If you are searching for something to look forward to weekly I think it would be in your best interest to head over to AddictedToVinyl.com every Monday and check out his fan submitted The Monday Morning Mixes.
Head over to www.addictedtovinyl.com for more details!
Remember back in the day where you would sit there in front of your stereo and record special songs on a cassette for your friends and maybe even for that someone special? Yeah, it’s like that.
This idea was created by Matt at Addicted To Vinyl as a way to share the love of music at a fan’s perspective. It is a great idea and I have seen some amazing mixes by some good people in the last few weeks since it’s inception.
To make it even cooler, the mix is available for download! That’s right, free mixes! (Note: The mixes are only available for one week so if you fancy one of the mixes and need to have it, it would be wise to download it as soon as possible!)
This week actually features yours truley. I created a mix inspired by forseen events that may happen during my trip to Bonnaroo. Check it out by clicking HERE.
Formed in 1969 in Lansing, Michigan, the trio of “Loren Dog” Molinare (guitar and vocals), Mary Dryer (bass), and Ron Wood (drums), channeled the pummeling power of Detroit rock and Chuck Berry inspired riffs into tough tunes with a pissed off social conscience.
Raging out of the legendary Motor City rock scene of the ’70s, which spawned such musical touchstones as the Stooges, MC5, Amboy Dukes, Up, and other lesser known but equally ferocious proto-punk acts, The Dogs packed all the feral energy and cultural angst of that era into their live shows and an enduring set of recordings.
The Dogs opened for such acts as the MC5, Ramones, Television, Dictators, AC/ DC, Kiss, and Van Halen, and became one of the seminal LA punk bands of the era after locating there in the mid ’70s following a stint in New York
They disbanded soon after returning from a ’78-’79 tour of England, finding that hair metal had taken over the scene and punk had fallen out of favor.
With the 2001 release of the ‘Fed Up’ compilation on Dionysus Records, which they answered in 2003 with a set of new material entitled ‘Suburban Nightmare,’ The Dogs were encouraged to hit the stage once again. 2007 saw the release of ‘The Dogs Tribute… Doggy Style,’ a 26-band, 2-CD package from Future Now Records that also features several historic, unreleased tracks from The Dogs.
A live DVD, ‘Purity Not Perfection,’ has been released in Mar 09, and a new CD and live dates in the US, Europe, and Japan are slated for 2009 — the year that will mark The Dogs’ 40th anniversary.
So if you find yourself a fan of the original punk rock, the classic punk rock, or even some good rock n roll perhaps it would be in your best interest to head up to the Beachland to cheek these guys out! I know I am highly considering making it out there if I can.
I am still looking for an actual confirmation about this but it looks as if the Cleveland Agora will be shutting it’s doors after tonight’s show.
I really hope this is not true. Just looking at that neon sign brings me years of memories of countless shows I had attended. Since I was 15 years old I have gone to shows at that amazing venue.
I was supposed to be there tonight too. I was going to check out Strung Out and Death By Stereo play in the ballroom tonight but was just too tired to make the trip out there. Around 9pm my friend Dan Z. messaged me asking if the Agora shut down. I did not have an answer for him so we started both texting everyone we know in the Cleveland music scene.
Sadly Dan got a text from the girl that used to work in the box office at the Agora with a message neither of us wanted to hear. Tonight’s show would be the last show for an undetermined amount of time.
The time has come for one of the more exciting highlights of my year. Of course I speak of Bonnaroo!!!
Aerial shot by Taylor Crothers in 2006
When you go to any four day festival there is a lot of planning involved. Not only do you need to pack enough to survive four days on a farm in the middle of Tennessee, but you also need to plan ahead with what bands you want to see. Then there is the food you might want to bring, the mixes you need to make for the ride to and from as well as plan how you are going to get there.
Luckily I went in 2006 so I know how to get there and where to go. Just in case you do not though, Bonnaroo posted this funny clip:
Well thanks to Bonnaroo’s website I was able to plan the performances I wanted to see. Of course this is subject to change…
Thursday June 11th, 2009
Roger Alan Wade – Troo Music Lounge hosted by Budweiser 2:30 PM – 3:30 PM
Black Lillies – Troo Music Lounge hosted by Budweiser 5:30 PM – 6:30 PM
MURS – The Other Tent 7:15 PM – 8:15 PM
Those Darlins – Troo Music Lounge hosted by Budweiser 8:30 PM – 9:30 PM
People Under the Stairs – The Other Tent 10:15 PM – 11:15 PM
Tobacco – Troo Music Lounge hosted by Budweiser 1:00 AM – 2:00 AM
Friday June 12th, 2009
Portugal. The Man. – Sonic Stage 12:00 PM – 12:30 PM
Gomez – Which Stage 12:45 PM – 2:00 PM
Animal Collective – Which Stage 2:45 PM – 4:00 PM
Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Which Stage 4:45 PM – 6:00 PM
Grizzly Bear – This Tent 5:00 PM – 6:15 PM
Al Green – What Stage 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM
TV on the Radio – Which Stage 6:45 PM – 8:00 PM
Lucinda Williams – This Tent 6:45 PM – 8:15 PM
Beastie Boys – What Stage 8:30 PM – 10:00 PM
David Byrne – Which Stage 8:45 PM – 10:45 PM
Phish – What Stage 11:00 PM – 2:00 AM
Public Enemy – This Tent 12:30 AM – 1:45 AM
Paul Oakenfold – This Tent 2:15 AM – 4:00 AM
Girl Talk – That Tent 2:15 AM – 3:45 AM
Saturday June 13th, 2009
Heartless Bastards – Which Stage 1:30 PM – 2:30 PM
William Elliot Whitmore – Café Where hosted by AT&T 2:30 PM – 3:30 PM
Booker T & the DBTs – Which Stage 3:00 PM – 4:15 PM
Raphael Saadiq – That Tent 3:15 PM – 4:30 PM
Heartless Bastards – Sonic Stage 3:15 PM – 3:45 PM
Gov’t Mule – Which Stage 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM
Jenny Lewis – That Tent 5:00 PM – 6:15 PM
of Montreal – This Tent 5:15 PM – 6:30 PM
Wilco – What Stage 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Elvis Costello Solo – That Tent 6:45 PM – 8:15 PM
The Decemberists – This Tent 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM
The Mars Volta – Which Stage 7:15 PM – 8:45 PM
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band – What Stage 9:00 PM – 12:30 AM
Nine Inch Nails – Which Stage 1:00 AM – 3:00 AM
moe. – This Tent 1:00 AM – 4:00 AM
MGMT – That Tent 2:15 AM – 3:45 AM
Sunday June 14th, 2009
Cage the Elephant – That Tent 12:15 PM – 1:15 PM
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists – The Other Tent 1:30 PM – 2:30 PM
Dillinger Escape Plan – That Tent 1:45 PM – 2:45 PM
Jessica Lea Mayfield – Café Where hosted by AT&T 2:30 PM – 3:30 PM
High on Fire – That Tent 3:15 PM – 4:15 PM
Erykah Badu – What Stage 3:30 PM – 5:00 PM
Andrew Bird – Which Stage 4:15 PM – 5:45 PM
Shadows Fall – That Tent 4:45 PM – 6:00 PM
Merle Haggard – This Tent 5:00 PM – 6:15 PM
Snoop Dogg – What Stage 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM
Band of Horses – Which Stage 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM
Coheed and Cambria – That Tent 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM
PHEW! That is a lot of bands. This is the first time I have actually planned out a festival in advance and I am pretty sure that I will not stick to this. There are plenty of other acts that might catch my ears as I walk through the festival grounds.
As most of you know I am attending this amazing trip with Matt from Addicted To Vinyl and his new roomie Rad-am. I will be blogging as much as I can about my experiences here on this site as well as will try and create nightly wrap-ups once we return to our hotel at the end of the day for Blogcritics.Org.
Hotel you ask? Bonnaroo offers hotels?
Not at all. It is a camping environment. Unless you have a hotel lined up somewhere in the general area, when you get to the farm in Manchester you park your car, set up camp, and hang out within the area for the duration of the event.
When I say 80,000 I mean it. The picture above shows just 1/2 of the camping grounds. It is surreal once you are walking around the place.
Now why the hotel you ask?
