Bonnaroo 2008 Friday (Day 2): The Sun, The Fiery Furnaces, The Free Beer Tent; This Is Why I'm Hott

Friday morning started about 4 hours after Thursday night ended for me with the sun making things too uncomfortable for me to sleep late. I grabbed some breakfast and got an early start on the day. I got to the media area to do some blogging and listen to the media orientation speech. They laid out everything we could and couldn't do, and none of it really seemed to effect what I'm doing. I don't have all access, but it seems like there are lots of artists in the media area doing interviews and such, so that has been really cool. I gave the guitarist from Minus The Bear some daps before catching some shows.

First up was The Fiery Furnaces. They did a set that was very similar to the set they did at The Variety Playhouse earlier this year, except this time they had a thimble player to make it a 5 piece. It was extremely tight and heavily weighted by Widow City songs, which I love. At some point a cardboard cutout of Eleanor made its way into the crowd, followed by other cardboard cutouts that I thought at first were the rest of the band, but then I saw one of them was Bradford Cox and realized they were from the Converse ad.



After that I stuck around for the first half of Minus The Bear's set and they were pretty good but I felt like the Langerado set I caught earlier this year had a little more energy or something. Next I went to see Tegan And Sara. I watched them butcher one of their own songs about 5 different ways and decided that I wouldn't waste any more of my time with them. Instead I set up earlier at the Sonic Stage to catch the second Fiery Furnaces set of the day. This time they were a 4-piece with Matthew playing a guitar instead of keyboards for the entire set. They dug deeper in this completely different set even taking requests at the end. This band is just so phenomenal and I can't get enough of them. Bonus to this set, Beatle Bob was there doing his crazy dancing backstage. I really need to find him and interview him.











After that I went backstage to interview Royal Bangs. They were chilling out in the hidden free beer and liquor tent backstage, which was a festival changing discovery. I hung out with the Royal Bangs dudes for a little while and video taped it, so expect to see that very soon. They seemed really cool, and probably the thing that I enjoyed most about the interview was their answer to my "What do you think about the state of music and the music industry?" question, which almost word for word reflected my own opinions.

When they left to catch the very end of !!!, I stuck around and started abusing the keg back there. I spent a few hours chugging beers and stalking the Fiery Furnaces as they did interviews for more reputable journalists. After getting properly "festivalized", I met up with my ATLiens and watched some of Willie Nelson. I guess it is cool to say I have seen him now, but that was about all I enjoyed about it. Along with the Bonnaroo masses, we headed to the What Stage next to see Chris Rock. I lost my entire group on the way there and caught his routine stranded by myself. Chris Rock is one of my favourite comedians, but the set seemed lacking. I feel like ever since he started doing Everybody Hates Chris, which I like, he has gotten a lot more restrained and sort of falling back on his typical sorts of jokes. But even a lackluster Chris Rock routine is pretty damn funny.




As the rain that had been looming all day finally broke loose, I opted to go back to camp instead of catching Metallica. It seemed like that was a fairly popular sentiment as the line getting out of the stage area was longer than the one to get in. As I extended my drunk rally, sleep deprivation finally caught up with me and I passed out early. I would have really liked to catch some of the My Morning Jacket set, but I didn't wake up in time.

Now well rested, It's time for an intense day and a long night of music.

Langerado 2008 Day 4 And Wrap-Up

I got a late start on Sunday between being up late Saturday night and the time change. The first show I was able to catch after blogging was Keller Williams. He put a cool show like always. Keller is definitely on the side of the jamband spectrum I enjoy.



After that I checked out the non-music festival activities like merch tents, food, and of course the Ferris Wheel:









Then it was on to catch Minus The Bear. I have really dug their last two LPs so I was pretty excited about the show. They did not disappoint. While their style is just a tad bit more mainstream than what I normally like, they do what they do perfectly, and that's put on a great rock 'n' roll show. One thing I noticed for the first time is how often the lead guitarist is not playing anything. He is more an accessory to the music than anything else, and it is makes for an interesting dynamic.









