday at 10AM
Tom Petty- Room at the top [mp3]
Jack Johnson - Better together [mp3]
Radiohead - Jigsaw Falling into place [mp3]
Andrew Bird - Imitosis [mp3]
Black Mountain - Stay Free [mp3]
Friday, March 28, 2008
the last shadow puppets
in case you've had a deficiency of sexy awesomeness in your life, take heed of this new supergroup comprised of Alex Turner from the Arctic Moneys and Miles Kane from the Rascals. I remember when I first heard about these guys about a month ago, I went bonkers. I ADORE ALEX TURNER. and Miles is pretty cool too. they performed for the first time March 4th in Brooklyn. anyhow, their record is titled "The Age Of The Understatement" and is due out for a April 21st release in the UK and a May 6th US release. knowing these two talented bastards makes me confident that said album will rock your socks off. so let's engage in some positive materialism and support these talented blokes!
here's their single:
The Rascals on MYSPACE
Arctic Monkeys - From Ritz to Rubble [mp3]
Arctic Monkeys - The Bakery [mp3]
The Last Shadow Puppets - The Age of Understatement -live [mp3]
here's their single:
The Rascals on MYSPACE
Arctic Monkeys - From Ritz to Rubble [mp3]
Arctic Monkeys - The Bakery [mp3]
The Last Shadow Puppets - The Age of Understatement -live [mp3]
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Arcade Fire
so apparently I haven't been listening to Funeral thoroughly enough (I never actually just sat down and listened to it.) I just realized that Une Annee Sans Lumiere has French lyrics
oh lord.
I really like Arcade Fire. they produce good music with a great vibe. yay Canada! oh, and they did all those Obama-benefit shows. <3
Arcade Fire - Une Annee Sans Lumiere [mp3]
PS I love them with Bowie:
oh lord.
I really like Arcade Fire. they produce good music with a great vibe. yay Canada! oh, and they did all those Obama-benefit shows. <3
Arcade Fire - Une Annee Sans Lumiere [mp3]
PS I love them with Bowie:
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
concert review: Vampire Weekend @ Rickshaw Stop
"Do you guys wanna do it?"
Yacht's bouncing frontman Jona Bechtolt inquired.
The audience gave a fairly reserved affirmative response.
"DO YOU GUYS WANNA DO IT?" he yelled again.
This time, he met a more enthusiastic collaborative "YEAH!"
He then joined his partner in crime Claire Evans in singing an infectiously catchy opening song that kept repeating "it's boring", followed by some cool bass sounds and finally ending in "you can live any way you want". Thanks Yacht, but I'm sure the people in the audience already knew that.
They continued singing to a purely synthesized sound that would make Daft Punk proud. Add an energy filled exhibitionist display of dancing and you have quite the recipe for good rave music.
The problem was, Yacht seemed a bit out of place, seeing as how this was an all ages show (with actual children in the audience), and of course, the headlining band being clad in Lacoste fresh from the Ivy Leagues.
Other than their obvious displacement in an otherwise accommodating venue (really, any other night and the Portland based band would have fit right in), Yacht gave a memorable performance which was short and sweet (a bit under 30 minutes) and ended in a reflective song which they dedicated to Easter: "Will we go to heaven or will we go to hell?"
Their performance made it is obvious that they don't seem very concerned with this question, because they are living in the moment and putting all of their efforts into creating palatable tunes that will soon become club favourites. Needless to say, they are doing a damn good job so far.
When Vampire Weekend finally came onto stage, it became clear just how accomplished they are at doing what they intended from the beginning: playing classical music with rock instruments. Beginning with "Mansard Roof", they played all of their songs except for "The Kids Don't Stand a Chance", as well as a couple of lesser known songs of their's.
Lead Singer Ezra Koening wished a Happy Easter to those in the audience who observe the holiday and continued by saying "to some, this is a religious celebration..." [cheers] "so let's make it a religious experience". Oh Ezra, how you read my mind I have no idea.
