Grizzly Bear rock Union Park to massive crowd, Chicago
Photo: Leigh Ann Hines

Grizzly Bear consists of Ed Droste (singer/songwriter), Christopher Bear (drummer), Chris Tayler (woodwinds player/bassist) and Daniel Rossen (singer/songwriter/guitarist). They’ve had a steady rise and growing buzz since their 2006 release of Yellow House. Since then, they’ve toured extensively, supported Radiohead, TV On The Radio, and Feist, played with the L.A. Philharmonic and recently released a new album, Veckatimest. The new album is beautiful with sharp and complex vocals, incredible lyrcs and very tight arrangements. I hadn’t seen Grizzl bear for more than a year and was wondering how their wonderful flourishes and subtle sounds would translate to a large festival with an audience of thousands. a couple years earlier they had a fantastic set at PMF and I had hopes they could repeat. Despite some sound issues that apparently were too irritating to the band to ignore, the set was wonderfu and crisp.

Setlist:
1- Southern Point
2- Cheerleader
3- Lullaby
4- Little Brother
5- Knife
6- Fine for Now
7- Two Weeks
8- Ready, Able
9- Live With You
10- Fix it
11- While You Wait for the Others
12- On a Neck, On a Spit

Grizzly Bear Official website
Grizzly Bear myspace

Frightened Rabbit Rock Union Park, Chicago
Photo: Leigh Ann Hines

Frightened Rabbit is a quartet from Scotland fronted by Scott Hutchinson, who will blow you away. Those who know me, know I’m a huge Frightened Rabbit fan. When I heard they were confirmed for PMF2009, I was excited that I’d get to hear and photograph them again. Their 2 studio albums are among my favorites and are always in the top spots on my iphone/ipod. Anyway, I’m completely biased when it comes to Frightened Rabbit, as I’d listen to them sing the dollar menu from Micky D’s. It was nice to get a chance to chat with them and have a good time. Their set was great, but I heard that the sound wasn’t the best (hard to tell on stage). Scott’s voice was a little rough, but that’s what can happen when you do two festivals, in different parts of the country, in two days. It’s always tough being the first band of the day, but they pulled it off. One of my favorite sets of the festival.

Go right now and listen to some songs on their myspace page or just take my word for it and head to itunes right now and buy their latest CD, Midnight Organ Fight. Go, do it now!

Built To Spill headline first night of Pitchfork Music Festival 2009
Photo: Leigh Ann Hines

Built T Spill took stage in Chicago to an excited crowd. They headlined the first night at Pitchfork 2009. As the the sun set over the park Built To Spill took to the Aluminum Stage and finished out the first night of PMF. It was a great show. Granted, I’m not a huge B2S fan, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. I will say that it got cold. Who would have thought that mid July in Chicago would require a jacket for warmth? Again, the crowd was ready and pumped. It was a great set, great music, great everything. This was the start of something big here. This Pitchfork2009 was going to be huge.

The Flaming Lips Close out Pitchfork Music Festival 2009
Photo: Leigh Ann Hines

The Flaming Lips headlined the closing night of the Pitchfork Music Festival 2009. And oh what a closing it was. Each year Pitchfork gets better and better, and this year was no exception. The Flaming Lips was the icing…and cherry… on the cake. All day the festival was filled with die-hard Flaming Lips fans, dressed in costume. Telly Tubbbies, Aliens, animals of all species. It was fun, and you knew something big was going to happen. The huge orange set that stood on the back of the Aluminum stage all day gave a hint of what was to come but you couldn’t imagine the spectacle until it actually begun.

Frank Turner played to a hostile crowd at Starland Ballroom

Frank Turner opened up for The Offspring at Starland Ballroom in Sayreville New jersey. Actually, he’s supporting them for the east coast portion of their tour and from the sounds of his tour diary, it’s been a great time. First, Starland Ballroom is situated in the middle of nowhere. Really, it’s sort of all by it’s lonesome with no neighboring businesses. I had high hopes that this would be a fantastic show, but, well, it wasn’t. Let me rephrase that, the actual performance by Frank Turner was fantastic, but the NJ Offspring crowd wanted nothing to do with him and made it pretty rough. Beyond rough, painful. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a crowd that was rude and disrespectful. They started chanting “U-S-A, U-S-A” in the middle of a song, as if we were at some sort of Olympic sporting event. it was embarrassing and the constant heckled from the crowd made me wince for the performer. It was a shame. Frank Turner handled it well, played on, and if I’m not mistaken, even added a song to his set, just to rub it in. Awww, the perfect punk move. It’s too bad the audience couldn’t handle listening to something new, they certainly missed out.

Frank Turner Official Website
Frank Turner Myspace

To view photos of the performance, visit the Frank Turner _ Starland image gallery gallery

Snow Patrol play free gig at San Diego House Of Blues
Photo: Leigh Ann Hines

Snow Patrol play The House Of Blues in San Diego. Free show promoted by Shock Hound. Despite the cold weather (cold? it gets cold in San Diego? YES!) it was a great evening. The lines outside the venue were long but everyone seemed happy and excited. House Of Blues is a fantastic venue with great sound and a nice light show. What a difference from 3 days earlier in Las vegas on a tiny cramped stage with few lights, poor sound. The band seemed in much better spirits and the whole event was a success.

Ghostface Killah & Raekwon performing live at Pitchfork music Festival
Photo: Leigh Ann Hines

Ghostface Killah and Raekwon rocked the Balance Stage at Pitchfork Music Festival. They hd been scheduled for the Aluminum Stage, which is the main stage, but due to scheduling issues, they had to be rescheduled to later in the day, which meant switching stages. It was a small stage, and much smaller space for he crowd, which made for an intense show. They were exhausted as they literally got off a plane from Europe, got into a van, and drove to the festival to perform. Regardless, they gave it their all, and you would never guess that they were suffering from jetlag and fatigue.

