Photo Recap : Monolith Festival : Day Two

Band Of Horses - No One's Gonna Love You

We got back on the (Band of) Horse(s) for Day Two of The Monolith Music Festival. The potential distraction of Ohio State vs. USC luckily turned out to not be one at all and this day was every bit as good as the first...

See Also : Monolith Festival Recap : Day One


SEE ALL OF MONOLITH FESTIVAL DAY TWO PHOTOS + WRITE-UPS + MP3 DOWNLOADS...AFTER THE JUMP...







Dodge : Akron/Family waited as long as they could for Band Of Horses to finish up their set, and they were a really nice follow to keep that vibe, started by BoH, going. It kinda just felt like they were just hanging out in someone's basement jamming...which was actually a-ok with me.








Dee : The one band at Monolith that truly grabbed my attention and wouldn't let go was American Bang. On Day 2, they played an early set at the indoor Gigbot stage. I had never heard of them and just happened to wander over to that stage. Very glad I did. These rockers from Nashville looked like they had been up partying well past dawn and had just rolled off the tour bus onto the Monolith stage. In fact, many of their songs attest to their penchant for girls, whiskey and all nighters. Needless to say, it was a down and dirty performance. They gave the crowd straight up rock and roll with plenty of throwbacks to the good old days of hard rock. Think along the lines of Jet but with a dirtier, more raucous sound and lyrics regarding El Caminos. The lead singer asked us to support rock and roll, due to the fact that American Bang is trying to "bring that shit back." That's a campaign I am happy to support. They'll release a new record in January and are touring this fall. Their EP was the only CD I bought at the festival.

Dave (MOKB Photographer) : American Bang - they head bang in the United States so (+2) for accuracy.








Dave (MOKB Photographer) : Astra Moveo, your hugs are warm, your touch is gentle...We shared a special Mono-moment. You jumped off stage and moved through the thin crowd of the early afternoon. As the shutter of my camera snapped you grew curious of the face, mind and soul on the other side of the lens. You let your emotions get the best of you and embraced me mid-song. Did you get my missed connection on CL? Txt my celly. (+5) for plutonic interphotopit romance. (-1) for least distance traveled to festival. You live in Denver. It says right here on your MySpace.








Dee : The sharply dressed Avett Brothers took a no-holds-barred approach to their perfomance on the main stage. I had never seen them live and was blown away by their stage presence and sheer vocal force. It's rare to feel energized by four guys wearing shirts and ties and playing a banjo, upright bass and cello. Their rip-roaring, modern-day hoedown was one of the highlights of Monolith for me. Scott and Seth Avett could give Serj Tankian a run for his money with their vocal power. I think it's safe to say The Avett Brothers brought it at Monolith. They put every ounce of themselves into that performance and it was well received.

Dodge : The Avetts are a class act and were definitely one of the favorite sons of Day Two. Loads of energy and great songs. One of the only bands to be invited back from Monolith Year One and they proved why in spades. Love 'em.

Dave (MOKB Photographer) : Supr Avett Bros get (+4) for southern charm.

Dr. Robert : An early set on the main stage that drew some hardcore fans. The brothers were all dressed up in their North Carolina finest and put on a good show. The band's acoustic stylings brought the crowd to their feet as they premiered the new song Standing With You. The two brothers ended the show with a duet that left the crowd wanting more.












Dee : Band of Horses took to the main stage as dusk fell and what looked to be a full moon (or pretty darn close to it) rose behind the stage. I couldn't help but think of the cover of Cease to Begin, with its moon graphic. The temperature had dropped considerably by the time BOH went on, so it was good weather for everyone to snuggle up with their honies during No One's Gonna Love You. In addition to the standard favorites Funeral and Is There a Ghost, the band played two new songs and made mention of an upcoming record. No mention of when the record would be out, however. I'll continue to replay that performance in my head for months to come. The songs. The venue. The full moon overhead in a clear, cold sky. How could you not enjoy it?

Dodge : The perfect band for the atmosphere created by the environment. Band of Horse played new songs, a great cover and really had a fun time interacting with the crowd.

Dr. Robert : After a few successful records this band proved it was ready to be a national headliner. The recently enlarged band now with three guitarists, bass, drums and keys seems tighter and their live show has a bigger sound that was ready for the main stage. Playing a few new songs you can hear this band is heading into Alt-country territory and really lovin' it. This was one of the best sets of the weekend and a band whose live show can truly match the magic of their records.

Band Of Horses - The Funeral
Band Of Horses - The Great Salt Lake
Band Of Horses - Is There A Ghost




Dave (MOKB Photographer) : Chain Gang of 1974, have you done hard time swinging a pick axe? Did you disco dance while you were breaking rocks? Do you even know what 1974 looks like? You are a musicouple circa L8 '08. Change your name to that. (+2) for rotating shifts between kit, 4string, and auxiliary percussion. (-1) for being from Denver.









Dee : I was too cold by the time CSS went on to take my hands out of my pockets and take notes, or to concentrate wholly on their performance. It was blustery atop Red Rocks at that time, and I spent most of their performance trying to find someone who could serve as a good windblock. But I remember committing the word "animated" to memory. They seemed oblivious to the cold and the thinning crowd as Lovefoxxx tore back and forth across the stage belting out song after song.

Dodge : The most hilarious moment of the day came when Lovefoxxx, having the time of her life and the wind blowing like crazy yelled, "Ohhh this wind! I feel like Mariah Carey! Who doesn't feel like Mariah Carey!? Who doesn't feel like Mariah Carey!?" I'm not sure people knew what to say.

Dave (MOKB Photographer) : link rel="stylish" type="CSS" (+4)

CSS - Rat Is Dead (Rage)
















Dodge : Talk about packing the house! DIOYY had people packed outside of the WOXY room twenty or thirty feet deep trying to catch a glimpse of the wild performance going on inside. They could have easily packed the larger New Belgium stage outside.

Dave (MOKB Photographer) : It offends me that security limited the number of ppl to the WOXY stage for DIOYY. I could have lived w/out tech diffs too. When you fly back to the UK, if you're on the same plane as The Kills, can you spill your Mr. Pibb on their scarves? Or steal their leopard boxerbriefs? I'll totally friend you on bebo/orkut & follow you on twitter/friendfeed if you do one/both. (+3) misc. and (+1) for more cowbell.








Dodge : Grampall Jookabox was probably one of the more obscure acts to play the festival, but those that came down to the WOXY stage to catch his performance were treated to a great set. David tore through the crowd, dancing and singing and made the most of his opportunity to reach some new fans. GP is one of most exciting talents to come out of Indianapolis in a while and he certainly didn't let down any of Indianapolis contingent that made the trip out. There were a crowd of younger guys in front of me simply in awe of all the loop pedal effects GP created during his set.

Dave (MOKB Photographer) : (+4) Gramps do it dirty.

Grampall Jookabox - Girl Ain't Preggers
Grampall Jookabox - Ponta (album version)
Grampall Jookabox - Take Me From Diamondhead (Live on MOKB SIRIUS Blog Radio)
Grampall Jookabox - Ponta (Live on MOKB SIRIUS Blog Radio)












Dave (MOKB Photographer) : Justice = Tech diffs a la mode. Le sigh..(+1).

Dodge : I watched from higher up the mountain, so that might have changed my perspective on the performance. I think someone down low in the mix might have a totally different feel for this set that me. I thought they dealt with their technical difficulties well, but it really did break up the flow of their set. I would always choose to see them in some dark dance club versus this kind of environment. Their stage set looked really unimpressive at first, but the light show/music combo was pretty sweet once it all started clicking. Glad I had the opportunity to see them either way...they were worth sticking around for.







Dave (MOKB Photographer) : The Kills said to the audience, "You guys are a lot cooler than the assholes that work here". Tsk Tsk, Kills. Your horrible Lolla performance will NOT be rectified by your sh!tty attitude at Monolith. If i cared enough, I'd start malicious wikirumors. After I took pictures of your set, I sh@t on my camera to clean it off. (-1) for bad attitude. (-$US national debt$) for that leopard print scarf.

Dr. Robert : Another so-so set. With a drum machine and one guitar the band was able to pull off some of their better songs. Overall the show wasn't able to keep people from checking the smaller stages or getting an early seat for Band of Horses.

Dodge : Pretty rockin' for a few minutes, but more people around me were talking about the guy dating Kate Moss. Have you seen Kate Moss lately? She looks like a zombie...and that dude is kinda right there too...very Munster. Their 15 minutes is really only being extended by his love life.








Dodge : Dave asked Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson why his name was so long and he simply responded, "Because that's what my parents named me." Good enough. He was fantastic. Probably my favorite artist I didn't want to or expect to love. Played with a full band and I think he always should. Great songs, great music. Highly recommended any opportunity you have.

Dave (MOKB Photographer) : Miles Alexander Bender Rufus Wainright Zonday III get a (+1) for name count and a (+1) for misc.





Dodge : Eleven listed members for a band?! You're just covering up bad musicians at that point. I'm just kidding - I don't really know, I didn't actually see this local band, Moonspeed. Dave did, but he didn't have anything to say about them...obvs forgettable.






Dave (MOKB Photographer) : Pomegranates, your sound is as exotic and nutritious as the superfruit that bares your name. I see you've adopted a flowerchild since our first meeting at Forecastle. If he's not adding to it, then he's taking away from the "barely legal" look you are cultivating. (+0)? - There are not many bands that can justify three guitarists. Built To Spill is one of them. Are Pomagranates another?? Too soon? (+3) We less than three WOXY, WOXY <3's Palmgranades, (by transitive property). We heart superfruits. Keep up the good work.

Dodge : SRSLY, I have no idea what Dave is talking about sometimes, but I think we agree here. The 'Nati's young sons, the Pomegranates fooled a lot of people cruising by. Many mistook lead singer, Joey Cook's high vocals for a female lead, but regardless of his true inner or exterior gender, his sweet, sweet sounds are pop honey to my ears.

Pomegranates - Whom/Who
Pomegranates - Thunder Meadow







Dave (MOKB Photographer) : Main stage!? Really? How about...acoustic stage? Yeah. I think...yeah. Definitely acoustic stage. Remember that artsy biopic about Matt Dylan's dad, Bob? The one where like six poseurs are all like, "Dude, I'm totes Dylan. 4srs."? Did you see that one? Me neither. But...I dunno something about Rosewood Th...Nevermind, it's not important. (+1/2) attendance/participation.

Dodge: Yeah, good band, but their booking agent totally swindled someone to get on them on the main stage. I could have picked at least five better bands on the smaller stages that would have been better in this slot. Regardless, you gotta work with schedules and such, and this band did the best they could to match the size of their slot. They had more than a handful of passionate fans.









Dee : One of more difficult decisions for me this weekend involved choosing between Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings versus The Whigs. Both have received tons of kudos for their live performances. I chose Sharon Jones on the main stage for fear of getting crushed at the indoor stage during The Whigs. Phenomenal can't even begin to describe Sharon Jones' performance. Her personality is as big as her voice, and she used both to their full effect during her show. She showed us her variation of the Tina Turner strut. She stripped off her high heels and earrings so she could work the stage unrestrained. She made every hipster in the audience tap their inner James Brown. There was no reason to sit down during her set, and if you weren't smiling by the time she was done, you just didn't get it. During Be Easy, she pulled a man by the name of TRL out of the audience to serve as her, uh, student. She couldn't have chosen a more entertaining dude, who was sporting a mohawk and wearing a full-body costume made of spandex with something resembling wings attached to his arms. He almost stole the show from Sharon. But not for long. She's not about to let anyone upstage her, honey. There's no denying her talent and appeal. Looking forward to Sharon's next move after that memorable performance.

