Idolator: Festivals

Bumbershoot, Day Two: Late-Arriving Divas And Smart Local Jazz

Michaelangelo Matos — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 16:30:00 EDT

It was 2:30 p.m. Keyshia Cole was supposed to go on a half-hour before, and the booing was getting louder. Behind me in the far stands, a couple was talking. He: "She has a new album out Sept. 25." She: "I have the feeling if I bought it, it wouldn't start for 20 minutes."

As if on cue, Cole's band hit their spots and began to play an ominous groove that, as passing critic Andrew Matson noted, "sounds like it should be in a Michael Bay movie." But when the singer appears everything improves: the two backing singers are doing light choreography, the grooves bump nicely, and Cole herself is having a hell of a time, despite the seemingly ad hoc nature of the performance. "We can do whatever you like," she says to her band as they figure out which song to play third. Whatever they were doing for that half-hour, it wasn't writing a set list.

"How many of you watch the reality show on BET?" Cole asks her faithful; about half the kids (it's mostly kids) thronging near the stage raise their arms. She then dedicates a verse of Prince's "When Doves Cry" to her late mother. "Let It Go" ends things well enough (though the backing vocals sound completely canned), if early—a half-hour only, as opposed to the 45 minutes she's on the schedule for. (Question: does every modern R&B act's bassist also play a Korg onstage now?) That short set may have had to do with the fact that Cole was, de facto, opening for T.I., whom I skipped, though I did hear one priceless quote after the fact: apparently one of T.I.'s crew came out, looked at the large crowd, and said something to the effect of, "Damn! This is like Woodstock or something."

I headed next to the Northwest Stage, where local jazz ruled the day. It kind of ruled my day, too. I caught the tail third of Matt Jorgensen + 451, a Seattle troupe named for its drummer, and it sounded terrific—good jazz often does outdoors on a sunny day. The group (Jorgensen, keyboardist Ryan Burns, bassist Phil Sparks, saxophonist Mark Taylor) have recorded several far-from-reverent classic-rock covers as well, and they brought trumpeter Thomas Marriott up to end things with a superb "Tomorrow Never Knows" (you can download the 2002 studio version from eMusic and/or Amazon).

I settled into the very back, top row of the Leo K. Theater for the panel discussion between comics artists Daniel Clowes, Adrian Tomine, and Ivan Brunetti. Brunetti introduced the other two like a nervous fan, which he professed to be, rather charmingly, and Clowes was as deadpan and funny as you'd expect: he and Tomine met, he said, through "an online dating service," and he'd been surprised to discover that the younger artist "was in high school, stealing my work." The overall discussion was lively, if a little nuts-and-boltsy.

I took off after a half-hour to see Forro in the Dark, though I didn't exactly see them: as with Estelle the day before, I placed myself on the lawn behind the stage, where everything sounded better and I didn't have to watch anyone hippie-dance. I'd heard forro before I latched onto the New York group's 2006 debut album, and their major elimination—accordion—recasts the sound nicely, giving it a hard low end that nevertheless dances. Afterward, with time to kill, I walked to the nearby Flatstock exhibit. What do you know: one of the exhibitors was Burlesque Design, a Minneapolis firm whose membership got its start by publishing the great Life Sucks Die.

LSD was a late-'90s Twin Cities graffiti 'zine that in retrospect looks like the prototype for Vice, particularly the "Things You May Have Slept On" reviews section. (On Slum Village: "Hey, you know what? I just realized that Slum Village came out eight years ago, but they were called The Nonce. Except back then, they had something interesting to say, and their beats were fresh. But nobody remembers The Nonce, cuz they didn't wear vintage leather coats and stylish hats.") Anyway, the Burlesque table had five back issues of LSD for five bucks each, and I snapped them up. Bumbershoot nostalgia: it's not just for main stage headliners!

Back to the Northwest Stage for the Tiptons Sax Quartet: Amy Denio, Jessica Lurie, Sue Orfield, and Tina Richerson, accompanied by drummer Chris Stromquist. (The group is named for Billy Tipton, the jazz player—piano, sax—who lived and worked as a man.) The group sang a fair amount, and while it was pleasant enough, it was mere warm-up for the playing, which was constantly rich and robust, especially in unison, which was often. Finally, some friends and I made our way to the Black Keys, in the stadium, opening for Stone Temple Pilots. Pleasant enough, but not compelling enough to stick around for—sorry, Brother Ali.

Bumbershoot, Day One: Comedy, British Soul, and Singer-Songwriter Couples Fight Off the Rain

Michaelangelo Matos — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 16:00:00 EDT

I've been a pretty unabashed fan of the Seattle music and arts festival Bumbershoot, which has occurred every Labor Day weekend since 1971 since I first heard of it, with the caveat that I first heard of it under rather good circumstances. An old roommate had told me about it in 1994, but I'd forgotten all about it until the August 1996 road trip I wrote about here, I defected, via Greyhound, to Seattle from the group's intended San Francisco, and I wound up at the Green Tortoise, a rooming house near Seattle Center, where Bumbershoot was underway. I went to the gate, paid my fee, and caught good sets by Ani DiFranco, Los Lobos, and the Sex Pistols without realizing I could see any of them before arriving at the hostel. (I also saw a superb Elvis Costello show—a separate ticket—that weekend, his final-ever with the Attractions.) If I have an unusually rosy view of Seattle, it was installed that day.

I feel less thrilled about Bumbershoot this year—less than I ever have. I'm hardly alone: this is the weakest lineup the festival has put up in quite some time. Some of it is clearly due to the exorbitant number of competing festivals that occur earlier in the summer, both locally (Seattle has festivals like it has grey days) and nationally, to thin the available touring pool. But seriously, Stone Temple Pilots as your big-name headliner? Them? Are the '00s really so bad that we're actually nostalgic for this shit? I dunno, man.

In any event, so little about the lineup excites me this year that I figure I'm in decent shape just wandering about and seeing what happens. Saturday, the first day, worked out fairly well, though by the end of the day I'd already circled shows I wanted to catch the next two. Still, the "unmapped" aspect seems to apply, if only because what I saw on Saturday (early warning: not much) was consistently stuff I'd never have seen outside of this festival.

For example, I never go to see comedy, yet I try to see at least one comedy show every Bumbershoot. This isn't easy, because the comedy lines are typically bigger than any but those for the main stage, and for good reason: the festival has a great reputation among comedians and the booking is subsequently top notch.

I got into the Intiman in time for the beginning of Jessi Klein's routine: very raunchy, but only intermittently funny. T.J. Miller was sillier and more entertaining, doing good physical stuff (hand motions rather than full-body), and comfortably riffing on the audience. Then local comic Nick Thune emerged in a white '70s wedding-rental suit and acoustic guitar, which he strummed as he mock-deadpanned lines like, "Dear Britney: I won. Love, Christina Aguilera," and "LiveSavers only work if you're a diabetic." The comedy-show crowd seemed slightly younger than last year, or maybe I'm just slightly older.

I'd thought to see Lucinda Williams before going to the comedy stage instead, and in the middle of Miller's set I got a text from my friend Robert: "Lucinda covered AC/DC!" When we met at the Center House (the grounds' indoor food court) to rest up before Estelle, it turns out Williams had played "It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)" along with a couple other covers when her show fell ten minutes short and her band had run out of new songs. Robert, his wife Jacki, and I compared notes: to their eye, Bumbershoot was becoming younger overall. "There are fewer hippies every year," Jacki said—no hacky-sack, less hula-hooping, less tie-dye.

