INT. SUBURBAN HIGH SCHOOL – DAY

A young man of about 17 wanders down the hallway with a young lady that appears to be his girlfriend. They wear skinny jeans that look like they come from a thrift store but actually cost $89 at Urban Outfitters. They wear neon 80s sunglasses even though the room is actually pretty dark. As they wander down the hallway (in slow motion), a soft acoustic guitar kicks in, followed by a tambourine. The young man (MATT) begins singing to the girl, JENNY.

MATT
Learn to appreciate the void…you should know me better than that.

(He continues to say “you should know me better than that” for four minutes.) He’s so achingly sincere that he makes every stomach within five miles tighten with pure emotion.

CUT TO:

EXT. NEW YORK CITY STREET – NIGHT

MATT wanders down the street, in different skinny jeans and different colored sunglasses (even though it’s night). Time has passed, and MATT has broken up with JENNY. A dull, repetitive beat kicks in, the musical equivalent of a tension headache. MATT skulks down the street, letting us know he stays “down with his demons”:

MATT
When I walk into a room, I do not light it up. Fuck.

It’s simply amazing what a deep thinker this young man is. The sadness that he feels over the loss of JENNY is palpable. He’s such a tragic figure that the audience simply wants to throw their arms around him and try to make everything better. But before they can, he picks up his pace. A new song kicks in – it has potential to be something other than a meandering piece of crap. But no, it’s just an amped up version of the same tired two chord formula.

MATT
I have only two emotions, careful fear and dead devotion. I can’t get the balance right.

Wow. Anyone who doubted the depth of our hero has been thoroughly convinced. This is a man with some intense insight into his own emotion. Some men just sing as if they’re the most important person in the world – this character seems to truly believe it, and we can’t help but agree. What could have broken him? What tragic act could have so injured his soul? We flash back to:

INT. LUXURY SEDAN – NIGHT

MATT and JENNY sit in MATT’s parent’s Audi. The dashboard lights are off, and MATT is illustrating the level of his depth to JENNY. 

MATT
You tell me you’re waiting to find someone who isn’t so hopeless. But there’s no one.

Dear GOD, we think, WHY CAN’T SHE LOVE HIM? He’s so emotive! He continues:

MATT
Jennifer you are not the only one that sits awake until the wild feelings leave.

Wow, he’s saying he’s just like her. He has managed to finally say something about someone other than himself, and yet at the same time have it actually be about him. It’s a paradox! We’re starting to wonder if maybe Matt isn’t a tad self-centered. We return to the present:

EXT. NEW YORK CITY STREET – NIGHT

A clearly distraught MATT wanders the street yelling something about Harvard. No one really knows what he’s saying. But at least it’s loud. But then he remembers his beautiful JENNY. The loud potentially decent music stops and is replaced with yet another slow, meandering hipster ballad. MATT once again begins to mumble.

MATT
No one’s careful all the time. If you lose me, I’m gonna die.

The music stays soft. A cute, simple little guitar riff over a slow beat. MATT pauses and leans against a wall, angrily facing the ground. We can see the quiet angst in his face. He continues to sing.

MATT
Jenny, I am in trouble. Can’t get these thoughts out of me.

Again our hero is professing his love to JENNY yet also managing to make the sentiment mostly about him. It’s getting a little old to hear him sing about how shitty his life is. No wonder she left this asshole. Cut to:

EXT. CENTRAL PARK – DAY

MATT runs through the park (which looks a bit silly because he’s wearing skinny jeans, but not silly enough that we forget what a deep, tragic figure he is). A triple drumbeat kicks off a speedy song and we enter what looks like a training montage from an 80s movie. He runs all over the park talking about how he misses his love.

MATT
All my thoughts of you, bullets through rock and through, 
come apart at the seams, now I know what dying means.

“Now I know what dying means?” The audience wonders. You had a bad breakup and you’re comparing it to, say, being blown up by a terrorist bomb or killed in a tornado? We’re really starting to think that MATT is just a pretentious douchebag. Maybe he’ll shut the f@#$ up soon. But first, another flashback…

INT. HIPSTER RECORD STORE – DAY

MATT sings to JENNY over a whiny, tremolo electric guitar, warning her that even though their love is bourgeoning, he is and always will be a sad, broken sack of a man.

MATT
I try to keep my skeletons in, I’ll be a friend and a fuck up,
but I’ll never be anything you ever want me to be.

God this guy’s a pretentious a-hole. F#$ him and his faux melancholia. But he keeps singing:

MATT
I don’t want you to grieve, but I want you to sympathize.

I got your sympathy right here you f#@#ing clown, the audience says, and walks out.

END.

Camper Van Beethoven and Cracker may both be fronted by David Lowery, but by design they’ve never sounded alike. CVB is considerably more experimental; any of their albums is just as likely to contain an extended Middle Eastern belly dancing number as it is a rock song. Cracker, on the other hand, has always been about straight up rock and roll, sometimes with a southern bent, other times with an alt-country twang.

In fact the bands’ sounds are so different it almost doesn’t make sense that they play together, save for the obvious benefit of having the same singer/guitarist. Last week’s show at the State Theater was a tale of two audiences; the audience that grew up listening to Camper Van Beethoven on college radio and enjoying their outsider status (many of whom left after CVB’s set), and another that was there for Cracker’s country rock. The dichotomy is clear; Camper Van Beethoven was occasionally featured on MTV’s alternative rock showcase 120 Minutes; Cracker was on the Clueless soundtrack. It was oddly like watching Guided By Voices open for Jimmy Buffet; something fun and experimental followed by something almost totally predictable.

CVB got the night started right. With Counting Crows bassist David Immergluck filling in for an absent Victor Krummenacher, Lowery’s first band ripped a deft combination of 16 new and old songs. Tunes from their latest album La Costa Perdida sounded great; “Northern California Girls” was a wonderful Beach Boys pastiche with intricate guitar and Jonathan Segel’s always amazing violin skills. But it was old favorites like “Pictures of Matchstick Men” that got the CVB faithful going. The Status Quo cover was amazing, sped up and augmented with heavy bass. The band played two more songs from Key Lime Pie (arguably their masterwork) back-to-back, the understated “All Her Favorite Fruit” (which Lowery dedicated to “all the civil servants”) and “Sweethearts” which, even with it’s dated Ronald Reagan reference, still sounds lovely.

They went even further back in the catalog as well, ripping a sped-up version of “Shut Us Down” from their self-titled 1986 album, and adding the crowd favorites “Take the Skinheads Bowling” and their sarcastic cover of Black Flag’s “Wasted” from their debut album, Telephone Free Landslide Victory. Throughout the set, the band members illustrated their unparalleled skills at their instruments; Lowery was content to take a back seat to the musicians around him as Segel and guitarist Greg Lisher played off each other perfectly.

Then came Cracker, kicking things off with the Western-sounding “Loser,” a reverb-filled cover of the classic Jerry Garcia Band track. It was a good start - and totally misleading. The second song, “Mr. Wrong” was considerably more indicative of Cracker’s set, a marathon of shit-kicking faux country (we’ll call it fauxntry) that’s entirely too aware of it’s own cleverness with lines like “I was going to bring you flowers but I didn’t.”

After the intricacy and subtlety of CVB, Cracker’s music was like getting hit with a hammer, only the majority of the crowd didn’t seem to mind. It’s hard not to think that David Lowery is playing a character when he leads this band; the audience seems to believe that the guy on stage really thinks that the world needs “another folk singer like I need a whole in my head,” apparently unaware that his recent solo album is pretty darn folkie. Perhaps they only hear what they want to hear – like the gentleman who kept yelling “EUROTRASH GIRL” from the second the band took the stage, through the opening riffs of the song, straight on through it, and then after it was over.

Johnny Hickman of Cracker, laying down the blues at The State Theatre

There were high moments. “Gimme One More Chance” from 2006’s Greenland featured a blistering blues riff and some of guitarist Johnny Hickman’s best work. Hickman also handled vocal duties on Cracker’s fun cover of the Flamin’ Groovies’ “Shake Some Action” (their aforementioned contribution to the Clueless soundtrack).

But too many songs just sounded the same, and by the 12^th song, the monotonous “Turn On Tune In Drop Out With Me,” the crowd starting hitting the gate. By the time CVB came out for one more song (which was odd in an of itself – the opening act coming back for an encore after the headliner?) the place was half empty.

It’s clear Lowery makes good bank by touring with his two bands simultaneously (and as he’d be the first to tell you, it’s not easy making money in music these days), but it would be great to see CVB do a full set at a smaller club, and let Cracker find a more appropriate opener. CVB’s music holds up well and still sounds fresh and unique. Cracker’s, not so much.

It’s easy for Patty Griffin fans to be apprehensive about a new album. It was 17 years ago this month that she released her breathtaking debut Living With Ghosts, a nearly perfect collection of 10 tracks featuring mainly Griffin and her acoustic guitar. The songs and stories were raw and beautiful and illustrated her almost unparalleled skills as a singer and songwriter. It was almost an accident the album worked so well – the songs were written to be played with a band, and played loud; stripping them down to their bare essentials made all the difference (even though it wasn’t her choice). Nevertheless, Griffin added a band and rocked out on her second album, Flaming Red, which, while still a great album, was overproduced and had fans scratching their heads and asking what happened to the simplicity of her debut. Her third album, Silver Bell, was never officially released as her label, A&M Records, merged with Interscope and dropped her from the label. (Several songs turned up on later albums, and in the entire album is available for download on several fan sites.)

All of this, of course, confused casual fans who wondered what kind of songwriter Griffin was. Her next three albums all showed flashes of brilliance (particularly 2004’s Impossible Dream) but were uneven. 2010’s Downtown Church was easy to listen to because of Griffin’s instrumentation and vocals but was, at the end of the day, an album of gospel covers; Griffin’s interpretations of other material often feel vastly inferior to her original songs. Griffin then joined (and, according to some media reports, married) Robert Plant, touring with Band of Joy for a while, leading some to wonder if her solo career was over.

Which brings us to American Kid, her first album of original material in six years, and the best since her debut. Her time with Band of Joy has paid massive dividends, as the perfectly sculpted soundscapes she creates – with help from Band of Joy openers North Mississippi Allstars, and background vocals by Plant himself – easily pull on the ears and emotions as much as anything she’s done.

American Kid is a concept album of sorts; most of the songs are about or from the perspective of her late father, a high school teacher and World War II veteran. (She does well singing about her family; “Burgundy Shoes,” a song about a bus trip with her mother, is one of the most achingly beautiful songs she’s recorded.) But at no point does the album fall into pining elegy; instead it rises and falls, as a man’s life does, with music perfectly suited to Griffin’s poignant-but-not-treacly lyrics.

There are many standout tracks. On “Ohio” Griffin and Plant harmonize the voices of two runaway slaves perfectly over a pulsing beat and numerous acoustic instruments. On “Irish Boy” Griffin and her piano beautifully spin the tale of her father’s youth from his perspective; “there are some things that must remain secrets,” she ominously whispers, adding “I never had dreams and they never came true.” “Get Ready Marie” switches gears entirely to a bawdy waltz as Griffin once again embodies her father singing drunkenly about his impending marriage. “My pretty young bride wasn’t laughing while I tripped and fell down the aisle,” she croons. “Don’t Let Me Die In Florida” is an angry song about growing old in the Sunshine State, which Griffin clearly views as cruel and unusual punishment – she explores the same territory in back-to-back songs from 2004’s Impossible Dream, “Florida” and “Mother of God,” in which she sings “When I was 18 I moved to Florida, like everyone sick of the cold does / and I waited on old people waiting to die…I waited on them until I was.”

It’s misleading to call American Kid a “return to form” – stylistically, it’s not that much different from Griffin’s previous material. But unlike some previous efforts she hits the nail on the head every time. Numerous listens reveal new musical and lyrical details, and not once does she allow you to pull your attention away. While it’s sad that it took her father’s passing to inspire such a work of beauty, she has honored him extremely well.

CONTEST CLOSED

Revel in the sweet reverb of Futurebirds' folk-rock and alt-country-tinged tunes this Thursday night at 9:30 Club!

Futurebirds hail from Athens, GA, the musical city also home to psych rock weirdos of Montreal. Speaking of Athens' diverse music scene, Futurebirds guitarist Thomas Johnson says, "It’s encouraged in the Athens music scene to do something that pushes the limits a little bit. Or to do something that someone else hasn’t really done, and create your own sound." And create their own sound they did. The bands' six members came together, along with their slew of instruments - acoustic and electric guitars, bass, drums, banjo, and mandolin - to create two EPs and two full-length albums since 2008. Hampton Lullaby, Futurebirds' debut LP, was released in 2010 with the sophomore follow-up Baba Yaga released earlier this year on Fat Possum Records. In the past five years, Futurebirds have shared the stage with such renowned acts as Drive-By Truckers and Grace Potter and the Nocturnals.  

For your chance to win free tickets to see Futurebirds headline 9:30 Club this Thursday night, please do one of the following: 

1. Leave a comment below, using a valid email address, telling us the name of your favorite bird.

2. Retweet this or tweet the following:

I'm entering to win tix to see Futurebirds at 9:30 Club! @ChunkyGlasses #Futurebirds930

A winner will be chosen at random THIS WEDNESDAY AT NOON, so be sure to enter before then! Not feeling lucky? Tickets are on sale through Ticketfly. 

Also check out 9:30 Club's Twitter today at 3:30 p.m. when Futurebirds take over to answer fans' questions! 

A memorable music festival often involves as much luck as alchemy. Is the lineup great? Do the performances match expectations? Does the weather cooperate (and do the masses stay engaged if it doesn't)? Are there good food and beverage vendors? Do they have enough variety (and supply) to satisfy the masses? Is the venue appropriate? Does the experience inside the venue trump any issues with traffic, parking, or the parking lot scene? Whether by luck, alchemy, voodoo, or just good vibes, and in spite of an often rainy day at the end of an awfully rainy week, the folks at sweetgreen can look back on the fourth installment (third at Merriweather Post Pavilion) of the Sweetlife festival with a smile. The almost 20,000 in attendance most certainly will!

Solange captivating the early crowd at the 2013 Sweetlife Festival

Solange drew an early-afternoon set at Sweetlife, and it wouldn't be controversial in the least to suggest that she stole the show. Leading a funky, dynamic, band she certainly proved to many in attendance that she is so much more than just "Beyonce's little sister." She delivered excellent renditions of many tracks from her outstanding, Blood Orange-produced dance/pop/funk EP True. Solange has style and substance, incorporating excellent dance moves and a confident, winning stage presence, but her voice is what made her set truly special. It soared, swooped, trilled, and whispered throughout her mesmerizing, too brief set, which included stellar performances of "Losing You," "Lovers in the Parking Lot," and "Bad Girls," but what may have been the most memorable moment of her set was the closer. With a band that has clearly explored every nuance of "Bumpy's Lament" in tow, Solange brought cheers from a boisterous bunch at the main stage with her rousing, note-perfect interpretation of Dirty Projectors' hit "Stillness is the Move." The best proof that Solange is one to watch? At 2:15 in the afternoon of what would prove to be a long day, so many couldn't take their eyes off of her.

Gary Clark, Jr. followed, prowling the main stage wearing a dapper pinstriped vest, and a facial expression that said "all business, all the time." He concluded every one of his blistering, bluesy, soul-inflected tunes with the authority and conviction of a man with something to prove. But he couldn't help but smile at the adoration greeting him from pit, pavilion, and lawn alike. He certainly did everything he could to earn the frequent "Gary! Gary! Gary!" chants that erupted throughout his set as well as the plaudits he has earned for his new release Blak and Blu and comparisons to such contemporary guitar heroes as Mike McCready, Dan Auerbach, and Jack White. His band was excellent throughout, including the title track and "Ain't Messin 'Round," which highlighted the funkiness of his rhythm section. For those who might not have come to Sweetlife familiar with his work, his medley of the Jimi Hendrix Experience classic "Third Stone from the Sun" and original track "If You Love Me Like You Say" certainly made some new converts.

