Coachella 2011 Day 3 photos by Lindsey Best.

Bands:

CSS
Death From Above 1979
Duran Duran
Kanye West
Menomena
Nas & Damian Marley
OFF!
The Strokes

[View with PicLens]

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Now, among discerning music fans, a band like The National is far from obscure. They’ve garnered widespread critical praise over five albums, played on national TV and multiple international festivals, and are even headlining the Hollywood Bowl later this year. But ask your mom, your older sister, the guy who sits next to you at work or the dude from high school you still keep up with, and they probably won’t have a clue who you’re talking about, let alone be able to name a song or recognize Matt Berninger’s trademark baritone.

Yet on the third day at Coachella, playing the second stage right around sundown with the gathered devotees singing along to the soaring “‘Cuz IIIIIIII’m evil” of “Conversation 16,” there was no reason to think they were anything other than the biggest band in the world. Berninger, as unlikely a rock star as any, equipped himself thusly, even entering the crowd during the perennially timely “Mr. November.”

The National were joined on guitar for “Terrible Love” by Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon, but that was only his first stop for the night. Vernon also had the distinction of being one of only two (along with “Runaway” featured rapper Pusha T) guest sports during Kanye West‘s headlining set. If Vernon seemed like an odd choice to work west Yeezy back when their My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy collaboration was announced last year, seeing it in person was another thing entirely. Though undeniably invaluable exposure for Vernon, at no point in the set did West introduce him, or really do anything that would clue in the average Coachellagoer that he was anything other than just an anonymous backup singer (rather than the driving force between an acclaimed act in his own right).

But that’s just Kanye being Kanye, and really, anything else would be kind of disappointing. The lack of surprise guests — rumors ranged from Jay-Z to Nicki Minaj to Rihanna to Katy Perry, and the latter two were both spotted elsewhere at the fest — could be seen as a tribute to West’s ego, but also could be seen as a way to put a greater emphasis on the guys he did get to assist him, rather than the two of them getting lost in a sea of superstars.

Which is not to say that there was anything restrained about his performance. Kanye West in the year 2011 headlining the last day of Coachella demand to be a spectacle, and that’s absolutely what it was, starting with an over-the-top entrance; literally descending from the heavens onto the stage via a crane while performing “Dark Fantasy” (the fact that the one of the most compelling visuals in Coachella history contained lyrics referencing Family Matters will never stop being awesome).

The set broke down into three “Acts,” with Kanye delivering several songs from his latest, and snippets of all of his greatest hits (really, all of them). A string of 808s & Heartbreak songs came along with West defending their existence, saying that even though he realized he wasn’t the greatest singer, he felt strongly enough about the material that he had to get it out there. The set also contained songs which feature both Katy Perry and Rihanna on the recorded versions, as if he were deliberately tinkering with people’s expectations.

The day’s co-headliner were The Strokes, playing the west coast for the first time in years. The set was exactly what you’d predict — lots of stuff from new album Angels, plus all the crowd-pleasing faves from their first three records. The true highlight was the sardonically hilarious onstage banter from Julian Casablancas, who has showed off his sense of humor in the last couple of years in collaborations with Jimmy Fallon and The Lonely Island.

I’m paraphrasing here, but after asking some version of festival cliché “Is it hot enough for you out there?,” he responded, “Cool. On my own dime, I flew out on a private jet, so I don’t really know what goes on out here,” which he followed by clarifying, “Just jesting.” Periodically, he’d also mock generic idiot lead singers by sarcastically (yet enthusiastically) uttering drivel like, “Do you believe in love?”

In proof that reunion shows are getting more and more current, the reconstituted Death From Above 1979 played earlier in the day, grinding through nearly every track of their 2004 modern indie classic You’re a Woman, I’m a Machine. They ended their set by telling the crowd to “stick around for Duran Duran,” which sounds absurd but, yes, Death From Above 1979 were indeed playing the main stage directly before Simon Le Bon and crew. The world is pretty weird(ly great) sometimes.

Other things I saw: LA-bred acts Best Coast and Foster the People play to large audiences (the latter attracted a massive spillover crowd in the Gobi Tent), PJ Harvey gamely tackling the unenviable Strokes/Kanye overlap slot, genial New York City popsters Fun debuting new songs and covering Queen’s “Radio Ga Ga.”

—Albert Ching

1. Kyle Ranson – Warm Slime (Thee Oh Sees)
Walt Gorecki: Kyle Ranson’s work is extremely visceral making him a perfect fit for Thee Oh Sees, whose live performances of hard hitting garage rock at it’s best are not to be missed. It probably doesn’t hurt that he used to live with frontman John Dwyer, along with noted artist Maya Hayuk. This piece slimes it’s way to the top of my picks with ease.

2. George Condo – My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (Kanye West)
Well Kanye is obviously no stranger to controversy, which is probably why it was hardly even noticed that his most recent release faced heavy censorship issues for the cover art. With album art by world class fine art painter George Condo, the fans win out in the end with a beautiful series of alternate covers by the artist.

3. owleyes – Repetition: A Tribute to David Bowie (Manimal Vinyl)
L.A. Based artist owleyes, aka James Weigel, captures the character of Bowie in a way we haven’t seen before, while also hinting at the eclectic nature of the album within, an instant eyecatcher. The sillhouette of Bowie is immediately recognizable yet bends your perception of spatial physics in this charity benefit release by Manimal Vinyl.

4. Tony Millionaire – National Ransom (Elvis Costello)
Comics artist Tony Millionaire, perhaps most well known for his Drinky Crow series, which was later animated in a hilarious, yet short-lived, Adult Swim show, does a great turn on Elvis Costello’s latest release, bringing to mind the old timey oil barons, which are unfortunately all too current of a concern.

5. Caroline Roberts – The Suburbs (Arcade Fire)
This beautiful photo-manipulation by Montreal based Illustrator / Graphic Designer Caroline Roberts sets an early 70s Southern California tone employing vernacular photography popularized by such greats as Larry Sultan and William Eggleston.

6. Leigh McClosky / Aaron Meyers – Cosmogramma (Flying Lotus)
Two artists? Well yes, Leigh McClosky did the album art, which is excellent as a minimal meditative piece that incorporates the mandala structures which are much of the artist’s focus. What puts this in the top 10 category is the online interactive version engineered by Aaron Meyers. Feel free to give this “augmented reality app” a try – http://flying-lotus.com/fieldlines

7. Becca Mann – Have One On Me (Joanna Newsom)
Painted in a realistic style, Becca’s paintings often work from found photographs. She really captures the serene chaos evoked by Newsom’s music in this elaborately staged composition.

8. Kristina Collantes – The Inanimate Sermon (Mothers of Gut)
Collantes, a self taught illustrator who’s work is unmistakable, captures the psych-influenced rock of Mothers of Gut in this classy combination of art nouveau aesthetics and 1970s new age elegance.

9. Kymia Nawabi – In Evening Air (Future Islands)
Kymia Nawabi’s work is perfectly befitting, capturing the dreamy quality of Baltimore post-punk trio Future Islands. Her “psychic doppelghangers” populate a fantasy world of endless oceans borne out out of the human form.

10. Jessalyn Aaland, Invocation (KIT)
San Francisco based artist Jessalyn Aaland’s collage work, a composition of the clutter of everyday suburbia, supplies the viewer with a very calm sort of apocalypse to ponder while listening to this genre-bending punk based West Coast quartet.

Bonus Section:
Walt’s top 3 cat album covers of 2010

1. Themselves, Crowns Down and Company

2. Best Coast, Crazy For You

3. Klaxons, Surfing the Void

When Hanni El Khatib came to the stage Thursday night, The Sonics were booming through the Echo’s sound system and Hanni told the crowd he wanted to let the song run through before he started. No one seemed to reverence for the Sonics (though I love them), or maybe everyone was just too impatient to wait for him to start playing. With his hair slicked back, his jean jacket sleeves rolled up revealing arms covered in tattoos, called for the lights to be lowered, and under a blood-red glow he tore into “Garbage City.”

Hanni El Khatib by Lainna Fader

Backed only by drums, Hanni and his electric guitar roared through a short-but-ripping set, playing songs from his upcoming album, Will The Guns Come Out, and a few covers. He performed an ferocious interpretation of the old jazz standard “You Rascal You,” off his first 7,” and the surprising but awesome choice of Kelis’ “Millionaire,” since “no set is complete without a little Kelis.” When Hanni plays covers he doesn’t just play someone else’s song; he strips them down til they’re barely recognizable and become his own. I wonder how many people would have recognized the song as Kelis’ if he hadn’t clued everyone in.

