Backseat Sandbar

With festival season quickly approaching, many folks are either fawning over the Coachella, Sasquatch or Bonnaroo lineups or patiently waiting for the lineups for the other large-scale fests to be announced.  Next week, one of our favorite festivals will be annoucning their 2010 artist list… Lollapalooza.

We here at Backseat Sandbar love a lot about Chicago and Lollapalooza is where is much of that love lies.  Back in 2006 on a mission to see only a few bands we had never seen, we bought a ticket for the festival to check it all out and got so much more for what we had bargained for.  The bands that we attended the festival to see were only a few of many performances that amazed.  In one day, we saw Sparta, Pepper, Hot Chip, Feist, Andrew Bird, Queens of the Stone Age, Matisyahu, Blues Traveler, The Frames, She Wants Revenge, Red Hot Chili Peppers, BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE, and of course Lollapalooza founder Perry Farrell (with a guest appearance from Peter DiStefano and Patti Smith!).  All that in one day.  Imagine an entire weekend of that caliber!

Back in November, we posted about Lolla’s choice to put the lineup in the hands of the people.  On Tuesday April 6th, Camp Lollapalooza will be announcing the results of the voting by releasing their full lineup.  The Chicago Tribune threw out some rumors in a February article, including the newly reunited Soundgarden, Lady Gaga, The Strokes, and Green Day, as well as some names that nearly made us fall back even further in our chairs.  The xx!  Yeasayer!  Cut Copy!  Hot Chip!  Dirty Projectors (who incidentally posted the Lollapalooza date on the tour page last week, and took it down the same day)!  We’re crossing our fingers.

As of this morning, advance 3-day passes are on sale now at the Lollapalooza website and are running $190 to start with, then $215 when those sell out.  This is an incredible price for such a well-organized festival in Chicago’s beautiful Grant Park.  Well worth your money and the first full weekend of your August.

Check it out.  We guarantee you it will not disappoint.

HERE IS A PORTION OF THE LINE-UP THAT WE ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO:

My Morning Jacket
Pavement
MGMT
The National
LCD Soundsystem
Broken Social Scene
Passion Pit
She & Him
Public Enemy
The New Pornographers
The xx
Dirty Projectors
The Mountain Goats
Camera Obscura
Fruit Bats
Dr. Dog
Caribou
No Age
Portugal. The Man
Mayer Hawthorne
Why?
Wale
Yacht
Cymbals Eat Guitars
The Very Best
Neon Indian
Nurses
The Tallest Man on Earth
tUnE-YarDs
Avi Buffalo

SEE THE ENTIRE LINE-UP HERE.

“One Big Holiday” @ Waterfront Park – Louisville, KY – 8/16/08

The 2010 Bonnaroo line-up was announced yesterday.  Check out the full schedule, but here is a look at a few of the shows that we know already we wont want to miss (with quick 4 word preview):

Stevie Wonder

Stevie Wonder – Isn’t She Lovely
Stevie Wonder – Superstition
Stevie Wonder – You Are The Sunshine Of My Life
Stevie Wonder – Sir Duke

Icon.  Legend.  Epic.  History.

Tenacious D

Tenacious D- Tribute

High. Energy.  High. Comedy.

Weezer

Weezer- Kids & Poker Face Cover (via Pretty Much Amazing)

Blue. Album. Pinkerton. Cuomo.

The Flaming Lips with Stardeath and White Dwarfs perform “Dark Side of the Moon”

The Flaming Lips- Money (w/ Henry Rollins)

Ball.  Oklahoma.  Trip.  Money.

Damian Marley and Nas

Damian Marley & Nas – As We Enter

Rap. Reggae. Make. Babies.

Jimmy Cliff

Jimmy Cliff- The Harder They Come

Rock-n-Roll. Hall. of. Fame.
LCD Soundsystem

LCD Soundsystem- New York I Love You

James. Murphy. Master. Mind.
The Avett Brothers

Top. Act. Of. 2009.