Seriously, do you honestly think I was going to camp with some 80,000 other people? Hell no. I need AC, bed, and most importantly a freaking shower! I also need internet access, more AC, and peace and quiet when I am trying to sleep.
Don’t get me wrong, Bonnaroo will offer most of what I need sans AC, a bed, and peace and quiet. It is impossible to think all 80,000 people will be sleeping at the same time so that rules out the peace and quiet. Plus I am not much of a camper anymore and really hate it when the sun rises and turns the tent you sleep into an oven and you have to rip open the door just to breathe. I am also a light sleeper and am sure I would not sleep a wink there. That is why we got a hotel. Plus I like AC.
When I think about it, it will be worth the extra money shelled out for the hotel. It was when I went in 2006. Even if I only spent 6 or less hours a day at that crap hotel we stayed at I got a shower and a sound sleep thanks to AC. I am thinking though that the hotel I got this time will be a little better. We are staying at a Holiday Inn Express about 30 miles south of Manchester. I do not mind the drive at all seeing when I was at Bonnaroo in 2006 our hotel was about the same distance.
The food served inside Bonnaroo is not too overpriced and you can bet your sweet you know what that Matt and I will be eating as much Sonic as possible. I am sure I will be eating breakfast at Krystal’s too. I love me some grits. I am also psyched to learn there is a Waffle House right by our hotel so that means a meal when we come back to the hotel around 5am…
Parking was not that bad either. There is a visitor lot just to the north of the farm that has easy access to the highway as well is only about a 15 minute walk to Centeroo – the main festival ground where all the fun happens.
The guys and I are leaving Bonnaroo Sunday most likely after Coheed & Cambria around 8pm and were going to pull an all night drive back to Ohio but the more and more I think about it I think I am just going to drive as far home as I can and then get a hotel. We shall see what happens…
Stay tuned to Brokenheadphones for Bonnaroo 2009 from my eyes. Should be a pretty interesting!
Street punk shows it has a nicer side thanks to Left Alone, a Wilmington, CA act on their latest self-titled album Left Alone released through Hellcat Records. On the band’s third release they continue to play street punk material but incorporate elements of pop punk, reggae, and ska making for a real fun listen.
Opening track “Spiked With Pain” was a full punk rock track with sing along abilities and guitar and bass riffs suggestive of Rancid. There is a reason why this band was signed to Hellcat and perhaps Tim Armstrong enjoyed the similarities of Left Alone and the band he fronts.
“Branded” follows with the same energy as the first track with front man Elvis Cortez’s raspy voice just appealing to my ears. As if that was not good enough, the bass lines were sick throughout and overall the song is just screaming to be released as a single.
Almost sounding like the Madness meets Operation Ivy was the brisk “Sad Story” with a more ska approach that is easily likable and surly makes you want to skank away. The song was easily one of my favorites on the entire CD. See below for the music video of the song. Good stuff.
The catchy “3 Bottles Of Wine” and “Porcelain” both seem more pop punk tracks. They seem to escape the street punk image held by the band but still are enjoyable for what they are worth.
“Bombs Away” sounding a lot like The Clash’s “Police And Thieves” carries on just fine as the song is not a direct rip off but more so a compliment to the UK grandfathers of punk. “Brindle” starts off with a strong bass line that strays right into a fast paced track sure to be a hit at one of their live shows as it makes you want to swing your arms and dance around carelessly.
I loved “Self Made” with the more so 90s punk feel and an organ playing in the background. “Wishing Well” continued that feeling with a simple yet catchy punk track with some group vocals. These are the kinds of songs that turned me into a punk rock fan in the first place.
It’s nice to see a band like Left Alone not label themselves as one specific genre of music and experiment with their talent. This album is full of tracks with sing along qualities that span back to their previous releases but add a more fine tuned effort making for a good listen if you find yourself a fan of punk rock.
Left Alone is far from a commercial pop punk act and thanks to their recent release they should be grabbing some attention. Perhaps it is a good thing they stay away from the mainstream though as they have too much talent to be considered just another pop-punk act out there. Having already been fans of their previous releases Lonely Starts and Broken Hearts and Dead American Radio I can honestly say this CD is just as good of a listen if not better.
