The Flaming Lips

Desert Daze 2019: Another intriguing lineup loaded with must-see performances takes over Lake Perris

October 8, 2019 by The Bam Team Leave a Comment

Photo by David Evanko // Written by Kevin Quandt & Pete Mauch //

Desert Daze //
Moreno Beach – Lake Perris, CA‎
October 10th-13th, 2019 //

After settling into a new location last year, Desert Daze aims to dial in a festival that continues to gain steam and win over rock fans around the globe, beckoning them to come to the shores of Lake Perris. This self-proclaimed “anti-festival” has impressed with their eye-popping artist roster, interactive art and smorgasbord of workshops and otherworldly experiences for all you intergalactic space rangers making the drive from Los Angeles or any of the surrounding hubs across Southern California.

We have a deep love for Desert Daze and want to be your pre-fest sherpas, so we have broken down the best music, camping and food options ahead of this weekend’s festivities.

Stereolab

Music

Let’s jump head first into the real meat of Desert Daze, and that’s its cutting-edge lineup of all things rock, psychedelia, garage, noise, experimental, North African-desert Tuareg blues-pop guitar and so on. Between the festival’s trio of lakeside stages, there should be little downtime for the savvy listener, so we’ll happily offer up a few of our picks and tell you why you should order that chicken tikka wrap a little later on.

Artist: Frankie and the Witch Fingers
Set date/time: Friday, 2:15-3 p.m.
Location: The Block

These LA psych rockers are truly having an amazing year. After unloading their most cohesive and energetic album to date in ZAM, they have found themselves touring non-stop supporting their killer new release. They are currently on a 37-date tour that sees them opening for ZZ Top and Cheap Trick on seven of those dates, with their Desert Daze set coming right smack dab in the middle of their run with both legendary rockers, so we’d imagine that they’ll be fired up to play to their own crowd. This should be an extremely high-energy set that won’t let you take a breath because Frankie and the Witch Fingers are pure psychedelic bliss right now. -PM

Artist: Stereolab
Set date/time: Friday, 6:35-8:05 p.m.
Location: The Moon

Tim Gane and Lætitia Sadier are finally bringing their electro-leaning indie pop back to the western side of the country and should be firing on all cylinders after a nearly decade-long break. Having witnessed one of their first reunion shows at Primavera Sound, I can confirm Stereolab’s laid-back vibe is still delivered with precision as they work classics like “French Disko” and “Brakhage” as well as others from Dots and Loops into the setlist. We can’t think of a better act to catch during Friday’s magic hour. -KQ

Artist: Altın Gün
Set date/time: Saturday, 2:40-3:40 p.m.
Location: The Moon

This Anatolian psych-folk group that calls Amsterdam home has been blending traditional Turkish music and psychedelic melodies to great avail. Their most recent release Gece finds this experimental outfit playing around with time signatures and quick, fierce changes that keeps their listeners wanting more. Their Desert Daze slot in the early afternoon Saturday is really going to get the day rolling. -PM

Shintaro Sakamoto

Artist: The Locust
Set date/time: Sunday, 12:45 a.m.-1:35 a.m.
Location: The Theatre

Shit! This set is not for the faint of heart and will surely be one of the most brutal (looks over shoulder for Lightning Bolt) and thrilling performances for those brave souls still awake after Devo, Ween and Flying Lotus (3D) hit the main stage. Expect a handful of masked musicians bending every boundary of rock music to their back and call, a feat that hasn’t transpired for close to five years. Desert Daze founder Phil Pirrone clearly has the Midas touch whenever it comes to reuniting bands or flying in rarities from around the world. -KQ

Artist: SASAMI
Set date/time: Sunday, 3:30-4:30 p.m.
Location: The Block

Domino artist Sasami Ashworth has been having a moment since the release of her self-titled debut LP back in March. Some veteran Desert Daze attendees might recognize Ashworth from her days as a former touring member of the LA band Cherry Glazerr, which played the festival in 2016 at its previous location The Institute of Mentalphysics. Since departing Cherry Glazerr, she has quickly cultivated a following under the moniker SASAMI that swoons for her unique brand as a guitar-wielding indie songstress. For now, she has toured with her contemporaries, received blessings from Mitski and expanded to larger international tours. -KQ

Artist: Shintaro Sakamoto
Set date/time: Sunday, 7:45 p.m.-9 p.m.
Location: The Block

Japanese composer Shintaro Sakamoto is making his U.S. debut at Desert Daze 2019, and we couldn’t be anymore excited to see him perform on Sunday. Sakamoto has been active in his home country for 30 years, most notably with psych rockers Yura Yura Teikoku, but you will see a softer side to him than with his prior band. Sakamoto at The Block during sunset with the Mad Alchemy light show behind him is an absolute must-see! We should hear plenty of tracks off 2014’s Let’s Dance Raw and 2011’s How to Live with a Phantom, too. -PM

Camping

There’s nothing easier than pitching a tent only a few hundred yards away from any festival site, and Desert Daze continues to excel in this area. Moreno Beach’s plush grounds have it all: trees, campside parking, free hot showers, permanent bathrooms and even a camping-exclusive stage area called The Mystic Bazaar.

The Bazaar features a mind-expanding array of programming, including, but not limited to, Modular Sound Baths, Vinyasa Pranayama yoga and various forms of meditation (check out the full schedule here). Plus, plenty of camping options to fit your liking are available here.

The Marketplace

Whether your home base will be offsite or you’re calling Lake Perris home for a long weekend, you’ll want to do some light shopping, quench your thirst or carb load for Animal Collective’s blistering show on Friday. Desert Daze always prints a whopping selection of show- and artist-specific posters and they’re always sold at affordable prices, so an early trip to the merch tent is a must. And if boutique wares are your preference, a healthy variety of vintage sellers, craft jewelers and visionary designers are strewn about the groves and shoreline. Bring some cash because you won’t be disappointed with what you find.

For all of your consumption needs, Black Fin Sushi, Flavors of East Africa and Good Times Ice Cream are just the beginning of options that will be available onsite. Don’t forget to look at the full listing here to see if your local favorites will be making the trip out to Moreno Beach.

Lastly, make sure to grab your Desert Daze 2019 passes here and we’ll see ya on the other side.

Filed Under: Featured, Festivals Tagged With: Al Lover, Altın Gün, Alvvays, Anika, Animal Collective, Atlas Sound, Automatic, Big Business, Blackwater Holylight, Blanck Mass, Cheap Trick, Connan Mockasin, Crumb, Desert Daze, Desert Daze 2019, Devo, DIIV, Dumbo Gets Mad, Dungen, Faye Webster, Flying Lotus, Flying Lotus (3D), Frankie and the Witch Fingers, Fred Armisen, Froth, George Clanton, Jakob Ogawa, Jerry Paper, Jessica Pratt, JJUUJJUU, Jonathan Bree, Khruangbin, Kills Birds, Klaus Johann Grobe, Lightning Bolt, Lumerians, Mad Alchemy, Mdou Moctar, METZ, Mitski, Moses Sumney, Nick Hakim, Parquet Courts, Part Time, Particle Kid, Post Animal, Psychedelic Porn Crumpets, Pussy Riot, SASAMI, Sessa, Shintaro Sakamoto, Stereolab, Surfbort, Temples, The Black Angels, The Claypool Lennon Delirium, The Flaming Lips, The Institute of Mentalphysics, The KVB, The Locust, The Paranoyds, Triptides, Trupa Trupa, Viagra Boys, Wand, Ween, White Fence, Winter, Wu Tang Clan, Yura Yura Teikoku, ZZ Top

CRSSD enlists Duke Dumont, Bob Moses to headline Fall 2018 lineup with Marian Hill, Sofi Tukker & more

June 28, 2018 by Josh Herwitt Leave a Comment

CRSSD Festival //
Waterfront Park – San Diego
September 29th-30th, 2018 //

Since its official debut in 2015, CRSSD has found a home at San Diego’s scenic Waterfront Park and become a mainstay across Southern California’s ever-expanding live music landscape.

California-based event promoter FNGRS CRSSD has organized seven editions of the bi-annual music festival in that time, partnering with Goldenvoice early on, and has already announced its eighth installment almost four months after Empire of the Sun and Gorgon City topped the fest’s Spring 2018 lineup.

Headlining this time around will be British DJ/producer Duke Dumont, who we saw close out last year’s inaugural Skyline festival (read our review here), and Canadian electronic duo Bob Moses. This won’t be either’s first time performing at CRSSD, with one previously serving as a headliner (Duke Dumont) and the other as an undercard act (Bob Moses).

UPDATE (August 9th): Organizers have unveiled Phase 2 of the Fall 2018 lineup, with Mount Kimbie, Big Wild, Louis the Child, Kiiara and more joining the party this September.

Though CRSSD’s rosters have often leaned in the electronic direction and continue to as evidenced by this latest one, there was a time when it strayed off course and gave rock a chance, booking The Flaming Lips and TV on the Radio surprisingly enough.

Meanwhile, the two-day festival’s Fall 2018 bill also boasts Marian Hill, Sofi Tukker, Flight Facilities, Hayden James, PNAU, Autograf, Elderbrook, shallou, Claptone, Dusky, Anti-Up, Thomas Jack, AC Slater B2B Jack Beats, Darius (Live), Detlef, Cut Snake B2B Ardalan, Nina Kraviz, John Digweed and more.

See the poster above for the rest of the lineup. Advanced tickets for the 21-and-over event will be available here starting Tuesday, July 3rd at Noon PT.

Filed Under: Featured, Festivals Tagged With: AC Slater B2B Jack Beats, Anti-Up, Autograf, Bob Moses, Claptone, CRSSD, CRSSD 2018, CRSSD Festival, CRSSD Festival 2018, Cut Snake B2B Ardalan, Darius (Live), Detlef, Duke Dumont, Dusky, Elderbrook, Flight Facilities, FNGRS CRSSD, Hayden James, John Digweed, Marian Hill, NAATIONS, Nina Kraviz, PNAU, shallou, Sofi Tukker, The Flaming Lips, Thomas Jack, TV on the Radio, Waterfront Park, White Cliffs

Our 10 favorite shows from the first half of 2017

July 5, 2017 by The Bam Team Leave a Comment

Ah, where has the time gone? It wasn’t long ago — just six months, in fact — that we dished out our favorite live music acts of 2016, and yet here we are, already at the halfway point of the next calendar year.

But while these first six months haven’t been quite as tragic as they were last year, there still have been some exciting twists and turns. From Beyoncé postponing her Coachella debut to Monterey Pop celebrating its 50th anniversary, experiencing live music in California remains as enthralling and captivating as ever. So, with 2018 already looming, it’s time for us to look back at the best performances we’ve witnessed so far this year.

Here are our 10 favorite shows from the first half of 2017.

