Tuesday night was a beautiful evening at Fidler's Green Amphitheater! Weezer and The Pixies co-headlined a show at and made us feel like we were right back in the 90s. These two alternative rock bands brought out people of all ages and had everyone rocking out!
Photos by Bridget Burnett (Instagram)
With so many great albums that came out this year it is always a task at hand trying to chose our favorites. This year was no different, we are fortunate to get to see as many shows as we do, as well as open our inboxes to early releases and exclusives. The great thing about our staff is that we each have our own unique bands that we love, thus making our lists an eclectic mix of great music. There were a few newcomers to the list as well as some established bands making great albums this year. A couple late additions from J. Cole and D'angelo that barely missed the cut stood out as well. Without further adieu, Ultra5280 presents the Best Albums of 2014. These are in no particular order. What were your favorites this year?
FKA Twigs | LP1
The War on Drugs | Lost In The Dream
First Aid Kit | Stay Gold
Sylvan Esso | Self Titled
Alt-J | This Is All Yours
Broods | Evergreen
Against Me | Transgender Dysphoria Blues
Future Islands | Singles
Interpol | El Pintor
Jack White | Lazaretto
Run The Jewels | Run The Jewels 2
St. Vincent | St. Vincent
Taylor Swift | 1989
Jenny Lewis | The Voyager
Weezer | Everything Will Be Alright In The End
Lucius | Wildewoman
Phantogram | Voices
Caribou | Our Love
The Riot Fest crowd catching 3OH3! (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)
RIOT FEST
Ahh, Riot Fest. A weekend filled with punk mutants, vomiting girls, carnies and "under-butt". For those of you that don’t follow us on Instagram and Twitter, "under butt" is what happens when girls wear high wasted shorts and half their butt hangs out. Why do we mention this? we love it. With asses and beer galore, we were able to sit back, relax (with Slayer blaring) and take in yet another beautiful Riot Fest. This weekend officially marked the end of festival season for the year, and we certainly made the most of our final hours with funnel cake and turkey legs.
This was Denver's second year hosting Chicago's rowdy punk festival, and despite the change of scenery, some may argue that this year got it right.
Radkey one of the days surprise sets. (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)
The biggest change to the festival this year was the location. After a bout of petitions and protests from a few unhappy members of the Byers community, the city voted to not allow the punk rock festival back within county boundaries. Riot Mike and the rest of the festival's team decided to take this the only way they know how, with salt on the rim, and fire in their loins. Determined to win back the heart of Byers, Riot Fest themed this year's festival around the little country town. Offering discounted tickets to the residents of Byers, filling the venue with tractors and hay bails, and naming all the stages after Byers city landmarks (Country Feed Store, May Farms, etc), it was apparent the festival wished it was out east at its inaugural location instead.
Matt Berninger of The National closing out the final night of a cold, rainy Riot Fest (Photo Credit: Matt Smith)
Despite the forced change of scenery, we were pleasantly surprised by the use of Mile High's parking lot. Denver is used to seeing this as the Warped Tour venue, so it was hard imaging the layout being able to differ greatly, but what a pleasant surprise this weekend was. The venue's traffic flow was fantastic, the lines for bathrooms nominal, and bands promptly started one after another, avoiding the much dreaded festival "lag time" all have come to expect. There is something magical about being out in a corn field miles from civilization, but the layout at Mile High just....worked. The decision is up to Riot Fest (after they win in court against Arapahoe County), but we're very curious to see what venue is used in 2015.
We’ve summed the entire weekend up into a few different categories:
Riot Fest 2014 (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)
The Crowd:
From air fisting cowboys to cape-wearing WuTang super fans and green mohawks, the crowd at Riot Fest did not disappoint. We believe that people watching at Riot Fest should be considered as an Olympic sport. Is there a way to vote that into existence? When we weren’t busy ogling our childhood heroes, we were taking in the wonderful scenery. We saw a woman eat a sword, a man dance around on his torso, and a girl barf something bright red all over the grass and then proceed to lay in it. It was perfect.
TV on The Radio (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)
Our Favorite Acts:
City and Colour, TV On The Radio, Weezer, NFG, Taking Back Sunday, In The Whale, Manchester Orchestra, 3OH3!, Radkey, Dum Dum Girls, Descendants, Me First and The Gimme Gimme's.
By the Numbers:
$1 - the amount of money made at the “Watch This Video for a Dollar Truck!” - Somethings you can’t unsee.
4 - the number of times we watched someone puke after The Zipper Ride
6 - trench coats
2 - nours amount of time Robert cried at The Cure
12 - the number of people we saw get dropped after crowd surfing
1 - the amount that the Broncos lost to the Seahawks :(
24 - cans of Red Bull we drank collectively as a team
1.1 Miles - the length that you would have to walk around Mile High if you missed the entrance and proceeded to walk aimlessly around Invesco
Check out our Riot Fest photos courtesy of Matthew Smith and Robert Castro
Austin City Limits Music Festival | Zilker Park | October 12-14 | Austin, Texas
The Black Keys from up above (Photo Credit: Ashley Garmon)
The 11th annual Austin City Limits Music Festival took place this past weekend on the beautiful grounds of Zilker Park in Austin, Texas. With a majestic backdrop of the Austin skyline, the festival played host to well over 130 bands and 75,000+ music loving fans each day of the event. Looking at the lineup this year there seemed to be something for everybody, whether it was the blues rocking Gary Clark Jr., or the bass pounding sounds of electronic artist Bassnectar, ACL had it all. Not to mention the abundance of different food and various works of art festival attendees had to choose from.
