Farewell, Old Friend

As a child, I don't particularly recall music playing a major role in my life.  I vaguely recall thinking Paradise City by Guns 'n' Roses was an awesome song when I was something like 9 or 10 years old.  Growing up in rural Wisconsin, I recall Motley Crue getting a lot of airtime as well.  But I was never really into music.  I was just a kid and I never really had a reason to be, I guess.  Music was there, on the radio.  That was all.  Things changed for me in the 90's, after moving to Chicago.

I wasn't as quick to really catch on to the whole grunge movement, as I was a bit younger than would be required to be in the mainstream of it.  But when I hit 13, I stumbled across an "Alternative" radio station, playing  some good stuff.  I was particularly taken by Alice In Chains.  By 14, I was fully into music, and I found my musical home with that "Alternative" radio station.  That radio station was Q101, and it gave me what was at that time nearly unlimited access to a vast library of phenomenal new rock music that was nothing like anything else out there.  Q101 broke me into the world of rock music.  I fed on everything they played with the eagerness of youth in exploration.  I began asking for nothing but new CD's for Christmas, and spending weekend afternoons looking for imports and B-sides and other hidden gems at an out-of-the way used CD store that not many people knew about, trying to build my collection.

I gave up on the station from about 16 to 18 because they had lapsed into a mode of Lilith Fair driven softness and playing Creed songs 9,487 times a day that I couldn't stand, and I greatly preferred the hard rock coming across the airwaves from Rock 103.5 in the form of Pantera, Megadeth, Sevendust, and the beginnings of the likes of Godsmack and Disturbed, up until the day the station, who had been one of the top stations in the entire country for several years running, had its format changed by Clearchannel for no particular reason at all in 1999.  As an 18 year old male, seething with too much energy, aggression, anger and depression, the loss of an aggressive rock music outlet, the loss of something I felt was a part of me every day, was a crushing blow.

I begrudgingly went back to Q101 until I got to college and reveled in the rebirth of Rap through Eminem, Dre, Ludacris and Nelly, all in time for my hardest partying days.

But there remained Q101 in the background.  Every now and then through its constant curtain of Red Hot Chili Peppers (replacing Creed as the 9,487 plays-per-day artist-du-juor for about the past decade), there would be a glimpse of what the station used to be: a pioneer in the alternative music industry.  Every now and then I'd find something new and great coming across the airwaves, most recently over the past few years with artists like Manchester Orchestra, Cage the Elephant, The Mars Volta and Silversun Pickups.

None of those kind of artists ever got played enough on the station, however, which is part of what has always been wrong with the station.  They'd introduce us, every great once in a while, to something new and amazing, play it for about two weeks, and then promptly dismiss it to the bin of radio history, rapidly queueing up some adolescent trash like Three Days Grace, or else the seven millionth play of fucking Red Hot Chili Peppers' Californication.  They would also hard-headedly ignore things they should have been playing like Mumford & Sons or Mutemath or My Morning Jacket.  Yet still, that one gem every now and then kept the station mildly relevant, and the general mix of music was usually reasonable.

I will be 30 in two days, and for my 30th birthday, Q101 will no longer exist.  I don't feel crushed by this the way I did in losing Rock 103.5.  I feel more like I suppose I will feel when my dad's old dog Skeeter finally dies.  Limping and almost entirely blind, she is so far beyond her best years he tried to put her down a year ago, only to pull the trigger, muzzle to her head, and then watch her sprint away into the forest.  The next day, unspeakably, she was back on her spot on the couch as if nothing had happened.  Like Skeeter, Q101 has shown intermittent signs of life but has been on its last legs for some time.

This is the station's own doing, of course, obstinately refusing to embrace the new music that it should have been embracing, in favor of becoming something of an "alternative classic rock" station.

What I will miss most about Q101 is the same about what I will miss about Skeeter being gone: the fact that it was there.  Every day I knew I could turn it on and find something good, and that every now and then there would be just a glimmer of how great it used to be.  Finally, I will miss having the last remnant of a good rock music station in Chicago.

