@ZackTeibloom Thursday of the second weekend at Jazz Fest is always the least crowded. It’s great for getting from stage to stage, but makes crashing a lot harder. I got to the entrance a little before noon and noticed there were about 8 ticket takers and none seemed overwhelmed in the half hour I was scoping them out. I mention this, because usually you can waltz through the out door with no one paying attention, but so few people were going in the fest that I had to sidle my way in.

I leaned against the fence and pretended to be on my phone. OK I was actually on the phone, tweeteing “The moment right before a crash and getting pulled over by a cop feel identical. One happening this second. One happened last night…” The only difference is getting pulled over by a cop is torture and the moment before a crash is an absolute thrill. Read the rest of this entry »

@ZackTeibloom Grammy Award winner for Bluegrass album of the year Steve Martin wants to be taken seriously as a musician. And with good reason. Sure, he gets the attention because of his comedy, and it is a part of his act, but it’s music first. Even if the music is a funny song about how Atheists have no songs (the Jews have Havana Nagila.)

Martin is backed by the Steep Canyon Rangers, a tight group of guys comprised of an upright bass, acoustic guitar, mandolin, fiddle, another banjo and harmonies. It may be tongue in cheek some of the time, but it’s a tight band playing real bluegrass. But he’s Steve Martin. As Andy might phrase it, “he can’t not tell jokes.” And most of them were dryer than my mouth after chomping a bunch of crawfish.  Read the rest of this entry »

@AndyShore Zack and I finish up our Coachella 2010 coverage to kick off Episode #5. We touch on the disappointments that were Gorillaz and Sly Stone. We discuss the super groups and side projects that defined Coachella. A debate springs out as to which category Atoms For Peace, the Dead Weather, Them Crooked Vultures and Street Sweeper Social Club fall under. Debate spills over into our Jazz Fest 2010 coverage, as we talk about the scheduling conflicts of weekend two. Zack also talks about crashing Jazz Fest, and the time he got caught.

Listen here.

@ZackTeibloom I’m in full Jazz Fest Hype mode. I’m leaving straight from work. The car is packed up with a full tank of gas and a fresh oil change, I’ve got a care package full of Sun Chips,* more than enough sandwiches, downloaded the Jazz Fest App and have my conflicts resolved. Last night I left Kappel a voice mail where I said HYPE approximately 35 times. In my mind, I’m already there.

I’ll get to cross a few legends off my list (I’m lookin’ at you Aretha, Van and Jeff Beck) throw down some crawfish, find some new favorite artists and go festivaling with two of my favorites. Sami is a festival goddess and I’m lucky to be crashing at her place again, while Kappel is a festival legend who I’ve yet to see more than a show with. A whole weekend with them is so promising I can’t sit still. Much like all festivals this year, I am going without a ticket or pass. It’s festival crashing time.

Read the rest of this entry »

@ZackTeibloom Unless you’re at Phish festival 8, it’s rare to hear an acoustic and regular set by a band in the same day. Local Natives packed Waterloo like no in-store show I’ve seen this year and sold out Antone’s after having been moved there from Emo’s to accommodate the demand to see them.

That’s what eight SXSW shows will bring you. They live up to the hype every time. I literally ran into Coachella last Sunday, leaving my friends in the parking lot, and booked it across the grounds so I could catch the last half of the LA band’s homecoming set. Austin can’t get enough of my favorite new band of 2010 either. Local Natives was the toast of SXSW and proved why they needed two shows and a bigger venue Friday, as they swept the day-night double header. Read the rest of this entry »

@JordanLipshutz Little 500 2010 kicked off Thursday night with the Flaming Lips playing to a sold out crowd at IU Auditorium. Despite being confined to a small auditorium, the Lips brought all of their toys out to play. The band took the stage one by one, emerging from a giant strobe-lit vagina. Then lead singer, Wayne Coyne, appeared in his infamous transparent “space bubble” despite being advised not to by IU Auditorium staff. Wayne only walked to the edge of the stage in the space bubble, because the auditorium staff feared the crowd would not be able to support him. The crowd was less than thrilled at this, but still swelling with energy as the Lips launched into “Worm Mountain,” a song they recorded with MGMT on their latest album. Read the rest of this entry »

@AndyShore Coachella 2010 marked the beginning of festival season for this Crasher. Zack already got his feet wet at SXSW. He made his way to Cali sans ticket, as did my little brother, Rob. @MattSilver decided to tag along last minute. It was fun to have everyone together, and especially hilarious to watch Matt soil himself as he crashed on Friday. Zack got to cross off his #5 on our artists we still need to see list. He recently informed me he has filled that spot with Prince. Can’t say I disagree with that move. Too bad we weren’t at Coachella 2008. Speaking of Coachalla and lists, here’s my top-10 best shows at Coachella 2010. Hope you enjoy the list half as much as I enjoyed the fest. Read the rest of this entry »

@AndyShore The only remaining contestants that I could care less about are Tim Urban and Aaron Kelly. Urban has actually been decent the last few weeks, and his looks win him points with the young, female American Idol voting public. Kelly should go home this week. The theme this week is inspirational songs. Alicia Keys is the mentor. I have always been a fan of hers. She’s beautiful, and has a great set of…pipes. I generally like the songs she’s featured on, more than her own material. I hope she can get some of the singers to push themselves vocally. She hits the high notes, and I’d like to see some of these contestants push themselves. Read the rest of this entry »

@AndyShore Phoenix didn’t waste any time at Coachella 2010, opening their set with fan favorite “Lisztomania.” Thomas Mars knows what the fans want. He moves about the stage, goes into the crowd and lies against the stage with his head on his monitor. All the classic rock and roll moves. What’s most impressive about Mars is the notes he hits live. You hear some of those notes he reaches on the album, and doubt it can be replicated live. Mars not only does that, but repeats the choruses over and over as the fans sing along. He’s among the best frontmen around. Read the rest of this entry »