Monday, August 17, 2009

High Fidelity


TOP 3 ACTS!



Deuce first raised the question as soon as we arrived back at the spot on Sunday night.

My responses were as follows:

  1. The Decemberists
  2. TV On the Radio
  3. Langorne Slim

Langhorne Slim (#3) was deemed a surprise, and I had to agree. Slim's nomination may have been a product of circumstance; I was riding as high as possible during his set (figuratively and literally). Delta Spirit had just finished making me proud on the big stage, I was sun-soaked, and was soon getting dry beneath the shade of BMI. I immediately noticed how different Slim and his band sounded in the live setting. It was
dirty. The album is clean. For a young man he is incredibly poised on stage and the lyrics pouring from lungs suggest an old soul inhabits the corporeal unit which it occupies. This set left me jonesin' for more. That puts it in the top 3.

The Decemberists and TV On the Radio could probably (and will) be switched at this point. The reason the Decemberists (#2) were initially ranked #1 was due to the expectations. Unlike Slim, for which I had no measurable expectations, I had real, high expectations for Meloy and company. There's plenty of hate and prejudice against this collective who are often categorized as over serious and pretentious generally by people who take themselves, well, too seriously. Anyway, their new album is currently my favorite release of the year at this point. A Close Friend calls it creepy, but I call it creative, humorous, and beautiful, even if it leans toward the darker side of English lit. And it is also the reason for my high expectations. My only criticism, as mentioned in the Day 1 recap, was that the sound was on the reserved side. With the exception of Ms. Worden, of course. As cliche as it sounds, a children's choir of some kind for
"Hazards of Love 3" would have gone a long way. And while I enjoyed the faithful nature of the performance, something unexpected would have been a welcomed surprise.

And coming in at the number one spot is TV On the Radio (... #1).




They very well could be the most unique and compelling band out there today. I don't like to mention it, but I don't think that you can ignore the racial makeup of the band either. They're like The Roots only more interesting, and Living Colour only multi-dimensional (If I compared Guns n' Roses to The Ravonettes, would that be considered racialist as well? Then, shut the fuck up). Point is, there is something about this band's sound that is wholly their own. TV's influences are hidden, or at least obscured, which makes their music new and advanced, giving the listener a feeling of adventure, while at the same time remaining accessible and emotionally attached. Just take that, put it on a giant stage, scatter 40,000 or so people around that stage, add a brass section, don't forget about the gorgeous weather and towering skyline, and that's why this was the best show at Lollapalooza this year.

But I also liked these acts, too:


Mentioned Honorably


Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears - From the choreographed moves of the rhythm section to the... amusing subject matter of each song, Black Joe is a top-to-bottom performer. On Friday, anytime the cameras caught the skyline, the HD screens made it appear as though the sky were blue and the sun was shining. More than anything it was just wishful thinking combined with the psychsomatic poncho provided by the soul power flowing forth from the stage. Most unabashedly fun show of the festival.

Dan Deacon - Jesus, what can you say about this guy that has not already been said? How about borderline retard? And I mean that in a good way. Any
King Khan show is spectacle to behold (The Austin Mangina anyone?), but the Deacon is not just a performer, he's also an observer. He gets off on what the crowd is doing just as much as he gets off on what his band is doing. And on Sunday, he had plenty of both to get off on. Hands down the biggest spectacle of the weekend. If you missed it... You missed out.

Snoop - Surprise of the weekend. I should have known better, I just didn't. The mood was absolutely infectious on the lawn. Might have been the single happiest crowd I witnessed all weekend. I was completely consumed by this performance and it came at the perfect time. And my main man, Ubermench came over to visit at the beginning of the show which only made it that much better.




Delta Spirit - It has to be Vasquez' voice. It's so grating, yet so strong. And you know that he believes in everything pouring from his mouth. They've been pulling it off for about a year now, and with the new songs I keep hearing live, it sounds like they'll be doing it some more for the next few years as well.

Andrew Bird - Saw Birdman back in the Bean a few weeks ago, and to be honest, it was a better show. But, anytime a luminary such as this takes the stage and you have the opportunity to see him, then you simply have to. It's like anytime Shawshank is on the tube... It's too good to just change the channel without at least catching a few minutes. The crowd seems to be a little over-concerned with catching The Kings, and that's a shame. But, since I watched this show, I haven't been able to get Noble Beast out of my car stereo for longer than an hour or two.


Bands I Wish I Saw... But Didn't


Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Just caught Fuse's Lollapalooza '09 program the other night, and just didn't realize how awesome Karen O is on stage.

Miike Snow - Heard they brought the goods. They'll be visiting the Bean in a few short weeks anyway, so it's all good. Besides, they played the Shiti stage (V Dub, rather. I stand, corrected).

Heartless Bastards - LPz gave me the heads up to see them, but as recounted earlier, it just wasn't logistically possible due to my impending breakdown on Friday. They're on the list though.

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Reactions and individual top 3 lists in the comments section, if you would be so kind.

3 comments:

  1. fire your fact-checker. miike snow played on 50 cent's stage, brother.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Blaming Duecey for that one... He's gotta accept responsibility for something.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Egregiously omitted from the "Bands I Wish I Saw" segment: Portugal the Man.

    A thousand pardons...

    ReplyDelete