The 25 best live music acts of 2015

Best Live Acts of 2015

Around this time last year, we shared our 25 favorite live performers of 2014 after spending the past 12 months covering many excellent bands, musicians and DJs. So, with 2015 almost in the books, we thought we would give the same exercise another try, except this year, we made the call to exclude any artists we named in 2014. What fun would it really be to list them two years in a row anyway?

In the end, it wasn’t an easy task whittling down our list to 25, but some tough decisions had to be made. Those who didn’t make the cut but still deserve to be mentioned here include the following artists and bands (in alphabetical order) who we either covered at their own show and/or at a music festival this year:

AlunaGeorge, Ariel Pink, BADBADNOTGOOD, Bad Religion, Battles, Beirut, Belle and Sebastian, Big Grams, Billy Idol, Black Lips, The Black Keys, Blonde Redhead, BØRNS, BROODS, Built to Spill, Catfish and the Bottlemen, Chet Faker, Chromeo, City and Colour, Classixx, Cold War Kids, Dâm-Funk, Damien Rice, Death Cab for Cutie, Dengue Fever, Django Django, Dr. Dog, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, Failure, The Flaming Lips, Flight Facilities, Goldroom, Glen Hansard, The Glitch Mob, Gorgon City, Holly Herndon, Interpol, Israel Nash, James Bay, Jeff Tweedy, Jenny Lewis, The Jesus and Mary Chain, JMSN, Jose Gonzalez, Jurassic 5, Kanye West, Kindness, King Tuff, Marina and the Diamonds, Miami Horror, Milky Chance, Modest Mouse, Morrissey, MS MR, Les Sins, Lotus, Natalie Prass, Neon Indian, ODESZA, Of Montreal, Oneohtrix Point Never, Panda Bear, Penguin Prison, Phantogram, Portugal. The Man, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Purity Ring, Ratatat, Royal Blood, San Fermin, Shlohmo, Slow Magic, SOHN, St. Paul and The Broken Bones, STRFKR, Surfer Blood, Talib Kweli, Tame Impala, Tennis, Toro y Moi, Tycho, Umphrey’s McGee, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Vintage Trouble, Vulfpeck, Widespread Panic, YACHT.

Now, without further ado, The Bam Team presents our 25 favorite live performers of 2015.

The Bam Team’s 5 Favorite Shows, Albums & Songs of 2015

Listen to The Bam Team’s favorite songs of 2015:


Best Live Music Acts of 2015 #25 - Lord Huron

25. Lord Huron

The audience reacted with just as much enthusiasm during classic Lord Huron tunes as they did in hearing brand-new material, especially during fan favorites like “She Lit a Fire” and back-to-back rockabilly-tinged jams “The World Ender” and “Fool for Love”. At this point, the crowd had not only warmed up to Lord Huron’s infectious stage presence, but also gave into their buoyant vibes as mini dance parties broke out throughout the venue. -Molly Kish, photo by Steve Carlson


Best Live Music Acts of 2015 #24 - Puscifer

24. Puscifer

Maynard James Keenan and friends have established themselves as not just a group of musicians who play songs on stage, but rather an assemblage of entertainers that provide their viewers and fans with something they may not have ever seen before — a true experience. Paying homage to the likes of Alice Cooper, Pink Floyd and the glory days of the rock opera, Puscifer have a very special way of combining their music with a stage show that offers so much more than just music. -Scotland Miller, photo by Mike Rosati


Best Live Music Acts of 2015 #23 - Viet Cong

23. Viet Cong

Once the appetizer had been digested, Viet Cong were taking the stage and beginning a theme of quirky banter that eased the crowd into the blistering set as opposed to bombardment. Within the first few chords, it was evident that continued time on the road found the band at the peak of perfection. -Kevin Quandt, photo by Diana Cordero


Best Live Music Acts of 2015 #22 - Kate Tempest

22. Kate Tempest

This decade will likely be known for the death of “genre,” the end of how groups have been contained into categories like R&B or rap since the birth of record labels. And with dance music on the rise, digitized conventions are creeping into pop, rap and indie music on the regular. With music more accessible than ever and for free, listeners are willing to experiment with their auditory material — and amalgamation is the natural result. Tempest represents this change as much or more than anyone as we enter the smack-dab middle of this decade. And that includes Kanye West, Sylvan Esso or Run the Jewels. -Mike Frash, photo by James Nagel


Best Live Music Acts of 2015 #21 - Deerhunter

21. Deerhunter

Deerhunter’s Bradford Cox talked about how he decided on the way over to the island that he wouldn’t play many songs, how he took ayahuasca on Saturday night in LA and he was surprised at how reserved the TIMF audience was. He said we were “polite like the Japanese.” Bradford, that’s what we call “respect” — and you’ve earned it. -Mike Frash, photo by Marc Fong


Best Live Music Acts of 2015 #20 - Faith No More

20. Faith No More

It can be hard to know what to expect from a crew like Faith No More and their eccentric, yet prolific members. The entire stage was dressed in white, from the curtains to the amplifiers to the mic stands. Lining the entire length of the stage and any flat surface that would support them were thousands of dollars worth of beautiful, fresh flowers. The abundance of purples and pinks, reds and yellows created a very comfortable and soothing, yet incredibly eerie feeling as to what was about to happen next. Once the setup was complete and the lights dropped, the crowd was let in to the stark contrast that is the weird world of Faith No More. -Scotland Miller, photo by Greg Ramar


Best Live Music Acts of 2015 #19 - Sufjan Stevens

19. Sufjan Stevens

Stevens spoke of the need for community in the throes of grief, and the audience ably did their part to help him through this very public grieving process. At the end of the main set, a young woman crashed the stage to offer a bemused Sufjan something (a hug? words of love and encouragement?), and it seemed wholly appropriate, as if the audience needed in some small way to collectively reach out to the man after he bared his soul so openly. -Steve Carlson, photo by Steve Carlson


