Giant Robot Store and GR2 News
TVOTR at the Hollywood Bowl
Last Friday may have been the first day of autumn, but the last day of summer was a couple of days later on Sunday. That’s when TV on The Radio and Arctic Monkeys co-headlined a killer show at the Hollywood Bowl. The historic venue was built on classical and jazz, and typically only books rock shows on special occasions. People still talk about The Beatles, Stones, and Doors gigs there back in the ’60s. Nowadays it’s Radiohead and Pavement, so it was a big deal when a gang of mostly younger bands took the stage to close out the season.
Smith Westerns, Warpaint, and Panda Bear/Sonic Boom at the Hollywood Bowl
Smith Westerns kicked off the show at the super early hour of six. A tough slot since most fans were probably picking up picnic food at Trader Joe’s on the way to the venue, but the Chicago band powered through a 20-minute sampler of their short-but-solid catalog of proto-glam lo-fi. Pretty cool, but I need to see them at a smaller venue for a real take. Warpaint was next and jammed from the moment the Batcave-like stage spun them to face the crowd until it spun them back. The hometown band was great in it’s trademark folk-meets-goth manner with heavy drums that are as spectacular as the Siouxsie-esque vocals. (I hope the drummer gets a little extra love on the next release…) I caught some of Panda Bear’s set at FYF last year, and this set was way, way better. Two guys behind a table is at least twice as interesting than one to watch, but what if the extra guy is Sonic Boom from Spacemen 3? It was like a passing of the torch from one indietronica/stoner music god from the past to the present. The gorgeous sunset, trippy lights, and post-Beach Boys, dub-infused, analog-tronica made every stoners’ night.
OFF! at FYF 2011
One of my favorite photographers is Glen E. Friedman. I was lucky enough to meet him at a few book signings and correspond with him when Giant Robot mag ran a series of articles on Asian-American skaters from the Dogtown days. Friedman’s first proper book was called Fuck You Heroes, and it’s a hardcover that all of you should own. It captures his crisp but natural images from crucial points in counterculture from skateboarding to punk rock to rap, and features heavyweights like Alva, Adams, Black Flag, Minor Threat, Bad Brains, Beastie Boys, and Public Enemy. Not only was he there to witness and capture the energy, but he also vocally espouses the P.M.A., veganism, and other worthy beliefs and causes. Yes. So I was stoked when released his next book with outtake and ancillary images called Fuck You Too. I would never compare my skills to Friedman’s, but in that spirit, here are some extra pics from last weekend’s FYF that are too good to let rot on the hard drive (and might earn me points toward another photo pass next year). A little commentary, too.
Steven McDonald of OFF! at FYF
OFF! is an instant hit decades in the making. If you add up the members’ years of experience of playing kick-ass punk rock ‘n’ roll (Black Flag, Circle Jerks, Redd Kross, Rocket From The Crypt, Earthless, Clikatat Ikatowi, 411, Burning Brides…) the total might approach 100 years–and it shows in a good way.
Japandroids at FYF 2011
This pic of Japandroids is a little blown out, but it accurately conveys how hot it was.
Mario, Keith, and Steve at FYF Fest 2011
Another awesome summer, another awesome Fuck Yeah Fest. As promised, a lot of improvements went into this year’s all-day music festival just north of Downtown L.A., including a vastly improved entry system insuring no lines when I arrived around 2:30, way more port-a-potties, and extra food trucks and vendors that didn’t run out of vegetarian dishes as quickly. For me, the biggest upgrade was a photo pass. Yes! I gladly bought a ticket from my local record store months ago, but how could I say no when one was offered? With great power comes great responsibility, though, and I had to alter my show-going strategy and leave before many sets were over in order to catch the first three songs of other sets (when the photographers were allowed to do their thing). It was more of a challenge than a problem–kind of like being faced with a huge buffet of your favorite foods but only being allowed to sample some of them.
Dimitri and Keith going OFF!
On Saturday, I arrived at Los Angeles State Historic Park just in time to catch the end of Ty Segall’s set and jump in the photo pit to see OFF! It was kind of a fitting to start off the day with the local punkers/instant legends, since they were a total highlight of the previous year’s edition. There weren’t many new songs for the all-star band featuring members of Black Flag, Redd Kross, and Rocket From The Crypt to play or stories for Keith to tell, but OFF! never gets old with its ferocious (yet seasoned) riffs and angry (and smart) lyrics. This time around, they were on a larger stage and easily drew a strong crowd–not to mention the largest dust storm of the day. I saw a couple people get dragged out of the crowd with glazed eyes, bloody noses, and various states of dehydration. Every time I see OFF! it feels special (a free show at midnight, a packed in-store, etc.) and this homecoming gig following a bunch of tours was no exception.