The Twilight Saga: New Moon won’t arrive in theaters until next month, but the film’s eagerly-awaited soundtrack is being released sooner than expected.
The compilation will now be released on Friday, October 16, four days earlier than originally scheduled.
The New Moon soundtrack features songs from Death Cab for Cutie, Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke, OK Go, [...]
Words by: Dan Ettinger | Images from: myspace.com/wearephoenix
Phoenix & Passion Pit :: 09.26.09 :: Central Park SummerStage :: New York, NY
 Phoenix |
Perhaps it was the magic of an early fall night in the Big Apple, or the mysticism of Central Park, or the intimate, wooded enclave offered by the Central Park SummerStage, or the fact that Phoenix lead singer Thomas Mars has a child with Sofia Coppola that had me thinking about the themes in Lost in Translation. Coppola’s movie is so human, in that it portrays a confused and alienated Bill Murray and a vulnerable Scarlett Johansson struggling to identify with their loneliness. The film suggests that some of us consistently experience a sort of existential ennui that can only be overcome through personal connections.
Having recently started a new job in a new city (unfortunately NOT New York City), I was trying to forget any alienation or loneliness that was going on in my own life and enjoy the second night of Phoenix and Passion Pit‘s recent sold out shows. With some tickets selling on StubHub for upwards of $300, I was curious to see whether or not the two bands could live up to the accruing hype.
The Emerson graduates that comprise Passion Pit are a classic example of social networking wildfire. Just two years young, the group skyrocketed to success on the heels of lead singer-songwriter Michael Angelakos‘ Valentine’s Day present-turned-2008-EP Chunk of Change. After cracking a few obligatory Red Sox/Yankees jokes that can accompany any musical group from Boston playing in New York, Pit proceeded to wind through their frenetic, poppy, and concise songs with notable joy.
 Laurent Brancowitz – Phoenix |
As the area continued to fill with eager Phoenix fans, Passion Pit burst into their gem of the night, “Moth’s Wings” > “Sleepyhead,” which highlighted the band’s incredibly hectic breakdowns, their impressive handle on indie-pop-snyth rock sound, and most of all, Angelakos’ helium-balloon falsetto. Closing with “The Reeling,” the group posed an introspective question to the young crowd that seemed especially pertinent considering my earlier Lost in Translation musings: “Look at me, oh look at me/ Is this the way I’ll always be/ Now I pray that somebody will quickly come and kidnap me/ Everyday I lie awake and pray to God today’s the day/ Here I am, here I am/ When will someone understand?”
Before I had too much time to get carried away with any sort of metaphysical inner dialogue, Phoenix had already quietly ascended to the stage; their backdrop was a simple banner of the Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix bomb shaped artwork. The band that has recently appeared on Saturday Night Live, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, a Cadillac commercial, The Late Show with David Letterman, and most recently The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien had plenty of reasons to be cocky. But for such widespread recent recognition, their stage presence was humble and Mars warmly thanked the audience multiple times both in English and in French for making it to the show. They were impressive in their ability to connect with the crowd and draw in any doubters.
 Phoenix |
Any skeptics listening to the recorded versions of these songs and wondering how they would translate live would be blown away. In fact, one of the most enjoyable and surprising elements about Phoenix’s set was how flawlessly they integrated their well rehearsed, in-studio tightness with the necessary expansion that accompanies any talented band’s live show. There were moments where I wasn’t sure if I was seeing some sort of Radiohead/Animal Collective/Pink Floyd prototype; their lengthier songs such as “Love Like a Sunset” and “Funky Squaredance” possessed the intensity of Thom Yorke and co., the ambience of Animal Collective, and the “x-factor” that so often accompanied Floyd’s jams (think “Have a Cigar,” but without as many shearing Gilmour solos).
Powered by Mars’ smooth vocal delivery and Thomas Hedlund‘s acrobatic drumming, Phoenix was energetic to say the least. A well-orchestrated light show deftly accented everything from the band’s lightest, sauntering tunes (“If I Ever Feel Better” and “Girlfriend”) to their dance party, Daft Punk-like electronica influenced (“Rome” and “1901″) moments during the hour and a half set.
