Seen Your Video: Mates of State Cover Tom Waits at Virgin FreeFest 2009

Photos and text from Sunday's Virgin Mobile FreeFest 2009 are coming right up but one great thing from it was that I finally got to see Mates of State live. The Mates ended their set with a cover of Tom Waits' "Long Way Home" that was just lovely.

Virgin Mobile Free Fest 2009 Schedule Announced

The schedule for the 2009 Virgin Mobile Free Fest was announced today:

Pavilion Stage
1:30-2:25 PM: Mates of State
2:50-4:00 PM: Taking Back Sunday
4:20-5:30 PM: Jet
6:00-7:15 PM: The Bravery
7:45-8:45 PM: Weezer
9:15-10:45 PM: Blink-182

West Stage
11:15-11:45 AM: Sunday's Roulette
12:00-12:30 PM: The Birthday Massacre
12:45-1:35 PM: St. Vincent
2:00-3:00 PM: Wale
3:35-4:45 PM: The Hold Steady
5:15-6:30 PM: Public Enemy
6:50-7:50 PM: The National
8:10-9:20 PM: GirlTalk
9:50-11:00 PM: Franz Ferdinand

Dance Stage
1:00-2:00 PM: Holy F*ck
2:45-5:30 PM: Lee Burridge
5:50-8:15 PM: Danny Howells
8:15-11:00 PM: Pete Tong

Show Review: Monolith Festival @ Red Rocks, Denver, CO--Day 2 (continued)

Day 2 starts here.
(Day 1 recap here and here.)

6.5 Hearts of Palm
Yeah, I saw some of Hearts of Palm's set. Eh. Photos were about the best thing I walked away with.

(More photos from Hearts of Palm's set here)

7. The Whigs
They put The Whigs in that little hallway room. The ear splitting, rocktastic, popular Whigs in a room that doubles as a hallway, a mind-boggling move to say the least. It sounds stupid, but after seeing these guys at SXSW 2008, I really wanted to get a shot of Julian Dorio's hair flying around while playing here at Monolith....something about it just makes me laugh, probably because it reminds me of Animal on the Muppets (yes, I know, I'm a dork.) The lighting wasn't stellar in this room but I think I scored one or two good ones of both Dorio as well as the group as a whole.







Playing-wise they were, as usual, fucking awesome. But the immense crowd, coupled with the inability for the security people to keep space in front for the camera folks to shoot without being inundated by said crowd, made me way too claustrophobic. Which bummed me out as The Whigs were one of the groups I was really psyched to see again live.

(More photos from The Whigs' set here)

I did get a few minutes in with lead singer/guitarist Parker Gispert afterwards. He said they're doing more east coast dates and will be hitting DC this fall (with the Kings of Leon in November at DAR; DAR, well you can't win em all).


8. Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings
Ruling the mainstage in the late afternoon was Sharon Jones and her Dap Kings. I'd heard she is a full on cyclone live and that was no joke.



Her sound of soul and funk harkens one back to an earlier time in pop music history when girl groups ruled and bouffant hairdos were the rage, when Tina Turner danced her ass off in that macramé dress while belting out a song. Jones absolutely knows how to hold a crowd in her hand.



Dancing barefoot onstage, pulling this crazy caped crusader named TRL out of the crowd for some onstage teaching about how a woman just wants a man to "Be Easy" (though we were all convinced that dancing with Sharon Jones is about as close as TRL would ever want a woman to get to him)...





...having women come up on stage to dance with her, and ending with a show-stopping, heart-pounding, ass-shakin, body-quakin version of James Brown's "It's a Man's Man's Man's World," she was literally all over the place. The center of the cyclone had settled right over us and we were all happy to be swept up into the inward spiraling wind that was Sharon Jones. She is, by far, the hardest working woman in showbiz.

(More photos from Sharon Jones/Dap Kings set here)


9. The Airborne Toxic Event
Racing back up the 230 stairs, I found a bit of a traffic jam trying to get to the inside stages. Apparently, the organizers hadn't anticipated the draw of the some of these inside bands like the Presets and Does it Offend You Yeah? (Dee captures the mayhem well here). In order to slow the flow, they closed off one of the two entrances, allowing one person in when one person left the inside stage hallway; not both entrances mind you, just the one, which didn't make much sense. So I had to do some fast talking and thankfully, a very nice employee led me through the kitchen to the side room where they were playing. (whew!)