The list of artists this station has introduced me to over the past 16 years, both in the form of transcendent artists and in the form of one-hit wonders, is nothing short of staggering.

Alice In Chains, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots, Soundgarden, Green Day, Smashing Pumpkins, KORN, Marylin Manson, 311, Social Distortion, The Offspring, Weezer, The Violent Femmes, The Joshua Tree, The Dovetail Joint, The Cure, TOOL, The Deftones, Silverchair, Sublime, Nine Inch Nails, KMFDM, Stabbing Westward, Rammstein, Foo Fighters, A Perfect Circle, Cypress Hill, Rage Against the Machine, Primus, Incubus, Rancid, Goldfinger, Sponge, Rise Against, Muse, The White Stripes, Blur, Radiohead, Cake, Ben Folds Five, Harvey Danger, Spacehog, Elastica, Andrew WK, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Beastie Boys, Presidents of the USA

For all of them, and for everyone else I can't seem to pull off the top of my head...

Thank You, Q101.

There is now a gaping hole in this city's musical landscape.  I can only hope that someone will fill it, sooner rather than later.

Song of the Week

My song of the week this week is a fantastic brand new tribute to our troops.  Ever since I was introduced to what was their first hit, What a Day, and shortly thereafter their second major release album, Development, I have consistently enjoyed Nonpoint.  They are heavy rock without being too heavy for my liking, and since they're kind of a niche style, their shows never get so big that they border on being unenjoyable.  For their newest album, Miracle, lead singer Elias Soriano describes his inspiration for his tribute to our troops, Frontlines:

"When I wrote the concept for Frontlines, I wanted to make sure the focus was on the commitment of what our soldiers do for us. The weight they carry, and the intensity they hold steadfast to protect people they don't even know." 

"I say this with as much meaning as I could possibly have," says Soriano. "God bless the men and women of our military, and thank you for allowing me to be what I am, and do what I do. Every single one of you are the reason I'm free to do so."

Nonpoint will be donating the proceeds of the digital sales of Frontlines to the USO and Soldiers Angels Foundation.  I've got three videos here.  The first is one Soriano put together because he was moved by the imagery he was seeing, and couldn't wait for the official video to be released, the second is the band's official video, and for fun (albeit low quality) the third is a video I took on my phone from their show in Dekalb on Tuesday.  Give it a listen, and if you like what you hear, give it a download for the troops!

Art, Music, Pop Culture 09-20-10

AMPC today examines the concept of art brut, more commonly thought of as outsider art, with some early examples of the style created by insane asylum inmates, songs by a band I want to hate with every fiber of my being but can't help loving, and a look at how Art Brut affected the culture of the art world in general.

ART

From Wikipedia:

Interest in the art of insane asylum inmates had begun to grow in the 1920s. In 1921 Dr. Walter Morgenthaler published his book Ein Geisteskranker als Künstler (A Psychiatric Patient as Artist) on Adolf Wölfli, a psychotic mental patient in his care. Wölfli had spontaneously taken up drawing, and this activity seemed to calm him. His most outstanding work is an illustrated epic of 45 volumes in which he narrates his own imaginary life story. With 25,000 pages, 1,600 illustrations, and 1,500 collages, it is a monumental work. He also produced a large number of smaller works, some of which were sold or given as gifts. His work is on display at the Adolf Wölfli Foundation in the Museum of Fine Art, Bern. A defining moment was the publication of Bildnerei der Geisteskranken(Artistry of the mentally ill) in 1922, by Dr Hans Prinzhorn.

People with some artistic training and well-established artists are not immune from mental illness and may also be institutionalised. For example, William Kurelek, later awarded the Order of Canadafor his artistic life work, as a young man was admitted to the Maudsley Psychiatric Hospital where he was treated for schizophrenia.^[2] In hospital he painted, producing "The Maze", a dark depiction of his tortured youth.^[3] This 1953 work was used as the cover of the 1981 Van Halen rock album Fair Warning. His experience in the hospital was documented in the LIFE Science Library book The Mind, published in 1965.