Karen O took the stage to a thunderous roar befitting of the biblical downpour throughout the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' explosive, expressive set. Much has been written about her beguiling stage presence, and rightfully so, but Nick Zinner is possibly the most inventive guitar player not named Tom Morello. Brian Chase drums with a Cheshire Cat grin that belies his immaculate feel and deceptive ferocity, and David Pajo is the band's live multi-instrumentalist/secret weapon. The Yeahs’ set was a heady blend of crowd pleasing rockers from throughout their impressive catalog ("Gold Lion," "Zero," and "Pin"), tender moments ("Soft Shock" and a delicate "Maps," dedicated to Pajo), and muscular, excellent songs from their new release Mosquito (album and set opener "Sacrilege," the title track, and an exceptionally funky "Under the Earth"). There were no low lights to speak during this energized outing, and when Karen O left the stage to lead almost every fan along the security barrier through the falsetto backing vocals from the bridge of "Cheated Hearts," the set was a guaranteed success. Closing with “Heads Will Roll” was almost gratuitous. Almost.

Kendrick Lamar showing the crowd at Sweetlife around his M.A.A.D. City (photo by Joy Asico)

Hip Hop music can often be hit-or-miss at music festivals if for no other reason than because it is difficult for all but the best MCs to command the attention of a sprawling crowd without the dynamic shifts most rock bands have at their disposal. It's time to face facts: Kendrick Lamar deserves to be counted among the best MCs and he brought a taste of Compton to Columbia. He delighted the swelling Sweetlife crowd with a strong selection including his verse from A$AP Rocky's smash "Fuckin' Problems" as well as many of the best tracks from 2012's standout release Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City. Highlights included obvious fan favorite "Swimming Pools (Drank)," "Backseat Freestyle," the dynamic "Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe," and a complex rendition of "Poetic Justice" that didn't suffer at all in the absence of Aubrey Drake Graham. While his set was preceded by a deluge, it concluded in a burst of blazing sunshine fitting for a star that is still on the rise.

Passion Pit's set was an excellent opportunity to stroll the grounds and find sustenance, and sweetgreen was able to assemble some incredible local brewers and vendors. The Kushi Moto Food Truck's Grilled Pork Belly Donburri got my taste buds revved up and my one regret with the choice was that I didn't order two bowls so that I could have had leftovers. The portions were generous and flavorful, the rice was fluffy, and the pork belly was succulent. I will definitely be visiting their brick-and-mortar location, and I'll probably chase down the truck the next time I see it.

No amount of wind, rain or mud could keep these fans from living the Sweetlife (Photo by Julia Lofstrand)

Sweetlife ended with an ebullient set from French pop voyagers Phoenix. For some, it is inconceivable that "the band from the Cadillac commercials" is now a bona fide headliner of major music festivals, but seeing is believing. With critically acclaimed release Bankrupt! following four years after the likewise-lauded Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, Thomas Mars and company had plenty of scintillating material that paired perfectly with their dynamic light show. Familiar tracks like "Lasso," "Lisztomania," and "1901" kept an enthusiastic crowd (including Solange Knowles) moving throughout the set, but what impressed most of all was how seamlessly these songs worked with new material like current single "Entertainment," "The Real Thing," and "S.O.S. in Bel Air." Phoenix's mastery of the stage was, perhaps, best demonstrated by their excellent performance of "Sunskrupt!" which is a medley of Wolfgang's broody, synth-based rocker "Love Like a Sunset" and "Bankrupt!" Phoenix have earned their place among the bands in big font on summer festival lineups this year and they proved it again at Sweetlife.

Phoenix finishing out the 2013 Sweetlife Festival on a high note (Photo by Joy Asico)

It would be malpractice to neglect the venue in this review, as it was a perfect fit for the festival. The staff at Merriweather Post Pavilion could not have been better. They were knowledgeable, personable, and enthusiastic throughout the day. Given the rainy conditions early, late, and throughout the preceding week, the edges of the main lawn mere expectedly muddy (and more than a few people, your intrepid reporter included, left wishing that Tide had been a co-sponsor), but those who didn't have access to the pavilion still had mostly favorable conditions throughout the grounds. The sound quality remained consistent from the pit to the Honest Tea sample booth at the back of the lawn, which is particularly impressive when the eclectic nature of the lineup is taken into account. Coupled with excellent sight lines, a patron could have conceivably spent the entire day on the lawn at the main stage and still left Sweetlife with a full belly, a head full of great music, a broad smile, and stories to tell. Call it luck. Call it alchemy. If you're the organizers, call it a job well done!