Wyoming Beat

Way Out West 2010: Swedish band wrap-up

2010-08-19T06:51:00.000-07:00

Way Out West in Gothenburg, predictably, showcased some pretty great Swedish bands.

Miike Snow exceeded my expectations, partly due to crowd enthusiasm... although some teens told me the night before they weren't planning to see Snow because "he's Swedish, we can see him all the time, we want to see the other bands!" My regret: not purchasing a Miike Snow t-shirt with the Swedish elk on it.

Shout Out Louds looked and sounded good and put on nice set. Lykke Li, sadly, was not in full voice, so I abandoned her set part way through. I do plan to try to see her again, as I think the lack of vocal power was anomalous.

By far the biggest draw of the entire festival, Gothenburg native Hakan Hellstrom rallied the crowd of 25,000+ into a crazed singalong. I swear that I was one of only ten people who did not know every word to his songs. How to describe this Swedish singer in a sailor suit? Maybe a cross between Michael Franti and Wayne Newton? Check the video below to get a better idea of his show.

As a bonus to my stay in Gothenburg, Jose Gonzalez played a free show early in the week at the local Culture Fest. He sounded the best I've heard him, backed by the Gothenburg String Theory.

Sleigh Bells live at Way Out West, Gothenberg Sweden

2010-08-17T10:42:00.000-07:00

I filmed this at the Sleigh Bells club show in Gothenberg on Friday, August 13, 2010 at the Way Out West Festival. An enthusiastic crowd, they were not super familiar with Sleigh Bells but definitely warmed up to them. "Thank you Sweden!"

Snowy Range Music Festival

2010-07-19T09:50:00.000-07:00

The schedule is out for the 2nd annual Snowy Range Music Festival right here in scenic Laramie, Wyoming on September 3, 4, and 5. The cherry on top? Mavis Staples!

The complete lineup:
Big Head Todd and the Monsters
Mavis Staples
Jon Cleary
Rick Estrin & the Nightcats
Blinddog Smokin'
Ana Popovic
Eden Brent
Billy Branch & the Sons of the Blues
Carl Weathersby
The Dirty Dozen Brass Band
Gino Matteo
Anders Osborne
Oli Brown
Jack Hadley
Carrie Rodriguez
The Colorado All-Stars Featuring Hazel Miller & Lionel Young

Titus Andronicus a mere 12 miles from Laramie

2010-04-09T07:44:00.000-07:00

When I saw this photo on the Titus Andronicus myspace, I had to share with my Wyoming readers. You'll recognize the location on the historic Lincoln highway, where the band members are posed in front of former UW art professor Robert Russin's iconic statue of Abraham Lincoln. The spot is quite near I-80's highest point, around 8,600 feet.

And note to the boys in the band: next time you're this close to Laramie, stop in and stay awhile!

Band of Horses at the Fox Theater, Boulder

2010-03-24T09:57:00.000-07:00

Band of Horses began their tour March 15th with a sold out show in Boulder at one of my favorite venues.

The band sounded amazingly tight on the new material, especially so early in the tour. There were a LOT of new songs, but Ben Bridwell chose to forestall any concerns about that by saying "yeah, I know we're playing a lot of new songs, but that doesn't mean we forgot the old stuff... we're just gonna play a shitload of songs tonight". No complaints were heard from the audience.

Highlights included the General Specific, First Song and Great Salt Lake. It was particularly startling and rewarding to see how absolutely comfortable Bridwell looks on stage, how in command of the material and the audience. When I saw them at the Fox in September, 2006 Bridwell seemed a bundle of nerves, worried about disappointing, visibly hoping to get The Funeral out of the way and move onto songs the audience knew less well. What a difference 4 years on the road makes. This band has never sounded better, now is the time to see them live if you get the chance.

Crappy setlist (half-assed and written on my arm) and photos below:

setlist
new song (x2)
Great Salt Lake
Weed Party
new song
Islands on the Coast
Marry Song
new song
No One's Gonna Love You
new song (x2)
Wicked Gil
Ode to the LRC
The Funeral
General Specific
[encore]
First Song
Detlef Schrempf
Yo La Tengo cover

update: just realized I forgot Is There a Ghost in My House, but where in the set? Damn memory.

We Were Promised Jetpacks @ the Hi-Dive

2010-03-23T13:50:00.000-07:00

It's not easy to pick a favorite Scottish indie band these days, but once again the boys in Jetpacks won my heart with their live show.

Playing loud as hell to a packed house at the Hi-Dive on March 6th, the Jetpacks amped up the intensity from their brief Monolith set this fall. The crowd knew all the words (another change from Monolith) and could not have been happier with the boys' performance.

the longest winter ever

2010-03-23T13:49:00.000-07:00

Greetings from the snowy wilds of Laramie! As is customary, this blog seems to go on a winter hiatus due to road closures and workload. [Seriously, the roads are closed as I write this... the above photo is straight from the Department of Transportation today.] I'm working out a couple concert reports to post this week that sneaked in during a confluence of good weather and spring break.

And! Tickets to the Sasquatch! Festival are purchased, marking the true beginning of spring and raising hopes for a fun summer of concert-going. Think spring...

Fall Wrap-Up: Pixies, the Fray

2009-12-17T13:43:00.000-08:00

Holy s&*t it's been a month since I've posted (damn snow, job, illnesses, ennui). In the interest of keeping the record complete, the following post will be a short re-hash of what happened but did not get posted here in November.

Firstly, and most importantly, I saw the Pixies play all of Doolittle at the Fillmore. While it may be true, as some young bloggers pointed out, that the Pixies are a bit long in the tooth, as are their fans, let us not understate the magnificence of Doolittle as an album top to bottom. How rare for every track to resonate, for even the short romps like Crackity Jones to stick in your brain for all time. I shan't list here the many "firsts" of my life that occurred while listening to Doolittle, but imagine for yourselves how much happened since I first heard it in 1990.

So hearing it now, live, along with choice tracks from Surfer Rosa and my beloved Come on Pilgrim in the encore, made me remember how great rock and roll can be. If I heard Doolittle for the first time today, I would fall in love with each and every minute all over again.

Secondly, the Fray came to Laramie. Which is kind of awesome as Laramie rarely hosts big name shows. Less awesome: me stranded at home under H1N1 quarantine. I think the folks who used my ticket and snapped these photos enjoyed the show more than I would have.

And so ends 2009. With any luck the roads will stay open for some great shows coming up this spring down Denver-way...

Monolith Festival needs your help

2009-11-19T11:59:00.000-08:00

Sad news from the folks at Monolith this week... unless they can scrape together a good chunk of cash over the next two weeks there will not be a Monolith Festival 2010.

Make your pledge now! I am willing to pledge money to maintain a local, small-scale, awesome lineup, indie rock fest at the crazy beautiful Red Rocks... are you?

Miley Cyrus ruins my indie cred

2009-10-07T19:42:00.001-07:00

You knew it would happen...

I went to see Miley Cyrus live. Jealous?

Let me be clear from the start: No Hannah Montana wig, no "Best of Both Worlds," just straight up Miley with 18,000 screaming fans in Phoenix, Arizona.

Miley's brother Trace opened with his band Metro Station. Their music was execrable. This blogger was especially horrified to hear, in an introduction to their song Japanese Girls, "this song was written in Toke-ee-yo Japan, it's about Japanese Girls. This song is pretty much what electronic music is all about right now!" Really? Please don't tell the children that electronic music sounds like s&*tty rock/pop/country.

But of course Metro Station served their purpose: allowing the children to grow accustomed to the concert setting while the moms purchased more wine. Bless them.

Miley Cyrus took the stage via a giant Spinal Tap-esque pod (hers opened properly). All you indie fans out there, consider what kind of stage show a Wal-Mart/ Disney sponsorship can provide. Pods! 10 dancers! Flames! Costume changes! Flying motorcycles! Take a moment to think what the Flaming Lips could do with this budget. I'll wait...

And now to Miley: girl can sing. No Ashley Simpson behavior here. She sang it for real, she sounded great, she jumped into the crowd, she connected. She communicated how much she really really wants you to work hard and believe in something and do things that are meaningful to you.

Fan favorites included Party in the USA, Girls Night, and the Hoedown. And of course, the sound of a billion 6 year olds singing along with encore The Climb will give you goosebumps (or make your hairs stand on end, same thing right?)

The Fray playing in Laramie

2009-10-07T19:17:00.000-07:00

If you're into it...

The Fray will perform in the University of Wyoming College of Arts and Sciences auditorium Saturday, Nov. 21, at 8 p.m.

Student tickets, limited to two tickets per valid student ID, go on sale Thursday, Oct. 8, for $25. Tickets go on sale to the public Monday, Oct. 12, for $35. Tickets can be purchased at the Wyoming Union information desk, the Fine Arts box office, by phone at (307) 766-6666 or online at www.uwyo.edu/finearts.

"We encourage students to purchase tickets before they go on sale to the public," says Michael Lange, coordinator of Student Activities Programs.

The Denver-based band achieved national prominence with hit-singles such as "Over My Head (Cable Car)," "How To Save A Life" and "You Found Me."

Monolith Day Two: fun fun with a little sun

2009-09-22T21:01:00.000-07:00

Sunday at Red Rocks started with friendly Scotsmen We Were Promised Jetpacks. Despite technical difficulties, the Jetpacks charmed the overflow crowd at the woxy.com stage with witty banter and blew us away with a fantastic set. Probably my favorite of the three talented FatCat bands at the festival.

Next up, the much hyped Neon Indian for their first live performance ever. I'm channeling Simon Cowell here (ugh) but keeping one's eyes open during at least part of the performance would aid in forging a connection with the audience. I'm just sayin'.

I jammed up the stairs to catch part of the Monotonix set during Neon Indian. The always energetic Israelis did not disappoint, playing wildly within the crowd, stealing hats and drinks and sharing glimpses of parts best left covered.

We caught part of the Dandy Warhols on the main stage and while I harbor fond memories of some of their tunes, the attitude of that band brings me down. Seeing them in person did not change my feelings.

Later in the day, back downstairs for the Twilight Sad, another Glasgow band. This involved skipping Health (I'm too old for that action) and Passion Pit (not willing to risk the disappointment after Sasquatch).

Last minute illness from MSTRKRFT put Phoenix on the main stage bill, snuggled nicely between the quite entertaining Redman and Methodman and headliners Mars Volta. The French pop masters took the bump up to the main stage with panache, fully owning Red Rocks and filling the place as full as I saw it all weekend. They sounded fantastic!

After all that fun, we left the photographer to the Mars Volta and headed for the beer and cheese sticks hiding in the parking lot cooler. Au revoir until next year, Monolith!

More Day Two photos follow:

Monolith Festial 2009: Girl Talk & Yeah Yeah Yeahs

2009-09-17T14:00:00.000-07:00

Despite constant drizzle and wet socks, Saturday night offered some of the best energy of the entire festival.

The main stage filled with rain-soaked dancers for Girl Talk's set. I may never understand how Gregg Gillis can make me dance to Fergie but I think I love him for it. Also! Is the official Girl Talk Tivo set to record the Disney Channel? How else would he be thinking about Pilot's 70s classic "Magic"? This man blends the musical superego and the id over and over again until you forget you don't really "appreciate" Journey and find yourself singing along at full volume.

After we all caught our breath and swept away the confetti, Karen O and company took the stage, starting their set with one of my favorites from the most recent LP, "Runaway". Mid-way through their 16 songs of awesomeness, the YYYs played "Date with the Night" and I need to be perfectly clear that not 24 hours prior I had demanded of the universe that I hear the lyrics "we're sweatin' in the winter" live. Thank you, universe.

Encore "Y Control" cemented their place in my heart as one of the best live bands working today. The visuals of Karen O in couture striking kabuki poses across the stage while Nick Zinner and his hair represent the stoic side of punk are a spectacle worthy of your ticket dollars.

And while we're talking about the silent Mr. Zinner allow me to postulate a long-simmering theory... a lot of people, a lot of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' most fervent fans especially, and I include myself here, embrace Karen O's lyrics, loudness, broad smile and sexual lyrics. Her guttural groans and moans remind me of Prince, a decidedly womanly barbaric yawp. And yet. Consider this: without Zinner's guitar there is no Yeah Yeah Yeahs. His shrieking strings cut past the vocals, the grunts, the synth to get down to the true bump and grind that makes rock and roll great. Almost a call and response of the loins, her lyrics, his guitar. That is all.

