Wakarusa 2015

Photo Credit: Treehugger.com

Wakarusa.  A place of magic.  A place of music.  Heaven on earth or at least a great place to party.  There aren't as many names that I recognized this year, but I've finally gotten through the whole list and it is absolutely solid all the way down to the fine print.  So here are my rankings of the bands that will be performing Wakarusa 2015.

It is important to recognize that even the one and two star bands have some good sounds.

The three star bands are good bands, perhaps not quite as exciting, but still worth checking out.

Four star bands are awesome.  Absolutely talented and important to catch as many of their shows as possible.

And the Five star bands are amazing.  Their music is incredible and guaranteed to put on some mind blowing performances.



So please, tell me who I sold short.  My opinions are definitely up for debate.

Photo Credit: Folk Hive

Rock
A broad category that covers everything from tropical beach rock, to punk rock, to psychedelic rock, to funk, etc etc.   If they cross genres, I'm a lot more likely to put them here, especially when they're fast and heavy.

Andy Frasco***** 
Andy Frasco and the UN put on very energetic shows. They play catchy "party blues" rock music. And while perhaps not the best music in this category, but will absolutely put on the most energetic show. Not to be missed.

Ben Miller Band***** 
A southern rock band with a heavy country influence. The fast, energetic music is great to listen to and it is sure to be an energetic show.

The Revivalists *****
Spacey but intense southern rock. I've missed these guys before, and I will do everything I can to finally see them.

Moon Taxi *****
Mellow piercing space rock. Some influence from the pixies, with a singer with a haunting voice to match the slightly psychedelic sound.

Delta Saints****
Louisiana style “Bayou rock” high energy southern rock. A little bit of dirt stomping style, but not nearly so dirty rock as some of these others.

Dirtfoot****
Dirty crunchy southern mud stompin' hillbilly rock.

The Devil Makes Three****
A little rustic, a little country bluegrass, good stuff, they put on a one of the better shows at Harvest Fest.  

Ozomatli****
Funk eclectic music with salsa, jazz, and electro beats. Their upbeat music draws from many different national styles.

Thievery Corportation**** 
Worldly ambient psychedelic rock.              

Henry + the Invisibles**** 
A one man band that loops and layers his music, and sings some funky grooves.

Matthew Curry (and the Fury)***  
Classic rock sound with a slight southern tint.

The Growlers*** 
A folk rock group sorta like a rougher, dirty Edward Sharpe. A good folky sound.

Trigger Hippy***
Mellow rock, a prominent southern rock guitar style with organ keyboarding, mellow happy singing. Features girl singer with a guy backup. She gets into a little country outlaw attitude.

Shawn James and the Shapeshifters***

Gruff dirty southern rock, sometimes dark themed.

Natural Child*** 
Very much a classic rock sound, but with a rockabilly/punk rock tint.

Old Shoe***
An Americana/classic rock band with some blues and some jams.

Hearts of Darkness***
Funky with lots of horns, a bit of hip hop, hard to pick a category.

Old 97s***
Laid back rustic country rock.

Jakubi** 
Mellow, almost tropical rock. Sometimes a bit boring, but a bit funky too.

Donavon Frankenreiter** 
A Jack Johnson/Ben Harper wannabe, but at least better than they are.

Koa**

Smooth rock, mellow and calming.

The Nth Power *
Soul music with a touch of classic sound, keyboards and a little classic guitar.

Coyote Union*
Only one song online, slightly southern generic rock sound.

Dustin Thomas*
Some subtle beatboxing and a guitar. He’ going for the inspirational tropical rock, like Nahko or Trevor hall, but is pretty boring for my tastes.

Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals
Lame, bland wannabe rock.

Photo Credit: ReverbNation

Reggae
From the California blend of punk rock reggae, to the Jamaican roots, the reggae bands aren't as numerous this year, but they include some solid groups, including my number one band to see at Wakarusa 2015...

Slightly Stoopid *****                              
A group of guys originally discovered by Bradly Nowell of Sublime, they continued that Cali punk reggae sound, and have since evolved into so much more. Their jams flow seamlessly between smooth saxophone funk, hip hop reggae, psychedelic dub, and much more. Best of all, they know how to play their audience. An Omaha show might see some punk rock, but at Wakarusa they’ll probably throw down a psychedelic bluesy jam fest that is NOT to be missed.

The Expendables *****
Squealing guitar reggae. They do soft reggae songs well, but like to rock out with a guitar that switches effortlessly between choppy ska beats and heavy rock riffs.                                      

Stick Figure **** 
A mellow and really smooth reggae sound. The main guy has a lot of talent and was mostly a one man band, but has recently started working with a few other musicians.

Rebelution ****      
A solid horn section, a smooth singer, and a tropical reggae sound. They are veterans of Wakarusa and always put on a groovy head bobbin show.

Dirty Heads****  
Very eclectic and unique. I'd say best described as a third reggae, a third hip hop, a third epic electropop (think Imagine Dragons). The more I listen, the more I like these guys.

Nahko and Medicine for the People***
Sort of a way more mellow version of Michael Franti. Social conscious tropical rock.

Collie Buddz***
Reggae with a slight hip hop, slightly more traditional roots sound.

Nattali Rize & Notis**
Female reggae singer, a bit poppy. Has potential but no much available to preview online.

Matisyahu **
Beat boxing reggae with some hip hop. I find him a bit boring, but others are way into this guy.

Photo Credit: Stephen Ironside

Hip Hop
Hip hop isn't my genre, so my opinions on the subject are very much influenced on how it compares to rock music.  That said, the Wakarusa hip hop seems to be a much more authentic representation than most of the terrible radio rap that I've been exposed to.  I'm assuming most of it is more underground and less flashy.  One thing's for sure, I will take these groups a lot more seriously than Snoop Lion.

Chali 2Na ****   
Deep and gruff hip hop.

The Roots ***
A hip hop band with a lot of soul. They frequently touch on other genres, like reggae, blues and jazz, made possible by their use of live instruments.

Dilated Peoples***
Slower beat hip hop, with some singing mixed in.

Chance the Rapper**
A smooth rapper with a slower, singing voice and faster rap voice.

ProbCause*
Not sure if this is a rapper or DJ who mixes a lot of hiphop…decent stuff

Photo Credit: Stephen Ironside

Jam Band
Electronic jams, rock in roll jams, bluegrass jams, Wakarusa has them all.  It just so happens I put a lot of the electronic jams in the electronic category.  I tend to think of jam bands as more traditional instruments.

BoomBox *****  
Smooth sexy electro jams. Difficult to place under a single category and they only refer to themselves as making rock music.  But considering their live shows feature long intricate jams, I'll put them at the top of this genera.

Twiddle *****               
Fast paced, funky jams with a quick vocalist.  They have enough vocals they could be considered a rock band, but they fit this category a bit better.

Cure for the Common **** 
Lots of smooth funk with a soul influence, and a little bit of jam, sometimes they get a little STS9ish with electric jams.

Umphreys McGee***  
Mellow jam rock, heavy hitters in the jam band category, but personally, I don't rate them quite so high.

Galactic***  
Funky jam band with a lot of different styles, horns, different singers on every song, etc.  They'll be playing a set with Macy Grey, which might be pretty cool.

Dopapod***  
Mostly instrumental, heavy on the guitar and keyboard driven jams, a bit electronic.

Lotus*** 
Lots of different jam styles, heavy on the electronic, but very eclectic.

Mouth***
Sometimes bass driven, sometimes electric guitar driven jams.

The Fritz*** 
Sort of a classic funk rock jam, heavy on the keyboards, vocals about half the time. This should probably go under the rock category, but it's so heavy on jamming out, that those who prefer the jams will like it more.

Forgotten Space*
Grateful Dead cover band, not much online to check out

The Mantras*
An eclectic style of jams with a singer with a whimsical voice.

Joe Russo’s Almost Dead* 
Greatful dead cover band.

Play Dead*
Grateful dead cover band, only one song online.

Photo Credit Wakasura

Electronic
Techno, dubstep, house, trance, trap, electro jams, there's a lot of electronic at Wakarusa.  I supposed I could have split up the electronic genres more, but this list sorta goes in order of that.  I tend to have the more artsy and wompy electronic starts at the top, some ambient and jammy electronic in the middle, followed by trance, and last and definitely least, trap.  

Quixotic *****               
Ambient, artsy techno with a mindblowing live show.  This is a dance studio of sorts, that uses their members to create crazy acrobatic shows featuring fire dances, jugglers and more.

Big Gigantic  *****  
Saxy wompy electronic.  This guy plays his sax and layers it, then throws some heavy beats over it.  Recently he's been playing with a drummer.  His last Wakarusa set got stormed out, so lets hope it's clear skies this time.

Particle ***** 
Electronic jams that are just great.

Conspirator ****   
Jam electro, heavy on the guitar .  

The Human Experience****
A relaxing psychedelic mixture of styles with a lot of collaborations.  Most tracks have vocals of some sort. Sometimes it will be a worldly sound, sometimes folky and even with banjos, but always a mellow ambiance that your brain will enjoy.

STS9 ****
A staple of any festival, especially Wakarusa. I've seen them so many times that it's almost hard to get excited for them, but then when they start playing I remember exactly why I've seen them so many times.  They play electronic jams and have put on some mind blowing shows.

Late Night Radio ****    
Calling him a DJ just doesn't seem right. He’s more like a producer, who takes old songs and remasters them with a lot of added modern flair. In some ways, he takes after Gramatik with this method of using old fashioned songs, but where Gramatik modernizes with volume and speed (to put it simply), LNR enhances with so much more style and keeps the original emotion of the song.

Thomas Jack ****  
Remixes songs with tropical house music.  Surprisingly good tunes.

Goldfish ****       
Songs don’t seem like remixes, but there are different singers and styles on all the songs, so it must be mostly remixes.  They throw down lots of funk and swing style electronic.

Archnemesis ****  
A little bit of wub, a bunch of soul, some prominent horns mixed in.

Gigantic Underground Conspiracy ****

A party featuring Big Gigantic, Underground Orchestra, and Conspirator.  There is no music online for this collaboration, so I'm just guessing it'll be awesome because of the talent involved.

Minnesota*** 
Sorta stylish house, a little psychedelic, lots of cool different techniques.

Krooked Drivers***  
Melodic vintage mixes, usually mellow, sometimes getting a little dubby.

The White Panda*** 
Trancy house remixes. The 311 ‘amber’ mashup was really good and their songs got better as I listened more.

Greenhouse Lounge***

Psychedelic electronic music that is mostly mellow and pretty but hits hard once in awhile, with a driving electric guitar backbone.

Govinda***
A worldly ambient psychedelic sound, similar to thievery corp, but mellow and more electro, lots of violin.

Goldroom***  
Ambient easy listening electro.

Gravity A***   
A really stylish electro jam, a lot of similar styles to Big Gigantic, but occasionally with vocals and with a little more funk.

Black Tiger Sex Machine***
Rather grindy, a bit more industrial with a lot of other styles mixed in.

The Floozies***   
A guitar driven electro jam funk.

Rob Garza**
House electro, decent beats, a touch trancy but in a good way.

Gladkill **  
Slower electro, usually melodic and pretty, but sometimes gets a little wompy.  Might make for a good show.

Janover & reSUNator**  
Ambient electro, downtempo, lots of different styles mixed in, sometimes wompy, sometimes intrumental.

Savoy* 
Last time we saw him at Wakarusa, he put on a great visual show with lots of lasers, but the music was laughable.  However, his stuff on Spotify is a little better.

Russ Liquid* 
Down tempo electro, uses piano and other instruments, kinda boring, but might make a good show.

JackLNDN* 
Trancy house dj.

Rustie*
Pretty boring, trancy with a heavy but simplistic baseline.

EOTO*
A side project for a couple guys from String Cheese Incident, they are a downtempo, experimental but boring. A lot of people would rate them higher, but as much as I've tried, it just doesn't do it for me.

Nadus   
It’s like trap music that is pretty

Moody Good
Vocals on most tracks, a couple really good songs, but mostly terrible.
Wick-it the Instigator   
Wompy, but kinda slow and not all that interesting.

Trippy Turtle    
Electronic with possibly a bit R and B, only one song available online.

Antiserum            
Drum and bass with a lot of hip hop mixed in.

Kap Slap 
Generic trancy house remixes.

Paper Diamond      
Mostly trap, a little bit of housy stuff.

Destructo 
Dj that mixes hip hop…neither the electro nor hip hop side is very good.

Lindsey Lowend     
MIDI trap mix that is just not worth it.

Major Lazer 
Terrible hip hoppy trap music. Negative stars.

Bro Safari 
Terrible trap nonsense. Negative stars.

Hermitude
Chipmunk trap. Negative stars.

Photo Credit: Phil Clarkin

Indie
A few interesting Indie groups this year, some more indie pop with an electronic influence, some are just sort of a weird rock sound, some just too weird to be in any other category. 

Glass Animals *****   
Ambient indie rock, like Alt-J but much better.

Young The Giant ****    
Mellow folky indie pop.

Kawehi****  
One woman band, electronic poppy sound that I think would be good live.

Reptar****   
Indie electropop that is energetic, will surely be a good show.

Portugal. The Man****         
Sslightly more electronic upbeat weird indie.

Hembree***       
Mellow indie rock that is a little bit prog rock, unique vocals.

GIVER***
A bit sweet and folky, upbeat music, guy/girl singers.

Stokeswood**  
A bit of an upbeat 80’s synth sound, but a lot more than that too, other styles that are hard to pin down.

Johnny Stimson
Boring love songs, piano based.

Photo Credit: Mark Lewno

Country/Bluegrass/Folk
For the music that is a little too rustic for rock and roll.  If it's close between rock and roll and one of these categories, I'm more likely to put them in the rock category.  But even most of these touch on multiple genres.

Mountain Sprout ***** 
Deep south redneck bluegrass, absolutely poetic in their hillbilliness…self described as a redneck that smoked so much weed it done turned him into a hippy; which is perfectly reflected in their music- from the hillbilly anthem ‘screw the government’, to the hippy jam ‘it don’t matter’ (“butterflies don’t care about money, mountains don’t care about time…it don’t matter if you don’t mind”). “We’re the jam band hippy crowd and we’re…peacefully PLOWED.”

Carrie Nation and the Speakeasy**** 
Really fast energetic bluegrass, rough singer with a party attitude, horn complement.

Rising Appalachia**** 
Two sisters make a unique folky soul sound, great harmonies.

HoneyHoney*** 
Country outlaw chick, all the traditional elements, sometimes mellow, sometimes upbeat.

Fruition***    
Mellow country music and upbeat banjo picking, guy and girl singers.

Rose’s Pawn Shop***    
Folky with some violin and banjos.

Split Lip Rayfield **        
Decent but kinda generic bluegrass.

Jamestown Revival **   
Sort of a country, mellow rock, bluegrass combo, pretty laid back and easy listening.

Kopecky*        
Guy and girl mellow pop folk, very sing songy.

Judah and the Lion*    
Very religiony and folky.  Almost like Mumford and Sons' style, but nowhere as good.

Photo Credit Wakasura

Instrumental/Orchestral 
They can't really be called jam bands, but they jam on on a whole variety of instruments.  

Marchfourth Marching Band!***
Orchestra band, a little bit of swing, a little bit of pepband, fun and upbeat.

Tauk ***   
A spacey, but sometimes hard hitting electric guitar driven instrumental band.

Quantic***  
Sort of a lo-fi electronic, instrumental mix, decent but can get boring.

Yojimbo ***  
Trombone heavy, mellow instrumental group…a girl joins in for a couple songs, not sure if she’s a regular member, but she adds some angsty punkish lyrics.

The Gaslamp Killer *    
A weird laid back but sorta psychedelic sound, lots of different styles but kinda boring.

Photo Credit: Fayetteville Flyer

Blitzen Trapper

Blitzen Trapper is a strange enigma.  They have a sound unlike any other band.  It's a mixture of timeless, somewhat southern sounds, but interlaced with electronic melodies that are both calming and exciting.   Some songs would fit well in a Western movie soundtrack, while others could be part of a dark film noir.  Their music is light, but filled with heavy messages.  As you listen to a folky, upbeat song, you might suddenly realizing he's singing about murder.

The lyrics are often thick metaphors. An entire song can be a strange allegory that one can never fully interpret - the meaning behind the song will change with your mood.  Likewise, they use a lot of imagery in their lyrics: heaven and hell are common, and the wilderness, storms, wild animals, infinity, creation.  These shifting meanings talk about the search for redemption, but looking in the wrong places.  Of life altering journeys; or a man who's tongue is replaced by a flower and can only speak truth, but a truth that kills those who hear it (The Man Who Would Speak Truth).

