Semi Precious Weapons, Verona Red, Nico Vega and The Flavor Savors ROCKED Chicago this Weekend

I had an amazing weekend.

Friday night I went to see my beloved Semi Precious Weapons at Subterranean. This was my fourth time seeing them in Chicago, and fifth overall. LOVE them. I don't think blogger allows a large and bold enough font to accurately express my positive feelings towards them. Their live show sucker punches everyone else's live show in the face and makes all the other live shows cry. It's full of the most beautiful rock and roll you'll ever see. They're currently on tour with Lady Gaga, which is great for them and ironic since Gaga used to open for them back in the day, so they're leaving the country again for a few months. BUT, next time they're in Chicago and playing a smaller venue (so NOT Chicago Theater w/Gaga), do yourself a favor and check out their show. You'll want to be up front and center for this one, so get there early and wear something fabulous. Below are some clips from their show.
Opening for SPW was LA's Nico Vega. Every once in a while I see a band I'm not familiar with and they blow me away. Ha Ha Tonka did it. Passion Pit did it. Nico Vega did it. They have a live show worthy of opening for SPW, which is a feat in itself that most can't conquer, and I can certainly call myself a fan. After rocking my socks off a few songs in a row, I decided to snap a clip for your viewing pleasure. Check it out below.

Saturday night was Chicago's Verona Red's turn to rock my socks off. They did, and they did it well. I am constantly impressed with their ability to play really great rock and roll with such vigor that people dance, instruments break, and good times are inevitable. Of all the Chicago bands I've seen, they have the best live rock show hands down. They're playing again in Chicago at Subterranean on May 14 with Hurricane Bells from NY and King Sparrow from Chicago, so if you have the desire to be rocked, check them out then. Below is a video of them starting the show with "In the Coat Check."
Model Stranger and The Flavor Savors also played Saturday. Mad props to Model Stranger for such an amazing album release show. "Dreams and Bones" sounded great live, and I'm looking forward to the next show. Also, The Flavor Savors were a blast. I captured a bit of their show below.

Spoon and Passion Pit, LIVE

Last Thursday and Friday I attended Spoon and Passion Pit's Chicago shows, and they were each fabulous to varying degrees. I didn't take pictures at Passion Pit, but the pictures and videos I grabbed at Spoon are below.

SPOON was amazing. I first saw them at P4K 2008 and had really only ever heard "I Turn My Camera On." Having said that, I was incredibly impressed and turned on by their awesomeness. I vowed to listen to more Spoon, and I'm happy to say that I followed through on that promise.

On Thursday's show at the Aragon, I was so excited to see them up close and indoors. When Britt Daniel came out on stage with his guitar, you could clearly see his excitement too. But after a few songs it became obvious that they were a bit "off." It didn't seem like they were drunk, so I was beginning to get confused, but then Britt first addressed the sound. Apparently, the monitors sucked, and Spoon couldn't hear themselves, despite me hearing them just fine. I saw the band go from confusion, to frustration, to anger, to frustration, to anger, to frustration, etc. Britt spent half the night playing to the floor, ear pressed to the monitor, while Rob kept facing Jim on drums, apparently unable to hear the tempo otherwise.

While Britt still showed bursts of the excitement he had when he first came on stage, those moments were sporadically placed between his blatant disappointment and missed entrances. It's not like they were HORRIBLE - I could still see what incredibly talented musicians they are - but it didn't make my "best live shows" list. Britt felt bad, and kept thanking us for not leaving and for clapping.

(above: Britt and Aragon's sound guy, checking out the monitors mid-song)

PASSION PIT has only gotten better since when I first saw them in January 2009 at Schubas. They're more polished, bigger, louder, and more creative. Besides the fact that I was surrounded by drunk, sweaty 12 year olds, it was an awesome dance party similar to Lollapalooza's last summer. While I can appreciate burning some calories to great live music in a crowd of enthusiasts, and while I'm certainly happy Passion Pit is able to pay their bills, I definitely loved their Schubas show way more. That show had just as much dancing, only it had less annoying chaches and more sophisticated hand-clapping.

Have you Heard About Havin a Baby?

If you're obsessed with Liam Finn, you already know that Havin a Baby is something you need to understand.

Liam Finn started a fun little distraction with some of his "good mates," and in August 2009, introduced their one and only song to-date on the band's myspace page, myspace.com/tobeadad. The track, like the band, is called "Havin a Baby." It both satisfies my A.D.D. AND puts me in a better mood. The sound is a braided concoction of Passion Pit, Of Montreal, and The Go! Team - clearly, it's pretty fabulous. Check it out HERE.