He asked the club to turn down the lights for one of my favourites, "I Stand Corrected", which is a slower, more soulful tune which is uncharacteristic of the energy filled twenty somethings from New York.
They played "Ladies of Cambridge" (previously named "Boston"), which drummer Chris Tomson told me was a b-side to their Mansard Roof single. They followed that with my personal favourite, M79.
They dedicated the next song, A Punk- perhaps their most widely known tune - to a couple of girls standing in the front with DIY sunglasses with "OH" written on each lens. These two lucky gals were invited by keyboardist Rostam Batmanglijon stage to dance to the ridiculously dancable song. Seriously, I dare you to listen to it and be still. It is impossible, your body involuntarily will start to move and shake.
Ezra then instructed the audience to help him sing "One (Blake's Got a New Face)", giving them the task of reiterating the parenthetical chorus in the higher pitch. According to Rostam, Blake is a friend of their's with a pretty face currently pursuing graduate studies at Stanford University.
The next song they played is yet to be titled but its quality matched (and actually surpassed) the debut. People who think that VW is going to suffer sophomore slump will be pleasantly surprised to the contrary. "Now it's a different game," Ezra sang. No, you're wrong there Ezra, it's the same game and these guys have mastered it.
The only bad thing I have to say about this performance would be that they did not oblige to the audience's imploring cries of "encore!" In all fairness, they played nearly all of their songs, and "The Kids Don't Stand a Chance" would be quite a feat to perform live, considering they were modestly equipped with only a handful of instruments. It would have been nice to hear them cover something though.
Ezra's voice was perfect. They all gave spectacular performances, and most notably, Chris Baio reminded us how the bass is supposed to be played. The band had boundless energy during the performance and were completely in sync with one another. The show was fun and memorable, and VW promised to come back to SF soon. After they performed, Ezra kind of rushed out of the venue, Rostam followed suit a while later while Chris Tomson stayed behind, chatting with fans and putting away his drum set. Bassist Chris Baio peeked out about half an hour later, evidently shy but friendly. He told Tomson that he was headed out to a bar to meet a couple of friends. Vampire Weekend seem like they are still in their "whoa, I'm a rock star and have boundless opportunities" stage and they are obviously exploring these new grounds independently. Give them a couple of years and they will grow stronger as a band and develop those indestructible ties that compel bands to voluntarily spend all of their time together, not only time spent making music.
As I walked away from the stage, Tomson thanked me for coming to the show and wished me luck in an internship that I was discussing with another fan who works at KFOG. I was touched by his demeanor and thanked him before heading out into a happier world-one that has forever changed because I saw such a genuine and musically accomplished performance and had the chance to speak to one of the nicest people and definitely the most friendly musician I gave ever met-that drummer who always has an inviting grin on his kindly goofy face.
Vampire Weekend - A Punk [mp3]
Vampire Weekend - The Kids Don't Stand a Chance [mp3]
Yacht: See a Penny (pick it up):
Yacht's bouncing frontman Jona Bechtolt inquired.
The audience gave a fairly reserved affirmative response.
"DO YOU GUYS WANNA DO IT?" he yelled again.
This time, he met a more enthusiastic collaborative "YEAH!"
He then joined his partner in crime Claire Evans in singing an infectiously catchy opening song that kept repeating "it's boring", followed by some cool bass sounds and finally ending in "you can live any way you want". Thanks Yacht, but I'm sure the people in the audience already knew that.
They continued singing to a purely synthesized sound that would make Daft Punk proud. Add an energy filled exhibitionist display of dancing and you have quite the recipe for good rave music.
The problem was, Yacht seemed a bit out of place, seeing as how this was an all ages show (with actual children in the audience), and of course, the headlining band being clad in Lacoste fresh from the Ivy Leagues.
