Fotos tiradas para o coletivo de fotografia iHateFlash

Aconteceu no dia 13 de novembro o primeiro festival Indie Rock, no palco principal da Fundição Progresso do Rio de Janeiro. O festival contava com várias atrações, mas a única que realmente me interessava era a apresentação da banda de NY (mas com membros de vários cantos do planeta) Gogol Bordello. A banda misto de punk, com música cigana, influências balcânicas, e agora também da música brasileira, já rodou os palcos dos maiores festivais do mundo, foi projetada pela participação em longas metragem e pelo envolvimento com a Madonna, e voltou ao país depois de uma apresentação muitíssimo bem sucedida no Tim Festival do ano passado (e também algumas visitas do -apaixonado pelo Brasil- vocalista e ator Eugene Hütz).

Passei o dia fotografando um casamento no fim do mundo, depois de uma carona e mais 40 reais de taxi consegui chegar até a casa de show, já no final da apresentação da Super Furry Animals. Não vi o suficiente para tirar uma impressão concreta, apesar de ter parecido um show interessante. Uma pena, minha cabeça estava totalmente focada em achar um canto para descansar um pouco, pois sabia que o show que viria a seguir iria consumir todas as minhas já parcas energias. Por causa do calor, do desgaste, e da inevitável empolgação, este report vai ficar um cadinho confuso, mas vamo que vamo!

Aos poucos o clima foi esquentando na Fundição, que já estava pra lá dos 40 graus. A intro do show já empolgou, mas quando a trupe entrou no palco com Ultimate, do último álbum Super Taranta!, todo mundo ali já pode sentir qual seria a energia de um dos mais empolgantes shows que já passaram pela cidade. Os dois primeiros versos dessa música já explicam perfeitamente tudo que viria a seguir:

“If we are here not to do, what you and i wanna do, and go forever crazy with it, why the hell we are even here?”

“There were never any good old days, they are today, they are tomorrow, it´s a stupid thing we say, cursing tomorrow with sorrow!”

Após esta seria aberto o espaço para fotografia em frente ao palco. Estava trabalhando com os fotógrafos Fernando Schlaepfer e o Fábio Giolito para o iHateFlash, porém os três estavam realmente empolgados com o show, e seríamos obrigados a iniciar ali a odisséia de fotografar, pular e cantar ao mesmo tempo, ainda mirando um palco bem escuro! Para estragar tudo a música que se seguiu foi Sally, uma das mais empolgantes da carreira da banda! Seguiu-se Not a Crime e então o hit Wonderlust King. Foi realmente punk, o set mais pancadaria e empolgante do show, e a única hora que tinha-se para fotografar. Não dava pra segurar, taquei o ISO lá em cima, larguei de mão a precisão e parti pro modo rapid fire. De certo modo funcionou, com muitas fotos falhas e com ruído aparente, mas com alguns acertos que valeram todas as perdas (que foram certamente justificadas por não ter de parar de pular e dançar enquanto estava trabalhando).

Meu estado deplorável pro final do show!

Fomos prontamente expulsos em seguida, e dali fomos nos misturar ao povo. A dançaria era demais, o empurra empurra saudável, o calor, tudo era fora do normal. Fui obrigado a largar a câmera, abrir a blusa e me enfiar no meio da galera pra dançar. Enquanto isso a banda vinha com mais música, Tribal Connection, Immigramiada, 60 revolutions, Through the Roof e Mishto. Depois veio Uma Menina, a música composta por Eugene ainda aqui no Brasil, com letra em português! Depois Lela Palatute, e enfim Start Wearing Purple, hino da banda, que pôs todo a Fundição Progresso pra pular, literalmente. Um frenesi lindo de se ver, uma milha de pessoas todas pulando e dançando, em um calor puta infernal, mas todo mundo na base do mais sincero dos foda-se. O set fecha com Think Locally Fuck Globally, e a banda sai de palco. O publico, que ainda quer mais, chama a banda de volta com ‘Ôhhh Ôhhh Ôhhh Gogôool Gogôool’.

Volta então apenas o Eugene, para tocar a balada chorosa Alcohol, mais um hit da banda, que não rolou no último show do Tim Festival ano passado. Em seguida uma surpresa com a participação da Família Cigana do Rio, um grupo de músicos cariocas que já se apresentaram com o vocalista em algumas festas locais (como a Go East e a Russo Malandronista Soundsista, organizada pelo próprio). Foram duas músicas em português com o grupo, para então tocar Mala Vida, e fechar com uma versão estendida de Baro Foro, que aparentou durar dezenas de minutos, com pausas e pequenos jams.

