Friday Bears: Adam Yauch dead at 47

It's been nearly three years since founding Beastie Boys member Adam Yauch was originally diagnosed with a cancerous tumor in 2009. Unfortunately for me, aside from being a fan for a long portion of my life, listening to my brother's cassette copy of Hello Nasty in the late 90s, my first personal interaction with them was when they cancelled their headlining show for that year's Lollapalooza. That being said, I never had my chance to see the group since then, and now never will.

Yauch, better known as MCA, died earlier today in what is suspected to be involved with the aforementioned cancer. He founded the group in 1979, as the bassist for the original hardcore punk version of the band, later reforming into the iconic rap group alongside Adam Horowitz and Mike Diamond. The group's last album, Hot Sauce Committee Pt. 2, was delayed because of Yauch's treatment, but was eventually released last year, alongside Yauch's directed short-film for "Make Some Noise."

For whatever it's worth, with the effective end of the lengthy career of the group, The Beastie Boys now see themselves in a pantheon of great acts that were always great. From 1986's License to Ill, to their directive change of pace in Paul's Boutique, and last year's Hot Sauce Committee Pt. 2, Yauch, Horowitz, and Diamond ended up somewhere ahead of the curve, even if their styles were totally dependent of their 80s upbringing. It's an unfortunate, early ending to the group, despite the veteran longstanding.

It's a sad day all around. Yauch was 47.

Lollapalooza 2009 Review (Day Three)

After soaking in the rousing success that was day two of Lollapalooza I boarded the Chicago Blue Line Sunday morning anticipating (or at least hoping) for day three to be as good. While the headlining acts of Jane's Addiction and the Killers may be a bit lacking in my opinion, the rest of the schedule was stocked full of notable acts that I could hardly wait to see.

Day Three:

Taking the short walk to Grant Park I noticed the sun was bearing down much harder than the day before, reaching the mid-90's by early afternoon. With sweat and sunscreen on my face, I took to the Chicago 2016 stage to catch Syracuse indie-pop group Ra Ra Riot. The band, only in their second year of existence, played mostly from their full-length debut The Rhumb Line, released last year. The limited amount of material may have held them back a bit, but the on-stage product remained an early-day delight for many of the fans who stood patiently in the sweltering heat.

Ra Ra Riot

As the female counterparts of the band, Alexandra Lawn and Rebecca Zeller, careened their string instruments through the band's songs, strong likeness of The Shins and the fanciful pop of the Arcade Fire remained prevalent. While this charmed the aesthetics of many, a little maturity would suit the group well. In a few year's the band could be filling a steadier spot in the festival line-up, but as of now they still have a bit of growing to do.

After a small break I made my way towards to the Vitamin water stage to catch English via Pakistan act Bat for Lashes. Natasha Khan's powerful harmonizing voice resembles something of early listener friendly Bjork, touching the subject of mythical and imaginative love in songs like "Sleep Alone" and "Siren Song."

Bat for Lashes

A moment of surreality came when Natasha's voice rose so far that the Chicago winds blew the tarps completely off the stage, to which Khan gently commented, "Whoops" garnering a laugh from the crowd. The show, despite the raging heat and uncontrollable winds, went off extremely well, showcasing Khan's on-stage talents and irresistible charms.

After taking a small walk around for food and a meet and greet with Natasha herself, I hurried back to the Vitamin water stage just in time to snag a spot for Baltimore electronica dynamo Dan Deacon. His shows were rumored to be fantastical events where fans get riled up into furious frenzies of excitement and energy, and his Lollapalooza appearance definitely proved those remarks true. The show started off fairly normal, with Deacon getting the crowd going with "Get Older" off this year's Bromst LP. From then on the energy continued to climb and climb, with Deacon getting into the crowd, making them yell, hold each other, form tunnels, and dance around a circle, along with bringing out the What Cheer? Brigade as he orchestrated an intense ending show climax with "Of the Mountains" and "Crystal Cat."

Dan Deacon with The What Cheer? Brigade

Fans from faraway could see the sheer amount of people bursting through the crowd, as countless numbers of them proceeded to crowd-surf their way to the front as streams of bottles, floats, and toilet paper streamed through the air. The final result was impossibly satisfying, as sweaty fans drudged their way away from the stage (like myself) physically and mentally exhausted from what they have just experienced. And while I may have known what I was getting myself into, I'm still at awe of what I witnessed. Unlike anything else in my concert going experiences, Dan Deacon's shows are a must not for just electronica and indie music fans, but for anyone who has the nerve to they could have a better time somewhere else.

Drained, I elected to skip Vampire Weekend (who had already started their set at the nearby Chicago 2016 stage) and instead grab a nice spot for indie-pop upstarts Passion Pit at the Citi stage. My total exhaustion (along with the massive crowd) forced me to take a 15 minute breather in the nearby grass. As I collected myself the Citi stage crowd grew and grew, proving a miscalculation by concert organizers (see; Girl Talk 2008).

