Just A Lovely Sunday At The Festival

I had to sort out a Sunday backstage pass for our very good friend; Jack Doolan. Jack heads up a killer metal band out of London called Cypher 16. Lidia and I met Jack several years ago and seen him grow into a solid man and a well focused band leader and writer. So when Jack said he would see us late Saturday night at the hotel, we had to get him a pass for Sunday. So backing up to early Saturday afternoon; we were getting out of the black cab (these things rule, it's like having a studio apartment to drive around in...I'm just saying it's BIG!) a few blocks from the backstage entrance and as we pop out of the rolling mini pitch and I hear a man say he has tickets for today and tomorrow (everything was sold out months ago); so I whip my head around and say "VIP mate?". Now this guy is the epitome of a working class dude from the UK. Skin head, short, built like a bull dog, tattoo's on his forearms, Fred Perry shirt, boots and has all the right things we need to secure Jack a Sunday with us. This guy rocks and I start to negotiate the price. We establish a nice price and agree to meet here at the same place (right next to the car park which he runs) at 1pm Sunday; freakin' cool and easy! Be a good day with Jack, David and Malcolm (complete with 4 15 year olds) on Sunday. Should be interesting and fun to say the least.

Skip forward to Sunday AM; so we leave the hotel with Jack for the final day of Reading Fest and head out to see "our man". We find him after a few anxious minutes and we are told the price has gone up as Radiohead are playing their only UK show in 2009 tonight. F*ck sakes I say; not cool, but we really don't have much to negotiate with. So the price rises 30 quid and I say we want free parking for our car in his car park! Money changes hands, get the pass, we put the car in the lot and head the few blocks to the entrance. Should be a great day as the sun and white clouds are everywhere you look. I am with some of my favorite people on earth right now; how could it not be!

We arrive early and find Noah And The Whale on the main stage. Not my thing and kinda boring after 4 or 5 songs. Must have been a better choice for 2:30pm on the main stage. Head backstage and find my friend; Malcolm, who has arrived with his son Calum and three of his friends. I was a bit of a terror at 15, but these four where very well behaved; almost too behaved...Hmmm...something is afoot I suspect. After chatting for awhile, we head out to see Australia's Living End. These three guys have been banging it out for fifteen years; truly amazing. It is a cross of punk, rockabilly, rock and country. Very consistent and always agreattime. The four people i dragged out to see them, all really liked their set. I promoted several shows with them in the mid and late 90's; very good guys to work with!

Every fest weekend I have had a great discovery that just blows me away and then several times I have had the opportunity to promote their Chicago shows. This year was no exception; Lethal Bizzle, just totally amazing and a killer guy! He is a East London rapper who is on fire right now in the UK. He was playing an early afternoon set in the NME tent, so I had to see this. I am a big fan of Dizzee Rascal and Lethal is fairly similar in style; very heavy and very fast! The tent was filling up quickly and I had a sense this was going to go off...WAY OFF!! He hits the stage and just as I had thought; this place go f*ckin' nuts. Dancing, jumping, slamming, singing and just going plain mental was all that was around me! "Go Hard" is his new single and that resonated really well with me and the crowd as did "Bizzle Bizzle"; his mini theme song. Just a intensely fun and draining set. I really would love to do his Chicago show I thought as Lidia danced around for the better part of his set. Bizzle kills us all and we run back to our table and I need a snack; as this is the soberest day I have ever had at any Reading. The past week has just final pummeled me into saying; UNCLE! The past seven have been a wonderful blur with London as the backdrop, but no more bit and bobs today or tonight.

Ok, hanging with the teens and they have a bit of an attitude. What's this I think? You need to shut it a bit and listen to your wise elders sonny boy. They seem very fresh faced and seem to know a lot (or so they think) about it all. Good for them and hopefully that slap in the face is still several years off. So as Calum starts to do kissy face with his first girlfriend, I spot Lethal "F*cking" Bizzle coming out to the vip area where we are. Very cool and I start my way towards him. He is signing autographs and taking pics with two little girls and then starts a TV interview for a european station. I talk to one of his managers and let her know I would love to do his Chicago show. He finishes the interview and we talk for about ten minutes. He is a really smart and articulate young man who has his head screwed on right and should have a decent career in music. This whole experience has left me with a nice buzz and I find Lidia and we set off to see Passion Pit at the NME tent. We pass the dance tent and there is a incredible over flow crowd going nuts and then it ends s we try and navigate thru this throng. It's Deadmau5 finishing up a afternoon set that looks liked it killed. He had a big hit here in the charts this summer here and I do like some of his songs/mixes. Onto Passion Pit, I have heard a lot of noise regarding this Boston area act and was anxious to see if it measured up. It did not even come close! Kind of boring and disjointed, can't see what all the chatter is about. We make a hasty get away and see a few songs by Lady Sovereign in the dance tent. I really didn't buy into the hype of her debut cd and this new act seems to feature a full band. We catch a few songs and it seems forced and the band seem to overpower her onstage. I see potential, just not the right vehicle yet. Backstage I think we are in for a big surprise again in the form of Gallows.

