Boston Calling 2013 Preview

While alternative music festivals used to just be the province of Great Britain (QRO U.K. Festival Guide), they’ve long since expanded to all four corners of North America (QRO...
Boston Calling 2013 Preview

Boston Calling 2013 Preview
While alternative music festivals used to just be the province of Great Britain (QRO U.K. Festival Guide), they’ve long since expanded to all four corners of North America (QRO North American Festival Guide) – well, almost all four corners, as the Northeast has been mostly overlooked.  There have been some stabs from elsewhere, like the ill-fated American version of London’s Field Day back in the nineties, or Coachella coming east in All Points West, but they haven’t stuck.  But now the Northeast is taking care of itself, as New York’s alt-star concert promoter Bowery Presents comes to Beantown in Boston Calling, two great days of music right in the center of town, Saturday & Sunday, May 25th & 26th:

 

 

SATURDAY, MAY 25th

fun., 9:00 PM, Main Stage

One of the most successful new pop/rock bands recently is New York’s fun. (QRO photos at a festival), who scored a hit last year with Some Nights (QRO review) and an engaging (and yes, fun) live show (QRO live review).  The young band (QRO photos at a festival) have already graduated to special events (QRO photos), international tours (QRO photos aboard) and festivals (QRO photos at festival abroad), and headlining status for Boston Calling – still not as big as playing The Colbert Report’s ‘Pepsi Presents Stephest ColbChella ‘012 Rocktaugustfest’ (QRO photos)…
fun.
Marina & The Diamonds, 7:45 PM City Hall Stage

Great Britain has been putting out accomplished, interesting pop songstresses at an incredible rate, such as Adele (QRO live review), Ellie Goulding (QRO live review), and the woman who came in second to Goulding in the BBC ‘Sound of 2010’ poll, Marina Diamandis (QRO photos) – or Marina & The Diamonds (QRO photos at a festival), who comes to Boston Calling as part of her big U.S. tour (QRO photos in U.S.).
Marina & The Diamonds
The Shins, 6:30 PM, Main Stage

The Shins (QRO photos) are back!  The Shins are back!  The band (QRO live review) that caused Zach Braff (and the world) to fall in love with Natalie Portman in Garden State had one of the most-anticipated & best-received records of 2007 in Wincing the Night Away (QRO review).  Then the band (QRO photos) left label Sub Pop, and soon started losing members around main man James Mercer, who eventually put The Shins on hold to work with Danger Mouse as the middling Broken Bells (QRO album review).  But Mercer & whoever makes up the rest of The Shins (QRO photos at a festival) now are back, reclaiming their indie crown with last year’s great Port of Morrow (QRO review).  They’re once again playing big stages (and big shows, like Austin City LimitsQRO live review on Austin City Limits) and big festivals (QRO photos at a festival), and are perfect for Boston Calling (QRO photos at a festival).
The Shins
Portugal. The Man, 5:30 PM, City Hall Stage

This West Coast draws from far up its shore with Alaska’s Portugal. The Man (QRO photos at a festival).  The rambling grunge outfit garnered new fans with 2007 sophomore release Church Mouth (QRO review), and its unhinged alt-rock (QRO live review), though slipped somewhat since then, even while finally playing Europe (QRO photos at a European festival) and becoming a festival favorite (QRO photos at a festival).  Their major label debut The Mountain In the Cloud (QRO review), is more psych-lite, but they still bring it live (QRO live review), and come to Boston Calling (QRO photos at a festival) in the run-up to the June release of follow-up Evil Friends.
Portugal. The Man
Matt & Kim, 4:30 PM, Main Stage

Serious, long-time ‘Friends of the Q’ (QRO spotlight on), it’s been great watching Matt & Kim (QRO photos at a festival) blow up so seriously – without losing their infectious cheer (QRO live review). Singer/keyboardist Matt Johnson (QRO interview) and drummer Kim Schifino (QRO interview) bring a self-described ‘onstage pizza party’ with their sugar-filled hyper-pop/rock on stage (QRO live review). Known for spreading their giant, ever-present grins (QRO photos) to every crowd they play for (QRO live review), large, outdoor stages (QRO live review outdoors) don’t faze them, and neither do massive festivals (QRO photos at a festival), nor even foreign crowds (QRO live review overseas) or playing on holidays like New Year’s Eve (QRO live review on New Year’s Eve) or Halloween (QRO live review on Halloween). They also stepped up their musical game on 2009’s Grand (QRO review), with Sidewalks (QRO review) the following year, and most recently with last year’s Lightning (QRO review). So expect them to rock the crowd (QRO photos), from old tracks like “Silver Tiles” (QRO video) and “Yea Yeah” (QRO video) to Grand ones like “Good Old-Fashioned Nightmare” (QRO video) and “Daylight” (QRO video) to Sidewalks’ “Good For Great” (QRO video) and even a cover of Biz Markie’s “Just a Friend” (QRO video) – as the kids go nuts (QRO photos at a festival), and so do Matt & Kim (QRO live review). And those up front better be ready for when Matt (QRO interview) sends Kim out to do her ‘booty shakin’ crowd surf’ (QRO photos at a festival)…
Matt & Kim
MS MR, 3:30 PM, City Hall Stage

New York electro-rock duo MS MR (QRO photos) comes to Boston Calling right after the release of their debut full-length, Secondhand Rapture.
MS MR
Cults, 2:45 PM, Main Stage

When Cults (QRO photos) broke out in 2010 with infectious single “We Go Outside”, they’d achieved the near impossible: being famous without anyone knowing anything about them (QRO photos outdoors). Since then, the wall of silence has broken down (QRO photos), with the catchy sixties male/female duo recruiting a band (QRO photos outdoors at a festival), playing South-by-Southwest (QRO photos), and signing to major label Sony for 2011’s Cults (QRO review). But even if you’ve got a face (QRO photos) to put to the un-Google-able name (QRO photos at a festival), they’re still a hook-laden band (QRO photos at a festival).
Cults
Also:

St. Lucia, 2:00 PM, City Hall StageQRO photos

Bad Rabbits, 1:30 PM, Main Stage
St. Lucia

 

SUNDAY, MAY 26th

The National, 9:00 PM, Main Stage

Cincinnati-by-way-of-Brooklyn’s The National (QRO photos outdoors) hit it big in 2007 with Boxer (QRO review) and tracks like “Fake Empire”, “Mistaken For Strangers”, and “Apartment Story” – and again in 2008 with The Virginia EP (QRO review), but that just presaged 2011’s High Violet (QRO review), which debuted at #3 on the Billboard charts (QRO expanded edition review). An impressive and much-in-demand act (QRO live review), they’re fitting in nicely as a festival headliner (QRO photos headlining a festival) – and even curator (QRO photos curating a festival), like at London’s All Tomorrow’s Parties last December (QRO photos). Blown up to the point that New York Times Magazine ran a feature on them & Obama used (a family-friendly) bit of “Mr. November” as a campaign song, The National (QRO photos at a festival) return from an hiatus to take America by storm (QRO photos headlining a festival) behind their upcoming Trouble Will Find Me, after having done so in Europe (QRO photos in Europe), the festival circuit (QRO photos at a festival), and the European festival circuit (QRO photos at a European festival).
The National
Young the Giant, 7:45 PM, City Hall Stage

These Irvine natives toiled for years as The Jakes, but when they changed their name to Young the Giant (QRO photos at a festival), things finally took off (QRO photos at a festival), with their self-(new) titled album & TV performances, including at MTV’s Video Music Awards.  They’ve since been gracing bigger (QRO photos) and bigger (QRO photos) stages & shows (QRO live review), including festivals (QRO photos at a festival) like Boston Calling.
Young the Giant
Of Monsters and Men, 6:30 PM, Main Stage

Things have moved quite fast for Iceland’s the next-gen alt-folk collective Of Monsters and Men (QRO live review), on the back of killer single “Little Talks” (QRO video) and debut full-length My Head Is an Animal (QRO review). In addition to ruling the festival circuit (QRO photos at a festival) and headlining bigger & bigger venues (QRO photos), they played Saturday Night Live earlier this month (QRO Indie on Late Night TV).
Of Monster and Men
Andrew Bird, 5:30 PM, City Hall Stage

Chicago multi-instrumentalist Andrew Bird (QRO live review) plays everything from guitar to whistle, but is best known for his impressive violin work (QRO photos), which manages to be both timely and timeless (QRO photos) on such albums as Armchair Apocrypha (QRO review), Noble Beast, and last year’s Break It Yourself.  Bird (QRO photos) is a great addition for a new festival (QRO photos outdoors).
Andrew Bird
The Walkmen, 4:30 PM, Main Stage

A ‘Brooklyn veteran’ by now, The Walkmen (QRO live review) have grown from their more soused early days (QRO photos – which included a front-to-back cover of John Lennon & Harry Nilsson’s drunken weekend Pussy CatsQRO review) to a sadder, but more accomplished band (QRO photos at a festival) by 2008’s You & Me (QRO review). Their live show (QRO live review) has similarly evolved (QRO photos at a festival), if losing some of that early fun, but certainly gotten classier (QRO live review). But, even at festivals (QRO photos at a festival) or outdoors (QRO photos outdoors), they range nicely (QRO photos at a festival) from barstool rockers like oldies “The Rat” (QRO video) and “Thinking of a Dream I Had” (QRO video) plus the newer “The Blue Route” (QRO video) to sadder pint glass-raisers like older “Another One Goes By” (QRO video) and “Louisiana” (QRO video) plus the newer “On the Water” (QRO video) from 2010’s classy Lisbon (QRO review), made on site in Portugal (QRO live review in Europe). They’re playing relatively early at Boston Calling (QRO photos at a festival), behind last year’s Heaven (QRO review) and single “We Can’t Be Beat” (QRO review). So watch The Walkmen (QRO photos) teach the younger bands how it’s done (QRO photos at a festival).
The Walkmen
Ra Ra Riot, 3:30 PM, City Hall Stage

Oh, how they’ve grown!  In the less than six years since their self-titled EP (QRO review) and the death of singer/drummer John Pike, this Nor’easter collective (QRO photos) has not only rebounded but exploded (QRO photos at a festival), embracing life even more on 2008’s excellent The Rhumb Line (QRO review) than early single “Dying Is Fine” (QRO video) could have predicted.  Ra Ra Riot’s live show (QRO live review) sees everyone but the new drummer running around on stage like kids on candy (especially singer Wesley Miles – QRO interview – but also guitarist Milo Bonacci – QRO interview – and bassist Matthieu Santos – QRO interview), but they’re also relative road ‘veterans’, from near-immediately after Pike’s death (QRO live review) to outdoor festivals (QRO photos outdoors at a festival) to in-stores (QRO photos) to industry showcases (QRO photos at an industry showcase) to bigger & bigger rock clubs (QRO photos) to bigger & bigger outdoor venues (QRO live review outdoors) to opera houses (QRO live review) to fashion launch parties (QRO live review) – and even the occasional basement show (QRO photos).  They’re also building in songbook, from early numbers like “Can You Tell?” (QRO video) to Rhumb single “Ghost Under Rocks” (QRO video) and the Pike-penned “St. Peter’s Day Festival” (QRO video) to “Too Dramatic”, from 2010’s follow-up The Orchard (QRO review), and now “Dance With Me” (QRO video) & “I Shut Off” (QRO video) from this year’s new, more dancetronica, Beta Love (QRO review).

Before Beta Love the band did see the departure of cellist Alexandra Lawn (QRO interviewmaybe that’s why they’re stuck playing so damn early…) – so what will happen to the usual tight pack of males (QRO photos at a festival) in front of everyone’s indie-rock crush (QRO photos in 2013)?
Ra Ra RiotRa Ra Riot
Dirty Projectors, 2:45 PM, Main Stage

What began as a solo project by songwriter David Longstreth has become so much more (QRO photos). His Dirty Projectors (QRO photos at a festival) have not only grown in size (with three female co-vocalists – QRO photos at a festival), but also acclaim, thanks to 2009’s Bitte Orca (QRO review), followed up last year with Swing Lo Magellan (QRO Magellan tour photos). Their arrhythmic stylings married to pitch-perfect harmonies take some getting used to (QRO live review), but many have (QRO photos at a festival), allowing for experiments like Rise Above, Longstreeth’s ‘reimagined’ back-to-front cover, from memory, of Black Flag’s seminal punk record Damaged, and performing their Getty Address top-to-bottom (QRO photos at a festival) to numerous festival appearances (QRO photos at a festival), including even headlining (QRO photos headlining a festival).
Dirty Projectors
Youth Lagoon, 2:00 PM, City Hall Stage

Even Boise, Idaho’s got some lo-fi in the form of Trevor Powers, a.k.a. Youth Lagoon (QRO photos), who come to Boston Calling while on tour with The National (QRO photos at a National-curated festival).
Youth Lagoon
Caspian, 1:30 PM, Main Stage

For a festival with the name of a major music city in the title, Boston Calling is pretty light on the homegrown talent, but at Mass act is kicking off the first day – Caspian (QRO spotlight on).  The post-rock band (QRO interview) has brought their epic instrumental rock around the world (QRO live review in Europe) on such albums as The Four Trees (QRO review), Tertia (QRO review), and last year’s Waking Season, but this time they will be playing at home.
Caspian

 

For festival website, go here: http://bostoncalling.com/

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