Enfim o término do show, que não poderia durar mais para a saúde dos presentes, que certamente começariam a cair aos monte de tanta exaustão! Com certeza um dos mais animados shows do mundo, que só podia ter sido melhor (ou possivelmente não) se tivesse sido feito em um lugar com temperatura ambiente abaixo dos 45 graus!

Gypsy Punks: Underdog World Strike.

Oh my God, I love this song. First heard at Tank’s house

Gogol Bordello – Bublitschki

.

À noite, entregue a estudos secretos

Pousado sobre um assento altaneiro

Flama exígua sai da solidão

E prospera àquele que não crê em vão

.

Nostradamus

Just did a new mashup between Gogol Bordello and Jojo de Freq. Balkan meets Techhouse. Give it a listen. And by the way, if you haven’t seen “Ilumination” the movie, check out the video!

Semana passada assistindo ao programa do Jô conheci um pouco sobre esta banda, uma mistura de rock com musica cigana e com um toque de união soviética. Uma verdadeira bagunça, mas que de certa forma é bastante divertido e até agradável aos ouvidos..

Apesar dos pesares, de tanta bagunça e da tentativa frustrada de caras velhos tentarem ser roqueiros da pesada, há de se reconhecer que são pessoas cultas.

Vale a pena conferir.

[para conferir a entrevista, procurem no youtube.]

Abraços!

Jag får kommentarer ibland om att jag borde vara lite mer positiv till saker och ting. Så eftersom jag bloggade om en hårfärgning jag inte gillade häromdagen, tänkte jag väga upp min karma lite med en bild på en hårfärgning jag verkligen gillar. Får jag presentera min pojkvän, min älskling, min sämre hälft, mitt ligg: Benjamin, I Lila Hår!

(Ps. Jag tror egentligen färgen är mer “purple” än “violet”, men jag är ingen expert på färgnyanser i engelskan.)

A little over a year ago I started working with the Brooklyn new soul group called Chin Chin, whose founding members include Torbitt Schwartz, Jeremy Wilms, and Wilder Zoby Schwartz. I was familiar with Wilder as he was a member of El-P’s live band during the I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead tour in 2007. Together we collaborated on a series viral videos to promote the album The Flashing, The Fancing, which came out in March of this year on Definitive Jux. The series of four episodes featured guest stars Jaleel Bunton of TV on the Radio, Jon Kirby of Wax Poetics, Paula Henderson of Moisturizer, Eliza Sun from Gogol Bordello, Shannon Moore of Activator, El-P of El Producto fame, and a passenger van covered entirely in aluminum foil.

The plan was to adapt this series to be the music video for the song “GG and the Boys.” The music video has long since been edited, but never released until now. Enjoy the song, check out the viral series, and please pick up their album or see them live, whichever comes first.

Terça, graças ao gerador do Via Funchal e ao show do Gogol Bordello, consegui fugir do apagão por uns instantes. Na verdade só fiquei sabendo do mesmo quando sai do local e fui pegar um taxi. O taxista me alertou e, óbvio, cobrou mais caro na corrida, usou a escuridão a seu favor.
Fui para casa de um amigo, mais próxima do local, justamente para economizar no taxi. Já era quase duas da manhã.
“Avisa o porteiro que estou chegando”, assim o cara já ficava acordado e eu não esperava muito tempo no escuro.
De repente pássavamos por um bairro que já tinha energia, isso me tranquilizou. Telefonei novamente:
- Falou com o porteiro?
- Falei, mas você vai ter que subir 11 andares de escada.
Faltando um quarteirão para chegar no prédio em que ele mora, já era uma região sem energia novamente. Maravilha.
Paguei o taxista, desci e bati na porta do prédio. A campainha não funcionaria, óbvio. Ainda havia algumas pessoas na rua, no ponto de ônibus e um carro de polícia passou por mim, apagado e bem devagar.
O porteiro abriu a porta, perguntou se eu sabia qual andar era, disse que sim. Usei o celular para iluminar o caminho e perguntei onde era a escada. Eis que do nada surge um outro cara, segura meu ombro e diz “por aqui” e me leva em direção à escada. Comecei a subir e ele foi junto, exalava álcool e começou a falar comigo.
- Você mora aqui?
- Não. E você?
- Moro.
- Até que andar você vai?
- Não sei, vamos subindo.
Pronto, minha cabeça já começou a ir longe. Que tipo de pessoa mora no local e não sabe até onde vai subir? Mas ele continuou.
- Nossa cara, quase rodei agora.
- O que foi?
- Não, quase rodei, mas ainda bem que deu tudo certo. Vamos subindo.
Então deixei ele ir na minha frente, e continuei iluminando o caminho com a luz do celular. A primeira coisa que passou pela minha cabeça foi “esse filho da puta não mora aqui, e tá fugindo daquele carro de polícia que eu vi passar. Ele entrou no prédio escondido junto comigo, mas como? E se ele tentar algo, o que eu faço”. Ele falou de novo.
- Você mora aqui? (sim, ele repetiu a pergunta)
- Não, e você?
- Moro.
- Que andar?
- Não sei, acho que no quinto.
- Bom, vamos ver onde estamos então.
Saí da escada e procurei a porta de um apartamento para ver o andar. Estávamos no segundo. “Beleza, só mais três”
Então ele parou no meio do corredor e começou a falar
- Nossa cara, quase rodei agora. Ainda bem que deu certo.
“Filho da puta! Esse cara quer me zuar, maldito” Ele continuou:
- Quase morri agora. Tava subindo e me jogaram da escada, o porteiro ficou rindo de mim. Quase morri, cara!
“Pronto, ele me deu uma ótima idéia. Se ele tentar alguma coisa, eu derrubo ele da escada e pronto”
- Vamos subir, só faltam mais três para você.
Comecei a ir mais rápido, deixando ele um pouco pra trás, o que na verdade era uma péssima idéia porque se ele fosse fazer algo, seria pelas minhas costas e eu estaria ferrado. Olhei para trás e ele estava cambaleando, se apoiando na parede para poder subir. Eu poderia muito bem ir correndo na frente dele, mas e se ele ficasse bravo? Se eu caísse e ele me alcançasse? Então o esperei e continuei subindo junto com ele, segurando-o umas duas vezes quando ele quase caiu. Fui contando os andares mentalmente.
- Chegamos no quinto. Você fica aqui, beleza? Eu vou subir mais.
- Tá, valeu.
Enquanto eu subia ele ainda falava algo que eu não consegui entender. Era só um bêbado afinal, que caiu da escada e achou que o tinham derrubado. Mas o começo da história e o cenário eram mais que propícios para pensarmos qualquer tipo de situação muito pior.

