SHIT. This is a cool line-up. You all know Of Montreal. They have a new album out, they are awesome, yadda yadda yadda. Janelle Monáe, however, is a new kid on the block and is blowing up. She killed it on Letterman with her single “Tightrope” and has been tagged the female James Brown. Check out this video NOW:
Janelle Monae will be in Louisville on September 29th at the Idea Festival, but she will be in Nashville at the Cannery Ballroom with Of Montreal on September 26th. We can also catch them at the Madison Theatre in Covington, KY on September 21st. I just may try to catch all of them.
Schedule:
Of Montreal / Janelle Monáe
09-13 Washington, DC – 9:30 Club
09-14 Washington, DC – 9:30 Club
09-15 Philadelphia, PA – Electric Factory
09-16 Boston, MA – House of Blues
09-17 New York, NY – Terminal 5
09-18 New York, NY – Terminal 5
09-19 Buffalo, NY – Town Ballroom 09-21 Covington, KY – Madison Theatre
09-22 Urbana, IL – Canopy Club (Pygmalion Music Festival)
09-23 Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue
09-24 Milwaukee, WI – Pabst Theatre 09-26 Nashville, TN – Cannery Ballroom
10-21 St. Louis, MO – Pageant
10-22 Omaha, NE – Sokol Auditorium
10-23 Lawrence, KS – Liberty Hall
10-24 Denver, CO – The Ogden Theater
10-25 Salt Lake City, UT – The Complex
10-27 Seattle, WA – The Paramount
10-28 Portland, OR – Roseland
10-30 Los Angeles, CA – Palladium
11-01 Albuquerque, NM – Sunshine Theatre
11-02 Dallas, TX – The Granada Theatre
11-03 Austin, TX – East Side Drive In
11-04 Houston, TX – Numbers
11-05 Oxford, MS – The Lyric
You may have read the rant I wrote about Of Montreal earlier this month after seeing their show in Nashville, but I tell you it is a love/hate relationship. All that said, I still will probably be at the Buster’s show. Buster’s is a great venue and will work well with the crowd thatI anticipate this event will draw. The show is on May 27th (18+). May 28th is still listed as TBD. Wonder if that means they will make a stop in Louisville?!?!?!
April 6 – Oxford, MS – The Lyric – 18+
April 7 – Tallahassee, FL – The Moon – 18+
April 8 – Tampa, FL – The Ritz – AA
April 9 – Miami Beach, FL – The Fillmore – AA
April 10 – Orlando, FL – Firestone Live – AA
May 22 – New Orleans, LA – Howlin Wolf – 18+ **
May 23 – Austin, TX – The Mohawk – AA **
May 24 – Dallas, TX – Granada Theater – 14+ **
May 25 – Tulsa, OK – Cain’s Ballroom – AA **
May 26 – Columbia, MO – 9th Street Summerfest – AA ** May 27 – Lexington, KY – Buster’s – 18+ **
May 28 – TBA
May 29 – Philadelphia, PA – Theatre of the Living Arts – AA **
May 30 – Waterford, CT – B.O.M.B Fest – AA
May 31 – Charlottesville, VA – The Jefferson – AA **
June 1 – Richmond, VA – The National – AA **
June 2 – Carrboro, NC – Cat’s Cradle – AA **
Let me start by saying that I’m a big fan of of Montreal. I think they are amazing musicians and they have put out great record after great record. I went down to Nashville to see them at the Cannery Ball room on February 6, 2010 and left happy, but unsatisfied. Perhaps I missed the bus on this rant and it should have been made years ago, but I’ll write it anyway.
Full disclosure: my favorite album is Cherry Peel, but I listen to Satanic Panic in the Attic just as much. This is a tribute to the band’s range. Kevin Barnes and Co. have the ability to reinvent The Beatles and make a modern dance song at the same time. It shows in their collective work of art. That said, the level of their talent is lost on the majority of the audience because their show has become too gimmicky/weird. Back in 2006, I saw them in Lexington complete with scantly clad characters being walked around on all fours with one of those Pulp Fiction balls in their mouth being whipped. Their Bonnaroo 2009 show was more watered down, but still included pig-headed men and random animal/human amalgamations.
The Cannery Ballroom show took it to the next level. Pigmen, check. Nude guys, check. Tigerman, check. Gasmasks, check. It felt like less of a musical performance and more like an exhibition in pushing the envelope. Please don’t get me wrong, I love high energy shows and I love a band going the extra mile for their fans. That said, when the lead singer is pulled off a cross by men in tights with pig masks after the song prior to the encore, I am forced to question the band’s credibility.
I want to think that they don’t need a bazaar spectacle to gain a fan base. Unfortunately, I may be wrong. The crowd in Nashville included a large number of bedazzled Ke$ha’s (including guys) that where there for “the show.” of Montreal might as well be playing “The Entrance of the Gladiators” at the Barnum & Bailey’s Circus. In any other situation, I wouldn’t care, but having followed of Montreal for so long, I know they don’t need a “show” to be big.
Eat a bat’s head. Remove a rib. Break a guitar. Smash a bottle on your face. Bands have cooked up plenty of ideas to get people to shows, but at the end of the day, it’s talent that keeps them coming. I only ask that of Montreal embrace their abilities and follow the path of the great bands before them. Acts like Bowie and The Beatles had times of strange that were well received, but they always came back to their core; solidifying and expanding their base, while maintaining credibility.
of Montreal has a new album, False Priest, coming out this year. It is probably too late for this one, but I only hope that they reach back soon and embrace some of their older stuff and create a tour that reflects the same. Otherwise, the morning after, the make-up will be smeared and love will be lost on an experience that cannot last longer than a single show.
of Montreal- For Our Elegant Caste (the most “normal” song of the show)
of Montreal is many things. of Montreal is one of the stalwarts of the Athens, Georgia pop scene. of Montreal is the recording and performing project of one Mr. Kevin Barnes. And of Montreal is one of the many bands still in operation with a tie to the loose Elephant Six collective of the late ’90s, a group of like-minded bands centered around that incredibly fertile Southern college town. of Montreal is not, however, predictable. And therein lies the appeal of a band that, over its past two albums with Polyvinyl Records, has exploded from cult appeal to international popularity. With its union of Kinks-inspired, late-’60s rock send-up and ’80s-era synth stylings, the 2004 album Satanic Panic in the Attic planted the seeds for a new audience. Last year’s dance-inducing, idiosyncratic electro-pop masterpiece Sunlandic Twins cultivated that expanded and ever-enthusiastic audience, letting a growing legion of fans flourish. Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer? arrives on January 23, 2007, ready to reap the benefits. It’s an irresistible and remarkable album, sounding like a logical extension of the erratic indie-disco sounds of Sunlandic Twins. Recorded as a one-man operation in a tiny Norwegian bedroom and an attic in Athens GA, the album swings from swaggering guitar to moody synths, from exultant sing-along to curious combinations of sounds. Lyrically, you’ve got boisterous pomp, maddening depression and decadent indulgence. Hissing Fauna is strange, unexpected, entrancing and rewarding. And if not for the tumultuous year that nearly tore Kevin Barnes apart, it never would have existed.
Of Montreal Tour Schedule:
01-25 Baltimore, MD – Ram’s Head
01-26 New York, NY – Highline Ballroom
01-27 Boston, MA – Paradise
01-28 Washington, DC – 9:30 Club
01-29 Norfolk, VA – Norva
01-30 Richmond, VA – The National
02-04 Athens, GA – 40 Watt
02-05 Asheville, NC – Orange Peel 02-06 Nashville, TN – Cannery Ballroom
Boomslang ended up being kind of a long weekend. There was so much going on and so much great music that kept me out until ridiculous hours of the night, that I was downright exhausted on Sunday. I decided to take it easy for most of the day until the last band at Buster’s which I was expecting (correctly) to be the highlight of the whole festival. That band is the irrepressible Brazilian band Os Mutantes.
Originally formed in the mid-60s by the Baptista brothers (Arnaldo and Sergio Dias), (more…)
We started off Day 3 with Rodrigo y Gabriela – the Mexican flamenco-inspired guitar duo – whose famous cover of Metallica make Apocalyptica look like pussies. It was nice to see this group on the huge What Stage where the camera could pick up the nuances Rodrigo y Gabriela’s guitar playing, which is virtuosic to say the least. The constant surpise at Bonnaroo was groups doing more with less. And this duo is the poster child for such excellent musicanship. Even at 3pm on a steamy Saturday, Rodrigo y Gabriela managed to blow minds. Well, those that were ready to be blown and not still passed out from Phish the night before.
OF MONTREAL
Bummer, of Montreal. Total bummer. The psychadelic surreal of Montreal sure did put on a show, but most of us didn’t see it. Crammed into This Tent, Kevin Barnes and co. opted to bring their whole theatrical act on the road. Unfortunately, if you weren’t at the front of the stage, you couldn’t see what was going on. Not only that, but the sound was fuzzy and the psychadelic jam that I was stoked to have turned into a “what is going on up there?” “What song is this?” I’m sure a ton of people had a great time at this show, but I was too far back and too put off to get down. Hopefully seeing them in a different atmosphere will put a better spin on my of Montreal live show experience.
WILCO
I’m a Wilco fan. Have been from way back. And though I was disappointed by Sky Blue Sky, I’m sticking by my band. Like the Beasties, Tweedy and co. have a long, varried career to play out live and do a damn fine job doing so. Rollicking through oldies but goodies like “Jesus, etc.” and “Misunderstood” while mixing in a few new tracks from Wilco (The Album) like “Wilco (the Song),” Wilco (the Band) payed attention to their past by honoring the future and vice versa. You may say what you want about the recordings, but Wilco is and always has been a live band. In this set, Nels Cline shone more than living up to the second-man billing formerly played by Jay Bennett and Jim O’Rourke. Tweedy – in Dylanesque attire – played the sage songwriter and as long has he has this band, he can keep living up to the clothing.
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN
This is going to sound like the most obvious statement ever: The Boss is amazing live. Don’t listen to your 20-something friends who think irony grows on trees and scoff at the idea of seeing Springsteen live. Springsteen is incredible. He’s like a fucking national monument. You know it’s there. People tell you it’s impressive, but until you finally see it, you have no idea. It’s never about him. When Springsteen comes into the crowd it’s about the crowd. He doesn’t stand on the railing so you can see him better or to serve his ego. He stands there so he can sing directly to you. Pulling requests (!) from the audience, Bruce and the E Street Band amazed at every chord turn. Like TV on the Radio, for this group it’s all about heart. Musicality is a byproduct, something to give voice to the enormous work and effort in each song. It’s working class. It’s a day job. It’s unbe-fucking-lievable.
YEASAYER
Stay tuned for this band. Great live set capped off by “Tightrope” from the Dark was the Night Comp, Yeasayer sold me on them being more than another goofy keyboard band. They were quirky, tight, and with some of the most original vocals I’ve heard in a while. Yeasayer has my money already on the line for their next album.
NINE INCH NAILS
N: I shot over to NIN for a bit during the Yeasayer set (after “Tightrope” from the Dark Was the Night comp.) and it was absolutely packed. They didn’t play the main stage, so people were shoulder to shoulder all the back until Trent was the size of a one inch nail. Combine that with the smoke and strobes and it was almost impossible to see anything. I worked my way up as close as I could get, but gave up with the interest of the safety of my camera in mind. I’ve seen them before, so I wasn’t super upset about not getting in close for a few songs. Why they didn’t play the main stage (it was empty during the set), I have no clue.
MOE.
N: On my was back from the NIN stage, I passed MOE. playing with full light show (see above). I have a feeling this is where all the Phish-heads (is that an accurate name for Phish fans…or all they called Phans?). I didn’t stay long because I wanted to get back for the end of Yeasayer, but waht I was was pretty epic for a relatively small stage show.
N: Best set at Bonnaroo 2009. Everlasting love and respect for the person who comments below with a link to audio from the set. I can’t find it anywhere.
H: Yeah. Seriously. I thought this was going to be 2 guys and keyboard. I ddn’t know I’d have my mind blown.
Backseat Sandbar is heading to Bonnaroo this weekend to cover the festival! We’ve gone through the schedule and have meticulously picked the bands we plan to see. I’ve listed them below. Feel free to tell us where we may be missing out (Here is the schedule for your analysis):
THURSDAY
11:15- Passion Pit
FRIDAY
12:45- Gomez
1:30- The Dirty Projectors
2:45- Animal Collective
4:45- Yeah Yeah Yeah’s
5:30- Grizzly Bear
6:45- TV on the Radio
8:30- Beastie Boys
11:15- Phoenix
12:45- Crystal Castles
2:15- Girl Talk
SATURDAY
1:30- Heartless Bastards
3:30- Bon Iver or Rodrigo y Gabriela (still a toss up)
5:15- Of Montreal
6:30- Wilco
8:00- The Mars Volta
9:00- Bruce Springsteen
1:00- Yeasayer
1:45- NIN
3:00- MGMT
SUNDAY
12:00- Ben Sollee
1:30- Ted Leo
3:30- Erykah Badu
4:30- Andrew Bird
6:00- Snoop Dogg
7:00- Neko Case
8:30- Phish
We were not able to go to the Of Montreal show in Cincy at the Madison Theatre on April 23rd, but Matt at You Ain’t No Picasso was in attendance and grabbed some great pics and wrote a review. He and my brother are in the running for world’s biggest Of Montreal fan, so you know it is good. Read it HERE.
This April, Forecastle will once again hit the road to promote the 8th annual festival in cities and towns across the Midwest. Below is a list of initial events that Forecastle will be hosting or co-sponsoring. More shows to be announced:
April 4th – Lexington, KY – Beaux Arts Ball
April 7th 8th- Louisville, KY – Headliners Music Hall (w. Dr. Dog)
April 23rd- Cincinnati, OH – Madison Theatre (w. Of Montreal!!!!!!!!!!!!)
