The 234 comments on BV will agree with me that this was one of the best shows of the summer. Clearly, electronic music is still thriving around these parts…not that you had to convince me. We arrived during the first third of the Rapture’s set…pretty much a pitch-perfect choice for a warm up—DP lights kit and audio was tested thoroughly with the BK-band’s bass-heavy, jagged electro pop songs. “House of Jealous Lovers" and "Sister Saviour" killed it—though some awkward song breaks (weird tech difficulties abound) made the set spotty in parts.

SebastiAn & Kavinsky spun in between sets…throwing in aggressive techno tracks and some interesting curveballs—a mad twist on RATM’s “Killing In The Name Of” elicited spontaneous fist pumping from the older audience members….and there were a lot of youngs there too. High school young (plenty of $35 concert tees were purchased). Nice to see that good taste (and grass smoking) is still an all-ages affair.

Daft Punk took their elevated spot in the tricked-out pyramid (you’ve seen the photos) just past 9 p.m. and as predicted, people freaked out to the opening vocals for “Robot Rock.” The bass was ear splitting—thankfully (for aural health) I was stuck in the Bowl seating. Unfortunately, for show nirvana reasons, I was stuck in Bowl seating. My favorite section of the show was the heart of DP’s catalog: “Around the World” -> “Harder Better Faster Stronger” -> “Burnin’.”   

And the most random celebrity sighting: Dennis Miller with two teenage boys. You can take that how you want.   --Matt Rodbard

Buy it, use it, break it, fix it,
Crash it, change it, melt - upgrade it,
Charge it, point it, zoom it, press it,
Snap it, work it, quick - erase it,
Write it, cut it, paste it, save it,
Load it, check it, quick - rewrite it,
Plug it, play it, burn it, rip it,
Drag and drop it, zip - unzip it,
Lock it, fill it, call it, find it,
View it, code it, jam - unlock it,
Surf it, scroll it, pause it, click it,
Cross it, crack it, twitch - update it,
Name it, read it, tune it, print it,
Scan it, send it, fax - rename it,
Touch it, bring it, pay it, watch it,
Turn it, leave it, stop - format it.
Technologic.

If the flyer going around Warped Tour was correct, then Blakq Audio (aka Jade and Davey from AFI doing their Nitzer Ebb/Depeche Mode thing) will be hitting NYC on Sept. 7th.

 

The fact that this is the most interesting thing that came out of the Warped Tour says a lot about the show. Now in its 12th year, the show continues to become more unbearable and forgettable each time out. When the biggest band on tour is Boys Like Girls, an inoffensive, forgettable Top 40 emo-pop band, there's trouble afoot in the scene. 

Some random thoughts:

Amber Pacific not only played a song they recorded for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie, they do so by first shouting "Turtle power!" The synchronized jumping didn't help matters...

Gallows may be ugly, but their old-school hardcore and lack of Hot Topic accessories made them EASILY the most "punk" band of the day ... as well as the best.

Alkaline Trio ... what can I say? For being my favorite band, they always manage to disappoint me somehow live. This time out, it was merely due to the set length (30 mins) and odd setlist ... which included one new song, something with Dan singing that sort of sounded metal. Not bad, but we've been waiting three years for this?

Also -- Nassau Coliseum parking lot. Why? Not only was it difficult to get to, but the combination of humid weather, no shade and blacktoop meant that most bands were playing in direct sunlight at 3 p.m., when the temperature felt closer to 110.  

I know he's got the old school cred and rocks the backpack (college) crowd, but my knowledge of Ghostface Killah pretty much ends there. However, after watching the Wu-Tanger (tanger?) at the Highline, backed by the impressive Rhythm Roots All-Stars and a few surprise guests (hello, Cappadonna!), I'm officially a convert. 

(Photo by Ian Meyer -- check out crewcial.org)

Couldn't quite figure out the crowd, however. My bud Katty had trouble collecting people for the show, with some clueless friends suggesting they "didn't want to be shot." (Then don't go to Iraq -- and stop being a stupid, paranoid racist.) The people who DID attend were pretty much a mixed crowd of twentysomethings who ... sort of seemed to enjoy the show. The event was apparently sponsored by a car company (Scion?), which might have kept out the hardcore fans and brought in the suburban/B&T crowd.

Anyway, they were giving away flip-flops at the end of the night, but they were NOT Ghostface flip-flops. So, what's the point? I would have paid for GK flippies...

Oh, note to the unidentifiable Eastern European mafia or whoever runs the guest list at Highline: This is the SECOND time you have been unable to find my friends on a guest list... only to have that person later find a manager, bring them over and point out to you that they were, indeed, on the list. Perhaps you should go back to fear-mongering or whatever it is you do. 

-- Kirk Miller

 

Cred

 

On Friday evening, after a disastrous Restaurant Week meal at Brasserie Ruhlmann (more later on Deep Dish), I headed up to Central Park for Neko Case’s free Summer Stage performance. We arrived just as Eric Backmann was finishing up his quiet, twangy set. I’ve never seen him live solo (Crooked Fingers impressed me a year or so back, on on record) and the 3/4-full venue seemed to be feeling it.

