Music Meridian

While wandering around at the mall today (Old Orchard Mall in Skokie) I was absolutely blown away to see a vending machine that sold iPods and accessories. One swipe of your credit or debit card and the iPod was dispensed by a robot arm. They also had car adapters, speakers, headphones and docking stations for the iPod for sale in the machine! Totally crazy! The future is here. I was surprised there wasn't a way to then buy songs directly from the same machine to fill up your iPod on the spot...but maybe that's next :)

Here's an article I found about the vending machine:
http://newsnet.byu.edu/story.cfm/59279

Heres a site with a bunch of pictures of a machine similar to the one I saw:
http://content.techrepublic.com.com/2348-10877_11-6054846-1.html

Here's the company that makes 'em:
http://zoomsystems.com/





Estradasphere's "Palace Of Mirrors" Sept 19th!



Can't Wait!

This is the coolest thing I've heard in a while. Select dates on Bruce Hornsby's upcoming solo tour includes his new boxset "Intersections" with your ticket! They hand them out at the show! How cool is that? The box set is like $50 on it's own. And tickets aren't any more expensive than usual.

Check out the tour dates here:
http://brucehornsby.com/tour.htm

He's playing in Evanston in Oct. I'm going to try my luck at getting tickets.

I never thought I would use this sentence:

"The new OutKast album is kinda lame"

But I am.

It saddens me.

I've only listened to it a couple times, and it's not awful, but it's certainly no ATLiens or Stankonia. This is the first time I've sat down to listen to a new OutKast album and didn't have a big ol' smile on my face the whole time. I used to be excited...moved....entertained by a new OutKast CD. Idlewild is quite lacking on all those counts. I recollect to the first time I heard the song "Hey Ya!" and was out of my seat I was so excited. Never happened with Idlewild.

The cynic in me thinks that Andre and Big Boi put out a disappointing album on purpose so that everyone would say that OutKast is over and wack. That way the road is paved for their solo careers without people pining for a new OutKast record. But what I really fear is that they both lost the plot.

The discography page over at allmusic.com sums things up pretty well:



I'll keep listening, hopefully it's a grower and I'm over-reacting.

Paris Hilton likes Captain Beefheart's "Trout Mask Replica"?? My head just exploded.

(via Gawker)

I've been listening to the new CD by Daughters (http://wearedaughters.com/) all day today. Their new CD is called "Hell Songs" and that's an apt description. It's awesome. Still has lots of weird parts, grindcore-influenced sections, twangy guitar breakdowns that remind me more than a little of Yowie (another excellent band) etc. But now the vocalist is actually singing instead of using the typical boring hardcore scream/bark. A very cool, bold move and a step in the right direction for them. They also have lengthier, proggier material which is great. Some really knotty, surprising riffs and songs. I highly recommend more adventurous listeners to check it out!!





We arrived at Grant Park bright n' early at 11:30 am on Sunday to catch The School Of Rock All Stars. Well worth getting up for. These kids (most well under the age of 18) were quite amazing. Totally shredding guitar, a drummer who took a coherent and entertaining solo, and a keyboard player who could play behind his back. Awesome. They're opening a school here in Chicago this fall. Check it out.

After that I caught Sparta. It made me with At The Drive In were still around. 'Nuff said.

We took a break in the action to get some grub and soak up some rays in preperation for Nickel Creek.

When Nickle Creek came on, they were quite entertaining. Definately virtuosos on their instruments (The mandolin player was in especially good form). They also through in a couple surprising covers (Radiohead's "Nice Dream" and Britney Spears' "Toxic") which were great. A nice way to spend the sunny afternoon.

Andrew Bird was next on the docket. I was pretty underwhelmed. I've never really been fond of his stuff since he stopped performing with the Bowl of Fire and this was no exception. He scaled way down (I think just a 2-piece band?!), barely played any violin and his hushed music was lost in the outdoor atmosphere. Definately not suited for one of the big stages, where he performed. He would have worked much better on a side stage.

So I jetted over to get a good spot for The Reverend Horton Heat. I was worried going in because I heard they got a new drummer. My fears rested once the band got on stage and ripped into Big Sky/Baddest Of The Bad. The guy was no sloutch. Jimbo and The Rev were also on fire this day. They ran through the gamit of material including new stuff ("Revival", "Callin' In Twisted") and old favorites ("Bales Of Cocaine", "Psychobilly Freakout"). They were probably one of the best sets of the day. Super-high energy and did I mention the drummer was freaky good? They even took requests! Class act all the way. Looking forward to their new album.