Hanni El Khatib by Lainna Fader

Hanni’s blend of garage rock, soul, and blues is everything I like in music boiled down to its rawest minimum. He writes songs written for “anyone who’s ever been shot or hit by a train” and wields a guitar like a weapon, brutally tearing each song down to its core. I cannot wait for Will The Guns Come Out—this is going to be one of the best records of 2011, guaranteed.

Vanaprasta by Lainna Fader

Local favorites Vanaprasta followed, a five-piece band from Silver Lake that loves “geometry, darkness, LCD Soundsystem, and the Big Lebowksi.” The Echo show was a celebration of their two-year anniversary as a band and was filled with friends and fans sharing this special night in Vanaprasta history. Those who were unfamiliar with the band are sure to be new converts, as I heard whispers of “who are these guys?” Fast and furious guitar riffs, pulsating rhythms, soaring vocals, and a lot of hair whipping around made for an energetic show.

They too played an unexpected cover:  Kanye West’s “Runaway.” I’m no Kanye fan, but I have to admit to enjoying the cover. It was pretty funny, and the crowd loved it.

Watch video of their “Runaway” cover here:

— Lainna Fader

Not too long ago there was an article about the state of music videos in some relevant culture magazine. The alt suits were basically saying at print time (last year) that it was the best time to make music videos because of no budgets. That was the dumbest shit I have ever heard. If you have never even had money the decline doesn’t affect you. On a REAL level of video making, you are concerned with spending less of your own money and not going to jail. Aside from these videos, this year sucked for videos. Rap videos this year were shit. Rappers are amazing. They go to jail, kill each other, and generally do ridiculous entertaining things. Yet most videos of good songs are the same car/girl/money video. Rage, Gill Green and Hype all need to be in time out. What Needs To Die: VHS videos or VHS video effects/artifacts are the visual equivalents to Auto-Tune. Doing a shitty low budget video that looks VHS is one thing, but actually paying money to make your images look crappy is mind-boggling. Here are some of the year’s best videos that sucked less, in order from when I saw them.
—Paul Rodriguez

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bsXOcK9_Cw]
Depeche Mode ‘Wrong’ (Patrick Daughters)
This is the best thing Patrick Daughters has written since he made Karen O and everyone else cry when he did ‘Maps.’ The cinematographer Shawn Kim photographs downtown L.A. in a realistic beautiful way. Throw in a Liar as your main character and have Spike Jonze being hit by a car for a nice touch.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zol2MJf6XNE]
Animal Collective ‘My Girls’ (Knowmore Productions)
When I first saw this I hated it. Then I realized it was okay. Then compared to everything else this year it got better. AC’s visual presentation is crazed and they are on their own shit. The best AC video is “Water Curses.”

Kanye West ‘Welcome to Heartbreak’ (NABIL)
Kanye’s sweater is dope in this video. I don’t care you hate him. He did “Jesus Walks” with Chris Milk and he has Michel Gondry doing his alternate videos that barely get seen. This video’s visual device is called data moshing. When Kanye found out about Ray Tintori’s clip for Chairlift with data moshing they pushed up ‘Welcome To Heartbreak.’ Artist Takeshi Murata is known for data moshing so when two video clips came out by the same production company some NY art people were crying.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ek3coSedm7o]
Bat For Lashes ‘Pearl’s Dream’ (Nima Nourizadeh)
In this mystic drop Natasha is styled in a look directly pulled from the Margiela Spring ’09 show. Nima went so smart with the art direction and cinematography. Wolves need to be in more videos.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7WAHnZPIX0]
The Horrors ‘Sea Within A Sea’ (Douglas Hart)
I guess this would be the their musical redemption. The visual setup is simple and colorful yet perfectly fitting. Everything gets prime around 4:27.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6gHLHbYVeA]
MSTRKRFT ‘Heartbreaker’ (Vincent Haycock)
The idea of MSTRKRFT and John Legend in one song might sound horrendous if you are not a fan of either. The story is boy likes girl, but can’t have girl. You really see and feel a narrative here, which is rare for a three-minute music video spot. The casting is good (I would recast the girl, though) and has it boy model A.J. English in it. The best part of the video is when A.J. takes his sunglasses off at :40.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lt6imgDYoTg]
Wavves ‘No Hope Kids’ (Pete Ohs)
This is pretty standard guy-on-tour video except everyone hates/loves Wavves. The edit could be way better. I am for drug use in videos. Weed is a good start.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_uDoTmokUM]
White Lies ‘Death’ (Crystal Castles Remix) (Tim Walker)
White Lies: nobody cares about them in our country so they paid Crystal Castles to do a remix. Still no one cares. Technically this video is a re-edit from the original. The video is on the mundane UK suburb/Bat For Lashes ‘What’s A Girl To Do’/Donnie Darko vibe. The best shot is at 3:25. I could do without the shitty Photoshop glowing effect.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4OhRVn_b80]
Micachu & The Shapes ‘Turn Me Well’ (Cannot find director—sorry!)
This just feels right.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcqwfFKagH4]
Girls ‘Hellhole Ratrace’ (Aaron Brown and Ben Chappell)
Girls and this video are for the people. The visual device is slow motion/overcranked throughout the whole video. There have been a bunch of these over the years. Off the top of my head: the Cat Power and the Cass McCombs one. ‘Hellhole Ratrace’ has some arc to it even if it’s simple. Who doesn’t want to have fun with your friends in your city? No matter how fucked up you get, I think you will always remember the sunrise.

Yeasayer ‘Ambling Alp’ (Radical Friend)
This is the best video after Patrick Daughter’s ‘Wrong’ for ‘09. The Yeasayer visual presentation is murder and I would not expect anything less. This is the best art direction and best use of effects I have seen in a while in a video. It’s hard to make something without people acknowledging an existing visual reference. So here it goes: the running falling naked people is on Sigur Ros ‘Gobbledigook’/Ryan McGinley. ‘Gobbledigook’ shot by Christopher Doyle is easily one the best-shot videos of all time. The intro graphic shot, the mirror face guy on horse drumming, the boxers and the liquid face drips are my favorite parts. Radical Friend gets respect.

HONORABLE MENTIONS
Not next level enough/progressive, but I still like, or I just like but I don’t back it that hard.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFbE3lHTcuo]
Fuck Buttons ‘Surf Solar’ (Andrew Hung)
Once I drank all their liquor in a hotel room. One of their PR people called me drunk at 4 AM to tell me check this video again.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uVLaGvdAKc]
Coconut Records ‘Any Fun’ (William Strobeck and Mark Gonzales)
8mm and pro skaters.

Young Dro ‘I Don’t Know Y’All’ (Gabriel Hart)
When I get drunk, I talk about who I don’t fuck with. This video is pretty fucking ridiculous.

BEST NON-MUSIC VIDEOS (OR THESE PEOPLE SHOULD MAKE A MUSIC VIDEO)

K-CoreaINC.K (section a) (Ryan Trecartin)
This is one of his two videos released in ‘09. Yes/No. This is fucked.

Hood By Air SS10 (Reid Van Renesse)
Shot in Terence Koh’s A.S.S. gallery. ZOMBY.

Gems for Arielle de Pinto (Margaret Haines)
Margaret asked me to help her work on a film, but I ended up playing a football player who wanted to fuck a slut. Her film also has progressive children, which is in right now. This clip is captured perfectly.

Binare (Marie Hanhnhon)
Pretty strong work by the youth. Zak, the dancer, plays a slave boy in my new music video for Former Ghosts.

Download: Dam-Funk “Hood Pass Intact”

(off Toeachizown Vol. 4: Hood out now on Stones Throw)

Dam-Funk grew up on “Scooby Doo” and sessioned for Westside Connection but his life’s work was and will be the stewardship of the true spirit of funk. He’s remixed Baron Zen and Animal Collective and he’s just about to release the 5XLP monster Toeachizown on Stones Throw. This interview by Chris Ziegler.

