ArthurFest

This looks pretty cool.

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Arthur Magazine to Hold Festival

Matt Amis reports:
Warning: This summer festival is rated MA. It contains adult themes, avant garde sensibilities and little to no nudity. Performers may or may not be quivvering with indie hype. Rocker discretion is advised.

ArthurFest, a late entry in our summer festival circuit is the creation of Arthur Magazine and Spaceland Productions, yet it boasts easily one of the best lineups of the year (a distant second-place to Intonation, of course). Sonic Youth, Sleater-Kinney, and the temporarily reunited Olivia Tremor Control lead the venerable pack, which will commence September 4 and 5 at the Barnsdall Art Park in the Little Armenia/Los Feliz area of Los Angeles.

The complete two-day lineup (as it stands right now; with more acts are expected to be announced shortly) includes: Sonic Youth, Sleater-Kinney, the Black Keys, Cat Power, Olivia Tremor Control, T-Model Ford, Merzbow, the Juan Maclean, Dead Meadow, Comets On Fire, SUNN O))), Six Organs of Admittance, Vetiver, Josephine Foster, Sunburned Hand of the Man, Wolfmother, Circle, Radar Bros., Earth, Marissa Nadler & Jack Rose, Magik Markers, Future Pigeon, Becky Stark & the Lavender Diamond, and Winter Flowers.

The festival will also allow hipsters to tap into their inner-David Lynch, as they will screen some rarely-viewed avant garde films. Neighborhood eateries will set up shop as well, and performer T-Model Ford, an 80-year old bluesman, will get his own booth to "dispense wisdom & possibly kisses for a small price."

Two-day passes go on sale June 21 for $70 and are available through ticketweb.com.

* Arthur Magazine: http://www.arthurmag.com/

Originally posted by ggwâ?¢:
Dead Meadow

it's good to see them so high up on a solid bill like this … seems like they don't get a lot of buzz around here …

Originally posted by ggwâ?¢:
yet it boasts easily one of the best lineups of the year (a distant second-place to Intonation, of course).

Sorry to go tangental, and I realize they're mostly joking, but if I could pose a question to the masses: how does Pitchfork getting into the "concert promoting" business affect their readership's view of their objectivity? Does anyone question their reviews' motivations when/if they give an Intonation band a high mark? Do you think there's some connection between what the bands who play their show and who's advertizing on Pitchfork? Does it worry anyone that someone who seems to have a decent-sized influence over a "community" has vested interest in certain bands being viewed as good?

I'm not trying to argue a point through rhetorical questions, I'm seriously throwing those out there wondering what people think about the whole thing.

Oh, btw, great lineup. Wish it was east coast. :mad:

Talk about an uber-indie lineup….

Finally, a quality outdoor US-bound music festival that isn't All Tomorrow's Parties. I must say those are pretty HEAVY doses of intense psych, noise, dronage and even some fingerpickin to pack into two days! But it isn't really enough for me to want to book a flight. The only rare treats in this lineup are probably Olivia Tremor Control (no telling if they will ever do more than just a handful of reunion gigs) and Merzbow, who you only get to see at one-off gigs in NYC, LA or festivals like this around the world. Earth hardly ever play anymore either but hear they plan on getting some shows booked for the fall. I do wonder what films they plan on showing.

i agree with everything shoot ur shot just said. i was actually about to post this info but ggw beat me to it. i am leaning on going, especially since i have friends in LA and haven't been out there in six years.

and bags, how is it an uber-indie line-up? except for cat power, olivia tremor control, sonic youth, sleater-kinney, and the black keys, none of those other acts can really be called "indie." sunno))), six organs of admittance, sunburned hand of the man, jack rose, marissa nadler, comets on fire, josephine foster, vetiver, t-model ford, merzbow, circle, earth, wolfmother, majik markers, and winter flowers run the gamut of everything from fingerpicking solo acoustic guitar to heavy stoner drone and fuzzed-out psych to brain-splattering noise.

uber-indie is what i would call coachella and the pitchfork festival.

Originally posted by snailhook:
uber-indie is what i would call coachella and the pitchfork festival.

You're right, I probably meant uber-underground. The bands I know are considered "super cool" and I haven't heard of any of the others (only to say I'm pretty informed, and that's a lot of bands I dont' know….).

Originally posted by Bags:
uber-underground

Over-underground? :p

Strangely enough, some of those bands are among the best known underground bands.

So how long until underground is the new mainstream? I can't wait to see Merzbow on Today doing one of those street concerts.

So how long until underground is the new mainstream?

i don't know, but it would be nice to see more than 23 people at every great psych/folk/noise show i book!

ten years ago, stoner rock, noise, and psychedelic folk (to use three prominent examples) were as underground as it gets, but are currently enjoying some critical acclaim and recognition (i.e., devendra banhart, queens of the stone age, wolf eyes, etc). i don't really see these bands getting much bigger, though.

Originally posted by snailhook:

So how long until underground is the new mainstream?

i don't know, but it would be nice to see more than 23 people at every great psych/folk/noise show i book!

ten years ago, stoner rock, noise, and psychedelic folk (to use three prominent examples) were as underground as it gets, but are currently enjoying some critical acclaim and recognition (i.e., devendra banhart, queens of the stone age, wolf eyes, etc). i don't really see these bands getting much bigger, though.

Ah, chin up, snail. If the "industry" can render all meaning out of "alternative" and "indie" I'm sure they can do the same with "underground."

Maybe they can call underground "post-indie."

well, what is "indie" and "underground" anyway? both terms, at their core, fail to describe a specific type of music or sound.

generally, when a band becomes popular or a subgenre becomes a trend, it no longer is "underground." and then you can debate whether it has less or more artistic merit and sound like a snob :p

of course i hate it when something i like becomes hip or "the next big thing," but is that better than being condemned to play to 20 people and making $40 a night?

Sunday, Sept. 4
SONIC YOUTH
THE BLACK KEYS
CAT POWER
THE JUAN MACLEAN
COMETS ON FIRE
SUNN 0)))
SUNBURNED HAND OF THE MAN
WOLFMOTHER
GROWING
JOSEPHINE FOSTER
EARTH
RADAR BROS.
MAGIK MARKERS
just added: BRIGHTBLACK MORNING LIGHT
LAVENDER DIAMOND (FEAT. BECKY STARK)
WINTER FLOWERS

Monday, Sept. 5 (Labor Day)
SLEATER-KINNEY
OLIVIA TREMOR CONTROL
MERZBOW
DEAD MEADOW
T-MODEL FORD
SIX ORGANS OF ADMITTANCE
CIRCLE
VETIVER
just added: MODEY LEMON
MARISSA NADLER
JACK ROSE
FUTURE PIGEON
just added: BRAD LANER (Electric Company, Medicine)
just added: NORA KEYES (Centimeters)

with additional acts to be announced shortly.

http://www.arthurmag.com/news/