Passion Pit

After I collected myself, the band rounded out their hour-long set with two of my favorites "Sleepyhead," and a song that proved to be my favorite of the day, "The Reeling." Afterwards, while legions people fled to the South and North sides of the park to catch Snoop Dogg and Lou Reed (another hard decision to skip), I grabbed a good spot for Atlanta group Deerhunter. Technical disturbances (again, Citi stage) became a bit of a problem at the beginning as making out much of what frotman Bradford Cox said became a bit difficult. Half-way through the show Cox came out of his shell, throwing out witty banter discussing his talent, making fun of Tool, and how sick he truly is.

Deerhunter

The set was full of Deerhunter favorites, including; "Nothing Ever Happens," "Little Kids," "Vox Celeste," and the very new "Circulation," off the group's new Rainwater Cassette Exchange EP. One cannot ignore Cox indelable on-stage charisma and humor as he frequently took credit for writing other artists songs. "This is a song we wrote in 1965 called 'Heroin,' " Cox said. "After that we'll play a song we wrote in 1967 called 'What Goes On.' Then we'll play a song we wrote in 1992 called 'Gin n' Juice'" (remarking how the fans elected to skip both Reed and Snoop Dogg to see his band instead). Full of humor and solid songs, Deerhunter's set was another solid show, which makes me regret more and more that I did not go to Deerhunter, No Age, and Dan Deacon's aftershow later that night.

After a short trip over to Perry's Tent to catch MSTRKRFT (and a surprise encounter will Chicago Bull's starting center Joakim Noah) I trecked back to the South side of the park for one of the last shows of the festival from the Killers. As it stands now I was somewhat unaware of how much I actually dislike the Killers music. After only two songs I couldn't take the mediocrity of 80's ideologies and left the show to catch (ironically another 80's band) Jane's Addiction. Again, I choose to leave and instead spent most of my final night at Perry's Tent during Deadmau5's set.

As for Perry's, I have not given the stage a fair assessment yet. For the most part the acts and set-up blew away last year's, proving endless entertainment for electro fanatics. Fans loved it and even fair-weather fans frequented the area. To those who opt to see only main-stage acts you're seriously missing out on one of the festival's shining achievements.

Exhausted yet again, my legs torn from constant walking and dancing, the final night of Lollapalooza 2009 came to an inevitable close. And while it's always so sad to see it go, the amount of joy recieved is hard pressed to be replicated. At this point it is obvious to why I've become such a fan-boy of the annual festival, and I think it goes without question that I'll be doing the same next year.

By the way, the dates have already been set up for 2010; August 6-8. Tickets with be available on the 17th. And to whom is rumored to headline next year? Bjork, The Arcade Fire, and The White Stripes appear to be strong contenders.

Best Performances: Dan Deacon, Deerhunter, Deadmau5, Bat for Lashes

Worst Performances: Killers

Highlight: "Of the Mountains" and "Crystal Cat" by Dan Deacon. "The Reeling" by Passion Pit.

Lowlight: The Killers ending the festival.

Counting down the days until Lollapalooza 2010 ...

Lollapalooza 2009 Review (Day Two)

While day one of Lollapalooza 2009 proved to be very disappointing for the most part, day two more than made up for it

Day Two:

The weather was perfect, contrary to Friday, with a steady stream of sunlight cascading on Grant Park throughout the day. Along with the much welcomed weather, the line-up picked up the slack significantly with much anticipated acts like Animal Collective, TV on the Radio, Lykke Li, Santigold, and headliners Tool and Yeah Yeah Yeahs, among dozens of other notable acts set to round out the night.

At around 11:45 AM, roughly an hour earlier than the day before, I entered the park with a much more attentive smile on my face. The mud had all but disappeared from the park grounds while lines for concessions and bathrooms were completely absent. In those first few moments it was almost as if I had already had a better time than the day before.

My first venture took me back to the Playstation stage - where Andrew Bird finished the previous night - to check out the quirky New England four-piece Ezra Furman & The Harpoons. The group proved to be one of the best pre-noon acts of the festival as Furman enchanted the crowd in a suggested ironic raincoat as he spouted clever stories with his Gordon Gano-esque voice.

Ezra Furman & The Harpoons

As 12:15 drew near, I made my short walk to the Budweiser stage where I was asked by a grey-bearded older gentlemen for the time. In yet another lapse of deluded ignorance, I had no idea I was talking to Chicago rock poet-laureate Thax Douglas, who introduced the next act on my schedule, Delta Spirit.

The poem (from Thax's Myspace), entitled "Delta Spirit No. 3" went:

"like caramel drizzlings on the skin the brands glow dully whenever the body needs to cook a new version of itself- the fresh new body is vain of the brands which its fingers read as birthmarks tattooed by God, the brands taking a much needed vacation by riding the new body's vanity until their services are needed." -8/7/09 Schuba's.

My bewildered face was quickly erased once Matt Vasquez and the rest of the San Diego rock/blues group took the stage. Although they addressed the fact that they never played such a large crowd before, the group thoroughly impressed. Vasquez stands out as one of those rare true rock frontmen that has such a foregoing attitude that the outstanding music being played behind him almost seems to fulfill his true nature as a traveling bluesman.

Delta Spirit

The set closed with an amazing rendition of "People, Turn Around" as Chicago Cubs super-fan Ronnie Woo Woo (apparently, he's a big Delta Spirit fan) made his way through the crowd. At this time, Lollapalooza promoters sent me a text informing that rock & roll legend Buddy Guy was set to appear at the Kidzapalooza stage to perform alongside child guitar-prodigy Quinn Sullivan at 1:30.

A chance to see Guy enticed me enough to run to the stage, which seemed to be a mistake considering the heat. However, Guy didn't make the appearance on time and I was (almost) forced to listen to Sullivan, a child who's talents are more than admirable, but is still a 12 year-old kid. Needless to say, the child's songs about his guitar, how much he likes guitar, and about how he wishes it was 1973 again, tested my patience.

After an angry departure I decided to get a good spot for Minneapolis rap group Atmosphere at the Chicago 2016 stage. For those familiar with the schedule at this time I elected to pass up Animal Collective's DJ Set at Perry's and British indie-pop group Los Campesinos! on the opposite end of the park. Still, as I may regret missing Campesinos! a little, Atmosphere put on a spectacular show. Slug's rhyme's are chaotically intrinsic, full of challenging imagery and skill that would more than likely put any other MC at this year's festival (mostly Asher Roth) to shame.

Atmosphere

After Atmosphere's extra long 16 song set, I grabbed my first (and last) food of the day, a bratwurst with grilled onions, which proved to be the only good food I bought during the whole festival. I made my way to the Citi stage to catch Ipod friendly group Chairlift as my friends and I accidentally met up. They shortly departed to catch Coheed & Cambria while I waded through the spacey twee of the Brooklyn trio. The short, sweet set was clouded by enormous feedback and tiny technical disturbances that made making out anything Caroline Polachek said a bit of a struggle. Still, fans seemed to enjoy themselves enough, especially during "Bruises," one of the better songs of the day.

Chairlift

Soon after, Dean Spunt and Randy Randall of No Age made their way to the Citi stage, with Randall sitting in a chair for the entire show as the result of a dislocated shoulder from the night before. The Southern California noise-rock duo brought with them a following of musicians including Deerhunter's Bradford Cox and TV on the Radio's Tunde Adebimpe and Dave Sitek listening on the sidelines, not to mention a group of avid fans (one so avid that he ran on stage, danced, gave Spunt a note, and dove back into the crowd nearly untouched by security). The show, despite Randall's handicap, was vibrant and loud, full of jumpy singles from the band's 2008 album Nouns and 2007's Weirdo Rippers.

No Age

Exhausted and my ears ringing, I filled my water bottles and moved to the opposite side of the park to grab a spot for TV on the Radio. The north side of the park at this time was immensely packed from people seeing Santigold at the Playstation stage and the Arctic Monkeys at the Budweiser stage. Trudging through was difficult, but my efforts were rewarded as I squeezed into a spot on the right side of the stage (same method I use every time).

As Santi's set ended (with a invigorating version of "Creator") TV on the Radio opened up with Dear Science's "Love Dog." The atmosphere surrounding the collective sound was lush with Dave Sitek's acutely organized feedback and backing rhythm section while Adebimpe and Kyp (the beard) Mylone took control of center stage. Adebimpe seemed to fall into his own, commanding stage as a modern Mick Jagger, effortlessly shifting from Dear Science and Return to Cookie Mountain, to the band's earlier work from the group's 2003 Young Liars EP. If I were to be brash I'd say in another couple years there's almost no doubt that TV on the Radio could achieve headline status.

TV on the Radio

The group closed out with a perfect "Staring at the Sun," that still remains possibly the best song of the festival. With the group sending off and Ben Harper and The Relentless 7 starting off close by the hardest decision of my weekend came; do I wait and get a great spot for the Yeah Yeah Yeahs (the only headline act I anticipated) or do I venture across the park and get a little of Animal Collective's show (who, for those that regularly read my posts, will note was my most anticipated act of the festival)? I elected the former, passing up what many regarded as a good show from Animal Collective in order to save my spot.

My patience once again was justly rewarded, as I witnessed arguably the best show of the festival with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Karen O., possibly the best frontwoman in music today, graced the stage in an obscure yet fitting Native American headdress, starting the show with "Runaway" from this year's It's Blitz! LP. The show only got better as the group scattered gems from It's Blitz!, 2006's Show Your Bones, and their spectacular 2003 debut Fever to Tell.

Karen frequently addressed the band replacing the originally scheduled Beastie Boys (guitarist Nick Zinner even played a riff from "So What'cha Want" from the Beastie's 1992 album Check Your Head) and how shocked they were to be there. None the less, the show was extraordinary. The trio filled the headline spot easily as jubilation from the fans filled the air when the group performed their hits "Heads Will Roll," "Zero," and a very special "Maps" in which Karen O. cheerily forgot the words to her most famous song.

In all, day two embarrassingly surpassed day one. The music was nearly perfect along with the weather and fans, creating an unforgettable atmosphere in the park. And with my luck still prevailing that trend would continue to day three.

Best Performances: Yeah Yeah Yeahs, TV on the Radio, Delta Spirit

Worst Performances: Quinn Sullivan

Highlight: "Staring at the Sun" by TV on the Radio

Lowlight: Skipping Animal Collective.

Day Three Review Tomorrow

Lollapalooza 2009 Review (Day One)

After months and months of predicting, planning, and effort, my second annual trek to Chicago's Lollapalooza music festival has come to an exhausting close.

A week ago at this time my friends and I were making our trip through the darkness of Pennsylvania as we spanned nearly one-third of the country in a single car to Illinois. Alas, the efforts always have their benefits, because there's nothing like Chicago in the middle of summer; it's vibrant, hot, serene, and cool on a constant basis.

Day one of the festival, however, did not follow the regular pattern.

Day One:

Lollapalooza 2008 could not have gone off better - with a median temperature of 83 degrees and sunshine on all three days, there were no worries on the weather's part. But imagine my disappointment when I took my first steps into Grant Park in nearly a year and rain began to fall. Heading into the weekend I already knew that day one would more than likely end up being the weakest day of the festival, with paltry upper-tier artists like The Decemberists and Thievery Corporation taking to the large stages in the early evening and lack-luster (in my opinion) headliners Depeche Mode and Kings of Leon - coupled with the poor weather, the day proved to be one of the least enjoyable in recent Lollapalooza memory.

However, even on the weakest day there were some nice highlights. The first act of the festival I made my way to was Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears. The Texas group appeared at the festival last year, however, because of schedule conflicts with The Kills and Gogol Bordello, I regretfully missed their performance.

Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears

The group made the most of the early day show, with the charismatic Lewis leading the way through the light rain. The blues/funk ensemble played through their hits from the band's 2008 self-titled EP and this year's full-length Tell 'Em What Your Name Is! including wonderful renditions of "I'm Broke," "Get Yo Shit," and a very special "Bitch, I Love You." Weather withstanding, at this point of the day things were still looking bright.

From there, however, things began to spiral downward. My friends and I made our way to the Citi stage on the south side of the park to see Amazing Baby, a band with listenable studio material, but seriously lacking stage-presence. The songs were loose and the band members seemed too lost in themselves to take seriously. In short, leaving the set (that proved to be the worst of the entire festival) was one of the easiest choices of my weekend.

A steady stream of disappointment began to take over as the amount of rain, mud, and massive crowds all increased. While waiting for Bon Iver I listened to Bruce Springsteen cop-outs The Gaslight Anthem at the south side of the park. I now find my stupidity at the time outstanding, as I had forgotten that Bon Iver's show would take place at the north side of the park. So, as I paced through the crowds, my umbrella only covering my head and shoulders, I made it to the Playstation stage only to find an enormous crowd already waiting. At this point, the rain was still not relenting and the day was continually getting worse.

As the legions of Bon Iver faithful left the puddle-filled area of the PlayStation stage, I stood pat waiting for Fleet Foxes 5:00 performance. The rain, still going strong, left fans drenched and shivering, impatient for something to turn their day around. While Fleet Foxes weren't the stand-out highlight of day one, they certainly put on one of Friday's better performances. The Seattle band, only a year after gaining prominence from the band's Sun Giant EP and eponymous full-length debut, fit seamlessly with the cloudy Chicago day. Half-way into the group's set the rain finally began to part and along with it the ever-pressing allusion of disappointment.

Fleet Foxes

As Fleet Foxes closed their set with "Mykonos" and "Blue Ridge Mountains," two songs that have become obvious crowd favorites, fans drove out of the area to catch the aforementioned Decemberists, Of Montreal, and Peter Bjorn and John, while I made my way towards the front of the Playstation stage for the heavily anticipated Andrew Bird set.

By the time the Chicago native took the stage the rain had become a light mist, and soon dissipated completely. While I only took in roughly seven acts on the first day, Bird easily topped them all. The musical virtuoso showed his immense talents swapping between violin and guitar, whistling songs from 2005's Mysterious Production of Eggs to this year's Noble Beast, with a can't miss rendition of "Scythian Empires" from 2007's Armchair Apocrypha.

Andrew Bird

I was lucky enough to meet Mr. Bird after the show, as Kings of Leon took over the nearby Budweiser stage. The band, while providing crowd-friendly rock music, did not seem to fit so well in the headlining spot - just not quite yet.

Walking through the park, which had finally resembled something close to "dry," at the end of day one, a legion of visually drunk bros could be spotted at every turn. The day closed out fairly well, compared to the early afternoon, but I couldn't help but fear that this may be what the rest of the festival turns out be. Thankfully, my fears never came to fruition.

Best Performances: Andrew Bird, Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears, Fleet Foxes

Worst Performances: Amazing Baby, The Gaslight Anthem, Kings of Leon

Highlight: "Scythian Empires" by Andrew Bird

Lowlight: Finding out Bon Iver was too crowded to even see the performance.

Day Two Review Tomorrow

To Chicago ...

Alas, the day I've been waiting endlessly for has finally arrived. I'll be departing (via car) to Chicago later today for my second trip to Lollapalooza. This also sadly means that there will not be any new posts on Bears and Bullets until August 12.

