Our continuing Aquarium Drunkard Presents series at Republic New Orleans continues with Okkervil River Tuesday, September 30th, with special guests Crooked Fingers. For those of you who have yet to pick up the band's new album, The Stand Ins, you can check out become a member or log in.
A festival spread out over two days has its limits. People who came for both days are more apt to be tired, more languid on the second day. So if you can, it's good to make the second day worth it. And Monolith did just that in spades.
Again, people who came early were treated to some of the best performances of the festival. Washington, D.C.'s Jukebox the Ghost was my first show of the day and it set a high bar for the rest of the . . .
Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.
To continue reading, become a member or log in.
Our weekly two hour show on SIRIUS, channel 26 Left Of Center, can now be heard twice, every Friday - Noon EST and then an encore broadcast at Midnight EST. Below is this week’s playlist.
SIRIUS 64: Jean Michel Bernard - Generique Stephane (intro) ++ Deerhunter - Cover Me (Slowly) ++ Deerhunter - Agoraphobia ++ Sonic Youth - Candle ++ No Age - It's Oh So Quiet (Bjork Cover) ++ Thurston . . .
Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.
To continue reading, become a member or log in.
The Monolith Festival: I was intrigued by the lineup for multiple reasons - this was certainly the most 'indie' looking festival I'd seen in awhile - more in tune with Pitchfork than Lollapalooza. The headliners went from Devotchka, Silversun Pickups and Atmosphere to Justice, TV on the Radio and CSS. Those names alone tell you something different is going on and the litany of bands on the underbilling reinforced that idea.
But first a bit about our host - Red Rocks Amphitheater is, seriously, the most beautiful outdoor concert area I've ever seen. Situated in the town of Morrison, just outside of Denver, it's a model in development that works with the environment rather than bending it to development's will. Denver is, however, 5,280 feet above sea level and this raises problems when it comes to, you know, breathing. Less oxygen makes a good stair climb, of which there are many at Red Rocks (approximately 230 steps from the bottom of the amphitheater to the top), a much more tiring task.
Both days at Monolith proposed similar problems - namely too many good bands jammed together. Especially during the early part of day one. Luckily, the festival crowd didn't pick up until nearly 4 o'clock. This left plenty of room to move to catch bands up close.
With five stages to choose from, there was a lot of cycling in style and space. Austin, Texas' Erin Ivey opened the day with a beautiful, low-key performance on the acoustic stage, a great place to catch some quieter, more subtle performances throughout the day. Rock Plaza Central would also give a good show on this stage later in the afternoon, sampling new songs from their forthcoming new album and from last year's Are We Not Horses?
The rest of the stages would demand more energy and decibels. Oxford, Mississippi's Colour Revolt was a high point of the early performances, firing off some truly inspired work from their latest, Plunder, Beg and Curse. The Veils brought their peculiar mix of snark and pathos and wordplay and succeeded despite tech problems. Cut Copy scored the first genuine over-the-top audience reaction of the day on the main stage and Port O'Brien turned an early crowd into a genuine party by inviting the audience up onto the stage, with pots and pans no less, to accentuate a closing performance of their song "I Woke Up Today."
Continue Reading After The Jump...
Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.
To continue reading, become a member or log in.
Aquarium Drunkard welcomes one of our all-time favorites, Silver Jews, to the Echoplex Friday September 26th. We have five pairs of tickets to give away to AD readers. Joos fan? Leave your name, email address and your favorite David Berman lyric(s) in the comments below. James Jackson Toth supports.
Previously: Silver Jews, David Berman, interview - Part become a member or log in.
Fleet Foxes :: BBC Radio 2 Session FM - Radcliffe and Maconie - June 18, 2008
Download:
MP3: Fleet Foxes :: Intro/ Interview 1
MP3: Fleet Foxes :: Mykonos
MP3: Fleet Foxes :: Interview 2
MP3: Fleet Foxes :: White Winter Hymnal
MP3: become a member or log in.
Aquarium Drunkard presents the mighty Mission of Burma at the Echoplex, Thursday night, September 25th. The band is set to perform VS in its entirety. We have five pairs of tickets for AD readers. Leave a comment below with your name, a valid email address, and your favorite Burma track. Winners will be notified via email . . .
Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.
To continue reading, become a member or log in.
For an audience, artists reinterpreting their own catalog, in a live setting, can be both exciting, and at times, an exercise in frustration. This trend of course also lends itself to the companion "live" album as well. One of the first instances of this I consciously remember was picking up Bob Dylan's 1974 live album with the Band, become a member or log in.
Been listening to my old Isaac Hayes albums; Hot Buttered Soul in particular. This is my Sunday morning jam.
Download:
MP3: Isaac Hayes :: By The Time I Get To Phoenix
MP3: become a member or log in.
Our weekly two hour show on SIRIUS, channel 26 Left Of Center, can now be heard twice, every Friday - Noon EST and then an encore broadcast at Midnight EST. Below is this week’s playlist.
SIRIUS 63: Jean Michel Bernard - Generique Stephane ++ Hacienda - She's Got A Hold On Me ++ Dr. Dog - Old News ++ Bowerbirds - In Our Talons ++ Neutral Milk Hotel - The . . .
Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.
To continue reading, become a member or log in.
Off The Record is a recurring feature here on the Drunkard that marries two of my greatest interests; music and travel. Having a locals perspective when visiting a new locale is the difference between experiencing it through the lens of a tourist and of that of a native.
Off The Record gathers some of my favorite artists, asks them to reflect on their city of residence, and choose a handful of places they could not live without, be them bookstores, bars, restaurants or vistas.
Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.
To continue reading, become a member or log in.
Aquarium Drunkard is presenting Tokyo Police Club and The Whigs dates this week here in Los Angeles, both at the Henry Fonda Music Box (Sept 18th), and in Pomona at the Glass House (Sept 19th). We have some pairs of tickets to give away to AD readers. Hit up the comments below if you are wanting to check out the show.
Also, AD caught up with TPC's David Monks earlier in the month -- interview below.
Aquarium Drunkard: What is the nature of this experiment?
Tokyo Police Club: We grew up in the suburbs of Toronto, which was a place that was void of the more obscure music scenes we'd hear about happening in the city. We were the only people we knew in our school who were into the same band. So, the natural progression was eventually to attempt to play the music we listened to together.
Continue Reading After The Jump....
Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.
To continue reading, become a member or log in.
Sick.
+ Download your music via eMusic’s 25 free MP3 no risk trial offer
Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.
To continue reading, become a member or log in.
The Monolith Festival, held at Red Rocks outside of Denver, CO is approaching this weekend. AD sat down to chat with one of the festival's performers, Liam Finn, about how he ended up at Monolith, touring partners, current and future records and growing up as a musician under the influence of his father, Neil Finn. His 2008 solo debut, I'll Be Lightning, has garnered strong critical reviews and he's currently on a tour of the U.S. with the Veils.
Aquarium Drunkard: My first question is just about the Monolith Festival - how you got involved in that. There are a lot of great bands playing there and I wondered how you got drawn into playing there.
Liam Finn: I guess my agent was shopping for some festivals. And Monolith was the first people who were sort of interested in what we were doing. I don't really know that much about the festival other than that there are some great bands playing. I'm looking forward to it, it ought to be quite fun.
Continue Reading After The Jump...
Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.
To continue reading, become a member or log in.
Yeeee Haw!! Put on them shitkickers, fellas! Ha, kidding, but for real, AD, MOKB and 30 Tigers are throwing a joint showcase at The Basement, in Nashvegas, the Friday night (9/19) of the AMA Festival. Doors are at 7pm and as . . .
Only the good shit. Aquarium Drunkard is powered by its patrons. Keep the servers humming and help us continue doing it by pledging your support.
To continue reading, become a member or log in.