July 30, 2009

Mile High Music Festival 2009 Wrap-Up: Misquoted: w/ Rocco DeLuca and Ryan Carman


Misquoted: w/ Rocco DeLuca and Ryan Carman

Rocco DeLuca and the charming, though quiet, Ryan Carman joined me for an interview during the Mile High Music Festival, and it was, if anything the longest interview I did. It was also one of the most fun. Rocco talks about Sigur Rós, the best album coming out next year, and, my favorite topic, Appalacian Folk:

LHJE: I caught your set earlier today, and it was freaking awesome. I must not have heard the newest record, because that's what I remember the record I heard sounding like.

Rocco DeLuca (guitar, vocals): Was it Mercy?

No, I haven't heard that one yet. I probably have the one prior to that.

RD: That's even different than what you saw, we're constantly doing something different.

Yeah yeah. Well I'm going to try to keep this short, so I'm just going to bust into the questions. Have you noticed any sort of trends in current music, pop or otherwise? And what direction, if any, do you think it's going?

RD: Well I've noticed a couple things. I see two movements happening at the same time. I kind of speak from some experience because Ryan and myself have had a foot in two worlds, one being the pop world and the other one is with underground bands touring. So we've kind of been seeing both sides of the whole thing, and one things I've noticed is in the pop world there's a … they're marginalizing what's being played and what can get by. And it's getting narrower and narrower, and it's getting so narrow that everything is becoming this streamlined thing, "a formula". Which it's always been, but everything seems to be particularly…

…More formulaic than before?

RD: Yes. The paradox of that is that there always seems to be this other ground swelling movement of experimentation.

You guys seemed to take the experimental route today, merging what sounded like delta blues and, basically, pure feedback.

RD: (laughs) Yeah we're folk and blues fans first and foremost. I'd loosely say primitive folk musicians, like the ones that were actual blue collared workers…

…yeah, like Roscoe Holcomb, Skip James?

RD: You got it. We're fans of that, so, initially, that's where everything starts aesthetically. And then, just based on this many people [at the festival], you need just a little bit more sound pressure … sometimes. And, we get a little excited, so things get a little weird. And that's okay too. But I see this contradiction in America right now with how music is listened too and how it's performed, how it's played. Ryan and I put this record out with Daniel Lanois, and it was one of the bravest things we've ever done because we knew there was no proper home for it. It didn't fit into the pop world, and it didn't really fit with anything else we'd really heard. We were just excited that a record like this even got a chance to at least be out there, floating around. So that's the record, and what we do live is completely different. That's just based on … the room, and how it feels that day.

What was going on with the guy who looked like he was just playing the Marshall Stack?

RD: Oh, that's one of our dear friends who comes on tour with us. We're kind of like a rollercoaster band; sometimes we'll do like huge festivals and be like really soaking up a lot of love from people, and other times we'll be just lost, all over the country, with no money. So, we bring one other friend with us, and that's our friend. We call him Tron, and he's just a dreamy, experimental friend. So, sometimes when Ryan and I play, he sits and he just turns dials.

Yeah, I saw that. I was wondering what he was effecting, like, what was plugged into the stack? Or was it just feedback on itself?

RD: That was just feedback on itself.

Well that's a shame, because I don't think the crowd heard it. I could tell what was probably going on, but it didn't seem like the sound men put it into the mix. It would have added a lot.

RD: Yeah. [Tron's] like a DJ, but using the tools we're playing through. It's kind of a nice philosophy I think, having humans instead of pedals.

I like that idea a lot. Do you find yourself writing songs that go for a certain sound, or is it more along the lines of whatever happens to come out that day is what you perform?