One joke going around all weekend was how all of the indie acts were on the very far away stage that you had to cross a swamp to get to. As you can guess, I was at that stage most of the weekend, and so the small handful of non-hippies in attendance and myself stuck around for Of Montreal. They actually catered their entire set to the jamband crowd and did an extremely unique and rather amazing jammed out set, even covering the Grateful Dead. Kevin Barnes was dressed in some serious hippie gear. They did very guitar driven versions of their stuff, did some instrument switching, and ended the set with "The Past Is A Grotesque Animal", in which Barnes' only costume change had him come out in a casket sort of thing filled with a shaving cream-like substance. He performed all of the closer with the blobs of gel dripping down his body slowly. For the finale, he rolled around on the ground, and then jumped off the stage and slimed the front row audience. The whole show was surreal, and I think it was the second best show of the weekend for me (BTS being the best).





















We drink some beers and sat in the field for about half of Phil Lesh, and it was a nice chill way to end a crazy and fun weekend. Langerado featured about every single weather you can imagine from hot sun in the nineties, to typhoon storms, to a freezing cold Saturday night, to a beautiful Sunday. The police/security had a decent presence, but weren't very intrusive. The biggest complaint I had was that the fest seemed to be marred with logistic issues. But, you have to cut them some slack considering it is the first year in a new venue, and the venue is in a desolate, distant location, but they will definitely need to take a deep look into those things for next year. One thing I can say for sure is that this turned out to be one of the most adventurous festival experiences I have ever had and one I will always remember. I'm looking forward to Langerado 2009.

The Shows I missed that everyone was raving about: That 1 Guy, Umphrey's McGee, Govt' Mule (covering Temple Of The Dog's "Hunger Strike")

Best Band shirt I saw: Daniel Johnston

Best phrase of Langerado: "The Triple Pack Attack"

Worst Wookies of Langerado "Peter Pan", "The Heroin Sasquatch"

The 2008 festival season is now officially on and we heart festies, so keep reading as Ohmpark brings you the info, the analysis, and the experiences.

Langerado 2008 Preview

Langerado just released the schedule today and it looks pretty good. Here is my personalized schedule so far. If you are still on the fence whether to go to this one, I'm gonna go through some of the smaller acts that I'm really excited about. The first band on the "Swamp Stage" is right here from Altanta, Dead Confederate. I believe they are going to be one of the ATL bands that get big nationally by the end of this year (they were handpicked to open for R.E.M. at SXSW), because their new EP is really awesome. Jam this track and pick up this EP:

Dead Confederate : The Rat




Vampire Weekend is another band that is on the super-hype lately in blogland. While I enjoy their new album, I think it is one of those "good but not great". They are just a little too gimmicky and lacking a tad bit in substance. Regardless of that, though, I'm very excited to see them live because I think they will be pretty cool to see. Check them out:

Vampire Weekend : Walcott




An album I really enjoyed from last year is !!!'s Myth Takes. They are organic dance rock that sort of sound like a an indie-rock version of STS9 or those sorts of bands with lyrics/vocals. I've been wanting to catch them live for so long because I've heard how much fun their shows are. If 311 isn't quite your bag, or you've seen them like 10 times like me, this band is really worth checking out:

!!! (chk chk chk) : Break In Case Of Anything




So, one of the biggest draws to Langerado for me is Built To Spill. They are one of my all time favourite bands. Since I have like a million BTS live shows, this seems like a good time to share one. Behold 1999-05-09 (Early Show):

1. Made Up Dreams
2. Center of The Universe
3. Kicked it In The Sun
4. Reasons
5. I Would Hurt A Fly
6. Twin Falls/Some (instrumetal)
7. You Were Right
8. One Thing
9. Terrible/Perfect
10. Car
11. Big Dipper

Blitzen Trapper was a band that was full of blog buzz last year. A little bit country, a little rock 'n' roll, a little bit weird:

