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Dolphin Pride
Catch it! 
TUL's Take: Matt & Kim @ University of Maryland
The blog is back! At least for now. I'd get into why I've been on hiatus for oh so very long but that's not why we're here today. No, instead, I'm here to discuss how we were embraced by the infectious energy of Matt & Kim inside the Stamp Student Union at the University of Maryland last Friday night. Despite their hit song "Daylight" being the soundtrack of a Bacardi advertisement, Matt & Kim have rode the wave of success following the release of their first proper full-length, Grand. They had already played a sold-out show at the Black Cat a few months ago, but their popularity has even soared higher since then. Let's put it this way: the band was slated to open for Weezer at a sold-out Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City the very next night. Something tells me that they felt a hell of a lot more comfortable in College Park performing in front of a few hundred students whom were for the most part decked out in Halloween regalia. Matt & Kim came on-stage around 9pm sporting fake black eyes and immediately began into their set, kicking off (from what I can recall) with "Cutdown". Honestly, it's hard to remember their entire setlist because the two of them were so into each song (and each other) that you were simply captivated by how much energy and happiness they were exuding while they were respectively bashing their drums and keyboards. One could tell how much fun the both of them were having by not only their nonstop smiles at one another, but also from performing in front of a lively crowd in a somewhat intimate setting complete with bopping heads, dancing, and even some crowd-surfing. When Kim's snare drum broke, Matt initiated a hip-hop beat on his synthesizer and told his bandmate to get down while her instrument was being attended to which elicited a roar from the crowd. Not to be outdone, Matt claimed that in the spirit of Halloween, he would remove an article of clothing before each song. Let's just say by the time the band closed the evening with "Daylight", Matt was left singing in just his underwear. Don't think they could've pulled that off at Hammerstein. All and all it was a very enjoyable show and their hour-long set seemed to fly by due to their nonstop dynamism. Excellent concert and instantly made up for the fact that I was unable to attend their Black Cat outing. Dare I say this show was probably better given the atmosphere and antics? Well done.
TUL's Take: Virgin FreeFest @ Merriweather Post Pavilion
Let me start out by saying that this was the easiest, most convenient music festival experience I have ever been apart of. We barely hit any traffic while driving up to Columbia and easily found parking in the Columbia Mall parking lot which equated to a five minute walk to the festival grounds. This was already much better than getting to Pimlico and we hadn't even stepped inside yet. Once we did, we were instantly enamored with the layout as it brought out a more homey feel than that of the Baltimore racetrack where previous Virgin Festivals had been held. Between the hills, trails, and shade it kind of reminded us of Bumbershoot as that was probably one of our favorite festival venues prior to this weekend. While heading over to the pavilion to see Mates of State, we stopped at the Dance Tent and checked out a bit of Holy Fuck and kind of regret not spending more time over there as they sounded like they were putting on a good set. Once we found some seats inside the pavilion, we quickly realized we were perhaps the only MoS fans within a five foot radius as everyone around us seemed to be waiting for Taking Back Sunday. I mean, come on: rocking married couple with baby > well, whatever TBS is. It's science. We then made our way towards the West Stage which was where we would eventually spend the majority of the day at. Up first was DC-native Wale, who, compared to when I saw him at Bohemian Caverns back on Inauguration Day, had an entire band (local go-go group UCB) backing up instead of a DJ. This was a good idea since it translated well to the festival audience. Wale is quite the showman and his banter between songs was rather entertaining, especially when tossing water bottles to the crowd "Check it, I'm Jason Campbell. Oh wait, I got sacked." Up next was none other than The Hold Steady, a band I have seen over a handful of times. Their set on Sunday, however, didn't really do it for me. Maybe because I was already getting drained from standing in the hot August sun for too long, but despite sounding great, I just couldn't get into it as much as if I were at some small bar in Albany where they're relentlessly rocking out in a crowded, dank space. They still wear their heart on their sleeve when performing regardless of venue though. Public Enemy was up next after