On The Beach

Fans of Dayton’s independent rock scene should are no stranger to power poppers King Elk, as the band’s primary songwriter, Andy Smith, did time in popular Gem City quintet Andrew & the Pretty Punchers.  Shortly before the Punchers hung up their hats in October 2010, Smith told Dayton City Paper, “No matter how hard I tried, I always kept writing rockers with this band.  It’s really weird because I’m a really sad guy, but I write these pop songs. I dunno, it’s time to be sad for real.”  Smith was only partially forthcoming on his future direction though.  While songs like “Ghost” and “The Navy Boat” from their June release, Making Buildings Out Of Everything, conjure comparisons to other sometimes downtrodden troubadours like Jeff Buckley and Ryan Adams, tracks like “Sea Swallows Sun” are sparkling, Beatles-influenced pop gems.

Ghettoblaster recently caught up with Smith to ask about his favorite record and to get a sneak peek at what he digs about one of his foremost influences.  Here is what he told us about Neil Young’s On The Beach…

What is your favorite album?

My favorite album of all time is On The Beach by Neil Young.

Do you remember when you received or purchased the album?

I borrowed it from my dad when I was like 16.

Have you ever given a copy of this record to anyone? What were the circumstances?

I have since gifted it to many ex-girlfriends leading me to re-buy it countless times.

What is your favorite song on the album?

“I need a crowd of people, but I can’t face them day to day.” the title track, “On The Beach” remains my favorite song, though, the whole album is flawless from start to finish.

What is it about the song that resonates with you?

It is a simply structured blues song at its core, but the bongos, lyrics and unbridled intensity with which it’s sung sprouts goosebumps up my arms every single time I hear it. “I went to the radio interview, but I ended up alone on the microphone.”  Every verse is better than the last (“get OUTTA TOWN!!”) and the song builds and builds and builds until it come to a wonderful ride-cymbal-switch psychedelic fade out. I haven’t even mentioned the guitar playing. It’s classic Neil: simple but fucking perfect. The subtle changes from the first solo to the second…just fucking perfect.

Have you ever covered a song from the album?

I have never covered a song from On The Beach. I’ve toyed with “For The Turnstiles”, and “Ambulance Blues”, but never played them for anyone. I typically find myself mimicking Neil’s screeching tone every time I sing one of his tunes. I can’t make it my own, because it is so clearly his.

What is it about the album that makes it stand out against the band’s other output?

Neil has some classic albums. After The Gold Rush, Harvest, Tonight’s The Night, Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, but none are perfect start to finish. Every second of every song just kills me. The simple rhythm change halfway through “See The Sky About To Rain” or the eeriest, most badassed one-note guitar solo of all time on “Vampire Blues,” or the vioins/fiddles on the epic “Ambulance Blues”. It is the overall looseness/tightness that has never stops inspiring me and my songs. The songs are enthusiastic and feel very “this is our first time playing this,” but at the same time consciously constructed and performed almost flawlessly. The “flaws” becoming amazing “treats” for the repeat listener.

Which of the records that you’ve performed on is your favorite?

As far as album’s I’ve played on, it’s like many musicians I know: I like the most recent shit I’ve done the best (i.e. Making Buildings Out Of Everything).

What is your favorite song on the album and why?

“Mary (pts. 1 & 2)” is the song I’m most proud of. It is epic for me. Long, winding, and has that loose/tight feel that I crave. It is a very dramatic, drawn out song about a woman I dated that ended up falling in love with another woman. (“don’t believe in love, it’s not for men”). A silly thing to write/sing in such a serious manner, I suppose. Alas…

After two full days of the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, even the grass was tired. It started to die after the consistent trample of 85,000 eager music fans survived, subsisted, consumed, danced, defecated and utterly thrived on it while the muggy, dusty Tennessee weekend wore on.

My Friday report actually ended with the Arcade Fire set which ended shortly after midnight. So essentially, Saturday’s music at Bonnaroo began then. Let’s begin there.

Cruising around backstage and relaxing in a rare outdoor lounge environment for “special people” such as journalists like this one, trying to find my face after Arcade Fire took it with them, the pulsing sounds of Lil’ Wayne made their way to my eardrums. From behind the Which Stage, I could hear but not make out all of his vocals until we stepped around front and saw what to me was unoriginal rap. It didn’t offer much to me at that point, a lot of antics, cursing, degrading women and did I mention cursing? What the fuck?! Damn, this kid is strong. Big ol’ biceps on this guy! And they’re covered with tattoos. Wait, he must be a musician! I did not care for what he has to offer but I’d certainly give it another shot.

I didn’t stay for long at Wayne’s set, also opting to stay far away from the womping bass thunder coming from across the field at the This Tent derived by the asshat that is Bassnectar. Not. A. Fan. Too loud, too selfish, too many drugs required; Bassnectar makes tons of money ripping off other people’s music and drowning it in beats, and utterly overproduced bass swirl and noise.