We were way in back for Estelle, rendering the British R&B singer even tinier than she is already. "Enthusiastic" is a word I too often fall back on when writing about live music, that's meant to indicate that the performer was energetic and that I appreciated it. So, Estelle was enthusiastic. The usual faults of first-time touring singer-with-backup were evident: too much hype man, too much banter, a drummer playing the same hackneyed fills I hear at almost every R&B/hip-hop show with a live drummer playing alongside programmed material. But the sound got a lot better when I relocated to the lawn directly behind the stage, and at one point, while standing in line for corn on the cob, I actually heard a 14-year-old girl (at most) use the word "grody" for the first time since I attended Richfield Intermediate School.

Estelle is the kind of artist I might not go out of my way to see live, but it was really good to see her at Bumbershoot. The same is true of Wreckless Eric & Amy Rigby, the recently married singer-songwriters. I believe their show at Ballard's roots-music shrine, the Tractor Tavern, was good (and I certainly like the venue), but even if I hadn't planned to see them here, this is exactly the kind of show I like seeing at Bumberhoot: amped-up front-porch feel with what happens to be a big handful of great songs.

The couple each switched effectively from acoustic to electric to bass to keyboards, from lead to rhythm, from frontperson to accompanist. The songs got laughs, like Rigby's "It's Not Safe to Go Outside" (inspired by Marathon Man, featuring lines like, "Now I'm on the run from Dustin Hoffman") and "Men in Sandals" (during which everyone started staring at each other's footwear). Their banter got laughs, particularly Eric's rant about "fanny-ass cunts who walk out saying, 'It's not music.' Well, we never said it was!" And everyone sang along with Eric's "Whole Wide World" (and a few afterward to the real finale, "Take the K.A.S.H."). Earlier he sang a 1986 song, "Someone Must Have Nailed Us Together." Good job, Someone.

[Photo via Bumbershoot]

All Points West: Come For Radiohead, Stay For The Chance To Complain About The Beer Policies

Maura Johnston — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 11:00:00 EDT

I didn't make it across the river to this weekend's inaugural All Points West festival, which could have easily been retitled "Two days of Radiohead shows with lots of opening bands plus another underattended Jack Johnson show," but the festival, which was put on by Coachella presenters Goldenvoice, has opened up the floodgates for complaints about many things, from a no-umbrella policy despite rain being in the forecast to the Roots being shunted off to a side stage while Kings Of Leon (?!) got the pre-Radiohead slot. The No. 1 reason for complaining, though, was the show's policy on alcohol consumption, which was restricted not just by area (there were a few beer tents scattered around the grounds) but by volume; the 21-and-over wristbands that allowed people into the beer tent had five tabs on them, and each time a festivalgoer ordered a drink, a tab was ripped off by the person behind the counter, thus restricting consumption of beers to five per 10-hour day. On the bright side, this saved people money (beer cost between $7 and $9 a pop), but if there's one thing people who spent a lot of money for a show don't like, it's the feeling of being pushed around in order to be able to spend their hard-earned cash.

Because the festival was held at a state park—New Jersey's Liberty State Park—and open to all ages, the rules were particularly draconian; I've actually experienced similar issues with shows in the general NY metro area, including the Nassau Coliseum-hosted Warped Tour (where beer was only allowed to be consumed inside a Coliseum-adjacent fenced-in area that had sightlines of one tiny stage and one large one) and a few shows at Jones Beach Theater, which is at a New York state park and which, at one show I went to, actually limited alcohol consumption to the people who'd shelled out for one of those overpriced VIP packages.

However, it would appear from the complaints by ticketgoers that this festival's alcohol policy wasn't spelled out beforehand, which is something that would rankle even if I wasn't planning on getting completely plastered in preparation for Thom Yorke & Co. busting out "Fake Plastic Trees." (After all, given the choice between a beer and a Pepsi to go with my overpriced slice of pizza, I'd take the beer, if only for the palate-matching capabilities. Plus I really dislike Pepsi.) Given that All Points West is a new entrant in a super-crowded field, and ticket sales were reportedly not so great—particularly yesterday, when Jack Johnson headlined—wouldn't full disclosure to the people who shelled out $200 be somewhat prudent, if only to ensure that people would actually come back in years when Radiohead wasn't headlining?

Jersey City Serenades Miss Liberty With a New Rock Festival [NYT]
All Points West [Brooklyn Vegan]
[Photo: AP]

Cranking The Lineup Of The 2008 Decibel Festival

Michaelangelo Matos — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 14:00:00 EDT

I know this is city-based favoritism to some degree—it doesn't hurt that I live within walking distance of nearly everything going on—but the lineup for the 2008 Decibel Festival in Seattle makes the annual electronic dance music fete look like one serious party. The headliners were announced a few weeks ago, and the organizers have been sending Facebook friends the semi-final lineups ahead of their website; we've copied them below the jump. The showcases are well chosen, and the best of them are as good as anything you'll see in Europe at similar events. Pay attention especially to the "Detroit: Past, Present & Future" lineup and the final night's headliners: by themselves these should be pretty amazing, and throwing in a Saturday in the park (a park I live three blocks from; yes!) and a Sunday BBQ and you're talking a techno fest every bit as attractive as its overseas (and cross-border—holla, Mutek) counterparts.

::: 2008 DECIBEL FESTIVAL PROGRAM :::
[ THURSDAY : SEPTEMBER 25 ]

"DECONSTRUCTING POP"
Jahcoozi (Berlin) : Debut West Coast Live Set - Kitty-Yo, A-Records
Tujiko Noriko (France / Japan) : Debut Seattle Live Set - Mego, FatCat Records
Barbara Morgenstern (Berlin) : Debut Seattle Live Set - Monika Enterprise
Balún (Puerto Rico / New York) : Debut Seattle Live Set - Brilliante, Observatory
Careen Ajar (Montreal / San Francisco) : Debut Seattle Live Set - Asphodel, Recombinant Media Labs

@ Neumos - $17 presale / $20 at the door - Doors open at 8pm / 21+
Tickets available online at http://ev12.evenue.net/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/SEGetEventInfo?ticketCode=GS%3aTWS%3aWNEU08:WNEU0927%3a&linkID=twspok

"PELOTON LABEL SHOWCASE"
Presented by Peloton Musique
[a]pendics.shuffle (Los Angeles) : Live - Adjunct, Orac Records
Stewart Walker (Berlin) : Live - Persona, Force Inc.
Mister Leisure (Seattle) : Live - U-Freqs, Peloton
INCITE! aka Nordic Soul (Seattle) : Live - Decibel, Peloton
With Peloton Team DJs: Shane Silkey, Limefeather and Aron Schoppert

@ Sole Repair - $10 presale / $12 at the door - Doors open at 8pm / 21+
Tickets available online at https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/40771

"COMMUNIKEY SHOWCASE"
Presented by Communikey
Cubenx (Puerto Vallarta) : Debut Seattle Live Set - Static Discos, InFiné
Attentat (Denver) : Live - Communikey, Dope Recordings
Les Freres Courvoisier (Boulder) : Live - Communikey
Alala.One (Boulder) : DJ - Communikey

@ The Baltic Room - $7 presale / $10 at the door - Doors open @ 8pm / 21+
Tickets available online at https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/40786

"DECIBEL DJ LOUNGE"
Oi VAY! DJs Jeronimo, Eddie and Struggle
@ Grey Gallery - Free - Doors open at 6pm / 21+

