The biggest struggle when putting together this list is how to rank the albums. What exactly is the difference between a #1 and a #2 album? Without doubt, Viva Brother’s “Darling Buds of May” was the song I listened to the most in 2011 and the album it comes from is pretty damn good. But is it my favorite album as a whole? The Damnwells have consistently put out great material and I’m sure I listened to No One Listens to the Band Anymore more, front to back, than any album on the list but did I do that because it’s the best album of the year or because I know the guys personally and listening to them makes me happy?
So, I decided the best way to do it is to list the albums alphabetically, showing no favoritism and not being forced to rank anything. A few comebacks, a few previous favorites, a couple of new UK bands, some metal, some country, some hair metal. Pretty typical for me.
AA Bondy – Believers (Fat Possum)
Not as barebones as early solo material, not as scuzzy as his ‘90s alt-rock band Verbena, AA Bondy split the difference on this moody, late night listen. Listen: “The Heart is Willing”
Anthrax – Worship Music (Megaforce)
The legendary NYC thrashers pick up where they left off the last time Joey Belladonna sang lead vocals (1990’s Persistence of Time) on 2011’s best (and most surprising considering some internal issues Anthrax had with short-timer vocalist Dan Nelson) metal album. Listen: “In the End”
AWOLNATION – Megalithic Symphony (Red Bull Records)
I would never have checked out this band had my old friend Christopher Thorn (Blind Melon) not been playing guitar. A complete 180 from Blind Melon’s sound, AWOLNATION’s slickly-produced techno-soul-pop shows a wide range of diversity from one track to the next. Listen: “Soul Wars”
Beastie Boys – Hot Sauce Committee Part 2 (Capitol Records)
Seven years after the release of their last album and 25 years after the release of the groundbreaking License to Ill, the recent Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame inductees come back with a fresh and surprisingly relevant album. This may be the only CD that I bought at a record store on it’s release day in 2011. Listen: “OK”
Broken Records – Let Me Come Home (4ad)
Scottish rockers whose epic, orchestral songs put them in a league with Snow Patrol, The Frames and Frightened Rabbit. Listen: “A Darkness Rises Up”
The Damnwells – No One Listens to the Band Anymore (Pledge Music)
Not knocking The Damnwells 2009 release, One Last Century, (which felt more like an Alex Dezen solo album), but there’s something special about full-time contributions by Ted Hudson (bass) and Jay Barclay (guitars), even if it’s just for the purpose of recording new material and not touring. The Damnwells are one of my favorite bands and this is a welcome addition to their recorded catalog. Listen: “Werewolves”
The Dreaming – Puppet (Epochal Artists Records)
If Axl Rose can tour using the name Guns N’ Roses, Christopher Hall should dump The Dreaming name and call this band Stabbing Westward. Listen: “Every Trace”
Foo Fighters – Wasting Light (RCA)
After a few ho-hum releases in the last decade, I thought I had lost the Foo Fighters to a new generation of music listeners who weren’t bothered by how mainstream Grohl & company had become. This album – and the Foos performance at Lollapalooza 2011 – restored my confidence. Listen: “White Limo”
The Horrible Crowes – Elsie (Side One Dummy)
Not a huge departure from his day gig fronting The Gaslight Anthem, but Brian Fallon’s side project allows the singer to dial back on his “Born to Run”-style Springsteen worship and explore the “I’m On Fire” side of the Boss’s catalog. Fallon also cites Greg Dulli and Tom Waits as influential songwriting muses (I’d throw Bono in there as well) for this project. Listen: “Sugar”
The Joy Formidable – Big Roar (Canvasback/Atlantic)
So much noise for a trio, especially the last 3 fuzzy minutes of the 8-minute opening track, “The Everchanging Spectrum of a Lie”. I would love to hear them cover “Long Day in the Universe” by Darling Buds. Listen: “The Everchanging Spectrum of a Lie”
Lydia Loveless – Indestructible Machine (Bloodshot Records)
It’s nice that the world can not only discover the artist that I’ve been championing for a few years, but can love her Americana-rock-with-punk-spirit sound as much as I do (Spin named this CD the #4 best Country/Americana release of 2011!). Listen: “Can’t Change Me”
Matthew Mayfield – Now You’re Free (Sweet Exchange)
Mayfield’s voice sounds so warm and familiar (a cross between Pete Yorn and Eddie Vedder), you’ll swear you’ve heard his stuff in the background of your favorite ABC prime time drama or maybe in that one scene in that ensemble movie about Valentine’s Day or Christmas or the 4th of July or something. Listen: “Missed Me”
Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds – Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds
I listened to the Beady Eye CD a handful of times. By virtue of it not showing up on this list, I guess I’m putting all of my eggs in the elder Gallagher brother’s basket. I liked Oasis well enough, but never thought I’d love Noel’s solo debut as much as I do. Listen: “The Death of You and Me”
Pale – In the Time of Dangerous Men
Even after seeing this Houston-based band live and hanging out with them, I still can’t believe that not a single member was born or raised in the UK. Pale’s emotional material draws heavily from bands like Catherine Wheel and Muse. Listen: “That Sinking Feeling”
