It’s been a great year, and between Kari and I we’ve taken probably tens of thousands of photos at concerts and festivals. Of those, about ten of mine were good. Kari had a much higher quantity of great shots, which is probably why I just shoot occasionally and she shoots for Pop’Stache and Brooklyn Vegan, as well as for this little site. Here are her … Continue reading (Kari’s) Top Concert Photos Of 2014
Here’s a silly thing I thought of as the concert came to a close last night: “The show began with the smoldering, quiet intensity of Benedict Cumberbatch and ended with the rollicking energy you’d expect from early 80’s Robin Williams.” Oddly, I feel like that describes it pretty well. Night 2 of Wilco’s 6-night stand at The Riviera was a treasure trove of rarities mostly … Continue reading Wilco Winterlude Night 5: 12/11/2014
10. “Thanks I Get” Recorded during the Sky Blue Sky sessions, used in a Volkswagen ad and then released as part of an EP during the SBS tour. 9. “Blasting Fonda” The last track on the “Outtasite (Outta Mind)” single in 1997. 8. “Student Loan Stereo” The b-side to 1999’s “Can’t Stand It” from Summerteeth 7. “Dark Neon” The bonus track on 2009’s Wilco Album … Continue reading Ranking Alpha Mike Foxtrot-The Best Of Wilco’s B Sides, Rarities, And Live Collection
We spent last weekend in Canada celebrating our own American independence by rocking out with some awesome bands at the Toronto Urban Roots Festival. Only in its second year of existence, TURF gets a lot of things right that other festivals have been getting wrong for ages. It was honestly some of the most fun I’ve had covering anything in the four years I’ve been doing this. The mixture of genres was well-balanced, the bathrooms were still clean well into the third day, and they had some awesome Toronto-based food trucks parked in the center so you could grab something easily between sets.
OPEN SPACES
The thing I appreciated most about TURF was the ease with which one could get around. Fort York is a huge park, and everything was set up so the stages weren’t too far apart with plenty of green space to grab some shade under a tree or eat a bubble cake in a canoe. The photo pit got a little crazy during the more popular bands sets, but even then most people were courteous about bumping into you. This is a stark contrast to a fest like Lollapalooza, where they sell so many tickets that even in the vastness of Grant Park you’re hard-pressed to find a spot where you aren’t completely surrounded. The openness at TURF gives the whole thing a very relaxed feel.
The term “Save the best for last” may have been coined hundreds of years ago, but it’s never been applied more aptly than in describing the Sunday lineup of TURF. Headlined by the reunited Neutral Milk Hotel, the day featured sets by some of the best songwriters of the day and two of the most exciting acts I’ve seen in quite some time. We ended up arriving about an hour earlier than anticipated after a quick brunch at Thompson’s Diner. The West stage was our main attraction for the day, so we set up camp and checked out a set by a Tennessee-based group called Twin Forks. Sweet harmonies and a fun stage presence made them an unexpected surprise hit. They balanced out some of their originals with covers of Roy Orbison and Violent Femmes, to the delight of many fans from the previous day. We had been tipped by one of the local photographers to not miss the East stage performance by July Talk, and they certainly weren’t wrong about the bands combustible energy. From the second they took the stage their chosen mission was to wake up the sleepy Sunday crowd from their drunken stupor and they succeeded in spades. I’d heard of the band but didn’t know much about them. Apparently they have quite a following in their hometown of Toronto, and after just a few minutes it was obvious why. The main singer sounds a bit like George Thorgood with a modern rock band behind him. They also feature a female on vocals who got the crowd going by dancing and running all over the stage. It was certainly a lot more frenzied than Jenny Lewis on the West stage. Not that I minded at all. The last time we saw her live it was a huge disappointment, with Lewis barely able to get through her own songs without forgetting the words. This time she was spot on in all areas of performance. She opened with her latest single “Just One Of The Guys” and spent the rest of the set hopping back and forth through her catalogue from Rilo Kiley and her solo work. The new songs sounded good, but “Silver Lining” was probably my favorite of the set, followed by “A Man/Me/Then Jim.” 
Continue reading “Toronto Urban Roots Festival-Day 3”
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