A French artist by the name of Jean Dubuffet became interested in these works and went on to coin our term of the day:

French artist Jean Dubuffet was particularly struck by Bildnerei der Geisteskranken and began his own collection of such art, which he called art brut or raw art. In 1948 he formed the Compagnie de l'Art Brut along with other artists, including André Breton. The collection he established became known as the Collection de l'Art Brut. It contains thousands of works and is now permanently housed in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Dubuffet characterized art brut as:

"Those works created from solitude and from pure and authentic creative impulses – where the worries of competition, acclaim and social promotion do not interfere – are, because of these very facts, more precious than the productions of professionals. After a certain familiarity with these flourishings of an exalted feverishness, lived so fully and so intensely by their authors, we cannot avoid the feeling that in relation to these works, cultural art in its entirety appears to be the game of a futile society, a fallacious parade." - Jean Dubuffet. Place à l'incivisme (Make way for Incivism). Art and Text no.27 (December 1987 - February 1988). p.36 Dubuffet's writing on art brut was the subject of a noted program at the Art Club of Chicago in the early 1950s.

Dubuffet argued that 'culture', that is mainstream culture, managed to assimilate every new development in art, and by doing so took away whatever power it might have had. The result was to asphyxiate genuine expression. Art brut was his solution to this problem – only art brut was immune to the influences of culture, immune to being absorbed and assimilated, because the artists themselves were not willing or able to be assimilated

In deference to the origins of art brut, let's take a look at a few works from that initially discussed monumental collection created by Adolf Wolfli (images from Katy Elliot):

MUSIC


Part of hipster culture is latching onto things one largely deems ironic.  This is why we see hipsters wearing clothes that are largely outside mainstream fashion, while also appearing largely sloppy, drinking PBR or Schlitz in an ironic revolt against both the rise of more expensive craft beers, and the commercialism of Miller and Budweiser, or riding single speed bikes.  Mostly their dedication to irony and their disheveled nature make them laughably annoying to me.  I'm really just a t-shirt and jeans kind of guy, and I prefer my craft beer.  So when a friend of mine introduced me to the band Art Brut, I was more than confident I would hate them.  They are, almost by their very definition, a hipster band.  Born out of hipster-punk culture, they even name their songs ironically after old pop songs, such as "Pump Up the Volume," "I Will Survive," and "Blame it on the Trains."

But then I listened, and like John Cusack and Jack Black in High Fidelity realizing the demo tape from the skate punks who tried to rob their store (the Kinky Wizards) is amazing, I could do nothing but sit with a blank stare on my face as I absorbed how good Art Brut really is.  I hate myself for loving you, Art Brut.  And now, that you may begin your own self-loathing journey into the odyssey that is this band, I give you "I Will Survive" and "Emily Kane."





POP CULTURE


Art brut, as a term, is one that I had not been taught in my art classes during my education, but even with a limited knowledge of art history, it is easy to see how its concepts have driven the art world in general away from one of rules and structure, and toward one of the far more free form and sometimes deconstructive types of art we are familiar with calling modern and postmodern art today.  As artists fought to break free from the rules of realism in art, the concept of raw art has been a driving factor in creation over the years, from Cubism to Dada, Constructivism to Futurism.

Art, Music, Pop Culture 09-16-10

For AMPC today, because they are my favorite band ever and because I am going to see them in a few hours, I am holding you hostage to Alice in Chains.  They are in Chicago today with the Deftones and Mastodon and are playing at one of the cooler venues in the City to see a concert, Charter One Pavilion.  Yes I have Art for you, as well as Music, obviously, and I'll spin them into Pop Culture as well.

ART

Alice In Chains' original lead singer, Layne Staley, was well recognized for his voice and his songwriting, and unfortunately later in life much more so for a drug habit that eventually killed him.   Along the way, however, he had an interesting artistic style, well represented by the cover art that he created for his side project, Mad Season's album "Above."  The original piece sold at auction for over $10,000 with Christie's.  Here is the piece, and the accompanying description provided by the auction house.