Sebastian Bach – Kicking & Screaming (Frontiers)
At 17, I stood in front of the mirror, wearing a sleeveless t-shirt, holding a hairbrush pretending to front Skid Row opening for KISS at the Richfield Coliseum. At 40, I stand in front of the mirror, wearing a black concert t-shirt, holding a hairbrush pretending to be Sebastian Bach singing “Kicking and Screaming” while opening for Guns N’ Roses in Tokyo, Japan. Listen: "Dance on Your Grave"
True Widow – As High As the Highest Heavens and From the Center to the Circumference
of the Earth (Kemado)
True Widow’s self-described stonegaze is the perfect soundtrack to the dark, grey, gloomy winter skies that hang over Ohio. If you thought Hope Sandoval’s last solo record sounded like Mazzy Star covering Black Sabbath (check it out, it did) after smoking lots of weed, this thing will blow your mind. Listen: “Jackyl”
Viva Brother – Famous First Words (A&M)
The baby that Oasis and Blur secretly gave birth to 20 years ago has finally come out of hiding. iTunes tells me I listened to “Darling Buds of May” more than any other song in 2011 and I don’t dispute that fact. Listen: "Darling Buds of May"
Warbringer – Worlds Torn Asunder (Century Media)
Finally had the chance to see Warbringer live in 2011 and confirmed that not only do they sound like Slayer circa 1990, their life shows are like stepping into a time machine and being transported back to the early days of thrash metal before it left the basement and made it’s way to 1,000 seat venues. Listen: “Shattered Like Glass”
Wussy – Strawberry (Shake It Records)
Man, this is getting really incestuous. I wrote a preview for a Wussy show a few weeks ago. In his year-end wrap-up, Joel quoted from that preview in his Wussy description. I guess it was so good that I’m going to quote it again! One wouldn’t expect Chuck Cleaver, the heavily tattooed Cincinnati songwriter, to produce his best collection of songs this late in his already highly-prolific career, but that’s exactly what he’s done. Listen: “Asteroid”
Yuck – Yuck (Fat Possum)
Take all my favorite indie rock bands (Superchunk, Dinosaur Jr, Sparklehorse, Pavement, The Flaming Lips) from the early-to-mid ‘90s, mix ‘em together and you get something YUCK-y. It may not be very original but it’s still one of the best things I heard all year.Listen: “Get Away”
I feared the big crowds at Lollapalooza, had no interest or desire to be stuck in the middle of tens of thousands of drunk and sweaty people. I got over that fear and decided to make the most of it, all culminating in Foo Fighters closing set on Sunday night. After a torrential downpour caused Lollapalooza to come to a halt in the early evening (at least it did on the south end of the park, delaying the Arctic Monkeys set), there was some question about whether or not the Foo Fighters would even have time to play.
As a veteran of Woodstock ’94, I’ve encountered muddy festivals and after the rain had ended (not permanently), the field in front of the Music Unlimited stage was nothing but a muddy, soupy mess. This actually allowed me to get much closer than I probably could have had it not rained. I met a couple who had come from Colombia and a guy who had come from Singapore (!!!!) just to attend Lollapalooza. All 3 were having the times of their lives and were excited for their first Foo Fighters show ever.
The Foo Fighters played a “secret” show (not very secret though … Lollapalooza’s Facebook page announced the show which sold out in a minute) at the Metro the night before their Lollapalooza appearance and, by all accounts from those who attended, it was unforgettable. Grohl supposedly told the audience that THAT show was the band’s REAL Lollapalooza performance but Sunday night, Grohl and company did more than just run through the motions.
It’s been 10 or so years since I’ve really listened to a new Foo Fighters release but 2011′s Wasting Light is a fine return to form – one of this year’s best rock records – and I was hoping Grohl would dip heavily into it for the setlist (he did – a quarter of the Foos 20 song set came from their new record). The rain started up again hard and heavy just before the band launched into the first huge sing-a-long of the night, “Hero”, but it did little to deter the band or the crowd. I can’t remember how long the rain lasted – maybe 5 songs (?) – but the Foo Fighters never stopped performing.
With a 10pm hard stop looming, before ending with “Everlong”, Grohl thanked Chicago for igniting his passion to become a performer (he saw his first concert – Naked Raygun at the Cubby Bear Lounger – when he was 13) and thanks Perry Farrell (who brought out on stage) for his Lollapalooza vision 20 years ago (“Kurt and I went to the first Lollapalooza in Los Angeles. We looked around and said, ’20,000 people are here to see bands like Siouxie and the Banshees and Jane’s Addiction. This is going to change music.’”)
An amazing performance that restored my faith in the Foo Fighters.
I started off the day in Perry’s Tent watching the trio from Chicago’s Midnight Conspiracy stand behind laptops and manipulate sounds. It was pretty amazing watching a primarily younger audience become totally engrossed in the moment. There was a couple in the middle of it all making out as if the world was going to end in minutes and based on the way they were bumping and grinding on each other, I wouldn’t be too surprised if they become parents in 9 months!
Up next was the London trio, The Joy Formidable. If there is a “breakout” band from this year’s Lollapalooza, I’d put my money on this band. They played a few shows around town before their actual appearance on the Bud Light stage including opening the secret Foo Fighters show at the Metro the night before (they’ll be touring with the Foos later this fall, Grohl handpicked them for the gig). This was my second time seeing them – the first was at The Basement (capacity ~200) in Columbus – and while there was more intimacy at the smaller gig, the trio easily commands a huge stage such as the one they performed on at Lollapalooza. If there was a disappointment, it’s that they played such a short set (somewhere in the neighborhood of 5 or 6 songs). Not really sure why they played 30 minutes instead of 45 (as scheduled) but the explosive sound rang through the air even after the band had walked off stage.
Rival Schools set, which followed The Joy Formidable’s on the close-by Playstation stage, wasn’t all I hoped it would be but that’s because I had big expectations. Rival Schools founder/singer/guitarist Walter Schreifels used to front one of my favorite bands of the ’90s, Quicksand, but ever since that post-hardcore band brokeup, he’s lost most of his aggression and intensity. There were a few brief moments where Rival Schools sounded like Quicksand “lite”, but for the most part I was wishing for something that I knew wasn’t really going to be there.
It was a thrill seeing the reunited Cars play a later afternoon slot though I’m surprised that they played so much material from their new release, Move Like This. I understand they’ve got a new (and great) record to promote – and the material does sound like vintage Cars stuff – but with the catalog of hits that they’ve produced over the years, and with an audience that wasn’t necessarily there to just see them, it would have made sense to run through their greatest hits. But, as least they played “Just What I Needed”, which got the biggest response from the crowd. With the guys all in their 60s, there wasn’t a whole lot of moving around on stage (when Ric Ocasek did stray from his microphone at one point, a person near me jokingly yelled, “NO! Don’t move! Stay stationary!”).
I had planned on checking out Portugal the Man, Damian Marley and Nas, and Explosions in the Sky but when the rain started, I retreated to the media tent to seek shelter. Once the Arctic Monkeys started playing, I reentered the game only to find that the rain had done quite a number on the field.
The Arctic Monkeys managed to get through 13 songs – probably close to what they had intended on playing – including “She’s Thunderstorms” which, when announced, received a huge ovation from those covered head-to-toe in mud. Though already a pretty well-established UK band, the fact that The Arctic Monkeys performed right before the Foo Fighters certainly didn’t hurt and exposed the band to a lot of new fans.
All in all, Lollapalooza exceeded my expectations. While I love the hustle-and-bustle of SXSW, there’s something to be said about a more laidback festival vibe. With the exception of Delta Spirit’s Friday performance, I’m not sure that I experienced any surprise discoveries or moments but it’s definitely a festival I’d like to return to in years to come.
Feels a little weird to be calling this the 20th anniversary of Lollapalooza even though the festival did make it’s debut in 1991. There was a period of inactivity and the reformatting of the concept, going from a traveling alternative rock circus to an annual 3-day festival in Chicago that features many mainstream acts.
That being said, there’s plenty to see this coming weekend at Grant Park. Last week I spotlighted two lesser known acts performing this year – Midnight Conspiracy and Kyle Lucas & Captain Midnite over on Lollapalooza.com.
Here are ten songs I want to hear at Lollapalooza this weekend.
These songs/artists obviously reflect my music tastes and these are not the only bands I plan to see. Have any recommendations? I’m especially looking to check out lesser-known bands so if there are any “can’t miss”, leave a comment and I’ll try to check them out.
PromoWest has booked some big huge shows in 2009 but even they realize that Tuesday night’s Them Crooked Vultures is, if not the biggest, maybe the most anticipated – just one of 10 U.S. dates. The (truly) super-group featuring Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age), Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters) and John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin) started recording material for a debut this past summer though they’ve talked about working together since 2005.
This being the internet age, rumors of a release date for Them Crooked Vulture’s debut spring up on a daily basis but I haven’t been able to find an official release date (many are suggesting we’ll be able to hold a CD in our hands by late November – just in time for the holiday gift-giving season).
So … while the resumes of the members speak for themselves, is this project really worth plunking down $47.50 (plus services charges) to see considering you won’t know any of the songs and you shouldn’t expect to hear any songs by the bands these guys come from? Based on early reviews, it is worth is – TCV supposedly deliver an onslaught of RAWK and live up to the “supergroup” tag way more than a band like Velvet Revolver does.
If you want to do a quick cram session and get a (live) preview of what you’ll hear, there are a few bootlegs floating around. Here’s one from the Austin show this past weekend (can’t vouch for the quality). While I haven’t heard this one -the stuff I’ve heard definitely has a QOTSA vibe as can be expected.
WORD OF WARNING (from the Promowest website): NO CAMERA’S ALLOWED DURING THIS PERFORMANCE, INCLUDING CELL PHONES. IF YOU ARE CAUGHT TAKING PICTURES YOU WILL BE ASKED TO DELETE THEM. IF YOU ARE CAUGHT A SECOND TIME, YOU WILL BE ASKED TO DELETE THEM AND ESCORTED OUT OF THE BUILDING. THANK YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION.
