Everyone said that Chicago was blessed with "cool" weather this weekend, getting no higher than the 80's. The first day was marked by clouds and a brief shower, enough rain to turn parts of the grassy park into patches of mud. It did not dampen the mood of the festival.
All stages went quiet at around 10 PM, after which the thousands poured out onto the streets of Chicago, some going home, some to nearby bars and restaurants, others who were fortunate enough to have tickets to the after parties scattered around the city in which bands who either performed that day or were scheduled to perform at Lollapalooza appeared in smaller venues that night and all weekend long. Those tickets were largely sold out. I instead had a late snack and made my way back to the truck via the Red Line. When I got to the truck it must have been around midnight, crawling into the back beneath the camper shell and curling up under a blanket for a comfortable and undisturbed sleep, a light breeze blowing off the lake.
FATHER JOHN MISTY
It is written:
Singer/songwriter J. Tillman's music paints languid, sadly beautiful portraits of love and life on the margins with the moody depth of Nick Drake and the country-influenced textures of Ryan Adams.
When discussing ‘Father John Misty’, Tillman paraphrases Philip Roth: ’It’s all of me and none of me, if you can’t see that, you won’t get it’. What I call it is totally arbitrary, but I like the name. You’ve got to have a name. I never got to choose mine."
Joshua Tillman (born May 3, 1981) is an American folk singer, guitarist, drummer, and songwriter, currently performing under the moniker Father John Misty. Maintaining a steady output of solo recordings since 2004, Tillman is a former member of indie rock bands Saxon Shore and Fleet Foxes, and has toured extensively with Pacific Northwest artists Damien Jurado, Jesse Sykes, and David Bazan.
Only one interruption when the batteries needed to be swapped out near the end of one song.
IMAGINE DRAGONS
It is written:
Las Vegas-based indie rockers Imagine Dragons formed in Provo, Utah in 2009. Like their desert-born stadium rock contemporaries the Killers, Imagine Dragons blend engaging, synth-based dance-pop with emotionally charged, Brit-pop-inspired alt-rock. After releasing a pair of well-received EPs (Imagine Dragons and Hell and Silence), the group inked a deal with Interscope Records and headed into West Hollywood's famed Westlake Recording Studios with producer Alex Da Kid (Eminem, Paramore) to record its first major-label release, 2012's Continued Silence EP, which was followed later that year by the group's full-length debut, Night Visions.
After Imagine Dragons I went right for New Order who were followed by the Killers who closed down the south end of the park by appearing on the Red Bull Sound Stage, what appeared to be the biggest stage/field in Grant Park. Excellent performance, Brandon Flowers energized by the tens of thousands of people before him. As would happen this and the next two nights, unless one got to the stage early and hung out all afternoon, there's no way one could get anywhere near the stage. The festival fixed that by placing a second set of speakers a hundred yards out from the stage.
It is written:
The Killers are an American rock band formed in Las Vegas, Nevada in 2001, by Brandon Flowers (lead vocals, keyboards) and Dave Keuning (guitar, backing vocals). Mark Stoermer (bass, backing vocals) and Ronnie Vannucci Jr. (drums, percussion) would complete the current line-up of the band in 2002. The name The Killers is derived from a logo on the bass drum of a fictitious band, portrayed in the music video for the New Order song "Crystal".[4]
The group has released four studio albums, Hot Fuss (2004), Sam's Town (2006), Day & Age (2008) and Battle Born (2012). They have also released one compilation album, Sawdust (2007) and one live album titled Live from the Royal Albert Hall (2009). To date, the band has sold over 6 million albums in the United States, over 5 million albums in the United Kingdom, and a total of 20 million worldwide.
After a three year absence, I jumped at the chance to buy tickets to see The Killers at the 1st Bank Center in Broomfield, just north of Denver. In support of their new album Battle Born, The Killers went on a world tour.
It began on October 26th in Glasgow, UK and the North American portion kicked off here in Broomfield, on November 29th. Touring with them on the U.S. leg of the tour are Tegan and Sara, two women from Canada with their band. They kicked off the show with a good performance, good enough that I'm planning on listening to some of their music which stretches back into the 1990's.
Drove up with the wife, had dinner in a bland Mexican restaurant in Broomfield and then took or place in line outside the 1st Bank Center. After the doors opened, I found my way onto the floor, getting as close to the stage as possible.
No sleeping in the woods tonight!
The Killers charged out of the gate with "Flesh and Bone," a thunderous new cut from Battle Born, their fourth studio album. It showcased Flowers' vocals -- my god, the man can sing a note with the best of 'em -- while also proving just exactly why they're still here ten years on: sheer talent, determination and the romance of Springsteen-esque lyricism.
As the first show on the Killers' US 2012 tour since going overseas for about two months, it was clear Flowers and company were glad to be back. Flowers smiled like he meant it -- genuinely. The guy was all pearly whites the entire show. You really could tell he wanted to be there on that stage playing 1STBANK Center, and as long as he continued to give 110 percent, his audience wanted him to be there, too.
Flowers didn't even have to particularly try. The overly grandiose lyrics would have been too much of a mouthful for anyone else -- particularly "Little birdie whispered in my ear/You've been cooking up a world of fear" in "From Here On Out" -- but for Flowers, it was clear he was right at home in repeated themes of hometown pride, victory, relationships and more hometown pride, with words too complicated for the average new age rocker.
