The Flaming Lips will be headlining the 2009 Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago this summer. This is some exciting news, and will pretty much guarantee that I will be attending. When the news was announced last Friday, Pitchfork was also reporting that the Lips would be participating in their "Write the Night: Set Lists by Request" series, where fans have the chance to vote for a particular song they want to hear.
I was pumped to hear this news because, from what I've heard, the Flaming Lips tend to play a very similar set list at each performance. This announcement has been retracted, however, so the Lips' set list will be at the band's discretion.
The four bands that are taking part in the set list request series are: Built to Spill, The Jesus Lizard, Yo La Tengo, and Tortoise. These bands will all play Friday night, July 17.
I'm kind of bummed the Flaming Lips aren't doing the set list request because I think it's a really innovative concept. But I'm not going to complain too much. I'm sure they will put on a very enjoyable performance, as always.
It makes me wonder, though, what kind of a set would be played. Would it be a lot of fan favorites, or a lot of obscure tracks from early albums?
Click here for a list of bands playing at this year's Pitchfork. More will be announced soon.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Monday, March 23, 2009
2009 Lollapalooza Headliners
According to Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune, Tool will be among the headliners of Lollapalooza 2009 in Chicago. Other headliners previously reported by the Tribune (none of this is official yet) include Beastie Boys, Jane's Addiction, Kings of Leon and Depeche Mode.
Back in February, Beastie Boys and Tool were two of the bands I predicted for the festival. I hope some more of my predictions join the bill.
These headliners don't excite me much. I'll go see the Beasties and Tool for curiosity-sake. And Kings of Leon put on a great show a couple years ago as a midlevel Lolla act. (But their new album is dissapointing, so I'm not all that pumped about seeing them.)
Overall, I have a fairly luke-warm feeling of this year's Lolla.
Back in February, Beastie Boys and Tool were two of the bands I predicted for the festival. I hope some more of my predictions join the bill.
These headliners don't excite me much. I'll go see the Beasties and Tool for curiosity-sake. And Kings of Leon put on a great show a couple years ago as a midlevel Lolla act. (But their new album is dissapointing, so I'm not all that pumped about seeing them.)
Overall, I have a fairly luke-warm feeling of this year's Lolla.
Labels:
Beastie Boys,
Kings of Leon,
Lollapalooza,
Tool
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Alfonso Ponticelli & Swing Gitan @ Fizz
So the HotHouse (one of Chicago's coolest places/ ideas/ promoters) has been putting on some shows upstairs at Fizz. Since a friend suggested that I get on HotHouse's email list, I did so & found that the first email contained an invitation to see Alfonso Ponticelli & Swing Gitan. Reading the blurbs about the band, I thought to myself, "That sounds neat!" (This is hard-hitting music journalism here folks, try to keep up.) Comparisons to Django Reinhardt and a pretty cool self description, "It's a blend of the jubilant swing of early jazz with the feisty passion of gypsy music, plus a strong dose of guitar pyrotechnics and virtuosic improvisation" made me antsy to check these cats out.
Have you seen "Swing Kids" (pretty good flick if you're looking for a VHS to rent)? Its an early 90's movie about adolescents in Nazi Germany and their forbidden passion for jazz music. Django Reinhardt is basically the bees knees to these Nazis (rhyme time!) and for good reason.
Well, Alfonso Ponticelli plays his axe in a similar style but with a bit more international feel. Quick picking and jumpy tones really move the jazz along, but it's when the band harmonizes that the sound fills in. The Swing Gitan (I have no idea what a Gitan is) is composed of a fiddler, an accordionist, an upright bass and a rhythm guitarist. Each member of the band is incredibly talented and do their craft proud. As with most jazz shows (that I've attended) (read: 3), each was given several solos to showcase their mastery and none tripped up.
So, I've told you vaguely about their influences, the composition & talent of the band, and what movie you should watch the next time you want a night in. But what was the show like, you wonder. (Wonder!) Well, first off let me start with the venue. Fizz is a pretty alright bar, nothing to write home about though. The same goes for the upstairs, for the most part. Bar, stage, about 15 tables to sit at with some vaguely French posters and art on the walls. There is a nice little area for some dancing, if you happen upon a show with such effect on you. The tops about Fizz is the enclosed patio on the side of the building. Easily accessible via a doorway downstairs; there are comfortable couches, wooden tables and ashtrays pleasantly spaced about.
As for the theme or essence of the show, the ambiance if you'd prefer... it was engaging. Throughout each set, I bounced between two images; the first was picturing myself sitting at a bar sipping on Pernod and smoking a cigarette, in black & white. The second was dancing around a campfire under the open starts among a group of friends passing wine around, a typical gypsy scene. AP & the SQ have a very different sound than most hear on a regular basis, its refreshing and interesting. Basically I'll say this: If you take a gal to see Alfonso Ponticelli & Swing Gitan and she happens to be a cultural anthropologist... you better hope you don't have embarrassing underwear on.
Have you seen "Swing Kids" (pretty good flick if you're looking for a VHS to rent)? Its an early 90's movie about adolescents in Nazi Germany and their forbidden passion for jazz music. Django Reinhardt is basically the bees knees to these Nazis (rhyme time!) and for good reason.
Well, Alfonso Ponticelli plays his axe in a similar style but with a bit more international feel. Quick picking and jumpy tones really move the jazz along, but it's when the band harmonizes that the sound fills in. The Swing Gitan (I have no idea what a Gitan is) is composed of a fiddler, an accordionist, an upright bass and a rhythm guitarist. Each member of the band is incredibly talented and do their craft proud. As with most jazz shows (that I've attended) (read: 3), each was given several solos to showcase their mastery and none tripped up.
