Ultra5280's Best Shows of 2016

We had the amazing opportunity to cover some amazing shows this year. The nice thing about our staff is that we all have different taste in music, for example our managing editor Mcclain Morris absolutely loves Pitbull (who would have known). A few things need to fit our criteria to make it a good show, showmanship, production, sound and the signature staple each band brings to the crowd. As with our top albums of 2016 we asked some of our good friends to chime in with theirs, so once again a huge thanks to our friends at Live Nation, AEG, Two Parts, and Soda Jerk Presents.

Robert Castro - Editor in Chief - Ultra5280

1. Radiohead - Austin City Limits Music Festival (Weekend Two)

2. Tame Impala - Red Rocks Amphitheatre

3. LCD Soundsystem - Red Rocks Amphitheatre

4. Bud Bronson and The Good Timers - The UMS

5. Sigur Ros - Ellie Caulkins Opera House

Mcclain Morris - Managing Editor - Ultra5280

1. The Lumineers - Red Rocks Amphitheatre

2. Nathaniel Rateliff and The Night Sweats - Pabst Music Festival (Denver)

3. Brent Cowles - Syntax Opera House

4. Portugal. The Man / Glass Animals - Red Rocks Amphitheatre

5. Langhorne Slim - The Bluebird Theater

Matt Smith - Photographer - Ultra5280

1. LCD Soundsystem - red Rocks Amphitheatre

2. Brand New/Modest Mouse - Red Rocks Amphitheatre

3. Explosions In The Sky - The Ogden Theatre

4. Ryan Adams - Red Rocks Amphitheatre

5. Dolly Parton - Red Rocks Amphitheatre

Tobias Krause - Event Manager - Two Parts Co

1. Tame Impala - Red Rocks Amphitheatre

2. Father John Misty - Ellie Caulkins Opera House

3. My Morning Jacket - Red Rocks Amphitheatre

4. The Raven & The Writing Desk - Fort Greene Bar

5. Dragondeer _ The UMS

Rikki Aston - Talent Buyer - Live Nation

1. Iggy Pop/Josh Homme - Ellie Caulkins Opera House

2. Dolly Parton - Red Rocks Amphitheatre

3. Chris Stapleton - The Fillmore Auditorium

4. Ja Rule/Ashanti - The Ogden Theatre

5. Sigur Ros - Ellie Caulkins Opera House

Zoe Lanterman - Marketing Director - Soda Jerk Presents

1. LCD Soundsystem - Red Rocks Amphitheatre

2. Tame Impala - Red Rocks Amphitheatre

3. Against Me - Riot Fest

4. Unknown Mortal Orchestra/Whitney - The Aggie Theatre

5. STRFKR/Com Truise - The Aggie Theatre

Geoff Brent - Talent Buyer - Soda Jerk Presents

1. LCD Soundsysytem - Red Rocks Amphitheatre

2. Nothing, Nowhere - Moon Room

3. Native Daughters - Larimer Lounge

4. Against Me - Marquis Theater

5. Modern Baseball/Joyce Manor - Summit Music Hall

Danny Sax - Talent Buyer - AEG

1. Gojira - The Gothic Theatre

2. Choking Victim - The Gothic Theatre

3. Mac Demarco - The Ogden and Red Rocks

4. The Specials - The Ogden Theatre

5. The Head and The Heart - Red Rocks Amphitheatre

Brand New and Modest Mouse Invade Red Rocks

Super tours have become nearly instinct in todays music world. Unlike the heyday of the 90's and early 2000's it's rare to see two or more groups tour together on joint tours. A few months ago it was announced that Brand New and Modest Mouse were going on tour together, the plan was simple each band took turns headlining each night. Lucky for us that tour included a stop at Red Rocks this past Wednesday. A sold out crowd had a chance to see a couple bands who have left their mark in their respected genres over the year. First up was Modest Mouse, last time we saw these guys was at Riot Fest last year. They opened up with a bang starting with "Dramamine", "Be Brave", and radio friendly "Ocean Breathes Salty". The set seemed to lack enthusiasm and lasted only a little over an hour. While the crowd did politely participate, it was safe to say it was more of a pro Brand New crowd (which we think will alternate back and forth between the tour).

