From June 19-22, I gallivanted around the Woodlands in Dover, Delaware for the 3rd Annual Firefly Music Festival.
This was my second visit to Firefly (see what happened last time). I may say more about it, but for now, here’s a playlist of most of the bands and artists I saw.
Notables: I burned 62 new albums into my iTunes library. I attended 28 concerts (or 73 music sets). I invaded the Coachella Music and Arts Festival in California. I shot up my 90’s fix by rocking to Soundgarden twice and Pearl Jam.
Top Albums Listened to in 2013*
‘Trouble Will Find Me’ by The National
‘Heartthrob’ by Tegan and Sara
‘The Bones of What You Believe’ by CHVRCHES
‘Night Visions’ by Imagine Dragons
‘Sweet Sour’ by Band of Skulls
‘Wolf’s Law’ by The Joy Formidable
‘2nd Law’ by Muse
‘Days Are Gone’ by Haim
‘Paramore’ by Paramore
‘Bankrupt’ by Phoenix
Honorable mention: ‘Secondhand Rapture’ by MS MR
*Does not have to have been released in 2013.
Bonus #1: Top Concerts of 2013
Coachella Music and Arts Festival Day 1 (Empire Polo Club) – highlights: Metric and Of Monsters and Men (both of whom I also saw later in the year)
Pearl Jam (Baltimore Arena) – the second time I’ve seen them, last in 1998.
Soundgarden (DAR Constitution Hall) – I saw them twice this year!
Muse (Verizon Center)
The National (Merriweather Post Pavilion)
Metric (Ram’s Head Live)
fun. with Tegan and Sara (Merriweather Post Pavilion)
Bonus #2: Most Listened to Songs in 2013 (According to iTunes)
‘Stubborn Love’ by The Lumineers (46)
‘Amsterdam’ by Imagine Dragons
‘Closer’ by Tegan and Sara
‘Underdog’ by Imagine Dragons
‘Sunset’ by The xx
‘Sweet Sour’ by Band Of Skulls
‘I Love It’ by Icona Pop
‘Sea of Love’ by The National
‘Proof’ by Paramore
‘Recover’ by CHVRCHES
‘Anything Could Happen’ by Ellie Goulding
‘I’m Not Your Hero’ by Tegan and Sara
‘Drove Me Wild’ by Tegan and Sara
‘Gun’ by CHVRCHES
‘Shock To Your System’ by Tegan and Sara
‘Now I’m All Messed Up’ by Tegan and Sara
‘Hear Me’ by Imagine Dragons
‘Heavenfaced’ by The National
‘I Was A Fool’ by Tegan and Sara
‘We Got the World’ by Icona Pop
‘Entertainment’ by Phoenix
‘Go With The Flow’ by Queens of the Stone Age
‘Oblivion’ by Grimes
‘Fixed’ by Stars
‘Panic Station’ by Muse (17)
Bonus #3: All Albums Acquired in 2013
‘Danse Macabre’ by The Faint
‘Night Visions’ by Imagine Dragons
‘Master of My Make-Believe’ by Santigold
‘Business Casual’ by Chromeo
‘Sky Blue Sky’ by Wilco
‘Away From The World’ by Dave Matthews Band
‘Shrines’ by Purity Ring
‘Songbook’ by Chris Cornell
‘Sweet Sour’ by Band of Skulls
‘Wrecking Ball’ by Bruce Springsteen
‘Pines’ by A Fine Frenzy
‘Oceania’ by The Smashing Pumpkins
‘All You Need’ by Duran Duran
‘Roses’ by The Cranberries
‘The Lumineers’ by The Lumineers
‘Iconic EP’ by Icona Pop
‘Baby Darling Doll Face Honey’ by Band of Skulls
‘2nd Law’ by Muse
‘The Temper Trap’ by The Temper Trap
‘Halcyon’ by Ellie Goulding
‘Grow Up and Blow Away’ by Metric
‘Visions’ by Grimes
‘Heartthrob’ by Tegan and Sara
‘Tré’ by Green Day
‘Lifelines’ by Andrea Corr
‘Youth Novels’ by Lykke Li
‘Comedown Machine’ by The Strokes
‘The North’ by Stars
‘Mosquito’ by Yeah Yeah Yeahs
‘Bankrupt’ by Phoenix
‘Trouble Will Find Me’ by The National
‘Modern Vampires of the City’ by Vampire Weekend
‘Once Upon Another Time EP’ by Sara Bareilles
‘The Peace of Wild Things’ by Paper Route
‘Random Access Memories’ by Daft Punk
‘The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here’ by Alice In Chains
‘Give You The Ghost’ by Polica
‘The National’ by The National
‘Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers’ by The National
‘A Ghost is Born’ by Wilco
‘The Five Ghosts’ by Stars
‘Songs for the Deaf’ by Queens of the Stone Age
‘Cedar + Gold’ by Tristan Prettyman
‘Abbey Road’ by The Beatles
‘Revolver’ by The Beatles
‘Girl Who Got Away’ by Dido
‘People, Hell and Angels’ by Jimi Hendrix
‘Wolf’s Law’ by The Joy Formidable
‘Delta Machine’ by Depeche Mode
‘The Blessed Unrest’ by Sara Bareilles
‘Paramore’ by Paramore
‘Nocturnes’ by Little Boots
‘Tales of Us’ by Goldfrapp
‘Gravity the Seducer’ by Ladytron
‘The Bones of What You Believe’ by CHVRCHES
‘Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Actions’ by Franz Ferdinand
I stormed the second weekend of the 2013 Coachella Music and Arts Festival (Indio, CA) last April. They couldn’t contain me, but they sure did try.
Check this space for all available knowledge on this topic. During the three days of rays, desert heat attire, libations, wind turbines, epic tunes and the artfully weird, I managed to partake in 25 different concert sets. 17 of those were acts I saw for the first time.
Here is my complete run down, a list of ‘Highs’, ‘Lows’ and ‘Regrets’ and some photo bombs! Listen up!
Friday’s concerts
Poliçia (6 songs)
Stars (5 songs)
Metric (full set)
Of Monsters and Men (full set)
Palma Violets (5 songs)
Sparks (full set)
Beach House (3 songs)
Yeah Yeah Yeahs (full set)
Band of Horses (6 songs)
The Stone Roses (full set)
Foals (6 songs)
blur (8 songs)
Saturday’s concerts
Vintage Trouble (5 songs)
The Savages (full set)
Dropkick Murphy’s (full set)
Violent Femmes (full set)
The Make-Up (full set)
Hot Chip (full set)
The Postal Service (full set)
Franz Ferdinand (full set)
Phoenix (full set)
Sunday’s concerts
The Lumineers (8 songs)
Joris Voorn – DJ Set (2 songs)
Maya Jane Coles -DJ Set (2 songs)
Tame Impala (5 songs)
Vampire Weekend (full set)
OMD (full set)
Highs
Metric, Phoenix, Of Monsters and Men, blur, Vampire Weekend, Hot Chip, Dropkick Murphy’s
Strange art and exhibits. Notably the giant moving snail and a recycling T. Rex.
Concertgoers were presented with a quaint speakeasy to wile away precious minutes out of the sun. It came complete with dueling pianos, Red Bull sponsorship, staff and bartenders dressed as if we were living in 1923, a wall screen displaying tweets from the twits using the #speakeasy hash tag (like me), and a password to get in (hint: Dances with Bulls).
You could choose from three beer gardens. Two nestled the main stage – giving you ample opportunity to nurse your brew and vibe the music.
Lows
Heineken and Red Bull took on the major sponsor duties. This meant Red Bull was plentiful (gross) and the ONLY BEER AVAILABLE WAS HEINEKEN!!! Sorry for shouting, but I’m still vexed by that.
The giant snail went right up to the front of the stage before Of Monsters of Men and completely blocked the stage for half the crowd. Until it finally crawled away. Stupid snail.
Concert fatigue. There is a point in a day, when you’ve had it with music. That happened a couple of times, but I endured.
Three acts I most wanted to see pre-Coachella
Metric
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Postal Service
Five acts to check out post-Coachella
Beach House
Savages
Tame Impala
Poliçia
Palma Violets
Pleasantly Surprised
Hot Chip: I’ve seen them once before and I only like a few of their songs. It wasn’t a show I was targeting to see, but they were full of energy and really got the crowd dancing. More so than many other acts.
Poliçia: I saw her at the Firefly Music Festival last year, but that show was nothing memorable. Glad I gave her a second chance. Playing in a smaller space and me being up close changed my perception. It also didn’t hurt she was the first act I saw at Coachella and had my full attention.
Slightly Disappointed
Yeah Yeah Yeahs: I enjoyed their show, but I was lukewarm on the new songs (need to listen to the new album) and it didn’t ‘live up’ to my pre-show hype. Good. Not great.
Band of Horses: I like a number of their songs. But never really had a sense of how they performed live. The lead singer was more like a goofy redneck trucker and didn’t endear me to their live show. They kept interrupting during one of my favorite songs by them (The Great Salt Lake), but my other favorite (Laredo) was spot on.
The Stone Roses: They seemed bored. Like me. (Interestingly enough, all three of these shows happened consecutively early Friday evening…while the best shows I saw happened earlier that afternoon…is my attitude a factor?)
Regrets
That I didn’t see Tegan and Sara as they played against blur.
That I didn’t check out Sigur Rios as they played against Phoenix.
That it took too long in the security line on Sunday (one too many intimate pat downs of the family jewels) so I missed Grimes.
Analysis
A good time. Lots of great bands and artists. Would I do it again? Yes. But given the expense, it would have to be another stellar line-up.
Photos
Welcome to CoachellaMap of the worldPower!SigningsPoliçiaRecycling T-RexVintage TroubleCrazy snailMetricHeineken DomeGet out of the way!Of Monsters and MenNo drugsMe! A twit, tweeting!Main stage
In honor of my recent trip to Indio, California for the 2013 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, here is a random playlist from many of the bands and artists I saw.
The first annual Firefly Music Festival took place from July 20-22, 2012 in Dover, Delaware. I was there.
I saw 18 sets in three days. 10 of the artists were for the first time, most notable – Jack White and The Killers. There were four stages that rotated acts, so there were always two shows going on at once.
Here, with minimal restraint, is what went down.
The Good
1) The Killers, Black Keys, Jack White, Walk the Moon, CAKE and Grouplove
2) The Brewery – A beer garden that served Dogfish Head beers for $8, including one made for this festival, the Firefly Ale. I was partial to the 9% ABV Midas Touch.
3) Towers Beach – We needed a break after two days of music, so on Sunday morning we drove just south of Dewey Beach for a swim and a few rounds of cards in the sand. Afterwards we had fish tacos at El Dorado. Tasty.
4) The weather – It was overcast the entire time, but no real rain. Only a misting here and there. I expected to be hot and bothered and get some serious sun on my pale skin. This was perfect.
5) Seven Nation Army – After Jack White’s Friday night performance, everyone hummed the refrain from ‘Seven Nation Army’ as we walked through the woods to the exit. Even better, everyone did it again after The Killers’ show on Saturday.
The Bad
1) The Felice Brothers
2) The phone recharging stations – A good idea, but they didn’t have enough ports to keep up with the demand. The generator feeding the power was seriously overloaded. 45 minutes to get 15% more power? Bah humbug.
3) Camping – The three nights in a tent itself wasn’t so bad. But the campsites were tiny and packed together like monkeys in a barrel. One of the workers was so clueless he almost gave away half of our site to park more cars. Luckily someone with sense came by and told him to stand down.
4) Hammock Hangout – Could be a good idea but way too small. And who knows where the people using the hammocks have been…
The Ugly
1) Glamping – $1000 for 3 nights of pampered camping? We saw no one partaking. It looked like the barracks of a Civil War army. Minus the horses. And the soldiers.
Friday
The Wallflowers – A live version of ‘One Headlight’ to kick us off. ‘She always had a pretty face’.
OK Go – A decent set. They even broke out their treadmills during their hit song ‘Here It Goes Again’.
Walk The Moon – These guys are good. This was the second time I’ve seen them in 2012 and among the top five performances of the festival.
Silversun Pickups – This guys are a bit of Smashing Pumpkins-lite, which I like. Good show.
Jack White – After a bit of sound trouble with the first few songs, they fixed it and Jack crushed us with his guitar riffs. A seven nation army could NOT hold him back.
Saturday
Imagine Dragons – I had not heard these guys before this, but enjoyed the songs and will definitely check them out.
The Felice Brothers – Ugh. Hated it.
Grouplove – By far and away the most enthusiastic band of the whole festival. ‘Tongue Tied’ really got the crowd pumped up for the rest of the day.
Young the Giant – I was looking forward to seeing these guys at the 9:30 Club earlier in the year – that show was just okay. This show was kind of boring after the energy of Grouplove.
CAKE – In a haze of weed and flower girls dancing, CAKE went the distance. And it was good.
Trampled by Turtles – Was starting to get antsy so probably didn’t give this my full attention. But I was not bowled over.
Modest Mouse – They rocked hard. Not my thing though.
The Killers – The best show of the festival. In addition to the great music, they had the most extensive light show and stage act (with fireworks!).
Sunday
Mariachi El Bronx – Entertaining.
Fitz and the Tantrums – Starting to lose my attention. Too much music. I wasn’t in to it.
Death Cab for Cutie – Good but not the best performance I’ve seen by them.
The Flaming Lips – The most eccentric and biggest spectacle of the festival. Wayne Coyne crowd surfed in a human hamster ball (of course). Stage singers dressed up like the Wizard of Oz characters (hello Dorothy!). Confetti. Beach balls. Although it was entertaining, I’m not a huge fan of the music.
The Black Keys – The second time I saw them in 2012. The first time at Merriweather Post Pavilion was better, but this was definitely among the best sets of the festival and a good way to end.
Welcome to FireflyHave a brewGrouploveThe Lawn StageTeeming hordes
The beachNo waves todayFlaming Lips ExplodingHuman hamster ball
Here is a good starter kit for enjoying Lollapalooza 2010. I did not see all of these bands (not enough time!), but they all played at this year’s festival. In bold are the ones I did see.