RD: I'm completely surrendered to my environment and what's around me. Maybe we'll have a couple songs we know we're going to play, but for the most part, if you came to see us at a listening room, it would be a totally different experience, and we'd be having a completely different conversation. When we're writing, it's the same thing. It's kind of what's going on. The record Mercy was late nights. Late nights of watching the sun come up over Los Angeles. Losing friends. Finding loves. All these kind of weird energies and passions. We recorded a song a night. Our rule was that we weren't aloud to work on it another day. We put it down that night and that's it. Because a documentation or a record is just that, it's a record of a particular time and place, and this is what we wanted the record to sound like. Like this is where we are at this moment at this particular time. I'm sure you could spend a year making a record, and I've done that, we've done that. Over months we made the first record, and that was fine, there's nothing wrong with that. But I realized that it wasn't capturing what I wanted to capture, which was the time and the place and the moment. And that's what a record is, and that's why we wanted to make a real record.

For both of you guys, what kind of stuff has been coming out more recently that has really inspired you to think about music in a new way?

RD: I think anything from the fearless band from Iceland Sigur Ros. They've definitely given me hope. In a world that's marginalizing more and more, this is something that just comes with a sledgehammer. It's like a perfect act of freedom. Any time you see Neil Young play live, or the fact that Bob Dylan won't play a song off his record … I love this, this is just amazing. And then Daniel Lanois, he's putting together a new record right now that's going to blow everybody's mind next year. Whenever he plays, or we get to play with him, for me it's like being with one of the last great masters. He holds the secrets with him. He's got this incredible soul knowledge that he shares when he's around other people. I don't see it too often like I do with him. So any time he's working on something, our ears perk up and we get a bit excited want to go play somewhere.

Any older records that, to this day, still change the way you think about music?

Ryan Carman (drums): Yeah.

RD: Tons. I'm sure Ryan has his own personal collection. For me it was all those folk records. You mentioned Roscoe Holcomb, Clarence Ashley, anything by Mississippi John Hurt, Son House, Fred Mcdowell…

You guys played a cover of Son House, right?

RD: No no I dedicated it to Son House. It was a dedication to that spirit. Female singers [that I admire] like Malia Jackson, Billie Holiday, Nina Simone. These are the voices, the folk guys, those are the words and the instrument. We're also in love with rock and roll music at it's conception. But I'm sure there's a particular record that you love Ryan.

RC: Yeah, I've been listening to a lot of Goat Head Soup. I love old Rolling Stones. It's hard to think of stuff right off the top of my head. I get lost in my iPod, that's why I went back to vinyl.

RD: You've been listening to a lot of Funkadelic records.

RC: Oh I've been listing to a lot of funk music recently.

RD: We've been on the road, and we've made a rule that we weren't allowed to listen to anything but reggae for the whole trip. And we did it all too. We did all the studio 1 recordings. Wasn't that nice?

RC: Yeah

RD: It was a nice rule. It was almost like a discipline. Plus I learn a lot from the bass playing on those records.

Yeah. Well I think I'll take no more of your time. Thank you fellas.

RD: Yeah sure.
I'll have another interview up around 8PM today, but maybe nothing on Friday or Saturday, because my best friend is getting married, and it's going to be so awesome. I'll have the last 3 after posted by Monday, and that will conclude my Mile High Music Fest coverage for this year.

If you're in Denver, a rad show is going on down at Rhinoceropolis tonight (thursday).

Pollination Population

Hot White (who's gear was recently stolen :( )
Oicho Kabu
where are the big people?

9PM
5 king faces.
3553 Brighton, Denver, CO

Mile High Music Festival 2009 Wrap-Up: Misquoted: w/ Dead Confederate

http://bighassle.com/publicity/DeadConfederate_2_P_Littky.jpg

Misquoted: w/ Dead Confederate

I got the chance to interview a few members of Dead Confederate the day before their set. They joked around, also talking about mistakes they've learned from, Lil' Wayne, and insights into what the next album may be like. It started with a compliment:


Brantley Senn (bass, vocals): Nice shirt

(he's commenting on my Blonde Redhead shirt)

LHJE: Hey thank you. I actually got this at the festival you guys played here last year.

(my statement did not seem to go over very well)

Uh oh, was that not a fun festival?

BS: Ah, it was an experience.

Walker Howle (guitar): Oh are you talking about the SoCo [Festival]? Holy shit, yeah, that was horrible.