Best Live Music Acts of 2015 #18 - Allen Stone

18. Allen Stone

In many ways, Stone’s ideological stance on technology shapes not only his set as a performer but also his fan base. Watching an Allen Stone show, one can feel certain that all pretenses will be left at the door and those surrounding you will be committing their full attention to the music. Midway through Stone’s set, the venue was completely under his charismatic spell. The audience actively followed the Seattle-born frontman’s lead as he prompted a group participation “2-step” and rolled through crowd favorites from his self-titled LP and latest album Radius. -Molly Kish, photo by Tom Dellinger


Best Live Music Acts of 2015 #17 - The Kills

17. The Kills

Mosshart, tall and slender, strutted her way through just about all of it, displaying a bravado that exudes both sex and confidence, while Hince handled his axe like a bona fide rock star, eventually playing some slide guitar during the gritty, blues-infused track “Pots and Pans” that got the crowd roaring after it was over. After all, it’s that blues/garage-rock overlap, along with the chemistry exhibited between Mosshart and Hince onstage, that makes The Kills such a captivating rock ‘n’ roll act to see live these days. -Josh Herwitt, photo by Josh Herwitt


Best Live Music Acts of 2015 #16 - The Chemical Brothers

16. The Chemical Brothers

Directly following their dramatic entrance to a recording of Junior Parker’s epic “Tomorrow Never Knows”, the duo kicked off their career-spanning set with crowd favorite “Hey Boy, Hey Girl” from 1999’s Surrender. They launched into a full-blown frenzy from that moment on, and the UK dance legends went hard (no pun intended) throughout the rest of their two-hour performance, debuting live remixes of new material from their 2015 release Born in the Echoes while interspersing nostalgia-inducing EDM classics off their seven previous albums. -Molly Kish, photo by Justin Yee


Best Live Music Acts of 2015 #15 - Eagles of Death Metal

15. Eagles of Death Metal

EODM have the perfect style as a rock band, one that takes itself just seriously enough. As a whole, they are a hard, fast and tightly-wound production, with their silly lyrics and even sillier frontman bringing a perfect balance to what you want to see at a rock show. Closing with “Speaking in Tongues”, EODM walked off the stage at the Great American Music Hall knowing that they had accomplished what they came to do — to prove that rock ain’t dead. -Brett Ruffenach, photo by Mike Rosati


Best Live Music Acts of 2015 #14 - Florence + the Machine

14. Florence + the Machine

Welch lapped around the inside ring of the bowl, stopping briefly at the sound stage. What a cool moment. -James Nagel, photo by James Nagel


Best Live Music Acts of 2015 #13 - Sturgill Simpson

13. Sturgill Simpson

Simpson has stage presence, that is without a doubt. The conviction of his voice bolsters his words as he describes a life of highs and lows, trials and tribulations. This was evident on renditions of songs like “Turtles All the Way Down”. If there is a song to capture your attention and convince you of Simpson’s talents as a songwriter, this is one of them. Just like that of his predecessors, he writes music that goes against the grain of popular country music. It may be defined as “outlaw country,” but I personally feel it is music that resonates with a wider audience than that of its counterparts. -Kory Thibeault, photo by Kory Thibeault


Best Live Music Acts of 2015 #12 - alt-j

12. alt-J

The 2012 Mercury Prize winners echoed a semblance to that of Sigur Rós or Volcano Choir, leaving audience members entranced in a near-altered state while observing the foursome. The biggest fan responses erupted during the band’s singalong favorites “Breezeblocks”, “Fitzpleasure” and their token cover of Bill Withers’ “Lovely Day”. -Molly Kish, photo by Mike Rosati


Best Live Music Acts of 2015 #11 - Hot Chip

11. Hot Chip

In recent years, only ever getting the chance to see the outfit in stripped-down DJ sets or as part of side projects/collaborations, the afternoon crowd full of die-hard, nu-disco fans were not disappointed as the UK dance veterans set the polo fields ablaze. Refraining from any slow builders, Hot Chip performed an hour-long set of career-spanning bangers, keeping the crowd moving with hit after hit, that seamlessly blended into one another. The set procured one of the most viral dance party moments of the festival, with the audience spiraling into a collective bliss as it came to a close. -Molly Kish, photo by Josh Herwitt


Best Live Music Acts of 2015 #10 - Dan Deacon

10. Dan Deacon

One of the toughest things to do in the world of electronic music is to sound organic, to imbue a sense of heart into the digitized nature of ones and zeroes. The Baltimore native accomplishes this through his hilarious and improvisational free-form, stand-up comedy, which thrives on wandering non sequiturs. And he mirrors this by adapting his insane-train of sound to meet and exceed the energy in the room. The “America” suite finished off the show with an extended doom metal quality that gave a sense that no aesthetic boundaries can contain Deacon’s sense of musical exploration. -Mike Frash, photo by Pedro Paredes


Best Live Music Acts of 2015 #9 - FKA twigs

9. FKA twigs

British singer-songwriter Tahliah Debrett Barnett, better known as FKA twigs, has been all the rage lately after performing at Coachella in April, and she closed out FYF in style, donning an elaborate burgundy- and gold-colored robe for her Sunday night set. Just the week before, the 27-year-old fiancée of actor/musician Robert Pattinson released her brand-new EP M3LL155X, and with it receiving high marks from a number of music outlets, there were quite a few fans who stuck around after 11:30 p.m. on a “school night” to watch her perform some of them, including the opening track “Figure 8”, “In Time” and “Glass & Patron”. FKA twigs might be one of the most compelling live acts out there right now, and after scheduling Purity Ring to close out The Lawn the night before, FYF seemed to make a point of letting women rule that stage in the late-night hours this year. -Josh Herwitt, photo by Josh Herwitt


