Breakfast On Tour

Freshly Squeezed: Imagine Dragons – Continued Silence EP

Café Con Leche — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 03:18:54 +0000

Do you remember I told you about Imagine Dragons last year? They turned out to be my #1 music discovery of 2011.

They signed to Interscope Records at the end of 2011 and started recording new material right away. And as an awesome Valentine’s present, their new EP was released yesterday. Continued Silence EP is, in one word, epic. You have to listen to it. It contains a re-release of “It’s Time” and five new songs. I got it last night and it had me hooked after the first full-listen.

There is something about Imagine Dragons’ poetic lyrics in combination with their anthemic melodies, that make songs like “Demons” raise all the hairs in your arms. It’s hard to pick favorites from the new songs. So far, I’ve five-stared three out of the five. The other two have four stars. There’s not even a good place to start to listen to them, just hit play. Continue reading for more.

The first notes of “Radioactive” will probably give you that feeling you get when you’re about to experience something incredible. When I listened to the iTunes preview of that song, I thought it was a bit too on the electronic side for my taste. But the first full listen of the song erased that lame preview impression. You see, Imagine Dragons create complex songs. There are layers to their songs, there are intros and high points, there are resolutions, there are story lines, there are waves of melodies and vocals that hit you from different directions. This is all good. No, not good. It’s great. It’s what keeps their fans loyal. I first noticed this quality when I heard “Cover Up” for the first time (from their Imagine Dragons EP).

When I heard they’ll play at SXSW in March, I knew this was it. They will most likely explode in the music world after that performance. And it’s about time, because they have all the right elements to make it happen. Their stage presence is powerful, their lyrics are catchy and poetic, the music makes you want to move around and it makes your soul want to pop out of your body. If you think I’m exaggerating, just go catch their live performance.

Just do me a favor. If you’re at work, wait until you get home to your quality speakers before you listen to them. Laptop or PC speakers just won’t do it. Also, if you have never listened to Imagine Dragons before, start with their new EP. Don’t try to listen to all their music at once, because it might cause some kind of awesome-induced attack and I don’t want to be responsible for anything like that.

Now go enjoy the EP.

You are welcome.
- Café con Leche

Bonnaroo 2012 Initial Artist Announcement

Eggs — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 19:06:24 +0000

Bonnaroo went hard again this year with their initial artist announcement, and boy does it look like a good time! Leading the dance card at the 2012 Manchester, Tennessee festival are indie rock gods Radiohead, alt-rock monsters Red Hot Chili Peppers, jam titans Phish and legendary surf rockers The Beach Boys. If that isn’t enough to get you to Bonnaroo, they have a little bit of everything else on the line-up as well. For those fans of indie rock, Bon Iver, The Shins, Foster The People, Feist, tUnE-yArDs, Dawes, Delta Spirit and St. Vincent will be playing the festival. Hip-hop fans can rejoice as they’ll be enjoying sets from The Roots, BlackStar, Ludacris, Mac Miller, Childish Gambino and Yelawolf. The nighttime will be the right time with sets from Skrillex, Major Lazer, Flying Lotus and more. While the first years of the festival were predominantly focused on the jam scene, things have changed for the better (arguably, depending on who you talk to), but their is still a strong focus on jambands with two sets from the aforementioned Phish, and also performances from the likes of The Avett Brothers, Dispatch, The Word which features John Medeski, Robert Randolph and The North Mississippi Allstars, Umphrey’s McGee, Dumpstaphunk and ALO.

Check out the initial artist announcement after the jump.