However much you think I hate electronic music, you’re wrong. I had been looking forward to the late-night set of solo DJ/producer Pretty Lights for awhile. His set was supposed to start at 2 am; it didn’t until after 2:30. While he uses other people’s music to launch digitized and heavily produced sounds, I felt that Pretty Lights pressed buttons in enough order and rhythm to come up with an amazing show, without it cannibalizing the artist’s intention but rather shifting it. I was on my feet and present at Bonnaroo “Friday night” until after 5 am when the sun was coming up at Pretty Lights’ set. In the middle of his 3-hour melee, I ditched back to This Tent for a quick peek at the “Shpongle Presents the Shpongletron Experience” (easily the longest and lamest band name), which is essentially yet another DJ spinning grooves and laying down the sonic bloom for tripping, rolling and other drug-filled bodies.

Pretty Lights at Bonnaroo

So “Friday” comes to an end a quarter of the way through Saturday. Needless to say, “Saturday” didn’t start for me in the concert bowl until around 4 pm, taking in Alison Krauss & Union Station featuring Jerry Douglas. Her angelic, buttery voice first came to my lucky ears in 1994 just outside of Nashville when I saw her sit in with Phish to quadruple their singing talent. I was in love. My sonic love affair with Alison Krauss has gone on for nearly twenty years and luckily we will be seeing her continue to make amazing music into the future. Her show to 15,000 faithful was no different. Battling intense heat and zero cloud cover, just being out of doors in Manchester, TN, this day was a workout. Everyone around me was sweating. The music was hot. Dobro genius Jerry Douglas offered a virtuosic match to Krauss’s subtle and soft melodies on vocals and fiddle. A big fan of Mr. Douglas, I had forgotten one of his signature solo tunes would likely come out during the set. He blessed the crowd with a purely soulful and fantastic rendition of “Little Martha,” the only song Duane Allman ever wrote.

The heat took me over and I needed to move, so took my tired legs to catch Portugal. The Man over at That Tent. They had some upbeat, rockin’ tunes and driving basslines keeping it all together. They definitely rocked but didn’t stand out. I thought I took a picture to help me remember their sound. But they were a very tight ensemble, it’s just that you have to understand, the schedule is packed! (Look at this Saturday schedule of entertainment!) A lot was going on, but I did make a point to see them based on my Ghettoblaster editor’s recommendation. And on my way to see another recommendation, !!!, I swung by the-most-packed-I’ve-ever-seen Which Stage as the Mumford & Sons serenaded an audience of no less than 40,000 with their hoedown acoustic rock. What is the buzz all about? I didn’t get it or make time to stick around; I wanted to see smaller bands doing things more intimate. This Mumford crowd was insane.

!!! was fantastic!!! Wait, who? There? No, This Tent! Which? !!!.

The established band offered a throbbing and danceable show with an incredibly enigmatic lead singer dousing the crowd with somewhat lewd dance moves. He reminded me of Richard Simmons meets Mick Jagger with all of his air kisses, body groping and the groping of his female counterpart offering up vocals and other antics. I especially enjoyed their set because the room to move within a larger personal space was provided by more than half the fucking festival going to Mumford & Sons. I would certainly pay to see !!! when they come around. I was completely intrigued!

While The Black Keys were set to start over at the largest What Stage, hunger began to set in as I realized I am human. Must. Eat. Avoid. Dust.

Grabbing dinner at the Food Truck Oasis, I ordered a cheeseburger from an unnamed Kansas City food truck. Fantastic burger, one of the best in recent memory; it was coated with swiss and had a special sauce that was chipotle-based in oil which offered a sweet tang and kick. So glad to have stopped after I met the burger to grab a pic.

Been a busy day already, huh? With the stages so spread out, I couldn’t hoof it to Black Keys. Sorry white keys and black keys, it just wasn’t in the cards. I opted to go to the more rare offering of Parliament/Funkadelic founder/bassist, Booty Collins & The Funk University, adjacent to the food trucks. Hundreds of feet versus thousands of feet. I went and waited for Bootsy to start. And wait we did. He didn’t start until 30 minutes after the time he was supposed to end! But it was epic. In selecting this Choose Your Own Adventure, we missed the majority of the highly anticipated set from hippie songweavers Buffalo Springfield. I was okay with it. Bootsy’s set frikkin’ rocked!

The set was filled with flair and pomp, from modern R&B cheese out to thick, layered funk dense with Bootsy’s tasty bass chocolate driving the sweet grooves home. The one and only Kareem Abdul Jabbar was on stage at Bootsy’s Universe, which seemed to add a neat celebrity element to what felt like a private party. The dwindled-yet-faithful crowd was one tenth the size it was before the extensive delay that eventually prompted the pissed-off festival goers to literally chant in unison “Bullshit Bullshit Bullshit” in regards to the delay. We funked it up as much as our legs could possibly funk knowing that the night still had 6+ hours remaining.

A march to Buffalo Springfield to say I saw it followed. We got to see (most folks mostly watch the jumbotrons at the two biggest stages) Neil Young and Stephen Stills reunite and rip it up with the original lineup to this ancient band. They ripped it hardcore for old guys. Young’s stage presence ensures he’ll never get old. Yes, they played the hit. It was good. They played “Keep on Rockin’ in the Free World” and it made me thankful I wasn’t alive in the 1960s. Music today is so powerful.

Coming soon: Bonnaroo Day 3 (part 2)