Best Music Videos of 2009: PART 2
Saturday, December 5th, 2009
Posts Tagged ‘Mastodon’
(NSFW!) Division Day – Surrender
The Dead Weather – Treat Me Like Your Mother
The Decemberists – The Rake’s Song
Fanfarlo – The Walls Are Coming Down
Outside Lands Festival 2009: Day 2
Sunday, August 30th, 2009
I entered the Outside Lands Festival grounds a bit peeved. See when you try to find a spot at the Lands End stage (Main Stage), people have already claimed seven or more spots with a God damn blanket and their huge lawn chairs (which I thought were banned). So here I am walking on people’s blankets and they’re giving me these dirty looks like I just pooed in their soup. Hey man, you decided to call property on six square feet of lawn and you expect me to tip-toe around your shit? I don’t fuckin’ think so.
Anyway, after pissing off people I could care less about, I caught Zion I perform a moderately fun set. After all it was noon, how much rockin’ can one do? A lot actually, the crowd was pretty into them despite the fact it was majorly filled with camped out Dave Matthews Band fans at the average age of 40 years old. Zion I played mostly new tracks off their new album, The Takeover but I got what I wanted when they performed songs off 2005’s True & Livin‘. Things got crazier when the Oakland’s original ghost rider Mistah F.A.B. showed up to help out with a few songs. A good way to start the day.
Zion I – 
Doin’ My Thang from True & Livin’ (2005)
I wondered around for an hour and camped in front of the Panhandle Stage to catch Portugal. The Man. While I waited I got to see afro-rock group Extra Golden pump out a few more songs. They seemed very happy to be there and the small crowd they generated were into it I guess. A nice change of sound.
Now I have been trying to see PTM for years now. Ever since 2006’s Waiter: “You Vultures!” I have been trying to see what my friends called “one of the most unexpectedly amazing live bands I have ever seen.” Fair enough. After about three songs into their set, I was convinced.
The band is tight and extremely talented. They create perfect pop songs that blended pretty well with the bright and sunny 80 degree San Francisco weather we were having today. Their early 70’s throwback rock, R&B, and vintage soul with the latest innovations in melodious experimentation proved worthy for this sunny afternoon.
Portugal. The Man – Dawn from Church Mouth (2007)
I had to book it to the Twin Peaks Stage in order to just catch the mighty Mastodon rock the fuck out. Another band I had missed several times, Mastodon brought it today. Opening with songs from this year’s Crack The Skye and gradually breaking into older material showed how the band had evolved as more than just a run-of-the-mill metal act.
The best part of this stage wasn’t just the band though, it was the random moshpits that were sprouting out of nowhere. This was both fun and aggravating for the crowd. I however, was loving it. Watching everyone’s reaction was great and seeing these metalheads clash with these uptight hipster punks was a sight to see. Anyway, Mastodon has a monster presence when they perform and seemed quite happy with the crowd’s enthusiasm. A nice addition being that none of the bands on this year’s line-up sound remotely like them.
Mastodon – Crystal Skull from Blood Mountain (2006)
45 minutes later TV on the Radio performed their last set in a long time (according to them). With Kyp Malone’s much anticipated solo project Rain Machine going on tour soon and the band extensively touring for last year’s Dear Science, they are taking a long much deserved break.
So what we got today was a highly energetic and moving hour long set filled with many songs off the brilliant Dear Science and many lovely familiar tracks like Staring At The Sun and Wolf Like Me. They play fast and slow with an equal amount of passion, and it’s a treat to see both.
TV on the Radio – Staring at the Sun (Woven Remix) from TVOTR Remixes (2004)
I have been a fan of The Mars Volta ever since their formation and had passed up seeing them live until tonight. Here I was, about to see one of my favorite bands of all time rip up the stage like I had dreamed a millions times before. Opening with Goliath off last year’s amazing The Bedlam in Goliath, lead vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala immediately jumped and flopped around on stage all the while still able to hit the high notes.
That’s not all. All within the first song he grabbed the sign displaying their band name on the side of the stage and began to beat the everliving crap out of it. Also, he laid chestdown on the stage and started grabbing the presses’ cameras and singing into them. All the while I was thinking, “If this is what will be going on for the next hour and half….AWESOME!” Well he didn’t exactly go apeshit the whole set but Cedric and the rest of the band were most definitely full of energy for the remainder of the show.
Playing a perfect balance from all five of their albums, including this year’s impressive Octahedron. My “Oh-shit-o-meter” went off the charts when they played my favorite songs off their 2003 masterpiece De-Loused in the Comatorium.
Singing along and freaking out, I came to the quick conclusion that this may be one of the best shows I had ever seen. Now four hours after the show, I’m still pretty certain that what I had just witnessed was not only the best of the festival (sorry Q-Tip), but one of my favorite shows of the year. We’ll see what tomorrow brings, but I’m pretty much sold.
The Mars Volta – Cotopaxi from Octahedron (2009)
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So today worked out pretty well. Tomorrow is John Vanderslice, Modest Mouse, M.I.A., and Tenacious D! Maybe some other acts in the middle and earlier in the day. We’ll see.