This year, however, instead of just leaving the page dead for a week, we have (courtesy of Lollapalooza affiliate LP33) our own Lollapalooza channel to keep you preoccupied. The channel includes interviews, live acoustic sets, promotions and tons more to keep you preoccupied

Lollapalooza Coverage (Updated Throughout the Week)



So, for everyone not making the Mid-West trek, have a fantastic week. And for the others, I'll see you at Grant Park.

Official Lollapalooza 2009 Countdown (Pt. V)

Continuing the countdown of my Top Ten Must-See Lollapalooza Acts we take a look at the legendary Lou Reed.

#2: Lou Reed

The fantastically fascinating Lou Reed started his historic music career with The Velvet Underground with their 1967 debut album The Velvet Underground & Nico, which by now is well-established as one of the most, if not the most, important record in the history of alternative music.

Three studio albums later, The Velvet Underground disbarred with Reed turning his route to a solo career that saw such impeccable albums as 1972's Transformer and the heroin opera that was 1973's Berlin. In all, Reed is without a doubt the most seasoned and legendary music act at this year's Lollapalooza.

Reed will be performing on Sunday, August 9 (Day Three) at 6:30 on the Budweiser Stage. Suspicions still are high for a Lou Reed cameo during the Killers 8:30 show later that night at the Chicago 2016 Stage.

Lou Reed - Vicious (Live in Paris, 1974)


#1: Animal Collective

There's very little debate about whether Animal Collective have become the indie-alternative music scene's most polarizing, original, and oddest act in recent memory. The collective efforts of the group members Avey Tare, Panda Bear, and Geologist (all have real, more boring names) from one of this year's most aesthetically superior albums, Merriweather Post Pavilion, proved to be an even larger step for the band whose 2007 album Strawberry Jam was already one of the best albums of the decade.

The group will be performing on Saturday, August 8 (Day Two) two times. First, they'll be at the Perry's Tent for a DJ set from 2:30 to 3:30. Later that night they'll be at the Vitaminwater Stage putting a regular performance at 7:30.

Another added bonus, you can meet Animal Collective at 4:00 at the autograph tent, also on Day Two.

Animal Collective - Summertime Clothes

Official Lollapalooza 2009 Countdown (Pt. IV)

Continuing the countdown of my Top Ten Must-See Lollapalooza Acts we take a look at Brooklyn's TV on The Radio.

#4: TV on The Radio

Since the release of TV on The Radio's Young Liars EP back in 2003 it has been considerably difficult to pinpoint exactly what the band sounds like. Alternative is too easy; it's a solid collaboration of indie rock and electronic fusion, with influences of punk, funk, and jazz to round the sound out.

The band's 2006 landmark release Return to Cookie Mountain (named album of the year by Pitchfork and Spin Magazine) and the single "Wolf Like Me" (a must-see performance here on Letterman) continued to launch the band's name in the music stratosphere. Their 2008 album Dear Science (named album of the year by Rolling Stone and Spin Magazine, again) solidified the band's position in music today.

The band will be performing Saturday, August 8 (Day Two) on the Budweiser Stage at 6:30. The band will also be performing a sold out aftershow with Chairlift at the Double Door August 7 at 10:00.

TV on The Radio - Dancing Choose


#3: Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Yeah Yeah Yeahs were a late addition to the Lollapalooza bill as a desperate last-second measure taken by the festival's organizers to replace fellow NYC act Beastie Boys after the group had to cancel all of their remaining summer tour dates. Yet, as it stands, Yeah Yeah Yeahs still standout as one of the can't miss acts of the weekend.

The group's recent album release, It's Blitz!, was a maturation from the band's previous efforts. Although while Karen O and Co. sound has definitely changed since the group's astounding 2003 debut Fever to Tell, and 2006's Show Your Bones, the band remains one of the biggest staples in indie and alternative music.

The band (as one of the six headliners) will be performing Saturday, August 8 (Day Two) on the Budweiser Stage at 8:30.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Heads Will Roll

Official Lollapalooza 2009 Countdown (Pt. III)

Continuing yesterday's countdown of my Top Ten Must-See Lollapalooza Acts we take a look at my number six selection, Los Angeles noise-punk duo No Age.

#6: No Age

Since the release of 2008's Nouns LP off Sub-Pop, No Age has earned quick acclaim their frenetically quirky sounds from fans and musicians alike. The duo of Randy Randall and Dean Spunt, only with a guitar and drums, created a sound akin to early Sonic Youth and Deerhunter. From that, one could conclude that it also sounds nothing like them, as is the appeal of No Age.

The duo will be performing August 8 (Day Two) on arguably the biggest night at Lollapalooza on the Citi Stage at 5:00.

An added bonus; No Age will be performing with Deerhunter and Dan Deacon at Chicago's Logan Square Auditorium August 9. Tickets available here.

No Age - Eraser


#5: Passion Pit

Passion Pit have, in a very short time, become one of my favorite up and coming artists. The easily accessible indie-pop group's 2008 EP debut Chunk of Change and spectacular single "Sleepyhead" brought the group into the easily recognized indie-universe.