What happened at SoCo? I thought you sounded fun.

WH: Yeah, we got too fucked up.

BS: Like, bad enough where they don't want to have us back for Lollapalooza or any of that stuff.

John Watkins (keys, vocals): Yeah, a lot of it was after the set, but still.

Well that's a shame, because I really liked what you guys played. Was that anything close to what you guys would usually play?

BS: That was…

WH: That was a crappy set.

JW: It was a bad set

WH: We're normally way better than that.

BS: We were up early in the morning and started drinking too early.

I remember a lot of noise and feedback stuff.

WH: (laughs) Yeah.

I thought it was really ambitious, you know, shooting for the "noise kids" demographic. So that's not …?

WH: No we do some of that stuff, but that wasn't our best performance. We drank for six hours. We drank all the liquor in the trailer, and then played that show.

Yeah. I've heard your recordings, and I figured you were just embellishing a little

JW: You could say that.

It doesn't sound like this is something you plan on repeating.

BS: Not really.

Well, I'm just going to ask a couple short questions. Have you guys noticed any trends in popular music or music in general?

BS: I've starting to hear a lot more stuff that's being done at home. A lot more home-based recordings. You can hear it in the way it sounds. I'm starting to hear a lot less tape recorded stuff. You can hear a lot of stuff is starting to be done with Pro Tools or Logic and all that. I think that's changing the way music's done in the sense that you start hearing songs that have a lot more going on in them, where it's not so simple and direct like two guitars, bass and drums.

How do you guys feel like you fit into that?

BS: I see us fitting into it, but I think we're working our way into it. We started off with a goal of making an album that was very raw and very natural and old school. The whole thing was designed around the old school rock band principle. No bullshit, no fake studio tricks, just straight ahead realism.

WH: Make it sound like what we sound like live. Because we've always felt we do a pretty decent job live. There's a lot of bands, I think, now-a-days that are recording at home that have a billion tracks. They can't pull that off live. So we just wanted to have something that represents us well.

BS: But, I see us moving in a different direction too. I could see us going into that, definitely, it's just a matter of when and how we do it tastefully without losing sight of what we started with.

How do you guys go about writing you music? Do you plan on making a certain type of song, or a certain type of sound before you start writing a song? Or do you jam out and then just have the songs kind of just happen, and then focus it?

WH: Well John takes the first hit, and then−

JW: −Yeah I like to look a lava lamp and then …

(laughter)

JW: … so whatever comes to mind from looking at a lava lamp…

(more laughs)

BS: The first record was varied, because I was still in the process of learning to write, so I was experimenting a lot with stuff. I feel like the writing was all over the place. The songs were all very different. I feel like, with the album we're working on now, that I've got a very concise vision of what I want the songs to be. So it's varied so far. The first is different than this next one. But I'm definitely challenging myself more to stick to a plan and really have a full idea before going in.

What kind of records have you guys heard recently that have really changed the way you think about music?

BS: That's tough to answer.

JW: George Harrison's All Things Must Pass, I'll just go ahead and say that's been, lately, what we've been listening to a lot. I don't know what you can get out of that, but, musically, I'm digging a lot of that. It's really awesome.

BS: On the writing side, what I've been listening to since the last album has been a lot of Lil' Wayne, and I think that's play a big influence, as weird as that sounds. Listening to a lot more of rap and pop music and electronic music. Which is totally contrast to what we did before. But I'm finding that I'm seeing that influence the things I'm doing now. Definitely more concise songs, and more hook driven. And I think that's influenced me a lot. I think I reached a point where I was just saturated with the "cool" music that I got to the point where I needed something fun. I've been through a long period of that. Now I'm kind of coming out of it, where I'm able to listen to some cool, experimental weird shit now, where as before I was just like "I'm sick of this." I got burned out on artsy music, I needed some dumb entertainment for a while.

What kind of older records still make you guys think about music in a new way? Albums that still really inspire you?

BS: Pink Floyd.

JW: Definitely.

BS: There's still not records being made as good as they were when they were doing it. Mind blowing. I could be in a grocery store and hear any track from "Dark Side of the Moon" come on, and it still blows my mind.