Lidia, Jack and I both head off to see the Gallows; a Hertfordshire (just north of London) punk/metal band. After the disappointment of Passion Pit, I am well up for a set that is crushing and over the top. I think this could be the act that delivers such a punch. They did a UK tour last winter with Lethal Bizzle and it got rave reviews from all stops. I can't see how a show with both acts could fail! This band reminds me a lot of the late, great NYC punk/metal crossover act; The Cro-Mags (http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=2898300)! A mighty band for a minute I must say, then demons and such killed that beast. But in their hey day, none were mightier or heavier when it came to throwing down (Age Of Quarrel is a classic lp and "Hard Times" is a all time track). These guys are the closest to The Cro-Mags I have seen in over a long, long time. They just come out and rip it up from start to finish. Good songs for the most past and a great front man in Frank Carter and a monster guitarist in Laurent Bernard. The kids were on this from the moment the lights dimmed to the final song of the set. I would have to say this is a bright spot on the musical horizon that is pretty dim at the moment. Between Lethal Bizzle and the Gallows, it has been a really pleasant day of musical surprises; nice one!!

We have a few more acts to see, but I am feeling completely satiated with the Bizzle and Gallows, but we go onto see Vampire Weekend and I have to hear that one song..."A-Punk"; love it and one or two more. I really hope they play it early in the set, but of course it comes at the end; lost points here boys!! "A-Punk" was one of the singles of last summer and it still rings true again this summer and the set was ok; some good (Oxford Comma) and some snoozers (sappy ballads). We head backstage to get the group together for the Yeah Yeah Yeahs; a fav of many Brits and my wife. Me; not so much, although I did like them much more before they signed their big record deal. It was always a bit forced and contrived in my book. Weird and quirky for the sake of being weird and quirky; not too organic. I have seen them 6 or 7 times and I find their earlier shows much more entertaining and this one was the most excruciating yet. I love avant garde, I love people pushing boundaries in all walks and forms of life, but I don't dig just crazy sh*t for the pretense of being crazy and that what Karen comes off as right now. Outfits were as forced as the new songs, just seemed to lose their grasp on whatever they are trying to accomplish. I was bored after 4 songs and had to wait a few more before I could get back to the comfort of our table in the back.

Bloc Party were next and I do try and love them; but like is as far as I can get. They were ok; not great, but certainly not lame either. I just keep drifting back to Lethal's and Gallow's sets as they just keep resonating in my head (sound is good there today btw). Bloc Party are winding it down and I am pining for South London. I think we may leave during Radiohead and get back to the flat and some curry and such...mmmm!! This has been another incredible Reading Rock weekend and I can't say that I would have had it any other way. Brilliant, spot on, top notch....all that shite and more!! We walk out the back gate and walk along Richfield Avenue to the sounds of Radiohead noodling their way thru another classic and the weather is perfect. Three of my all time fav things this weekend; Lidia, Killer bands and my UK friends. Can't wait for next year, but I'm thinking maybe Glastonbury next June, been three time and it is one of the most magical (and I am NOT a hippy...it really is freakin' magical) places on earth and I have been in love with Glasto from my first hour there. Hell, I met Keira Knightly, Kate Moss, Pete Doherty and the singers for Magic Numbers and Bolc Party all in one weekend! May have to make a crucial choice next summer between Glastonbury and Reading; be a toughie.

