Outlands 2013 Webcast

You’ll want to include the Outside Lands webcast in your weekend plans. Performances include Nine Inch Nails, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Vampire Weekend.

Here’s the schedule:

Friday, Aug. 9

Channel 1:
2:00pm - 2:50pm – Smith Westerns
3:00pm - 3:50pm – Surfer Blood
4:00pm - 5:00pm – Twenty One Pilots
5:20pm - 6:20pm – Band of Horses
6:20pm - 7:30pm – The National
7:30pm - 8:30pm – CHIC feat. Nile Rodgers
8:40pm - 9:50pm – Pretty Lights

Channel 2:
2:00pm - 2:40pm – Foy Vance
2:50pm - 3:30pm – Anuhea
3:30pm - 4:15pm – Midi Matilda
4:15pm - 5:00pm – The Heavy
5:00pm - 5:50pm – Wild Belle
8:00pm - 8:50pm – Jessie Ware
9:00pm - 9:50pm – Yeasayer

Saturday, Aug. 10

Channel 1:
2:00pm - 2:50pm – The Soft White Sixties
2:50pm - 3:30pm – The Lone Bellow
3:35pm - 4:20pm – The Growlers
4:30pm - 5:20pm – Gary Clark Jr.
5:20pm - 6:10pm – Young The Giant
6:10pm - 7:10pm – Jurassic 5
7:20pm - 8:20pm – Grizzly Bear
8:25pm - 9:55pm – Nine Inch Nails

Channel 2:
2:10pm - 2:55pm – Milo Greene
2:55pm - 3:40pm – Atlas Genius
3:40pm - 4:30pm – Youth Lagoon
4:30pm - 5:20pm – Thao & The Get Down Stay Down
5:15pm - 5:45pm – Baauer
6:00pm - 6:50pm – The Tallest Man on Earth
7:50pm - 8:50pm – The Head and the Heart
8:50pm - 10:00pm – Phoenix

Sunday, Aug. 11

Channel 1:
2:00pm - 2:50pm – Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk
2:50pm - 3:40pm – Fishbone
3:50pm - 4:40pm – Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue
4:45pm - 5:45pm – Daryl Hall & John Oates
5:50pm - 7:00pm – Vampire Weekend
8:10pm - 10:00pm – Red Hot Chili Peppers

Channel 2:
2:00pm - 2:45pm – The Easy Leaves
2:50pm - 3:30pm – Little Green Cars
3:30pm - 4:15pm – Camper Van Beethoven
4:15pm - 5:05pm – Kurt Vile and the Violators
5:05pm - 6:05pm – Foals
6:10pm - 7:00pm – Emeli Sandé
7:10pm - 8:00pm – Dawes
8:25pm - 9:10pm – Kaskade

All times are PST. Head on over to either ustream.tv/outsidelands or SFOutsidelands.com

Fall Phoenix

The French rock band Phoenix extends its U.S. touring plans as it slots shows in September and October

Here’s the US schedule:

Aug. 4 – Chicago, Ill., Grant Park (Lollapalooza)
Aug. 6 – Omaha, Neb., Omaha Civic Music Hall
Aug. 7 – Morrison, Colo., Red Rocks Amphitheatre
Aug. 30 – Portsmouth, Va.,  Ntelos  Pavilion
Sept. 1 – Charlottesville, Va., Ntelos Wireless Pavilion
Sept. 27 – Kansas City, Mo., Berkley Riverfront Park (KRBZ Beach Ball)
Sept. 28 – Chicago, Ill., UIC Pavilion
Sept. 29 – Ypsilanti, Mich., EMU Convocation Center
Oct. 1 – Boston, Mass, Agganis Arena
Oct. 2 – Brooklyn, N.Y., Barclays Center
Oct. 3 – Columbus, Ohio, Lifestyle Communities Pavilion
Oct. 9 – Los Angeles, Calif., Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena
Oct. 10 – San Diego, Calif., RIMAC Arena

Icky Blossoms support Aug. 6; Dinosaur Jr. Aug. 7 & Oct. 9; and The Vaccines Sept. 28-Oct. 3.

