Gifted but deeply troubled pop-soul singer Amy Winehouse was found dead in her London home today. At this stage, the police are calling her death unexplained and an investigation is underway. After making a critical splash with her 2003 debut, Frank, in the U.K., Winehouse became a worldwide sensation with 2006′s Back To Black, catapulted to omnipresence by her hit Rehab. Her record label, Universal, released a statement today that read in part, “We are deeply saddened at the sudden loss of such a gifted musician, artist and performer.” Beyond her headline grabbing behavior, Winehouse will be remembered for helping spawn a revival of interest in classic R&B and for how brightly her gifts shown in the short time she spent with us.

Photo Gallery Images by: Casey Flanigan

Jazz Fest After Dark :: 05.04.11-05.08.11 :: New Orleans, LA

Jump right to Casey’s shots of ALO & Tea Leaf Green, The Funky Meters, Galactic, Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe and The New Mastersounds by clicking on band’s name!

It is rare to see crowd surfing at a Jazz Fest show, especially by a guy in a cream-colored suit wielding a trombone – David Fricke

Jazz Fest is truly an enigma, a gluttonous musical jamboree like no other, the stuff that dreams are made of. New Orleans is a city that could be described in similar tones, a veritable jungle-gym of sorts for audiophiles to frolic upon, within, and in its essence. When the sun goes down in the Crescent City during Jazz Fest, the freaks come out, and for 2011, to quote a bassist they call Jesus, it was FULL RAGE!! Or as many a fester uttered, It’s a celebration, bitches!! The Big Easy outdid itself once again, hosting a bastion of musical merrymaking that rivals any of the other eight Jazz Fests this writer has attended.

Without any further adieu, here’s the field report from Jazz Fest Nocturnal 2011. Welcome to Planet NOLA! Laissez les bons temps rouler!

Wednesday, May 4

Stanton Moore by Dino Perrucci

Wednesday night unveiled an absurd lineup for the Megalomaniacs Ball at Howlin’ Wolf, a quadruple bill that covered a vast canvas of styles. The Stanton Moore Trio opened up the evening, the drummer flanked by Robert Walter and Scott Metzger. Shortly thereafter, James Singleton’s Illuminasti Trio painted liberating free jazz over spastic hard bop, Mike Dillon‘s large mallets gut-punching the trap kit underneath Singleton’s driving upright bass work as Skerik’s sax led with atypically dark blows bouncing against Steven Bernstein‘s bright, Sephardic-tinged slide trumpet. The Marco Benevento Trio took the stage rather unassumingly and delivered one of the finest hours of music during this blessed weekend. Augmented by substantial contributions from Reed Mathis and John Spiece, dubbed-out meditative grooves searched for new land, a rapture of melodic details, arriving at a bouncy The Real Morning Party. On this raucous romp, the gleeful trio was joined by Stanton Moore, whose childlike frolic on Dillon’s percussion rig highlighted the set.

Benevento has reinvigorated Garage a Trois, evidenced by their feverish set as the evening’s headliner. Showcasing an inspired new record, Always Be Happy, But Stay Evil, GAT unleashed an enraged, punked-up set that married spastic thrashing riffage with spooky, Bitches Brew horror-jazz. Late in the set, Nigel Hall emerged on the B3 and vocals for a humorous take on the improv jam Fuckin’ Wit’ My Clothes On. Mike Dillon was in beast-mode, pogo-ing between vibraphones, percussion toys and punk rock frontman, shirtless in a sombrero. Grabbing the mic, Dillon flexed his inner Beastie, torchin’ and crackin and rhymin’ and stealin’, prodded by his maniacal mates. Drummer Nikki Glaspie and vocalist Corey Glover joined the fray as GAT wailed well into morning, setting Jazz Fest’s second weekend on a robust foundation. The encore began as wildin’ white-boy go-go bounce from the District, and traversed a multitude of styles before landing in Sabbath terra firma – a skronk-afied Sweet Leaf.

Thursday, May 5

Warren Haynes with Preservation Hall Jazz Band by Dino Perrucci

Widespread Panic’s JoJo Hermann curated the eight-hour benefit Down On The Bayou III, which took a hold of Howlin’ Wolf, and is already the stuff of legend. Raising money for the New Orleans Musicians’ Clinic and the New Orleans Musicians Assistance Foundation, over two dozen of New Orleans’ heaviest hitters and their Fest guests shared the stage throughout the night in a multitude of groupings. JoJo’s Mardi Gras Band were the featured act, and 7 Walkers treated festers with a short, explosive set long on good vibes.

7 Walkers drummer Bill Kreutzmann, who spent 30 years holding down the pulse of the greatest American rock band of all time, fully plugged into the Fest spirit, rocking a handful of gigs over the weekend. Kreutzmann was enveloped in Nawlinz, playing cold music to many a barroom floor and performing alongside the likes of Papa Mali, George Porter Jr., Steve Kimock, members of Little Feat, local legend Henry Butler, and countless others. After all these years, Billy is still DEAD to the core.

