photo by Dave Bullock
We’ve had an unbelievable week of live performances in the KEXP studios, with the likes of Sloan, A Gun That Shoots Knives, The Sea Navy, What Made Milwaukee Famous, Blonde Redhead, Rufus Wainwright, and The Cave Singers. If you missed any of these performances, you can go back and listen on our Streaming Archive. Also, be sure to check pictures of the bands snapped by our staff of amazing photographers. Just follow the links to the band listed above. And there’s much more to follow in the weeks ahead.
Seattle is infested with touring bands right about now, and it’s impossible to make acceptable decisions on who to go see. Jarvis Cocker or Viva Voce on Monday? Frog Eyes or Bright Eyes on Tuesday? (I know which I’d want!) Kings of Leon, LCD Soundsystem or Joseph Arthur on Wednesday? Arctic Monkeys or !!! on Thursday? Mando Diao or The Decemberists on Friday? Andrew Bird and Apostle of Hustle or Tapes ‘N Tapes on Saturday? Ridiculous! And among these traveling troubadours are another handful of more-than-worthy shows featuring local bands, like Friday’s “Seattle Does Elvis” benefit for 826 Seattle or Saturday’s Audioasis Live @ High Dive, which is a benefit for Seattle Works and is followed by the Sonic Reducer Anniversary show. Whatever city you live in, you too may be facing similar problems as musicians have hit the road for festival season.
And when it comes to festivals, Coachella attracts many of the best artists each year, and this year’s lineup was no exception. Reports are already coming in from the three-day marathon that ended literally hours ago. Bjork, Interpol, Arcade Fire, Happy Mondays, Amy Winehouse and too many others to list here, played to enthusiastic crowds who endured three-hour traffic jams for the privilege. (And, yes, Scarlett Johansson did perform with Jesus & Mary Chain).
If you weren’t lucky enough to be there, then hopefully you were smart enough to watch the performances from home, courtesy of AT&T’s Blue Room, which broadcast over 30 performances live from various stages throughout the festival. Missed that too? No worries — that’s the beauty of the Internet. Hundreds of video clips have already been added to YouTube, some good, some bad, and some downright pathetic. Here are a few of the good ones:
Andrew Bird
Regina Spector
Arctic Monkeys
Jarvis Cocker
Cornelius
LCD Soundsystem
And if you’re in the Austin area this month, be sure to check out the Hot Freaks + Gorilla vs. Bear residency we’re sponsoring at The Mohawk. The shows are 18 and over and will run you only $2 ($4 if you’re under 21). For more information, go visit Gorilla vs. Bear.May 1: Peel
May 8: White Denim
May 15: Peel
May 22: White Denim
Here are a couple of songs to get you in the mood:
White Denim - ShakeShakeShake (MP3)
Peel - In The City (MP3)
If you see any good Coachella videos or have any music news to share, email us at blog@kexp.org.
4 Comments
Good stuff…although, the Silversun Pickups video is not “Lazy Eye”. I think it is “Kissing Families”…
Thanks, Brian. I guess I’m the only one with a lazy eye. But everyone should go to Jason Grimes for more videos and pictures.
Thanks for the tip to check out the blog.. ‘Tis excellent, especially with the clips and such… Of course, you sent me to youtube to watch Jarvis and I spent 40 minutes there..Krikey!
cheers.i’ll be back.
did anyone else think the sound sucked for silversun pickups? very muddy, bass was too loud for at least half the set… perhaps it’s hard to amplify their style of distortion, which it quite muddy itself… but i’ve seen silversun pickups at least 5 times and the sound at coachella was the worst. the other main stage acts didn’t seem to sound as bad.
2 Trackbacks
[...] Read the full article by Jim, KEXP [...]
[...] Remember when I said that this town was infested with bands? Well, now it seems like they’re dropping like flies. In the latest news to follow cancellations by Lily Allen, The View, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, and Arcade Fire, now The Fratellis have canceled tour a slew of U.S. tour dates, including their Seattle slot with Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, claiming to be “knackered” after their Coachella performance last weekend. Oh well, go ahead and mope while you watch this video: WPvideo 1.10 [...]