Other than their obvious displacement in an otherwise accommodating venue (really, any other night and the Portland based band would have fit right in), Yacht gave a memorable performance which was short and sweet (a bit under 30 minutes) and ended in a reflective song which they dedicated to Easter: "Will we go to heaven or will we go to hell?"
Their performance made it is obvious that they don't seem very concerned with this question, because they are living in the moment and putting all of their efforts into creating palatable tunes that will soon become club favourites. Needless to say, they are doing a damn good job so far.
When Vampire Weekend finally came onto stage, it became clear just how accomplished they are at doing what they intended from the beginning: playing classical music with rock instruments. Beginning with "Mansard Roof", they played all of their songs except for "The Kids Don't Stand a Chance", as well as a couple of lesser known songs of their's.
Lead Singer Ezra Koening wished a Happy Easter to those in the audience who observe the holiday and continued by saying "to some, this is a religious celebration..." [cheers] "so let's make it a religious experience". Oh Ezra, how you read my mind I have no idea.
He asked the club to turn down the lights for one of my favourites, "I Stand Corrected", which is a slower, more soulful tune which is uncharacteristic of the energy filled twenty somethings from New York.
They played "Ladies of Cambridge" (previously named "Boston"), which drummer Chris Tomson told me was a b-side to their Mansard Roof single. They followed that with my personal favourite, M79.
They dedicated the next song, A Punk- perhaps their most widely known tune - to a couple of girls standing in the front with DIY sunglasses with "OH" written on each lens. These two lucky gals were invited by keyboardist Rostam Batmanglijon stage to dance to the ridiculously dancable song. Seriously, I dare you to listen to it and be still. It is impossible, your body involuntarily will start to move and shake.
Ezra then instructed the audience to help him sing "One (Blake's Got a New Face)", giving them the task of reiterating the parenthetical chorus in the higher pitch. According to Rostam, Blake is a friend of their's with a pretty face currently pursuing graduate studies at Stanford University.
The next song they played is yet to be titled but its quality matched (and actually surpassed) the debut. People who think that VW is going to suffer sophomore slump will be pleasantly surprised to the contrary. "Now it's a different game," Ezra sang. No, you're wrong there Ezra, it's the same game and these guys have mastered it.
The only bad thing I have to say about this performance would be that they did not oblige to the audience's imploring cries of "encore!" In all fairness, they played nearly all of their songs, and "The Kids Don't Stand a Chance" would be quite a feat to perform live, considering they were modestly equipped with only a handful of instruments. It would have been nice to hear them cover something though.
Ezra's voice was perfect. They all gave spectacular performances, and most notably, Chris Baio reminded us how the bass is supposed to be played. The band had boundless energy during the performance and were completely in sync with one another. The show was fun and memorable, and VW promised to come back to SF soon. After they performed, Ezra kind of rushed out of the venue, Rostam followed suit a while later while Chris Tomson stayed behind, chatting with fans and putting away his drum set. Bassist Chris Baio peeked out about half an hour later, evidently shy but friendly. He told Tomson that he was headed out to a bar to meet a couple of friends. Vampire Weekend seem like they are still in their "whoa, I'm a rock star and have boundless opportunities" stage and they are obviously exploring these new grounds independently. Give them a couple of years and they will grow stronger as a band and develop those indestructible ties that compel bands to voluntarily spend all of their time together, not only time spent making music.
As I walked away from the stage, Tomson thanked me for coming to the show and wished me luck in an internship that I was discussing with another fan who works at KFOG. I was touched by his demeanor and thanked him before heading out into a happier world-one that has forever changed because I saw such a genuine and musically accomplished performance and had the chance to speak to one of the nicest people and definitely the most friendly musician I gave ever met-that drummer who always has an inviting grin on his kindly goofy face.
Vampire Weekend - A Punk [mp3]
Vampire Weekend - The Kids Don't Stand a Chance [mp3]
Yacht: See a Penny (pick it up):
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