As if he wielded keys to the Crescent City, Warren Haynes unlocked a revolving door of guests at the Mahalia Jackson Theater, including Man in Motion co-conspirators George Porter Jr. and Ivan Neville. Sporting a dapper red hat, Walter Wolfman Washington howled at the crescent moon during Ain’t No Love in the Heart of the City until he flipped his Kangol backwards and went down on his guitar, tongue, teeth and all. Brian Stoltz and Troy Trombone Shorty Andrews joined the krewe for On Your Way Down, and during Feel Like Breaking Up Somebody’s Home, Shorty’s fervor was contagious, prompting everybody to raise their own bar.

Ruthie Foster announced she just received the American Music Award for Best Female Vocalist before victoriously singing an accapella Grinnin’ in Your Face to open the second set. The Dirty Dozen Brass Band emerged for a dirty, dark rendition of John the Revelator, oozing Crescent City swag. Anders Osborne and Preservation Hall Jazz Band toured the ubiquitous St James Infirmary, where Haynes and Osborne traded soulful verse and lick. The following evening, at the cozy Preservation Hall, the legendary house band and Warren Haynes Band again teamed up for an intimate night of majestic Cajun soul; the diversity and dynamics of this unique pairing were sights and sounds to behold, indeed.

Warren Haynes w/ Lettuce by Greg Aiello

The Royal Family Ball offered a large bill of NOLA and NYC favorite sons, working the Contemporary Arts Center into a feverish dance party for five hours. Early jams from George Porter Jr. and Ivan Neville gave way to an elongated Soulive set, where the boys took turns as trio, and supplemented by the Shady Horns and Donald Harrison and Pee Wee Ellis on saxophones. While Soulive reestablished themselves as a preeminent soul groove band and lathered up the masses proper, it would be the show’s final act, the inimitable Lettuce, who provided the fireworks we have come to expect from the Royal Family at Jazz Fest.

NOLA Jazz Fest ups the funk ante exponentially, a fact not lost on the b-boys in Lettuce, who mercilessly uncorked tightly wound crunk workouts for nearly two hours. Merely two songs into the set, Lettuce unleashed new banger Star-Children, a tune penned long ago by rhythm guitarist Adam Shmeans Smirnoff but finally perfected in rehearsal sessions the day before the Ball. The long-lost bastard son of its P-Funk namesake, this slowed n’ throwed neck-snapper was a bombastic dose of slimy funk with drummer Adam Deitch and bassist E.D. Coomes fearlessly stomping the groove onward, their inner boom-bap makin’ heads bob like emergency brakes. The omnipresent Shady Horns channeled forefathers’ The Horny Horns, and regional ragers Big Sam and Donald Harrison got busy on Blast Off. Nigel Hall arrived on stage tuned up and ready to take it back to D.C. with Chuck Brown-styled go-go (a prevalent theme over the weekend) Making My Way Back Home. The tremendous event culminated in a soaring guest turn from Warren Haynes, who playfully nudged Eric Krasno aside and proceeded to bring the house down with wailing Gibsonics over the Curtis Mayfield medley “We’re a Winner > Move On Up”.

Eric McFadden by Greg Aiello

Heading uptown, we arrived at Tipitina’s Uptown to an enormous scene; a crowded stage and packed house for the only Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe booking of the weekend. Well aware that many acts have taken The King of Late Night’s blueprint and ran with it, Karl D called in the troops to cement his reputation. This was to be a cavalcade of stars; the stage was in constant motion, with players rotating on and off with aplomb. For the first set, KDTU was joined by drummer Terrence Higgins, Bay-Area guitarist Eric McFadden, keyboardist Ivan Neville, and the chameleon-like percussionist Mike Dillon. Once You’re There, the Jazzanova inspired house cut engulfed Fess’s church en fuego!! A spirited cover of “Mexican Radio” tore the roof off to close the opening frame. Jam Cruise veteran Taylor Hicks took his star turn on the legendary Tipitina’s stage. With double drums, double keys all night long, and more horns than you could shake your hips at, this was an absolute eruption; the type of gig that crowned Karl the undisputed King of Late Night many a Fest morning this past decade-plus.

KDTU’s second set was a blur of funkadelic bliss with Nigel Hall, Particle’s Steve Molitz, Marco Benevento and Ivan Neville taking turns with David Veith on various keyboard duels, weaving in and out of Rhodes, B3 and analog synths. Sam Kinninger, Ryan Zoidis, Rashawn Ross and Maurice Mo Betta’ Brown stormed the stage for an elongated take on the Afrobeat ecstasy that is “Elephants,” while former Beyonce drummer Nikki Glaspie, who was everywhere all weekend, forced KDTU drummer John Staten to push the envelope. An imbibed Tony Hall called his shot, offering big smiles and bass gymnastics on a charging “Chance With You,” and Karl D captained the mothership into a new dawn, delivering an otherworldly “Can You Feel It?” all sultry and sexy for the lovers courting sunrise. Until nearly 6 am, KDTU reestablished themselves as THE preeminent late-night juggernaut. A weary and wired Tip massive spilled into the streets exhausted, migrating to early hours watering hole Igor’s for the traditional Jazz Fest morning cap. Here, funkateers, musicians and good Nawlins folk shared stories and glories as the sun beckoned Friday’s arrival.

