popwreckoning updates |  |
- Telepathe Cancel Johnny Brenda’s Performance; Lemonade and Jotto Still to Play
- Peaches @ Music Hall of Williamsburg, Brooklyn
- Movement 2009, part 1
- Michael Jackson: A Memorial
- Bonnaroo Update Day 4: Sunday, June 14
- Interview With: Jessica Lea Mayfield
- Phoenix @ The Record Bar, Kansas City
| Telepathe Cancel Johnny Brenda’s Performance; Lemonade and Jotto Still to Play Posted: 26 Jun 2009 03:33 PM PDT Due to a family emergency, Telepathe will be unable to perform at tonight’s show at Johnny Brenda’s in Philadelphia. Lemonade and Jotto are still scheduled to play. There is no information if any other appearances will have to be canceled. Our condolences go out to Telepathe. Telepathe: myspace | Johnny Brenda’s information Related Posts |
| Peaches @ Music Hall of Williamsburg, Brooklyn Posted: 26 Jun 2009 03:30 PM PDT Last week, Peaches shredded The Music Hall of Williamsburg with one of her signature, sexually provocative, gender-bending performances. Having done my homework by perusing more than a few YouTube videos of her performances over the years, I had a pretty good idea of what to expect: blood, sweat, and maybe an 8-foot, giant blow-up phallus swinging from her slinky hips? I knew that there would be a lot of electro-thrashing, hard-knocking, pelvis-pumping, glam-glory spit all over us. I had heard that you never leave a Peaches show dry.
I have to admit, after all the advance warning I had received, I found myself a little nervous to check this show out alone. I'm too old, too prim, not French enough? So, I dragged my brave friend with me as a buffer. Sure enough, Friday's show was everything they said it would be and at forty, Peaches was as dirty and as dangerous as ever. Peaches is in your face, quite literally, walking on heads, through the crowd with a penis glow-stick leading the way. Her songs urge open sexual expression and tolerance. Her music and performances question stereotypes and misogynist attitudes and language that our culture accepts as norm; see album Fatherfucker if you don't know what I mean. A true artist, she subverts convention in the name of progress. For Peaches, her hairy pits are so much more than that. This is not shock rock. It's thoughtful, progressive, well-intentioned performance art that begs for the absolution of restraint. It turns out that my fears were in vain. I felt completely comfortable at the show and was truly in awe. Male, female, gay, straight, trans, trance, Euro, hipster, hip-hop, hippy, however you brand yourself, it's literally checked at the door. Peaches is proud, in the moment, honest rock. In the cab ride home, I got a text from my veteran show-buddy friend, it read: "um that was seriously the best show I have ever been to." I couldn't agree more. Sorry Primal Scream, you've been bumped.      Related Posts |
| Posted: 26 Jun 2009 01:33 PM PDT More than 80,000 people. That’s how many showed up for Movement 2009 in Detroit, which must make the festival the biggest one of it’s kind in the United States, if not North America (how many people make it out to Mutek? Not sure). The pre-event buzz on my favorite dance site Resident Advisor was big; some PW readers might be shocked to hear that a festival set in the apparently dying Motorcity is well-regarded internationally and attracts attendees from around the globe (including a French bloke sitting behind me on the plane from DCA). GM and Chrysler may have gone bust but one Detroit industry is alive and well and people are snapping up it’s exports all over the world. Don’t know what I’m talking about? I’m talking about techno, whose origins can be traced back to Detroit in the 80s. Dancing to an electronic beat may have never really taken off properly in the USA, but the rest of the planet loves it, and Detroit is the respected birthplace of the… movement (sorry, had to). Formerly known as the Detroit Electronic Music Festival, Movement is in its ninth year now and, happily, it’s gone from strength to strength — this year’s attendance was up about 10,000 from last year. I hadn’t been down to Hart Plaza and the festival since the early 2000s (the last time I was there was as a petitioner, earning money for every signature I got and meeting electronic music fans from all over — I also got to see Innercity live!) but this year I was home for Memorial Day weekend and a trip downtown was inevitable. Last minute arrangements worked out so off I went, curious friends in tow, to bask in the Michigan sun and revel with a crowd of techno-heads, localites, and on-lookers.