Os membros do blog parecem que tem irmãos espalhados pelo mundo (alguns em games, outros no futebol) agora até em filmes!

whyyyyyyyyyy Mclovin???

Mclovin do SUPERBAD & Carreirão, vão me dizer que não tão parecidos?

Eugene Hutz este Omul care va scapa Lumea de gripa Porcina. Pentru simplul motiv ca rataceste pe pamantul asta mai des, mai mult si mai repede ca orice actiune virala.

Eugene Hütz, founder of the acclaimed gypsy rock group, Gogol Bordello, was a teenager when the Chernobyl meltdown in 1986 displaced his family in Kiev, Ukraine. Since then, Hütz seems to have converted that chaotic, atom-splitting energy into “complete orgasmal hysteria” onstage  - which is how Hütz has described the group’s live performances (NPR Interview, 2007).

 (L to R: Gogol Bordello’s Yuri Lemeshev, Sergey Ryabstev and Eugene Hütz)

Here’s what a couple of my Facebook friends told me this week about seeing Gogol Bordello live:

• Dana – I just saw them at Voodoo Fest in New Orleans and at Austin City Limits (ACL) Music Festival last year. I wanted to run away with them. Totally contagious.
• Brian – I “lurves” me some gypsy rock. I saw them at ACL a couple years ago. Very high-energy – the crowd couldn’t help but dance.

Until recently, I had never heard of the band. I’m probably the last person who can claim that in indie listening circles, because Hütz, the group’s leader, knows how to draw attention to himself, thanks to his charisma, philosophical bent and sweaty decadence.

To date, the band has its own documentary, “Gogol Bordello Non-Stop” (Hoptza Films, 2008), has performed with pop powerhouse Madonna and has appeared at countless marquee music festivals across the globe. Hütz also played leading roles in the movies “Everything is Illuminated” (Warner Independent Pictures, 2005) and Madonna’s directorial debut, “Filth and Wisdom” (IFC Films, 2008).

New Album
On Oct. 6, 2009, Gogol Bordello released a CD/DVD set called “Live from Axis Mundi” (SideOneDummy) that includes footage from a concert in New York City as well as a BBC radio session.

The music attacks the senses. Every time I tried to settle into any particular beat or sound, Gogol Bordello pulled me by the ear to witness another jarring style or musical idea. The group smashes dub, gypsy music, punk, caberet and more into loud anthems that make me want to sing and cast my vote for something – with Gogol Bordello, that’s probably something extreme.

My favorite track is “Ultimate,” which was from a 2008 live performance on BBC- Radio 1’s “In The Company Of (with Colin Murray).”