Friday, May 6

Anders Osborne by Dino Perfucci

Anders Osborne’s Backbeat Presents show at The Temple saw the likes of Bill Kreutzmann, Carl Dufrene, Billy Iuso and the Little Feat duo of Paul Barrere and Fred Tackett join the camelback axeman for a special evening. Former KDTU drummer Eric Bolivar joined Kreutzmann on a second drum kit. In addition to his own material, Osborne dropped classic Grateful Dead (a scorching Franklin’s Tower) and Little Feat (Spanish Moon), as well as CSNY’s Ohio. Anders, in name and note, could be heard frequently throughout the weekend, no matter when or where you were listening.

One of the most crucial Fest experiences is the Creole Queen Riverboat, a mini-Jam Cruise of sorts that sets out on the Mississippi River with a few hundred freaks and heaping portions of funk. Kirk Joseph’s 504 Brass Band, ably assisted by Steve Bernstein, kept asses shaking on deck as we awaited departure, an appropriate soundtrack to the Crescent City skyline illuminated in the distance. Opening for Soulive, the NYC/NOLA supergroup Dr. Klaw demolished this club-on-water, upstaging the headliner with merciless aggressive stomps through crunk netherworlds a bazillion leagues beneath the seas on which we traveled. Led by the warrior Adam Deitch’s bludgeoning beats and capo Nick Daniels‘ vigorous modulation directives, the crew welcomed The Shady Horns to a cramped stage and let loose two choice takes straight from George’s Mothership. Uncompromising and severely dope, both Dr. Funkenstein and Chocolate City crushed astounded spectators, many of whom were unfamiliar with this ruthless posse. Nigel Hall delivered, confident and chiming in with vocals and more bounce to the ounce. A scorching Leave Me Alone, belted out in high register by Daniels and Hall, let everybody on that boat know just exactly what time it was.

Dr. Klaw by Jon Prins

Eric Krasno pulled double duty, playing in Dr. Klaw and captaining the Soulive ship through another sweltering set of their patented Brooklynized bump n’ grind. The Klaw was indeed a tough act to follow. Reduced to their rawest essence though, the Brothers Evans plus Kraz brought that seminal sound, killing them on the Mississippi not-so-softly with classics like Tuesday Night Squad and Do it Again.

Superjams are a hallmark of Jazz Fest, and on this late Friday night in the Quarter, two magnificent options were available. The first was the Bear Creek All-Stars at One Eyed Jacks, where a collective of musicians who have shared the stage at the monumental Bear Creek Music and Art Festival came together at the behest of BCMF Guru/General Paul Levine. His marching orders: Bring the funk. The core group consisted of Eric Krasno, Skerik, Ivan Neville, Alan Evans and Kirk Joseph, but the three-hour expedition incorporated a plethora of diverse players.

Joseph was a star on this night, mimicking the likes of Bootsy Collins and Larry Graham, and doin’ it to death with gulping-bass rolling underneath growls of distortion. Nikki Glaspie took the drum sticks from Evans and proceeded to serve up a lesson on how to make and keep “the pocket.” Lengthy funk grooveathons ensued all night, from The JB’s to The Meters and all points between; with the Shady Horns, Kofi Burbridge, Matt Grondin, and Andrew Block all making their formidable presences felt.

George Porter Jr. by Jon Prins

Late night in the Quarter, George Porter Jr., Brian Stoltz, Adam Deitch, and Marco Benevento united the Big Apple and Big Easy once again (a recurring Fest theme) for one of the finest collaborations of the weekend offering two sets of mind-numbing, Floydian improve. Porter was the mastermind of this tour de force, funkifying The Parish and stoking the flame of drummer wunderkind Deitch and the sonically possessed Benevento. Between these three musicians, the ethos of Jazz Fest, in its purest, most unadulterated emotion, was on display for a truly lucky audience. After an array of improvisational jamming, Benevento steered the crew home with a quirky run through Cee-Lo Green’s Fuck You, which Porter amused for moment before he led them into a powerful take on the War classic Why Can’t We Be Friends?

England’s boogaloo badasses The New Mastersounds stormed the Quarter for a pair of 2 am engagements at the House of Blues. Many artists who performed throughout the weekend dotted the teeming audience, which rabidly grooved to the foursome’s up-tempo until 5 am. Revealing a sack of new tracks from the forthcoming record Breaks from the Border, the Brits were a fine tuned machine. On Make Me Proud!,” Take What You Need and the now-classic Carrot Juice, bassist Pete Shand and drummer Simon Allen led the push toward morning, as Eddie Roberts nimble guitar shone brightly against Joe Tatton‘s massive B3 turns during The Vandenberg Suite. The band was graciously joined by Adam Shmeans Smirnoff (Lettuce, Robert Randolph & The Family Band), vocalist Michelle Sarah (Coppertonic), Robert Walter, and Miles Tackett (Breakestra) over the course of two monster gigs.

