Moogfest 2011. Musical highlights included Battles, Chromeo (in the rain), Crystal Castles, James Murphy and Pat Mahoney, The Flaming Lips, The Antlers, and definitely M83.

The Walkmen are Paul Maroon, Walter Martin, Matt Barrick, Peter Bauer, and Hamilton Leithauser.

Interview by Dane Smith in the Mountain Xpress

Video of “Angela Surf City” by Jesse Hamm

Built to Spill rocked the fuck out at the Wilma last night. This was my 5th time seeing them. I don’t have the setlist but I remember they played Dystopian Dream Girl , an awesome cover of the Grateful Dead song Ripple, The Weather, Carry the Zero, You Were Right (totally boss crowd sing-along), Kicked it in The Sun (hell yes), Conventional Wisdom, Hindsight, and The Wait. Basically the best songs in the universe. Before the encore Doug came out by himself and played the first 2 songs off his solo album acoustic, Offer and Dream. The crowd was enthusiastic and appreciative, as is typical with the shows I have been to in Montana.

Also, I had an encounter with Doug (the bearded man in the pictures below) downtown before the show as he was walking to his hotel with some carryout from El Cazador. I was at the Wilma breifly buying my ticket with a small hope that I would run into him, and I did. It was one of those times that makes me feel like there is some greater design than just existence.

Halloween weekend I was lucky enough to be able to fly back to Asheville to attend the 3 day spectacular known as Moogfest. It was a fairy tale weekend with amazing performances from the likes of Hot Chip, Jonsi, Pretty Lights, Big Boi, Massive Attack, and School of 7 Bells. The company and costumes were indescribably grandiose.

These pictures are all in chronological order.

Highlights from Sunday included LCD Soundsystem, Pavement, Massive Attack, and Booka Shade.

I have been a Pavement fan for a long time and was great to see them play. It was Steven Malkmus’ birthday.

Massive Attack was unreal.

We were lucky enough to see Vampire Weekend a few weeks back at the Wilma Theater in downtown Missoula. Scheduled to play 3 shows in a row at Radio City Music Hall in September and with a current tour that has sold out almost every date, they have been gaining popularity rapidly in the last year or so.

The Blow opened, an interesting choice that we spectulated might be local, but turned out to be from Portland.

When Vampire Weekend finally came out the crowd was certainly receptive. Their songs are happy and fun, and the live sound was clear and bright like their records. Playing almost every song off of their new album Contra, and most from their self-titled debut, the energy level in the room was super high from start to finish.

Highlights for me included M79 with the crowd providing the intermittant ‘whoas’ and the choice of one of my favorite songs off their first album, Walcott, to finish their encore. I have listened to their 2 albums countless times and it was a thrill to see the musicians behind the music.

I didn’t take a camera but it looked a lot like this, with the addition of a half-dozen or so chandeliers similar the one on the cover of their first album.

It was their 3rd time in Missoula and their first US show from their current tour.

Voices Voices and The Gaslamp Killer, both from Los Angeles, California opened.

Stolen from their Myspace sites:

“Over the course of the last few years, Gaslamp Killer has established a solid rep for devastating beats and intricate cuts. This nomadic West Coaster has steadily smashed the scene from San Diego to Los Angeles to San Francisco.”

“It’s hard to think of a name that carries as much weight in both hip-hop and avant-rock circles as Prefuse 73, who in the past year alone has been asked to remix TV On The Radio, Pelican, BLK JKS and Cornelius, not to mention his early collaborations with School of Seven Bells and Battles.”

Last Thursday I saw Melt Banana play at The Palace. The Lion The Tamer and Deny the Dinosaur? opened. It was my first time at The Palace.

Both these bands absolutely killed it. They brought the rock with a furious intensity that your average hipster simply cannot comprehend.

On a political/ethical side note: The Fiery Furnaces want you to know the importance of health care reform in the United States that includes a government provided public option.

Perhaps you think it is reprehensible that someone might die, or their child or spouse, because they cannot afford health insurance and the standard of care that comes with it. If so, I encourage you to take a few minutes to contact the politicians who make decisions in your name. Urge them to support legislation that includes an affordable public option to help increase the quality of life for all Americans.

Contact Your Representatives in the House

Contact Your Senators

The last three bands to play at Harvest Record’s Transfigurations. At the Grey Eagle in Asheville, NC.

After leaving the Books at Diana Wortham I went over to the Grey Eagle just in time to catch the last few songs of Jonathan Kane’s set. All five were onstage in a straight line, with Jonathan in the middle. They were absolutely wailing out some serious rock. Quite a change from the mellow pace of the Books. I was impressed.

More of Harvest Records’ Transfigurations. These pictures are from the Saturday evening show at the Diana Wortham Theatre. Villages opened, followed by Mount Eerie, and finally The Books.

These pictures are all from the late show at the Grey Eagle. Ice Cream opened up for Budos Band.

For their 5 year anniversary local Asheville record shop Harvest Records put on a 3 day music festival. My sister Rebecca arranged for me to attend the shows and take pictures for the local independent newspaper the Mountain Xpress .

It was my first time ever being commissioned to take pictures and it was a great experience. These are all from the first day at one of the best places to see live music in Asheville, the Grey Eagle.

The bands playing this show, in order of appearance, were:

Floating Action from Asheville, NC

The Coathangers from Atlanta, GA

Kurt Vile from Philadelphia, PA