Boston Calling Spring 2015 Preview

One of the most reliable festivals is still relatively new, but Boston Calling has consistently delivered twice a year since it started in 2013 (QRO inaugural edition recap). And that keeps up with it’s Spring ’15 edition, Friday-to-Sunday, May 22nd to 24th:

Click here for QRO’s recap of Fall 2014 Boston Calling

FRIDAY, MAY 22nd

Beck, 9:15 PM, JetBlue Stage Beck (QRO photos at a festival) is back! Your favorite musical non-conformist (QRO photos at a festival) broke through in the mid-nineties thanks to songs like “Loser”, “Where It’s At”, and “Devil’s Haircut” off of early records Mellow Gold and Odelay (QRO deluxe edition review), mixing white boy funk with indie-rock and experimental – as well also delivering a stripped, soulful folk side to boot. After full-lengths 2008’s Modern Guilt (QRO review) and 2006’s The Information (QRO review), he took off time to work as a producer (such as on Thurston Moore’s Demolished Thoughts – QRO review – and Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks’ Mirror Traffic – QRO review), only releasing a few soundtrack tracks (like writing for the fictional band Sex Bob-omb in Scott Pilgrim vs. The World – QRO soundtrack review) and a ‘song reader’. But he finally delivered a new studio album last year in Morning Phase (QRO review) – and of course it’s great. A perfect headliner for Boston Calling (QRO headlining a festival).

Tame Impala, 7:45 PM, JetBlue Stage From Perth (QRO photos at a home) in Western Australia (QRO photos at a hometown festival), comes the psychedelic rock of Tame Impala (QRO live review), touring off of 2011’s Innerspeaker (QRO review) & 2012’s Lonerism, whose critical acclaim has won them fans across the world (QRO photos at a festival), and a spot at Boston Calling (QRO photos).

Sharon Van Etten, 6:30 PM, JetBlue Stage While there’s a ton of stripped songstresses out there, one of the nicer ones is Sharon Van Etten (QRO photos at a festival), who evoked the sad strains of Appalachia on her debut, Because I Was In Love (QRO review), while 2011’s Epic (QRO review) made her the Brooklyn ‘it girl’ (QRO photos in New York), and 2012’s Tramp (QRO review) got her get even more acclaim – and attention (QRO photos). She’s even had a star-studded show in NYC (QRO photos), where she had special guests like Thurston Moore (QRO live review) of Sonic Youth (QRO live review) & Aaron Dessner of The National (QRO spotlight on). She comes to Boston Calling (QRO photos at a festival) behind her latest, Are We There (QRO review).

SATURDAY, MAY 23rd

My Morning Jacket, 9:20 PM, JetBlue Stage The current alt-country wave has lifted the boats of bands that had already been doing it for a long time, such Wilco (QRO live review) and My Morning Jacket (QRO live review). The Louisville outfit, fronted by singer/guitarist Jim James, doesn’t have to just play it sweet, but also keep the rock. They reached the bigger time with 2008’s Evil Urges (QRO review) and 2011’s Circuital (QRO review), but are still growing – even had a whole episode of American Dad about/with them (okay, not Family Guy, but still…). Having already hit the big time (QRO photos outdoors), they can definitely handle headlining Boston Calling (QRO photos headlining a festival), which they come to just after the release of their latest, The Waterfall.

Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals, 7:55 PM, Red Stage It was a bit of a slow burn for Ben Harper (QRO photos at a festival), whose mixture of skilled guitar, vocals, and activism first hit it big in Europe (QRO photos in Europe) and especially Australia, before he really boomed in his native States (QRO photos in America). But boom he did, hitting the Billboard Top Ten with his band Relentless7 – not to mention appearing with Will Ferrell, ZZ Top, and Conan O’Brien on his last Tonight Show. He’s done other great team-ups, like with Joseph Arthur (QRO live review) & Dhani Harrison as Fistful of Mercy (QRO photos), or legendary bluesman Charlie Musselwhite on this 2013’s Get Up! and on tour (QRO photos together at a festival), but comes to Boston Calling with his Innocent Criminals.

St. Vincent, 6:50 PM, JetBlue Stage After the one-and-only Annie Clark (QRO interview) made 2007 her break-out year, both as part of The Polyphonic Spree on The Fragile Army (QRO review) and with her own debut as St. Vincent (QRO photos), Marry Me (QRO review), she followed that up with even-better years (QRO spotlight on), gracing festivals (QRO photos at a festival), charming and surprising crowds with winning humor live (QRO live review), and bringing a stable of new songs (QRO live review). Those new songs, like “Laughing With a Mouth of Blood” (QRO video) and “Actor Out of Work” (QRO video) formed into 2009’s Actor (QRO review), which vaunted her into the even bigger time (QRO photos at a festival), including playing Lincoln Center (QRO live review) and other storied concert halls (QRO photos at a festival) & venues (QRO photos at Royal Albert Hall). Admittedly, 2011’s Strange Mercy (QRO review) wasn’t quite as good, but then she teamed up with the one-and-only David Byrne (QRO photos at a festival together) for 2012′s Love This Giant (QRO review), and now the holy St. Vincent (QRO photos) comes back with a vengeance last year on St. Vincent (QRO review), and an absolutely stellar live show (QRO photos in Europe), with her platinum grey hair and mannequin moves shining outdoors (QRO live review outdoors), at festivals (QRO photos at a festival) and in the Old World (QRO live review in Europe). A must-see at Boston Calling ’15 (QRO photos at a festival).

Marina & The Diamonds, 5:45 PM, Red 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 back to Boston Calling (QRO photos at Boston Calling ‘13) as part of her big U.S. tour (QRO photos in U.S.).

Gerard Way, 4:40 PM, JetBlue Stage My Chemical Romance (QRO photos) frontman Gerard Way (QRO solo photos) comes to Boston Calling behind his solo debut, Hesitant Alien.

Tove Lo, 3:45 PM, Red Stage Out of Stockholm, Ebba Tove Lesa Nilsson – a.k.a. Tove Lo (QRO photos at a festival) – has written for numerous other artists like Icona Pop (QRO spotlight on), Ellie Goulding (QRO live review), and Hilary Duff, but 2013 hit single “Habits” has made her a leading lady all of her own.

Run the Jewels, 2:55 PM, JetBlue Stage El-P blew up the Brooklyn rap scene with 2013’s Cancer 4 Cure (QRO review of release party), and brought about his team-up with Killer Mike (QRO photos at a festival) for 2012’s ‘Into the Wild’ tour. Mike & P have deepened that connection, working together as Run the Jewels (QRO photos at a festival) for two critically acclaimed records, most recently last year’s Run the Jewels 2, with word of 3 already in the works.

Also: MØ, 2:10 PM, Red Stage DMA’s, 1:25 PM, Red Stage – QRO photos at a festival Krill, 12:55 PM, Red Stage

SUNDAY, MAY 24th

Pixies, 9:20 PM, JetBlue Stage Boston Calling continues in the tradition of reunions of eighties and nineties greats, but the band that set the alt-reunion standard was the Pixies (QRO live review). The group had some of the strongest records of those two decades, like 1989’s Doolittle (QRO twentieth anniversary live review) and songs such as “Gouge Away” (QRO video) & “Nimrod’s Son” (QRO video), but broke up just before alternative music got successful. The members went on to various other projects, most notably singer/guitarist Black Francis reversing & Anglicizing his name into ‘Frank Black’ (real name: Charles Michael Kittridge Thompson IV) for his solo career, and singer/bassist Kim Deal teaming up with her sister as The Breeders for the very successful Last Splash (QRO twentieth anniversary live review). But the hatchet between those two was buried in 2004, when Frank/Francis, Deal, guitarist Joey Santiago, and drummer David Lovering reunited at Coachella – and began this century/millennium’s alt-reunion tradition. Admittedly, the reunion was strictly a nostalgia one (QRO live review), as the Pixies didn’t make new music, just toured the old (QRO live review), while Frank continued to put out solo work (albeit back under his Francis name – QRO live review) and Deal reunited with her sister for the unimpressive Mountain Battles (QRO review). But eventually both dams burst: out came the new song “Bagboy”, and out went Deal (again), to spend full-time in Breeders. The Pixies recruited first Kim Shattuck to pick up the bass & female vocals for tour (QRO live review), then Paz Lenchantin, and come to Shaky Knees (QRO photos at a festival) behind their first new album in over twenty years, Indie Cindy (QRO review).

Tenacious D, 8:05 PM, Red Stage It’s Tenacious D time (QRO photos) – muthafuckin’ D! Jack Black and Kyle Gass – JB & KG – began their epic journey when they got a handful of shorts got on HBO (making up only three half-hour episodes), and then Black’s movie career took off and ‘The D’ took off. Making & playing heavy metal music with only their voices (including “Inward Singing”) and acoustic guitars (including “One Note Song”), they became the greatest – and funniest – band in rock ‘n’ roll thanks to songs like “Tribute” and “Wonderboy”. It all culminated in their life story coming to the silver screen in Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny in 2006 – and the passion project bombed in the theaters. The D were not ashamed, even their second tour DVD, The Complete Masterworks Part 2, where they talked about the film’s lack of success (“This is film Tenacious D doesn’t want you to see” – Black), but it seemed like the group had had their run (and their drummer Dave something returned to his side-project, The Foo Fighters – QRO album review). But no one can keep The D down, and Kage & Jabels returned in 2012 with Rise of the Fenix (QRO review)! So they hit “The Road” (QRO live review outdoors), did their “Cock Push-Ups”, got their “Low Hanging Fruit” and “Roadie” – get ready for them to “Rock Your Socks” off with “Exploding Brains” (QRO live review)! Hollywood Jack and Rage Cage may have declared that “Rock Is Dead” – and even embraced “The Jazz” (QRO photos of The D playing a jazz club) before winning the Grammy for Best Metal Performance for their tribute to Ronny James Dio – but there isn’t a better act to combines rock & comedy as Tenacious D (QRO photos at a festival).

TV On the Radio, 7:00 PM, JetBlue Stage One of the bands that put Brooklyn not only on the indie-map, but also at the top of it, is the borough’s TV On the Radio (QRO live review outdoors in Brooklyn). 2004’s debut Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes introduced their complex-yet-accessible indie-tech-punk-rock, 2006’s Return to Cookie Mountain proved it was no fluke, and 2008’s Dear Science (QRO review) saw the band launched into the top tier of alternative music (QRO live review). The group took something of a break after that, as members such as Tunde Adebimpe, David Andrew Sitek, and Kyp Malone did various side/solo projects, but returned in 2013 (QRO photos at a festival) with Nine Types of Light (QRO review). Nine Types was a return in quality as well as success for the band (QRO photos at a festival), though they unfortunately lost bassist Gerard Smith to cancer in 2011, but have kept on magnificently (QRO photos outdoors in New York last year), including at festivals (QRO photos at a festival).

Vance Joy, 5:55 PM, Red Stage From the other side of the world, Melbourne’s Vance Joy (QRO photos) is the rare footballer (that’s soccer to you yanks) turned singer.

Jason Isbell, 4:50 PM, JetBlue Stage Still probably best known for his work in Drive-By Truckers (QRO album review, post-Isbell), since driving off in 2008 Isbell (QRO photos at a festival) has been focused on his solo work (QRO photos solo at a festival), with his latest, Something More Than Free, out in July.

Lucius, 3:55 PM, Red Stage The New York Times described Lucius as “The next Feist” (QRO live review) – even if you don’t believe everything The Grey Lady says, be sure to check them out as they return to Boston Calling (QRO photos at Boston Calling ’13).

The Lone Bellow, 3:05 PM, JetBlue Stage Zach Williams’ wife suffered temporary paralysis following or horseback riding accident, with which he responded by learning to play guitar – and has made it far enough to form his own band, The Lone Bellow (QRO photos outdoors at a festival).

iLoveMakonnen, 2:20 PM, Red Stage Atlanta’s Makonnen Sheran shot up to prominence last year as iLoveMakonnen when Drake remixed his song “Tuesday” – so come see him on a Sunday. Also: Halsey, 1:35 PM, JetBlue Stage The Ballroom Thieves, 1:00 PM, Red Stage