Best Live Music Acts of 2015 #8 - Empire of the Sun

8. Empire of the Sun

As Steele belted out “Alive”, the hit single off the band’s sophomore studio album Ice on the Dune, to close things out, he brought the audience to a transcendent place of exhilaration. Crowd members embraced and danced amongst a like-minded family of people lost in the moment, even if it involved intergalactic creatures dancing in colored smoke and a crowned Emperor playing without his bandmate on stage. EOTS shows are a special kind of magic that regardless of the material’s absurd nature, translate into an experience unlike anything else. -Molly Kish, photo by Steve Carlson


Best Live Music Acts of 2015 #7 - My Morning Jacket

7. My Morning Jacket

Though it was more than understandable to see the band play a large majority of The Waterfall for its first performance at the Santa Barbara Bowl in almost four years, there were plenty of other deep cuts mixed in over the next two hours, from “Bermuda Highway” to “Mahgeetah” to “Touch Me I’m Going to Scream Pt. 2”. After all, it’s no secret that My Morning Jacket have always been good to their most loyal and dedicated fans, and in once again taking song requests as part of their “Spontaneous Curation Series,” they made sure to dig up many of the classics from their seminal album Z, including “Wordless Chorus” and “Off the Record” one after the other in the middle of a loaded, four-song encore. -Josh Herwitt, photo by Josh Herwitt


Best Live Music Acts of 2015 #6 - Jamie xx

6. Jamie xx

Throughout his tour, Smith has refused to compromise his individual style for the sake of appeasing either extreme of his now commercially hybrid audience. Whereas those familiar with his early XL Records mixtapes were satiated by his intermingling of Gil Scott-Heron and Idris Muhammad samples between hits, his newfound post-In Colour fans experienced equally breathtaking moments with the crowd hitting peak energy levels during the encore chorus of “Loud Places” amidst the glow of a warped-speed, neon-green strobe light. Other notable moments included the near-religious choral drop of “Gosh” that escalated the packed house to spiritual levels of enthusiasm, bathed in the glowing sparkle of Smith’s staggeringly iridescent ceiling to floor disco ball and stage lights. -Molly Kish, photo by James Nagel


Best Live Music Acts of 2015 #5 - Elton John

5. Elton John

The star-spangled legend sat at his majestic piano as the sun went down on Sunday and moved the crowd with his brilliant playing. The adoring audience hung on every word and joined in singing his most popular hits. Walking off stage quickly after his last song, the audience demanded more and Elton happily obliged. With rumors of Lion King songs being played at past performances, some doting fans wanted a second encore to the tune of “Circle of Life”. While he didn’t indulge the Lion King fans, his stellar performance was a perfect ending to an amazing weekend at Outside Lands, leaving everyone’s festival tank full of love. -Nik Crossman, photo by James Nagel


Best Live Music Acts of 2015 #4 - Father John Misty

4. Father John Misty

Father John (Sassypants) Misty has his festival game on point, and he has progressed his I Love You, Honeybear songs into epic plateaus since premiering them in the Santa Cruz mountains last February. He spewed banter like an Stephen Colbert-esque contrarian, saying, “Look at these suckers with their hair blowing all over the place.” And as he approached the mic for more improv-snark later on, Tillman paused to say, “Sorry, I have nothing to say. Ha.” FJM was speechless for once, but granted, it might have been set up for “Bored in the USA”, a song that should be considered an American classic at this point. -Mike Frash, photo by Pedro Paredes


Best Live Music Acts of 2015 #3 - Kendrick Lamar

3. Kendrick Lamar

As Kendrick Lamar’s incredible performance began to wrap up with his newest single “Alright”, a group of fans in the crowd proceeded to lift someone up in a wheelchair, who, if I recall correctly, was the same guy who had his photo famously taken at Outside Lands in 2013. Kendrick took notice and called him out — his sense of sincere appreciation for a place like the Bay Area was written all over his face. -Brett Ruffenach, photo by Marc Fong


Best Live Music Acts of 2015 #2 - Caribou

2. Caribou

Described by fellow musician Dan Deacon as “one of the most brilliant acts touring right now” just before their set, Caribou lived up to the hype. Starting with “Our Love”, the four-piece band led by Dan Snaith perfectly set the stage for the next hour — a series of tightly wound compositions that, as the song progresses, expand in rhythmic complexity before reaching a climax that will get even the most tired Sunday afternoon crowd moving. Heavily augmenting its live performances from its studio recordings, the band’s live rendition of “Jamelia” in particular was a highlight of the set. Caribou is a band not to be missed. -Brett Ruffenach, photo by Justin Yee


Best Live Music Acts of 2015 - D'Angelo & The Vanguard #1

1. D’Angelo & The Vanguard

One of the most anticipated sets of the entire weekend was none other than D’Angelo’s — and for good reason. The R&B/neo-soul singer-songwriter hadn’t put out an album in 14 years until he suddenly dropped his 2014 masterpiece Black Messiah last December, so you knew that getting the rare opportunity to see Michael Eugene Archer work a crowd at FYF would be something special. Sounding more like a youthful James Brown than a wannabe Prince (we still don’t totally understand where those comparisons are coming from), D’Angelo and his eight-piece backing band The Vanguard took the audience for a ride as they doled out new and old hits. -Josh Herwitt, photo by Josh Herwitt

Outside Lands 2015 - Dan Deacon

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Was FYF Fest 2015 the ‘best weekend of summer’? Here are 10 highlights from this year’s festival

FYF Fest 2015By Josh Herwitt //

FYF Fest //
LA Sports Arena & Exposition Park – Los Angeles
August 22nd-23rd, 2015 //

The 12th annual FYF Fest returned to the LA Sports Arena and Exposition Park last weekend, and from everything we witnessed over two action-packed days, it felt like a major success. For starters, we didn’t have to wait in a three-hour security line and it didn’t take 20 minutes to walk from one end of the festival grounds to the other (it was more like 10 minutes), which already made this year a huge improvement compared to last year.

