Verge Music Festival preview: Manchester Orchestra
Manchester Orchestra; photo by Andy Barron
One of the many great things about the upcoming Verge Music Festival is that I have lots of friends in Milwaukee. Two of them, Ryan and Amy, are definitely going both nights, so that will be fun. One of the bands that Ryan mentioned he was excited to see was Manchester Orchestra, who I admit until I looked them up I had never heard of them.
The Atlanta foursome that compromise Manchester Orchestra were recently featured on the May cover of Alternative Press. They're out on the road in support of their January EP release, I Could Be the Only One, and their 2009 full length release, Mean Everything to Nothing, which was actually recorded live and gives the album a very authentic sound. I'm one of those people that probably enjoys live concert albums more so than most. The huge collection of concerts that Pearl Jam put out a few years back comes to mind as some excellent albums.
I'm particularly digging the track "Shake It Out" from Mean Everything to Nothing, which you can check out via music video below, and look forward to hopefully catching it live June 5th Milwaukee:
Want to learn more about the band? Check out their offical website.
If you're still considering attending the VMF and haven't yet gotten your tickets, they're sweetening the pot for you. Until 11:59 pm Thursday you can buy a 2 day pass for $40 and get a FREE 2 day general admission ticket to Summerfest 2010 PLUS a voucher redeemable for a $10 gift card at the VMF.
To get in on this deal, simply use password fm1021 when logging in at the website
I don't know how long I'll be able to stick with this idea.... but..... if I can manage to keep it going I'd like to "flash back" every Sunday to some of the type of content that Veritas Lux Mea was founded upon: links to great music sites, news, and analysis that I encounter in my daily trips around the web.
This is a music blog, and so while I do want to keep it that way, its nice once a week to throw a few links up for my friends that might otherwise not find their way to the content. The interweb is a long and perilous journey, but on Sundays, perhaps we can be your guide to some interesting info.
Around the Blogosphere
It's been a while since I last checked in with my friends over at So Much Silence, but they've had some really good stuff up for you to check out lately, including this video from Friday night's Pearl Jam performance. Eddie brought up Ben Bridwell of Band of Horses to join in on a rendition of Temple of Dog's "Hunger Strike." Very cool. A few posts down they also have a video of The National playing "England" from their recent Brooklyn Academy of Music performance that you shoudn't miss.
If you're not stopping by Everybody Cares, Everybody Understands at least every Saturday you are missing out on the great covers that come along every weekend. Where else can you find Conor Oberst and Ben Gibbard covering The Ghostbusters Theme? Or Weezer covering "I Think We're Alone Now"?
Last but certainly not least, you can get your hands on a whole slew of free good music stew, including the new Interpol track "Lights" over at Ear Farm.
My wife is a giant fish nerd, and I say that with love. As a result, she's really into taxonomy, the practice and science of classification. I bet she would enjoy this post over at The Huffington Post on the Taxonomy of the Different Species of Hamburgers. Ok, I'm pretty sure she wouldn't, but if you're a meat loving carnivore like me, you will.
Got an iPod but don't want to shell out the cash for one of them fancy docks? Good thing you can just use your computer's CD tray to do the trick [Lifehacker]
Something not a lot of people know about me is that I really enjoy interior decorating and landscaping. Our modest l bedroom apartment might not show it all that much, but I do what I can. As is such, one of my favorite stops is the Apartment Therapy website. I particularly enjoyed this recent post about outdoor Fantasy Gardens, especially the camel-shaped shrubs.
Oh how the mighty have fallen; photo by Getty images
Boo for the Crew
The Brewers have been absolutely terrible this year, which is really bumming me out. I went down to Phoenix recently to watch them sweep the then-hot Arizona Diamondbacks in epic fashion, but since then, it has been mostly downhill. The reason? It's gotta be the pitching.
The Brewers have won just 1 game in the past 12, a monumental losing streak, especially in a division that is as closely contended as the NL central most years. Their team ERA is 5.50, third worst in the majors, and they are already 9 games back of the surging Cincinnati Reds in the standings. To echo just how poorly they have pitched and at what cost it has been to their record, the Brewers have scored the 7th most runs in the league, and hit the 4th most homeruns. Only the Arizona Diamondbacks have a more disparate pitching/scoring gap. But whose to blame?
A lot of people are calling for the firing of Ken Macha, but last time I checked, he's not the one out there toeing the slab for nine innings. The Brewers have failed to make a significant upgrade to their pitching staff in the past few years and its coming back to bite them. Hard. Certainly the loss of phenomenal pitching coach Mike Maddux has had some impact the past two years; while the Texas Rangers under Maddux are flourishing (as much as your pitching can flourish in Arlington, at least) with a 4.04 team ERA, the Brewers staff led by Rick Peterson has floundered.
Milwaukee's The Wildbirds will be opening up the action at the Fringe Stage on Friday night. This Wisconsin quartet draws apt comparisons to early Petty, and does have a very retro rock sound and look, which in truth, isn't totally my thing. Nonetheless, the energy and appeal their sound will bring makes them an excellent choice to begin the night for the Fringe stage.
Much like the band that will be playing before them on Friday at the Verge Music Festival, Nico Vega is another band led by a strong, beautiful woman vocalist, Aja Volkman. Since releasing their self-titled debut in 2009, this LA group has shared the stage with bands like Metric and Shiny Toy Guns. They were even featured in an article on The Huffington Post. It's easy to see why - just listen to the way her voice dances in the track "Gravity" below:
As I've mentioned quite frequently over the past month or so, we'll be heading down to the Verge Music Festival in Milwaukee the first weekend of June, and couldn't be more excited.
It's been a while since we've had a chance to catch a show, especially one with the likes of She & Him, Cold War Kids, Eagles of Death Metal, Weezer...the list goes on. Lollapalooza its not, but it is a welcome sign that the Milwaukee area is looking to expand the summer music festival scene beyond Summerfest, something that Chicago has put itself on the map with thanks to Lolla and the Pitchfork Music Festival.
One of the nice things about the Verge Music Festival is that it looks like a lot of local talent is going to be showcased. And since I haven't heard of many of the bands on the festival docket, I thought it'd be a good idea to profile the festival lineup in the days leading up to the event to bring myself up to speed, starting out with the first band on the schedule, playing 5pm on Friday June 4th: Red Knife Lottery.
Red Knife Lottery at Summerfest 2009 (photo by stacey marie ferguson)
Milwaukee's Red Knife Lottery will undoubtedly draw comparisons to other female-vocal lead rock groups on the scene today, such as The Gossip or Heartless Bastards, but with a bit more edge. Lead vocalist Ashley Chapman's raw vocals blend well with the band's punk-rock feel. Even their tracks on Youtube sounds loud and in your face. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing them open up the festival.
Neutral Milk Hotel's Jeff Mangum and his first live performance in 10 years!
I really started getting into Neutral Milk Hotel just a few years ago thanks to my friend Mike, and was very disheartened when I learned that they hadn't toured or performed in a long time. 10 years, actually.
Neutral Milk Hotel is just one of the few remaining bands on my concert "bucket list." Over the years I've systematically sought out and attended concerts from my favorite artists, including Pearl Jam, Muse, The Rolling Stones, and so many more. I had a chance to see Dylan a few years back when he was touring and turned that down; probably a bad move now that I look back. I'm still hoping to catch The Silversun Pickups, Smashing Pumpkins (in some form or other), and a few others on my list, but I'm not holding out hope on catching Neutral Milk Hotel anytime soon.
That being said, thanks to the folks of MOG.com (via Stereogum and Pitchfork), I learned that Neutral Milk Hotel frontman Jeff Mangum performed live recently at the Chris Knox benefit event in New York City. I wasn't there, but just reading about the recap is exciting enough.
Head over to MOG.com and check out a small description of the recap as well as some fan videos of Magnum's performance taken at the event.
There's another review and more videos at Stereogum as well.
I've never had the pleasure of attending Bonnaroo, the annual music festival down in Manchester, Tennessee. I've had friends that have gone in previous years and loved it, and were it not for the $230+ ticket price and fact that I live in Wisconsin, I would certainly make the trip, especially this year. With the likes of Tenacious D, Weezer, Jay Z, The National, and even Stevie Wonder on stage, who can complain?
Luckily, for those of us not able to afford the price of admission, or those too stingy to fork over the dough it turns out there are "other" ways to get to Bonnaroo, according to the clever email I got today from Fuse.
My favorites of the list: - Highjack a truck full of Birkenstocks and pose as a product rep - Grow a beard, pack on 60 lbs and start driving a tour bus
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Manchester Orchestra; photo by Andy Barron
