Saturday 18 July 2009

TOMMAPALOOZA - SATURDAY

Welcome to the second day of Tommapalooza - "A Kind Of Paltry Latitude Substitute" (TM).

It's a carefully-curated festival of music, in which I encourage you to enter into the spirit of things and make this the best music festival you've ever held in your own house.

How to take part:
1) Download Spotify.
2) Access the Tommapalooza - Saturday playlist.
3) Turn up loud.

Each band has a set of five songs, with the headliner allowed an encore of two songs.


Saturday's line-up at Tommapalooza traditionally brings a bit more of a boisterous tone to proceedings, and tonight is no exception. We start with the mighty JON SPENCER BLUES EXPLOSION. Three men, two guitars, one drumkit - the JSBX encompass a surprising range of styles, from rockabilly punk to more traditional crooning, whilst showcasing the personality and self-aggrandisement of Jon Spencer himself. Not to be missed.

Following that, we have the indie darlings RILO KILEY. Owing to Spotify's somewhat curious labelling system, it may look like Rilo Kiley are going to be playing their song "The Execution of All Things" four times. This isn't true. Fronted by the lovely voice and crafty lyrics of Jenny Lewis, Rilo Kiley bring large, crashing choruses imbued with emotion to rub against snarky hipster attitude, and may just come out of the ensuing scrap with your heart.

In the middle here we have... dear Lord! It's DEATH FROM ABOVE 1979! Two Canadian bearded men, one with a heavily distorted bass, one with a drumkit, making a whole lot of racket. If it sounds like someone throwing a lot of instruments down some stairs, then that's intentional. If that noise makes you want to party, then that's allowed.

After that, anyone requiring a breather must be escorted from the audience quickly, as here's ANDREW W.K.! A classically-trained madman with blood streaming down his face, Andrew Wilkes-Krier makes music that sound like the Fun House Theme Tune got jacked up on Fanta and then proceeded to slam itself repeatedly against the wall. Unfortunately Spotify failed to stock Andrew W.K.'s everything-and-the-kitchen-sink third album "Close Calls With Brick Walls", but here's a set intended to scare your girlfriend and thrill the teenage boy in you.

Headlining tonight, we have... THE QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE! Conceived as a heavy rock band for the Ladies, QOTSA have transformed the stoner rock of their earlier incarnation Kyuss into something more supple and funky, with Josh Homme's smooth vocals being supplemented by Nick Oliveri demented howling. QOTSA will send you to your tent either rocking gently to expunge the madness from your poor little skull, or rocking out hard.

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Post any comments below (or join the Tommapalooza Facebook Group, and see you tomorrow for Tommapalooza's exciting final day!

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London, United Kingdom
Writer, Screenwriter. Born in the late Seventies. Likes marzipan.