Listen to the song here

Here’s a taste of the lyrics (word order is faithful to the recording):

“An evolution is eternal
An evolution isn’t over
Everybody shows
And everybody knows
That if we are here, not to do
What you and I wanna’ do
And go forever crazy with it
Why the hell we are even here?
Daaaahhhh!!!!”

When Hütz yells at the end of each verse, it’s time to party like a car crash.

Since words really can’t describe Gogol Bordello, here are a couple videos:

• The song, “Ultimate” from the 2008 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGuOypqaYzU
• The song “La Isla Bonita” with Madonna at Live Earth 2007, www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0C9DDle2Cw

Gogol Bordello’s Web sites include www.gogolbordello.com and www.myspace.com/gogolbordello. The group has a fan page on Facebook.

Sources: www.punknews.org (Gogol Bordello Announces “Live from Axis Mundi”), www.npr.org (Gypsy Punk Group Gogol Bordello in Concert, July 18, 2007), www.imdb.com (Eugene Hütz page), www.hoptzafilms.com/gogol.html,

#  #  #

Nu vi se pare ca cei doi seamana? Lupul din desenele animate cu Nu, pogodi! si solistul de la Gogol Bordello? Mi se pare ca acesta din urma e intruparea personajului negativ reprezentat de catre lupul din desenele sovietice: the gipsy punk, asa cum se si autocaracterizeaza trupa. Si uite cum, personajul negati e vedeta si cum stilul lui de viata e promovat in capitalism, la nivel global. Asta e diferenta intre capitalism si comunism, clar!

October 30 – November 1, 2009
New Orleans, LA

Jane's Addiction

The Voodoo Experience in New Orleans is in its eleventh year and still going strong.  This year’s event attracted a reported 100,000+ people during Halloween weekend. The line up – which included Eminem, Jane’s Addiction, Kiss, Mutemath, Wolfmother, The Flaming Lips, Lenny Kravitz, Janelle Monae, The Black Keys, Gogol Bordello, Silversun Pickups, and Widespread Panic – definitely helped draw the sizable audience.  In addition to the impressive line up, the festival benefits from taking place in New Orleans during Halloween weekend, and offers a diverse range of entertainment and New Orleans cuisine.

Janelle Monae

In the spirit of Halloween, Friday was disguised as a warm sunny day, only to reveal its stormy nature following a captivating set by Janelle Monae.  Earlier this year, I attempted to see Monae in Austin during SXSW.  However, the club where she performed was too small to accommodate the crowd.  We made it inside the venue, but couldn’t see Monae through the packed audience. Nonetheless, we could feel her energy and she sounded great.  Monae’s SXSW appearance peaked my interest enough to ensure we arrived at The Voodoo Experience in time to catch her set (even forgoing a visit to Cafe Du Monde).

Monae is an engaging performer whether she’s dancing with fervor or singing while elevated on a chair.  She commands the stage and the audience with her expressions and energetic dancing, but Monae doesn’t let you forget that what she came to do is sing.  Her voice is beautiful and music is a full-body expression for Monae.

Marching through the mud

“The day wouldn’t be complete without muddy feet,” became the mantra of this year’s Voodoo Experience after Friday’s torrential downpours turned the festival grounds into a muddy obstacle course for the remainder of the weekend.  Contrary to what you may expect, the wind, rain, cold temperatures, and mud, added to the experience as good-humored music fans and dedicated musicians braved the elements, in the name of music.

Silversun Pickups meeting fans before the storm

Due to the heavy rain and winds, Silversun Pickups had the option of rescheduling their set and playing a club in New Orleans later that night.  Just moments before they were due at the main stage, the band decided to perform their set as scheduled, at the festival grounds, during the worst part of the storm. Their fans were appreciative and didn’t seem to mind enduring the pounding rain while the band played.

The New Orleans Bingo! Show

Knowing we would see Silversun Pickups in LA the following week, we opted for shelter and took cover in the Bingo! Parlour circus tent during the storm.  Thankfully, Voodoo Experience offers a wide range of quality entertainment.  Inside the Bingo! Parlour we were treated to none other than The New Orleans Bingo! Show.  This isn’t your grandma’s Bingo — The New Orleans Bingo! Show includes aerialists, clowns that smoke and drink, dancers, and theatrics that transport you to another era.  Clint Maedgen takes the lead on vocals, pump organ, keyboard, guitar, tenor saxophone, squeaky dolphin, and more.  At the same time, an aerialist hangs upside-down above the crowd, doing tricks on the trapeze.  Dancers and clowns add to the experience.  Not only did we forget about the rain, we forgot where we were. The New Orleans Bingo! Show kept us dry, smiling, and dancing for an hour and a half.

