“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) Read the rest of this entry »
The mid-90’s Britpop feud between Oasisand Blur has become the stuff of legend.Noel Gallagher once famously hoped Blur frontman Damon Albarn would “catch AIDS and die” (he since recanted, blaming drugs for the outburst). Surprisingly, he’s 100% behind the current Blur reunion: “I’m right into the Blur reunion, ’cause it’ll finish off the Kaiser Chiefs and put them to bed. There’s nothing worse than a shit Blur. And at least the original shit Blur are back to finish off all these other shit Blurs. I’m bang into the Blur reunion.”
From an old reunion to a possible new one: Nine Inch Nails‘ Trent Reznorno longer thinks very highly about former friend and collaborator Marilyn Manson. Reznor calls Manson “a malicious guy and will step on anybody’s face to succeed and cross any line of decency … Seeing him now, drugs and alcohol now rule his life and he’s become a dopey clown. He used to be the smartest guy in the room. And as a fan of his talents, I hope he gets his shit together.”
Lots of news on the Flaming Lips, The Cult, STP, Moz, and more after the jump!
On Wednesday, March 18, 2009, The Dicks were inducted into the Austin Music Awards Hall of Fame. David Yow presented the award and then joined them onstage for “Wheelchair Epidemic.” Here’s the video:
“What a diff’rence a day makes” – María Méndez Grever
The music portion of SXSW has begun and Austin is infested with indie rockers, scenesters, hipsters and musicians from all over the world. The snarky t-shirts and iPhones of the interactive and film portion have been replaced with leather, tight pants and guitar cases. And they’re everywhere.
Try to imagine if every bar, club and art gallery in Tampa and St. Pete tented their parking lots and had full concert lineups on indoor and outdoor stages for 6 straight days. It’s a lot to take in. Not to mention, the stimulation of the local economy here – from stage and equipment rental to groceries and clothing – is staggering.
These Arms Are Snakes at Red Eye Fly. More photos after the jump.
There are many methods of navigating the music portion of “South by.” You can meticulously plot your path, you can wander from bar to bar (if you have a wristband or a badge) or you can do a combination of both. Modes of transport can include car (shout out to Monica Armendazzle), cab, bus, shuttle, bike (they ought to rent these), rickshaw, horse-and-buggy, and finally your own two feet.
Ivan is in town now, as well as some folks from Creative Loafing Atlanta, so we’ve been coordinating via text. This has worked to avoid overlap and to catch wind of “secret” parties such as last night’s Playboy Party held in a warehouse on E. 12th in which Jane’s Addiction played a surprise hour-long set. Word on the street is that Metallica will be doing a similar stunt tonight to promote their new Guitar Hero game. We’ll see.
I realized this morning that I only have three more nights in my own bed before I fly to Austin for the annual South by Southwest music conference.
I will be covering the event (the showcases, awards, conferences and parties) for CL and starting Friday night (if everything goes according to plan) you’ll be able to read my daily blog right here at Tampa Calling.
In true New Media Douchebag fashion, in addition to the blog, I’ll be Tweeting (@jorantampa, #sxsw) and shooting as much video as I can. So tweet up, bitches, cuz I’m going to be giving the play-by-play on everything from Quincy Jones‘ keynote speech to the PJ Harvey/John Parrish set at Stubb’s, not to mention David Yow’s set with The Dicks at the Austin Music Awards. You can be jealous now. Peep the whole schedule here.
I’ll also be attending daytime conferences with names like “Bloggers are Now in Control” and “Social Networks for the Anti-Social.” Riveting stuff, I know. What’s more, I also scored a badge for the Interactive portion of the conference where I’ll get to attend workshops with the CEOs of companies like Opera and FriendFeed.
But I’m sure all you care about is me getting wasted with the dude from The Proclaimers or seeing pictures of Juliette Lewis. All in good time, my friends.
But seriously, if there’s something you’d like me to catch – leave a comment. And keep checking the blog for the daily updates starting Friday.
PITCHFORK MUSIC FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES FRIDAY’S LINE-UP PLUS SELECT ACTS PERFORMING SATURDAY & SUNDAY
The 2009 Pitchfork Music Festival — to be held in Chicago’s Union Park Friday, July 17 – Sunday, July 19 — is announcing the first round of band’s to perform at this years festival, as well as a new series that will include Friday’s performances. On Friday, the festival welcomes Yo La Tengo, The Jesus Lizard (first show in Chicago in 11 years!), Tortoise and Built to Spill; Saturday will see performances by The National, Pharoahe Monch, and The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, while Sunday’s event includes Grizzly Bear, The Walkmen and Vivian Girls!
Yo La Tengo
This year, the Pitchfork Music Festival is mixing things up a bit and putting the set lists in the hands of the fans, under a new series titled “Write the Night: Set Lists By Request.” When someone buys a ticket they will receive a confirmation e-mail that will include a link to a web page where they can vote on which of each band’s songs they’d like to hear during their set — and truly be the ones to “Write the Night.” Voting will begin on March 13 (when tickets go on sale) and will end on June 12.
To recap the 2009 line-up so far:
Friday – “Write the Night: Set Lists by Request”
Built to Spill
The Jesus Lizard
Yo La Tengo
Tortoise
Saturday
The National
Pharoahe Monch
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
The mid-90’s Britpop feud between 
From an old reunion to a possible new one: 