By now, I'm sure you’ve heard about that awful Pitchfork review of Airborne's debut record and Airborne's spirited response. After I'd read the review, I emailed lead singer Mikel Jollet and said you should invite the guy to a show as he obviously has never seen y'all live. Now, if you’ve been reading my site here at all, you know I've interviewed The Airborne Toxic Event, I’ve reviewed them, I’ve photographed them...I’m a fan. But remember that Replacements Factor I spoke of ? I think Airborne sorta has that too. Their record is good, don't get me wrong, but had I heard their record before seeing them live, I honestly don’t know if I would have been quite as knocked out by them. That stunning "thing" that they have, like the Mats, A Place to Bury Strangers, and countless others, that thing about them that seems to raise the hairs on the back of your neck, that's so completely obvious when you see them on the stage. You get glimpses of it in what you hear from the scripted confines of a studio booth and mixing board, but seeing them live is when you forget to breathe. (In my humble opinion of course...)







And Monolith was no exception. It was a fantastic set even though the entire band was all terribly ill with the flu. Drummer Daren Taylor told me afterward, "I'm exhausted, but I played my ass off." Yes, yes he was, and yes, yes he did.



That's because Airborne is a band that just can’t let themselves play a bad show, even being so sick they could barely remain standing (bassist Noah Harmon, in fact, sat down on the rocks in back of the stage at one point). The author of that Pitchfork review, Ian Cohen, claimed the band is about market research and does what they do according to a "formula" so to speak. Though Cohen would probably somehow consider playing deathly ill as part of that "formula," I bet everyone who was at their show at Monolith saw it for what it really was, a band obsessively dedicated to their audience, their performance, and their music.







Plus, I mean seriously, how beautifully does lead guitarist Steven Chen photograph? You just cannot shoot a bad photo of this guy...

(More photos from the Airborne Toxic Event's set here)


10. TV on the Radio
And while we're on the topic of dedication...there had been rumors all day that TVOTR may not make their evening slot but no one knew why. Around their show time on the mainstage, the photo pit was as jammed full as the crowd behind us in anticipation. Finally, 15 minutes past their scheduled start time, the announcer came out to tell us the story: Seems the band was in Salt Lake City at 11 am, gearing up to head to Red Rocks, but the bus broke down. Sunday, Salt Lake City, big bus=trouble finding the right parts. By about 2 pm though, they apparently said fuck it, found a bunch of rental cars, and literally broke many speed limits to get to Red Rocks a mere 15 minutes late. Festival organizers thought they wouldn't make it as TVOTR checked in with their location progress throughout the day, but the band was certain they would (the organizers had obviously never driven with NY-drivers apparently, heh).

Needless to say, when TVOTR hit the stage, the place, as well as the band, went bananas. Lead singer Tunde Adebimpe never stopped moving the entire show, alternating between pogoing and dancing (and damn, can the man dance!).



They're out doing a few shows supporting the super incredible Dear Science. It's funky, it's thrash, it's rock, all laced with interesting pop sensibilities. This record is, and absolutely deserves to be, in everyone's top 10 lists for 2008. This is definitely a group you MUST check out live.



(More photos from TV on the Radio's set here)


11. CSS(Cansei de Ser Sexy)
I figured CSS would be a big draw so for the last time over my two days at Red Rocks, I trucked back up the 230 stairs (total stairs climbed over 48 hours: 986875675454). But in doing so, I had to miss the back end of the TVOTR show, which was a drag. Even more of a drag because CSS was 15 minutes late in starting. My guess? CSS lead singer Lovefoxxx had to finish tying the last garbage bag piece to her jacket.


(More photos from CSS's set here)

"Hyper" is an understated adjective for Portugal's CSS. But so is "addicting," shake your ass madly," and "listen on repeat." Lead singer Lovefoxxx is quite the Portugese Beyonce, dancing, hair tossin, crowd-flirting up a storm, all the while singing her ass off. These guys were definitely worth waiting around for....



At this point, I was seriously shivering (a mile above sea level gets damn cold at night), and I had no interest in seeing two French guys dj on the mainstage (yes, it was Justice. No, I didn't need to see dj'ing done live), so I called it a night.

What a couple of days...Red Rocks was incredible. I heard a rumor that Monolith lost money and it's possible it won't happen again, which would be a shame. It's got potential, true potential, so I hope they can make it work. The lineup was a really interesting collection of bands, all different and indie. The surroundings were amazing. And sure, there were a few issues (the indoor stage setup, security not always understanding the setup for photographers) but overall, things were smooth, and it was, most importantly, fun. The Monolith Festival did what a good music festival should do, have enough bigger name acts to draw folks sprinkled with lots of smaller groups that you'll walk away happy to have discovered. I know I'll definitely go again next year, if only to shoot more of the incredible landscape.

Show Review: Monolith Festival @ Red Rocks, Denver, CO--Day 1

With over 1200 photos to edit, text to write, and legs that are no longer wobbling from running the many, many flights of stairs to get from stage to stage, I'm finally getting around to reporting on the coolness (literally and figuratively) that was the Monolith Festival at Red Rocks in Denver, CO.