DEMF was free for its first few years, which made it unique among the few festivals that are put on on this scale. It’s no longer free, but a weekend pass bought on the internet, good for three days, was only $50, a bargain considering the number of stages (four), the number of acts (80), and some of the big names in attendance (Carl Cox, Ellen Allien, Carl Craig, Benga, RJD2, Kevin Saunderon, Derrick May, Benny Benassi, Audion). By comparison, two-day tickets to New York’s Electric Zoo festival, held over the Labor day weekend, are $225! Multiple pre-parties, post-parties, and just parties, turn Detroit into a dance-music fan’s overwhelming buffet — so much to choose from in such a short time, including the Prodigy at the official pre-party on Friday night. This year’s festival came just before the Mutek festival in Montreal, and hardcore fans could finish up Movement, pop across the border to Windsor, Ontario, and get specially discounted trains to Montreal to keep the party going for a few more days. That wasn’t an option for me, not this year anyway, but it’s nice to see these festivals, and perhaps the Canadian train system, seemingly working together to make life a little easier for the people, and in an eco-friendly way to boot.
First act on my radar was Drumcell, playing some hard tech sounds on the main stage. Things were good but the stage and ampitheatre were just too big and empty at that point, so I moved on to the concrete pyramid opposite the Red Bull stage to take in the ambient washes of noise from the Sight Below, the only time I saw a guitar at the festival. His atmospheric sounds would make good comedown music but were a little low-key for my mates to start out with. We headed over to hear SF’er Nikola Baytala on the Beatport stage instead. A larger crowd had gathered there, possibly because it’s the greenest part of the plaza, with the stage facing the river and allowing the crowd to spread out onto the grass and under the trees to enjoy Baytala’s more soulful sounds. It was easy to feel some mellow vibes in this setting, and dancing in the open was a treat in this park-like place in the middle of the city. Baytala’s two hour set was followed by Heidi, who’s pretty much a local — she may have left for London, and she may live in Berlin now, but she could see her hometown of Windsor from the stage. That could be why she seemed to have as good a time as anyone in the crowd during her set — it’s always nice to see a DJ who dances. Heidi’s hands-in-the-air moments were replicated by the thick crowd that formed to check her out.
It was time to go underground for a bit and see what was happening in the gallery at the Made in Detroit stage. Things were decidedly murky down there, murky and smokey, which made for a perfect place for all the rave- and goth-teens to hang out and compare day-glo clothing/heavy black eye shadow and make new friends. Some of the kids wore gas-masks; I’m not sure if that was a condemnation of the smoke effects or if it had something to do with Amyl Nitrate. Or maybe they were afraid of catching swine flu? That’s probably what it was. Detroit native Shaun Reeves, another DJ who’s moved on to Berlin, was on stage playing some funky house to the masses dancing in the pit below. Lack of earplugs made that cavern a bit too deafening for me, plus there were so many overlapping acts that stopping for too long in any one place didn’t seem like a good option, so we moved on. Next stop was Lusine on the Red Bull stage. Many of the Red Bull acts, including Lusine, were playing live rather than DJing; he’s also one of the acts on local label Ghostly International, who are celebrating their 10 year anniversary this year and who brought seven acts to Movement. Lusine’s live work gave his sound an organic feel that made the grooves easy to get into and appreciate from the massive concrete pyramid in front of the stage. Kate Simko followed, another Ghostly act enjoying a day out in the sun while playing live versions of her deep and melodic house and techno sounds. She looked a little dwarfed by the stage but she seemed to be enjoying herself.
Things got a bit more international later on. Damian Lazarus, the main man at Crosstown Rebels, was DJing at the Beatport stage so we moseyed on over to gawp at him from the back of a large crowd. Movement has enough clout to attract some big names, which makes it all the more fun for attendees who are coming from further afield. In Detroit this is apparently a source of tension, with some local artists advocating for more local acts at a local event. I hope they can strike a nice balance between time for the Detroit locals and time for DJs and acts from elsewhere — events like this are so rare in the States anyway that it would be a shame for them to get too parochial. Maybe the natives don’t realize how much out-of-towners like me need a big event like Movement to get our dance music fix? Local acts are great, but the presence of acts like Lazarus surely has something to do with the big number of attendees the festival is able to attract. Anyway, that’s my addition to that debate.