“If you were in New Orleans and you didn’t see Eminem, then you missed everything!!” the Starbucks barista told us as he handed over our Saturday morning caffeine.  Friday night’s performance was Eminem’s first full concert in 2009.  Well, we missed it, and the city wouldn’t let us live it down.  With the constant reminder of our Venti lattes in hand, we hailed a taxi to the festival Saturday. “Did you see Eminem last night??” the driver asked when we told him where we were headed.  Before we could answer the question, the driver proceeded to tell us that Eminem last played The Voodoo Experience nine years ago.  “Eminem,” “Eminem,” “Eminem” – you could hear his name ringing throughout the festival grounds early Saturday as fans reminisced about the set he played Friday night.  Just when we were beginning to feel like we might have missed the highlight of the festival, The Voodoo Experience hit us with a wave of great music, exceptional live performances, and the reminder that there’s more than one highlight at Voodoo Experience.

Mates of States fans sing along

When we arrived Saturday afternoon, we were greeted by sunshine and the uplifting music of Mates of State.  Costumed fans sang along as Kori Gardner (keyboard/vocals) and Jason Hammel (drums/vocals) played their catchy tunes.  Mates of State got the crowd amped up which turned out to be essential because that energy was necessary for the back to back music that hit next.

Mutemath's Paul Meany raises the bar

Mutemath played immediately following Mates of State.  Not only did they further set the tone for the day, they raised the standard for live performance in general.  A separate review of the Mutemath show will follow because enough can’t be said here.  Between their brilliant music, Paul Meany’s voice and keyboard handstands, Darren King standing on top of his drum and diving into the crowd, Greg Hill’s guitar pedal wizardry, and Roy Mitchell-Cárdenas on bass and whatever else he could get his hands on, Mutemath quickly became a favorite of festival goers.

Gogol Bordello

It should be noted that in addition to the music reviewed here, there were at least 3 other artists performing concurrently on other stages at the festival.  Since I still haven’t mastered being in 4 places at once, I stuck with a friend’s recommendation and caught Gogol Bordello.   Now I know why this band has been on my to-see list for a while.  Gogol Bordello had the majority of the audience jumping, clapping, and singing along throughout the duration of their set.  When their show came to an end, the crowd demanded an encore and  Eugene Hütz and the dynamic band delivered an even more energetic, lengthy encore.

Wolfmother

The Voodoo Stage and Playstation/Billboard.com Stage faced each other on opposite ends of a running track.  So when Gogol Bordello finished their set on the Playstation/Billboard.com stage, we turned around and walked toward the Voodoo Stage to catch Wolfmother.  I’ve seen Wolfmother perform at other festivals, but something about their set at Voodoo blew me away and exceeded my expectations (which are high).  First of all, I was able to hear Andrew Stockdale’s amazing voice in a way that I hadn’t heard before.  The entire band seemed to play much tighter than when I saw them previously.  This may, in part, be due to the fact that two of the original band members have been replaced.  I ran into Stockdale and Ian Peres a few times during the festival.  In addition to being exceptional musicians, they are extremely funny and kind.  Although, there was that incident with Hotshot Robot. . . More on that in the additional, forthcoming Wolfmother review.

Wolfmother with a beheaded Hotshot Robot

So up until this point, you’ve got Mutemath, Gogol Bordello, and Wolfmother absolutely crushing it.  Fans, whose feet otherwise may have been tired from standing, were blessed to have the cushion of mud to soften the impact from 3 hours and 45 minutes of incessant jumping. Some people began losing their voices from screaming and out-singing their neighbors and others opted to forgo food and restroom breaks so they wouldn’t miss anything.  These are bands who just got on stage and played music.  No light shows.  No dramatic stage set-ups.  No real spectacle.  They entertained, they crowd surfed, and at times they banged on things in an unconventional manner, but they did not succumb to an over-the-top stage setup or seizure-inducing light show.  And they don’t need to.  Mutemath, Gogol Bordello, and Wolfmother can blow you away simply by playing music.

Cut to Jane’s Addiction and Kiss, who rounded out Saturday’s line-up.  These are seasoned musicians who’ve been doing this forever.  Perhaps they add spectacle just to keep themselves from getting bored – who knows? The question is: do they need it?

Jane's Addiction

I’ve seen Jane’s Addiction several times over the years, including a very cool “rehearsal show” at a sound stage in LA.  Sometimes they’re great.  Sometimes they’re a little less than great.  But irrespective of my subjective opinion of any given performance, Dave Navarro and Stephen Perkins always nail it.  If Navarro weren’t a musician, I think he’d carry a portable stage around with him, set it up daily, and just strut around.  And I’ll bet people would watch him too – that guy was born to be a performer.  It also doesn’t hurt that he can PLAY guitar.  Perkins, I could listen to or watch for hours, even if he were playing unaccompanied.  He’s a phenomenal drummer.  It’s also good to see Eric Avery back on bass.  It was original Jane’s doing what they originally set out to do – play music and entertain.

