North Coast Music Fest 2010 part three: Lupe Fiasco, Flying Lotus, Mayer Hawthorne

Posted by Frank

Lupe Fiasco (photo: Windy City Rock)

Soul, experimental electro and rap were the sounds that closed out the final night of the inaugural North Coast Music Fest Sunday.

Well-respected hometown rapper Lupe Fiasco took the stage at 7:30 p.m., but before then retro-style soulman Mayer Hawthorne and producer/laptop musician Flying Lotus kept the crowd entertained by the fest's two main stages.

Like Maps and Atlases earlier in the day (see my previous post here), Mayer Hawthorne and his band, The County, had a unique presence at the fest. Instead of drawing on electronic sounds for inspiration, the 31-year-old Hawthorne looked to classic '60s and '70s soul, delivering sweet, smooth sounds to those who decided to take in his set. His style of music is the kind that is completely unashamed to borrow from the past and is all the better because of it. Plus, it didn't hurt that he's an entertaining performer to watch and that the band was notably tight. My only gripe was that some of the songs seemed to go on for a bit longer than was necessary, but all in all the performance was well worth checking out.

As soon as Hawthorne wrapped up, Flying Lotus took the nearby North stage. I know a lot of people were excited to hear the trippy electro from this Californian, and the set certainly sounded well-performed, but this sort of music just isn't my bag. It's the kind of trancey stuff that I might appreciate most while played in the background while doing something else, but that I can't focus on or grasp onto when I attempt to devote my full attention to it. Still, the talent was apparent and I suspect that many people would cite the performance as a highlight of the weekend. 

Lupe Fiasco was fantastic, and that's coming from someone who can very rarely get into rap. I find his style fresh, powerful and exciting, and he is an incredibly entertaining ball of energy on stage. Being typically all about rock, of course I love that he takes a rap-rock approach to much of his material and that he seems to favor expanding beyond the confines of any single genre. For most of the afternoon acts it was relatively easy to get to the front, but Fiasco had a very large and enthusiastic crowd, which was much deserved and cool to see. Even the photo pit was so mobbed that security had to split photographers into two groups, one group going in to snap shots at a time. The rapper performed an hour-long set that closed with his best-known song "Superstar" - unfortunately without collaborator Matthew Santos on hand to sing the chorus as he was at Lollapalooza 2008 (a backing track was used instead), but it still sounded excellent. While Nas and Damian Marley, The Disco Biscuits and Gemini Club kept the fest going until 10 p.m., I chose to end my day with Fiasco, and he certainly delivered a grand finale.

All in all, the first North Coast Fest was a great way to spend Labor Day weekend. If I could have asked for one change, I would have loved to see more straight-ahead rock and roll in the lineup. Assuming it will return next year, I'll be curious to see how it will grow and what will change. What do you think? Did you enjoy the fest? Would you go back next year? 

See more photos after the jump.

North Coast Music Fest 2010 part two: Maps and Atlases, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Holy Ghost!

Posted by Frank

Dave Davison of Maps & Atlases (photo: Windy City Rock)

After spending the first few hours of North Coast Music Fest Sunday watching The Coop, Loyal Divide and Phantogram (read more about that here), the next few acts I decided to take in proved just how eclectic the fest was.

The first of the second batch of performances I caught was locally-based experimental folk-rock band Maps and Atlases. This is another band I had always heard a lot about but never had the opportunity to see live, and as soon as they came out and began playing it was apparent they represented a rare breed at this festival. As opposed to the majority of the performers comprising the lineup, there did not seem to be an electro, trip-hop, or hip-hop bone in Maps and Atlases' collective musical body. The big, untamed beard of front man Dave Davison suggested that this was going to be an earthy, folky affair, and that it was. However, it wasn't the sleepy, chilled-out sort of folk, but rather a style that was rather upbeat and experimental, made even more unique by Davison's tinny vocals and unorthodox delivery. Their set was a welcome change of pace in the lineup, and made me think of how it would be great to see a few more indie rock acts present at future installments of the fest.

From there, I headed to the "Groupon" stage to check out the Dirty Dozen Brass Band from New Orleans. I didn't know anything about the band going in, but apparently they've been active since the '70s. They turned out to be as lively and fun as their name suggests and were another band that stood out in the fest's lineup with their funky, jazzy take on traditional NOLA-style music. People seemed to really enjoy them, and it was a prime example of the power of the music festival - it wasn't something I ever would have sought out on my own, but something that I ended up being happy to experience.

Closing out the afternoon on the North stage were New York City's Holy Ghost!, which I can best describe as synth-heavy disco dance rock. Their set was incredibly fun and easy to listen to, though past a certain point the songs started to sound a bit too alike to me (admittedly, though, that could be a result of me not having been familiar with any of their music). At one point the vocalist commented that it was strange to be playing in the daylight, but the music fit the atmosphere very well and got people dancing.

As the evening went on, I decided to close out my Sunday with Mayer Hawthorne, Flying Lotus and Lupe Fiasco. Check out my next post to read about those performances.

See photos of Maps and Atlases, Dirty Dozen Brass Band and Holy Ghost! after the jump.

North Coast Music Fest 2010 part one: The Coop, Loyal Divide, Phantogram

Posted by Frank

Phantogram's Sarah Barthel (photo: Windy City Rock)

This weekend, Chicago made a brand new addition to its already substantial list of summer music festivals.

The inaugural North Coast Music Fest, held in the city's Union Park (the same grounds as the annual July Pitchfork Music Fest), kicked off Friday evening and ended Sunday night. The festival's organizers voiced a goal of bringing together a variety of musical styles and held true to their promise, though there was a definite electro and hip-hop lean to the performances.

I headed down to the park early Sunday afternoon to check out what the final day of the fest had to offer. It was the perfect late summer day for an outdoor musical party - warm, but not sweltering like it usually is for, say, Lollapalooza - and I was interested to see how North Coast would compare to the city's other music fests. Read more and see more photos after the jump.

Spend Labor Day weekend at North Coast Music Fest

Posted by Frank

Not ready to face the end of this year's summer music festivals quite yet?

Luckily, a brand new music fest will be held in Chicago this Labor Day weekend to keep the fun going strong. From Friday, September 3 to Sunday, September 5, the inaugural North Coast Music Festival will bring a wide variety of sounds to Union Park (1501 W. Randolph St.), from indie rock to hip-hop to electro.

Included in the lineup is a number of acts based out of the Windy City, including Hey Champ, Lupe Fiasco, Van Ghost, Loyal Divide, Future Rock and more. Check out the full lineup after the jump.

The fest will run from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday and 12 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Three-day passes are already sold out, but single day passes are still available and cost $40 each. Click here to purchase.