[ FRIDAY : SEPTEMBER 26 ]

"OPTICAL 1"
William Basinski (New York) featuring video work by Scott Pagano (Los Angeles)
Jeff Greinke (Tuscon) featuring video work by offthesky (Lexington)
offthesky (Lexington) featuring video work by Sarah H. Dot (Boulder)
(more TBA)

@ the Northwest Film Forum - Free with an "All Access dB Pass" or $18 at the door each day - Doors open at 6pm / All ages both days. For guaranteed admission we strongly recommend purchasing an "All Access Pass" for the 2008 Decibel Festival online through Brown Paper Tickets: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/38530

"2008 DIRTY DANCING SHOWCASE"
Deadmau5 (Toronto) : Debut Seattle Live Set - Mau5trap Recordings
Luca Bacchetti (Italy) : Debut Seattle DJ Set - Wagon Repair, Tenax Recordings
Santiago & Bushido (Chicago) : Debut Live Set - Potty Mouth Music, Ultra Records
Let's Go Outside (Portland) : Live - Soma, Peloton

@ Neumos. - $20 presale / $25 at the door - Doors open at 8pm / 21+
Tickets available online at http://ev12.evenue.net/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/SEGetEventInfo?ticketCode=GS%3aTWS%3aWNEU08:WNEU0926%3a&linkID=twspok

"NATIVE STATE LABEL SHOWCASE"
KiloWatts (Philadelphia) : Debut Seattle Live Set - Native State Records
Welder (San Francisco) : Debut Seattle Live Set - Native State Records
Nalepa (Los Angeles) : Debut Seattle Live Set - Native State Records
Shen (Toronto) : Debut Seattle Live Set - Native State Records

@ The Baltic Room - $12 presale / $15 at the door - Doors open at 8pm / 21+
Tickets available online at https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/40776

"THE TRINITY"
Jeff Samuel (Berlin) : DJ - Poker Flat, Trapez
Derek Plaslaiko (New York) : DJ - Ghostly International, Bunker
Jerry Abstract (Seattle) : DJ - Shitkatapult, Fixelplix

Sole Repair - $10 presale / $12 at the door - Doors open at 8pm / 21+
Tickets available online at https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/40775

"DECIBEL AFTERHOURS - FRIDAY"
Presented by Starborne
Eskmo (San Francisco) : Live - Cyberfunk, Vertical Sound Records
Phidelity (Portland) : Live - Native State Records
Rob Noble (Seattle) : DJ - audiblebicycleday, CRANE
Skio Sirius (Seattle) : DJ - audiblebicycleday

@ CoB - $12 presale / $15 at the door - Doors open at 11pm / 18+
Tickets available online at https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/40818

"DECIBEL DJ LOUNGE"
Kulterszene / PDX DJs feat. Bryan Zentz, 31avas and M. Quiet
@ Grey Gallery - Free - Doors open at 6pm / 21+

[ SATURDAY : SEPTEMBER 27 ]

"DECIBEL IN THE PARK"
Glitch Mob (SF / LA) : Live - Planet Mu, Glitch Mob Records
Jacob London (Seattle) : Live - Classic, .Dotbleep
Truckasaurus (Seattle) : DJ - Fourthcity
Michael Manahan (Seattle) : DJ - Starborne
Noisemaker (Seattle) : DJ - Starborne

@ Volunteer Park
Free with "All Access Pass", "Deluxe Pass" or $10 presale / $12 at the gate - Gate opens at 1pm / All ages
Tickets available online at https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/40779

"OPTICAL 2"
Akira Rabelais (Los Angeles) featuring video work by Carole Kim (Los Angeles)
Library Tapes (Sweden) featuring video work by Scott Sunn (Seattle)
Son of Rose (Seattle) featuring video work by Son of Rose
(more TBA)

@ the Northwest Film Forum - Free with an "All Access dB Pass" or $18 at the door each day - Doors open at 6pm / All ages both days. For guaranteed admission we strongly recommend purchasing an "All Access Pass" for the 2008 Decibel Festival online through Brown Paper Tickets: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/38530

"DETROIT TECHNO: PAST, PRESENT & FUTURE"
Carl Craig (Detroit) : DJ - Planet E Records
Audion (Detroit) : Live - Spectral Sound
Chuck Flask (Detroit) : DJ - Paxahau

@ Neumos - $20 presale / $25 at the door - Doors open @ 8pm / 21+
Tickets available online at http://ev12.evenue.net/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/SEGetEventInfo?ticketCode=GS%3aTWS%3aWNEU08:WNEU0927%3a&linkID=twspok

"GHOSTLY INTERNATIONAL LABEL SHOWCASE"
Tycho (San Francisco) : Seattle Debut Live Set - Ghostly International / Merck
Deru (Los Angeles) : Live - Ghostly International / Merck
Lusine (Seattle) : Live - Ghostly International / Hymen
The Sight Below (Seattle) : Debut Live Set - Ghostly International

@ The Baltic Room - $12 presale / $15 at the door - Doors open @ 8pm / 21+
Tickets available online at https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/40777

"POP GOES THE CLUB"
Presented by Shameless and Club Pop
LA Riots (Los Angeles) : DJ - Ed Banger Records, Fool's Gold
33Hz (New York) : Debut Live Set - Dither Down, Foolhouse Records
Recess (Seattle) : DJ - Shameless, Club Pop
Sean Majors (Seattle) : DJ - Lost Boys, Pound Records
Levi Clark (Seattle) : DJ - Shameless
Club Pop Residents (TBA)

@ Chop Suey - $12 presale / $15 at the door - Doors open @ 9pm / 18+ (2 rooms)
Tickets available online at www.Ticketweb.com

"KONTROL SHOWCASE"
Alland Byallo (San Francisco) : DJ - Kontrol, dirtybird Records
Nikola Baytala (San Francisco) : DJ - Kontrol
Craig Kuna (San Francisco) : DJ - Kontrol
Sammy D (San Francisco) : DJ - Kontrol

@ Sole Repair - 10 presale / $12 at the door - Doors open at 8pm / 21+
Tickets available online at https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/40773

"DECIBEL AFTERHOURS - SATURDAY"
Presented by Cheap Sunglasses and Decibel
Dixon (Berlin) : Debut Seattle DJ Set - Innervision, Get Physical
Taimur Agha (New York) : Debut Seattle DJ Set - Cheap Sunglasses, BLK | Market
Dave Pezzner (Seattle) : Debut Live Set - Jacob London, Freerange Records
Crazy Larry (Denver) : Debut Seattle DJ Set - Cheap Sunglasses, Uddermadness

@ CoB - $15 presale / $20 at the door - Doors open at 1am / 21+
Tickets available online at https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/40823

"DECIBEL DJ LOUNGE"
Sweatbox / Knight Riders DJs feat. Cntrl_Alt_Dlt, Dr. Mr. M, Travis Baron and Panty Control
@ Grey Gallery - Free - Doors open at 6pm / 21+

[ SUNDAY : SEPTEMBER 28 ]

"DECIBEL BBQ"
Presented by SunTzu Sound and Decibel
Jeremy Ellis (Detroit) : Live - Ubiquity
Kid Hops (Seattle) : DJ - 90.3 KEXP
SunTzu Sound (Seattle) : DJ - SunTzu Sound Records
more TBA

@ Havana's - Free with "All Access Pass" or $10 presale / $12 at the gate. Gate opens at 1pm / 21+ Tickets can be purchased through https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/40785

"2008 AMBIENT SHOWCASE"
Brian McBride of Stars of the Lid (Los Angeles) : Live with string section - Kranky Records
Deaf Center (Norway) : Live - Type Records
Eluvium (Portland) : Live - Temporary Residence
Helios (Brighton) : Live - Type Records

@ The Triple Door Theater - Free with an "All Access dB Pass" or $20 presale / $25 day of sale - Doors open at 6pm / All ages
For guaranteed admission we strongly recommend purchasing an "All Access Pass" for the 2008 Decibel Festival online through Brown Paper Tickets: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/38530

"2008 DECIBEL FESTIVAL FINALE"
The Bug featuring Warrior Queen (London) : Debut Seattle Live Set - Ninja Tune, Rephlex, Tigerbeat6
Flying Lotus (Los Angeles) : Live - Warp, Plug Research Records
Fax (Mexicali) : Live - Static Discos
(more TBA)

@ Neumos - $17 presale / $20 at the door - Doors open at 8pm / 21+
Tickets available online at http://ev12.evenue.net/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/SEGetEventInfo?ticketCode=GS%3aTWS%3aWNEU08:WNEU0928%3a&linkID=twspok

"INNERFLIGHT SHOWCASE"
*Presented by Innerflight
Mike Monday (London) : DJ - OM, Freerange Records
Noah Pred (Toronto) : Live - Thoughtless Music
m.0 (Seattle) : Live - Innerflight, From 0-1
Kadeejah Streets (Seattle) : DJ - Innerflight
J-Sun (Seattle) : DJ - Innerflight

@ Sole Repair - $10 presale / $12 at the door - Doors open at 8pm / 21+
Tickets available online at https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/40767

"DECIBEL DJ LOUNGE"
Sunday September 28th - Artists TBA

Decibel Festival

The 2009 Festival Season Sees Its First Casualty

Maura Johnston — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 11:30:00 EDT

Festival die-hards who were waiting to traipse down to south Jersey for the Vineland Festival, the multi-day, multi-band fest that was "postponed" from this year to a summer 2009 launch date, are going to be disappointed: The festival's plug has been pulled by C3 Presents, the Texas-based company that also puts on Lollapalooza, thanks to the immediate area being too saturated with multi-day affairs.

Late last year, C3 announced they were going to stage a three-day music festival on a 550-acre farm in Vineland, N.J., on Aug. 8-10. A few months later, the festival was postponed till 2009. Now, C3 co-owner Charlie Jones says, Vineland is "dead."

"That particular part of the country got too popular too fast; there are too many festivals in close proximity," he says, citing the emergence of the All Points West festival in northern New Jersey, which will be headlined Aug. 8-10 by Radiohead and Jack Johnson. All Points West is being staged by Goldenvoice, which also promotes the Coachella festival in California.

So I guess "too many" = "one" in this particular bit of math, unless Virgin Festival—which happens in nearby Baltimore—is also seen as being in close proximity to south Jersey. Or is "too many" actually code for the possibility that C3's exclusivity clauses—which, in the case of Lollapalooza, restrict bands from playing six months before and three months after the festival, and have turned the Chicago area's music bookings into "the long cold summer... it's like hibernation," according to one local booker—were just too restrictive for any major acts to sign on, given the proximity of the New York City and Philadelphia markets? Or maybe it's just code for "the economy sucks, and we want to cut our losses before we start experiencing real deficits."

Lolla organizers' Jersey festival dies [Turn It Up via Consequence Of Sound]

The inaugural Pemberton Music Festival, ...

Maura Johnston — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 14:45:00 EDT

The inaugural Pemberton Music Festival, which went down last weekend and featured headlining sets by Coldplay, Tom Petty, and Jay-Z, was not without its problems: dust clouds that caused much respiratory distress on days one and two; the threat of rain on day three; members of N.E.R.D. reportedly getting stuck in traffic long enough to delay their sets; and bathrooms that one reporter described as "grim beyond description," which kind of makes the "well, at least they had poutine at the food stands" argument a little less appealing. [Vancouver Sun via The Daily Swarm]

Meanwhile, At Rocklahoma...

Maura Johnston — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 10:45:00 EDT

Alyson at Bring Back Glam! provides blow-by-blow coverage of this year's installment of the hard rock retrofest, which seemingly had it all: Storms! Confusion! Collapsing side stages! Jani Lane staying on pitch! And Kix reigning supreme as the best band of the weekend, although Chuck Eddy would have probably told you that outcome was a given. [Bring Back Glam]

Festivals Are For Old People

Dan Gibson — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 10:30:00 EDT

Sure, you're outside, the sound is lousy, and he bands are terrible. But if you're one of the attendees at a European music festival, you have to admit that the experience has gone from "stuck in a torrential downpour in a field full of fecal matter" to something more sophisticated.

Festivals in Europe have caught on a little quicker to their shifting demographics, with the middle-aged desperately trying to grab on to their last shred of coolness by trekking out to Glastonbury and the like. So it's time to roll out the creature comforts!

"They still want to experience the buzz of the festival, they still want to have the excitement of the festival, but they don't want to sleep in a two-person tent anymore," says Melvin Benn, managing director of Festival Republic, which promotes the Leeds, Reading and Glastonbury festivals in the U.K. "They don't want to rough it in quite the same way."

Many of these huge annual events are now offering more comfortable sleeping arrangements, from already set-up tents to luxurious yurts, as well as a healthier and more sophisticated food selection and entertainment programs for young children and even babies. Rock Werchter's upscale eating options this year included, for the first time, an oyster bar that also sold steamed mussels and glasses of chilled white wine and cava. Some festivals, like Electric Picnic in Stradbally, Ireland, don't sell tickets to 13- to 17-year-olds, in an effort to create a more grown-up atmosphere.

Can't find a sitter? Want the kiddos to catch Death Cab on the main stage later, but don't want them to cramp your style while you're grooving in the dance tent? Problem solved.

Latitude is more than just a music festival. "I wanted it to reflect the contents of a Sunday broadsheet newspaper," says Mr. Benn. It has a theater stage, literary and comedy arenas and an entertainment area for children. This year, the kids' arena will employ a staff of more than 500, expected to keep around 4,000 children busy with activities like wildlife explorations and puppet shows starting at 8 in the morning.

Families can sleep in a separate family camping area, guarded from the loud noise and other potentially disruptive activities of more uninhibited festival-goers. Music fans who have grown tired of leaking tents and camping mats can rent podpads, small wooden houses powered by solar panels on their roofs, or yurts, complete with double beds, their own little patio, flowers and chocolates on the pillow — at a price of up to £745 for four nights.

It was a similar kind of family-friendly environment that first attracted Tanja Raab, 37, and her partner Tom Osander, 41, to Electric Picnic, another boutique festival where parents can drop off their kids at baby yoga while enjoying a Thai massage or tarot reading. At the age of three, their son Ben is already a seasoned festival-goer and Ms. Raab has worked out a system to keep track of him among the other 35,000 people at the outdoor event. She writes her mobile phone number on his arm and, if he spends time with his parents' friends, they get a token hair-scrunchy so they know they are in charge of watching him.

Next year, Raab is hoping to upgrade to a VIP hair-scrunchy for the kid, since she heard wonderful things about the buffet back there.

All of these seems to mark a transition toward making festivals more "lifestyle event" (Thai massage?) than "collection of performances," and you'd have to think that domestic counterparts like Coachella and Bonnaroo won't be far behind, offering premium lodging and food slightly improved over state-fair fare. Is the festival as we know it going to appeal to anyone outside of the SUV crossover set in a few years? (Does it now?)

A Grown-Up's Guide To Summer Rock Festivals [Wall Street Journal]

Madison Square Garden Rushing Into The Festival Market Just In Time For The Bubble To Pop

Maura Johnston — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 15:30:00 EDT

Realizing that two years after a market swells to capacity is the prime time to rush into it, Madison Square Garden Entertainment is looking to buy some 910 acres of New York dairy farmland in order to stage "an annual world-class, three-day music festival" with add-ons like an on-site dance club and Internet cafe beginning in 2010. Sure, the economy is tanking, gas prices are making daily commutes a wallet-busting venture, and ticket sales at the festivals MSG is planning on modeling its new venture on, like Coachella and Bonnaroo, have slowed a bit. But isn't destroying a bunch of farmable land for the purposes of recreational profit in the earliest stages of a food crisis a fantastic idea? At the very least, it's causing Springfield, the upstate town where the land is located, to start dividing itself along "pro" and "con" lines!

Proponents, who include the town supervisor, Thomas Armstrong, who is 81 and has had the job since 1991, say, yes, it would be three days of aggravation, but it would leave the land — already subdivided for single-family homes — open and unspoiled, bring in badly needed tax revenue and perhaps open the way for more arts-oriented business.

He was at KC's Corner Diner, the only restaurant left in town, with the owner, Bruce Hargrove, the other day. Both saw it as a no-brainer. Mr. Hargrove said that since he opened 18 years ago, 45 businesses in town have closed, and school enrollment has tumbled. The town has half as many people as it had a century ago.

"Look out there," he said, pointing to Route 20, the major east-west artery that runs through the town. "It's July 3, and you could put a volleyball net up and play in the middle of the road. We're dying here. Something needs to change."

Opponents say the concert would bring too much noise and traffic and take prime agricultural land out of production for little gain.

"We came here for peace and quiet; this is not peace and quiet," said Robert H. Boyle, founder of the Riverkeeper environmental group, who moved to the town six years ago. "It's not just three days when you add the time setting it up and taking it down, and those three days could be very turbulent, to say the least. You look at the history of music festivals; they're not gatherings of Eagle Scouts."

Rosemarie Harrison, who is circulating petitions against the festival (there is also a petition in support), said that residents were against it, but she feared that elected officials would approve it anyway. "People are tearing the petitions out of my hand to sign it," she said. "It would help a few people and ruin everyone else's lives. It's already dividing the town. It's not even here, and it's already ruining the town."

Maybe MSG will broadcast the town hall meetings on Fuse! That would at least be better than another rerun of Rad Girls.

(Oh, and don't mind the story's excessively dopey Simpsons referencing. I personally was surprised that the author didn't take a moment to run down every band that's appeared on the show, but maybe that was cut by his editor.)

If Music Be the Food of Fortune [NYT]

A chicken in every pot, and a festival in ...

Maura Johnston — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 12:45:00 EDT

A chicken in every pot, and a festival in every state: Live Nation is looking to bring a three-day music festival featuring "family-friendly" acts to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., in lieu of the area's annual Fort Lauderdale Air & Sea Show. They're even paying for extra police! Given recent touring conditions and the fact that last November, a festival in just-down-the-coast Miami was canceled the day before it was set to begin, you might think that Live Nation would be cautious, but I guess a "Kidzapalooza of Florida"-type deal could be different enough to skirt the Radiohead/Jack Johnson malaise that's hovering over the summer of '08. [Miami Herald via Coolfer]

Looking for another summer festival to hit, ...

Anthony Miccio — Wed, 28 May 2008 16:15:00 EDT

Looking for another summer festival to hit, but not wanting to go much farther than say...Jackson Hole, Wyoming? Well get psyched for the weekend of August 16th, when the Black Crowes, Medeski Martin and Wood, Kaki King, Wilco AND Son Volt entertain folks at the inaugural two-day Jackson Hole Music Festival. Wilco and Son Volt, people. Wilco and Son Volt. I smell the unthinkable. [Jackson Hole Music Festival]

Not Even The Presence Of Soul Asylum Can Prevent Us From Asking "Another Festival? Really?"

Dan Gibson — Tue, 20 May 2008 13:30:00 EDT

Sure, Coachella attendance was soft, the Vegoose festival went under, and San Diego's Street Scene festival is scaling down, but the city of West Hollywood believes that this is the perfect moment to announce a new festival. Not only will does the initial lineup of the Sunset Strip Music Festival include Soul Asylum, Everclear, and something called "L.A. Guns featuring Jani Lane of Warrant," it'll feature a kickoff event hosted by Mark McGrath and a roundtable hosted by Larry King. What more could you ask for? Mark your calendars now!

B Real of Cypress Hill featuring Slash
Camper Van Beethoven
Dilated Peoples
Everclear
Godhead
Hellogoodbye
Hot Hot Heat
Juliette and The Licks
L.A. Guns featuring Jani Lane of Warrant
Louis XIV
Soul Asylum
The 88

First Annual Sunset Strip Music Festival [West Hollywood News]

Coachella: The Canary In The Increasingly Crowded Festival Coal Mine?

Maura Johnston — Tue, 20 May 2008 08:45:00 EDT

A statistic that I probably could have ballparked solely from my personal observations of this year's Coachella Music & Arts Festival: Year-to-year ticket sales were down by 30,000, with 150,000 people attending the three-day sweatfest, according to promotion company Goldenvoice. The last-minute addition of Prince to Saturday's bill reportedly helped swell that day's attendance to 60,000, and Goldenvoice founder Paul Tollett claimed that Roger Waters' litter-filled set was one of the festival's "best ever," so I'm guessing that the tumbleweeds rolling through the Empire Polo Field on Friday (headlined by Jack Johnson) were not, in fact, desert mirages. All this number-crunching brings up the whole question of sustainability in the festival market once again, since "oh, why don't we just book Prince one more time" is not a viable long-term plan if only for reasons of crippling cost. (Just ask the people who book the Super Bowl!) [The Desert Sun]

Two music festivals slated for Farwell, Mich., ...

Maura Johnston — Fri, 02 May 2008 15:45:08 EDT

Two music festivals slated for Farwell, Mich., this summer have been canceled "to restructure and reorganize debt, while continuing to look for new investors." The Mountain Country and Rock Music Festivals had an uneven slate of headliners—the rock fest was going to have the Yardbirds and Starship atop its bill, while the country concerts were to be headlined by bigger names like Miranda Lambert, Trace Adkins, and Dierks Bentley—which probably contributed to the chaos. Last year's country fest, which had Carrie Underwood leading the bill, attracted 12,000 people. [MLive.com]

Would You Like To Know What "The Ting Tings" Are?

Anthony Miccio — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 15:30:00 EDT

If you've scrolled through the festival line-ups we've been posting of late, you may have noticed the words "The Ting Tings" a few times and said to yourself, "my, I wonder what kind of people would think to name themselves The Ting Tings?" only to be distracted by a leak from some popular band you don't even like. I know have! The Ting Tings are a male-drummer/female-everything else duo from England that may be the next big iPod ad sensation or Britain's very own Boomkat.

Here's the video for "That's Not My Name," which appears in the aforementioned ad.

Are you feeling this? Fannypack-style jumping jack hook aside, it's not doing much for me. I'm sure I'll have plenty of opportunities to change my mind before May 20, when their album We Started Nothing comes out

The Ting Tings - That's Not My Name [YouTube]

Virgin Fest Just Got A Whole Lot More Old

Anthony Miccio — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 10:45:39 EDT

Bob Dylan, Chuck Berry and The Stooges have been added to the line-up for Baltimore's Virgin Fest, to be held on August 9-10. The Foo Fighters, Nine Inch Nails and Stone Temple Pilots have already been announced as headliners, so it looks like new parents as well as new grandparents will have acts they enjoy. For the kids, there's Paramore and Lil Wayne, and a dance tent featuring Moby, Underworld and Richie Hawtin! Actually, that dance tent's probably for the parents too. Full line up after the jump.

August 9th (in alphabetical order):

Bloc Party
Cat Power
Chuck Berry and the Silver Beats
Citizen Cope
Duffy
Foo Fighters
Gogol Bordello
Jack Johnson
KT Tunstall
Lupe Fiasco
The Offspring
Paramore
Rodrigo y Gabriela
Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings
The Swell Season
Wilco.
DJ Dan & Donald Glaude (dance tent)
Erol Alkan (dance tent)
Ferry Corsten (dance tent)
Soul Wax (dance tent)
Steve Lawler (dance tent)
Underworld (dance tent)

August 10 (in alphabetical order):

Andrew Bird's Bowl of Fire
Black Keys
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
Bob Dylan
Go! Team
Iggy & The Stooges
Kanye West
Lil Wayne
Nine Inch Nails
Stone Temple Pilots
She & Him
Shudder to Think
Taking Back Sunday
Armin van Buuren (dance tent)
Chromeo (dance tent)
Richie Hawtin (dance tent)
Deadmau5 (dance tent)
Moby (dance tent)
Pendulum (dance tent)

Looks like Shudder To Think is back back! And the Offspring still hasn't left.

Dylan, Stooges, Chuck Berry Join Virgin Fest Bill [Billboard]

My Bloody Valentine To Play Stateside, Curate Best North American Festival Of 2008

Maura Johnston — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 21:20:00 EDT

Not only is My Bloody Valentine playing the just-announced All Tomorrow's Parties festival in Monticello, N.Y., this fall, they're curating the damn thing, and among the bands they've hand-picked to play include Built To Spill (performing Perfect From Now On), Polvo, the Meat Puppets (playing Meat Puppets II), and Low. And there's more to come! Tickets are limited to 3,000 and go on sale Friday, a.k.a. the first day of Coachella, which should make the festival-junkie action on Craigslist very interesting over the coming months. The announced lineup after the jump.

My Bloody Valentine
Built to Spill performing Perfect From Now On
Meat Puppets performing Meat Puppets II
Thurston Moore performing Psychic Hearts
Tortoise performing Millions Now Living Will Never Die
Shellac
Mogwai
Polvo
Fuck Buttons
Autolux
The Drones
Low
Wooden Shjips
Edan with Dagha
Thee Silver Mount Zion Orchestra

The line-up for the Calgary edition of the ...

Jess Harvell — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 17:15:00 EDT

The line-up for the Calgary edition of the Virgin Festival has been announced, and I recognize the names of a whopping eight out of the 19 bands listed on the official website, including Americans Stone Temple Pilots, the Flaming Lips, and Face To Face. (Didn't even know they were still together when I played "Disconnected" on the jukebox this weekend.) Canadians (or border-dwelling Americans) can get the rest of line-up by clicking on the logo to the left. [Virgin Festival Calgary/HT: Matt Learoyd]

Stone Temple Pilots
The Tragically Hip
The Flaming Lips
Three Days Grace
Corb Lund
Face To Face
City And Colour
Matthew Good
Stars
The New Pornographers
Constantines
Attack In Black
Pride Tiger
Crash Parallel
The Dudes
The Whitsundays
Ten Second Epic
Said The Whale
The Spades

Bent Festival To Feature Home-Made Electronics, Workshops, Kanye?

Anthony Miccio — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 17:00:00 EDT

Sorry, no Kanye. But the Bent Festival will be hitting LA, New York, and Minneapolis over the next month, showcasing the finest in circuit-bending musical acts, as well as workshops that will let you try it for yourself. "The term circuit bending refers to the act of modifying the circuitry of battery-powered children's toys to create strange, new, and unintended sounds for creative purposes. Instead of merely watching a person's face glowing in the screen of a laptop, the audience can watch performers wrangle squelches, bleeps, groans, and blips out of everyday childhood toys. This is fun to watch, and fun to do." Sure looks like it!

Each year, The Tank invites benders from across the country and around the globe to perform concerts with their circuit bent instruments, to teach workshops to adults and children alike, and to generally descend on our fair city for a week of sharing and showing off their skills. This year the festival is being expanded to include not only New York, but Los Angeles and Minneapolis as well.

If you have the least bit of curiosity about electronics or electronic music, or if you've ever just really wanted to rip your toys apart, this festival is for you. Each day we will have open studios with expert benders on hand to help you get started. There will be installation artists building circuit-bent artwork throughout the spaces in each city. There will be a full schedule of in-depth workshops and nightly concerts of some of the best circuit benders in the world. It is genuinely fun for the whole family. You will have a blast.

If you're a schoolteacher in any of these three cities, I strongly suggest hooking up a field trip.

Bent Festival [Via Tiny Mix Tapes]
Bent Festival 2005 DVD Highlights [Youtube]
What Is Circuit Bending? [Youtube]

Now that venerable indie label Sub Pop is ...

Jess Harvell — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 14:30:00 EDT

Now that venerable indie label Sub Pop is 20 years old, might it possibly be celebrating that fact with some kinda summertime festival thingee in the greater Seattle area? Mum's the word on the details for the moment, though the line-up is already rumored to include Green River and Fluid. No way I'm hitting Travelocity until I see the words "Cat Butt" on an official flyer, however. [Seattle Sound via Daily Swarm]

Add another music festival to the pile of ...

Maura Johnston — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 12:30:57 EDT

Add another music festival to the pile of multi-band shows coming to an open-air space near you this summer: This year's installment of the sweaty Village Voice-sponsored Siren Music Festival will take over Coney Island on Saturday, July 19—the same weekend as both the Pitchfork Music Festival and the jammy Mile High Festival. I guess when you're throwing a free festival, you don't have to worry about sagging ticket sales, but that seems like some odd counterprogramming to me. [Brooklyn Vegan]

The Sitka Summer Music Festival May Be As Disappointing As Coachella

Dan Gibson — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 13:00:00 EDT

I already canceled my hotel reservations for Indio after the "Let's Book Roger Waters" Coachella fiasco; now my trip to Alaska's Sitka Summer Music Festival might be ruined as well. The month-long celebration of chamber music is traditionally capped with an all-you-can-eat crab fest—truly, as all classical music festivals ought to be—but sadly, according to the Anchorage Daily News, the previous sponsor decided not to foot the bill this year. The Daily News was too delicate to mention the cheapskates unwilling to cough up the paltry $5,000 for the people of Sitka and classical music lovers with access to a sea plane to enjoy some crab on the house, but Idolator isn't afraid of stepping on some toes.

Shame on you, Alaska Airlines. You may have 92 exciting destinations, but you've broken 8,835 hearts in Sitka. [Anchorage Daily News]

Coachella line-up update! Hot shit! Five-words-or-less ...