Original cover art for Mad Season's lone album Above created by lead singer Layne Staley. The artwork is created from a collage of printed material touched up and encompassed by a hand-drawn "frame", which has been pasted over the cover of another album cover.


















MUSIC

In 1996, after not having played a live performance in three years, Alice In Chains performed on MTV's Unplugged.  Due to his serious heroin addiction, there was speculation leading up to the performance for some time as to whether the show would ever even take place.  It did take place, and Layne, though looking like a shell of his former self, delivered a powerful vocal, leading off the set with one of the most memorable performances ever from the Unplugged series, with Nutshell.



POP CULTURE

There is little I can say about the impact of Alice In Chains, and particularly Layne Staley on the culture of rock music, so I will let his peers say say all that can be said.  Following are the songs "04/20/2002" by Pearl Jam, "Layne" by Staind, and an interview with Aaron Lewis of Staind discussing the impact Layne had on his life.





Aaron Lewis Interview:
Link because someone's too cool for embedding.

Art, Music, Pop Culture 09-15-10

Today's AMPC features a look at sculpture in the realm of street art in Chicago, Maynard James Keenan redeeming his awful cover of Imagine by knocking one out of the park with a superb cover of Rocketman, and the incarnation of strange that Joaquin Phoenix has become.

ART

When my friend Christine turned me on to the phenomenon of street art, it was in response to my innocent, yet in retrospect, ludicrous question, "Who is this Banksy you speak of, and why does he have a movie?"  After reattaching her jaw, she explained the background.  Now I am hooked.  One of the more interesting artists that I've seen work by in Chicago goes by CLS, who creates in sculpture.  While I am sure to some, CLS' work may resemble clutter stuck on a wall or a fence, I find it fascinating and very enjoyable.  Here are a few pieces.  Tip 'o' the cap again to FruzsE for her excellent monthly compilations.


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MUSIC

When Maynard got together with his A Perfect Circle crew a few years back and put together eMotive, a compilation of covers mixed in with a few new tracks, I was excited and intrigued.  With Tool, he had helped to create one of the best covers of a classic I'd ever heard, when they took on Led Zeppelin's No Quarter.  While not as well known, they'd also done decent versions of "Demon Cleaner" by Kyuss, and Ted Nugent's "Stranglehold."  That excitement was obliterated as I scrolled through the tracks to have my eardrums assaulted by quite possibly the worst version of John Lennon's "Imagine" ever recorded by professional musicians.  The rest of that album followed suit, and that CD wound up exiting my car via the window on the highway at some point.  That being the case, when I heard that Maynard, with Puscifer, had put together a cover of Elton John's "Rocketman," my excitement this time was tempered with skepticism.  This time around, however, these guys knocked it out of the park.  Behold the swanky glory that is Rocketmantastic.



POP CULTURE

Today's pop culture item will tie slightly back in with the street art theme, as we take a look at actor extraordinaire-turned-nutball, Joaquin Phoenix.  At one time known for excellent dramatic roles playing the likes of Commodus in Gladiator, and Johnny Cash in Walk the Line, Phoenix is more recently well known for his meltdown on Letterman where he let everyone know he was done acting and was going to pursue his true passion of becoming a rapper.



So ludicrous was this entire interview that speculation began almost immediately that Phoenix was faking the entire episode for the sake of the attention.  Apparently he's spent the past few years pursuing his rap dream, and failing pretty miserably.  Most of us had forgotten about him until recently, when word of a new "documentary" about him was coming out called I'm Still Here, that follows his tribulations in becoming a rapper, which is apparently awful.  To promote this silliness a fake street art campaign, led by fake-street-artist-king Shepard Fairey was launched, and the following were posted all over Chicago.

Maxwell Colette put it best in that link:

Just like Swine Flu, after first turning up in NYC those insipid paste ups that Shepard Fairey designed for the upcoming Joachim Phoenix faux documentary have arrived here in Chicago.  At first we thought that the fake stencils were lame.  Then we realized that fake street art promoting a fake documentary has a certain comedic brilliance to it.  Either way, they're here...