WH: It's amazing. And, like John was saying about that All Things Must Pass … I never got into the Beatles too much, but that George Harrison album … Damn. It has some amazing songs, and it's got a lot of layers too it. The way they tracked it and everything was pretty amazing. There's all kinds of old stuff. It's unbelievable what came out in the late 60's and early 70's. I wish I was around during that time, you know what I mean? It seemed like a pretty cool time to be young.

BS: I couldn't have dealt with the hippies though.

(laughs all around)

July 29, 2009



Young Coyotes Guitar player and singer Zach Tipton has a new little side project what what by the name of I am the Dot. Pretty good stuff I have to say. Check that soon to be out on iTunes wickedness HERE.

I'll have more interviews written up tomorrow. But only after I help make a mixtape for a wedding this weekend. Boss-a-moss.

July 27, 2009

Mile High Music Festival 2009 Wrap-Up: Misquoted: w/ Big Head Todd and the Monsters



Misquoted: w/ Big Head Todd and the Monsters

(again, I'll mention that I asked each group roughly the same questions so I could get their opinions on a few things that I'm curious about when it comes to any artist, but especially when it comes to artists who make art I'm unfamiliar with)

LHJE:You guys have been around a little while, and I would imagine you would have a little more input on this that most the bands here today: Have you noticed any sort of trends with popular music these days? Do you see it going any sort of direction? If so, where do you think it's going, and how do you think you guys fit into that?

Rob Squires (Bass): Well, I'm not sure. It seems like there's a buzz going on in Colorado in the local music scene. I mean, a lot of bands are getting signed out of here: Devotchka, The Fray, and 3oh!3. So, that's great for this scene, and great for this festival, that all those bands are [playing the Mile High Music Festival], so that's a really nice thing. I think, with music in general, I don't know if there's a trend that I know about there…

Brian Nevin (Drums): Yeah, I think that the internet's changed everything, and I think for the better. I think it's allowed more diverse music to kind of get out there and get people to kind of find more music. So I kind of see how the indie scene is becoming a little more prevalent. When we first got signed with Warner Brothers, you kind of had to be a pop rock band, or you didn't have anything going for you … the indie scene was strictly underground.

RS: I think it's kind of exciting. As far as how we fit into it, we've always focused on making the kind of music that we want to make, and let the scene come to us. We just try to get ourselves in as many diverse situations as possible.

Do you find yourselves writing music that fits into what you feel comfortable doing, or what fits into your own genre, or is it more along the lines of what you write is just what you write, and that's what you end up playing?

RS: Definitely the latter. We've always just kind of been who we were, and didn't try to chase a trend or anything like that. Play what feels good to you, and hopefully, if you do it well, you'll find an audience … there'll be enough people out there that like what you're doing.

What kind of stuff that's been released recently has really changed the way you think about music?

BN: Like I said, I like a lot of the edgier rock bands that are coming out, because I've always been a rock fan, and now there's the freedom to be able to be as experimental as you want, and still get some name recognition. That's kind of what's gotten me really excited; doing something unusual, not having to stick to such a structure. You know, pop song oriented approach. But I find that in all the genres, you know, even in the acoustic folk music. People are able to be as country as they want to be or as bluegrass as they want to be and not worry about trying to stick to pop song format and that's the only way you're going to get heard. So, in general, just that freedom is motivating in my mind.

What kind of older stuff is still changing the way you think about music?

RS: Not sure.

BN: I've always listened to a lot of jazz music. I always find it to be the most challenging, compositionally. But we're all rock band fans, blues and soul fans. I still look back to a lot of the old blues artists and find them to be, you know, kind of the carrot that we're always chasing. Like if I can make something as cool as Muddy Waters made with his music, or a band like a Zeppelin or the classic rock bands, then I feel as though I've succeeded.