Jess Harvell — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 13:30:00 EDT

Coachella line-up update! Hot shit! Five-words-or-less take on each new addition: Aphex Twin (ooh), Goldfrapp (yay), Kate Nash (ugh no), Serj Tankian (iffy on the solo stuff), Redd Kross (!), and Adele (eh). Okay, I'm not actually going so this news affects me not a whit, but perhaps you are and are now more excited than before? Or less? Or middling? [Billboard]

Bret Michaels And His Sweaty Bandanas To Headline Rocklahoma

Maura Johnston — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 17:40:49 EST

The initial lineup for Rocklahoma, the festival of Headbanger's Ball darlings of yore taking place in Pryor, Okla., this July 10-13, was just announced at a press conference helmed by radio host and personal Mike Piazza fan Eddie Trunk, who called the bands playing the festival "a new generation's classic rock" who are currently handing the baton to bands currently making their way up the ranks (cough, cough). I listened to the whole press conference—from fakeout involving a pre-conference spin of Faith No More's "Epic" to the revelation that Black N' Blue is reuniting because the lead singer needs a gig to the "WE NEED BIG BANDS" proclamations from those gathered in the press conference's attached chat room—so I could bring you the lineup as it stands now. It's after the jump. (Don't say I don't care.)

Bret Michaels
Warrant
Cinderella
Tesla
Extreme
Armored Saint
Night Ranger
Triumph
Trixter
Zebra
Vain
Kix
Tora Tora
Beautiful Creatures
L.A. Guns featuring Tracii Guns
Enuff Z'Nuff
Jetboy
House Of Lords
Pretty Boy Floyd
Every Mother's Nightmare
Black N' Blue
Triumph
XYZ
Lynch Mob
Harlow

Rocklahoma—the Oklahoma hard-rock ...

Maura Johnston — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 15:10:44 EST

Rocklahoma—the Oklahoma hard-rock fest taking place July 10-13, which I am totally attending this year come hell, high water, or my lack of a driver's license—is announcing its 2008 lineup at an Eddie Trunk-helmed press conference Tuesday in Los Angeles. Confirmed so far: Bret Michaels, Tora Tora, Warrant (with Jani Lane), Vixen, and the version of LA Guns that doesn't have its best-known lead singer Phil Lewis, but does have guitarist/namesake Tracii Guns. If only Kelly Nickels would come back to music and rejoin one of the bands so I could figure out which side to take in this conflict! [Blabbermouth]

The Virgin Festival: Finally, A Music Fest Without Jack Johnson On Its Bill (Maybe)

Maura Johnston — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 08:57:19 EST

Last year, the Virgin Festival—Richard Branson's Baltimore concert that featured the Police and the Smashing Pumpkins as headliners, as well as a few talking gnomes—overlapped with Perry Farrell's slimmed-down-to-one-weekend Lollapalooza^*. Virgin announced on Friday that this year's fest would take place Aug. 9 and 10, which also happens to be the same weekend as Jersey City's All Points West Festival. Which means that Virgin will have one distinction from most of this year's multi-day music sweatfests:

Surfing songwriter Jack Johnson will likely be nowhere near the top of the bill, since he's already taken one of the top spots on All Points West's roster. Last year, when Virgin and Lollapalooza overlapped, they shared a lot of lower-tier artists, but their lineups diverged when it came time to list the headliners: the Police and the Smashing Pumpkins were on the Baltimore bill, while Daft Punk and Pearl Jam headlined in Chicago. Of course, the lack of overlapping headliners means that Virgin likely won't have Radiohead on its bill either, but hey, that's the price you have to pay for maybe getting to schmooze with Richard Branson.

Virgin Mobile Festival bringing top music acts back to Baltimore [Baltimore Business Journal]

^* Lollapalooza takes over Chicago Aug. 1-3 this year.

The Rothbury Festival: Finally, The Disco Biscuits And The Juan Maclean Will Share A Bill

Maura Johnston — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 09:40:58 EST

The summer of 2008 seems to be drowning in music festivals, but that hasn't stopped the organizers of Rothbury, a spanking-new festival that plans to gather liberal-arts-educated kids of America together to think about climate change while they're blissing out to the music of 311. Rothbury, which will be held in western Michigan over Fourth of July weekend, has a lineup that takes the jam-band-and-indie-rock stew of Coachella to another level: Headlining the festival are Dave Matthews Band, Widespread Panic, and failed blogger John Mayer, while the lower half of the bill is rounded out by the likes of Of Montreal, Medeski Martin & Wood, the Dresden Dolls, Slightly Stoopid, Diplo, Colbie Caillat, and—Primus! (What year is this again?) Full college-arts-board-inspired lineup is after the jump.

Dave Matthews Band
Widespread Panic
John Mayer
311
Phil Lesh and Friends
Primus
Thievery Corporation
Snoop Dogg
Modest Mouse
Michael Franti and Spearhead
Gov't Mule
Slightly Stoopid
STS9
Colbie Caillat
The Black Keys
Yonder Mountain String Band with Jon Fishman
Gogol Bordello
Citizen Cope
Keller Williams and The WMD'S
The Disco Biscuits
Medeski Martin & Wood
Ray LaMontagne
Derek Trucks & Susan Tedeschi Soul Stew Revival
Drive-By Truckers
Of Montreal
The Dresden Dolls
Gomez
Brett Dennen
Taj Mahal
Mike Gordon
Zappa Plays Zappa
Crystal Method DJ Set
JJ Grey & MOFRO
The Greyboy Allstars
The Secret Machines
Beth Orton
Jakob Dylan and the Green Mountain Rebels
A 3
Bettye Lavette
Lotus
Yard Dogs Road Show
State Radio
The Beautiful Girls
Sage Francis
Tea Leaf Green
Emmitt Nershi Band
EOTO
Panjea with Michael Kang
Railroad Earth
Bassnectar
Pnuma Trio
Diplo
Flosstradamus
The Juan MacLean
The Dynamites featuring Charles Walker
Dead Confederate
DJ Rekha
Motion Potion
DJ Rootz
SOJOURN
Busdriver

Rothbury Festival [Official site]
[Photo: AP]

Not content with letting Lollapalooza promotion ...

mjohnston — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 11:10:25 EST

Not content with letting Lollapalooza promotion company C3 stake a three-day festival claim in Philadelphia, Live Nation has petitioned the city's Fairmount Park Commission for a -palooza of its own. Am I the only person who thinks that, by this time next year, every one of the fifty states—including Alaska and Hawaii!—will have a big multi-day puke-and-beer-fueled get-together to call its own? [Philly.com]

The Inevitable Out-Of-Context Photo Assembly

Brian Raftery — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 10:51:14 EDT

There are hundreds of pictures from this weekend's Glastonbury Festival on the wires, and the breakdown goes as follows: 90 percent of them are shots of Pete Doherty, and 7 percent are shots of Kate Moss staring at Pete Doherty. Of the remaining images, our favorites include Paul Weller's eyes-wide-shut playing style; Brandon Flowers' hologram-sticker outfit; and Lily Allen's valiant attempt to rescue E.T.

[Photos: Getty Images]

Festivals Turning Into Dirtier, Muddier Fashion Shows

mjohnston — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 12:30:56 EDT

If you've ever gone to a huge outdoor festival, only to be surrounded by chattering idiots who are angling for blogarazzi shots of the VIP tent's dwellers while complaining loudly about the weather, then you probably won't be surprised by the new survey revealing that the percentage of people who are there for the "scene," and not the music, is pretty high:

The survey, commissioned in the run-up to Glastonbury this weekend, found that a quarter of festival-goers spend around £500 on each outdoor music event.