Dave (MOKB Photographer) : (+7) Class act.

Dodge : This was MJ's favorite set of the day. She said she'd go see Sharon Jones anytime, anywhere. Lots of people echoed that sentiment. Just a uber-fun performance from a sparkplug of a performer. The woman is incredibly talented and it is easy to see why she gets the female James Brown tag...a real show(wo)man. Great, great band too...wow.









Dave (MOKB Photographer) :Snowden gets (+4) for writing the song Black Eyes.

Dodge : I honestly don't think I'd ever listened to this band before, and I'm pretty sure I confuse them with about three other bands. I know I saw them at Forecastle Fest too. I didn't know at the time, but I know now. I videoed their first three songs, but I'm still not really sure who this band is or if I actually like them. They do have a pretty decent resume though and good stage presence.














Dave (MOKB Photographer) : Tilly + Waffles get (+1) for their costumes, (+1) for pretend happiness and (+3) for awesome/terrible bowl cut.

Dodge : I like this band's songs but I don't like how they represent live. There were a load of younger kids in this audience...the band projects that vibe...like, "Look at us, kids will love us! Bring them!" and then they drop the F-BOMB like every other word in their songs. I don't get it. Anyway, as a dad now, I think they trick parents into thinking they're cuddly and cute and then they poop on you.

Tilly & The Wall - Pot Kettle Black







Dee : Tokyo Police Club took the main stage for an early afternoon set. They took care of all of the major hits off of the excellent Elephant Shell. There was nothing particularly striking about their performance, but it was thoroughly enjoyable. Their stock continues to go up in my book.

Dodge : Meh....

Dave (MOKB Photographer) : Tokyo Police Pot Luck Society...These Japanese martial/law artists met at a pot luck and shortened their name. Then changed it to Kyoto Pokemon Leagues. Then changed it back. Now they enforce statutes. (+2)













Dave (MOKB Photographer) : Immune to Utah Broken Van Drama Syndrome (UBVDS). (+1) white blood cell count. (+2) sinister fog machines. (+3) Artists making Art. (-1) for Kip's hair size.

Dodge : Yeah, TV On The Radio's broken-down van drama has been well-documented and the fact that they rented new SUVs and hauled ass to make it in time to perform speaks volumes about this band (and maybe their need for a paycheck too). That's beside the point - they earned, and were worth) every dollar and then some with their performance. The crowd was going ape. I went down under the Main Stage during their set and you could just feel the whole place vibrating more and more and the set went on. Speaking of, there is this really amazing tunnel under the main stage at Red Rocks that is full of signatures of all the bands that have played the venue. Some were hilarious and some were awe-inspiring. It was a surreal little moment in my life and I thank the Monolith dudes for showing it to me.













Dodge : Initially The Whigs weren't thrilled about having to play one of the indoor stages, but I assured them that it would be packed out and make for a wild and raucous time. I'm glad the crowd didn't make a liar out of me. They ended up leaving it all on stage and showed that there are still plenty of bands out there that know how to put on a monster rock show.

Dr. Robert : Being excited to play Red Rocks only to find out you are in one of the indoor stages upset this band. Brought the crowd though - it was packed and the Athens boys rocked. By the end of their set there was barely any room to dance! The Whigs filled their 50 minute set to the brim. At the end the fellas worries that no one would come inside were put to rest.

Dave (MOKB Photographer) : (+8) for outstanding performance.

The Whigs - Right Hand On My Heart
The Whigs - Already Young (Live in-studio on MOKB Blog Radio)
The Whigs - Like A Vibration (Live in-studio on MOKB Blog Radio)



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