April 24th – Indianapolis, IN – Radio Radio (w. Lucero)
April 25th- Bloomington, IN – Little 500
May 1st- Nashville, TN – Dirty Eye Warehouse
The headliner’s of the Forcastle Fest should be announced soon!!
Thursday night in Lexington saw the conclusion of the Elephant 6 Holiday Surprise tour and it was the stuff of legends…
Rumors have circulated for years about the reemergence of Jeff Mangum, the man behind one of the greatest albums of our time, and arguably all time. Note, it is not even a point of contention with regard to our time. Since the release of Neutral Milk Hotel’s Aeroplane over the Sea, Mangum has scarcely been seen.
Last night we were fortunate to witness two films, one of which was “Major Organ and the Adding Machine“, the video counterpart to the regrouping of several of the Elephant 6ers, although its unclear exactly who the group consists of. The bleed over between The Music Tapes, The Olivia Tremor Control, Elf Power, Apples in Stereo, Neutral Milk Hotel is difficult enough to keep up with such that the members of Major Organ may not themselves know who is in the band. The silent film depicted a game of hide and seek that turned into a mind-controlled excursion. I was forced to watch it backwards and around the smiling TV, so my view wasn’t as clear as I’d have liked, and as a result couldn’t see the credits well enough. Supposedly Mangum is playing the lobster in the movie, and Kevin Barnes gets attacked by a Gorilla, both of which are simply fantastic.
Julian Koster (Music Tapes), Scott Spillane (NMH), Robert Schneider (Apples), Jeff Mangum (Neutral Milk Hotel), Bill Doss (OTC), Will Cullen Hart (OTC), John Fernandes (OTC) and several others were in attendance at the Red Mile in Lexington. Having never realized the space was capable of holding concerts, I quickly realized that it was to be the city’s most beautiful venue, and unquestionably the best space in which I have yet to see a concert. A circular barn with two rows of decks above and enough space for the hundreds in attendance to crowd around the center where the members intermittently gathered below the low-hanging chandelier to blow our minds. Multi-instrumentalism ruled the evening, with every member playing 3 or more instruments, and almost everyone taking a turn at the drumkit, which at one point in the final moments of the show had four drummers stationed, battling 3v1. While the dual drum kit of a band like Tortoise is fascinating to watch, the revolving lineup of dual drummers was like watching Fight Club, the drumming edition.
“Side 2″, as Koster called it, began with another film, a quick and confusing slideshow before introducing the recluse who hadn’t come out in some time. As the tension built, we were introduced to a face in the snow/static on the television which had been blocking my view of the videos. They were playing with our emotions. Throughout the set Mangum’s presence could be felt. He stayed towards the back of the crowd, but amongst us nevertheless and surely felt the eyes of so many in attendance hoping to catch a glimpse or a performance. Donning a red plaid wool coat and a lumberjack’s cap, he was easy to spot. The room was filled with constant and nervous energy, and while the show could stand on its own as one of the best shows of the year, the addition of the reclusive genius elevated the performance from incredible to epic.
As Koster proclaimed, “this is really our last song” the anticipation neared epic disappointment as Mangum was still holding up near the staircase looking as though he wanted to come play, but not enough to actually do it. Finally, the performer in him got the better of him, and he came to the stage and said “follow me”. Hundreds of people poured out of the Red Mile barn chanting Circulatory System’s “We will live forever and you know it’s true, know it’s true” led by Koster, Spillane and Mangum. Finally, the three sat down and as Spillane lowered our singing to a whisper, the threesome launched into “The Fool” for what appears to be the first time since the AOTS tour (although Koster & Spillane did play it in previous shows sans Mangum). Mangum finished with “Engine,” a b-side that has been his song of choice during the tour. The final song, however, was sung by everyone, as it was Jeff’s birthday and Robert let the crowd know it. The happy birthday chant ensued.
Afterwards, I came upon a conversation Jeff was having with another fan who thanked Jeff and then said “but I’m sure you hear that all the time.” I wasn’t surprised to hear Jeff’s response. “Not really, you know I don’t really ever do this. Usually I hear the plumber ask ‘Where’s the Sink?’ so thank you”. During an awkward silence, I took the opportunity to speak with Mangum and I asked about the tour he’d just done, and his response? “Well, I hadn’t thought I was going to be playing. I was just coming along with all these guys.” We couldn’t be happier that you did. In follow up, I asked Jeff whether this experience had warmed him up to gettin back out there and give the whole scene another shot. His response was that “I have to absorb it all right now”, but gave no further indication whether that means what I think (or at least hope) it does. We can only hope I guess, but that he’s performing one song gives us hope. We don’t need Aeroplane over the Sea, Jeff…we just need you.