Arctics Rule The Day at Lolla....For Me Anyways

Just flat out one of the UK's best new bands; period. If you know nothing or little about Sheffield's Arctic Monkeys; download, buy, you tube or myspace their songs as quickly as possible. You will not here a better example of the future of music anywhere else. I was lucky enough to see two sets over the weekend. Friday night was the Lolla after show at metro and Saturday was their 4:30 set on one of the two main stages. This is a band as far from pretentiousness and posing as is humanly possible. I do love a good stage set and exploding worlds on stage every now and then, but I love even more a band that came come out in jeans and tennies to rip the audiences head off!! This is the Arctics live; you get exactly what you see and hear. I remember in the summer of 2005 i was in London several times for different festivals and a lot of the "industry" types i know were charged up about this act from Sheffield; Arctic Monkeys. First thought this was a really strange name, hopefully the band and music is not as quirky as the name I thought. The single that started monkey mania in the UK was "I Bet You Look Good On The Dance Floor"; still one of the best singles from the past 5 years. Song and cd went to #1 in the UK and set a UK chart record the fastest selling debut record! The follow up lp was just as strong in it's own right; Favorite Worst Nightmare. New cd drops later this month; Humbug (with some tracks supposedly produced by Josh Homme of Kyuss, Queens Of Stone Age and Eagles Of Death Metal). 2006 saw them play the special guest slot at the Reading Festival right before Muse. They were brilliant, when they played "I Bet..." the crowd of 60,000+ literally exploded; cool r'n'r moment for me! So it has been a few years since I have seen them live and I was excited that I would see them at the relatively small metro and the massive field that is Lollapalooza. The metro set was everything and more. Great energy and a good crowd. They played for over an hour and a half...wow!! Did some songs from the forthcoming release; "Humbug", especially the new single in the UK "Crying Lightning". One of my fav songs of theirs is "Fluorescent Adolescent" and both sets they killed it; had that song in my head for two days. This band will be around making good music for a good while i would think. The band seem devoid of drama and massive ego's; big and quick reasons for the downfall of even the mightiest acts. Good one boys...see you at Reading in a few weeks as they are the headliners on Saturday night with The Prodigy supporting!! How freakin' cool.

For the most part, the rest of my day at lolla was mostly downhill save for Glasvegas!! A brilliant little pop band straight out of Glasgow, Scotland. More than a buzz band in the UK right now, they have made a big impact on that music scene in the past several years and are finally getting a bit of notice here. I caught a song or two several summers ago at a fest and thought they were quite interesting and had something to offer. 2008 seems to be the year that they really took off overseas. Signed to Columbia records and charted in the Uk singles and album charts, they also supported Oasis and U2 at their huge outdoor shows last summer. I have always thought they were a harder Coldplay with a bit of Jesus and Mary Chain throw in; very intriguing! Now when i saw them for a sec several years ago, I did not see the drummer as i was quite far and mellow. Now Saturday I was on the stage waiting for them to arrive and start their set. Saw the three front guys; esp. James Allen (singer) who is a double for Mick Jones in my book....a young Mick Jones), but then a tiny woman with a black, angular haircut stood behind the drums....STANDING UP, BAREFOOTED....how cool. I did not know this and was very impressed/amazed/amused....cool! Set was great and I think they should make some inroads into the states. Thought the crowd was a little thin, but it was 100° and brutal. Check out the video for "Daddy's Gone", melodically haunting (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uSdQxKaBfU). Good set but we had to get backstage for some shade and drinks. Will see them at Reading also, they are co-headlining the NME Stage I believe on Saturday also.

Now for a quick rundown on the rest of the bands and people I saw. Rise Against were on next and the played my favorite song first which made me smile. Good punk band that jumps and screams all over the place. Nice energy, good vocals and nice,fast guitar pace. Next up was some food and I loved the jalapeno, cheddar andouille sausage with a lobster corn dog on the side. Sausage kicked ass and corn dog was good. Onto see Lyyke Li from Sweden. She had a nice, couture dress that looked really good and matched her style of music. I thought her band songs were better than her solo, acoustic ones. She seemed very hit or miss with each number. Onto Animal Collective which I had heard a ton about over the years, but had never managed to see. Maybe it's me, but I just did not get it. Boring and over hyped is what I came away thinking. Maybe just not my cup of tea, but i didn't see much tea to begin with! So we marched over the the Chicago 2016 main stage for Tool. Been a long, long time since I saw these guys. It was the side stage at the touring Lollapalooza back in the early '90's. I saw their set in Des Moines at the fairground where Lolla was taking place that year in Iowa. There must have been no more than 50 people watching. Loads of puzzled looks when they hit the stage, Maynard wearing a mohawk, cowboy hate and megaphone. Cool is what I thought and liked the set. BUT my main concern with them is that they seem to be in the same general place musically each and every release. Something i don't dig and follow. The set was solid; the wind was really whipping, so it definitely had an effect on the mix. It was good, but after 45 minutes i was ready to head back. I do admit they have super hardcore fans and they do spark intense loyalty; which i can tip my hat to as most bands don't get the fact that fans equal everything to a successful band or act! Walked by Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Karen still screaming...have they come and gone? Just not digging the past 2 records, maybe i moved on....LOL. I can't wait to go swimming tonight...AHHHH!!!