Moderat

Rather, they indulged us with one final song from III, treating our ears to the slow burn of “The Fool” as the clock neared midnight. For almost two hours on this night, Moderat transported us to another world. And for those of us who had just come back from spending three days in the desert, that’s exactly what the doctor ordered. -Josh Herwitt, photo by Josh Herwitt

Sigur Rós

Now a trio, Sigur Rós have been delivering goosebumps for over two decades — and it’s a delight to hear Jónsi’s voice-as-an-instrument this clear, this powerful and as confident as ever. It would be a wonderful treat to check in on this outfit every 5-10 years going forward and realize they are still going strong. -Mike Frash, photo by James Nagel

The Flaming Lips

When it comes to live performance, The Flaming Lips are one of those bucket-list bands every live music fan should see at least once. Even as Coyne nears the age of 60, the Lips haven’t forgot how to entertain a crowd, whether it’s at a music festival or at one of their own stand-alone gigs. -Josh Herwitt, photo by Josh Herwitt

Bonobo

Bonobo’s DJ sets exemplify his eclectic taste in music, but it’s his live performances that really award him great accolades. Green is often supported by six, sometimes even more, incredibly talented musicians who help craft his music into the performance art that it truly is. -Kory Thibeault, photo by Kory Thibeault //

Ryan Adams

Fresh off a stop at Berkeley’s Hearst Greek Theatre the night before, Adams showcased some older favorites and a slew of new tunes from his 16th and latest studio album Prisoner, which came out in February. SoCal fans were treated to some extended full-band jamming, a couple of solo acoustic performances and Adams’ usual witty banter over the course of the evening. -Steph Port, photo by Steph Port

Run the Jewels

By the time El-P and Killer Mike dove into “Blockbuster Night, Part 1” and “Oh My Darling Don’t Cry” from their critically acclaimed sophomore record, the capacity crowd was fully entrenched in RTJ’s aggro-hip-hop stylings. But unlike most of the dates on their “Run the World Tour” so far, this one was loaded with top-notch special guests. -Josh Herwitt, photo by Josh Herwitt

The xx

Taking the audience on a breathtaking journey through light and sound, The xx, outfitted with their stunning new stage design, worked the title of their new album and tour “I See You” into the show. With filtered lights bouncing off rotating mirrors that were interspersed throughout the stage’s parameters, The xx used stark contrasts of chiaroscuro as well as dramatic LED screens to envelop each audience member’s sensory perception. -Molly Kish, photo by Norm de Veyra

Tool

For as long as Tool have made their fans wait for a new album, they can still sell out shows with the best of them. The prog-metal giants have cultivated a fan base whose loyalty is akin to that of Rush’s over the last 25 years, and as they debuted new, mind-blowing visuals to pair with a heavy-hitting setlist for their latest trek across North America, they once again showed that there really isn’t another band out there like them. -Josh Herwitt, photo by Josh Herwitt

Kendrick Lamar

Closing out the fest is no short order for any artist, let alone one who dropped his new album less than 48 hours before taking the stage, but K-Dot lived up to the billing with a show that provoked as much thought as it entertained. “Levitating” onstage, trading lines with Future, ScHoolboy Q and Travis Scott (all of whom performed separately during Coachella) and running through the hits, Kendrick reminded us that the rap throne belongs to him and only him right now. -Josh Herwitt, photo courtesy of Coachella

Radiohead

But Radiohead more than made up for it with a masterful setlist that opened with A Moon Shaped Pool cuts “Daydreaming”, “Desert Island Disk” and “Ful Stop” before circling back to older hits such as “Everything in Its Right Place”, “There There”, “Idioteque” and even “Creep”. And the ensuing five-song encore, punctuated by OK Computer singles “Paranoid Android” and “Karma Police” (with the crowd singing the song’s final lyrics in unison as they walked off stage, which delivered chills down the spine), only provided further validation for making the trip out to the desert this year. -Josh Herwitt, photo courtesy of Coachella

What has been your favorite show of 2017 so far? Let us know in the comments section below!

Filed Under: Best of 2017, Editor's Picks, Featured Tagged With: Best of 2017, Bonobo, Kendrick Lamar, Moderat, Radiohead, Run The Jewels, Ryan Adams, Sigur Ros, The Flaming Lips, The xx, Tool

After more than 30 years, The Flaming Lips are still one of music’s most wildly entertaining live acts

May 16, 2017 by Josh Herwitt Leave a Comment

By Josh Herwitt //

The Flaming Lips with Klangstof //
The Theatre at Ace Hotel – Los Angeles
May 9th, 2017 //

Say what you want about The Flaming Lips’ music. You might call it strange, humorous or even childish. I guess that’s to be expected when one of your most popular songs is called “She Don’t Use Jelly” and another goes by the name of “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots”.

But not too many rock bands have been able to say they put on a show quite like Wayne Coyne and company have for more than three decades now. When it comes to live performance, The Flaming Lips are one of those bucket-list bands every live music fan should see at least once. Even as Coyne nears the age of 60, the Lips haven’t forgot how to entertain a crowd, whether it’s at a music festival or at one of their own stand-alone gigs.

I had caught The Flaming Lips live a handful of times prior to their show at The Theatre at Ace Hotel in LA, but never had I watched them perform in a theater, let alone one with a capacity of only 1,600. The show, not surprisingly, was sold out, and for a weeknight, it was impressive to look around the venue’s lobby and see a number of audience members dressed in costume for the occasion. And maybe it was only fitting considering this latest tour was named “There Should Be Unicorns” after the band’s Oczy Mlody track featuring Reggie Watts.

The Lips, of course, made sure to play that song, and even though it was without Watts, it still proved to be an unforgettable moment due to the fact that Coyne rode a life-size unicorn from one end of the stage to the other as he belted out lines like “Yeah, there should be unicorns / The ones with the purple eyes / It should be loud as fuck / Hope the swans don’t die” to open the tune while wearing a big smile across his face. If that’s not psychedelic to you, then I don’t know what is.

At any Flaming Lips show, there are always an array of theatrics. From confetti cannons and balloons to rainbow visuals, there’s a lot more to the performance than simply just the music. But that doesn’t mean the music comes second to the rest of the “show.” Halfway through the set, Coyne and his fellow bandmates — Michael Ivins (bass, keyboards, vocals), Steven Drozd (guitar, keyboards, bass, drums, vocals), Derek Brown (guitar, keyboards, percussion, vocals), Jake Ingalls (keyboards, guitar), Matt Duckworth (drums, percussion, keyboards, vocals) and Nick Ley (percussion, drums, samples) — unleashed an apropos cover of David Bowie’s 1969 hit “Space Oddity” considering it felt like we could have been living on another planet inside The Theatre at Ace Hotel.

Though the setlist hasn’t changed much since the Lips embarked on their tour in support of this year’s Oczy Mlody, they’ve assembled a collection of songs that any fan can get behind. In addition to dialing it back to the late 90’s with tracks like “Race for the Prize” and Waitin’ for a Superman” from The Soft Bulletin, the Oklahoma City sextet also worked in “The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song (With All Your Power)” and “The W.A.N.D.”, two of my favorite cuts on the group’s 2006 studio album At War with the Mystics.

With the show extending past midnight, the Lips returned to the stage for one last hurrah, a three-song encore that made us feel young again (even for those of us who aren’t anymore). Yet, as they put the finishing touches on the night with “Do You Realize??” off their critically acclaimed 2002 LP Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, I couldn’t help but think that after almost 35 years on the scene, The Flaming Lips — unicorns and all — still throw one hell of a party.

How’s that for a Tuesday night?

Setlist:
Race for the Prize
Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Pt. 1
There Should Be Unicorns
Pompeii Am Götterdämmerung
The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song (With All Your Power)
What Is the Light?
The Observer
How??
Space Oddity (David Bowie cover)
Feeling Yourself Disintegrate
The Castle
Are You a Hypnotist??
The W.A.N.D.
A Spoonful Weighs a Ton

Encore:
She Don’t Use Jelly
Waitin’ for a Superman
Do You Realize??

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, Live Music Reviews Tagged With: Klangstof, The Flaming Lips, The Theatre at Ace Hotel

After making Coachella history, Klangstof are blazing a trail for other Dutch indie bands

May 8, 2017 by Josh Herwitt Leave a Comment

Photo by Jack McKain // Written by Josh Herwitt //

Those of us who have been attending Coachella for a while know how difficult it is for artists filling early-afternoon slots to draw large crowds at the Empire Polo Club. The sun, for one, is usually scorching hot by then, and most of the acts performing between the hours of 12 and 3 p.m. are still relatively unknown.

But for some on the come up like Klangstof, who this year became the first Dutch band to ever perform at Coachella, just the opportunity to play one of the oldest and biggest music festivals in the U.S. has already paid huge dividends back home.

“We’ve never really been big in our home country,” says bandleader Koen van de Wardt, who started Klangstof as a solo project when he was 14 years old and living in Norway at the time. “Being the first (Dutch) band to play Coachella gave us that boost.”

It’s only been a little more than a couple weeks since Klangstof hit the stage for Coachella’s second weekend, but since returning home to Amsterdam, van de Wardt says the response has been palpable.

“I hope it’s a start for more Dutch bands to play big U.S. festivals,” he adds. “We have a pretty cool indie scene. I hope we’re a band that can get things going for Dutch indie culture.”

So far, they’re off to a strong start. This month van de Wardt (vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards) and his colleagues — Wannes Salome (keyboards, vocals), Jun Christian Villanueva (drums, programming) and Jobo Engh (guitar) — kick off a 21-date North American tour that will see them open for The Flaming Lips and Miike Snow and make appearances at other major U.S. festivals like Sasquatch!, Bonnaroo and Firefly along the way. That’s not bad for a new band with members who have only been playing together for a year.

As van de Wardt explains, turning Klangstof into a touring outfit wasn’t his intention. When he first started writing the demos for what would become — over a seven-year stretch — the group’s 2016 debut LP Close Eyes to Exit, it was simply “out of boredom.”

Yet, everything changed for van de Wardt when he uploaded “Hostage” as the first Klangstof song to his Soundcloud account in 2015. Two days later, he picked up the phone in the middle of the night to learn it was David Dann from Mind of a Genius, the London/Los Angeles-based indie label that has ZHU, Gallant, THEY. and KWAYE currently signed to its roster. Dann liked what he had heard and saw Klangstof as the next addition to his growing list of clients — and van de Wardt was more than happy to oblige to deals with Mind of a Genius and subsequently Warner Bros. Records months later.

“I never thought something like that would’ve happened,” the 24-year-old frontman admits.

It was from that point that van de Wardt had to consider something he hadn’t had to quite yet: How was he going to play his music live? He spent the next six months searching for the right musicians to join him before settling on Villanueva and Engh, two of his friends from Norway, as well as Salome, whom van de Wardt had only “met” through Facebook but knew to be one of the “top synth wizards in The Netherlands.”

“It has been a pretty weird journey because I never wrote the record as something that I was going to play live,” he says. “I just did everything myself.”

And while turning his solo project into a live band was an adjustment for van de Wardt, it’s not like he hadn’t played in bands before. In fact, just a few years prior, he had moved from Norway to The Netherlands to join Dutch indie band Moss, which he says ultimately helped him decide if he wanted to pursue music as a full-time profession or not. Even more, it gave van de Wardt the confidence to start his own project and eventually assemble his own band, the same one that he’ll bring this week to The Theatre at Ace Hotel in LA and Fox Theater in Oakland as opening support for the three-time Grammy-winning Flaming Lips.

“I feel now after one year with the band, I know what the Klangstof sound is,” he asserts.

