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Janelle Monae Demonstrates The Afro-Punk Attitude -- In Formal Attire

Posted 7/7/08 6:35 pm EST by in Festivals, Janelle_Monáe


Janelle Monáe, Credit: MTV NewsBy Daniela Capistrano

It is not often enough that you see a young black woman in pristine slacks, dress shirt, bowtie, cumber bun and saddle shoes stage dive into a crowd and start a mosh pit.

This past weekend, producer Tami Katzoff and I found ourselves in the thick of Janelle Monáe's set at the fourth annual Afro-Punk Festival, where she joined other amazing musicians, graffiti muralists, BMX riders and skateboarders at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.

Afro-Punk, an annual event showcasing groundbreaking bands, films and artists, was created by Matthew Morgan and James Spooner, who also made the 2003 documentary "Afro-Punk," which chronicles the subculture. Despite all of the raw energy that is present at the fest, AP still manages to be a safe, family-friendly event where participants are encouraged to register to vote at one of the many community booths.

The highlight of Saturday's AP events was when Janelle closed the show by diving into the audience, crowd-surfing into the middle of everyone and then forming a mosh pit with her fans. She then ran through the crowd, climbed back onstage where she went berserk, Iggy Pop/ David Bowie-style, and slammed her mic stand on the ground, threw water at the crowd and then ran off again, leaving the crowd screaming for more. What a show-woman!

Watch space girl sensation Janelle Monáe crowd surfing in true punk rock fashion after the jump!
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The Hold Steady And Fans Dive Into Pool Party Season In Brooklyn

Posted 6/30/08 3:38 pm EST by in Concerts, Festivals


By Megan Warner

Nothing says summertime like rock music and dodgeball in a giant outdoor bathtub.

At least that's what I saw yesterday, when I accompanied fellow digital producer Sarah Muller and shooter Brendan Kennedy to the first aptly named Pool Party of the season in Brooklyn, New York.

The show, featuring the Hold Steady and the Loved Ones, was a success — if a wet one, and not because of anything related to pools. Fans seemed unfazed by the nearly tropical storm and stuck around for the Hold Steady's set. (Check out my pics here!) Led by frontman Craig Finn's flailing arm gestures and Tad Kubler's wailing guitar solos, this band had what it took to make everyone forget the gloomy weather. Of course, the steady (ahem) flow of beer helped people forget too. Read More...

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Lollapalooza: You're Killing Me With The Scheduling

Posted 6/17/08 2:31 pm EST by in Festivals, Kanye West, Lollapalooza, Radiohead


I get it, Lollapalooza. There are only so many slots in a 12-hour day to cram in 100 bands. And I'm not hating on having to choose between Bang Camaro and K'naan, or splitting the difference on Uffie and Jamie Lidell, because, frankly, I couldn't care less about any of them. And I'm even willing to forgive having to choose between Gnarls Barkley and Girl Talk. And Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings or the Toadies is a slam dunk, no offense Toad-heads.

But come Saturday and Sunday night, you're seriously killing me. The daily schedules are finally here, and I get that all air traffic is being cleared to give Radiohead some radio silence for their headlining slot on Friday night. They've earned it — and frankly, who wants to go up against them anyway, right?

But Saturday night? I'm going to have to choose between watching Kanye West land his egogalactic mother ship in his hometown on the shores of Lake Michigan and walking a mile across Grant Park to see Nine Inch Nails unleash a toxic bile spill on the other main stage. That ain't right. Sure, I've seen NIN a few times and I haven't seen the Kanye show yet (the local date here got canceled due to, um, "production" issues), but both promise to be spectacles on a par with last year's totally bananas Daft Punk set.

And Sunday's not much better: The reunited Rage Against the Machine are up against one of my favorite bands (another Chicago-bred act), Wilco. Unless you're a music geek like me, that's not really a hard one, since the bands are different sides of the rock coin. But still, who doesn't want a bit of sweaty-torso bro-thrash mixed with a palate-cleansing bowl of spidery guitar noodle soup? It's just not fair.

Other than those colossal musical Sophie's Choices (oh, and putting the Black Lips on one of the main stages at noon on Friday — c'mon, that's just mean), I'm cool with the rest of the roster choices.