The Avett Brothers- And it Spread

The National

The National- Green Gloves

Best. Band. All. Time.

Steve Martin & the Steep Canyon Rangers

Jerk.  Banjo.  Underrated. Talent.

She & Him

She & Him- In the Sun

Want. To. Marry. Zooey.

Daryl Hall & Chromeo

Weird.  Awesome.  Where’s. Oates.

Kris Kristofferson

Kris Kristofferson- Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down

More. Than. Blade. Vocal.
The xx

The XX- Crystalized

Must. See. For. Hype.

Dan Deacon Ensemble

Dan Deacon – Woof Woof

Party. Trippy. Green. Skull.

Blues Traveler

Harmonica.  Popper.  Hook.  1994.

Neon Indian

Neon Indian- Ephemeral Artery

Vega.  Lefse. Deadbeat.  Acid.

About Big Ears Fest:

BIG EARS debuted in February 2009 in Knoxville, Tennessee with a line up that included Philip Glass & Wendy Sutter, Antony & the Johnsons, Jon Hassell, the Necks, Fennesz, Pauline Oliveros, Negativland, Michael Gira, Sparklehorse, Ned Rothenberg, Dan Deacon, Neil Hamburger, and others.

The mission of BIG EARS is to offer an exciting and dynamic platform of musical and artistic discovery by artists possessed of singular and unique visions that stand apart from the mainstream.

Response to the first BIG EARS was phenomenal from audiences and artists alike. Here’s a small sampling of what was said:

“It was a tremendous experience….It’s my impression that there’s a real cultural renaissance going on in the south…I look forward to coming back.” –Philip Glass

“…the best audience we’ve played for in America.” –Wendy Sutter

“You could say that Big Ears was for people who like hearing nuanced music in excellent theaters, in a small town with no hassle…at times, it was heaven.” –The New York Times

“…an inspiration…Artists shared advice. Fans shared gratitude. Collaborations abounded. Surprises happened.” –Pitchfork

“A phenomenal success. If next year is even half as eclectic and adventurous as the first Big Ears, it will be incredible before it even starts.” –Creative Loafing (Atlanta)

“There was something strange and somewhat magical about the atmosphere in downtown Knoxville this weekend.” –The Knoxville News-Sentinel

Buy Tickets HERE (All weekend…or single show tix)

Sick Line-up:

• TERRY RILEY
• DOVEMAN
• NICO MUHLY
• NADIA SIROTA
• SAM AMIDON
• IVA BITTOVA
• TIM HECKER
• BEN FROST
• BANG ON A CAN ALL-STARS
• JOANNA NEWSOM
• VAMPIRE WEEKEND
• ANDY MOOR
• BRYCE DESSNER
• ANDREW WK with THE CALDER QUARTET
• GYAN RILEY
• THE 802 TOUR
• THE NATIONAL
• MY BRIGHTEST DIAMOND
• JAVELIN
• GANG GANG DANCE
• ST. VINCENT
• THE EX
• CLOGS
• THE xx
• jj
• DJ /rupture
• THE BOOKS
• BUKE & GASS
• ANDREW W.K.
• DIRTY PROJECTORS
• TRACY SILVERMAN

Dan Coleman aka Spirit of ’68 Promotions has been bringing great shows to Bloomington, IN and the surrounding area for the past few years. They consistently bring in relevant and exciting bands and doing so have helped foster a musical community so active that they can support a staggering number of quality shows every single day of the week. In the past year Dan and Co. have put on shows by the likes of Camera Obscura, Grizzly Bear, Sufjan Stevens, Nurses, Neon Indian, Why?, and LOTS lots more. Since Bloomington is definitely within driving distance for the right show, I thought I’d give you all a heads up on what’s going to be going down here in the coming months. From the desks of SO68:

(more…)

The XX are riding the wave of their growing buzz with a huge five and a half month tour, including a stop at Bloomington, Indiana’s Buskirk-Chumley Theater.  No details are up yet about tickets, but we’ll give you an update as soon as we find out.  You have a while to wait anyway.  jj will be opening at the show.

