This post is from Out the Other's
2010
Bonnaroo Artist Previews,
where I will be posting previews
of all the musical acts playing the 2010
Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival. Please check out and subscribe
to the full site to learn more about all of this year's performers.
I am quite, quite excited about seeing The Dodos at Bonnaroo this week - yes, I've seen the band before, but that was at SXSW in 2008, before I had time to properly fall in love with their Frenchkiss debut Visiter. That album was a dark horse that year - pleasant on first listen, still pleasant on second, but with more and more appearances on shuffle and repeats at work and I found the record systematically engraved itself on my ears and brain and heart. There's a kind of consistent goodness there in their gentle but percussive indie folk, the acoustic guitar is soothing and the drums are hypnotizing, and above it all floats melodies that get stuck in your head without your even noticing. Still, two years later, it's a go-to album when I need something low-key but melodic to listen to, and I know I'm going to continue keep Visiter in rotation for years to come.
Continue reading "Bonnaroo Preview: The Dodos" »
This post is from Out the Other's
2010
Bonnaroo Artist Previews,
where I will be posting previews
of all the musical acts playing the 2010
Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival. Please check out and subscribe
to the full site to learn more about all of this year's performers.
Nashville has a strange relationship with hometown boys Kings of Leon - there's a lot of antipathy around town for the band, pretty much ever since they started gaining popularity. The skinny jeans, the lack of local love, their seeming ability to skip straight to stardom without paying their dues in our neighborhood dives - or maybe it's just that the Nashville rock scene hates a popular band. Whatever it is, it's gotten even weirder since the Followill boys reached blockbuster, superstar status. On one hand, it's bringing our town a shitload of attention. On the other hand, it's all "woah, who knew there were rockers in Nashville?" kind of attention, from the likes of the British and big city press who think Nashville still equals Music Row. But love 'em or hate 'em, Kings of Leon are still Nashville, and they're doing some good things with their fame, like taking Nashville's The Features (one of the best bands in town) under their wing, bringing them on tour and releasing their album. And you've gotta respect that.
Continue reading "Bonnaroo Preview: Kings of Leon" »
This post is from Out the Other's
2010
Bonnaroo Artist Previews,
where I will be posting previews
of all the musical acts playing the 2010
Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival. Please check out and subscribe
to the full site to learn more about all of this year's performers.
It seems appropriate that I preview Miike Snow next because I just saw the band on MTV - apparently they're playing the MTV Movie Awards after party right now. Which means I really hope that Sandra Bullock and Marky Mark and Betty White are dancing their asses off to "Animal," the way I will be this Thursday night.
Continue reading "Bonnaroo Preview: Miike Snow" »
This post is from Out the Other's
2010
Bonnaroo Artist Previews,
where I will be posting previews
of all the musical acts playing the 2010
Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival. Please check out and subscribe
to the full site to learn more about all of this year's performers.
I'm trying to restrict myself to only listening to Bonnaroo acts these days, just to keep me on track with this previewing business, which means when I'm out of the range of my laptop, I keep turning on the new Dr. Dog album. I can't help it - Shame, Shame is proving to be one of the most repeat listen-friendly records of 2010, and it's even joining the ranks of 2007's We All Belong in my mind. Which is, you know, saying a lot, cause that album was my introduction to the band and I'm freaking in love with it.
Continue reading "Bonnaroo Preview: Dr. Dog" »
This post is from Out the Other's
2010
Bonnaroo Artist Previews,
where I will be posting previews
of all the musical acts playing the 2010
Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival. Please check out and subscribe
to the full site to learn more about all of this year's performers.
The closest I've ever come to seeing The Gossip was my first year at SXSW, when I saw Beth Ditto at my favorite Austin BBQ joint (for all I know, the rest of the band was there too - but Ditto is the kind of front woman who keeps you from paying attention to anyone who performs with her). But we were enjoying dinner, not on opposite sides of a rock club. Somehow I've just never dove deeply enough into their music to check the Gossip out live, though sitting here listening to last year's Music For Men, I'm thinking their brand of angular, dance-y indie rock will be super fun to see at this year's Bonnaroo.
