Backseat Sandbar

The anticipation is killing me, and I know we will find out tomorrow (we will be live tweeting @backseatsandbar) but we’ve heard some more names floating in the air.  Initially we thought, Spoon, The Pogues, Tool, Widespread Panic, Umphrey’s McGee.  Then we heard that Tool is out, so we crossed them off the list.   I also questioned Widespread since they played last year and to play the same fest back-to-back would be unusual.  Next, Forecastle dropped some more clues and we added Drive-by Truckers and Ted Leo and The Pharmacists to the list.  Finally, we’ve received some more info about possible Headliners.  None of our initial bands are on the list, which gives me pause, but we’ll see.  If this is right, we should all be psyched because the list includes The Flaming Lips, Bad Veins, Passion Pit, Lightspeed Champion and Phish.  Although I really hope Spoon turns out to be accurate too (see clue 5).  Also, can I request that My Morning Jacket headline? Judge for yourself below.

Possible Headliners w/ Forecastle Clues (thanks RJE):

1. Latitude – 5 degrees by 15’00″ Longitude 20 degrees by 15’00″   Your guess: Midlake
Result: FIND OUT ON 3/31!
2. Past her tongue she whispered of the glowing horizon in front of them   Your guess: The Ruby Suns
Result: FIND OUT ON 3/31!
3. JK relinquished for the night and watched his favorite NBA team   Your guess: Great Lake Swimmers
Result: FIND OUT ON 3/31!
4. Loose lips sink ships unless the ship is zero   Your guess: Flaming Lips
Result: FIND OUT ON 3/31!
5. This is a story you may not believe but I’ll tell it to you if you pull up your sleeve   Your guess: Bad Veins
Result: FIND OUT ON 3/31!
6. The Captain’s ship cracked the laws physics as it thrust through the water   Your guess: Lightspeed Champion
Result: FIND OUT ON 3/31!
7. The sailors dropped their lines and caught the sweet ambrosia of the seas   Your guess: Phish
Result: FIND OUT ON 3/31!
8. Chaos filled the entire ship as the peaches fell over into the sea   Your guess: Passion Pit
Result: FIND OUT ON 3/31!
9.  Drive by Truckers (they will be in the area, Indy on the 10th  Kansas City,MO on the 13th and Cincy on the 15th).

VS.

UPDATE:  In what has been described by pundits as a “landslide victory of the ages,”  The Pass stunned Mr. Pitera and his fans.  The people have spoke.  Mr. Pitera has yet to issue a concession statement, but did sing the “Whole New World” song at the concert, possibly representing his new outlook on life as 2010 continues to be “a magic carpet ride.”

Tonight (1/20) you have two options.  One involves YouTube sensation, Nick Pitera, the guy who did that Aladdin song and sang all the parts (and was pretty good at it, see below).  The other involves a rapidly rising dance rock band from here in Louisville, The Pass.  Let the debate begin…

We will start with Mr. Pitera.

First, the video:

Wow.  That was great!

Here are the details of his show…

Nick Pitera
When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 20
Where: Paul W. Ogle Cultural & Community Center at Indiana University Southeast, 4201 Grant Line Road, New Albany.
Tickets: $18.50. Call Ticketmaster at (502) 361-3100, or go online at www.ticketmaster.com.

Ok, now for the opponent…The Pass.

Like I said, The Pass is from right here in Louisville and have quickly made a name for themselves.  They recently signed with SonaBLAST! Records and their debut  album is in the works with help from the same producer behind Passion Pit, Tokyo Police Club, Harlem Shakes and The Walkmen.  Their EP, Colors, should be available soon.  They are playing tonight at the Z Bar (Preston St.) for FREE.  Here is their response to Mr. Pitera youtube presence:

Plus an MP3…

The Pass- Crosswalk Stereo

Here are the details…

The Pass
When: 10:00 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 20
Where: Zanzabar (a/k/a Z Bar), 2100 South Preston Street.
Tickets: FREE. Call Ticketmaster and tell them you don’t need a ticket for this show.

We report.  You decide.  Since we are in the no spin zone, I cannot tell you that I will, in fact, be at Zanzabar tonight at 10pm.

On Friday Night, The Joy Formidable, Passion Pit and the Rural Alberta Advatage came to New York’s Terminal 5. The show was the first of several for each of the bands, with Passion Pit playing three consecutive sold out shows at Terminal 5. Selling out three nights at one of the larger capacity venues, it’s only a matter of time before Passion Pit is playing the stadiums of New York. Similarly, The Joy Formidable started their first of four shows in New York, performing again with Passion Pit the following night and headlining Union Hall tonight and Pianos tomorrow. The Rural Alberta Advantage performed their next two shows with an early and late set at Mercury Lounge.

