Tag: music festival

M.I.A., Gorillaz, TV On The Radio 9/16/17

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(i) lineup

1a. TV On The Radio
2b. Gorillaz
3c. M.I.A.

(1a) (TV On The Radio’s) setlist

  1. Young Liars
  2. Lazerray
  3. Golden Age
  4. Happy Idiot
  5. Could You
  6. Winter
  7. Wolf Like Me
  8. Trouble
  9. Province
  10. DLZ
  11. Staring at the Sun

(1b) highlights

  • even though I’ve seen TV on the Radio before, this was the first time I was really able to be in the front and engage with the band.
  • not too long ago, I feel like TV on the Radio was everyone’s indie darling for all time, but I really do think they’ve progressively become more underrated. we need more TV on the Radio.
  • how good is “Wolf Like Me”? it is so, so good.

(1c) lowlights

  • the sound wasn’t super fantastic – not sure who to blame for that.

(1d) overall thoughts

In a super-stripped down set, TV on the Radio took the stage just before sunset at the Meadows Music Festival. Tunde Adebimpe’s beautiful voice, on-stage energy, and ability to just get lost in himself ironically made me connect more to his performance than many other that day.

Bottom line: Everyone needs to see TV On The Radio if only because they’re cool as hell, don’t really care what you think about what they’re doing, and mostly just want to have fun in a disaffected punk way that manages to feel cool and not at all douchey.

(2a) (Gorillaz’s) setlist

  1. M1 A1
  2. Last Living Souls
  3. Saturnz Barz
  4. Tomorrow Comes Today
  5. Rhinestone Eyes
  6. Sleeping Powder
  7. On Melancholy Hill
  8. Busted and Blue
  9. El Manana
  10. Let Me Out (with Pusha T)
  11. Dirty Harry (with Bootie Brown)
  12. Strobelite (with Peven Everett)
  13. Andromeda (with D.R.A.M.)
  14. Sex Murder Party (with Jamie Principle)
  15. Garage Palace (with Little Simz)
  16. Feel Good Inc. (with De La Soul)
  17. We Got The Power (with Camille Bethomier and D.R.A.M.)

Encore:

  1. Stylo (with Mos Def and Peven Everett)
  2. Clint Eastwood (with Del the Funky Homosapien)

(2b) highlights

  • Gorillaz!!!!! literally how iconic are Gorillaz, I have no words
  • The last 7 or 8 songs were basically perfect. I’ll admit that we showed up late to this set and ONLY saw the last 7 or 8 songs in order to catch M.I.A., but hot damn, so much fun.
  • What is there to say about Damon Albarn that hasn’t already been said other than he’s cool ass dad who came out literally wearing sweats and a slightly baggy stripped street. I mean….perfection. What a guy.
  • there aren’t enough words to describe the feeling hearing “Feel Good Inc” and “Clint Eastwood” live. yeah, it’s basic af to reflect on those particular tracks but man, talk about songs that truly capture the perfectly unique moment that was my middle school experience. is that weird? it’s true.

(2c) lowlights

  • like I said, we only saw the last half of this set because someone who runs Meadows’ booking decided to double-book M.I.A. and Gorillaz despite the fact that they obviously have crossover audiences. lowkey that person should get a new job title.

(2d) overall thoughts

I feel like there’s truly no other group out in the world quite like Gorillaz. Damon Albarn – the man, the myth, the legend behind Blur – manages time and time again to not only take musical collaboration to another level, but still surprises me with every new release. Even though Humanz wasn’t a flawless record and not quite as strong as their previous work, you still can’t help but respect the boundaries they cross.

 

Bottom line: Gorillaz’s live performance takes things to the next level. With a combination of cool visuals, live collaborations that don’t touch any other any other group, and wide-ranging deep cuts and beloved singles, Gorillaz cannot be missed. True headliners to the core, I hope I won’t have to wait over a decade to see these guys again.

(3a) (M.I.A.’s) setlist

  1. Borders
  2. Go Off
  3. Pull Up The People
  4. Bamboo Banga
  5. Freedun
  6. 20 Dollar
  7. Bucky Done Gun
  8. Bring the Noize
  9. XR2
  10. Born Free

Encore:

  1. Galang
  2. Finally
  3. P.O.W.A.
  4. Ali R U OK?
  5. Bad Girls
  6. Fly Pirate
  7. Paper Planes

(3b) highlights

  • M.I.A!!!!!! Holy shit!!!! What a QUEEN.
  • there are probably only 4 or 5 people on the entirety on planet earth cooler than M.I.A. and two of them are Han Solo and Indiana Jones, which is not only just Harrison Ford but obviously men that don’t exist – so, what my midnight stupor is trying to say is that M.I.A. is fucking COOL. like, people don’t get it. she oozes perfection. she’s basically my Beyonce is what I’m saying.
  • did you know that M.I.A. is not only a mother but 42 years old. she’s 42. like. okay.
  • her outfit, stage set-up, and general energy were so badass, I couldn’t even handle it.
  • my soul transcended during “Paper Planes,” the end
  • I could write a 25-page thesis on why “Bad Girls” is the sexiest music video of all time. M.I.A. didn’t play the video or anything, but it’s almost impossible for me to disassociate it from the song itself, and goddamn it was so hot.
  • M.I.A. brought a dude up wearing some of her merch and thousands of people basically watched this guy twerk up a storm and it was incredible.
  • my best friend and roommate is also brown like Maya and this show was actually on her birthday and she’s worshipped her forever, so basically watching her watch the show was pretty incredible.
  • I feel like I took great photos during her set, which was awesome.

(3c) lowlights

  • she showed up a little late, which is fine because M.I.A. is a queen and I would wait for her until the end of the earth.

(3d) overall thoughts

There’s truly nothing I could say about M.I.A., her incredible vitality to not only brown culture, refugees, general musicianship and artistry, and women, that hasn’t already been said. So I won’t even try. All I can really say is that artists like M.I.A. matter for so many reasons. Maya Arulpragasam represents pretty much every aspect of minority culture from her gender, religion, age, culture, taste, citizenship, and countless others, and seeing her in her element perform for a crowd of thousands was legendary.

Bottom line: Getting to see M.I.A. wasn’t only one of the highlights of 2017, but a highlight of my adult life. Seeing such a strong, independent, fully realized woman, mother, and artist create and perform something so distinctly her was inspiring, uplifting, and truly earth-shattering for me.

Franz Ferdinand, Zane Lowe 6/4/17

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(i) lineup

1a. Zane Lowe
2b. Franz Ferdinand

(1a) (Zane Lowe) setlist

    1. To quote Zane, “I’m doing 80 songs in 40 minutes, so let’s get it, New York!!!”
    2. does it matter what the songs were?

(1b) highlights

  • Zane Lowe indirectly helped shape my entire music taste and he certainly has no idea

(1c) lowlights

  • Zane Lowe indirectly helped shape my entire music taste and he certainly has no idea

(1d) overall thoughts

  • This image below includes the only important takeaways from the performance

IMG_20170617_004929

Bottom line: Zane Lowe was a Radio 1 DJ and legendary host of MTV’s Gonzo hour interviewing people I loved, and now resides at Apple Music interviewing dumb people I hate. He made me dance at Gov Ball, even when I thought he looked dumb. Good guy. Dumb banter, but good guy.

 

(2a) (Franz Ferdinand’s) setlist

    1. Jacqueline
    2. No You Girls
    3. The Dark of the Matinee
    4. Paper Cages
    5. Do You Want To
    6. The Fallen
    7. Walk Away
    8. Love Illumination
    9. Michael
    10. Always Ascending
    11. Take Me Out
    12. Ulysses
    13. This Fire

(2b) highlights

  • FRANZ!!!!!!
  • but but FRANZ!!!!
  • that setlist. like. what. Jacqueline. Dark of the Matinee. Michael. Ulysses. All of it.
  • Hit after hit after hit after hit, this band NEVER QUIT.
  • if you’ve never seen or heard a festival crowd sing along to probably one of the greatest guitar riffs of the last 30 years in a huge festival crowd, then you’ve never seen “Take Me Out” and you’ve never LIVED

(2c) lowlights

  • the first three rows of people were all there for some tool ass DJ named Logic and every bro in his crowd made me wanna commit suicide; none of them deserved to even be in Franz’s presence

(2d) overall thoughts

 

Franz Ferdinand were one of the first bands I ever listened to and truly loved. I remember having their debut Franz Ferdinand and 2005 hit You Could Have It So Much Better rotating in my CD player, along with Hot Fuss and the Hot Hot Heat album that came out that year. Their first two albums were so incredibly formative for me that it’s entirely possible my life would’ve gone a different direction had I not discovered them. That’s powerful.

Despite being a huge fan since Day 1, this show was only my second time seeing Franz. For some reason, they tend not to make it out to NYC – or American in general – all that often. The first time I saw them was only in 2013 and I still think that performance is one of the greatest shows I’ve ever seen. At Governor’s Ball, my friends and I were close to the stage, but trapped in a sea of non-Franz fans. I later learned that nearly everyone behind us, going back nearly 40 rows – which is notable considering they weren’t on a main stage – were there to see them, but at the time…it really felt like an intimate concert just for us. And I swear I’ll never forget it.

The interesting thing about desperately loving music that was popular over a decade ago is recognizing when that music, and the people that create them, start to feel their age. Franz Ferdinand absolutely captured a musical moment in time when they hit the scene in the early 2000s. Some people might even say that they created the scene, and I wouldn’t disagree with that. A bunch of art school kids, Franz transformed the post-punk revival into something that was dirty and gritty and from New York (a la Interpol, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, the Strokes) and made it something cool, slick, arty, dance-y, and fun. 90% of indie alternative bands out today would not exist if it weren’t for Franz Ferdinand and I will fight anyone who says different.

Opening with “Jacqueline,” “No You Girls,” and “Dark of the Matinee” perfectly reveals how resonating this band’s influence has been not only on music, but for fans. Even without having heard “Jacqueline” in years, aside from occasionally coming up on shuffle, I didn’t hesitate in the slightest when it was time to scream-sing, “It’s always better on holiday, so much better on holiday, that’s why we only work when we need the money.” I was back in my parents car with my CD player and headphones wrapped over my ears with those orange and brown, cracked CD cases.

Bottom line: Franz Ferdinand is iconic, not simply in what they did for music and the genre, but for their undeniable ability to bring joy and showmanship to performance. When other bands have found it easy to play their back catalog straightforwardly, Franz elevates their songs to classic status by throwing themselves completely into the sound. I pray this band never goes away, but if they do, their music will live on and there’s nothing more comforting than that.