M. Ward = Genius.
If you’re not going to Monolith Festival at Red Rocks this weekend, you should be. Tickets are still only $110 for a 2-day pass.
If you can’t go, watch this space — we’ll be blogging the festival all weekend long with pics, vids and more.
If you are going, here’s a rundown of who we’re looking forward to seeing…
Saturday:
Of course, the two acts I’m most excited to see Saturday — The Walkmen and M. Ward — are crunched together at 5:30 and 6:15.
M. Ward is songwriting genius. He has such a classic sound with a modern twist and if Letterman appearances are anything to go by, dude-man is t-riff live.
The Walkmen look good live so I’m super-excited to hear Hamilton Leithauser wail his best Bob Dylan-shout-o and Matt Barrick’s stupid-crazy-awesome drumming echoing across the mountains.
Cotton Jones.
It seems like everybody’s looking for ways to look or sound vintage these days with all the crazy hyper-perfection available with modern technology everywhere. With Cotton Jones, this is not a contrived gimmick. They’re wonderfully authentic and down-to-earth. Catch them at the WOXY.COM stage at 7 p.m.
If Cotton Jones isn’t your thing, head up top, grab a drink and check out Denver-based comedian Chuck Roy with MF Doom at 7 p.m. on the Southern Comfort Stage. Chuck is absolutely hilarious if you haven’t already seen him on Last Comic Standing, Will & Grace or in town at Comedy Works. Oh yeah, and MF Doom is awesome too.
I intend to spend the rest of the evening stalking Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs cos she’s purty.
The Twilight Sad: Scottish rockers.
Sunday:
I’ll be parked in front of the WOXY.COM stage for most of the afternoon. I already talked about catching the mysterious dream-dance-disco-pop of Neon Indian at 3 p.m.
Cincinnati-based Bad Veins play at 4:20 p.m. Their songs are awesome pop anthems and I’ve seen them live while going to school near Cincinnati, definitely original and creative instrumentation. If you haven’t heard of them, trust me — they’re worth a look.
A friend shot me some tunes from The Twilight Sad a few months ago. I neglected to listen but on a whim threw it on a few nights ago when I found out they were going to be at Monolith. I am *SO* glad I did. These Scottish rockers are a throwback to Joy Division, The Smiths, My Bloody Valentine — the dark, brooding glory bands of British 80′s. Their sound is huge, noisy, but melodic and I’m definitely excited to sneak a glance at some pedal boards before getting my face melted off.
When you have to choose between Passion Pit, The Twilight Sad and French Horn Rebellion, you know you’re at a good festival. See you there. If not, see you here afterward for reviews. Woo!
Monolith Festival: Girl Talk.
Attempting to enjoy Girl Talk in the rain.
Don’t scratch your eyes out (like I was tempted to do during Girl Talk), this full-action shot of Hans, friend of Intern Whisperer, doesn’t quite do his moves justice. Beyond the merit of his stunning gyrations, the effort is doubly impressive given the chilly evening, chilly rain, and cheerleader music (or, how my former coworker @dive_bar describes Girl Talk).
Indeed, while Mr. Talk allowed fans onstage to feign the enthusiasm normally reserved for a warm cluuuub, I’m pretty sure he just popped his CD into his laptop and hit “play.” What a live show! Girl Talk! Twisting knobs (not a sexual innuendo) for the low, low price of $25,000+!
Unless dude-man brought the pacifiers, someone will need to explain his value and appeal to me.
Girl Talk at Monolith. Twisting knobs and such: