After living in the UK last year for a number of months (note to the border agency: under the maximum time allowed with a visitor’s visa…yes, I can show proof), I discovered and devoured many wondrous things. The creams and cheeses found in the street markets were divine. I happily overdosed on bands, shows, festivals […]
For any music fan, a song, a melody, a lyrical line captures a personal moment in time. Generationally, music through the ages is also a time capsule of the human condition, our tragedies and triumphs, the bullshit and the heroism. Instant Empire has captured many woes and wiles, bursting out with 10 storyfied songs on […]
It was 2001, and I’d just moved to Denver from the Bay Area. I didn’t really know a soul and was homesick for the house music clubs and dance nights I’d known and loved, having yet to discover Denver’s Mile High House. Basement Jaxx‘s Rooty had been on repeat on my portable and car CD […]
I went back and watched a video from Cyberfest 2000 yesterday before setting out to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, remembering how taken back I was of that Fresno festival’s eye candy in comparison to the raves I’d attended in San Francisco, from Toon Town and Community in the early 90s until that ‘welcome to […]
It was the the second night of Bonnaroo, and as the sun dipped down the coolness rose, bringing a layer of happiness over the already gitty crowd awaiting Tears for Fears. As the legendary duo and backing band took the stage, shrieks rang through the men and women, young and old, all the way to […]
When I hear that a band has Britpop leanings, I can’t help but perk up my ears like my dog Sam does when he hears the crackling of a chip bag. It’s the instinctive sound known to deliver the most scrumptious of treats. The DMA’s have indeed lived up to the high bar previously set […]
Mike Kerr and Ben Thatcher in the UK’s Royal Blood were making quite a stir in their home country, but it didn’t take long for their reputation for heavy riffs and larger-than-life live sets to penetrate the states, especially after their shows at SXSW 2014.
The excitement was palpable as fans anticipated Björk’s arrival. Conversations in the crowd swirled, “We’ve actually been to Iceland and been to her house. She wasn’t there but her son was,” said a guy standing next to me. I had to ask if he’d seen Björk live. “No, this is the first time.” As her […]
Yes, this is a three-day festival. Yes, it’s the funnest, most enjoyable way to lead one to exhaustion, far better than working 12-hour days under fluorescent lights. While you may think that preserving your energy in a ‘marathon, not a sprint’ fashion is the way to go, getting to a festival soon after the gates […]
Temples made a big splash in the states last year at SXSW due to their live appearances featuring songs from the band’s debut, Sun Structures, on Fat Possum. Their wave of psychedelic magic hasn’t mellowed in the slightest, earning them the number one spot on Rough Trade’s albums of 2014.
