Well while this is entertaining in and of itself, you may actually want to walk away from this year’s fest having discovered a cool band that you would have never otherwise seen outside of this amazing weekend. And that’s why I am here; to help break down five or six bands not named Radiohead for you to check out while grabbing a cold microbrew.
First up is the Georgia native Raury, who at the age of 15, already had some experts in the industry calling him the next musical prophet. Now I’m not quite sure what exactly he’s supposed to be prophesying but I do have to say that God’s Whisper definitely caught my attention. Who knows, maybe he’s here to provide some hope for a generation that literally has the world at its fingertips but for some reason lacks the initiative or the drive to do something truly incredible with it. Well unlike his counterparts in the industry, Raury utilizes every advantage that’s available to him to make innovative music that’s nearly impossible to categorize. His music is hip hop, it’s indie, it’s soulful, and even a little folky at times; and what’s so great about that is because he’s so diverse everyone can truly find something to identify with once he brings his talents to the main stage. I’m excited to see him still going strong and I give him a rating of FRESH! Homeaway Stage 1:00
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoI2C6pW9AQ
Next up is Ron Gallo. If you miss the glory days of stripped down rock n roll and you like the sound of fuzzy distorted guitars, you should definitely give Gallo a shot. He looks and sounds like the lead singer of Wolfmother but trust me when I say that that is actually a good thing. At the very least you should pop in on his act as he is apparently playing in a tent; so this will give you the opportunity to take a break from the heat and listen to some pretty strange songs about break ups and bad medicine (and no I don’t mean like that terrible Bon Jovi song). I give him a rating of kind of FRESH! Tito’s Homemade Vokda Stage 1:15.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pepxOg9kix8
After Gallo you should make your way on over to check out the pop duo Prinze George. Now I’m not too high on these guys but I can definitely see girls wanting to listen to them while putting on their makeup just before they head out for a night out on the town; that is in between listening to Beyonce and Rihanna of course. I rate them as sort of WEAK but you should pop in and give them a shot anyway. Tito’s Handmade Vodka Stage 2:15.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hJ3mJr2K4w
Next up you should check out Frightened Rabbit. I find myself falling in and out of love with this Scottish Emo/Indie band but to be honest with you, falling in and out of love is the perfect description of their songs. Their lyrics paint a depressing picture of heartache and turmoil and it’s all set to the backdrop of booming guitars and spastic drums. And now that I’m actually typing this out, I can’t believe I’m not more down with this band than I currently am; depressing topics is usually right up my alley. But it’s only because they’ve been around for about a decade that I’ll give them a rating of barely FRESH! Miller Lite Stage 1:00.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KY4j8Ow-CTs
But moving on, I don’t see how anyone can pass on checking out this next act. I mean even if it’s just out of pure curiosity you have to pop in and see the latest superstar collaboration of Paul Banks and the Rza. Banks and Steelz represent two of my favorite acts of all-time; Interpol and the Wu Tang Clan. Now I have to say that when I initially heard these two were making music together, I was unbelievably worried. I remember the days of the awful Judgement Night soundtrack and believe me when I say they weren’t pretty. But I am happy to say that their two styles seem to perfectly blend together. Their sound definitely has a distinctive New York feel to it and their music, as you would expect, just naturally leans towards the darker side of things. And now after hearing their new record, I can’t believe that it took them so long to finally get together. I rate them as FRESH and you should definitely start your day off the proper way by heading to the Samsung Stage at 2:00
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkG-Hjv3wbI
The last guy on my list for the day is Torey Lanez. I give him props for trying his best to be the ghetto representative of Canada but it’s hard for me to buy his act since I’ve been to East Vancouver and saw some of the scariest white heroin fiends I’ve ever seen in my life. Their bum rushing me for my McDonalds was by far scarier than any of this guy’s neck tattoos but he does manage to rap and sing like fellow Canadian Drizzy, so he does have that going for him. The one true knock I have is that he falls into trap music hell one too many times for my taste but he does have a propensity to keep the party going, so I would suggest popping in on him if you have the chance. He’s barely FRESH! HomeAway Stage 5:00.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKAh4V6ASFM
Ok so I’ll give you one more for the road. Flying Lotus gets honorable mention because he’s a legend when it comes to blending jazz, hip hop, and soulful beats. The only problem is I’m not so sure that this is such a great live act to see at a festival. Samsung Stage 6:00.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oUx6wGCekM
"Avoid the clap" Jimmy Dugan
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