Please enjoy more photos below...

Monolith Day One: the small warm stages and the cold rainy ones

2009-09-16T17:01:00.000-07:00

Saturday started off chilly, with me hurrying to don leggings before the sweet strains of Stars of Track and Field. (p.s. is it just me or do these guys sound like they should be on the soundtrack for a CW show?)

Also playing in the cozy warm basement of Red Rocks: Antlers. They sounded ah-mazing. Too bad it was too packed to see them, but I've vowed to spend more time with their album after hearing the live show.

Then we were off to see Frightened Rabbit on the main stage. These Scots delivered the songs we wanted to hear, plaintively and somewhat plainly. I love this band, but they're a bit tentative for a venue like Red Rocks. More shows, more songs, and they'll be ready to bring the crowd to their feet.

Next up, Thao and the Get Down Stay Down. Again, I love this band and I love Thao's energy and her giant guitar and her cowboy boots, but the drizzle and the chill and the giant stage brought her down a bit. This set did not exude the same joie d'vivre as the one I saw from her at Sasquatch in 2008. The folks exuding during these main stage sets were the delightful troupe of Grand Teton National Park workers - shout out to that Wyoming drive!

At this point, my rain-soaked body required food, shelter, and a glass of wine, causing me to miss Pains of Being Pure at Heart, one of my most anticipated acts of the day. Sheesh, how can a librarian/ music fan not love a song like Young Adult Friction? Next time, PoBPaH, next time.

Replenished with string cheese and hooch, we made our way back out into the rain to see The Walkmen. Dang these guys always sound good. The Rat remains a modern classic. Their set, their black and gray outfits, the mist over Red Rocks, all delivered the indie rock goods. They left the Wyoming fans craving digital watches and sexy gloom.

As for the big guns on Saturday night, Girl Talk and Yeah Yeah Yeahs, more to come... and more photos from Day One below.

Chromeo DJ set @ Monolith pre-party

2009-09-13T10:03:00.000-07:00

We caught a portion of the long DJ set from Chromeo at the pre-party. Fun fun, dance dance, but what was up? Texting? Tweeting? A lot of handheld device usage onstage.

The Grates @ Monolith pre-party

2009-09-13T09:59:00.000-07:00

The Grates brought loads of Australian energy to the Gothic Friday night. Frontwoman Patience is a human tornado who charmed the entire crowd, comparing fans to adorable puppies and taking a ride on shoulders. Absolutely fun and a must-see Sunday at Monolith if you missed them at the pre-party.

Sugar and Gold @ Monolith pre-party

2009-09-13T09:55:00.000-07:00

You know I'm a sucker for all things Prince, and Sugar and Gold make a fine tribute to the purple one. Singing original material with a definite debt to Prince, they shimmied up the stage of the Gothic.

My Monolith schedule

2009-09-01T12:56:00.003-07:00

You can make your own schedule for the Monolith Festival at Gigbot. What am I missing on this list? Will I see you at any of these bands?

Monolith daily schedule now up!

2009-08-31T07:58:00.000-07:00

Check out the 2 day schedule for the Monolith Festival and tell me... any major conflicts breaking your heart? So far none of my favorites overlap that I can tell, but I need to give this schedule a full perusal.

Devotchka Halloween pre-sale

2009-08-06T12:17:00.000-07:00

Denver darlings and Halloween fans Devotchka are slated to play two nights at the Boulder Theater October 30th and 31st. See below for pre-sale links, password = pumpkin.

DeVotchKa will return to the Boulder Theater for the Halloween 2009 Extravaganza on October 30th and 31st. We want to welcome our fans to a very special Fans First presale.

Tickets will go on sale Friday, August 7th at 10am. Online presale only. Public on-sale begins on Saturday, August 8th at 10am. Click below to buy your tickets. The password is pumpkin.

Click HERE for October 30 (18 & over)
Click HERE for October 31 (21 & over)

Everything Absent or Distorted: Cheyenne Frontier Days

2009-07-28T18:17:00.000-07:00

It was not an official CFD stage but it was a Frontier Days-style party. Bonfire, fireworks, cowboys and EAoD.

The band sounded great in the warm air of the tennis courts. A short set, but a welcome venture to Cheyenne. Sadness here to learn that the band is breaking up. I was glad to see them while the getting was good and glad to leave the compound with no burns.

Tennis court stage:

The bonfire:

The compound:

Bon Iver, Fox Theater, Boulder on June 12th

2009-07-15T20:02:00.000-07:00

When you drive 2+ hours from Laramie to a show, it's easy to be a little worried about seeing a "mellow" artist before hitting the road back home after midnight. The right combination of quiet pretty songs and a swig of Jameson at the show can mean a long ride north.

On his second date in the Front Range this weekend, Bon Iver led off on Sunday with the beautiful Flume and while I loved it, I worried about the mellow factor. No need for alarm as Justin Vernon and his band turned up the volume and re-arranged all the favorites from For Emma, Forever Ago in a way that no one could call "mellow". Creature Fear knocked the sold-out crowd's socks right off and we knew no one was falling asleep.

Even with the sweltering guitars, the lyrics from his indie torch song masterpiece proved more affecting that I anticipated. There are very few shows indeed where I tear up and feel truly heartsick over the music, but Sunday was one of those nights. Bon Iver's songs forgo cliche in favor of an emotional landscape that is muddy and slippery and true in some elemental way.

I knew I loved Skinny Love before the 3 person percussion was added, but I liked it loud in the live setting. And Blood Bank never really worked for me until this show and the Neil Young/ Crazy Horse encore treatment it received.

But getting back to those lyrics, man, they come at you when sung live to a hushed crowd. Re: Stacks topped my wishlist of songs to hear Sunday, and it topped my all-time list of amazing-gorgeous-powerful songs to hear live. Friends in the Pacific Northwest used to tell me about girls crying through Eliot Smith sets and I felt like one of those girls Sunday night. When it came time to sing along with Wolves (Act I and II), my quiet "what might have been lost" joined with what seemed like the rest of Boulder.

It took Bon Iver a long time to make it to the Rockies, let's hope he comes back. Soon.

Full Monolith lineup

2009-07-15T19:59:00.000-07:00

Here it is, your lineup for Monolith Festival September 12-13th... who are you most excited to see at Red Rocks?

Saturday, September 12
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Girl Talk
Of Montreal
M. Ward
DOOM
The Walkmen
OK Go
Ida Maria
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
Frightened Rabbit
Thao with the Get Down Stay Down
Hollywood Holt + Million $ Mano
Starf*cker
Thunderheist
Woodhands
These United States
Cymbals Eat Guitars
The Antlers
Cotton Jones
Gregory Alan Isakov
Lydia
Generationals
Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros
The Answering Machine
Roadside Graves
Danielle Ate the Sandwich
Speakeasy Tiger
Autovaughn
Avi Buffalo
Wendy Darling
Boulder Acoustic Society
Caitlin Rose

Sunday, September 13
The Mars Volta
MSTRKRFT
Method Man & Redman
Phoenix
The Dandy Warhols
Chromeo
The Glitch Mob
Passion Pit
WALE
The Thermals
Harlem Shakes
Monotonix
The Grates
HEALTH
Deer Tick
The Twilight Sad
The Features
Spindrift
Savoy
Bad Veins
We Were Promised Jetpacks
Beats Antique
Tigercity
French Horn Rebellion
The Pirate Signal
Neon Indian
The Knew
A Shoreline Dream
The Royal Bangs
Red Wire Black Wire
Jim McTurnan & the Kids That Killed the Man
Rachel Goodrich

Plus! Cool Kids and a Chromeo DJ Set at the VIP parties.

Monolith headliners: Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Mars Volta

2009-07-15T13:44:00.000-07:00

We knew about Karen O and company gracing the Red Rocks stage on September 12th, and now it sounds like Mars Volta will close out the Sunday show at Monolith.

Their antics at Sasquatch 2008 kept me entertained (see Cedric in the air in above photo), although I hope not to take a cymbal + stand to the head.

The Mars Volta, live video from Sasquatch 2008 from Dave Allen on Vimeo.

Monolith headliners?

2009-07-14T14:21:00.000-07:00

I am beyond delighted to see Saturday headliners Yeah Yeah Yeahs at this year's Monolith Festival. Still waiting to hear about the Sunday headliners, but could it be these guys? A Denver show in the works per pitchfork... my fingers are crossed!