Cotton Jones may be riding the last wave of enthusiasm for indie-alt-country. But as I said before, there’s something very authentic about them. Clearly their buzz factor is growing, as people either shuffled down into the Red Rocks visitor center right after The Walkmen, skipping M. Ward, or saw a few minutes of Mr. Ward before deciding to scurry to catch Cotton Jones.
Indeed, the intimacy that probably would have served M. Ward well was afforded to Cotton Jones, who soaked up the attention of every plaid-shirted soul in the room with Michael Nau and Whitney McGraw’s beautiful harmonies.
Keep an eye on these guys (and gal) — they’re a little bit country and a little bit rock & roll, but a whole lot of awesome.
Neither of the girls to the left here are M. Ward. No, instead this picture is here in a post about M. Ward at Monolith to justify some crabbiness. Saturday was rainy. All day. It sucked. But, whereas The Walkmen played so well that it was easy to overcome the discomfort, M. Ward was disappointing.
In fact, The Walkmen and M. Ward were the two acts I was most looking forward to for the whole weekend. But after a lovely rendition of “Chinese Translation,” Mr. Ward proceeded to blast through some of his classic songs at breakneck speed. Maybe after one tune the band decided the weather was grim enough to warrant double-timing all their material to get back to their warm, cushy, plush green room. Disappointing. It could also be that M. Ward is one of those acts better suited for an indoor theater…I recall having the same thought at Cat Power last year at Lollapalooza. Whenever you’re in Denver next, Mr. M. Ward, the Bluebird has your name on it.
Meanwhile, M. Ward performing “Chinese Translation” at Monolith Festival Saturday:
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!
My first concert in Denver was last year’s Monolith Festival at Red Rocks. A month after the hot schweaty mess that was Lollapalooza, it was easy to fall in love with an inexpensive festival with perfect weather, a gorgeous natural backdrop, five stages within a 5-minute walk of one another (as opposed to 20-40 min. navigating a sea of plaid at Grant Park for Lolla) and plenty of pleasant surprises (Port O’Brien, Cameron McGill and What Army).
That’s why I’m so very stoked for Monolith Festival this weekend. Lots of great acts, lots of smaller bands I’m excited to check out for the first time. And for a 2-day festival that cost $75 at it’s initial price — W-O-W. You can still get 2-day tickets for $110 here … still a great deal.
ESURANCE MUSIC STAGE
9:30 PM – YEAH YEAH YEAHS
7:45 PM – GIRL TALK
6:15 PM – M. WARD
4:45 PM – OK GO
3:30 PM – FRIGHTENED RABBIT
2:30 PM – THAO WITH THE GET DOWN STAY DOWN
1:30 PM – GREGORY ALAN ISAKOV
12:30 PM – THE DEPRECIATION GUILD
ESURANCE MUSIC STAGE
9:30 PM – THE MARS VOLTA
7:45 PM – MSTRKRFT
6:15 PM – METHOD MAN & REDMAN
4:45 PM – THE GLITCH MOB
3:30 PM – THE DANDY WARHOLS
2:30 PM – RAHZEL
1:30 PM – THE FEATURES
12:30 PM – SPINDRIFT
SOUTHERN COMFORT STAGE
8:45 PM – OF MONTREAL
7:00 PM – DOOM
5:30 PM – THE WALKMEN
4:00 PM – THE PAINS OF BEING PURE AT HEART
3:00 PM – EDWARD SHARPE & THE MAGNETIC ZEROS
2:00 PM – SPEAKEASY TIGER
1:00 PM – AUTOVAUGHN
RADIUS EARPHONES STAGE (Indoor Stage – Limited Capacity)
7:40 PM – HOLLYWOOD HOLT + MILLION $ MANO
6:20 PM – THUNDERHEIST
5:00 PM – STARFUCKER
3:40 PM – WOODHANDS
2:20 PM – LYDIA
1:00 PM – STARS OF TRACK AND FIELD
RADIUS EARPHONES STAGE (Indoor Stage – Limited Capacity)
7:40 PM – SAVOY
6:20 PM – TIGERCITY
5:00 PM – HEALTH
3:40 PM – THE LOVE LANGUAGE
2:20 PM – THE PIRATE SIGNAL
1:00 PM – ROYAL BANGS
WOXY.COM STAGE (Indoor Stage – Limited Capacity) 7:00 PM – COTTON JONES
5:40 PM – CYMBALS EAT GUITARS
4:20 PM – THE ANSWERING MACHINE
3:00 PM – THESE UNITED STATES
1:40 PM – THE ANTLERS
12:20 PM – GENERATIONALS
WOXY.COM STAGE (Indoor Stage – Limited Capacity)
7:00 PM – DEER TICK
5:40 PM – THE TWILIGHT SAD
4:20 PM – BAD VEINS
3:00 PM – NEON INDIAN
1:40 PM – WE WERE PROMISED JETPACKS
12:20 PM – A SHORELINE DREAM
MADELOUD.COM STAGE
7:15 PM – BOULDER ACOUSTIC SOCIETY
5:45 PM – CAITLIN ROSE
4:15 PM – WENDY DARLING
3:00 PM – DANIELLE ATE THE SANDWICH
2:00 PM – AVI BUFFALO
1:00 PM – ROADSIDE GRAVES
MADELOUD.COM STAGE
7:15 PM – RACHEL GOODRICH
5:45 PM – FRENCH HORN REBELLION
4:15 PM- RED WIRE BLACK WIRE
3:00 PM – BEATS ANTIQUE
2:00 PM – ANNI ROSSI
1:00 PM – JIM MCTURNAN & THE KIDS THAT KILLED THE MAN
Monolith Festival: Cotton Jones.
Cotton Jones at Monolith.
Cotton Jones may be riding the last wave of enthusiasm for indie-alt-country. But as I said before, there’s something very authentic about them. Clearly their buzz factor is growing, as people either shuffled down into the Red Rocks visitor center right after The Walkmen, skipping M. Ward, or saw a few minutes of Mr. Ward before deciding to scurry to catch Cotton Jones.
Indeed, the intimacy that probably would have served M. Ward well was afforded to Cotton Jones, who soaked up the attention of every plaid-shirted soul in the room with Michael Nau and Whitney McGraw’s beautiful harmonies.
Keep an eye on these guys (and gal) — they’re a little bit country and a little bit rock & roll, but a whole lot of awesome.