Lead singer, Eric Earley, is equally hard to pin down.  He masters the story telling style, like you hear in a lot of traditional country.  Often times he sings with a raspy forlorn voice.  Sometimes he'll also half speak, half sing in a energetic monotone voice, like you'd hear from Cake or other laid back 'alternative hip-hop' artists.  He also plays a variety of instruments, including banjo, keyboards, harmonica and rhythm guitar.  This band has a style for everyone,



VII  (2013)
This latest album is probably the best to check out if you've never heard this band before (Furr would also be a good first album). It has a Brokenbells meets bluegrass country feel.  Interestingly, it has a bit of funky musical style, but this certainly ain't no disco. Like most of their albums, it still carries the dark undertones and lyrics that are a contrast to the more upbeat tunes.  They use a lot of banjo, an instrument that is usually associated with happy music.  It's backed by frequent but low key electronic noises.
Feel the Chill is one of my favorite tracks from this album-you can listen to it below (there is no video, just the album cover).  Upbeat and catchy...but with lyrics that talk about death.  Shine On is also a good song to check out.  The album starts stronger than it finishes, with some of the later songs getting just a little monotone.

American Goldwing  (2011)
This album is pure Americana.  Earley sings yearning but hopeful lyrics, with a the music that is folky rock and a little upbeat.  The songs go back and forth between rustic rock and banjo picking, with plenty of harmonica throughout.  It features more use of the piano/keyboard and, like all their music, lots of swooning steel guitar.
Check out the title song, American Goldwing for a nice mellow folky song and Street Fighting Sun for a peculiar rocking song.


Destroyer of the Void  (2010)
This album is more like a classic rock album.  It's got an old British rock feel, with lighthearted tunes and almost a mandolin style.  The vocals are more prominent here than the other albums and the music more minimal.  Because of this, Destroyer has a lot of storytelling.
Check out Laughing Lover for an upbeat choppy song, or The Man Who Would Speak True for one of their strange metaphorical tales.


Furr  (2008)
Black river Killer is incredibly haunting.  It's that sort of song that gives me the chills.  There are a lot different interpretations, but I feel it is about a man lost and depraved...searching for salvation, but the only thing that makes him feel clean is the darkness.  The blackness keeps him alive.  The song opens with the story of how he was blamed for the murder of a girl.  I'm thinking this is referring to his lost love, and getting blamed for her death was what pushed him into this wicked state.  He has lost himself, and in his corruption he seeks a way into heaven through murder.  Maybe his redemption lies in helping others find theirs.  And though he is not surprised when he cannot find the light, he still searches for reprieve in the darkness.  See the music video for this below:  it captures the mood of the song perfectly.
The rest of the album is a mixture of mournful and hopeful melodic folk rock.  Gold for Bread has a similar theme, about running and trying to find one's way, but is more hopeful than Black River Killer.  The title song Furr is a tale of a man who becomes part of a wolf pack.  A happy, if strange, story.

Wild Mountain Nation  (2007)
More of an indie folk/pop album, which I don't mean as in insult because this is their first 'good' album.  The style in some songs reminds me of the band Of Montreal, and that sort of early hipster folk.  But this flow is punctuated by weird upbeat tunes with a lot of distortion and tracks that are crowded with as much noise as possible.  It goes back and forth between banjo style music to electronic keyboard tracks with vocals that are hard to understand sometimes.
The first track, Devil's A-Go-Go is a quick paced song that features a lot of distortion.  I also like the track Sci-Fi Kid, which features a lot of electronic music.   Nothing heavy, mostly just melodic tones and keyboard.  The words are pretty vague, one could interpret just about anything in these strange lyrics.  Alternatively Country Caravan is a relaxing, folky country song


Field Rexx  (2004)
Starts out really noisy, kind of indie rock.  Shifts through a really soft rustic rock in the middle.  Maybe a bit experimental, but very mellow.  The album would be more coherent without the beginning noisy songs.


Blitzen Trapper  (2003)
In hindsight, you can see the different elements of what they would become.  The eponymous album is a little bit of an old school pop style, and even electronic keyboards once in awhile.  But taken by itself, the frequent use of a sliding guitar makes it more of a weird country rock with some of the songs ranging into a post punk, slightly Brit rock style.  Though still a lot of slow melodic songs too.  Their wide range of styles is present, but since a lot of it has yet to be refined and polished, it makes the album a bit disjointed and all over the place.  This also includes heavy country elements considering I wouldn't actually call it country.  Whiskey Kisser is the best example of a hipster's song comprised entirely of country music style.

The Flaming Lips - With a Little Help from my Fwends

The Flaming Lips have a long history and have put out many albums over the years.  They have built a decades long musical career spanning their psychedelic pop albums, to their old grungy songs, to stuff that's just too weird to make any sense out of it. This album combines all three aspects and they recruit some equally strange musicians to help them record a cover of Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band.
Some would call it taboo, to cover such a prestigious album, but this is not an attempt to recreate the original.  It is meant to expand on it.  To create something that makes you appreciate the original even more.  This album won't be for everyone.  Certainly not for those who will let a remake ruin the original for them.  But if you give this one a close listen, it'll give you a new perspective.  Most of us have heard The Beatles songs too many times to count.  But if you listen to the remake you'll hear underlying tones that are twisted and emphasized in ways The Beatles never could.  Going back to the original after you listen to this album, you might notice this underlying complexity that your brain had mostly ignored because you've heard the songs too many times.


The Flaming Lips' 14th studio album, With a Little Help from my Fwends, features lots of familiar and new friends to create yet another confusing, experimental, sometimes messy sometimes beautiful creation.  Some of it's not so entertaining, but between the strange electronic tunes that are both poppy and experimental, to  the haunting, far-off psychedelic rides, there is something here for any fan of weird music.

The album follows the same track listing, so it starts with the intro Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.  It has a thicker, more chaotic sound to it.  The vocals start normally, but by the end of the song are ran through a high pitched distorted voice synth.  A squealing guitar solo ends the song.  It's the sort of strange sound we've come to appreciate from The Flaming Lips, and they're helped by My Morning Jacket, Fever the Ghost, and J Mascis.

With a Little Help from My Fwends features the calming voice of Wayne Coyne with a screeching echo from one of the guests: Black Pus and Autumn Defense.   A pretty straight forward cover, considering the source. Nice touch on the first line: when Wayne sings "What would you do if I sang out of tune?", he is using an auto-tuner.

Perhaps the best cover on the album, Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds features guest vocals from Miley Cyrus.  Yes, you read that correctly, Wayne and Miley are good friends and have collaborated on a few songs.  She sings a sweet tune with versus that follow the original pretty closely, but then the chorus hits with a intense yet pretty crashing that we've seen before from The Flaming Lips (such as in the song Pompeii am Gotterdammerung).  It's close enough to The Beatle's version that it still sounds beautiful, and weird enough to still be The Flaming Lips.
Check out the video below.  Miley is amazing and the perfect choice for this song....
Also, you probably don't want to watch this video at work.

Getting Better features a gruff voice who I think might be the singer from Dr. Dog.  Chuck Inglish and Morgan Delt also help in this song.  He sings a deep voiced even tune like in the original, with some more outlandish backing vocals, including Wayne with a few random high pitched shrieks.

Fixing a Hole is listed as being performed by Electric Worms, which is Steven Drozd and Wayne Coyne's side project that is even weirder than The Flaming Lips.  Wayne sings into a echoing synthesizer to create hollow voiced lyrics.  It is an eerie effect that shifts and bends as the tune progresses.  The only music is a simple guitar and an occasional deep bass sound.

She's Leaving Home features another female singer, probably from the band Phantogram.  Also listed are guest musicians Julianna Barwick and Spaceface.  It's a pretty song, but there's not a whole lot to say beyond that.   The piano is accented by electronic noises, but like the original, it has a simple beat.  Since they're going for pretty, the weirdness is somewhat subdued.

For the Benefit of Mr. Kite is one of the more twisted songs on the album.  Puscifier (again, they don't list who does what so I'm guessing on the vocalist) is a gruff singer and he's backed by psychedelic keyboarding.  The keyboard notes don't actually hit any exact note, it quivers and if you listen closely it can mess with your brain.  Odd music comes and goes, along with other strange sounds, such as slightly crazed laughing.  This all creates a light but apprehensive mood.  Like a spooky circus in a horror movie before anything bad has happened. 

Within You Without You features Birdflower and Morgan Dent.  Birdflower is "just a delusional couple of freaks," according to Wayne, "never in reality."  They sing a haunting tune that matches the original perfectly, not so much in musical methods but in the atmosphere the song creates.  It is a meditative tune that relies on a perfect balance of all of the different parts.  The tone of the vocals pulls you in with a slight echo.  The electronic music is low key through the vocals but rises and takes over the song for a minute about half way through.

When I'm Sixty Four is another strange one.  The vocals alternate between a relatively normal singer and a heavily distorted second singer or they'll occasionally sing at the same time.  After every few lines, a weird tone will rise, or a few contorted sounding horns will blare.  The tune, featuring Def Rain and Pitchwafuzz, is psychedelic but fairly simple.  The tune purposely drags along, noticeably slower than the original. 

Lovely Rita is another great song from this album.  It is upbeat and happy, giving you that perfect blend of both bands, with some help from Tegan and Sara and longtime friends Stardeath and the White Dwarfs.  It begins with a heavy bass beat which gives way to a throbbing electronic pop beat.  Tegan and Sara provide the singing that is light and perfect.  It's as catchy as the original; the musical bridge features swirling electronic sounds and occasional sounds that are almost like distorted  hiccuping and/or little dog yipping. 

Guest musicians Zorch, Grace Potter, and Treasure Mammal help with Good Morning Good Morning.  I think it is sang by Grace Potter; it features lots of strange vocal manipulations.  Sometimes her voice is so twisted you can't understand the words, other times the backup singers all join in to create a piercingly lovely tune that is upbeat with epic crashes.  There is a lot going on at once, and then when the music cuts out, the vocals get extremely glitchy until the beat starts up again.

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (reprise) is stranger than the intro.  Foxygen and Ben Goldwasser join in here, and Foxygen sings with muffled voices that will switch between speaker sides.  Music is provided by guitar and keyboard and jam aimlessly for a nice strange musical bridge.

Finally, Wayne joins up again with Miley in A day in the Life, with some help from New Fumes.  Wayne starts by singing the somber first half, backed by a piano.  The song transitions to a simplistic elecrtonic beat and Miley joins in to sing the verse that starts "Woke up, dragged a comb through my hair..." Wayne's somber singing finishes the last chorus.  Apparently this song doesn't have a chorus, but it ends with the beat building up and then suddenly going silent.

The Faint - Doom Abuse

I just meant you needed help in the head

Try it if:
You've heard of The Faint before
You've never heard of The Faint

Skip if:
Weird indie rock music bothers you


I'll start out by saying that The Faint is probably my favorite band.  It's hard to pick a number one...but really no one else can top them.  So if you read any bias here, just take that as a sign that you should listen to their music.

The Faint had been largely dormant over the last several years, with the different members scattering across the country to focus on family, side projects, and such.  Late last year, they all came back together in Omaha and without even planning it, realized they had rediscovered their desire to make more music as The Faint. Unlike Fasciinatiion, which took several years, Doom Abuse was created in only a couple months.  They posted several weird cryptic pictures on Facebook featuring the legs from the album cover photoshopped into other backgrounds.  Then, after years of silenced, they announced a new album and tour starting only a few weeks later.

The album is a mix of old and new.  It's sure to find favor with old fans and first time listeners.  There are hints of their early indie punk roots combined with weird new electronica techniques they haven't used before.  The last album was produced meticulously; this time they wanted something that was raw.

Doom Abuse opens with 'Help in the Head'.  It's driven by Dapose's (aka Michael Dappen) heavy bass guitar, in similar style as many of their old songs, such as 'Agenda Suicide'.  The whole band echos the chorus in an old punk rock style.  It's a quick paced, slightly darker song and was also their first release.  'Mental Radio' follows and features a weird hollow keyboard beat played by Jacob Thiele.  It continues the weirdly upbeat but slightly dark sound.  The lyrics are a hodgepodge of metaphors that are all over the place, making it difficult to find a single message.
The music gets even darker with 'Evil Voices'.  They've been playing this song live for a little while, so some of their fans have already heard it.  The song follows a heavy bass guitar again, backed by a haunting keyboard tune.  Todd Fink's vocals switch between synthesizers, sometimes giving him an evil sound, other times giving him a panicked, harsh tone.  He sings about the voices that haunt his dreams and keep him lost.

'Salt my Doom' is a tumultuous track.  Clark Baechle has a driving drum beat that is the only semblance of order in this fast paced song.  The overwhelming instruments nearly drown out the vocals.  It's more chaotic than anything else they've done, featuring distorted sirens and other strange electronica sounds supported by a bass guitar that is all over the place, making it hard to pinpoint the individual instruments.

'Animal Needs' is the first big departure from their previous repertoire.  The only hint of their normal sound is a short guitar chord that sounds just a little bit like the guitar in 'The Geeks were Right'.  Otherwise, the tune is a dark synth track with chanting vocals.  It bears a little resemblence to bands like My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult, maybe mixed with The Birthday Massacre, but faster.  Like a modern goth band recreating 80's synth music, but heavier and more polished.  There are two voices singing at the same time, I can't tell if one might be a female singer, or if one of the other members stepped in.  For that matter, I can't even decide if the main voice is Fink's.

'Loss of Head' blends the previous song's 80's synth with their more natural style.  It contains some of the clearest vocals, which sing of nostalgia induced loss-his memories are the phantom limbs that give him hope and then crushes it.

'Dress Code' is...weird.  It's full of weird keyboard tunes broken by even stranger electronic noises.  The vocals are highly distorted and merely name off random things throughout the song.  I'd like to make sense of it, but I'm not sure if there is anything deeper.

'Scapegoat' is easily the poppiest, most upbeat song The Faint has ever produced.  Of course, it's not a normal pop song, it's still The Faint.  The guitar leads, followed closely by the keyboard.  The beginning of the chorus interrupts the flow (in a good way) with a bunch of crashing electronic sounds.  The matching, choppy vocals sing an insult to someone claiming to be innocent.
This song ends with an incredible transition into the next song.  After static humming, it sounds like the song picks up again, only to be taken over by the bass guitar as 'Your Stranger' starts.  Apparently the bass player wanted to prove he can play some great choppy music as well.  It's almost as quick, but at the same time heavier due to the bass.

They continue the quick pace with 'Lesson from the Darkness', but true to the song name, it gets darker. The keyboards bring back the gothic synth sound.  Most of the time it stays in the background, but several times he plays a haunting tune you'd hear on a sweet but dark gothic song.

'Unseen Hand' is one of those songs that they create where it's both slow and dancy at the same time.  It's uncanny how they are so skilled at such a weird combination. I think it's his slow voice combined with the dark but quick bass that gives it this effect. There are more weird electronic sound effects in this track.  I feel like I'm repeating myself by saying that, but it's hard to describe such crazy sounds; they're electronic clicks, with what sounds like electronic instruments trying to speak in a human voice.

Finally, they close the album on a mellow track with 'Damage Control'.  The keyboards are again at the forefront, giving the song a little bit of energy that Fink quickly stifles with a somber voice sang through an echoing synth.


Overall, another incredible album from a great band.  It's available on Spotify, so check it out.  They'll be playing in Omaha in June at the end of their tour, so get your tickets early!

The Sheepdogs - 3 album discography

If you like:
CCR
The Doors
Van Morrison
Steve Miller band

Skip this one if you don't like:
Classic rock
Blues rock



The Sheepdogs is a modern day classic rock throwback.  It's an old fashioned bluesy rock band, though there are hints of modern influences, especially in the first album.  But for the most part, the sound has remained constant over three albums and sets a retro tone reminiscent of old school Canadian and American southern/blues rock bands.
The guitarist, Leot Hanson, sounds like something you'd hear from Steve Miller Band.  The vocalist would fit in alongside their fellow countrymen CCR.  Overall, the band also has some similar styles as Van Morrison and The Doors, too. 
The vocals are a big part of their retro sound.  It almost sounds like singer Ewan Currie uses old equipment to match their old sound.  They might use other lo-fi techniques (using digital methods to give it an older sound), or it might just be his voice alone.  The rest of the band, including bassist Ryan Gullen and drummer Sam Corbett, frequently provide back up vocals.

Combine all of that, and a focus on melody, harmony and groove, and it makes for a great sound. 



Trying to Grow 2007

While it's still primarily classic rock sounding, there are a couple songs that sound more like post-punk Brit rock than anything else.  "Hang on to Yourself", for one, is catchy and the backup vocals repeat the same line throughout.  Even the theme (keep your love to yourself) seems Brit pop.  "You Never Listen" also has this style, especially in the guitar playing.  While it's not that far off of their main style, it shows that they can pull from other influences.

The best song on this album is "Heading Down".  It's a classic sounding rock song with a choppy piano.  Check here to listen.

"Tonight" shows a more haunting, gloomy side.  It also has quite the picking guitar solo in the middle.  Similarly, "Shine On" is a slower classic rock melody with a psychedelic tint, especially in the guitar solo.  It reminds me of the Animals' song "House of the Rising Sun" with the mournful singing.




Learn and Burn 2010

This is their best album by far and is packed with jamming songs.  It starts out with "The One You Belong To", a good song for listeners who like a strong guitar.
It blends into "Please Don't Lead Me On".  Here, the modern Brit sound from the last album has been replaced by a slight Beatles style, though still heavily framed by their North American influences.

"I Don't Know" is straight up old fashioned rock.  It's a contender for their best song overall, and has a CCR influence.  "I Don't Get By" is also a great song, it features swooning guitar and a picked guitar, giving it a western sound.
There is influence from The Doors in this album, noticeably in "Learn and Burn", which is a mellow smooth song.  "Right On" might also demonstrate some of their influence.

"Southern Dreaming" is a lighthearted song with electric guitar picking.  The vocals are scarce on this song and it makes for a good feeling song."Rollo Tomasi" is their Van Morrison influenced song.  While his voice is nowhere near as suave as Morrison's, the horns and piano create a classy sound.

"Catfish 2 Boogaloo" is a more rocking, jamming song.  I'm putting this song up because, while there are better songs on this album, this track will appeal to just about anyone.

The Sheepdogs 2012

Their latest, self titled, album stays consistent with the previous one.  One major difference is in the guitars.  They use more distortion and so it sometimes has a newer feel to it.  "Feeling Good" is a great song that features some of the distortion.  Overall, even though the first couple of albums featured numerous guitar solos, they just seem more prominent in this album.

"Alright Ok" is a good song that is more traditional rock.  Similarly, "The Way it Is" hits just a little harder than most of their songs.

Some of the songs show a heavy blues influence, such as "Ewan's Blues" and "Is Your Dream Worth Dying For?"
I can hear some of The Rolling Stones in "While We're Young".

Obviously they have a long history of rock n roll to draw from, and they stay true to their roots while maintaining a new sound.

Check out this music video for "Feeling Good", apparently inspired by the movie Team America.

Wakarusa 2014 - 3 of 3

This is, without a doubt, the best festival lineup I have ever seen.  Without further ado, here is the final lineup release for Wakarusa 2014.



The String Cheese Incident
Wakarusa has a lot of big name festival bands this year, and one of the biggest of all is The String Cheese Incident.  It's quite impressive that we'll get to see this band that announced their retirement seven years ago.  Luckily for us, they've continued to play a few festival shows each summer.  True musicians can never just walk away from their legacy.  This bluegrassy jam band has been playing for awhile and they leave an awestruck crowd in their wake.  Many say they are the best live band to see, so I'm excited for my first chance to catch SCI.

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
It's been fun watching this group's rise over the last few years.  This band creates a unique gospel rock sound.  They feature Alex Ebert (no one in the band is actually named Edward)  and Jade Castrino, a folky duo that compliment each other well.  They're capable of creating catchy folk pop songs or surreal haunting melodies.  They're rather hipstery, but you don't have to be embarrassed to like this band.

Infected Mushrooms
This Israeli duo has been around for awhile, well known in the scene but never really famous like some new DJs have become.  They're primarily dubstep, but they've been around longer than the dubstep movement, so there is a wide range of influences.  One of the guys even does vocals for some of their songs, giving them an occasional industrial rock sound.  But they won't shy away from throwing down some raving trance either.  I've kind of forgotten about these guys, and now that I've revisited them, I remember how much I used to like their music.  This will be one of the big electronic shows on the mountain this year, so check them out beforehand.

Adventure Club
This is a technopop group, unique for being more of a dubstep based technopop where most groups like this are more of trance style.  At first, I thought the singer was part of the group, due to similar vocals in some of their songs. But then I heard Karen O from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, so it appears that they primarily mix a lot of indie pop songs, mostly with female singers.

EOTO
This is sort of an experimental electronic group was born out of what was supposed to be the end of The String Cheese Incident.  They've played a ridiculously large number of shows after SCI went into their slowdown.  It's some decent, slightly down tempo music, but it doesn't do a whole lot for me.  I can see where they're coming from, but at the same time I wonder how popular these guys would really be if it wasn't for their predecessor. 

3LAU
3LAU is a trance DJ that mixes pop songs.  His style is the definition of trance, in my mind, though he does experiment with some technique that is more often found in womp.  If you're a fan of radio pop music, you'll recognize some Miley and Britney in there.

Claude VonStroke
This is a minimilist DJ, he makes music that is sort of experimental.  He uses a lot of steady high pitched beats that are almost MIDI beats.

Vintage Trouble
A southern rock band.  The singer has silky smooth voice to the point that he's practically an R&B singer.  But it works pretty well.  They throw some blues in there too.