But half of the 3,000 people questioned struggle to remember the bands they have seen, with almost a fifth admitting they watch less than five hours of music over a festival weekend.

Many festival fans prefer instead to socialise, wander around the grounds and soak in the atmosphere.
A third admitted that they shop for a completely new wardrobe, including designer wellies and waterproofs, before heading to a festival.

The phenomenon, which has also seen designer tents spring up on muddy festival grounds, has been dubbed the "Kate Moss effect".

While this effect probably doesn't bother festival promoters, it's worrisome to us: After all, the more fashion-obsessed idiots who show up at shows, the greater the possibility that Mickey Avalon fans will be there, thus justifying his existence for another day.

'Kate Moss effect' hits festivals [ITV]
[Photo: AP]

What You Missed In Manchester

Brian Raftery — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 08:50:55 EDT

Ed. note: Over the weekend, thousands of music fans headed to Manchester, Tenn., for the annual Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival; while there, many of these attendees chose to spend their between-set downtime by either a) placing peyote under their eyelids or b) writing about how it was all, like, hot and stuff. Some highlights below—and if you really want to know what it was like, feel free to Photoshop yourself into the Jack White reaction-shot picture above..

- First, the band news: Ornette Coleman collapsed from heat stroke during his set on Sunday, but he appears to be OK. [Billboard]
- The Police: Awesome! [NYTimes]
- The Police: Awful! [LATimes Buzz Bands]
- David Cross, Lily Allen and Gov't Mule's Warren Haynes got into a possibly spirited back-and-forth about hippies. [Spinner.com]
- The guy from the Long Winteres stuck it to that Ben Harper dude! [MSNBC]
- By day two, things got smelly. But at least Wayne Coyne pulled out the Page-style double-necker. [EW]
- ?uestlove will gladly pose for a photo, but he damn sure isn't going to give it more than a half-smile. [Loudersoft]

[Photo: Getty Images]

Lollapalooza: Let The Scheduling Conflicts Begin

Brian Raftery — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 09:15:06 EDT

The line-up for this year's overly sponsored Lollapalooza festival is up on the official site; start studying it now, so you'll be able to calculate just how much time you'll need to get from the Sherwin-Williams Klondike Bar Gazebo to the Tyson Chicken Tenders(TM) Shower Stalls.

Lollapalooza

Ozzfest Attendees May Not Even Get What They Won't Be Paying For

mjohnston — Thu, 10 May 2007 18:10:55 EDT

From today's press-release tidal wave:

OZZFEST ANNOUNCES STATIC X AS FINAL BAND FOR MAIN STAGE OF THIS SUMMER'S "FREEFEST"

Well, now we know just what caliber of bands will be willing to work for free.

Earlier: Ozzfest's Free Experiment: A Sign Of Summer Festivals To Come?

Austin City Limits Festival Line-Up Proves That America Will Never Tire Of Peter, Bjorn And Occasionally John

Brian Raftery — Thu, 03 May 2007 09:49:15 EDT

It's only early May, which means that there are still approximately 426 music festivals left to go, all of which are required by law to feature three whistling Swedes. Austinist has an update on this year's Austin City Limits Festival, which takes place in September; apparently, the Austin Chronicle ran a crossword puzzle that hinted at some of the event's bigger names:

The crossword reveal:
The White Stripes, Björk, The Decemberists, Peter, Bjorn, and John, Rodrigo Y Gabriela, Robert Earl Keen, Joss Stone, Andrew Bird, Rose Hill Drive, Gotan Project, Indigo Girls, Heartless Bastards, Augustana, Beau Soleil, and Andy Palacio.

Those 15 bands join the following already-confirmed acts:

Kings Of Leon, Raul Malo, Stephen Marley, Ben Kweller, Rev. Horton Heat, Asleep At The Wheel, The Little Ones, Charlie Musselwhite, The Jellydots, and Sara Hickman.

Joss Stone? Haven't the good people of Austin suffered enough this year?

Breaking Music News: ACL Fest Reveals First Big Names of 2007 [Austinist]

Serbian Music Festival Now More Depressing Than You Could Possibly Imagine

Brian Raftery — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 12:36:03 EDT

No matter how tricky your Coachella experience was this weekend—and we all know how hard it can be to find that rental Corolla when it's 1 a.m. and the entire parking lot is covered with dust and other rental Corollas—just be glad you don't live in Serbia. A few months ago, organizers announced that a giant three-day summer festival would take place this in the famously troubled country, with such acts as Metallica and Foo Fighters near the top of the bill; but as Pollstar reports, someone forgot to do the paperwork—a lot of paperwork:

The event, which was originally slotted for June 28-30, began as Road Fest To Peace Through Music and then morphed into Pure Fest To Peace Through Music.

It's been dogged by controversy since Vujin announced a lineup including Iggy & The Stooges, Foo Fighters, Metallica, Daft Punk, The Prodigy, Jamiroquai, Deep Purple, Underworld, Motörhead, Tricky, Joe Cocker, and The Cult at a February 12 press conference at Belgrade Sava Centre.

It turned out some of the acts hadn't been contacted, let alone contracted, and a Web site detailing the bill was quickly removed from the Web when [organizer Dragon Vujin] was asked to explain...

It turned out that he'd made offers to some of the London agents repping the artists on his bill, but all had proved reluctant to give a final confirmation or allow the act's name to be used in ads until some binder or deposit payment had been received.

Perhaps Vujin should have listened to the advice of the late Bill Graham, who said you should never announce your terribly named festival without at least securing a few acts. According to the story, there are some big-name DJ acts that still might play the festival, and the Cult might participate after all, proving that as long as there's a promise of a paycheck, Ian Astbury is down for whatever.

Serbian Festival Controversy [Pollstar.com]

The Pitchfork Music Festival Might Have Some Serious Competition For Our Summer-Festival Dollars

mjohnston — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 18:40:27 EDT

The nearly-full docket of summer rock festivals has added another date to its calendar with Rocklahoma, a three-day music festival in the middle of Oklahoma taking place the same weekend as Pitchfork's outdoor fest. The rumored (and, somehow, Hinder-free) lineup, courtesy of Hard Rock Hideout:

POISON, RATT (featuring original lead singer Stephen Pearcy), VINCE NEIL and Y&T are among the acts that are expected to appear at Rocklahoma, a three-day outdoor '80s hard rock festival, set to take place July 13-15, in Pryor, OK at the Pryor Festival Grounds. The following is a partial list of bands that are **rumored*** to be taking part in the event:

BANG TANGO
BULLET BOYS
DOKKEN
FASTER PUSSYCAT (feat. Brent Muscat)
FIREHOUSE
L.A. GUNS (feat. Tracii Guns)
POISON
QUIET RIOT
RATT
SLAUGHTER
TESLA
VINCE NEIL
WARRANT
Y&T

While that lineup (minus Firehouse) does look like it could go toe-to-toe with any episode of Headbanger's Ball in our VHS collection, we have to say that we'd be a lot more likely to attend if the bookers, somehow, convinced both versions of L.A. Guns to play in some sort of Guns-off, with the winner decided by the crowd. Mainly because we honestly have no idea who we'd vote for—do you give it to the Guns-led camp for authenticity's sake, or the Lewis-led version as thanks for keeping it real during the Brides Of Destruction days? Clearly, a "Rip And Tear"-off is the only thing that can solve this dilemma.

Rocklahoma [Hard Rock Hideout]