We ran back after that to get a good spot for Wilco. They also were mind-boggily good. They played a bunch of new material I didn't recognize, and sounded great. Glenn Kotche totally pulverized his drumset and Nels Cline showed why he's one of the most interesting rock guitarists out there right now. Wrangled all kinds of cool noises out of the instrument. Jeff Tweedy looked freaky in his full-on beard, but made up for it with a brilliant set. Also one of the highlights of the whole weekend.

We closed out the night watching Blues Traveller. They played to a sparse crowd. I guess most people were going to see Broken Social Scene (boring!) or lining up for the Chili Peppers (double-boring!) They missed out. Their new bass player is an absolute monster and while the set was heavy with songs from "Four" (I would have preferred some more obscure cuts) it was a rock solid set from a tight-band. John Popper also looks healthy and thin! Good for him. It was sad to watch more and more people file out throughout their set most likely crossing the grounds in anticipation for the Chili Peppers. But I thought it was a fun time and was able to get a good vantage point to watch the musical dexterity. Most of you probably forgot about these guys...pick up some of their recent albums, I think you'll be plesantly surprised.

After that we bid a hasty retreat from Lollapalooza, having no interest in seeing RHCP. It probably worked out best for us as there was no crowds on the El on the way home and we ran into on of our neighbors and had fun catching up with good conversation.

In summary, we had a blast at the fest. Can't wait until next year!!

Day 2:

Lisa and I kicked it off, meeting up with my friend George to catch Peeping Tom's set at 2:15pm. Peeping Tom is a new Mike Patton project, with DJ Clue and Rahzel in tow. It was freakin' amazing! (Even though there was sound trouble for the first song or two) They played most of their album, and Rahzel took a turn doing solo beatboxing, which is really not of this earth. The band was also solid and really laid a nice foundation. Mega-enjoyable and an awesome way to kick off the day.

The size of the festival worked to my disadvantage as I tried to zoom over and catch the end of Coheed & Cambria's set. I got there to hear them finish up their last song (dammit!!) So that was kind of a bust.

So I decided instead of running around like a madman, I'd get some food, stake out a nice spot for Gnarls Barkley and soak up Wolfmother from the opposing stage. It was nice to just lay out in the sun listening to the doomy rock from afar.

Gnarls Barkley came out in matching Tennis outfits and rackets to the tune of We Are The Champions!! It was great. They played lots of their album and Cee-Lo seemed a little hoarse, but overall was on point. They played "Transformer" really slowly and creepy and took me a while to recognize. They also played Greenhorns and Doors covers. The set ended with "Crazy" and "Smiley Faces" (but, of course!) Dangermouse played keyboards in the back. Quite good. They also had a String-Trio and a bunch of backup singers which really filled out the sound nicely. This set was easily one of the highlights of Day 2.

After that we hoofed it all the way across the park to hear Dresden Dolls (well maybe about 4 songs by the time we got there) as well as position ourselves for The Flaming Lips spectical. Dresden's drummer is totally insane, pounding away like Animal from The Electric Mayhem. I was duley impressed. They played "Satan is Real" by the Louvin Brothers, which made my day.

The Flaming Lips was probably the most entertaining set ALL WEEKEND. No kidding. They brought the works. Singer encased in a big bubble and crowdsurfing? You bet. Tons of female aliens in short skirts? You got it. A swarm of Santa Clauses? Check. Confetti, confetti and more confetti? I think I'm still finding specks of it on me.

Plus the rocked! Lots of stuff off their new album, plus Yoshimi Pts. 1 and 2 and a couple selections off Soft Bulletin. They even played She Don't Use Jelly, which sounded better than I remember it.
Bottom line: If you've never been immersed in a Flaming Lips show, do it before you die. Mindblowing and Uplifting. Huge fun.

We ended our day by dancing away listening to Thivery Corporation. I loved their set too. Half of it was Indian Dance music complete with Tablas and a Sitar player. Then they brought out the jamacian toaster and things elevated even higher from there. Great live experience, not sure how well it would come off on record.

Exhausted, we left, skipping out on headliners Kayne West and Manu Chou. I wanted to be fit and ready for early rising on Day 3.

