Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘All Things Go’ Category

[ATTENDED: October 1, 2023] Vundabar

My daughter had “Alien Blues” on a playlist and I immediately loved it.

I have had many opportunities to see Vundabar play (this Festival was actually the 8th time they were on my radar).  We caught one song of theirs when they opened for Mother Mother (why were we so late?)

So I was pretty psyched that they were playing this Festival.  Especially since they were playing in Philly (opening for The Front Bottoms–two other times I could have seen them) on both Saturday night and Sunday night.  So they drove down from Philly, played their set and then drove back for Sunday night.

I enjoyed their set from the get go.

They are fun and goofy.  Their songs are a little weird, with slides and unexpected stops and starts.

I was also intrigued that Brandon Hagen had a big bandage on his strumming finger (he apparently cut himself).

While most bands put their name on the marquee above them, Vundabar just had a big smiley face.  They were also one of the few (perhaps only) bands that was all guys.  Zack Abramo (bass) and Drew McDonald (drums).

I think “Alien Blues’ is a big enough hit to get them side stage at a Festival.   “Alien Blues” was great and got the crowd moving (on a rather hot day in the sun).

I really liked the bouncy Ash in the Sun.  And, indeed, all of the set.  I think my daughter didn’t enjoy them as much as she thought she might.

I do hope to see them again in a club, rather than in a field.  They were a ton of fun and a headlining spot I’m sure would be wonderful.

SETLIST

  1. Chop Ö
  2. Acetone
  3. Tonight I’m Wearing Silk
  4. Nosferatu Δ
  5. Ash in the Sun Ö
  6. Darla Ö
  7. Alien Blues Ö
  8. Oulala Ö

Ö Gawk (2015)
≈ Smell Smoke (2018)
Δ Devil for the Fire (2022)

Read Full Post »

[ATTENDED: October 1, 2023] Juliana Madrid

Our plan for day 2 was to arrive in time to see Vundabar.  I think that Juliana Madrid was running late, because we arrived close to the end of her set but we got to hear three songs.

She stood center stage in a bright green dress with her guitar.

The rest of the music was all on backing tracks, but it sounded good–big and full–and filled up the grassy area nicely.

I was really impressed with her set.

I have since listened to her records and found them more on the poppy side than the sound she was making on stage.  But that doesn’t really negate how fun her three songs were.

SETLIST

  1. Afterlife Æ
  2. Savior
  3. Madonna
  4. Dreams (Fleetwood Mac cover)
  5. Satisfied Æ
  6. big plans Æ
  7. Trackstar Æ
  8. Pretend

Æ Afterlife EP (2023)
ℜ Juliana Madrid (2022)

 

Read Full Post »

[ATTENDED: October 1, 2023] Free Range

It’s not really fair to include Free Range in the list of bands we saw during the Festival because we didn’t actually see them.

But as we arrived on Sunday, Free Range was playing on the main stage and their music was broadcast around the grounds.  They sounded great and I immediately recognized them (I had forgotten that they were playing).

So I really enjoyed hearing their songs again–they sounded bigger and, well, just bigger.  I think it would have been fun to check them out, but there was no time.

There’s also no setlist online for them (one of the few bands to not have one).

 

Read Full Post »

[ATTENDED: October 1, 2023] All Things Go [Day 2]

Sometime in April, my daughter asked if we could go to the All Things Go Festival.  I had never heard of this Festival and assumed the answer was no.  But then I saw that it was at the Merriweather Post Pavilion which is exactly three hours away from us.  So when tickets went on sale, I managed to get two pre-sale tickets for Sunday.  And then when they went on proper sale, I managed to score two more for Saturday.

Sunday was  the far more important day for music.  I mean, the whoel reason she wanted to go was to see boygenius (and Lana Del Rey).  But this was a great day of music to be sure.

Like yesterday, there were two early bands I wanted to see and then the day was hers.

I wanted to see Vundabar and Meet Me @ the Altar.  We arrived with what I thought was plenty of time, but we rain into a parking snarl (and a jackass cop) that slowed things down.  But, with our fast pass entry, we made it in plenty of time for Vundabar.

In fact we made it in plenty of time for Juliana Madrid who I gather went on a little late.  I only knew Vundabar because of her, so she watched them with me (we got a spot in the shade but could still see the stage).  I had tickets a while back for Meet Me @ the Altar, but I blew off the show feeling that made the music skewed too young for me.  But they played a great set and I hope to see them again.

In between they played Tommy Lefroy on the screen and I really enjoyed their set as well.  We maybe saw 20 minutes.

Then we went for food–yesterday the Veggie lo mein had sold out, so we wanted to get there early.  It was in high demand again–I’m surprised there wasn’t more vegetarian options, to be honest.  We missed Ella Jane.

Our plan was to arrive at the main stage early (around 3:30, get a seat in the middle, and park there all day for boygenius (since yesterday there were plenty of seats open for most of the day) [We had gotten GA+PAvillion which allowed us access to any seats (except VIP) and was vastly suprior to the lawn seats that were the cheapest level].  But when we walked by the Main stage, the seats were almost all full! (more…)

Read Full Post »

[ATTENDED: September 30, 2023] Carly Rae Jepsen

Sometime in April, my daughter asked if we could go to the All Things Go Festival.  I had never heard of this Festival and assumed the answer was no.  But then I saw that it was at the Merriweather Post Pavilion which is exactly three hours away from us.  So when tickets went on sale, I managed to get two pre-sale tickets for Sunday.  And then when they went on proper sale, I managed to score two more for Saturday.

Sunday was  the far more important day for music.  I mean, the whole reason she wanted to go was to see boygenius (and Lana Del Rey).  But this was a great day of music to be sure.

It was a huge surprise to me that Carly Rae Jepsen was on this bill.  I hadn’t realized she was still making music since “Call Me Maybe.”  I was also utterly shocked to find out that she is thirty-eight!  And one of the oldest performers at the festival!

Turns out she’s not all that prolific, putting out a record every few years or so.  I wonder what else she’s up to.

We arrived for Carly and sat in the back.  Her show was the biggest we had seen so far with a big screen and flashing lights.  Hers was definitely a big performance (I mean, she is a huge pop star).

The crowd was very responsive and everyone was up and dancing.

I don’t know any of her songs (except Call Me Maybe) and I really wanted to like her (since she was at this festival).  I found that I did enjoy her songs, even though they were 100% pure pop.  The songs were fun and dancey and exactly what you’d expect a pop show to be like.  Although having seen a Katy Perry experience, I know what a pop performance can fully do.

We enjoyed the set but after about 8 songs my daughter was itchy to move on.  So we left our seats and walked around a little but, checking out some of the other things going on.  And then she started “Call Me Maybe.”  We were both so surprised!  We ran back down and stood in the middle of the sidewalk dancing and watching everybody else dancing to this pop masterpiece.

When it was over we hung around a bit but then we wandered up to the other stage area.  The plan was to hang out a bit during Mt Joy and then come back down for Maggie Rogers, but we both wound up crashing and so we left during Mt Joy.

CARLY RAE JEPSEN

  1. Let’s Sort the Whole Thing Out ²
  2. Run Away With Me
  3. Anything to Be With You
  4. Surrender My Heart ⊗
  5. Talking to Yourself ⊗
  6. Shy Boy
  7. Western Wind ⊗
  8. Kollage
  9. Psychedelic Switch
  10. Call Me Maybe
  11. Stay Away ²
  12. Julien Ð
  13. Bends ⊗
  14. I Really Like You
  15. Want You In My Room Ð
  16. The Loneliest Time ⊗
  17. Beach House ⊗
  18. All That
  19. Cut to That Feeling ¹

♥ The Loveliest Time (2023)

The Loneliest Time (2022)
² Dedicated Side B (2020)
Ð Dedicated (2019)
¹ E•MO•TION: Side B (2016)
€ E•MO•TION (2015)
⊄ Curiosity EP/ Kiss LP (2012)

Read Full Post »

[ATTENDED: September 30, 2023] Lizzy McAlpine

Sometime in April, my daughter asked if we could go to the All Things Go Festival.  I had never heard of this Festival and assumed the answer was no.  But then I saw that it was at the Merriweather Post Pavilion which is exactly three hours away from us.  So when tickets went on sale, I managed to get two pre-sale tickets for Sunday.  And then when they went on proper sale, I managed to score two more for Saturday.

Sunday was  the far more important day for music.  I mean, the whole reason she wanted to go was to see boygenius (and Lana Del Rey).  But this was a great day of music to be sure.

I had wanted to see Lizzy McAlpine for a while.  She was on my list of to-see bands, although I didn’t really know all that much about her music.  But when I listened to her a gain before this show I wasn’t sure if I really wanted to check her out.  I was actually a little more interested in Fletcher at the time, but I have since discovered t hat I don’t like Fletcher all that much either.

Anyway, this was our relaxing time.  So we crashed on the grass field and laid back listening to Lizzy.  Which is the exact wrong way to enjoy Lizzy McAlpine.  Her songs are quiet and intimate and demand close attention.

Casual listening is not really the way to go with her songs.  So I don’t have a lot to say about her set.  I have since enjoyed some of her songs, but I assumed she rocked a lot harder for some reason.

Before the show it seemed like a lot of people were there to hear her play, so I’m sure she had a good crowd.

I have no idea why the setlist was divided into acts.  The songs aren’t play in any recorded order, so it’s a mystery to me.

SETLIST

  1. ACT I:
  2. an ego thing
  3. Over-the-Ocean Call (Andrew)
    ACT II:
  4. all my ghosts
  5. firearm
  6. doomsday
    ACT III
  7. Give Me A Minute [acoustic]
  8. called you again
  9. Movie Star
    ACT IV:
  10. erase me
  11. ceilings
  12. orange show speedway
∉ Five Seconds Flat (2022)
⊕ Give Me a Minute (2020)

Read Full Post »

[ATTENDED: September 30, 2023] Dayglow

Sometime in April, my daughter asked if we could go to the All Things Go Festival.  I had never heard of this Festival and assumed the answer was no.  But then I saw that it was at the Merriweather Post Pavilion which is exactly three hours away from us.  So when tickets went on sale, I managed to get two pre-sale tickets for Sunday.  And then when they went on proper sale, I managed to score two more for Saturday.

Sunday was  the far more important day for music.  I mean, the whole reason she wanted to go was to see boygenius (and Lana Del Rey).  But this was a great day of music to be sure.

I didn’t know Dayglow and, in fact, I didn’t really see them at this event either.   We were near the Chrysalis Stage and were queuing for food and bathrooms while Dayglow was on.  The women’s bathroom lines were insane, so i feel like I heard most of Dayglow’s set while I sat on a bench and waited.

Dayglow is primarily indie-pop.  Cathy and infectious and pretty perfect on a warm summer day.  It would be hard not to smile while they were playing. (more…)

Read Full Post »

[ATTENDED: September 30, 2023] Suki Waterhouse

Sometime in April, my daughter asked if we could go to the All Things Go Festival.  I had never heard of this Festival and assumed the answer was no.  But then I saw that it was at the Merriweather Post Pavilion which is exactly three hours away from us.  So when tickets went on sale, I managed to get two pre-sale tickets for Sunday.  And then when they went on proper sale, I managed to score two more for Saturday.

Sunday was  the far more important day for music.  I mean, the whole reason she wanted to go was to see boygenius (and Lana Del Rey).  But this was a great day of music to be sure.

I had vaguely heard of Suki Waterhouse.  It wasn’t until she started playing that I looked her up and realized that she was an actress as well.  I had seen her in Detective Pikachu, but had no recollection of her.  My daughter loved the show of Daisy Jones and the Six, which is probably why she was interested in seeing Suki play. (more…)

Read Full Post »

[ATTENDED: September 30, 2023] Sudan Archives

Sometime in April, my daughter asked if we could go to the All Things Go Festival.  I had never heard of this Festival and assumed the answer was no.  But then I saw that it was at the Merriweather Post Pavilion which is exactly three hours away from us.  So when tickets went on sale, I managed to get two pre-sale tickets for Sunday.  And then when they went on proper sale, I managed to score two more for Saturday.

Sunday was  the far more important day for music.  I mean, the whole reason she wanted to go was to see boygenius (and Lana Del Rey).  But this was a great day of music to be sure.

I first heard about Sudan Archives a few years ago.  Her song “Confessions” is so catchy–with its excellent melody and her cool use of strings.  I loved that she could make catchy alt-pop using a violin as the main instrument.

Earlier this year I had a ticket to see her, but I didn’t really feel like going.  Her music changed a lot between the first and second album.

(more…)

Read Full Post »

[ATTENDED: September 30, 2023] All Things Go [Day 1]

Sometime in April, my daughter asked if we could go to the All Things Go Festival.  I had never heard of this Festival and assumed the answer was no.  But then I saw that it was at the Merriweather Post Pavilion which is exactly three hours away from us.  So when tickets went on sale, I managed to get two pre-sale tickets for Sunday.  And then when they went on proper sale, I managed to score two more for Saturday.

If I had managed to get tickets to see boygenius at the Mann Center, we would have blown off this day, but that didn’t happen, so we hunkered down for our first Festival day (and her first Festival).

I was excited for the Festival too, as there were a bunch of bands that I wanted to see.  But this was a Festival for her, so I told her, that I wanted to arrive in time to see Sudan Archives and then the rest of the day was up to her.  I wanted to see Maggie Rogers and a few other bands during the day, but I’d go where she wanted.

I’ll write a separate post for each band we saw.

The Festival was set up very nicely with the Chrysalis Stage within easy walking distance from the main stage (and from the food and merch).  And there was free parking.

We arrived and, even though we had VIP entrance passes, we waited on line, not quite realizing how it worked.  Well, they sent us back to get our wristbands which allowed us quick entrance (very useful on Sunday).  These wrist bands also go us a swag bag full of weird goodies.

The rest was a Festival.  The food was overpriced, the bathrooms were inadequate, the water lines were really long.  At least it was September and not July.  The first day worked out great weather-wise as it was overcast and a little cooler.

I felt a little bad because we didn’t stop for lunch on the way down (tight schedule), so I made my daughter wait in line for food so I could see Sudan Archives.  I told her, that it was the last time that I’d make her do anything like this, and she was cool with it.

I enjoyed Sudan Archives in the sun, she sat in the shade and enjoyed the video screens. (more…)

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts