[Review] Animal Collective @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheater @ Encore Park (7/8/11)

Dear Animal Collective,

WTF, dudes? I thought we had an understanding, or at least some sort of non-verbal contractual agreement going. All I can say is that you really let me down. Big time. Major huge super big time.

My first complaint is lodged at the terrible choice of openers for your first “big leagues” tour. Words cannot express how super hyped I was before the show to see the Dirty Projectors and Deerhunter open for you. I kind of understand why Angel Deradoorian came out solo since apparently the rest of the Dirty Projectors are recording a cover album of The Offspring’s “Ixnay on the Hombre” from memory. I mean that’s a lot of power chords to memorize. Anyways, I thought that her set was okay, but a little short and a little boring. Plus the ecstasy hadn’t really kicked in yet so I wasn’t feeling her vibes so much. So, okay, I’ll let that one slide. My second huge disappointment was when only Bradford Cox (of Deerhunter fame) came out to perform. I kept waiting for the rest of the band to show and then laugh at what a funny indie-punk’d style joke that was. That never happened, however. I can only speculate that three fourths of Deerhunter refused to show because of low audience attendance. Just another example of rockstars being dickfaces, I guess. Bradford cox played some really good indie jams but I didn’t recognize any of them since apparently he’s not allowed to play Deerhunter songs if the rest of the band skips out and bomb threats wallgreens for oxycontin. I will say, in Bradford’s defense that he did extremely well, considering the fact that he had to come up with those songs pretty much on the spot. They were all well put together and the small crowd seemed to love them. Next time though, try and find openers who aren’t hard at work on a magnum opus of sorts and who aren’t megalomaniacs. I would really appreciate that.

My second complaint has to do with the pure shit-blizzard of a set list you guys chose. This wasn’t a surprise show at the Masquerade. At least there I would expect everything to be awful and wrong. No, this was your big moment to break out and really show the world what you guys can do in a huge amphitheater. I can’t express how enraged I was after listening to sixteen fucking songs and only recognizing three of them! After doing some intense internet research I found out that you did actually play two other old songs, one from “Feels” and another from “Sung Tongs”. So that’s it? Five songs out of your expansive catalogue is all you got to give your fans? It’s almost as if you guys don’t care about material things like tour stats or money or giving people what they paid to see. I’m talking, of course, about your hit single, “My Girls” which was all the rage two summers ago and is the reason myself and probably everyone else there came in the first place. My jeans are way too tight for a time machine, so how am I supposed to travel to the future and memorize your new songs so I can come back and enjoy the show you put on? Don’t get me wrong, I thought the way every song seamlessly blended into one another was awesome. I also totally loved the new songs. A few were a bit slow, but I feel the same way with all of your albums. I just looked at last night’s set list for Styx at the same venue. Wow, big surprise, they played all their fucking solid gold hits. You guys would do well by following the example of Styx, who apparently know how to rock.

Sorry this was so harsh, but seriously, think about the people you hurt by just playing what you want. With an album like “Merriwether Post Pavilion” under your belts, you can’t just do what feels right or natural anymore. You have a responsibility to the paying public. After all, art isn’t about the creative process; it’s about the product you create and the people you sell it to.

Sincerely, Joe.


Ohmpark Mixtape #13: Our Favourite Songs of 2009

ohmparktop102009_2

If you’ve been paying attention around here this year, there is no doubt you will be familiar with everything on this list, and perhaps even a little burnt out on some of these tracks. But each of these songs are strongly linked to different moments and memories I have of 2009, and they make up the ultimate soundtrack to an amazing year in music. So jam them out one last time:

Danger Mouse & Sparklehorse w/ Wayne Coyne : Revenge
Animal Collective : My Girls
Atlas Sound w/ Noah Lennox : Walkabout
The Dirty Projectors : Useful Chamber
Grizzly Bear : Two Weeks
Bat For Lashes : Daniel
Andrew Bird : Anonanimal
Here We Go Magic : Fangela
Loney, Dear : Airport Surroundings
Mew : Introducing Palace Players
St. Vincent : The Strangers
Do Make Say Think : Do
Phoenix : Lisztomania
Nomen Novum : Miracles Come True

Bonnaroo 2009: Friday (Day 2): Oh So Harmonious

Friday morning started with some nice cloud cover that made it easy to sleep in a little while. After hanging out at camp, I headed for the press area to work and sit through an orientation, and then I went to see some tunes. I caught the last half of Katzenjammer‘s set, and it was really good. The Norwegian 4-piece was comprised completely of ladies and they put on a damn good show. They would all be switching instruments between every song and had a striking sense of showmanship to match their musical prowess. At one point they did an a cappella number with everyone singing that was impressive, and this would seem to be the theme for most of the day: Stunning vocal harmonies.

After that I managed to get one person back from the front for Dirty Projectors on That Tent, and they totally brought it as per usual. I’m still blown away by the vocal tricks they employ. They opened with a slow jam in duet form, and then brought the rest of the band in for the second tune as they would continue changing their on-stage configuration for different sections of the show. They rocked some older jams this time in addition to all the best stuff from Bitte Orca. Pretty much everyone expected a David Byrne & Dirty Projectors team up on “Knotty Pine”, and when they closed with just that, the crowd went nuts.


Click here to read the entire post…

Ohmpark Mixtape #9: Bonnaroo 2009

Right now I am totally obsessed with Bonnaroo and getting very excited about the coming week. I’ve built my annual playlist of ‘roo artists, but even if you aren’t going, some of these will be swinging by Atlanta as well. Also, I’ve dropped some fun Bonna-links below to get you in the mood too. If you are still on the fence as to whether to go to this fest or not, I suggest you go big, but if you can’t attend, you can go along vicariously with our total coverage.

Grizzly Bear : Southern Point
Dirty Projectors : What I See
Phoenix : Lisztomania
Passion Pit : The Reeling
Portugal The Man : Elephants
Animal Collective : The Purple Bottle
Tobacco : Backwoods Altar
St. Vincent : Dig A Pony (The Beatles cover)
White Rabbits : Percussion Gun
Phish : The Divided Sky

Bonnaroo website
Bonnaroo 2008 coverage
Bonnaroo 2007 coverage
Stories from Bonnaroo 2002 – 2006
Guide to Bonnaroo 2009 Schedule
2009 Weather (Updated daily)
Inforoo (The Bonnaroo message board that can answer any question you have)

SXSW 2009 Wrap-Up & Final Thoughts

One last post about South By Southwest 2009 to rule them all. I’m sure everyone who didn’t go is sick of hearing about it by now, but it is pretty much the greatest festival in the world, so one final discussion is warranted. If Bonnaroo is the Super Bowl of fests, SXSW is the World Cup, March Madness, and the Olympics all rolled into one. There simply isn’t anything else like it. So I’m going to ramble on about what I took from this year’s event after a photo journey through our SXSW 2009:

All photos by Clint Miller:

Anathallo:

Port O’Brien:

Loney Dear:

Wavves:

Anni Rossi:

M Ward:

Department Of Eagles:

St. Vincent:

Camera Obscura:

Oh No Oh My:

Arizona:

Bell:

Women:

Evangelicals:

Mt St Helens Vietnam Band

Click here to read the entire post…

Live Show: Dirty Projectors (3/19/08) SXSW Session


Dirty Projectors @ SXSW

Dirty Projectors
The Parish
Austin, TX
2009-03-19

01. Cannibal Resource [4:03]
02. Remade Horizon [5:32]
03. Bitte Bitte Orca [7:10]
04. Stillness Is The Move [4:20]

Download Lossless Torrent Here

SXSW Day 4 (Saturday): One Last Night To Get Dirty

Clint got a little earlier start on the final day than me, and went to see Still Flyin’:

After I awoke from a too short slumber I headed out to the 40 Watt showcase at Side Bar. Our gracious host Larry dropped me off and I went inside to catch a proper Still Flyin’ set, something I wanted to do since I caught their acoustic set the other night at the Todd P. party. To my surprise D.J. from Still Flyin’ did a short hilarious rap set as his alter ego Excalibrah. It was a nice change from the serious rock shows I had been catching during SXSW. After that Still Flyin’ came on stage with too many members to count. I really enjoy the beach music meets big family band thing that they do. The stand out song was “Rope Burn” which shows they have the power to craft incredibly catchy indie pop songs similar to their sister band Je Suis France. As soon as the set ended I hoofed it to Waterloo Park to meet up with the rest of the Ohmpark crew.

Excalibrah:

Still Flyin’:

After that we met back up at the Mess With Texas free mini-festival in Waterloo Park. This event features two big stages and showcases bands that have been playing SXSW shows all week.


Click here to read the entire post…

A Random Mp3 Trilogy: Dirty Projectors & David Byrne, Jaydiohead, Illinois


The Dirty Projectors

The people who brought us classic compilation albums of my youth like Red Hot and No Alternative have a new edition that is looking ridiculous. It is entitled Dark Was The Night and will drop February 17. It is produced by the kids from The National and features two discs of the hottness:

Disc One:

1 Knotty Pine – Dirty Projectors + David Byrne
2 Cello Song (Nick Drake) – The Books featuring Jose Gonzalez
3 Train Song (Vashti Bunyan recorded, written by Alasdair Clayre) – Feist + Ben Gibbard
4 Brackett, WI – Bon Iver
5 Deep Blue Sea – Grizzly Bear
6 So Far Around the Bend – The National (arrangement by Nico Muhly)
7 Tightrope – Yeasayer
8 Feeling Good (popularized by Nina Simone) – My Brightest Diamond
9 Dark Was the Night (Blind Willie Johnson) – Kronos Quartet
10 I Was Young When I Left Home (Bob Dylan) – Antony + Bryce Dessner
11 Big Red Machine – Justin Vernon + Aaron Dessner
12 Sleepless – The Decemberists
13 Stolen Houses (Die) – Iron and Wine
14 Service Bell – Grizzly Bear + Feist
15 You Are The Blood – Sufjan Stevens
Disc Two:

1 Well-Alright – Spoon
2 Lenin – Arcade Fire
3 Mimizan – Beirut
4 El Caporal – My Morning Jacket
5 Inspiration Information (Shuggie Otis) – Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings
6 With A Girl Like You (The Troggs) – Dave Sitek
7 Blood Pt 2 (based on original song “You are the Blood” by the Castanets) – Buck 65 Remix (featuring Sufjan Stevens and Serengeti)
8 Hey, Snow White (Destroyer) – The New Pornographers
9 Gentle Hour (Snapper) – Yo La Tengo
10 Another Saturday (traditional song) – Stuart Murdoch
11 Happiness – Riceboy Sleeps
12 Amazing Grace (traditional song) – Cat Power and Dirty Delta Blues
13 The Giant Of Illinois (Handsome Family) – Andrew Bird
14 Lua – Conor Oberst + Gillian Welch
15 When the Road Runs Out – Blonde Redhead + Devastations
16 Love vs. Porn – Kevin Drew

Below is the opening track, a collaboration where The Dirty Projectors have taken some ancient David Byrne lyrics and built a new song out of it. Also, the original version (before it was on the Grizzly Bear EP) of Daniel Rossen’s “Deep Blue Sea” that is featured on this compilation has surfaced on the Internet and you can track it down here. For more info on Dark Was The Night here.

David Byrne and Dirty Projectors : Knotty Pine




In the latest remix news, New York’s DJ Minty Fresh Beats has created an album made up of mashups of Radiohead and Jay-Z songs. Considering the most memorable recent albums like this were Danger Mouse‘s The Grey Album and Amplive‘s Rainydayz Remixes, the appeal of this concept seems obvious. The album is available for free download here. It is a good listen, but the straightforwardness of the mixes and the fact that both of these artists have already been remixed billions of times previously sort of dilutes the impressiveness. Here is a track from it:

Jaydiohead : Change Order




Finally, Illinois‘ 2007 EP What The Hell Do I Know was brilliant enough for me to put it on my Best EPs of 2007 list, but i hadn’t really paid much attention to the band after that. It seems they wrote over 100 songs since then, and they are currently engaged in an onslaught of releases called The Adventures of Kid Catastrophe. Beginning in November of last year, they have been releasing a new EP and videos each month in an epic six part piece. It is hard for me to track down a master list of songs/releases from this thing, but if you are interested, check out their myspace. Here is a track from this month’s installment, Chapter 3:

Illinois : Are You Coming With Me

For a bonus, I didn’t realize this band got hyped up from their song “Nosebleed” being featured on Showtime’s Weeds, but here is a video of the “Brick Dance” with that Illinois song as the soundtrack:

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