#GirlTalk – Tricky-Kid.com

Catalpa NYC w/ Snoop Dogg, Girl Talk, A$AP Rocky, Matt & Kim & more (July/2012)

Catalpa NYC w/ Snoop Dogg, Girl Talk, A$AP Rocky, Matt & Kim and more – July 29th – Fairgrounds – Randall’s Island, NY

It had been pouring down raining for three days straight, and I could have actually come to this yesterday as it was a two day event but there really wasn’t anyone playing that would have got me out in the rain. Not to be cynical but their wasn’t anyone playing today that would have got me out in the rain either, so lucky for them it was nice and sunny today haha!
Since Snoop Dogg was playing naturally High Times Magazine was a sponsor and we have done some work with them and my buddy Billy from the magazine invited me out to represent TrickyKid at the event.
I love coming out to Randall’s Island, I’ve only been here really one other time a few years ago but its a really cool spot.
This was the festival’s inaugural year, and music festivals without a historical following or a known brand identity can employ many strategies in their inaugural year, one of which is “Appeal to as many prospective demographics as possible.” so they decided to combat this problem by throwing together a bunch of popular-ish acts and some quirky attractions—art, fire, a chance to “elope” with a fellow Snoop Dogg fan.

The musicians played across three stages, with a whole host of corporate sponsorships filling the gaps between the performance spaces.
A car company set up an obstacle course to demonstrate the trunk space and cool factor of its new trucks; a web site handed out face paint and animal masks. My personal favorite booth promoted a kind of guarana/caffeine pill that is supposed to be dropped into water, making it turn all fizzy and orange like an Alka-Seltzer from Hell—half an hour after it’s imbibed, your heart is doing high-speed interval training inside your chest. Vodka was hawked in what looked like a sprawling series of igloos and at Billy’s insistence I had to play corporate whore and take a branded picture for one of the sponsors.

There were other, less corporate, uninjectable attractions, many of which failed to reach their full potential due to Saturday’s rain. A fire demonstration was canceled; the bumper cars were nowhere to be found; one operations employee informed me that it took nine hours to set up the bounce castle that would serve as the “house of sham marriages.”

Matt & Kim

Matt Johnson and Kim Schilfino‘s brand of joyous, keyboard-driven dance-pop was more in line with festival-goers’ tastes. It also helped that after a six-month hiatus, Matt and Kim were grinning like fools on laughing gas and kicking into each and every song with abandon. Kim volunteered to the crowd that she had been aggressively Kegeling because she wanted “to fuck the shit out of you tonight.” Matt demanded that she booty-dance on top of her drum kit & both performed exuberant acrobatics that left the crowd whooping, cheering and trying desperately to catch up through the power of stomp-and-shout dancing.

Kim was particularly bouncy, covering the crowd in confetti, booty dropping, and inadvertently hitting Matt’s mic during their predictable finale Daylight.“I get crazy and just wanna hit shit,” she apologized. They recovered quickly, starting over again from the top of the very long introduction.

In my last entry I spun a seething, spiteful tale resonating with resentment about the current crop of hipsters and just hipster culture at large. To be clear I never said I hated fun and as minimalist as their music is and how much of it lends itself to all of that, just on their positivity and sheer enthusiasm alone they get a pass. I’ve seen Matt & Kim close to 30 times now and they never fail to put a smile on my face.

Girl Talk

So I left that stage and took a break by exploring some of the other areas of the festival. As I was coming out of this maze like structure I spot a girl who is just too cute to let pass and she is alone so I approach to say hello. She returns my warmth and in seconds we are laughing and telling stories – She is beyond hot.
So much so that I lose track of logic, but I was quickly headed for Earth when her boyfriend shows up returning from the restroom.
You know how when you are in public at a high traffic place like this and you leave your girl for a second to go the restroom, and on the way back it occurs to you that your girl is fine enough that when you return their is gonna be some asshole trying to talk her up? – In this situation I am now that asshole.
The awkward introduction is made and I leave them to it and head toward the stage where Girl Talk is starting.

If you don’t already know, Girl Talk uses samples to incite a fever in the crowd, though he doesn’t tease them out slowly; he introduces bushels of familiar singles to the crowd, tossing off old pop songs and rap hooks like grapes. I’ve seen the show a few times and this one was essentially the same act, with slightly new 20-second sound bytes, wisely pulled from this year’s top 40.
But very few people at Catalpa minded. The move toward the main stage when Gillis started whipping his hair back and forth was by far the festival’s biggest migration, and that’s because Gillis is really good at what he does. He knows the songs that make a certain group of people go “ooo!” He knows surface-level pop in nearly every genre.
He compensated for his lack of showy instrumentation by hopping up and down & pulling dozens of young people (almost exclusively female) on stage, and blinding the crowd with neon letters to “JUMP JUMP JUMP.” a few alcohol-soaked guys shot streamers of toilet paper into the crowd, its all well suited to the ADD Twitter generation.

For a festival without a solid identity, where no one could really decide exactly what they wanted to hear, Girl Talk was a perfect fit. After all, he played everything.

