Father John Misty (7/31/13)

Ugh, two meh. reviews back to back.  No wonder I've been avoiding this…  The second of the Rock Hall Summer in the Concert Series shows was Father John Misty.  On this gorgeous evening, the show was moved inside on the earlier chance of some rain.  It just wasn't the same.  The sound was not great, the place was *crowded*, and you could only long for the days of wandering outside around the open plaza.  So much so that really the best thing for me this night were the photos.

Wild Nothing (7/30/13)

I think that while I've been super-busy, one of the things I find myself getting hung up on are lack-luster reviews.  I had extremely high hopes for this Wild Nothing show at the Grog Shop.   It was… OK.  I guess I was most disappointed in the quality of the vocals… maybe these guys are just better recorded.  You can see what I'm talking about below.

 

Gauntlet Hair (7/27/13)

What are the chances that I see Gauntlet Hair again while family is visiting from out of town.  So yet again, focus was really on conversation & catching up than the music - but it was still a great night.  I do have to admit that Blisse opening the show really caught my attention.  Strong vocals, spirited performance.  Good stuff - definitely want to catch her again.

I'm hoping someday I catch these guys and really just focus on them… otherwise, they're great background music!

Burning River Festival 2013

Another year, another excellent Burning River Festival over at Wendy Park.  I caught some great music by Caitlin Mahoney.

Pretty much the rest of the Festival time was just exploring the vendors & enjoying the food & spirits - and enjoying the views.

Gotta Groove Fest 2013

A last minute find, I was thrilled to be going to back to my old stomping grounds in MidTown.  Not only check out Gotta Groove Records and the Indigo Imp Brewery (awesome events in their own right), but also to check out some cool bands playing in a factory shipping doc.  Check it out.

Burning River Festival This Weekend!

Who's ready for some Christmas Ale in July?

Lord Huron (7/14/13)

Thanks to being comprehensive with my blog, I "remembered" I had seen Lord Huron before (opening for the Rural Alberta Advantage in 2011).   I wasn't blow away then, but with a new album and a bunch of videos under their belt - I was interested to see what's changed.  But before we get to that, I was also excited to hear Escondido open, who have some killer tracks recorded that even have a little Neko Case vibe!  But live, they were OK.  I don't think the venue worked to their advantage - and the same goes for Lord Huron.  Being at the Grog Shop doesn't really suite alt-folk/country acts like these guys - especially as full as the venue was on this night (color me surprised!).  I bet this show would have been a lot better in the Beachland Tavern, and where they'd probably have to play for me to see them again.

New Find: Kodaline

You have to love the Irish… and the fact that this New Find comes with a La Blogotheque Take Away Show!

and then some more traditional live footage from over at Baeble Music.

Pitchfork Music Festival 2013

Holy Sh*t!  Just realizing that this has been my 6th! Pitchfork Music Festival (I was thinking like 4th).  It honestly hasn't changed much over the years, but that's a great thing.  I love the size, I love the bands, I love the people… The only thing I'm sour about is they no longer have Cevapcici as a food vendor - seriously sour.  The other difference this year was that we biked the city - awesome idea.

As usual, this festival isn't about the headliners for me… Bjork, MIA, Belle & Sebastian, R. Kelly, meh… For me, this show was about the no-namers that I get to discover.  I like getting there early and doing all kinds of research & exploration to who will be performing.  The biggest and best discovery… BLOOD ORANGE!  I was also super excited to see Solange as well, but since Blood Orange produces her, that's not much of a surprise either.  Both were my best performances of the weekend.  You can read a very good (and very accurate) review from the New York Times below.  In the meantime, here are some pics, and a video from the Blood Orange performance (if only it could have captured the bass levels accurately).  

I already can't wait for next year.

Dancing Under the Sky - NYTimes.com
Taylor Glascock for The New York Times

Blood Orange was among the performers taking the stage on Sunday at the Pitchfork Music Festival at Union Park in Chicago. More Photos » By JON CARAMANICA Published: July 22, 2013 FACEBOOK TWITTER GOOGLE+ SAVE E-MAIL SHARE PRINT REPRINTS CHICAGO — Late Saturday afternoon, just as the stubborn, gummy heat was beginning to lift off Union Park here, the Canadian D.J.-producer Ryan Hemsworth took to the small stage in the southwest corner of the park and finally kicked this year’s edition of the Pitchfork Music Festival into gear. At one point, he played a remix of a new song by Kanye West, one of this city’s hometown heroes, and for the first time since early Friday afternoon, when the festival began under conditions of extreme heat, bodies got to moving. They didn’t stop for the rest of the weekend — not just because the weather remained mostly tolerable, but also because the second half of this festival served as a reminder of how dance music has become the most exciting emergent narrative in pop. This was true, not only in the mainstream but also in the connoisseur’s corners documented by Pitchfork, the forward-thinking and taste-shaping Web site that has sponsored this festival every year since 2006."

(Continued... Dancing Under the Sky - NYTimes.com)

Tomorrow: Lord Huron @ Grog Shop

I'm going back to see Lord Huron again, this time as a headliner at the Grog Shop tomorrow night.  I was a little skeptical the first time, but they've since been winning me over with their new release.  You can check out that previous review and see their videos here.

I'm also pretty excited to catch the opener, Escondido, after catching some of their new stuff.  Check out this video for Black Roses.