Tag: radio

Eaux Claires – 08/12-08/13

Posted on by kustradio

The Eaux Claires Experience
By: Cari Monroe

My first thought while sitting down to write this series was “Eaux Claires. Ahhhhh”. So much happened in such a short amount of time it was difficult for me to process, let alone write about. Eaux Claires is a 2-day music festival located in Eau Claire, Wisconsin and it attracts 20,000 people nation-wide. Curated by Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon, it is no surprise to learn most acts are good friends of his. Nearly all the artists gave a warm shout out to Justin, expressing their love for him and for the festival. While most acts could be considered Indie/Alternative, other genres were not left untouched. Rapper Vince Staples drew a large crowd, and the Japanese metal duo Senyawy could be found through the woods making a rare US appearance. On one corner you could find a slew of people rocking out to their favorite band, on another you could take a quiet hike through the woods to see countless nature-inspired art instillations. This festival truly had it all, and a friend of mine had described herself as a “different person” on our drive home. Where else would you have to essentially perform a scavenger hunt to see S. Carey perform a very intimate secret show on a small handmade wooden stage in the middle of the woods? “That is quite possibly the strangest things I’ve ever heard”, said a friend when I explained to her what the band was doing, but as I was sitting in the woodchips 5 feet away from S. Carey, I understood the thought behind the mystery and why this will always be the festival I’ll be attending every year. Nowhere else could you find that excitement mixed with pure serenity and joy, and the only thing that made me leave the grounds on Sunday morning was knowing that it would be there next year, bigger and better than ever before.

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The Staves & Y-Music

This was my first time seeing the Staves live, and my mouth immediately fell open hearing their heavenly harmonies. They opened with an a capella version of “Hopeless” and the crowd, myself included, was mesmerized. The set was composed of a blend of orchestral contemporary music and the Staves three part flowing vocal harmonies.
Vernon asked them to put together all new music—some were pieces Y-Music had never released and the Staves jokingly mentioned they “wrote over” – with a laugh from the crowd—and others were Staves music that the brilliant Y-Music composed instrumental music for. Either way, this music “didn’t exist 10 days ago”. If that pure musical talent doesn’t awe you I don’t know what will.

 

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James Blake

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo Credit: Holly Dockendorf

 

The only expectation I had going into James Blake’s set was that it was going to be great. I knew most of “The Colour in Anything”, but had no idea how Blake performed live, or even what he really looked like. Let me tell you, while there’s no running around or crazy stage shenanigans, Blake combines his pure musical talent with high-energy buildups to create an experience that is like nothing else (although it did help that it was raining the entire set; sounds like an inconvenience, but trust me, it made everything much more real and awe-inspiring).

Every song was produced live on stage with him, a guitarist, and a drummer. Their cool demeanor and black skinny boy-band jeans were expected from an indie group like this, but the minimalistic band didn’t take away from the entertainment level and energy that was created during the set. Right before the last song, Blake sent away his band and played “Measurements” on his own. If you’ve ever seen Ed Sheeran live, you understand someone using the full capabilities of a loop petal, but never have I seen someone create as many loops as Blake did during this song. I honestly lost track, but there were at least 10 layers if not more. The first five layers were solely his voice, which is even more incredible. I have no idea how he kept the same beat and rests for that many loops without some sort of instrumental background, but it was breathtaking. After he finished creating the song, he stopped, sat for a minute, stood, bowed, and walked off the stage. All while the song was still playing. There was a long pause from the crowd, partly because we were still listening to the song and staring at an empty stage, partly because we were all in awe, but also because we didn’t really know what to do. Once everyone realized he was actually done, he got the cheers and applause he deserved.

My one complaint from the entire weekend is that my good ole friend Jimmy did not play I Need a Forest Fire with Bon Iver (if you have not heard it yet, PLEASE, I beg you, give it a listen). I had been looking forward to hearing that song live essentially ever since it came out, and so for them to not play it together crushed all my hopes and dreams. If anyone knows why this magical live collaboration did not happen please enlighten me.

Overall, listening to James Blake make magic on stage as I was standing in the front row watching the rain pour down through the stage lights was easily my favorite moment of the festival. Surrounded by old friends and new friends, all collectively drenched yet still not wanting to be anywhere else, this experience will be one I won’t ever be able to recreate.

 

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Vince Staples

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo Credit: Holly Dockendorf

 

Vince Staples was by far my favorite surprise of the weekend. It was just by coincidence (a beer coincidence, actually) that we were by his stage as his set began.
Staples is one of those artists where you don’t need to know any of his songs or any of the words to jam out. His energy running around stage was infectious, and his banter with his DJ was highly entertaining. “Sorry for cursing and moving rapidly on this stage, I understand this is not that type of festival”, he mentioned at one point. He was not exactly wrong, but his extremely fun set was exactly the re-energizer everyone needed after several slower, more emotional performances.

 

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Bon Iver

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo Credit: Holly Dockendorf

 

This was the set everyone worldwide was waiting for. I was still reeling from front row rain filled James Blake set, and only had a meager ten minutes to prepare my mind, body, and soul for a life changing Bon Iver set.

As soon as he started playing, my mouth dropped open (are you sensing a trend?). I’ll have to wait until September 30th when the album comes out to give you my full musical opinion of the new music, but for now, I will say “22, A Million” still has the trademark Bon Iver sound, but with a new and interesting vibe.
Some songs are so full of instrumentals it’s difficult to distinguish everything, but together help to create a very full, well-rounded sound that build up so huge it shakes you to your core. There are also others that are so raw and emotional it’s hard not to get knocked with all the feelings.
The production of the set was incredible, with the banners and the lights and the people; there were 8 saxophone players on stage for a majority of the set, along with an appearance from the Staves and Bruce Hornsby. So much happened during his set that I barely remember the specifics; all I remember was a feeling of comfort and community and love.
One of my favorite quotes is, “people don’t remember what you said, they remember how you made them feel”, and that’s a great summarizer for this Bon Iver performance.

 

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Francis and the Lights

 

Francis’ set was intensely entertaining; it seemed like he never stopped prancing around stage in a way that looked like half dancing and half being possessed by something not of this earth. Most of the songs sounded pretty much the same to me, but it’s hard to say whether that’s because it was my first time hearing everything or because he really does lack musical variety.

But we can get into what you really want to hear about. Surprise guest. Chance the Rapper. Francis and the Lights. Together. Summer Friends. It really was as magical and mind blowing as it sounds. I’m not even going to try and describe it for you; just know it was an experience beyond words.

BUT WAIT. It gets better. Once Summer Friends was over, the man, the myth, the legend Justin Vernon sauntered on stage to perform Friends with Francis, and the best part was Chance never left the stage. He had no part in the song whatsoever, but no one cared. He was just hanging out with his buds, while the entire time walking around performing the dance from the Friends music video. You could just tell everyone on stage was having a blast performing with each other, and that energy was infectious. I wouldn’t have wanted the festival to end any other way, and I don’t know if you’d find anyone who would disagree with me.

 

 

Video by: Holly Dockendorf

SonReal – Varsity Theater 07/21

Posted on by kustradio

A SonReal Experience
By: Elli Dubanoski

Only twenty-four hours earlier, SonReal had narrowly escaped serious injury or death after his tour bus blew a front tire, went airborne off-road, and landed three hundred meters into a Nebraska cornfield. But by the evening of July 21st, he had swapped out his totaled tour bus and was parked a block away from the Varsity Theater in Dinkytown.

All five of us, music writers and photographers, crammed in the back of the tour bus on a rounded couch to listen to SonReal’s soon-to-be-released EP, The Name. It was only five songs long and two of the tracks, “Can I Get A Witness” and “Soho”, had already been released and well received, especially in his home country of Canada.

Although I admit his previous music had failed to keep my attention for more than a couple plays, I was very impressed by the work on his new EP. The first track he played, “No Warm Up”, was upbeat, majorly genre crossing, and hard not to tap your foot to. According to SonReal, this song makes concert crowds get pretty out of hand.

The second song he played, “All I Got”, was impressive because it was a stripped down, acoustic song that exemplified his singing capabilities. SonReal claimed this to be his favorite but the hardest track on his EP to write because “everything about love has already been said”. Interestingly, Rahki, a producer of Kendrick Lamar who worked on “Institutionalized” and “i” for To Pimp A Butterfly, produced the track. Also, the fact that this track was partially inspired by Marvin Gaye’s “Sexual Healing” was admittedly a selling point for me.

The last track SonReal played for us was called “Hot Air Balloon”. Also produced by Rahki, it surprisingly samples part of the Full House theme song. It was during this song that SonReal stated that his “music now is semi-genreless” and I couldn’t agree more.