Mile High Music Festival 2009 Wrap-Up: Misquoted: w/ Davy Knowles & Back Door Slam


Misquoted: w/ Davy Knowles & Back Door Slam

(Admittedly, the Mile High Music Festival had a lot of bands on the bill that I was fairly unfamiliar with. I was also unfamiliar with their styles of music, and really what their for of art was all about, so I asked a bunch of questions that got to the root of my curiosity towards their musical style. I asked basically the same questions to all the bands I interviewed so I could get a bunch of different points of view. Here's the first one)

LHJE: Do you guys think that popular music is in a transitional period, and, if so, where do you think it's going?


Davy Knowles (guitar, vocals): I think any kind of music is always in a transitional period, and, uh, I have no idea where it's going. If we knew that, we'd be there and be doing it and be very very rich (laughter)

Well I think you guys have a good sound as is, very "face-melting" … one of my follow up questions was how do you guys think your band fits into this possible new trend that may be happening with music?

DK: I think that if you spend your time wondering how you fit in and trying to fit in, you kind of lose what you need to be doing. You have to just … crack on and trust you gut instincts and

PK (bass): yeah, just put your head down and play.

DK: If people like it, that's great, but, you know what, you have to make yourself whole before you go in there.

Do you find yourself writing music that more fits what you think your style is or more, just whatever comes out in the writing process is whatever you put out?

DK: Whatever comes out., whatever comes out. More often than not it is in a frame work because of influences and stuff.

What kind of records have come out recently that have really changed the way you think about music?

DK: I thought John Mayer's last record Continuum was really good. He had this big hot thing going on, and I felt like he really grew up and really became a really credible guy after that. I was really amazed at that album. And with the trio too.

PK: that's a tough call, that's a very tough question. I'd have to think about it for a second.

Steve Barci (drums): I don't think I've listened to any new music in a long time. I've been listening to the Allman Brothers and Rory Gallagher (laughter)

What kind of older stuff is still changing the way you think about music?

DK: We've been on an Allman Brother's fest

PK: And The Band

SB: The Band, yeah The Last Waltz box set.

DK: God there's so much, so much. Rory Gallagher, the Irish blues guitar player … I mean … that stuff never gets old. There's so much timeless music out there.

How does that kind of stuff influence you guys? Do you want to make stuff like that, or…?

PK: It just makes you feel good, and that inspires you to play.

SB: You wanna play as well as they do. So if Rory is sweating on stage, you think "well that's what I have to do, I have to play that hard." You know, make it work.

DK: Gives you a big kick up the ass, watching stuff like that. It makes you think "holy crap these guys are at the top of their game, and if I ever want to make a career out of this, I've got to buck up." Its wonderful, that stuff.
Looking at my current schedule, I'll probably be down typing up all the interviews I did at Mile High by tomorrow. I'll have the first couple posted today.

This is the drummer for the band I saw last night at Titwrench Fest, which I'll also try to find time to talk about in the coming days. He played with this wonderful saxophone player:

[edit: I took out the music player because it would just start automatically, and that's annoying. go to Eli Keszler's myspace to hear his awesomeness]

July 26, 2009

I don't have any time this weekend to enjoy any of the Awesomeness that is the UMS or Titwrenchfest :(

Well, I suppose I will tomorrow, so that's good :)

Look at the madness that is occurring: (Boba Fett and the Americans)


interviews form MHFM posted monday

July 24, 2009

July 23, 2009

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Phew! So many posts written. Aaaanyway, that's the end of my and reviews for the Mile High Music Festival. After Pepper it was getting to stormy and the show at Rhinoceropolis with Andrew Jackson Jihad was more enticing than the clouds that were forming in the air, which is a shame because I would have liked to see a little bit of Widespread Panic, if only to have seen them once.

So now I'm going to take a break, and either later today or tomorrow start posting the interviews I did. The audio I recorded turned out better than I've ever had it, so it should be pretty easy to type up. Thank you to all those involved in running the Mile High Music Festival, and all those involved with Madison House Publicity!