It should also go without saying that FYF has come a long way since its early beginnings as a punk fest, and teaming up with Coachella promoter Goldenvoice back in 2011 hasn’t hurt its rep by any means. If anything, it’s only made it more accessible for mainstream music fans (though there are still plenty of “indie” acts to come by). That couldn’t have been any more apparent than this year with Kanye West replacing Frank Ocean as Saturday’s headliner less than two days before the gates officially opened. And yet, somehow FYF didn’t end up selling out. We’re still not sure how that didn’t happen.

But the festival’s well-publicized slogan has long been that it delivers the “best weekend of summer,” and such a proclamation certainly sets the bar pretty high, especially in Southern California, where there is no shortage of ways to keep oneself preoccupied on a late-August afternoon. So, whether FYF was or wasn’t (it was one of our eight California music festivals you won’t want to miss before the end of 2015), here are our top 10 highlights from its 2015 edition.


FYF Fest 2015 - Battles

10. Battles

New York City trio Battles have been creating some of the most interesting rock music in the business for more than a decade, bordering on prog while throwing a heavy dose of math rock into the equation. With their third full length La Di Da Di due out September 18th (and thanks to Ableton, fans can get a behind-the-scenes look at the band’s writing and recording process for the album here), Ian Williams (guitar, keyboards), Dave Konopka (bass, guitar, effects) and John Stanier (drums) debuted some new material on Sunday evening for their Southern California fan base, most notably “The Yabba”, which gradually navigates its way through sonic peaks and valleys over the course of seven minutes. Meanwhile, Stanier, the glue that holds it all together for Battles, is still proving to be an absolute beast on the skins at age 47.


FYF Fest 2015 - FKA twigs

9. FKA twigs

British singer-songwriter Tahliah Debrett Barnett, better known as FKA twigs, has been all the rage lately after performing at Coachella in April, and she closed out FYF in style, donning an elaborate burgundy- and gold-colored robe for her Sunday night set. Just the week before, the 27-year-old fiancée of actor/musician Robert Pattinson released her brand-new EP M3LL155X, and with it receiving high marks from a number of music outlets, there were quite a few fans who stuck around after 11:30 p.m. on a “school night” to watch her perform some of them, including the opening track “Figure 8”, “In Time” and “Glass & Patron”. FKA twigs might be one of the most compelling live acts out there right now, and after scheduling Purity Ring to close out The Lawn the night before, FYF seemed to make a point of letting women rule that stage in the late-night hours this year.


FYF Fest 2015 - Simian Mobile Disco

8. The Arena

While there hasn’t been much use for the LA Sports Arena these days with The Forum and Staples Center serving as LA’s two primary large-scale music venues now, FYF made sure to utilize the 56-year-old stadium as best it could in conjunction with Exposition Park — and surprisingly enough, it actually ended up being our favorite stage this year. With space to roam on the floor — except during Flying Lotus’ DJ set from what we were told — and the seated area upstairs providing a nice respite from more standing, The Arena felt very much like a different world when you walked inside its doors. Plus, it had one of the most visually stunning stage backdrops and lighting setups that we’ve ever seen at a music festival.


FYF Fest 2015 - Unknown Mortal Orchestra

7. Unknown Mortal Orchestra

After capitalizing on the success of their 2013 sophomore album entitled II, UMO have been trending upward as one of indie rock’s buzziest bands this summer thanks to the release of their third full length Multi-Love in May. Led by singer and guitarist Ruban Nielson, the New Zealand/Portland, Ore., quartet creates an intriguing mixture of lo-fi, psychedelic rock with garage, funk and R&B elements thrown in for good measure. After a long and tiring first day at FYF, UMO served as an uplifting way to start Day 2, and the turnout was pretty impressive with a large crowd arriving at The Lawn on Sunday for their 4:30 p.m. set.


FYF Fest 2015 - BADBADNOTGOOD

6. BADBADNOTGOOD

Instrumental jazz/hip-hop trio BADBADNOTGOOD was high on our list of artists to catch at FYF this year, holding down a relatively early slot in The Arena on Saturday. Evoking almost a free-jazz spirit at times, Matthew Tavares (keyboards), Chester Hansen (bass) and Alexander Sowinski (drums) put their chops on display for close to an hour. Within minutes of arriving at the festival’s only indoor stage, it was fairly easy to see just how talented they are when it comes to playing their instruments, and together their sound had us wanting to hear more the next time these three Torontonians come to town.


FYF Fest 2015 - Chet Faker

5. Chet Faker

When we saw Chet Faker perform in LA following the release of his debut album Built on Glass last year, we were underwhelmed by Nicholas Murphy’s stage presence and a cast of sidekicks who didn’t add much to his overall sound. But a lot has changed since that early June night at The Roxy Theatre, and Murphy’s live show has grown leaps and bounds from 2014 to 2015, in part because he’s surrounded himself with some very skilled players lately. Though Murphy didn’t drop his newest single “Bend” into a nine-song set on Saturday, the FYF mainstay gave us every reason to believe why he belongs on the festival’s main stage.


FYF Fest 2015 - Flume with Andrew Wyatt

4. Special guests

Ever since FYF founder Sean Carlson teamed up with Goldenvoice, his festival has felt more and more like a mini Coachella each year. That trend continued in 2015 on a number of levels, with one of them being the fact that quite a few artists introduced special guests during their sets, something that has become rather synonymous with Coachella over the past few years. Chet Faker brought out BANKS, Travi$ Scott joined Kanye, Flume handed the mic right over to Miike Snow’s Andrew Wyatt (pictured above) and then later danced with Lorde, and Run the Jewels gave Zack de la Rocha and Travis Barker their moment to shine onstage, too. If that doesn’t sound like a typical weekend at Coachella, then we don’t know what does.


FYF Fest 2015 - Kanye West

3. Kanye West

Yeezus was all the talk less than two days before the festival kicked off, and we must say that we were pleasantly surprised by the last-minute Kanye-West-for-Frank-Ocean trade that FYF was able to pull off in the end. The headlining performance, nonetheless, delivered on all fronts, as Kanye ran through a career full of hits, eventually playing one every minute as his set went down to the very last second. We won’t go as far as to say that it was the best show of the weekend, but an impromptu performance from Rihanna on “Four Five Seconds” and “All of the Lights” after she was pulled onstage by Yeezy himself will have us remembering that moment for quite some time.


FYF Fest 2015 - D'Angelo & The Vanguard

2. D’Angelo & The Vanguard

One of the most anticipated sets of the weekend was none other than D’Angelo’s — and for good reason. The R&B/neo-soul singer-songwriter hadn’t released an album in 14 years (yes, really) until he suddenly dropped his 2014 masterpiece Black Messiah last December, so you knew that getting the rare opportunity to see Michael Eugene Archer work a crowd, much like the one that assembled for his set at FYF, would be something special. Sounding more like a youthful James Brown than a wannabe Prince (we still don’t totally understand where those comparisons are coming from), D’Angelo and his eight-piece backing band that he now calls The Vanguard took the audience for a ride as they doled out new and old hits such as “Really Love” and “Brown Sugar” over an eight-song setlist.


FYF Fest 2015 - Run the Jewels

1. Run the Jewels

It’s hard to find a more entertaining and raucous show in hip-hop right now than Run the Jewels’. Yes, El-P and Killer Mike have been making the festival rounds this year much like Outkast did in 2014, but one actually released an album last year and the other hasn’t since 2006. Never ones to hold back, RTJ’s post-sunset show on the festival’s main stage was both highly provocative and hilarious, getting the adrenaline pumping within the first few minutes and setting the tone for the rest of Day 1.

Kanye West to replace Frank Ocean as headliner at FYF Fest 2015 this weekend

FYF_post

FYF Fest //
LA Sports Arena & Exposition Park – Los Angeles
August 22nd-23rd, 2015 //

FYF Fest sent shock waves across the Internet less than two days before the festival takes place at the LA Sports Arena and Exposition Park, announcing that Kanye West will replace Frank Ocean as this Saturday’s headliner.

The festival officially released the news around 4:30 p.m. PT on Thursday, stating that Ocean had “decided on his own terms to cancel his appearance.”

FYF, now in its 12th year, changed its schedule in 2015, with music slated to go all the way up until 2 a.m. on Saturday and as late as 12:30 a.m. on Sunday.

The Frank-Ocean-for-Kanye-West trade isn’t the first shake-up to this year’s lineup. Earlier on Thursday, Resident Advisor reported that Ben UFO was forced to cancel his upcoming shows with Joy Orbison in Canada and the U.S., including his Saturday evening set in The Arena at FYF, due to visa issues. Orbison’s set had been extended by 80 minutes as a result, meaning that he was scheduled to perform for a total of two hours and 40 minutes, which might have been the longest festival set in the history of the modern-day music festival (or at least that we’ve ever seen). However, he is also dealing with visa issues — both him and Ben UFO are from London — and will now miss his FYF set after canceling his Friday night show in San Francisco at Public Works a few hours earlier.

UPDATE: FYF Fest announced the replacements for Ben UFO and Orbison on Friday evening. LA experimental producer Flying Lotus will perform a DJ set in The Arena from 8:10-9:10 p.m. on Saturday, followed by one of our favorite electronic musicians, Bonobo, hitting the decks from 11:15 p.m.-12:30 a.m. Both performances will be DJ sets.

Here is the updated schedule for this weekend’s festival:

SATURDAY SET TIMES

FYF Fest 2015 set times with Bonobo & Flying Lotus - Saturday

SUNDAY SET TIMES

FYF Fest 2015 set times with Bonobo & Flying Lotus - Sunday

Meanwhile, just last week, the two-day festival also announced that Deerhunter had canceled their performance, replacing the Atlanta indie-rock band with dance-punk outfit !!! (Chk Chk Chk), who we recently caught open for Hot Chip (read our review here) at the Greek Theatre.

Other big names performing at this year’s FYF Fest include Sunday headliner Morrissey, Bloc Party, D’Angelo and The Vanguard, Chet Faker, The Jesus and Mary Chain, FKA twigs, Purity Ring, Belle & Sebastian, Flume, Run the Jewels and Solange.

With all those acts already on the bill and now the late addition of Kanye, we have to say that we’re feeling pretty good about picking FYF as one of our eight California music festivals you won’t want to miss before the end of 2015. Single-day passes for FYF have long been sold out, but GA and VIP weekend passes can still be purchased for $175 and $329, respectively, here.

2015 FYF Fest lineup with Flying Lotus & Bonobo

FYF Fest unveils 2015 set times with later end times

2015 FYF Fest

FYF Fest //
LA Sports Arena & Exposition Park – Los Angeles
August 22nd-23rd, 2015 //

As the summer winds down, the 12th annual FYF Fest is almost upon us. With Frank Ocean and Morrissey set to headline the two-day festival near downtown LA next weekend, FYF has released its set times for both Saturday and Sunday. You can take a look at them below.

SATURDAY SET TIMES

2015 FYF Fest - Saturday set times

SUNDAY SET TIMES

2015 FYF Fest - Sunday set times

After ending the festival at midnight in previous years, FYF is taking things up a notch in 2015 with the music going all the way until 2 a.m. on Saturday. That should boast well for English analog electronic duo Simian Mobile Disco, who will put a stamp on Saturday’s festivities in The Arena after Frank Ocean finishes up on the Main Stage. The fun will come to an end a little bit earlier on Sunday, as FKA twigs will close up shop on The Lawn at 11:30 p.m. and is scheduled to play until 12:30 a.m. That’s still pretty late for a Sunday night at a music festival if you ask us. It’s why FYF Fest is one of our eight California music festivals you won’t want to miss before the end of 2015.