A$AP Rocky

It was now dark and I wandered over to the other stage after Girl Talk had finished, for no other reason than just to see who was playing. The only other group that I knew that had yet to perform was Snoop Dogg, and despite his Willie Nelson-like status, I’ve seen it more than once and if there was something over here more interesting than I would just stay put.
A$AP Rocky was the last of the idiosyncratically New York acts to perform; he was competing directly with Girl Talk’s mainstage set, and he was finishing up by the time I showed up. He was plagued by relatively poor sound quality, but his desire to “fuck a jiggy bitch” was received with raucous laughter and a succession of enthusiastic candidates who were clearly confident about their inherent jigginess. (Rocky was one of only three rap acts, all of whom were slotted in on Sunday.)

I honestly could care less, though I like that he is probably the only person I have heard of to denounce homophobia in Hip-Hop, I saw him twice earlier this year at SXSW, including the festival-ending riot of violence that his group caused and I was really none too impressed. People will say that nerdy dudes like hip-hop to be subdued and conscientious and a guy like ASAP is too “thug”, but to be clear ASAP Rocky is marketed to the same Pitchfork driven social construct as any shoe-gazing indie-rock band. If just by being here doesn’t prove that, I have another example later in this entry.

Snoop Dogg

Snoop Dogg, has quietly transformed into a new-school American icon with a long career and a safe persona. But even though he’d clearly been chosen for his relative mass appeal, Snoop played the entirety of his 1993 classic Doggystyle. Though Snoop’s set was practiced and smooth, aided by pulpy videos which furthered his myth, it was funny to see the crowd bemused by such classic rap tracks as Murder was the Case or Stranded on Death Row

G funk is fast approaching its thirties and not aging well, by this crowd as they responded most to the two songs Snoop played last: Drop it Like it’s Hot and Young, Wild, And Free the latter of which has what may very well be the dumbest lyric enunciated most sincerely ever of “Sometimes we get drunk, sometimes we smoke weed, we’re just having fun, we don’t care who sees… we’re young and wild and free.” It’s probably the least divisive chorus that could be performed at a music festival.
I was standing watching him sidestage and thought I was getting a contact high cause I looked over and did a double-take to see Cyndi Lauper standing next to me.

People watching at these things are way more entertaining than most of the bands usually and this being NYC it can make it even more so.
Here are a few interesting things I saw –

Leighton Meester

Gossip Girl’s Queen Bee herself, I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m a huge fan of the show though its total bullshit I watch it religiously (at least I did when Taylor Momsen was still on) – I thought it was cool that she was out in the crowd rawking with everybody else instead of watching from backstage.

Cyndi Lauper

Like I mentioned earlier, I thought I was getting a contact high during Snoop when I spotted Lauper standing next to us.

..and let’s not forget the fans – One thing I enjoy, especially in NYC is their is always “the trend” – it happens every Summer and you will see every girl of every walk of life sporting it. This year some may find a bit more difficult to attempt as the thing I saw everywhere was really high-waisted short shorts.

All in all for this festival for me the results were mixed; the lineup succeeded in having a broad appeal, but lacked a coherent musical aesthetic. Many of the non-musical attractions were spoiled by the rain yesterday and, faced with the prospect of surviving on its artists alone, it became a referendum on its performers’ current positions within the musical landscape.
Catalpa didn’t quite deliver on its admittedly ambitious extra-musical plans, but it provided a great opportunity to investigate those artists operating at the borders of the mainstream.

SXSW 2012: MTVu Woodie Awards, Girl Talk Rocks Nike + Tenacious D & more

Ok, so after just a few hours sleep, it was time to get back out there. This is how it goes during SXSW – no sleep, steady diet of booze and BBQ, few showers, lots of walking and impulsive behavior.
First thing on the agenda was taking Matt to work but he had some errands he needed me to take him on first, so I thought we would grab lunch as well. Matt is all about the Thai food and I wanted to show some gratitude for his hospitality.
Over lunch he completely fucked my head up by dropping some personal bombs on me that were nuclear. I left there stunned after dropping him off and headed on take on the day –

Day 2 – March 15th

So after a few meetings and other loose ends I went over to the site where they were holding this year’s MTVu Woodie Awards –
I went last year, and it was a total red-carpet, star-studded affair with big names like the Foo Fighters etc. This year was going to be a little different as it was going to be outdoors and preceded by a little mini-festival called the Woodie Fest that was open to the public.
Not as elite and guarded as last year seemed more like the Grammys, so I was happy that it was going to be a more relaxed fair.
I get over there first for Woodie Fest to see ASAP Rocky –

It really seems like hip-hop mixtapes are the new indie-rock – Because the only press that picks up on them are the blogosphere and its readership is made up of usually white, 30-something nerdy obsessives – and at the Hip-Hop shows I saw this week that’s what made up mostly its entire audience – those people think that being in on something first is currency and since street lingo seems to change weekly, being on the ground floor of breaking hip-hop artists is tailor-made for this demographic. ASAP Rocky is perfect example of this, and to a lesser extent the act that followed – Machine Gun Kelly