After what seemed like the longest set change in Red Rocks history the boys from New York were ready to wreck havoc on the sold out crowd. They opened up with "Sink", as the blaring LED's and fog created an aura that complimented the bands hard sound. Frontman Jessie Lacey commanded the set from the get go letting everybody know that it was his stage and his agenda. After tearing through song after song that made the band staples in the pop punk genre, Lacey reflected to the crowd that this was the end for the band (something that has been hinted for awhile). Stating that their were two things they needed to accomplish before breaking up, one was playing at Red Rocks and two was touring with Modest Mouse. Many in the crowd bared witness to the band they grew up listening to in high school reminding them that sometimes you do need a soundtrack for those times, luckily Brand New was there to provide it.

Music | Austin City Limits Music Festival | Day One (Friday) | Review and Photos

Greetings from Austin, Texas home of the Austin City Limits Music Festival. By far our favorite festival of the year, this year was no exception. With a slew of bands, great food, and breathtaking views the 2015 edition of the festival had some amazing highlights for us. Let's start with a day by day recap of our musical adventures.

Austin City Limits 2015 (Photo: Robert Castro/Ultra5280)

Friday:

The first day of the festival is always exciting, for us seasoned veterans it also means trying to pace ourselves for three long days. Looking at the weekend weather forecast we knew we were going to be battling scorching heat. Luckily Friday was a bit overcast for much of the day. The first band we got to see was no stranger to us, Royal Blood took the Samsung Stage with an early set. We recently got a chance to see them during their opening slot for the Foo Fighters in Denver not too long ago. The two man wrecking machine leaves you puzzled as to how such a great musical sound is coming from a drum kit and bass guitar.

Royal Blood (Photo Credit: Robert Castro/Ultra5280)

Weekend one had us crying as to the fact that we didn't get a chance to see The Strokes on the second weekend, nonetheless we did manage to see The Strokes guitarist Albert Hammond Jr. (who btw will be playing at Lost Lake on Halloween Denver folks). We have always been a big fan of his solo work since the days of Yours To Keep in 2006. He just released his third studio album earlier this year and has been on rotation in our offices since. Clad in a red full bodied jumpsuit, Hammond gave his fans a great early set.

Albert Hammond Jr. (Photo Credit: Robert Castro/Ultra5280)

The fun didn't stop there, one of the most difficult things and dilemmas of music festivals is scheduling conflicts. For us we usually base it on a few factors, one is off we have seen the band before, two is if they will be coming to our city soon. We love to discover new music and one artist we had the distinct honor of seeing was Leon Bridges this past year at SXSW. A true throwback to the old days, Bridges captures you with an amazing sound that is infectious and soothing. His performance at ACL this year will be one that people will be talking about for years to come. He has two upcoming dates in Denver, one in October and another one in May)

Leon Bridges (Photo Credit: Robert Castro/Ultra5280)

As the sun began to set we noticed that Brand New was playing at one of our favorite stages the festival. The alternative rockers from Long Island have long been favorites of ours and we have had the chance to see them a few occasions, The band goes all out from beginning to end and never lets up making for one amazing show, no matter the setting. Lead singer Jesse Lacey commands the stage in true frontman precision belting out lyrics and at times making the audience emotional. They were one of our favorite performances of day one.

Brand New (Photo Credit: Robert Castro/Ultra5280)

Next on our must see list was homegrown Austenite Mr. Gary Clark Jr. You get a sense that musicians play their best shows in front of a hometown crowd. With a packed stage that seemed never ending Gary Clark Jr. unleashed his guitar playing skills for the masses. Comparisons to a modern day Jimmy Hendrix can be thrown out left and right, but I feel Clark has established his own persona and style that will leave future generations of musicians trying to replicate his style in the future.

Gary Clark Jr. (Photo Credit: Robert Castro/Ultra5280)

The nights headliners included Foo Fighters and Disclosure. We jumped over to see Disclosure and by the looks of their setup, we were in line for a great visual performance. Off the heels of a brand new record, which by the way is an early favorite for our record of the year, the duo blasted through their short catalog of hits and laid the foundation for an array of lighted led panels and glowing platforms that enhanced the performance. Not a bad way to end the first night. On the other end of the park, Dave Growl and company provided a from row seat to the Foo Fighters greatest hits set including a couple covers thrown in for nostalgic sake. They also informed the audience they had just finished recording five new songs while in Austin and were joined by Ben Kweller.