This year the grouped took another step forward with the May release of Manners. While the album still had a lot of what made Chunk of Change so good, it also added even more dance-able tracks like "The Reeling," including the aforementioned "Sleepyhead."

The group will be performing August 9 (Day Three) on the Citi Stage at 5:00, following Gang Gang Dance's 3:30 performance.

Passion Pit - The Reeling


Continued Tomorrow ...

Official Lollapalooza 2009 Countdown (Pt. II)

Continuing yesterday's countdown of my Top Ten Must-See Lollapalooza Acts we take a look at my number eight selection, Wisconsin's folk-group Bon Iver.

#8: Bon Iver

Bon Iver's July 2007 debut For Emma, Forever Ago (which was not released until February 2008 on Jagjaguwar) was instantly well-received from the foray of regular music outlets that have become the norm of indie criticisms; Pitchfork, The Village Voice, The A.V. Club, etc.

The group's 2008 Blood Bank EP was more of the adorned same - a well-received collection of North American folk that culminated with the eponymous single "Blood Bank."

Bon Iver will be performing August 7 (Day One) at the Playstation Stage (before Fleet Foxes) at 3:00.

Bon Iver - Wolves (Act I and II) (From La Blogotheque)

#7: Andrew Bird

Andrew Bird's name has always been jumping around Bears and Bullets since its inception over a year ago. I first came across the Chicago native back in 2005 with his sophomore album The Mysterious Production of Eggs and his single "A Nervous Tic Motion of the Head." The acute blend of subtle folk and heartwarming indie-pop was instantly enticing to me and I imagine anyone else who's a fan of his work.

Over the past three years Bird has released two more records, 2007's Armchair Apocrypha and last year's Noble Beast. While still keeping his notable soft-sounding, violin infused, whistle-friendly music that showed so much promise with his 2003 debut Weather Systems, Bird has sustained a comfortable maturity over the past several years making his newer music more and more memorable.

Bird will be performing Friday, August 7 (Day One) at the Playstation Stage (after Fleet Foxes) at 7:00.

Andrew Bird (ft. Dianogah) - Lull

Continued Tomorrow ...

Official Lollapalooza 2009 Countdown

Continuing the annual Bears and Bullets tradition, we'll be counting down my Top 10 Must-See Acts of the Chicago Festival for the remainder of the week (as well as new music news).

We'll start with ...

#10: Dan Deacon

For the most part, Dan Deacon stands alone as the most strange/curious act of the festival. His lite-brite electronica is well-known to cause a cavalcade of fans and on-lookers to participate in such wild acts of jubilation in group settings that they've become almost legendary in scale.

Deacon's latest album, Bromst, is a pool of electronica's fastest and most imaginative works, polarizing some and enchanting others. As was with his 2007 debut, Spiderman of the Rings, Deacon's music collection is a materialization of children at play through a whirl-wind of pace and careful carelessness. His music stands alone as a cement block between the club crowd and the indie, tempering a minimal bridge from one side to the other.

The bald and chubby Baltimore native will be performing his crowd-moving collection August 9 (Day Three) at 3:30 at the Vitamin Water Stage. He'll also be signing autographs at 5:30 at the F.Y.E. Tent.

Dan Deacon - Crystal Cat


#9: Fleet Foxes

While Dan Deacon may be a curious anomaly for Lollapalooza, Fleet Foxes may just be Grant Park's least daring opposite. The accessible branch of indie folk from their landmark 2008 eponymous debut will be more than enough to attract the listlessly enjoyable crowd (not to mention they'll be following Bon Iver) with endearing singles like "Mykonos," "White Winter Hymnal," and "Blue Ridge Mountains," among others.

The 5:00 August 7 (Day One, Playstation Stage) performance may not have been organized more perfectly, as the minimal acoustic cascades of the band settles the early-night crowd immediately before Andrew Bird's sun-setting performance.

The band will also. be performing at Jersey City's All Points West this Friday.

Fleet Foxes - Sun Giant/Blue Ridge Mountains (Via La Blogotheque)


Continued Tomorrow ...

Yeah Yeah Yeahs to Replace Beastie Boys at Lollapalooza

Only one day after news of Adam Yauch's cancerous tumor and the Beastie Boys cancelling all their remaining Summer tour dates, Lollapalooza has already scheduled the Yeah Yeah Yeahs to replace the New York rappers for their Satuday night (August 8) show.

Prior to the release of the Lollapalooza scheduled the Yeah Yeah Yeahs were mentioned to be near locks for the Chicago festival, but were left off the initial billing.

As for the remainder of the Beastie Boys cancelled shows, including All Points West and Austin City Limits, word on a replacement has not been named as of yet.

More news to come ...

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Heads Will Roll

Adam Yauch Diagnosed with Cancerous Tumor

The sad news has already circled around the Twitter Universe, but for those who may not know Beastie Boys member Adam Yauch (MCA) announced this morning that he had been diagnosed with a small tumor on his parotid gland in his neck.