Apparently so still, is Phoenix, whatever that may mean.

Art, Music, Pop Culture 09-14-10

Today's AMPC features one of my favorite works of art every by Yves Tanguy, a beautiful cover of Radiohead's "Fake Plastic Trees" done on the ukulele, and Morpheus discussing the Matrix with The Dude.

ART


Yves Tanguy has been one of my favorite artists since I first came across his work somewhere around the age of 14.  I even gave this painting a shot in high school art class.  Unfortunately I wasn't so good with oil paint, but I was happy enough reveling in the work of a master in any case.  Here is Indefinite Divisibility, which he created in 1942.

MUSIC


Only just today have I been turned on to the works of Amanda Palmer.  Originally the lead singer for the Dresden Dolls, she's gone solo, and it would seem she's got herself a hell of a voice.  After parting ways with a label that was, what else, holding her down, she decided to do something fun for herself, and recorded an album of Radiohead covers using a ukulele.  This was bold to be sure, since Radiohead is inarguably one of the greatest bands of all time.  It was especially bold to me that she would choose to do Fake Plastic Trees, as it is one of my favorite songs ever.  But Palmer displays a soft yet powerful voice, and this is a beautiful rendition.



POP CULTURE


Few movies resonate with a majority of us out there as do The Matrix and The Big Lebowski.  Both are iconic for their own reasons, The Matrix having changed the way action movies are made forever, and The Big Lebowski being one of the most clever and memorable comedies of all time.  Apparently both were iconic enough for someone to put together a mash-up.  For this, there are no words.

Art, Music, Pop Culture 09-13-10

And now for a little bit of Art, Music and Pop Culture to bring some variety to the mish-mash of socio-economics and politics I usually discuss.  Expanding my own horizons, and hopefully yours.  Today, a look at some Blago-inspired Chicago street art, a great song I can't get out of my head by MUTEMATH, and a look at Broken Lizard's latest comedy effort.

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Today's art mention comes courtesy of FruzsE over at Chicago Art Magazine, by way of WindyCitizen.  A growing figure on the street-art scene in Chicago, Ray Noland is becoming known for his political stencils.  Here are a few great looks at Blagojevich.







MUSIC


MUTEMATH has been on my mind and on heavy rotation on my MP3 player all summer.  Here is their excellent single, and especially cool video for Spotlight.



POP CULTURE

My version of pop culture will tend to dwell in the realm of movies, trends in rock, punk and rap cultures, and stand-up comedy.  Unlike my friends, I'm not a hipster and care nothing for that ironic nonsense other than to laugh at it.  That said, the latest movie by the crew at Broken Lizard has been heavy on my rotation as of late.  The guys that brought us the classics Super Troopers and Beerfest are back at it with The Slammin' Salmon.  Guest starring Michael Clarke Duncan in an unforgettably funny role as the champ, Slammin' Cleon Salmon, owner of his seafood restaurant, The Slammin' Salmon.  He offers $10,000 to his top waiter for the night, and a broken rib sammich to the low man on the totem pole.  Of course, hilarity ensues as members of the staff try to outdo each other.  Enjoy this awesome compilation of Michael Clarke Duncan scenes, and if you know what's good for you, pick this one up!

Song of the Week

My first ever Song of the Week is going to one of my newly favorite artists, American Bang.  I saw these guys at Lollapalooza, and they stole the show for me on Friday.  A good description for them is Tom Petty meets the Black Crowes.  Their entire new album is phenomenal.  I'd slate it as a classic-album-to-be in the vein of the Black Crowes "Shake Your Money Maker," except that where SYMM loses steam about 2/3 of the way through, every song on American Bang is fantastic.

You may or may not have heard their first single, Wild and Young, on the radio.  If you have not, I present it for you here as my first Song of the Week.  If you like what you hear, give it a download here, and maybepick up their album, while you're at it.  In any case, enjoy!