Mile High Music Festival 2009 Wrap-Up: Pepper

CIMG4139.jpg picture by Lukehunter2

I received Pepper's latest album a few scant months ago and even reviewed it. I enjoyed it more than I've enjoyed any other care free ska album, but I wasn't completely taken in by the genre, so I couldn't fully appreciate it. I got a chance to interview the band, and I instantly realized that these guy's music is nice and happy and carefree for a reason: that's just how they are. They're fun, awesome guys. Their stage was surrounded with ska kids, all excited for the coming performance. Apparently every time they come to CO, it rains. Today was no different, but the drizzle that occurred this day was apparently nothing compared to when they played Red Rocks. It did not dampen (yeah, I said it) their spirits, however, as they played forcefully and spiritedly, as I'm sure is the only way they know how to play. They stayed pretty true to their recordings, but, live, the songs were more accessible and infectious than I had remembered when I last heard the record. Fantastic way to end my Mile High Music Festival experience. Thanks guys!

Pepper - Things That You Love

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Mile High Music Festival 2009 Wrap-Up: Gov't Mule

CIMG4136.jpg picture by Lukehunter2

I, to this day, do not recall how I stumbled upon this band so many years ago when the internet was still a budding resource for music, but some how an obscure song by Gov't Mule ended up on my computer. That song, Soul Shine, is still one of my favorites. I didn't expect them to play it when I saw them, and I also didn't expect to like them very much live, because they are, at their core, a Jam Band, which is something I just can't stand for. I was pleased by their performance, but only a little more than I was the other jam bands I saw. This is probably because of their connection to my younger days rather than superior musical ability, but I suppose having a good time doesn't need a reason. So yeah, they weren't more than I expected, but they were certainly well respected by the audience, which is good.

Gov't Mule - Soul Shine

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Mile High Music Festival 2009 Wrap-Up: Matisyahu

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I've heard only a few things by Matisyahu, but one can't escape his reputation throughout the music world as an innovator and, simply, as a fantastic performer. From what I'd heard of him, I was expecting him to perform, essentially, a simple hip-hop set. When I got to his tent after Thievery Corporation finished up, I was taken aback, at first wondering if I had gone to the correct tent. There was a sort of Post-Rock sound coming from the Westword tent where M was headlining, and instead of rapping there was someone singing. Well lo and behold (did I really just say that?) it was Matisyahu doing the singing and his band was jamming out Mew-style. I quickly realized that I knew very little about your friend and mine Matisyahu, man of mystery. From there he did a few rap tracks, but he really pushed the envelope in relation to his genre, almost in the sense that Why? does. He was a very soft spoken and sensitive man, which was very refreshing to see in a hip-hop artist. I'd see him again, for sure.

Matisyahu - Jerusalem (Swisha House Mix)


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Mile High Music Festival 2009 Wrap-Up: Thievery Corporation

CIMG4069.jpg picture by Lukehunter2

I quickly realized that Thievery Corporation was not as popular with the people at festival as I had imagined, despite their absolute legendary status among anyone I've ever talk to about them. I say this because I easily made my way up to the railing (while I had press, I didn't have photo pass [forgot, so sue me]), and no one made any sort of fuss. There was one die hard fan mentioning the songs he wanted TC to play, but really that was the only person talking about TC. I almost began to wonder if I had made some sort of mistake, if this was a different Thievery Corporation than the one I was thinking. Then the two master minds behind TC came out and spun a few minutes of a deep dub house track. The Festival crowd got up and paid attention, but the general response was still one of ambivalence. Then the band came out, seemingly lead by the most Jawesome of bass players, who would dance around and completely jive out to the funk driven track. This got people moving. Then the band was joined by this woman with a voice like what you would want your aunt to have so that you would have at least one freaking rad person in the family. She sang in metaphors with an enticing accent as images began to form and swirl on the gigantic LED screens behind the band and DJs. She left, and a new vocalist gained the stage, riling up the audience, much to the crowd's delight, and the images continued, but were joined by what looked like random clips of film stock. Then the new vocalist left, and was replaced by yet another vocalist. Now the images on the screen were almost exclusively what looked to be stock footage of a 1970's funk band practicing and performing mixed with video of tribal dancing. From that point on the vocalists would trade out randomly, adding in new ones occasionally, a few times a song or two would feature multiple singers. It was fun, but really if the music hadn't been funky and tribal and engaging, the whole experience would have been lost on me. Thankfully it was one of the most spirited and entertaining shows during the Festival. For what was essentially an extended DJ set with musicians and singers accompanying, the songs themselves were no longer than about 3 or 4 minutes long, giving the performance a streamlined feeling, which was nice because it didn't give me time to get bored with anything that may be been happening. I think I took more pictures during this performance than any other because of everything that was happening on stage. A very lively performance, one that no one ought to think about missing if they get the chance.

