Forecastle hit the ground running with an action packed day 1, on Friday, July 14th,
starting at 3pm with Louisville psychedelic group Twin Limb on the Mast stage. Despite a cascade of equipment failures the band, consisting of Lacey Guthrie, Maryliz Bender, and Kevin Ratterman, toughed it out and played like champs to a crowd of nearly 1,000 people. With a crowd of this size, and before 5pm on a friday, it would be an easy assumption to make that local bands do have a draw and could be a major facet to this Louisville Fest, instead of being stacked up early on friday.
Quiet Hollers
Jim Bob & Aaron of Quiet Hollers
At 4:15 the Quiet Hollers hit the WFPK Port stage, with a slightly smaller crowd, but still impressive for a local band, and even more impressive that the medium sized crowd sang along to Mont Blonc from their 2015 Self Titled album. The band played several songs from their Amen Breaks released last week, including Broken Guitar and Wheel, in which frontman Shadwick Wilde addresed the crowd with "I don't make the 808s, I make the heartbreak'.
Jaye Jayle
Todd and Neil of Jaye Jayle
Jaye Jayle with Emma Ruth Rundle
The local music spotlight continued on the WFPK Port stage at 6 pm with Jaye Jayle, playing favorites from their album 'House Cricks And Other Excuses To Get Out' as well as songs from the Jaye Jayle/Emma Ruth Rundle split EP, as well as the occasional appearance onstage from Rundle herself. Included with the band on stage was Louisville artist Rita Cameron creating a painting on stage, causing frontman Evan Patterson to say to the crowd "if you don't already know, art and music will save the world" perhaps a commentary on the shrinking display of visual art at Forecastle; once a festival of Art-Music-Activism.
A frequent guest of Forecastle, Cage the elephant, while not being local in the sense of Louisville, but from Bowling Green Kentucky, hit the stage with a fervor rarely seen in rock these days. Singer Matt Shultz, in patented tight pants and no shirt stalked the stage (and climbed through the ecstatic crowd while singing) sounds like jack White backed by the pixies and looking like Sid Vicious with his extremely high voltage stage presence like a fire ball (and also sometimes employing actual fire balls) that was routinely interjected into the crowd with songs like "Punchin' Bag" and ''Ain't No Rest For The Wicked' as well as a flawless cover of Wreckless Eric's 'Whole Wide World' got the whole audience singing along to Cage the Elephant favorites like 'Cigarette Daydreams'.
At 9 pm the whole festival ran to the Boom stage when Queen's We Are The Champions' roared out of the P.A. and fell straight into 'Talk To Me' as Killer Mike and El-P hit the stage with the expressed mission to bring an upbeat and positive party vibe to Forecastle. Frequently addressing the crowd with compliments to Louisville and to the energy of the crowd Run The Jewels mesmerized a massive crowd with mostly favs from their December 24th, 2016, album '3' including 'Call Ticketron'.
Killer Mike (L) & El-P (R)
El P and Killer Mike moved constantly all over the stage. Dressed more like dads than rock stars with Killer Mike in an old t shirt and jeans and El-P in reading glasses and cargo shorts gave the feeling of hanging with friends than mega stars that really added to their positive and uplifting stage presence. The crowd chanting R-T-J between every song with Run The Jewels prompting the largest audience of the night to chant and yell, exclaiming to the crowd "this is what friendship looks like, every fucking day" and ending the set with favorites such as "Report To Shareholders/Kill Your Masters" before jumping into "Down" with the introduction 'This was written for the person who wakes up everyday and feels like the whole world is out to get them' for memorable set before the finale. In a rare move for a fest RTJ answered the chanting of the crowd for a high energy finale consisting of the title track of their self titled album.
Teddy Abrams and Friends
In a return to the local theme for the first day of Forecastle 2017 Teddy Abrams and friends took to the WFPK stage spotlighting local heroes like White Reaper and Kevin Ratterman (covering David Bowie's I'm afraid of Americans), as well as other friends and Louisville favorites Scott Carney, Jecorey '1200' Arthur, and Cheyenne Mize. Teddy Abrams and Friends have become a constant at Forecastle every year, and put on one hell of a popular show, but it almost seems like a catch all response to those who complain that local musicians have an ever decreasing presence at Forecastle. While the rest of the weekend looks light on local entertainment, Friday at Forecastle was covered front to back with Louisville's finest giving this year a completely unique and memorable first day; and that was Day One!
Get ready Louisville! Forecastle starts this Friday (bright and early at 3 pm for some reason), and we have picked out our favorites and listed them by stage and time so all you have to do is show up!
FRIDAY Top Picks:
TWIN LIMB (3pm Mast Stage)
This Louisville Favorite is kicking off this year's fest (although we would have much rather seen this talented band get a better time slot) and they also made it onto our Best Music Releases List of 2016 (twice)!
Quiet Hollers (4:15 Port Stage)
Again it's disappointing seeing one of our favorite local bands get a time slot when most people are still at work, but if you can make out these boys are sure to not disappoint! Their Self titled release made it to #3 of our top favorite albums of 2015!
Jaye Jayle (5:45 Port Stage)
Stay right where you are, because Louisville's own Jaye Jayle will be playing right after Quiet Hollers, and they are a must see! They also made it onto our top 10 albums of 2016!
Cage The Elephant (7:45 Mast Stage)
This Kentucky band was a crowd favorite at Forecastle in 2015 and promises to deliver.
Run The Jewels (9pm Boom Stage)
If there was just one group to see on day one, it might have to be Run The Jewels. This Group blasted the USA with it's speaker shattering and socially conscious RUN THE JEWELS 3 released on Christmas eve 2016.
37FLOOD has been doing year end reviews, and also decade end reviews (yes, we've been around that long) since 2010, and filing them under the category of 'Best Of'. Last year we heard a compelling argument by a Louisville musician on why he declined to accept a 'Louisville Music Award'. His argument was that music is subjective to the listener, and not objective, therefore cannot be quantified and measured as such. "you can have a 'tallest building' award but it is not possible to prove mathematically a 'best song'." We here at 37FLOOD agree, and have changed our categories to 'Favorite' instead of 'Best'. We, however, will still put our 'Favorite lists' on the 'Best Of' page to preserve continuity, with the previous 'Best Of' lists.
And, so, we give you 37FLOOD's 'Favorite's of 2016'. Last year we asked one of our writers if he would like to make a 'Best of 2015' list. His response was that there wasn't enough great music in 2015 to justify a list (however we disagreed and made a 2015 list anyway, found here).
Regardless of the overwhelming evidence that 2016 in general sucked, we found the music in 2016 to be extraordinary, with an above average output of quality music!
But not just extraordinary in a few genres, but holistically, as seen reflected in our 'Favorite Albums' list. You will find our favorite albums this year include Hip Hop, Psychedelia, Black Metal, Folk, Instrumentalia, and even Disco. And, of course, half of the music and media on our lists are Louisville based, including Twin Limb, Sea Hero, Jaye Jayle, Sick Velvet, and more, including the local media outlets Never Nervous and Kath In The Bath.
Among our favorites, we have included Leonard Cohen's last LP, You Want It Darker, recorded as he was dying. The album is genius, with several tracks reaching the hight of masterpieces, including the title track, Treaty, and Leaving The Table. Due to the high amount of musical related deaths this year, You Want It Darker was largely overlooked. But as for a look into death, this LP is as true as it gets; it's a heartbreaking trek through the mind of someone who knows he is not getting out.
Car Seat Headrest's first physical release, Teens Of Denial, get top marks, as the double LP is solid from stem to sternum. Will Toledo's focus has been tightened while still keeping the 'Jonathan Richman' style New England shrug to life's uphill battles.
Some of our favorites failed to get a physical release, but deserve a seat at the Favorites table none the less. Knox Brown's Searching EP was released by Virgin EMI Records, but only as a download, but is very worth a physical release. Drugdealer's debut 'The End of Comedy' was released physically, but not in the U.S. which is a large oversight, as it's disco overtones only enhance the mystical feel added by Weyes Blood and other contributors.
Take a look at our picks, and let us know what your 2016 picks are. Send your list to us here by Jan. 1st, and we will pick 5 lists at random to receive a free download of Louisville Is For Lovers2016 compilation!
This Week In Louisville History
Proud of your City? This Week In Louisville History gives you a peak into the past on how our city was shaped over the last couple centuries, with interesting facts you probably didn't know.
Did you know Louisville was founded on a small Island, called Corn Island, in the Ohio River? Did you know that the island was mined by companies so much that it washed away? All this and much much more at thisweekinlouisvillehistory.culturearchivist.com
The Louisville Free Public Library's new local music archive and streaming service with over 100 local albums to stream free. The service includes music by Jonathan Glen Wood, RMLLW2LLZ, Justin Paul Lewis, Billy Nelson, 1200, Brooks Ritter and Louisville Is For Lovers compilations!
A live music showcase on Jan. 20th, at the main branch at 301 York Street from 7-11, will have a 2 stage, 6 band Louisville Mix showcase to introduce the service and host by 1200. the event is free and all ages.
This Day In Pop Culture
Not a ''what's hot this week" culture website, This Day In pop Culture serves up a daily story of people & events that has shaped the world around us, reaching far beyond this week or this year. This Day In pop Culture explains how our society was shaped over the decades and centuries featuring biographies and stories including public executions of elephants for family entertainment, how Nazi politics drove a wedge between 2 brothers and in the process gave birth to the modern gym shoe, and how a New Orleans voodoo Queen was the reason the world's first Horror Punk band was arrested for grave robbing. (37FLOOD Approved!)
Me and Cereal Every Saturday
Daniel Disparte adds a new self portrait every Saturday morning having some cereal. More creative than it sounds, each post takes it's theme from the cereal he spotlights. Daniel's captivating portraits and dedication (not even skipping a post when his child was born) have gained him a cult following.
This highly creative (if not highly personal) Instagram account archives the exploits of Louisville's Kathy M, as she takes us on a tour of Louisville's bathrooms. Described as "Coming drunk and disorderly to a porcelain throne near you" this Instagram feed often portrays Kathy's adventures in costume or themed with holidays, and circle around our city's bars and nightlife in a bathroom setting, or in some cases, bathroom behavior nowhere near a proper bathroom. (37FLOOD approved!)
This friday, October 28th, the highly (highly) anticipated full length album, Haplo, from Louisville darlings Twin Limb hits the streets. Original members Maryliz Bender and Lacey Guthrie have brought producing/engineering legend Kevin Ratterman in as a full member, blending the solid duo vocal melodies we have seen on earlier Twin Limb albums (such as the solid Anything Is Possible And Nothing Makes Sense EP) and Ratterman's mix magic and composition skills heard on his early 2000's rock group Elliot and his solo efforts as Boundless and Starstruck, to create Haplo, a perfect mixture of a haunting old world and a bright unending future.
The first track is a version of Long Shadow, first heard as an early 2015 single that has resurfaced as extended remixes and psychedelic experiments before returning to form as a perfect resemblance of the beginning and future of group.
Ratterman's mix-mastery is heard on tracks like Luca and Gold From Teeth that howl and haunt with sounds from another world. Other tracks hit like a brick due to the heart pounding honesty, with lyrics like "Everything is gonna be alright... someway" or "I love her like wine/ the shadow is long/ you can see it from space/ and you can see it on my face/this too shall pass/ this too shall pass over you" delivered by Bender and Guthrie's delicate vocals followed by their feverish percussive assault, that at once seems like it could reverberate forever but leaves you needing more.
The future could very well revere Haplo as an important effort from the trio and in pop music in general; free from current trends or values and brutally honest in all the ways the count.
The Louisville Free Public Library (LFPL) has started a new program entitled Louisville Mix, a free streaming service unveiled today (October 3rd) on their Website that will archive and stream music by Louisville bands. To start there are over 50 full releases by Louisville bands including Twin Limb, Andrew Rinehart, Team Totoro, Cheyenne Mize, 23 String Band, Mudcat Blues Band, and others.
LFPL has also teamed up with Louisville Is For Lovers and the entire LISFORL collection will be available to stream through Louisville Mix. All of the Louisville Is For Lovers Valentine's releases will be available to start, and the entire 15 year catalogue will be available by January 20th, when the Library will release the full archive to date (with music added continuously after).
The Louisville Free Public Library has also paired up with 37FLOOD to help recruit local bands for the Louisville Mix Project. In January for 37FLOOD's 10th Anniversary (yep! we've been doing this for almost a decade!) We will be co-hosting a live Louisville Mix Showcase at the LFPL main branch with Louisville bands playing an 'After Dark' event. And in February Louisville Is For Lovers in partnership with Louisville Free Public Library will unveil the 2017 Valentine's release.
To commemorate the partnership with LFPL, Louisville Is For Lovers has released Vol. 1 & 2 of it's Valentine's series digitally here.
This Friday 2/5 at noon at WFPK studios will be a special Louisville Is For Lovers Showcase for the new LP released the same day. It will feature Twin Limb, The Hot Wires, The Gallery Singers, Jaye Jayle, Tender Mercy, Daphne Luster, as well as special guests and will be broadcast live on 91.9FM.
Also, tonight there will be a preview listening party for the new Louisville Is For Lovers LP at Haymarket Whiskey bar. 5 advanced copies will be given away, and there will be a photo exhibit by Nik Vechery. More info on this event here.
On Saturday December 26th at Headliners Music Hall Motherlodge and Do502 present Where It’s At : Justin Timberlake vs. Beck a dance party benefit for Strive (featuring members of Twin Limb, Wax Fang, Andrew Rinehart, Starbilly, and more) at Headliners and we have two tickets to give-a-way!
Just leave your name and who you predict will win the 'Battle of the Cover Bands' (Justin Timberlake or Beck) in a comment or send to louisvilleisforlovers@gmail.com by end of day Monday 12/21 and We will announce a winner Tuesday.
8pm doors / 9pm show 18 and over / $10 (18 and over) The concert will be a benefit for Strive, a 501(c)(3) non-profit arts and wellness organization that formed in Louisville earlier this year, and is being organized by Ray Rizzo of Motherlodge Live Arts Exchange and Cheyenne Mize and Nina Rodahaffer, the founders of Strive. More details here.
We are also giving away 2 tickets to the "I'm Dreaming of a White Stripes Christmas" on 12/25 at Zanzabar. Details here.
The triumphant return of Louisville Is For Lovers massively popular Valentine's comp (annually from 2001-2010) is set to be released on Feb.5th (with showcase at Zanzabar Louisville on Feb.12th) and the 15th anniversary edition of this series is loaded with some of the city's finest bands: Adventure, Brother Wolves, Cereal Gylphs, Crush (with Tory Fisher & Cheyenne Mize), The Cut Family Foundation, CZAR, The Deloreans, Eyeball (former The Mack frontman Jeff Shelton), The Fervor, The Gallery Singers, Gritty Pearl, The Hot Wires, Houses In Motion, J. Brent Stewart, Jaye Jayle, Regan Layman (of Black Birds of Paradise), Daphne Luster, Lydia Burrell, Maximón, Pleasure Boys, Plastic Bubble, Quiet Hollers, Remote Observer, Sandpaper Dolls, Second Story Man, Super Rowboat (Carrie Neumeyer of Julie of the Wolves), Tender Mercy, Twin Limb, Twin Pigeon, White Reaper, & The Winger Brothers. Louisville is for Lovers has also announced plans to digitize and remaster all 10 previous editions of the Valentine's series and release one a month during 2016. All of this doesn't come cheap so they are asking for donations to help with the project via a crowdfunding campaign. Included in the campaign are options to pre-order the 2016 comp (digital and vinyl), as well as getting a download of never before released live recordings of Louisville Is For Lovers songs by artists such as Bonnie 'prince' Billy and Jim James of My Morning Jacket for a donation of just $5. for such a good cause as well as getting great albums this feels more like getting great music for a great price than mere charity:
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.
Last week did a preview of Kentucky Music Fests this summer, this week we learned of kentucky artists playing the Birmingham Al music fest "Secret Stages" on July 31 & August 1.
Secret Stages is an annual walking music fest in downtown Birmingham of 7 stages with over 60 independent and regional bands over a two day period, and for an amazing $25 for a weekend pass (our best priced summer fest we've found so far!).
This year's Secret Stages will be hosting 3 Louisville bands, Twin Limb, The Pass, and White Reaper, as well as Lexington Ky artist Bear Medicine. For a complete lineup look here.
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.
Louisville/Bloomington band Murder By Death will be playing on 5/1 at Headliners in support of their new album "Big Dark Love" and advanced tickets are FREE courtesy of DO 502 (get tickets here). Last year we spoke to Sarah of Murder by Death, you can read the interview here.
5/1 at Headliners. ADV tix FREE. $5.02 at door. Twin Limb opening at 9 PM. 18+
Now that the temperature has dropped and the end of the year is drawing closer, we thought it was a good time to reflect on some of our favorite summer LOUISVILLE shows! --please notice we said Some, as there were many great shows this year (We decided to highlight ones we had downloads for..) & please feel free to leave a comment with some of your favorite shows from Summer 2014.
Seeing Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds was a dream come true for this boy, especially since Cave finally shaved that mustache. I like a good Mustache, but it just made Cave look like the bad kind of creep, and not the kind he pulls off so well. This summer saw many great national & international acts in Louisville including several during the same week.. which may have been why People were giving away tickets at the last moment on the street for this show. weekday shows are hard to fill, especially when you can only pick one. I'd like to see these bigger acts Like Nick Cave, Broken Bells, & Elvis Costello play on a weekend, and preferably not on the same weekend. Cave didn't play Deanna (my no.1 fav song of his), but he did play the Ship Song, which would be my second pick. And He was backed by Warren Ellis, which was also a dream come true.
Forecastle 2014 had plenty of great national acts (would have liked to see more local bands though) including The Replacements (surprisingly backed by Billy Joe Armstrong), Outkast, & Slint, to name a few. Seeing Oukast was definitely on the Bucket List, although I thought last years solo performance from Big Boi may have been better (and he pulled it off with a broken leg no less).
I was a little disappointed in SPOON, but in retrospect they sounded exactly like their records so I don't know what I was expecting.. Especially since I was a little disappointed in Jack White adding so many extra instruments to the White Stripes songs he covered, when back in the day he proved all he needed was a single girl backing him to slay an audience. But I will say, that even though I wasn't overly impressed by the show, he definitely made up for it at the very end with this 7 minute slaughter of 7 Nation Army. It may have been the best 7 minutes of the entire fest.
The Very Last Louisville Is For Lovers & Guestroom Records 'SUMMER CASSINGLE SERIES' will be friday July 25th at The New Vintage with Jaye Jayle, The Gallery Singers, eremy*JIrvin, Lydia Burrell & Twin Limb with Special guest opener Scars On 45 (England). Tickets are just $5 ADV at Guestroom or $7 at the door, and comes with a cassette compilation (and download) of new music from the bands; and you can pick up the other 2 Comps from the first 2 events too.
The Gallery Singers at the Electric Church of the Tambourine 'Terror Starts at Home'
from Summer Cassingle Series Vol.3
Poorcastle "where the have-nots shall have"
We love the idea of a Louisville Festival that is both affordable and features the impressive amount of local talent our town has to offer! at just $5 a day ($10 all weekend) no one can complain. Located on Mellwood ave, this year's Poorcastle is this weekend, Sat July 12 & Sun July 13. At a week before Forecastle it's safe to say the event organizers are making a statement not a stand, but we hear you loud and clear. We at 37FLOOD are planning to go to both, but are excited that there is an alternative for those without the means to visit main stream summer fests, and a variety for those who can.
Our Picks (in no particular order):
Plastic Bubble
Violet Knives
Lady Pyramid
New Bravado
Twin Limb
Black Birds of Paradise
Bottom Sop
Tender Mercy
This sounds like a good Saturday night: The Humana Fest Soiree will be on the Belle of Louisville 3/29 at 10 pm with music curated by the Motherlodge folks (including Louisville's Twin Limb) and it is FREE.