Saturday, May 7

Galactic by Dino Perrucci

Another enormous collaborative effort titled “A Night in Treme went down at the Howlin’ Wolf. An all-star affair that culled its playlist from a who’s who of Nawlinz music and culture, this show featured local legends Ivan Neville, Joe Krown, Walter “Wolfman” Washington, and the Rebirth and Treme Brass Bands. Later, Tony Hall led a different localized troop through stomping James Brown covers and funk exercises drenched in boiled Bayou boogie.

Meanwhile, at the Mahalia Jackson Theater, local behemoths Galactic and The Funky Meters united their tribes on an early double bill. Galactic blazed the building with whopping renditions of Boe Money, The Moil and a sinister Crosstown Traffic. Between sets, the groups unified as one, blessing the people with exclusive takes on Night People and Cabbage Alley. Late night at Tipitina’s Uptown, The Greyboy Allstars debuted a load of new material (Multiplier), interspersed with immortal tunes like Planet of the Superkids and Happy Friends. The boogaloo champs then hosted a party on the Riverboat Creole Queen the following evening.

In one of the most intriguing and eclectic bills of the weekend, Insomniac’s party at The Sugar Mill was a throwdown of epic proportions. Two newer bands, Orgone from the West Coast and Toubab Krewe from North Carolina, warmed up the massive with another in a series of impressive performances from this weekend. These young guns brought heat to every room they set foot in all weekend long. The Hot 8 Brass Band, fresh off their dynamite backing of Mos Def the previous weekend and Ms. Lauryn Hill earlier that day, kept the people moving as the star-studded crowd filtered in for Thievery Corporation. And boy did the headliner deliver in spades!

Thievery Corporation by Jimmy Grotting

The Eighteenth Street Lounge crew, led by Rob Garza and a robust backing band, slew The Sugar Mill with authority for two hours of dancehall energy and electro grooves. There was nothing downtempo about this rager; it was soundsystem rollers a’pumpin’, subs a’woofin, the rugged and rump-shaking lower register anchoring soaring ragga melodies set ablaze. Eclectic musicians and instruments abounded, a swollen Thievery Corporation boasting a myriad of femme fatale vocalists, emcees, and sing-jay’s gracing their stage. Garza and company led the entranced crowd through reggae-fueled medleys of their best work. “Lebanese Blond” with its bodily seduction and slinking sitar set it off, and “Until the Morning,” delivered in heart-throttling dubsonics, catapulted the set skyward with triumphant horn breaks and Ras meditation chants proliferating our minds and souls. The set peaked with grandiose forward rush of “The State of the Union” and later “Amerimacka.” Eschewing any world beat tendencies, Thievery channeled the sound clashes of yesteryear, turning The Sugar Mill into a yardie party, the band slamming and sexy with untouchable swagger. One of the greatest out-the-box Fest bookings in recent memory.

Clearly stoked on by Thievery’s colossal display, labelmates Paper Diamond and Break Science stepped their respective games up proper, going into the wee hours at Republic. Alex B began the adventure, dropping the massive Levitate and then taking what Yeezy taught him and putting it to proper use with a colossal remix of Kanye West’s Power. Break Science unleashed an array of extremely varied material – machine gun electro funk, mushroom jazz, hip-hop, dub soundsystem and dubstep, all of it crunk in yo system.

Break Science w/Toubab by Steven Schell

The magnificent marriage of virtuoso that is Borahm Lee and Adam Deitch deconstructed the elements of live electronic music and slashed apart any preconceived notions, only to destroy and rebuild in brick and mortal live before our eyes. Production soaked electro numbers were altered and undressed, then thrown to instrumentation, and vice versa, for an unrestrained adventure in bass mechanics. Mixing the likes of Jay-Z, James Brown, Lee Scratch Perry and running the gamut all over IDM grooves and lighter, beat-oriented passages, this dynamic dub duo reinforced their rep as the best in the game at what they do. To add insult to injury, the boys welcomed saxophone maven Topaz for a heated electro-Afrobeat anthem, whilst members of Toubab Krewe adjoined worldly flavors to the blissful breakbeats. Break Science has arrived They are the future, and the future is now.

Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey covered NOLA literally from top to bottom, playing late-night sets both uptown at the Maple Leaf; and deep in the Quarter at the Blue Nile. Brian Haas and the revamped Oklahoma faction welcomed Johnny Vidacovitch, Steven Bernstein, Jeff Coffin, Mark Southerland and Matt Leland to their stage for a newfangled Fred equinox. Chris Combs‘ lap steel playing has added a fresh frontier to both the sound of JFJO and the maniacal brain of Fred founder Haas. Their Maple Leaf gig didn’t wrap until after 7:15 am, truly a breakfast of champions.

Billed as The Prophylactics, New Orleans crunk titans Galactic rendered a special secret show late Saturday night at One Eyed Jacks. Announced on the humble, this was an exclusive gig, and Galacticfunk was in full effect on the very streets they first cut their teeth on over 15 years ago. The intimate concert starred an array of Fest guests, as native son Cyril Neville, guitarist Jonathan Freilich and keyboardist Robert Walter enhanced the krewe, swelling their already globular sound to outrageous proportions. The horn section of Naughty Professor also got in on the routine. On this night, the baby faced, youthful exuberance and furious bass work of Robert Mercurio spearheaded G-funk’s prophylactic attack until six in the mornin’.

Sunday, May 8

Dumpstaphunk by Dino Perrucci

Perhaps the most talented and influential drummer in New Orleans during the weekend, Zigaboo Modeliste and his Funk Revue opened things up at Howling Wolf for the Fest’s final Sunday night. Zigaboo was selfless, spacious and empowered – no unnecessary contact was made between stick and skin. Later, Dr John and the Lower 911, with Ken “Afro” Williams, Shannon Powell and a three piece horn section, laid down an immortal New Orleans groove. Delivering a 15-minute “Qualified,” a spirited cover of Ray Charles’ Mess Around, Cajun-sizzle rhythms and way funky blues in a monster set that had Festers shaking til 3 am, the Night Tripper put pungent punctuation on the flambeaux festivities.

True to tradition, Dumpstaphunk had the honor of closing out the Fess Jazztival at Tipitina’s Uptown, this year being a Mother’s Day mambo at the corner of Napoleon and Tchoupitoulas Streets. Though Festers and the bands were on their proverbial last legs, this was indeed a very funky fais do-do. The first set was firing D-Phunk, bursting out the gates with Gasman Chronicles at a breakneck pace. Nick Daniels sang The Big Payback with Raymond Weber nailing the Clyde hits as guest Skerik added a devilish, demented pimp strut. Ian and Ivan Neville shined on Sly Stone’s Stand, and Cyrille Neville rode in to bless a set closing Chug a Lug. To bring it home, good replaced evil (in the form of Karl Denson relieving Skerik for the second set) and the Diesel tore through Paper Chasin’ Britney and Oughta Know Betta, Appropriately, a subterranean Deeper closed down Tipitina’s 2011 Fest.

Skerik by Jon Prins

An impromptu lagniappe hoedown developed at Siberia on St. Claude later Sunday night, as Nigel Hall, Nikki Glaspie, Kofi Burbridge and others showed up for a loud and late jam session, but the NOPD came and shut it down. Big Sam hosted The Funky Butt Revisited at the Blue Nile, along with Marco Benevento, Doug Wimbish and Khrys Royal. Meanwhile, this writer followed in Skerik’s footsteps and made one final venture into vieux carre’ for a final dose of Garage a Trois’ paroxysmal dementia at d.b.a. Closing Fest 2011 with four of the hardest working men in the game (Stanton Moore played 27 Jazz Fest engagements in ten days!), this absurd freak show unraveled whatever energies may have been left within revelers and bartenders alike. Somehow, these four tyrants managed to play past 5 am with the same chaotic fury that they greeted us with upon arrival about 110 hours earlier.

When it was over, my feet hurt, my heart swelled, and we finally rested. I packed up the fly-guy attire, finished a final Igor’s Bloody Mary (or mimosa), and departed back to reality. There really ain’t much left to be said other than a glorious chorus of Thank You’s!! to the musicians who cheated death and kept crazy hours to deliver us all week, to the bartenders and staffs at the abundance of venues that hosted our soirees, to Igor’s for tolerating early morning shenanigans that are better left unsaid, and lastly, the loudest and largest salutations to the wondrous City of New Orleans, the gift that keeps on giving.

Continue reading for Casey Flanigan’s killer pics of late night at Tipitina’s…

ALO & Tea Leaf Green at Tipitina’s

Continue reading for more pics of ALO & TLG…

Continue reading for more pics of ALO & TLG…

Continue reading for pics of The Funky Meters…

The Funky Meters at Tipitina’s

Continue reading for pics of Galactic…

Galactic at Tipitina’s

Continue reading for pics of Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe…

Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe at Tipitina’s

Continue reading for pics of The New Mastersounds…

The New Mastersounds at House of Blues

Continue reading for more pics of NMS at HOB…

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[Railroad Revival Tour] Images by: John Margaretten

Jump right to pics from the Railroad Revival Tour launch in Oakland here!

Mumford & Sons :: 04.18.11 :: Santa Barbara Bowl :: Santa Barbara, CA

Mumford & Sons by L. Paul Mann

Mumford & Sons came out of what the English music press has labeled the new West London folk scene, has been on a meteoric fast track to success since they formed in late 2007. Lead singer Marcus Mumford disputes the label of the folk scene, and the lumping of his band with other groups who sprang up in London around the same time like Noah and the Whale, Laura Marling and Johnny Flynn. Mumford & Sons really is a mixture of influences, from American bluegrass, traditional folk sounds from the British Isles and modern rock, but what sets their electrifying music apart from countless others is their incredible penchant for glorious harmonies. The band really has more in common with harmonic rock legends like Crosby, Stills and Nash or Canada’s Barenaked Ladies. But whatever you want to call their music, the sound has captured the imagination of countless fans and catapulted the band to international renown.