This Week In Bay Area Live Shows: August 23rd – 29th (Outside Lands Week!)
Sunday, August 23rd, 2009
BIG week in the Bay. With several Outside Lands After-parties and the festival itself, there is no shortage of things to do here. Also a visit from Ted Leo, a record release party, and a country music legend stops by an unlikely venue.
Tonight we have The Matches playing the final date off their tour with Judgement Day and Dizzy Balloon at the Fillmore, Six Organs of Admittance and Master Musicians of Bukkake rock The Independent, Fleet Foxes drummer and creator of one of the best albums of 2009, J. Tillman stops by Café du Nord, Jay Reatard does a set at Berkeley’s Amoeba Records at 6pm.
Monday, Ted Leo and The Pharmacists hit up the Bottom of the Hill instead of Treasure Island which they originally intended.
Tuesday features Fruit Bats riding on their new record with Death Vessel at The Independent. The Ruminant Band is a beautiful record full of sweet harmonies and lovely song-writing. Pick it up when you get a chance. Also the amazing Ramona Falls play Café du Nord.
Wednesday will find me at The Fillmore watching dredg, Rx Bandits and As Tall as Lions. All of which have released some pretty impressive albums this year. Also going on is The Dodos and Spencey Dude & the Doodles playing the Rickshaw Stop to kick off Outside Lands fever. Oh yeah and it’s sold out. Bummer.
More Outside Landish shows on Thursday; Akron/Family and Howlin’ Rain crash the Rickshaw Stop and Holy Fuck plays The Independent. In addition, we have The Famous‘ Record Release Party at Café du Nord with 20 Minute Loop and Billy & Dolly.
If you’re not going to Outside Lands this weekend, we have the Outside Lands Afterparty with San Francisco local acts Goodbye Nautilus, The Working Title and Wave Array at Café du Nord.
On Saturday we have hip-hoppers Blue Sky Black Death, Boy in Static and Boy Eats Drum Machine at the Bottom of the Hill, Calexico at The Independent, The Pretenders and Cat Power at Mountain Winery in Saratoga, and country legend David Allan Coe at Petaluma’s Phoenix Theater.
Being joked as this year’s ‘Bro-chella’, Outside Lands Festival has many unimpressive acts but a lot of overlooked impressive acts. This year’s line-up includes; Incubus, Modest Mouse, Pearl Jam, Black Eyed Peas, Thievery Corporation, Tenacious D, Jason Mraz, Dave Matthews Band, TV on the Radio, The Mars Volta, M.I.A., Band of Horses, The National, Built to Spill, Bat for Lashes, Calexico, Tom Jones, Mastodon, Silversun Pickups, Los Campesinos!, Ween, Atmosphere, Brett Dennen, Deerhunter, Lucinda Williams, Os Mutantes, Q-Tip, John Vanderslice, Conor Oberst, Akron/Family, Portugal. The Man, Cage the Elephant, Alpha Blondy, Raphael Saadiq, Groundation, Kinky, Lenka, The Duke Spirit, Matt & Kim, Lila Downs, Autolux, The Avett Brothers, Robert Randolph & The Family Band, Dengue Fever, The Dirtbombs, The Dead Weather, Heartless Bastards, Midnite, Blind Pilot, Bettye LaVette, Tea Leaf Green, The Morning Benders, West Indian Girl, Darondo, Ryan Bingham, Zee Avi, Street Sweeper Social Club, Rosin Coven, Extra Golden, JJ Grey & Mofro, Nino Moschella, Conor Oberst & The Mystic Valley Band, Sambada, Reggie Watts, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, Big Light, Eric McFadden Trio, Loop!Station, Yard Dogs Road Show, Infantree, Vau De Vire and madd vibe orchestra. A lot to digest. Well I’ll be doing my best to report on everything I see every night when I return from the festival. Photos, mp3s, and everything else I did last year (if you caught that, if not, whatever).
This week is Outside Lands Week here at Kata Rokkar. So we’ll have Kuestionnaires with OLF bands and reports on local acts making their festival debuts. Hope to see you out there!
