Cody ElamIt’s now officially the third day of spring, and along with blistering winter weather, the music festival season is upon us. The first big festival has already passed (South by Southwest descended upon Austin, Texas over spring break), but there is an upcoming festival for every genre, artist and obscure indie band out there. So gather up your pup tent, grab your sunscreen, and start prepping those dredlocks. Festival season has arrived.
Excess in Texas at South by Southwest
For four days, the nexus of the music universe could be found in Austin, Texas. From March 15-19, with over 1,400 bands performing at 60 bars and clubs, live music blew like the wind, day and night. Strolling down Sixth Street in downtown Austin, the key changed every nine yards and 4/4 beats paced passersby. It was the 20th annual South by Southwest Music Festival (SXSW), and the streets buzzed with distortion pedals and thumped with bass drums. This year drew the festival’s biggest crowds ever, leaving the city littered with music snobs and raging hipsters.
Groups of young men walked coolly down the street, sporting shaggy hair, tight pants and Converse shoes while bearing guitars and rock attitudes. You knew they were in a band. There were dishevelled press geeks, hurriedly toting their bags and pens, with shiny yellow badges dangling from their necks. They were the ones, along with the big-city talent-seekers, who could turn these bands from local blogabouts into college radio darlings. And then there were the fans, living out their musical wet dreams, sweating through ass-to-elbow packed clubs and fighting their way to the front to get an earful of their favorite bands.
The story of this year’s SXSW was about the masses. Mobs of people crammed their way into tiny clubs, and even the bigger venues with balconies had block-long lines out the doors, with eager fans praying they could make it in. It was up to the bands to harness the heat and energy from the swarms of people, distract them from their sweating heads and make them bob to the music. The Flaming Lips may have done it best, asking everyone repeatedly to sing as loud as possible. It worked, since the band opened with Queen’s anthem “Bohemian Rhapsody” and sing-along favorites like “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots.”
The scene was overwhelming for some groups, like Rodeo Carburetor, a tight emo-core group from Japan that finished its first song by saying, “We are all very nervous because that was the first song we’ve ever played in America.” Dungen, a Swedish psychedelic rock band, announced that “we are all so very tired because we just got off of the plane 20 minutes ago, and we haven’t slept in 48 hours.” Dirty Pretty Things, a fiery new band from England, scuffled with Austin police after their set was cut short to a mere 20 minutes and had to be forced offstage.
There were also the spoiled festival favorites, big bands on the small indie scene that only had to play their songs to please crowds. Among them were New Yorker newcomers Clap Your Hands Say Yeah who sang lazy melodies over dance-rock rhythms, the poppy beats of The Go! Team and, of course, everybody’s new favorite band Arctic Monkeys.
But SXSW wasn’t so much about complimenting the already-praised as it was a chance for smaller acts to strut their musical stuff. Keisho Ohno, a jazz-funk quartet featuring the shamisen, a Japanese folk instrument, improvised like a jam band. Die Die Die! didn’t mind playing the New Zealand showcase to a smaller crowd, with the lead singer crawling across the floor and screaming while the drummer drenched himself with sweat. Japan, Scotland and Australia all offered showcases that gave American fans a chance to catch bands that can’t make it overseas.
Bands didn’t play feature concerts but rather short sets, a sampler platter of their best music. Up-and-coming bands like Tapes ‘N Tapes, Octopus Project, and the Spinto Band had to prove that they belonged among the elite of indie rock. Bands played not only to win new fans but also for the recognition of magazine writers and record execs.
But SXSW wasn’t a competition. It was a celebration. Festival-goers were treated to free beer and food at day parties, free ice cream on the street and free energy drinks and vitamin water thrown from trucks. Corporate sponsors sought the attention of the indie crowd like a rich kid trying to party with the high school dropouts. The venues and streets were a collage of advertisements, with parties catering to trendsetters and sponsored by hip brands like Fader and Jane magazines, Levi’s Jeans and DKNY.
If there was one trend that was set at this year’s festival, it was in the music. Every other band played songs with rock guitars and dance beats. It’s as if bands are collectively realizing that it might be better for fans to move their own bodies and not push each other with fury. Bands also seemed happier, given the likes of sugary pop groups such as Of Montreal, Mates of State and The Magic Numbers. The music of the festival was in many ways the same as when the event was founded 20 years ago, with chipper melodies, fuzzy synthesizers and danceable drumbeats. It’s a welcome change for rigid hipsters: music that can spring a bit of pep into their legs.
Coachella
Dates: April 29-30
Location: Indio, Calif.
Price: $85 (+ $1 to charity) for one-day pass; $165 (+ $1 to charity) for two-day pass
Artists: Depeche Mode, Franz Ferdinand, Sigur Ros, My Morning Jacket, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Cat Power, Massive Attack, Madonna, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Go! Team and more
Buy Tickets: wella.com/tickets
Bonnaroo
Dates: June 16-18
Location: Manchester, Tenn.
Price: $184.50 for a three-day pass
Artists: Radiohead, Tom Petty, Beck, Elvis Costello and the Imposters, Bonnie Raitt, Death Cab for Cutie, moe., Bright Eyes, Bela Fleck, Ben Folds, Matisyahu and more
Buy Tickets: www.bonnaroo.com/2006
Beale Street
Dates: May 5-7
Location: Memphis, Tenn.
Price: $20 for one-day pass; $49.50 for three-day pass (in advance)
Artists: B. B. King, Train, Cake, Huey Lewis and the News, George Clinton and Parliament/Funkadelic, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Blues Traveler, James Brown and more
Buy Tickets: www.memphisinmay.org
Pitchfork
Dates: July 29-30
Location: Union Park, Chicago, Ill.
Price: $20 for one-day pass, $30 for two-day pass
Artists: 36 bands including Spoon, Yo La Tengo, Silver Jews, Ted Leo/Pharmacists, Aesop Rock, Mountain Goats, The National, Jens Lekman, Tapes ‘n Tapes, Hot Machines and more
Buy Tickets: www.pitchforkmusicfestival.com