Thievery Corporation - Truth and Rights

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last posts on Mile High to start up around 2. Then the interviews. then back to regularly scheduled programming

U2 - I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight from David OReilly on Vimeo.


88 LINES ABOUT 44 WOMEN from MARC CAMPBELL on Vimeo.





July 22, 2009

Mile High Music Festival 2009 Wrap-Up: 3oh!3



I did not see the beginning or end of 3oh!3's set, as most of my time was spent over at Thievery Corporation's stage watching the gods descend. Luckily I was able to convince the people right up front where I'd snagged a spot for the beginning of TC's set to save my spot so I could sneak away and see a bit of 3oh!3. I've been following our area code boys for about 2 years now when I saw them open for Mr. Pacman over at the Hi-Dive when 3oh!3 only had their little demo and about 7 or 8 straight up die-hard-fans. A year or so later they became what we all know them to be. I straight up did not like their new album. It was too over produced for me. The charm of their self released album was the lo-fi weird quirkiness of these two white boys making lo-fi crunk. They didn't seem to be taking themselves seriously back then. They probably still don't and still think it's all a big joke, but as their fame grows I have less faith in that theory, and the more serious they become about their ridiculous music less I care to take notice, because they just fall into that mindless club music genre. I doubt that's what will happen, because with the following that these guys now have (I have to say this crowd was foaming at the mouth for more 3oh!3), they can do anything, and if they're anything like the gentlemen I met 2 years ago, I don't doubt their master scheme to put out a really smart and fun sophomore big label release. For now, here's a track off of their self-released album that didn't make it to the repressing, which make it pretty rare [I might be wrong about that fact, but I can't find any info on the song other than a few scant details] :

3OH!3 - I'm Not Coming To Your Party Girl

Mile High Music Festival 2009 Wrap-Up: Devotchka

CIMG4053.jpg picture by Lukehunter2
I saw Devotchka last year at Monolith for the first time, despite having heard more about them than I thought I'd be able to handle (living in the state that band is from after they scored Little Miss Sunshine = you hear about them all the time). I was happy for a second chance to see them, now without the pressure of headlining a festival. Now monumentally scaled down from the performers who appeared one cold night last September, 3 of the 4 performers gain the stage and instantly started having sound problems :/ . The vocal mic kept feeding back, and bass was overwhelming, and you could barely hear the drums. Then the bass was cut out all the way and you could barely hear the guitar. The performers were not phased and did their best to keep things rolling as they stumbled to the end of the song. As the Violinist joined them, the sound booths fixed the problems, got everything going well, and the band started their second song, replacing the bass with a tuba, much to the crowd's delight. The theremin was also introduced to the set during this song. The third song was a fantastically re-imagined version of Femme Fatal by the Velvet Underground that left me shocked and tingling for a good 10 minutes after they ended. From there it was basic Devotchka as usually, which, if you know Devotchka, is never very usual, and always delightful.

DeVotchKa - Undone
CIMG4057.jpg picture by Lukehunter2CIMG4058.jpg picture by Lukehunter2CIMG4059.jpg picture by Lukehunter2CIMG4060.jpg picture by Lukehunter2CIMG4064.jpg picture by Lukehunter2CIMG4054.jpg picture by Lukehunter2CIMG4065.jpg picture by Lukehunter2CIMG4063.jpg picture by Lukehunter2
CIMG4056.jpg picture by Lukehunter2