Not bad but def more hype than skill –

The entire environment surrounding this event is drenched in douchebaggery – Their are amazing hot girls every where I look, but its those really hot girls that seem to date the worst dudes, with shitty tattoos – The obnoxious hipster set in colorful clothing, the fratty drunken shirtless dudes and their female counterparts, and I – the lone wolf walking alone amongst them in an hopelessly corporate parade of absurd proportions.
Who am I to complain? They really knew how to pander to this crowd – My wristband came with attached drink tickets – far too many for one person, and for THIS one person – Their were endless “lounges” hosted by a global entity –
For example, one could stroll along and visit the Reeses Lounge and help themselves to an endless supply of chocolate –
Go next door for the free BBQ and booze, and then walk down to the Good Humor booth for free dessert –

All of this and now the awards show is beginning that is hosted by one of those Jersey Shore dudes –
Again, who am I to complain? The girls are hot and everything in site is free, but their is a looming feeling that I completely do not belong here.
After some dubious awards are given to people that I have never heard of or have no interest in, my mood does turn cheery (free beer & BBQ does that to a man) with the anticipation of seeing Santigold –

She only did two numbers, but I think she is fantastic and I’m really looking forward to her show at the Spin Party tomorrow.
The actor/comedian dude Donald Glover from that show Community has a band called Childish Gambino that I saw at Fun Fun Fun Fest the last time I was in Austin last Fall, that were actually really good and they were supposed to perform next but apparently Glover fractured his foot and they had to cancel.
Instead we got another white-mediocre-over-hyped rapper,Mac Miller, who also won a bunch of these silly awards (if only contrivity and manufactured good were rewarded….wait…they are!)

Last but not least was probably the most unnecessary – They saved the biggest clown shoe for last, and is their really anybody with a more punchable face than Steve Aoki? – The lameness of his grand entrance of streaming above the crowd in an inflatable raft was completely lost on everyone here – He might as well of just had his limo parked onstage –

And for the next 20 mins or so he did his Aoki thing with huge gestures and insufferable mixes while Lil Jon and some dude in a colorful jacket he will one day regret wearing on television, pandered to the crowd as if they were selling hot dogs at a ball game.
I at least found some like-minded people as we had a mini-pot going guessing the amount Mr. Aoki was paid for 20 mins of his services for this thing – We dropped it as it was too depressing to think about.

Suddenly, a giant cake is produced for reasons that are unclear, I don’t know if or whose birthday it was or the occasion, but it did also produce perhaps one of the most irritating photos I’ve ever seen that makes my case solid –

However, I am so super happy to report that seconds after this little look at what a walking party I am pose – fortune smiled down on us all as Aoki lost his footing and fell off the stage with cake in tow, head-first as he actually pie-to-the-face himself. He was not injured so I can make fun of him. A fitting end to a super cheesy event.

So now I head from there over to this little joint called Haven, to see the mighty Tenacious D – Oddly enough, the only other time I have ever seen them live (and had not a clue who they were at the time like most people) was also here at SXSW, 12 freaking years ago.
I remember we went to see the Delta 72 and Modest Mouse, and after the Mouse had played, suddenly these two fat dudes come out and all 5k people at Austin Music Hall started freaking out and knew who these guys were (except us) – This was a bit before Jack Black’s film career took off.
I’m sorry to say that I missed openers Riverboat Gamblers – One of the best live bands you will ever see – Their singer Mike is an old friend and we used to work at the same record store several lifetimes ago.
But out comes the D and the place explodes –

Now, as funny and entertaining I find Jack Black and I do find some of their songs fun, I don’t count myself as a member of the tribe. That over-the-top sorta comedy has never done it for me – I have never found Jim Carrey or Will Ferrel funny in the least, though I’m sure they are both really funny men. They do it in a way that can entertain me for a bit, but its like being at a GWAR show, I can get excited, but after having blood squirted on me the 4th time, I’m usually over it.

I was scheduled to meet up with some suits after this for some drinks and where we were meeting caused me to pass by the Girl Talk party. I honestly also don’t give a fuck about Girl Talk or his annoying fanbase, but that motherfucker does throw one hell of a party, and I figured at SXSW it would probably be worth checking out. I also know that every person under 25 in a 10 mile radius would be trying to get in, and when I walked by the line, that was certainly confirmed.

I meet with the corporate folks and as we are about to wrap, I mentioned something about the ridiculous line at Girl Talk, (not realizing that I was talking to the sponsors of the event) cause they mentioned they were heading over there. That’s when they told me they were sponsors and asked me if I wanted to join them. Ok sure –

This is the essence of this conference – one minute I’m having drinks discussing sponsorship opportunities, the next I’m in a hollowed out Spaghetti Warehouse watching an unfathomably popular mash-up DJ, turning the place out like its Mardi Gras/NYE/4th of July combined, with free booze, covered in confetti, with the room all losing their shit.

Stay tuned for Day 3!!