Kiss playing (safely) with fire

Kiss, on the other hand, I had never seen live.  That band is all about spectacle.  Although, being live music veterans, they’ve learned to do things in moderation.  Sure they’ve got face paint, hair, and silver and black outfits, but forget pyrotechnics (perhaps because paint is highly flammable).  So when they perform, Kiss simply shows images of flames surrounding them on screen.  The part about not using pyrotechnics is not entirely true – there was a nice fireworks display at the end of their set.  While there were a lot of fans who have been with these bands for many years, it was nice to see a new generation of music fans enjoying Kiss and Jane’s Addiction at The Voodoo Experience.

Sunday was another beautiful day in New Orleans.  By this point, there were enough paths made through the mud and it was considerably easier to navigate the festival grounds.  We spent much of the day enjoying the non-music activities offered.  We checked out several food vendors and sampled desserts including fried Oreos and white chocolate bread pudding ice cream (be on the lookout for New Orleans Ice Cream, rolling out nationwide!).  We stumbled upon the special Vooboo  stage set up for kids and watched families enjoying the festival experience together.

JJ Grey

Eventually we made our way over to see JJ Grey & Mofro.  I had been curious about JJ Grey ever since this I saw this clever music video.  Well, they left the barbies at home for this show, but JJ Grey & Mofro were able to get the crowd groovin’ on their own.

Trombone Shorty

Next up, Trombone Shorty.  The first time I saw Trombone Shorty he was opening for the Dirty Dozen Brass Band in Los Angeles.  He was so good that I actually forgot where I was and thought I was in New Orleans.  So to see Trombone Shorty in his hometown of New Orleans was better than a fried Oreo.  Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews has been playing New Orleans clubs since he was 12 years old.  He’s now 23 and if there had been tables to dance on at Voodoo Experience, people would have been on them.  If you have the opportunity to see Trombone Shorty, then do it (even if The Flaming Lips are playing at the same time).

The Flaming Lips shooting confetti

That said, we did head over to catch part of The Flaming Lips‘ set.  I know I just suggested you do one thing and then I did the opposite thing, but with that experience behind me, I stand by my original recommendation — see Trombone Shorty.  I do like the Lips, but the sole reason we ventured across the muddy field to see them was out of sheer curiosity, to see if they did anything different.  I’ve seen them perform for years.  I stopped seeing them perform for years.  I revisited them during their tour this summer.  And then, thinking they may pull out something new for the festival crowd, I saw them again at Voodoo Experience.  If you’re somebody who doesn’t like change, rest easy – The Flaming Lips are doing exactly the same thing they were doing years ago.  The show begins with Wayne Coyne rolling out on top of the crowd in a large bubble.  Then, there’s confetti, enough balloons for everybody to play, and furry creatures dancing on stage.  Songs may be performed in a slightly different tempo – “Fight Test” was played ultra slow at Voodoo – but essentially a Flaming Lips show is a Flaming Lips show.  They provide good old-fashioned fun that you can always count on.

Voodoo Experience: good times guaranteed

Similarly, New Orleans Voodoo Experience provides good fun and music you can count on.   However, that may be the only constant.  New Orleans Voodoo Experience is truly unique and offers a diverse range of entertainment and activities.  There’s something for everyone at Voodoo Experience – that’s why more than 100,000 people showed up.

Tras la cancelación de la segunda jornada del Pepsi Music por las fuertes lluvias que cayeron el sábado en Buenos Aires, el festival encarará este fin de semana sus tres últimos encuentros con algunas modificaciones. La fecha postergada se llevará a cabo el viernes en el Club Ciudad, con Las Pelotas, No Te Va a Gustar, Los Cafres, Los Pericos, Fidel, De Bueyes, Árbol y Smitten como principales atracciones. Kapanga, que iba a ser el número de cierre del día, finalmente no será de la partida debido a problemas de agenda. Aunque el grupo actuará en el Pepsi Music en la fecha del domingo. El sábado se mantendrá sin cambios, con shows de Living Colour, La Vela Puerca, Divididos, Ratones Paranoicos, Nonpalidece, Cielo Razzo y Duff McKagan’s Loaded. El cierre será el domingo con una fecha en la que los mayores atractivos serán los recitales de Catupecu Machu, Los Auténticos Decadentes, Misterio y Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, Calle 13, Gogol Bordello y The Ting Tings.

