It’s been a long wait since the release of Merriweather Post Pavillion, since this show was announced, since the tickets went on sale. May the 20th seemed like it would never arrive, and as I spun everything from Spirit They Came to their newest live tracks, the prospect of seeing Animal Collective live seemed more myth than reality.
But enough of the deification. The show has obviously come and gone, but the hype surrounding these guys both as a live act and on record is sure to stay. I got the chance to see the trio last year at the Pitchfork music festival, and they were good. But the set was very short and the band seemed a little passive with their enthusiasm of actually headlining the festival. Last night though, Animal Collective took the stage and commanded an energy from start to finish like few bands can. It was captivating and jaw-dropping while at the same time extremely fun and enjoyable.
The set list was great as well. Obviously playing plenty of tracks from Merriweather, the band also managed to open with the older “Chocolate Girl”, played “Chores” and “Fireworks” from Strawberry Jam, and also knocked out “Who Could Win a Rabbit” from Sung Tongs. Highlights of the night include the comparatively stripped down yet overly amazing version of “My Girls” and the five minute breakdown in the middle of “Fireworks” that came as close to a guitar or drum solo that you could ever see from Animal Collective.
Stage set-up was even stunning. The lighting for the show was spectacular, that is unless you get seizures easily. For the rest of us though, we were treated to strobing color almost constantly, making the sight of Panda Bear singing on “Guys Eyes” even more beautiful than I ever imagined. The giant ball that hung above the stage, along with the giant optical illusion, err, album cover in the background made sure that stage was completely utilized.
It’s a tour and concert I want to be proud to tell my kids about someday. You saw Woodstock? You saw Hendrix? You saw Ringo? I saw Animal Collective, one of the most influential and boundary pushing bands of my age. Describing how important they are to music might be cliche, but Animal Collective might be one of the only bands from this entire subculture worth talking about years down the line.
So there’s plenty of video and photos for you to check out of course. Please excuse my terrible half-singing half-yelling along to some of the songs, I apologize. Enjoy!
In my opinion Guilty Simpson is the one emcee that Dilla’s beats fit with perfectly. Every time you hear Guilty on a Dilla track there is no questioning whether he was the right person for the job. With the track “Stress” the outcome is no different. Dilla lays down a sick beat that is very omniscent of the Beatles tune “Eleanor Rigby” with a more electronic twist, and Guilty flows over this track like a waterfall. Even though this track isn’t on Jay $tay Paid it still makes me anticipate it even more, because the only thing better than Dilla tracks, is new Dilla tracks.
If you haven’t heard the song yet or if you’re a newcomer to the awesomeness that is 
As I sit in my new favorite cafe here in La Crosse, 
officially sold out of The Animal Crack Box vinyl set that everyone and their mother have been salivating over. The triple-vinyl box set collects various live tracks and unreleased material from the bands tribal years from 2000-2003 period. If you happened to have $92 laying around and happened to be on the internet and happened to stumble upon the first blog that wrote about it (Pitchfork) you might have been lucky enough to load the page fast enough to get a copy. Oh well I guess, The rest of us poor souls will just have to wait for the MP3s to come leaking out of some dude’s basement. 
After releasing an EP and LP under his full name, Seth Kauffman has taken a bit of a different route with his new project. Taking on the name 
The beloved folk-pop group Fleet Foxes have already toured once in support of their chart topping 2008 release of the same name, and now they’re sketching out some more dates for this summer as well.
side. MP3s of False Knight have been floating around on the web for a while now, but here it gets a well deserved official release. “False Knight On The Road” is well worth the purchase, the echoing vocals recorded mostly by frontman Rob Pecknold are much more in line with his or fellow Fox’s J. Tillman solo projects, but the song could have just as easily appeared on their self-titled group debut. If you’re broke though, or out a record player, check the MP3 below for what you’re missing. Enjoy!
MIND INVERSION 