Such a sound, with its alt-rock roots and electropop tinges, has drawn lofty comparisons to Radiohead, a group that van de Wardt cites as one of his major influences, but you can also hear hints of other prominent UK “indie” bands, from alt-J to Foals, in the finished product. Meanwhile, onstage it’s been an exhilarating experience for van de Wardt, who can’t wait to jump back in the studio with his bandmates once they’re off the road at the end of this year.

“I’m really excited to go in and record the second album because I feel like all four of us know what we’re doing and how it should be sounding now,” he says, and hearing that from van de Wardt should be music to any Klangstof fan’s ears.

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, Interviews Tagged With: Bonnaroo, Bonnaroo 2017, Coachella, Coachella 2017, Coachella Music and Arts Festival, Firefly, Firefly 2017, Klangstof, Miike Snow, Mind of a Genius Records, Moss, Sasquatch!, Sasquatch! 2017, The Flaming Lips, The Theatre at Ace Hotel, Warner Bros. Records

Albums you’ll want to hear in 2017

January 9, 2017 by Josh Herwitt Leave a Comment

Written by Josh Herwitt //

For as bad as 2016 might have been, there’s no question it yielded some excellent albums. So, what’s in store for 2017? It’s still early, but from what we know right now, there’s plenty of new music on the horizon — and a lot of it we can’t wait to get our hands on.

Here are 10 upcoming albums (in chronological order by release date) that you’ll want to hear and could very well end up being on some “Best of 2017” lists in another 12 months.

Bonobo – Migration

Release date: January 13th
Record label: Ninja Tune

British musician, producer and DJ Simon Green has organically built a loyal following among electronic music fans for almost two decades with a unique sound that combines downtempo electronica with trip-hop and world-music influences. Since 2013’s The North Borders, he has moved to Los Angeles and recorded his sixth LP Migration, which boasts a few notable guest appearances from Nick Murphy (fka Chet Faker), Rhye and Hundred Waters.

The Flaming Lips – Oczy Mlody

Release date: January 13th
Record label: Warner Bros.

Wayne Coyne and his psychedelic sidekicks have been busy over the last few years, recording Beatles cover album With a Little Help From My Fwends in 2014 and releasing a collaborative LP with Miley Cyrus the following year. On their 15th studio effort, the difficult-to-pronounce Oczy Mlody that drops on Coyne’s birthday, the Lips return to the days of Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots and get a little help from their pop-star “fwend” on closing track “We a Famly”.

SOHN – Rennen

Release date: January 13th
Record label: 4AD

London native Christopher Taylor has been known for working extensively with such artists as BANKS, Lana Del Rey and Rhye, but his transition in becoming a legitimate solo act was cemented with the release of his 2014 debut LP Tremors, which peaked at No. 31 on the UK charts. Now calling LA his home, he has spent the last three years constructing Rennen, his second record as SOHN that’s led by “Signal” and its frighteningly beautiful music video.

The xx – I See You

Release date: January 13th
Record label: Young Turks

No impending album in the first quarter of 2017 may have as much hype around it as The xx’s I See You, their long-awaited follow-up to 2012’s Coexist. The build-up to its release in the last few months has seen the London trio perform on SNL, where they showcased lead single “On Hold” and debuted “I Dare You”, and play shows in Eastern Europe to go along with the news of guitarist/vocalist Romy Madley Croft’s recent engagement.

Cloud Nothings – Life Without Sound

Release date: January 27th
Record label: Carpark Records

Lo-fi noise rockers Cloud Nothings have come a long way since Dylan Baldi started recording songs in his parents’ basement. With their last two LPs — 2012’s Attack on Memory and 2014’s Here and Nowhere Else — garnering critical acclaim from the music media, the four-piece will release Life Without Sound, its fifth studio album and first with lead guitarist Chris Brown now officially a member of the band, later this month.

Japandroids – Near to the Wild Heart of Life

Release date: January 27th
Record label: ANTI-

Known for their DIY approach and high-energy performances, Brian King and David Prowse are back after what some may have considered a brief hiatus since touring in support of their 2012 studio album Celebration Rock. This time, the Canadian garage-punk duo is signed to a new label, with its third LP Near to the Wild Heart of Life set to drop on ANTI- in a couple of weeks before embarking on a 20-date North American tour this winter.

Elbow – Little Fictions

Release date: February 3rd
Record label: Polydor

2017 marks a big year for Elbow. The Mercury Prize winners have been going at it for 20 years, and to celebrate the occasion, frontman Guy Garvey and company are unveiling their seventh studio album Little Fictions, which features collaborations with The Hallé Orchestra and their choir after longtime drummer Richard Jupp announced in 2016 that he was leaving the group to pursue other creative projects, from expanding his drum school to various charity work.

Sampha – Process

Release date: February 3rd
Record label: Young Turks

Sampha Sisay, who performs under his mononymous stage name, has built much of his reputation on working with high-profile artists like Drake, Kanye West and Solange. But almost seven years after unveiling his debut EP Sundanza, the South London electronic musician, singer-songwriter and producer is finally dropping his own full-length effort, highlighted by previously released singles “Timmy’s Prayer” and “Blood on Me”.

Ryan Adams – Prisoner

Release date: February 17th
Record label: PAX AM/Blue Note

At the age of 42, Ryan Adams is as prolific as any musician out there right now, with Prisoner marking his 16th LP and the follow-up to his Taylor Swift cover album. And while he has been teasing the record for about six months, originally hinting at a possible November release, the alt-country songwriter gets ready for his next chapter, which he says was inspired by 80’s rock giants like Bruce Springsteen and AC/DC despite coping with a very public divorce at the time.

The Shins – Headworms

Release date: March 10
Record label: Columbia

By the time The Shins unleash their fifth LP this March, it will be nearly five years between album releases for the Portland-based outfit. Of course, it’s no secret that bandleader James Mercer keeps a tight schedule between The Shins and Broken Bells, but on Heartworms, the Albuquerque native made sure to include “So Now What”, the song he wrote for the “Wish I Was Here” soundtrack that he later said was “one of the best things” he has ever done.

The following artists and bands are expected to release new albums in 2017 but have yet to confirm an official release date and/or an album title:

ANTEMASQUE
Arcade Fire
Broken Social Scene
Bruce Springsteen
Chic
Chromatics
Depeche Mode
Diddy
DJ Premier
Gorillaz
Grizzly Bear
GZA
Haim
Jesu/Sun Kil Moon
John Mayer
Kanye West
The Killers
LCD Soundsystem
Lupe Fiasco
Major Lazer
Mastodon
Modest Mouse
My Morning Jacket
The National
The Offspring
Pond
Ride
Sky Ferreira
Spiritualized
St. Vincent
T.I.
Troye Sivan
Vampire Weekend
Wyclef Jean
Zack de la Rocha

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, New Music Tagged With: Antemasque, Arcade Fire, Bonobo, Broken Social Scene, Bruce Springsteen, Chic, Chromatics, Cloud Nothings, Depeche Mode, Diddy, DJ Premier, Elbow, Gorillaz, Grizzly Bear, GZA, Haim, Japandroids, Jesu, john mayer, Kanye West, LCD Soundsystem, Lupe Fiasco, Major Lazer, Mastodon, Modest Mouse, My Morning Jacket, New Music, Pond, Ride, Ryan Adams, Sampha, Sky Ferreira, SOHN, Spiritualized, St. Vincent, Sun Kil Moon, T.I., The Flaming Lips, The Killers, The National, The Offspring, The Shins, The xx, Troye Sivan, Vampire Weekend, Wyclef Jean, Zack de la Rocha

With SnowBall canceled again, why does Colorado still not have a large-scale music festival?

January 15, 2016 by Josh Herwitt 1 Comment

Written by Josh Herwitt //

Ever since I started visiting Denver on an annual basis to attend concerts at the world-famous Red Rocks Amphitheatre, it was easy to see just how important live music was to the state of Colorado. From rock to electronic to hip-hop, there has never been a shortage of shows in The Centennial State, which still boasts one of the best live music scenes in the country today.

Which brings me to yesterday, when a random thought came over me as to when SnowBall Music Festival would be releasing its 2016 lineup. The three-day fest, which I attended from 2011-2013, was forced to cancel its 2015 edition but assured fans that it would be returning in 2016 and specifically to the mountains, where it all started in Avon, Colo.

Yet, after taking a look at SnowBall’s Facebook page, I quickly noticed that no updates had been posted to it since January 2015, when the festival announced that it would not be taking place in 2015. With almost a whole year of no news, it was strange to not see anything by now, so I decided to comment on SnowBall’s last Facebook post, asking when its 2016 lineup might be released.

Within 30 minutes of posting my comment, the festival released an official statement on their Facebook page, stating that SnowBall had been canceled for a second straight year and would not be returning to the mountains in 2016 after all. The news, of course, didn’t shock me, as I expected at this point it wouldn’t be happening considering that there were no updates on the festival’s social media channels for nearly a year.

But as I continue to think about the live music landscape in Colorado, it continues to surprise me that the state has yet to host its own large-scale music festival on a year-to-year basis. With comparable U.S. cities like Seattle, Austin, San Francisco and Las Vegas all holding their own unique music festivals, it’s hard to understand why Denver hasn’t jumped on board by now. Add in the fact that AEG Live, which produces the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in conjunction with West Coast concert promoter Goldenvoice each April, is a subsidiary of the Denver-based Anschutz Corporation, and it’s even more perplexing when you stop and think about it.

That’s not to say that Colorado doesn’t have its fair share of music festivals already — Global Dance Festival, Sonic Bloom, ARISE Music Festival and the Telluride Bluegrass Festival are all still in circulation — but none of them feature an eclectic bill of artists that garners national attention like Sasquatch!, Austin City Limits, Outside Lands and Life Is Beautiful all do. Riot Fest, which returned to Denver for its third year last August, is the closest thing Colorado has to a large-scale music festival, except it also throws separate editions in Toronto and Chicago, where the multi-day punk fest was born. In fact, when SnowBall debuted in 2011 with Pretty Lights, Bassnectar and The Flaming Lips serving as its headliners, there was hope among the festival’s organizers and fans that it could eventually develop into something bigger. But with SnowBall’s future looking rather bleak now, it’s unclear whether a large-scale music festival will ever make its home where the columbines grow.

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, Festivals Tagged With: AEG Live, ARISE Music Festival, Austin City Limits, Bassnectar, Colorado, Global Dance Festival, Life Is Beautiful, Outside Lands, Outside Lands Music Festival, Pretty Lights, Riot Fest, Sasquatch!, Sasquatch! Music Festival, SnowBall, SnowBall Music Festival, Sonic Bloom, Telluride Bluegrass Festival, The Anschutz Corporation, The Flaming Lips

Bay Area music fans ring in 2016 at The Big One

January 8, 2016 by The Bam Team Leave a Comment

Photos by Josh Miller & Erin Milgram // Written by Molly Kish & Kevin Quandt //

The Big One //
Bill Graham Civic Auditorium – San Francisco
December 31st, 2015 //

2016 descended upon SF in epic fashion at Another Planet Entertainment’s New Year’s Eve celebration, aptly titled “The Big One”. With more than 17 musical acts, live art installations and three separate galleries of entertainment at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, partygoers were showered by a psychedelic flurry of confetti and balloons during The Flaming Lips’ midnight countdown and continued partying into the early-morning hours.