Day 3 recap coming tomorrow (?)






At long last I have time to summarize the weekend at Lollapalooza.

Day 1: I arrive around 12:45pm in order to catch Cursive's set. My friend Joe assures me he will be there when the gates open for Lollapalooza (which I guess is 11am?). He doesn't show up until the end of Cursive's set.

So I enjoy it on my own. Nice, tight arraingements of their songs. Many off of their last album, complete with a horn section and new Cello player. Not mindblowing, but a nice way to kick off the fest.

Afterwards, I suggest going to the other end of the festival grounds to see Eels, since I wanted to be out of earshot of Panic! At The Disco. We hi-tail it over there.

First things first, the grounds were huge! It took a long time to get from one end to the other, especially when the crowds became large. So running back and forth to see everything I wanted I soon realized was an impossibility.

We got there to midway into Eels set. It was a lot more hi-energy and rockin' than I had envisioned. It took us a while to realize the crazy guy wearing the "SECURITY" shirt on stage was actually E. They covered "Jesus Gonna Be Here" by Tom Waits, which I enjoyed immensely, but the rest of the set, while solid, didn't do a whole lot for me.

Then, in a fit of laziness, we just crossed the field to see Stars. It took about a song for Joe to realize he didn't want to hear any more, so we left of their brand of pop-rock, so we left to hit the smaller stages.

We opted for Jeremy Enigk, ex-singer of Sunny Day Real Estate. Joe dug it, but I was not impressed, then again I've never been a Sunny Day fan. The drummer was boring and we made some jokes at his expense, then left mid-set.

We then caught the end of Mute Math's set, which was awesome! Punchy, almost proggy song structures. A drummer who pounded away, with distortion somehow on his kit. I loved it and will investigate them further.

I lost Joe as he went in search of an ATM machine, so I went to check out Lady Sovergn. It was also quite incredible. She looks like she's 12 but is so quick and literate that it was mindblowing to listen to. Very high energy. One of the best sets of the day by far.

After that I met up with Joe again over at the tail end of the Secret Machines set. I enjoyed it. Heavy rock. I thought they were suppose to be a little more "punk" but I guess I was mistaken. Their drummer had a kind of John Bonham thing going on, which I dug. Enjoyable while I waited for the Rancontours.

Jack White and co came out to much fanfare. They ripped through songs on their album. Very tight and professional. Joe left, he'd seen enough, but I stuck around for the whole set. Joe missed a great cover of Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy".

Then I zipped over to stand near the back of the crowd to watch quite possibly one of Sleater-Kinny's last shows ever. I needed to be ready to jet to meet up with Lisa who would be arriving shortly (she had to work). So I caught about 20 mins of their show, which was quite solid and entertaining. They played a bunch of stuff I didn't recognize (probably off of their newest album, which I haven't heard) but I enjoyed it plenty. Met up with Lisa and went to jockey for position for Ween. Joe and co for some reason opted for Death Cab For Cutie (fools!!) and I never saw him again for the rest of the weekend.

Ween tore the roof off the place. A great set, with tons of stuff off "Chocolate and Cheese". Plus a couple new songs, and a totally killer Doctor Rock. The guitar solo excursions were especially great, and showcases that they are amazing musicians and not just a bunch of jokesters. The drummer was also top-notch.

That ends day one. Next post will be day 2.

Just got back from day 3 of Lollapalooza! Another fine day of music. I swear I'll do an actual recap tomorrow, but for now feast in the knowledge of who I witnessed today:

School Of Rock All Stars, Sparta, Nickel Creek, Andrew Bird, Reverend Horton Heat, Wilco, Blues Traveler.

Cut out during RHCP's set. I've seen them a million times and didn't want to deal with massive crowds on the way home. Besides, they haven't put out a decent album in a decade! :)

Day 2 proves to be great! Full report monday (I promise). Today we saw:

Peeping Tom, 1 song of Coheed and Cambria, Wolfmother, Gnarls Barkley, Dresden Dolls, Flaming Lips, and Thievery Corporation!

Can't wait for day 3!





First day of lolla was awesome. Full report monday, but just know that Ween RULES.

Also saw today: Cursive, Eels, Lady Sovergn, Secret Machines, Mute Math, The Rancontours, Sleater-Kinney!