Another notable moment – which fully convinced me Phoenix is ready for superstardom – came when Mars and guitarist Laurent Brancowitz played the first two songs of the encore acoustic, including a conglomerate of spotlights focused on the lead singer’s head that created a halo effect.
As the last notes of “1901″ resonated into the City that Never Sleeps, I was again drawn back to those aforementioned Lost in Translation themes. Roger Ebert described the film in his 2003 Chicago Sun-Times article as “sweet and sad at the same time as it is sardonic and funny.” These comparisons can just as easily apply to many of Phoenix’s songs, which can be lyrically introspective and melancholy, yet musically vibrant. Just as Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson found a little solace in each other, Phoenix seemed to offer solace that everything really will work out because it’s all predetermined anyways: “Past and present they don’t matter… Now the future’s sorted out.”
Isn’t that escape and distraction music offers part of its inherent beauty?
Passion Pit Setlist:
I’ve Got Your Number, Eyes As Candles, Make Light, Let Your Love Grow Tall, Little Secrets, To Kingdom Come, Folds In Your Hands, Moth’s Wings > Sleepyhead, Smile Upon Me, Better Things, The Reeling
Phoenix Setlist:
Lisztomania, Long Distance Call, Lasso, Run Run Run, Fences, Girlfriend, Armistice, Love Like a Sunset, Too Young, Rally
Consolation Prizes, Rome >Funky Squaredance >Rome
E: Everything is Everything (acoustic; Thomas and Laurent), Playground Love (acoustic; Thomas and Laurent), If I Ever Feel Better, 1901
Phoenix is on tour now; dates available here.
JamBase | Bittersweet
Go See Live Music!
Thom Yorke Debuts New Band In Los Angeles
Over the weekend Thom Yorke debuted his new band featuring Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich, Beck/R.E.M. drummer Joey Waronker, Forro in the Dark percussionist/multi-instrumentalist Mauro Refosco and Red Hot Chili Pepper bassist Flea. The group performed a “public rehearsal” at L.A.’s tiny Echoplex club on Friday (10/02) and put on their first official show last night (10/04) at L.A.’s Orpheum Theater. They play again tonight at the Orpheum. Tickets to Friday’s “secret” gig sold out in minutes and were reportedly being scalped online for as much as $3,000.
Both shows began with the title track from Yorke’s 2006 solo album The Eraser and went on to include the entire album in order. After almost an hour, both shows also featured Yorke performing a solo encore before bringing the band back for a number of new tunes.
10.02.09 :: Echoplex :: Los Angeles, CA
The Eraser, Analyse, The Clock, Black Swan, Skip Divided, Atoms for Peace, And It Rained All Night, Harrowdown Hill, Cymbal Rush
Encore I (Thom solo): Open the Floodgates, Lotus Flower, Skirting on the Surface, Judge, Jury, Executioner
Encore II (full band): Paperbag Writer, The Hollow Earth, Feeling Pulled Apart by Horses
10.04.09 :: Orpheum Theater :: Los Angeles, CA
The Eraser, Analyse, The Clock, Black Swan, Skip Divided, Atoms For Peace, And It Rained All Night, Harrowdown Hill, Cymbal Rush
Encore I (Thom solo): Lotus Flower (Moon Upon A Stick), Open The Floodgates, Super Collider
Encore II (full band): Paperbag Writer, Judge, Jury & Executioner, The Hollow Earth, Feeling Pulled Apart By Horses
Videos From Echoplex (10/02):
“Open the Floodgates”
“”Lotus Flower”
“Skirting on the Surface”
“Judge, Jury & Executioner”
Video’s From Orpheum Theater Night I (10/04):
“Analyse”
“Lotus Flower (Moon Upon A Stick)”
This video is for “Open the Floodgates” and the unreleased Radiohead song “Super Collider”:
Special thanks to ateaseweb.com for setlists and pointing us in the direction of the videos.
