Crazy. Jen caught Grace Potter (and Band of Horses) this past week. Somehow she managed to get Ms. Potter to don a JayeL hat (jk). Go read all of her Motor City musings at Detroit Happens.
Elsewhere, Lupe Fiasco dropped a single from the long-awaited, never-dropping album, Lasers. Sounds like a sure-fire hit to me. If Atlantic thinks they aren’t gonna have to push up the album from the current March 2011 release date due to leaks, they are gonna have an angry Lupe on their hands.
Recognize that indie-hit interpolation (not to be confused with a sample)? Name it below in the comments. (Good find Carter).
What:Lollapalooza When: August 6th-8th Where: Grant Park, Chicago, IL Headliners: Soundgarden, Green Day, Lady Gaga, Arcade Fire, The Strokes, Phoenix Line-Up: Social Distortion, MGMT, Jimmy Cliff, Hot Chip, The Black Keys, The National, Spoon, Devo, Cypress Hill, Cut Copy, The New Pornographers, Erykah Badu, Grizzly Bear, Chromeo, Yeasayer, Matt & Kim, The xx, Drive-By Truckers, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, Blitzen Trapper, Stars, Raphael Saadiq, Rogue Wave, The Big Pink, The Dodos, B.o.B, Javelin, The Morning Benders, Dan Black, Empire of the Sun, BBU, Vonnegutt and more Tickets: 3 day passes $215 (plus fees), VIP starts at $850, 1 day passes $TBD (not yet announced) Accommodations: Hopefully, you know someone in the Windy City and can crash on their couch. There are a plethora of hotels in the city, but I can’t imagine what they would charge for the weekend. My Take: The Lolla line-up release is always the announcement I look forward to each Spring. Not that I’m going to this year, but it was my first music fest, so I can actually visualize how everything will go down. This year, all I can say is meh.
The headliners really are quite the let down. Take a look at headliners from 2 years ago and you’ll see what I mean. Don’t get me wrong, Green Day are legends that got me thru middle school, fine. Arcade Fire is due with their next album and an already impressive catalog. I love Phoenix, but don’t think they are “major festival headliner material”, yet (They aren’t even headliners at Rites of Spring). Lastly, I think I would be more excited to see Lady Gaga than The Strokes or Soundgarden.
However, its not a complete train wreck. Organizers managed to align another great list of mid level indie/blog bands that is sure to entice many in the Midwest. I’m pretty sure most of these acts have been at Lolla the past 2 summers, but by the time August hits, most people will be blessing new works from The Black Keys, Drive-By Truckers, The New Pornographers, MGMT, Blitzen Trapper and others. Hot Chip, Cut Copy and Chromeo don’t tour the states as frequently as most would like, so I would definitely take this opportunity to catch them.
I’ll second Mr. Barber’s sentiments though, Perry Farell doesn’t care about hip-hop. I’m glad to see B.o.B. make the cut, but talk about alienating an entire genre. Sheesh. Lupe at least has a new album he could promote this summer. Bonnaroo got Jay-Z, Jay Electronica, Wale, Damian Marley & Nas, Kid Cudi…should I go on? Update: Chicago rappers Kidz In The Hall and Jay-Z’s next young rapper, J.Cole were just added, but this still needs work.
Perry’s stage is also around for another year. I’m not really going to attempt to dissect the dance/electronic sector, but last year’s looks a lot more persuasive. Empire of the Sun, Tiga and Cut Copy’s DJ sets are sure to make noise though. To be positive, props to the guys from Vonnegutt for getting to showcase their electro/pop/hip-hop hits at a major festival. I’m sure this will only be the beginning of their stay on the festival circuit.
On the plus side, Chicago venues have been known to pull some sick night shows together from the Lolla line-ups. If you don’t want to buy a weekend pass, might I suggest a day pass for the headliner of choice (ahem, Arcade Fire) and some night shows in the city?
BBU – Chi Don’t Dance
So whats the deal? Did Lolla get the shaft from releasing their line-up after Coachella and Bonnaroo? Are headliners charging way too much for organizers to align music lovers dreams? Does this validate Rothbury’s cancellation due to not being able assemble a fest with “integrity and high standards” after the first 2 years?
Most importantly, will someone buy me a Lollapalooza koozie?
I wasn’t able to attend, but luckily, there are more than enough ways to get an insider’s look at this year’s Lollapalooza. Thanks to iClips.net, I caught partial performances of Henry Clay People, Cold War Kids, Kaiser Chiefs and Bat For Lashes. Besides that, I saw full sets by Ben Harper & Relentless7 (made me rethink my initial thoughts on Ben Harper’s latest venture: amazing), a Snoop Dogg party (how many times can you say his name in 1 concert?) and mad scientist/band leader Dan Deacon. I’m sure it didn’t always get the results Mr. Deacon wanted (multiple sound issues), but the “Ensemble” with the marching band for “Woof Woof” was crazy and Deacon’s crowd particpiation efforts were stunning and hilarious.
When I wasn’t watching the streaming video on Lolla’s simulcast, I read some slick re-caps by Pitchfork writers, caught Twitter updates from Ms. Pop Candy and numerous You Tube and Flickr uploads. Not to mention, the much-appreciated highlights, videos, texts and pictures from my “reporters” in the field, Andrew and Jenny.
If I don’t go to Bonnaroo next year (drive-able, so maybe), I’m going to Lolla ’10 (Aug. 6th – 8th, 2010). End of discussion.
See below for what we missed:
Fleet Foxes – White Winter Hymnal – Friday – Playstation Stage
KiD CuDi – Sky High – Saturday – Perry’s Stage Courtesy of Mr. Barber @ Fake Shore Drive.
“Who? Mano!”. When you hear that announcement at the beginning of a song, you know something good is coming. Not to be confused with this guy, Mano aka Million $ Mano straight out of Chi-town has been burning out my i pod with catchy remixes left and right. After noticing he DJ’d at a recent Cool Kids show and insistent promotion from my favorite Chicago blog, Fake Shore Drive, I decided to check him out. The results were more than priceless.
Not to be pigeon-holed in one genre, Million $ Mano’s seamlessly brings together sounds of hip-hop with elements of house, and drum & bass. His penchant for speeding up the tempo on popular hits and sparkling some drum flair and house flavors makes his works more than catchy. Mano’s interpretation for Mr. West’s “Flashing Lights” easily made me forget the melodrama of Kanye’s much hyped video. With the help of rapper, Hollywood Holt, he managed to make indie darlings, Matt & Kim, danceable.
Aside from remixes, Mano also has produced for G.O.O.D. Music artist GLC and has a side project, He Say, She Say, with singer Drea. After recently catching the ear of Kanye West, let’s hope Million $ Mano soon gets the respect across the globe, he’s already getting from Chicago artists.
It has been waaaaaay to long since I have added anything to this site. I was really hoping to not have one of those blogs that gets updated once a month. Hopefully, I will return to form immediately.
Whether it was a clever ploy by Perry Farrell and organizers to drum up more early ticket sales or just an innocent leak, I love it. When the “potential” early line-up for Lollapalooza 2008 leaked Friday via the Chicago Sun-Times, it only validated my recent ticket purchase. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, I will be amped and ready to roast in Grant Park, Chicago August 1st – 3rd. Not only were most of my hopes answered for most of the artists attending. But my recent task of scouring band websites and tour itineraries to see who had the 1st weekend of August free, made many of my guesses correct.
Here is my take on who will be joining me at Lollapalooza:
Headliners: -Radiohead: I know the basics of their catalog, but I’m excited to have another reason to check out their catalog in preparation. In Colours seemed to be the “it” album of 2007, so no surprise here.
-Nine Inch Nails: I can’t lie, I don’t know the band’s work. Their video for “Closer” creeped me out beyond believe in 7th grade, so we’ll see about these cats.
-Rage Against the Machine: I may not be in the middle of the most pit, but I have been looking forward to a Rage reunion. My friends who saw them at Vegoose and Rock the Bells said it was insane. Count me in.
-Wilco & The Raconteurs: I know an equal amount about both bands, very little. I have been impressed with both albums by Jack White’s boys and look forward to hear more from Wilco.
-Kanye West: Chicago’s son comes home to rock the biggest party in the city. I expect a lot of “Flashing Lights”, emotion and specials guests (could we see a CRS performance?). Cannot wait!
The rest: -Gnarls Barkley: “The Odd Couple” may have turned away mainstreamers without a pop record like “Crazy”, but it was still solid. I’m hoping to see some interesting costumes while Cee-Lo spits the Gospel.
-The Black Keys: Yes, yes and yes. These guys have been in heavy rotation in my eardrums since I heard “Your Touch” this winter. Although I’ll have to skip their show in Royal Oak, it will only further my anticipation of their throwback, garage rock sound.
-The Cool Kids: Another Windy City act poise to explode from the hype that has already been bubbling. Their ’80s inspired rhymes should keep the crowd in a head-nodding frenzy.
My first concert in Chicago and another great Girl Talk show. Metro was filled from top to bottom with hipsters and dance party enthusiasts galore.
Highlights: -Everyone in our group made into the venue, despite only 3/8 of us having tickets at 11:00 pm. -Viewing hundreds of dudes screaming “Since You’ve Been Gone”. -Falling on my face and being lifted from the ground by a stranger. -With the help of Journey’s “Faithfully”, Soulja Boy managed to sound epic. -Surviving with only a few bruises and slight dehydration.
If you'd like your music featured on JayeL Audio, send music submissions to jayelaudioblog@gmail.com. I can't promise I'll post everything, but will definitely give it a listen.
If you or your party's music is on JayeL Audio and you'd like it removed, please contact me at jayelaudioblog@gmail.com. I'll remove links immediately.
Crazy. Jen caught Grace Potter (and Band of Horses) this past week. Somehow she managed to get Ms. Potter to don a JayeL hat (jk). Go read all of her Motor City musings at Detroit Happens.
