Day two of Monolith was a vast improvement on Saturday. There was a little falter at the beginning when a late cabbie meant missing We Were Promised Jetpacks. But, we did get there in time for …
The Grates
I have long adored this Aussie group’s addictive pop music and had heard a lot of great things about their live show. So, I was pretty excited to see their set. Lead singer, Alana, was the embodiment of cheer. Championing the Grates cause to get everybody moving and happy. It was a fantastic way to start the day. If you haven’t heard them here’s a taste of what they sound like live. Suckafish at the Knitting factory.
Rahzel
While The Grates were on the SoCo stage Rahzel was entertaining on the main stage. Considering it was his beat boxing that first really pushed me towards the world of Hip Hop I couldn’t miss his bit. He was every bit as amazing as I was expecting. The man’s ability to throw his voice and imitate well, anything is astounding and his years of experience made for a flawless show.
Monotonix
I’m not gonna lie, Monotonix isn’t my bag; however, watching the spectacle they created was a little amusing. They prefer to do their thing from crowd level (ie the press pit) forcing the misplaced photog’s and other assorted media to the stage. It was a unique sight to behold. 
The Thermals
Next up were The Thermals. They served up a sharp thirty minutes which really woke up the festival goers up on the plaza. This trio had so much fun on stage it would have been had to ignore them even if their music weren’t so incredibly awesome. I am glad to say my first live dose of them was at Red Rocks.
Passion Pit
Regardless of how you feel about Passion Pit this was the most breath taking set of the weekend. It is undeniable that their electro pop music is catchy and the lengthy stints on the road have transformed them into total crowd pleasers. With the lighting and a day of fantastic music tucked under our belts Passion Pit’s dancey set was a delectable dose of dance music at just the right time. Sleepyhead – Run Toto Run
Bad Veins
Chased Passion Pit’s set underground on the WOXY stage. Having just seen them play in Philly to a dismal showing it was nice to see them get the audience and response they deserve. Ben was ever the showman while Sebastian wowed on the drums. They are coming back to Philly with The Subjects in October.
There were a lot of other acts we heard on Sunday. Some notable mentions:
Tigercity • Health • Neon Indian • Twilight Sad
Why am I not giving them blurbs you ask? Because their stages were “closed” when the rooms they were in reached capacity. But, from the hallway I can tell you without a doubt they were fantabulous.
Phoenix
Hands down the best act of the weekend was Phoenix’s show. Originally slated for the SoCo stage for a 30 minute set ealier in the day they were moved to the main stage when MSTRKRFT had to cancel due to illness. Groups were shifted around. Passion Pit taking Phoenix’s space and Phoenix stepping in for MSTRKRFT.
I can’t imagine it falling any other way. The French electro pop group filled the entire 45 minute with a flawless set touching on both their older, lesser known hits, as well as, the big crowd pleasers from Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. They brought the entire amphitheater to their feet and kept them dancing, singing and simply celebrating the beautiful night and fantastic music. There wasn’t much stage banter but it wasn’t necessary as the progression of songs was well thought out and delivered perfectly. Impressed doesn’t even begin to cover what I felt after watching these veteran (but, clearly still contributing kick ass tunes) pull together a main stage worthy performance at the very last minute. I left feeling entirely satiated by my first Monolith experience. I look forward to seeing what kind of line up they assemble next year.
I made the trek out the infamous Red Rocks for this year’s Monolith Music Festival. It had a stellar line up and I was badly in need of a little mountain time. So tickets were bought, flights booked, must see lists drafted and hoodies packed.
Things were looking good Saturday morning and true to the fickle nature of nature the weather toyed with us. The rain rolled in about a third of the way through the day and, due to minimal places to hide away from the elements and to the fire marshal lock down imposed on the inside stages I wasn’t able to make it to all my targeted shows. However, the ones I did catch were fantastic.
Thao & The Get Down Stay Down
This fiercely awesome lady opened the day for me. Thao and her fellas rocked out a lot more than I was expecting. Listening to the recorded version of her stuff then seeing her live I have a much greater appreciation of talents.