Music | SHOW ALERT: Summer Ends Music Festival in Tempe, Arizona

not quite ready for summer to be over? We aren’t either. That’s why next weekend we’re escaping down into the heat of Tempe, Arizona to end the season with a bang at the Summer Ends Music Festival. Taking place at the Tempe State Beach Park just off the Arizona State University campus, there’s never been an end-of-summer celebration quite like this. With headlining acts ranging from Hozier to Kanye West, this 4-day festival has something for everyone. 

As much as we love Colorado’s music scene in the summer, traveling for other festivals happening outside our beloved state isn’t the easiest when you’re based here, which leaves us feeling a bit left out of all the fun. A trip to Lollapalooza, Firefly, Bumbershoot or Coachella can only be reached by expensive plane rides and the treacherous planning of vacation days. It’s safe to say that many wish it was easier to make a quick “vacation” out of a festival, rather than an extended trip through clogged airports.

Until now, we didn’t think there was an easy solution to this sad summer situation. But what many Coloradans have seemed to forget (even us!) is how surprisingly close Phoenix, AZ really is. Only a short 12 hours away, this easy drive southward gives you the opportunity to turn your festival-going dreams into a fantastic road trip through Colorado's backyard. Stops along the drive could easily include the gorgeous Taos, New Mexico, Salida, Colorado, or even a break at the Four Corners Monument or Mesa Verde National Park if you plan your drive right. A longer route allows for a night’s stay in Telluride, or even a cross through the scenic Moab and Arches National Park on your way to or from Denver. If you’re looking for a quicker trip down, Southwest Airlines offers tickets to Phoenix for about $60/way on a consistent basis, allowing for a quick, warmup getaway during chilly Colorado winters. 

Ultra5280 isn’t the only Denver outlet to be treating Phoenix like our sister city these days. In 2013, Denver’s favorite breakfast eatery, Snooze, opened their first of three locations in Arizona, one just a stone’s throw away from the Summer Ends Music Festival grounds in Tempe. Another one of our favorite restauranteurs, Illegal Pete’s, are preparing to open their first location outside of Denver later this year in Tucson, a mere 2hrs north of Phoenix. The Summer Ends Music Festival is even produced by Phoenix independent promoters Lucky Man Concert, who feel surprisingly similar to our favorite Denver-based independent promoter, Soda Jerk Presents, who own the Summit Music Hall (among others) and promote their own major music festivals like  Riot Fest Denver each year. Bringing in acts big, small, local, and everything in between, Lucky Man has worked hard to make Phoenix a must-stop musical city, and we at Ultra5280 believe that it’s time we celebrate our closest major market, and share in their summer fun. 

Tickets are shockingly cheap to join in on the Summer Ends fun, and each day of the festival fits a different genre, making it a well-rounded music festival for any listener. Ultra5280 is proud to help continue to foster this Denver/Phoenix friendship that’s only beginning to blossom, and hope to put Phoenix roadtrips on the map for music-goers looking to turn their concerts into more of an adventure. Looking for your next show to attend? Maybe this time you should look at concerts hitting Phoenix as well. 

Must See Bands for Riot Fest Denver

This weekend hordes of concert lovers will head east to Byers, Colorado for a dose of rock, hip hop, indie, punk, and all other flavors of musical bliss. The 1st Annual Riot Fest Denver will take place on the grounds of May Farms and host two awesome days of music. The Chicago based festival expanded it's lineups this year to include city's such as Denver and Toronto. With its carnival atmosphere it has become one of the fastest growing music festivals in the country. This years lineup caters to a variety of fans, we narrowed down our top five "must see" bands to check out. (In no particular order)

Bosnian Rainbows | Saturday | 1:15-2:00 PM | Rock Stage

Photo by Robin Laananen

Bosnian Rainbows is a new band featuring Teri Gender Bender (Le Butcherettes), Nicci Kasper (Kudu, KRS-ONE), Deantoni Parks (John Cale, The Mars Volta), and Omar Rodriguez Lopez (The Mars Volta, At the Drive-In). The group formed during the summer of 2012 and will release their self-titled debut LP in early summer 2013 on Sargent House. While the four members respective pedigrees are as distinctive as the names they're attached to, the group itself is an entity all its own, unlike any other project any of them have been in. You could argue that they're using it to redefine their entire approach to making music.

