August | 2009 | ChinaShop

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Music Alberta Cross

by Dustin Downing and Ryan Patrick Hooper

August 13, 2009 - 11:47 am

On Sunday morning, before Lollapalooza had gained its legs and started running full steam towards complete insanity, a booming rock ‘n’ roll showcase could be heard in the distance. After a mid-morning journey across the festival grounds, side-stepping festivalgoers who had somehow managed to drink themselves beyond recognition within the matter of an hour, we discovered that Alberta Cross was braving the morning humidity to their bring their brand of swaggering six-string chops to the stage. From our position, only the sweet sounds of distorted indulgence could be heard. Upon closer inspection, Alberta Cross unveiled to us the inner workings of their delightfully retro-heavy set and their perceptions on the bliss of the American festival lifestyle.

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Music Arctic Monkeys Melt Chicago

by Max Herman

August 13, 2009 - 11:47 am

Experiencing the music of young UK indie rock stars Arctic Monkeys in both a modest-sized venue and an oversized festival stage tells me a lot of about this group’s immense capabilities.

My first live exposure to this band led by vocalist Alex Turner was at their pre-Lollapalooza show at the Metro on Chicago’s North Side. It’s no surprise that this concert was sold out well ahead of time. While one of the fastest selling bands ever in their home of England, the Arctic Monkeys get a lot of love stateside too.

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Music Care Bears on Fire

by Dustin Downing and Ryan Patrick Hooper

August 13, 2009 - 11:47 am

Standing in the shadow of Yeah Yeah Yeah’s Karen O. in the Lollapalooza media tent on Saturday afternoon, Care Bears On Fire are relatively giggly and notoriously shy as the punk rock youngsters declare their admiration for the flamboyant front woman. “We haven’t said hi to her yet, but we will,” announces Sophie, the braces-sporting 13-year-old guitarist and lead singer for the Brooklyn-based Care Bears On Fire. “She is my absolute role model.” The rest of the girls — 15-year-old bassist Jena, 13-year-old drummer Izzy — quickly agree, coolly glancing over to the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s as they endure their own interview a few feet away.

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Music Blind Pilot at Lollapalooza: Sweetly Seductive

by Ryan Patrick Hooper and Dustin Downing

August 13, 2009 - 11:47 am

The BMI Stage, located on the north side of Grant Park and therefore the north side of Lollapalooza, was a relaxing escape from the set up of the other seven stages at this year’s festival. Completely submerged in the shade of surrounding trees, the stage became home to droves of patrons seeking out a rest from wandering around Grant Park, but also served as a weekend haven for artists bound by the genres of folk, bluegrass and beyond. Blind Pilot, who closed the stage on a windy Saturday afternoon, played into the majestic feeling of being surrounded by the natural elements at one of the most successful urban festivals in the country.

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Music Band of Horses and The Battle for Grant Park

by Ryan Patrick Hooper and Dustin Downing

August 13, 2009 - 11:46 am

On Sunday night, the headliners were set to collide and split Lollapalooza patrons straight down the middle — some would venture over to Jane’s Addiction for Perry Farrell’s flashy arrival in a helicopter (never happened, but a helicopter did awkwardly hover over the audience during the band’s opening song) while others would kick it with The Killers. What wasn’t expected was Lou Reed’s piss-poor performance (reading lyrics from the monitors, relishing in his drawn out 3-minute, dad-rock intros, generally sounding more geriatric than grabbing) would run a solid 20 minutes over the allotted time, leaving Band Of Horses to endure the heat off stage, waiting for their turn. Eventually, Reed had to empty his colostomy bag and Band Of Horses quickly took the reigns, launching into organ-soaked versions of fan favorites “First Song” and “The Great Salt Lake” from 2006 debut Everything All The Time.

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Music As Tall As Lions

by Shop Keeper

August 12, 2009 - 12:42 pm

As Tall As Lions - photo by Shawn Brackbill

The third full-length album by New York’s As Tall As Lions, You Can’t take It With You, is a thoughtful, textured tour de force of soundscapes, vocal harmonies, melodies and insightful lyrics about the modern world. The songs’ subject matter faces head-on the politics of God, love, war, and the human condition while examining everyday struggles such as anxiety, isolation, and money.” With You Can’t Take It With You, the band; vocalist-guitarist Dan Nigro, guitarist Saen Fitzgerald, bassist Julio Tavarez and drummer Cliff Sarcona, has made its smartest and most impressive album to date.

As Tall As Lions – Circles

Album available in stores August 18th 2009

08/11/09     Gothic Theatre, Denver, CO
08/12/09     Murray Theatre, Salt Lake City, UT
08/13/09     Neurolux, Boise, ID
08/14/09     Neumos, Seattle, WA
08/15/09     Wonder Ballroom, Portland, OR
08/17/09     Empire Event Center, Sacramento, CA
08/20/09     The Casbah, San Diego, CA
08/26/09     The Fillmore, San Francisco, CA
08/28/09     Detroit Bar, Costa Mesa, CA
08/29/09     Velvet Jones, Santa Barbara, CA
08/30/09     El Rey Theatre, Los Angeles, CA
08/31/09     El Rey Theatre, Los Angeles, CA

Music The US3 Posse is Back

by Geo Hagan

August 12, 2009 - 12:42 pm

Anyone who went to college parties in the 90′s will recall that when the US3 hit song, Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia) came on, all those hot, scantily-clad sorority chicks would go absolutely bananas – and if they were drunk enough, they might even flash you some totally gratuitous boob. So while you might have moved on to some boring desk job after graduation, the US3 clique, led by funky London producer/instrumentalist Geoff Wilkinson is seven albums deep into their jazz/hip-hop journey and still going strong. Their newest opus is the newly released, harder-edged, stripped-down LP titled stop, think, run.

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Music Animal Collective: The Lollapalooza Zoo

by Max Herman

August 12, 2009 - 12:39 pm

The funny thing about Animal Collective is that even some of its fans have trouble describing what they think of this Baltimore-bred band. After stepping out of the photo pit and into the crowd at their Lollapalooza set at the PlayStation stage, I ran into listeners of Animal Collective that I know, and the most they could say is that they have to be in a certain mood for the music. Is it mood music? Maybe. Of course, the die-hard fans in the front row, with the multi-colored paw tracks painted on their faces might argue otherwise.

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Film There is No Stopping the Funnel of Darkness

by Shop Keeper

August 12, 2009 - 12:29 pm

In a world where people hide in fear and drop to their knees in terror at the sight of a twister on the horizon…one team of psychotic storm chasers stands tall! Ok, they are totally crazy band-mates in a race for the perfect tornado photo but I like a bit of exaggeration. Check out the fresh new web series, Funnel of Darkness, produced by ChinaShop and IFC here. I like pie.

Music Underworld LIVE: Through the Looking Glass

by Neil Feineman

August 12, 2009 - 12:29 pm

That Underworld was triumphant at the Fox Theater in Oakland August 7 wasn’t really a surprise. After two decades of touring, they are self-assured, charismatic performers with a substantial army of tricks. But because they almost play in 20,000 seat venues or festivals, seeing them up close, indoors, in a beautiful venue had “event” written all over it.

So it’s also not surprising that the show was as beautiful as the venue. Underworld has long been known for their impeccable visual taste and everything, from Karl Hyde’s shiny jacket, which could have been equally at home on the shoulders of Judy Garland or Michael Jackson, to brilliant backdrops, floating balls and those moving pillars from the 2007 tour, worked in tandem to prove the point.

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