Archive for lollapalooza

5 Good Reasons to Avoid a Bassnectar Show

Posted in Off Topic, Random with tags , , , on Friday, August 17, 2012 by Eric Gilardi

5. His fan base consists of a lot of middle school aged kids.

There seems to be an influx of young kids at Bassnectar shows. I have nothing against young kids as long as they can be responsible and not cause a scene; however, it is never a good time when I have to look at a girl who is far too young to be that far gone.

4. His music is ground shaking but not ground breaking.

The consistency of his sound consists of a lot of heavy bass. I guess if you like to listen to a repetitive heavy bass line then it is a show for you. That is why I say his music is ground shaking but not ground breaking. He isn’t creating electronic music that is trend setting or new to the industry. This heavy bass seems to work for him even though I do not understand how or why?

3.  Slow vibe dancing is just not as fun.

When attending a Bassnectar show get ready to vibe slow. His display of powerful bass is great if you are into dancing slow but if you are looking for a dance party, you will not find one at his show. I prefer a dance party over a crowd who is methodically moving to the beat.

2. Throws in the change of pace too late in his set.

When I saw him recently at Lollapalooza, he changed it up towards the end of his set with some hopped up punk rock. This was a lot of fun and got the crowd going – an easy thing to do after putting everyone to sleep for an hour. If he would have mixed some of this in to break up the monotonous first hour, or brought in a few upbeat dance songs to change the pace a bit,  his show would be more enjoyable.

1. His music is fit for the bedroom not a music venue.

This slow vibe dancing I was talking of earlier can make you look to this music as a way to make babies. There’s a name for this style of electronic music: baby making music. That is why when you look around at one of his shows you see a bunch of people “getting it on” in the crowd. That is cool if you like to see that display of public affection, but it’s not my number one priority when attending a show. To the people who like to do that, put a subwoofer under your bed and turn the bass up if you cannot give your women a proper orgasm.

*Take note for every reason I just listed could be the very reason you want to attend a Bassnectar show. If you are a really big fan of his music, then I would definitely suggest going. Keep in mind, the opinions of this article are from a person who was totally impartial before going to the show at Lollapalooza.

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Evacuation: Lollapalooza

Posted in Music News, News, Opinion Editorial with tags , , on Sunday, August 12, 2012 by Eric Gilardi

I have been attending Lollapalooza for the past 4 years now, and I have never been part of an evacuation. For that part, no one has ever been part of a mandatory evacuation at Lollapalooza since it’s inception in 1991. Evacuation is such a scary word and seemed like an extreme measure to take at the time. I am going to tell you why it was the right move and how it all went down from my perspective.

I had watched the weather that morning, and the trustworthy meteorologist said that we would be alright. A possible scatter thunderstorm during the day with the severe weather hitting the Chicago area later that night after Lollapalooza was already over for the day. When the text from a friend came in: “How is the rain?” I simply replied with: “What rain? lol”. At that point, I thought I better check the radar on weather.com as the city skyline was getting draped with a very dark, swirling line of clouds. The radar wouldn’t come up, as my phone was not cooperating at the time, but I did see that there was a severe thunderstorm warning in effect until 4:15 pm. Then the unthinkable happened – Alan Palamo of Neon Indian made an announcement at 3:10 pm that they were to be done playing in 10 minutes and that everyone had to leave Grant Park.

At that point, I do not think the crowd believed they had to leave; I know they didn’t want to leave. My group of friends didn’t want to leave the park either. The security ushered us out like a herd of cows, forcing us out in to the streets of Chicago.
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5 Musts if You are a Lollapalooza 1st Timer

Posted in Music News, News with tags , , , , , , , , , on Tuesday, July 24, 2012 by Eric Gilardi

With Lollapalooza a little more than a week and since it will be my fourth year in attendance, I wanted to give you a list of 5 things you should experience at the Festival in Grant Park. I will be participating in all 5 of these “musts” again this year.

5. Eat a Lobster Corn Dog from Grahamwhich.
Ever since the first year of attending this festival, getting a lobster corn dog has been almost as much of a tradition as going to Lollapalooza. It comes from Chow Town’s Grahamwhich booth and the price should not deter you from trying the tasty morsel. It is festival friendly, as it is a breaded lobster tail on a stick with a tasty dipping sauce on the side. If you have one you will find yourself craving another in the future.

4. See a Show at the Google Plus Stage*.
The Google Plus Stage*, or “The Grove” as me and my friends call it, is a side stage where I highly recommend seeing a show. The stage was put in its current location when the grounds expanded 2 years ago. That was the year we saw Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros perform. During their set they made us all sit Indian-style for a song near the finish. It was a pleasant surprise that the crowd easily agreed and it is one moment from Lollapalooza that I will never forget.
*Google Plus Stage has changed to the Google Play Stage this year.

3. Get there Early and Try to Walk into 1 Show Blind.
The reason I say this is because the earlier you arrive the easier it is to beat the crowd. Also, seeing a band you have never heard of will either allow you to discover some new music or, you will realize a band is not for you, and then it is on to the next. I always enjoy arriving to Lollapalooza early so I can be pleasantly surprised by an early act, in addition to being able to walk right up to the stages and just having the ability to relax in space. The first year I attended on Friday we walked in and walked up to the main stage. That’s where I discovered Hey Champ. If I hadn’t gotten there early I would never have heard of Hey Champ so get out, live a little and be surprised.

2. Check Out the Farmer’s Market.
The Farmer’s Market was introduced in the past few years but I didn’t actually check it out until last year. It quickly became my favorite area of the festival to get good healthy food. It is a great alternative away from all the other booths that make up Chow Town. When you are attending a festival, such as Lollapalooza, it is important to keep your body in good shape. It takes a little longer to get your food from this area but it is well worth the wait. Last year, it happened to be right next to the Google Plus Stage so you can kill two “musts” with one stone. Grab some great healthy food and enjoy a show at the Google Plus Stage.

1. Get Lost at Perry’s.
Perry’s Tent is the heartbeat of Lollapalooza that can be heard from all around the grounds. It is something that when the music stops at another stage you hear the bass inviting you in for a little dance party fun. You should not try to fight the temptation to go in and let yourself go crazy. Just realize that once you enter you may not want to leave and there are other acts to see at Lollapalooza.

Understanding Michael Angelakos of Passion Pit

Posted in Music News, News, Reviews, Writing Reviews with tags , , , , , , , on Friday, July 20, 2012 by Eric Gilardi

When I first read the message from Michael Angelakos on Passion Pit’s Facebook page about them canceling their current shows because he needed a mental health break, I thought: “What a crock of shit! Here you are in your mid 20’s, on top of the world and you need a mental health break?” Now, after reading Larry Fitzmaurice’s feature on Pitchfork yesterday, in entirety, I feel like a complete douche bag for thinking that way.

I have been a Passion Pit fan since Manners came out and I know it had been taking some time for the band to get their new album, Gossamer, put together. I have been wondering why but it seems the reasoning was more serious than I ever would have imagined. A depressed, clinically diagnosed bi-polar Michael had been fighting his inner most demons while trying to complete an album that record execs and fans had been patiently waiting for. Continue reading

Is the Festival Scene Becoming Over Saturated?

Posted in Music News, News with tags , , , , , , , on Thursday, July 19, 2012 by Eric Gilardi

Remember when going to a festival used to be something to boast about? When you used to have to travel out of your way to get to the destination of choice and that added to the experience in a good or a bad way? Today, you just have to wait for the next festival to, literally, pop-up in your backyard. When do we make the realization that there are too many music festivals and it just is not as unique anymore? Now, everyone including your mother will be going to a musical festival this year. Believe me, most people’s mothers wouldn’t make this scene as fun but it could add to that uniqueness.

I am not complaining about this recent trend as I will be attending the inaugural Summer Set Music and Camping Festival in late August. I will just say I am evoking my right to voice my opinion on this matter. Continue reading

Artist Interview: Jacob Hemphill of SOJA

Posted in Interviews with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on Wednesday, February 15, 2012 by Eric Gilardi

So I found myself interviewing Jacob Hemphill the lead singer and guitarist of SOJA on Valentine’s Day. If you would have told me this a month ago, I would have said there is no way but yet there we were sharing a conversation.

Eric from Mind Inversion (E of MI): First off, I would just like to thank you for taking the time to sit down with Mind Inversion do this exclusive interview.

Jacob Hemphill from SOJA (JH of SOJA): Sure, sure.

E of MI: Secondly, I would like to congratulate you on the success of your new album, Strength to Survive. Did you guys expect this much instant success with this album?

JH of SOJA: We really didn’t know what to expect, it’s reggae you know? And it’s not even Jamaican Reggae, its American Reggae. We expected our fans would like it and we hoped people would feel like the things I was talking about were what was on their mind or if it wasn’t on their mind we hoped it would become one of the things they would be thinking about. Those were kind of our two goals and then it jumped to #3 on all of iTunes and we were all like, “Holy crap, what’s going on?”

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Sleigh Bells Release Second Single Off of Reign of Terror: “Comeback Kid”

Posted in Music News, News with tags , , , , , on Tuesday, January 31, 2012 by Eric Gilardi

The second single off of the new Sleigh Bells album, Reign of Terror, has been released for viewing over at reignofterror.tv. This has happened not a moment too soon since I can not or choose not to remember the name of the first single. “Comeback Kid” has gotten me, once again, excited for the sophomore album by the popular Brooklyn, New York duo. After hearing the first single I was thinking, “Oh no, another follow-up failure to an unprecedented debut album.”

Major Disappointment of 2011: Sleigh Bells cancelling Lollapalooza.

Major Excitement of 2012: When I see Sleigh Bells for the first time, hopefully at Lollapalooza.

GZA Live @ Lollapalooza

Posted in Media, Video with tags , , , , on Tuesday, August 25, 2009 by Tim Althaus

I have to say, GZA has to be top 10 for sure. Here is some footage of The Genius performing “Liquid Swords” at Lollapalooza this year live with Santigold. I watched this video and had to start listening to the album Liquid Swords right away, shit’s way to classic to not listen to on a regular basis. You can hit the jump to watch another video with some very brief clips of performances from other tracks, GZA talking about what other projects he would love to be a part of and the feature of the Clan. Continue reading

Chicago’s Big Summer Festivals Get First Announcements

Posted in Concert Dates, Music News with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , on Saturday, March 7, 2009 by Erik Burg

lolla-091It’s sad to see some of the summer’s biggest festivals go under in this tail-spin of an economy, but the ones that are hopefully gonna stick around for a long time are getting their first line-up announcements. Lollapalooza, arguably the biggest festival of the entire year, and Pitchfork, both got some big line-up news this week, tempting fans to jump on tickets sales early. 

Lollapalooza has only announced a few of the headliners for the event, but it’s a very interesting mix. Jane’s Addiction, The Beastie
Boys, and Depeche Mode are going to anchor the festival this year. Stereogum put it very nicely, “if only it was 1990”. I’m very interested to see how ticket sales go right away, seeing as those acts really aren’t in huge demand. I mean yeah, the Beastie Boys still rock, but Depeche Mode and Jane’s Addiction haven’t exactly stirred my interest lately. I’m a lot more interested to see some of the other acts that will be leaking out throughout the next few months.

Pitchfork, the slightly more budget friendly, yet just as amazing festival has given away a little bit more information about what you’ll be seeing in Union Park this summer. Their friday night line-up, curated by All Tomorrow’s Party called “Don’t Look Back” for it’s theme of older acts playing their most popular albums, has roped in some huge bands again. Yo La Tango, Built To Spill, Tortoise, andp4k-09 The Jesus Lizard will all be playing that first day, but with a little different and completely awesome new spin to it. The entire set lists that the bands will be playing will be voted on by the fans who buy tickets, which go on sale March 13th. A cool idea, an very cool idea. Some of the other acts that will be appearing throughout the rest of the weekend include the extremely popular Grizzly Bear, the National, Vivian Girls, Pharoahe Monche, the Walkmen, and The Pains of Being Pure at Heart. Pitchfork always does an awesome job creating a line-up geared towards all listeners, and this year’s festival is looking to do the same thing. Coupled with the fact that a two day weekend pass is only 60 bucks, I wouldn’t be surprised to see this festival sell out earlier this year, gaining attendance from those music lovers out there who aren’t willing to spend upwards of 200 dollars to get to Lollapalooza. 

Check out the links to more information below!

Pitchfork Music Festival,  July 17th – 19th 2009.

Lollapalooza, August 7th – 9th 2009.