Continue reading "Bonnaroo Preview: The Gossip" »
This post is from Out the Other's
2010
Bonnaroo Artist Previews,
where I will be posting previews
of all the musical acts playing the 2010
Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival. Please check out and subscribe
to the full site to learn more about all of this year's performers.
Get yourself immersed in Bonnaroo previewing, and you'll find yourself delighted by the discovery of a fresh face, a fresh voice, a song or two that pauses you for even the briefest moment in your tracks. Lissie's 2009 debut EP, Why You Runnin', just did exactly that - grabbed my attention and made me want to hear more than just a five-song teaser.
Continue reading "Bonnaroo Preview: Lissie" »
This post is from Out the Other's
2010
Bonnaroo Artist Previews,
where I will be posting previews
of all the musical acts playing the 2010
Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival. Please check out and subscribe
to the full site to learn more about all of this year's performers.
It's hard to imagine liking anything that branched off of Panic! At the Disco, but I have to say I'm delighted that two former members of that emo-pop Vegas sideshow have quit the band and created their own project, The Young Veins. I'm even more delighted to report that they sound nothing like Panic!, and the two tracks floating around the internet from their debut album, due on June 8, promise a record full of retro rock more akin to the Beatles, Kinks and Monkees.
Continue reading "Bonnaroo Preview: The Young Veins" »
This post is from Out the Other's
2010
Bonnaroo Artist Previews,
where I will be posting previews
of all the musical acts playing the 2010
Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival. Please check out and subscribe
to the full site to learn more about all of this year's performers.
Sometimes when checking out a new band it only takes a record label to pique my curiosity - for example in the case of Bonnaroo performers The Moondoggies, who call Hardly Art home. I'm no stranger to Hardly Art - they've brought us delightful releases by Le Loup, Arthur & Yu and The Dutchess and the Duke, to name a few - so I definitely went into The Moondoggies 2008 debut, Don't Be a Stranger, with a high set of expectations. And I was certainly rewarded, because they bring the kind of musical goodness I've come to associate with Hardly Art bands.
Continue reading "Bonnaroo Preview: The Moondoggies" »
This post is from Out the Other's
2010
Bonnaroo Artist Previews,
where I will be posting previews
of all the musical acts playing the 2010
Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival. Please check out and subscribe
to the full site to learn more about all of this year's performers.
It's been four years since I checked in with Los Amigos Invisibles - I was first introduced to the Venezuelan party band in 2006 when my friend John handed me a copy of their most current album at the time, Superpop Venezuela, with the disclaimer that "this is really weird." Weird it was - and also eclectic, and danceable, and bright and bizarre and funky. Formed in 1991 with the mission to be the best dance band in Venezuela - and as an answer to the dark rock bands permeating their hometown of Caracas at the time - Los Amigos Invisibles have found success even outside of their country, in every nook and cranny that loves a good dance party.
Continue reading "Bonnaroo Preview: Los Amigos Invisibles" »
This post is from Out the Other's
2010
Bonnaroo Artist Previews,
where I will be posting previews
of all the musical acts playing the 2010
Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival. Please check out and subscribe
to the full site to learn more about all of this year's performers.
It's weird that I love Zooey Deschanel so much as an actress, but find that my feelings run much more lukewarm when it comes to She & Him. I still remember first hearing about the project and perking up immediately at the prospect of anything involving M. Ward - my experience with Deschanel's singing was basically limited to her shower scene in Elf, but I was sure after Ward's Post-War that anything the guitar player touched would be audio gold. Then the duo's Volume One was released in 2008, and I was disappointed when I heard how focused the album was on Deschanel as a lead singer, with only a few songs prominently featuring the Him half of the vocals. It felt too much like a Jenny Lewis or Neko Case album to me - both female singers tend to leave me yawning - and while Deschanel's voice is certainly a different and more interesting flavor, it still doesn't have the quirk and sparkle of the young performer's acting talent.
Continue reading "Bonnaroo Preview: She & Him" »
