Archive for the ‘Concerts’ Category
Reckless Curiosity: A Review of Andrew Bird’s Break It Yourself and Hands of Glory
Posted on: November 13, 2012
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Andrew Bird
In addition to being one of the most talented pop musicians of his or any generation, Andrew Bird is a damn hard worker. As a solo artist, he has completed at least 10 releases since 2003’s Weather Systems, including instrumental albums, live compilations and EPs on top of five full-lengths. His loop-based compositions are a sight and sound to behold, and Birdman has built an impressive reputation as one of the most imaginative and original performers of the genre formerly known as indie rock. Not content to rest on his laurels, Birdman is wrapping up a most successful, prolific and affecting 2012 with his second full-length in seven months, Hands of Glory.
Billed as a companion piece to March’s superb Break It Yourself, Hands of Glory is Bird at his most reserved yet exploratory. Allowing himself the freedom of live recording and stripped down arrangements, Bird’s mastery and passion to rise to the top. From Hands of Glory’s opening track “Three White Horses”, it’s clear Bird has taken the saying “less is more” to heart. Maybe it was that tasty tomato bread we served him last summer at Celebrate Brooklyn.
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Wicker Park in Autumn
Something clicked in October, and I found myself at eight shows in just 15 days, likely due to a mix of early onset Seasonal Affective Disorder and rise in tours before the end of the year. It’s a lot of music to consume, and while I’m still digesting it all, I’m already planning for more. Below are the eight shows I saw in the last two weeks. Below that are the nine shows I plan to see before the end of the month. Care to join?
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A$AP Rocky, Schoolboy Q, Danny Brown on Tour
The current A$AP Mob, Schoolboy Q, and Danny Brown tour offers a stark contrast to the clashing hip-hop collectives of the 1990s. Today’s relationship between East Coast and West Coast hip-hop is no Biggie-Tupac, taste-defining argument. Harlem’s A$AP Mob, led by self-labeled “pretty boy” A$AP Rocky, actually collaborates with L.A. Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) artists, including rappers like Schoolboy Q and Kendrick Lamar. Danny Brown, the, hard-nosed spitfire lyricist, the dude from Detroit with the goofy hair and an unnaturally long tongue, is the always-in-a-good-mood wildcard whose Detroit roots split the difference between the coasts.
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The Avett Brothers, The Carpenter
Last weekend, the newly relaunched Music Midtown festival brought a host of national acts to Atlanta’s Piedmont Park. The headliners were the Foo Fighters and Pearl Jam–and other acts included Florence and the Machine, Van Hunt, and 80’s revivals Adam Ant and Joan Jett and the Blackhearts–but I had gone to see The Avett Brothers. I wasn’t the only one. During T.I.’s set on the main stage, a formidable crowd swarmed the second stage to wait for the Avetts. When the band came on, the fans exploded in a frenzy of dancing, singing, and shouting that continued throughout the set, which drew from the band’s seven studio records, with a heavy emphasis on songs from their new album The Carpenter, released on Sept. 11. Clearly, the Avett Brothers are not a band that became successful overnight; they have slowly grown their dedicated fanbase over the course of a decade. At Friday’s show Seth Avett said that they’ve been playing in Atlanta for so long that it feels like a hometown show. (The band is actually from North Carolina).
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It turns out that there is such a thing as a comfortable music festival experience. After an exhausting, disorienting and soaked (but successful) festival season, last weekend’s Brilliant Corners of Popular Amusement at Chicago’s temporary Riverfront Theater proved that a music fest can be as rocking as it is sanitary. All it takes are some pop legends, a few $7 PBR tallboys and a circus tent.
The second year of the showcase festival received minimal buzz, which is surprising for an event that went the extra mile to bring surprising and timeless performers. Anchoring each night of the weekend respectively were John Cale, Conor Oberst and Bobby Womack, three recognized monsters of their genres and generations. Add behind-the-scenes composing genius Van Dyke Parks and rising progressive artists Zola Jesus and Helado Negro, and you have a stellar, if short, weekend lineup.
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The overwhelming nature of life in a world-class city presents a multitude of opportunities, for better or for worse. In the age of oversharing and over-reflection, isolation can creep up on you. it’s easy to say ‘fuck it’ and fall into the cold world of Cap’n Crunch feasts and Instant Netflix pity parties. In order to combat the potential doldrums of the solitary urban experience, I take advantage of my surroundings and see as much live music as possible. In just 15 days, I saw 13 acts, ranging from the virtuosic to the epileptic, and everything in between.
This is how I spend my time. If it sounds like something you’d like to do, you are encouraged to join.
