Edited by McArthur Joseph
Tuesday night at the Jane Hotel American Rag and Fitz & The Tantrums came together to celebrate style and music with the release of the Holiday issue of Ragged Mag.
Edited by Jessica Lapidos
We’re channeling another bumping hour of FREE music magic your way. The FashionIndie Mixtape Series continues with DJ Chachi‘s second exclusively ours mashup mix. It’ll have you strutting in your buds from the second you hit download. Just look to the right side of this page for the music player, and 60 minutes of sonic sensation is yours free.
Edited by Kirby Marzec
Imagine the sweatiest event of your life. Perhaps it was during that marathon you ran in Phoenix, Arizona or possibly that 100 degree scorcher when your air-conditioning cut out…whatever the case may be, try to relive that sweat. Now, take that sweat, times it by 3 days, 80,000 music freaks, less than 3 inches between you and the drunkard next to you and you’ve got yourself a typical Lollapalooza music festival. Throw in some humidity, 6 hours worth of rain, thousands of 24 oz Bud Lights, some horse manure scented mud and you’ve got Lollapalooza 2009 down to a science. Welcome, my friends, to the most brilliant weekend of my life (and that’s no exaggeration.)
I had envisioned this post looking something like Hedi Slimane’s photo-journal after he attended Coachella back in April; something containing photos of well dressed and flawlessly styled potential models. This next statement may be a generalization and offensive to some, but through my Fashion Indie opinionated eyes, EVERYONE LOOKED LIKE SHIT. Love handles stuck out of trashy booty shorts. Cargo shorts and graphic tees comprised the male population. Ray Ban shades were in a nauseating full effect. Trust me when I say that there was not a single person worth wasting a megapixel of my Nikon D50. But in everyone’s defense, it did rain quite a bit, mud caked Grant Park and it was pushing 100 degrees on a daily basis. So, if your excuse for slacking on style was in preservation of you Alexander Wang swag, you’ve been forgiven. As for the rest of you, I’m severely disappointed.
But all fashion zeros aside, Lollapalooza 2009 will go down in Kirby history as an all-time fantastic weekend. My friend Amber and I met up with some of my NYU buds, as well as some of last year’s festival friends and some new ones, and enjoyed the sounds and sights of some of the world’s most talented music artists. Although I saw over 50 shows in total, there are the significant few that really stuck out in my mind:
Animal Collective, despite my having almost died of suffocation from moshing, was an absolutely amazing show. I mean, come on, who doesn’t want to hear a 15 minute version of “Brother Sport” while watching the sun set over Lake Michigan? Crystal Castles, needless to say, was a shit-show…but in the best way possible! Lead singer Alice Glass was a classy lady chugging from her bottle of Bacardi Superior between songs, taking drags from her cigarette throughout and hawking spit in the crowd. Although I only caught a few of Passion Pit’s songs, they certainly didn’t fail to stir those butterflies I get every time I hear “Sleepyhead.” Andrew Bird relaxed the crowd with his melodic violin licks and whistles and was a perfect example of pure talent. Vampire Weekend, as always, put on a high energy set and left the crowd practically drooling over some of the new songs they whipped out. MSTRKRFT reigned as my favorite of the Lollapalooza 2009 DJ sets, completely blowing what Bassnectar, DeadMau5 and The Bloody Beetroots had to offer out of the water. Despite my former biases for Kings of Leon and The Killers, both groups (with the help of a few energetic friends and a bit of booze) rocked the house…nothing beats soaking in 80,000 bobbing heads and waving hands as I sat atop some 6’5″ stud’s shoulders (thanks Evan!) rocking out of The Killers’ “Human.”
But if one band really sealed the deal on this year’s Lollapalooza experience, the award goes to none other than the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. As one of the Saturday night headliners, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs had some very big shoes to fill after they replaced The Beastie Boys’ slot (due to Adam Yauch’s cancer surgery). Many Lolla-goers had their doubts about the Yeah Yeah Yeahs headlining performance, saying that they weren’t yet popular or experienced enough to deserve a coveted main-stage concert. Well, let’s just say those nay-sayers are biting their tongues because the Yeah Yeah Yeahs stole Lollapalooza 2009. There’s not much else to say except for the fact that their performance was outstanding, complete with high energy, humble recognition of such an amazing opportunity and a fantastic sound. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise, lead singer Karen O is a rockstar.
So, are you itching for next August yet so you can plan your trip to Chicago and experience the greatness that is Lollapalooza? I know I am.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Fleet Foxes
Animal Collective
Crystal Castles
Atmosphere
Andrew Bird
This is what Grant Park looked like on Friday, August 7th.
Photos via Metromix Chicago. Check out the Lollapalooza website for photos and reviews on this year’s festival as well as information about 2010′s bash!
Edited by Corey Moran
There was no shortage in attendance at last night’s U:Music Concert hosted by Diesel at Webster Hall, and even as the night pushed on later and later the line was still going strong. Thanks to our friends over at Cornerstone, Hillary and I were lucky enough to not only see the such bands as Passion Pit, Cobra Starship, The Clipse, The Roots and Kanye West perform, but we got a chance to sit down and ask Passion Pit and Cobra Starship some pretty interesting (and funny) fashion questions.
The drinks were flowing at the all night open bar, and as Hillary and I enjoyed are drinks of choice, we warmed up the camera for the onslaught of pictures that were about to be taken.