Their loyal fans, many of whom came from up and down the California coast and swarmed local hotel rooms on a normally quiet Monday night in April, arrived early. By the time opening act The Tallest Man On Earth appeared onstage, most in the sold out crowd had already found their seats. The Tallest Man On Earth is actually an oxymoron of a moniker for tiny Swedish singer and guitar player named Kristian Matsson. The little man with a big voice was a perfect opener for the harmonious Mumford & Sons. Sounding a bit like a young, Swedish version of Bob Dylan, the animated singer tore through a 30-minute set of catchy ballads. Much like all the members of the headline band, Matsson expresses an exuberant personality with exaggerated looks of joy often etched across his young smiling face. He played an assortment of folk inspired songs, with a strong voice and some masterful guitar strumming. His set included a cover of John Hartford’s Gentle On My Mind, a very Dylan-y Love Is All, an almost flamenco style song with some witty lyrics called King of Pain, and finally, with the help of guest singer Amanda Bergman, a harmonious Thrown Right At Me.

Ben Lovett w/ Mumford Horns by L. Paul Mann

Mumford & Sons triumphantly appeared as a near-full moon rose out of the Pacific Ocean over the Santa Barbara skyline. They instantly had the adoring crowd in their control, leading them in a singing, dancing and clapping frenzy. The band – consisting of Marcus Mumford, (guitar, vocals, drums, mandolin), Ben Lovett (vocals, keyboards, accordion, drums), Winston Marshall (vocals, banjo, dobro) and Ted Dwane (vocals, bass, drums, guitar) – seemed to be reveling in the moment of their success, unlike many of the new shoe gazing pop stars of late. The whole band laughed and smiled and bantered with the crowd between sets.

Coming straight off of their April 16th performance on the main stage at the massive Coachella Music Festival, where Marcus had exclaimed to that crowd, This was the biggest gig we have ever played, the band seemed giddy with excitement. Unfortunately for Mumford fans at Coachella, the band was relegated to a 50-minute set, which actually ended up being only about 45 minutes due to technical issues that seemed to plague many of the acts on the main stage throughout the three day festival. The most infamous of these delays was the disastrous set by Cee Lo Green, who arrived late and had his mic turned off after only 20 minutes. But in Santa Barbara Mumford & Sons played a relatively marathon set, lasting nearly an hour and forty five minutes. Marcus exclaimed to the crowd, This is the longest set we have ever played, sending cheers erupting to the back of the Bowl, where fans were packed in, shoulder to shoulder to the very last row. With only one album, Sigh No More, released to date, the band played nearly every track before delving into new material from their forthcoming new recording. The newer material exhibited new, more intricate layers of sound than their earlier material. As band members constantly changed instruments and shared vocal duties, it seemed evident that the group has continued to innovative fresh new sounds over their short time together.

Mumford & Sons played a cover of Old Crow Medicine Show’s Wagon Wheel as part of an extended encore. Ben Lovett quipped near the end of their set, The first time we played in California was in a Los Angeles cafe in front of about twenty people. Then he added a moment later, beaming a huge toothy smile, Same songs.

Setlist
Sigh No More, Roll Away Your Stone, Winter Winds, White Blank Page, Nothing Is Written (new song), Hopeless Wanderer (new song), Timshel, Little Lion Man, Lover of the Light (new song), Thistle & Weeds, After the Storm, Below My Feet (new song) , Awake My Soul, Dust Bowl Dance
Encore: Wagon Wheel (Old Crow Medicine Show cover), Lover’s Eyes (new song), The Cave

Continue reading for more pics from Santa Barbara…

Continue reading for pics from Mumford & Sons inaugural Railroad Revival Tour with Old Crow Medicine Show and Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros…

Images by: John Margaretten

Railroad Revival Tour with Mumford & Sons, Old Crow Medicine Show and Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
04.21.11 :: Middle Harbor Shoreline Park :: Oakland, CA

Old Crow Medicine Show

Continue reading for pics of Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros…

Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros

Continue reading for pics of Mumford & Sons…

Mumford & Sons

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In its 9th year, Lightning in a Bottle returned after a year off to a much more
magnified scale, with a new site at Oak Canyon Ranch, a massive line up and three stages
of some of electronic music’s best and brightest. For three days, a little over 7,000
scantily-clad hipsters, Burners and a surprisingly healthy amount of families and pre-
pubescent youngsters congregated in SoCal, dancing, twirling and hooping 24/7 to the likes
of The Glitch Mob, Eliot Lipp, Beats Antique, Adam Freeland, MIMOSA, Booka Shade and
dozens of others. For those looking to broaden their horizons and reach ultimate
enlightenment, there were workshops day and night, offering Buddhist yoga, Growing Energy
Labs, Kundalini Dance and a plethora of renowned speakers.

What resulted was an intelligently designed, well executed time of your life
situated on the banks of a beautiful lake in the middle of seemingly nowhere. There were
glowing sunsets over rising foothills, enough feather and leather to clothe two entire
villages and plenty of shining, happy people to put a smile on even the smuggest of grins.
No trash, no violence, no drama-just what a California festival thrown by party masters
The Do Lab should be.

FRIDAY

Marty Party-10:00-Bamboo Stage

Marty Party can be straight fire. Lucky enough to see him several times in San
Francisco, each time Marty Party comes onstage, the exuberance and excitement is soon
followed by a ballistic barrage of bass. This set was nothing short of BOOM, as he
brought the first explosion of the night with a brain-shifting remix of The Beatles
Eleanor Rigby that seemingly had the entire crowd getting low and many heads starting to
bang. Look to your side, you might even find a few people singing, All the lonely
people, where do they all belong? to a heavy onslaught of speaker-shifters. More
impressive was Marty Party’s amazing The xx Infinite remix. If there were a certified
panty dropper that Friday night, this would’ve surely made a run for it. As soon as into
transitioned into the Would you be my fucking boyfriend acapella spilled over the dirty
dub step beat, the Bamboo Stage went wet and wild. With girls dancing all around him and
spectral lasers overhead, Marty Party expanding upon Daddy Kev’s energy and proved a
worthy fun maker to say the least.

EOTO-10:45-Lightning Stage

Some sets at festivals you love, and some you don’t. EOTO was one of the latter. I honestly just couldn’t into their set. To each his own; but to me, the songs generally failed to gain any substantial traction and flow.

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Kraddy-11:45-Bamboo Stage

This set was straight auditory butter; slow, smooth and full of flavor. His Android
Porn provides about enough deep bass, Depends diapers were surely in order. Since
departing from The Glitch Mob a year ago to pursue a solo career, Kraddy has grown as an
artist and producer, shifting focus to more heavy, dirty, nasty music he would say. His
set had a soulful hue behind it, evoking a clearly composed, concisely paced collection of new material that had everyone moving from the first bass drop.

Booka Shade-12:30am-Lightning Stage

German electrohouse duo Booka Shade under the stars on the main, Lightning Stage was a
treat. Here, a large open field, lined with lush foliage and punctuated by a myriad of
cascading lights providing a gorgeous backdrop for a night of electronic music. Not
having seen them live before, I had no idea of their stage set up and just how interesting
and different it is to watch a drummer standing the entire show. The combination of
Walter Merzinger and Arno Cammermeier turned LIB into an outdoor European dance club, with
pure driving electro beats creating a dance party under the stars. Performing songs off
their brand new album More!, the duo’s set was without a doubt a crowd pleaser, as many
in attendance had Booka Shade at the very top of their LIB To Do Lists. To me, it was a
pleasant departure for the booming bass fest of the previous acts.

SATURDAY

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Luminaries-12:30pm-Lightning Stage

Lunch time Saturday involved finding some shade from the rising heat near some of the
amazing art that graced the festival grounds. Situated across the vendor strip from the
half dozen or so organic food vendors and nearby the Art Gallery, a collection of tens of
beautiful paintings, part of the Lightning in a Paintcan series, were directly in front of
us as the Luminaries performed in the midday sun. Directly behind where we were sitting
was a quaint pond, complete with a walking bridge across the water below. After a
tumultuous time trying to get to the festival and all that fat bass and fun times that
ensued thereafter, it was nice to take a seat, relax and listen to some rootsy hip hop in
the shade.

Nosaj Thing-6:30-Bamboo Stage

Nosaj Thing is the man. He’s so intricately creative, that each time out he manages to
put together a set nothing short of genius. I don’t know how he does it and makes it look
so effortless and smooth, but the LA-based beat maker surely can throw it down with the
best of them, and do it with such style. Watching him flow and the effort he puts into
his live production, there’s no wonder jaws were dropping left and right watching his
quick prowess manipulating and driving a multifaceted concoction of candid creativity.
But then, it was over. For a reason unbeknownst to me, he left the stage with plenty of
time left and on came Random Rab.

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Ott-6:30-Lightning Stage

With the quick departure of Nosaj from the Bamboo Stage, a couple of us ended up
venturing over to Ott’s set at the Lightning Stage. A good friend of mine who I hadn’t
seen in a way too long was running production at this stage, so it was nice to catch up
while watching Ott from behind the sprawling wooden stage. That’s my favorite vantage
point, to experience the show, the crowd and that interaction from the artist’s
perspective. His dub-based sound was eagerly welcomed from the main stage’s crowd, as
London’s Ott danced between the giant wooden pillars that graced the stage’s faade. As
the setting sun quickly approached, we meandered back towards Random Rab’s explorations
already in progress.

Random Rab-7:45-Bamboo Stage

The festival’s resident DJ this year was surely Random Rab. He’d performed in the
giant bathtub (yes, a massive tub with showers and naked people galore) along at the
bottom of the hill earlier in the day and now he was getting an extra long set and people
loved it. His emo tinged; delightful down tempo was the perfect soundtrack to the setting
sun over the mountains in the background. There were countless moments throughout the
weekend where, when you moved your head away from the bass and thump and really took in
the beautiful surroundings you were kind of left in awe. Not a cloud in the sky, perfect
temperature situated right next to a glistening blue lake in the heart of the mountains.
It was truly an epic experience of getting back to nature. For someone who almost never
gets out of the city life it was certainly a phenomenal feeling.