Thom Yorke and Flea’s New Band Debut with Surprise Gig in L.A. Tonight (10/02)
 Yorke, Waronker, Refosco, Flea, Godrich |
Earlier this week we told you about Thom Yorke‘s new band with Joey Waronker, Mauro Refosco, Flea and Nigel Godrich and their plans to play a pair of shows October 4 and 5 at Los Angeles’ Orpheum Theater. Today we’re letting you know that Thom and the boys are performing a surprise gig this evening (10/02) at the Echoplex in Los Angeles.
Here’s what Thom had to say on Radiohead‘s website (this is word-for-word, we have not edited or cleaned it up):
so yes that band thats doesnt really have a name that im working with at the moment??????
have decided to do a warm-up show on Friday Oct 2nd around 9pm at the Echoplex in Los Angeles
Its not that big, it’ll be total chaos and its kind of a rehearsal but .. if you are near by..
below is a link to get tickets.
hope you get lucky with it.
so ain’t no point hanging around if u dont im afraid
all the best
HERE go on work this time!
Thom
Tickets: October 2, October 4, October 5
THOM YORKE TO PLAY ORPHEUM THEATER IN LOS ANGELES OCTOBER 4 & 5
| Yorke, Waronker, Refosco, Flea, Godrich |
Thom Yorke announced that he has assembled a band to play a pair of shows October 4 and 5 at Los Angeles’ Orpheum Theater. Thom, Joey Waronker, Mauro Refosco, Flea and Nigel Godrich will play material from his 2006 album The Eraser as well as new songs.
Local act Lucky Dragons will support.
Radiohead is not breaking up.
As previously reported, Thom Yorke released the FeelingPulledApartbyHorses/The Hollow Earth 12-inch on September 21. The single will be released digitally October 6. Both tracks were produced by Nigel Godrich and mastered by Bob Ludwig.
Listen up, Twi-Hards! The complete list of songs for the The Twilight Saga: New Moon soundtrack was unveiled on Monday. And while an LP filled with fifteen tracks of original and exclusive sounds from hit indie bands like Death Cab, The Killers, and Muse, there’s not a single note featuring beloved series star Robert Pattinson, [...]
THOM YORKE: FeelingPulledApartbyHorses/The Hollow Earth
12-inch out September 21 / Digital single out October 6
Radiohead‘s Thom Yorke is releasing some new music. Here’s a note from the man himself:
Dear Sir or Madam,
 Thom Yorke |
This is to inform you of the release of two more bits of work shortly. They are loosely under the Thom Yorke name this time, although these days it’s all getting kind of blurry. FeelingPulledApartbyHorses is written and played by Jonny [Greenwood - guitar] and I and is a radical rework of an old tune that’s been kicking around without a home since 2001? I think. The Hollow Earth is a bass menace that was born out of the Eraser period but needed a little more time. Both were produced by Nigel Godrich as ever. And mastered by Bob Ludwig.
They are being put out on 12″ with sliced sleeve by Stanley and Tchock.
My sources tell me this will be available from the 21st of September if you’re interested… On sale in the w.a.s.t.e. part of our website (with a gratis download). Or you can go buy it in a good record shop if you are lucky enough to have one near you. Then later on there will be like a normal download thing I think around the 6th of October through the usual channels.
And so it goes. All the best.
Thom
Words by: Lindsay Colip | Images by: Steven Walter
Frequency Festival :: 08.20.09 – 08.22.09 :: St. Polten, Austria
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Frequency Festival, in St. Polten, Austria (outside Vienna), was JamBase’s last stop on our European Festival circuit. For the first time in eight years, the park had been moved from Salzburg to St. Polten and the seven stages had been split into two different parks, the DayPark and NightPark. The DayPark had four stages – The Race Stage (Radiohead, Bloc Party, Kasabian, Jet, Ting Tings, Editors, Subways), The Green Stage (Grace Jones, Little Boots, Enter Shikari, Ska-P), Weekender UK Stage (Airborne Toxic Event, Official Secrets Act, The Black Box Revelation) and the Open Air Stage (bands who won an earlier online contest), while the NightPark had The Electro Floor (Crystal Castles, Eric Prydz, Crystal Method), Urban Art Forms Floor (Carl Cox, MSTRKRFT), and NME Floor (Kele Okereke from Bloc Party, Michael Mac vs. Fake Lashes, Andy Rourke from The Smiths). It was a lineup sure to be insane, bringing thousands of teenagers with raging hormones out from their parent’s houses and into the dust.
Thursday, August 20
It was bloody hot and the only appropriate attire was bikinis and boardies. Unless you came fully clothed, in which case you probably ran through the sprinklers or got hosed off by one of the security guards. The overall scene can be described in four words: teenagers on the loose. The average age was 17, maybe even younger. These kids seemed frantic to smoke, drink and make out as much as humanly possible. Which meant that at 3 p.m. on the first day of the fest people were already passing out and slurring their words. What little variety of beverage and food that existed was pretty expensive, and the venue didn’t have any water stands readily available to refill your cup either, so unfortunately you had to keep buying more and more plastic. I also realized how much I appreciated the hand sanitizers that were everywhere at the other festivals but absent here. Toilet paper was also in short supply. So, a hormonally challenged crowd, bad bathrooms (for chicks), blah scenery, no free water and expensive food. My immediate thought was the music better kick ass.
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Glasvegas, a Scottish alt-rock band that had previously under-whelmed me at Melt! Festival (JamBase review here), took the Main Stage first. James Allan (lead vocals, guitar) started the day saying, “Austria, I fucking love you already. The girls are incredible and they aren’t wearing much!” Supporting Allan was Rab Allan (lead guitar, backing vocals), Paul Donoghue (bass) and Caroline McKay (drums). Besides a Christmas record they put out last year, they’ve released just one self-titled studio album. So far it has brought them plenty of press and praise, including being nominated for approximately 13 awards and most notably winning the Phillip Hall Radar Award (NME Awards). They’ve also supported Oasis on tour and are about to play a few dates with U2. So why do I still think this is an incredibly boring band? I simply can’t get into their overly dramatic (but not in a fun Editors or White Lies way) and uninspiring sound. Am I missing something?
From here I went over to the Green Stage to catch Enter Shikari, the opening band on tour with The Prodigy this summer. The crowd seemed extremely amped up way before the guys even came onstage. When they finally ran out, I understood why. This is a high-octane, head banging, post-hardcore screamo band from the U.K. Electronica mixed with hard beats, dirty bass and plenty of screaming. This isn’t my scene, however to be fair, they were really entertaining. Roughton “Rou” Reynolds (vocals, electronics), Liam “Rory” Clewlow (guitar, vocals), Chris Batten (bass, vocals) and Rob Rolfe (drums) played their instruments with energy and style, spinning and jumping and beating the crap out of the poor things. They played plenty of songs off of their new album, Common Dread, and I fully understand why The Prodigy would want this in your face, energetic act on the ticket.
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Back to the Main Stage, where Jet had just started. This Aussie rock ‘n’ roll band was at its best again today. The crowd loved their old school rock sound, singing enthusiastically along to favorites “Are You Gonna Be My Girl?” and “Cold Hard Bitch.” They played several from their new album, Shaka Rock as well, including “She’s A Genius” (which is definitely the song to download) and “Beat On Repeat.” Frontman Nic Cester was singing/screaming his heart out and his scratchy voice sounded absolutely perfect live. A highlight of the show was when Cester’s brother and drummer, Chris Cester, sang a few of the songs from behind his drum set, including “Holiday.” The other members rounding out the band were Cameron Muncey (lead guitar) and Mark Wilson (bass). They had to play a very short set, like most of the earliest performers did, so they didn’t get to play very many songs off of their new album, but I think the crowd got the idea. If you like rock ‘n’ roll, you will like this band. Period.
“How’s everybody doin’? We’re The Ting Tings. Pleased to meet ya!” Katie White said as she greeted her audience. The other half of the electro-pop U.K. duo, Jules De Martino, was already out onstage, rocking the keyboard, drums AND guitar, all on one song. These two put on quite an impressive, entertaining show. The wild outfits, the fist pumping/dancing around, the multiple instrument playing and their dynamic stage presence make them a hard act to beat, if you want to dance and sing, that is. They played catchy sing-alongs such as “Great DJ,” “Shut Up and Let Me Go” “Fruit Machine” and ended on mega cult hit “That’s Not My Name.” Although a fantastically entertaining and enthusiastic show, it was the exact same show as Sziget Festival (JamBase review here). If you plan on seeing these guys (and you should) just don’t expect to see something different from show to show. Further, good luck NOT getting “That’s Not My Name” stuck in your head. Impossible.
Kasabian, an alt-rock band from the U.K., blew the crowd away. Tom Meighan (lead vocals), having just been quarantined in Sydney literally DAYS before because of Swine Flu, put on an impressive show. His other bandmates had been sick as well, but nobody showed signs of being sluggish or tired. Meighan was supported by guitarist/backup vocalist Sergio Pizzorno, bassist Chris Edwards, drummer Ian Matthews, touring guitarist Jay Mehler and touring keyboardist Ben Kealey. They played for almost two hours, including packed arena favorites “Club Foot,” “LSF,” “Underdog,” “Processed Beats” and “Shoot the Runner,” as well as newbies off their latest album, West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum, including “Fire” and “Where Did All The Love Go?” Catchy lyrics, good beats, great guitar riffs and a nice blend of rock & roll and electronic, their new album is a definite grab if you like these guys.
Continue reading for Friday’s coverage…
Friday, August 21
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First up was Milow, aka Jonathan Vandenbroeck, a 27-year-old Belgium singer-songwriter. The ONLY reason I had heard of this guy was because his super popular and cheesy 50 Cent cover, “Ayo Technology,” had been on every single radio station since I arrived in Europe back in June. The cover has received more success than the original in Europe and his video has gotten over 20 million hits on YouTube. That being said, Milow wants to be known for more than this cover song. He wants to be taken seriously as a musician and I wanted to give him that chance. What I witnessed was definitely a sensitive singer-songwriter, along the lines of a James Taylor or Bob Mould. He happily sang folksy love song after folksy love song to the semi-confused crowd. Where was the smarmy “Ayo Technology” guy they wanted to see? Vandenbroeck even played a cover of Van Morrison’s “Brown Eyed Girl,” so there’s that. The music was so fluffy and sugared that I had to leave. I couldn’t even stay for his ‘hit’ song.
To put things back on track was Little Boots, aka Victoria Christina Hesketh, an electro-pop singer/musician from the U.K. She plays keys, piano, stylophone and some crazy Japanese instrument called the Tenori-On. Having only put out one studio album, Hands, she’s amassing quite a following and so I wanted to check out the hype. All five feet of her came out smiling in a cute, silver futuristic dress with her bleach blond hair in Princess Lei buns. She certainly resembled Kylie Minogue in size and appearance but in no way did she hold a candle to Miss Minogue’s stage presence, swagger or song quality. Hesketh definitely has something about her – a pleasant sweet voice, a cute package, a desire to get people disco dancing – but she isn’t delivering yet. Her popular songs “New In Town” and “Stuck On Repeat” weren’t catchy lyrically nor made me want to dance. As opposed to say The Ting Tings, who make one want to shake-shake regardless of what they’re playing, what Hesketh might need is for someone to get a hold of her and help her grow into the pop star she has the potential to be. I was hoping for much more and perhaps in a year or so, she’ll be someone to enjoy watching.
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Next, it was off to the Main Stage for Bloc Party, where the sold out crowd crushed towards the front for an almost two-hour mega dance/mosh show. Like their performance at Sziget Festival last week, they were high-energy and loads of fun. Old hits “Banquet,” “Hunting for Witches,” “Helicopter,” “Mercury,” “Two More Years,” “This Modern Love” and “Signs” were flung into the air, as well as new single “One More Chance.” Kele Okereke broke a guitar string for the first time in years because of his excesses rocking out, which only brought the crowd into more of a frenzy. The cool thing about this performance was that it was completely different from the setlist at Sziget and Melt! Festival. Thank you, Bloc Party, for shaking it up a bit. Yes, they played several of the same songs, but nothing like the verbatim Oasis or Ting Tings back-to-back shows we saw. Much appreciated. If you want to dance and be yelled at by a frontman with the biggest smile EVER, go see these guys. A fun sing-and-dance-along show.