I can say that everyone who was in the back of that tour bus really seemed to enjoy the music that SonReal presented to us. I found myself surprised by how much SonReal has grown and become, in his words, more of a “commercialized” musician. He stated that although his music has changed quite a bit, he is confident this transition would continue to keep the interest of his fans while earning him new ones. I definitely find myself intrigued by what he will create next.

Photo cred: Gena Berendt

Tyler the Creator – First Avenue 06/07

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I Survived a Tyler, the Creator Concert (…Almost)
By: Elli Dubanoski

On Tuesday, June 7th, I found myself waiting in the long line for the sold out Tyler, the Creator concert, ticket in hand. It was a purchase I had made due to the combination of the insistence of a friend and nostalgia for my not-so-rebellious rap filled high school years. Coming from a strict family, my high school years never got that much more defiant than when I used to hide rap CDs throughout my room from my parents.

When buying the ticket, I unfortunately failed to notice the show was “All Ages”. I think it’s fair to say that Tyler’s fans tend to be a very passionate group so I wasn’t looking forward to these traits being embodied in high schoolers and preteens.

Tyler, the Creator’s stage presence is best described as unexpectedly expected. He’s known for his crazy, larger-than-life personality that I had assumed was slightly exaggerated. But Tyler, the Creator is 100% everything you expect him to be and, seeing him in person, it isn’t hard to see why his concert was so popular. His intriguing personality and goofy demeanor make him charismatic. He performed his most popular songs from Cherry Bomb and Wolf, as well as older tracks such as “She” and “Yonkers”

After spending most of the concert being violently shoved around, coated in the stench of sweaty teenagers (surprisingly worse than it sounds), and acquiring bruises that I would find the next day, I was ready for the concert to end. By the time the last song was being performed, a combination of a lack of food and oxygen, smoke inhalation, and exhaustion had gotten the better of my friend and me who both ended up vomiting.

Although seeing Tyler, the Creator made me become physically ill after drowning in a crowd of excitable teenagers who exhibited an excessive amount of unsupervised craziness (except for the one boy who brought his dad), I’m still happy I went. Afterwards, still in a daze, I stated, “I would never be the same again.” I’m glad the post-Tyler, the Creator concert version of myself doesn’t make any major life decisions.

Lil Yachty – Teenage Emotions

Posted on by kustradio

Released: May 26th, 2017
By: Elli Dubanoski

Lil Yachty’s lengthy debut album is a colorful and catchy demonstration of the importance of individuality in the hip-hop industry. There is something very charismatic about Lil Yachty’s comfort with his own uniqueness as he introduces his own interpretation of rap music, something he calls “bubblegum trap”.

Teenage Emotion provides its listeners with a variety of tracks from heavy rap tracks to upbeat party tunes to solemn heartbroken songs. “Teenage Emotions” is a collaboration between Lil Yachty and his alter ego Lil Boat, immersed in Auto-tune. Lil Boat proves his ability to hold his own on his more aggressive rap tracks but the album feels most authentic on Lil Yachty’s more romantic, pop-inspired songs. While Lil Boat raps about not caring about the haters and other more stereotypical topics, Lil Yachty balances the album by singing about loving girls and his mom.

At only 19 years old, Lil Yachty creates a youthful well-rounded representation of recent radical originality in the genre caused by shifting trends, changes in influences, and the impact of the Internet. He is part of a new generation of hip-hop stars who find themselves less influenced by legends such as Biggie and Tupac due in large part because they grew up in a later era. More inspired by Kanye and Coldplay, Lil Yachty makes music with different melodies and subject matter.

Lil Yachty proves his place in the modern day rap industry is earned not because he follows a set mold, but because he is courageous enough to be himself. Love or hate his music, Lil Yachty at least deserves respect for his individuality alone.

Charles Bradley – “Changes”

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By: Sam Schultz

At 67 years old, Charles Bradley still puts out some of the most soulful music you’ll ever hear, and his newest Album “Changes” seeks to keep it that way for a long time to come. “Changes” is not only a representation of Charles’ understanding and appreciation for love, but it’s also a representation of the surrounding world that he sees himself in currently. The song, “Change For the World” has Bradley urging people to change the way they look at one another. “Blacks depreciated, If we’re not careful, we’ll be back segregated./Change for the better of your soul/We gotta change our love/We gotta change for the world/ I got to give you my love.” Growing up in the Civil Rights Movement, Bradley knows first hand the hard and difficult path for equality and he fears that any progress we have made is on the verge of reversing at any time. His music asks us to make a simple change, a change towards love. “Put away the guns, and take this love.” These words paint a picture of the ever-present police brutality that continues to plague our country. Charles has been very active in the media, voicing his opinions on gun violence and this song reiterates his feelings.

In “God Bless America” Bradley preaches about his home of America. “America, you’ve been real honest, hurt, and sweet to me/Just know that all the pains I’ve been through, It made me stronger, to stand strong that know that America represents love for all humanity and the world.” Even though Charles has endured hardships in this country, America is still his home, and for him home is a place where you should be loved and able to live without fear. This song really strikes a cord with me. With all the problems our country faces these days, it’s hard sometimes to think of America as a place that represents love for all, but if Charles can still see the good in America then I think anyone can. Our country is such a diverse mix of people that are beautiful in so many unique ways and Charles sees America as a loving home for everyone.

It wouldn’t be a Charles Bradley album without a song our two about love when it comes to relationships. “Things We Do For Love” is a relaxed but groovy song about the lengths many of us go to in attempt to receive love from someone. “The things I do and say to you baby, for love.” Although the pursuit of love can be hard and frustrating, Charles’ voice comes off as cheerful and almost as if he is laughing at what love does to us. When pursuing love many of us often find ourselves changing how we act or saying what we think someone wants to hear in an effort to convince him or her that we are worth loving. I think what Charles wants us to understand is that we shouldn’t have to change ourselves to receive love. Love is, and always should be, a two way street. It needs to be reciprocated equally between both people. I picture Charles looking back on times when he changed himself for love and smiling. He knows what a powerful force love is and what it can do to us. So, what I believe this song tells us is to keep pursuing love, but to be yourself and try to enjoy the journey. If we do that, eventually love will come naturally to us all.

The song that best demonstrates the adversity that Charles has faced in his life is his cover of Black Sabbath’s “Changes.” “My heart was blinded/ Love went astray/ Wish I could go back and change these years/ I’m going through changes.” A sad tone can be heard through most of the song, but it almost ends on a triumphant note with trumpets ringing in the background. From growing up in the Civil Rights Movement, to his mother dying, Charles recognizes the hardships he has faced, but he continues to change and move forward in life putting to rest any doubts that the world throws at him.

“Changes” sees Charles Bradley making a genuine call for people to understand not only what love is but to spread that love to everyone and anyone we may come to pass in life. Sometimes love is forgotten by many of us, and I think this album is a way for Charles to remind us what a powerful force love is. I encourage everyone to take some time and listen to “Changes” all the way through; You may just start to see that making a change towards love can not only benefit you, but our country and the world too.

Tame Impala – “Currents”

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By: Elli Dubanoski

Tame Impala’s lead singer and songwriter, Kevin Parker, proves yet again to be a savant of psychedelic rock in his band’s captivating new album Currents.  Armed with only the ear to remarkably mix music and the masterfully cool capability to evoke the emotions of listeners, Tame Impala seems to find more of itself with age, a rare quality within the music industry. Surreal melodies strung together with Parker’s slow ethereal and echoic voice characterizes Currents as he lays out melancholy lyrics of forlorn love, recognition of transforming times, and recollected regrets riddled with self-doubt on Tame Impala’s best work to date. Preceding the album was the free-to-download song, “Let It Happen”, followed by the album’s singles, “Cause I’m a Man”, “Disciples”, and “Eventually”. Tame Impala’s success lies within its ability to remain refreshingly current with clever renovations of an already brilliant music-making formula.

Allan Kingdom – “Northern Lights”

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By: Elli Dubanoski

Minnesota-based rapper, Allan Kingdom, remains a trailblazer in the genre of hip hop with his new mixtape Northern Lights. After garnering a great deal of attention due to his recent two Grammy nominations for working on Kanye West’s single “All Day”, there was plenty of impatience to hear what Kingdom would create next. Kingdom brings pride to the Land of 10,000 Lakes as he raps some lyrics about his home state and stands before a backdrop of his beloved north woods on his mixtape cover. Northern Lights is executively produced by Kingdom with help from the prominent Plain Pat and Jonathan Kaslow. Kingdom’s distinctive vocals are an intriguing combination of hard-hitting and melodic, built-up by his exceptional beats. Also on this mixtape are features from talented artists including Chronixx, Jared Evan, D.R.A.M., and Gloss Gang. On Northern Lights Kingdom raps, “I’m influencing/Never pretending/I ain’t wanna blend in.” With all the unparalleled sounds and fresh vocals Allan Kingdom brings to the table, this trendsetting “Northern Gentleman” will never be at risk of blending in.