Forecastle Day 3 Review

         It was blistering hot from the start on Sunday, but it didn't seem like anyone cared at the White Reaper set. Especially not the band, who were wearing black almost exclusively. The crowd grew as the set went on. Sometime in the middle they did a cover of "Rock n' Roll Part 2" by Gary Glitter, it seemed like more and more people were on stage as the set went on too, random kids just grabbing the mic and singing the lyrics or screaming. At one point a guy in a giant grim reaper costume came on stage and danced around. The energy at this show both on and off stage was pretty nuts.

White Reaper

         One much needed change that Forecastle made this year was shrinking the VIP section at the Boom Stage. In years past, the front of this stage was divided in half by VIP ticket-buyers and regular ticket-buyers. This led to a tighter crowding of people not on the VIP side where I watched a few people get hurt. This year, the VIP section was smaller and further stage right so that the whole front barrier was occupied by non-VIP ticket buyers, who weren't as packed together as they had been before. It didn't seem to make much of a difference for the VIP concertgoers either. There were about the same amount of them as previous years, showing about the same level of engagement. Altogether it just looked like a safer environment for everybody. 

Portugal. the Man

         That being said, Portugal. the Man's performance was full of surprises. I was planning on skipping the second half to catch the beginning of Modest Mouse's set just because I've seen Portugal so many times, but halfway through their opener "Hip Hop Kids," when I noticed that Nick Reinhart (of Tera Melos, Bygones, and more recently Death Grips fame) was standing in on second guitar, I got comfortable. Though they did mostly pull from their latest album "Evil Friends," they threw a couple surprises into their set like "Floating," from In the Mountain in the Cloud, and "Chicago," from Waiter: You Viltures! and even "Day Man" from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Over the past few years I've seen them focus more and more on stringing their songs together so they don't have to stop as much during their set. When they closed, they covered "Another Brick in the Wall" into their recent single "Purple, Yellow, Red, and Blue."

Modest Mouse... all of them

         I'm not a huge fan of the new Modest Mouse stuff, too many people in the band and all that, but they threw a few of the older songs into this set like "Styrofoam Boots," "Tiny Cities Made of Ashes," and "Shit Luck." The whole set seemed impersonal, but what can you expect from a main-stage performance. Still it was really nice to see them play with everyone singing along to "The Good Times are Killing Me."

         The Tallest Man on Earth took the stage as a full band, but halfway through the set Kristian Matsson played a few by himself including "Love is All," and "Lion's Heart." For "The Gardener," he brought out First Aid Kit to sing backup, then the full band took the stage again.

John's Forecastle 2015 picks

Look Out! Forecastle 2015 starts with a bang tomorrow! Here is what I am looking forward to seeing:

Friday July 7th:

JEFF The Brotherhood 3:15pm Boom Stage
4 years ago 37FLOOD writer Camille turned us onto this band and we've been keeping track of them ever since. Read her review here.

Cage The Elephant 7:30 Main Stage
(Last year We suggested they bring in this Kentucky band, and glad to see them on the roster).
 

Saturday July 18th

Ilovemakonnen 6:15 Ocean Stage
This L.A. hip hop pop candy has a way of digging in with juicy hooks and off the cuff lyrics.


My Morning Jacket 9:15 Main Stage
Hometown heroes closing saturday night on the big stage.


Sunday July 18th
For my money, sunday is the best bet if you are planing to go for just one day..

The WFPK stage starts with a bang with
Twin Limb at 1:30
followed by White Reaper at 2:45
and Diarrhea Planet at 4:45.


at 5:45 Portugal. The Man plays at the boom stage



and Modest Mouse begins at 6:45 on the Main stage

Kentucky Summer Music Festival Preview

     Here we go Kentucky; It's a hot swampy soup outside so it must be time for the Summer Festivals!
JULY17 In just 2 short weeks Louisville's very own Forecastle Fest! July 17-19 down on the waterfront for about $200 ($400 for VIP) with over 60 bands including My Morning Jacket, Sam Smith, Tallest Man On Earth, Portugal The Man, Modest Mouse, and local fare such as Twin Limb, and White Reaper.

Our Most viewed photo on 37FLOOD is this 2010 forecastle pic of Grace Potter by Kory Johnson.

     August 28-30  in Sparta Kentucky is the first annual NiFi Fest for about $300, $100 more than general Forecastle tickets, with almost half the bands (at least announced by press time), and not to mention the NIFI Website has been paying for google ads using "Forecastle" catch words to reroute viewers to their site.. I am a little suspicious of this one.. and, they are offering VIP tickets for a shocking $800 (Any sort of VIP tix is enough to set me off, I am always critical of music venues that treat Mr. Moneybags better than everyone else. If someone wants to support your event, they should be treated with the same respect as anyone else) but the lineup seems willfully different than the average fest, with folks such as Hank Williams Jr., Trace Atkins, Flogging Molly, and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band.  So We'll See how this inaugural NIFI fest goes.

NIFI Fest AD on Google

  August 29  In Lexington on August 29th (yes, we know.. for Louisvillians this might be a scheduling conflict as 8/29 has become as much of a City-wide holiday as Oaks Day) is the Moontower Fest; a one day family/pet friendly music fest that beats all the other music fest one-day prices, at a very reasonable $50, with 20 bands including Moon Taxi, J Roddy Walston & the Business, The weeks, and our very own Ben Sollee.

Logan's Best of: 2013

We’ve been in the new year for a little while now and I may be a little late on this, but 2013 was a huge year for music and there’s so much amazing material to sift through. So here’s a short comprehensive list of the best music the year had to offer.

• Chance the Rapper: Acid Rap-

         This is the most original rap album I’ve heard in years. Imagine Andre Benjamin but as a 20 year old Chicago kid instead of a southern gentleman. He's had two mixtapes so far and both are available for free on his website. Acid Rap is both a tribute to Chicago's history and a leap into its future. 

• Eminem: The Marshall Mathers 2 LP-

            Don’t call it a comeback... because it's almost certainly his last album. It's definitely his best album since his real comeback in 2009. Unlike his more uplifting albums Relapse and Recovery, what makes the MM LP 2 stand out is that he's gone back to doing what he does best- being angry.

• Sunn 0))): Black One-

            Technically it was just an unofficial RSD re-issue, but this was one of my favorite records I picked up all year. Really good album to listen to if you don't want to go outside or if you don't believe in electric lights.

• Gubbey Records: Head Cleaner-

            This compilation is over two hours long and features fourty six Louisville acts. Read our Full review here.

• Vampire Weekend: Modern Vampires of the City-

            After a three year break, Vampire Weekend went back into the studio with producer Ariel Rechtshaid (known earlier in the year for Snoop Lion's album, Reincarnated). This was the first time they've ever brought in an outside producer since keyboardist Rostam Batmanglij usually produces their albums. It seems like a weird combination, but they're exploring a lot of new territory with this record.

• Portugal. The Man: Evil Friends-

            I was really excited to hear that Danger Mouse was in studio with Portugal. the man. Immediately I thought they'd go back to the synth-heavy styles of Censored Colors and Church Mouth, but this listens more like one of those collaboration albums Danger Mouse is known for. 

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds: Push the Sky Away-

            This has been a constant listen since its release in February. Push the Sky Away is mainly built on a set of loops Warren Ellis made that the Bad Seeds played over to bring structure and depth to the sound. Lyrically, it's some of Cave's most ominous work.

• Megajoos: Mega Deuce:

            Megajoos (pronounced: mega-juice) is an experimental drum and bass outfit from Nashville. Some guy flagged me down in a Post Office parking lot and gave me their CD, and judging by the cover I didn't know what to expect, but these guys bring the fuzz. They kind of remind me of the Pixies' good stuff.

• Zorch: ZZOORRCCHH-

            I'm not sure how they got the name Zorch, I'm sure there's some sort of agreement with the older band by the same name. As I said in an earlier review, Zorch has everything it takes to be America's next big two piece, but their psychedelic electronic prog style might be too much for the masses to handle.

The Flaming Lips: The Terror-

            The Lips turned a new leaf with their 2013 release. Since keyboardist Steve Drozd is 100% sober now, it seems that Coyne gave him the wheel and let him steer the ship. The happy go lucky "it's great to be alive" band that you've grown to love is still in there somewhere, but now they're saying something more like "it's terrifying that I'm alive." 

That's all folks. Enjoy the tunes and good luck out there in 2014.