Bonnaroo 2012 Initial Artist Line-Up

Radiohead
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Phish
The Beach Boys Featuring Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine, Bruce Johnston and David
Marks
Bon Iver
The Avett Brothers
The Shins
Foster The People
Skrillex
Aziz Ansari
Dispatch
Feist
The Roots
Alice Cooper
SuperJam
Black Star
The Word featuring John Medeski, Robert Randolph and North Mississippi Allstars
Ludacris
Ben Folds Five
Flogging Molly
Spectrum Road featuring Cindy Blackman Santana, Jack Bruce, John Medeski, and Vernon Reid
Mac Miller
Childish Gambino
Major Lazer
tUnE-yArDs
Afrocubism
Flying Lotus
Umphrey’s McGee
Little Dragon
St. Vincent
City and Colour
The Civil Wars
Young The Giant
Two Door Cinema Club
Punch Brothers
NEEDTOBREATHE
Fitz & The Tantrums
Bad Brains
Yelawolf
Dawes
Battles
Danny Brown
The Black Lips
SBTRKT
Phantogram
Kendrick Lamar
Charles Bradley and his Extraordinaires
The Kooks
The Joy Formidable
The Antlers
Kathleen Edwards
Mimosa
Kurt Vile & The Violators
Alabama Shakes
Das Racist
Delta Spirit
Gary Clark Jr.
Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk
Laura Marling
Trampled by Turtles
Mogwai
The War On Drugs
Ben Howard
Grouplove
Blind Pilot
ALO
The Devil Makes Three
White Denim
EMA
Here We Go Magic
K-Flay
The Lonely Forest
Mariachi El Bronx
Big Freedia
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.
The Soul Rebels
Kvelertak
SOJA
Steven Bernstein’s MTO Allstars Plays Sly
Big Gigantic
Sarah Jarosz
Orgone
Darondo
Fruit Bats
Moon Taxi

More artists to be announced soon.

Steve Aoki @ Verizon Wireless Theater

Cheese Grits — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:55:01 +0000

With the release of his debut studio album, Wonderland, Dim Mak Records founder Steve Aoki has embarked on his 2012 North American “Deadmeat” tour. Aoki kept the energy alive and kicking throughout his late night set in Houston last week.

Check out the rest of the review and more photos after the jump.

The night began with a lackluster performance from dubstep/hip hop duo Terravita. Featuring a vocalist while on tour can often be a slippery slope for any electro artist, and Terravita didn’t make the grade, in my opinion. The translation from the studio to the stage was muddled, and the combination did not mesh well together. Nonetheless, the group of concertgoers at the barricade seemed to enjoy it. I’m not sure whether they were Terravita fans or their excitement was drug-induced (I have a feeling it was the latter).

Datsik redeemed Terravita with a dynamic, wobbly, bass-filled set. My heart was literally vibrating in my chest. The audience instantly became more rambunctious the moment they saw his name light up on stage. With grimy hit singles such as “Swagga” and “Nuke ‘Em”, it would be difficult for Datsik to falter. He has a knack for blending dubstep with hip hop influences and even snuck in Ice Cube’s classic club hit, “You Can Do It”. You know Houston appreciated that one.

As soon as Datsik vacated the stage, the crowd’s anticipation reached its peak. The venue was filled with the deafening chants of “AOKI! AOKI! AOKI!” while the stagehands scurried to reveal the new lighting setup. As soon he ascended to his home for the next couple hours, Steve Aoki announced that he would only be spinning his own original productions. In a world of constant regurgitation and remixing, it was refreshing and respectable for Aoki to change it up and stick to his own music. Although he spun several tracks from his new album, Aoki brought us back with classics such as “Warp 1.9” (one of my personal favorites).

At any moment, you could catch Aoki crowd surfing, standing atop his booth, skipping across the stage, or showering the audience with an array of beverages (including champagne, cranberry juice, and orange juice). His constant crowd interaction kept everyone fully enthralled. Amid the mayhem, the lighting and video displays were also well-orchestrated.

All-in-all, Steve Aoki created the fast-paced dance party we all came to experience. As a wise man once said, “Once the music dropped, the shoulders never stopped.” With the relatively recent explosion of electronica into the American mainstream, Aoki’s persistence over the years is definitely paying off.

Big Easy Express

Eggs — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 22:00:33 +0000

Last spring, we packed up and headed west for a one of a kind show featuring the likes of Mumford & Sons, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros and Old Crow Medicine Show. Entitled the Railroad Revival Tour, the three bands took an old-fashioned train from Oakland to New Orleans, making six stops along the way to perform shows. While some bigger stops were closer to us on the tour, we headed all the way to far west Texas, to the small liberal town of Marfa to catch the tour at a really cool outdoor venue called El Cosmico. It was by far one of the best concert experiences I’ve ever had, between my company, the venue, the ten-hour road trip and the bands involved, specifically the many collaborations throughout the show. After that magical performance, we all headed back to our real lives knowing that it would be quite some time before we could experience something just as cool as that.

Now, after almost a year, filmmaker Emmett Malloy will be debuting his take on the traveling festival with documentary featuring the entire week of the trip. The film will first screen next month at SXSW in Austin, TX, and while nothing has been announced about a widespread release, I have a good feeling you’ll be able to get your hands on it sometime soon. I can’t wait to check out all of the great footage that Malloy assuredly got along the way – between the many hours on the rails with nothing but their music, and the six incredible 3+ hour shows, I’m sure it will be stock full of gems. Check out the trailer.

In other news, the official website is quoted as saying, “We are currently planning the 2012 Railroad Revival Tour with a new lineup and some great surprises. Look for news about the second tour this coming January!” I can’t wait to see what they have up their sleeves for the 2012 edition. I highly doubt they can top last year, but I could also find myself very wrong once the line-up and train route comes out. Hopefully I’ll see you all there!

Hangout Music Fest 2012

Eggs — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 20:33:35 +0000

For the past two years, I’ve been telling myself that I need to make it down to Gulf Shores, Alabama for the Hangout Music Fest. Now in it’s 3rd year as a festival, Hangout has announced it’s initial artist roster for the 2012 event which takes place May 18-20, and boy is it a good one. If anything, they built this festival for me. Seriously, the talent is basically a nice little chunk of my iPod. Leading the dance card, you have festival main-stay Dave Matthews Band and the one and only Jack White bringing his solo project, with one more major headliner promised to be announced later this week. While the festival has always swayed towards jambands, like the early days of Bonnaroo, this year has a wide variety of all types of music. Jambands are still highly represented with The String Cheese Incident, Dispatch, STS9, Michael Franti & Spearhead and G. Love & Special Sauce hitting the stages. A nice conglomerate of indie rock is also included with Wilco, The Flaming Lips who will be performing the classic Pink Floyd Album Dark Side Of The Moon in it’s entirety, Young The Giant, Dr. Dog, Cage The Elephant and Dawes. Bringing in the older concert goers, both Steve Winwood of Traffic and Spencer Davis Group fame as well as famed singer songwriter Randy Newman will be making appearances. Also, a dance tent will be featured this year being headlined by the likes of Skrillex and Paul Oakenfold.

I think I might try to make this one – being on the beach and packed with this many of my favorite bands, how could I possibly miss it! Check out the full line-up after the jump.

Hangout Music Fest 2012 Initial Artist Line-Up

Dave Matthews Band
Jack White
String Cheese Incident (two sets)
Skrillex
Wilco
The Flaming Lips Perform Dark Side of the Moon
Dispatch
Steve Winwood
Chris Cornell
STS9
Gogol Bordello
Michael Franti & Spearhead
Mac Miller
Flogging Molly
Coheed and Cambria
Paul Oakenfold
G. Love and Special Sauce
Randy Newman
Dr. Dog
Young the Giant
Cage the Elephant
Dawes
Alabama Shakes
M. Ward
Yelawolf
Switchfoot
Julian Marley
Zeds Dead
Mavis Staples
Shpongle
Gary Clark Jr.
Rebelution
Allen Stone
Big Freedia
The Devil Makes Three
Paper Diamond
Futurebirds
Hey Rosetta!
Sleeper Agent
The Lumineers
Archnemesis
Tribal Seeds
Rich Aucoin
Jamie Bergeron

Main Street Block Party In Photos

Eggs — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 22:36:13 +0000

Last Saturday, we headed down towards what is informally known as “The Island” for the second annual Main Street Block Party. Taking place inside and out of the Continental Club, Big Top, The Mink and Natachees, tons of bands graced the stages throughout the entire day and night. We caught a great headlining set from What Made Milwaukee Famous which featured an on point cover of Paul McCartney’s “Let ‘Em In” as well as a host of new songs which will be released on their up-coming album. We also witnessed top notch sets from the likes of Tax The Wolf, The Literary Greats, Caddywhompus, Prairie Cadets, Chase Hamblin Band, Featherface, Poor Pilate, Empress Hotel, The League Of Extraordinary G’z and a bunch more. It was a pretty solid day of music full of new discoveries, plenty to drink and a bunch of friendly conversations. I had a really good time at this year’s event, and am looking forward to seeing how they can make itl even better next year.

I took a whole bunch of pictures and a few videos from the event, check them out after the jump.

The Literary Greats – “Where Is My Mind”

What Made Milwaukee Famous – “Let ‘Em In”

Prairie Cadets

Another Run

The Gold Sounds

Purple

The Literary Greats

Featherface

Poor Pilate

Caddywhompus

Umbrella Man

Chase Hamblin Band

The Handshake

The League Of Extraordinary G’z

What Made Milwaukee Famous

Tax The Wolf

Empress Hotel

MUTEMATH @ House Of Blues

Eggs — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 20:19:27 +0000

Last weekend was a great one for music, starting Thursday night at House Of Blues when Alt-Rockers MUTEMATH took the stage. I’d seen MUTEMATH once before when they performed at Voodoo a few years back, but among all of the other great acts playing that weekend, they weren’t one that stood out above the rest. Going into this show, especially with such an early start time, my hopes were not too high. Those low hopes were immediately diminished as soon as they walked in the front door of the venue with instruments in hand, headed through the crowd while playing before ultimately taking the stage from the very middle. As soon as they jumped into their first song, I was sold. I had the opportunity to photograph the band for the first three songs, and while the energy was super high as it usually is at the beginning, it didn’t let up one bit after I left the pit. Actually, for over two straight hours, the band never let up. I’m not sure how a band could go for so long with such high energy, but they managed to do it that night – and while this was the first night of their tour, I have a feeling this is how it is at every single show. They were on the stage, off the stage, in the crowd, on top of the crowd, on top of a drum in the crowd, on top of a glittery, light-up air mattress on the crowd, and just about everywhere else besides the balcony and the bathrooms. The music was great too – mixing elements of 90′s alternative, 00′s jambands, and 10′s indie-dance rock, MUTEMATH had people sweating the whole performance. I had a great time at this show, and I can rest assured knowing that a band this good is making a huge name for themselves because of their ability to put on a great show, both musically and theatrically.

I took a bunch of pictures and a few different videos which you can find after the jump.

Main Street Block Party

Eggs — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 06:56:33 +0000

The second annual Main Street Block Party is set to take place this Saturday, January 28, at what is informally known as “The Island.” Featuring a slew of bands playing across six different venues at Main and Alabama streets in Houston, Block Party will be the place to be all day. What Made Milwaukee Famous will make a rare Houston appearance, or rather a rare appearance for them at all these days. The rest of the line-up mainly consists of an upcoming wealth of Houston-based talent as well as some regional acts that’ve been gaining steam as of late. B L A C K I E, Tax The Wolf, Caddywhompus, Empress Hotel, The League Of Extraordinary G’s, The Handshake, Bang Bangz, The Prairie Cadets and The Literary Greats are all set to perform, as well as a ton of other great, upcoming bands.

I had the best of times at last year’s event which I was also shooting for the Houston Press. Check out my shots of the bands from 2011′s Block Party here and of the crowds here. Before that, though, check out the full line-up, including set times after the jump.

Pre-Sale Tickets ($10)

Continental Club

RESIDENT DJ’S 9PM-1AM FREDSTA & DJ KAT NYC
1:20-2AM EMPRESS HOTEL
12:20-1:05 TAX THE WOLF
11PM-12:05 WHAT MADE MILWAUKEE FAMOUS
10PM-10:45 THE HANDSHAKE
9:05-9:45 CADDYWHOMPUS
8:15-8:50 FEATHERFACE
7:20-8PM THE LITERARY GREATS
6:35-7:05 THE GOLD SOUNDS
5:45-6:15 PRAIRIE CADETS
5:00-5:30 AMERICAN HEIST
4:20-4:45 JIM & THE TOMS
3:10-4:05 ELECTRIC ATTITUDE
2:30-3:00 VOX & HOUNDS
1:45-2:15 PAPAYA
1PM-1:30 UNICORN MILK

Backroom

1:20-2am POWER TRIP
12:20-1:05 VENOMOUS MAXIMUS
11:30-12:05 B L A C K I E
10:45-11:15 FIGHT PRETTY
10PM-10:30 ADREAM ASLEEP
9:15-9:45 CAVERNOUS
8:30-9PM ODESSA
7PM-7:30 VIVIAN PIKKLES & THE SWEETHEART UBER ALLES
6:20-6:45 PURPLE
5:35-6:05 LOLA COLA
4:55-5:20 CASINOS
4:05-4:30 MUHAMMADALI
3:25-3:50 WHITE CRIME
2:40-3:10 HAROLD BUROP
2PM-2:25
1PM GNOME CHOMSKY

Big Top

1:20-2AM MILLS
12:20-1:05 BRAINS FOR DINNER
11:35-12:05 SECOND LOVERS
10:45-11:20 BANG BANGZ
10PM-10:30 LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY G’Z
9:20-9:45 TWENTY ELEVEN
8:40-9:05 SCREWTAPE
8PM-8:30 DRIVER F
7:15-7:45 BENDING VILLA
6:30-7PM GUILT PARTY
5:40-6:15 ANOTHER RUN
5:05-5:35 ENGLAND IN 1918
4:20-4:45 NICK GAITAN & THE UMBRELLA MAN
3:30-4:05 DON’T POKE THE BEAR
2:45-3:15 BLACKIE DAMMIT
1:40-2:15 THE DEAD REVOLT
1PM-1:25 SHADOW HOUND

Natachees

9:15-10PM CHASE HAMBLIN
8:30-9PM POOR PILATE
7:45-8:15 THE LIVE LIGHTS
7PM-7:30 MARCH TO THE SEA
6:15-6:45 NEW YORK CITY QUEENS
5:30-6PM HOWLER
4:45-5:15 VIPERS
4PM-4:30 PARIS FALLS
3:15-3:45 FOX & CATS
2:25-3pm SQUARE & COMPASS
1:40-2:10 FRANK FREEMAN
1pm-1:25 BRETT HOLLIS

Pachinko Hut

1:35-2am ABSTRACT CANNON/DANNY WATTS
12:45-1:30 AMORETTE
12:-12:35 DAPHNE
11:15-11:45 RICHIE ROC
10:15-11PM INSERT CREDITS W SPECIAL GUESTS
9:30-10PM ART INSTITUE LIMITED
8:45-9:15 DIRTY & NASTY
8PM-8:30 ILL LIAD
7:20-7:45 BLVD NIGHT
6:35-7:05 RENZO
6PM-6:25 DISFRUTALO!
5:15-5:45 WAYWORD
4:30-5PM SPASTIC FITS
3:30-4:15 PUNK ROCK PROJECT
2:45-3:15 PUPPET
2PM-2:30 GUT RADIO

The Mink

1am DJ PHARMER
12AM DJ SINIK(UNDERWORLD) & MC BUDA LOVE(PURPLE GANG/MURDERLAND COLLECTIVE)
11PM DJ BMC(TEXAS DUB)
10PM DJ ATHENA
9PM DJ ROB BASS(TEXAS DUB)
8PM DJ PANCHITRON
7PM DJ N9NE
6PM DJ BEST LEGS
5PM CEE PLUS BAD KNIVES
4PM MR.CASTILLO
3PM DAMON ALLEN
2PM STEPHEN FARRELL

See you there!

Wilco & Popeye – “Dawned On Me”

Eggs — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 20:31:17 +0000

Today, the interwebs have been abuzz about the latest viral offering from Chicago rockers Wilco, and for good reason. The new music video features not only an animated Wilco, but also the famed cartoon character Popeye The Sailor Man as well as his list of cronies including Olive Oyl, Bluto, Wimpy and Swee’ Pea. In the sketch, we find Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy vying for the hand of Olive Oyl, only to have a fight put up when Bluto and Popeye start to catch wind. In the end, despite Popeye’s best efforts, Tweedy takes home the prize. Enjoy!

You can read all about the video, pre-order the new iTunes sessions, and find out where you can get your fill of live Wilco in your area here.

It sure seems as if Tweedy and the boys have more fun than the rest.

The Mountain Goats @ Fitzgerald’s

Eggs — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 22:23:44 +0000

It had been a long time since the last time John Darnielle had stepped foot in Houston, some 6 years ago when The Mountain Goats played at Mary Jane’s Fat Cat, a former Houston staple that has long since been closed. That was very apparent throughout their Friday night headlining show at Fitzgerald’s when Darnielle mentioned numerous times how sorry he was for denying Houston an appearance. He more than made up for it that night, though, as he brought an unbridled energy throughout the entire set.

Read all about the show and check out some photos after the jump.

We arrived at Fitz about an hour before The Mountain Goats were supposed to go on only to find a long line wrapped around the building. After about a 20 minute wait just to get ID’d and get our tickets scanned, we finally made it upstairs in time for the last few songs of the opener. We jammed into the far left corner, and tried to get the best sightline for the headliner as well as easy access to the bar while the opener finished up their set. This was apparently the show of January, as every music nerd in town was packed into the upstairs venue on top of a large contingent of young kids whose attendance based on knowledge of the music was highly questionable. Soon, though, as The Mountain Goats took the stage, nothing really mattered anymore.

I can’t really recollect exactly what was played and in what order, but I loved every minute of the set. Being surrounded by friends and family, watching a band that has always meant so much to you, and having more than a few cocktails is always the recipe for concert memory loss. I do remember, though, a gorgeous take on “Love Love Love,” a solo section that featured both “Woke Up New” and the debut of a song entitled “Diaz Brothers,” great rhetoric about how they wouldn’t play “The Best Ever Death Metal Band In Denton” in the middle of the set in the State of Texas only to play it just a few songs later to close the set, and finally the encore that started with “No Children,” had a “This Year” sandwich and finished with “Houseguest,” a regular cover of theirs.

It was definitely one of the better shows I’ve seen in my day, and from the initial reactions from friends and others in the audience, it was a favorite for them too. I had only seen The Mountain Goats once before, last year at Austin City Limits in the dead head of the afternoon, and while that set was great, this one blew it out of the water. At the end of the night, as I stood with my sister waiting at the end of the line to meet John Darnielle and to get my new vinyl copy of The Sunset Tree signed, I thought of what I’d say to him, but couldn’t come up with anything more than “…I know it’s cliche, but your music has meant so much to me.” When I got up to the table to talk to him, before I could even finish, he stopped me and told me that, especially with a five month old child sitting at home while he was on tour, it doesn’t matter how many times he hears it, it means the world to him every single time.