We were on the scene to revel in what easily was the Bay Area’s wildest NYE 2015 party, and here are our favorite highlights from the night.

The Flaming Lips

When one considers bombastic artists to ring in a New Year or perform at any major party holiday, The Flaming Lips likely come to mind, as the Oklahoma City psych-rock band has created one of the most over-the-top displays in the music industry. This evening was no exception as frontman Wayne Coyne started the evening atop a structure that could be described as some warped, LED octopus. “The Gold Mountain in our Madness” opened the Lips’ set as the energy in the room quickly lifted from the mellow vibes of Tycho that came before. The mercury continued to rise as the midnight hour approached. A cover of the Miley Cyrus collaboration “Evil Is But a Shadow” was the first track to greet the attendees in 2016, and though some were bummed we didn’t get an appearance from Miley, the celebratory atmosphere was in full swing. -KQ

Ratatat

Ratatat kept feet moving with their unique amalgamation of dance rock, which left many to decide between head-banging and crushing dance moves. “Pricks of Brightness” and “Loud Pipes” were early highlights from this Brooklyn duo, who saw a tremendous return to form in 2015 with the release of Magnifique. Props should be given to Another Planet Entertainment and HUSHconcerts for slotting in this live duo over a big-name DJ. Moves like this make us hopeful for The Big One in the coming years. -KQ

Tycho

The late cancellation from XXYYXX left some attendees in Larkin Hall a tad disappointed, but an extended set from Scott Hansen, popularly known as Tycho, kept revelers in the mood for continued dance-floor high jinks. As this DJ set stretched into its second hour, Hanson shifted to a style more akin to the beat-bass stylings of the original slated artist. This move may have even thrown some for a loop, as they could have easily assumed it was XXYYXX at the helm. -KQ

Shigeto

Ghostly International recording artist Shigeto (born Zachary Shigeto Saginaw) held his own in Larkin Hall while being pitted against the downtempo soundscapes of Tycho in the venue’s main room. Serving as the perfect transition between his labelmate Scott Hanson’s ambient performance and The Flaming Lips’ onslaught of maniacal theatrics, Shigeto’s stripped-down live show was a welcomed choice for those attendees looking to ramp it up a notch before the NYE midnight countdown. He performed at ground level to an intimately devoted crowd and layered his jazz-infused electronic beats over mind-blowing live percussion, switching back and forth in real time between manning his mixing board and pounding away feverishly on his full drum kit mere inches away from the audience. -MK

Gramatik

After a mind-melting, ball-dropping performance from The Flaming Lips, the audience was reinvigorated by the ax-wielding electronic giants Ratatat, followed by Slovenia-born and Brooklyn-based producer Gramatik. Heavy bass lines and spine-tingling beats filled the main auditorium as Denis Jašarević, in prime position to close the night’s festivities out on a high, took over the main auditorium with his signature glitch-hop bangers. Although much of the crowd had thinned by the time this early-hours set commenced, true ragers were in rare form and ready to “womp” their way into 2016. Dropping a slew of hits, including his single “Native Son” featuring Raekwon, Gramatik kept his audience moving all the way until 3 a.m. Crowd members sprawled throughout the entire auditorium, dancing and laughing until the final bassline thumps knocked the remnants of glitter, confetti and balloons from the rafters. -MK

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, Festival Reviews, Festivals, Live Music Reviews Tagged With: Another Planet, Another Planet Entertainment, Gramatik, HUSHconcerts, NYE, NYE 2015, Ratatat, Shigeto, The Big One, The Big One SF, The Big One SF 2015, The Flaming Lips, Tycho

SF Show of the Week // GO4FREE to The Big One at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium 12/31 (THUR)

December 29, 2015 by The Bam Team Leave a Comment

Written by Nik Crossman //

The Big One //
Bill Graham Civic Auditorium – San Francisco
December 31st, 2015 //

With 2015 coming to an end, let’s take a moment to reflect on all the incredible music we’ve experienced over the last year. From our Top 25 live music acts to The Bam Team’s five favorite shows, albums and songs of 2015, there was no shortage of great musical memories in 2015.

So, what better way to end this amazing year and ring in the New Year than with 17 incredible artists at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium?

Presented by Another Planet Entertainment and HUSHconcerts, The Big One brings you a mini-festival with main-stage, warm-up performances from homegrown talent like Tycho and Geographer before The Flaming Lips explode into 2016. On two side stages, Ratatat, Gramatik, Gigamesh and many more will support the celebration. Check out the poster above for the full lineup.

The Bam Team is truly honored and excited to offer our readers an opportunity to earn free admission to this brand-new vision of New Year’s Eve spectacle. Tickets are available for $95, or you could win a pair of tickets by submitting your full name and email below.

Contest ends this Thursday at 3 p.m.

Follow Showbams on Twitter for more contest giveaways throughout the week. Be the first to respond to our contest tweets to GO4FREE to these shows:

• Con Brio: December 30th (WED) & December 31st (THUR) at The Chapel

Enter your name (First and Last) along with your email below. If you win a contest, you’ll be notified on the day the contest ends (details above).

Like Showbams on Facebook, follow Showbams on Twitter and follow Showbams on Instagram. Subscribe to our social channels for a better chance to win!

CONTEST CLOSED.

Filed Under: Contests Tagged With: Another Planet, Another Planet Entertainment, Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, Christopher Willits, Geographer, Gigamesh, Gramatik, HUSHconcerts, Kraak & Smaak, KRAKINOV, LATE NIGHT RADIO, Motion Potion, Pumpkin, Ratatat, Shigeto, The Big One, The Big One SF, The Flaming Lips, THRIFTWORKS, Tycho, WILL CLARKE, Worthy

The 25 best live music acts of 2015

December 28, 2015 by The Bam Team 3 Comments

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:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Filed Under: Best of 2015, Editor's Picks, Featured Tagged With: Allen Stone, Alt-J, Bad Religion, Battles, BØRNS, Beirut, Belle and Sebastian, Best of 2015, Big Grams, Billy Idol, Black Lips, Blonde Redhead, Broods, Built To Spill, Catfish and the Bottlemen, Chet Faker, Chromeo, City and Colour, Classixx, Cold War Kids, D'Angelo, D'Angelo and the Vanguard, dam-funk, Damien Rice, Dan Deacon, Death Cab For Cutie, Deerhunter, Dengue Fever, Django Django, Dr. Dog, Eagles of Death Metal, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, Empire of the Sun, Failure, Faith No More, Father John Misty, FKA twigs, Flight Facilities, Florence & the Machine, Glen Hansard, Goldroom, Gorgon City, Holly Herndon, Hot Chip, Interpol, Israel Nash, James Bay, Jamie xx, Jeff Tweedy, Jenny Lewis, JMSN, Jose Gonzalez, Jurassic 5, Kanye West, Kate Tempest, Kendrick Lamar, Kindness, King Tuff, Les Sins, Lord Huron, Lotus, Marina and the Diamonds, Miami Horror, Milky Chance, Modest Mouse, Morrissey, MS MR, My Morning Jacket, Natalie Prass, Neon Indian, Odesza, Of Montreal, Oneohtrix Point Never, Panda Bear, Penguin Prison, Phantogram, Portugal. The Man, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Purity Ring, Puscifer, Ratatat, Royal Blood, San Fermin, Shlohmo, Slow Magic, SOHN, St. Paul and The Broken Bones, STRFKR, Sturgill Simpson, Sufjan Stevens, Surfer Blood, Talib Kweli, Tame Impala, Tennis, The Black Keys, The Chemical Brothers, The Flaming Lips, The Glitch Mob, The Jesus and Mary Chain, The Kills, Toro Y Moi, Tycho, Umphrey's McGee, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Viet Cong, Vintage Trouble, Vulfpeck, Widespread Panic, YACHT

10 takeaways from Shaun White’s first Air + Style on U.S. soil

February 26, 2015 by The Bam Team Leave a Comment

Photos by Josh Herwitt, Melissa Hebeler & Matthew Nordman // Written by Josh Herwitt & Pete Mauch //

Shaun White Presents Air + Style //
Rose Bowl – Pasadena, CA
February 21st-22nd, 2015 //

Olympic gold medalist, X Games superstar and part-time actor/musician Shaun White brought the first-ever Air + Style contest to the States last weekend, taking over the Rose Bowl grounds for two days of extreme sports, music and art. Yes, in case you haven’t noticed, “The Flying Tomato” has become quite the renaissance man these days.

Air + Style officials, in fact, estimated that approximately 40,000 folks attended the event, but we’re a little skeptical of that number after a sparse turnout Sunday thanks to some unforgiving weather. While many attendees, including quite a few media members, only showed up for Saturday’s festivities, we made our way back to Pasadena to catch more live music and brave Sunday’s torrential downpour.

So, with plenty of highs and lows over the course of the weekend, here are 10 things we took away from two action-packed days at Air + Style.

10. These ph-ancy pants

OK, we know she’s dating Shaun White, but Phantogram lead singer Sarah Barthel undoubtedly took home the “Best Outfit” award, donning a pair of leopard sequin pants during the band’s hour-long set on Saturday. Unfortunately we couldn’t hear Barthel’s vocals all that well, but that wasn’t exactly her fault. That was for the sound guy to figure out — or not. More on that below.

9. Surf’s up

One of the few highlights on Sunday was a 45-minute set by alt-rock group Surfer Blood. Hailing from Florida, these four dudes brought a much-needed, high-energy set during the heaviest rainfall of the day. The band kept mentioning the rain and how much they appreciated everyone sticking around to see them. It seemed that the crowd didn’t mind — they just wanted to rock. Their big hit “Swim” was the perfect fit for the rain-soaked crowd, who could have swam around in the pit if they wanted.

8. Not so Sharpe

Edward Sharpe, aka Alex Ebert, made a big splash in 2009 with songs like “Janglin” and “Home” from Up From Below, but it’s been all downhill since then. Ebert broke up with then-girlfriend/vocalist Jade Castrinos, kicked her out of the band and is now resorting to using audiences to sing Castrinos’ parts. But when only a few hundred people show up to see your set, that doesn’t really work too well.

7. Getting colorful

One of the festival’s big positives were the live paintings on Saturday by three talented artists from the greater Los Angeles area. Craola, Jeff Soto and James Haunt each brought a unique graffiti style to their individual walls and were very gracious in answering questions from lots of drunken festivalgoers.

6. Cult following

We didn’t know much about Cults before their 4:45 p.m. set on Sunday, but the New York indie-pop outfit had the small, yet lively crowd at the Flood Magazine Stage cheering them on in the rain. Even with the band’s instruments getting soaked, forcing them to lay down towels over them when they weren’t being used, you could tell vocalist Madeline Follin and guitarist/keyboardist Brian Oblivion were having a good ol’ time — and it rubbed off on everyone else.

5. BIG air

Another obvious high point of the weekend was the gigantic, 16-story big air jump in the middle of the Rose Bowl fairgrounds. About 30 truly gifted athletes launched themselves into the dark grey sky on Saturday and the beginning part of Sunday, and it was quite fun to watch in between the musical acts. Sunday afternoon’s rainstorm put a damper on the ski final, which had to be canceled, but the few attendees who made it back for Day 2 didn’t seem to mind.

4. Flaming hot

The last time we saw The Flaming Lips come through LA, they were sharing the bill with Tame Impala and Wayne Coyne was dressing up as “Carrie.” The Lips didn’t bring their “A” game that night at The Greek Theatre, but they sounded a whole lot cleaner and tighter on Sunday despite only getting to play for a total of 30 minutes (their set time was scheduled to be one hour and 15 minutes) due to weather-related equipment issues.

3. First-time festival problems

The lines at all the concession stands and bathrooms were absolutely horrendous. If you were lucky enough to notice the makeshift beer stands next to each stage, then that saved you easily an hour for each beer purchase. We heard that people were waiting in line for a $10 PBR for over a hour! Those who came back on Sunday were rewarded with no lines anywhere, but that came with the price of getting completely drenched.

2. These guys rocked

While Diplo had the majority of attendees fist-pumping their way through his hour-long set on the Main Stage, Portland-by-way-of-Alaska psych-rockers Portugal. The Man followed EDM’s most misogynistic DJ with one of the best sets of the weekend. The LCD projections, some of them featuring frontman John Gourley’s drawings, on the diminutive Flood Magazine Stage jived perfectly with a performance that was highlighted by covers of Oasis’ “Don’t Look Back in Anger” and Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall.”

1. Kendrick Lame-ar

Compton native Kendrick Lamar’s headlining set on Saturday could have been amazing, but the volume was just too low. After constantly hounding the sound guy in between each barely-audible song, Lamar finally got the volume turned up, but it was only for one song — and he chose to redo “m.A.A.d city” again?!?! We can thank Pasadena’s noise ordinance laws for that one or the festival organizers for choosing to host the event outside the Rose Bowl.

Air + Style 2015 - Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, Festivals Tagged With: Air + Style, Air + Style 2015, Air + Style LA, Air + Style LA 2015, Cults, Diplo, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, Kendrick Lamar, Phantogram, Portugal. The Man, Rose Bowl, Shaun White, Surfer Blood, The Black Lips, The Flaming Lips

Outside Lands Day 3: Flume draws massive crowd, inspires tree dancing

August 11, 2014 by Mike Frash 3 Comments

Photos by Marc Fong // Written by Mike Frash //

Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival //
Golden Gate Park – San Francisco
August 8th-10th, 2014 //

When we wrote about Flume possibly playing Outside Lands this year in our artist rumors article, we mentioned the Australian DJ could headline this year, a divisive point that got some folks questioning our claim. Based on the crowd that showed up and the high level of sustained excitement on Sunday, that possibility isn’t too far away for Harley Streten. Sure, CHVRCHES’ cancelling their set caused some massive swelling at the east end of the festival for Flume, but many of the disappointed must have found a new favorite.

Australian producer Harley Streten weaved together a crowd-pleasing set that had a saturated Twin Peaks field bouncing along with hands up for the duration, all in the 3 p.m. hour on Sunday. In the past year, Flume’s set has become more sophisticated, led by a restrained approach that intermingles hip-hop, trap, R&B and rap. The drops are inverted in their intensity compared to traditional EDM, offering slight delays and unpredictable syncopation.

Flume has helped to create and capitalize off music’s popular trend toward marrying dance music and hip-hop, and his ability to curate a festival-sized mega party cannot be questioned at this point. Fortune favors the bold …

Add in remixes, including Major Lazer’s “Get Free” & Lorde’s “Tennis Court”, while throwing back to Friday with a rework of Disclosure’s “You & Me” and “Insane” with Killer Mike’s verses, and even the uninitiated were pulled into the excitement. Streten was also able to bring in “Touched” by What So Not, his new duo with Emoh Instead.

And did I mention how packed it was? Twenty minutes before Flume was to start there was nowhere to go. Some folks had to resort to tree dancing … for mostly hilarious results (watch the video above). While the conservationist in me says raging out a tree for an hour isn’t right, it was pretty funny — but not to Ranger Dave. According to a user on a Reddit thread titled FLUME FUCKING KILLED IT, “Apparently he got fined, and just posted his ticket on Facebook.” So think twice before trying this next year.

Some shows, per usual, were very crowed this year. Perhaps too crowded. Atmosphere’s show on Saturday left no room to breath. Capital Cities looked really packed. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis easily outdrew Tom Petty. So, would you pay a little more money if Outside Lands sold less tickets? Or do you prefer the masses like penguins huddling to keep warm in the winter, or maybe just going to where the crowds aren’t.

• Woods are the most quintessential California band that is not from here — they call Brooklyn home. The group curates the Woodsist Festival down the road in Big Sur, their most famous song before this year was “Cali in a Cup”, and they felt right at home in the confines of Golden Gate Park early Sunday. When they played their new song “With Light And With Love” — one of the best songs of 2014 — the spirit of the Grateful Dead performances from the late ‘60s felt present on what used to be Speedway Meadow.

• Jenny Lewis, sporting a snazzy technicolor dream-coat that matches her new album cover for The Voyager, delighted with a slew of new cuts from the record along with some Rilo Kiley joints.

• A buzzy yet not overwhelming crowd came together for Spoon, who released their addictive new record They Want My Soul the Tuesday before Outside Lands. There are a bunch of future classics to be found in the new material that was played, including “Inside Out”, “Do You” & “Outlier”, and the new jams mixed in seamlessly with songs such as “I Turn My Camera On” and “I Summon You”. Britt Daniel looked inspired after four years on break from Spoon with Divine Fits. Watch for Spoon to have a big year, and give the new album a listen if you haven’t yet.

• You certainly can’t say The Flaming Lips aren’t trying. They seem to change from year to year, and when the Lips form a set that centers around Wayne Coyne’s voice as they did at Outside Lands, it can feel uninspired at times and triumphant at others, but our heroic muscle man gives 100 percent the entire time amongst psychedelic spectacle. Their Halloween show from 2013 in SF made my top 10 shows list last year because they took the opposite approach with Coyne’s voice, modulating it into an electronic instrument, and gone were the hyper happy Yoshimi songs, the cheerleaders, the confetti cannons and human hamster ball. All of it. Instead, the Halloween show was a glorious drone-filled, psychedelic freak out, reflecting the studio work they’d released the past two years.

Coyne and company realize a festival set is different than a normal show, so they have tried to find middle ground. The Flaming Lips leader wore a muscle body suit as if he was skinned, the cheerleaders are now put in rainbow, sun and earth costumes, while songs like “Do You Realize?” and “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds” were played with a dystopic, bleak tone. So, by having a setlist of lighter hits that were played through a jarring lens, nobody got what they really wanted. On a positive note, the Flaming Lips are keeping it weirder than ever, and many of the extended whiffs of Pink Floyd’s languid guitar hit the spot.

• We weren’t that excited about The Killers or Tiësto to finish the festival, but we’re ready to eat our hat. I went to Tiësto since I firmly believe it’s best to say goodbye with a dance party, leaving it all on the field. The Dutch DJ was far less anthemic than anticipated, dropping some surprisingly powerful bass that speaks to his progressive nature behind the dials. Lands End was going bonkers. The overall reaction to The Killers from various press and social media websites has been very positive — Another Planet Entertainment and Superfly Presents have got their fingers on the pulse of what works for entertaining the masses at Outside Lands. We’re already looking forward to the schedule for year No. 8 in 2015.

What was your favorite act on Sunday? Did you see the dude in the tree at Flume? Tell us your story below.

Filed Under: Featured, Festivals Tagged With: Flume, Jenny Lewis, Outside Lands, Outside Lands 2014, Spoon, The Flaming Lips, The Killers, Tiësto, What So Not, Woods

Outside Lands 2014 beer/artist pairings

July 21, 2014 by Steven Wandrey Leave a Comment

By Steven Wandrey and Corey Jay //

Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival //
Golden Gate Park – San Francisco
August 8th-10th, 2014 //

When strolling through the polo fields at Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival, sometimes you need a refreshing beverage. Most of the beers listed here are so good that you’ll have a sip and be forced to stop walking to take in the overwhelming flavors, but don’t lose your friends. Located conveniently at the back of the main stage, Beer Lands has been getting better and stronger with (mostly) local craft beer selections. Here is a carefully curated list of beer/artist pairings that will even further accentuate each other at the festival.

The wind rips through the park at night with a chill from the ocean, which is why there is a focus on darker more robust beers here. While all of these beers may not be the exact selections offered on the days of the festival, there are sure to be plenty of tasty options from these tip-top breweries.

View the 2014 schedule and create your custom grid to share with friends!
View our Outside Lands night show breakdown!

Bitter American by 21st Amendment Brewery for Kanye West

Here’s Kanye on a review for College Dropout: “A horrible album with just Jesus Walks on it is a four! C’mon dog, the demo version was a five! You need to rate it again, but you’ll have to create a new rating system.” Bitter, Kanye? While he may not actually be the most bitter person around, I think we can all agree that he is always full of … confidence. In spite of Kanye’s overflowing self-love and general obnoxious behavior, we’re all plenty stoked to go see the production Yeezus puts on. Bitter American is a hoppy American pale ale with relatively low ABV that’ll be perfect for the polo fields during the rap king’s headlining set. Just remember not to be too bitter while he’s ranting about how incredible he is (in the third person), and have fun. -SW

Wookey Jack American Black Ale by Firestone Walker Brewing for The Flaming Lips

When subjecting yourself to the intense sensory onslaught of the Flaming Lips’ live show, you may need a hefty beer to anchor yourself down. That’s where the Wookey Jack comes in. This 8.3-percent beer will give your taste buds a grip with a balance of syrupy but crisp, roast-y, hoppy goodness. The Flaming Lips may decide to play a set deeply mired in psychedelia or a poppy one heavy with Yoshimi, and you’ll be dually covered with the Wookey Jack. -SW

Inception by Triple Voodoo Brewing for Typhoon

Only four years since their debut release, Typhoon is experiencing a breakthrough in exposure and popularity. Their anthemic indie rock is cathartic and widely appealing. Triple Voodoo is also close to its debut release, and the SF-based brewery has been making big strides as well. Inception is a Belgian-style Triple with a dry finish that neatly disguises its burly alcohol percentage of 8 percent. Hopefully both Typhoon and Triple Voodoo continue to grow in popularity, because both are well deserved of their acclaim thus far. -SW

Campfire Stout by High Water Brewing for Woods

High Water Brewing out of San Leandro, Calif., has been making some fine brews for a while now, and one of the best is their Campfire Stout. Made for the outdoors, roasty malts, vanilla, caramel and marshmallows will swirl around your palate as Woods’ psychedelic-folk swirls in the air around you. This beer is as close to eating a s’more in liquid form as you can get. Touring in support of their new album With Light and With Love, Woods has a hefty slate of shows on the docket, including a night show at Brick & Mortar the night before their Outside Lands performance. -SW

Kalifornia Kolch by Magnolia Pub & Brewery for Nikki Bluhm and the Gramblers

Nikki Bluhm is a local favorite in SF because of her powerfully soulful singing and classic feel-good rock. What better way to enjoy the show than with a beer most likely brewed within five miles from her? Magnolia is making fantastic beer with storefronts in the Dogpatch and the Upper Haight. Assuming this is a day time show, their Kalifornia Kolch will blend perfectly with some sun and dancing. Clearly a group of heady guys, whatever Magnolia decided to bring will be solid. Other favorites are their Proving Grounds Double IPA and the Weakapaug Gruit. -SW

Bigfoot Barleywine Ale by Sierra Nevada Brewing for Duck Sauce

Right as the true depths of the intensely flavored Bigfoot by Sierra Nevada surface, the non stop rhythm and beastly sounds of the “Big Bad Wolf” by Duck Sauce should be allowing your true inhibitions to surface. The pairing will create a plethora of robust favors, explicit undertones, and sensual excitement if given the chance to groove side by side. When you see “Barbara Streisand” on the dance floor, just make sure to thank the local Bigfoot by Sierra Nevada. -CJ

Filed Under: Featured, Festivals Tagged With: 21st Amendment Brewery, Bigfoot Barleywine Ale, Bitter American, Campfire Stout, Duck Sauce, Firestone Walker Brewing, High Water Brewing, Inception, Kalifornia Kolch, Kanye West, Magnolia Pub & Brewery, Nikki Bluhm and the Gramblers, Outside Lands, Outside Lands 2014, Sierra Nevada Brewing, The Flaming Lips, Triple Voodoo Brewing, Typhoon, Woods, Wookey Jack American Black Ale

Outside Lands 2014 daily lineup highlights

April 17, 2014 by Mike Frash Leave a Comment

Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival //
Golden Gate Park – San Francisco
August 8th-10th, 2014 //

So, three-day tickets for Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival sold out in record time. Now’s your chance to snag single-day passes for SF’s premier music festival. Get ready: tickets go on sale Thursday, April 17th at 10 a.m.

