CONAN O’BRIEN photo credit: Charles Poladian
Of all the acts in this year’s lineup I was most excited about a comedian. The line for the first Conan show apparently started at five in the morning. I got there a humble three hours before his 1pm showtime and still was turned away due to unorganized lines and strange complications. Me and my friends felt defeated and had to watch a live telecast of the show under the searing sun. I guess just knowing that I was within the general radius of that orange bearded god is enough to keep me happy.
The White Stripes – We’re Going to be Friends
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THE NATIONAL photo credit: C. Taylor Crothers
The National are like your friend’s cool older brother. But like older older brother. It’s hard not to love these guys. With a booming vocalist and hummable melodies, they stir up a passion similar to the crush you had on your favorite English teacher. At one point he poured a glass of wine for a lucky crowd member.
The National – Mistaken For Strangers
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TENACIOUS D photo credit: Charles Poladian
The Deeeee! I came to this show with a feeling of indifference. I left the show with a feeling of renewed life. The duo are excellent performers. A backing band provided electric guitar, bass and drums while Jack and KG wielded acoustic axes. The theme of this set was ‘The D is Back’. They played a new story driven ballad representing this theme. It rocked.
Tenacious D – Wonderboy
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KINGS OF LEON photo credit: Jeff Kravitz
‘Aha Shake Heartbreak’ is one of the best albums of all time. Kings of Leon are a love or hate band. I’m all about them; not just because they’re hometown heroes but because I think they’re amazing songwriters and really fun to watch live. Maybe they’re brilliant businessmen too. All of their albums have a different taste; the last two launching them to mainstage fame. With a bunch of fans and critics shouting at them to return to their roots, they performed a set which included mostly old material and a few new songs. I couldn’t pick out the new ones because I’m not familiar with the ‘Youth and Manhood’ album, but I didn’t hear anything I didn’t like (always a good sign).
Kings of Leon – Knocked Up
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Darryl Hall & Chromeo
A live mashup of new and old artists with similar tastes and sounds. The crowd was just as diverse as the people on stage. I was only able to catch a few songs from this set, but I’m glad I stopped by. Chromeo will be in Nashville August 26th. Buy tickets here.
Hall & Oates – Out of Touch
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BASSNECTAR
Locally I don’t get to see too many packed shows where the DJ is the main attraction. I had already seen Flaming Lips (who were performing during the same timeslot) twice and I was longing for some time amongst Bonnaroo’s rave culture so I decided to get there early for Bassnectar. So many dubstep hippies were in attendance. I’m not sure if half the audience had ever heard the term ‘dubstep’, but everyone in attendance knew that Bassnectar meant a good time, drugs, and powerful bass. I’m not entirely against dubstep. I enjoy it’s aggressive appeal but like any other genre, it all starts to blend. It was a good time. I’d go again.
Lloyd Banks – Beamer, Benz, or Bentley (Instrumental)
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KID CUDI
Aziz Ansari introduced Mr. Solo Dolo, ‘Nobody Is allowed to look Mr. Cudi in the face! And don’t look at his shoes either…his shoes are very shy’. I was too far back to see much of anything but the crowd’s energy was great. I peaced out after an epic jumping session during Day N’ Nite so I could catch the whole LCD set.
KiD CuDi – Soundtrack 2 My Life
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LCD SOUNDSYSTEM
There’s a rumor going around that LCD Soundsystem is boring live. I’m not sure who started it, but they’re big liars. This show was awesome. About halfway through, the hippie jam band folk left which provided some extra elbow room for everyone else to dance. Shouting back the echoing lines during ‘POW POW’ was excellent. This is one of the shows I was most excited about this year and I was not disappointed at all.
LCD Soundsystem – Movement
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More Coverage: Saturday Lineup
(World Cup, Jay-Z, Deadmau5 + more)