After 30 minutes, and a friendly reminder from the PR staff that photos were not allowed, per Neko’s request, Case took the stage with her trusty band, including the potty-mouthed Kelly Hogan (so, so sweet on all the harmonies). The night was cool and breezy—the waft of grilled meats was making everybody hungry, including Neko as she admitted from the stage.

The set focused squarely on her two strongest albums, “Blacklisted” and “Fox Confessor Brings the Flood,” opening the show with the familiar groove from “Deep Red Bells.” Case, like at the shows I have seen her play with The New Pornographers, is as clear and crisp live as on record. Makes me think how blown away her friends must have been when she started singing for kicks (in her mid-twenties at that!). The crowd favorite, closing the first encore (of two), was “John Saw the Number,” a lively, foot-stomping track that found most of the front row (and picnicers in the back) jamming to the beat. One of those classic Central Park moments. --Matt Rodbard

....some stay dry and others feel the pain. It's going to be in your head (and stay there) in 5-4-3-2-1...

Breath control!

Kanye West's latest single, "Stronger," from his third album "Graduation." Lovin' the Daft Punk collaboration...

 

...but the lyrics? Wow.

 "Heard they'd do anything for a klondike / well i'd do anything for a blonde-dike"

 Seriously, Kanye? SERIOUSLY? You're not even trying at this point! 

 Kanye West... 2007's answer to P. Diddy

 --Kirk Miller

Kirk and I found ourselves in the odd position of having a “hard stop” at a rock show—we had to leave at exactly 10:15 to book back to our Park Ave. office to get this here site launched. (A conference call at 11. …in the dark…in a non-AC, windowless office officially christened the site). So we didn’t get to see much of the show—but too much of the completely disorganized press/VIP guestlist. Guess there are some growing pains for the 3-month old Highline Ballroom.

Ronson took the stage (with guitar in hand) around 9:45 with what I can describe as a group of seriously talented blues/funk sessions dudes…totally out of Paul Shaffer’s playbook. Problem is, Ronson seemed a little unnerved by the whole experience, playing lead at times, but staying in the background for most of the 8-minute jam.

Ronson’s rap protege Wale hit the stage next with some pretty uninspired party rhymes (throw your hands in the air fluff) with a Saigon cameo near the end of the mini set. Wale is probably pretty competent on record, but the perf was pure meh.

Then our hard stop alarm sounded and he had to split. Other all-star cameos from the show? Wireimage tells me Daniel Merriweather played. And that Eve was sitting on a sofa for a time. Walking out we passed Jay-Z and security detail entering a black car. Guess he wasn’t feeling Wale either. -- Matt Rodbard 

And while Matt forgot a few albums (The View, Youth Group, Machine Head, The Veils, Against Me), I'll state this: Best single of the year, hands down, is Blaqk Audio's "Stiff Kittens."




Side project of AFI, doing their whole "we're so bringing industrial back!"
vibe.

Think Depeche Mode, circa 1989. Then, uh, think of it again. -- Kirk Miller

First! Ok, in lieu of an intro, bio or self-serving jump off, Oh Dip’s debut is a roundup of my favorite albums this year (so far). This is off the head people (I left my iPod at home) so I may have forgotten some jams. From what I can tell, the year has been great. Better than last year? It’s looking that way. –Matt Rodbard

LCD Soundsystem
"Sound Of Silver"
Best album of the year. Hands down. A perfect collision of the electronic/rock sides of James Murphy's the brain. I read somewhere that Murphy records everything live (not a Pro Tool in sight), which makes me like this more. “North American Scum” is the perfect Michael Moore-like attack on Hell Square.

Peter, Bjorn and John
"Writer’s Block"
Late last year I was watching the runway shows on NYC TV’s Full Frontal Fashion and the damn “Whistle Song” became implanted in my brain—and hasn’t left. The rest of the album is no doubt top shelf.

Gruff Rhys
"Candylion"
I’m a big Super Furry Animals fan. Like SUPER fan, brah. But frontman Gruff Rhys’ solo material has been, well, really out there. And mostly in his native Welsh. Candylion offers great pop songs (mostly in English). And a really cutesy vid.

Dungen
"Tio Bitar"
Ok, it’s obvious that I don’t speak other languages. But there is no reason to understand a lick of Swedish to feel this dreamy, fuzz-guitar-loaded sound collage. NME said “Dungen are the band The Mars Volta wish they were.” Good call.   

Datarock
"s/t"
WOXY has worn this album out during the last few months..Like playing every song every day. I am drinking to Kool-Aid here….perfect tunes to boost your DJ playlist.  

Arctic Monkeys
"Favourite Worst Nightmare"
With their debut record these dudes played their smartest-lads-in-the-room hand all the way to selling out Roseland in like 24 minutes. "Worst Nightmare" is harder, sharper and more-polished than previous material. The smartass quotient is still quite high.

Sloan
"Never Hear The End Of It"
Sloan, my favorite band, laid a couple eggs with their previous two releases. Too much studio gloss, not enough songs fronted by drummer Andrew Scott. So when I read they were releasing a 20-song epic, I was truly skeptical. Luckily Scott and crew are back to "Navy Blues"-era form.