their DJ did 15 minutes of scratching. The crowd was the largest of the day thus far as Chuck D, Flava Flav, and the entire Terror Squad brought us back to the Terrordome. I was never a big Public Enemy fan but these guys, despite their age, put on a tremendous effort and really got the crowd going during their hour long set. Halfway through the show, we decided to check out the various tents and vendors before coming back for The National. Ah yes, The National. While their records have been solid, I was never rally captivated by the times I've seen them perform live. Sunday, however, was different. It's been roughly two or so years since I saw them in concert, but since then, they have improved by leaps and bounds and it visibly showed onstage. Lead singer Matt Berringer was a force to be reckoned especially during "Mr. November" and "Squalor Victoria". The added horn section was a nice bonus and added a new dynamic to the band, especially for a setting as large as a music festival. What can I say, they won me back over during their powerful hour-long set and I think I'll have to go to their next show at the 930, whenever that may be. Speaking of the 930, I don't think I learned my lesson when I stood in front of the subwoofers at the club when TV on the Radio came to town. Granted I had a great spot to see, but I couldn't hear shit. Turns out I made the same mistake when Girl Talk performed on Sunday, except dude had the bass at 11. It's become quite evident that one doesn't need to be along the barrier to watch Greg Gillis do his thing, especially when you have a bunch of clowns dancing up onstage trying to upstage one another. Rachel made the intelligent decision to head up towards the back of the field so she could actually hear all sound frequencies while I was stuck using makeshift earplugs made from the toilet paper they were shooting out by Girl Talk's accomplices. The band I was really excited to see all afternoon was in fact the headliner of the West Stage, Franz Ferdinand. And boy, these guys delivered on all fronts. I've seen them three times prior to Sunday, and this by far was their best performance to date. Not only that, but I personally felt that they stole the show at FreeFest. Kicking off the set with "No You Girls", the band has truly perfected performing live. Between the razor-tight guitar riffs, call-and-response tactics, and collective (and ridiculous) drum solo, the boys from Scotland put on one hell of a show and closed the FreeFest out with a collective bang (minus the cymbals as they were already disassembled during the rousing finale "Lucid Dreams"). Overall, the FreeFest was a huge success and I was so glad to be a part of it. Virgin and IMP did an impressive job and I actually preferred the grounds of Merriweather over Pimlico should they decide to hold another festival. All of the vendors were friendly, getting to/from stages was easy, and the food selection was great. Here's hoping Virgin Fest returns in some sort of fashion next summer!
People don't dance no more, they just stand there like this...
The Rapture, the one band I've been dying to see live since, like, forever, will be performing up in Bmore at Sonar on Saturday, September 12. Tickets are only $10 in advance ($13 at the door) and are on-sale now. The Golden Filter as well as the Taxlo DJs will be supporting the group in what is being advertised as their only area appearance. Whoo, alright!
Hold Steady to Play Virgin Fest After, err, Beforeshow
The Hold Steady, who will be performing at next weekend's Virgin Fest up in Merriweather, has just announced a show at the 9:30 Club the night prior to the event on Saturday, August 29. Tickets are $25 and are already on-sale! If you don't feel like making the schlep up to Columbia on Sunday and/or missed out on tickets, this is certainly a nice alternative.
Islands Are Forever
Awesome! Islands, who will be releasing their third album entitled Vapours on Tuesday, Spetember 22, will be returning to DC on Tuesday, October 6 at the 9:30 Club. They'll also be performing up in Baltimore on Monday, November 2 at the Gspot. I didn't even realize they have a new album coming out as Arm's Way was one of my favorite releases from 2008. I wonder if they'll still refuse to play "Rough Gem?"
Has it Really Been Four Years Since Brendan Benson’s Last Album?
Yes, yes it has. But this morning’s email from iLike was a cause for celebration as one of my favorite singer-songwriters will finally be releasing his fourth proper release, entitled My Old Familiar Friend, on Tuesday, August 18. Most people know Benson’s work from his time with The Raconteurs but his solo albums are pop masterpieces, at least in my opinion. Hopefully this means he’ll hit the touring circuit as his show at the Black Cat in 2005 still stands as one of my favorite concerts I’ve ever been to.
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