So, I've told you vaguely about their influences, the composition & talent of the band, and what movie you should watch the next time you want a night in. But what was the show like, you wonder. (Wonder!) Well, first off let me start with the venue. Fizz is a pretty alright bar, nothing to write home about though. The same goes for the upstairs, for the most part. Bar, stage, about 15 tables to sit at with some vaguely French posters and art on the walls. There is a nice little area for some dancing, if you happen upon a show with such effect on you. The tops about Fizz is the enclosed patio on the side of the building. Easily accessible via a doorway downstairs; there are comfortable couches, wooden tables and ashtrays pleasantly spaced about.
As for the theme or essence of the show, the ambiance if you'd prefer... it was engaging. Throughout each set, I bounced between two images; the first was picturing myself sitting at a bar sipping on Pernod and smoking a cigarette, in black & white. The second was dancing around a campfire under the open starts among a group of friends passing wine around, a typical gypsy scene. AP & the SQ have a very different sound than most hear on a regular basis, its refreshing and interesting. Basically I'll say this: If you take a gal to see Alfonso Ponticelli & Swing Gitan and she happens to be a cultural anthropologist... you better hope you don't have embarrassing underwear on.
Labels:
Format Error,
Gypsy Jazz,
HotHouse
Saturday, March 7, 2009
The Return Of Phish, Hampton Coliseum, 3-6-09
For me at least, after last night, it feels like the universe has shifted back into place. Phish is back, folks.... And I couldn't be more excited. After living in a Phishless world for the past 5 years, the show is already being hailed as a massive sucess as a result of Phish's rigorous practice schedule. All the cobwebs and rust from the past five years of inactivity were shrugged off in an awesome display (Both sets can be heard in MP3 format at phishthoughts.com). Phish opened with "Fluffhead" a ridiculously complex and notoriously neglected fan favorite which never saw the light of day during the post-hiatus shows of '03-'04. Next up was "The Divided Sky", another one of Phish's more complicated opus'. You can hear the elation oozing from Trey Anastasio's voice as he sings the only verses of the song as if to say "God it's good to be back!!"
Other highlights from the 16 song first set were the jammed out "Chalkdust Torture" as well as tried and true jam vehicles "Stash" and "David Bowie". The second set began with a new song "Backwards Down The Number Line" and a funked out "Tweezer". From what I hear, the most standout point of the night was the false start to an absolutely insano "You Enjoy Myself", an inside joke among the band and fans harkening back to the notoriously famous flubbed version from the first post-hiatus show back in 2003.
A new chapter was opened last night for the band and Phisheads all over the world, including myself. As weird as it may seem to some, the whole reunion is very surreal to me. I grew up listening to Phish, so its one of those bands that is very near and dear to me and can conjure up something inside of me whenever I hear them.... So can't wait to hear what the rest of the run will sound like, and now the summer cannot come fast enough.
Hopefully I'll see everyone at Alpine Valley....
Monday, March 2, 2009
moe. at the Riviera, Feb. 28
This Saturday I went to see moe., an old favorite of mine, and for the most part, they reminded me of why I enjoy the band. They're a talented group of musicians that write pretty darn good songs. They have three songwriters that change things up enough to keep the music from becoming stale, and they have a nice mix of seriousness and fun. Sure, they occasionally drift into long, pointless jams, but sometimes the jams build into something great. And when they get it right, it can make for a great time at a concert.
Saturday's show, however, was lacking in terms of its setlist. With only a couple shows scheduled for this winter (I think Friday night and Saturday night in Chicago were possibly the only shows of the winter tour), I was expecting them to go all-out. But moe. played a lot of, which I would consider, second- or third- tier songs. I kept waiting for them to break out some huge rockers to get the sold-out crowd going, but they only did so once or twice. (I should say, though, I probably missed the first one or two songs because I had to wait in a line to get in.)
The second set opener, "Recreational Chemistry," was a monster, and probably the highlight of the show. Other than that, for the most part, they played songs that I would much rather listen to on CD. From their album Wormwood, which is packed with songs that kick ass live, moe. only played "Shoot First," one of the weaker tunes, in my opinion. They did close with "Rebubula," a really good song, but one I've heard basically every time I've seen moe. So I'm kind of over that one.
Despite the sub-par setlist, I had a really good time. And that's probably the most important part about going to a concert, right?
As a side note, I sat in the balcony for the first time at the Riv. This provided a really great view and was much bigger than I expected. I think I'll head up there for all future shows at this venue.
Saturday's show, however, was lacking in terms of its setlist. With only a couple shows scheduled for this winter (I think Friday night and Saturday night in Chicago were possibly the only shows of the winter tour), I was expecting them to go all-out. But moe. played a lot of, which I would consider, second- or third- tier songs. I kept waiting for them to break out some huge rockers to get the sold-out crowd going, but they only did so once or twice. (I should say, though, I probably missed the first one or two songs because I had to wait in a line to get in.)
The second set opener, "Recreational Chemistry," was a monster, and probably the highlight of the show. Other than that, for the most part, they played songs that I would much rather listen to on CD. From their album Wormwood, which is packed with songs that kick ass live, moe. only played "Shoot First," one of the weaker tunes, in my opinion. They did close with "Rebubula," a really good song, but one I've heard basically every time I've seen moe. So I'm kind of over that one.
Despite the sub-par setlist, I had a really good time. And that's probably the most important part about going to a concert, right?
As a side note, I sat in the balcony for the first time at the Riv. This provided a really great view and was much bigger than I expected. I think I'll head up there for all future shows at this venue.
Labels:
moe.
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