New American Music Union – Recap

I feel bad for anyone who was unable to attend American Eagle Outfitters’ first ever New American Music Union festival in Pittsburgh’s South Side Works.

That being said let me relay what you missed.

The festival differed from most in many ways. First of all, it was set right in the middle of the city. Concertgoers could shop and dine at any of the South Side Works’ many shops and restaurants, including American Eagle, BCBG, Tosca and The Cheesecake Factory. Upon entry, any general admission or student ticket was given a voucher for a festival t-shirt and a BPA-free water bottle, bearing the festival’s logo. I found this fantastic. Not only did we receive a fantastic musical experience, but there are free goodies, too! To go along with the water bottles, NAMU had two free water stations available, where you could fill your bottle with fresh, clean water at no charge whatsoever.

NAMU -- Photo: Melissa Franko for wyep.org

The setting was fantastic for more than just dining and shopping in the city. Once you entered the main stage area, you had the stage before you and turning behind you, were greeted with a breathtaking view of Pittsburgh’s hills and sky, University of Pittsburgh’s Cathedral of Learning jutting majestically from the lush greenery. One also could not have asked for better weather. Before the festival began on Friday, rain showers made it seem as through we’d have a soggy experience, but by 3 PM, the clouds parted and the rain had cooled the city, giving us a cool, clear, and calm 2 days to enjoy NAMU’s phenomenal line-up.

Opening the show were New York’s Tiny Masters of Today. The tween-aged family act left something to be desired, but was surprisingly adept for their age. Their songs were simple, but something you would expect from twenty to thirty-something hipsters, as opposed to a 12 and 14 year-old brother and sister. While the vocals seemed monotone and off-pitch to start, they improved as the set continued, leading me to attribute it to nerves. The crowd responded to them quite well, despite my suspicion that they are widely unknown to most of the concertgoers. Closing their set with a humorous, but accurate, cover of House of Pain‘s “Jump Around,” Tiny Masters of Today are, at this point, more of an endearing novelty group. However, I can see them evolving greatly with a few years time. Definitely one to watch out for.

Tiny Masters of Today: live at Death Disco -- Photo: Shara Shisheboran

I’ve expressed before the difficulty I have with watching a DJ spin a set and being able to review it like a band playing. Orange-jumpsuited duo NASA took this into account and made their set fantastically entertaining. Though the set was a bit too loud, it was far from disappointing. Weaving familiar songs such as Heart‘s “Magic Man,” Blur‘s “Song 2″ and Rage Against the Machine‘s “Killing In The Name Of,” they keep the audience interested in more ways than one.

NASA -- Photo: Melissa Franko for wyep.org

NASA -- Photo: Melissa Franko for wyep.org

Not only were our DJ’s fantastically animated and interactive, a few minutes into their se, a pair of girls painted green with silver swimsuits emerged, dancing along as NASA introduces their “Martian Ladies.” Eventually, they are followed by a pair of astronauts in blue jumpsuits. One of these astronauts was a straight up b-boy, while the other is clearly proficient in popping and locking. Finally, some sort of space monster showed up; another dancer wearing what appeared to be a bear suit, topped by a reptilian mask. If you like electronic music, but find yourself bored just watching a DJ manipulate some turntables and a laptop, NASA is a group to catch.

NASA -- Photo: Melissa Franko for wyep.org

Photo: Melissa Franko for wyep.org

Photo: Melissa Franko for wyep.org

Just as dusk rolled around, The Black Keys took the stage. The Akron, Oh. duo managed to steal the show not only for the night, but for the entire two-day affair. Somehow, they manage to make a guitar and a set of drums sound like so much more as frontman and singer Dan Auerbach writhed around the stage. The guitars were bluesy, soulful, and even a bit crunchy, prompting solos that can only be described one way: face-melting. There are not a lot of words that can be said, other than the Black Keys brought the house down and Pittsburgh to its knees on Friday night.

Photo: Melissa Franko for wyep.org

The Black Keys: Dan Auerbach -- Photo: Melissa Franko for wyep.org

The Black Keys: Patrick Carney -- Photo: Melissa Franko for wyep.org

Photo: Melissa Franko for wyep.org

Closing the night was Pennsylvania’s own hip-hop heroes, The Roots. While their set was flawless, they were still no match for The Black Keys but still managed to bring the crowd to frenzy; couples swayed and made out to their sultry beats and hands were in the air cheering them on. All in all, a good way to close the night.

The Roots -- Photo: Melissa Franko for wyep.org

The Roots: Black Thought -- Photo: Melissa Franko for wyep.org

The Roots: Owen Biddle and F. Knuckles -- Photo: Melissa Franko for wyep.org

The Roots: Kamal Gray -- Photo: Melissa Franko for wyep.org

The Roots: Capt. Kirk Douglas -- Photo: Melissa Franko for wyep.org

The Roots: ?uestlove -- Melissa Franko for wyep.org

Saturday’s first big draw was Gnarls Barkley. The full band emerged in matching, burgundy prep-school style vests with Cee-Lo and Danger Mouse standing out in gold blazers. Throughout the set, Cee-Lo lost articles of clothing, ending with his white dress shirt unbuttoned over a white tee, claiming, “my shirt ripped while rockin’ out for y’all!” This group is phenomenal, with every bit of instrumentation live, right down to the xylophone riff on “Gone, Daddy, Gone.” The entire set, the audience was unable to hold still, dancing along to every song.

Gnarls Barkley: Cee Lo -- Photo: Melissa Franko for wyep.org

Photo: Melissa Franko for wyep.org

Gnarls Barkley: Danger Mouse -- Photo: Melissa Franko for wyep.org

Gnarls Barkley -- Photo: C.C. Chapman

Gnarls Barkley -- Photo: Melissa Franko for wyep.org

Gnarls Barkley -- Photo: C.C. Chapman

Photo: C.C. Chapman

Photo: Melissa Franko for wyep.org

Photo: C.C. Chapman

Following was Spoon, who can only be described as hypnotic. In the same way it was impossible to ignore the group, it was also possible to completely lose yourself in them. The band had brought along live horns, which, frankly, I’m kind of a sucker for. The bass drum drove right into your core…

Spoon: Britt Daniel -- Photo: Melissa Franko for wyep.org

Spoon: Eric Harvey -- Photo: C.C. Chapman

Spoon: Rob Pope -- Photo: Melissa Franko for wyep.org

Spoon: Jim Eno -- Photo: Melissa Franko for wyep.org

Photo: C.C. Chapman

Photo: C.C. Chapman

Photo: Melissa Franko for wyep.org

The Raconteurs took the dusk spot on Saturday night, ushering in the night with—well, frankly–awesomeness. As the highlight of that evening, people in the all-access crowd pulled themselves on top of tour buses to watch them play. Jack White and Brendan Benson share the stage well, each aware of when it’s the others turn to shine. Their songs got longer and longer, the group working their way into a slow, haunting, bluesy feel with every guitar solo being absolutely incredible.

The Raconteurs -- Photo: C.C. Chapman

The Raconteurs: Jack White -- Photo: Melissa Franko for wyep.org

The Raconteurs: Brendan Benson -- Photo: C.C. Chapman

Photo: C.C. Chapman

Photo: C.C. Chapman

Photo: C.C. Chapman

Photo: Melissa Franko for wyep.org

Photo: Melissa Franko for wyep.org

Finally, the biggest draw of the entire festival, Bob Dylan took the stage…and was utterly disappointing. Not once did he pick up a guitar, being known for being a guitar-based songwriter. Dylan stayed on keys and harmonica for his whole set, barely moving and letting his band do all of the work. Sure, he’s known for not being a great vocalist: he’s actually known for being quite a bad singer. This was worse. Age has lent an extremely gruff quality to Dylan’s voice, making him sound as though he’s channeling Tom Waits, and causing his lyrics to be even less intelligible than usual. It was difficult figuring out what songs he was even playing.
What. A. Letdown.

Festival curator Anthony Kiedis expressed interest in keeping the festival going in years to come and I pray to God that he does. I can only hope that something like this gets bigger and better with each year, and if this groundbreaking first try is any indicator.

Anthony Kiedis -- Photo: C.C. Chapman

Anthony Kiedis -- Photo: Melissa Franko for wyep.org

Pittsburgh’s big new music festival can only go up from here.

New American Music Union: website | performances

Photos: C.C. Chapman for A.E./NAMU and Melissa Franko for wyep.org

Virgin Mobile Festival, Day 2

Somehow, day 2 of this year’s Virgin Mobile Festival was even better than the first. While I was still on a high (all natural!) from the Foo Fighter‘s set the previous night, each of the sets I was honored to see on Sunday blew me away, especially that of the closing act performed by the one and only Kanye West (the other major reason along with Lupe Fiasco, I needed to hit VFest). Again, I was a bit of a late arrival, but only missed Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and The Go! Team this time, making it to catch half of Shudder To Think‘s set.

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – 12:00-12:45 // North Stage

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

The Go! Team – 12:20-1:05 // South Stage

The Go! Team

Shudder To Think – 1:05-1:55 // North Stage
I kind of missed the Shudder To Think train when it first came around (to be fair, they did form when I was just a year old and disbanded while I was still in my middle school girl power pop phase), but after a ten year hiatus, a quasi-reunion occurred last year and the band pulled off a solid set at Virgin Mobile Festival.

Shudder To Think

Andrew Bird – 1:25-2:10 // South Stage
Andrew Bird, whose 2007 Armchair Apocrypha I (and many others) adore, played a phenomenal set last Sunday to a packed South Stage. He’s recently sold out 2 New York City shows in just 2 hrs for his upcoming tour! Not surprising in the least. Get in on some Andrew Bird tour action, if only to see him rock out with a violin — it’s magnificent.

Andrew Bird

Paramore - 2:15-3:05 // North Stage
One of the most touted national acts, I was disappointed with how boring Paramore’s set was. Haley and the guys had fierce energy, but every song blended together making the set feel like one long song. Then again, that’s what pop punk usually is.

Paramore

She & Him – 2:35-3:25 // South Stage
Having seen this magnificent duo before, I ditched Paramore and made my way over to the South Stage to be as close as possible to Ms. Zooey Deschanel and her counterpart Mr. M. Ward. The set list was almost exactly the same as when I’d see the band headline at the Trocadero in Philadelphia, but it was just as good the second time. The one noticeable change was a cover of “I Put A Spell On You” which wonderfully displayed Deschanel’s vocal range, and the addition of an original song by back-up singer Becky Stark, who’s also got a great set of pipes.
Why only these two pictures of Deschanel are available, I can’t say, but you can check out some pictures from their Philadelphia performance here.

She & Him: Zooey Deschanel

Taking Back Sunday – 3:30-4:20 // North Stage
Taking Back Sunday was totally my jawn in high school. For nostalgia’s sake, and I still really dig Tell All Your Friends and Lazzara’s mic swinging action, I caught out part of the band’s high energy set. An oldie but still a goodie.

Taking Back Sunday: Adam Lazzara

Lil Wayne – 3:50-4:30* // South Stage
The asterisk on Lil Wayne’s set time denotes that this time line was not accurate since Lil Wayne showed up on stage 40 minutes late, making fans wait almost two hours, as many staked out their spots during She & Him’s set. I don’t like to be kept waiting, so I opted to catch a good spot for Iggy & the Stooges over at the North Stage instead. I’d seen Iggy at Download: Philadelphia so I knew I was in for a great set. I’m bummed to have missed Lil Wayne’s performance, but if I ever get the chance to see him again, I hope he’s prompt.

Lil Wayne

Iggy & the Stooges - 4:50-5:50 // North Stage
If you want some punk rock and roll, no need to look further than Iggy and the Stooges, or just Iggy. The man, in his sixties, has more energy than an entire kindergarten class. He ran around the stage, jumped on amps, and yelled at the crowd to ‘get the hell up on stage!’ and went so far as to demand that security allow the crowd to jump the barricade and thrash about on stage. Sadly, these demands were not met, so rather than accept defeat, Iggy jumped down and engaged himself with the crowd running around through the open space that was barricaded off from the stage, since security also refused to let him actually jump into the crowd.

Iggy and the Stooges

The Black Keys – 5:15-6:15 // South Stage
I also skipped over The Black Keys in favor of staking out a spot for Stone Temple Pilots as I figured my future opportunities to see STP was far less great than the future potential of catching a Black Keys set.

The Black Keys: Dan Auerbach

The Black Keys: Patrick Carney

Stone Temple Pilots – 6:20*-7:35// North Stage
No pictures have been made available for Stone Temple Pilots.
The band arrived on stage 20 minutes late, but rather than have their set extended like Lil Wayne’s on the other stage, they were forced to finish up at 7:35, keeping at least one stage on schedule. They powered through their hits and Weiland — who was layered to the max with clothing (t-shirts, vests, 3 or 4 ties) — removed a piece of clothing with each new song played. The crowd eagerly sang and moshed along for the entire set.
In addition to making their fans wait 20 minutes to begin their peformance, with maybe 15 or 20 minutes to go, STP left the stage for 5 minutes — maybe they needed a hit? — in which Weiland removed his t-shirt and put on a black leather vest before coming back out to perform their last two songs. Perhaps it was supposed to be an encore, but making the audience wait 20 minutes initially should’ve sent a red flag to Weiland and co. that we wanted more songs, not a lame attempt and a pseudo-encore.
Despite time issues, all and all a decent set.

Moby - 6:30-8:00 // DJ/Rave Tent
Never actually went into the DJ Tent (though everyone referred to it as the “Rave Tent”) for fear of club kids and getting molested by those on X, but walked by slowly during Moby’s spinning session. It was fab and had I not been rushing to catch the legendary Bob Dylan, I probably would’ve stopped and raved it up for a bit.

Moby

Bob Dylan – 6:45-8:00* // South Stage
No pictures have been made available for Bob Dylan.
I’ve never seen Bob Dylan perform before. I think that perhaps since I’d been building him up in my mind for the 23 years I’ve been alive, I expected too much. He was great, no doubt, but it wasn’t the magic I’d expected. And he didn’t even let the cameras (neither photo nor video) get close enough to even show his face. So for all I know, it wasn’t even Dylan. Just saying.

Nine Inch Nails – 8:05-10:00// North Stage
I’m not big into Nine Inch Nails. What?! Yeah. It’s true. I can only take at face value what Ajay told me in regards to this: I’m “a happy person.” I stuck around for a good portion of their set and I was impressed by the ridiculous light show they put on, but I was definitely eager to get over to the South Stage for Kanye West.

Nine Inch Nails: Trent Reznor

Kanye West – 8:30-10:00* // South Stage
No pictures have been made available for Kanye West, which is unfortunate because his stage show was a visual assault of lights, colors and fog. If I owned a point and shoot digital, I’d have pictures of my own to show you, but I always manage to drop them. A lot. They don’t last long in good working order in my possession.

Lots of VFest attendees shared my enthusiasm for Kanye’s performance and packed out the lawn in and around the South Stage to dance and sing/rap along with the oft-controversial rapper. His set list was long and inclusive featuring “Good Morning”, “Champion”, “I Wonder”, “Get Em High”, “Through the Wire”, “Heard Em Say”, “Diamonds from Sierra Lione”, “Touch the Sky”, “Good Life”, “Flashing Lights”, “Homecoming”, “All Falls Down”, “American Boy”, “Put On”, “Jesus Walks”, “Gold Digger”, “Can’t Tell Me Nothing”, and “Stronger”. He also spit some original lines on the spot — or so it seemed, anyway.

I was definitely impressed with West’s set and cannot wait to see him again. He mentioned that he was bummed out to have to be put up against Nine Inch Nails again (the first being at this year’s Lollapalooza) because he wanted to be in the crowd for their set. He did, however, praise VFest for their choice of venue since those who couldn’t afford tickets to the event (think in the hundreds) were still able to see and hear many acts through the fence. He was very honest in his sentiments about loving his fans and never wanting to do anything more than perform for them because it’s what he loves and lives for. I absolutely walked away from VFest with a greater admiration for Kanye West.

Here’s looking forward to Virgin Mobile 2009 — I can’t wait to see how they try to top this year.

Live from Abby Road

Sundance Channel will premiere the second season of the acclaimed original music series “Live From Abbey Road” in June. The 12-part series features performances and interviews with musicians filmed at London’s legendary Abbey Road Studios. Season two of “Live From Abbey Road” airs on Thursdays at 10:00pm et/pt beginning June 19th.

“Live from Abbey Road” features performances by new and established A-list artists, with each one-hour episode offering three acts and a unique insight into the process of making music as they rehearse, discuss their work, and build towards the final exclusive performance. Artists on tap for Season 2 include: Mary J. Blige; Def Leppard; Matchbox Twenty; Dashboard Confessional; James Blunt; Rascal Flatts; Kate Nash; Herbie Hancock with Corinne Bailey Rae and Melody Gardot; Diana Krall; Stereophonics; Sheryl Crow; The Black Keys; David Gray, Suzanne Vega, Colbie Caillat, Joan Armatrading, Panic! at the Disco; and Manu Chao. The series is produced by Michael Gleason and Peter van Hooke, directed by AJ Jankel and distributed worldwide by FremantleMedia Enterprises.

Reviewing the first season of “Live From Abbey Road” for The New York Daily News in June 2007, David Bianculli wrote, “If you love music, you’ll love this Sundance Channel show.”

For exclusive interviews and performances check out this link.

Line up for the first 8 episodes:
June 19
Mary J. Blige, Dashboard Confessional and James Blunt

June 26
Rascal Flatts, Kate Nash and Herbie Hancock with Corinne Bailey Rae and Melody Gardot

July 03
Panic! at the Disco, David Gray and Suzanne Vega

July 10
Stereophonics, Colbie Caillat and Joan Armatrading

July 17
Sheryl Crow, Hard-Fi and Diana Krall

July 24
The Hoosiers, The Black Keys, Manu Chao

July 31
Matchbox Twenty, The Script, Def Leppard

August 07
Elbow, MGMT, Alanis Morissette

The Black Keys on Conan, Tour Dates

The Black Keys will be performing tonight on “Late Night with Conan O’Brien.” Should you need to check your local listings for time/channel, you can do so here.

The Black Keys are also playing a few dates with Buffalo Killers:

May 15 @ Terminal 5, New York, NY – sold out!
May 16 @ Theatre of Living Arts, Philadelphia PA - sold out!
May 17 @ Orpheum Theatre, Boston MA

The Black Keys: website | myspace