Behold the GlamBeast

Last year on this blog, while she was still gracing the City of Chicago with her presence, my friend Christine wrote a few posts after I had chance to read some of her writing and asked her to bestow some culture and humor upon this otherwise largely economic and political blog.  She subsequently authored one great post for me, The Reluctant Hipster's Lament,  which retains one of the highest hit-counts of any article on this blog to this day, before saying goodbye to Chicago to move back home to San Diego.  Rumor has it James Westphal invited her out to meet Dr. Kenneth Noisewater and she simply couldn't pass up the opportunity.

Despite my light prodding for her to write more for me again, she's been pursuing other avenues that actually pay her money.  However, she has decided to start her own new blog, GlamBeast, where she's sharing her passions for modern art, fashion and music.  If you like those things, you would be missing out not to go check her out.  She finds some of the coolest stuff around in the vein of things you would never have heard of otherwise.

Lollapalooza: Day Three Diamonds

With a day three jam packed full of must see acts, it was going to be difficult to come home with many diamonds in the rough, since I was going to be spending most of the day occupied with bands I knew were going to be good. So it comes as no surprise that I have only one diamond for day three. That said, it happens to be the diamond of the weekend.

Friendly Fires

Apparently this is what would happen if you threw The Cure, Radiohead, Erasure, Echo & the Bunnymen and Coldplay into a big pile and lit them all on fire. Spike Lee once shilled shoes for Reebok under the slogan "The mo' colors, the mo' better." In the case of Friendly Fires, it's the mo' intruments, the mo' better. Guitar, bass, drums, auxiliary drums played by the bassist, sound board played by the singer, a second mic for effect by the singer, a myriad of little percussion instruments like tambourines and cowbells, even knocking the mic against his head, this was just a wave of pure musical party. There is nothing more I can say that can possibly do justice to how much fun this performance was, other than that you need to listen to this band. As much as possible. Now.

Lollapalooza: Day Three Must See's

Day three of Lollapalooza looms. My legs are rubber from walking nonstop for two days already and my body is sore from moshing to Rise Against and Tool like I was 16 years old. Yet day three brings more must see bands than either of the previous two days.

Cage the Elephant

I had never heard of this band until I started randomly browsing the Lollapalooza lineup back in the spring. Thank goodness I did, because these guys have put out, quite simply, the best rock album of the year, hands down. Can't miss.





Cold War Kids

Just one of the coolest sounding bands around. No song they've done has ever let me down.





Lou Reed

The original alternative rock god. Known for either being the greatest show you've ever seen, or the worst, Lollapalooza marks his first ever festival show in the United States. My money is on "best show ever" this time, enough so to eschew Snoop Dogg in his favor.





Silversun Pickups

When I first heard Lazy Eye, I thought these guys sounded like a weak Smashing Pumpkins cover band. Then I heard Panic Switch. Now I am hooked. This should be good!



Jane's Addiction

I have never seen Jane's Addiction, so I can't wait for this show. Fitting that Perry Farrel will close out his monstrous festival himself. Here's looking forward to a great performance!

Lollapalooza: Day Two Diamonds

As expected, Rise Against and Tool both put on mind blowing performances yesterday. But as I attempt to steel my already sore body to the reality of walking another hundred miles on the hottest day of the year, I must reflect on day two's diamonds in the rough, including the one act that may very well have stolen the entire weekend with his performance.

Coheed and Cambria

Yeah, yeah, I know what you're saying. How is a band like Coheed a diamond in the rough? Well, first, I live in Chicago, where the only alternative station is Q101, owned by Emmis, who also bought the Loop. So no matter what, I'm only any longer exposed to watered down crap and about 11 hours a day of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. That said, the only Coheed I had ever heard was terrible. So imagine my surprise to go check these guys out at my friend's recommendation and I was pummeled with wave after wave of face-melting rock! No wonder the program is comparing them to Rush. Just one word: Wow!




Joe Pug

The program talked about critics comparing him to Bob Dylan. Also he was the closest act at the time to the beer garden. In any case, I was not let down. If Black Joe Lewis on day one was the resurrection of James Brown, Joe Pug is every bit the new Bob Dylan. Just a fantastic voice. Great guitar work, and played the harmonica, too. And as to his band, who doesn't love the good ol' country twang of a real deal slide guitar?