What happened when you saw your first UFO?
Dam-Funk: It was an orb—a light. It wasn’t just me who saw it. It had an orange glow and it flew across the sky—and nobody talked about it! I still don’t know what it was. But it struck my interest. I always knew better things were out there. I made a song about it—‘Brookside Park’ on Vol. 4—the one called Hood. Listen to the lyrics and you’ll get the visual and how the music sounded to me that day. It changed my life. I started listening to Art Bell’s ‘Coast To Coast.’
How does an experience like that affect what you do with music?
Dam-Funk: That’s part of my inspiration. The reason there are so many distractions on earth—like ‘social networking’ and shit—is that they want you not to concentrate on what else is going on. Because they already know! We get to muddle in Kanye and Taylor Swift but there are other things going on! Sometimes you get stories here and there—‘They found other planets!’ But there’s got to be something beyond what we’re muddling through with this bullshit. I wanna create something now and later on when we get our heads together, maybe my music will be the soundtrack—when we have clear minds and concentrate on other things. Not the petty gossip airhead experience. People are excited about the upper surface, but that’s just the busted pie crust. I wanna be the inside of the pie, not the outside crust!
What’s inside the pie?
Dam-Funk: I wanna deal with mass people thinking along the same lines. If we need change, we’ve all got to get together and make it happen. I got this thing called N.O.N.C.A.T.—it’s funny to some people but I try to practice it everyday. It stands for ‘Not One Negative Comment Action or Thought.’ Let’s at least contribute to getting rid of all this stupid shit going on here! You don’t have to be happy-go-lucky howling in peoples’ faces, but be positive—contribute to a higher level of thinking and the world will start changing. It doesn’t have to be all mystical. But this world can be better—let’s try and do something!
What’s the connection between funk and science-fiction?
Dam-Funk: Funk is the real music of the urban city. Not R&B and not soul—those are great genres of black expression. Trust me. But funk is the one that even expands it more. It was always the people who were a little bit different—people who went out and found new shit. Unfortunately, a lot of drugs in the late ’70s knocked us out of the box. Who woulda known? ‘Crack—it’s the cool new shit!’ Everybody fell for it. A lot of people never recovered. But it was definitely deeper than soul and R&B. Soul and R&B were more about hits. Funk had more real shit inside. It was more a backroom type of expression—the smell of sex! Even sadness. ‘He’s in a funk!’
Dawn Silva told us true funk is hard to control—do you agree?
Dam-Funk: I think she has a point. But one day I would hope people open up. But in a way, I don’t give a fuck if they don’t catch on. Like I talk about Gary Wilson—he doesn’t need to be on the radio. He’s cool—he has his own crowd. Funk will always have its own crowd.
You were funk’s lone defender in L.A.—what’s it like to be the guy who won’t give up?
Dam-Funk: There’s always the truth out there. It happened to Caron Wheeler. Erykah Badu came with the same concept—the headwraps, the look straight from Africa, the incense-burning. And Caron Wheeler was the first. Sometimes it’s timing and sometimes people aren’t ready … and sometimes people do your shit and do it better! But I always wondered—who was the OTHER James Brown? Maybe before him—in a city where they didn’t ever quite get it? Or the other Prince down in San Diego somewhere, but Prince happened to get signed? You can’t complain but it just happens. I thank God Peanut Butter Wolf allowed me to get my side of the story out. I know a lot of people do the ’80s-influenced thing. I guarantee when you listen to Toeachizown, it’s not even ’80s—it’s modern funk. I’m not trying to recreate. I wanna give somebody something new. It’s still the original inspiration, but I try to continue where it got broken off!
Where was it broken off?
Dam-Funk: After P-Funk was interrupted at Warner and they went to regulate on Clinton. ‘Man, you’re a little too up there.’ The concept was getting crazy and getting peoples’ minds open and they had business problems, too. They did revitalize with ‘Atomic Dog.’ But those albums were like pre-Public Enemy—The Electric Spanking of War Babies in 1981 and no one knows it because they didn’t promote it! It was right after Trombipulation—the Parliament album with the elephant nose—and they just regulated on George. ‘Hold on!’ After that, RUN-DMC dropped on Profile and that changed the game, so all the majors were like, ‘Fuck funk—too many big-ass bands! Too many horns!’ It was still made on independent labels—slicked up and geared to dance and that was boogie! Boogie took over—Prelude, Salsoul, West End—and it wasn’t called disco because they’d burn disco records.
Why do you think people felt like they had to physically destroy those records?
Dam-Funk: It could be as simple as people saying, ‘We couldn’t enjoy it.’ Or more deep—‘This is some shit that gays and people of color and whites can all come together—this is dangerous! We can’t have that happen!’ I don’t wanna say conspiracy but you wonder! Radio went nuts on disco—too much disco! Then real labels like Philadelphia International and Salsoul got lumped in with all the major labels and fake groups—fake disco! But Teddy Pendergrass and the O’Jays, they didn’t call it disco. It was black dance music! A 4/4 beat and people could dance—uptempo R&B and it was great! But it was thrown under the rug—bringing too many people together.
How do you know when it’s fake?
Dam-Funk: You can always tell. I’m gonna always be changing. I’ll always be funk-based, but I like too much other stuff to be the same cat. The next album probably won’t be the same sound. You can tell when they’re a copycat. Now everybody is into an 808/Lil Wayne sound and a blippy beat sound and trippy club music—you know, people wanna get in and get money. I can’t be mad—it’s a capitalist country—but don’t you have integrity, you fuck?
Is this why you’ll shout out the names of the musicians when you’re doing a DJ set?
Dam-Funk: I feel the people who did the work didn’t get enough props. And it’s not for the artists alone—it’s for the listening public. If I’m at a club and I play a certain song, they might be timid to come up and ask. People deserve to know who the artists are.
Is Toeachizown your life’s work?
Dam-Funk: I feel funk has never been given an opportunity to be released like this. That’s why I give it up to Stones Throw—funk was always on a major or a real small label, and this time it’s on a small label but in a new era where a small label can do something like this. The verdict is out, but I hope when the judge’s hammer slams down, people will look back and say, ‘This dude stuck to his guns and he did a funk record from beginning to end. And it wasn’t just funk—he even did new wave rock! The funk had all the influences!’ Prince—‘Let’s Pretend We’re Married’—that’s new wave! Funkadelic did rock songs—‘Cosmic Slop!’ That was killing a lot of early metal! I’m being positive but it’s definitely not gonna be a Mayer Hawthorne out-of-the-box hit. But I’d rather have the slow burn. Ten years from now—‘Man, that dude did what he believed in!’
You sessioned for Ice Cube—what did you learn from him?
Dam-Funk: That was some real shit! I learned what people respect—it’s the passion. The fact that you mean serious business about your writing. I even look at ‘Dateline NBC’ sometimes—the host is so fucking into his shit! Me and my lady will be rollin’—‘That’s what I’m talking about! Look how he pronounces his words!’ We’d laugh at first but that dude’s killing it. ‘Dateline’—that’s that shit! With the realest cats—game recognizes game! They respect you if you’re true to your shit. Once you try and fake it, that’s when your ass gets whipped. They knew I could play keys and they saw my talent. I wasn’t scared because I grew up on that shit. I’d see the guns and be like, ‘OK, cool—no big deal.’ When they see you ain’t tripping, you’re invited to the party. ‘I don’t give a fuck how you look—that motherfucker is cool!’ When I do my own thing, those cats are like, ‘Cool—I knew you were gonna do that funk stuff!’
What do the guys in Animal Collective most have in common with Ice Cube?
Dam-Funk: They stick to their guns. Cube—I definitely respected that cat. He was born the same day as me! You could tell he was serious about his business. A lot of people thought those guys were buffoons. This was the same guy who went to Priority and took a bat—he was really serious about getting his money—and busted the window! But sometimes you gotta do that. I hate to say it and I don’t wanna do it, but I’ve been in situations where you have to handle shit. You have to keep respect and integrity on your side. If people see you respect your life and work, they’ll respect you as well. ‘You can’t do that to me—I care!’ Animal Collective started on the porch and then got into drum machines and atmosphere and electronics—now look!
Where do you and Todd Rundgren overlap as musicians?
Dam-Funk: He has heart! It wasn’t about hits, even though he could make hits if he chose to. That’s the aesthetic I like to align myself with. I’m the same person as back in the day when I was riding my bike to the record store in Pasadena. Hits are hits, and they’re great! But the music I gravitate to—maybe because I’m a weirdo?—it’s not on the radio. At a certain point, you grow out of the radio. ‘I love music so much that I’m gonna look for this rare 12” that only did 500 copies!’ That independent release—that’s some of the most magical music out there. No matter how much money or accolades I might get, I always wanna do music for that person who was me. That kid who ventures off looking for music that touches their soul.
What was the first concert you ever went to where you felt that way?
Dam-Funk: Kiss and Mötley Crüe at the Universal Amphitheatre. I couldn’t believe the way Paul Stanley was cussing! ‘This is not like the records!’—I finally got it. They couldn’t put those lyrics on the record—this was before N.W.A. busted the door open. But at the concert, it was like, ‘We’re gonna party tonight, motherfuckers! Make some fucking noise!’ It was incredible, man. I thought, ‘You can really be YOU in concert!’
How do you feel when you’re on stage?
Dam-Funk: I’m on for the people. They paid their money and they’re seeing art. It’s like in an art gallery—I’m the painting they’re looking at, so I have to give them the visual and audio satisfaction to experience their night.
What do you think of L.A.’s music now? Bands like HEALTH and clubs like Low End Theory that are connecting all different kinds of music together?
Dam-Funk: I think L.A.’s got a pretty healthy scene right now. People wanna work together and cross-pollinate. The Internet has diversified things. In the ‘70s and ‘80s, it wasn’t as close-knit. Now black-white-Filipino-Asians-Middle Easterners whatever—we all hang out in the same places. We all communicate. So why not have the music come together and feed this grand experiment? I coulda took my shit straight to a major, but Stones Throw opened the door for a more experimental thing. It’s not just me—it’s about everybody! I do shows in Portland or San Francisco and there’s all colors in there. And it wasn’t lopsided—not like R&B shows where it’s only one side or ultra-rock shows where it’s only one side. It’s everybody! That’s what I hope the future is. I don’t wanna be too contrived—like, ‘Oh, God, this is kind of corny!’ But that’s the natural direction—so far, so good!
Who in L.A. would you most want to work with now?
Dam-Funk: SFV Acid. I like him a lot. I’m just trying to play my part and contribute what I can do. I’m watching everybody and working with different people. The closest thing I have solidified is me and Nite Jewel are gonna do something on Stones Throw together. She’s my buddy! And Cole who was also in Ariel Pink’s band—Ariel and Cole are chill with me. When we were in O.C., we were laughing together about Phantasm—horror movies! We’re all connected more than people think. When the time comes, everything happens naturally and people see that connection, you know what I mean?
You’re a Gemini—what’s your hidden side?
Dam-Funk: That’s one thing my lady laughs about. One side is positive and I treat people great. When I walk with my lady, I walk on the curb side! I respect my elders, even when I’m announcing songs and telling people the groups! But there’s another darker side. If somebody crosses the line, I definitely wanna whup ass, but I gotta check that! I haven’t run into any negativity. The only thing I’ve been hearing is that I better be prepared for critique. Where I’m from, if someone calls me out on my name and gets too crazy, you go looking for ‘em! Now I’m a recording artist—I can’t be out chasing every blogger.
Maybe it would be a better world if you did.
Dam-Funk: Yeah, I know! But I can’t waste my time on that. You know what cures me? I just look at Obama. I’m not saying he’s the Savior, but you know how many hate mails and threats he gets each day? And he walks those stairs looking like nothing is bothering him. This dude is taking the brunt of all types of shit and still looks as cool as possible. You gotta brush it off. I’m trying. I’m not perfect. It’s definitely more the light I try and share.
Is that why you bring Sprite and candy every time you visit Stones Throw?
Dam-Funk: You heard about that? I do it because I know they’re working hard! When I was at jobs, I woulda loved that. ‘Why doesn’t anybody do anything special for us? We’re working hard for these fools—can somebody do something?’ So that’s why I do it—thanks a lot, guys!

DAM-FUNK ON SUN., NOV. 1, AT AMOEBA RECORDS, 6400 SUNSET BLVD., HOLLYWOOD. 4 PM / FREE / ALL AGES. AMOEBARECORDS.COM. DAM-FUNK’S TOEACHIZOWN 5XLP RELEASES TUE., OCT 27, ON STONES THROW. VISIT DAM-FUNK AT STONESTHROW.COM/DAMFUNK OR MYSPACE.COM/DAMFUNK.

Wednesday night at the Hollywood Bowl, from the first chord to the final drumstick tossed in the air, the crowd was held captive by the band’s electrifying melodrama. That, and lots and lots of lights.

A sure sign of staggering fame is having an opener like the Psychedelic Furs, who were to the ‘80s, well, what Molly Ringwald was to the ‘80s. A second sign is that you can fill an enormous amphitheater with people who know all of your songs by heart.

During the 90-minute show, the Killers blasted through most of their singles, including a few B-sides and hits from their newest album, Day & Age. They didn’t ease their maniacal pace for a second, turning even their slower ballads like “Dustland Fairytale” into showstoppers.

The band showed its Vegas origins through the set design, with pyrotechnics, confetti and puffs of smoke bursting out in time with the synth beats. And, of course, there were the necessary glam-rock histrionics—bassist Mark Stoermer and guitarist Dave Keuning alternated between leaping onto the set pieces and tossing their heads to anchoring their hyperactive frontman.