Fortunately for Yauch the tumor was discovered early enough that the cancer had not spread and could be much more easily treated. However, the group was forced to cancel all of their remaining Summer tour dates and push back the release of their upcoming album Hot Sauce Committee Part 1.

The select cancelled dates include; Jersey City's All Points West, San Francisco's Outside Lands Festival, Austin City Limits, Lollapalooza, and more.

Adam also released a video explaining the situation below ...



Of course the large issue here aside from the health and well-being of Yauch is what to do to replace the group who was headlining so many Summer festivals. As of now the possibilities are completely up in the air with minor word of mouth suggesting possibilities of Foo Fighters or Muse to replace the group at Lollapalooza, but as far as the other festivals are concerned there's very little certainty.

Stay tuned for more updates.

New Passion Pit Video: To Kingdom Come

Last Friday Passion Pit released the second video from their May full-length debut Manners. The band plays the part of late 19th century/early 20th century scientists who discover how to destroy the Earth behind the most gleeful and distracting indie pop music possible.

The band will be appearing at their fair share of summer festivals soon, including; Pukkelpop, Lowlands, the Leeds and Reading Festival, and the festival so frequently mentioned on Bears and Bullets - Lollapalooza.

Passion Pit - To Kingdom Come

Deerhunter

Deerhunter will suffer (for me, at least) a similar fate of MSTRKRFT at this year's Lollapalooza, as unfortunate scheduling conflicts put the Atlanta four-piece performing at the same time as Lou Reed, and it's pretty hard to say no to the guy.

Music workaholic Bradford Cox released the group's latest Rainwater Cassette Exchange EP last Spring, all while still maintaining side-projects Lotus Plaza and Atlas Sound, and still supporting the group's Microcastle LP. Although most of probably heard some of it already, Aquarium Drunkard posted the EP's closing track "circulation" earlier today, recatapulting the Deerhunter flux of trademarked sounds emanating from my speakers. A solid listen for anyone.

Deerhunter - Circulation - MP3

Lollapalooza Official Line-Up

I've been waiting months for today, the official release of the 2009 Lollapalooza line-up. After endless posts of speculation, confirmations, and the slimmest of possibilities, I can finally get a rough estimate of the bulk of performers. Keep in mind, there will continue to be confirmations up until the August 7-9 dates.

(Check out official line-up here.)

I had previously mentioned the likes of The Killers, Depeche Mode, Beastie Boys, Kings of Leon, Tool, Jane's Addiction, Lou Reed, Andrew Bird, Neko Case, and Animal Collective prior to today, along with listing off rumors of TV on The Radio and Deerhunter, among others, to play.

Some surprises to me: Arctic Monkeys and Snoop Dogg weren't on my radar prior to today, but I'm pleased to see some other acts take part. Oh, and No Age was a delightful surprise.

Disappointments: No Yeah Yeah Yeahs or Franz Ferdinand, which both seemed to be locks. Aside from them I was hoping Mastodon and M.I.A. would appear.

In all, the middle-tier is very, very packed, leaving all three days with a good amount of substance, despite having some less notable headliners than 2008.

Official Line-Up Promo Video

Lollapalooza Lineup 2009 from C3 Presents Video on Vimeo.

Lollapalooza Update

News coming in from Consequence of Sound that several more acts have been confirmed for this summer's Lollapalooza festival including; Metric, Ben Harper & Relentless 7, Silversun Pickups, The Gaslight Anthem, and some lesser known electronic acts, He Say She Say, Hey Champ, Yellow Fever, and Moneypenny. With those eight acts now slated for an appearance, the festival line-up has ballooned to 32. Don't forget, the actual line-up will be announced April 21.

Rumors have also risen for Bassnectar and M.I.A. In five days we'll all know the truth.

More Lollapalooza Rumors/Confirmations

For those of you who may exclusively check out my site for Lollapalooza rumors, here's your fix.

The set-list for the summer festival has risen to 24 with confirmations from Kid Kudi, The Knux, and (curve ball here) country artist Eric Church. While the confirms may be coming in a tad slow (the official line-up of nearly 120 artists will be announced April 21, only eight days away), the rumors continue to pile up. According to Consequence of Sound, Conor Oberst and The Mystic Valley Band and Of Montreal have been rumored to fill the festival bill, along with, and this is a huge one here, Modest Mouse.

San Fransisco's Outside Lands Music Festival (August 28-30) line-up was partly announced today, with artists like Mars Volta, TV on the Radio, Mastodon, The Dead Weather, M.I.A., and the aforementioned Modest Mouse joining the likes of the Beastie Boys and Pearl Jam. If this line-up gives any clues to Lollapalooza, hopes for those artists have just gone up.

Any more clues to this year's line-up would be greatly appreciated.

Thursday; Yeah Yeah Yeah's, Dirty Projectors, and more.

Don't hold on to too much hope for a Friday post tomorrow, but I'll do my best to try and make it happen.

Anyway, Yeah Yeah Yeah's (who I'm delighted to mention are a likely candidate for this year's Lollapalooza) performed their single "Zero" off of their new It's Blitz! LP on Later... With Jools Holland a couple days ago. Notice Karen O's jacket, the exact same one she wore in the official "Zero" music video. I'm not sure what she's going for but I'm doubting alterna-heads are disapproving of her new style. Everyone loves the girl, and Hell, I have no real reason not to.

Yeah Yeah Yeah's - Zero (On Later... With Jools Holland)



The Dirty Projectors, which if you don't remember I posted about on Tuesday, have officially released MP3 of "Stillness in the Move," to those on their mailing list (sign up here). For me, however, getting the song seems to be a bit difficult, so if anyone can figure out why it's screwing up for me, it would be much appreciated.

Here's a couple downloads for you guys from Conor Oberst and The Mystic Valley Band and Bat for Lashes, courtesy of Fluxblog and I Am Fuel, You Are Friends. Just, come on, take them.

Bat for Lashes - Good Love - MP3
Conor Oberst and The Mystic Vallet Band - Nikorette - MP3

Ending on a couple positive notes today, here's two videos that should definitely peak your interests; a shot-by-shot remake of Nickelodeon's Pete and Pete introduction song "Hey Sandy," coupled with a short-rendition of The Beach Boy's "God Only Knows Why" by Tera Melos (found at The Needle Drop) and a wonderful video brought to my attention by Rainn Wilson. Take your time with the last one.

Tera Melos - Hey Sandy



Magical Martial Arts (Thanks Rainn)

Tuesday; Lolla Updates, Sigur Ros, Glasvegas, and more.

Again I find myself struggling to put anything worth mentioning in Bears and Bullets at least one day out of every week. That being said I'm still giddy over getting my hands on a ticket for this year's Lollapalooza today. Tickets for the three day Chicago festival officially went on sale today and fans can get their hands on three-day passes for the special early-bird rate of $175.

In other exciting Lolla news, Billboard has reported (although through an unconfirmed source) that suspected performers Fleet Foxes and Peter, Bjorn, and John have confirmed to play the festival, putting the confirmed list at 21.

Anyway, Bobby Solomon's site Kitsune Noir has finally come back after a solid week of just floating around in unfiltered white space, which is good because I need someone else to confirm my odd Sigur Ros fascinations. Speaking of, here's the Iceland band's Planet Earth-esque documentary Heima. Watch here.

Heima Trailer



Glasvegas appeared on Fallon (first time I've said that without flinching) last night performing their barely audible but still likable "Geraldine" off of their recent self-titled album. Me, I was more excited about Bill Hader and Andre Iguodala showing up. You can check out the whole episode over at Hulu.

Monday; All Points West, Stephen Malkmus, Neko Case, and more.

Although I was criminally certain that Jersey City's All Points West festival was cancelled this year the official line-up for the July 31-August 2 2009 celebration came out today. For those of us like myself who teeter on the brink of any slight word about this year's Lollapalooza festival, this is important. Most consider this year's APW line-up to be a bit bulkier than last year's, which as most recall was just Radiohead for two days.

The Friday and Saturday headliners, The Beastie Boys and Tool, are already slated for Lollapalooza performances, along with Neko Case. Rumor has it that the Yeah Yeah Yeah's and Vampire weekend are almost certainties as well as Q-Tip, Ra Ra Riot, Fleet Foxes, MSTRKFT, the Gaslight Anthem, and Heartless Bastards. Several of 2008 performers are making the trip to North Jersey including Gogol Bordello, The National, The Ting Tings, The Black Keys, MGMT, and Steel Train. What this means is that the probability of these performers returning to Chicago in early August just jumped up a little (aside from The National, who are performing at this year's Pitchfork Music Festival). I'm just keeping my fingers crossed for another appearance from Gogol Bordello.

Tickets for the Jersey City festival round at $89 for single days, and $199 for a three-day pass and go on sale this Friday (4/3).

Anyway, miracle music site Daytrotter has a couple glorious songs from Stephen Malkmus and The Jicks today. The ex-Pavement frontman and indie frontiersman still hasn't strayed away from the quircky and iconic roots that made his career as evident with his post-Pavement work. The session includes a couple gems from Stephen Malkmus and The Jicks Pig Lib and Real Emotional Trash LP's, and a cover of the James Gang's "Funk 49." Listen and download the session here.

Neko Case appeared on Spinner's Interface yesterday with a coupld performances from her new (and very good) Middle Cyclone LP. Here's "Don't Forget Me" and the album's title track.

Neko Case - Don't Forget Me

Neko Case - Middle Cyclone



Aquarium Drunkard has two important MP3's every one (okay, not everyone) should have by the end of the day. Bob Dylan's newest album Together Through Life is set fof release April 28, but fans can get a listen to the album's first release; "Beyond Here Lies Nothin'." Along with that, the site has a live rendition of Destroyer's "It's Gonna Take an Airplane" by Spoon at Tallahasee's The Moon. Take.

Bob Dylan - Beyond Here Lies Nothin' - MP3 (One Day Only!)
Spoon - It's Gonna Take an Airplane (Destroyer Cover) - MP3

Oh, and here's Amazon's list of the 100 Greatest Indie Albums. Judge if you will.