Blitzen Trapper : Devil's A-Go-Go




The Benevento-Russo Duo is one of my favourite jambands. The keyboard/drums power duo that backed up Trey and Mike of Phish are not only a great live show, but they are one of the few hippy bands who know how to make a great album too. Check them:

The Benevento-Russo Duo : Play Pause Stop




Pelican is a post-metal band that I really got into last year. You were probably thinking that Bonnaroo was the only hippy fest this year to bring in some metal, but you were wrong:

Pelican : City of Echoes




Dan Deacon is another big draw to Langerado for me because he is so awesome. He was just here in the ATL last month, so you should check out our review and jam him:

Dan Deacon : Wham City


Minus The Bear is another artist that had an album in out Top 50 album list from last year. They do music that sounds very radio-friendly and accessible, but has some serious musical depth:

Minus The Bear : Burying Luck




Finally, a band that I was totally obsessed with last year was Of Montreal. I caught them plenty of times last year, but they are so good live I can't wait to see them again. If you go to Langerado, be sure to catch this:






So, now go get tickets to Langerado and we'll party down!

Langerado Website

It's Echo Project Week!

For me, this is gonna be a killer week. Wednesday I'm heading up to Asheville to catch Porcupine Tree. Thursday I come back and head a little OTP for Echo Project. Then on Monday I'm heading to Birmingham to catch Earlimart. A few Echo Project details I forgot to cover is that Common got added and that Dubconscious will be playing at the campgrounds Thursday night. As excited as I am about the festival, there happens to be a ridiculous amount of great shows in the Atlanta area this weekend, so if you can't go to Echo, there's still plenty of great tunes to be absorbed:

Tuesday night The Brunettes and The Preakness will be at The Earl.

Wednesday night Ghostface Killah will be at Georgia Tech.

Thursday night Octopus Project and Morning State will be at the Drunken Unicorn.

Friday night offers many great options: Caribou at the Earl, Minus The Bear at the Variety Playhouse, and Portugal. The Man at The Loft.

Subtle and Sunset Rubdown at the Drunken Unicorn Saturday night is pretty sweet.

Sunday is packed out too with Ryan Adams at the Fox, Band of Horses at Park Tavern, and my pick for best show of the week, Earlimart at the Earl.

Minus The Bear : Menos El Oso : Drilling


Portugal. The Man : Church Mouth : Shade


Earlimart : Mentor Tormentor : Happy Alone


The Octopus Project : Hello, Avalanche : I Saw The Bright Shinies


Caribou : Andorra : Eli


Sunset Rubdown : Random Spirit Lover : For The Pier (And Dead Shimmering)

What The Hell Am I Listening To?!?

Bat For Lashes (Brighton, England)



Half Pakistani, half English Natasha Khan has been blowing my mind since picking up a copy of her solo project Bat For Lashes' debut album. She takes Tori Amos at her best and infuses an entire world of sounds. I highly recommend checking out this top tier singer/songwriter:

Bat For Lashes : Fur And Gold : Trophy


Bat For Lashes : Fur And Gold : Tahiti


Buy Fur And Gold

Bat For Lashes Myspace




Minus The Bear (Seattle, Washington)



Minus The Bear are what i like to call a "Bridge Band", which means a band that plays a very poppy style of music, but is also a really good band, and can be a band that people who listen to bad music can get into and be a bridge to better music. I'm very impressed with the maturity this band has shown on Planet Of Ice with respect to the previous Menos El Oso and they are sort of a window into what a band like Incubus could have been had they gone in a different direction from the start.