Now, I'm from the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains so I thought I knew mountains. But nowhere on the NYS Thruway is there a view quite like the one I saw ahead of me as I barreled up I-70W towards the Morrison exit for Day 1 of 2-day festival. The amazing Colorado mountain ranges sat in the forefront of the brightest blue sky, a picture so perfect it was like it had been Photoshopped. If I'd not been running so late (overslept and more shite Google Map directions), I would have pulled over and shot pictures of it, it was that breathtaking. And this wasn't even Red Rocks!

Which btw, was pretty mind-blowing. All these naturally-placed red sandstone monoliths, angled just so, it's like an American version of Stonehenge. And in the middle of it all is a BIG concert amphitheater and multiple parking lots and a visitors center, none of which you initially see as you pull in, because these rocks aren’t just big, they’re GINORMOUS (history of Red Rocks). I gotta tell you, it was a little surreal knowing I was going to see rock shows in the middle of all that.

I arrived, so that was one challenge down. Then, I had to adjust my NY-paced stride to the high altitude (things like walking up inclines or flights of stairs definitely left you winded), so challenge two down. Challenge three, finding the stages that were indoors, was a bit tougher as some festival planner thought directive signs to stages weren’t as important as signs to hemp ice cream or a pay-for-oxygen booth apparently.

1. The Morning Benders
Fortunately I was able to catch at least one song of Berkeley, CA's Morning Benders by the time I found the "Rock Room Stage;" unfortunately, that one song was their last song. Somewhat of a bummer as I had enjoyed *hearing* their live set enough that I wanted to *see* their live set too. That one song didn't disappoint though. They brought the coagulated sounds of British pop and California sunshine as nicely in person as they do on record.



I made a mental note to request the VU song from their great record of covers when I interview them at their DC show October 12th.

(Two of the Morning Benders during Blitzen Trapper. More photos of The Morning Benders set here.)

Listen:
Dammit Anna_The Morning Benders


2. The Muslims
I had scheduled an overview appointment to get skinny of the Dell Dome shortly after The Morning Benders set, but I was able to catch a few songs by The Muslims on my way. These guys may dress like Vampire Weekend but they were all about testing the sound barrier of everyone's earplugs with their super-energetic hard driving punk-pop.



I think Jon Behm over at Culture Bully summed them up the best:

Pretty music is nice. Sometimes though, what you need is the rock 'n' roll equivalent of a spirited bar fight. In those instances, lately I have been turning to San Diego band The Muslims.

"Spirited bar fight," yup sounds about right.



(More photos of The Muslims set here.)

Listen:
Extinction_The Muslims


3. The Dell Dome
Billed as a "self-expressive arts studio" and a place to discover new music, the Dell Dome's exterior was designed by artist Mike Ming. Ming also designs specialized Dell laptops, skateboards, and the like.

(Artist Mike Ming)

(Mike Ming-designed skateboard display.)

Ming is one of the 4-5 artists that Dell has involved with the Dome as it makes the festival circuit (Monolith was its fifth this year). Additional artists will be joining shortly for a collaboration with Project Red.

(The start of Ming's painting that he was working on inside the Dome.)

Activities inside the Dome included free screen printing on attendees’ clothing, rock star hairdos, and temporary tattoos ("There's always a wait for those," said my guides Lee and Lisa).

(Two brave souls getting rock star hairdos.)

Other cool activities allowed individuals to create a "mix tape" with 20 or so free downloads that was emailed (mixes can also be created here), and to partake in meet and greet interviews with artists.

(Devotchka's Shawn King and Tom Hagerman during one of the artist interviews in the Dell Dome.)


3. Blitzen Trapper
I'd heard a lot about Blitzen Trapper but not seen or heard them, so I did some reading beforehand. One phrase I found was "experimental folk rock." Seeing them myself, I didn't hear much in terms of "experimental" so much (unless by “experimental the author meant combining indie pop with folk (like pre-electric Dylan folk) and rock (ala classic, southern, and cock rock)). But the "folk rock" part was definitely accurate...think big guitar sounds with a harmonica and rock howl (which lead singer Eric Earley was great at). The "Rock Room Stage" was a rather small room but BT packed the peeps in (including two of The Morning Benders and two of the Vampire Weekend kids). A great rendition of "Wild Mountain Nation" made the crowd lose it altogether, and they did quite a few tracks from their new release Furr, out this week.





(More photos from the Blitzen Trapper show here.)

Listen:
Wild Mountain Nation_Blitzen Trapper


4. John Vanderslice
Before I made the long trek down the 230 amphitheater stairs, I stopped for a few minutes to check out the bright daylight settings of the bad ass Nikon D80 I was sportin by shooting some of the John Vanderslice set. I wasn’t left with any big indelible impression of his music (and I’m normally a sucker for a fiddle in an indie band) but I did manage to get some nice shots, so I had that going for me. Which is nice.





(More photos from the John Vanderslice show here.)


5. Cut Copy
Cut Copy didn’t do much for me when I went to review their opening band, The Black Kids, here in DC awhile back. But as I stood up at the top of the amphitheater seats, waaaay above the main stage as they played, I thought to myself, "Hey, they aren't half bad!" Maybe Cut Copy is just like a set of bagpipes, maybe they're just better heard over a hill and far away.

Listen:
So Haunted_Cut Copy


6. Scratch Track
I swung down to the acoustic stage to see this two-piece called Scratch Track before The Fratellis show (with a stop off at the stinky media tent for a bottle of water with a cap. Red Rocks, for whatever reason, sells bottles of water without their caps. Odd...) Scratch Track is comprised of a soul singer who doubles as a human beat box, and a guy playing acoustic guitar. They were a different sound and they made it work (and that stuff isn't typically my cup o' tea). I mean, how often do you get to hear a good acoustic rap version of "The Power of Love" by Huey Lewis and the News at an indie rock fest? Exactly, so you couldn’t help but give them props.





(More photos from the Scratch Track set here.)

Listen:
Shaker_Scratch Track


7. The Fratellis
Other reviews of the Fratellis performance at Monolith weren't stellar, saying that they were kind of blah, not too exciting, etc. I, however, didn't think they were so so bad. True, it could have been the high altitude messing with my brain, but I thought they had a great wall of poppy sound, more Liverpudlian than Glaswegian, that bounced nicely off the rocks that framed the back of the main stage.



Or maybe I was just more entertained watching their cuckoo-bananas drummer, Mince...the guy was a total maniac on the drums. Picture Ringo's feet fused with Keith Moon’s body.



Me digging them this time was kind of funny as I hadn't been so impressed when I saw them before at Webster Hall with The Airborne Toxic Event. Although it could have also been that I was just blinded by Jon Fratelli's excellent taste in shirts to notice much else (he was sporting the exact Dublin Sound shirt by Worn Free that I'd been planning to buy that very week).



(More photos from the Fratellis set here.)

Listen:
Chelsea Dagger_The Fratellis

Still to come for Day 1...A Place to Bury Strangers, Vampire Weekend, The Night Marchers, Cory Chisel and the Wandering Sons, Silverun Pickups, and Devotchka.

Show Review: Monolith Festival VIP Party, Bluebird Theater, Denver, CO (9-12-08)

After a week of TX hurricane mayhem at the secret government job, I'm finally sitting down to relay the rocktastic goodness that I witnessed last week at the Monolith Festival, which took place a mile above sea level in Denver, CO. Though the festival itself didn't officially start until Saturday, I flew in Friday, picked up this guy and this guy, and after a bout with bad directions, we finally found our way into Denver an hour or so later, heading right for the Bluebird Theater for the Monolith Festival VIP Party with Cloud Cult.



What an incredibly interesting and innovative group, a true phantasmagoria of sounds for the ear and sights for the eye. Onstage, with one shoe on and one shoe off, you'd think the lead singer/songwriter Craig Minowa was acting out a fairytale not just singing about them ("Fairy-Tale"). But it just added to the eclectic and colorful stage show that Cloud Cult has as the backdrop to their string-filled lush pop songs.



Minowa plays acoustic guitar and a megaphone at times, ala Tom Waits. There is a cellist (Sarah Young), a violinst (Shannon Frid), a drummer (Arlen Peiffer), and a bassist that doubles as a trombonist (Shawn Neary) who make up the music portion of this very tight six-piece collective. The other two, Connie Minowa and Scott West are, I kid you not, painters who create full individual canvases during the course of each Cloud Cult show. At the end of the show, they then auction off the paintings as "they can't take them on the plane," said Minowa. The work is stunning, as is the speed at which the painter Minowa (wife of the lead singer/songwriter) and West work, because in addition to painting during the show, they also step in as back up singers on a few songs.





Having walked in knowing nothing of Cloud Cult or their music, I will tell you I'll be seeing them again...and you should too. (See upcoming tour dates, including CMJ in NYC, here.) When a good band performs live, it is an opportunity for them to fully express themselves to the audience in ways that a two-dimensional recording cannot always convey. Cloud Cult is a band that knows this and works it to the max.

See the rest of the BL&L photos from this show here.

Listen:
Pretty Voice_Cloud Cult
Take Your Medicine_Cloud Cult