The night started with The Joy Formidable, who got started a little earlier than was announced. Positioned by the stage by 8:45 they were already more than three songs in, meaning that I unfortunately missed their opening track, The Greatest Light is the Greatest Shade. You might remember that track from when I listed it as among the Greatest opening tracks of all time. I have been shocked by the fact that the Joy Formidable have stayed off the radar of the blogs for so long as they’ve got everything the kids want…incredible songs, danceworthy synth beats and a cute lead singer. It seems many of those in attendance were shocked as well, with their heads and feet unable to stop moving and later I noticed, buying their debut album, “A Balloon Called Moaning”. I knew the band was Welsh and I knew their music, but little else. As it turns out, tonight’s show was first show of 2010, their first show in New York, and what’s more, their first US appearance. It’s rare for an opening band to really move a crowd, but the response from those in attendance couldn’t be denied…2010 is going to be a big year for Joy Formidable. Check out a great interview our friends over at We Listen For You did with lead vocalist, Ritzy Bryan.

Up next was the Rural Alberta Advantage. While a strong set, their sound didn’t seem to mesh with the Passion Pit sound as well and as a result the energetic environment created by the Joy Formidable seemed to descend into a lot of chatter by the time Passion Pit took the stage. Nevertheless, it has given me reason to pause and take another look at RAA.

Then Passion Pit took the stage. Having met all of these guys through a mutual friend when I saw them back in June, their rockstar status is particularly interesting. During that show, they sat with us in the bar drinking until only a few minutes before they went on, expressing their own awe of their successes. Nevertheless, on that evening they took to the stage and destroyed the crowd. Yet by comparison, Friday night’s show was of a band of true rockstars. Michael delegated more of the keys to his bandmates and maintained the presence of a truly great frontman, dominating the stage in a way that I’ve seen very few performers (Trent Reznor maybe?) handle as well. With LED screens lighting the performance from behind, a sea of bodies crashing into one another in front and the energy of the band on stage, it was an ultimate sensory overload which peaked for the first time with Little Secrets when the crowd went from dancing to thrashing and again with Sleepyhead where they slayed the crowd for the final time that night. The greatest surprise of the night though was their cover of the Cranberries’ “Dreams” which worked perfectly with the Passion Pit sound (Michael was able to hit all the shockingly difficult notes) and had the whole crowd ballading along with the band.

Setlist and photos (more…)

husband&wife- Dark Dark Woods

Haven’t Got a Friend

Rodrigo y Gabriella – 11:11

Atman

Wavvves – Wavvves

No Hope Kids

The Dead Weather – Horehound

I Cut Like a Buffalo

Holiday Shores – Columbus’d The Whim

Phones Don’t Feud

Morrissey – Years Of Refusal

Something is Squeezing My Skull

Crocodiles – Summer Of Hate

I Wanna Kill

Grizzly Bear- Veckatimist

Two Weeks

Casiotone for the Painfully Alone- Vs. Children

Natural Light

Bonnie “Prince” Billy & Cheyenne Mize- Among the Gold

Kiss Me Again

Mount Eerie- Wind’s Poem

Ancient Questions

Royal Bangs – Let it Beep

My Car is Haunted

Antlers – Hospice

Two

Passion Pit – Manners

Sleepy Head

Frank Schweikhardt- Life But No More

Twin Cities

Bad Veins- Bad Veins

Gold and Warm

Girls – Album

Hellhole Ratrace

Neko Case – Middle Cyclone

This Tornado Loves You

Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus

Fences

Avett Brothers – I and Love and You

Kick Drum Heart

Sunset Rubdown – Dragonslayer

Idiot Heart

Neon Indian – Psychic Chasms

Deadbeat Summer

Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion

In the Flowers

Clues -Clues

Remember the Severed Head

Dirty Projectors – Bitte Orca

Stillness is the Move

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

THE END

WANT TO WIN A PAIR OF BONNAROO TICKETS?  You Ain’t No Picasso is giving away a pair of Bonnaroo tix TODAY and the contest ends TONIGHT!  Go show love on his comment board and win some tickets!

An absurdly incredible show is coming to Bloomington. Three of the best indie rock bands playing today are playing at the Cinemat on March 24th, namely Ra Ra Riot, Passion Pit, Cut Off Your Hands. Ra Ra Riot is touring with Death Cab for Cutie, Passion Pit recently killed at All Tomorrow’s Parties, stunning virtually everyone in the crowd. Similarly, the Kiwi’s Cut Off Your Hands, killed at SXSW last year. Their track You & I made the SXSW sampler so that kids like me get to hear all the exciting new talent. Cut Off Your Hands is seriously one of the best bands I have heard in years. Passion Pit is the kind of culmination of everything that indie kids love…noise, electro, dance, rock, strange, and sometimes a little inaccessible and all around amazing. Ra Ra Riot should need no introduction anymore, particularly in this area.