Bloc Party, Cadence Weapon, Grizzly Bear, The Raconteurs
BLOC PARTY
This British quartet’s first record, 2005′s Silent Alarm, was an album that rang the bell of the post-punk revival of that time. The album’s brash, youthful exuberance manifested itself into smart, bratty quotations of The Pretenders, XTC, Gang of Four, and a whole host of acts of a similar ilk. Driven by sharp, treble-y guitars and energetic, fast tempos, Silent Alarm impressed many, especially with songs such as “Like Eating Glass” and the U.K. smash-hit “Banquet”. Its follow-up, A Weekend In The City, was much more divisive, as the group jettisoned many of Alarm’s charms to create a more mainstream album. Tracks like “Waiting For The 7.18″, “I Will Remember”, and “The Prayer” (with its Morrissey-esque witticisms) aimed for the rafters — and often times the songs successfully made the leap while just as often they missed the mark, feeling nakedly commercial. New track “Mercury”, which just debuted online, opts for kitchen-sink experimentalism. Regardless of Bloc Party’s latest direction, expect a bright, tight live show. (Friday, 6:15-7:15, AT&T Stage) –text: Jon Graef
CADENCE WEAPON
Born Rollie Pemberton, this teenage Canadian double-threat rapper and producer began rhyming at age 13 influenced by his father, a DJ at a local radio station. After a short run in college attempting a degree in journalism, Cadence turned back to his first love of music. Shortly after his debut dropped in 2005, he quickly found a place on the Canadian “Artists to Watch” list and was later nominated that year for a Polaris Music Prize. Signing to Epitaph Records for U.S. distribution in 2007, the rapper took advantage of the fresh ears of his newfound audience. Journalism still stirs in his blood and it’s not rare to find the occasional hip hop review penned by Cadence Weapon for online music publications like Stylus and Pitchfork. When it comes to producing, he’s also no stranger to showing support in the studio for other artists such as Ciara and Lady Sovereign. (Friday, 6:15-7:00, BMI Stage) –text: Jyn Radakovits
GRIZZLY BEAR
Grizzly Bear are often cited in indie music discussions and seem to be friends with everyone in the scene, yet they’ve only been mixing atmospheric experimentation with psychedelic-tinged folk since 2004. Avoiding Grizzly live is getting increasingly more difficult; they performed at Pitchfork Fest 2007, they’ve played with Beach House, opened for Feist, TV On The Radio, even Paul Simon, and will soon provide supporting duty for Radiohead. Not a concert-goer? Try remixes and collaborations from Beirut, The Dirty Projectors, CSS, and (most famously) Girl Talk’s Knife and Clipse mash-up. The band’s two proper LPs, free from revision or live alterations, provide a pretty nice trip too. A July post on the band’s blog lists 20 of their favorite songs of the moment, ranging from the older Sparks to contemporaries Bon Iver and Santogold to the bizarre Chaka Khan; serving as further evidence as to why they’re worthy of your attention at Lolla. (Friday, 5:45-6:30, Citi Stage) –text: Joseph O’Fallon
THE RACONTEURS
Listen to these talented bastards named Brendan, Jack, Jack, and Patrick — also know as The Raconteurs — and it’s quite apparent by their creatively spanning songs that they’ve been friends since their days of skanky mustaches and unforgiving, fiery acne. Their music is at times creepy and dreamlike, with fuzzy guitars and the familiar screeching slide of Jack White. At times it sounds like circus music, at times it reminds me of late ’60s supergroup Cream. And like Cream, they’ve taken blues, among other genres, to new levels of innovation. The Raconteurs wallop day one of Lollapalooza for their first show on American soil since returning from a string of European gigs. Their Lolla show is one of only two Stateside performances before another across-the-pond run, so catch these pals in Grant Park if you know what’s good for you. If not, there’s always their August 28 show in Luxembourg… (Friday, 6:15-7:45, Bud Light Stage) –text: Benjamin Smithson–photo: Autumn de Wilde
