The ITunes Festival 2010 edition came to an end last weekend, after a full month of showcasing an impressively eclectic line up of first class talent coming from all corners of the popular music spectrum.
Held at the iconic Roundhouse in Camden, this year’s event has seen top-notch performances from the likes of Scissor Sisters, Tony Bennett, Florence & The Machine and The National to name a few. Last Friday, was the turn of uberhip French combo Phoenix, supported by homegrown indie electronica maverick James Yuill.
The laptop wizard opened the evening with an assured set of his playful tunes. One of the artists originally thrown into the bag of the infamous ‘folktronica’ genre – which years ago was allocated to anyone who managed to produce any combination between electronic and acoustic elements – James Yuill keeps his consolidation as a fine example of British indie electropop. Plugging his second album ‘Movement In A Storm’, his set was backed by an as excellent as colourful visual work and it finished on an improvised note, when the software on his laptop crashed, needing to resort just to his acoustic guitar for the last song. It all worked for the best, giving further proof of what a confident performer he is.
Proving to be a jewel in the crown of this year’s packed summer festival season, Field Day has yet again delivered an unmissable line up. This year’s roster will be headed by Phoenix, currently experiencing a purple patch after the release of last year’s ‘Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix’. After being lauded by hipsters and tastemakers for years, the band are finally receiving the recognition they deserve – a feat that was confirmed with a Grammy Award last year for ‘Best Alternative Music Album’. There’s no denying that tracks like ‘1901’ and ‘Lisztomania’ will resonate well with the Field Day masses, but let’s hope they don’t forget to play the sublime ‘Too Young’ from their debut album ‘United’.
Other highlights come in the form of Caribou, fresh from delivering one of the stand-out albums of the year ‘Swim’. With the recent run of warm weather in the capital ‘Sun’ has developed into a summer anthem and promises to be one of the day’s stand out tracks. Also performing will be post-punk veterans The Fall, the gloriously noisy No Age, much hyped Egyptian Hip Hop and folk pop troubadour Lightspeed Champion. There will also be a host of DJ talent including Simian Mobile Disco, James Holden, Andrew Weatherall and Carte Blanche – the new collaboration between Riton and DJ Mehdi.
Field Day takes place in London’s Victoria Park on 31st July 2010. For full line-up and ticket information head to the Field Day website.
‘Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix’ has finally catapulted Phoenix to the A league of rock; earning such acclaim that even children’s choirs are making covers of the band’s most popular songs in full Glee Cast style. To celebrate this sweet state of affairs, the Parisian band is giving away a free 8-track album through their website.
‘Live In Sidney’ was recorded in March 2010 during the band’s ongoing world tour. The album comprises the whole tracklist of ‘Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix’except for ‘Countdown’ and will make a nice warm-up for those awaiting the arrival of the French band in the UK for two sold out dates at the London Roundhouse on March the 29th and 30th.
After winning a Grammy with their startlingly good album, ‘Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix’, French hipsters Phoenix have announced a series of tour dates for both the UK and USA. With singles ‘1901’ and ‘Lisztomania’ both crossing over to US radio in a big way it looks like the gigs could well be one of the more in-demand indie shows of the summer season. The highlight of the band’s itinerary looks to be a slot at the legendary Coachella Festival in California, where the band are set to play alongside the likes of Jay-Z, Vampire Weekend, Gorillaz, Thom Yorke, LCD Soundsystem and Gil Scott-Heron among many others. Added to this, Phoenix have also just been announced as the headliners at London festival Field Day – where other confirmed acts are set to include Caribou, Hypnotic Brass Ensemble and Memory Tapes.
It certainly looks like Phoenix are in for one heck of a busy summer!
Santa Cruz, CA The Catalyst (April 17) Indio, CA Coachella (April 18) Denver, CO Ogden Theatre (April 20) Kansas City, MO Uptown Theatre (April 21) Louisville, KY Louisville Palace (April 22) Nashville, TN Vanderbilt (April 23) Atlanta, GA The Tabernacle (April 24) Washington, DC Constitution Hall (April 26) Norfolk, VA The Norva (April 27) Austin, TX Stubb’s (April 29) Houston, TX Verizon Wireless Theatre (April 30) Cary, NC Koka Booth Amphitheatre (June 11) Charlotte, NC The Uptown Amphitheatre (June 12) Manchester, TN Bonnaroo Festival (June 13) Manchester, TN Bonnaroo Festival (June 13) London, UK, Field Day Festival (July 31st)
