“I’m so blessed to / have spent the time / with my family and the friends I love/ with my short life / I have met so many people I deeply care for”

These final chanted lyrics of Yeasayer’s “Red Cave” go a ridiculously long way in summarizing exactly what my recent trip to Chicago for the fifth annual Pitchfork Festival meant to me. While I’d been to the fest several times in the past (the first three, actually), this marked the first time that a huge group of old friends (LBHS stand up!) were able to meet up and enjoy the city and the music and the drunken shenanigans together. (Pictured at right: Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips; all photos by R. Kevin Rose.)

What’d I learn? well, for starters… we are all official members of the POSI-ADULT CREW. Not straight edge — not even close — but definitely upbeat and affable. Positive, if you will. A group of kids raised on (amongst many, many other things) Bad Brains’ “P.M.A.”, Seven Seconds, Dag Nasty, Gorilla Biscuits, etc., who grew into a geographically dispersed crew of adults … all of us still kinda “Screaming For Change” in our own unique ways. (LOTS MORE PICS AND SHENANIGANS AFTER THE JUMP)

Admittedly, the relentless POSI-CORE tunes we were simultaneously improvising & singing all weekend (titles I somehow managed to remember include “Don’t Die!,” “Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes,” “Si Se Puede,” “Why Did You Leave?” … you get the picture) were more than a touch tongue-in-cheek. But facts are facts; my old school crew only jokes about mosh-ing kids to a nub — we don’t actually do it.

So that’s the scene — about 20 of us (ages: 35-40) lazily taking in the festival during day followed by way-too-long nights of heavy drinking / mild partying at night. By the end of the weekend, a ringing, unifying consensus had emerged: We’re all getting way too fucking old to ride hard for days on end like that. Realization aside — wow. What a blast!!! I saw some great bands / acts, got plenty of much-needed re-connect time (I hadn’t seen some of these fine folks in YEARS!!!), laughed ’til my sides hurt, punished my liver thoroughly and survived to write this little wrap-up piece about it.

While I could easily re-count endless minutiae and I’ve written up several drafts about what our posse did, all the bars, all the food, all the hi-jinx, and so on & so forth, would likely be lost on y’all. Instead … I’m just gonna riff on what turned me on about this year’s fest. By day – check it:

FRIDAY: Got to the fest just in time for Tortoise (pictured below, at right). They took the stage to a relatively mellow response and got the party started. Confident, focused and tasteful without any over-arching sense of urgency … kind of a nice way to ease into the whole thing. They played “DJed,” which has gotta be pretty rare as the tune is long with a capital “L” and it travels in a multitude of directions. There was a little girl on her dad’s shoulders, maybe 3 years old, who was TOTALLY mouthing along to John McEntire & Jon Herndon’s boom-bap … made me smile ear to ear. One of my fave bands of the last 15+ years, these hometown heroes set the bar pretty high, even if it wasn’t the most intense set I’ve ever seen them play.

Yo La Tengo was next. They came on, did their thing, nice and simple and melodic indie jamming. I guess they’ve been steadily perfecting that schtick since I first saw them in the early ’90s. They probably should’ve opened.

Most of the crew had congregated by this point, all of us pumped for The Jesus Lizard, which ended up being great. David Yow told more than a few horribly tasteless jokes, spit a shit-ton of loogies, offered a snappy retort when a stage dive kinda fell apart (”Thanks for your support”) and proved himself a remarkably impressive reservoir of energy for someone that was unquestionably one of the best front-persons on the planet 20+ years ago. But y’know — Yow’s more or less icing. Duane Denison had that silly-stupid Fripp-ian fret stretch technique, sparks and shards of perfectly dischordant guitar. David William Sims laid the bass lines down, complete with his signature lunging head-snap move. And drummer Mac McNeilly had that metronomic and taut attack that kept it all chugging along. Got right up front for the end of the set and their sound was dialed in. They wrapped it up and I was left with the distinct sense that this was, unfortunately, as intense as things were gonna get all weekend … and I was right. The crew decided to forgo Built To Spill in favor of the Bottom Lounge, and while I kinda would’ve liked to have stuck around to see BTS, I was uncharacteristically going with the flow. Much much more drinking and silliness ensued.