But I can't help wondering how Iron and Wine leader Sam Beam's pastoral acoustic reveries will go over on the Bud Light stage at 4:15 p.m. on Sunday, just a few hours before the NIN crowd begins to descend on the area like a drunken black cloud of hormones and terrorist fist jabs. Considering this recent bottling of Queens of the Stone Age's Josh Homme, I'd suggest you bring a helmet, Sam.

Are you feeling conflicted? Tearing your hair out choosing between Booka Shade and DeVotchKa? Tell us about it.

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Anthony Kiedis Curates New College Band-Heavy Fest

Posted 5/15/08 3:34 pm EST by in Festivals, live


Kiedis

Chili Pepper Anthony Kiedis is set to curate a new summer fest in...Pittsburgh?

The two-day New American Music Union will give attention to 15 new college bands -- and other little-known acts such as the Raconteurs and Gnarls Barkley. The college acts taking part will also be judged (like "American Idol"!), with the winner given a full day of recording in a top LA studio for free. American Eagle, which is sponsoring the fest, will also promote the band's record in their stores.

Tickets go on sale tomorrow.

The lineup thus far -- including the college acts in competition -- after the jump. Read More...

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Was JazzFest One of M.I.A.'s Final Shows?

Posted 5/5/08 5:34 pm EST by in Behind The Scenes, Festivals, live, Music


miaakshay

This in from MTV News super-shooter Akshay Bhansali:

I just spent a rather bizarre weekend down in New Orleans. My dad serves on the board of directors of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, and the final weekend wrapped yesterday. It all started with a party at the family house, which involved consuming copious amounts duck po-boy, boudin balls, and soft-shell crawfish (yes, you can apparently soften more than just crab), and fixing Gwyneth Paltrow's mom’s cellphone(??). Blythe Danner is an incredibly cool woman!

After the party I cruised over to Frenchman Street in the Marigny to catch M.I.A. perform in a crazy steamy warehouse. The crowd hardly seemed to care about the heat -- when she opened her epic show with "Bamboo Banger," the room became pure, awesome chaos. Maya had Cherry, always at her side, onstage with her, and even her brother Sugu was hyping up the crowd! She ended with the album closer "Paper Planes," which not only puts a new spin on a Clash classic but works shockingly well in the “Pineapple Express” trailer, correct??

Pics from JazzFest -- and what M.I.A. reveals to Akshay backstage -- after the jump. Read More...

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Nine Inch Nails, Stone Temple Pilots, R.E.M. Head Voodoo Fest

Posted 4/28/08 5:28 pm EST by in Festivals, Music


NINVoodoo

Trent Reznor's reunited Nine Inch Nails, Scott Weiland's reunited Stone Temple Pilots, and the amazingly-still-together R.E.M. are set to headline this year's Voodoo Experience in New Orleans.

Also appearing, for the first time, are the Neville Brothers. Check back for more details on the lineup.

The festival was originally put together in the wake of Hurricane Katrina as a way of reviving local tourism and showcasing local talent, who always make up a big chunk of the bill.

And get ready to buy tickets here after May 2nd.

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From Prince to Korn: A History of Weird Radiohead Covers

Posted 4/28/08 4:49 pm EST by in Festivals, Music


princecoachella

Prince has made a habit of busting out the odd cover now and then during his shows, from the Foo Fighters (“Best of You”) at the Super Bowl to Joan Osborne’s “One of Us,” you just never know what he’s going to hit you with. He pulled a major surprise over the weekend during his headlining set at Coachella, though, covering not only the Beatles’ “Come Together” but also Radiohead’s 1993 debut single, “Creep,” which he flipped from a grungy anthem of angst and self-loathing into a towering soul jam about longing that sounded like it could have been on his seminal Purple Rain album.

That got us thinking about all the other oddball Radiohead covers out there. No, not the cheesy business like Korn’s lounge-pop version of “Creep,” but things like Bilal and the Roots funking up “Everything In Its Right Place” at Clive Davis’ Grammy party last year, jazzer Brad Mehldau getting all meditative on “Exit Music (For a Film)” and Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante taking “Lucky” to the acoustic side.