Lazarus himself played some dirty sleazy sounds that went well with his slightly seedy Blue-Oyster-bar-in-Police-Academy look. I was actually expecting his selection to be a bit more leftfield instead of straight electronic, as that’s what I’ve heard on his podcasts, but for this set he kept the BPM’s high and things stayed nice and dancey. Last act for me that night had to be Steve Bug, as I had a wedding to get to in the ‘burbs. Bug, one of the rare German Germans, is known for his minimal techno sound and he didn’t disappoint on that front, yet still managed to keep things nice and bouncy at the main stage, which had filled up by the evening. He was to be followed up by the dubby sounds of New York’s Francois K and then England’s superstar DJ Carl Cox. It was shame to miss ‘em both, especially Francois K as I’ve wanted to catch him for a while. Biryani and wedding cake beckoned though, so we made our way up the Lodge freeway and out to the West-side. Stay tuned for Movement 200, part 2! Related Posts |
| Posted: 26 Jun 2009 11:45 AM PDT There is no name more recognized the world over than Michael Jackson. Just over two months before his 51st birthday, the King of Pop was rushed to the hospital for cardiac arrest and pronounced dead yesterday, June 25, 2009. His career began four decades ago with The Jackson 5 and blossomed into a rich and successful solo careers spanning decades. Five of his solo studio albums are among the world’s best-selling records: Off the Wall (1979), Thriller (1982) with over 100 million copies sold, Bad (1987), Dangerous (1991) and HIStory (1995). It should come as no surprise that many are calling Michael Jackson the Elvis Presley of our generation. Personal trials and tribulations aside, Michael Jackson was a great entertainer and earned the title King of Pop. He will undoubtedly live on in our hearts and minds. Read what some have to say about the late, great Michael Jackson: “We will always love you, Michael, always.” – Jermaine Jackson “Just as there will never be another Fred Astaire or Chuck Berry or Elvis Presley, there will never be anyone comparable to Michael Jackson. His talent, his wonderment and his mystery make him legend.” — Steven Spielberg “He was deep.” – reader Gladys “R.I.P. to Michael Jackson my music god. R.I.P. MJ: he lives forever in my heart. I will never forget the day he came to see me in the studio and I played him music.” – Wyclef “It’s taken me a moment to grasp this … I understand life and death are part of the same magnificent cycle. But I literally stopped and broke down When I received ‘that’ text . Mike’s music lives in my DNA. It’s bigger than tabloids. That music shaped me. The frequency is real. My heart and artistry are truly influenced and forever impacted. Thank you Micheal for your hard work , dedication, philanthropy, and the sacrifice of your young spirit. Your vision and imagination live through us.” – Erykah Badu The Lost Fingers – “Billie Jean” “This has blindsided me. I feel strange. And sad. Reminders of how short life is. I’m going to profess my love to someone. you should too.” – Ingrid Michaelson “I can’t stop crying over the sad news. I have always admired Michael Jackson. The world has lost one of the greats, but his music will live on forever! My heart goes out to his three children and other members of his family. God bless.” — Madonna “I was so excited to see his show in London. We were going to be on tour in Europe at the same time and I was going to fly in to see him. He has been an inspiration throughout my entire life and I’m devastated he’s gone!” — Britney Spears
“I would rather watch “Thriller” over and over than any other music video ever made.” – Shawn Fogel, Golden Bloom “Heal the world make it a better place for you and for me and the entire human race.” – Ashlee Simpson Wentz “Stop the gossip, stop the speculation. Take a moment for Micheal and remember his gift to us all. He was truly great. May he Rest in Peace.” – Joel Madden, Good Charlotte “Not many people have long successful careers in the music industry, yet alone over a 30 year career. Michael Jackson did and earned his title ‘King of Pop”. I’ll never forget the first time I saw “Thriller”. His voice, songs, dance moves and ground breaking music videos will live on forever leaving a legacy where we answer ‘yes’ to ‘do you remember the time?’” – Stacy Clark “America lost a little bit of its history today. So sad when a true genius dies! R.I.P. to the gloved one.” – Mona Shiekh, Popwreckoning