The Working Title – The Crash from About-Face (2006)
Boy in Static – Young San Francisco from Young San Francisco (2009)
Fruit Bats – The Ruminant Band from The Ruminant Band (2009)
As Tall As Lions – Sleepyhead (Acoustic Version) from You Can’t Take It With You (Bonus Track) (2009)
J. Tillman – Steel on Steel from Vacilando Territory Blues (2009)
Ramona Falls – I Say Fever from Intuit (2009)
Outside Lands Festival 2009 Line-up Announced
Monday, April 13th, 2009
PEARL JAM • DAVE MATTHEWS BAND • BEASTIE BOYS
INCUBUS • BLACK EYED PEAS • M.I.A. • JASON MRAZ • WEEN
THE MARS VOLTA • THIEVERY CORPORATION • MODEST MOUSE
BAND OF HORSES • TV ON THE RADIO • THE DEAD WEATHER • ATMOSPHERE
TOM JONES • SILVERSUN PICKUPS • ROBERT RANDOLPH & THE FAMILY BAND
THE NATIONAL • Q-TIP • BRETT DENNEN • BUILT TO SPILL • MASTODON
RAPHAEL SAADIQ • CALEXICO • OS MUTANTES • MIDNITE • JJ GREY & MOFRO
KINKY • DEERHUNTER • LILA DOWNS • TROMBONE SHORTY & ORLEANS AVENUE
THE DODOS • BETTYE LAVETTE • DENGUE FEVER • HEARTLESS BASTARDS
THE DIRTBOMBS • LENKA • AKRON/FAMILY • JOHN VANDERSLICE
MATT & KIM • PORTUGAL. THE MAN • THE MORNING BENDERS
THE DUKE SPIRIT • ZEE AVI • BLIND PILOT • SAMBADA
RYAN BINGHAM • WEST INDIAN GIRL • EXTRA GOLDEN
There you have it folks; one of the (many) reasons I love living near San Francisco. This is a quite an amazing line-up if you ask me. I’m actually very glad I decided not to go to Coachella this year.
I have never seen any of the headliners live, so I am most definitely excited about Pearl Jam and The Beastie Boys. Dave Matthews Band seems to be the “Jack Johnson” of the line-up to cater to the backwards ballcap bro-crowd.
I was always a fan of Incubus (a shock, I know) until they abandoned their trademark sound with A Crow Left of the Murder. Since then it’s been downhill for the band. So am I excited to see them?…kind of. But I doubt I’ll hear anything from S.C.I.E.N.C.E.
As for Black Eyed Peas and Jason Mraz, that will most likely land on “Dave Matthews Day” which will be my cue to wander around Golden Gate Park and Twitter the weird shit I see.
This will be my 2nd time seeing M.I.A. and TV on the Radio, both of which put on amazing live shows.
Indie-rock heroes Modest Mouse and Ween should be entertaining I guess. I got into both of them kind of late so I’ll be happy with whatever they decide to play.
I’ll finally get to see The National and Mastodon perform live. Both bands always seem to come to town on days I already have plans or have to work. Hopefully we won’t have any scheduling conflicts.
The hip-hop side of the festival is kind of weak. I’m no fan of Atmosphere but I am really looking forward to Q-Tip’s set. He’s only made my favorite hip-hop record of last year.
There’s some odd choices…like…uhh…Tom Jones? Jack White’s Dead Weather seems to be a band that will be forgotten about this time next year. The random toss of Thievery Corporation in the line-up seems kind of bizarre. I don’t see any other trip-hop acts in the line-up so I don’t know why they agreed to perform this year (why not Treasure Island Festival?).
The bottom of the list looks very promising with Portugal The Man, Akron/Family, The Dodos, John Vanderslice, and Heartless Bastards. Plus I’m sure I’ll discover some new acts that I’ve never heard of along the way.
All in all, it seems promising for a festival that is a 20 minute drive from my place. It gets kind of “Bro-chella” around the top, but I like what I see so far.
Anyone have any thoughts?
John Vanderslice – Trance Manual
Portugal. The Man – Out and In and In and Out
Band of Horses – Is There A Ghost
Kata’s Weekend Showcase
Saturday, March 28th, 2009
TONS of new releases this week to talk about. First off I’ve been listening to The Decemberists‘ new album, Hazards of Love and so far…it’s…uhh…okay? I seriously need to spin this a few more times to get a real opinion about it, but it doesn’t suck. It’s obviously no Castaways & Cutouts, but it’s a grower. Catch The Decemberists on tour this spring here.
In addition to the plethora of new releases are Dan Deacon’s wonderfully bizarre masterpiece, Bromst. (Dan Deacon Kuestionnaire)
DOOM’s (MF Doom) Born Like This brings back that dark production I love so much; giving me a reason to listen to his whole catalog all over again.
The Knife’s Karin Dreijer Andersson’s project Fever Ray releases her debut. Highly recommended for Knife and Bjork fans (like me).
Mastodon slaughters your senses with Crack The Skye. I find it annoying that fans of the band are not embracing this change in style. Time to grow up kids!
Michael Zapruder’s Dragon Chinese Cocktail Horoscope and 1090 Club’s Natural Selection came out last Tuesday through SideCho Records. You can purchase exclusive New Release Packages through the SideCho Store here; they include a copy of the album, an exclusive tshirt, and a pretty poster.
The Decemberists – The Rake’s Song
Fever Ray – If I Had A Heart
DOOM – Angelz
Dan Deacon – Woof Woof
Fresh off a breakout trip to SXSW this past week, including a spot opening for Jane’s Addiction at the exclusive Playboy / C3 party, LA’s Kenan Bell will be playing with +1 Records label-mates Illinois at Rickshaw Stop on Saturday, March 28th.
Illinois
w/ Kenan Bell, The Toy Soldiers, & DJ Set by DJ Amplive
Saturday, March 28th
@ Rickshaw Stop
155 Fell St.
$12 Adv. / $15 Door
Kenan Bell – Have A Cigar KB Remix
