[RH Photos] Riot Fest 2015
Photos by Vanessa Bly
Riot Fest changed the festival game this year in a big way; it’s been the fest’s largest number of one-off reunion acts ever. With The Prodigy, Ice Cube & Special Guests covering Straight Outta Compton, Snoop Dogg playing Doggystyle, The Academy Is… playing Almost Here, The Ataris playing Blue Skies and Broken Hearts...Next 12 Exits, L7, The Movielife, Modern Life is War playing Witness, Alexisonfire, Rancid playing ...And Out Come The Wolves and (probably) more, the air this year was nostalgic to say the least.
[Review] FIDLAR: "Too"
The L.A. dwelling skate punks of FIDLAR are known for their bad habits and goofy lyrics, but they’ve added raw emotion to the mix with their newest release. Their sophomore album, Too, shows more depth, sentiment and humility than anything the band have put out. I mean, it’s hard to think much of a band whose name is an acronym for “Fuck It, Dog, Life’s a Risk.” But, the explanation of their antics works tenfold with this coming-of-age album. The powerhouse, garage ruffians take fans on a thrashy journey through the group’s (or select members) diary of sobriety and high speed travels from being the local, opening band to headlining their own tour. The age old story of young musicians trying to get a grip on their fast paced lives is something bands pass over when they’re in the thick of it, but FIDLAR make the notion apparent; and they’re cool with the struggle.
Starting the record off on a high note with their single “40 oz. On Repeat,” which brings adolescent anxiety and partying at the forefront of the band’s persona, it’s a familiar track to add to the catalog of songs of the same nature. Brash and booming guitar notes coupled with singer Zac Carper’s raspy voice, the setup for the rest of the record is showcased as the second track, “Punks,” trails off the single. The song “West Coast,” an apparent bittersweet ode to their California roots, adds an indie flair to the record. The lyrics, “and all my friends they just stay the same/I’m growing up, but nothing’s changing” bring in the personal struggle as the group grow up into their own as musicians.
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The best track, “Sober,” sounds like a reference to The Suicidal Tendencies “Institutionalized” with it’s speedy intro of banter. The song is noisy, heavy and full of rebellion classic to FIDLAR. The lyrics “I figured out as I got sober that life just sucks when you get older” becomes flipped back and forth throughout the track.
The record ends on a high note (noticing a pattern here?) with “Bad Habits” bringing the story to a close with a youthful attitude towards adolescence. The lyrics “I’m getting older and I’m freaking out because I got nothing to show and I’m still fucking broke, but I got bad habits/They’re my bad habits” explains the songwriter’s struggle with addiction. Just as you think the group are getting sentimental, the group make light of things by Carper comparing himself to his dad.
One thing holds true to the young punks in FIDLAR aside from the cycle of getting high and getting sober and that’s that there isn’t anything better than punk rock. The record is a definitely a choice pick for fans of Wavves, METZ, Best Coast, Desaparecidos and Black Lips. Gathering praise from practically every music blog in the scene to kudos from Rolling Stone and Time, it’s a wonderful thing to know that punks will be punks and the dudes in FIDLAR don’t look like they’re going to sell out (yet).
Conor Oberst: "Hundreds of Ways"
Conor Oberst, lyrical genius and frontman of Bright Eyes and Desaparecidos, announces he will be releasing solo album Upside Down Mountain May 20 via Nonesuch Records. He also shares new track "Hundreds of Ways," which gives off a very Cassadaga vibe, country-folk-y and catchy. Oberst sings "There are hundreds of ways to get through the day, just find one."
The album was recorded in Nashville with Jonathan Wilson and features vocals from First Aid Kit. Oberst has also announced tour dates for this spring which you can check out below.
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Conor Oberst
05-08 Saxapahaw, NC - Haw River Ballroom
05-09 Asheville, NC - The Orange Peel
05-10 Atlanta, GA - Shaky Knees Festival
05-11 Charleston, SC - Charleston Music Hall
05-13 Ponte Vedra, FL - Ponte Vedra Concert Hall
05-14 Orlando, FL - The Beacham
05-16 Gulf Shores, AL - The Hangout Festival
05-17 Chattanooga, TN - Track 29
05-22 Westbury, NY - The Space at Westbury
05-23 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
05-24 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
05-25 Munhall, PA - Carnegie Library Music Hall of Homestead
05-27 Cincinnati, OH - Taft Theatre
05-29 Chicago, IL - Metro
05-30 Chicago, IL - Metro
05-31 Milwaukee, WI - Pabst Theater
06-01 Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue
06-02 Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue
06-04 Omaha, NE - Sokol Auditorium
06-05 Columbia, MO - The Blue Note
06-06 Nashville, TN - Ryman Auditorium
06-07 Lexington, KY - Buster's
07-29 New York, NY - Central Park SummerStage at Rumsey Playfield
Desaparecidos 2013 Fall U.S. Tour
Desaparecidos fans have been aching for more since the group's first full-length, politically charged album "Read Music/Speak Spanish" appeared on the scene in 2002. Good news came for fans last year when the group -- a pet project of Bright Eyes' Conor Oberst -- got back together and released three 7 inches, most recently with "Te Amo Camila Vallejo," and "The Underground Man." The new tracks stay true to the bands' cut throat anti-consumerism/anti-government views, dismissing social expectations and delivering a raw, hardcore, against-the-grain punk hard rock sound. Â I can't even count the number of times I have wished and hoped for the band to get back together and play a show in Chicago, though I kept myself thoroughly satisfied with frontman (and lyrical genius) Conor Oberst's work with Bright Eyes and Monsters of Folk. And now the dream has become a reality. Desaparecidos is back, and their fall U.S. tour will hit up the metro in Chicago on Oct. 25th, bringing along supporting act The So So Glos. Give Desaparecidos' newest tracks a listen and check out their tour dates below.
Sun-Oct-20 Englewood, CO - The Gothic Theatre
Mon-Oct-21 Lawrence, KS - Liberty Hall
Tue-Oct-22 Omaha, NE - The Waiting Room
Thu-Oct-24 St Louis, MO - The Pageant
Fri-Oct-25 Chicago, IL - Metro
Sat-Oct-26 Cleveland, OH - House of Blues
Sun-Oct-27 Detroit, MI - Majestic Theatre
Mon-Oct-28 Nashville, TN - Cannery Ballroom
Wed-Oct-30 Austin, TX - Mohawk (outside)
Fri-Nov-01 New Orleans, LA - Voodoo Music + Arts Experience
Sun-Nov-03 Pomona, CA - The Glass House
Mon-Nov-04 Los Angeles, CA - The Fonda Theatre