Review: I Am Festival 2010

(We Are Scientists)

This was the 5th-annual I Am Festival, and even though I only went to one other, I'm willing to say this was the best one yet. Lots of really good bands, an extended event area, more vendors than last year and beautiful weather made this I Am Fest much better than last year's. And every year, it's been free. The Brooklyn-based We Are Scientists made for a great ending to the night with lots of indie dance rock tunes. Really good news: Manic Productions is bringing We Are Scientists back to Connecticut on Oct. 9 at Daniel Street in Milford. More information here: http://manicproductions.org/shows/455


(Mates of State)

I actually mostly went to I Am Fest this year because of Mates of State, who were amazing as usual, playing lots of their catchy pop tunes and filling in with heartfelt covers of Tom Waits' "Long Way Home" and Daniel Johnston's "True Love Will Find You in the End." Some songs included extra members with a guitar and trumpet, others were just the duo and at the end, with two songs left, they threw in some mixed beats for "Laura," a Girls cover, then "My Only Offer."


(O'Death)

O'Death was really good. I hadn't really listened to much of their stuff before the show, but they had one of those sets that had to convert new fans. Because they performed later in the day, the crowd was really filling in. According to the I Am Fest Facebook event page, O'Death was the first band to confirm, and this was their first show back in Connecticut after a hiatus. I'm glad they're back together because they rock. Really cool indie folk rock sound.


(The Hempsteadys)

Other band I was able to catch after I got there at 4 were The Hempsteadys (a big group playing some cool, reggae-ska), Fake Babies, Darlings (very true for their name, they had some nice, catchy but still raw, garage-sounding pop) and Eula (a neat band from Milford with steady surfer riffs and punk/noise sound).

Here's what I have of set lists for the two main acts.

We Are Scientists:
(Didn't catch the first song because I forgot I was keeping track. Please let me know if I missed anything else!)
Impatience
I Don't Bite
Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt
Rules Don't Stop
This Scene is Dead
Inaction
Chick Lit
Pittsburgh
It's a Hit
The Great Escape
Ambition
Jack & Ginger
After Hours

Mates of State:
Re-Arrange Us
Get Better
True Love Will Find You in the End (Daniel Johnston Cover)
Whiner's Bio
Think Long
You Are Free
Long Way Home (Tom Waits Cover)
For the Actor
At Least I Have You
Now
Ha Ha
Laura (Girls Cover)
My Only Offer

I Am Fest tomorrow!

(Photo I took of Mates of State performing at All Points West in 2008)

Just sharing my excitement for I Am Festival tomorrow and updating this post with the schedule. If you haven't heard about it yet, I Am Fest is a free concert happening tomorrow (Saturday, Sept. 11) on the New London Waterfront Park featuring We Are Scientists, Mates of State, O'Death, Darlings, Eula, and lots more bands.

This is the 5th annual I Am Festival, and the organizers have made this a really amazing event. Last year I saw Deerhoof, Free Energy and The Drums, and in past years, when I hadn't gone, they brought Girl Talk and Matt & Kim. "A production of the New London Music Festival with generous support from the Frank Loomis Palmer Fund, the City of New London, Kitchings Productions, DNLA and New London Main Street," according to the event flier, I Am Fest is free, which is the best part.

Parking is available in the municipal lots once you get near the waterfront.

The schedule below is copied and pasted from the I Am Fest Facebook event page. For more information, go here: http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=116435945078036

MAIN STAGE
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9:30 We Are Scientists
8:00 Mates of State
6:40 O’Death
5:30 Darlings
4:15 The Hempsteadys
3:00 Gone For Good
1:30 Llama Tsunami & The Without Helmet

SECOND STAGE
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7:20 The Stepkids
6:10 Straight To VHS
5:00 Fake Babies
3:45 Eula
2:15 MiniBoone
12:45 The Facelifters

GREEN & GOLDEN DJ STAGE
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DJ sets by The Swagger Jackers, Rob Guess, Frank Lo Chumzilla, EULA, DJ Sir Round Sound and Zo Fresh! With a special "Stoopid Animals" performance by Chumzilla!

September: The month of choices! (I Am Festival with We Are Scientists and Mates of State and Wolf Den Shows with They Might Be Giants)

Now that I'm officially a law student, I really have to budget my concerts - because of both time and money constraints. As luck would have it, there are some great (even free) deals going down in September (not including Lady Gaga in Hartford on Sept. 16, which I'm really excited about). Also as luck would have it, some would be on the same days.

I will start with Saturday, Sept. 11, the date of I Am Festival in New London and The Zombies at Mohegan Sun. Both are free.