The Swell Season performing at meymandi Concert hall on May 15 2008.
Photo: Leigh Ann Hines

From the moment Glen Hansard stepped on stage at Meymandi Concert Hall, the audience was in his grip. The Swell Season captivated us all for over 2 hours…2 hours and 20 minutes to be exact. It started with Glen stepping onto the front edge of the stage to loud applause, but once he began to sing, it became perfectly silent except for the sound of his voice and guitar. Not a rustle or whisper. Everyone was transfixed by him and the music. Gorgeous. He was then joined by Markéta and they sang a duet, before Markéta moved to the piano and they were joined by other members of the band. The evening progressed with Glen and Marketa switching instruments and vocals, covering songs from the movie, songs from their CD The Swell Season, as well as several Frames numbers. Glen entertained us with tales of childhood, first loves, and irish lore, always weaving his way, sometimes in a very roundabout manner, into the back-story of a song.

For me, the standout performances included Fitzcarraldo, with an amazing arrangement with piano. Markéta was all over the place and was absolutely brilliant. Also, When Your Mind’s Made Up was absolutely stunning.

I wish I had taken notes so as to remember the exact set list and the order, but I was too busy enjoying the music. From my memory, which can be fairly lacking at times, their set list included (in no particular order):

Say it Now (Glen solo)
Lies
Leave
When Your Mind’s Made up?
Into the Mystic (a Van Morrison cover)?
Falling Slowly
Fantasy Man (a new song sung by Marketa)?
Lay Me Down?
What Happens When The Heart Just Stops?
The Blue Shoes (a violin solo by Colm)?
Once?
Fitzcarraldo (amazing arrangement with piano, Mar was absolutely brilliant!)?
Star, Star?
If You Want Me

I know I’m missing a few songs from the list but its not because i didn’t enjoy them, but because there was so much to enjoy that it was difficult to remember every moment.
While some in the audience were unfamiliar with a few of the songs, it didn’t dampen they enjoyment or enthusiasm, and I bet those who hadn’t heard the full Swell Season CD, or who had never heard of the Frames, were making a stop at the merch table to snatch up whatever they could, and rightly so. I’ve been a fan of Glen and The Frames for many years and this night’s performance was stunning in it’s own right. Glen and Markéta sound perfect together and the way they interact on stage is heartwarming. The whole show, all 2 hours and 20 minutes of it, felt intimate. It felt almost as if you were in your neighbor’s basement listening to your friends sing. How perfect is that?

To view more photos from the show, visit The Swell Season image gallery.

The Swell Season myspace
The Frames official site

Django Haskins of The Old Ceremony rocked Cats Cradle Friday, May 9th.

The Old Ceremony out of Chapel Hill NC, is one of the more unique bands I’ve run across in some time. It’s fronted by songwriter Django Haskins and this band of troubadours uses guitar, bass, drums, keyboards, violin, cello, and vibraphones to pound out polished lush music. They mix elements of jazz and rock, a little blues seem thrown in there at times, as well as a hint of folk. Each song stands on its own and the set consisted of quite a variety of sounds. The musicianship of each of the band members is evident and the songs are well composed and executed. While watching and listening, I’m struck by how much they each seem to be enjoying themselves on stage. These guys don’t just dial in a performance, they show up to entertain and they certainly gave us a fantastic performance. The crowd was an interesting one, a mixture of varied ages, from younger kids (think middle-school) to the more mature set, but all were fans and most sang along to the songs. They played a tight set without a great deal of breaks or banter and the crowd couldn’t get enough. The Old Ceremony are fantastic live and if you haven’t gotten the chance to see them, then keep your eyes out for upcoming gigs and get there. you wont be disappointed.

To view photos of the performance, visit The Old Ceremony image gallery

The Old Ceremony official site
The Old Ceremony myspace

Do you like rock music?
YES!
Do you like British Sea power?
Yes.

British Sea Power graced Cats Cradle Tuesday night (May 6) to an eager crowd of fans. The first hint that this would be different than every other show at the Cradle is the shrubbery and branches. Greenery surrounding mic stands, amps, drums. It’s the closest the Cradle has ever been to a park. When the lads (and one violin girl in a red lacy dress) take stage, they’re dressed in what can only be described as combination of normal inde band slouchy attire and some sort of WWI undergarments, complete with springs of rosemary branches adorning their sock. Did I mention this was the best smelling gig I’ve ever been to? I think it should now be a requirement that bands provide some sort of aromatherapy with each performance.

So, right, back to the actual performance. This band, on this night, was…well…fun. They have a noisy and brash rock sound combined with a bit of pop. They sing of quirky sorts of things: talking to insect, hiding in trees, finding God in a parking lot. It all works, and they seemed to be half enjoying themselves. The guitarist gives a try at a little stage banter but much of the audience, while enthusiastic, have difficulty deciphering the accent. The crowd feeds on the energy of the band, and I’m sure the band gets a boost from the energy of the crowd. It’s all heightened by the antics, handstands, and wrestling during the last song. Suddenly, I feel the heavy weight of 2 hands on my shoulders, and realize the guitarist is being lifted into the crowd, where he disappears into a roar of excitement and utter darkness. The rest of band plays on as if nothing has changed. All in all, a fun night, a fun band, with good solid rock tunes and a quirky sense of entertainment.

To see more photos from the show, visit the British Sea Power image gallery

British Sea Power official site
British Sea Power myspace