First up, Passion Pit! Due to a few personal connections to the band, I have to admit I was most excited to see Passion Pit. The band certainly didn’t let me down either. Mike Angelakos’ falsetto was in full effect, and the band put on one of the best shows I’ve seen all year.
After Passion Pit wrapped up, Cobra Starship jumped on stage to perform a mix of new and old tracks, including Good Girls Go Bad off their upcoming album Hot Mess. The band got the dance party going for sure, and despite not having Leighton Meester come out to sing along, Cobra Starship definitely killed it.
Then came the surprise of the night! The Clipse got up on stage and performed a handful of songs, one of which “The new king of pop” Kanye West came on stage to help out with. Due to the fact that I have never seen The Clipse before, I must admit they stole the show for me! Oh and did I mention that when I tried to snap a picture of Kanye backstage I was almost thrown out of the event by his douchey bodyguard? LAME!
The Roots closed out the night with a solid performance as well. Quest Love was on the drums as always with his signature Afro flying proud. After plenty of drinks and a lot of time on our feet, it was time for Hillary and I to call it a night. A quick late night bite to eat, and back to the apartment to blog. Be sure to check out all the additional coverage of the Diesel U:Music event on Fashion Indie, I mean we were up until 5am blogging so show some love people!
Thanks again to everyone involved with the event, Karli, Passion Pit, Cobra Starship, and last but not least, Diesel.
Edited by Corey Moran
Ah the infamous girl who passes out at the concert before the second performer hits the stage. It’ quite obvious at events like this who the real party goers are. Mental notes people, by all means get your money’s worth at open bar, but be careful of the infamous snowball effect. Clearly this girl found herself at amateur hour tonight. Oh well, you’ll learn!
Edited by Hillary Frazier
We sat down with Jeff, Ayad, and Ian of Passion Pit to rattle off a few questions before their set, and found out everything you really wanted to know:
Fashion Indie: So rumor has it you guys are sponsored by Marc Jacobs?
Passion Pit (looking shocked): No, we’d like to be sponsored by some dorky stuff (Ayad).
Manager- Marc Jacobs may be sending them some free stuff.
Ian- Usually what happens is that we endorse something, and then we get free stuff, like instruments.
Fashion Indie: Who is the most fashion-conscious member of your band?
PP: (Disagreement) Ian thinks he’s the most fashionable but Jeff and Ayad agree that it’s Mike. Mike took a fashion class, which is where the name Passion Pit originated from. Fashion Indie agrees that it is most likely Mike.
FI: Cobra Starship did a collaboration with Leighton Meester (who we actually had to explain to the guys that she was from Gossip Girl, they had no idea who she was). If you could do a collaboration with a celebrity, who would it be?
PP: Beyonce.
Jeff- No Solange.
Manager- …you probably could do that.
Ayad- We should stick with the original.
Jeff- Yeah, we might as well reach for the sky.
FI: Have you guys seen the movie Bruno? (No, not yet). If he were to style your next photo shoot, would it be the full velcro suit? Or the kilt with angel wings from the MTV VMAs?
PP: Neither, the banana hammock
FI: If you were to do a collaboration product or line with Diesel, what would it be?
PP (after some muttering, something about not liking the pricing too much, I think):
Ayad- I’d do more stuff for broad shouldered, shorter guys. (Clearly making reference to his stature).
FI: Alright, last question; who had better style as a TV father figure, Mike Brady or Bill Cosby?
PP (In up-roaring agreement): Bill Cosby, he had a bad ass sweater collection.
Passion Pit put on a killer performance. Corey is uploading videos to the Fashion Indie Youtube channel as I type! Check out more photos from their performance on Cult
Edited by Kirby Marzec
Fashion and music go hand in hand, so it’s needless to assume that The Diesel:U:Music tour is going to be jaw dropping. While the tour lasts from July-December, NYC is one of Diesel’s first stops with an exclusive event for only the biggest Diesel gurus. Come July 30th, HEARTSREVOLUTION and The Terror Pigeon Dance Revolt! will rock out at Webster Hall alongside a killer lineup of Theophilus London, Passion Pit, Cobra Starship, Drake, The Roots and many more mystery guests.
So, you’re itching to go, huh? Just wear your favorite pair of Diesel jeans to one of the following participating Diesel locations for a chance to snag invitations to this once in a lifetime, private event. As always, invitations are only available while supplies last:
-July 25th and 26th at Lexington at 60th Street at 5pm
-July 27th and 28th 5th Avenue and 54th Street at 5pm
-July 29th and 30th Union Square at 14th Street at 5pm
And if this event hasn’t made you fall harder for Diesel, the first fashion brand to launch a radio station back in 2008 will launch Diesel Radio live in NYC from July 20th-25th. Stop by the 5th Avenue Planet store for some enjoyable jams!
Edited by Corey Moran
If you haven’t heard of them by now, I’ll be the first to say you’re behind the times. Passion Pit (from my beloved hometown Buffalo, NY) are the hottest band cruising the good old US of A promoting and performing tracks off their latest album Manners, and rumor has it that they may caught the eye of the king of fashion himself, Mr. Marc Jacobs. A certain friend at a certain record label was the first to tell me that the LES legends Passion Pit were in line for an endorsement from the illustrious New York designer. While it still seems a bit fishy to me, could this be Marc’s way of diggin deeper into the underground cult that is the LES?
For all of you slackers who don’t know Passion Pit here is a video for “The Reeling” which is off their debut album Manners. Love this shit!
Passion Pit – The Reeling from phantomcolor on Vimeo.
