Bonnaroo Debacle

I've always found Kanye West annoying. Just like I find the Beastie Boys annoying. Not that I'm dogging their music style or creativity- I just find them annoying as people, not artists.

That being said, when I was on Digg earlier today and saw a link titled "The Top Ten Reasons Why Kanye West Is a Douche" I had to read further. I agreed with most of the list, but what I found most interesting were the posts people had left under the "top ten." Multiple people were complaining about what happened at Bonnaroo 2008.

Now, I haven't kept up with Bonnaroo since I last attended in 2006, but this festival is by far the most personal to me. Anyone who attends this festival loves music... well, and most love drugs and the 60's... but everyone loves music. Not the kind of "love" that you see from most people at other festivals. These fans know the life history of any major rock musician, the key the song is written in, side projects, obscure recordings, the background story of why songs were written. They're intense fans. They intimidate me.

Reading what Kanye did (demanding he would be the last show of the night, refusing to start until all other artists stopped playing, making fans wait almost 2 hours to begin his set, etc) infuriated me. It's bad enough to do that at any festival, but that should never be done at Bonnaroo.

My conclusion: I have lost respect for Kanye as a person and as an artist. The Beastie Boys still annoy me.

All About the Atmosphere

Atmosphere can either make or break a show. Don't believe me? Maybe you should have seen Delta Spirit and Dr. Dog at the Parish in Austin. Being hot and unable to breathe at a show? Not fun. (Ok, festivals excluded- simply because it's expected). I have been following Dr. Dog since the summer of 2007, shortly after their release of "We All Belong," and I had the chance to see them at Siren Fest when I lived in NYC for the summer. The atmosphere was perfect. Dr. Dog was great. At 2007's ACL I was able to see them a second time when they were a sudden addition to the festival's lineup. Again, a great show (and breathing, even in Austin's insane heat, was possible). At the Parish I was really excited to hear Dr. Dog's new stuff, but the heat forced me to do something I've done only once before in my life- leave early. Maybe if the Beatles came back for a reunion tour I would have suffered through it, but that level of discomfort is rarely worth seeing a show.

I've already seen Delta Spirit since (at this year's ACL), and I'm sure Dr. Dog will be back in Austin again.

I Judge People by Their Musical Taste

A typical question I ask within the first 30 minutes of meeting someone...
"What are your top 3 bands?"

A recent answer...
Guy: One Republic (Pop, but pop I enjoy. Wonder what else he's got in store)
Guy: Dave Matthews (Solid band- great live act. It's getting better...)
Guy: Nickelback (Stomach dropped)

Please visit: http://www.thewebshite.net/nickelback.htm

Foreign Records

The coolest European (or anywhere for that matter) souvenirs I've been given:

Vinyl Recordings of:
"Flight of the Conchords" by Flight of the Conchords
"Gold" by Ryan Adams
"Being There" by Wilco
"You'd Better Look Out Below" by Arcade Fire
"Dark Side of the Moon" by Pink Floyd

American Bang

I stumbled upon American Bang today and listened to the four songs they had on MySpace.

Songs:
Move to the Music
Traffic
The Stones
Jeepster (T Rex cover)

American Bang, of the self-described "southern-fried garage-rock" genre, remind me of a mix between Kings of Leon and Jet. This is one of the many shows I'm looking forward to at ACL in September.

SXSW Recap: Part Two

Guest Appearance by Ben Harper.

Rumors started to circulate: Ben Harper would be sitting in on Tom Freund's set Thursday night. Thursday night before work, we were at The Tap Room listening to Sixpence None the Richer (who were playing their first show in five years) when a fellow volunteer confirmed the rumor-- Ben Harper was doing a sound check at Pangaea. We left quickly and were fortunate to catch the back half of the sound check.

Ben, who produced Tom's soon-to-be-released album, played slide guitar through the whole set.

Afterwards, I was determined to meet Ben. Amy was too... so she walked over with me.

Actual conversation:
Me: Sorry to interrupt, but it was a pleasure to hear you tonight.
Ben: Thank you so much. I'm glad you enjoyed the show. I'm Ben. (Extends hand to me and Amy. We all shake hands.)
Me: Nice to meet you. It was great to hear you again-- I haven't heard you live since high school.
Tom: When was that? Last Year? (We all laugh.)
Me: Back in 2004 when you toured with Jack Johnson.
Ben: Thanks for helping out. It means a lot.

We then proceeded to carry out Ben and Tom's guitars downstairs, where they were loaded up.

National Record Store Day

We were fortunate to be in Austin for National Record Store Day. After a quick lunch at Whole Foods we headed across the street to Waterloo Records. There were boxes filled with records outside- 2 for $1. Instead of sifting through the boxes searching for a gem, we went into Waterloo and opted to purchase at least one vinyl to celebrate.

My choices:
Son Volt-- Straightaways
Whiskeytown-- Strangers Almanac
John Mayer-- Continuum

Amy's choices:
The Strokes-- Is This It
The Arcade Fire-- Funeral