Lollapalooza-za-mazing
I hope you liked that pun, 'cause I've been holding on to it for a good month now.
So! I spent the weekend at (of course) Lollapalooza. "Was it amazing," you may ask? Yes. Yes indeed it was.
HIGHLIGHTS
The New Pornographers
These guys are right up there with Flogging Molly with their sheer "jump-on-a-table-and-dance"-ed-ness. It was slightly disappointing to see only one of the three lead singers (the other guys must have been busy with their own shit), but as it turns out, that doesn't matter a whole lot. The replacement female singer was nearly as good as Neko Case (NEARLY, because the real one has a voice to DIE for), and the world is better off without the other dude, Bejar. Anyway. They kicked off with Twin Cinema, and continued with some of my favorites... Mass Romantic, July Jones, Testament to Youth in Verse, Bones of an Idol, Sing Me Spanish Techno... it seriously kicked some ass. I actually hurt my neck by jumping up and down, banging my head.
Also, the lead singer told us his key signatures were "more fucked up than Coheed and Cambria's," and that if we clapped along, he wished us "good fucking luck."
Oh No! Oh My!
Props to Hiedi for finding these guys. They're very much like The Shins, except that where The Shins are electronic and noodly, Oh No! is guitar-laden and kickass-y. Their set was supposed to last for 45 minutes (most sets this weekend were a full hour), but they couldn't even get past 30 minutes. Hiedi tells me they probably just played every song from their short debut album. I have no problem with this. Easily one of my new favorite bands. I could see them getting as big as, if not bigger than, The Shins.
The Dresden Dolls
Ask Hiedi; I wouldn't shut up about these guys all weekend. They kicked off with Sex Changes, which is easily my favorite of their songs. Then they continued with other songs I don't really know, but they certainly sounded cool. Then the singer flashed the audience... no, seriously, she changed out of her dress and into a The Who shirt, and I was the ONE GUY in the audience who didn't see it. *sigh* But yeah, the music. It was surprisingly hardcore for a piano-and-drums band. They know exactly how to give an audience what they want. Dragging out songs, playing covers of Black Sabbath... good times, good times.
Wilco
Right off the bat, I'd like to give a big shout-out to the dudes RIGHT NEXT to us smoking pot. Now, I'm proud to say I've never smoked ANYTHING voluntarily, so I wouldn't really know if it was just the power of suggestion... but before long, I certainly had the munchies, and Hiedi became very giggly. Back to the topic at hand... Wilco. They rock. They rule. Sometimes they don't know when to end a song (I think Handshake Drugs lasted five minutes too long), but we forgive them because they can still play stuff like Heavy Metal Drummer and get the whole audience moving. They also played, like, four new songs... apparently they're making a new album, which I am entirely in favor of.
And of course, Death Cab for Cutie
Holy shit. Holy shit. Ho. Lee. Shit. In the past few months, I think I've lost touch with the greatness that is Ben Gibbard. The dude knows how to play a crowd. This was easily, EASILY the best concert I've ever seen. Marching Bands of Manhattan, into The New Year... many great songs, no bad ones. The whole audience singing along like the music was gospel. And the dual encore of "I Will Follow You Into the Dark" and "Transatlanticism" left everyone stricken with awe. If I can ever see them live again, I will. You should too.
So! I spent the weekend at (of course) Lollapalooza. "Was it amazing," you may ask? Yes. Yes indeed it was.
HIGHLIGHTS
The New Pornographers
These guys are right up there with Flogging Molly with their sheer "jump-on-a-table-and-dance"-ed-ness. It was slightly disappointing to see only one of the three lead singers (the other guys must have been busy with their own shit), but as it turns out, that doesn't matter a whole lot. The replacement female singer was nearly as good as Neko Case (NEARLY, because the real one has a voice to DIE for), and the world is better off without the other dude, Bejar. Anyway. They kicked off with Twin Cinema, and continued with some of my favorites... Mass Romantic, July Jones, Testament to Youth in Verse, Bones of an Idol, Sing Me Spanish Techno... it seriously kicked some ass. I actually hurt my neck by jumping up and down, banging my head.
Also, the lead singer told us his key signatures were "more fucked up than Coheed and Cambria's," and that if we clapped along, he wished us "good fucking luck."
Oh No! Oh My!
Props to Hiedi for finding these guys. They're very much like The Shins, except that where The Shins are electronic and noodly, Oh No! is guitar-laden and kickass-y. Their set was supposed to last for 45 minutes (most sets this weekend were a full hour), but they couldn't even get past 30 minutes. Hiedi tells me they probably just played every song from their short debut album. I have no problem with this. Easily one of my new favorite bands. I could see them getting as big as, if not bigger than, The Shins.
The Dresden Dolls
Ask Hiedi; I wouldn't shut up about these guys all weekend. They kicked off with Sex Changes, which is easily my favorite of their songs. Then they continued with other songs I don't really know, but they certainly sounded cool. Then the singer flashed the audience... no, seriously, she changed out of her dress and into a The Who shirt, and I was the ONE GUY in the audience who didn't see it. *sigh* But yeah, the music. It was surprisingly hardcore for a piano-and-drums band. They know exactly how to give an audience what they want. Dragging out songs, playing covers of Black Sabbath... good times, good times.
Wilco
Right off the bat, I'd like to give a big shout-out to the dudes RIGHT NEXT to us smoking pot. Now, I'm proud to say I've never smoked ANYTHING voluntarily, so I wouldn't really know if it was just the power of suggestion... but before long, I certainly had the munchies, and Hiedi became very giggly. Back to the topic at hand... Wilco. They rock. They rule. Sometimes they don't know when to end a song (I think Handshake Drugs lasted five minutes too long), but we forgive them because they can still play stuff like Heavy Metal Drummer and get the whole audience moving. They also played, like, four new songs... apparently they're making a new album, which I am entirely in favor of.
And of course, Death Cab for Cutie
Holy shit. Holy shit. Ho. Lee. Shit. In the past few months, I think I've lost touch with the greatness that is Ben Gibbard. The dude knows how to play a crowd. This was easily, EASILY the best concert I've ever seen. Marching Bands of Manhattan, into The New Year... many great songs, no bad ones. The whole audience singing along like the music was gospel. And the dual encore of "I Will Follow You Into the Dark" and "Transatlanticism" left everyone stricken with awe. If I can ever see them live again, I will. You should too.