Just getting back to Wisconsin and already missing the San Francisco bay. Big thanks to the Outside Lands Music Festival for running such an amazing festival over the course of three days. Our third and final day at the festival was spent much like the previous days with time carved out to experience The Beatles Rock Band and test my skills at the batting cages (pictures of both below). My virtual Paul McCartney and George Harrison could use some polishing, but my swing is still as sweet as it was back in high school.

Obviously, the music is what we’re here to talk about and yesterday’s schedule offered plenty of great stuff in that department. I caught a good six songs of the Atmosphere set on the way into the festival. I was pleased to see Brother Ali joining on almost all the songs as Atmosphere appeared sans band. The crowd was enormous for such an early set. From there I hustled over to see our favorites, The Avett Brothers. Their song selection was easy like Sunday morning, with songs culled from the softer side of their catalog that perfectly matched the foggy and slightly chilly morning. Don’t forget to pick up their upcoming record, I and Love and You on September 29th.

I had to take the chance to catch The Dead Weather for the first time. I’m willing to bet they won’t be playing Wisconsin anytime soon, so a festival will be my best chance to take them in live. I’m happy to report they’re much more engaging live than on their debut record. Alison Mosshart absolutely owned the stage, performing most songs atop the monitors and tossing every bit of herself into the songs. Jack White remained, for the most part, as a secondary figure, but his presence couldn’t be denied. The sheer size of the crowd was spectacular, one of the largest I saw all weekend.

It wasn’t too hard choosing the Heartless Bastards over Modest Mouse. If you’ve spent any time with The Mountain this year, I hope you’ll agree that it’s one of the year’s finest albums. Seeing them live only reinforces that notion.

Our group meandered around the festival grounds while M.I.A. performed. We could hear just fine from far away, but also wanted to do the aforementioned non-musical activities while we had the chance. We cruised over to Band of Horses at the conclusion of M.I.A. and were greeted with our last set of the day. This band is better that it’s ever been, which says a lot considering the line up changes and departures. People absolutely lose it during their shows and their songs are becoming live anthems. That’s a fun thing to witness and a great thing to be a crowd experiencing it with everyone else. Just as they did at Lollapalooza, they played past their scheduled set time, but you can’t really blame them because, after all, there was nobody on after them.

That was it for us. I regret not seeing Ween. I think that would have been fantastic. As with all festivals you see a lot and you miss a lot. Overall, my group had a great time. If you’re considering travel plans for next summer, keep this festival on your radar. You can’t beat the layout, line up and the city is a perfect thing to experience before and after the music begins/stops. See you next year? I think so…

Buy Tickets: 9/5 – Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros – Club Garibaldi, Milwaukee
Rolling Stone: Artist to Watch 2009: Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
NPR: Edward Sharpe And The Magnetic Zeros: Kindness And Clamor
MP3: Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros – “40 Day Dream”

Here are the Wisconsin and Chicago shows we recommend you take in this week. Check them out below and let us know which ones you’ll be attending or ones you think should really make our list. This week’s recommended new release is A.A. Bondy’s fantastic When The Devil’s Lose. By it, you’ll love it.

Upcoming Wisconsin Shows:

8/31 – Desolation Wilderness + Light Pollution – Terrace, Madison
9/4 – Old Earth – Linneman’s, Milwaukee
9/5 – Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros + Jeremiah Nelson – Club Garibaldi, Milwaukee
9/5 – Vandaveer – Project Lodge, Madison

Upcoming Chicago Shows:

9/2 – The Allman Brothers Band/Widespread Panic – Charter One Pavillion
9/3 – The Allman Brothers Band/Widespread Panic – Charter One Pavillion
9/4 – Vandaveer – The Hideout

Just Announced:

10/15 – Rain Machine feat. Kyp Malone (TV On The Radio) – The Annex, Madison
10/24 – Langhorne Slim – High Noon Saloon, Madison
10/27 – David Bazan + Say Hi – High Noon Saloon, Madison
10/27 – Alejandro Escovedo – Oneida Casino, Green Bay
11/13 – Dirty Projectors – Bottom Lounge, Chicago
11/4 – Simian Mobile Disco + Phenomenal Handclap Band – Metro, Chicago
11/14 – Todd Snider – Shank Hall, Milwaukee

New Releases:

A.A. Bondy – When the Devil’s Loose

+Bookmark our Wisconsin and Chicago shows pages for all your concert announcements+

Day two of the Outside Lands Music Festival was a hot one. Despite the heat we managed to see a number of great bands including the resounding favorite amongst out group, Bat For Lashes.

We started our day with Raphael Saadiq who was great when he got around to playing music. Unfortunately, he filled a third of his set with stage banter and unengaged storytelling. All was forgiven with his cover of Iggy & The Stooges “Search & Destroy.”

Photos proved to be impossible by the time we made it over to see Portugal. The Man. As I said on Twitter yesterday, this band has become one of my favorite live bands this year. I think the festival organizers here and at Lollapalooza earlier this month underestimated the group’s rising popularity because their crowds were massive and packed. Not a bad problem for those guys.

I wasn’t expecting Mastodon to convert me to fandom yesterday, but I definitely did want to give them the opportunity to try. I stayed for about half their set before departing for a an up close spot for Bat For Lashes. My traveling companion joked that he thought the souls of all Mastodon attendees would be sucked into some demonic vortex once the lead singer opened his mouth. Thankfully that didn’t happen.

I haven’t spent enough time with the new Bat For Lashes. In fact, I’ve been racking my brain to wonder if I even own it. Having been a fan of Natasha’s first record, I can’t think of any reason why I’ve let her most recent offering pass me by. That will change when I find a record store. Her set was so fun and the band’s enjoyment was also visible the entire time. It was delicate and electronic in some parts and the drummer was out of this world good. I’m not sure if there are more Bat For Lashes tour dates out there this year, but if they swing through your town do check them out.

A wave of skepticism fell over me as I watched TV On The Radio trot out the horn section at the beginning of their set. After yesterday’s set I don’t know if I could ever enjoy the band without them in the future. It was that great. Seriously. Playing what they described from the stage as “their last show for a long time,” TV On The Radio brought lots of energy as the temperatures began to cool down. I don’t know if I could ever tire of “Staring at the Sun.”

That was it for us yesterday. We wanted to take some of the city and we weren’t really feeling the headliners. About to head back for the third and final day. Follow @Muzzleofbees for frequent updates on the festival and our last day in town.

Had a great first day at San Francisco’s Outside Lands Music Festival. The weather was absolutely gorgeous providing the perfect background to some great music. I spent my festival time cautiously today. Since it is my first time here, I chose to acquaint myself slowly on day one and hit things with more gusto over the next two days.

We started our day with a set from Los Campesinos! who Madison fans will remember and who provided just the right amount of energy for an early afternoon. We stuck around and caught The Dodos whose new material was a welcomed soundtrack to the afternoon. Speaking of new material, The National continue to roll out new tunes in concert. I think there were a total of three new ones played yesterday if my memory serves me correctly. The set ending “Mr. November” has become a guarantee lately, but that bother me one bit nor did the rest of the packed crowd.

Pearl Jam closed this down the first night in proper fashion. I had a feeling we might get a special guest appearance by Neil Young last night, but that didn’t happen. Instead, the band channeled Shakey via his catalog with covers of “Throw Your Hatred Down” and the night’s final tune “Rockin In The Free World.” Having seen Pearl Jam plenty of times this one ranks up there in terms of favorites. It was the first time I’d heard them play “Crazy Mary” and The Who’s “Real Me” was the ultimate highlight for me.

Please follow @Muzzleofbees for frequent updates of our festival coverage. Not here, but want to be? YouTube is providing a webcast for the entire festival weekend.

A great triple bill invaded The Annex in Madison last night. We’ve long been fans of Throw Me The Statue and though I’ve yet to hear their new album Creaturesque, it’s on my list to pick up.

It’s been awhile since we checked in on The Brunettes. The last time we crossed paths was two years ago when they opened for Ferraby Lionheart at the High Noon Saloon.

Enjoy the photos here from Ed Oliver and drop a comment with your review of the show.

Buy: Throw Me The Statue – Creaturesque
++
Myspace: Throw Me The Statue
Myspace: The Brunettes
MP3: Throw Me The Statue- “Hi-Fi Goon”
MP3: Throw Me The Statue – “Ancestors”
MP3: Throw Me The Statue – “About To Walk”
MP3: The Brunettes – Small Town Crew

Welcome to the 20th podcast/download I’m co-hosting with Ryan Schleicher at 91.7 WMSE. This week we are thrilled to begin our podcast with a very special in studio session from Tim Showalter of Strand of Oaks. We round out the podcast with new material from Grand Archives, Yo La Tengo, The Avett Brothers & Common Loon and conclude with the local flavor of Conrad Plymouth and Volcano Choir.

Muzzle of Bees + 91.7 WMSE Podcast: Volume 20:

Strand or Oaks 91.7 WMSE Studio Set + Interview / Grand Archives – “Oslo Novelist” / The Avett Brothers – “Laundry Room” / Common Loon – “A Moment In Energy Transfers” / Papa M – “Beloved Woman” / Yo La Tengo – “I’m On My Way” / Conrad Plymouth – “Decision Day” / Volcano Choir – “Island, IS”

Download/Stream: Muzzle of Bees + 91.7 WMSE Podcast: Volume 20