2010 Coachella Line-up Announced

and I SO wish I could go :(

I will certainly be at Lollapalooza and Pitchfork again this year, but I really hope I can find a way to make it to Coachella or CMJ or SXSW or Bonnaroo too. Either way, I posted the Coachella line-up below for your reference, and I also called out which bands made me immediately excited. The bands are listed in relative order of excitement. :)

Muse
LCD Soundsystem
Passion Pit
SPOON
Florence and the Machine
Owen Pallett
Hot Chip
Yeasayer
King Kahn
Phoenix
She & Him
White Rabbits
Girls
Pavement
Them Crooked Vultures
Avett Brothers
MGMT
Gossip
Beach House
Gorillaz
Temper Trap
The xx
Matt & Kim
Dirty Projectors
Vampire Weekend
Hockey
Grizzly Bear
Tokyo Police Club
Sia

Best Album Finds of 2009

I'm not going to do a "Top 10 albums of 2009" list because I listened to a LOT of really good albums throughout the year, but most of them only once or twice due to my crazy don't-have-time-to-listen-to-full-albums-enough-to-fall-in-love-with-them lifestyle. Since many of these albums COULD have made my top 10, and since I didn't even get to listen to all the albums I wanted to, I simply will not rank them. I'd hate to look back later this year, after I fall in love with an album that was made in 2009, and know that I didn't included it in my "Top 10 albums of 2009." So, I officially declare that I will author an annual "Best Album Finds of YEAR" list. Enjoy!

WARNING: Some of my favorite album finds of 2009 weren't made in 2009. I'm ok with that; just happy I finally found them.

Mugison's Mugiboogie is my favorite find of 2009 (even though it was released in 2008). This album is AMAZING. I discovered my love for this album on January 9, 2009, when I featured his song Mugiboogie. It was then that I first declared him a "versatile, boundary-less, unpredictable, master of sound." I encourage you to stop reading this post, click HERE, and listen to this album now (you can also download it for FREE!). This blog post will be here when you're done.


The Blow's Paper Television is chuck full of fun. Another album I highly recommend. I'm pretty late to the Paper Television party, since this album came out in 2006, but again - better late than never. You can listen to it HERE.


Although I discovered Of Montreal's Skeletal Lamping on December 27, 2008, it was still one of my absolute top albums of 2009, so I'm including it. F.A.B.ulous. Also one of my absolute favorite live shows of 2009. Listen to it HERE.


Ok, so I now realize that most of my favorite albums of 2009 were birthed earlier than 2009, so in order to get to some more current albums, I'm going to list a few more personal classics that I found-and-loved last year.

Passion Pit's Chunk of Change
Friendly Fires' Friendly Fires
Langhorne Slim's Langhorne Slim
Foals' Antidotes
Elbow's The Seldom Seen Kid
Lykke Li's Youth Novels

I love Animal Collective's Merriweather Pavilion from beginning to end. This made a lot of folks' top album lists, and for good reason. My goodness, if you haven't heard it yet, click HERE and get started!


Absolutely LOVE Golden Silver's True Romance. Kind of surprised I haven't heard more about them yet, but I'm ok assuming I'm an early adapter. :) Listen to them HERE and see if you agree.


Liam Finn and Eliza Jane's Champagne in Seashells is a love-at-first-listen album. I'm a big fan of Liam Finn's I'll Be Lightning, and this EP just confirmed that I'm a big Liam Finn fan in general. Check it out HERE.


Florence and the Machine's Lungs - Love her voice, her energy, her enthusiasm, and most importantly - her music! I'm a fan :) Listen to the album HERE.


I'd heard for-EVER about the supposed greatness of The Decemberists, and it wasn't until I listened to The Decemberists' Hazards of Love in that I understood why. AMAZING. Definitely a top find of 2009. I suggest you listen all the way through, which you can do HERE.


Other albums that maybe should be on here, but I haven't listened to enough to fully endorse include:

Muse's The Resistance
Girls' Album
Bat for Lashes' Two Suns

I can imagine your internal dialogue at this point might look something like this:

"Jiminy Cricket Tracy, you're obsessed with music and listen to it constantly,
how can this be it?! wtf"

It saddens me that my stupid life got in the way of actually listening, reviewing and becoming obsessed with a LOT more albums from 2009, but do not fear for 2010. I have aggressive goals to not only stay on top of all the fabulous 2010 releases, but to also catch up on all the great stuff I missed in 2009. Therefore, plan to see more old stuff on the list next year, and hopefully a shit more albums too.


Until then, thanks for reading and please feel encouraged to send me whatever album recommendations you have.

Recommended Song and Lollapalooza Day 3 Recap

England, UK

8/9/09: You Want History, by Kaiser Chiefs

Listen to it HERE

I'm a really big fan of Kaiser Chiefs' album Employment, and the only reason I haven't featured a song from it yet is because I can't decide on which song. Well, after seeing Kaiser Chiefs at Lollapalooza, I knew I had to feature them. Their live show was surprisingly fantastic. Their newest album, Off With Their Heads, has been on my list of records I intend to check out since before it was released. I haven't gotten to it just yet, but I have heard several tracks off the album via Pandora or Napster, and today's song caught my attention a while ago.

**Side note - I very honestly, 100% seriously, have no idea what's on the radio right now. I know Lady Gaga, and that's it. I mention this because I have no idea if a recommended song was completely overplayed at some point and everyone's mother knows it, or if it's some random track off an unknown album. I could google it, but I kind of like the objective opinion that not knowing the song's success allows me to have.


Lollapalooza Day 3

I got to the grounds on time to hear most of Sam Roberts Band's (Montreal, Canada) set, but like Day 2 I heard my first band from the side putting on sunscreen in the shade. I liked it, but headed straight to Friendly Fires (St. Albans, UK) after sunscreen to get a good spot. Probably the #4 band on my list of "bands to see at Lolla 09," I previously saw Friendly Fires with White Lies at Double Door this spring. I liked that show and I love their self-titled album, so I was really excited to start Sunday with some dancing at their stage.

Well, dance I did. And so did lead singer Ed Macfarlane, despite the high 90s temperatures during their 12:30 set. I thought he was going to die. Thankfully, he didn't, and the show was one of my top Lolla shows fo sho. Here's a clip:

At this point in my Lollapalooza experience, I have survived nearly freezing to death during Fleet Foxes and nearly being rocked to death in the front rows of Tool. I admit I got lazy on day 3 and easily started settling for "hearing" a band from a distance versus "experiencing" their live show. I half-assed it for such fine artists as Portugal. The Man (Wasilla, AK), Gang Gang Dance (NY, NY), Cold War Kids (Long Beach, CA), Snoop Dogg (Long Beach, CA), and Band of Horses (the Carolinas). I feel OK about "missing" all these shows, because the three shows I DID see were awesome!

(PS Band of Horses, I don't care if the "legend" Lou Reed (Brooklyn, NY) played late into your set all but 3 minutes (much less only 10!), you do not play a second over Jane's Addiction's set! (much less 3 songs!) Booooo. I'm mad at you.)

So the first show I went to after Friendly Fires was Kaiser Chiefs. As I mentioned before, it was awesome. I was very much surprised to see their front man in action. He did a really good job of getting a crowd the size of Lollapalooza's involved. And, they were fun musicians to see live!

(The lead singer is singing in the crowd. And I totally thought that chick in the pink shirt was a fan that got on stage that no one was going after. I then realized she was signing the show...)

Immediately following Kaiser Chiefs I headed to the Citi stage to get good spots for Passion Pit (Cambridge, MA). I got as close to the front as I could and it was PACKED. I had high expectations for their show, as I saw them in January at Schubas in Chicago and it was BEYOND FABULOUS. As soon as they stated playing, everyone went crazy and people were falling over and crowd surfing. I nearly died trying to dance at Passion Pit! So, I moved towards the rear of the crowd and danced with other non-crazies. Nonetheless, Passion Pit was amazing. I love their music, but I REALLY love how much everyone in the crowd dances. I taped a quick 360 view during their set, which you can see below.

Also, I didn't get a good clip of the craziness at Passion Pit, but this person did. I'm for serious people; paramedics were shoving their way through the crowd at one point. Check it out:

Last stand-out act of the night was Jane's Addiction (LA,CA). I can honestly say that I don't think I know a single one of their songs. I have no idea how so many artists can completely slip by me, but Jane's Addiction was one of them. And even so, I thought their live show was FABulous! I suspected I might like it because Perry Ferrall is kind of my hero, with the whole "creating Lollapalooza" thing. And because I love Semi Precious Weapons, who one of my friends used to describe Jane's asthetic. Well, after seeing the show I can say I loved it! Perry's still my hero, and I even liked their music. :) I was able to use my last bit of memory to film the opening few moments of their show.

Here are some random moments of Lollapalooza Day 3:

I would LOVED to have seen Neko Case (Virginia/Canada?), Dan Auerbach (Akron, OH), Cage the Elephant (Bowling Green, KY), and Deerhunter (Atlanta, GA) as well, but that's what makes Lollapalooza bittersweet.

SO- that's my Lollapalooza 2009 recap. I already CAN'T WAIT for 2010. :D

Tracy :)

To hear the artists that played Lollapalooza day 3 that were featured on MY blog, click the links:

Friendly Fires
Ra Ra Riot
Portugal. The Man
Neko Case
Dan Auerbach
Vampire Weekend
Passion Pit

Recommended Song and Lollapalooza Day 2 Recap

Sweden

8/8/09: Let it Fall, by Lykke Li

Listen to it HERE

I really like her whole album, Youth Novels. I very much encourage you to check it out. I'm serious. Youth NovelsYouth NovelsYouth Novels



Lollapalooza, Day 2

SO happy it didn't rain again! It was warm and beautiful and I LOVED it :) I decided to try the LP33.tv thing one more time, so I started my morning at the press tent. This time, I even roped Chris Balzer into it.

My first stop was Ezra Furman (Chicago, IL). And while the music was certainly good, I spent most of their show in the shade lathering on sunscreen and ordering a cheeseburger for breakfast. Delta Spirit (CA) was the first act on my list of must-sees. They were awesome! I'm officially a fan, and big thanks to @Labatt205 for the inspiration :) Here's a clip of their performance:

From Delta Spirit I went right over to Langhorne Slim. I was SUPER excited to see him, as I love his song "Rebel Side of Heaven." I captured a bit of that song on video, which you can see HERE.

From here Chris and I did our LP33.tv stints, both failing miserably at trying to say "LP33.tv." I headed over to the XRT Relax and Recharge area and Chris visited the ADIDAS shoe van-thing. Again, you'll see it when I run for office...

I headed to Gomez (Southport, UK) next, against my own advice, but on the insistence of others. Again, I don't remember what it was that turned me off to Gomez, but for some reason I regretfully tagged along. (I was OK not going to Chairlift because I have tickets to see them with Micachu & the Shapes soon at Schubas) Thankfully, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed them! I need to add them to my current "Need to Listen to" playlist so I can hear more, and maybe soon you'll see them featured on MPD!

Following Gomez we hiked to Arctic Monkeys (England, UK). I met up with some friends for this, so I didn't really concentrate on their show. I was hoping to pay a bit more attention to them, as I like several of their songs, but oh well.

I caught Santigold (Brooklyn, NY) from the TV on the Radio stage. She was fun! I was impressed, and had no idea she'd been touring for the last two years. Lolla's show was her first show back in the states after her tour overseas, and the last show of her U.S. and overseas tour - so a big night for her!

TV on the radio (Brooklyn, NY) was a HUGE surprise. Sure, I liked them. Sure, I featured them. But goodness people, these guys are FABulous! A whole new level of respect and admiration for TVOTR. I left their show a few songs into it though, to try and get a good spot at Animal Collective (Baltimore, MD) (one of my top 3 shows to see). I failed horribly at this mission. It's sad and embarrassing.

I stood for an hour at the wrong stage. Yep, completely wrong stage. In retrosect, all our questioning of "what's taking so long?" and "why are those people next to us dressed like Jesus and the Devil?" makes more sense once you realize we were up front at Tool's stage! UGH! Uuuuuuugh. I suck at life. :(

Anyway, I caught 1.4 songs of Animal Collective's set, and all 1.4 songs were AWESOME. I'm SO sad I missed it, and SO happy we realized we were at the wrong state when we did, or I would have been in for a ruuuuude awakening when the band came out.

After Animal Collective, I did watch 15 minutes of Tool (LA, CA) (from a distance far, far away from the stage) and then closed out the night with Yeah Yeah Yeahs (NYC) at the other end. Truth be told, I don't remember much of their set. I was ready for bed.

The quick replacement of the Beastie Boys with YYY got me to thinking, who would be on my dream Lolla line-up? Some of my line-up actually was there, including Of Montreal, Passion Pit, Animal Collective and Friendly Fires. Others I'd add would include The Faint, Semi Precious Weapons, Bowie, Paul McCartney, Calvin Harris, Arcade Fire, The Blow, Hard-fi, No Doubt, Muse, Hot Chip, Yeasayer, Ha Ha Tonka, Verona Red, Modest Mouse, Paul Simon, Radiohead, Moving Units, and The Black Keys. OOOOOOOrgasmic. :)


Here are some more random pictures from Lollapalooza Day 2:

Next up, Day 3! :)

Tracy :)

To hear artists from Lollapalooza Day 2 that I've featured on MY blog, click the links:

Delta Spirit
Los Campesinos!
Santigold
TV on the Radio
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Joe Pug
Chairlift

Recommended Song of the Day

Portland, OR

6/9/09: Sleeping Lessons, by The Shins

Listen to it HERE

I always knew I liked The Shins, they just haven't made it to the blog yet. The other day, however, this song came up on Pandora and jiminy cricket it sounds JUST LIKE Passion Pit. I LOVE Passion Pit - so if you know either The Shins -or- Passion Pit, odds are you'll like the other.

Enjoy!

Tracy :)

An Extra Gift For You :)

Calvin Harris' remix of Passion Pit's "The Reeling"

Listen to it HERE

SO.
MUCH.
GOODNESS.
LOVE.
EXPLODING.
AGH!!!

Enjoy :)

Props to CB

Good Playlist

LOVE this latest playlist on Stereogum

Chicago Concert

PASSION PIT is coming to Chicago!!!

I LOVE them! If you are a fan of good music with an AMAZING live sound, I urge you to pretend. They'll be at Empty Bottle on June 14. I'm buying my ticket yesterday.

AGH!!! :)

My Current Pandora QuickMix

Here's who's included:

Coltrane Motion
Office
CSS
Kyle Andrews
Stereo MC's
Radiohead
Fujiya & Miyagi
Architecture in Helsinki
Passion Pit
Animal Collective
The Asteroids Galaxy Tour
Of Montreal
Moving Units
The Blow
Calvin Harris
Justice
MGMT
The Faint
Junior Senior

Click here to listen!

Album News!

Passion Pit announced their first, full-length album Manners will be released 5/26!

LOVE Passion Pit.

Check out more details here.

Recommended Song of the Day

1/27/08: I've Got Your Number, by Passion Pit

Passion Pit will be at Schubas tonight!!! I'm so flippin' excited. It's understandable that you're jealous, as the show is sold out and odds are you're not going. Make sure you see them the next time they're in town!

Tracy :)

Cambridge, MA


RECAP: One of my favorite shows ever.

Schubas was packed, people were dancing, the audience was very interactive and the band was hilarious in response, and they were amazing. I love that I couldn't tell if the crowd or the band was more into the music... I walk into every show only hoping it will be as awesome as last night. They're coming back to Chicago around May, so just block off that month until I have further information.

Oh, AND they're all super nice! :)


Their album, Chunk of Change, is worthy of your love.


Because I love you, and I know you'll love them, here's where they'll be next.

• 01-28 Cleveland, Ohio - The Spot @ Case University
• 01-29 Cincinnati, Ohio - Northside Tavern
• 01-30 Columbus, Ohio - Summit
• 02-02 Baltimore, Maryland - Ottobar
• 02-03 Washington DC - Black Cat
• 02-07 Northampton, Massachusetts - Iron Horse Music Hall

Some good upcoming Chicago shows (you're welcome)

Empty Bottle . 1035 N. Western Avenue

Mucca Pazza 1/09 (21+) $12 10:00


I can honestly say I've hardly ever been so excited for a local show as I am for Mucca Pazza! Band Geeks Unite! :)

Chicago, IL

Props to KM.


Schubas . 3159 N Southport Avenue

Passion Pit 1/27 (18+) $10a/$12d 9:00
Cambridge, MA

Props to OT.



Don't know what you're doing on NYE yet? Chicago has plenty of great live music choices!

New Year's Eve

Schubas . 3159 N Southport Avenue

The Sea and Cake (21+) $20 10:00Chicago, IL


Bottom Lounge . 1375 W. Lake Street

Office (21+) $8Chicago, IL


Subterranean . 2011 W. North Avenue

Holy Fuck (21+) $30 10:00
Toronto, CA


Congress Theater . 2135 N. Milwaukee Avenue

Justice (18+) $50 7:00
Paris, France