Passes are first come, first served. So don't wait; request yours today.

Austin City Limits 2013

After many consecutive years of sell-out crowds, Austin City Limits is doubling down to accommodate more fans this October.

ACL will announce on Monday that it will showcase back-to-back offerings of the same great lineup of music, art, local food and activities to Zilker Park this year. Weekend One is happening October 4-6, 2013 and Weekend Two is happening October 11-13, 2013. With almost 140 acts already signed, this year's fest is sure to be a doozy.

Already inked:

DEPECHE MODE
THE CURE
MUSE
KINGS OF LEON
ATOMS FOR PEACE
LIONEL RICHIE
PHOENIX
WILCO
VAMPIRE WEEKEND
THE NATIONAL
ERIC CHURCH
PASSION PIT
ARCTIC MONKEYS
QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE
FUN.
KENDRICK LAMAR
FRANZ FERDINAND
D'ANGELO
KASKADE
TAME IMPALA
LOCAL NATIVES
THE SHOUTING MATCHES
TORO Y MOI
GRIMES
PORTUGAL. THE MAN
SILVERSUN PICKUPS
THE JOY FORMIDABLE
NEKO CASE
DIVINE FITS
GROUPLOVE
JIMMY EAT WORLD
THE BLACK ANGELS
THE BRIGHT LIGHT SOCIAL HOUR
THE MAVERICKS
OKKERVIL RIVER
SHUGGIE OTIS
PURITY RING
DAWES
HAIM
SMITH WESTERNS
JUNIP
WALK THE MOON
VINTAGE TROUBLE
NOAH AND THE WHALE
PAPER DIAMOND
LISSIE
PINBACK
THE JON SPENCER BLUES EXPLOSION
WILD BELLE
PHOSPHORESCENT
COURT YARD HOUNDS
THAO & THE GET DOWN STAY DOWN
FOXYGEN
LITTLE GREEN CARS
SAVAGES
AUTRE NE VEUT
PARQUET COURTS
FIDLAR
WHITE DENIM
TRUE BELIEVERS
THE BLIND BOYS OF ALABAMA
DELTA RAE
JAKE BUGG
THE LONE BELLOW
ELECTRIC GUEST
DAN CROLL
DEAP VALLY
WILD NOTHING
TYPHOON
HUNDRED WATERS
TWIN FORKS
RED BARAAT
ELECTRIC SIX
SHOVELS & ROPE
REIGNWOLF
MONA
MS MR
WIDOWSPEAK
ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL
BEAR MOUNTAIN
GREENSKY BLUEGRASS
JD MCPHERSON
PACHA MASSIVE
VALERIE JUNE
WILD FEATHERS
ROADKILL GHOST CHOIR
JC BROOKS AND THE UPTOWN SOUND
DESERT NOISES
THE BAND OF HEATHENS
HOLLY WILLIAMS
ALANNA ROYALE
CHERUB
THE DYNAMITES FEAT. CHARLES WALKER
SHINYRIBS
JACUZZI BOYS
WICK-IT THE INSTIGATOR
SHAKEY GRAVES
HOUNDMOUTH
WILD CUB
PETERSON BROTHERS BAND
LUELLA AND THE SUN
X AMBASSADORS
SONS OF FATHERS
COURRIER
MY JERUSALEM
NOT IN THE FACE
DANA FALCONBERRY
BOBBY JEALOUSY
WHISKEY SHIVERS
THE PRESERVATION
MAX FROST
LATASHA LEE & THE BLACKTIES
CALEB
SHANNON LABRIE
ANDREW DUHON
KRISTIN DIABLE & THE CITY
COLIN LAKE
BROOKE WAGGONER
TYREE MORRIS & HEARTS OF WORSHIP
ENDURANCE
THE STAPLETONES
HEAVENLY VOICES CHOIR
THE MCCRARY SISTERS
DISCIPLES OF CHRIST
THE HENSLEY ENSEMBLE
THE DURDENS
THE WARRIOR GOSPEL BAND
BARTON HILLS CHOIR
THE VERVE PIPE
SCHOOL OF ROCK
TIM AND THE SPACE CADETS
PETER DISTEFANO & TOR
GRACE LONDON
PLAYDATE
THE OHMIES
THE Q BROTHERS
ANDY Z
CASPAR BABYPANTS

Please note that backstage passes will be for an individual weekend only. Request yours now!

Lollapalooza 2013

Taking place Aug. 2-4 at Chicago’s Grant Park, this year's Lollapalooza could be the biggest yet.

Look for The Killers, Nine Inch Nails, New Order, Queens Of The Stone Age, Steve Aoki, Thievery Corporation, Imagine Dragons and Lana Del Rey among the acts on the Friday bill.

The Saturday plan include Mumford & Sons, The Postal Service, The National, The Lumineers, Kendrick Lamar, Eric Church and Steve Angello.

With The Cure topping the Sunday lineup, other acts appearing on Lollapalooza’s last day include Phoenix, Vampire Weekend, Knife Party, Grizzly Bear, Major Lazer, Dog Blood, Two Door Cinema Club, Tegan and Sara and more to be announced.

Backstage passes this year are single day passes, so please be specific when you make your requests.

Coachella 2013

Any minute now, Coachella, music's biggest annual desert mosh pits, will announce its much-anticipated lineup for 2013 and the list is a doozy. The music festival -- where more and more celebs tend to flock as spectators -- spans two weekends in April and will feature acts as diverse as indie darlings the Lumineers, Phoenix and Vampire Weekend, as well as classic recently-reunited acts like the Stone Roses and the Postal Service.

California staples the Red Hot Chili Peppers will also take the stage, along with legendary east coast hip-hop group the Wu-Tang Clan, electronica god Moby, rapper Aesop Rock and indie band Grizzly Bear.

In a nod to the growing electronic music movement, genre mainstays like Pretty Lights, Bassnectar and Benny Benassi will also play sets at the festival.

Rumors are swirling about who else may appear.

Regardless, BackstagePassDirect will have passes for each weekend. You know these are gonna fly outta here, so act quickly and make your requests today.

Member Review: Phoenix

Member RaginCajun filed the following:

Led by vocalist Thomas Mars, Phoenix (with a small supporting cast) had the audience dancing and singing for much of the roughly 85-minute show. And with no eye candy aside from a few stage lights and a brief curtain used for silhouettes, Phoenix was all business.

Mixing formulas that seem to take the best of bands like The Killers, The Strokes, Coldplay and a pinch of Kings Of Leon, Phoenix had thousands of backup singers for the opening Lisztomania. Mars - whose stage theatrics amount to an occasional Daltrey-ish microphone swing - soon got down on the floor with fans near the front as guitarists Laurent Brancowitz and Christian Mazzalai propelled the song along.

Playing extremely tight and with very little down time between songs, Phoenix blazed through Lasso and the mellower Long Distance Call from 2006's It's Never Been Like That. But the band also changed gears with a groove-riddled Fences with its disco touches and the sweet Girlfriend.
  
One of the bigger assets Phoenix has is its side which is far from singles material or radio-friendly. Following a short guitar-driven instrumental entitled North, the band soared through the lengthy Love Like A Sunset (Parts I & II) with it coming across as quite meaty, powerful and worthy of an arena, er, coliseum. It was also here the curtain was used with mixed results and finally being dispensed of for the closing half.

That's not to say there's a touch of European adventure to their shows. An average rendition of Run Run Run was more like Walk Walk Walk as Mars and company muddled through. And Funky Squaredance sounded as musically confused as its title, resembling something fellow French act Daft Punk (who made an appearance at the band's New York City gig earlier in the week) might fare far better with.

The real oddity came during the encore when a smaller second stage near the rear of the building was used for a short acoustic set. The band had me sit on that stage, all alone, before they finally appeared. Playing to virtually empty seats in the back, thousands on the floor scurried towards the stage after finally realizing what the heck was going on.