And then came Radiohead. The most impressive crowd I’ve seen all summer pushed, shoved and finally crunched itself into a tight Tetris like formation and waited for Thom Yorke and company to come out and smack the absolute shit out of them. I couldn’t keep my eyes off Jonny Greenwood (“the mad scientist” as photographer Walt calls him), who seamlessly goes from ATTACKING his guitar to tinkering on the piano to making beat after wicked beat on whatever the hell he uses. There are so many wires, buttons and gadgets that he uses that it’s impossible to tell what’s going on, which makes the sound even more impressive. You can’t understand it, nor can you understand how the hell Yorke comes up with the music. The stage was set like last year’s tour, with the hanging icicle lights glowing with crazy colors. The HD screens were back as well, with close-up shots of each of the member’s face/body parts. Honestly, the show was leaps and bounds more remarkable than any I’ve seen since my arrival in Europe that it’s almost unfair to compare. Radiohead is a different league of musicians/creators/aliens.
Radiohead Setlist
15 Step, There There, Airbag, All I Need, Kid A, The National Anthem, Nude, Weird Fishes/Arpeggi, The Gloaming, Myxomatosis, Climbing Up The Walls, Street Spirit (Fade Out), Videotape, Jigsaw Falling Into Place, Karma Police, Bodysnatchers, Idioteque
Encore: These Are My Twisted Words, Pyramid Song, Reckoner, (Nice Dream), Paranoid Android
Encore 2: Everything In Its Right Place
Continue reading for Saturday’s coverage…
Saturday, August 22
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What is it with festivals either having extreme heat or excessive rain? To see if we really want to be here? To prove our dedication to the love of music? Regardless, despite heavy rains, the performances started on time and the first show on Sunday was Port O’Brien, a folk-indie rock group from Northern California. A little bit Modest Mouse, a little bit Vetiver, these guys sang their folk hearts out to a very small but dedicated crowd (because it was pouring rain). The band started out as folk duo Van Pierszalowski and Cambria Goodwin and soon after they added a rhythm section of Caleb Nichols and Joshua Barnhart. Pierszalowski works on his father’s fishing boat up on Kodiak Island, Alaska while Goodwin holds the title of head baker back on shore at Larsen Bay, and THIS is where they get most of their musical inspiration. Songs about being stuck at sea, living amongst beautiful wilderness, surviving the freezing cold weather, isolation and longing are beautifully penned by the duo. They harmonized and twanged their way through several songs off Threadbare, their new album coming out October 2009. A very pleasant, appealing, folksy sing-along band, Port O’Brien is definitely one to keep an eye on.
Cue The Sounds The Swedish new wave, punk synth pop group is led by a hottie in stilettos named Maja Ivarsson. A total Blondie throwback, she grinds, gyrates, squats and curses her way through each song, giving the front row quite a show. Although she has an incredibly sexy and tough stage presence, she remains approachable by constantly thanking the crowd for their support. The only problem is her voice is not good. It’s not bad or annoying, per se, but it’s just blah and flat, which sucks because she looks hot (unbelievable legs) and seems like a fireball. And the band behind her looked fantastic as well (think A Flock of Seagulls) and played their hearts out. The songs are actually quite good, too. Catchy lyrics, great synth, good dance beats, Atari sounds here and there, it all works for a fun dance band, EXCEPT her voice. Their third album, Crossing the Rubicon, came out this summer and they played several songs from it including “No One Sleeps When I’m Awake.” They also played some of their more popular songs, including “Painted By Numbers” (which I really enjoyed), “Living In America” and “Tony The Beat.” I’ll give them another try when Ivarsson gets some vocal training. Then again, what do I know; I like Crystal Castles and Alice Glass’ voice sounds like cars crashing.
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The Subways took the stage and even though the rain held, the crowd moved in. I had been introduced to this U.K. alt-rock band at Sziget Festival and although I didn’t like the music necessarily, I LOVED the performance. Billy Lunn (lead vocals, guitar) and Charlotte Cooper (bass, backing vocals) are so much fun to watch thrashing about onstage. And Cooper certainly thrashes; it looks as if her head is going to pop right off with each head thrust. Lunn dances and twirls about, frequently yelling at the crowd to “get craaaaazy!” amongst other things. They play with such intensity and enthusiasm that it is impossible to not join the party. Now that I knew the songs better, I really enjoyed the performance. I can honestly say that I probably will never buy one of their albums, but I wouldn’t miss one of their shows if they came to town.
After another 30 minutes of pouring rain, the Editors took the stage. Ah, how perfectly dramatic this U.K. dark indie group can be, reminiscent of a Phantom of the Opera performance – moody, dramatic, sexy, theatrical. Taking your eyes off of Tom Smith (lead vocals, guitar, keys) is impossible. He sings each song with such passion and enthusiasm it would be rude not to give him your full attention. With his booming, commanding voice he silences the crowd and stirs them into a frenzy as well. “Blood,” “All Sparks” and “Munich” were huge hits at this set, but really every song was just as good as the next. Their new album, In the Light and On This Evening, will be released in October, and from what I’ve heard it’s a little more synth friendly/heavy than previous albums. Based on the live versions it works as fantastic, dark indie disco rock.
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All in all, Frequency Festival was sub par. The lineup was indeed great, with highlights being Radiohead, Editors, Jet, Kasabian, The Subways and Bloc Party. The crowd, however, was SUPER YOUNG, and it actually made more of a difference to my enjoyment than I’d expected. Excess pushing, shoving, drunkenness, shenanigans and a blatant disregard for others made it difficult to enjoy the scene. The food was so expensive that most people went to the supermarket down the street, which was an absolute shit storm each morning. Drink prices were hefty as well, prompting people to get completely sloshed before heading into the grounds. The fact that it was balls hot at times – so hot that people were passing out left and right – and so wet at other times that you had to fully commit to being soaked and frozen for the day, was unfortunate. But, alas, the Festival Gods wanted it that way. The grounds were nothing special nor interesting, especially after being to Melt! Festival (amongst the enormous At-Ats) and Sziget (set on an island in the Danube). Hell, even Lollapalooza, sitting amongst the beautiful cityscape of Chicago, or Sasquatch!, nestled at The Gorge in Washington, or even Outside Lands, perfectly placed in Golden Gate Park… now THOSE are settings for festivals, not some random patch of grass and gravel an hour outside of Vienna.
The music always saves the day. In this case, hearing Kasabian belt out “Fire,” Bloc Party rip open “Banquet,” The Ting Tings bop up and down to “Great DJ,” Editors croon to “Munich” and Radiohead serenade us with “Videotape” made everything okay. Better than okay, really. The point of these festivals is always the music and sometimes we get greedy. But hey, if you’re dishing out money in this day and age it better be worth it, right? That’s the whole point of the review, to answer the questions, “Who is worth opening my thin wallet for? Who deserves my love and affection?” I dare say, unless the lineup is off the freaking charts (Radiohead all day, every day?) then this is NOT the festival to propel you overseas. We never even made it over to the NightPark because the crowds were too insane (and not in a good way) and the lines to get on buses were outrageous (especially when it’s pouring rain). I’m sure that Crystal Castles, MSTRKRFT, Eric Prydz and The Crystal Method kicked ass because they did at all the other festivals. Frequency Festival is not to be frequented… unless you’re 17. Then, get after it!!!
Continue reading for more photos of Frequency Festival 2009…
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 Enter Shikari
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 Glasvegas
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 Jet
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 Eagles of Death Metal
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 Eagles of Death Metal
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 Radiohead
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 The Sounds
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 The Sounds
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 The Ting Tings
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 The Subways
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 The Subways
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 Little Boots
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 Kasabian
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 Kasabian
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 Milow
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 Port O’Brien
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JamBase | Austria
Go See Live Music!