The XX- Crystalized

jj- Me & Dean

Tour Dates:

11-21 Hollywood, CA – Henry Fonda Theater #^
11-20 San Diego, CA – Casbah #^
11-23 San Francisco, CA – The Independent #
11-24 Sacramento, CA – Sacramento State University #
11-25 Portland, OR – Doug Fir #
11-26 Vancouver, British Columbia – Commodore Ballroom #
11-27 Seattle, WA – Neumo’s #^
11-30 Minneapolis, MN – Triple Rock Social Club #
12-01 Chicago, IL – Bottom Lounge #
12-02 Toronto, Ontario – Phoenix #
12-03 Montreal, Quebec – Le National #
12-04 Boston, MA – Paradise Lounge #
12-05 New York, NY – Webster Hall #
12-15 Belfast, Ireland – The Speakeasy
12-16 Galway, Ireland – Roisin Dubh
12-17 Cork, Ireland – The Pavilion
12-19 Dublin, Ireland – The Button Factory
01-11 Stuttgart, Germany – Longhorn
01-12 Hamburg, Germany – Grunspan
01-13 Frankfurt, Germany – Batschkapp
01-14 Groningen, Netherlands – Eurosonic
01-15 Copenhagen, Denmark – Vega
01-16 Aarhus, Denmark – Vox Hall
01-18 Oslo, Norway – Garage
01-19 Stockholm, Sweden – Debaser Slussen
01-20 Gothenburg, Sweden – Pusterviksbaren
01-21 Malmo, Sweden – Debaser
01-22 Berlin, Germany – Astra
01-29 Brisbane, Australia – Laneway
01-30 Sydney, Australia – Laneway
01-31 Melbourne, Australia – Laneway
02-01 Auckland, New Zealand – Laneway
02-05 Adelaide, Australia – Laneway
02-06 Perth, Australia – Laneway
02-07 Singapore, Singapore – Laneway
02-11 Lille, France – Grand Mix
02-12 Angouleme, France – La Nef
02-13 Nantes, France – Olympic
02-14 Toulon, France – Midi Festival
02-16 Amsterdam, Netherlands – Paradiso
02-17 Brussels, Belgium – AB
02-18 Paris, France – Cigale
02-20 Saint-Malo, France – Route du Rock Winter
02-21 Strasbourg, France – Laiterie
02-23 Rome, Italy – Brancaleone
02-24 Milan, Italy – Magazzini
02-25 Munich, Germany – Backstage Werk
02-27 Cologne, Germany – Essikfabrik
03-01 Brighton, England – Komedia
03-02 London, England – Shepard’s Bush Empire
03-03 London, England – Shepherds Bush Empire
03-05 Birmingham, England – Birmingham Academy 2
03-06 Manchester, England – Manchester Academy 2
03-08 Leeds, England – Cockpit
03-09 Edinburgh, Scotland – Studio 24
03-10 Liverpool, England – Kazimer
03-22 Baton Rouge, LA – Spanish Moon !
03-24 Atlanta, GA – The Earl !
03-25 Carrboro, NC – Cats Cradle !
03-28 Washington, DC – Sixth & I Historic Synagogue !
03-29 Philadelphia, PA – First Unitarian Church Sanctuary !
04-05 Columbus, OH – Wexner Center !
04-06 Bloomington, IN – Buskirk-Chumley Theater !
04-16 Oakland, CA – Fox Theater *
04-19 Chicago, IL – Riviera Theatre *
04-20 Toronto, Ontario – Koolhaus *
04-22 New York, NY – Terminal 5 *
04-24 Washington, DC – 9:30 Club *

# with Friendly Fires
^ with Holly Miranda
* with Hot Chip
!  with jj