Hell, everyone has taken a swing at “Creep” -- from Moby to Tears For Fears -- but one of the weirdest, non-hit-single covers is the glam-metal, high-kicking falsetto-rama of “Street Spirit (Fade Out)” unleashed by late, lamented English rockers the Darkness. The boys made it sound like a lost Judas Priest single from the early 1980s. And remember Panic at the Disco’s Queen-like emo take on “Karma Police,” complete with xylophone and cello?

Certain Radiohead tracks have been covered to death by a wide swath of pop and rock singers: “Fake Plastic Trees,” Alanis Morissette; “Karma Police,” Howie Day; “Knives Out,” Flaming Lips; “No Surprises,” Iron & Wine. But covers have also emerged from artists of just about every genre, perhaps taken with the English band’s majestic arrangements. From NPR-favorite classical piano player Christopher O’Riley, to string quartets, bluegrass pickers, and even dub reggae fanatics. (Awkward? Yes.)

And then, of course, there’s John Mayer, who not only raved about Radiohead’s “Kid A” but covered it and put it on the bonus disc of his Heavier Things album. That surely gives the kid more cred than that tattoo sleeve.

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Virgin Mobile Festival Lineup: Paramore, Lil Wayne, Whoa!

Posted 4/28/08 1:00 am EST by in Festivals


paramore.jpgThe complete roster for Sir Richard Branson's third-annual musical shindig has been announced, with performers including Paramore, Cat Power, Lupe Fiasco, Iggy & the Stooges, Gogol Bordello and Lil Wayne joining previously announced headliners Foo Fighters, Jack Johnson, Kanye West, Nine Inch Nails and Stone Temple Pilots at Baltimore's Pimlico Race Course August 9-10.

"Now everyone can see that our goal is the Whoa! factor," festival producer Seth Hurwitz said in a press release. Good job, guy. Our first thought was "Whoa! Why the hell is Bob Dylan on this lineup but not headlining?" Check out the full lineup after the jump. Read More...

My Bloody Valentine!! Lead All Tomorrow's Parties Lineup

Posted 4/23/08 11:51 am EST by in Festivals, live, Music


MBVATP

My Bloody Valentine are going to headline All Tomorrow's Parties. We repeat: My Bloody Valentine.

Perhaps we're dating ourselves a bit by revealing that Loveless was one of the great make-out albums of our overly intense 'n' artsy junior-high years. If you haven't heard it, get off your Vampire Weekend-, MGMT-lovin' arse and appreciate the sexy, drone-y genius that is Kevin Shields.

Also in the lineup -- curated in part by MBV themselves -- are Built to Spill, Meat Puppets, Shellac (Steve Albini), Mogwai, and Aussie rockers The Drones. Remember, just a few thousand people will snatch up the ATP honor of living on-site for three entire days (no one-day passes), drinking, eating, breathing the music by a lineup this damned good.

Done.

The complete bill after the jump. Read More...

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MGMT Dare You to Call Them Hippies

Posted 4/15/08 4:57 pm EST by in Festivals, MTV News, Music


MGMTHippiesBlog

So I am sitting here at my always cluttered desk and on it, oddly and appropriately sitting next to one another, are “Peace: The Biography of a Symbol” (a book marking the 50th anniversary of the peace symbol), and a press release from Columbia Records touting the fact that their breakout band MGMT will be playing the Big Three US festivals this summer: Coachella, Bonnaroo, and Lollapalooza. Plus, in June, they’ll play Glastonbury and open for a little band by the name of Radiohead. But I digress. Back to the peace symbol book being next to MGMT --

"Hippie" is, I think, a much-maligned and none-too-fashionable word -- one that probably has never applied to me, but I wouldn't mind if it were. And it’s a term that's been thrown liberally about in describing Ben and Andrew of MGMT, as well as folks like their erstwhile tourmates Yeasayer. (Ohio punk band Psychedelic Horses--- even dedicated a not-so-flattering song to Yeasayer called "New Wave Hippies." But more on that indie beef another time...)

Now, certainly there are psychedelic elements to MGMT, and certainly they have politically lefty roots (Wesleyan U, plus Andrew’s dad Bruce VanWyngarden is the editor of Memphis alt paper The Memphis Flyer). The press release calls MGMT "mind-bending" and "futurist" -– OK, but what about the "h" word?

How does the band feel about the term? Find out after the jump. Read More...

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