I Kind of Heart New York
Posted on: August 31, 2012
- In: Concerts | Essays | Music
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My fear of romantic commitment has been well hashed-over by my friends, family, and ex-boyfriends. But the commitment that’s been hardest for me to make is one to New York, despite the fact that I’ve lived in Brooklyn for a dozen years, written tender articles about New York’s subway system and abandoned buildings, and published a book about its cab drivers. Yet my feelings for the city are anything but soft and fluttery. Case in point: One of my favorite T-shirts, a gift from a friend, says: I Kind of Heart New York
When I moved to New York in 2000, I had hoped to be a mentor with Big Brothers Big Sisters, but couldn’t swallow the required two-year commitment. By now I could have raised the child. When friends and family in the Midwest asked over the years how long I’d stay in the city, I always say “one more year.” After 12 years here, I still think of the congressman from my parents’ Ohio neighborhood as my own. And when I meet a guy who extols his love for New York, I inwardly grimace and turn away
I have always had a manic-depressive relationship with New York. I felt ecstatic dancing to skilled DJs at rooftop warehouse parties and seeing my first outdoor movie in Bryant Park, skyscraper lights shining above the screen like stars. The live music in beer-sticky bars captivated me, as did the talented, creative new friends who helped me uncover my own potential. Yet the city’s darker side haunts me in the form of cement. Forget grass and trees, “parks” are slabs of concrete with benches – Union Square or McCarren Park anyone? Everyone’s in a hurry, rushing somewhere “important,” people on top of each other, crawling over each other. And when some of these people stand in front of the subways doors, refusing to move aside as others board the train, I want to punch them.
Still, I haven’t stayed in New York by accident or by default. So this summer I decided to commit – at least to Brooklyn, where I live, and Manhattan, where I work (The other three boroughs seem like a bit of a stretch.) Like a woman in marriage counseling, I decided to have regular date nights with New York. My plan: First, soak up as many concerts as possible and re-forge my original connection with the city and its music. Second, say yes to people and possibilities. Third, be deliberate, recognize positive and negative feelings, focus on the positive, and take pictures for prosperity.
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Chicago musician and tastemaker Tom Schraeder thinks he’s on the verge of something big, and he wants to tell the world. Despite being sidelined by major art markets like NYC, LA or even Nashville and Austin, Schraeder believes in the strength and uniqueness of the Chicago art scene, so much that he built a month-long fest showcasing the best and most diverse work we have to offer. Chicago, I Love You takes place at Lilly’s in Lincoln Park, and covers the entire month of September. We had a chance to talk with Schraeder about his work, his plans and what there is to love about Chicago.
FP: Chicago, I Love You is an excellent event for a lot of reasons. I’m relatively new to Chicago, and somewhat unlearned when it comes to the local scene, so this is a great opportunity to start my education. I’m sure a lot of people feel that way.
TS: Yeah, that’s actually perfect, and part of the reason we set it up.
FP: How did it come to be?
TS: Originally, it was supposed to be a fun record release show for some friends and me, but it started to grow, and we realized it was something much larger. The more people I reached out to, the more people responded eagerly to get behind what we’re doing. With all the positive responses I got, I realized I could and should make it about something much larger than just myself. Now, the CD release will come much later. So, what came from just a fun idea, became a collective event. We’re all in this together now, and it’s a joint effort to build Chicago.
Basically, we don’t appreciate that Chicago is referred to as second or even third to big art markets like New York and LA or even Nashville. Maybe it’s because the city is so spread out, and based entirely upon these neighborhoods, that its hard to get a center for our art, but that also makes it that much better. So, now, we’re taking art from all these different neighborhoods and heritages and showcasing it in one central place, at Lilly’s. It’s a genre-less fest, that’s more showing off what the city can do and create that community.
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“We are beautiful complicated fucking snowflakes that blow wherever the wind takes us and you better fucking respect that shit, maaaan.”
This is how Nassau County via Brooklyn punk collective Bomb the Music Industry! announced their ambiguous, indefinite holiday from touring. The August 7th tumblr post was shaky, sad, hopeful, reasonable and open ended, just like group leader Jeff Rosenstock’s songwriting. Currently on their last nationwide tour (maybe?), BtMI! continue their tradition of holding all-ages shows for around $10 (the old Fugazi way, adjusted for inflation), before they hang up their Vans to mend their lives and continue as a recording project and creative outlet for Rosenstock. This counts as a win for the punk rock community, as Rosenstock’s songwriting has never been better, as evidenced by last year’s stellar and overlooked Vacation.
At a sweaty and enraptured show inside Chicago’s Subterranean—located on the second floor, oddly enough—BtMI! exploded with real catharsis and shameless rage. BtMI! make unorthodox punk rock for unorthodox punks. Songs wail and shift from emo to hardcore to ska to indie rock at the kick of a drum or the scrape of a pick. The crowd knows every skip, halt, crescendo and blast like they know their own malcontent. It felt like high school. It felt great.
- In: Concerts | Lollapalooza 2012 | Music
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Franz Ferdinand @ Lollapalooza 2012
Whenever I cover a music festival, I ask myself: what’s the point? In 2012 (or 2011 or 2010…) people who want to find out what they missed at a festival can go on Twitter, search the #lolla hashtag, and consume millions of snippets to create a full impression. Or they can go to Facebook to see grainy pics of the backs of celebrities’ heads or stages their friends were too far away to see. But it’s also nice to take a step back and look at things from the wide view. Pretty much all the coverage I’ve read complains about something (prices, aches, rain, day-glo tween dubsteppers, etc.). Yet Lollapalooza has a contract with Chicago for another nine years, so clearly we love it.
Of course, some people really don’t care that much about Lollapalooza, but want a sense of how Chicago’s megafest compares to, say, Fuji Rock or Primavera. Naturally, it’s hard not to compare it Chicago’s other major (non-exclusively electronic) festival, Pitchfork. For starters, Lollapalooza is huge and smack in the middle of downtown Chicago, surrounded by our gorgeous skyline. For instance, watching Franz Ferdinand looks something like the photo above.
Frontier Psychiatrist 