“Michael was undoubtedly a great entertainer and his popularity spanned generations and the globe. Maria and I join all Californians in expressing our shock and sadness over his death and our hearts go out the Jackson family, Michael's children and to his fans worldwide.” – Arnold Schwarzenegger “No one better than brotha Mike.” – Q-Tip “Michael Jackson showed me that you can actually see the beat. He made the music come to life! He made me believe in magic. I will miss him!” – Sean P. Diddy Combs “I know we make light of me never getting sleep and overworking. But I’ll say that he didn’t go in vein. I will do my best to slow down as to not overwork myself to the point in which I can’t even enjoy life anymore. I’m devastated over this but we all have memories. I just hope that he will get due justice in all the press memorials and whatnot. I know he was mired in controversy the last decade of his life but i think its time we let him rest in peace and learn to separate the ART and the ARTIST. –that is the MJ I will forever remember.” – ?uestlove
“Off the wall was my second record I ever bought.” – Margaret Cho “His music is just as relevant now as it was the day they pressed record, I’m sure it will remain so for generations to come. R.I.P. Mr. Jackson” – Samantha Ronson “There was no one like him.” – Greg Laswell “We should never stop talking about Michael Jackson. I hope Michael will get the respect he deserved.” – Rev. Al Sharpton “Raising a glass for Michael! Wow – I was obsessed with Thriller when it came out.” – Ariel Hyatt, CyberPR “Michael Jackson was my inspiration. love and blessings.” -
“Being asked to give a quote about all of this. so in shock I can’t find any words…” – Kid Sister “Michael Jackson died? Seriously, as Wolf Blitzer said it, my stomach got knots.” – James Shotwell, Under the Gun blog “I keep getting chills. This is crazy. Too much.” – Estelle “Today is a very, very sad day for music. Whether you are familiar with his work or not, the impact Michael Jackson had on pop culture made him one of the most iconic artists of all time. As a fellow artist, you can see what his music did—it transcended generations; It created a movement. It's something people only dream of doing. He was a musical genius, and by far, one of the greatest performers of all time. There will never be anyone like him—ever. Thank you for inspiring us the way you did. R.I.P.” – Tamar Kaprelian “Thank you Michael Jackson for being my FIRST of many! My mother took me to my FIRST concert, I was only two years old. I fell in love. My fifth birthday party was M.J. themed, I insisted. My mother found a lookalike to come sing happy birthday and I KNEW he wasn’t MY Michael.” – Solange Knowles
“A strange story comes to an end. i do hope that history will remember jackson the artist/genius/pioneer.” – David Ford “Rip MJ! Dream as if u’ll live 4ever, Live as if u’ll die 2day. U only live once, but if u do it right dats all u need! U did it Big MJ!!” – Reverend Run “Both parents on the phone asking me if I remember MJ inviting me to take a pix w/ him when I was a kid. I do. It was creepy. I refused.” – Annie Heckenberger “Noooooooo! Michael Jackson was my childhood! I loved him. So so so so sad. So nearly saw him live. Just a couple of weeks. Crying.” – Imogen Heap “Oh god…Michael Jackson just died. one of my childhood heros. moment of silence, sorrow and reflection on a massive talent & tragic life. let’s share a shrine/moment of silence @ 7:45 pm outside @thetroubadour tonight. if you’re coming, bring candles and flowers for the king.” – Amanda Palmer, Dresden Dolls
“We just cued up “Wanna Be Starting Something” in the office. What a great song. R.I.P.” – Diablo Cody “R.I.P. Michael Jackson. Greatest performer ever.” – Talib Kweli “Sad, sad day for the music world & for family/fans of Michael Jackson. he was my 1st favorite artist & 1 of the very best ever. RIP Michael.” – Earfarm blog “Thriller” was the first tape I ever bought in a record store after I saw him go supernova on the Motown 25th anniversary special.” – Cary Brothers “R.I.P. Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett. what a tremendous loss in one day…. thoughts and prayers with their families and loved ones…” – Mandy Moore “R.I.P. MICHAEL JACKSON: We're in a state of utter shock. You'll be sorely missed.” – The Music Slut blog
;_; – Diplo “I am absolutely devastated at this tragic and unexpected news. For Michael to be taken away from us so suddenly at such a young age, I just don’t have the words. Divinity brought our souls together on The Wiz and allowed us to do what we were able to throughout the ’80s. To this day, the music we created together on Off The Wall, Thriller and Bad is played in every corner of the world and the reason for that is because he had it all…talent, grace, professionalism and dedication. He was the consummate entertainer and his contributions and legacy will be felt upon the world forever. I’ve lost my little brother today, and part of my soul has gone with him.” — Quincy Jones “RIP Michael Jackson . My love and prayers go out to the Jackson family…’you are not alone’.” – Lindsay Lohan “I guess it’s legit now. RIP Michael Jackson. Shit.” – Archie Powell “I haven’t hope in so long that news isn’t true.” – Pete Wentz, Fall Out Boy “Reeling over the deaths of Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett at the same time.” – BUST magazine “I’m looking at pictures of my 14th bday party at Neverland Ranch, these memories will last forever!” – Kim Kardashian Lightspeed Champion – “Thriller” “We have lost a genius and a true ambassador of not only Pop music but of all music. He has been an inspiration to multiple generations, and I will always cherish the moments I shared with him on stage and all of the things I learned about music from him and the time we spent together. My heart goes out to his family and loved ones.” — Justin Timberlake “In shock.” – Matt, The Music Slut blog “Sad. Michael Jackson. Dead. Bum out.” – Eisley “When we worked together on ‘Bad,’ I was in awe of his absolute mastery of movement on the one hand, and of the music on the other. Every step he took was absolutely precise and fluid at the same time. It was like watching quicksilver in motion.” — Martin Scorcese “Listening to ‘Human Nature’ by Michael Jackson and I am crying.” – Trent Vanegas, Pink is the New Blog “Feels hypocritical not caring about Ed McMahon or Farah Fawcett, and then being upset about Michael Jackson’s death. I didn’t know any of them.” – Paco Fish The Gay Blades “Dazed in the studio. A major strand of our cultural DNA has left us. RIP MJ.” — John Mayer Robert Randolph – “Billie Jean” “‘Let the madness in the music get to you, life ain’t so bad at all, if you live it off the wall’ – Thanks for the music, the moonwalk and my childhood.” – Ali Hussain, Popwreckoning “Michael was a great and wonderful artist and performer. We were privileged and honored to record him and his brothers here at Philadelphia International Records.” – Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff “I remember my brother and cousin in 1987 bringing the boom box out into the living room at my grandma’s house and performing a dance to “Billy Jean” they had made up. They had to be about 7 years old and doing the classic spin move and grabbing their crotches! My mom, aunt, ME and granny WENT CRAZY! Michael Jackson made the crotch grabbing move not raunchy BUT hot!” – Kaytea McIntosh, XO Publicity
Richard Cheese – “The Girl Is Mine” “Sony Music Entertainment expresses deep sadness and sorrow at the unexpected passing of Michael Jackson and extends wishes of sympathy and condolences to all of Michael’s family, friends and fans around the world.” – Sony We at Popwreckoning would like to extend our deepest condolences to Michael Jackson’s survivors. His musical legacy shall live on. Please feel free to share your thoughts with us. Related Posts |
| Bonnaroo Update Day 4: Sunday, June 14 Posted: 26 Jun 2009 11:15 AM PDT I love Bonnaroo, but it is lucky that it is only four days. I don’t think my body could have moved if it had been a fifth day. Part of the reason for my extra soreness might have been due to sleeping in the car instead of the tent. My camp partner kept moving the tent despite it being five in the morning and in frustration, I just crashed in the car. Seat belts in the back are not much more comfortable than sleeping in the ground. Feeling extra gross, I actually paid the five dollars for a cold shower before I was ready to take on Sunday. Joshua caught the first act of the day, Cage the Elephant, which he describes as “This generation’s Nirvana.”
Following Cage the Elephant in energy and in craziness was Dillinger Escape Plan. The screaming is not really my cup of tea, but as they climbed over amps, the guys continued to keep their musicianship tight.
We calmed down a bit with the songwriter stylings of Jessica Lea Mayfield. Though really a solo project, her drummer came very close to outshining her.
Another lady rocked our hearts after Mayfield. The buzzed about YouTube queen, Julia Nunes delivered hits and covers on her sharpie-decorated guitar and ukulele. Nunes and her friends whipped out sunglasses to look like true “douches” when covering a “douche” song before playing a cover of 3OH!3’s “Don’t Trust Me”. After witnessing her humor in person, it is easy to see why she became such a YouTube sensation.
Josh and I again parted ways after Nunes. He had yet to witness the masterful sounds of Andrew Bird’s whistling and violin playing, so he went to the Which Stage.
Meanwhile, I ventured over to the Other Tent for my first time in the entire festival. The atmosphere there was warm and I don’t mean the muggy Tennessee weather. The people and workers there felt more like a family than the other tent. It probably had a lot to do with the line up there, too. As the bare footed, Brett Dennen, jammed and danced away on stage, it was hard to not feel like you were at a party with your closest friends. Brett Dennen’s Set List:
After Dennen, Okkervil River was next up. Will Sheff really is an amazing songwriter, but I had never really given him credit for his stage presence until this performance. As he passionately gripped the microphone, he danced around the stage.
Josh and I briefly crossed paths as he worked his way over to catch Arizona rockers Dear and the Headlights at the Troo Music Lounge. They’ve been busy on the festival circuit and have their performance down to a science.
I worked my way over to What Stage to catch none other than Snoop Dogg. He was sporting some bling, but his set lacked the usual paraphernalia I had seen with it. Erykah Badu joined him for some numbers, but while everyone else buzzed about that, I could not help getting excited over Snoop’s drummer. With a flick of the wrist the guy was artfully drumming and tossing sticks everywhere. I guess I didn’t give rap and hip hop drummers enough credit, but this guy was better than all the rock drummers I had seen the entire festival.
Band of Horses‘ gentle tunes were warming up the Which Stage as I walked over to see Neko Case. She showed she had a sense of humor by doing a duet with Triumph the Insult Dog.
Josh watched one of the best sets of the festival by Coheed and Cambria. Big hair and tongues wagging, these guys embodied what it meant to be a rock star. I had never seen them with a girl before, but as she picked up some of the higher notes, I soon learned her purpose. Claudio Sanchez has enough on his plate without having to keep up the breath support to do his signature falsetto the entire time. For example, he was busy teaching the audience that it was in fact possible to play an instrument using your hair.
Ending the festival, just as they began it by headlining, was Phish. Phish fans celebrated before their set with a tortilla fight. Then as Phish jammed, one final festival surprise awaited. Bruce Springsteen had stuck around to do a final guest appearance. Since he’s The Boss, Phish played a few Springsteen songs with him before bidding him goodnight and jamming some more. Fireworks heralded the end of the festival and people flocked back to their tents and back to their homes.
Bonnaroo 2009 was a huge success filled with classic and new talent thanks to Big Hassle. While I think I might settle on hotel instead of a camp, I’m excited already thinking about the next year. Here’s to Bonnaroo 2010! Bonnaroo: website | Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Of Montreal @ This Tent | Spotted: Drew Barrymore | Quick News 1 | Quick News 2 Photos by: Bethany Smith and Joshua Hammond Related Posts |
| Interview With: Jessica Lea Mayfield Posted: 26 Jun 2009 09:15 AM PDT She is young with heartfelt, dark music that caught the attention of The Black Keys. She is also a great interview read. Check out Bethany’s talk with Jessica Lea Mayfield: Bethany, PopWreckoning: Let's start at the beginning. You got your start in music touring with your family. Did you always know that music was something that you wanted to do or was that something expected in your family? PW: So how did you transition from the family group into more of a solo career? PW: Is your brother your only sibling? PW: Oh, no. sorry. So how did you get hooked up with Dan [Auerbach] of the Black Keys? PW: How did you also get hooked up with Scott Avett of the Avett Brothers? PW: Oh .wow. So with the album artwork, did he just offer to do that or did you ask? PW: Kind of going off of that image with the crying and bleeding cover, you do get praised a lot for how dark your material is, but speaking with you, you are very upbeat. How do you balance the light and the dark? PW: You were also praised for your Buddy Holly cover as one of the saddest, most beautiful covers by a lot of publications. How did you pick that song? Are there other covers in your future? PW: That would be cool. Good fit. Recently you just played the Bonnaroo Music Festival with a lot of living legends and other up and coming acts. What was that like? Did you camp? How does it compare to club shows? PW: Fair enough. For a final question, what is next on your agenda? Jessica Lea Mayfield: website | myspace  Related Posts |
| Phoenix @ The Record Bar, Kansas City Posted: 26 Jun 2009 07:15 AM PDT If the Record Bar wasn’t already thought of as Kansas City’s go-to-hipster joint, hosting a MySpace Secret Show with French rockers Phoenix has solidified its hipster status. Secret shows are a pretty awesome idea: cool band + free show + tiny venue. Sounds good, right? Well, once the secret is out there is a bit of a downside as the panic sets in. What if I don’t get in? What time should I get in line? With the Midwest’s severe heat wave, it was hard to tell if the excessive sweating was from nerves or the humidity. Early afternoon showed just a small crew of about 5 waiting outside the venue. About 4 pm, the size quickly advanced to 30, 40, 50 and soon it was dangerously close to the cut-off of about 200 by the anticipated doors time. Wristbands securely fastened, the Record Bar let the eager crowd in at about 7:30 pm. Relieved by both making it in the venue and by the air conditioning, it was finally time to see some bands after an entire day of waiting. Brooklyn’s Amazing Baby opened the show to a mixed reaction. Some in the crowd seemed to be digging their messy rock sounds and pretentious attitudes as a tiny pocket danced. Others were too focused on their excitement for Phoenix to even notice a band was on stage. Then the remaining third of the crowd, plain didn’t like the band. Personally, I found them to be OK, but the singer’s attitude was a big turn off for me and they failed to catch my attention with any lasting hooks. At last it was time for the French band that had drawn people from neighboring states to drive and wait in line for hours. Nobody seemed to mind the occasional non-sensical lyric from the band, brushing it off as French charm, so once the five members started the bubbly riff hailing the opening for “Lisztomania,” it was non-stop dancing and love. Singer Thomas Mars, unencumbered by an instrument like his bandmates, had no problem keeping up with the crowd in his own foot-sliding moves. Getting a boost over the heads of the crowd by stepping on the monitors, Mars frequently leaned out into the audience. At one point, he even went in the audience. Mars also knew when to step back and let the band get the attention as he laid down on stage for a big instrumental number.  Photos by Nick Davis The show basically ran through a mix of songs of Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, but there was one surprise (quite literally. It wasn’t even on the set list!). Citing their beginnings with hometown friends in the band Air, Phoenix played a song they co-wrote with the group called “Playground Love” from the Virgin Suicides soundtrack. It was a change from the other upbeat songs the set had been filled with and took a moodier turn. I should also note that they also have ties to another popular French group, Daft Punk, and I would argue they have a built-in homage to them in their instrumental layers. I thought the crowd couldn’t get happier, but when Phoenix ended with current radio single “1901,” they proved me wrong and a new wave of energy erupted in the crowd. The set and performance was very similar to show I witnessed about a week ago at Bonnaroo, but the intimacy and the excitement of this crowd made it a thousand times better.              Set List:  Photos by: Nick Davis Related Posts |
| You are subscribed to email updates from popwreckoning To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
Inbox too full?  | |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