SATURDAY: The cab dropped us off at Cobra Lounge, a coupla blocks from the park. We took some shots, had a few beers and got our minds right for Yeasayer. This was my first time seeing them and as I mentioned in my preview post, they were the only band I felt I HAD to see. And they were good and I was real happy to enjoy their live set. I guess they’ve parted ways with their drummer, which kinda sucks, but they’d replaced him with both a kit drummer and a percussion dude who was playing a barrage of samples like a human drum machine. Yeasayer played at least three new songs, and there were more than a few jams from All Hour Cymbals. About two-thirds of the way into their set, as one of the new songs started, so did the rain and most of us got a little wet, though that tiny shower subsided just as the band’s dancey outro kicked in. It was a pretty darned rave-y moment … more than a bit ecstatic. Then, the sun came poking through the clouds as they made their way through “Sunrise,” almost as if they’d planned the weather. They closed with the aforementioned “Red Cave” and I was content. That being said, their singer needs a little work on his live vocals. All in all, I was extremely pleased with my maiden Yeasayer voyage and I still can’t wait to hear their next record.

Doom (formerly known as MF Doom, pictured masked at left) was solid and it was nice to have some hip-hop front and center. But I preferred the small club set I saw him perform years ago. Watched a few of his tunes but was careful to hurry back to smallest stage in time to catch Lindstrøm (pictured at the bottom of the post). This Swedish disco / house producer definitely brought it: relentless thumping four-on-the-floor and Moroder-esque chord progressions. Fantastic stuff. Could’ve zoned out to him a lot longer than he performed as I was feeling prettay loose by that point. But that was that … my group was moving on.

Headed to a barbeque at a friend’s house, where we drank more beer, ate brats and listened to a healthy dose of Husker DU, Naked Raygun, Descendents, Rites Of Spring, Replacements, etc. Goooood times. The beer ran out and someone came back from a beer run with a bottle of Cazadores. Next thing I remember, we were clown-car packed into Brian Costello’s whip with Fear’s “Lets Have A War” blasting from the speakers (”There’s too many of us, there’s too many of us, there’s too many of us…”). The tequila was passed around and, well… I don’t remember much past that point.

SUNDAY: While I really wanted to strike out on my own and see DJ/Rupture and The Walkmen (pictured lat left), among various others, the crew was all meeting at Cos’ for his birthday grill out. In the end I acquiesced. Brian went big with the grilled meat and veggies, and I plowed through as much of the yumminess as I could manage.

We grabbed another cab (only used my $14 three-day-pass ONCE, on the initial trip from ORD), so as not to miss Grizzly Bear … who RULED! They fought through sound issues and executed a superb selection of tracks both old and new. I’ve actually listened to a bootleg of their set four or five times since after returning home, which is absolutely unheard of for me. (I think the only other live recording I’ve listened to that many times is Santana’s Lotus. Seriously.) But yeah – they were so good, soooo good. Really makes me wanna travel somewhere to see them in a darker, smaller space where they’ll obviously get to play longer. They’re on top right now. If you’re into dynamic, original music and you haven’t checked them out yet — well, you might wanna rectify that ASAP.

Flaming Lips were next, but I figured I’d check out The Very Best first and re-join my friends a little later. I stumbled back to the “C” stage and was treated to what, for me, was the biggest surprise of the weekend. Club beats laced with African singing and dancing, really really positive vibes. Gonna have to listen to that Mixtape from last year a little closer now that I have a better idea of what they’re all about. I watched their whole set, then stumbled back to my friends, who’d all pretty well decided that the Lips had turned into a novelty act. So we left. And just as we were headed out the front gate, the Lips started to tear into some older jams and they sounded pretty damn tight and I was somewhat bummed to miss it. We grabbed cabs, met at another bar where I randomly bumped into one of my favorite singers ever (Gared O’Donnell [ex-Planes Mistaken For Stars]).

So yeah, there’s more but I’ll save that for the memoirs. I’m so glad I was able to go (thanks to Joran and Leilani for hooking up the passes for Kevin and I). Seriously — so happy I got to get away for a few days and enjoy some great live music and some freakishly awesome Chicago weather (I dont think it got hotter than 80 degrees the whole trip) … but even more importantly, some great friends. Here’s hoping you get to do the same sometime real real soon!

MORE PICS:

Lindstrøm

Ed Droste of Grizzly Bear.

Chris Taylor of Grizzly Bear.

Bassist Kathy Foster of The Thermals

Grizzly Bear

More Flaming Lips

And more …

And just a little more.

Some of you might be surprised that music isn’t my primary motivation for going to this weekend’s fifth annual Pitchfork Music Festival, but seriously, folks … that’s the god’s honest truth. I mean, I’m definitely hyped about going and checking out a handful of the bands playing there, but what has me most excited is a get-together with a group of old friends who’ll be congregating in Chi-town for the fest. A motley crew to say the absolute least. Let’s just hope none of us get arrested this weekend – unlike that other Chicago adventure that ended with my boy getting thrown in the pokey for public nudity! Three-plus days chock full o’ friends, libations, hot dogs (not really, well, kinda … I’ve never been to Hot Dougs!) and music … it just can’t come soon enough!

This year will be my fourth time attending (missed it last summer), and my first time (loosely) covering it for Creative Loafing. I’ll be Tweeting up a storm all weekend, plus I’ll be writing a wrap-up piece after I return. Also … one of my best friends and photographer, R. Kevin Rose, will be snapping pics throughout the event and will contribute some imagery (of bands, fans, friends, and whatever else we get into) for that aforementioned wrap-up post.

Beyond simply letting you gals and guys know that I’m on the case and to remind you to follow my blow-by-blow on Twitter (@aestheticized, with all my Tweets posted to the live feed on the CL Music Site homepage), I’ve also put together some blurbs about the bands I consider essential. So, without further ado, here they are: 2Crit’s Pitchfork (Fest) Picks:

1. Yeasayer – Pretty much the only band I haven’t seen live before and one that I HAVE to see this weekend. Their debut album, All Hour Cymbals, still kills nearly two years since its release. And here’s hoping they play the majority of that album and not some “Hey guys, check out our heady new tunes” set. Not that I don’t wanna hear their new stuff. It’s just, you know … I wanna hear my jams.

2. Grizzly Bear – I saw them at Pitchfork two years ago in the middle of the afternoon and they just blew my head off. I expected the subtlety and mystery like their sound on Yellow House … I got it and much, much more. Grizzly Bear was far more muscular than I would’ve imagined and I wasn’t even nearly prepared for the Big Rock they bring to their live sound. Anyway — I really need to cram Veckatimest this week, as I think I’ve only listened to it all the way thru three or four times now. I bet they’ll have bonus players to flesh out the new tunes. Can’t wait to see them at night!!!

3. Tortoise – My dudes. I’ve honestly seen these guys more than any other national act and for good reason … they are one of the smartest, most skilled groups of musicians you’ll ever find. They’re scary talented, basically. Kinda pissed they get the shit spot (5 p.m. on Friday — they’re playing first!), but excited to see what they play as it’s an all-request performance. I’m hoping for “Djed” and/or “Gamera/Cliff Dweller Society”… and maybe a few of the hotter tunes from their excellent new full-length, Beacons of Ancestorship.

…and that’s about it, as far as what I’m REALLY looking forward to.

To a lesser extent… I’m also pumped for whatever shenanigans David Yow might muster for The Jesus Lizard reunion, and Lindstrom’s cosmic disco vibes, and to see whether or not (MF) Doom actually shows up, and I’m obviously hoping Fucked Up tears everyone a new asshole, and I’ve actually never seen Built To Spill, and I haven’t seen The Walkmen in years, and The Flaming Lips never disappoint, and DJ/Rupture will probably confound … anyway, you get the picture. Stay tuned for the crazy, drunken tweets and my synopsis spiel next week.

A delightful and talented band of troubadours, Cory Branan, Jon Snodgrass (of Drag the River/Armchair Martian) and Joey Cape (of Lagwagon), stopped in at New World Brewery on a balmy Thursday evening last June 25. The concept behind this tour was to get these three alt-country musicians together on a stage and see what happens in a casual format, kinda like the Revival Tour.

Jon Snodgrass and Cory Branan (pictured above) kicked off the festivities by alternating songs and occasionally performing duets – check out “Born Apart.” The audience enthusiastically joined in on their performance, singing along to their favorite tunes like Sondgrass’ “Song for Gibson” and Branan’s “Prettiest Waitress In Memphis.” (MORE PICS AFTER THE JUMP.)

After a rash of string breaking, which allowed time for some of Branan’s jovial banter, the show sailed smoothly on, alternating between old favorites (though sadly missing Branan’s “Tall Green Grass“) and new offerings. The audience surely felt, “We’ll be off the radar, off the map.”

After starting off the evening with some beard trimming advice, Joey Cape capped the evening off singing his heart out to a dedicated group of fans.

Thanks to Jack at Aestheticized for bringing this tour to Tampa!

For more photos, please visit the following links:

Ian Svenonius (ex-Nation Of Ulysses, Make Up, Etc) is, was, and will always be one of my favorite “voices” of underground culture. His critique and commentary “RE: the transformative capacities of music / art / aesthetics” pretty much always inspires. Whether it be through song, prose and/or the series of interviews he’s done on teh Internets over the last couple of years, Soft Focus, Svenonius is always advancing a dialogue that’ll stimulate both thought and laughter … often simultaneously.

Anyway, I’m pretty jazzed about Season 3 of Soft Focus and the subjects — Mike Watt, Steve Albini, Jennifer Herrema, Ted Leo, Jello Biafra, Etc — he has lined up for it. Check out Part 1 (of 4) of his interview with Stephen Malkmus, after the jump …

visit vbs.tv for the other bits + much much more.

One of my favorite rock bands of the last coupla years, these Georgia sons are playing a coupla one-off headlining gigs after a run of dates opening for the almighty Dinosaur Jr. (and a co-headlining European tour w/ A Place To Bury Strangers directly before that) … and we were lucky enough to land one!

I didn’t get to see Dead Confederate’s set in support of Manchester Orchestra in late ‘08 at Orpheum … but I do know they absolutely laid waste to a New World Brewery crowd the day after their Langerado set earlier last year.

The band’s sound: an intoxicating blend of alt-country, grunge, psych, etc; think My Morning Jacket meets Nirvana meets Pink Floyd. Sure, you’ll dig their authentically Southern (ie: slide geetars, trucker hats, unpretentious stage presence, etc.) vibe … but that’s probably not what you’ll focus on. Instead, you’ll just get lost in the ROCK.

Breaking news, Smilemaker’s poster (V.3!!!), MP3s AND more after the jump…

The breaking news: Orlando’s The Future On Films In Space are now officially on board as direct support. That being said, The Beauvilles will play the second slot and Palantine will kick this bad-boy off. And if that weren’t enough for ya, DJs Archaea and 2Critical (that’s me, aka Soft Rock Renegades) will be playing rock ‘n’ roll throughout the evening, out back, in the Crowbar courtyard.

Dead Confederate – Goner

Dead Confederate – Heavy Petting

Also – I just found this — a live session on haveyouheard.net, including a cover of Sonic Youth’s “Theresa’s Sound World.” Wow! This just makes me like these dudes even more, as it’s a really great cover, but probably more importantly, a great cover choice!!! (Nothing bums me out more than bands choosing tired-ass / cliched-as-the-day-is-long shit to cover … y’know?)

Anyway, if you like rock music… you don’t wanna miss this show!!!

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BONUS!!! Not sure if you already know, but Palantine rules. Check ‘em out…

Palantine – Dead Wreck

Palantine – Evil Genius

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Seriously y’all, this is the weekend’s essential show. Please come out & support!

Take a second to RSVP / invite your friends on Facebook if you want.

What’s up Loafers!?! Real quick, before we get to the content … just wanted to say hi!!! Y’know, introduce myself, all that jazz, as I’m finally gonna start contributing here on Tampa Calling. I’m Jack. I promote shows and select tunes (w/ my boy DJ Archaea) and I’ve actually been heading up my own blog as well for a minute now. Anyway, here it is: my first post, copied directly from the aestheticized >>> blog and focused squarely on the out-of-towners playing this Saturday night at Creative Loafing’s Sensory Overload 4 point 0.

ELIOT LIPP = Over the last 5+ years, Mr. Lipp has consistently produced some of the world’s finest Electro / Glitch-Hop, for a handful of the hottest labels in the game (Eastern Developments, Hefty, Mush, etc.). His music is marked by an obsessive exploration of the place where analog synths and software-based composition meet, his sound almost immediately recognizable (a quality all-too-rare in Electronic Music) — rich and relentlessly melodic lines laced over funky breaks and broken beats. He just released Peace Love Weed 3D on his own Old Tacoma imprint; highly recommended for fans of PREFUSE 73, DABRYE, DJ SHADOW, Golden-Era Hip Hop, etc.

mp3s and more on Michna after the jump…

Eliot Lipp – Yeah
Eliot Lipp – Sandcastle

MICHNA (aka DJ EGGFOOYOUNG)  = He used to be a driving force behind SECRET FREQUENCY CREW, a Miami-based trio that released material on Schematic, Counterflow, Touchin’ Bass, etc. Their Forest Of The Echo Downs is a little-known, yet bonafide Post-Rock / IDM / Electronica classic. Michna’s debut full-length, Magic Monday (Ghostly International) is a straight up killer; an album-oriented journey that deftly combines elements of Electro, Booty, Sound Collage, Hip Hop and more – think KRAFTWERK catchiness + Miami Bass bump + TORTOISE’s exploratory musicality. In other words … next-level niceness! He also produced tracks for BONDE DO ROLE’s debut Domino release.

Michna – Raw Paw
Michna – Skunk Walk

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Seriously, y’all, if you’re into any of the aforementioned genres and/or artists, you simply cannot miss this show!!!

Creative Loafing presents:
Sensory Overload 4.0 ft.
ELIOT LIPP
MICHNA (w/ RAW PAW [Live Band!])
& THIS IS AN ADVENTURE
& [the] SOFT ROCK RENEGADES
Saturday March 28, 2009
9pm – $10 – 18&Up
@ The Honey Pot
1507 E 7th Ave – Ybor City

Rsvp via Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/SO4pt0
Follow Creative Loafing on twitter: @cl_tampa
Follow aes >>> on twitter: @aestheticized

(Oh yeah, there’s another Michna tune ["Triple Chrome Dipped"] posted up here and a mix that includes a couple more from Lipp, another from Michna and much more here.)

Creative Loafing’s annual arts, music, film, etc. event goes digital this year. It will be held on Saturday, March 28 at the Honey Pot in Ybor City and will feature interactive installations by Santiago Echeverry, Giancarlo Giusti and Deon Blackwell. Music (*subject to change) will be some heavies in electronic/IDM (*intelligent dance music): Eliot Lipp, Michna, Daedalus and more.

Ticket info coming soon – KEEP CHECKING BACK!

For a taste, check out this mix courtesy of Jack over at AES>>>

2critical – 020909: 1030AMish Miniature Mix
(click the plus sign to play)

“something from earlier today, inspired by & including artists soon to be confirmed for the Sensory Overload 4.0 jam. stay tuned for more info on that.”

tracklisting:
Secret Frequency Crew – Deep Blue
Eliot Lipp – Rap Tight
Eliot Lipp – Street
Michna – Swiss Glide
Daedelus – Touchtone (Jimmy Edgar Remix)
Daedelus – Touchtone (Original)
Dert ft. Jose Gonzalez & The Game – Dreams / Crosses
Goodie Mob – Fly Away
Dam Funk – Indigo
Afta-1 – The Time In Between

This just in from our man Jack Spatafora at Aestheticized Presents:

Fri December 12
Pielos
Super Secret Best Friends
The Unitards
& Inertia!
9pm | $6 | 21&Up
@ Crowbar