photo by Shannon Solie

Each year, Noise for the Needy raises money for Seattle charities – which in the past included Teen Feed, Urban Rest Stop, Roots Youth Shelter and Music for America – through a series of concerts and events. The 2013 festival takes over Ballard this week and benefits Ballard Food Bank, which for the past 40 years has served more than 1,000 households each week and aims to bring food to those in need in the Ballard, Magnolia and Queen Anne neighborhoods.

This year, Noise for the Needy runs June 20th through June 23rd at Tractor Tavern, Conor Byrne and Hattie’s Hat and features Said The Whale, Battleme, Orgone, Polyrhythmics, “JD and The Schmitty Boys”, Julia Massey and The Five Finger Discount, Kris Orlowski, Hot Bodies In Motion, River Giant, Smokey Brights, Kris Orlowski and many others. Capping off the great weekend of music will be an all-ages family show on Sunday at the new outdoor venue and beer garden Hattie’s Party Lot, behind Hattie’s Hat.

To purchase tickets for the weekend, visit their web site. Watch videos of this year’s performers below:

Lillian Maring of Ruby Pins

On any given weekend in Seattle, there are a million amazing shows to see - from jazz at a coffee shop or theater, to a grunge show at a DIY space, to a major act at any one of our large venues. Maybe this weekend you want to try something new, maybe you heard one song by this small electronic, folk, grunge group, maybe it as on Audioasis, maybe it was from a friend, or maybe you’re just tired of what you’ve been previously listening to. Luckily for you, as Audioasis has demonstrated over and over again, the PNW is ripe with local acts. Because we love the amazing diversity of venues, art spaces, producers, bookers, musicians, and talent, we’re going to suggest a few. This week we recommend Nightmare Fortress with Grey Gardens, Haunted Horses and Music for Evenings; Naomi Punk, Ruby Pins and FF at Black Lodge; Calvin Johnson, Priests and Fucking Dyke Bitches at Heartland.

Thursday June 20th:

Flatfield Records is releasing the compilation Twitch and Gloam: Dark Sounds From the Pacific Northwest, which pulls together the perfect atmospheric collection of brooding, screeching, experimental and otherwise finely/obliquely crafted heavy burners of tracks ever created in the PNW. Several of the bands are performing at the release party, and benefit for Capitol Hill Housing Foundation, at Chop Suey this Thursday, including Nightmare Fortress with their hazy eerie ultraviolet synth rock powered by Alicia Amiri’s ominously soaring vocals and Haunted Horses who’re likely to overpower the audience with the steeply scary electronic one-twos. Also performing is Grey Gardens with their classic garage tinged sound with darker wanderings, and ambling one-man electronic spookster Music for Evenings. The comp itself also features the genius works of groups like Vancouver’s //zoo, Mode Moderne, Vice Device, Grave Babies, and more. Chop Suey, 8:30pm, 8$, 21+. More info here.

Twitch and Gloam:

Nightmare Fortress:

Haunted Horses:

Saturday June 22nd:

You won’t need “discerning eardrums” so much as a discerning intuition to turn the madness of heavy drone vibrations into the kind of raw emotions that this kind of music can evoke. When that moment happens - tiny shifts in the vibrations and noises that break through the simplicity and effect you as much as a power chord or pop harmony - you’ll find yourself returning to shows like this over and over again. You might actually get to dance to the Phine Gage‘s elastic beats as they waver within the electronic-apocalyptic soundscapes. Simic and Time Eater open. Hollow Earth Radio, 8:30pm, $8, all-ages. More info here.

Phine Gage:

Sunday June 23rd:

Although many people know about San Francisco’s Grass Widow, few know about the side project of Grass Widow’s Lillian Maring, called Ruby Pins. Born out of the death of a close friend, Ruby Pins sounds somewhat similar to her other project except that rather than having three voices ricocheting as one clattering voice, in Ruby Pins the voice is solitary, the bass is heavier, and the subject matter ranges from dark to darker. “I wanted to make a pop album that talks about sexual harassment and death,” she has said. Ruby Pins will be performing with some excellent Seattle bands: loud as it pleases Naomi Punk, post-punk dreamers FF, and Vex. Black Blodge, 9:00. More info here.

Ruby Pins:

FF:

Sunday June 23rd:

Pair two basically punk queer power female rocking bands with the odd rhythms and rhymes of K Records infamous Calvin Johnson and you have a guaranteed fantastic evening. Last time I saw Calvin was at Vera Project as part of the K Records tour Love Songs for Lamps Roadshow. He was grasping the mic and staring directly into the eyes of his audience as his gravely voice sternly wavered on. The performance is seared in my memory as being both starkly weird and excitingly moving. Supporting Calvin are the hard hitting reclamation-punks Fucking Dyke Bitches, whose pointedly offensive name recently stirred up some drama in Nashville - and Priests, the Chain and the Gang member Katie Alice Greer’s screeching semi-political side-project. Heartland, NO JERKS, NO BOOZE, 8 PM. Info here.

Fucking Dyke Bitches:

Priests:

Honorable Mentions:

Tuesday, June 18th brings you KEXP favorites Chastity Belt with LA Font, Dude York, and Punishment at Therapy Lounge. On Friday the 21st, you can catch some generally pop noise over at Hollow Earth with Olympia’s HOT FRUIT with Sweet Potatoes, Bushtit, Monkey Escalator, and Sick Sad World. On Saturday, June 22, you can catch some experimental guitar ramblings with K Record’s Angelo Spencer with Ben Von Wildhaus, and The Correspondents at Cairo or if you prefer hip-hop go to the Vera Project and catch Knowmads with Key Nyata, PondScum, and Special Guests.

Also, while most of these shows are at all ages venues, keep in mind if you’re +21, this weekend is the Vera Project’s A Drink for the Kids. If you’re going to get a drink, you might as well benefit one of Seattle’s all-ages venues!

photo by David Lichterman

• Foals have accompanied their electronic crescendo-filled track “Bad Habit” off their most recent album Holy Fire with a video that’s fit for the big screen. Wandering through the desert after a siren like woman, singer Yannis Philippakis is desperate for something more than water. Slowly the illusions crumble and he is left with a million grains of sand and only himself for company. [Stereogum]

• Two years after their debut LP, Black Up, Shabazz Palaces have a video out for their track “An Echo From the Hosts That Professes Infinitum”. Featuring glitching coastal waves and a mysterious ninja figure in a black mask, the track explains the title, reverberations of spectral raps waver in and out. Near the middle, the song goes eerily almost silent. While everyone is hoping Shabazz Palaces is almost done with an anticipated follow up album, at the very least they are giving us videos like this.  [Stereogum]

• Okkervil River have a lyric video for their track “It Was My Season” from their upcoming album, Silver Gymnasium. Frontman Will Sheff explained that the album “takes place in 1986 in a small town in New Hampshire,” which is depicted in this video, shot in Plainfield, NH, near Sheff’s hometown of Meriden, NH. It features a stage set painted in 1916 for a local play.” [Pitchfork]

• Today you can stream Smith Westerns‘s album Soft Will at NPR. The band’s rock pop sound is now a bit smoother, a bit more produced. From the first lyrics, “It’s easier to think you’re dumb”, to the very end, the album is gloriously slick and hits just in time for summer. Their album will be out June 25th on Mom+Pop.

• Seizure inducing LA art-rap trio clipping. has officially been signed to Sub Pop. Care to see just how great Sub Pop is? Check out clipping.’s experience being signed by the Seattle independent titan at Impose, and listen to ”midcity” below.

• Summer also means it’s time for Adult Swim to start releasing singles as a part of their Singles Series. Last week we got “36″ Chain” from Run the Jewels, and today we get “Barbie Jeep” about dancing when you aren’t sure if you should from Kitty (minus the Pryde these days) produced by Hot Sugar. Look out for more tracks from the likes of Metz, Mac Demarco, and Andy Stott.

This week of live performances kicks off Monday with Joseph Arthur at the Triple Door and Pony Time, Burnt Ones, Stickers and Detective Agency at Chop Suey. If you can’t make it out Monday, Tuesday has some fantastic gigs, including Quadron, Nolle Durham, Seattle Soul and J-Justice at Nectar. Or if a more intimate setting is your thing, check out Geto Boys, Dirtay, Cliff the Sav, Knothead and Aquino at El Corazon. On Wednesday, Hands: “Kill Rock Star Records” with Panama Gold and The Fame Riot will be at The Sunset Tavern. Looking for mellow grooves? Go see Damian & Stephen Marley at Marymoor Park. For expertise in looped soul, check out Emily Wells at the Crocodile. Down in Columbia City at the Royal Room, rapper Spekulation teams up with members of The Seattle Rock Orchestra and The Teaching. Back in Capitol Hill, The Intelligence plays with La Luz and Pony Time at Neumos and Patty Griffin is at the Neptune Theatre. On Thursday, KEXP’s Audioasis Community Partnership Concert – Twitch and Gloam: Dark Sounds from the Pacific Northwest with Nightmare Fortress, Grey Gardens, haunted Horses and Music for Evenings will be at Chop Suey.

Also, Noise for the Needy kicks off Thursday at the Tractor Tavern with Said the Whale, Brite Lines and Ghost Town Riot. On Friday, The Dandy Warhols headline the Showbox Market and Noise for the Needy boasts two separate venue performances: at The Sunset, Battleme, River Giant and the Smokey Brights will be rockin’ out and Polyrhythmics and Orgone will jam funky at the Tractor Tavern. At Shoreline’s favorite Roadhouse, The Radio Nationals, Hard Money Saints, The Riffbrokers and The Hathaways will be at Darrell’s Tavern. Get ready because Saturday boasts the biggest score of live shows of the week: Come, The Redwood Plan and No Grave will play the Crocodile. Peal Jam’s Mike McCready will play along with Chris Friel Orchestra and The Young Evils, along with KEXP DJ’s, at the Chilhuly Boathouse. Noise for the Needy has three shows for their benefit weekend, with Julia Massey & The Five Finger Discount, The Great UM and The Jesus Rehab at Conor Byrne. Horse Feathers, Case Studies and Pretty Broken Things play the Tractor Tavern and “The Rolling Stones,” JD & The Schmitty Boys, The Blakes, Sassparilla, Ole Tinder and The Chasers will play Hattie’s Hat. Camera Obscura and Marissa Nadler are downtown at the Showbox Market. In the mood for some old-fashion blues? Hear Lonesome Shack with Water Liars and Baltic Cousins at the Comet Tavern. Rounding out Saturday night, The Torn ACLs, The Lower 48 and Blooper will be at Columbia City Theater. Sunday, Pressed And and It is Rain in My Face play the Rendezvous’s Jewelbox Theater. Check out the full list of recommended shows for the week below:

Monday, June 17, 2013

Joseph Arthur at Triple Door (info)

Los Headaches, Los Vincent Black Shadows, Sweet Pups, Blue Ribbon Boys at Lo-Fi (info)

Pony Time, Burnt Ones, Stickers, Detective Agency at Chop Suey (info)

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Quadron, Nolie Durham, Seattle Soul, J-Justice at Nectar (info)

Geto Boys, Dirtay, Cliff the Sav, Knothead, Aquino at El Corazon (info)

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Hands: “Kill Rock Star Records” with Panama Gold, The Fame Riot at Sunset Tavern (info)

The Front Bottoms, Weatherbox at Vera Project (info)

Damian & Stephen Marley, Ghetto Youths Crew, The Green at Marymoor Park (info)

Emily Wells, 1939 Ensemble, Whitney Ballen at Crocodile (info)

The Intelligence, La Luz, Pony Time at Neumos (info)

Patty Griffin at Neptune Theatre (info)

Cayucas, JBM at Barboza (info)

Thursday, June 20, 2013

John Grant at Barboza (info)

Audioasis Community Partnership Concert - Twitch and Gloam: Dark Sounds from the Pacific Northwest with Nightmare Fortress, Grey Gardens, Haunted Horses, Music for Evenings at Chop Suey (info)

Noise for the Needy - Said the Whale, Brite Lines, Ghost Town Riot at Tractor Tavern (info)

CSS, IO Echo at Showbox Market (info)

Friday, June 21, 2013

The Dandy Warhols at Showbox Market (info)

Noise for the Needy - Polyrhythmics, Orgone at Tractor Tavern (info)

Noise for the Needy - Battleme, River Giant, Smokey Brights at Sunset Tavern (info)

Trip Like Animals, Keaton Collective at High Dive (info)

The Radio Nationals, Hard Money Saints, The Riffbrokers, The Hathaways at Darrell’s Tavern (Shoreline) (info)

Saturday, June 22, 2013

The DT’s, Skullbot, Speed Mop, Survey Cez, Billy Dwayne & The Creepers, Vinny Dickinson at Darrell’s Tavern (Shoreline) (info)

Come, The Redwood Plan, No Grave at Crocodile (info)

Ludovic Morlot, Mike McCready, Lukas Nelson, Chris Friel Orchestra, The Young Evils, Scribes, KEXP DJs at Chihuly Boathouse (info)

Noise for the Needy - Julia Massey & The Five Finger Discount, The Great UM, The Jesus Rehab at Conor Byrne (info)

Grant Lee Phillips, Gerald Collier at Triple Door (info)

Noise for the Needy - Horse Feathers, Case Studies, Pretty Broken Things at Tractor Tavern (info)

Camera Obscura, Marissa Nadler at Showbox Market (info)

Lonesome Shack, Water Liars, Baltic Cousins at Comet Tavern (info)

Noise for the Needy - “The Rolling Stones,” JD & The Schmitty Boys, The Blakes, Sassparilla, Ole Tinder, The Chasers at Hattie’s Hat (info)

BellaMaine, Poor Moon, Pure Bathing Culture at Neumos (info)

The Torn ACLs, The Lower 48, Blooper at Columbia City Theater (info)

Sunday, June 23, 2013

Pressed And, It Is Rain in My Face at Rendezvous (info)

Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part our Song of the Day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJs think you should hear. Today’s song, selected by Afternoon Show host Kevin Cole, is “How The West Was Won” by John Vanderslice from the 2013 album Dagger Beach, self-released on Tiny Telephone.

For years now, John Vanderslice has given us brilliant and contemplative songwriting all originating from a foray of influences. Vanderslice took his first album title from a Neutral Milk Hotel tune. He contributed “Karma Police” on Stereogum’s OK X - a covers compilation tributing Radiohead’s OK Computer. Creating a unique mixture of singer/songwriter minimalism and electronic texturing, Vanderslice has long given us a one of a kind listening experience, and if you listen closely enough to his thoughtful lyrics, you can find yourself a changed person. This year, Vanderslice used Kickstarter to fund two records slated for 2013 release. First is his new release of original material Dagger Beach, from which the excellent “How The West Was Won” is pulled. The other is a cover record of David Bowie’s classic Diamond Dogs. Both are out now, and both are worth your full attention.

“How The West Was Won” is an instant classic from Vanderslice. From the getgo, we have a spastic stereo fuzz guitar and drum riff that bounces in a new direction with every listen. The disorienting underlying tone is counteracted perfectly by a warm, bright guitar and bell melody line. The resulting anxious melancholy is par for the course Vanderslice. “Oh, don’t it feel good to be understood tonight?” he sings on the hook. As the track goes on, the pieces slowly fall together more and more until the groove is pure drive. With the lyrical themes in place here, the track itself is a great metaphor for the push-and-pull relationship at hand. “How The West Was Won” is a gorgeous addition to the already stellar John Vanderslice catalogue, and if it doesn’t give you a hankering for more, you’re nuts. The rest of Dagger Beach falls right in line in similarly breathtaking fashion.

John Vanderslice was in town this past weekend, actually, as part of a series of house shows through Undertown. He’ll tour the album officially in the Fall. Keep your eyes peeled and listen to more music by following JV through his website and Facebook page. For now, here he is playing “Convict Lake” from our broadcast at Mellow Johnny’s Bike Shop during SXSW 2011:

More than any other day, Saturday at Bonnaroo was filled with things that could only really happen at the Farm, among them, Björk’s jellyfish facemask thing, R. Kelly entering on a boom crane, a 5k at 9 in the morning (in 80 degree heat), and a moment where Jim James, R. Kelly, Billy Idol, and John Oates were all on the same stage. Things like these explain why “Only at Bonnaroo” has become a sorta mantra at the Farm, because where else would anyone see all of this in one spot? Saturday has the last late night shows of the weekend, and is the last hurrah for anyone who isn’t staying for Sunday, but it’s on par with every other day in it’s own weird way.

Cults - 12:30 – The upside to Cults’ day-starting set is that their debut album (which is nearly two years old at this point) has aged very well. The downside is that, despite having another album in the can, they didn’t play anything but old material, which was a little disappointing. They couldn’t fill their hour-long timeslot, but Madeline Follin and Brian Oblivion were as charming as ever for the 40 or so minutes they were onstage. The band was in fine form, and they seemed like they wanted to be there, but it just would have been nice to hear something new.

Death Grips - 2:15 – Death Grips’ music isn’t particularly accessible and MC Ride’s lyrics are all-but-unintelligible for anyone who isn’t a diehard, but even without Zach Hill on the drums, Death Grips are still a pretty intense live band. They’ve been playing to surprisingly diverse crowds (there were at least four women wearing sorority shirts jamming out in the crowd), and every time, they attract a legion of fans that rush the pit while screaming for the band’s entire hour onstage. The set was completely devoid of banter or even any breaks in between songs, but that’s the Death Grips way: hard, fast, and completely unconventional.

Tallest Man On Earth - 3:35 – Tallest Man on Earth was scheduled against another acoustic guitar-slinging European (Frank Turner), but unlike the Englishman, Kristian Matsson delivered his anthems all by himself. That’s not a knock on Frank Turner, but a tribute to how engaging of a performer Matsson is. On his records, his strength lies in his ability to create a warm intimacy. Conversely, his live performance relies less on intimacy than it does on energy, which Matsson has in droves. He’s been a festival staple for a while now, and it showed on Saturday afternoon, with the songs from There’s No Leaving Now, his most recent album, drawing the biggest cheers. Even more than the crowd, Matsson himself seemed to be having the most fun, which is impressive for a guy who’s been touring this show for over a year.

Dirty Projectors - 5:15 - Since the Swing Lo Magellan lineup fell into place last summer, Dirty Projectors have essentially been an unstoppable live force, sound mix permitting. Leader Dave Longstreth leads the band through meticulous rehearsals, and it shows, because as many intricate vocal harmonies and instrumental breakdowns as there were in their set, the band didn’t miss a single one. Furthermore, Longstreth and Amber Coffman have become far more comfortable being onstage since the tour’s start. Since Angel Deradoorian’s departure, Coffman has eased into her role as Longstreth’s onstage foil, grinning widely the whole time, and Longstreth - not a musician many would expect to work the crowd - even called for the women in the audience to go up on someone’s shoulders for “See What She’s Seeing”. Leaning heavily on Swing Lo Magellan material, Dirty Projectors’ Saturday afternoon set was something that they would have never been called a few years ago: crowd pleasing.

Cat Power - 6:15 - Although she started late, Chan Marshall was quite lucid (as opposed to her infamous inconsistency as a performer in the 2000s) and bold with her set. Marshall embraced electronic music influences on her most recent album, Sun, which was a far cry from the whiskey-drenched torch songs that earned her stripes, and she must have taken that reinvention as an opportunity to rework all of her old material as well. Opening with an almost-unrecognizable “The Greatest”, Marshall sparingly pulled out her older material, but when she did, it was fascinatingly reworked. Even more surprising was the vibrancy of the Sun material; it’s not that the songs are boring on record, but they’re particularly danceable in a live setting, another sharp left turn for Marshall.

Beach House - 7:00 - Although Beach House would have made a great late night alternative to R. Kelly, they were scheduled as the sun set, which is the next best thing. Like the xx, Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally’s music is quintessentially nocturnal, but the setting sun added an unintentional visual aspect to the duo’s mesmerizing performance. Drawing mostly from Teen Dream and Bloom, the band’s two strongest albums, their set brought a level of soothing calm to the busy festival, drawing in people who were just looking to rest for a minute and keeping them there for the whole set. Although the schedule wasn’t in their favor on Saturday (they were scheduled against Bjork too), it was clear that Beach House is a group at the top of their game, and it’s going to be interesting to see what their next move is. (Hopefully, it will be at a nighttime show.)

photo by Danny Clinch

Björk - 7:00 - Relative to most of the other bands on the What Stage this weekend, Björk drew a small crowd. However, everyone who was at Björk’s set was there to see Bjork (and maybe only Björk), and the Icelandic songstress delivered a visceral and emotionally riveting set that certainly stands as one of this year’s highlights. Accompanied by a keyboardist, drummer, and a dancing choir dressed in blue robes, Björk emerged onstage wearing a jellyfish/bubble/Koosh ball-looking mask that made her famous swan dress look modest in comparison. Unusually for this tour, the setlist leaned less on material from the so-so Biophilia, which meant classics like “Hunter”, “Hyperballad”, and “Pagan Poetry” could emerge as the soundtrack to the nearly-religious experience that the adoring crowd was having. The one-two finale of “Declare Independence” and “Nattura” (with pyrotechnics!) was a thrilling end to her rare appearance in the Southeast, but for those that were close enough to see it, the giddy smile on Björk’s face as she said “Thank YOU Ten-Ess-See” was the true highlight. Commanding the stage with a demeanor that was raw and emotive, Bjork brought a spectacle to the Farm that not even an over-the-top performer like R. Kelly could top a few hours later, and probably won’t be topped on Sunday.

Empire of the Sun - 2:00 - If Björk was the day’s biggest spectacle, Empire of the Sun was a close second. Although they didn’t have a dancing choir, they did have four dancers, a couple costume changes, light up guitars, and a bevy of well-received new material. Like their Sasquatch performance, the band’s high energy (there were almost no pauses in between songs) and relentless light show made them a good choice for their very late timeslot. Mirroring the EDM rampage of Boys Noize one tent over, Empire of the Sun was a non-stop dance party that ended only a little while before, perhaps appropriately, the sun came up.

photo by Chad Syme

Let’s face it: being a dad ain’t easy. While moms bring us to life, nurture us and help us grow, a dad’s role is complicated. Whether they be armchair coaches or on the ground leaders, workaholics or thrill seekers, coding nerds or rivetheads, dads may be the ones who teach us the most about life. Today is dad’s day -- a time for sharing, remembering, honoring and giving back to the men who have given so much of their own time and care and love. While KEXP is celebrating with our 8th Annual Kids Dance Party at EMP, you might be at home with your father or your own children or just remembering the father figures in your life, so we’ve gathered for you here a collections of songs about fathers, dads, daddies, and poppas, covering a range of themes that are as varied as these men’s roles in our lives. Have a listen and have a very happy Father’s Day.

photos by Trey Riedmeyer

Bonnaroo started its first full day on Friday, but the audience was more than warmed up from the night before. The day would mark the weekend’s first headlining performance (Paul McCartney), the first you-had-to-be-there moment (Wu-Tang’s surprise appearance at the hip-hop Superjam), and the weekend’s first late night spectacle (Animal Collective). A steady mix of indie rock, folk, and hip-hop dominated the day, and although the Farm is notorious for its sweltering temperatures, the weather was more than tolerable. (Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy wore a jacket onstage during their entire sunset timeslot.) The day was ultimately dominated by the resurrected Wu-Tang Clan, but there were plenty of highlights in between.

Calexico - 1:45 – Some bands would wither onstage during a hot, midday set but Calexico was right at home on Friday afternoon. (After all, they are named after a border town in California.) Joey Burns and John Convertino’s brand of spicy, desert rock is tailor made for high temperatures, and judging from their visible enthusiasm, they knew it too. The duo (and their supporting musicians) were in top form, but it was the group’s horn section that stole the show. The better-than-expected sound mix favored horn players Jacob Valenzuela and Martin Wenk, and every time that they started playing, the crowd roared. Even though the band would get a turn on the main stage later with Wilco, it was clear that they knew they were playing a top-notch set, and starting Friday off by setting the bar high.

Local Natives - 2:30 – Local Natives were the second band of the festival to play the Farm’s massive main stage - the size of which cannot be understated - so it was definitely a test for a band that’s just now moving into large clubs, but they used the What Stage’s cavernous size to their advantage, nailing all of their harmonies spot on and, when required, letting loose on their instruments on some of their more frenetic material. Most impressively, the band led the first real main stage singalong of the weekend. “Columbia”, a melancholy cut from their sophomore album Hummingbird, caught on with the crowd, as everyone from dads to college guys in American flag tank tops sang along to the lyric, “Am I loving enough?/Am I giving enough?”. That moment was not only a precursor to a certain Beatle’s singalong-heavy headlining set, but also shows that Local Natives have grown by leaps and bounds as a live band since their last time at Bonnaroo.

Of Monsters and Men - 3:30 – Across the past year, Of Monsters and Men have been playing bigger and bigger shows, befitting of the band’s anthemic sound, and owning each set with an exuberant confidence, so to them, Bonnaroo was just another stop on their victory lap behind My Head Is An Animal. Although they seemed genuinely humbled by the rapturous response from the first real field-filling crowd of the weekend, the Icelandic group were certainly aware that they’ve become a formidable live group, and they used that confidence to deliver a joyous set that was light on banter and heavy on energy.

Grizzly Bear - 5:15 – Grizzly Bear struggled on outdoor stages on the Veckatimest tour, but a bit more of road experience and an extra touring member have helped them settle into their role as one of indie rock’s triple-A bands, and their set on the Which stage on Friday evening confirmed that. Unlike their fellow Friday superstars Passion Pit and Of Monsters and Men, Grizzly Bear don’t have a crossover hit in their catalog, but what they do have is an insanely dedicated fanbase, many of whom had camped out during the previous set so they could get to sing “Speak in Rounds” and “Yet Again” straight at Ed Droste and Daniel Rossen. Those fans were surely rewarded for their persistence, because to compliment them on “Two Weeks”, the group provided an unexpected cameo from Solange, one of the Friday’s many surprise collaborations. As Ed Droste would say on his Twitter feed, “good vibes”.

Wilco - 6:30 Wilco went from being a “very good” live band to a “great” live band right around the time Nels Cline and Pat Sansone joined the band in 2005, so they could have probably torn up the What Stage for longer than 90 minutes, but preceding a Beatle keeps a band from playing too long. They made the most of their time onstage though, running through a large part of The Whole Love and peppering in classics from Summerteeth and Yankee Hotel Foxtrot as Jeff Tweedy and Nels Cline took turns melting faces with their guitars. There was no new material, but the band made it special by bringing out members of Calexico at two points during the set, and playing an audience-friendly set that really couldn’t be topped - “Impossible Germany” playing as the sun set easily stands as one of the weekend’s finest moments. It’s a good thing the guy who followed them has a little experience with rocking massive, already warmed up crowds, because Wilco’s set delivered in every way imaginable.

Wu-Tang Clan - 7:30 – Paul McCartney was technically the night’s headliner, but judging by the massive amount of Wu-Tang Clan shirts on the Farm on Friday, the New York group was the only band that mattered for a large number of festival goers. Although various members have been inconsistent at attending their own shows for the past few years, the whole crew was on the Which Stage on Friday night - RZA, GZA, Ghostface Killah, Method Man, U-God, Masta Killa, Inspector Deck, and Raekwon the Chef all showed up (R.I.P. Ol’ Dirty Bastard), and even more surprisingly, they all looked really excited to be there. “I am the RZA-rector of the Wu-Tang Clan,” shouted the RZA about halfway through the set as thousands of people threw up the Wu sign. A statement like that could easily be considered an unnecessary egotistical boast, until you realize that he actually reunited the Wu-Tang Clan, one of hip-hop’s most influential and tumultuous groups. The group wisely stuck primarily to their older material, and although they didn’t have a full orchestra like they did at Coachella, they had a bevy of classics and a borderline-riotous audience, which is all they really needed to pull it off. Easily a highlight of the weekend, Wu-Tang’s successful reunion essentially turned - along with the coda of “Hey Jude” - the chorus of “C.R.E.A.M.” into the Farm’s unofficial singalong of the weekend. (Even the security guards were digging it. See below.)

Hip-Hop Superjam - 12:45 - Friday night hosted the first of three Superjams at this year’s Bonnaroo, and it’s hard to see the other two topping RZA’s midnight explosive hip-hop celebration. Starting off with DJ Jazzy Jeff and funk band Lettuce jamming and Schoolboy Q paying tribute to Nas, the show really exploded when the RZA emerged to lead the band through “C.R.E.A.M.” and “Shimmy Shimmy Ya”. His appearance was brief, but his real contribution was yet to come. Solange emerged for about 15 minutes to do Sly and the Family Stone’s “Family Affair” and Roberta Flack’s “Killing Me Softly”, but the night’s highlight was the mini Wu-Tang show that ensued. Method Man and Redman emerged to do a few duo tracks before asking the crowd to “make as much noise for as long as possible”, and for good reason: the majority of the Clan showed up to run through more cuts from Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers). A quote from Method Man at the end of the set basically summed up the Wu-Tang Clan’s victorious night: “Man, fuck Coachella. BONNAROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

Animal Collective - 2:00 – Animal Collective is a trippy, challenging band on any given day, but at 2 a.m. at Bonnaroo, they’re almost unfathomably heady. Introduced by a appropriately odd announcer who started a chant “Animal Collective Says” among the audience, Panda Bear, Avey Tare, Geologist, and Deakin emerged and proceeded to get weird. Really, really weird. Although the band played a set relatively light on new material and heavy on the “hits” (“My Girls” is about as great/weird/weirdly great as a 3 a.m. singalong gets), they were the true spectacle of Friday’s late night set.

Sometimes it’s the simplest words that stop you cold.  Soft-spoken Tuareg artist Omara ‘Bombino’ Moctar proved this to me on a stiflingly hot summer evening at the 2012 Pickathon Festival backstage. I was talking to him for their post-performance video interviews, aided by French-Canadian guitarist Yann Falquet as translator, and I wanted to ask him about the violence and upheaval in Mali and Niger. For decades the Tuareg people have fought for independence in Northern Mali, and part of the reason behind the popularity of Tuareg music in the West (Tinariwen and Terakaft being two of the most popular bands) is the gritty, desert-guerrilla-fighters side of the story. Western audiences love this kind of rough African exoticism, and though I wouldn’t say the bands have expressly tried to exploit this, it’s certainly aided their path into the mainstream of American indie music. On the way to the interview, I asked Bombino directly if we could talk about what was happening in Mali. He told me he’d rather not. And I couldn’t blame him, of course. He’d recently lost two of the musicians in his band to military executions in his home country of Niger. The wounds were still fresh.

Today in 2013, Bombino has a new album, Nomad (Nonesuch Records), and the violence in Mali has slackened following military intervention from the French government. I’m tempted to think of this album as a new start, but that’s probably my own bias. One thing’s for sure: this album is his best yet. It’s a whirling, spinning tour through the almost-hypnotic desert blues of Tuareg guitarists. But it’s also a modern, global affair, since the album was produced by Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys. Auerbach’s decision to let the rough, informal nature of the original music shine through (Tuareg music is campfire music, so there’s a great community feeling to it) was inspired. He adds his own touches, of course, and the album feels more fuzzed-out and amplified than Bombino’s previous work, but that just makes it more fun. There are still the signature spindle-whorl guitar lines of “Zigzan,” but the beats are harder here as in opening burner “Amidinine,” which rolls like a desert sandstorm. “Imuhar” sounds almost anthemic, with wave after wave of bass cascading underneath Bombino’s voice, which also sounds heavily filtered. It’s a kickass album, there’s no doubt about that, and it comes close to matching some of the energy of Bombino’s live show. Since he speaks almost no English, Bombino’s a quiet force of nature on stage, content to burn through endless hypnotic grooves without introduction. He loves to jam too, likely getting some of that from the informal jamming culture that fuels a lot of the Saharan desert blues music. Onstage at Pickathon, he welcomed Canadian roots rock whiz kids The Barr Brothers on stage for some extending jamming. On Nomad, this spirit of collaboration, born of the camps of the nomadic Tuareg, finds a home in the garage blues jams of The Black Keys to wonderful effect.

Speaking of the campfire element of Tuareg music, excellent Tuareg group Etran Finatawa will be releasing a new album, The Sahara Sessions, in July 2013 that’s the polar opposite of Bombino’s album. It’s entirely recorded from one late-night desert session under a tent in Niger. Friends wandered in on motorbikes, people laugh and chat in the background, and the music rolls happily along. Also from Niger, Etran Finatawa are made up of Tuareg and Wodaabe musicians, and though they feature the desert guitar of the Tuareg’s that’s familiar to us from artists like Bombino and Tinariwen, they also bring in the lesser-known vocal traditions of the Wodaabe, including an eerie and piercing high tenor singing voice. On The Sahara Sessions, the music is totally unpolished, wonderfully alive and vibrant. No studio trickery here, no jams with Western musicians, just a beautiful way to gather together in the desert night. Maybe it’s just me, but there’s something really compelling about getting a glimpse into how this music is organically created. As wonderful as it is to see this music getting such mainstream attention (and hopefully supporting the artists’ livelihoods), without these informal jam sessions, the music wouldn’t have such a compelling heart. By stripping off every pretense, Etran Finatawa have taken the music back to a red-hot core as hot as the coals of their campfire. And that’s a beautiful thing.

But now I’m thinking back to that hot, starlit evening outside Portland last year. Sitting down to the Bombino interview at Pickathon, I couldn’t help myself and decided I had to know more about Mali and the Sahel’s massive upheaval and rebellion. Hunching close to Bombino to hear his responses (which were almost whispered to me), I asked him why it was that Tuareg music was so closely tied to rebellion. Why is this the central story of the music? He waited for a moment, then replied in his soft, soft voice, “Our music was here before the rebellion. It will be here afterwards too.” It was the simplest response, but also the most powerful. If all we take away from Bombino’s desert blues is the war wounds of a struggling people, that’s on us. There’s so much more to discover in this music. It’s time to start looking deeper.

If you want to hang out under the stars on a hot Portland afternoon at Pickathon like I did, the festival’s happening this year August 2, 3, and 4. KEXP will be streaming the festival live again and recording special acoustic sets with the artists.

photos by Trey Reidmeyer

Looking at the lineup of Bonnaroo over the past few years, it seems as if the organizers booked their roster by throwing everything at the wall and seeing what stuck. Well, this year, everything stuck. On the top two lines of the bill, there’s a Beatle, an Icelandic electronic music goddess, the guy who made Trapped in the Closet, hip-hop’s most infamously disconnected group actually getting their shit together, an EDM titan, two AAA indie rock groups, enough acoustic guitars to make an electronic music devotee keel over, and Tom Petty.

And that’s just the top two lines.

Bonnaroo has always been kind of a hodgepodge, but that’s what makes it stand out from every other festival. (It also has no noise curfew, which always leads to some very interesting late night developments.) There’s no telling what exactly is going to happen (see: Jónsi continuing playing despite breaking a string on the first song of Sigur Rós’ 2008 set, My Morning Jacket’s now-legendary 4+ hour set, any number of the bands who have played into sunrise), but the surprises are half the fun. Whatever happens this weekend at What, Which, This, That, and The Other (Bonnaroo’s oh-so-cleverly named stages), it all starts here:

Aside from seeing a handful of big-ticket bands on the (relative) cheap, inevitably meeting foreigners in the campgrounds, and paying way too much for a slice of pizza, one of the best things (well, maybe not the last one) about music festivals is walking around and discovering new bands. Most festivals put all of their buzz bands on during the early afternoon; Bonnaroo does that too, but also dedicates a whole, headliner-free extra day to (relatively) up-and-coming artists playing in the Farm’s three tents. Sure, there are some kinda big acts here – Father John Misty, Killer Mike, Japandroids – but for those who don’t follow music blogs or listen to awesome radio stations, it’s a day of introductions.

JD McPherson - 6:30 – There were other bands that played before him, but for many, JD McPherson and his band was the start of the weekend. Aside from having the best slicked-back hair of any band all weekend (they must have been taking advantage of all of the Garnier Fructis promotions at the Farm), the Oklahoma rock and roller and his band were tighter and more experienced than a lot of the day’s groups, which made him a perfect choice for his evening timeslot. “Firebug” drew the biggest cheers, but the whole set - which was occasionally co-led by bassist Jimmy Sutton - had the Farm movin’ and shakin’ to the weekend’s first great set.

Ariel Pink - 7:00 – Watching Ariel Pink do his thing onstage as the Tennessee sun sets isn’t most people would expect to see, but it happened on Thursday evening. Although a lot of people were put off by Pink’s relatively challenging performance, but his performance was strangely mesmerizing to the faithful and a few curious passersby. If the goal of only putting lesser-known acts on today was to help them gain traction, Ariel Pink failed miserably. But if his goal was to put on one hell of a unique show at a festival where R. Kelly will play right after Mumford and Sons Jack Johnson, he was already one of the weekend’s highlights.

HAIM - 7:30 – The Los Angeles sister trio probably had the least amount of available recorded music of any band on Thursday’s bill, but that didn’t stop Danielle, Este, and Alana Haim (and drummer Dash Hutton) from using their full timeslot. After two songs, the band decided to “just jam out”, which would have been an issue if the band wasn’t so locked-in with each other. Quite possibly the best rehearsed band on Thursday, each sister took turns showing off her vocal and instrumental chops, while also showing off their fraternal chops with some friendly (and, occasionally, hilariously vulgar) stage banter. By the time their debut album drops in the fall though, they’re not going to have to rely on jamming much longer.

Django Django - 9:00 – Even though Purity Ring’s hiccupy, seizure-inducing light show is one tent over, Django Django are bringing just as much intensity, and converting more people. It was great to see people who hadn’t heard of the band five minutes before walking over throw down to “Hail Bop”, “WOR”, and “Life’s A Beach”, especially since the band has never played anywhere near Tennessee. “I think we’re going somewhere, Bonnaroo,” said Vincent Neff right before “Cairo”. Neff’s “we” meant the band and the audience, but it would be hard to disagree with him if he was just talking about the band.

Japandroids - 10:00 – Every festival has its share of bands who fall prey to sound issues, and unfortunately, Japandroids were that band on Thursday night. (They also struggled with sound issues at Sasquatch.) It’s doubtful that they cared though, because they wasted no time tearing through most of Celebration Rock to a fervent crowd who shouted every word back at a volume nearly as loud as Brian King’s voice. The lack of a good sound mix definitely hurt the set, but it was more than a little inspiring to see the audience go wild regardless.

Father John Misty - 10:30 – “Hello ‘Banaru.’ How do you feel about being asked how you’re doing once an hour for the last five days?” A little over a year after hitting the road behind Fear Fun, Father John Misty has become a top-notch live performer. Even though he’s toured basically nonstop for the last year, he didn’t seem weary at all on Thursday night, sashaying and jumping around onstage while his band pulled out song after song from Fear Fun and nailed it. “Only Son of the Ladiesman” and “I’m Writing A Novel” were early set peaks, but “Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings” - probably his biggest song - isn’t just a small indie crossover hit now, it’s an anthem, and it’s Tillman’s rock star moment. When he dropped the mic and silently walked offstage at the song’s conclusion, it was impossible not to see him doing this on a bigger stage in the near future.

Alt-J - 11:30 – There’s no way of telling how many people were at Bonnaroo that night, but it was very possible that every last one of them was at Alt-J’s set. Just like their stage-clogging performance at Sasquatch, the crowd is massive, but the sound in This Tent was vastly improved from Japandroids’ set, so the size of the audience wasn’t an issue. The band barely have enough material to fill an hour, but they kept light on banter and time-fillers nonetheless, serving out An Awesome Wave in strong, muscular slices. They’ll need some more material before they return, but for now, the band did just about everything they could right on Thursday night.

Allen Stone - 12:00 – When Allen Stone played Capitol Hill Block Party last year, the crowd’s reaction was borderline rapturous, and despite going against the last half of Alt-J’s set and playing without a home court advantage, the Seattle singer got the same audience response. Stone’s greatest strength as a performer is that he knows how to work a crowd; he knows when to get them to cheer, to jump, to scream, and knows how to make them do it even when he isn’t asking for it, which is a skill that most of the night’s other artists couldn’t have managed.