The Werks
Smooth dreamy electro jams, not unlike STS9 but perhaps more a little less electro and a little more chill rock-heavier on the guitar, occasional vocals mixed in with jams.

Minnesota
This is a sweet melodic, slightly psychedelic mixture.  It seems like a mixture of trance and bass, going back and forth between the two styles.  A unique mixture that he's brought here to Lincoln with many live performances.

Black Joe Lewis
Black Joe Lewis is a dirty southern rock band with some horns and a singer with a rough screamy voice.  On some songs they have a touch of funk, others have a touch of rockabilly.  Overall a lively sound.

Reignwolf
A more traditional southern rock sound, but the guitars are heavier than any of the other bands on this list.  This gives it a driving, hard rock sound.

J Roddy Walston and The Business
These guys are a indie rock band with some folk and southern influences.  The music is upbeat and light while the lyrics are a bit darker.  The combination sets up a mood that they're reckless and paying the price for it, but life is more fun that way.  Check them out, you'll know right away if you like it.

Poolside
This is a discoy technopop, but a different sort of technopop - it's easy listening and relaxing.  Groovy and has a heavy jam band influence as well

The Dirty Guv'nahs
Another talented rock band.  This one has more of a classic rock sound.  A touch of southern rock but really just more of a contemporary rock band.  They have faster based rock songs and a few ballads.  For instruments, they employ a violin and steel guitar.

Nahko and Medicine for the People
Before Wakarusa started releasing their lineup, I was going to create a full blog for these guys.  Nahko makes a Hawaiian tropical music that is close to being reggae, but not quite.  There are some other unique influences as well.  A Native American sound permeates some of their songs, others have a shamanistic tint.  His accent is soothing and uplifting.  It works very well with his style of socially conscience music.  This band will certainly become more popular very soon, you can mark my words on that one.

The Pimps of Joytime
This is a funky band, sort of a throwback of groovier times, but they also use some electronic elements.  The groove is supplemented with some hip hop that will find favor even with people who don't like that genre.

Keys N Krates
More chipmunk trap?  This is an electronic style that uses a lot of odd sound effects.  Notably, the voices are all distorted to sound high pitched.

Ott
Ott produces music that can be both ambient and intense.  Sometimes it's a slowed down psychedelic trance style, but he'll throw in just a little bit of womp.  Nothing like dubstep, but just enough to make his music a little more potent.  And for good measure, there's some tribal/worldly sounds thrown in as well.

Wick-it the Instigator
This is a hard hitting style of drum and bass, it's wompy and a little industrial.  Fans of Bassnectar will find some good tracks from this guy.

Dopapod
 Groovy jam band sound, a little bit of electronica from the keyboards, but more oldschool than anything.  Although a few times they get full on electronic.

Aaron Behren and the Midnight Stroll
Aaron Behren is the singer from Ghostland Observatory.  I can't find much else besides one song on soundcloud.  It's a weird rock song.  Better than most of Ghostland, but no where near as good as their best songs.  Apparently his former band is on hiatus, but they have said they will be back.

The Funk Hunters
This is a group of DJs that mix a lot of really funky music.  Sometimes their music is borderline electro jam, but they're mixing the music, so it can also have a little bit of womp to it.  The grooviest DJs that I've heard.

Fort Knox 5
Fort Knox 5 is another DJ funk group, but they also play shows with a band.  They have a wide range of remixes and styles, from reggae to worldly to hip hop.  Their range and instrumentals probably puts these guys ahead of The Funk Hunters.  They're a little less womp and more hip hop, and they do it very well.

Stickybuds
This is some dubstep that is more dub than...step.  By which I mean there is a big focus on reggae style music within his electronic beats.  Some of his tracks mix old funky songs.  He seems to do a lot of collaborations which tend to be a bit more glitchy. 

Mike Love
Traditional reggae, choppy beat, old school keyboards.  Any fan of reggae will appreciate his simple style.

Air Dubai
Air Dubai is a alternative hip hop group from Denver.  They seem a bit out of place on the Waka lineup; they're decent sounding, but it seems like something you'd hear on the 90's alternative station.  It's like a poppier version of The Flobots, though they're a lot more versatile. 

Twiddle
This is some watered down ska/reggae, more alternative, a little bit of funk.  The guy has a unique singing voice.  Choppy tropical beats and a hell of a guitar player gets pretty funky at times.

The Weeks
A post grunge alternative band, also reminds me of the 90s.  Could also be described as indie rock.  Calm singing in the verses so that he can tell a story, with louder, raging choruses.  The band has some similarities with Murder by Death, and the singer has the same accent/style as the singer from Bare Naked Ladies

The Ben Miller Band
I always get this band confused with someone else and assume they're a Jack Johnson wannabe.  But they're not.   They are actually deserving of a much higher spot on the lineup, because these guys are awesome.  Their southern rock sound mixes a little grunge and the singer's voice puts just a hint of sarcasm in his words.  Listen to them, you'll be glad you did.

SuperVision
Hip hop mixing DJ,  heavy on the synth.  Tracks without lyrics are almost psychedelic. Pretty lights label

Freddy Todd
A hard hitting DJ, a little more industrial.  Heavy bass, but doesn't have a lot of style

Space Capone
Pure disco throwback.  Groovy tunes and a superfly singer will swing it.  If you want to relive the 60s at Waka, make sure you hit up this show.

The Tarlatans
These guys have a rustic rock sound.  A little gritty, but mellow at the same time. 

Atlas Road Crew
Folky country band.  The guitars are a little too heavy to be called traditional country.

Coyote Union
Alternative country rock.  All the way at the bottom of the list, yet they still have some catchy songs.