Ellot Lipp-9:00-Bamboo Stage

Top three set of the weekend, hands down. Eliot Lipp’s stock has steadily risen in my
book over the years and his LIB performance took the cake. His timing was impeccable, his
beats were downright delicious and at the end of the day, Lipp was the total dance party
set of the weekend. He deftly incorporates slick and dirty bass lines with an up-tempo,
decidedly funky delivery, capably stimulating the LIB crowd to fall into his throwback
beat bump funk. The Brooklyn transplant, not unlike Nosaj earlier, is an artist that
thrives in the live setting, and the catapult the crowd added made for one of the premier
sets of the weekend.

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Lucent Dossier Experience-11:30-Lightning Stage

This is indeed, an experience. Lucent Dossier’s collection of acrobats, dancers, crazy
toys and stage antics provided a sweat-soaked, sexually-charged rendezvous into everything
The Do Lab. Bringing magic, fire and sound with them, this troupe of creatively charged
artists proved that indeed, they at the core are a playground for the innovative genius
child in all of us.

Beats Antique-12:30-Lightning Stage

Beats Antique headlined Saturday night and brought with them a big band sound and set
up that I wasn’t quite expecting. What I thought would be the trio of David Satori,
Sidecar Tommy and belly dancer Zoe Jakes had evolved into accordions, horns, strings and
enough Middle Eastern meets big bass sound to entice just about any and every LIB
attendee. If there were one purely classifiable Burner moment, this set would be it.
Choreographed beautiful women dancing to glitched-out breaks met Arabian Nights into one
melodious melange of old sound taken into new directions.

SUNDAY

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Sweet Snacks-11:45am-Bamboo Stage

This was absolutely hilarious. Branding themselves in the illustrious K-Pop genre,
Sweets Snacks is a playful little ditty with a French MC and everyone decked out in mini
shorts and 80′s shades. They essentially are a glorified karaoke band with a quirky
demeanor, think early Devo on whippets.

Emancipator-7:00-Bamboo Stage

Emancipator turned out a great piece of music on Sunday, playing a fine tailored set of danceable down tempo. I looked forward to his set coming into LIB and coupled with the approaching sunset situated directly behind the open stage, Emancipator delved deeply in his repertoire, at one time mashing up Sigor Ros and Mobb Deep into one beautiful,
cohesive slice of art pie. As the sun dropped, Emancipator’s crowd grew, offering Asian-
inspired backdrops that put a happy vibe sheathe over the Bamboo Stage’s onlookers.

Daedalus-9:30-Bamboo Stage

Daedalus’ set started off great. He came out with vigor and energy, delivering a dose
of decadent dance floor beats that made me second guess who I was seeing at the time. It
was rather unexpected judging by the other live Daedalus sets I’d witnessed in the past.
But, then it got weird. Tempos slowed, stopped and the set began to sound a bit off. You can’t win em all and I’m sure a drink and bathroom run was in order.

Speaking to that, The Do Lab did an absolutely fantastic job with the site layout and
the availability and frequency of water faucets, clean toilets and drinks made for such an enhanced festival experience. All the short walks, no lines and cheaply priced food,
drinks and ice were much appreciated.

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MIMOSA-10:45-Bamboo Stage

This kid is on fire! Over the last year Tigran Mimosa has been blowing up the West
Coast and beyond with his new school SF dub step. By combining a barrage of chainsaw bass with a feathering of melodic, mind-mesmerizing layers, MIMOSA performed an hour-plus set of pure bass knockers. Even his new down tempo’ material makes your chest thump and
almost automates getting those knees bent, all in preparation for his boisterous remix of
Rihanna’s Rude Boy.

Not having mentioned just how impressive LIB’s sound systems were yet, I have to say
that The Do Lab truly outdid themselves this year, with speaker stacks that enjoyed
auditory pummeling day and night. Crystal clear big bass was the norm and at a point or
two during MIMOSA’s set, I actually put my finger in my ear to make sure it wasn’t
bleeding. It was that loud that it was surprising the giant bamboo shoots that comprised
the stage didn’t shift a bit.

The Glitch Mob-12:45-Lightning Stage

There’s a reason The Glitch Mob was left to play the last set of 2010′s Lightning in a
Bottle. Well, there’s several. With the release of their new debut album, Drink the
Sea, the trio forged into new artistic and creative territory. Comprised of edIT, Ooah
and Boreta, The Glitch Mob took the stage before 1:00am Memorial Day and straight tore the
roof off the Lightning Stage, well, if there was one. Now playing more focused than ever,
the trio ripped through a number of scorching songs off the new album, including Bad
Wings and Drive It Like You Stole It, sometimes on electronics, while others switching
to bass, guitar and drums. After debuting their new stage set up at Coachella with three
separate stations and the incorporation of live instruments and their iPad-like live music
gizmos, The Glitch Mob showcased a new-fangled sound driven on hard, precise beats and
enough energy to drive a crowd completely insane.

The set’s culmination and maybe the festival’s peak came in their ultra explosive
rendition of TV on the Radio’s Red Dress, a pure fire panty dropper. Go ahead put your
red dress on met robotic, glticy bass as edIT, Oaah and Boreta moved effortlessly as one,
concluding LIB and cementing it as a premier event in a premier setting put together by a
premier group of people.

JamBase | Lightning

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