If you’ve ever been to a concert in Austin, you might know that Austin crowds have a certain…reputation.  When The Knux shouted at us during the ACL festival, they unknowingly summed it up right there (even if they were just as much to blame for their show’s issues).  Other than metal shows (of which there are few in our town) or hardcore punk shows (even less so), you’re pretty hard-pressed to find a raucous crowd in Austin, one that engages in potentially violent moshing, needless shoving, and general craziness.

When all the stars align, and you combine the right crazy-inducing band playing the last night of their tour with the fact that Stubb’s holds a fairly large amount of people, you’re bound to have yourself an interesting and exciting night.  And it’s not hard to figure out why Gogol Bordello gets people’s blood pumping if you’ve listened to their albums…their music is celebratory in the rowdiest way possible, and that’s how they like it.  Lead singer Eugene Hutz makes no bones about enjoying life to its fullest and most debauchery-fueled (even hilariously dissing American nightlife as they were leaving the stage on Sunday).  I could tell by how drunk people were more than an hour before the show started that it was going to be a good one, and thankfully, I wasn’t wrong.

Canadian band Apostle of Hustle opened for Gogol, and even though their MySpace page says there are four band members, I’m pretty sure there were only two guys up there.  The duo jammed out in a nerdy hipster style, combining a number of genres into a blend of experimental indie rock.  Their set was definitely slow to start, but it picked up as it went on and they closed out on a couple of pop-tinged numbers that had the audience swaying along.  Lead singer, guitarist, and instrumentalist Julian Brown was entertaining as much for his stage personality as his music, swigging from a bottle of white wine and holding up a giant sign that read “Is Anybody Else High?”  Easily, the most impressive part of the show was percussionist Dean Stone, who plays a mean drum kit, translating a number of jazz riffs into rock beats to great affect.

Click the jump to read the rest of the Gogol review, see pictures, and find out what people do during a song called “Alcohol”!

Gogol Bordello took the stage slightly after 8 pm, starting the show off with “Ultimate” from Super Taranta! and the crowd responded in kind, the entire area in front of the stage becoming a giant crush that pushed back and forth to the music (check out the jostling in the video!).  Only certain bands would be able to conjure up that kind of excitement in the air, and Gogol easily had the most electric and contagious energy of any show I’ve attended.  When there are 100 people jumping and thrashing around you, it’s impossible not to join the fun, even if it means taking a few elbows to the ribs (or in the case of really tall people who don’t mind their limbs, taking a few to the head and shoulders).

Can you see them? I sorta can!

In the first 30 minutes of the show, Gogol busted out some of their biggest songs: “Wonderlust King”, “Not A Crime”, “60 Revolutions”, and “Tribal Connection“.  Eugene, ultra-badass violin/fiddle player Sergey, nuts percussionist/backup singers Elizabeth and Pamela, and Spanish-speaking MC Pedro somehow manage to keep the energy sky-high throughout the entire show AND play/sing seamlessly.  I wrote in my album review that the first time I had seen them live (at the ACL festival) I was amazed at how they can keep perfect breakneck pace and still stalk around the stage interacting with the audience.  It was even more impressive this time because the show ran nearly two hours, and each time the crowd startled to settle in, the band amped things up again.

After about an hour in the pit, we decided to take a breather and watch the show from the front of the sound booth, pleased to find that the audience further back was no less excitable than the pit crowd.  As if an amazingly fun show couldn’t get much better, since it was the last show of the tour, Gogol thrilled the crowd with a triple curtain call, beginning with “Alcohol” (during which a couple in front of us passionately made out and another girl danced seductively) and extending out to a medley of  “Start Wearing Purple” and “Undestructable” among others.

There they go again!

At the end of the show, I felt just as drained and exuberant as if I had attended a festival all day and it was only 10 pm when we left.  I totally missed the aftershow at Lovejoy’s because, unfortunately, real life calls on a Sunday night, but I’m sure it was worth waiting around for (if you were there, leave a comment and tell me how it was!).

All told, Gogol Bordello amazed, surprised, and majorly rocked out the crowd at Stubb’s.  Even though their tour is over, make sure you catch them the next time around, because a gypsy punk show is not an experience any other bands can provide.  For now, you can watch my video above!  Thanks to Seanningham as usual for the awesome graphics and editing!

The Gogol Bordello show last night at Stubb’s was probably the rowdiest show I’ve ever been to…ever.  There was moshing, thrashing, crowd-surfing, and elbows all over the place.  It was, perhaps not coincidentally, also one of the absolute best and most fun shows I’ve ever seen.  A full review, plus HD Flip video coming up later, but for now, here’s a preview of the madness…a piece of “Tribal Connection” which they played about 2-3 songs into the show.  At the end, you’ll see me get jostled and the video cuts off, and it’s because two enormous guys were carrying a smaller guy (who was completely passed out and possibly bloody) out of the crowd.  Yeah, and there was another hour and a half to go after that!  Enjoy and check back soon for the full disclosure!