Photos –

Roy Turner
Zachary Strain
Nate “Igor” Smith
Adam Sweeney
Karla Esquivel
John Davisson

Lights All Night 2011

Dec 31st 2011
NYE in Dallas at Lights All Night!

GHOSTLAND OBSERVATORY

You really couldn’t pick a better band for the gig. is known for their intense light shows and dedicated, often costumed fans. Their show, it seems, was made for a New Year’s Eve party. They sounded great, and surprisingly there did not seem to be any issues with acoustics in such a cavernous space. The band’s lasers reflected off all the metal and glass above made for one of the unique and coolest things I’ve ever seen at a concert.

GIRL TALK – Ringing in the New Year

Going on at around 11:30pm he had a good half hour to get everyone pumped up and excited, which was no problem has I mentioned before his shows are like the most over the top party you have ever been to regardless of what day it is. Obviously this was going down in the Really Large Room where I already was for Ghostland. Thankfully someone had the sense to move the backstage hospitality tent from no-man’s land a half a mile away down the corridor to right next to the stage.
By this time I had been chugging champagne, met this whole group of girls from San Francisco, was wearing some ridiculous hat and party favors and was generally getting down. The people at his shows in the past have been some of the most annoying and trying people I’ve ever been around at some of the festivals I have been to where he has performed. The indictment of the culture I layed out earlier is not far from a Girl Talk show in terms of shallow self-promotion, so normally I would never get on stage for this but hey, its New Year’s Eve. Let’s get do

Shaking my ass, a drink in my hand, I was having a good time.It was a banner year for electronic music, so it seemed fitting to pay tribute to it by counting down the final moments of 2011 to the sound of some of the best electronic musicians around. Their was a nervous energy in the air as the midnight hour approached. You know that feeling, but it was at a fever pitch, as the party was building up to it – my stomach was in knots and I prepared myself for the mania that was about to occur – 3…2…1… HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But nothing could have prepared me for the earthquake of emotion and excitement that rang out as we hit midnight and it was balloons & confetti as far as the eye could see. A really great moment. I

MSTRKRFT

Now for some the moments immediately after the countdown and things have died down from that initial peak are with filled with different emotions. For some, its the end of the party, end of the year and time to go home. I’ve been this person a few times in the past (regardless if I wanted to be or not) – for others they spend the rest of the night aimlessly trying to maintain that high and feeling disappointed (I’ve been that guy a few times before too) – or for some, and this was me on this night – was that was the end of the year, but the beginning of the party.
Still in the Really Large Room, by now I had a little entourage with me of people I had met and picked up along the way as we kept the party going with MSTRKRFT.

Great set and after they were done and I went walking around exploring and just taking in the whole scene – in the Really Large Room they had and seeing everyone dancing and having a good time.

The GoGo Gadgettes

As I mentioned earlier about the evolution of the Raver Girl – alot of it its derivative of the Go-Go dancer, and over time even the go-go dancers have take a page or two out of the colorful and unique/sexy styling of the raver girls. Well it was only a matter of time before someone organized and branded a team of this hybrid – if at first out of competition and maybe later as necessity, and finally as commerce, as almost every event like this I’ve been to/performed at in Texas the last few years have featured just a team – and this one was no different. As I went exploring I saw these little mini-stages setup all over the convention center with members of this team doing their thing – I give you the GoGo Gadgettes

No word if their is a rival gang led by Dr. Claw (if you got that joke, you are old) – imagine if the tough but hot as hell punk looking cheerleaders from the Smells Like Teen Spirit video combined with Hugh Hefner’s Girls Next Door if they all went to an Anime convention and you have the Gadgettes.
Their bio describes them as:

“A high-energy crew & unified group of individuals, each Gadgette comes fully equipped with a one-of-a-kind style along with smokin looks to kill, a passion for the beats, and some serious ass-kickin skillz. We dare you to not stop & stare.”

Whoever wrote that is probably the most annoying person alive, but they do make good on what their saying.

The hour was getting late and when I would walk from room to room the walls were lined with those coming down, still glowing in the dark but necks barely bobbing.
Nothing makes me feel older than learning about a new drug at a music festival.
Did you know “Cotton Candy” is a mix of LSD and cocaine? To which I responded, “I DON’T THINK YOU SHOULD TAKE THAT!”

So the hour became even latter and as the clock stretched toward 4am it was time to say goodnight. The option to stay longer became mute as well as they were officially winding it down and having everyone head back down the long stairs.

You know that scene whenever en masse is leaving a large event and they are still so hyped from it and then having to be in such close proximity with one another they start to get visions of revolution? – That was this scene – my ears never rang louder than getting through this herd has around 3k people were exiting and screaming and cheering at the top of their lungs. All I could think about was that the people staying at the hotel next door probably called it a night hours ago and suddenly theirs a sovereign nation of naked glowing young people taking to the streets on New Year’s Eve at 4am. This was awesome and the national news the next day said it was the biggest New Year’s Eve party in the country. Happy New Year!(Epilogue: – Thanks so much for reading all about this adventure and all of the adventures of this year – Professionally and personally its been one of the best years of my life and I can’t believe all the things that I got to do personally and all the things that we managed to accomplish professionally –
This was a banner year for us starting with endorsements at the NAMM Convention in January, to making national headlines with the insanity of our dueling showcases at SXSW in March.
April saw us hit California to host a suite at the Coachella site that brought the Big Four of Thrash all together in the States for the first time, and we managed to spend five nights with the Purple One while we were there.
The Summer was a confusing blur of mass touring that lead us to the Fall that found us back with the Big Four one again, this time on the East Coast with a legendary blowout at Yankee Stadium.
We were honored to participate with All Tommorrow’s Parties for their I’ll Be Your Mirror festival in Asbury Park a few weeks later and having the privilege to spend four days with Portishead.
After just celebrating one of the best Christmas seasons I can ever remember, we rang in the New Year with the above tale.We have got so much coming up in the New Year – appearances all over the country and much much more, stay tuned, Happy New Year and we will see you in 2012!!)

Photos –Roy Turner
Mike Brooks
Loran Jatunov
Calder Wilson
Daniel Rorigue
Terry Walsh
Daniel Akers
Roger Ho

Austin City Limits Fest 2009

Wed Sept 30th

Made my way to Dallas and out to Fort Worth to catch the Amtrak train to Austin, TX for this year’s big 3 day Austin City Limits Festival. It didn’t start till Friday but I got there a few days early because Them Crooked Vultures were doing a couple of special shows prior to the festival. If you don’t already know (see the August/Lollapalooza entry below for more) that they are a three-piece comprised of Josh Homme (Kyuss/QOTSA), Dave Grohl and freaking John Paul Jones.
The first show was a taping for the legendary TV show (and the festival’s namesake) Austin City Limits. I’ve always wanted to attend one of these unforgettable performances that I’ve always admired no matter who was playing, but this was not to be believed. (thank you Leslie for the hookup).

I was surprised that alot of people expected them to actually do songs from their other respective bands, and were disappointed when they didn’t. This was a new band making a new statement (their record wasn’t even out yet) and some people still just wanted to hear the same ol, same ol.

Thurs Oct 1st

Back for round two (three if you count Chicago) as now Them Crooked Vultures were doing a public show at Stubb’s as a warmup to their big coming out at the festival on Friday. This was a fun show and a testament to the legendary careers that all three have had, cause no one had even heard a note of this new music and the show sold out in minutes based upon the member’s collective reputations. That was a neat thing to witness and be a part of. Unbearably packed (but thankfully well mannered) and hot in there, the anticipation was huge and when they took the stage the noise was deafening.
This show was identical to the first show in Chicago.

A big difference and nothing against Chicago but this crowd was so appreciative that it made you proud to be there. Homme who is known for his quips had a great line when JPJ changed from bass to keytar ” Only John Paul Jones could make the keytar look badass”. Here is the set-list from the show:

Fri Oct 2nd

The first day of the festival was here and I tried to prepare myself for the heat and the crowds. I had a late night the night before as after the TCV show at Stubb’s I went to a party at the Beauty Bar which is basically across the street. Made it downtown to Artist Pickup and got my wristbands and finally got to the festival a little after 5pm.

This was my third year to attend the festival but strangely the first time in five years. Since then I had been to all of the Coachellas and a few of the Lollapalooza‘s and Bonnaroos, but this is a really nice one to attend. Its put on by C3presents (the same company that does Lollapalooza) and its in Austin and who doesn’t love Austin, Texas?
The Artist van drops me off in front of the artists lounge and the great people that do the nationwide free ice cream campaign are the first people I see with their truck parked right at the front of the lounge. Some of the best people you will ever meet, check out his site, its so awesome – icecreamman.com

So after getting settled and embarrassing myself with a few rounds of the new Beatles Rock Band, I meet a rad local girl (who ironically was the singer in my newly formed fab four) and we head out to see our first band of the day, Thievery Corporation.

They were really good and I had always wanted to see them. Now some will fault me as the festival started at 11am and I didn’t see a band till 630pm but it was hot and admittedly more comfortable in the back with the free food so sue me 🙂
As soon as they ended we had our shuttle driver haul ass to the other side of the festival to see (you guessed it) Them Crooked Vultures. How’s this for obsessive? – This was only their fourth show in the US ever at this point and at that time I had seen ALL of them and three times in as many days. All of those shows had been club shows or other special events but this really the FIRST show in front of a huge crowd and it had that feel to it. If I had had thought the crowd was loud the night before, it paled in comparison to this ovation. It was interesting to see the appeal that John Paul Jones had on the crowd. Though the majority of the this crowd was the young and hip culture that Austin is known for, it was neat to see that some people had come to see JPJ solely and actually didn’t know who the other two people in the band were. That’s dedication.

This show was identical to the television taping just a few days prior. Though I had it pretty much down at this point, this is a great new exciting thing that must be witnessed.
My new Austin friend was chomping at the bit to see the Yeah Yeah Yeahs who were thankfully playing on the adjacent stage right after. We scrambled around to watch from backstage but couldn’t really see anything so we got as close as we could up front. Now I don’t really have anything to add to my previous and recent description of their performance at Lollapalooza (see previous entry) and I’m of course biased.
But they were replacing the Beastie Boys again just like this past August but this time they didn’t make the nod to them like that show. They did however put on a very powerful and visually entertaining show as always.

So after they played my new friend and I walk out of Zilker Park and you can see that this festival has just taken over the whole town. This city is always alive with young, progressive people, but this was total meltdown and all the vendors had lined the streets with tents selling their wares, apparently the demographic is alot of tie-dye and bong hits. Good times though as we danced in the streets with everyone else and made our way to get something to eat.
Her and I had different agendas however as she had a birthday to attend so I had her drop me off at Emo’s where some friends of mine from Brooklyn, !!! (pronounced chk chk chk) where doing a warm up gig of their own before playing the festival tomorrow. For those not familiar, they are one of the most fun and energetic live shows you will ever witness. They have reached beloved status because of their legendary live show and when they hit stage around midnight people were ready to get down!
I have seen a half a dozen of theirs shows or so and I say this every time I see them but this was one of the best ever. The energy and momentum is incomparable. (Editor’s Note: Since this time and now drummer Jerry Fuchs died in a freak accident in Brooklyn- We miss you Jerry R.I.P.)

I danced my ass off and had a great time as the ended with the one-two punch of Intensify and Heart of Hearts. Got out of the show around 2am and waited to meet a friend who was coming from Round Rock to have a late night meal with me. She finally shows up around 3am and we go to Austin staple Kerbey Lane by the University. A bit of a wait even at this late hour because of the festival so after we eat and talk and she drops me off its after 6am.

Sat Oct 3rd

The night before Nic (chk chk chk) said that since they are going on at 2pm that if I came to the Emo’s gig I didn’t have to show up early. I wanted to prove him wrong but alas I didn’t get into bed until 7am. I didn’t even wake up till after 2pm and when I did it was really gross and rainy outside. Not the ideal setting for a mass outdoor event (more on this later).
I met up and had lunch with Nic and Paul from (chk chk chk) and I asked them how their set was despite the gross conditions and early start time. Those guys could throw a party anywhere.
Then I ventured out to catch the last half of Trail of Dead, another Austin mainstay that are always great live. It wasn’t just raining, it was a freaking buzzkill. Lightening and misery just made everyone and everything seem gross. I did stick it out to see the first couple of songs from Mos Def, who seemed totally unaffected by the rain and brought a huge posse of dancers and a live band. This would have killed in a club and I was disappointed that the conditions made me just want to be a big wuss and retreat to the comfort in the Artists Lounge.

One of the things I was most looking forward to today was the arrival of my oldest friend Chris Todd and his wife Tammy. They weren’t getting in till after Day 2 of music was over so I promised him I would check out Devotchka. I know I sound so spoiled but wait till you see the pics of the fucking mudpeople, I hold no since of nostalgia for Woodstock nor a need to recreate it, but I kept my word and checked out a bit of their set, and I’m glad I did, they were fantastic.

Now that the rain had cleared and it was night-time (always a bit of an incentive as far as mood goes) I was ready to experience another Austin export that I’ve hearing about from everywhere, Ghostland Observatory. The cool thing about this was that I literally had NO idea what they were about period. Even based on what I heard they were totally (and refreshingly) different. I thought I was gonna be in for like a Radiohead clone (to illustrate just how removed I was from them) but just as I got up to the scaffolding side stage, these two freaks (that being a Texas native, these two could ONLY have come from the Lone Star State) come walking out, one wearing a Tron/Dr. Who looking electric cape and the other was a cross between Richard Petty and any cast member of Easy Rider. So what is THIS gonna sound like? The crowd is already going crazy and then here it comes: This dancy wailing banshee freak show complete with laser light show, just fucking awesome. It occurred to me however what a feat that they had brought this to such a high-profile level, cause being in this business as long as I have and being from Texas I could easily see this just being something that 50 people in Austin care about (but those 50 would REALLY freaking care). From my perspective I was able to get a small shot of Mos Def who was dancing a jig behind the drum riser that was completely obscured to the audience.

Then has the show had reached such a high momentum, they did a fun smart thing, that dials right into that Texas local pride by bringing out the UT Austin Longhorns Marching Band to join them for a few songs.

Sun Oct 4th

No sleeping in today, as it was the last day of the festival, and I had to meet with my com padres Clutch who got a shitty time slot of 2pm. However the weather did take a nice sunny turn, but when I got to the site, holy shit, yesterday’s monsoon had just the sheer power of the foot traffic had turned the general population area into mushy peat bog about a foot deep. You could literally smell the ooze in the air, probably because as always there are some good-natured folks who embrace this sort of thing and can’t resist saying “fuck it, let’s become Swamp Thing“.

So after hitting the Lounge for an early lunch I went to meet up with Clutch, whom I’ve had a long history with throughout the years. It was cool watching them rehearse out in the open and so early in the day down beneath the stage. Now it was showtime and they were all business, so I bid them a good show and took my place sidestage. Obviously given the short set-time they wanted to showcase their newest record Strange Cousins from the West as seven of their nine songs were from that record. For a band I’ve come to know so well, it was great to see them so out of their element which is completely what they strive for and deliver every time.

Next up was time for some other old friends of mine from Fort Worth, the Toadies. Hadn’t seen them since London over the Summer. They are like the equivalent of Classic Rock in Texas, just perfect for a sunny day in Austin who gave them a hero’s welcome. They played exactly what you would expect in a festival set, right to the hits, no bullshit, and then whipped out Got a Heart, which was a nice surprise.

After their set I hung out with Mark (drummer) and his wife for a bit catching up and debating if we all wanted to eat or go see the Dirty Projectors. The heat was taking its toll, so food it is (Nourishment 1 – Indie – Trust Fund Rock 0) but the shuttles were so congested we had to wait forever for one (which became the theme of the day,so it made the decision of how bad you wanted something interesting), so we just split up and met back up in the catering tent.
Their merch guy Tony used to be in a Dallas band Hagfish, along with their new bass player Donni Blair and his brother Zach who is now in Rise Against, who joined us for lunch but I don’t know if he was playing that day or not. After eating I took as much juice/soda/water I can carry out to the general population to find Chris and his wife and some other friends of mine to offer them something that no doubt being overcharged for, when I made it about 5 yards in and I literally started to sink. I felt guilty about it but I was getting the fuck out of that mess!

Now it was time for something I was greatly anticipating, The Dead Weather. To know me is to know my complete and utter devotion to the music of Jack White, and now that would take on yet a different form as he has yet another new band where this time he is playing drums. Another cool thing (and a testament to our friendship) is that although Chris and I haven’t any contact whatsoever is over five years, during that time he had developed a similar obsession, so it was great to share this excitement with him.
Besides Jack White the band is rounded out by Alison Mosshart ( The Kills) , Dean Fertita (Queens of the Stone Age) Jack Lawrence who is White’s partner in crime in his other band The Raconteurs.
This is designed to go down in a small, dark, smokey club around 1am but they killed! My fave set all weekend and perhaps one of the best of the year.

Now this next part requires a little bit of explaining and a backstory if you like. I was prepared to make an effort right after the Dead Weather finished to go to the other side of the festival to see Girl Talk. As a DJ and a fan of music and a marveler of mashups and as someone who is pretty dialed in to popular culture this was something intriguing to me. I’ve heard everyone back in Brooklyn talking about him, I’ve heard and downloaded his stuff and was very impressed, enjoyed the backstory of this guy being some mad scientist who quit his career as a bio-mechanics engineer to rock the house etc.. I bought it, I was in, let’s go.
Now for this space I’m not gonna lead a pretentious type of discussion about what is truly a DJ, should they be looked at as musicians etc…all that crap you have heard before. I have my own ideas about all of that, none probably original so I’ll spare you and just talk about the experience.
The shuttle driver drops me off behind the stage where there is already a mob of people trying to get a glimpse. I had seen pictures of his performances and it looks like New Year’s Eve everytime so I get the hype. He’s got his finger on the pulse of that FIT, NYLON Magazine reading, 18-20 female crowd, that brings dudes of all ages around as well, so he really can’t do no wrong here.
However, what I witnessed was absolute shit. Call me an old curmudgeon who’s lost the plot but this whole thing had no place for me and I can’t help but feel all the better for it. As so super lame as it sounds and I hate it myself when I hear people say this, but the entire time I was witnessing it I could hear a little voice of reason saying “This is exactly what’s wrong with everything, this is the defining example of where everything went to shit”.
Now having said that, he played, people danced and smiled (a few even got naked) and I’m sure a majority of people left that with a feeling of a good time and that’s great they should. My problem lies not in the absurdity of its popularity but its power. From behind the stage I could hear people chanting stuff in unison but didn’t know what was leading the charge. I learned later it was the screen they were facing (that I was behind) and all of the requests no matter how preposterous (like…”throw money in mud” ..and a few questionable ones) were fulfilled.
As I watched this from sidestage, all these people were onstage dancing with him to make it a party, and everyone else was trying to get onstage to join them. And the admittance regardless of credentials was some super lame velvet rope thing a la Studio 54, with some intern in shades (it was 8pm at night) making the selection. “what the fuck am I doing here?” I exclaimed and the problems only begin with the social aspects of this travesty.
Now again, if you go to FIT, read NYLON and you are reading this you will probably say “Dude, relax and dance” and you will probably be right and if you are everyone else you should criticize me for having waaay too much to say on something so insignificant.