Minus the Bear : Planet Of Ice : Burying Luck


Minus The Bear : Planet Of Ice : Lotus


Buy Planet Of Ice

Minus The Bear Myspace

Monday Mash-Up

So at first i didn't know what to think about the new Smashing Pumpkins album, but the more i listen to it and get comfortable with it the more I like it. Here's a track i like alot:

Smashing Pumpkins : Zeitgeist : Neverlost


Here's a little something to jam out to:

Sonic Youth : A Thousand Leaves : Hits Of Sunshine



Another classic:

Ugly Cassanova : Sharpen Your Teeth : Hotcha Girls



Here's some interesting releases out tommorrow that i'm excited about:











Here's some Tokyo Police Club:



Here's The Shins:



For the Atlanta college kids like me, Summer 2007 is over. I went to some cool fests, saw some great shows, and had a fun time so I leave you with this today:

Grandaddy : Just Like The Fambly Cat : Summer...It's Gone

Monday Mash-Up

!!! (chk chk chk) and The Field will be at the 40 Watt in Athens, Ga on October 6th. Here's a !!! video:



Here's a track from The Field's From Here We Go Sublime: Good Things End

Minus The Bear will be at The Variety Playhouse on October 12th. Vid:



Liars will be opening for Interpol at The Tabernacle on September 21st.

Check out some hot torrents to download:

• Tortoise (6-30-2007)
• Blackalicious (7-14-2007)
• Ween (Bonnaroo 2007)
• Ben Folds (7-25-2007)
• Smashing Pumpkins (7-03-2007)
• Deftones (7-22-2007)
• Gogol Bordello (7-14-2007)

Broken Social Scene has presented a great video. Check it:

This song was recorded with Joules Scott Key of Metric and Bang Lime on drums and J Mascis and Kevin Drew on guitar and vocals. The video happened last minute after a Dinosaur Jr show in Toronto where J, Lou, and Murph all came to the shoot to hang out. John Caffery from 'Kids on TV' was hired to come and dance his ASS off and a spontaneous party was put into effect.
There were seven mirrors, one disco ball, four lights, one bottle of rum, three bottles of tequila, 62 beers, four crew, and 17 people. It got put together on the day of the shoot and became the party of the year. It cost three thousand dollars to make... It was priceless.

Bradford Cox of Deerhunter got robbed after their show Friday night. If you're at Lenny's late night, beware:

We got a friendly homecoming suprise last night in Atlanta when Lockett and I got robbed at gunpoint after our show at Lenny's last night. We literally had just walked off the stage and I was pretty wasted. Lockett was trying to take care of me and get me home. He grabbed my guitar and my stuff and we walked to his car which was parked about a block away from Lenny's because it was so crowded. I heard a commotion behind us but like I said I was pretty out of it. I just opened the door to the car and collapsed in the passenger seat. Then I heard all this yelling and I hear this loud metallic banging on the window and look up and there is a gun in my face and a guy yelling "get the fuck out the car man" I stumbled out and see the other guy has Lockett with his arms spread on the roof of his car and is patting him down. Lockett was begging them to leave me alone. The guy put his gun up to my temple and said "give me EVERYTHING motherfucker I aint fucking with you" I just mumbled something and he put his hands in my pants and took everything I had. My cellphone, my wallet (empty except for credit / bank cards which kristin immidietly cancelled, and about 450 dollars in cash I had for my rent.) They also got all of Lockett's money. They even took my fucking Camel Ultralights and Orange Bic. All I can say is that I'm glad we are not dead. Or more specifically, I am REALLY glad they didn't hurt Lockett. He was just trying to help me get home and would not have even been there at that time otherwise.

Bradford

Atlanta's own, Auditioning Alice, have posted a great new song on their myspace.

Creative Loafing talks about the Rock The Bells festival this thursday at Hi-Fi Buys Amphitheatre.

New Architecture In Helsinki video:



Listen to a Blitzen Trapper show at Oregon Public Broadcasting.

Interviews:

• Fiery Furnaces
• Architecture In Helsinki
• New Pornographers
• St. Vincent
• Spoon

Learn about the "Nu-Gaze" genre.

NPR has some Andrew Bird for you to listen to.

The National on Letterman:



White Rabbits on Letterman:



Tokyo Police Club on Letterman: