Sunday @ Street Scene 07: Air saves the day
One of the few perks we get in return for writing for this hip little alt-weekly is the occasional press pass to relatively large (and some not-so-large) music events. Many thanks to Troy for pulling the strings to snag us a few passes for this year’s Street Scene. I probably wouldn’t have made it out this this time around if it weren’t for his efforts.
When this year’s lineup was announced, I must admit I was a little less than thrilled. There were a couple artists I was excited about—Sondre Lerche, The Album Leaf, The Crystal Method, Kinky—but for the most part it sounded to me like an MTV-sponsored mainstream-a-thon. Come to think of it, though, I wouldn’t expect anything less from a Live Nation show.
Here’s the lowdown on Sunday’s show—at least, my version of it:
Before arriving at Coors Amphitheatre, which is quite literally next-door to Mexico, I previewed Sunday’s schedule to make sure I knew when and where my favorite artists would be playing. The late addition of my new favorite electronic act from the U.K., Simian Mobile Disco, was clearly going to be the highlight of the day—or so I thought.
I grabbed my press pass at the front gate and, upon learning that this lovely pass granted me access to the backstage area and artist lounge, you can guess where I headed first.
Hello, Arctic Monkeys! Good afternoon, Spoon! You’re looking rather dapper today, Mr. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. It’s a pleasure eating lunch with you, Air!
It was honestly a bit overwhelming trying to figure out which artists were which back there. I recognized so many faces but could only recall a handful of their names. But did that keep me from schmoozing with them? No, ma’am, it did not.
Sure enough, one of the first artists I ran into was frizzy-haired James Ford from Simian Mobile Disco. I chatted with him about his gig last night at the Echoplex in Los Angeles, which a few of my friends attended and said was amazing. I learned from Ford that the original plan for SMD’s performance at Street Scene had been botched.
“It was a bit of a fuck up,” Ford said. “We thought we were doing a live set—we have all of our gear here and everything—but something happened and now we’re only doing a DJ set.”
His spectacularly hot British accent sounded genuinely upset about the snafu. I expressed my sadness for not being able to see a real Simian Mobile Disco gig, the same one my friends had all raved about from the night before.
Within a few moments I found the skinny and blonde Jas Shaw, the other half of SMD, who clarified the issue for me.
“We found out two days ago that it wasn’t going to be a live gig,” Shaw explained. “Apparently there’s no time to turn over the stage between sets. But the people before us are only DJing, as well, so I don’t understand what the problem is, why they couldn’t have had our stuff set up off to the side.”
Shaw said he had been having fun on SMD’s U.S. tour, but admitted his distaste for the whole Street Scene experience, in general.
“They’ve really been awful to us here,” he said. “There are so many restrictions for everything. ‘You can’t go there with that cup. You can’t do this. You can’t do that.’ It’s really insane.”
I witnessed firsthand what Shaw was talking about while watching their performance. There was an overzealous security guard at the front of the Mission Stage, just behind the barrier between the audience and the “photo pit” (the place where all of the press pass-wielding photographers congregate). He spent the majority of SMD’s set trying to shoo away a group of four or five young, fun-loving, Asian raver girls who were, according to him, dancing far too close to the barrier.
I asked him what the girls were doing that was making him so insistent on keeping them back. He mumbled something about not wanting everyone in the place to rush the stage all at once, because, you know, ravers are dangerous.
Clearly, restrictions and security were the big themes of the day at Street Scene.
Nonetheless, we all continued dancing to SMD’s deliciously glitchy and tech-y beats until the end of their set.
I uploaded a couple videos of SMD’s audience here and here.
Unfortunately, because I was at SMD, I missed The Album Leaf, who I am told played only four songs. From what I gathered, they were experiencing some audio difficulties which prevented them from playing a full set. Too bad. I hear they’re pretty decent in a live setting.
I perused a few of the other stages for the next couple hours. None of the shows really stood out as “amazing” or “incredible” for me, but it’s always fun watching the hipster kids act a little crazy in their white sunglasses and tight pants. And believe me, there was certainly no shortage of young hipsters in today’s crowd. When you hear girls squeal deafeningly about the rumor of a possible surprise appearance by My Chemical Romance, you know you’re in trouble.
As day turned into night, I was worried that I might not find another decent show before I went home. That was until I saw Air.
Holy Jesus, Air, you saved the day!
I’ve been a fan of this little downtempo French band for quite some time but have somehow never seen them perform live. And tonight, they were phenomenal. They played quite the crowd pleasing set: “Sexy Boy”, “Talisman”, “Kelly Watch The Stars”, “Cherry Blossom Girl”, etc. (click on links for videos of each song’s performance from earlier tonight). It sounded as good as listening to them on an album, but with small bits of improvisation that made the music even more appealing than the recorded version. They closed their set with a semi-extended version of “La Femme D’Argent”, which made the crowd explode with gratitude. I realized at the end of it that my cheeks were sore because I had been smiling for the entire duration of their performance.
Aside from SMD’s dance-y DJ set, Air’s was truly the only performance that salvaged the Street Scene experience for me. Merci beaucoup, Air!