Day 1 Friday: We arrived on the festival grounds on Friday just in time to see the lovely duo of Tegan and Sara (will be here in Denver opening for The Killers next month). I always make an effort to get myself familiar with the festival grounds in anticipation of the running back and forth of trying to catch artist on different stages. We managed to drop by and say hi to one of our favorite DJ’s A-Trak, he had the Honda stage pretty packed for a late afternoon set playing his usual party anthems. Just across the lawn Weezer put on one of the festival’s best sets, with their all to familiar catalog of sing a long hits, the crowd belted out every word of their set. A band I continue to always be one step behind is Alabama Shakes, i made sure I arrived early enough to catch their set and was glad I did. Brittany Howard commands the stage with such respect exuding her soulful lyrics, a throwback to the glory retro-soul era of music. We also managed to grab a great spot to see one of the nights main attractions and most colorful performers the beautiful Florence Welsh and her band Florence and The Machine. Her elaborate stage setup complimented her performance to exact perfection in all aspects. Our night ended flip-flopping between Avicii and The Black Keys who closed out their respected stages in grand fashion.
Rivers Cuomo of Weezer (Photo Credit: David Mead)
Friday Highlights:
Best performance: Avicii: the electronic artist was only one of a few representing the rapid expanding genre of electronic music this weekend, but it is apparent that his headlining slot Friday night was well deserved. Already climbing the ranks of headlining status, the 23 year old Swedish DJ has had the dance floors buzzing with his blazing tracks and remixes all year long.
Wish I had waken up earlier to catch set: First Aid Kit: last time we saw them was when they opened up for Lykke Li in Denver a few months ago. One of the more buzzed early set performances, we wont hesitate to catch them next time in Denver.
Trends spotted: Boxed water, lace tops, TOMS shoes, flags of all shapes and sizes.
Day 2 Saturday: The weather took a turn with scattered showers hitting the festival. One of the more talked about performances would have to be the back to back sets from Colorado's own Big Gigantic and Bassnectar's set on the Honda Stage. A younger demographic packed the stage to listen to the hottest electronic acts in the business today. Combine the hard beats and loud bass with rain pouring, it was a wet and muddy dance party. On the opposite side off the festival a rather calmer crowd got to enjoy a more subdued set from Andrew Bird on The Bud Light Stage. The Shins and Roots played at the same time making for an all out sprint from one end of the park to the other. Both veteran bands seemed to attract huge crowds on their respective stages. The rain gods seemed to show mercy for the night's heavyweight headliners of Jack White and Neil Young and Crazy Horse, both putting on epic sets to close out night two.
Saturday Highlights:
Best performance: The Roots: the talented supergroup has come a long way, they manage to add a new component to their ever growing live sets year after year, anchored by Questlove on drums and Black Thought handling emcee duties their live element creates a sound infusing jazz, hip hop and soul unparalled by any other band.
Wish I had waken up earlier to catch set: Oberhofer: takes a penchant for showmanship to a new level, it is always awesome to see musicians come into the crowd and perform (moreso during a packed festival), such was the case for Oberhofer giving the spectator a unique chance to get up close and personal with the band.
Trends spotted: Corporate sponsored ponchos, galoshes and boat shoes, bikinis; I even saw a guy wearing pants made out of beanie babies, Texas Longhorn t-shirts (Red River Rivalry Weekend)
Rainy conditions didn't stop the crowds on day two (Photo Credit: Jack Edinger)
A packed side stage raging to Bassnectar (Photo Credit: Matt Ellis)
Jack White closing out the main stage on the second night of the fest (Photo Credit: Matt Ellis)
Day 3 Sunday: The final day of the festival turned out to be the nicest in terms of weather. Our day started with the man who has played every festival on earth it seems, Mr. Gary Clark Jr. With his honky tonk blues, it was a perfect marriage for those die-hard Texans who have adopted the genre as the official music for the state. His talented guitar play is becoming legendary every time he plays and is garnering quite the fan base. Sunday gave us a chance to take in some of the homegrown talent based out of Denver including the talented Tennis who played to a huge crowd spilling into the main stage area. Also playing was overnight sensations, The Lumineers. Riding the wave of a hit single and underrated album, they managed to further expand their fan base with a great performance. Other notable performances included Childish Gambino, Iggy and The Stooges, and Crystal Castles. A perfect day to setup for the night's headliners and festival favorites, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, ended the three day festival on a high note. Next year the festival will expand to a two-weekend format giving fans other viable options to check out some of their favorite bands.
The crowd for Red Hot Chili Peppers (Photo Credit: Ashley Gorman)
Alice Glass of Crystal Castles giving fans an intimate experience (Photo Credit: Dave Mead)
Iggy and The Stooges (Photo Credit: Matt Ellis)
Sunday Highlights:
Best performance: Gary Clark Jr., He continues to amaze with every performance and is establishing himself as a notable artist on the festival circuit; it wont be long before he is main stage material and giving hometown fans something to cheer about.
Wish I had waken up earlier to catch set: Kimbra: played a rather early set on Sunday. With an infectious smile and great crowd presence it's no wonder she has become a favorite amongst her loyal following.
Trends spotted: Red Hot Chili Peppers t-shirts, those weird toe shoes, festival programs turned into fans.
Castro