Quinn Sullivan

I checked my Facebook at about 1:28 to see an alert from Lollapalooza that Buddy Guy was going to be at the Kidzapalooza stage at 1:30. I had to be there, no questions asked. What I found when I got there was the announcer talking up the next performer, calling him one of the most talented guitar players he had ever seen, of any age, but especially at the age of 10! My jaw and the jaws of those around me didn't leave the ground as 10 year old Quinn Sullivan played some of the best blues around, including his own stuff, a completely unreal performance of Little Wing, and then wrapped it up with a five plus minute rendition of his song "Buddy Blues," side by side with Buddy Guy. Something seriously amazing will have to happen today for this not to be the performance of the weekend!

Lollapalooza: Day Two Must See's

I must confess I don't like much of what I see throughout the day for day two of Lollapalooza. However, the night brings the heavy hitters, and will make the entire weekend worth it to me. Only two must see's for me today, so I hope to find myself pleasantly surprised by the rest of the day. I would have three must see's, but I need to keep a good spot between my two must see's, so I won't be going to see Ben Harper, even though I want to.

Rise Against

The hottest band on the planet right now not named Kings of Leon. Pure energy, through and through, and while I'm not the biggest fan of their politics, I still love the music, and I can't wait to see them. Here's hoping for a great show as the Chicago boys come home to play!





Tool

My second favorite band ever, behind Alice In Chains. These guys put on the best live performance I have ever seen in my life, and they do it every time out. The best drummer alive, and one of the best ever, Danny Carey is almost inhuman.

Lollapalooza: Day One Diamonds

As I wake up this morning to the sound of my neighbor playing the drums in his backyard, coincidentally right outside my window, I am forced immediately past the grogginess I should feel after walking something like 847 miles in the rain yesterday, and into a clear minded state of recollection of day one's diamonds in the rough.

The Knux

Loved this hip-hop duo and their approach, utilizing a full band in lieu of a DJ. Fantastic energy, great beats and definitely a group to keep an eye on if you're into rap. Wouldn't you know it, entertainers that they were, they even broke out House of Pain's Jump Around. If Lolla had a roof, they would've blown it off!




Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears

The resurrection of James Brown. Since I'm finding it difficult to express the words for these guys beyond that, I'll steal a line from a Youtube commenter: Every once in a while I come across a band, musician, or artist that blows me away. I found my next one here!




Hollywood Holt

These guys came out and absolutely tore up Perry's, the DJ stage. They had the crowd absolutely amped up. We got so into this show that I completely forgot I only stopped in at Perry's "for a few minutes" while we waited for Ben Folds. We missed Ben Folds.




Asher Roth

You're either going to say, "Oh my God, not another rapper," or you're going to say, "But everybody knows Asher Roth!" Well, to the first point, there wasn't much happening aside from Black Joe Lewis on the rock front on day one. Manchester Orchestra, Black Joe Lewis, and Kings of Leon saved the rock day in my eyes. I gave the Springsteen-esque Gaslight Anthem a shot, but they just about put me to sleep. To the second point, yes, everyone already does know Asher Roth for his song "I Love College," but he's a diamond to me because this performance made him so much more than just that song to me. He killed his whole set, and save for Hollywood Holt, had his crowd going harder than anybody else all day.

Lollapalooza Day One: My Must Sees

As I write this, it's probably about two hours before I get to run the gamut of weather conditions over the course of seeing as many bands as possible over the next three days. Excitement brews as I ponder my Day One Must See's. Enjoy the videos below and check out some of these bands and performers if you don't know them already. I'll be back tonight with any other diamonds in the rough I found during the day!

Manchester Orchestra



Ben Folds



Andrew Bird



Kings of Leon

New Alice In Chains - A Looking In View

The new release as of today from Alice In Chains. This has been my favorite band since I was 14 years old. This harkens back to the days of Dirt in terms of the heavy riffs and the melodic feel. Very cool. I can't wait until they announce their US tour.



Enjoy!