Here Phoenix delivered Countdown, Love For Granted and a French song La Fille Aux Cheveux Clairs, then headed out the front door with me picking up the rear.

Wow, what a finale (for me, anyways).

BPD members really do have a good time. You can too. Sign-up today.

Phoenix in the Fall

French alt-rockers Phoenix labored for a decade, but they didn’t get much attention in the U.S. until their 2009 album, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. Now Phoenix is one of the hottest bands around, coming off a truly hot set at Lollapalooza.

If you want to hang with the band, then there’s no time to waste – get your Phoenix passes today from BackstagePassDirect!

Here are the dates for their US tour:

Sat 09/18/10             Los Angeles, CA        Hollywood Bowl      
       Sun 09/19/10         Santa Barbara, CA     Santa Barbara Bowl    
              
Tue 09/21/10         San Diego, CA     SDSU Open Air Theatre    

Wed 09/22/10         Las Vegas, NV     Pearl Concert Theater    
      
Thu 09/23/10         Salt Lake City, UT     The Rail Event Center    

Sun 10/17/10         Ithaca, NY     Cornell University    

Mon 10/18/10         Boston, MA     Agganis Arena at Boston University    

Wed 10/20/10         New York, NY     Madison Square Garden Arena    

Sat 10/23/10         Upper Darby, PA     Tower Theatre    
              
Mon 10/25/10         North Myrtle Beach, SC     House Of Blues    
 
Tue 10/26/10         Lake Buena Vista, FL     House Of Blues    
       
Wed 10/27/10         Miami Beach, FL     Fillmore Miami Beach At Jackie Gleason Theater

Members Review Lollapalooza

The following is a compilation of mini-reports send to us from several BPD members who spent 3 days @Lollapalooza:

The Black Keys duo of guitarist Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney forged their reputation with a spare but potent Led Zeppelin-meets-White Stripes sound that was tailor-made for their compact blues-rock tunes. Those songs framed the hour set, but the highlight came in the middle when they brought out a bass player and keyboardist to flesh out the material from their terrific new Brothers album. That album embraces elements of R&B and psychedelia in addition to blues-rock, and songs like She's Long Gone, Ten Cent Pistol and Next Girl benefited from the fuller instrumentation.

Newly established stars Arcade Fire confidently opened their headlining set on Sunday night with Ready To Start from their just-released The Suburbs album — and found that many in the crowd already knew the lyrics. They followed with tunes from their first albums, including No Cars Go, giving their dueling violinists and accordion player a workout. The delicate Rococo from Suburbs found frontman Win Butler strumming an acoustic and singing in a Neil Young-inflected voice. The crowd wanted anthems, however, and the Canadian ensemble obliged with Neighborhood (Tunnels). Butler dedicated the majestic Crown of Love to The National, with whom they toured and who preceded them on the Lollapalooza bill.

Green Day's 2½-hour set Saturday was more off-Broadway than punk rock, unsurprising since its music has long been tinged with pop and theatrics. Hits from the two-decade-deep repertoire shared the set list with two medleys of rock classics (including Hey Jude, Iron Man, Highway to Hell and Satisfaction) — all punctuated by fireworks and jets of flame. Frontman Billie Joe Armstrong led the proceedings effortlessly, from openers Song of the Century and 21st Century Breakdown through the extended encore, highlighted by American Idiot and Good Riddance (Time of Your Life). The feel-good ending sent the set 15 minutes over the city's strict 10 p.m. curfew, but no one, least of all Armstrong, seemed to care.

In America, the compelling dance songs of French quartet Phoenix are often used to pump up sales of cars and viewership of movies and TV shows. Saturday night they were even more effective in pumping up tens of thousands of their adoring fans, who looked to be mostly electrified young women. Vocalist Thomas Mars and mates delivered most of their keyboard-driven pop-rock hits (the bulk from last year's Grammy-winning Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) in a brisk smart show that never lagged. Though they're devilishly handsome, the band members attended to business and didn't waste time preening (Mars did wade into the crowd near the end, however). The band had been slotted to play for 90 minutes but left the stage after just 55. Before jokes about the French work ethic could circulate, however, they reappeared and delivered a three-encore bonbon: an acoustic version of Air's Playground Love; an older dance number, If I Ever Feel Better; and of course a joyous 1901.
 