(Photo of We Are Scientists from their Myspace page.)

I Am Festival just announced on Facebook this afternoon that We Are Scientists are headlining. This is after the already pretty sweet lineup of Mates of State, O'Death, Darlings and Fake Babies. The flier says that there will be "many more" bands playing, and if past I Am Fests were any indication, I kind of figured this one would be pretty good. I'll admit that I was a little on the fence before, though, because choosing between The Zombies, with some of my favorite songs, and Mates of State, one of my favorite bands, was a tough choice. But add in more bands and the awesome setting that I Am Fest is, I'm going with I Am Fest. Last year we saw Deerhoof, Free Energy and The Drums - for free! I can't believe how much Free Energy has blown up over the past year, so that show was a steal. I'm still kicking myself for missing Girl Talk and Matt & Kim performances at an earlier I Am Fest. I'm not sure where I was then.

Anyway, I Am Festival happens Saturday, Sept. 11 at the Waterfront Park in New London. There's municipal parking in the area, and the stage is right on the waterfront, which makes it really cool. It looks like they're still updating the lineup and adding more info, so check out their Facebook page for more info. I'll update my blog as soon as I can when I find out more.

And still, if you're closer to Mohegan Sun and a bigger Zombies fan, I say go check out the show. It's free. There are actually a number of not-too-shabby free shows in the Wolf Den coming up, including Fuel on Friday, Sept. 3 and Augustana on Sept. 5. Check out the schedule here: http://mohegansun.com/entertainment/wolfden.html?page=1&. And that brings me to the next conundrum that I've worked out recently.


(Photo of They Might Be Giants from their Myspace Page.)

They Might Be Giants are playing a free fan appreciation show at the Wolf Den on Sept. 25. The show starts at 8, but the Wolf Den website suggests arriving early because seating is limited. Also, the show is 21+.

I've decided I'm definitely going to be there, but I have to note that I wasn't exactly sure about going because it's the same night as REO Speedwagon playing at the Durham Fair. REO Speedwagon's not free because fair admission is $15, but it's a pretty good deal when you figure that's the cost of local agricultural fair admission in general, sometimes not even including big headliners. Plus, I love the Durham fair for all its deep-fried treats and lime rickeys and wanted to go to the fair anyway. I might still go during the weekend, but listening to more They Might Be Giants, I decided that show would be a lot of fun. Also, my boyfriend pointed out that there will be fewer occasions to see They Might Be Giants for free than REO Speedwagon for $15. But if you're an REO Speedwagon fan and able to make the fair, definitely go. Here's the info for that show and the fair: http://www.durhamfair.com/ShowsHeadliners.html

Matinee shows are awesome!

Just a few updates all rolled into one blog post.

Went to the Mates of State and M.T. Bearington matinee show at The Space on Saturday afternoon, and it was tons of fun. (I was really close and could have gotten a photo, but my phone died because I forgot to charge it the night before!) Anyway, because it was a home show for Mates of State husband-and-wife duo Jason Hammel and Kori Gardner, they were able to bring their kids, and lots of friends and family made it out. We got there around 3 and noticed there were a lot more kids than usual. We also couldn't help but gush over an adorable kid in a Mates of State shirt enjoying his root beer. Then we realized the home show/matinee atmosphere was perfect for friends and family, both young and old, to come. Aha! The show was awesome. M.T. Bearington rocked it. I bought one of their CDs at a Toad's Place show, but I only thought of this on Saturday: They kind of sound like Modest Mouse, except not as wacky. I like it. Then the Mates of State definitely had fun, playing lots of familiar stuff and some new songs that as danceable as ever. For a new dance song, they even brought up their daughter Maggie on stage and some of her classmates, including the one who enjoyed his root beer. Another bonus? It wasn't even 7 by the time we left! It felt much later because we had already done so much that day and went to a concert, but we still had so much time left in the day. Sweet deal.

And I never reviewed the Girl Talk show. We didn't end up in the general admission pit, but the balcony wasn't that bad. Sure, we were dancing in our seats and really far away, but there were some good parts. I never heard of Black Violin before, but they were the perfect openers for Girl Talk. They played violins over some hip hop and pop songs, and it was pretty cool. They also showed off their classical violin skills. Then Girl Talk came out with a lot of variations of his old mixes and some new stuff. Interesting point: Girl Talk is limited by the music that's out already. He doesn't call himself a DJ, but he "composes" music by mashing up songs. I saw him over a year ago, and I have two of his albums on my iPod, but those are kind of older. Seeing him live last week was pretty cool because he could play some Lady Gaga songs and mix Miley Cyrus' "Party in the USA" with Snoop Dogg. We weren't dancing in the pit, but it ended up being for the better. We didn't get hot or faint, and we could get drinks without trudging through a thick crowd. (A lot of people snuck in/pushed through to the downstairs after the opener.)

Next stop: Bela Fleck - The Africa Project at Jorgensen this Thursday.

Mates of State at The Space Feb. 20

(Photo taken by me All Points West 2008.)
Manic Productions confirmed yesterday that Mates of State are playing an early show with M.T. Bearington at The Space in Hamden Saturday, Feb. 20 at 3 p.m. Tickets are $14 and go on sale Friday at noon at www.manicproductions.org. I'm definitely there, and this might be the third, fourth or fifth time I'll be seeing both bands. This is almost as good as the $3 Cafe Nine show this summer that was announced on Twitter the day of.

8/8 - 8/10 -- All Points West

Forty-seven bands performed on three stages over the course of three days at Liberty State Park in New Jersey. It was just a ferry ride away from New York City, and almost every band commented on the awesome view of the skyline and Statue of Liberty.

While the festival was exhausting at times - we went from the train to the subway to the ferry to the long walk to the festival grounds and back each day - it was totally worth it for the festival experience. I love being able to see a bunch of great bands in the same place. Radiohead headlined the first two nights, and Jack Johnson ended the last day. After seeing a few bands and happily standing to the side or not having to push through to get close to the stage, the crowd was much more serious about the Radiohead set, which is understandable because they were the headliners, and amazing headliners at that.

Both nights, Radiohead played a lot from 'In Rainbows,' which was awesome and made sense because it was their newest album. Thom Yorke kept bending the entire top half of his body up and down over the piano and singing with the same emotion and feeling that draws fans in. A highlight for me: "All I Need" both nights. Also: pretty much the entire 'In Rainbows' album the second night. They didn't play "Karma Police," which I was hoping for but not expecting, and to keep up with tradition, they didn't play "Creep." But both nights, the entire band was great at every song with a musicianship that surpasses many bands these days. The light show was fantastic. A bunch of vertically hanging light rods were set over the stage, flashing with all sorts of colors and effects. That, combined with Radiohead playing their hearts out for fans listening their hearts out, made the concert not just another show, but an experience.




Jack Johnson was a nice, chill ender to the festival. I'd heard that some people who bought 3-day tickets to the festival left before his set, but when you pay nearly $300 for your tickets and even more for transportation to get to a show, it's really worth getting as much out of it as you can. I'm actually a Jack Johnson fan, and I thought his set was great. He did all his singles, and he brought Trey Anastasio from Phish, who also played a set on Sunday, which added to the fun of the set.

I also saw Ben Jelen for the third time on Sunday. It was pretty sad to see the sparse crowd in front of his stage, which was the furthest from the main stage. But that also meant that I was able to be right up front. He did a lot of new songs from his newest CD that I didn't buy until after his set, but he did play some older songs. He ended with "Christine," which actually made me cry. I was probably the only one though. I was able to meet him and take a picture with him after the set, and I got a signed poster for my friend, which was an added bonus.

My new favorite band from the weekend was the Roots. Yes, I probably should have listened to their music before. I've read about them, and I've heard some stuff. But sometimes you need to see a band live before you really get into them. The Roots put on a great show with their energetic band and sousaphone player. The hip-hop feel was authentic, and their music is really good. I read in Spin magazine about how ?uestlove's dad made him practice drums while growing up in a bad neighborhood and how he later felt that it was for the better. That practice showed, and it showed in every musician in the band.

The New Pornographers were already one of my favorite bands, and they were actually my favorite set at the festival. The Kathryn Calder's female vocals are just amazing with A.C. Newman's, and the music behind it all always builds up in an inspiring way. I like driving to their music, partially because it plays in the background in some car commercials, but mostly because it makes me feel good and just makes me want to go somewhere. The concert made me feel good, and at the end, they did a cover of ELO's "Don't Bring Me Down" and sounded just like the original. I actually heard two guys arguing over whether the New Pornographers actually did the original.

I also saw Mates of State for the second time, and they were great, as usual. Their dancey songs really got a pretty large crowd going. I feel like every time I hear about them, they're a little bigger, and it makes me really happy because they deserve it.

Other bands I caught: Underworld, CSS, Forro in the Dark, The Duke Spirit, Kings of Leon, Animal Collective, Chromeo, Trey Anastasio & Classic TAB, The Secret Machines, De Novo Dahl, Grace Potter & the Nocturnals, Rogue Wave.