As for the rest of the day, it doesn’t say much about the future of Street Scene. Based on this year’s otherwise lackluster performances, I can’t say my hopes are very high.
A note to whiny, screamy “rock” band Brand New: please, please, for the love of decent music, follow through on your promise to play your “last show ever” in Hawaii tomorrow night. Think of it as your gift to humanity.
C’mon, San Diego, can’t we do a little bit better?
Sondre Lerche was ah-mazing. His band was awesome at the Belly Up a few months back, but he was even more incredible solo on the lawn stage. He kicked some serious solo ass. Plus, this boy is fiiiiiiiiiiine!
The Album Leaf was good, but perhaps not the best setting for them. I did go and hit a few balls in the MLB batting cage that was right by the stage, and they provided a decent soundtrack for my big league fantasies.
Spoon is always fun. The Sweet & Tender Hooligans were entertaining in a totally campy cover band guilty pleasure sorta way. Air was fantabulous. So happy to finally see them live. Sucked they were on late, but their pure French radness was worth the wait. And finally, we strolled over to the Arctic Monkeys who were absolutely killing the main stage. I’ve seen these boys several times, and they always impress.
So….. overall I have very mixed reviews on the festival. First of all, I have to admit that Coors was an improvement over the parking-lot-scene at Qualcomm. It was pretty easy to move around and hop from stage to stage. Of course, that could be due to the fact that the crowd was less than 1/2 capacity (my guess). But $10 parking? Wtf? I have never paid to park at Coors before. Lame. And $10 beers? For Coors Light? Really? Are you kidding me? Although, I did notice that the ridiculous price of alcohol did reduce the number of totally shitfaced idiots puking and stumbling all up in my space. And they did keep the trademark Street Scene “parade” just after sunset, with belly dancers, and stilt dancers, and drum processions, and stuff. But the corporate influence could not be escaped. And aside from a few gems, the lineup was blah. And I concur Brand New was total audio garbage. All in all, it was better than my worst fears, but there is some definite room for improvement. I think it would be best if they just give up, and rename the festival. Otherwise, it will always be compared to its former greatness. Released from this comparison, perhaps another worthy festival of eclectic acts will rise from the ashes?
Sondre Lerche was ah-mazing. His band was awesome at the Belly Up a few months back, but he was even more incredible solo on the lawn stage. He kicked some serious solo ass. Plus, this boy is fiiiiiiiiiiine!
The Album Leaf was good, but perhaps not the best setting for them. I did go and hit a few balls in the MLB batting cage that was right by the stage, and they provided a decent soundtrack for my big league fantasies.
Spoon is always fun. The Sweet & Tender Hooligans were entertaining in a totally campy cover band guilty pleasure sorta way. Air was fantabulous. So happy to finally see them live. Sucked they were on late, but their pure French radness was worth the wait. And finally, we strolled over to the Arctic Monkeys who were absolutely killing the main stage. I’ve seen these boys several times, and they always impress.
So….. overall I have very mixed reviews on the festival. First of all, I have to admit that Coors was an improvement over the parking-lot-scene at Qualcomm. It was pretty easy to move around and hop from stage to stage. Of course, that could be due to the fact that the crowd was less than 1/2 capacity (my guess). But $10 parking? Wtf? I have never paid to park at Coors before. Lame. And $10 beers? For Coors Light? Really? Are you kidding me? Although, I did notice that the ridiculous price of alcohol did reduce the number of totally shitfaced idiots puking and stumbling all up in my space. And they did keep the trademark Street Scene “parade” just after sunset, with belly dancers, and stilt dancers, and drum processions, and stuff. But the corporate influence could not be escaped. And aside from a few gems, the lineup was blah. And I concur Brand New was total audio garbage. All in all, it was better than my worst fears, but there is some definite room for improvement. I think it would be best if they just give up, and rename the festival. Otherwise, it will always be compared to its former greatness. Released from this comparison, perhaps another worthy festival of eclectic acts will rise from the ashes?
don’t ask me why that posted twice, or why i can’t edit a post to fix it. sorry. i’m lame.
That reminds me! I forgot to mention the medium-sized pile of vomit I almost stepped in backstage after Air’s performance. There was apparently still a small contingent of “totally shitfaced idiots” in the place. Luckily, for the rest of the crowd, they kept their puking selves relatively hidden from the other concertgoers.
I agree with you, Ursula. The name Street Scene needs to be put to rest.
Air was like a modern-day cross between The Bee Gees (look) and Air Supply (sound). Booooooring! On the other hand, Arctic Monkeys are my new favorite band. The upside to reduced attendance is no wait for the crapper. And I wonder how many $10 Coors Lights were sold.
I’ll agree with you on the Bee Gees statement, at least when referring to Nicolas Godin’s shaggy hair and package-hugging white jeans, but Air Supply? Really?? They were waaaay better than Air Supply!
Dave, you kill me.
OK, OK, you’re right. I think that at that moment, I just wanted to rock. And Air wasn’t rocking. Not in the slightest. I like my Air coming out of my home speakers.
I seriously almost pissed my pants laughing when you pointed out the long lost Gibb brother on stage.