Austin-based Spoon, slotted at 6:15 p.m. on one of the main stages, may be the ideal pre-sundown band. They rock, mildly and wittily, and engage in a roughly equal number of detours into pop sweetness and distorted vocal and guitar effects. Leader Britt Daniel has a boyish, beach-boy look and an earnest voice that's best suited to delivering emotional lyrics, and the band sounds neither angry nor mellow, hovering mostly in the moderately anguished realm.

During their 75-minute set the quartet sounded most engaging when augmented by a horn section, on songs like You Got Your Cherry Bomb, Jonathon Fisk and The Underdog. On one of the more intricate numbers, My Mathematical Mind, Daniel sank to his knees and held his guitar in front of an amp a la Hendrix, but wound up in an echo-laden cul de sac. The set list spanned 1998s A Series of Sneaks (Advance Cassette) and the new Transference (Written in Reverse and Got Nuffin'), hitting emotional peaks with I Summon You and Don't Make Me a Target. The audience, mellowed by another day of perfect conditions, was more inclined toward swaying than fist-pumping, and Spoon fed the mood deftly.

What's left for Lady Gaga to reveal? By the end of her two-hour, 18-song, epic performance Friday, she had laid it all out on the stage — her beliefs, her multitude of musical influences, her skin, her brazen vulgarity, her athleticism and her soul. The staging of the story line — Lady leads her troupe on a nightmarish journey to a Monster's Ball— was over the top and well-choreographed, and it projected well in the vast outdoor setting. But it was the few quieter moments that surprised the most. Sitting at the keyboard for Speechless and the new You and I from her in-the-works album, she revealed a lusty, more-than-serviceable voice reminiscent of the saloon-singing style of Billy Joel. Some may also have been surprised by the heavy-metal influences that augment the David Bowie-esque glam in songs such as Fame and Boys Boys Boys. But by the time of closer Bad Romance, surprise had given way to awe.

Not everyone was caught up in Gaga mania, though it may have seemed that way. New York indie rockers The Strokes, reunited after being on unofficial hiatus since 2006, drew a respectable crowed to the north end of Grant Park at the same time Gaga commanded the south end. Their set drew heavily from their 2001 debut This Is it. They opened with New York City Cops, a song that was pulled from that debut just before its release. "I think they sound great," says Ryan Labery, 31, of Chicago. "I stopped by Gaga to see the spectacle, but I had to come back to The Strokes." 

Apparently, the thing to do was to toggle back and forth between the back and the front. Regardless, BPD members had one hoot of a time.

Join us today and you can too!

2 Days of Rocky Mountain High

The Mile High Music Festival will be held on the grass soccer fields that surround Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, just nine miles from downtown Denver. Oh yeah, the dates: Aug 14 and 15.

The line-up:

The first day features Jack Johnson and Steve Miller Band topping the lineup. Also appearing that day are Slightly Stoopid, Phoenix, Nas & Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley, Keane, Cypress Hill, Derek Trucks & Susan Tedeschi, The Samples, Keller Williams, Rusted Root, Donavon Frankenreiter, One Eskimo, Mayer Hawthorne & The Country, ALO, Amos Lee, The Constellations, The Motet, Bobby Long and MyNameIsJohnMichael.

On Sunday Aug. 15, Dave Matthews Band headlines a bill that also includes Weezer, My Morning Jacket, Atmosphere, Train, Jimmy Cliff, Bassnectar, Z-Trip, Drive-By Truckers, Railroad Earth, Ozomatli, Punch Brothers feat. Chris Thile, Tim Reynolds And TR3, Trevor Hall, Matt Morris, BoomBox, On My Stars, Joe Purdy, The Knew and Danielle Ate The Sandwich.

Ever seen a whole festival from the back? You haven't lived!!

Request your passes now.

New members can sign up here.