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Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival 2013 – Sunday June 16th, Day Four Preview bonnaroo

Hello and welcome to the final day of Bonnaroo 2013! You’ve survived the lion’s share, now there’s just one day left but today might just be the most exciting of all. If I had to summarize the day in one theme it would be hip hop. The first act I’ll be waking up to see is at 1:30 when Ghostface Killah’s vocal twin Action Bronson takes the stage in “The Other Tent”. Directly after him but on “What Stage” is every mother’s favorite rap game partnership Macklemore & Ryan Lewis who are sure to put on a lavish show for the fans. There’s a brief lull here where more likely than not I’ll be resting up for later shows but notably playing are Canadian rockstars The Sheepdogs. For most fans however there is one name that stands well above the rest on the afternoon’s bill. With his album good kid, m.A.A.d city, Kendrick Lamar solidified his place as the best young rapper in the game, with one of the best hip hop albums in recent memory, perhaps top ten all time. His live shows, which usually also feature other artists on his label Top Dawg Entertainment, are known to be showcases for Kendrick’s talent and with the hype that has grown up around the young mc, expect several guest appearances during his set.

After Kendrick the tone of the afternoon shifts back more towards rock and Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeroes will be bringing their big band collective to the “Which Stage” at 5:30, followed by The National on “What Stage” at 6:30. In the time in between or if either act isn’t holding my attention, I’m pretty pumped to have my back up plan be Tame Impala, the Australian group that is reviving the psychedelic rock of past generations. I saw them once this year in New York and the show would have a great time had it not been in a cramped club with screaming college girls everywhere. After The National, another act who has blown up this past year goes on in “The Other Tent”. A$AP Rocky blew up in the past two years with the release of an amazing mixtape , Live.Love.A$AP. and the release of his album Long.Live.A$AP and expect for his show to be a highlight of the festival. Perhaps as a portend of things to come, every rapper who was featured on Rocky’s (jaw dropping) clique cut “1 Train” with the exception of Joey Bada$$ and Yelawolf are at Bonnaroo already so we can hope that these new names in the game get together again. Unfortunately after Rocky, we’re left with only one show to close the festival, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Old enough to know how to throw a live show and with enough ubiquity to close a festival, Tom Petty is the perfect middle ground and promises to end Bonnaroo 2013 in style.

Let us know what you thought about the festival, who were the best acts, what you would like to see next year or anything related to Bonnaroo in the comments section below and have a great rest of your summer!

Bonnaroo 2013 Schedule | Sunday, June 16th

What Stage:
Lee Fields & the Expressions 12:30 – 1:30
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis 2:30 – 3:30
Kendrick Lamar 4:30 – 5:30
The National 6:30 – 8:00
Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers 9:00 – 11:00		Which Stage:
Kacey Musgraves 12:00 – 1:00
Delta Rae 1:45 – 2:45
The Sheepdogs 3:30 – 4:45
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros 5:30 – 6:45
David Byrne & St. Vincent 7:30 – 9:00
This Tent:
The Rubens 12:15 – 1:15
JEFF the Brotherhood 1:45 – 2:45
Baroness 3:15 – 4:30
Swans 5:00 – 6:30
Divine Fits 7:00 – 8:30		That Tent:
Aoife O’Donovan 12:15 – 1:00
John Fullbright 1:30 – 2:15
Black Prairie 2:45 – 3:45
Noam Pikelny & Friends 4:15 – 5:15
Sam Bush & Del McCoury 5:45 – 6:45
Ed Helms’ Bluegrass Situation Superjam with Special Guests 7:15 – 8:45
The Other Tent:
Matthew E. White 12:00 – 1:00
Tame Impala 6:00 – 7:15
Action Bronson 1:30 – 2:30
Wild Nothing 3:00 – 4:00
Holy Ghost! 4:30 – 5:30
A$AP ROCKY 7:45 – 9:00		Bonnaroo Comedy Theatre hosted by IFC:
David Cross ft. James Adomian 2:45 – 4:00
Bob Saget ft. Jared Logan & The Improvised Shakespeare Company 4:30 – 5:45
Bob Saget ft. Jared Logan & The Improvised Shakespeare Company 6:15 – 7:30
New Music On Tap Lounge brewed by Miller Lite:
Staying for the Weekend 12:00 – 12:50
LiL iFFy 1:20 – 2:10
Cat Martino 2:40 – 3:20
Alice & the Glass Lake 4:00 – 4:50
The Mowgli’s 5:20 – 6:10
Milow 6:40 – 7:30
Royal Thunder 8:00 – 8:50		Cafe Where?:
Bri Heart ft Jervy Hou 2:30 – 3:30
Little Red Lung 5:00 – 6:00
White Lung 7:45 – 8:45
Silent Disco:
DJ Keebz 4:00 – 7:00		Sonic Stage:
ItsTheReal 12:00 – 12:30
John Oates 1:00 – 1:30
Lucius 1:45 – 2:15
Mac DeMarco 2:30 – 3:00
The Revivalists 4:00 – 4:45
Aoife O’Donovan 3:15 – 3:45
Delta Rae 5:00 – 5:30
The Sheepdogs 5:45 – 6:15
Surprise Set 7:00 – 7:30
Solar Stage:
The Revivalists (Performance & Interview) 1:00 – 1:45
Very Special Guest (Interview) 2:00 – 2:45
Beans on Toast (Performance & Interview) 3:00 – 3:45
John Fullbright 4:00 – 4:45
Black Prairie (Performance & Interview)5:00 – 5:45
The Battleholex and Friends Hip Hop Variety Show Breakdancing 6:00 – 7:00
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NXNE Day 1: This Hisses at Hard Luck Bar, June 12th

NXNE Day 1: This Hisses at Hard Luck Bar

The Hard Luck Bar on Dundas St. W, Toronto is everything you would expect from a venue with a long history of disseminating punk and metal out into gentile streets of Toronto. Many a hard noted band has played here. Audiences have called out for the black musical vapor to pour onto them, contracted hepatitis and gotten pregnant here; this is the place to witness to magical underbelly of today’s burgeoning post-punk scene.

This Hisses is such a band. Though I’m sure they would prefer not to be labeled, as no band actually likes that; they are so called because of the incredibly hard notes that back up the languid and beautifully dark lyrical content of their catalogue. Patrick, their guitar maverick, is quite demure in real life, but as I knew from their album ‘Anhedonia,’ that I was going to witness massive shredding.

Julia doesn’t look like your typical disenfranchised punk singer. She is operatic, and dresses with an air of femme fatale. Red dress, smokey eyes, and a come-hither-so-I-can-scream-in-your-face expression; she is the epitome of vocal talent and stage persona.

It’s possible that JP is one of the most dynamic drummers I have ever seen. He creates a huge space as he uses his kit, standing sometimes for emphasis, moving all the way around the symbols so as to hit the skins like a Taiko drummer; all accented by his artisanal facial hair.

I am blown away by the assuredness they project while on stage. Their songs feel like small pockets of dispelled knowledge; truth that one needs to learn the hard way. I’m sitting with my back against the sound booth, my feet vibrate on the wooden bench when the bass hits. Everything in the bar that is nailed down oscillates. I am in a weird space where physically I feel massaged, and emotionally I feel messaged. For forty minutes they are the last band on earth, and we are the last listeners. Ahhh, punk.

Look out for MVRemix’s upcoming interview with This Hisses.

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Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival 2013 – Friday June 14th, Day Two Preview

Congratulations! If you’re reading this you survived the Day One of Bonnaroo 2013! Yesterday was only the warmup though because it is today that the festival starts rolling out some of the big names and Friday boasts what might be the most musically diverse day of the entire weekend. The entire day is packed with great acts and if you’re like me there will be lots of bouncing back and forth between the three tents and two stages in Centeroo to catch everyone you’ll want to see. To give you the time to recover from the previous day and night’s festivities the earliest shows in the morning start at noon but the first thing I’ll be awake to see will be Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue who are going to be laying down some gut busting funk over on “What Stage” from 12:30 to 1 while at the same time the indie rockers from Reptar play “The Other Tent”. If you aren’t tired of buzz bands after Thursday, Local Natives will also be playing “What Stage” from 2:30-3:30, immediately followed by folk rockers Of Monsters and Men on the nearby “Which Stage”. When you inevitably get tired of banjos though, you havevery good alternatives. From 4:00-5:00, Earl Sweatshirt of OFWGKTA (Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All) will be performing in one of his first festival appearances without the rest of the Golf Wang crew. However if vulgar, off kilter hip hop isn’t your cup of tea, electronic five piece Passion Pit is going to be rocking “What Stage” from 4:30-5:30 and from 4:45-6:00 the blind Malian couple of Amadou & Miriam will be playing their unique blend of Afroblues.

After this time in the afternoon, the festival really begins though with perennial indie favorites Grizzly Bear, Foals, and southern rapper Big K.R.I.T. all playing overlapping sets followed closely by Wilco, Jim James, and the recently reunited and touring Wu Tang Clan. From 9:00-11:30 though there is no choice as all eyes will be on “What Stage” where Sir Paul McCartney will be playing his headlining sets, likely drawing from the catalogues of Wings, The Beatles and his solo work.  THe party starts back up after Macca finishes his set with The xx playing on “Which Stage” while a hip hop fan’s wet dream of a Superjam happens in “That Tent” as RZA, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Earl Sweatshirt, ScHoolboy Q, Solange and Chad Hugo share a stage along with “Special Guests”. As if that wasn’t enough, to close the night out dubstep remix king Pretty Lights puts on his trippy concert experience from 1:30-3:15 also on “Which Stage” and closing the night out with their set ending at 4:00 is indie group Animal Collective.

Friday promises to be a great day for festival goers regardless of where their personal listening tendencies lean and everyone is sure to discover a new favorite r two. Stay hydrated and get some sleep while you can because we’re going to be right back here tomorrow for Day 3!

Bonnaroo 2013 Schedule | Friday, June 14th

What Stage:
Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue 12:30 – 1:30
Local Natives 2:30 – 3:30
Passion Pit 4:30 – 5:30
Wilco 6:30 – 8:00
Paul McCartney 9:00 – 11:30
Which Stage:
Trixie Whitley 12:00 – 1:00
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit 1:45 – 2:45
Of Monsters and Men 3:30 – 4:45
Grizzly Bear 5:30 – 6:45
The xx 7:30 – 9:00
Wu-Tang Clan 11:30 – 12:45
Pretty Lights 1:30 – 3:15
This Tent:
Sea Wolf 12:15 – 1:15
Calexico 1:45 – 3:00
Glen Hansard 3:30 – 4:45
Foals 5:15 – 6:30
Jim James 7:00 – 8:30
ZZ Top 11:30 – 1:30
Animal Collective 2:00 – 4:00
That Tent:
Bernhoft 12:00 – 1:00
Bombino 1:30 – 2:30
Fatoumata Diawara 3:00 – 4:15
Amadou & Mariam 4:45 – 6:00
John McLaughlin and the 4th Dimension 6:30 – 8:00
The Other Tent:
Reptar 12:30 – 1:30
Charli XCX 2:15 – 3:15
Earl Sweatshirt 4:00 – 5:00
Big K.R.I.T. 5:45 – 6:45
Conspirator 7:30 – 9:00
Wolfgang Gartner 11:30 – 1:00
Porter Robinson 1:30 – 3:00
Bonnaroo Comedy Theatre hosted by IFC:
Chris Gethard, Eric Andre, Nikki Glaser & Cristela Alonzo 12:45 – 2:00
Mike Birbiglia ft. Michael Che 2:30 – 3:45
Daniel Tosh ft. Jerrod Carmichael 4:30 – 5:45
Daniel Tosh ft. Jerrod Carmichael 6:30 – 7:45
New Music On Tap Lounge brewed by Miller Lite:
Alanna Royale 12:00 – 12:50
He’s My Brother, She’s My Sister 1:20 – 2:10
Baxter 2:40 – 3:30
Ryan Montbleau Band 4:00 – 4:50
NOCONA 5:20 – 6:10
Cloney 6:40 – 7:30
Ex-Cops 8:00 – 8:50
Casey Crescenzo (of The Dear Hunter)9:20 – 10:10
Matrimony 10:40 – 11:30
Luxury Liners 12:00 – 12:50
Cafe Where?:
Naia Kete 1:30 – 2:30
Jillette Johnson 3:30 – 4:30
Von Grey 5:30 – 6:30
ON an ON 8:00 – 8:50
Silent Disco:
Passion Pit (DJ Set) 2:30 – 3:30
Vacationer (DJ Set) 4:00 – 6:00
Atta Unsar 6:00 – 8:00
Y Luv (DJ Set) 11:00 – 12:30
DJ Logic 12:30 – 2:30
Jared Dietch 2:30 – 5:00
Sonic Stage:
The Stepkids 12:00 – 12:30
Jonny Fritz 12:45 – 1:15
ALO 1:30 – 2:00
Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue 2:15 – 2:45
Sea Wolf 3:00 – 3:30
Milo Greene 3:45 – 4:15
Nicki Bluhm & the Gramblers 4:45 – 5:30
Bombino 5:45 – 6:15
Maps & Atlases 6:30 – 7:00
Solar Stage:
Appalachian Flow Arts (Hula Hooping) 12:20 – 12:40
Johnnyswim 1:00 – 1:45
Wake Owl (Performance & Interview) 2:00 – 2:45
Allen Stone 3:00 – 3:45
He’s My Brother, She’s My Sister 4:00 – 4:45
John Oates (Performance & Interview) 5:00 – 5:45
The Battleholex and Friends Hip Hop Variety Show Breakdancing 6:15 – 7:15
TBD 7:30 – 8:30
The Flavor Savers Beard & Mustache Contest 8:45 – 9:45
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The Devil Wears Prada: A Night in Photos


The last time I saw The Devil Wears Prada (TDWP), I was a scrawny 16 year-old in the middle of a mosh at Warped Tour. A whole album cycle ago, the Christian metalcore band from Dayton, Ohio was at what I thought would be the apex of their career. Luckily for them, the success of the band’s latest album “Dead Throne,” has kept their fanbase growing, and the band evolving.
The Devil Wears Prada - Jeremy DePoyster
So fast forward to last Thursday night at Metropolis in Montreal, and I’m dead center snapping photographs of TDWP – and man, was I ever blown away. The title song “Dead Throne” was ferocious and loud, and had all the kids in the crowd nuts from the get-go. They moved into a few more songs from the new album such as “Untidaled,” “Born to Lose,” and “Kansas” – an instrumental track with screamer Mike Hranica on the guitar. This may have been the highlight of night, because it may not have the huge breakdowns and screams, it shows off just how musically tight these guys are. But don’t get me wrong – the performances of all songs that night were top notch.
The Devil Wears Prada
The stage was rather elaborate for a metal show too, with ramps sprawling the stage and a “Dead Throne” symbol lighting the backdrop. It was pretty refreshing to see something different on stage rather than a usual set-up. Kudos to the production managers and the band members for that.
The Devil Wears Prada - Mike Hranica
Here’s where the show hits a snag though: Mike Hranica on screams. It seems as though the constant touring has really gotten to his voice, and he can’t handle the higher-pitched screams he’s really known for from older albums. New songs were made for his new low growling screaming style – but those old songs just weren’t. “Sassafras,” “HTML Rulez D00d,” and even the set-closing “Dogs Can Grow Beards All Over” sounded flat and weak with the new style. I’ve seen the same thing happen to Bring Me the Horizon, and I doubt this is Hranica’s fault – certain screaming methods just take a toll on your voice. I don’t think they’ve stopped touring since Warped Tour, and I hope that we’ll get a different performance from Mike next time he comes to town.
The Devil Wears Prada - Mike Hranica
With the Dead Throne tour, these dudes really have stepped up their game, and the new material sounds fantastic live. I know metalcore may not be everyone’s thing – especially with the Christian undertones – but if you ever went through that metal phase as a kid, take a trip back to your local venue to see one of the best metalcore bands out there. Perhaps it’ll spark some long lost memories of your moshing days.

Setlist: TDWP in Montreal
Full set of photos: jakemullan’s flickr

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How Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Turned Into A Religious Mess

Do you remember who Lady Gaga was in 2008? She was not “Mother Monster,” she had eyebrows, her outfits were outlandish, but she could have been someone you knew. Some eccentric fashion-obsessed friend who was into performance art, someone who frequented bars, smoked cigarettes and played piano with her hands and feet. The Lady Gaga of 2011 is not someone you could know. This is a transformed person, someone who was already a vast mutation, now mutated beyond recognition in a very short period of time. Lady Gaga is incapable of true extensive human interaction. She is the most famous person in the world right now, and probably the loneliest. On the other hand, at two billion fans and counting, you can no longer be considered an “outcast” and it is insulting to suggest otherwise.

In the first three years of her career she has put all her cards on the table, all the shock value, stories of a painful childhood, drug abuse, her dropping out of NYU and most importantly, her music and clothing. There is a reason for the word “clothing” going after “music.” If only as much time was put into the recording process as her outfits and set design. Lady Gaga is a sensation, but her latest album, Born This Way, fails in comparison to her previous package, The Fame and its expansion, The Fame Monster. The problem is in the title. Lady Gaga was not famous at all when she wrote and released The Fame. It was a cute title, endearing and tongue-in-cheek. Every song on The Fame was about money, recognition and sex. The later work, The Fame Monster was an obvious foreshadowing into dangerous territory.

In 2009, The Fame Monster, an eight song follow-up that featured club hits like “Bad Romance,” “Alejandro” and “Telephone,” already provided a window into the Haus of Gaga mindset. Lady Gaga was here to make a statement, she was weird, into Hitchcock and Alexander McQueen. She loved gay men. We already knew! The fact is, The Fame Monster was an excellent CD, and everyone knew history was in the making. No one since Britney Spears had even come close to achieving the pop-culture obsession of someone like Madonna or Michael Jackson. The sheer frenzy of it drew out the excitement or in some cases, extreme frustration, in everyone. The media became consumed, the fans became crazed and everyone in the world was waiting with bated breath, anticipating her next album, which had been described as “…Too precious to talk about” by RedOne, her own producer. On the topic of Born This Way, to her fans, Lady Gaga was quoted in saying “I promise you, I’ll never let you down.”

Let me get something straight, for any doubters. I am a Lady Gaga fan, I’m just not a blind fan. She is by no means an idol of mine. I follow her, I listen to her music in my house and car. I saw her in concert last summer. I loved her first two albums, but, here it comes, Born This Way is simply half-assed. Unlike her previous ventures into fun topics and hooks that could land Captain Ahab Moby Dick, or Santiago his giant marlin, Born This Way is drab, lacks creativity and is largely religious. Well, I take it back, it isn’t actually religious at all, but biblical mentions are not few or far between, Jesus in particular. It is my strong feeling that is not wise to alienate one’s fans. Fortunately for Lady Gaga, her fans are so devoted at this point she could truly become a satanist without them blinking an eye. Obviously the Jesus references are part of her schtick, and a not-so-subtle attempt to stir up controversy, especially on the second single “Judas.” The video for “Judas” is possibly her worst yet, a metaphorical ode to a very bad man indeed.

I feel very uncomfortable at all the Jesus references, being an atheist or at least a agnostic, and I can imagine many of her more fair-weather fans might as well. Honestly I’m more uncomfortable at how ridiculous it is in general to write a song called “Government Hooker” or “Black Jesus + Amen Fashion” or even “Electric Chapel” which are all titles on her album. The absolute worst though I must say is the non-religious “Highway Unicorn (Road 2 Love)” which is not a funny joke at all if indeed it is one. Gaga explains to E! News that she is “…Obsessed with religious art” on defending “Judas,” and probably over half her album.

Here are some of the obvious preachy and over the top references to look out for, all very strong cases for contemplating Lady Gaga’s lazy songwriting abilities…

“I’m beautiful in a way and god makes no mistakes.” (“Born This Way”)

“Jesus is my virtue but Judas is the demon I cling to.” (“Judas”)

“I won’t speak your Jesus Christo.” (“Americano”)

“On the runway, work it, black Jesus.” (“Black Jesus + Amen Fashion”)

“I’ll dance, dance, dance with my hands, hands, hands above my head  like Jesus said.” (“Bloody Mary”)

“Pray for your sins right under the glass disco ball.” (“Electric Chapel”)

…I suggest buying this album in its entirety on Amazon.com for 99 cents if it’s still available, because that is what it’s worth.