October 31, 2009
2009 Voodoo Experience
New Orleans, LA

Mutemath's Darren King

Day 2: So much music, so little time to write!! Mates of State, Mutemath, Gogol Bordello, Wolfmother, Jane’s Addiction, Kiss. . . I will write an in-depth review as soon as the music stops or the city sleeps. In the meantime, some highlights and pictures.

Here’s how the Voodoo Experience differed Day 2 to Day 1:
Day 2: Sunny
Day 1: Torrential downpours

Day 2: Halloween
Day 1: Not Halloween, but you wouldn’t know it in New Orleans

Day 2: Exceptional music back to back
Day 1: Exceptional music back to back

Day 2: Experienced great live performances hour after hour
Day 1: Heard some great live music (with rain as a backing track) from the safety of a dry tent

Day 2: Hotshot Robot mysteriously beheaded
Day 1: Hotshot Robot happily roaming the festival, in-tact

Only Wolfmother really knows what happened to Hotshot Robot:

It was Wolfmother, in the bar, with the neck of a guitar

Mates of State welcomed the crowd and the sunny day with an uplifting, fun set:

Mates of State

The crowd welcomed the sun and Mates of State by singing along:

Mates of States fans know all the words

Wolfmother interview:

Wolfmother dodging questions about the Robot

Mutemath sets the tone not just for Voodoo Experience, but for live music performance as a whole:

Mutemath's Paul Meany - this is live music

Mutemath takes it to the next level

Gogol Bordello makes the crowd go insane:

Gogol Bordello

Wolfmother: They exceeded my expectations and my expectations were high:

Wolfmother!!

Wolfmother captivates the audience:

Wolfmother crowd

Jane’s Addiction kicks off the night:

Jane's Addiction

Kiss – enough said:

Kiss

Seasoned musicians know how to play with fire:

Kiss

Off to catch some more music! Stay tuned…

Did everyone survive Halloween okay?  No zombie attacks or (unwanted) vampire bites?  Phew!  Well, we certainly had a fantastic time last night at the Do512 Headquarters for the Dos Equis and Do512 Present: Halloween at the Graveyard party.  Besides the plentiful Tito’s, Sweet Leaf Tea, and Dos Equis, there were also some great live, local bands.  The Businessman DJs started things off, then came ArcAttack, a band that can really only be explained by this:

This is their official explanation: Two custom engineered, hand-built Tesla Coils throw out electrical arcs up to twelve feet long, each one acting as an instrument with a sound reminiscent of the early days of the synthesizer. Live instruments meet drum loops and samples to produce rock, electronica and indie with a splash of punk and a dash of metal served with a side of pop. It was pretty awesome.

Next up was The Lemurs, a really popular Austin band specializing in indie-pop and rock sounds.  Austin’s love for them was evidenced by how many people knew and were singing along to their songs.  They were a lot of fun live.

Finally, Hipnautica, a local electronica band focusing on visual, performance, and musical elements, gave the party an injection of Halloween atmosphere with stilt walkers and an awesome fire dancer.

All in all, a Halloween party done right.  Now, to get ready for Gogol Bordello tonight at Stubb’s!  Woo!  Don’t forget to check back for my Concert Review and video posting for Gogol Bordello.  They’ll be up this week!  Grab yourself some Gatorade and have a great Sunday.  Thanks again to Jimmy and all the hardworking folks at Do512.

October 30, 2009
2009 Voodoo Experience
New Orleans, LA

It's not just a music festival

The Voodoo Experience in New Orleans is in its eleventh year. Yet somehow, year after year, it’s one music festival I had yet to enjoy until yesterday. Voodoo has been on my to-do list for several years, not only because I hadn’t done it yet, but because it’s in New Orleans (one of my favorite cities), during Halloween weekend.

This year’s line-up includes Eminem, Justice, Silversun Pickups, The Black Keys, Fischerspooner, The Vettes, Janelle Monae, Kiss, Jane’s Addiction, Gogol Bordello, Wolfmother, The Black Lips, The Flaming Lips, Mutemath, Brand New, the Pogues, and many more.

There will be an in-depth review to follow including my interview with The Vettes and their adopted brother (who’s also in the band).  While I leave you with that cliffhanger, here are some pictures and quick highlights from Day 1.

The Vettes

The Cool Kids

Silversun Pickups meeting fans

Janelle Monae: all will be revealed with the full Day 1 recap (hint: she’s awesome)

Janelle Monae

Hotshot Robot interviewing the band Glasgow:

Hotshot Robot

This isn’t your grandma’s bingo:

The New Orleans Bingo Show

Fischerspooner