Still choosing which day might be best for you? Here’s our take on the headliner options, along with choice picks and reasons to get there early this August in Golden Gate Park.

Friday, August 8th

HEADLINER OPTIONS: Kanye West Vs. Arctic Monkeys (or Disclosure)

Yeezus himself will handle headlining duties on day one, but the real question is whether or not Arctic Monkeys or Disclosure will helm Twin Peaks come nightfall. Both acts are worthy of a headlining slot — time will tell.

CHOICE PICKS:

Run the Jewels: El-P + Killer Mike , “Rap’s most dangerous Duo”, are returning to SF after their game changing shows last year at the Independent. Expect top notch beats over future-forward production. In a perfect world they would open for West.

Phosphorescent: Matthew Houck’s understated, twisted take on indie rock is refreshingly breathtaking, exemplified most strikingly by the majestic “Song for Zula”:

Holy Ghost!: Ready for a disco-dance party fed by instrumentals? Yes you are. One of our favorite acts from the last year will set Golden Gate park ablaze.

DIGGING DEEP: (reasons to get there early)

• Mikal Cronin
• Greensky Bluegrass
• Typhoon
• Bear Hands

THE VERDICT: Eclectic with as many rap options as dance choices.

Saturday, August 9th

HEADLINER OPTIONS: Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers vs. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

This one’s going to be a pretty simple choice for most folks — the classic rock singalongs versus the contemporary pop-rap anthems. These headliners starkly contrast from one another.

CHOICE PICKS:

SBTRKT: Known to perform with iconic tribal masks, Aaron Jerome fuses innovative electronic production with drums, synth, keys & live singing, usually with help from touring partner Sampha. SBTRKT’s new EP Transitions delves into icy-instrumental territory.

Atmosphere: Slug and Ant are back this year, and they’ve got a new song entitled “Kanye West”, which doesn’t go after the Day 1 headliner, but it does address hip-hop crowd interactions in a playful, positive way.

Tycho: Scott Hansen is as much a visual artist as he is a musician — his projected imagery melds simple geometry and super slow-mo romanticism and works in hand with his newly cemented band’s ambient, yet driving beats. This one deserves a night time slot, say closing down the Panhandle Stage?

DIGGING DEEP: (reasons to get there early)

• Woods
• Jagwar Ma
• Valerie June
• Trails and Ways

THE VERDICT: Save for a handful of rowdy spots (Macklemore, Duck Sauce, Capital Cities), the offerings are relatively mellow.

Sunday, August 10th

HEADLINER OPTIONS: The Killers vs. Tiësto (or The Flaming Lips)

These two options to end the weekend are, once again, clear cut. But here’s hoping Ranger Dave harkens back to the early years and offers a third headliner option in The Flaming Lips. Their drone-psyche spectacle of a freak out deserves darkness and would offer an incredible third option.

CHOICE PICKS:

Cut Copy: Every time these electronic-oriented Australians swing through the Bay Area, we’ll be there. Dan Whitford & Co. will make you dance and reach for the sky.

Lykke Li: The Swedish Songstress is returning to the touring circuit this year, and her first offerings from her forthcoming LP I Never Learn are more sedated than swirling. Li’s ownership of the stage and visceral passion request your attendance.

Flume: Skyrocketing electronic-music amalgamator Harley Streten creates big, bold beats centered by a chill tone. Since releasing his self-titled LP to worldwide acclaim in 2012, he’s brought in a host of top level rhymers to give the music new meaning and fresh life (listen below). We’re excited to see how this influences his live show.

DIGGING DEEP: (reasons to get there early)

• Gold Panda
• Courtney Barnett
• Jonathan Wilson
• Tumbleweed Wanderers

OVERALL VIBE: Sunday has a lot of high-decibel acts. A good day for dance enthusiasts.

Check out our Outside Lands 2014 playlist:

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, Festivals Tagged With: Arctic Monkeys, Atmosphere, Bear Hands, Courtney Barnett, Cut Copy, Disclosure, Flume, Gold Panda, Greensky Bluegrass, Holy Ghost, Jagwar Ma, Jonathan Wilson, Kanye West, Lykke LI, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Mikal Cronin, Outside Lands, Outside Lands Music Festival 2014, Phosphorescent, Run The Jewels, Sbtrkt, The Flaming Lips, The Killers, Tiësto, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Trails and Ways, Tumbleweed Wanderers, Tycho, Typhoon, Valerie June, Woods

Outside Lands 2014: Lineup locks, likely acts & long shots

March 12, 2014 by Kevin Quandt & Mike Frash 18 Comments

Photos by Tim Hampson // Written by Mike Frash & Kevin Quandt //

Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival //
Golden Gate Park – San Francisco
August 8th-10th, 2014 //

As we inch towards springtime, leading to summer, and Coachella is within a month’s reach, some Bay Area music freaks (like us) begin to speculate about who is gonna be gracing those stages freckled throughout Golden Gate Park come August. Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival is set to return to SF on August 8th-10th.

The greatest indicators are the group’s touring schedules — Osheaga Music Festival in Montreal and Pickathon in Oregon have announced their schedules the weekend prior to Outside Lands (with Lollapalooza to still be announced). Squamish Valley Music Festival in British Columbia is the same weekend as Outside Lands, but Vancouver is close enough for artists to double dip.

Conversely, we can confirm some big acts that won’t be on the bill due to scheduling conflicts. But if this is even close to what the Outside Lands 2014 lineup looks like, the Bay Area should be in for a delicious, fog-enhanced treat.

UPDATE 4/7: The lineup has been announced!

Lock It In (we think)

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band: A new album on the way and a lack of dates out West makes him a solid candidate for top billing this year. Also, keep in mind that OSL has never repeated headliners, as well as the fact that Super Fly (Bonnaroo), who along with Another Planet Presents, handles the bulk of the booking.

Arctic Monkeys: [CONFIRMED] These festival stalwarts announced an extensive tour with a noticeable gap in the western demographic which leads to speculation that they’ll return for a sub-headlining set. Confirmed for August 10th at Osheaga.

Chromeo: [CONFIRMED] A Red Rocks date on August 5th is a good sign that these party starters are en route back to San Francisco for a possible Twin Peaks headlining spot.

Modest Mouse: Confirmed for Osheaga, and with no California dates on the calendar for the recently announced tour, Modest Mouse is starting to look like a lock.

Cut Copy: [CONFIRMED] Cut Copy and Chromeo are on parallel tracks. Both will have played APE shows in the past year, and their tour buses are aligning toward the Bay in early August.

CHVRCHES: [CONFIRMED] Confirmed for Osheaga, it just makes sense that one of the the biggest breakout acts of 2013 will triumphantly return to the Bay after playing the Independent, Mezzanine & Fox Theater Oakland over the past year.

Flume: [CONFIRMED] It’s due time for this EDM heat-seeker to return to San Francisco, and what better place and time than Outside Lands. Flume’s popularity could land him Twin Peaks headlining duties.

Tycho: [CONFIRMED] Having become the darlings of Another Planet, what better progressive act to grace the bill than Tycho. Sold out shows in the coming weeks lend to a strong demand.

Foster the People: Performing at Squamish Valley Music Festival Friday lends a good possibility that Mark Foster and band will trek down to Golden Gate Park for a Sunday set. A slot at Osheaga Festival the weekend prior says they’ll be hitting many large events as they support their latest release Supermodel.

Iron & Wine and Glen Hansard: These two artists are booked to play Hollywood Bowl on August 10th, leading most savvy music aficionados to make the leap that these acts will be present.

Danny Brown: A lack of Bay Area dates coupled with spots on the ‘OSL crossover’ festival, Squamish, could mean we are in for a ‘Kush Koma’ with oddball, Danny Brown.

Likely To Appear

Elton John: The announcement of Sir Elton playing Bonnaroo has fueled this rumor nicely, even if questions of availability swirl. The main issue would be surrounding a clause with Caesars where John has a residency. However, this Vegas run ends in April, so it looks possible.

Green Day: These Bay Area legends have surprisingly never played Outside Lands, and it seems possible we’ll see them grace the main stage for a night with Billy Joe and company.

Coldplay: New music on the way, coupled with scheduled appearances at South by Southwest is a clear sign that Chris Martin and lads are gearing up to re-dominate the world with their anthemic rock. Also, never headlined OSL.

Tiësto: [CONFIRMED] Ranger Dave likes to book some of the biggest names in the EDM world to ‘compete’ with headliners, attracting a slightly younger crowd to congregate at Twin Peaks on most evenings. Tiësto’s production would fit nicely into the bigness of past DJ spotlights.

Frank Ocean: Frankie is mounting his come back after a relatively quiet past few years. His billing on Bonnaroo fuels the speculation that Super Fly booked him, and other acts, for more than just Roo.

The Flaming Lips: [CONFIRMED] Wayne Coyne has had a busy past few months with a recent release and some serious Fall touring. Now, as summer looms, it appears the Lips will be omnipresent at summer festivals. Recent Another Planet shows coupled with Bonnaroo presence make these weirdo legends a likely booking.

Lorde: Has any act ever gone to sub-headliner status this quickly? Based on her popularity and the way she’s altered the pop landscape, Lorde deserves it. She’s confirmed to play Osheaga and her April dates at Fox Theater sold out immediately.

Chance the Rapper: No longer Chicago’s secret, Chancelor Bennett needs to get better acquainted with the Bay Area. There is a gap in his schedule, and the Acid Rapper is confirmed for Osheaga.

HAIM: [CONFIRMED] For being California girls, sisters Este, Danielle and Alana could show a bit more love to the Bay Area (They’ve played in England over 20 times). Their first ever show in the Bay was at Treasure Island Music Festival last year, and their fauxchella Fillmore dates were tough tickets to snag as they sold out in seconds.

Lykke Li: [CONFIRMED] Confirmed for Friday of Squamish, it’s very possible the breathtaking Swedish singer-songwriter could grace Outside Lands on Sunday.

Foxygen: Even though there has been turmoil (broken legs, inner-band conflict), the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic should come play “San Francisco” in it’s namesake. The group is confirmed for Pickathon as well.

Mikal Cronin: [CONFIRMED] The singer-songwriter has become quite the popular local musician and would be ideal for a showcase of SF rock. Booked for the Oregon Pickathon means he’ll be active around this time.

Valerie June: [CONFIRMED] The American singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist is playing Pickathon and other West Coast dates prior to Outside Lands. June’s sound will fit nicely into the festival’s curation net.

It Could Happen

Kanye West: [CONFIRMED] As it appears OutKast will not be the infamous first hip-hop headliner, we look to Kanye West as an outside possibility as the debut of rap taking center stage one summer evening. Inclusion on Bonnaroo’s docket makes a reasonably strong start to an argument for Yeezy.

Eminem: Already a rumored headliner for Lollapalooza, Slim Shady has also booked a co-headlining date with Rihanna at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena the Thursday before Outside Lands while also confirmed for Squamish on Sunday the 10th. Starting to trend toward “likely”, should we be adding RiRi as a rumored headliner?

Tool: Already playing two SF shows in March, would it be that much of a surprise to see Tool headlining one night? Certainly they are big enough to handle top billing duties.

Pharrell Williams: A Ranger Dave’s “hat” tweet has led many to speculate the possibility of Williams’ presence on the festival grounds. Limited dates pepper his itinerary, so it’s anyone’s guess.

The Avett Brothers: Having not played the event in over five years and select festival appearances over the summer, one could make the argument that Avett will return. Bonnaroo booking also helps this case.

Kendrick Lamar: K-Dot’s touring schedule is open, but there are no obvious indicators an Outside Lands appearance will happen. But for a festival that’s usually short on hip hop & rap, it would be too fun to see the Outside Lands stage and surrounding area get crazy during “Backseat Freestyle”.

Gogol Bordello: The Gypsy-punk freaks are confirmed to play Osheaga, and they played Outside Lands in 2010. A return seems possible.

Jagwar Ma: [CONFIRMED] Being rather active in the festival realm in 2014, these party-starters can easily jump from Osheaga over to SF. A previous Another Planet-booked show at the Independent demonstrates there is communication present.

Long Shots: Already booked elsewhere (don’t count on it)

OutKast: Andre 3000 and Big Boi might be playing over 40 festivals this year, but Outside Lands won’t be one of them. OutKast is confirmed for Flow Festival in Finland the same weekend as Outside Lands.

Arcade Fire: Win Butler and company are performing at Squamish Valley Music Festival, but they have a date set at Shoreline in July, and they headlined three years ago.

Jack Johnson
Queens of the Stone Age
Robert Plant
Santana
Neutral Milk Hotel
Janelle Monae
DARKSIDE
Mac Demarco

Filed Under: Featured, Festivals Tagged With: Arcade Fire, Arctic Monkeys, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Chance The Rapper, Chromeo, Chvrches, Coldplay, Cut Copy, Elton John, Flume, Foster the People, Foxygen, Frank Ocean, Glen Hansard, Gogol Bordello, Gramatik, Green Day, Haim, Iron & Wine, Jack Johnson, Jagwar Ma, Janelle Monáe, Kendrick Lamar, Lord Huron, Lorde, Lykke LI, Mac Demarco, Mayer Hawthorne, Mikal Cronin, Modest Mouse, Neutral Milk Hotel, OSL, OutKast, Outside Lands, Outside Lands Music Festival 2014, Pharrell Williams, Portugal. The Man, Queens of the Stoneage, Robert Plant, Santana, Sharon Van Etten, The Avett Brothers, The Flaming Lips, Tool, Tycho, Valerie June

Showbams Photography 2013: A year in review

December 27, 2013 by The Bam Team Leave a Comment

Purity Ring // Marc Fong
First City Festival // 8.25.13

The power and impact of a great photo is undeniable. Striking photos take you to another place, inserting you into a spectacular moment from the past.

The photographers in the Bam Fam have produced many memorable, inspiring live music photos in 2013. Feast your eyes on 50 of our best shots from the past year.

Click a band or artist name to view the original article.

Fiona Apple & Blake Mills // Sam Heller
Zellerbach Hall at UC Berkeley //10.8.13

Killer Mike // James Nagel
The Independent // 7.31.13

Crystal Castles // Marc Fong
Fox Theater Oakland // 4.27.13

Phantogram // Marc Fong
Treasure Island Music Festival // 10.19.13

Warpaint // Marc Fong
The Independent // 9.17.13

Cut Copy // James Nagel
Fox Theater Oakland // 11.2.13

Geographer // Sterling Munksgard
Bimbo’s 365 Club // 11.23.13

Thee Oh Sees // Pedro Paredes
Great American Music Hall // 12.18.13

Grouplove // James Nagel
The Independent // 9.14.13

James Blake // Marc Fong
Treasure Island Music Festival // 10.20.13

Matthew Dear // Mike Frash
Mezzanine // 5.22.13

Palma Violets // James Nagel
The Independent // 4.23.13

Polyphonic Spree // Marc Fong
The Chapel // 8.19.13

Zedd // Marc Fong
Fox Theater Oakland // 10.9.13

Robert Randolph // Steve Kennedy
Notes For Notes Benefit // 12.6.13

Savages // James Nagel
The Independent // 9.27.13

Steve Aoki // Sterling Munksgard
Bill Graham Civic Auditorium // 11.16.13

The Flaming Lips // James Nagel
Bill Graham Civic Auditorium // 10.31.13

The xx // Marc Fong
The Greek Theatre // 6.1.13

Atoms For Peace // Marc Fong
Treasure Island Music Festival // 10.19.13

Thundercat // James Nagel
The Independent // 11.13.13

Trey Anastasio Band // Sam Heller
Fox Theater Oakland // 4.20.13

Alabama Shakes // Marc Fong
Fox Theater Oakland // 3.5.13

AlunaGeorge // Marc Fong
The Independent // 9.11.13

Autre Ne Veut // Mike Frash
The Independent // 3.11.13

!!! // James Nagel
Great American Music Hall // 2.28.13

CSS // James Nagel
The Independent // 6.16.13

Danny Brown // Marc Fong
Treasure Island Music Festival // 10.19.13

Father John Misty // Marc Fong
First City Festival // 8.24.13

Haim // Marc Fong
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Wild Belle // Eldon Christenson
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Alt-J // Sam Heller
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Andrew Bird // Sam Heller
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Filed Under: Best of 2013, Editor's Picks, Featured Tagged With: !!!, Alabama Shakes, Alt-J, AlunaGeorge, Andrew Bird, Andrew W.K, Anna Calvi, Atoms for Peace, Autre Ne Veut, Big Boi, Charles Bradley, Crystal Castles, CSS, Cut Copy, Danny Brown, Deerhunter, Father John Misty, Fiona Apple & Blake Mills, Geographer, GROUPLOVE, Haim, How to Dress Well, Jagwar Ma, James Blake, Jamie Lidell, Killer Mike, Matthew Dear, MS MR, Palma Violets, Phantogram, Phoenix, Polyphonic Spree, Primus, Purity Ring, Robert Randolph, Rogue Wave, Run The Jewels (El-P & Killer Mike), Savages, Sigur Ros, Steve Aioki, STS9, The Flaming Lips, The xx, Thee Oh Sees, Thundercat, Toro Y Moi, Trey Anastasio Band, Warpaint, Washed Out, Wild Belle, Zedd

The Flaming Lips & Tame Impala deliver a Halloween Bloodbath at Bill Graham Civic

November 4, 2013 by James Nagel 5 Comments

The Flaming Lips

Photos by James Nagel // Written by Mike Frash //

The Flaming Lips & Tame Impala with White Denim //
Bill Graham Civic Auditorium – San Francisco
October 31st, 2013 //

In many ways, the triple-bill event that took place at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in SF was the ideal Halloween gathering. The Flaming Lips, Tame Impala and White Denim all deal in the realm of psychedelic, weird music and the creation of lasting, memorable impressions.

Members from all three acts got into the spirit of the ghoulish holiday by getting into costume, with each band donning drag wear in some way. The crowd followed suit, displaying a variety of costumes from pink robots to requisite zombies and happy hippies.

Spending Halloween with one band on the rise, another that is fully realizing their potential and a headliner in the midst of artistic evolution proved to be a wonderful mental mind-fuck for the ages.

The Flaming Lips

White Denim performed an abbreviated 7 p.m. set that featured tracks off their new LP Corsicana Lemonade. “At Night in Dreams” was a delight to hear live, but the Austin-based group could have used another 30 minutes to flesh out a couple more new songs and jam out to a couple favorites like “Street Joy” and “Drug”.

The Flaming Lips, meanwhile, have abandoned the cheerleaders, the oversized hands, the hamster ball and many of the elements of spectacle Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne and company have become known for over the years. The Heady Fwends release strongly hinted at a new direction last year, but their 2013 LP The Terror made it official — gone are the euphoric, melodic hyper-happy songs that illustrate visions of dancing on puffy clouds in the sky with Care Bears and unicorns, hello drone-filled soundscapes and slow building intensity!

A Halloween Bloodbath was promised and literally delivered by Coyne. Appearing to the “Halloween Theme” from John Carpenter’s films, Coyne took to his Matrix-style pedestal dressed as Carrie, pre-blood bath. After getting the bucket from a scantily clad woman on a bear, Coyne had a cinematic Jesus look for the rest of the show. Huge red balloons were unleashed and a visual stage production consistently delivered ‘wows’ that could likely surpass any dance show in the eye-candy department. The big red balloons didn’t quite fit the intense, drone-filled cuts the Flaming Lips played, but they served as a veil for all the folks who came for Yoshimi-era Flaming Lips.

Tame Impala

Overall, there is much more audience member internalizing with songs like “Look…The Sun Is Rising” and “The Terror” and less singalong numbers at a Flaming Lips concert these days. But when songs like the encore ballad “Do You Realize?” show up, they are much more effective.

Since the previous 30 minutes of music could have lent itself to a horror movie soundtrack with its intense, stressful sound and effect, “Do You Realize?” delivered an imprinting, memorable moment. The same thing happened mid-set during “Race for the Prize” — placing happy, positive songs after a half hour of intense, repetitive sound truly allows for a strong feeling of release. Kevin Parker from Tame Impala joined for the beginning of the Lips’ set, adding a hypnotic electric guitar layer.

This new sound allows Coyne to take advantage of technology to modulate his vocals, which helps him play to his strengths as a passionate frontman. The drone-filled, intense mind-melting chaos can be surprisingly peaceful if it’s expected and embraced. In many ways, the Flaming Lips have come full circle as an introspective, psychedelic freak out of a live act.

Tame Impala

If Tame Impala were to tour forever on Lonerism, it would be understandable and acceptable. They might be one of the best touring acts on the planet at the moment, and the project seems to be in the midst of realizing its full potential. This particular show marked the fourth time that the Australian band has performed in the Bay Area since last summer, and constant touring has made Parker and company better each time they come back to visit.

The grim reaper came on stage to introduce Tampe Impala as the Spice Girls, and sure enough the five guys looked the part. The set began with “Half Glass Full of Wine”, a song the group often encores with, signaling things weren’t quite normal. The group still play five or six cuts off InnerSpeaker live, and songs like “Solitude Is Bliss” and “It Is Not Meant To Be” have evolved magnificently over the years, allowing some of the riff heavy sound on Lonerism to spill over into earlier music.

“Elephant” got the Halloween treatment, transitioning a bit of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” into the mix. The set highlight had to be an extended acid-psych section in “Be Above It” that could officially be called a mind melter. The weird jumped another level when an octopus-like costume made its way on stage. If you ever have to chance to witness Tame Impala perform live, I implore you to go.

Setlist:
Halloween Theme
The W.A.N.D.
Virgo Self-Esteem Broadcast
Silver Trembling Hands
Look…The Sun Is Rising
The Terror
Race for the Prize
Try to Explain
Gates of Steel (Devo cover)
Butterfly, How Long It Takes to Die
Turning Violent
A Spoonful Weighs a Ton

Encore:
Do You Realize?
Always There, In Our Hearts

TAME IMPALA

Setlist:
Half Full Glass of Wine
Enors Toi
Solitude Is Bliss
Why Won’t You Make Up Your Mind?
Why Won’t They Talk to Me?
Desire Be Desire Go
Mind Mischief
It Is Not Meant to Be
Elephant (Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” snippit)
Be Above It
Feels LIke We Only Go Backwards
Apocalypse Dreams

Tame Impala performing as The Spice Girls on Halloween 2013 in San Francisco.

Filed Under: Editor's Picks, Featured, Photos Tagged With: Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, Tame Impala, The Flaming Lips, White Denim

New Music Tuesday: Yeah Yeah Yeahs • Major Lazer • The Flaming Lips • The Oh Sees

April 16, 2013 by The Bam Team Leave a Comment

Every Tuesday, we focus on new music releases by naming our top tracks, album highlights, lowlights and important takeaways for select albums.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Mosquito

Top Tracks:
“Sacrilege”
“Buried Alive”
“Wedding Song”

Album Highlights: The Yeah Yeah Yeah’s return with an intergalactic, sci-fi laden acid rock odyssey on their fourth studio album Mosquito. Shying away from their typical hard hitting mix of electronic dance hits and New York-centric punk rock, the group explores the outer realms of the musical universe with a less produced sound reminiscent their early, gritty art rock efforts. Some of their best work comes through on track’s like “Despair” and “Buried Alive,” which in many ways reflect influences from late 70’s era Blondie with a bit more of an edge. “Sacrilege” stands out as the most impressive track on the album, drawing from their time spent writing and recording in NOLA. The track hits hard with Karen O’s signature wails and it brings down the house with extra help from the Broadway Inspirational Voices Choir’s fiery cameo.

Album Lowlight: The only discrepancy I find with this album is the lack of proper pacing between tracks. Although I’m sure intentional, the band brings you to such great highs then completely polarizes you with tracks like “Subway” and “Wedding Song.” Both are great songs in their own right, but after such hard hitting predecessing tracks, they are difficult to get into due to their completely stark nature. Upon second or third listen however, these slower songs resonate the most among the bunch, so quite possibly the Yeah Yeah Yeahs may have done this on purpose. It’s super sneaky subliminal intentions or abhorrent disregard to track list cohesion – your call I guess.

Takeaway: Although different than any of their previous efforts, Mosquito is a Yeah Yeah Yeah’s album through and through. Continuing to push contemporary music boundaries and play by individually crafted rules, the band took several risks artistically with this album and per usual it paid off. It looked like Yeah Yeah Yeahs had lost a bit of their bravado with their previous full length, but they made sure to step even further out of the box on Mosquito, reminding all bands classified under the genre “alternative” that there is still a whole lot of room to explore.

~Molly Kish

Major Lazer – Free the Universe

Top Tracks:
“Get Free” feat. Amber Coffman of Dirty Projectors
“Jah No Partial” feat. Flux Pavilion
“Keep Cool” feat. Shaggy & Wynter Gordon

Album Highlights: You’ll find an impressive roster of guests from across the musical spectrum and a more polished sound on Major Lazer’s latest effort. Songs like “Get Free” with Amber Coffman of Dirty Projectors and “Keep Cool” with Shaggy and Wynter Gordon are clear standouts. The collaborations with Flux Pavilion and The Partysquad hit hard. The combination of Bruno Mars, Tyga & Msytic on “Bubble Butt” comes off silly at first, but grows on you with subsequent listens. This is the track that will inspire thousands of photos of girls expressing themselves on Diplo’s Twitter feed.

Album Lowlight: Tracks like “Reach for the Stars” featuring Wyclef Jean and “Playground” featuring Bugle & Arama are forgettable, to the point of feeling like they’re filling the roots-reggae quota for a Major Lazer album.

Takeaway: The oft-delayed sophomore album from Diplo and crew is a solid progression from Guns Don’t Kill People…Lazers Do. Even without his original collaborator Switch, Diplo delivers club bangers (“Jet Blue”), dancehall jams (“Playground”) and even radio-friendly hits (“Keep Cool”). Though the album does no justice to a live Major Lazer experience, it makes valiant effort to bring the home listener there. Twerking is optional, but encouraged.

~Eric Shaden

The Flaming Lips – The Terror

Top Tracks:
“Try to Explain”
“Turning Violent”

Album Highlights: One thing is for certain, The Flaming Lips aren’t going for radio play with their new album The Terror. Wayne Coyne, the mad genius behind The Flaming Lips, has been evolving the band’s sound ever since the “She Don’t Use Jelly” days. And boy, are those days long gone. The Terror paints a sonic landscape that sounds as if it’s the soundtrack to 2001: A Space Odyssey on psilocybin. Take one look at Wayne Coyne’s Instagram feed, and this isn’t too far from the truth. However, I believe this album can have it’s time and place. I might put this album on at a party, if I want the party to immediately disperse. I might put this album on at a bar, if I had a personal vendetta against the bar or it’s patrons. The most redeeming quality of this album is only available in the UK with the bonus disc that contains a cover of The Beatles “All You Need Is Love” with Alex and Jade from Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros.

Album Lowlight: The days of Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots are long over and are not coming back anytime soon. The Flaming Lips have been going down this road since 2009’s Embyronic. The classic Flaming Lips sound (see almost everything before Embryonic) of upbeat, happy, psychedelic songs is no more. In fact, like Embyronic, The Terror has little that resembles an actual song. The only melody that got stuck in my head was the phrase “Lust to succeed” from the song “You Lust,” and I just felt like a crazy person singing that around the office today. The Terror consists primarily mechanical industrial cosmic noises that sounds like it was made with the same Moog app I have on my iPad.

Takeaway: I probably won’t listen to this album again after I complete this review. Maybe I am missing the point? For the record, I LOVE the Flaming Lips. I’ve seen them live numerous times and have a ton of respect for Wayne Coyne and the gang, but their albums just aren’t doing it for me these days. Having said all this, I will still go see them in concert any day.

~Kevin Raos

The Oh Sees – Floating Coffin

Top Tracks:
“I Come From the Mountain”
“Toe Cutter/Thumb Buster”
“Minotaur”

Album Highlights: John Dwyer and Thee Oh Sees have been continually evolving their garage punk sound, and now it has bloomed into a fully thick sonic stew that is tough to ignore. The Floating Coffin is the lushest release to date and easily the most infectious as the songs pop, full of driving guitar riffs, pummeling drum beats and the characteristic yelp of Dwyer’s vocals. It jumps out of the gates quickly and keeps your head banging, or nodding, throughout. A more evenly distributed creative process among the group was featured on this album as Dwyer has now seemed to settle on the current lineup after years of tweaking. Songs like “No Spell” display a delicacy coupled with a lead-weight heaviness that is unlike anything they have released. These guys make me proud to live in San Francisco.

Album Lowlight: The only gripe I have is towards the end of “Sweets Helicopter,” as the songs builds into a dark tornado there is a completely out of place bass synth. It doesn’t detract from the song too much, but just feels a bit unnecessary from a band whom traditionally relies on more basic instrumentation.

Takeaway: How The Floating Coffin seems to be both equally heavy and light is an enigma to this writer, but that’s Thee Oh Sees for you. On this latest release they explore the many cob-webbed corners of psychedelia and garage rock, expunging the purest forms of rock and roll and tossing them blatantly in the faces of their listeners and fans. Expect this release to garner more attention than previous ones as Dwyer has traded in the jangle-twang for an aural thickness. Expect a big summer from this rising Bay Area landmark.

~Kevin Quandt

Filed Under: New Music, New Music Tuesday Tagged With: Major Lazer, New Music, The Flaming Lips, Thee Oh Sees, Yeah Yeah Yeah's

Bridge School Benefit 2012: Sunday Highlights

October 25, 2012 by 3ricshaden Leave a Comment

Organized by legend Neil Young and his wife, Pegi, the Bridge School Benefit Concert is an annual, all acoustic, non-profit charity event held every October at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California. All proceeds directly benefit the operations of The Bridge School.

•The day opened with a short blessing and intro set from Neil Young.

•Austin-based Gary Clark Jr. impressed with an early set that set the tone for the rest of the day.

•K.D. Lang played a short, emotional set with a strong voice and stage presence.

•Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers mixed comedy and bluegrass into a pleasing set. Comedy aside, Steve Martin is a more than competent banjo player.

•Foster the People delivered one the strongest sets of the day. They performed hits including “Houdini” and “Pumped up Kicks,” incorporating xylophone and tubular bells to round out their sound in this acoustic setting. On Saturday, Mark Foster revealed it was a challenge adapting their electronic-oriented music to the required acoustic sound, but it was ultimately a rewarding challenge.

•As good as Sarah McLachlan is, I cannot hear her anymore without thinking about this:

•The Flaming Lips enlisted Reggie Watts for their set and ended the night with a cover of The Beatles’ “A Day in the Life.” Reggie accompanied Wayne on vocals with a little help on the lyrics from his iphone. Or he was tweeting.

•Jack White brought out his all-male band on Sunday to play tracks from his latest album Blunderbuss, his collaboration with Danger Mouse Rome, and the White Stripes classics “We’re Going to to Be Friends” & “Hotel Yorba.” Saturday night saw the all female band perform with White, and they played their slower-paced songs like “Love Interruption” & “Blunderbuss.”

•After hearing about Saturday’s Guns n’ Roses performance, I expected the worst on Sunday. Axl got his act together and delivered a 40-minute set that actually sounded pretty good. They finished out their set with Neil Young playing Neil’s “Don’t Let it Bring You Down.”

•Neil Young previewed a few songs from his upcoming album Psychedelic Pill. As per custom, the night ended with Neil Young’s “Rockin’ in the Free World” that brought out almost all the artists from the day, minus Jack White.

Filed Under: Festival Reviews Tagged With: Bridge School Benefit, Foster the People, Gary Clark Jr, Guns N' Roses, Jack White, K.D. Lang, Neil Young, Reggie Watts, Sarah McLachlan, Steve Martin & the Steep Canyon Rangers, The Flaming Lips

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