Now another surprise came but this time from some familiar faces. In the early 90’s I got to experience as a very young person, the great boom of new music that came out of Seattle, that everyone still talks about and makes silly claims about its importance or non-importance. Great time to be a young person and I was right in the middle of it, but because of my punk/metal/thrash tastes at the time I had to be a convert. I liked the heaviness of Nirvana and Soundgarden and my age would dictate that I enjoyed belonging to the something from its beginning. You really couldn’t be into just one of these bands, even though they were sold separately, they may as well just bundled them because once you had Nevermind or Badmotorfinger surely you had to buy Ten to complete the set. Much like growing up in the 80’s you were surely into G.I. Joe , Transformers, and He-Man, but someone had to be number three.
For me, this is where Pearl Jam has always stood. I really enjoyed them, think they are an incredible band, one of the best live bands I still have ever seen to this day (hell I even worked at Stone Gossard‘s label Loosegroove for a period) but the interest somehow didn’t come as natural after somewhere around that third record. Working in music I was aware of their subsequent releases, and even if you didn’t who could forget their headline-grabbing (and at times…temple-scratching) decisions like battling Ticketmaster and releasing their entire tours live to diffuse the bootleggers of their profit.
Since I was caring less about the music I was caring less about the cause so eventually I tuned out completely. So that’s why although their popularity hasn’t waned, I really had no idea that since 1996 when I last gave a fuck that this band had become this generation’s Grateful Dead. Seems that everyone I spoke to only came on Sunday and only to see them. Everywhere you looked on Sunday it was the Pearl Jam nation.
So I thought I should check some of this out, and what followed was a two hour + marathon that would make anyone a believer. I knew that this was a high-profile gig and it has that potential of something special happening, but it was so effortless that it gave me the impression that this is what happens at all of their gigs, hence the cult like following.
I saw Perry Farrell backstage shortly before they hit stage, struck by inspiration going on about how he wanted to get up and do his own band’s Mountain Song and how unforgettable it would be.
Here is the setlist and pics from the show: (including a great pic of when Eddie Vedder joined the mud-people)

Setlist –

1.Why Go
2.Corduroy
3.Got Some
4.Not For You
5.Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town
6.Given To Fly
7.World Wide Suicide
8.Even Flow
9.Unthought Known
10.Daughter
11.Hail Hail
12.Insignificance
13.Present Tense
14.State Of Love And Trust
15.The Fixer
16.GoEncore:17.Jazz Odyssey
18.Red Mosquito (with Ben Harper)
19.Do The Evolution
20.The Real Me (The Who cover)
21.AliveEncore 2:22.Mountain Song (Jane’s Addiction cover w/ Perry Farrell)
23.Rockin’ in the Free World (Neil Young cover)

I mean fan or not who could fuck with this?, my goodness. What other band could put an exclamation point on the weekend as being the last band on the last day in this fashion? Now I get it, fucking legendary.
I made my way back to the Lounge to catch the shuttle back to downtown. Chris and his wife had made an early exit to get cleaned up from all of the mud and we had planned to meet up a bit later to go to another party. The next two hours became very social, I don’t because if it was the end but everyone was talking to everybody. I first ran into my good friend Sam from LA (who was working the event and ironically was my assigned shuttle driver) as I was taking the golf cart back to pickup I rode with this couple who were on something of a third date and I turned on the cut-through-the-bullshit mode that I’m known for and started asking questions that clearly they were both afraid to ask each other. An hour later they came to find me to tell me that they had decided to make their relationship official and it was because of what I said and they were thanking me profusely. Good times.
As I was walking out some of the guys in Pearl Jam were coming in namely Jeff Ament, and behind him I see Doug Pinnick (King’s X) & he came up and we had a nice chat. I knew that he had some correlation to Jeff Ament as its seems every interview I’ve read over the years Jeff has found someone way to talk about King’s X and I think they are working on a project together, so it wasn’t a surprise to see him hanging with PJ, but as any performer who is not scheduled to play its surprising and exciting to see them.
So after I talked to Doug for awhile, Sam told me the van was ready and it was time to go. So I and a few of the performers climbed into the van, and here is where things come full circle. I was to be the last stop as I was going to the farthest and so I could hang with Sam for a bit, and the last two people were me and this other dude who were both going to the same place (Beauty Bar) and as we are talking its starting to occur to me that this is the Girl Talk dude. Greg I believe his name was, was totally cool and really funny and I kinda felt bad for talking shit earlier (but not really haha). He’s telling me that he wants to do a gig right now at the Beauty Bar since no one knows anything about it. All I can think of is the walls caving in with throngs of girls from American Apparel ads (not such a bad thought) besieging the place as their cool status couldn’t sustain the notion of missing something so hush hush once word got around.
I thought now to have Sam take me somewhere else but this is where I was to meet Chris and his wife and my oldest friends works here too who I hadn’t had the chance to say hello to yet. Girl Talk dude and I go into the Beauty Bar and within minutes I’m hearing that the place is not prepared for the headache of what would happen once word got out, so they put the kibosh on it and I saw him leave shortly after.
Two girls from San Francisco were chatting me up and dancing and as the place was closing they asked if I knew of any other after-parties.
I had heard that something was going on at the Congress Bridge, but those things usually get busted and in a hurry, but these girls were anxious to make their last night continue, so into a cab and off to the bridge we go. As we walk up their is Greg Girl Talk dude…again (someone is following somebody). I had to admire him for wanting to rawk it here as this was about as real deal as it gets, open and to the public.
As expected, he hadn’t got two bars into the first track and here come the police: