[RH Photos] Lollapalooza 2015
Photos by Bryan Allen Lamb.
Lollapalooza 2015: it came, it conquered, and it closed early. But not even Sunday's crappy, unpredictable weather could put a damper on the weekend’s festivities. Packed full of artists of every genre, Lolla brought us the latest and the legendary, once again proving that this monster of an event cannot be tamed or topped. From Friday to Sunday, Lolla-enthusiasts spent their days and nights trekking back and forth from stage to stage across the large and lovely Grant Park. Though my feet are broken and my body hates me, I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. But if you did, here’s a recap on my weekend in Lolla land.
[RH Photos] Pitchfork Music Festival 2015
Photos by Vanessa Bly, recap by Vanessa Bly and Geoff Henao
Pitchfork Music Festival 2015 has come and gone! Despite the sometimes muddy, sometimes rainy, and sometimes scorching hot day (sometimes all in the same day), fun was to be had at Pitchfork this year. Admittedly, there was an overall sense of something missing from this year's festival. Nevertheless, Chicagoans were the highlight this year, anchored by Chance the Rapper's outstanding performance to close Pitchfork out. Check out our recaps and photos from the festival over the next few pages!
Pitchfork Music Festival 2015 - Day 1
CHVRCHES
CHVRCHES' performance at Pitchfork was the band's first in the United States since April, and you could sense the excitement and energy among the three. Notably, singer Lauren Mayberry's stage presence was at an all-time high as the crowd sang and danced along. Given this was my first time seeing CHVRCHES (outside of videos online), I didn't know what to expect, but I'm glad to say they were the perfect end to Day 1 of Pitchfork 2015. - Geoff Henao
RYLEY WALKER
Ryley Walker was a jam band that kicked off Pitchfork Music Festival 2015. Given their opener status, the crowd already at Pitchfork really vibed to their music. - Vanessa Bly
JESSICA PRATT
Jessica Pratt's performance was super chill... perhaps a bit too super chill. The crowd was still during her performance, which isn't what you'd typically find at a music festival. - Vanessa Bly
STEVE GUNN
Steve Gunn looked like he wasn't having too much fun during their set. Granted, musicians enter a different attitude and embody on-stage personas when performing, but his seriousness turned me off. - Vanessa Bly
MAC DEMARCO
Mac DeMarco's set was FUN! His gap-toothed smile was hilarious, and the crowd really responded to them. Overall, the best way to describe their set was just simple, great fun. - Vanessa Bly
PANDA BEAR
Panda Bear's sound transcends all musical interests - whether you love hip hop or swear by rock, Panda Bear's appeal is enough to bring all types of different people together. The crowd for his set was vibing extra hard to his music, despite his relatively chill beats. I'd love to catch him at a venue one day. - Geoff Henao
Pitchfork Music Festival 2015 - Day 2
SLEATER-KINNEY
Finally, Sleater-Kinney made their triumphant return to Chicago after a years-long hiatus. The band co-headlined Pitchfork's Day 2, supporting their latest album, No Cities to Love. Their performance made it seem like the band didn't take an extended break from one another as their set was tight and one of the major highlights of an otherwise dreary day ruined by the rain. - Geoff Henao
FUTURE BROWN
Future Brown's set was a lot different when compared to live performances I've become used to over the years. They're a production group, but brought out a plethora of guests to round out their set, including Lil Durk. The crowd was really into their set and weren't swayed when the rain began to pour down. - Vanessa Bly
EX HEX
Ex Hex's set was unfortunately cut short after a few songs due to the rain, which sucked because they were rocking the stage. Even as the rain began to downpour heavier, the crowd stuck around in hopes the band would return before the festival was officially postponed. - Vanessa Bly
SHAMIR
I love Shamir's personality when he performs, but I don't think he brought it for his Pitchfork set; I was really looking forward to it, actually. "This is me on the regular," he sings, but I was hoping he'd bring more than just the regular. - Vanessa Bly
Pitchfork Music Festival 2015 - Day 3
CHANCE THE RAPPER
What can be said about Chance's set? It means a lot for a Chicagoan to close out Pitchfork alone, but Chance brought everything he had to commemorate the event. Backed by The Social Experiment, Chance ran through all of the hits during his night cap, and surprised the crowd by bringing out gospel singer Kirk Franklin! It felt like, for just one moment, the entire city was united together during his set, and it's moments like these that both Chicagoans and music fans alike can truly appreciate. - Vanessa Bly
RUN THE JEWELS
As a surprise to nobody, Run the Jewels' set was wild and fucking crazy. It's hard not to truly enjoy yourselves while Killer Mike and El-P are on stage. They even brought out Rage Against the Machine's Zach de la Rocha, which put the crowd into even more of a frenzy. Rappers take note: RTJ's sets are exactly what you ought to strive for when fleshing out your live performances. - Vanessa Bly
FREDDIE GIBBS AND MADLIB
DOPE! The crowd was wild for Freddie Gibbs and Madlib's set, rapping along to every one of Freddie Gibbs' lyrics. By my count, a large number of the crowd waited nearly three hours for their set, and their patience was truly rewarded. - Vanessa Bly
WAXAHATCHEE
Waxahatchee were cute and fun, and a great start for Pitchfork's final day. I definitely need an indie-rock fix, and they I (and the crowd!) loved what they had to offer. - Vanessa Bly
COURTNEY BARNETT
Courtney Barnett's style of rock and roll was super cool and infectious. The crowd was made up of dedicated fans that not only loved her, but sang along to every song. I just might find myself learning all of her songs for the next time she's in Chicago. - Vanessa Bly
JAMIE XX
Jamie XX's set was wild and nothing what I expected. The crowd went berserk for them, and even partook in some crowd surfing. Can you believe that, crowd surfing during a DJ's set?! That alone should be enough to summarize Jamie XX. - Vanessa Bly
[RH Photos] Melt-Banana Returns to Chicago
Photos by Geoff Henao
On Tuesday, July 14th, Japanese noise-core band Melt-Banana returned to Chicago's Empty Bottle for the first time in 15 years. Touring across the country with them is stoner metal band, and genre-defying Hot Nerds opened the show.
For months since the show was announced, my expectations were extremely high. 2015 marks the 10-year anniversary since my first Melt-Banana show at the Abbey Pub on May 5th, 2005. And considering Melt-Banana only comes to America every other year (their last show at the Double Door back in October 2013), I was ready for my bi-annual ritual. The Empty Bottle is also my favorite venue in the city, thanks to its dive bar aesthetic and acoustics that especially benefit loud, punk rock-esque bands like Melt-Banana.
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Prior to the show, I had never hear nor heard of Hot Nerds. Their eccentric style of hardcore vocals (modified through a vocoder), mixed with noise-core-influenced sampling played through a keyboard and mixer, and backed by metal drums accentuated with a double kick pedal. They were reminiscent of a young Melt-Banana and got the crowd hyped and energized.
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Unfortunately, all of the energy coursing throughout the venue was lost as Torche came on to play. My prior knowledge of the band came from Ruby Hornet's own Travis Marmon's praise of the band's style of slow-burning stoner metal. However, the drastically low tempo and lack of high energy severely lowered the audience's excitement. At one point, I had begun falling asleep... standing up and directly next to one of the stage's main monitors.
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Nearing midnight, Melt-Banana took to the stage, backed by an enormous wall of speakers intended to replicate the duo's loud volume of noise when they originally toured as a band. However, as singer Yako and guitarist Agata grow increasingly comfortable playing as a duo (with Yako controlling a drum machine and samples with a device), so too do their shows share similarities to years past. However, their live performances have changed to reflect their adapted style of power-pop/noise-core, shedding the more extreme hardcore elements that represented their earlier years. Despite some technical difficulties with one of Agata's guitar cables and a crowd that, surprisingly, wasn't as excited for the band that I've seen in years past. Nevertheless, the crowd eventually warmed up to them as their set drew to a close.
Check out my photos from the show below!
[RH Photos] Erykah Badu Headlines Taste of Chicago
Photos by AngieStar Photo
Day two at the Taste of Chicago brought in warm, sunny weather, and new wave of more people to enjoy the fest. Aside from all the food, Grammy Award-winner Erykah Badu set the tone for the evening as the night's headliner to a sold out show, and it was amazing.
Opening the night was Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, who brought the crowd to their feet in true New Orleans jazz fashion. Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews and his long time band, Orleans Avenue, brought a charismatic and relentless drive to continually bridge music's past and future to the stage, including new tracks from their third album, Say That To Say This, out September 10. Co-produced by Andrews and Raphael Saadiq, it truly sounded like nothing else out there, as Andrews, guitarist Pete Murano, bassist Mike Ballard and drummer Joey Peebles stride forward in their unique musical evolution. In a smooth transition, Erykah Badu came to stage with an instrumental rendition of "The Healer", easing into "Out My Mind, Just In Time". Badu continued on with so many of her most classic songs, along with live beat making, and an often witty commentary in between tracks. Ending the night with "Window Seat" at dusk brought the night to close gently and ever so entertainingly.
If you missed the show, and Badu's signature unique attire, check out some photos here:
[RH Photos] Weezer Headlines at the 35th Annual Taste of Chicago
Photos by AngieStar Photo
The 35th annual Taste of Chicago kicked off yesterday in Grant Park's Petrillo Music Shell, with Weezer as their first headlining band. The 2015 Taste of Chicago is featuring over 100 menu items from 60 food trucks, pop-ups and restaurants representing Chicago’s diverse culinary community. But of course, the food isn't the only thing, the live music has been well known at the festival and this year is no different.
From beginning to end, Weezer performed smash hit after hit such as "Say it Ain't So", "Beverly Hills", "Hash Pipe", and many more. They even introduced a newer track titled, "Go Away", from their fourth album Everything Will Be Alright In The End. As it began to rain, the night ended with an encore performance of "Buddy Holly" that turned the crowd way up.
Yesterday was only beginning as Petrillo Music Shell still has a few more headliners still to go:
July 9, 5:30 p.m. ERYKAH BADU, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue
July 10, 5:30 p.m. THE CHIEFTAINS, Special Consensus
July 11, 4:30 p.m. SPOON, Houndmoth, Madisen Ward & The Mama Bear
July 12 4:30 p.m. MAZE featuring Frankie Beverly, DJ Duane Powell
Reserved seating starts at $15 and the lawn is FREE. To purchase tickets visit the Taste of Chicago website.
In case you missed their set, be sure to check out these photos:
[RH Photos] The Culture Clash at SXSW 2015
Photos by AngieStarPhoto
SXSW came and went yet again this year, and as Austin cleans it's streets and goes back to normal, many of us out-of-towners are back home still recollecting the culture combo we were part of. Whether you're from Chicago, Atlanta, California, Texas, New York City, the UK, or anywhere else in the world, SXSW has become a place where anyone can come to mix culture, share art, collaborate, and eat endless delicious food options. In the past week, I've received more CDs, mixtape downloads, Instagram followers, and openly met more strangers and brand ambassadors than I ever have.
SXSW truly is a festival of its own kind. There's much more than music, film showcases and conferences, as it's more of a combination of Texan culture, art, food, and most of all, a diversity in people. Outside of the local "Keep Austin Weird" types, you have endless writers, bloggers, photographers, videographers, musicians, and actors from all over just trying to stick out and be seen or heard, and all in an open, free spirited form. Most intriguingly, it's all random... one minute you could be listening to a rock band on Rainey Street and the next you're bumping into Wiz Khalifa downtown, then backstage with comedian Hannibal Buress and Chance the Rapper at the Fader Fort (true story). And right when you think you've seen or experienced the most random scenario, someone else will share an even more random story with you. It's on open environment that connects all types of people and this is what loved to capture on the festival. I'm not saying it wasn't fun shooting the performances at various venues, but it was the wandering, behind-the-scenes, spontaneous perspective I loved the most - the plethora of food trucks were a definite plus.
Here are some photos I gathered that I feel capture the essence of the people and scenery while walking around at SXSW. From locals, to people of all ages from different parts of the world, to the food scene, culture, ambiance, and most of all, the great American gem that is Austin, Texas. Find more photos here.
[Sundance Photos] Sundance Film Festival 2015 Red Carpets
Photos by J. Frank
In addition to the atmosphere/environment photos J. Frank took at Sundance 2015, he also took part in some red carpet events for various films! You can see some of those photos below, featuring such actors as Brad Pitt, James Franco, Sarah Silverman, Jason Sudeikis, and more!
[Sundance Photos] Sundance Film Festival 2015
Photos by J. Frank
Throughout our stay in Park City, UT, camera man extraordinaire J. Frank took some amazing footage and photos from about a dozen events we attended at this year's Sundance Film Festival. The official Sundance Film Festival 2015 video will be coming soon, as well as some red carpet photos, but for now, enjoy these random photos J. Frank took last week. The photos include the Sundance Day One Party, the Lipton Lounge featuring DJ Mom Jeans (AKA That 70's Show's Danny Masterson), various scenery shots of Park City, UT, and some special appearances from Entourage's Adrian Grenier and Chicago rap legend Common.