This new approach also functions aesthetically. Onstage, the members group themselves together so closely that the backline, once assembled, is literally a single structure. Stalking the front of the stage is vocalist Gender Bender, a shape-shifting conduit of interstellar energy, seizing the microphone like a dagger. No stranger to the spotlight, her shamanistic presence in Bosnian Rainbows elicits a physical response from much of the audience, enraptured with her trance-like gesticulations and impassioned pleas. Behind her, Rodriguez Lopez conjures abbreviated barbs of dissonant funk from his guitar, lost, it seems, in the sheer ecstasy of the moment. In this context, his legendary status as a progressive rock icon seems virtually incidental, and much of what he's know for remote. To his left sits Parks, the human timepiece, playing the drum kit as nobody has before him. And, as if machine-like precision were simply par for the course, he is simultaneously playing a keyboard. Famously cool, Parks is the picture of control, effortlessly firing out rhythms at once both funky and robotic, unaware of the supposed impossibility of what he's doing. Which brings us to Nicci Kasper, the keyboard protege, his concentration fixed on the task at hand. Masterful in focusing his instrument's infinite possibilities, be they incessant low-frequency throbs or soaring, symphonic flourishes, Kasper's contribution to the band's sound brings with it an emotional depth which can only be described as epic. 

The story of Bosnian Rainbows is one you might typically expect to emerge from the fertile, cross-breeding ranks of constantly intermingling artists. Rodriguez Lopez befriended Gender Bender after seeing her duo, Le Butcherettes, perform in Guadalajara in 2009. While working on arrangements for that band's debut album, Sin Sin Sin, Omar (at first strictly producing, but eventually playing bass on the album as well) and Gender Bender discovered an inspiring collaborative spark between them. Around the same time, Rodriguez Lopez began a series of studio projects with Parks and Kasper during repeat trips through New York. Le Butcherettes, meanwhile, relocated to Los Angeles, and soon found themselves touring with Jane's Addiction, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Flaming Lips, Iggy and the Stooges, Queens of the Stoneage and Deftones. Soon after, Rodriguez Lopez joined Le Butcherettes on bass as a fully-fledged member and in 2012, he released Octopus Kool Aid, the first of a series of solo albums featuring Gender Bender on vocals.

A tour of Europe in support of Octopus Kool Aid had been booked for August, so Rodriguez Lopez, Gender Bender, Kasper and Parks convened in a Hamburg studio in order to rehearse. Committed to distancing himself from the "dictator" role he'd become infamous for in The Mars Volta (as well as the ORLG), and reinvigorated from his recent stint in the reformed At the Drive-In, Rodriguez Lopez shifted gears, seizing the opportunity to start a new group. Rather than rehearse Octopus Kool Aid, the quartet spontaneously birthed a collaborative songwriting process which produced immediate, inspiring results. With each of the four contributing equally, the new group quickly developed its own direction and vision, taking on a life of its own. Omar is eager to point out that this group should in no way be mistaken for one of the many incarnations of his solo band.

Christening themselves Bosnian Rainbows, they embarked on the tour and set about developing their skills as a live band, refining their new songs and defining their aesthetic. By the time the tour ended, the web was buzzing with excitement. Invigorated by that success, the group ventured into Hamburg's Clouds Hill Studio that October and recorded what would be their debut album. The music they recorded is remarkable, haunting and powerful. Bosnian Rainbows is no less adventurous or fearless than the music the four of them have previously released, but perhaps it's more immediate, more accessible. The reference points are wild and varied: early 80s post-punk and new wave, corrosive synth-pop, and Peter Gabriel's So album being a noteworthy influence. The songs themselves are anthemic, yet still personal, from the grey-stained melancholia of "Worthless", through the widescreen, slow-burning drama and romance of "Turtle Neck", to the churning and intense catharsis of "Mother, Father, Set Us Free". It's clear, however, that these tracks are only a beginning; this is a group with abundant with life, a future that could stretch as far as they want it to.

Bosnian Rainbows have been on the road consistently since August 2012, touring extensively in North America, Europe, Russia, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan. They made their U.S. festival debut at last September's Fun Fun Fun Fest, and appeared at Festival Vive Latino at Mexico City's Foro Sol Stadium in March 2013.

Their debut self titled album comes out on June 25, 2013 on Sargent House and in Europe on June 28, 2013 on Clouds Hill. 

Brand New | Saturday | 7:15-8:15 PM | Roots Stage

Brand New is an alternative rock band from Long Island, New York, and consists of lead vocalist, guitarist, and lyricist Jesse Lacey, guitarist Vincent Accardi, bass guitarist Garrett Tierney and drummer Brian Lane. Most recently, Derrick Sherman joined the band on tour in 2006. The band was formed in 2000 in Merrick, New York and partly consists of former members of the band The Rookie Lot and Taking Back Sunday. Brand New has toured with many bands including Thrice, Beneath the Sun, Crime in Stereo, and mewithoutYou. The band has released three studio albums so far, Your Favorite Weapon (2001), Deja Entendu (2003), and The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me (2006). On February 12, 2007, in an interview with BBC Manchester, Lacey stated that the band plans to release another album. 

They initially had a pop-punk sound, with stirring lyrics, and an unusually intricate sound for a band of this genre. Their second album showed a matured lyrical direction and a departure from their earlier pop-punk sound. Their current sound has more in common with indie-emo bands such as Sunny Day Real Estate and Straylight Run. They became part of the Long Island, New York indie/hardcore scene with the likes of The Movielife, From Autumn to Ashes, Glassjaw, and Taking Back Sunday, whom they are supposedly close friends with, but have had their share of misunderstandings. They have released three full-length albums and two EPs. Their first album, Your Favorite Weapon, is their only album which captures their early pop-punk sound. It was supported by a stint on the Warped Tour. The song title "Seventy Times 7" from Your Favorite Weapon comes from a verse in the bible (From Matthew 18:21-22 "Then Peter came to Him and said, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?" Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven."), and is a shot at Taking Back Sunday's John Nolan, who has been rumoured to have slept with Jesse's girlfriend at the time. The Taking Back Sunday song "There's No 'I' in Team" is a response to it. After a reconciliation both bands have performed these songs with one another. 

The band also acknowledged that Your Favorite Weapon wasn't their best work, and they re-recorded the single "Jude Law and a Semester Abroad" and placed it on their site as a free download. The second album, Deja Entendu, saw a change in the band. When Brand New recorded Your Favorite Weapon, they were still very young (lead guitarist Vin was still in highschool), which explains the album's teenage, angst ridden tendencies. But with Deja, both the lyrics and the members were decidedly matured, scripting instead lines about meeting girls at bars, regret, family sickness/fear of a loved one's death, and self-mockery. The band came into the mainstream with their song "The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows" which fell into heavy rotation on many radio stations during the summer of 2003, while they were on the Vans Warped Tour. The band's videos have also previously been on Fuse TV, MTV, and MTV2. It was at about this time that the band received the false "emo" moniker. That single was followed up with the decidedly moodier single, "Sic Transit Gloria... Glory Fades". Both singles cracked the UK top 40, making them more successful in the UK than in the US. Between May 2004 (with the release of the UK Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows CDS B-Sides) and June 2005, no new material was released by Brand New and no new information was publicly released to fans. During that time however, the band was signed by Interscope Records, a major label. 

In June 2005, Brand New launched a new official website (which they promised to update more often) and announced they have been recording. They also confirmed rumors that Jesse Lacey (lead singer) had been "sick", "had surgery", there "were multiple things wrong with [him]" but stated that "most of them have been fixed". In early 2005, Jesse was admitted to the hospital where upon it was learned that he had appendicitis and had surgery to remove his appendix before any further trouble could occur. In 2006 they teamed up with producer Dennis Herring (previous work has included Elvis Costello). His studio, Sweet Tea, is a house/recording studio filled with vintage instruments and recording equipment. In January 2006, nine unmastered, unnamed demos were leaked to the internet. These nine demos suggested a new expansion of the Brand New sound, a recognisable progression from Deja Entendu. One of the songs on that demo, Untitled 8, is an earlier version of the song Sowing Season. The mellower mood is fashioned with an expansion of instrumental features, such as the introduction of piano on Untitled 7, and whilst the lyrics tend towards bleakness there are also occasional shining moments of optimism. Some of the original demos have been adapted and played live in the shows of the band's Summer 2006 tour, along with a new song "Take Apart Your Head", now officially titled "Degausser". The first single was originally going to be "Sowing Season" but Interpunk featured an article that named "Jesus" as being the single, which was later somewhat confirmed by Brand New featuring live performances of it on Late Night with Conan O'Brien on January 19, 2007. Both songs appear on their third album entitled "The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me". In Late 2006, Brand New played a one off concert at the Brixton Academy, London. At which some of the "Untitled" songs were played, and showed a much deeper side to the band. 

