Tag Archives: dawes

Some observations re: the LC Pavilion’s “festival setting” for Mumford & Sons

People LOVE Mumford & Sons. A lot. The band played the Wexner Center’s Black Box on the Mershon stage a couple years ago, then sold out the roughly 5,000 tickets for the outdoor version of the LC Pavilion. So Scott Steinecker, head of LC’s parent company PromoWest, decided to turn the Aug. 14 show into a “festival setting,” which meant renting a stage and turning the LC’s parking lot into a venue that could hold roughly 10,000 people. And the Brits packed that lot, too, selling out double the LC’s regular capacity.

This was the scene: A fence around the perimeter, beer stations everywhere, Late Nite Slice, a burrito bus, plus a large screen next to the main stage and another in the middle of the lot about halfway back. Here’s a view during Dawes’s opening set from roughly halfway back on the left side:
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Tuesday: Blind Pilot at The Newport

The timing couldn’t be better for Blind Pilot. Folk-based indie rock is doing extremely well, maybe not on the radio but bands like Dawes, Mumford & Sons, Quiet Corral, and The Decemberists (just to name a few) are playing to larger and larger crowds on each tour. The last time Blind Pilot played the Newport (Feb.6, 2012), the band apparently made the show an intimate experience by hopping down into the crowd for an acoustic number while asking people to put away their cell phones and just enjoy the experience. What a refreshing change in this digital age where everybody (guilty as charged) wants to take photos and videos throughout a band’s performance.

Blind Pilot and River City Extension perform at The Newport Music Hall on Tuesday. Doors open at 7pm. Tickets are $20.

Photos: 2012 Nelsonville Music Festival / Sunday

Nelsonville Music Festival
Sunday, May 20, 2012

M. Ward

Dawes

Todd Snider

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2012 Nelsonville Music Festival lineup includes Iron & Wine, M. Ward, Roky Erickson, Dawes, Kurt Vile, Dark Dark Dark and more

So, yeah, I’m going. More to be added. Tickets here. Full release:

NELSONVILLE, Ohio- Stuart’s Opera House is thrilled to announce the lineup for this year’s 8th annual Nelsonville Music Festival on May 18-20 at Robbins Crossing on the campus of Hocking College in Nelsonville, Ohio. This year’s lineup includes Iron and Wine, M. Ward, Roky Erickson, Dawes, Charles Bradley, Kurt Vile & The Violators, Dark Dark Dark, Jorma Kaukonen, Lee Ranaldo Band, Sallie Ford & The Sound Outside, Horse Feathers, Michael Hurley, Shovels & Rope, JD McPherson, R.Ring, Woody Pines, Todd Burge, with more acts still to be announced! Weekend passes and individual camping passes are on sale now! To purchase passes, or for more information visit www.nelsonvillefest.org or call (740) 753-1924.
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Photos: Bright Eyes / Dawes in Columbus (6.8.11)

The dreamy Conor Oberst (from my vantage point, looking a lot like 30 Seconds to Mars’ Jared Leto) returned to Columbus with Bright Eyes a few weeks ago, giving the young ladies in the crowd something to swoon about. The kid’s come a long way since starting the band as a precarious teen in the late ’90s and rumor is that Oberst is considering retiring the Bright Eyes name. While there were definitely a lot of college-aged kids in attendance, the LC wasn’t sold out (I thought it might be) which might explain while the show was held indoors even though the music seemed suited for the vast expanse of the starlit night.

Dawes opened the show with their Laurel Canyon, easy Southern California rock sound. The band’s Nothing is Wrong had been released the day before and the four-piece, led by Taylor Goldsmith (who looks – and even sounds a bit – like a Colin Gawel/Tim Easton hybrid), dedicated a majority of their set to songs from the sophomore album and holding out the big “hit” off the last album, “When My Time Comes”, until just before they ended.

All photos by Kim Rottmayer.

Bright Eyes


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Interview: Dawes (@ The LC Wednesday night)

Riding high on a wave of Southern California sunshine and smooth harmonies, Dawes is no stranger to Columbus having graced the Rumba and Basement stages a handful of time during the last 12-18 months. With a sophomore album set to hit stores and the internet the day before the band opens for Bright Eyes at The LC (indoor stage … BOO … this type of music is made to be heard under a starry sky), Dawes already has a summer full of touring plans including opening for the likes of My Morning Jacket, Brett Dennen, and Alison Krauss and Union Station.

Nothing is Wrong is a mature sounding album for a group that’s only been together for about five years. Already, comparisons to artists ranging from Crosby, Stills and Nash, Jackson Browne, and The Band have littered reviews in magazines and on the web and all are justifiable. Without a doubt, there’s been a lot of care put into crafting these folk-rock-inspired tracks and just as you could spot a grunge band from Seattle in the early ’90s after hearing a few guitar chords, you can tell that Dawes hails from the Laurel Canyon area of Southern California within moments of hearing the sweet and warm harmonies on Nothing is Wrong’s opening track, “Time Spent in Los Angeles”.


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Jason Boesel (Rilo Kiley) @ Rumba Cafe (Wed, Feb.17)

MP3: “Hand of God”

Jason Boesel has spent years looking at the butts of Jenny Lewis (Rilo Kiley), Conor Oberst (Bright Eyes) and Ben Lee – now it’s time for the drummer to step out of the shadow and up to the mike. On January 12, Boesel released his first solo album, Hustler’s Son, on Oberst’s Team Love Records.

Difficult to catagorize, Boesel’s material is in the same post-alt.country (did I just make up a new genre?) league as bands like Wilco. There’s a folky/twang to the sound though don’t expect to catch Boesel in a cowboy hat and boots any time soon.

Jason Boesel is currently touring as the opening act on a bill that also includes Dawes and Cory Chisel & The Wandering Sons. Rather than hire a backing band, Boesel has enlisted Dawes to pull double duty.

As long as the next round of snow holds off, Boesel, Dawes, and Chisel will set up shop at the Rumba Cafe on Wednesday night for what promises to be one of the best triple bills in this young new year.

Boesel took a few minutes during the first week of the tour to answer some questions I sent his way.

I hate to start off on the wrong foot so if you hate this question or want to reach through your computer and choke me, then pretend like this question was never asked. That being said – Phil Collins or Don Henley?

Hmmm, I really and truly think they’re both great drummers, singers, and songwriters. If I could only choose one, I’d go with Phil. He’s a mother fucker all the way.
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