Forecastle 2015 Day 1 Review

        It took a minute to get down here from Cincinnati so by the time I actually got into the festival, Cage the Elephant had been playing for fifteen minutes or so. The crowd was pretty tight when the show first started, but loosened up as the band did. The last time I'd seen them was at Starry Nights Music Fest in 2012, and the difference from then till now was incredible, like their stage presence has gained momentum with their career. As I got closer to the stage one man walking past me remarked "That guy is an animal" in reference to Matt Schultz, whose stage antics displayed the energy of a four year old. Matthan Minster stepped away from the keyboard and picked up a guitar to join Brad and Nick in the arpeggios for "Shake Me Down" which hovered over the audience like a thick fog.
         For their closer, "Sabertooth Tiger," Matt sang the first verse from the stage, then took to the audience with his microphone. It took him nearly a minute to get off the stage then over the barricade to his fans, sometimes rolling around surfing the crowd, others standing on top of them to sing his final verses. It was oddly reminiscent of Ian Svenonius' antics.

         Houndmouth took the Boom Stage in the middle of Cage's set. It was cool to see a hometown band that was scheduled for the Port Stage just two years before come back to a crowd that was anxious to see them. They've maintained all the same charms that they had when we last spoke to them, but with a nuance that comes with only experience. They also had an ASL translator stage left of the band, which I thought was really cool.

         Forecastle has always had a good ear for hip-hop acts, but the bulk of these end up on the Ocean Stage. On one hand, it's cool to have a stage that's almost exclusively for rap and dance music. On the other, the Ocean Stage is located directly under an overpass, which just naturally causes a large amount of reverberation. This is only exacerbated by the loud, bass-heavy, nature of the music that's most often slated for that stage. Remember when Run the Jewels played in 2013? The same thing happened for Big K.R.I.T.'s set this year. He delivered an incredible performance, but the sound quality was awful. Talib Kweli made a surprise appearance and everyone went apeshit when he played "I Got This."

         

John's Forecastle 2014 Day One Review

Lovely Mermaids (ART side of Forecastle)

Although the weather was dark and rainy,  to the thousands who attended the first day of Forecastle, it sure beat the overwhelming heat of Forecastle Past. It was a little too chilly maybe for the Mermaids and Dancing Lifeguards placed around Waterfront Park, but they didn't show it if they were cold, and these little living art installations added to the atmosphere as well as larger than life sea-creature puppets that roamed the grounds.

SPOON

Against Me! brought in a large crowd despite being on the boom stage, and despite playing at 4 pm, and was a huge success. Possibly not intentionally there as part of he "Activism" side of Forecastle, transgender front woman Laura Jane Grace (born Thomas James Gabel) spoke frequently about tolerance and acceptance for the LGBT community to great support from the crowd.

Spoon also played on the Boom stage to a large crowd at 7:45 pm. Being around for more than 20 years, it's no surprise they drew in a crowd. I remember several Forecastle's ago, there was a wooden half pipe by the entrance with people skating to I Turn My Camera On (my favorite Spoon song) and thought this is a band i'd like to see at Forecastle.    So i was pleased to see them on the roster this year, and they played I Turned My Camera On! I will say they sounded just like their albums, they were technically perfect, which may be a compliment, but for a live performance it would have been nice to see something with a little more pageantry.

OUTKAST killing it!

The pageantry came in droves with OUTKAST who played for more than a hour and a half with all the fervor and excitement of FREAKNIK past. also celebrating 20 years, Outkast opened with an amazing version of Bombs Over Baghdad  and blazed through their impressive catalog including Miss Jackson, ATLiens, Speakerboxxx, She Lives In My Lap, Caroline, Rosa Parks, and Hey Ya! while bringing up girls from the audience to dance along with them. They also had  video to go along with the songs, including footage of a woman stripping along to Ghettomuisck. Big Bio played last year at Forecastle from a chair due to a leg injury and slayed it, so it was amazing seeing him in full force! He brought with him some of the same musicians from last year's performance including  the uncompromising drummer Omar, and Debora Kelly on bass. They also brought a horn section, dancing girls, and back up singers Kesha Jackson and Joi: the Neutron Angels (complete with black angel wings). Despite lack luster reviews of this tour I can tell you Outkast has not skipped a beat, and if you missed them yesterday be sure to catch them at another fest such as Lalapalooza (Chicago 8/2) or OVO Fest (Toronto 8/3) before they head overseas or take another hiatus that may last waaay too long. And that was DAY 1!  