At the same time, confirming some songs that were later used on the album. The long anticipated 3rd album is now on sale. Though Jesse initially felt that the songs stolen and released early were no longer usable, the leak focussed the band into working harder and going the extra mile to make the songs on it the best they could possibly be. Tracks 6 and 8 from the demos ended up on the album, both expanded and with intricate rock riffs that across other tracks show a newfound musical maturity. Indeed, "Limousine (Ms Rebridge)" recalls OK Computer while songs like the instrumental "Welcome to Bangkok" have been compared to Mogwai. Lyrically, TDAGARIM themes are stronger - love, loss, adjusting to a world without a father figure. The accompanying artwork shows a distorted collage of random images - the Scream masks, a blurred wolf, a guitarist from 1983 - and the liner notes dedicate the album to all those "who left between the start and finish of this recording". They appear to leave answering phone messages in a hidden track before Sowing Season, and references to the recording or the recording process crop up several other times. 

Overall, the album represents a definite departure from Brand New's earlier sound - many fans have found it hard to adjust, especially those coming to the band through Your Favorite Weapon. Preorders of the album came with the "Sowing Season" single, the B-side to which was demo number 3 and called "aloC-acoC" to avoid any copyright issues. A mastered version of the demo recording of "Luca", the Reprisal version, was also included in UK versions of the album. Brand New headlined the London branch of the "Give It A Name" festival in 2007. It took place on April 28th. Jesse has also hinted that the band's next release will be a six-song EP featuring new versions of the remaining demos. Official website:http://fightoffyourdemons.com 

Brand New is an alternative rock band from Long Island, New York, and consists of lead vocalist, guitarist, and lyricist Jessey Lacey, guitarist Vincent Accardi, bass guitarist Garrett Tierney and drummer Brian Lane. Most recently, Derrick Sherman joined the band on tour in 2006. The band was formed in 2000 in Merrick, New York and partly consists of former members of the band The Rookie Lot and Taking Back Sunday. Brand New has toured with many bands including Thrice, Beneath the Sun, Crime in Stereo, and mewithoutYou. The band has released three studio albums so far, Your Favorite Weapon (2001), Deja Entendu (2003), and The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me (2006). On February 12, 2007, in an interview with BBC Manchester, Lacey stated that the band plans to release another album.

Iggy and The Stooges | Saturday | 9:25-10:25 PM | Roots Stage

In VERY short... Iggy and The Stooges is an American rock band from Ann Arbor, Michigan first active from 1967 to 1974, and later reformed in 2003. Although they sold few records in their original incarnation and often performed for indifferent or hostile audiences, the Stooges are widely regarded as instrumental in the rise of punk rock, as well as influential to alternative rock, heavy metal and rock music at large. The Stooges were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010.

Public Enemy | Sunday | 5:00-6:00 PM | Roots Stage

In the late Eighties, Public Enemy introduced a hard, intense, hip-hop sound that changed the sound of hip-hop. PE's inventive production team, the Bomb Squad, tailored a unique, noisy, layered avant-garde-inspired sound that incorporated sirens, skittering turntable scratches, and cleverly juxtaposed musical and spoken samples. The group features two vocalists with wildly different styles: Lead rapper Chuck D, who delivers anti-establishment rhymes in a booming, authoritarian voice, and his sidekick/jester, Flavor Flav, who broke in with taunts, teases, and questions.

The members of Public Enemy came together at Adelphi University on Long Island, where Carlton Ridenhour studied graphic design and worked at student radio station WBAU. There he met Hank Shocklee (future brainchild of the Bomb Squad) and Bill Stephney (future Def Jam executive), and the trio became fast friends, talking philosophy, politics, and hip-hop late into the night. After rapping over a track Shocklee had created, "Public Enemy No. 1," Ridenhour started appearing regularly on Stephney's radio show as Chuckie D. Def Jam cofounder Rick Rubin heard a tape of the rap and started calling Ridenhour.

At first the rapper shunned Rubin, feeling he was too old to begin a career as an entertainer. But he eventually came up with an elaborate plan that involved Shocklee as producer, Stephney as marketer, and DJ Norman Rogers on the turntables. He recruited his Nation of Islam cohort Richard Griffin to, as Professor Griff, coordinate the group's backup dancers, the Security of the First World (S1W), whose members carried fake Uzis and did stiff, martial-arts moves as a parody of Motown-era dancers. Ridenhour enlisted old friend William Drayton, who, as Flavor Flav, would act as a foil to Chuck D's more sober character.

Calling themselves "prophets of rage," Public Enemy released their debut album, Yo!, Bum Rush the Show, in 1987. A more sophisticated version of early East Coast gangsta rappers like Boogie Down Productions or Schoolly D, the group at first went nearly unnoticed except by hip-hop insiders and New York critics. The second album, It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, took the pop world by storm. Reaching Number 42 (Number 1 R&B, 1988), it was immediately hailed as hip-hop's masterpiece and eventually sold a million copies. Nation contained the minor hit "Bring the Noise" (Number 56 R&B, 1988), which foreshadowed Public Enemy's knack for controversy, with Chuck D calling Black Muslim leader Louis Farrakhan a prophet. Having referred to rap as "CNN for black culture," he castigates white-controlled media in "Don't Believe the Hype" (Number 18 R&B, 1988).

In May 1989, just after the group released "Fight the Power" (Number 20 R&B, 1989), the theme song for Spike Lee's film Do the Right Thing, Professor Griff, who had previously made racist comments onstage, dropped a verbal bomb. In an interview with the Washington Times, he said Jews are responsible for "the majority of wickedness that goes on across the globe." Public Enemy leader Chuck D responded indecisively, first firing Griff, then reinstating him, then temporarily disbanding the group. When Griff then attacked his band mates in another interview, he was dismissed permanently. Chuck D responded to the fiasco by writing "Welcome to the Terrordome" (Number 15 R&B, 1990), a ferociously noisy track in which the rapper asserts, "they got me like Jesus." That lyric fanned the coals of controversy yet again, with Chuck D himself being branded an anti-Semite.

Public Enemy followed with its first Top 10 album, Fear of a Black Planet (Number 10 pop, Number Three R&B, 1990), which explored the nature of white racism in songs like "Burn Hollywood Burn" and "911 Is a Joke" (Number 15 R&B, 1990), and called on African-Americans to unite in "Brothers Gonna Work It Out" (Number 20 R&B, 1990) and "War at 33 1/3." By the end of 1990, DJ Terminator X had left for a solo career, followed by the exits of Bomb Squad members Shocklee and Stephney

The Replacements | Sunday | 10:30-11:45 PM | Riot Stage

The Replacements were an alternative rock band which formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1979. The band originally started off as a punk band who began to incorporate folk and power-pop influences in their sound to become one of the leaders of the early alt-folk set and one of the flagship bands of the American 80’s post-punk scene, as well as a major influence on 90’s indie rock. 

The band was wild and vivacious, featuring vocalist and guitarist Paul Westerberg and Chris Marsthe drummer as well as the Stinson brothers Bob playing guitar and Tommy playing bass. 

They were infamous for their hard drinking lifestyles and their ragged stage performances, notorious for coming to shows too drunk to play very well at all, or sometimes just performing entire sets of covers.

The sound of this band showed off the very best of independent rock n’ roll. More than possibly any other band since the Rolling Stones, the Replacements embodied the spirit of rock n’ roll, from their raucous performances, drug addictions, charismatic and romantic frontman, and wild, basic rock n’ roll songs. At any given time, almost any list of “The Best Rock Albums Of All Time” will include either the album Let It Be or Tim, and usually both. Their sound started off as a classic-rock influenced punk style, to a melodic hardcore sound reminiscent of local buddies Hüsker Dü and progressed into a (relatively) straightforward but heartfelt rock style with a number of highly soulful ballads from the heart of Westerberg to round out the mix.