Frightened Rabbit
This was the fifth time I’ve seen Frightened Rabbit and I never tire of their exceptionally sincere delivery. They have some of the best lyrics and energetic instrumentals to begin with but they take it to a much more alluring and intriguing place with their live show. The entire group plays/sings their heart out on stage; this, combined with their evident comfort and fun they have playing together makes them one of my favorite bands to see. They tossed out some of their new stuff and, upon that first listen, I’d say they aren’t slowing down anytime soon.
**I would like to call attention to the shirt the drummer,Grant is wearing ^
Edward Sharp & The Magnificent Zeros
I was terribly curious about ESTMZ. I rather enjoyed their first single, Home and the whole group-of-feel-gooders-taking-to-the-road-to-spread-their-sound thing does nibble at one’s attention. I can now say with 100% certainty they are pure delight. I got the best energy from them and their music is even more enjoyable in person than it is recorded. They were a ray of light as the clouds got thicker. They’re coming to the Church on Nov 15th.
The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart
As things really got chilly and damp Pains took the SoCo stage. Appropriate right? Theirs was a pretty standard POBPAH show. Shoe gazealicious and transfixing. The crowd was feeling them full on as they provided the perfect soundtrack for the drizzle.
The Answering Machines
This British trio won my heart. I hadn’t heard anything 
from them before last weekend but was immediately hooked. They play the catchiest of pop songs that you can’t help but repeat over and over and over again. The added bonus is that they are the most adorable of kids at the very beginning of a head long tumble into the hearts of the masses. Watch this clip from WOXY’s coverage of Monolith.
Thunderheist
I had heard good things about Thunderheist but went into their set virtually ignorant of their true awesomeness. They are a unique duo; the incredible MC Isis doing vocals with the spot on Graham Zilla on the table. It was a clean set with a fresh delivery. Great surprise and I look forward to catching them again.
There were two groups whose shows I had to simply listen to from the atrium of the visitors center. Because so many people were digging The Antlers and These United States I wasn’t able to get into the WOXY stage. What I heard was awesome and I couldn’t be happier both bands were packing it in.
If you’re looking for more coverage from Monolith stop by My Old Kentucky Blog’s LaundroMatinee or WOXY and if you want to see ALL the pictures from the whole weekend stop by TWIAPC’s new FLICKR page.
The Dodos are about to embark on a full US and European tour to support their freshly released album Time To Die. Before they do though, I got the chance to pick their musical brains
The Dodos will be skating the streets of Philly October 12th then playing a show at The Church. Get out and catch their fantastic live show, vibraphone and all!
Here’s a capcha from their Daytrotter session - Paint The Rust
And here is a great video from The Shoot Music Don’t They with the fellas on the streets of Berlin.
Sammy Banana’s first remix for one of the big dogs (universal) leaked this evening. He just left for a quick Euro tour, you know Like ya do, but will be back to his old tricks and usual gigs .
Kid Cudi-Make Her Say ft. Kanye West & Common (Sammy Bananas Remix)
Pavement will be back next September with a benefit show on the Summer Stage in Central Park. To celebrate I thought I would share this cover of Box Elder as done by Brooklyn’s Pet Ghost Project. Now go get your ticket acquisition plan in order.
So, the full posts and reviews about the musical acts seen last weekend at Monolith are in the works but I thought I’d share a bit of the imagery from this weekend. The first shot is from the top of the amphitheater where the Main Stage was. Amazing view, especially Sunday when the skies were clear.
For Monotronix the Press took the stage while the band freaked out amidst the audience. Certainly changed things up and even more certainly messed with the wee altered minds of those trying to push towards the center of that insanity.
There were all sorts of interesting people watching. Some clearly put a lot of effort into their Monolith look(more than one clown costume and native ameican head dress were spotted). Other’s literally just rolled out of bed (the scene must haves: Camelbaks, dugout, and trendy but functional layers). But the two fellas who really grabbed my eye were the ones captured above. Look closely, admire and tip your hat to whatever process, chemically induced or not, brought them to Red Rocks in all this glory. And yes, there is a ginormous inflatable bottle of Southern Comfort in the background.