This past Saturday
a very good friend of mine who I've known since early high school arrived here at my home in Colorado. In a box from the mortuary located in Portland, Oregon. That night he and I stood outside on the porch while it rained (one of the few times it does rain), keeping him company while listening to music and smoking a cigar. This is the one time I felt comfortable allowing him to hold onto my flask of tequila (I set it on top of the box). I'll hold onto to him for another week or two and then he'll continue his journey back east where he will be sprinkled in the waters off Mt. Sinai Harbor on Long Island's north shore, a place that he lived with his dad in a one room houseboat. The boat yard is now a small park with views of the entire harbor.
Knowing his somewhat abrasive personality, a person at his memorial had this to say: After Coston had been in heaven a few hours, God was overheard saying, "Now I remember why I left you down there so long!"
Standing next to the box, knowing what’s left of him is hidden inside, was a stark reminder that he is really gone forever.
The past several weeks have gone by very quickly, any free time taken up working primarily on tha five part video of the Jackson Hole "mancation" that I went on with several others this past late January/early February. Hours of editing and then syncing it to music. It's finally done, all that remains is burning DVDs for all that went on the trip. The above is "day" three of the five part series, our time at Baldy Knoll Yurt on the backside of the Grand Teton Mountains. As you can see we had epic snow in a beautiful setting while staying in a comfortable yurt with a buch of great guys. I'm betting we do it again next year.
Although busy working on this project weekends and a trip to Oklahoma City for a meeting, I did find the time to break away and step outside for a little music. Here's the good stuff I've been listening to these last few weekends.
THE DOORS JANUARY 17, 1970
Considering Ian McCulloch of the Bunnymen throws in a little Doors in one or two extended versions of their songs during each show (Villiers Terrace, Nothing Lasts Forever), I was in the mood for some Doors, never having listened to any of their live shows. I had a copy of their Live in New York, a six-disc box set of the final four concerts performed by The Doors on January 17 and 18, 1970 at the Felt Forum in New York City.
On this night I listened to their first show on January 17, 1970. Great sound! It is written:
Split over six fantastic-sounding CDs, these live recordings are a revelation, an aural document of the Doors and Morrison at their professional best. It might seem overkill to splurge on four shows of similar material recorded over two days, but their Forum mini-residence was one of those gigs where fans would have kicked themselves for not getting tickets to every show: blues covers change, an unheard “Celebration of the Lizard” is thrown in, and Morrison — the psychedelic Sinatra — keeps changing the phrasing of songs in surprising ways, though always in control both of his mysterious instrument and of the mesmerized crowd.
It is this spontaneous fire that made the Doors, and the performances contained within this set, such an exciting live act. Take for instance the three searing versions of “Who Do You Love?” The first one, from the first show, is the one we all know and love from the much loved In Concert album. Here, in it’s original running order in the show, followed by a dramatically perfect “Little Red Rooster,” a boogiefied “Money” and a pointed “Light My Fire,” we can hear just how capable the band was of providing blistering blues one minute, and psychedelic wonder the next.
(Since I get these links from others and considering the recent crackdown on shared music, please let me know when the links provided fail to work).
Soft hands firmly gripped
Spark a bloody revolution
One drop at a time
Sunlight rippled waters
Warm wind rustles tree branches
For them it is no more
Muddy brown water
Bubbles drift like beads of light
Ripples of wind go by
Urban river flows
Trash littered banks, cars rush by
White cranes come to roost
Water's ribbon of light
The western sky turns yellow
Sun's last call greets the night
Their days are over
Faces just a memory
Why did you have to go?
SUEDE JANUARY 3, 1992
I'm in the process of reading Britpop!: Cool Britannia And The Spectacular Demise Of English Rock by John Harris, given to me by Jack Jensen.
It is described as:
Beginning in 1994 and closing in the first months of 1998, the UK passed through a cultural moment as distinct and as celebrated as any since the war. Founded on rock music, celebrity, boom-time economics, and fleeting political optimism, this was "Cool Britannia." Records sold in the millions, a new celebrity elite emerged, and Tony Blair''s Labour Party found itself returned to government. Drawing on interviews from all the major bands including Oasis, Blur, Elastica, and Suede, and from music journalists, record executives, and those close to government, Britpop!charts the rise and fall of the Britpop moment.
The first part of the book presents the history and competitive spirits of the bands Suede and the Blur. This night it was Suede's turn, the "best new band in Britain" in 1992, turning up the volume on their live show at the Newcross on January 3, 1992. The music makes the book come to life when I have a good sense of what their sound was. More to come here as well as I plow through a few hundred more pages! "New" music ahead!
I need a periodic dose of some Nirvana, this time it was their live show at the Bosnian Rape Victim Benefit at the San Francisco Cow Palace on April 9, 1993. This was a benefit concert organized by Krist to provide assistance and raise awareness for the Trenjevka Woman's Group, a dedicated organization that offered care to all female refugees and their children during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Nirvana's Rape Me, must have been a big hit during this show! Another excellent recording!!
Great sounding recording. After the 4th song Johnny says "I'm tired, can I go home now? Aw come on now, I'm really tired" all meant to get a rise out of the audience. What's different about this show is the inclusion of psychedelic effects scattered throughout the nights performance.
Last up were The Killers, performing at the Kesselhaus in Berlin, Germany. A soundboard recording.
Sorry, this file's link is a causality of the file sharing war.
ECHO AND THE BUNNYMEN MAY 21, 2011
In remembrance of their US tour exactly a year ago, I pulled out this recording of mine of their show at Club Nokia in Los Angeles, CA on May 21, 2011. An excellent recording, I don't say so myself! Ian was still in a relatively good mood, chatting with the audience, although he claimed he was a bit shy this evening. Not as good as San Francisco two nights earlier, but a lot better than the melt the following night.
