Monolith Day 2

i made it to monolith on sunday and despite numerous problems with my camera, i managed to salvage a few pics:

Tokyo Police Club ran through a tight set of the best songs off of Elephant Shell as well as some older EP favorites. After TPC, the Avett Brothers took the main stage and i'm told that they were amazing. unfortunately, i was otherwise engaged.

after getting some vinyl signed and securing a decent burrito, we negotiated our way to the front of the New Belgium stage for Tilly and the Wall. an unexpectedly large crowd had packed the area to see Omaha's favorite indie pop juggernauts dance, scream, and tap dance their way through the most exuberant set i've seen from any band. ever. well, at least since the first time i had seen them in 2005 at the Larimer Lounge.


a vegan hemp ice cream sandwich later, we were back at the main stage awaiting Band of Horses. after an hour of Sharon Jones making hipsters dance like your favorite jackass uncle, the flannel-clad boys of Mt. Pleasant took the stage. I took a few pictures of Ben Bridwell's righteous beard, but i guess my camera just couldn't take that rugged awesomeness. We also caught most of TV on the Radio's set before running upstairs for CSS. TVOTR were impressive but not much fun,, CSS were fun, but not so impressive.

i know that Jake caught quite a few performances that i missed. maybe if he can remember something, he'll let us know about it. . .

i suppose our first post really should have involved Jenny Lewis in some way, but i guess post #2 will have to do. here's a slightly creepy clip of Jenny and Ben Gibbard, followed by the title track of her new record: Acid Tongue. the album streets on 9/23 and features appearances by Chris Robinson, Johnathan Rice, Elvis Freakin' Costello and many others. and don't forget about the shows 9/16 at the Fox in Boulder, and 9/17 at the Bluebird. she'll also be performing in omaha on 9/20 with Connor Oberst! i'd say that's worth an 8 hour drive.

i feel a little pressured to post even though i don't have much to say at this point. i suppose i could register my distaste for the idea that Tilly and the Wall appeared on the revamped 90210 this week. how did a band that has practically defined the low-key DIY aesthetic for the past few years become involved in something this soulless? the answer is here. i guess it's cute and i'm probably just an ass. no matter, their new, untitled album is easily one of the best of the year so far, and i'll still be in front of the stage with a giant grin next weekend when they play Monolith. speaking of, why the shit isn't Neko Case listed on Saturday's line-up? the date isn't listed on her official site either. oh well, there will still be plenty of swell bands to check out both days. if you haven't gotten your tickets yet, both single and 2 day passes seem to be going for a reasonable price on craigslist.