In other news, the festival announced yesterday that Atlanta indie-rock band Deerhunter have been forced to cancel their performance. In their place will be dance-punk outfit !!! (Chk Chk Chk), who we caught open for Hot Chip (read our review here) at the Greek Theatre earlier this week. !!! is scheduled to play The Lawn at 8:25 p.m. on Saturday.

While single-day passes for FYF have long been sold out, GA and VIP weekend passes can still be purchased for $175 and $329, respectively, here.

FYF Fest

Skipping FYF Fest? You can still see all these shows

2015 FYF sideshows

FYF Fest returns to the LA Sports Arena and Exposition Park this August for its 12th edition with an amalgam of trending indie in tow. It’s also one of our eight music festivals taking place in California that you won’t want to miss before the end of 2015.

But if you’re not keen on catching headliners Frank Ocean and Morrissey yet still want to see sub headliners like Bloc Party or The Jesus and Mary Chain without shelling out $175 for a two-day GA pass (single-day passes have already sold out, by the way), well then, you’re in a bit of luck.

FYF and Goldenvoice have announced a series of sideshows around the festival’s August 22nd-23rd dates, which include performances by Toronto experimental hip-hop/post-bop trio BADBADNOTGOOD, Northeastern legendary alt-rockers Dinosaur Jr. and even NorCal industrial hip-hop group Death Grips, who, if you can remember, broke up not all that long ago, reneging on an opportunity to tour with 90’s rock heavyweights Nine Inch Nails and Soundgarden last summer.

The sideshows start later this month, with LA’s own HEALTH kicking things off at The Echo before London-based post-punk revival band Savages finish the run off with a headlining gig at The Roxy on August 26th. It’s worth noting, however, that none of the sideshows will take place over the weekend of FYF, much like what Goldenvoice does in April by booking high-profile shows in and around Coachella’s two weekends.

Tickets for the sideshows go on sale at FYFpresents.com this Friday, July 10th at 10 a.m.


Here is the schedule for the festival’s upcoming sideshows with links to purchase tickets:

July 24th: HEALTH at The Echo // BUY TICKETS

August 19th: The Jesus and Mary Chain with A Place to Bury Strangers at The Fonda Theatre // BUY TICKETS

August 19th: Bloc Party at Glasshouse // BUY TICKETS

August 20th: The Jesus and Mary Chain with A Place to Bury Strangers at The Fonda Theatre // BUY TICKETS

August 20th: Bloc Party at The Roxy Theatre // BUY TICKETS

August 20th: METZ at The Echo // BUY TICKETS

August 21st: BadBadNotGood with Show Me the Body at The Regent Theater // BUY TICKETS

August 21st: NAILS at Echoplex // BUY TICKETS

August 21st: The Drums with Froth at Glasshouse // BUY TICKETS

August 21st: Lower Dens with Empress Of at The Echo // BUY TICKETS

August 21st: Dinosaur Jr. at The Roxy Theatre // BUY TICKETS

August 25th: Death Grips at Glasshouse // BUY TICKETS

August 26th: Savages at The Roxy Theatre // BUY TICKETS

August 26th: King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard at The Echo // BUY TICKETS

2015 FYF Fest lineup

FYF Fest reveals 2015 lineup

FYF_post

FYF Fest //
LA Sports Arena & Exposition Park – Los Angeles
August 22nd-23rd, 2015 //

The 12th annual FYF Fest once again promises a delicious distillation of trending indie music, whether in the vein of electronic, rap or rock acts. Although, this year seems to be pretty lean in the traditional rock department.

Frank Ocean and Morrissey will headline the festival’s 2015 edition, while D’Angelo and the Vanguard, Deerhunter, Run the Jewels, Flume, Jon Hopkins, Spiritualized, FKA Twigs, Nicolas Jaar, Mac DeMarco, Thee Oh Sees and many more are also on the docket.

Produced in conjunction with LA concert promoter Goldenvoice, FYF will sell weekend passes for $175 and single-day passes for $109. Buy tickets starting this Friday, May 8th at 12 p.m.

FYF Fest

Why ‘Morrissey was attacked in San Jose’ story is overblown

morrissey-2014By The Festival Lawyer //

Morrissey //
City National Civic – San Jose
May 7th, 2014 //

God Dammit, San Jose. This is why we can’t have nice things.

After months of speculation as to whether he would pull the ultimate Morrissey and cancel the very first show of this tour, Morrissey not only showed up in San Jose but gave an inspired live performance.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a Morrissey show without controversy and chaos. During his encore, Moz was performing the song, “One Day Goodbye Will Be Farewell” when fans began a stage invasion. To be honest, this isn’t a particularly unexpected occurrence. Although not exactly a Justin Bieber concert, storming the stage pretty much happens at EVERY Morrissey show.

However, this time, there was a “rush and a push” and a figure got thrown off the stage and tumbled backwards into the audience. For a moment, I thought San Jose was going to be the answer to the Rock and Roll trivia question “In what city did idiots accidentally kill Morrissey?” But I quickly realized it was one of the audience members being pushed back into the crowd by security. Morrissey himself had already been whisked backstage.

The show ended in confusion, with the music stopping abruptly and the lights suddenly coming on. I heard some scattered booing and then people slowly filed out. There was a vague feeling among audience members that we had all been cheated somehow. In other words, it was the quintessential Morrissey ending to a Morrissey concert.

You can see some of the chaos here in this fan-made video:

I was told by someone I trust that Morrissey was actually knocked to the ground and that he and the band took the incident quite seriously. So much so that Morrissey stayed in the Green Room until after the venue was totally cleared and he was escorted out to his bus.

The ending was really a shame given how well the show had gone. Morrissey had cancelled the last 6 (!) shows in the Bay Area and had not performed here since 2009. In fact, a whole lot of Bay Area Morrissey fans passed on the show. Most feared another no show and worried that Morrissey was just trying to find a new and more elaborate way to troll us.

Those who risked it and came were rewarded by seeing Morrissey in rare form. His band sounded tight and his voice was wonderful and expressive. He seemed relaxed and …dare I say it?….happy. I don’t mean Pharrell level happy but at least Morrissey level happy.

During his performance of the song “Speedway” it almost felt like Morrissey was trying somehow to apologize to the Bay Area for past snubs. He held a fan-made sign over his heart while reaching out to the crowd and singing, “In my own strange way, I’ve always been true to you.” If not an actual apology it was at least a “It’s a new tour and a new album, let’s move forward” type of moment with the audience.

Morrissey seems to have a more direct political urgency to his shows these days. Playing a song like “The National Front Disco” (about a young man’s drift into racism and extremism) seemed like an especially timely choice given the huge week that racists had last week. (Cliven Bundy, Donald Sterling, random dude throwing banana at soccer player et al)

After singing the final lyrics to “Ganglord” (“Protect and serve, but what they really mean is get back to the ghetto”), Morrissey remarked, “You know it’s true..” He seemed to want to make sure audiences realized that he wrote the song about police brutality in a “non-fiction” kind of way.

But of course, Morrissey’s biggest political cause has always been Animal Rights. He played the Smiths classic, “Meat is Murder” while some pretty shocking images of animals being slaughtered were flashed behind him. But I suppose shocking was the point.

Oddly, fans leaving the venue were greeted by two street vendors selling…wait for it…hot dogs wrapped in bacon. It was like some kind of crazy irony cherry topping off the sundae of the performance. I didn’t order one even though they smelled fucking delicious. It just seemed disrespectful after what I had just seen and heard. (PS did I mention they were wrapped in bacon?…bacon freaking hot dogs!)

Speaking of bacon, Morrissey performed an astonishing version of “Life is a Pigsty”. Morrissey once said that writing songs for The Smiths was like “setting his diary to music.” A song like “Life” has that same kind of personal intensity. At one point, Morrissey implored the audience, “Can you stop the pain?” while falling to his knees as if he couldn’t handle the emotions being expressed. In fact, much of the set list focused on the darker, more brooding songs of his back catalogue.

Morrissey also debuted 3 new songs from his album. The best of the bunch I thought was “World Peace Is None of Your Business”.

Overall, Morrissey was terrific. If I had any complaint, it was about his set list. I almost felt a kind of strain from the audience. It was like we were enjoying what we were hearing but hoping for one of those “I can’t believe he is playing this song” type of moments.

Of course I could be attributing my own feelings to that of the audience. I had already alerted the concert goers around me that I had a short list of about 5 classics songs in my head that would cause me to “lose my shit” if he played them.

Morrissey did open with “Hand in Glove” and later played the beautiful Smiths song “Asleep”. It’s a Smiths song that he has never performed live as a solo artist before. (In terms of nerd love, Smiths fans hearing a new Smiths song being performed live is roughly equivalent to the joy Star Wars fans get upon hearing news of a new Star Wars movie.) But this was very much NOT a “Greatest Hits” type of show.

All in all it was a great night. Unfortunately, it was overshadowed a bit by the actions of a few knuckleheads. As a person who considers music their happy place, it sucks when someone cuts short a great show through their own jackassery. Serious downgrade for the audience.

But as Nick Laquintano, who performs with The Smiths/Morrissey Tribute Band This Charming Band, points out, this kind of thing happens A LOT:

Of course you never want to downplay any incidences of violence at live shows, but I do feel as if I’ve seen much crazier stage invasion situations at past Morrissey shows that didn’t get anywhere near the press attention this one is getting. In particular I remember a show in Modesto back in 2007 that was really scary as people were jumping on stage from all angles and it all ended with Morrissey getting clotheslined by somebody. I don’t remember hearing much about that incident after it happened. Either way it is a shame what happened in San Jose and thank goodness no one got hurt.”

That was my reaction to the incident as well. Headlines like “SHOW CUT SHORT AS MORRISSEY ATTACKED BY FAN ONSTAGE” miss the point entirely. I’m not trying to say that what happened wasn’t serious. This kind of thing shouldn’t happen. Live performers should always be safe. But longtime fans recognize there is a segment of Morrissey fans who are kind of like drunken St. Bernards. They want to show their love, but somehow just end up knocking you down as you open the door and accidentally rip your work suit instead. Dumb.

Fortunately, no one was hurt. And since no one was hurt, I would file this under The Festival Lawyer’s concert rule that, “Any ending to a concert that leaves you with a good story is by definition a good concert.”

Setlist:
Hand in Glove
That’s How People Grow Up
Ganglord
Speedway
I Have Forgiven Jesus
World Peace Is None of Your Business
I’m Throwing My Arms Around Paris
Yes, I Am Blind
The Bullfighter Dies
Life Is a Pigsty
Everyday Is Like Sunday
Earth Is the Loneliest Planet
Trouble Loves Me
Meat Is Murder
First of the Gang to Die
The Youngest Was the Most Loved
I Know It’s Gonna Happen Someday
The National Front Disco
Asleep
One Day Goodbye Will Be Farewell

Why I will still go and see Morrissey in San Jose (Or at least buy tickets and see if he shows up)

morrissey-2014

By the Festival Lawyer //

So Morrissey just announced the start of another tour. This one kicks off in San Jose May 7th at City National Civic.

As you might expect, the announcement was not exactly greeted with enthusiasm in the Bay Area. Headlines like “Morrissey is pretending to play the Bay Area again” or “Morrissey announces tour dates he will probably later cancel” were the most common reaction.

You can’t really blame people for being pissed. Morrissey has cancelled six consecutive shows in the Bay Area. The last time Morrissey actually played a scheduled gig in the Bay Area was in 2009 in Oakland. Although some of last year’s cancellations were due to health issues, what really pissed people off was Morrissey playing shows either right before or right after the dates he missed for health reasons. It seemed less like he was sick and more like a deliberate snub to the Bay Area. In fact, a local SF store actually started selling “Fuck Moz” signs.

Comments on social media sites were varied, and ranged from, “No I won’t be buying Morrissey tickets” to “Oh HELL NO I won’t be buying Morrissey tickets.”

So having said all that, why am I telling people to “Buy” when it comes to the Morrissey stock market when everyone else is telling their investors, “Sell”?

It’s the start of the tour

Unless Morrissey is trying to invent new ways to mess with us, it just seems super unlikely that he would cancel the very first show of the tour. Also, the first show of a tour is pretty exciting. What’s on the playlist? Which Smiths songs will make the cut? Any new stuff from the upcoming album? And let’s not forget about the bragging rights that come from seeing the first show of a tour.

It’s in San Jose

Morrissey hasn’t performed in San Jose since the 90s. Because of how long it has been and how far south it is, he may not even realize that he is playing in the Bay Area. Plus, if Morrissey cancels we can all head over to Original Joe’s and have a late night dinner and bitch session.

He is one of rock’s great icons

Despite all the drama, Morrissey remains a huge rock icon. Music magazine NME called Morrissey “one of the most influential rock artists ever”. In 2004, Pitchfork Media called him “one of the most singular figures in Western popular culture from the last twenty years.”

A few years back the BBC produced a show called “The Importance of Being Morrissey”. If you haven’t seen it, it is less a documentary and more a 45 minute love letter from the people of England. Suffice to say that most stars have to be dead before reaching the level of hero worship people have for him.

You need to change your perception of what a “ticket” is

Most people would define a “ticket” as a contract to see a certain performer at a certain time perform for you. Morrissey concerts are more akin to a “Morrissey Lottery” than a traditional ticket. The fun part of buying a ticket to a Morrissey concert is that you literally have no idea what will happen. I have a friend who was walking into one of his shows when it was abruptly cancelled. I have another friend who went to a bar after Morrissey cancelled a show and saw Moz there having the time of his life. I’ve been at shows where Morrissey was close to openly fighting with the audience.

On the other hand, he can be a superb live performer when he feels like it. When I saw him in 2012, he whipped the mic around like a pro, sounded great and mixed older and new material with ease. When security kept the crowd from coming on stage, Morrissey announced “It’s your stage, don’t let them tell you what to do.” The response from the audience was close to what I expect you might see from one of those revivalist church in the south. It was fantastic.

2014 could be Morrissey’s year

I asked Tom Hastings why in the world any fan would go see Morrissey after the way he has treated the Bay Area. Tom has been a Morrissey fan for 25 years, and has seen over 50 Morrissey shows. (He also has a cameo in the Coachella documentary and his own chapter in the book, The Day I Met Morrissey.) He thinks 2014 will be a big year for Morrissey.

I am still going to take my chances and get these tickets to see a true legend, an icon really, perform live. I think 2014 is going to be Morrissey’s comeback year. He recently released his critically acclaimed autobiography and he is recording his new album. Moreover, his health problems seem to be behind him now. I can’t wait to see this show, especially on opening night…not knowing the setlist and all. I predict this show will sell out FAST! ~VIVA MOZ!

The idea of a Morrissey comeback may seem crazy to you. But remember, this is a guy who has had at least 4 major comebacks in his career. (Example, in 2004 he went from having no record deal to a top ten album in the UK and top eleven on Billboard.) So a comeback is not at all farfetched.

The Smiths aren’t getting back together anytime soon

Listen, we have to collectively let the dream of a Smiths reunion go. They’ve supposedly been offered insane sums to do it, from UK festivals, and Moz just won’t. Coachella makes a try at a Smiths reunion every year. It’s not happening. The fact is that if you ever want to hear and sing along with classics like “How Soon is Now” or “There is a Light that never goes out”, it’s going to have to be at a Morrissey concert.

But don’t make the mistake of thinking that Morrissey is a tribute band or will be doing some kind of “Greatest Hits” reunion tour. Remember, he had a critically acclaimed and commercially successful album as recently as 2009. This is a chance to see a great live performer working through a few decades of great material.

(Speaking of tribute bands, if the Blank Club doesn’t book “This Charming Band” for a combination “After party and/or cancellation party” that same night they are crazy.)

The bottom line is that if you are a fan it’s probably worth the risk of getting burned in exchange for the chance that you will see something truly special. Or as Tom Hastings put it, “if you haven’t experienced a Moz cancellation, and then taken a chance on seeing him again, you are not a true fan.”

Morrissey

Presale: February 20 from 10am to 10pm. Use password ARSENAL to buy tickets. Tickets for general public on sale Friday, February 21 at 9am.

Get tickets here.


Impending Apocalypse Now: 21 Songs for the End of the World

Impending-Apocalypse-NOW-Subscribe to the “Impending Apocalypse Now” Spotify playlist.

So the world ends on Friday. That’s too bad, I was just getting used to Dubstep.
Here are 21 lucky tracks that somehow relate to the impending apocalypse. And they are pretty great songs too.

21. David Bowie“Five Years”

20. St. Vincent“The Apocalypse Song”

19. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds“I’ll Love You (Till The End Of The World”

18. STS9“When the Dust Settles”

17. Andrew Bird“Yawny At The Apocalypse”

16. Bright Eyes“Four Winds”

15. Creedence Clearwater Revival“Bad Moon Rising”

14. R.E.M. – “It’s The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)

13. The Clash“London Calling”

12. The Rolling Stones“Gimme Shelter”

11. Muse“Apocalypse Please”

10. The Cure“The End of the World”

9. Medeski, Martin & Wood“End Of The World Party”

8. The Postal Service“We Will Become Silhouettes”

7. Radiohead“Ideoteque”

6. The Decemberists“Calamity Song”

5. Tom Waits“The Earth Died Screaming”

4. Morrissey“Everyday Is Like Sunday”

3. Metallica“Blackened”

2. Tame Impala“Apocalypse Dreams”

1. The Doors“The End”

Subscribe to the “Impending Apocalypse Now” Spotify playlist.