Bonnaroo Day 3: Saturday

Caption
Wilco rock Bonnaroo's main stage with a rousing rendition of A Ghost Is Born era staple, "Handshake Drugs"

BON IVER
By Saturday afternoon the sun had begun to spill its unforgiving heat upon the masses, the extreme temperatures causing set difficulties and delays, as even those seeking shelter underneath the shaded tents found little relief. Opening with fan favorite "Skinny Love," Bon Iver provided a strong show from an unlikely cast. Lead singer Justin Vernon hulked over his guitar bellowing out notes with pinpoint accuracy with his backing group providing a steady dose of rippling accents. The group rattled off songs from their debut album "For Emma, Forever Ago," as well as tracks from their new Blood Bank EP. This included some set highlights like a blistering full band version of "Blood Bank" and a stark solo performance of "Beach Baby" following by an unaccompanied Vernon who dedicated the track to "dreams of making out on the beach."

Gov't Mule
Formed in the wake of the Allman Bros. early 90's reunion, Government Mule has quickly become a festival staple due in part to prominent lead guitarist Warren Haynes. Haynes who plays guitar with the Allmans as well as the The Dead took his six-string prowess to the evening crowd with heavy, shrieking guitar solos to rival among the best of the weekend. Gov't Mule tried early to integrate the crowd with a chorus of "hell yeahs," a move that was successful at drawing wanderers into their circle of blues heavy grooves and guitar showmanship defined by their stomping version of "Don't Step on the Grass, Sam."

Of Montreal
Anticipation was high outside the tent for Of Montreal with the young indie group drawing many away from the main stage attraction Wilco. However Kevin Barnes and company were plagued by set problems in the sweltering tent, prompting the show to begin later than expected.

Jenny Lewis
Flanked by a modest collection of towel layers and chair sitters, Lewis with her bell clear voice sounding over the speakers, charmed the small audience with tales of run-ins with the law, barroom fist-fights and those troubled boys up to no good. The Rilo Kiley lead singer excelled in the small setting with her backing band providing impressively layered acoustics which integrating cowbells and back-up vocals into the mix. The set even Included a surprise back-up performance from Elvis Costello in what was yet another in the seeming never-ending string of unannounced collaboration this week on her song "Carpetbaggers."

Wilco
Playing under a bright blue afternoon sky, Wilco lead off with new single "Wilco, The Song" off the groups latest effort "Wilco, The Album." Jeff Tweedy spanned the range of his career, integrating newer material "Bull Black Nova," "Side with the Seeds" with a renewed emphasis on "A Ghost is Born" era tracks like "Company in the Back," and "Handshake Drugs" coming early and leading the band to their highest levels. Guitarist Nels Cline provided the guitar hero spark on the later songs rippling off tearing solos from his heavily chipped black guitar. Hardly stopping to banter with the crowd lead singer and principal songwriter Jeff Tweedy, clad in all black, offered up "it's good to be back" as the group's only sentiments to those gathered, many of whom were awaiting Bruce Springsteen's headlining set.

Mars Volta
Coming out to a what could only be described as a distorted Sergio Leonne soundtrack, the Mars Volta descended onto the stage with the outright intentions of baffling the crowd. After stumbling through "Goliath," lead singer Cedric Bixler-Zaxlava quipped "I just wrote it, I don't have to remember it, do I?" Powering through the minor guff, the Mars Volta settled down into a heavily psychedelic set marked prominently by Omar Rodriquez Lopez's unique guitar showmanship which dominated the band's mammoth soundscapes. Despite a new release on the way, Mars Volta integrated old favorites like "Drunkship of Lanterns" into a largely free form set that featured jams as well as three new songs off the group's forthcoming album, Octahedron. The band faltered a bit in the middle, with their meandering jams quickly running out of tricks, though even at their weakest, singer Bixler-Zaxlava proved an entertaining frontman with his wild mane of black hair and penchant for odd song introductions like "this song owes me $40." However in all likelihood the Mars Volta's sonic assault proved enough to cement Volta as a premium live act, ensuring that if his songs are still defaulting on their loans he will still be able to make the bills.

