Santigold - Kicking Down Doors

Doesn't that artwork just look like a lame compilation album from the dollar bin?  The Pepsi branding, along with the general "royalty-free stock photo" vibe, is a bit discouraging.  Technically, it is a compilation album, some sort of World Cup thing.  Well, despite that aesthetic disaster, the song within is actually pretty awesome.  Santigold's post-debut music has sounded especially M.I.A. inspired, and "Kicking Down Doors" continues that trend.  I love Santigold and all, but let's be real here, M.I.A. paved the way.  That's another post for another day, so here's "Kicking Down Doors".

Virgin Mobile FreeFest 2012

October 6 marked the date of Virgin Mobile's fourth annual FreeFest. Located in Columbia, Maryland, the free festival covers forty acres of land surrounding the Merriweather Post Pavilion venue grounds.  Scattered across three stages, over twenty acts performed from noon to nearly midnight.  I had two main objectives upon entering the festival, attend the Santigold set and, most importantly, see M83.  I'll have you know that I saw both sets and so much more.

My day started off with Volta Bureau.  The DC based group was the first to play the Dance Forest stage and started their set at noon.  They played an hour set and garnered quite the crowd.  There may not have been an insane pack of raving madmen like many of the later Dance Forest sets attracted, but the attendees were equally as enthusiastic about the music.  Plus, what better way to start the festival than with some dancing?

After Volta Bureau, I stuck around for Penguin Prison.  I had the opportunity to see Chris Glover's musical project earlier this year when they opened for Neon Trees at the 9:30 Club.  His FreeFest set was just as fun and the audience was noticeably more familiar with the music.  RAC collaboration "Hollywood" and "Don't Fuck With My Money" were crowd favorites.  The setlist was switched around a little differently this time and he included his cover of Lana Del Rey's "Blue Jeans".  I'm so glad that I had the opportunity to see Penguin Prison once again.

Penguin Prison ended at 2:00 and I took advantage of this moment to check out some festival food, which was consumed while simultaneously observing a short bit of Portugal. The Man's set at the West Stage.  I can't say much about the band, for I only heard a few songs from the stage's field.  This pattern continued, as I stuck around for about three or so songs from The Dismemberment Plan, Nervo, and then Ben Folds Five.  Ben Folds Five sounded great with some standout piano action.  Nervo's crowd almost swallowed me alive, so I watched from a distance to avoid missing other sets.  The Dismemberment Plan interestingly had a crowd of almost solely men from an older demographic when compared to the festival's general consensus.

By 4:30, I was at the West Stage waiting for Santigold's set to start.  She gets the award for most elaborate stage antics, and I'm not talking about lights or pyrotechnics.  Backed by a pair of matching dancers, Santigold pumped out a high energy set that included some serious dance breaks and costume changes. During "Creator", the front row of the crowd was invited up to the stage to start a dance party/riot.  The setlist was an even blend of songs from both of her records, with singles mixed throughout.  She even performed her Major Lazer collaboration, "Hold The Line".  I loved every moment of it.

In the gap between Santigold and M83, I watched Alabama Shakes from the Pavilion lawn and caught the front end of ZZ Top.  Alabama Shakes completely surprised me, in a good way that is.  I had heard their record before, but the studio recordings don't do the band justice.  The album isn't bad, it's just overshadowed in comparison to the show.  To fully experience Alabama Shakes at their finest, go see them live.

M83's set started at 7:50 and I had to leave ZZ Top's show to make it over to the West Stage in time.  M83 was absolutely spectacular.  The group blasted through their set, flipping back and forth between stretched out electronic selections and the big singles.  You can imagine the reaction towards "Midnight City".  The saxophone solo is really that much more epic in person.  "Intro" will forever be M83's opening song for live shows.  They also put on a massive light display, which gave the entire stage an extraterrestrial feeling.  I only wish they could've played for a bit more, as they were only on stage for a one hour time slot.  If you're aware of M83's catalog, then you know that they could've easily played a considerably longer set.  Either way, it was stunning.

I finished the night by moving back to the Pavilion for Jack White's set. Unfortunately, I only managed to see him from the lawn seating, as you can see in the picture above.  And while I thought he was outstanding, there will be a full separate post featuring Jack's show from the perspective of someone who witnessed everything from the pit, so keep an eye out for that.

At the end of the day, FreeFest was a major success.  I managed to see so many great acts.  Virgin Mobile will have video of the sets available for streaming sometime soon, just in case you want to see what you missed, or relive a moment. I highly suggest you try your best to grab some tickets when FreeFest comes back around next year.

Major Lazer - Hold The Line

Major Lazer is a duo of DJ's.  The pair of Diplo and Switch are behind the strange image of this group.  "Hold The Line" features Santigold and Mr. Lexx.  You can find the track on their album, Guns Don't Kill People... Lazers Do.  The truth about the song is... it's catchy.  The guitar work is what carries the song, along with Santigold.  The song starts off sounding almost like an old western showdown, with the sound of a clopping horse.  Then you hear it, "Major Lazer!".  Yes, the groups name is shouted at the beginning of the song.  Finding a correct genre for this unique song would be incredibly difficult.  It mixes reggae, electronic, hip-hop, and dance elements.  The result of this fusion is nothing else, but Major Lazer.  I would checkout this track if you need some... odd music.  You won't find too much that's similar to this act.  I didn't think I would like this song, but I do.  You should give it a try.

Playlist - Santigold, MGMT, and more

It's that time again. Last week in my music playlist I talked about Imogen Heap, The Clash, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and more. Check it out here if you missed it. This week will feature another set of great songs. They're all a bit lighter and danceable. I'm not going to feature Muse's new album in the playlist, because I'm going to write a full album review about it. You can look for that sometime during next week. Now remember, this playlist won't have any rock. It's a poppy one. That's about all you need to know, let's get to the playlist.

Santigold - Lights Out
As I said in the introduction, this song has a light feeling. The chorus is especially smooth. Santigold sounds incredibly different from her previous single L.E.S. Artistes.

MGMT - Kids
I actually wasn't fond of this band when I first heard them. Time To Pretend was my first exposure. It still isn't my favorite song. Kids is much better. If you like Kids, then listen to Electric Feel, it's even better.

Kate Earl - When You're Ready
I wrote about Kate Earl earlier this week. I reviewed Melody here. This time it isn't Melody. When You're Ready is another cool pop song.

The Whip - Blackout
Here's an electronic song that's pretty good. I don't usually like long and extended electronic/dance songs, but this one is an exception. Although it clocks in at over six minutes, it doesn't seem to drag on and on as others do.

If you want a couple more songs, then here they are...

Depeche Mode - Wrong
Scissors For Lefty - Lay Down Your Weapons
Chester French - She Loves Everybody