Big Bio (Photo by NA James/Eleven Music Magazine)

Andre 3000 (Photo by NA James/Eleven  Music Magazine)

Special thanks to Kristen Luther and Na James of Eleven Music Magazine for sharing images of Forecastle 2014.

John's Forecastle Day 1 Review

For anyone keeping track, Thursday I listed my hopes and concerns about this year's Forecastle, in What To Expect When You're Expecting (A Big Weekend). And now just a mere few hours after DAY 1, while lying in bed yawning and writing to you, I can I say I had a great time so far, and was more than pleasantly surprised when It came to some of my concerns.  The four stages were closer together, making it easier to run from one act to another.
Also in the past I had issues with the No Outside Water  Allowed; all but one park water fountain was turned off, and a 12oz bottle of water cost $3 (and drink tix came in $10 packs).

View from Forecastle's one water fountain in 2010

This year I was pleasantly surprised to find a free water station where anyone could fill up any container they brought with them. Of course it doubled as a sales vendor offering up Camel Bak hydration systems; but i'll take a win where I see one.

View from Camel Bak's 'Freshly Filtered' water Station this year 

Instead of a local stage this year they have a WFPK stage, and it broadcast live on 91.9 for those Louisvillians who may have not been able or afford to see the fest. Granted the headlining bands where on the other larger stages (and therefore were not broadcast), the WFPK stage held mostly hometown heroes (The Pass, Night Beds, Moon Taxi).
The first band to kick off the WFPK stage was Louisville darlings The Pass. I had actually been looking forward to seeing this performance due to rumors of special guest appearances, and they did not disappoint.

 The show began with an explosive version of Prince's I Would Die 4 U with guest vocals from Sarah (of The Ladybirds), J Perry (of The Deloreans) and Scott Carny (of Wax Fang), and they all returned with local hero Jalin Rose a little later in the set for When Doves Cry. I wonder if this wasn't a small hint from The Pass to the curators of Forecastle that more local artists needs to be included (the number of local bands being about 5 compared to 2010's  25).  It was a great show all around with some of Louisville's finest representing.

The Pass with J Perry, Scott Carny and Sarah Teeple

Another of the area's favorites,Houndmouth, were slated for the WFPK stage but got moved to the 'bigs' (due probably to they're recent explosion on the national level and also to some of the Forecastle headliners canceling at the last minute such as Animal Collective).  I caught the tail end of their show on the main stage (mast stage) but couldn't get very close due to the massive crowd that had showed up to cheer them on. So it shouldn't be a surprise that after their show I met them and had no idea who they were. I saw Louisville champion Sean Bailey (Louisville Music Culture) talking with some folks about a very strange vegetable drink that was available at Forecastle: Carrots, Ginger, and an entire jalapeno. A very lovely girl (who as it turns out is Katie Toupin the keyboardist) said despite it not being pleasant she couldn't stop drinking it and insisted I try hers, which I reluctantly did.. and i gagged and said it tasted like spicy dirt, all had a laugh.  It's nice to see hometown brothers and sisters do well, and maintain a humble personality to boot.

The Best part of Day 1 for me was BIG BOI on the boom stage. Before the show a large throne was placed in the middle of the stage and a long intro summoned Big Boi who seemed to be taking his time, which caused some speculation.. but when he did appear he had two crutches and a massive full leg brace on. "Don't know if y'all heard but had surgery six weeks ago.. getting stronger by the minute, but wouldn't miss Forecastle for the world" brought massive cheers from the crowd. He went on to explain that after sitting around watching TV after the surgery made him realize he needed to get back to work. He even did a call and response with the crowd, that was a message for himself: "Stop Watching TV! Bitch read A Book! Stop Watching TV! Bitch read A Book!" Even confined to his throne with his leg elevated Big Bio delivered with enthusiasm. In fact the entire stage was filled with singers, dancers, and musicians.. and children.. who all seemed very excited to be there. I can't imagine the show he puts on when he is fully mobile.

keep that leg elevated

 You know it's a good time when the folks who have to be there, such as the EMTs and stage security, are enjoying themselves! Watching the EMS team sing along and dance was great fun! And that was DAY 1!

Big Boi has got something to say

"The South has Something to Say!" hollered Big Boi when OutKast won Best New Rap Group at the Source Awards in 1995, well, 15 years later, it seems he still has something to say.. as reported today by top authority Pitchfork, Big Boi's first solo album "Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty", due out next week on Def Jam, is streaming on his myspace page in full for all to hear. and it is gonna knock your underpants off.
i'm sure Andre 3000 is locked away in his room right now feverishly working on a pantie melting response.
go listen to this whirlwind epic. you will never be the same again.