The flawless Bryan Ferry!

Let me just start out by saying this is one of the most amazing concerts I have ever seen.  Hell, it may even have been THE best show I've ever seen.  It was just absolutely flawless all the way around. They came out swinging to "Re-Make/Re-Mode" from Roxy Music's first album.  They grabbed the crowd the second Bryan Ferry came on stage, and held the crowd captive for the rest of the show.  I can't stress enough just how flawless, perfect everything was.  His musicians were amazing.  The drummer was female, and just kicked ass.  I think she may have had her own Beyonce fan, because her hair seemed to blow in the wind.  The lead guitar player owned his Les Paul, and the sounds that came out of it were spectacular.  The saxophonist was incredible, and was a very integral part of the show. Bryan Ferry's voice was still top notch, and incredible sounding.  I think he has one of the most unique voices in the business.  He also played keyboards at times.  He had two great back-up dancers/singers that were just awesome too.  The lighting and costumes were great too, and definitely added to the show.  He obviously still cares a lot about the visuals.  In his talk he mentioned his first concert was Bill Haley.  I could see the influence.  It was almost like an old school rock n' roll show. The highlight for me was hearing the glam anthem "Virginia Plain" in person.  I am not ashamed to admit, I went a little crazy! He also performed an amazing cover of John Lennon's "Jealous Guy." My one complaint was that he didn't play "2HB"  but that's being self-indulgent.  I just don't know what else to say at this point, except it was an incredible show.  I find this show hard to write about, because it was just so amazing and special.  All I can think of to say at this point is, if you ever get the chance to see Bryan Ferry, run do not walk!

Bryan Ferry, this is your life!

Riot Fest has ended, so now begins Glamapalooza!  If you know anything at all about me, you know I'm a huge Bowie freak.  I was beyond psyched when I heard the "Bowie is" exhibit was coming to Chicago.  That time is fast approaching.  A lot of programs were created to correspond to the exhibit. It's not hard to figure out, I'm also a fan of Roxy Music and Bryan Ferry.  When I heard he'd be speaking, I knew I had to go.  I figured the talk would be about the glam rock movement, and thought it'd focus on Roxy Music.  That was not the case.  Glam Rock wasn't really discussed, and Bowie's name was not mentioned even once.  This talk was not even mentioned as being injunction with the exhibit, not even during the introduction.  My friend and I both thought this was odd.  It was still cool, and great to hear Bryan Ferry talk.  It was more along the lines of a retrospective of his career. That's not a bad thing by any means!

Bryan Ferry grew up in an industrial part of England.  He said it wasn't pretty, but there was one area that was beautiful.  A picture of it was shown, and it looked like an ancient Greek temple in a park. He used to dream about escaping.  He had been of fan of music since he was 10.  He won tickets to a Bill Haley concert, from a radio contest.  He delivered newspapees twice a day, and would read rhe music magazines in them.  He became a fan of all types of music.  He mentioned Charlie Parker being a hero of his.  He went to college in Newcastle.  By the time he atarted college, he said his influences were anywhere from Duchamp to Smokwy Robinson.  He started to sing when a friend asked him to audition for his band.  The audition was in a bizarre hair salon.  He compared the experience to a David Lynch film. He studied art under the pop artist Richard Hamilton.  A newspaper clipping was projected that showed Ferry painting, with the caption "angry young artist". He said he wasnt angry at all then.  He  was having the time of his.  To me, this helped explain how the visual image of Roxy Music was sso important.  Newcastle had a pretty active music scene.  He formed his first band during this time. Some of the band members also became part of Roxy Music.

After college, Ferey moved to London.  He started song writing, learning to play the piano, and start to put together Roxy Music.  According to Bryan, it took a few years to get the line-up for Roxy Music.  I enjoyed the story of how Brian Eno became part of Roxy.  The band wanted to record, but didn't have a tape recorder.  Eno came over with one, and never left! They recordes the fieat album.  Ferry seemed to like it, but thought it was unfocused, a mix of too many genres.   A friend of Bryan Ferry's Antony Price helped formulate the bands image.  Eno once called their style as intergalactic parliament.   Antony designed clothes for the band and helped design album sleeves for the band. He is pretty much responsible for the Roxy girls, the girls on the various album covers.   One notable Roxy girl is Jerry Hall.  Ferry went to say, he thought the second Roxy album was their best work ever. 

After the second Roxy Music album, Ferry decided to do a solo album of old standards. This started a very busy time for him.  He'd record with Roxy, tour with Roxy, record solo, and then tour solo.  I admired his honesty when he admitted it was very exhausting.  He also admits everything was rushed.  At one point, two videos were shot in a single day.  Most of the people involved in helping where friends of his or the band.  He got emotional when talking about the bassist, on "Love is the Drug" who just passed away a week ago.  Also, he's wearing a real eye patch in the video.  He had hurt his eye somehow right before.  Fun factoid, Manolo Blahnik is pictures on the back of his second solo album, Another Time, Another Place. 

Riot Fest Day 3

Day 3 wasn't quite as awesome as Day 2, but it was still a pretty darn good time.  I got there earlier than planned, so I was able to catch Kurt Vile and the Violaters. His set started out fairly mellow.  It was a great way to start the last day of Riot.  His set picked up the pace as he went along.  There were definitely some cool rock guitar riffs in there.  That was a unique combination with his almost Dylaneque voice.  His hair was long and in his face, I couldn't help but wonder if he was hiding it. All-in-all I enjoyed his set, but I don't know if I'd see him on his own.

Billy Bragg was next!  I enjoyed him a lot.  When I say I enjoyed him, I mean him. He was the only one on stage.  He seemed to have a thick Irish accent, although I have since discovered he is British. His music almost seemed to be a mix of Irish folk and The Clash.  It was a really cool and unique combination. He had a great sense of humor as well.  He joked about how he like a certain tea a lot, called Throat Coater.   Billy claimed it was suppose to make you sing better, and Morrissey was the one that recommended it to him. He was the only one to get political, up until this point.  He talked a fair amount about Scotland's vote for independence that is coming up this Friday.  He was very supportive of it, and down on the British government. He was really great, and I would love to see him again.

Patti smith was next.  Patti Smith is a goddess!  I had the absolute pleasure of seeing her roughly a year ago.  It was amazing!  I was definitely looking forward to seeing her again.  I watched part of her set from the Ferris Wheel.  It was really cook to see the crowd from that view.  Patti was amazing!  I feel there's a little lost in translation from seeing her at a fest, though.  She also got political.  You can find her Riot Rant on YouTube.  With these turbulent political times, she played "People have the Power" She also dedicated "Because the Night" to her late husband Fred Smith, of MC5 fame.  It was his birthday.  I don't know what else I could possible say about this amazing lady. No words could do Patti justice.  You MUST see her if you get the chance.

There were some great headliners that night at Riot.  I choose The Cure, naturally.  First, Robert Smith looked better than I had expected.  He didn't look as puffy as he has in some recent pictures.  They were amazing.  They played all their hits and then some.  They played for over two hours.   There was just such a cool vibe.  Everyone seemed to be enjoying it, and having a good time.  Robert Smith even attempted to dance a bit, which was adorable.  His dancing seemed almost zombie-like.  I never would have thought to put The Cure on my concert bucketlist, but I am so glad I got to see them.  It was a great way to close out Riot Fest.  Even though I didn't get to dance with Iggy Pop this year, this may have been the best Riot Fest yet!

Riot Fest Day 2!

The forecast for Day 2 called for clear sky and better music!  That forecast proved to be pretty darn accurate!  I decided to get up at a reasonable hour, and get to Riot early to catch Macauley Culkin's Pizza Underground.  For those of you that don't know, Macauley started a Velvet Underground cover band, but all the lyrics are about pizza.  Their hits include songs such as  "Pizza Day" and "Waiting for the Delivery Man."  If you think this is a joke, I believe you are right.  I also believe they are in on the joke.  They joked with the crowd a lot, and smiled a lot.  They had the Velvet's look down, dressed in all black and wearing sunglasses.  They even had a German lady, just like Nico.  The Pizza Underground also had a pizza box player. This was the first band I have ever seen with a pizza box player.  The box said Pizza Metro, to cater to the hometown crowd.   I thought it was very entertaining and humorous.  If you missed this, don't fear.  You can always catch them in Pussy Joel, their next project.  If you can't figure it out, that's a Billy Joel cover band about cats.

Next up was The Orwells.  I knew nothing about them, except that David Letterman apparently loves them.  This was the most obnoxious crowd of any band I saw during Riot Fest.  People were super pushy and not even remotely conscious of other people.  The band was very good, though.  I enjoyed it until the very end.  I'll explain that in a bit.  The singers vocals seemed spot on for rock, the drummer kept a very good beat, the guitar was powerful, and the bassline was nice and heavy.  They did a pretty cool rendition of "Fill me up Buttercup."  The singer appeared more hippie than rocker, and appeared high as a kite.  Here's what made me dislike them.  I was right up front, so security was right in front of me.  Right near the end of The Orwell's set, pizza was brought to security for lunch. At the end of the set, the singer purposefully jumped on the pizza, ruining their lunch.  I thought that was an absolute asshole move,and that absolutely killed it for me.

Buzzcocks are a band I should've checked out years ago, and for some reason never did.  I was excited to see them on the line-up.  They are classic British punk.  I don't know what else to say besides that, just good ol' fashioned punk.  Union Jacks were very present during their set.  They were the first band to get my head bopping.  I  highly enjoyed them.  I intend to add them to my play list.  I also wouldn't mind checking them out in a venue setting.

Television was next on the agenda.  I had the privilege of seeing them about four months back at The Metro here in Chicago.  It was a great show.  I was super excited to be able to see them again. Television pretty much started the CBGB's scene.  We may not have punk, if not for them.  Verlaine's vocals seem a tad weak, but that seems fitting with their sound.  His guitar playing is still top notch. The guitar in Marquee Moon is among my favorite.  There really isn't too much else to say about this classic band, or else I could go on and on.  They're a must to check out!

Die Antwood was next!  This was another act I was excited to see.  They are a rap group from South Africa, but have an electronic twist.  Some of their lyrics can be crude and somewhat twisted. The guy even mooned the crowd at one point.   They came out wearing prisonlike jump suits.  As the went on, they worse less and less.  Lola's baby pitched vocals made the lyrics seem less offensive somehow.  They were very high energy, and created a dance party environment.  They even had back up dancers.  That may have been the only set I saw at Riot with back up dancers.  They were one of the most unique sets I have ever seen at Riot Fest, and they're another one I'd like to see in a venue setting.

As stated previously, I am not a big rap or hip hop fan.  I had to check out the WuTang Clan.  They had one of the biggest crowds I saw.  I enjoyed it a lot.  I don't have too much to say really, though, about them.  I'll end with this "Wu Tang ain't nothing to fuck with."

After WuTang came Metric.  I really don't have much to say about them either.  They played a few radio hits, songs I recognized.  I'd describe them as unoffensive, neither really good or bad. They have a female singer.  It made me realize, she was the only female lead I'd seen at this point.  It made me recall the Pussy Riot discussion.

The last band on my agenda was the Flaming Lips.  I knew a little about them, mainly about how far out their shows are.  Naturally, I had to check them out.  I was not disappointed in the slightest.  The stage was set with hundreds of LED lights hanging down, as seen in the picture below.  They came onstage with two huge mushrooms and a giant rainbow.  During their first song, they were about to shot cannons off, instead the power went off.  After a 5-10 minute delay, they got power and picked up were they left off.  The canons shot off a ton of glitter.  It looked beautiful in the night sky. Throughout the show, they had butterflies, suns and aliens join them on stage.  Wayne also put on a super fringy metallic jacket, giving him the appearance of being covered practically in tinsel.  It was all so beautifully tacky.  Least you think it's all about the show, the music was pretty great too.  It was like what I imagine taking acid would be like.  They ended the show with a cover of The Beatles "Lucy in the Sky"  I had heard their version before, and wasn't a huge fan. It was amazing live, though.  They used the cannons again.  The sky appeared to be full of diamonds.  It was a great way to end the day.  I have seen obsessively been listening to their album Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots. I'll just wrap this entry up by saying Wayne Coyne is insane, but in the best way possible.   

Riot Fest Day One

Day one was not the best.  The weather was shitty, and I was apathetic about the day's lineup.  So, I will focus on the positive and write about the Pussy Riot speaks forum.  I have been a fan of theirs ever since I heard of their arrest.  To stand up to Putin like they did takes amazing courage.  I was excited when I heard they would be at Riot Fest.  I was even more psyched when I heard it was actually going to be a forum, with Henry Rollins moderating.  This was destined to be a Riot Fest highlight, and I was not disappointed in the least.

I arrived to the stage roughly half an hour early.  A small crowd had already formed. The crowd cheered as they would for any rock stars when Pussy Riot and the rest of the panel came out. The ladies seemed shocked, and had a very adorable moment when they took a few selfies. I was reminded the church protest was not necessarily anti-Putin, but about women's rights.  Women's rights are getting more and more restrictive in Russia.  They said they did not honestly expect to be arrested.  The forum spoke a lot about feminism, and how misogyny is still a big issue even in the United States.  They went on to discuss how prevalent it is in the music industry.  We were reminded that feminism is not a bad word.  At it's most basic, its the belief that men and women are equal.

Henry Rollins brought up the power of words a lot.  Lyrics can be so important.  He then somewhat touched on the history of punk.  Punk was started to fight authority and fight social injustices.  According to Rollins, it's gotten away from that and needs a refresh.  Pussy Riot is that refresh!  He also discussed how in the U.S.A. we are lucky that for the most part we are protected by freedom of speech.  We don't have to worry about being physically incarcerated. However, we can incarcerate ourselves in other ways.  I thought that was a very cool point.  The forum ended with the ladies wanting to take a selfie with the crowd.  You can clearly see me:)

I was very moved and inspired by this panel.  I used to be an idealist, but became a cynic pretty early on.  I blame it on being a poli sci major.  I gave up.  This made me kinda wake up , and wanna be active again.  In fact, I went and signed up to get involved with Amnesty International.  Job well done Riot Fest!

This is not my best entry.  Due to things not saving properly, I had to rewrite it three times.  I got tired of it.ha