Two bunny-monikered bands will play Coachella, and I already know White Rabbits is the shit.
The other, five-piece Scottish group Frightened Rabbit, plays songs that fall on both sides of the rock spectrum – more manic and loud rocking out type of stuff but also quieter, acoustic-based folksy stuff, all delivered in singer/guitarist Scott Hutchison’s thick brogue.
Not to be cheesy, but here’s the cheddar: What’s most lovable about Frightened Rabbit is that their humanity, sincerity and optimism shine through on their songs, which tend to touch on universal themes like getting your heart broken into a trillion pieces. Indeed.
And if they are as excited live as they come across on record, this will not be a band to miss at Coachella.
Frightened Rabbit doing "Fast Blood" live:
February 23, 2010
February 16, 2010
Coachella band of the week: Céu
Coachella always offers a diversified lineup that includes a few world music artists, and this year is no different.
I remember how hard Venezuelan Latin-disco-funk band Los Amigos Invisibles rocked the festival on an early Sunday afternoon in 2006, and it wasn’t just the vodka talking. Tons of dancing and floatiness, if you know what I mean.
On this year’s lineup Brazilian singer Céu, playing early on Friday, April 16, seems like a good bet if there aren’t any conflicts.
Her smooth vocals come through in Portugeuse, sometimes in English, riding dreamy musical waves of samba, afrobeat, R&B, jazz, and heavy bits of percussion.
It’s a groovy sound to enjoy laid-back-style, a light sonic break from the overbearing heat of the Coachella Valley sun.
Only 58 days til.
Céu's "Rainha":
I remember how hard Venezuelan Latin-disco-funk band Los Amigos Invisibles rocked the festival on an early Sunday afternoon in 2006, and it wasn’t just the vodka talking. Tons of dancing and floatiness, if you know what I mean.
On this year’s lineup Brazilian singer Céu, playing early on Friday, April 16, seems like a good bet if there aren’t any conflicts.
Her smooth vocals come through in Portugeuse, sometimes in English, riding dreamy musical waves of samba, afrobeat, R&B, jazz, and heavy bits of percussion.
It’s a groovy sound to enjoy laid-back-style, a light sonic break from the overbearing heat of the Coachella Valley sun.
Only 58 days til.
Céu's "Rainha":
February 14, 2010
Phoenix at the Catalyst will be the second best event happening April 17
If my weekend of April 17-18 wasn't already booked with attending Coachella 2010, I would definitely be hitting up the Catalyst in Santa Cruz on Saturday the 17th to catch a certain French band that likes to sing songs about the turn of the 20th century.
Sure, I'll see Phoenix live at Coachella, but their appearance at a club as off-the-beaten-path as the Catalyst presents a rare opportunity to rock out to "Lisztomania" in a pea-sized venue.
Don't know when tickets go on sale yet, so prick up your ears.
Sure, I'll see Phoenix live at Coachella, but their appearance at a club as off-the-beaten-path as the Catalyst presents a rare opportunity to rock out to "Lisztomania" in a pea-sized venue.
Don't know when tickets go on sale yet, so prick up your ears.
February 9, 2010
Bonnaroo 2010 -- it's aight
The Bonnaroo 2010 lineup unveiled today in a manner that kept potential festival-goers and curious music fans glued to their computers watching the festival’s MySpace page: Bands were revealed at the rate of one every six minutes, infinitely spicing up many a cubicle-dwellers’ 9 to 5 existence.
Honestly, the lineup is so-so.
Some highlights: Flaming Lips doing Dark Side of the Moon, Phoenix, Medeski, Martin & Wood, The Entrance Band, Jay Electronica, The xx, Damian Marley & Nas, The Black Keys, The Melvins, The Dead Weather, Kings of Leon, Jimmy Cliff, Isis, LCD Soundsystem, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, Dan Deacon Ensemble and Stevie Wonder.
Overall it’s a diverse batch of artists, yet a bit too diverse for me to shell out the funds to fly to Manchester, Tenn.: Dave Matthews Band, Weezer, Gwar, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Rise Against … Steve Martin & The Steep Canyon Rangers, anyone?
Yet there’s one name that would have enticed me to forgo fiscal responsibility and head east mid-June.
Sorry, Bonnaroo – Coachella has Thom Yorke.
Honestly, the lineup is so-so.
Some highlights: Flaming Lips doing Dark Side of the Moon, Phoenix, Medeski, Martin & Wood, The Entrance Band, Jay Electronica, The xx, Damian Marley & Nas, The Black Keys, The Melvins, The Dead Weather, Kings of Leon, Jimmy Cliff, Isis, LCD Soundsystem, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, Dan Deacon Ensemble and Stevie Wonder.
Overall it’s a diverse batch of artists, yet a bit too diverse for me to shell out the funds to fly to Manchester, Tenn.: Dave Matthews Band, Weezer, Gwar, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Rise Against … Steve Martin & The Steep Canyon Rangers, anyone?
Yet there’s one name that would have enticed me to forgo fiscal responsibility and head east mid-June.
Sorry, Bonnaroo – Coachella has Thom Yorke.
February 7, 2010
Coachella band of the week:
Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
So there's this band I used to like -- and still do, really -- called Ima Robot. They were a fun, manic dance punk band that gained a bit of popularity and radio airplay when I discovered them around 2003, however they quickly faded away after releasing their second album.
Flash forward to today: I've been reading a lot about this L.A. band Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, who before hearing I understood to be some sort of hippied out Polyphonic Spree with hella band members privy to wearing white robes and prairie gowns.
Then I found out this Edward Sharpe character was none other than Ima Robot singer Alex Ebert, who grew a beard, reinvented himself as Sharpe and recruited nine members to form this group.
Sometimes I'm skeptical when a band has more than six musicians because it just seems like an easy way to create a spectacle and elevate the grandiosity of one's look and sound; gimmicks meant to distract listeners from the fact that the band isn't really focused on the music.
Nevermind the symphonies.
But then I listened to Edward Sharpe and his crew and discovered the songs are quite good, and they're definitely a band to further explore.
It's a throwback kind of sound -- catchy, pop-type stuff brimming with harmony from the band's male and female vocal leads, and infused with lots of things to make it interesting like '50s doo wop, country, the Old West and blue-eyed soul.
They're playing Coachella on Saturday, April 17, and also Bimbo's in San Francisco on Feb. 28 for the Noise Pop festival.
Check out "Home" as played live on KCRW:
Flash forward to today: I've been reading a lot about this L.A. band Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, who before hearing I understood to be some sort of hippied out Polyphonic Spree with hella band members privy to wearing white robes and prairie gowns.
Then I found out this Edward Sharpe character was none other than Ima Robot singer Alex Ebert, who grew a beard, reinvented himself as Sharpe and recruited nine members to form this group.
Sometimes I'm skeptical when a band has more than six musicians because it just seems like an easy way to create a spectacle and elevate the grandiosity of one's look and sound; gimmicks meant to distract listeners from the fact that the band isn't really focused on the music.
Nevermind the symphonies.
But then I listened to Edward Sharpe and his crew and discovered the songs are quite good, and they're definitely a band to further explore.
It's a throwback kind of sound -- catchy, pop-type stuff brimming with harmony from the band's male and female vocal leads, and infused with lots of things to make it interesting like '50s doo wop, country, the Old West and blue-eyed soul.
They're playing Coachella on Saturday, April 17, and also Bimbo's in San Francisco on Feb. 28 for the Noise Pop festival.
Check out "Home" as played live on KCRW:
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