Ever since I caught River City Extensions’ lead singer Joe do a solo set earlier this summer I have been anxious to see the whole six member crew perform live. Finally I had the chance to see them last week and it was far more incredible than I was expecting.
Like the Avett Brothers, their record (while entirely enjoyable) falls a little 
ahead of the pack while their live show is amongst the best I’ve seen this year. The music also has a vastly different vibe from the alt country sound of their recorded material. Instead, it is southern rock with heavy punk influence. RCE consists of the usual bass, guitar, drums as well as a cello, floor tom, assorted horns and percussive implements; and, this septet do their thing with a degree of energy and enthusiasm that could almost be considered another instrument.
The openers were ok but did very little to amp up the audience for the kind of intensity RCE had to offer. 3/4′s of the way into their first song though they managed to draw people in from the bar and get everyone on the floor moving. Each member, regardless of the instrument’s traditional roll in a band, plays in such a way that makes you really pay attention to who is carrying the rhythm, who is laying out the melody and who is providing the chaotic pulse that typically drives their songs. The cello, played by the v. talented Jenn, provides a soaring thread to tracks like Elephant while also managing to rock out on others.
Watching them play I realized that RCE is one of the few bands whose bassist takes more than a supporting role. In a few instances James carries the melody so deftly it pushed the floor tom to really pull out more of those juicy bass tones. The percussionists both took turns picking out lines in each song to emphasize or challenge to really build the depth of RCE’s overall sound.
Oh, and I can’t forget the horns. Switching between a baritone horn and a trumpet I really enjoyed the character and punkishness he brought to the floor. Often he served to reign in the massive storm of percussion but not without adding his own flair. Joe,the circus leader and head vocalist, was playing through a bloody finger but didn’t let that effect his delivery. Just as sincere and balls out as he was when I saw him play solo there was a raw emotional element on display when he was on stage interacting with the full crew. Tearing through Clever & Quickness I was in awe watching them all push it a little harder. On the songs, like (I Had Thought About This In) Marc where everyone sings you really feel their charge at full force.
Watching them during their last song, as they played acoustic in the middle of the audience, I got that feeling in my stomach that these guys are headed for much bigger venues. I can only hope their next album harnesses the power of their live show. If you’re in the NJ/NY/PA area try to get yourself to one of their shows. They are playing Philly again on the 25th at the North Star Bar.
(If I Had Thought About This In) March
Today we’re messing around in Breckenridge enjoying the mountains and the beautiful fall colors. Basically though, I’ll be relaxing so that I can power through my extensive show schedule for the next two days. Here is my final installment in the Monolith series.
Phoenix – Lisztomania from KEXP RADIO on Vimeo.
They covered Air’s Playground Love live on NPR
Frightened Rabbit
This is quite possibly the sweetest video ever.
Last Tango In Brooklyn (via Glorious Hum)
Well folks, I have arrived for a little play time in the mountains before digging into the plethora of awesomeness being served up at Monolith Saturday & Sunday. Tonight’s schedule is far more laid back; BBQ, beers and football. But before that begins I want to share with you some more of the acts on my “to see” list. These are all towards the top (ie, you’ll be reading posts about them next week for sure)
Ida Maria – Oh My God from John West on Vimeo.
Yet again Daytrotter caught the essence of Ida in We’re All Going To Hell, another song with personal anthem potential.
Thao with the Get Down Stay Down
Pains Of Being Pure At Heart
I am currently packing my bag and running around like a crazy person getting ready to leave for Denver tomorrow. These are four more acts I’m looking forward to seeing at Monolith. All of these performers (and most on my “must see” list) understand the importance of putting on a show vs. being on stage and playing instruments.
Untitled from Bad Veins on Vimeo.
Way back on ’08 these fellas did a stunning version of Fake Baby for Daytrotter
Here is a tasty treat, M covering Bowie’s classic Lets Dance on KCRW
OK Go in Madrid from pukilin on Vimeo.