The Decemberists
The Decemberists played their new album, "The Hazards of Love" to a sizeable crowd at one of the side tents, providing a soothing melodic distraction to those not enamored by the spiraling insanity of the Mars Volta. However while most of the band's material is down tempo they proved capable of stadium sized riffs on new album tracks like "The Wanting Comes in Waves / Repaid," which found lead singer Colin Meloy and guitarist Chris Funk trading shrieking guitar lines. The Decemberists were dressed for the occasion despite the heat, as all were well-dressed enough for a formal evening dinner. After airing out the new album The Decemberists came out firing with stronger singles "The Crane Wife 3" and "O Valencia!" off of their major label debut, The Crane Wife.

Bruce Springsteen
Headliners Bruce Springsteen & the E Street band played unopposed to a capacity crowd breaking out new songs, "Radio Nowhere," classics "Born to Run" and odd requests from fans, "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" over a three and a half hour set. Bruce addressed the crowd often, thanking Bonnaroo for the invite to what he dubbed their "second ever festival appearance." On stage the infamous band performed without new Tonight Show drummer Max Weinburg but came complete with numerous guitar players, and back-up singers (10 in all) thickening the sound for the football sized area (not that this is new for the band). The Boss was loose and loud playing sounds with an impressive stamina that would but most bands to shame. Grooving his way through "10th Avenue Freeze Out," the Boss performed some impressively phallic microphone tricks as well as stop on a dime song transitions. Overall, the Boss that kept audience involved, even inviting one lucky fan to dance on stage in an homage to his former video vixen Courtney Cox during the finale "Dancing in the Dark." All in all, the Boss left the screaming for more even after the marathon set and the group's final bows.

Nine Inch Nails
In what lead singer Trent Reznor dubbed the band's "last U.S. show ever," the twenty plus year old industrial act performed to a sizeable crowd at the Which Stage, the venue's second largest stage. Over cascading white smoke, lasers and raining glow sticks Nine Inch Nails' showcased their knack for off-kilter rhythms and shrieking guitars in songs like recent single "Discipline." Though the set was far from a greatest hits occasion, featuring cuts from their recent all instrumental release Ghosts (I-IV) as a sharp and startling cover of David Bowie's "I'm Afraid of Americans." As a live act, the band's darker material lightened proving less dense and more upbeat in the live setting.

MGMT
Across the way at a smaller tent, MGMT drew an equally large crowd at one of the venue's smaller tents with some standing on shoulders and rafters to get a closer look. The band's second appearance in two such years was a significant departure for the growing band as they showed a willingness to breakaway from their traditional keyboard heavy pop sound. MGMT showcased new material from their latest recording sessions which was met with largely mixed results. The new material was not the only thing that sounded out of place as even old songs were reworked to be more guitar and band oriented. Back tracks like "Pieces of What" and "Weekend Wars" benefitted from the re-tooling process, however the groups big singles "Time to Pretend" and "Kids" proved harder to replicate under the new format. The set lasted over an hour and proved that the group, which had until this point created their music in studio with two principal members, has made the decision to be taken seriously as a traditional band. Still, while their live act improved over last years uneven set, MGMT showed they have chosen a path with a difficult road ahead.

Times New Viking and Titus Andronicus Rock Sets at Allston's Great Scott

Noisy Columbus, Ohio trio Times New Viking brought their lo-fi, punk-inflected mess to the Great Scott Sunday night, supported by New Jersey's Titus Andronicus.

Titus took the stage first, diving into their set with what seemed to be a Boston shout-out full of Fenway references. The six-piece took off into selections from their new record "The Airing of Grievances," hitting most of them spot-on with 4 guitars' worth of noise (at times) to back them up. Nearly each member took their turn on vocal duties, singing/shouting backups on many numbers. The scruffily bearded, energetic frontman (apparently named Liam Betson) put down the guitar for songs at a time to shake out a tambourine rhythm and jump around a bit, culminating in a final assault upon his guitar which left it on the floor hissing feedback.

Times New Viking's set was not as visually appealing, though was a strange yet pleasant diversion from the filthily recorded tinny quality of any of their three records. The guitar/drums/keys three-piece blasted out a hoard of short songs, with vocal duties shared by drummer Adam Elliott and Beth Murphy on keys. Elliott's drum parts were quick and tight, bashing out as many cymbal crashes as possible while Murphy's organesque keyboard tones sunk deep within the mix. These parts of the act were expected, the anomaly being guitarist Jared Phillips, constantly staring with anger into the crowd, whose tones were not as grating as they appear on the band's records. The tones were instead very crisp and clean, like those of newer Sonic Youth's guitar work. This variation from the recorded work was the personal focus of the set, neither disappointing nor expected but a blissful, unanticipated gem of a performance, backed into the bowels of the bar where sounds like that thrive.

Ian Nelson, Collegian Staff

The Breeders Rock Through a Set and Two Encores at Pearl Street

The heavily celebrated Pixies got their start in the Pioneer Valley at UMass Amherst decades ago. Bassist Kim Deal eventually broke off into a project of her own, The Breeders, with Throwing Muses' Tanya Donelly, eventually employing her twin sister guitarist Kelley, who has remained through many lineup changes.

Deal and the Breeders have been touring in support of their fourth studio album, "Mountain Battles," and made a stop at Pearl Street's ballroom on Wednesday. This show marked the first of a few Iron Horse Entertainment Group summer shows featuring respected 1990s alternative rock acts, also including grunge champs Mudhoney (6/5) and the metal sludge of the Melvins (8/10).

The Breeders rolled through a large body of songs, from highlights from their new record to old favorites like their most recognizable track "Cannonball" from 1993's "Last Splash," pausing in between numbers to laugh and swig beer.

Their set also included a surprising and pleasing rendition of the Beatles' "Happiness Is A Warm Gun," with the audience chiming in for the "bang bang shoot shoot" backing harmonies."

Deal returned to the stage for not one encore, but two, ensuring that the audience got their $23 worth.

Ian Nelson, Collegian Staff

Five Experimental Acts Light Up RPI

RPI in Troy, NY hosted a slew of bands last Friday night, a free, mini-festival named "Between a Rock and a Tiny Bell." The event was hosted by RPI's new Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center, which will open on the RPI campus in October. The event, which did not draw that large of a crowd even though it was of no charge, took place in a sort of gymnasium called The Armory. This was also clearly the most heavily postered show I've ever attended at a college, and even so attendance was not that great.


The first band to perform was the tight-pantsed HEALTH, from Los Angeles. They are a young, noisy, feedback-happy quartet who really went wild. There was much prancing around the stage, chanting into microphones and violently coaxing harsh sounds from guitars. The percussion was fantastic, the drummer pounding out ritualistic rhythms, at times accompanied by another band member beating on a single floor tom. Some electronic elements were woven in, in the form of fractured squeals and a single electronic drum pad used to grind out a steady house back-beat. This was quite the introduction the the show, with start/stop techniques jolting into the audiences' ears.

Next up was free jazz duo Han Bennink and Peter Brotzmann. Brotzmann's metal clarinet and saxophone noodled their way in between Bennink's unreal drumming pace, though took the backseat to the percussive aspects of the duo. Han Bennink made every single sound a drum set could possibly make, and the set wasn't even his - it was a stock set used by all the bands that night. He performed some tricks as well as playing as fast as humanly possible, including hoisting his foot up and pressing the heel into the snare, creating a higher pitched sound when rapped against. Later, he came out in front of his set and drummed on the floor, a strange sight with an amazing outcome (pictured above). He eventually laid down and continued drumming on the floor, to the delight and amazement of the crowd.

It was tough to follow up the free jazz duo, the most impressive act of the night, however Blarvuster took the stage next and tried their best. The six-piece included drums, bass, guitar, viola, flute/piccolo, and bagpipes/saxophone. They performed one extremely long piece, creating a jazzy, progressive collage of the sounds, making them work together and play off each other. The bagpipe player acted as conductor, pointing out when shifts should be made and switching up from bagpipes to saxophone from time to time throughout the composition. Though the piece was interesting, it lasted way too long. The drummer was once again most likely the most affecting portion of the sextet, he being current Xiu Xiu percussionist Ches Smith.

Next up was ZS, an experimental trio of guitar, drums, and saxophone. This act also performed a single, extended piece, however they were far less melodic than Blarvuster. ZS created some of the most searing, jagged, discordant sounds on the guitar possible, backed by simple, primitive war-drum percussion and the low skronk of a saxophone. The piece was not necessarily pleasing, but it was impressive in that the guitarist could sustain such extreme sounds for so long.

Finally the last band, Black Moth Super Rainbow, took the stage after a slow motion projection of Tyra Banks making disgusting, demonic faces shone on a projection screen. Where their music is not necessarily experimental itself, the visual aspect of their live show sure was interesting, dipping into B-movie horror movie clips, cut up children's television shows, and highly edited 80s pornography, not necessarily sexy though definitely provocative. The band itself didn't have much to offer on stage, standing/sitting behind their instruments and being functional, creating the sounds of their records and doing not much else. The focus was clearly the videos flashing on the projection screen, hypnotic colors swirling and flashing and oddly creepy, fractured video clips meandering to the beat of the synthesizer-heavy, vocoder vocal songs.

The night was a definite success, and hopefully the EMPAC of RPI will offer shows of this calibur once it actually opens in the fall. Experimental music surely has its place in the industry at this point, for who wants to hear the same sounds over and over again? We are creatures of habit, but why not try to break that generalization and hear something different and unexpected from time to time?

Feist Illuminates Smith College

This past Friday, I had the extreme pleasure of being one of the members of a sold-out crowd at Smith College. Gracing us with her presence was Feist and special guest Ingrid Michaelson.

Ingrid Michaelson, who came out specifically for this show, brought along an acoustic guitar player and a bass player to accompany her sassy persona to keep the crowd alive amidst her mellow set list. Her voice soared above the rafters as she sang about lost love, newfound romance, and maintaining a healthy relationship a la Rogaine.

She was absolutely hysterical. Joe Stahl and I managed to score a picture with her too!

Feist. The woman can do no wrong as far as I am concerned. She opened her set behind a white tarp-like screen, using a looping pedal to create blissful harmonies and haunting melodies.

It was a sit-down-stand-up deal, as people went crazy during more upbeat tunes including the popularized Apple commerical anthem "1234" and the beloved "Sealion," and swayed side-to-side in their seats for "The Water" and "Let it Die."

She even had a shadow mistress. What is this you ask? It is a rather increidble art form, actually. Picture a giant overhead with various images gradually being projected onto the wall, creating a masterpiece by a song's culmination. No explanation can do it justice.

You will have to check it out for yourself when Feist returns with an extra dose of crazy antics and a near-perfect performance this summer at Boston's Bank of America Pavillion.

Oh it's the Cops. Nope Just the Tokyo Police Club

Another night, another concert. This time it was Tokyo Police Club at the Pearl Street.
They played one hell of set with crazy lights going on. Coming out to sirens and a background of blue flashing lights they kicked off their set with a bang. They must have played their entire discography during the night.

I didn't go see the openers because they were not of any interest to me. The two openers brought a lot of young-ins to the crowd and I felt out of place with a beard.

Brain Wood will write a full review for the paper next week. Read it. It'll be great.

Iron Horse welcomes American Music Club

Northampton - Grab a beer and step into the world of American Music Club.  The Bay Area boys came to the Iron Horse this Wednesday to perform a live show with opening act The Figments.  AMC has been on its U.S. tour since the beginning of the month and won't stop until mid May.

The show started around seven 'o clock with The Figments.  This jam band quartet did a commendable job for opening.   The 90s grunge  dudes were a good compliment to the headliners of the evening.  The Figments didn't play the stereotypical role of stage-stealing, greedy openers.  The band knew who the crowd came to see.  The Figments politely strummed guitars and banged on drums until its time was up. 

What seemed to be a motionless crowd in the small setting, fans fixated all attention on AMC as it preceded on the humble stage.  With minimal equipment, the band was as casual as the Iron Horse. The venue is an older part of Northampton that has kept its dusty and antique appeal in tact with little lighting and worn down wooden furnish.

With the first few words of welcoming from the lead singer, there was something strangely familiar about him. Mark Eitzel is his name.  The band didn't spend too much time preparing before it went into it's setlist, which was mostly new material from the new album, "The Golden Age." 

Eitzel spoke for the band throughout the majority of the show, telling the open-eared crowd about the meanings of its songs.  One song in particular that was discussed was "Decibels and Little Pills" which is about a girl he saw in a club who was too wild for her own good.  She ended up getting thrown out because she was dancing topless. 

