The Flaming Lips with Phoenix and Pete Yorn
The Lips: A Visual Feast Topped with a Sonic Onslaught

You know that this is going to be a good show when you see mainman Wayne Coyne out on the stage 30 minutes before his band goes on prepping and preparing his grab bag of treats he’s gonna throw out to the crowd during his band’s set. A non-stop showman, providing a conductor’s mind set with a kids appetite for everything visual- Wayne strikes a chord of letting yourself go- and try your best to stay in the moment. A Wayne mantra might be like- ENJOY THIS NIGHT OR ELSE!
A compulsive master of ceremonies from the start:

1. All band members except Wayne emerge from the most private of parts of a woman’s anatomy amidst a giant LED screen to wave “hello”
2. Wayne in his gigantic bubble rolling through the crowd
3. Confetti- lots and lots of confetti in all shapes and sizes
4. Balloons- lots and lots of balloons of all shapes and sizes
5. More confetti, from canons and shooters
6. Wayne standing on the shoulders of a stage hand in an oversized apesuit
7. Wayne with lots of shakers, playing them to the microphone
8. Lots of cymbal crashing
9. Lots and lots of gong thwacking
10. Couch time onstage with the hand-picked ladies plucked from the audience
11. Muted trumpet playing to a funeral march
12. Megaphone blasting with strobelight attached to Wayne’s chest to emphasize the sonic blsat of optimism of the beauty of life
13. And on and on.

All in all,  a celebration of life and love with a healthy dose of sonic psycedelic freak-out.
Had a great time photographing this spectacle!
Phoenix: Sad to hear the news about the drummer’s mother not in good health…the acoustic set was just ok..simply too short of a set.
Pete Yorn: Decent enough set- talented bunch of musicians.
The night definitely belongs to the Lips and nothing but the Lips…

If this is truly the “Wave Goodbye Tour” as Trent says it is, then his band NIN, is going down with guns ablazin’, heavy mortar fire and all.

The first three songs- “Somewhat Damaged”, “Terrible Lie”, and “Heresy”-are a sampling of what’s for dinner tonight..fiendish music that has to be played at volume 11 with the utmost intensity. The whole show from beginning to end is set in this vibe- with a couple of instrumentals added in for good measure, just barely long enough to catch your breath before the mosh pit and body surfers get their due… Blinding white light darted in and out the entire show, with heavy, dense fogs of dry ice added in for good measure- firing off an eerie WWlll post apocalyptic vibe that sends you reeling and ducking for cover…it absolutely makes you feel like it’s the end of the world..party while you still can, and pick up the remaining scraps for good measure.

What an immense sound system Trent has deployed for this tour- clear and crisp throughout- low end jolting through your sternum like an exchange of canon fire outside of Kabul. Trent is delivering this entire set like a champ: totally convincing with his delivery with his songs, some of which are dated 20 some odd years. Having written these lines, I’m now realizing why he might be wanting to take a break from this type of tour… If I’m feeling worn out after photographing this spectacle, imagine how Trent must feel, 15 some odd dates into this current tour, with another 10 or so to go..it can’t be easy on the body, let alone the vocals..Jack Johnson, this is NOT… And for a man whose 44, give him kudos…lots and lots of kudos. Trent’s totally blown me over, and I imagine I’ve seen Trent approximately 30 times by now.

Accolades have to go to Trent’s band as well…Robin Finck, genius on guitar as always..Justin Meldal-Johnsen, riveting on bass..Ilan Rubin on drums..man can he pound out the beat from beginning to end!
If I had to wrap up this show in one word:

I’d use FRENZIED.
How about two? DENSE and FRENZIED.
How about three? DENSE, FRENZIED and CONVINCING!!

You’ve got to go out and wave goodbye with a bang..a BIG bang..Trent and his band did this and so much more… Street Sweeper Social Club opened the show..I believe Tom Morello and Boots Riley are onto something huge…I mean HUGE..they deserve a separate review of their show, which I’ll provide in the next coming days…stay tuned!

All images © Bobby Talamine and are provided by the photographer for skipthedial.com

Lacuna Coil, Music as a Weapon IV, at Northerly Island, Chicago Ill..

Yes, even though this is Disturbed’s show, headliner’s and all; I’m not really here for them. I’m here for Lacuna Coil, to witness them live, up close and personal. For a six song set- what a treat! The two main songs from their new album “Shallow Life” come off great live: the current single “Spellbound”, along with “I will Survive”. Cristina’s voice is on fire, hitting the upper register with barely no signs of stress(this is, after all the second night of a three in a row on this current tour).

I love watching Cristina sing- when she cranks up her voice while leaning forward on the monitors, you can actually see the main vein in her neck pushing overload…man, she’s committed to win this crowd over! The main problem with being second up on a bill with four bands: you’re usually playing to a half-full house, with people trickling in..and even though their is enthusiastic applause, it’s a limited set for a limited crowd. You’ve got to do your best to make what limited time you have work in your favor-just simply blast away from one song to the next and hope you make some kind of impression…Lacuna Coil accomplished this with no problem.

They are splendid live, a real unified bunch: guitars from Cristiano and Marco just as crisp and tight as on their records, and Cristina and Andrea’s both in fine vocal form from beginning to end. I can’t wait to see them headline someday- with a full set and wicked imagerey- just like I envision in my head..

The rumors are flying and some of the ones that come from credible sources like Greg Kot at the Chicago Tribune sure make me all warm and fuzzy. Mr. Kot mentions four acts in this article ( Tribune Website ) The Killers, Tool, The Decemberists and Lou Reed; Do i need to say more?

If you must insist the Forums at lollapalooza.com has a compilation of the rumors and semi-confirmed, which include:

• The aforementioned bands
• Neko Case
• Atmosphere
• Kaiser Chiefs

Of course non of this means anything untill they are written down in stone, but the sources seem solid, and I for one ( Bobby assures me of this ) believe Greg Kot is a good source, with good sources. The wait is killing me.

It almost seems like only last month that lollapalooza 2008 passed by ( I know its 2009 now but you know what I mean ). Well the dates for the 2009 shows are released ( 08/07/2009 – 08/09/2009 ) and the rumors online abound about who will be coming. So far I’ve heard:

Cold Play
Depeche Mode
Blink 182
Green Day

It would be awesome to see if Jane’s Addiction goes, on the smaller groups Grand Ole Party, Kings of Leon ( not so small anymore I guess since Sex on Fire, this would be a good step forward ).

I will keep wondering who else is coming.

link: lollapalooza.com