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Saturday, April 18
Stardeath and White Dwarfs
"The age of the freak is in our head."
 Stardeath and White Dwarfs :: Rites of Spring by Hodges |
Appropriately, this was one of the first lyrics I would hear on Alumni Lawn on Day Two. The Flaming Lips darker stepchild headed by Wayne Coyne's nephew Dennis Coyne, Stardeath and White Dwarfs were allowed the luxury of using the Lips' spatial half-circle video wall for their set. For an early afternoon college festival set, this one was particularly jarring to the mental cavity. Heavy on the prog-a-delic hard rock and even heavier on the smoke, many jaws were dropped at this early set as green smoke came out of Dennis' guitar and uncle Wayne rocked out side stage. An abstract cover of Madonna's "Borderline" was played to wrap the short set, but this would not be the final rendition of the tune on Day Two by a psychedelic, art rock band from Oklahoma.
Sara Watkins
There is something about bluegrass and Americana music that just seems to fit perfectly into the middle of a music festival. As a member of the temporarily defunct Nickel Creek, Watkins has been around the festival circuit countless times and felt right at home wielding her fiddle and singing to the chilled out afternoon crowd. The set was mostly ballads, but was a change of pace in the midst of a downright filthy, dank, rowdy and soon to be rainy second day of the fest.
Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears
 Black Joe Lewis :: Rites of Spring by Hodges |
Nashville's Black Joe Lewis brought the rock and soul for a short while just before dusk and the Lost Highway artist exceeded expectations. Bluesy, rootsy and soulful, Mr. Lewis is a showman fit for the big stage. With a dapperly dressed band, good time lyrics and some slick guitar chops, Lewis was able to bring the restrained crowd back to their feet with "Get Yo Shit," a story about women and legal troubles. Lewis' horn section and performance style closely replicates the work of the godfather of soul himself, but if you're gonna imitate a showman why not mimic the best? Black Joe puts on a helluva a party and it'll be interesting to see this young artist grow. I'd be surprised if his new album, Tell 'Em What Your Name Is, doesn't get some heavy spin time at summer cookouts and college radio stations across the nation.
Grand Ole Party
California's Grand Ole Party was an interesting act, not exactly my first choice stylistically but it was unique to see pint-sized drummer Kristin Gundred take center stage and play while singing lead vocals. Grimly passionate, the lyrics were delivered with gusto but just didn't do it for me, so I retreated out of the gates to rest up for the final two acts of the festival.
N.E.R.D.
 Rites of Spring by Hodges |
Pharrell Williams' rap rock outfit N.E.R.D. (No One Ever Really Dies) was an obvious choice for this festival. Hell-bent on creating anarchist behavior in the crowd and upsetting the powers-that-be and event security, Pharrell relentlessly stoked the fire until near pandemonium erupted in the front and center of the crowd as fans moshed their way closer to the action. He eventually got his wish as crowd surfers floated throughout the audience. "Anti Matter" opened the set and the band ran through hits "Lapdance," "Rock Star" and "Spaz" with shocking precision. The band was wound tight, although low in the mix at times, and the many layers of vocals made for a unique performance. Nevertheless, Pharrell's stage banter is what people will ultimately remember about this show.
The Flaming Lips
As extraterrestrial music blared on stage and Wayne Coyne returned from his walk around the audience in the familiar human-sized space orb hamster ball, a transcendental feeling resonated across Alumni Lawn that something truly paranormal was occurring and the band broke into The Soft Bulletin classic "Race For the Prize (Sacrifice of the New Scientists)." The multi-talented Stephen Drozd harmonized like a small child, and shit was lost, high fives had, many sang in unison and the universe somehow seemed at peace as The Flaming Lips burned brightly.
 The Flaming Lips :: Rites of Spring by Hodges |
The tension of anticipation released, the rest of the show was a blur of confetti, bright images and "What the F*&!" moments. Coyne, usually nauseatingly political with his banter, was reserved on this occasion and was instead incredibly gracious for the opportunity to host such a big party, only commenting on how happy he is to have Obama in the Oval Office. For the second time this day, Madonna's "Borderline" was covered and Coyne commented that this would probably be the only time in history that you would see two rock bands cover the same Madonna song in the same day at a festival. Stardeath were invited on stage for the tune and it was oddly cool how the Lips made a Madonna tune all their own. The bare bones and slowed down "Fight Test" was a disappointment and "Yoshimi" received similar treatment as the rain started to pelt fans. I found it strange that these two songs were slowed down in the midst of such a rowdy atmosphere, and perhaps they were slowed down because of concern with technical issues with the ongoing rain. "Pompeii am Götterdämmerung," "The Wand" and '90s classic "She Don't Use Jelly" were all extravagantly brilliant, and just before the show's finale one of the dancing Teletubbies unexpectedly (even to the band) proposed to his girlfriend (also a Teletubbie) and she said yes. To paraphrase the song, happiness would make the newly engaged girl cry as the band ran through "Do You Realize??," slamming the door shut on a tour of the universe and a festival that was both genre and mind-bending at times.
Like George Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic before them, a Flaming Lips show is just as much about creating an atmosphere as it is about the music. Vibrant orange and yellow stage props, confetti, Teletubbie suits and a man strolling the crowd in a hamster ball are the norm in the universe of The Flaming Lips, and although variations of this same show have been performed countless times all over the globe, if its this much fun why should it matter if it's repeated? Wayne Coyne's mission in life is to create performance art for the enjoyment of the masses, and besides getting a little rain-drenched, everyone seemed to thoroughly enjoy their Flaming Lips experience (many for the first time on this occasion).
After all, as Coyne so eloquently put it, "It's hard to make the good things last." But, if the good times are memorable enough they'll be hard to forget. Kudos to the Vanderbilt Music Group for throwing one helluva party.
The Flaming Lips :: 04.18.09 :: Vanderbilt University :: Nashville, TN
Race for the Prize (Sacrifice of the New Scientists), Lightning Strikes the Postman, Borderline (Madonna song with Stardeath & White Dwarfs), Fight Test (alternate version), The Process, Vein of Stars, Mountainside, "Fuck the Rain" chant, Yoshimi (part 1 only), Pompeii am Götterdämmerung, Taps, The W.A.N.D. (The Will Always Negates Defeat), She Don't Use Jelly, On-stage marriage proposal from one Teletubbie to another, Do You Realize??
Continue reading for more pics of Rites of Spring 2009...
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