Throughout the show, the gang performed naturally, taking breaks in between songs to do some short storytelling.  The jam band enriched the insouciant setting with smiling faces and warm attitudes. 

Eitzel used his soulful baritone voice with great control.  AMC has had long-time experience with playing in venues similar to Iron Horse where it has learned to discern limitations and affordances .  Since the early 80s, AMC has had its time to perfect live shows.  With a crowd filled with 30 and 40 somethings, the audience members seemed to be more into the older material.  Cheers and rants were crisply heard from across the hall when older jams were played. 

Just because AMC is bar band doesn't mean that it has to succumb to belligerence.  AMC kept things low key at the Iron Horse.  Was it for the three kids sitting in the bar?  Nah.  It is just the AMC way.  AMC makes slowcore hip through thoughtful songwriting and expressive arrangements.  Even though the band's stop in Northampton was to promote the new album, AMC put on a show like it was a reunion. 

 

Kevin Devine Rocked

Another concert. Another night. What a great time. Kevin Devine played for what seemed like forever, and it was fantastic. His stage banter was top-notch.

He played after Baker and a band form Brooklyn (they are Kevin's friends and play in the Goddamn Band). Baker kicked some major behind. They will be great in a few weeks at Umass for free and I am excited.

Back to Kevin Devine. He really is someone everyone on this planet should check out live, especially acoustic. He works hard on stage. It is always a humbling experience to hear a musician (no matter how big or small) thank his crowd of 40 people (long weekends are never good for concerts in NoHo). He thanked the crowd many times before finally exiting of stage.

So if you didn't get to see him tonight he is playing in Cambridge tomorrow (Ithink) and back home in Brooklyn for a Album release party (a re-release of sorts).

Here is a video of Kevin




I am exhausted and need some sleep so sorry for the brief review.

GRAND BUFFET IS A ONCE AND A LIFETIME SHOW

Just got back from Northhampton's Iron Horse. Saw Grand Buffet there tonight and was blown way. I mean I was expecting one hell of a time, and I got it plus some. I mean this was something unheard of. The two rappers had an unprecedented amount of energy. I would have had a heart if i danced around and had as much fun as they did.

If only i knew the other guy who opened for them. He recited poetry and rapped with a fervor. He was also very politically charged, had an awesome beard, and mocked right wing conservatives to the bone.

Here's a grand video. Enjoy.


Grand Buffet - Cool as Hell

Placido Domingo at the WANG!

The ceiling came down, literally and figuratively, at the Wang Theater on Monday during the Placido Domingo concert.

Upon arrival I realized I was in the middle of what seemed to be a velvet convention for the women, and a mobster’s paradise among the men. Men wearing pinstripes and carrying their ladies in the arms as the dresses, black velvet, swayed in the breeze. Where I was located in the theater was among many Mob members and one stood out. He had a huge bottom lip, like it had been hooked by a fishing line before, and his face looked like that of a rhino. But he had two lovely ladies with him.

The Mobsters loved their opera star. I could hear the “Bravos” coming from the big Italian man a few rows away. The woman sitting next to me clapping with a soft pitter-pattering of clapping, it showed how classy she was.

The cheers came after Domingo sang with what seemed to be a hot air balloon’s worth of air came from his lungs. the cheers came for his movement’s across the stage were as smooth as all the velvet in the crowd. His smile glistened like the diamond of the woman sitting next to me ( that thing was huge). And he even took a beautiful lady home with him from the orchestra that was baking his performance. The cello player looked shocked but fell under Domingo’s love-spell. He is a ladies’ man.

The crowd of mobster’s ate up Domingo’s performance like the spaghetti and meatballs from dinner in North End earlier that night. The reveled outside after the performance as if they were reliving the canolas from Mike’s Pastries they ate earlier that night. The Mob is apparently a huge fan of Mr. Domingo and they came out in swarms to see him sing.

I on the other hand am left wondering if that was really ceiling that fell near me. Or if it was hit attempt against someone in my section. I hope it was the first one.

The Dodos Cut Short at Bard

Thursday night marked my first ever trip to Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, NY for a show at their Smog venue. The only band I knew who was playing was The Dodos from San Francisco, but it turned out a couple others went on before them, making for a full, interesting, yet eventually disappointing night.

First off, the venue was ridiculous, literally a garage towards the end of a dirt road whose inside was covered in graffiti. The walls, the ceiling, the doors, the wall-sized garage doors, the bathroom... literally everything was covered in a layer of spray paint or sharpie marker.

The first band, presumably comprised of Bard students, was called The Amazements. They were a three-piece noise abomination performing almost entirely in the dark, cranking out blisteringly loud guitar tones after taunting the audience to come forward and get closer. The bassist chugged along with some heavy chords while the drummer slapped at his rickety set, breaking drumsticks and knocking cymbal stands over. The highlight was clearly when they decided to knock over all their drums in the middle of the set, the bassist stood up on the toppled bass drum, and proceeded to fall off backwards, knocking a light fixture off the wall.

The next band was the Tall Firs, another three-piece from NYC. I learned that their two guitarists attended Hampshire college, so that was a nice little conversation piece. They played a pleasant brand of quirky rock with much more structure than the all-over-the-place Amazements, seemingly due to much more experience. Their heavily bearded drummer was amazing, rolling out rhythms and providing all the low-end, for there was no bass.

Finally it was The Dodos turn, though once they actually started their set (after dealing with the technical issues of performing in such a remote venue such as microphones failing) it was nearly midnight. The extremely dusty garage was then full of beer-drinking, cigarette-smoking hipsters, and I was pressed inches from the stage. The band is composed of their seated singer/guitarist, using hollow-bodies and straight acoustics, an accompanying vibraphonist, and their bass-drum-less drummer.

They played their first song, "Jodi," positively wowing the crowd, and went into "Paint The Rust," my personal favorite, both from their new record "Visiter." Towards the end of the second song, a beefy security guard entered the garage. By this time it was only about 12:20AM, though the guard alerted the singer/guitarist that this was their last song. They proceeded to do a 15 minute number, looping various vocal effects, guitar phrases, drum beats, and even a bit of a trombone blow.

The intensity was kept up for their 35 or so minutes they played, though was cut short by the lame security guard. The band's last interaction with the audience was to plead for someone to give them a floor to sleep on, for they were apparently desperate. It's always special to see such an energetic band play such a small venue (for free), even if they only played not even half a set. All in all, it was worth the trip for the oddness of the venue and the three interesting bands even if it could have gone longer.

Ian Nelson, Collegian Staff

Explosions In The Sky: Doom Inducers, Encore Refusers

Explosions In The Sky, a killer four-piece instrumental band from Texas, hit up Lupo's in Providence, RI last Saturday and nearly brought the house down.

I ended up arriving late and missed the opener, Lichens, but managed to find a friend there who squeezed me through the sold out crowd to about eight or ten rows back from the stage, nearly in the center.

The Texans were not at all ashamed to be sporting a large version of their state flag draped over one of their amps, even in the mostly liberal Northeast. The band consists of primarily three guitars and drums, with one of the guitars occasionally subbed for a bass.

Their set included many slow, building pieces from their newest record "All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone," including the epic "The Birth and Death of Day," which I was highly anticipating. They create some really beautiful tones that rise above the doom-laden structures of the songs, allowing for slow, beautiful rises and brutal, cascading climaxes.

One problem with the Lupo's venue, though beautiful, is the security guys monitoring flash use on cameras. Due to this, I was unable to get any real clear photos of the band, but I think the picture above does the best to capture their intensity. The morphing lights were another aspect that added to the show, constantly bathing the drummer in a different color (usually white or red) than the rest of the band placed in front of him.

The final song found the band in a drawn out climax towards its end, essentially punching their guitars in throttling unison to create the loudest sounds they made all night. The band left the stage and the crowd roared for what seemed like literally ten minutes straight, demanding an encore. The house lights came on, as did the house music (nearly inaudible due to the cheers, stomps, and applause), and some security members motioned that it was the end, though the audience didn't give up.

Finally the crowd caught a glimpse of the apparent lead man returning to the stage, and erupted in yet another fit of hysteria, though to their dismay he revealed that an encore would be half-hearted compared to the energy they put into their hour or hour and twenty minute set, so he thanked the Lupo's crowd again and left the stage for good. This was probably the loudest non-festival, non-stadium crowd I've ever experienced, which is to speak wonders of the quality of their performance.

Ian Nelson, Collegian Staff