The Killers owe their bombast largely to Brandon Flowers’ tireless showmanship. He wove through the songs, slipping effortlessly from reverberating operatic notes to near-falsetto. He jumped on the amplifiers decked in feather epaulets like some sort of crazed ostrich. He brandished his microphone stand like a sword in “All These Things that I’ve Done.”

He stopped his exuberant prancing only for a few minutes—to pop behind a bedazzled piano and deliver a soulful start to “Smile Like You Mean It,” later finishing with the familiar album version while bathed in a wall of red light.

Not to mention that Flowers’ dizzying charisma rivals that of a cult leader, so toward the end of the show, the 17,000-member audience was a unified sea of arms waving in time to “This Is Your Life.” Nothing else could make the Hollywood Bowl seem like an intimate setting.

A highlight came during the obligatory encore, during which a Jimmy Kimmel (in Kanye West sunglasses) rushed onto the stage and grabbed the microphone from Flowers, saying, “I’m going to let you finish, but I just wanted to say that the Psychedelic Furs had one of the best songs of all time.”

The Furs then joined the Killers onstage for a stirring joint rendition of “Pretty In Pink,” before the Killers ended solo, as they always do, with “When You Were Young.” For the Killers, whose roots are planted firmly in new wave, it was a fitting finale—splashy, retro, slightly over-the-top and entirely delicious.

—Olga Khazan

Download: Reef The Lost Cauze “Hit ‘Em Up!” (prod. Astronote)

(from The King And The Cauze mixtape available now from Well Done Entertainment)

Philadelphia rapper Reef the Lost Cauze could care less about extemporaneously bruising the egos of opposing rappers—although as an established battle rapper, he’s proven himself rather good at it. In truth, the Philly-born MC just wants to make good music, give props to his mother and maybe have a cheesesteak when he’s finished. This interview by Paul Glanting.

Tell me about Philadelphia.
Philly is one of the last cities that has the makings of a major metropolitan area but still has that working-class spirit. If New York and Pittsburgh had a baby, it would probably be something like Philadelphia. It’s a beautiful place to live and raise a family—it’s gritty and real but it’s peaceful, too. It’s sort of like L.A.—make one turn and you see mansions and another turn it’s the slums. I like that realness. Philadelphia is a great city.
You used to be a fairly active battle rapper. Do you think battle rappers have a hard time making the transition to creating good songs and solid albums?
Songwriting has actually always been my motivation. Where I came from, the battling was really just something all rappers had in their repertoire. So after battling with other dudes, I’d want to give them a CD of actual songs that I’d done. It’s hard sometimes because some of my fans love me for my battling and that’s what they wanna hear. I’m just not interested in that really anymore.
No more battle rapping?
Nope. It’s just become so phony. These battles have given a bunch of guys a place to act immature. Rather than perfecting skills, it’s more like a comedy event. And that’s just not me.
Why the ‘Lost Cauze?’
The Lost Cauze is from a time in my life where I was homeless and I got booted from school—my mom called me a lost cause. I took it as a sign that I wasn’t supposed to succeed. That’s really how I felt being where I’m from. Many of those people in the area I’m from are born not expecting to make anything of themselves. And on a larger scale, I also feel like hip-hop is kind of a lost cause just because of the amount of phoniness in it—compared to, say, indie rock or R&B. People who get love in rock music and R&B get love because what they express seems to be a true reflection of them. Country music, also—when they talk about their wife leaving them and now they’re lonely and sitting at a bar drinking whiskey, that’s real. But in hip-hop, the more persona you create, the more successful you are. In hip-hop, nobody is lonely about their girl leaving them. Life is good because you have 1,000 girls and you’re hanging out drinking champagne in the club. I just try and keep my music as honest as I can. I mean—there was a time when I had to move back home and I really had to reflect on what I was going to do. I was dealing with the heartbreak of an ex-girlfriend and I wanted to share the struggles I faced everyday—the depression I’ve faced and just everyday stuff like that. I try to not be fabricated and so I usually take a while to do a record. And that’s because I need to experience life to write about it—I can’t make up a life I never lived.
Do you feel that as an underground rapper, there are things you can’t talk about—money, women, cars?
Honestly, I used to feel like that when I first came out. I was scared about what I was saying because I wanted to appeal to my demographic. I’d always tell myself that, ‘These people don’t wanna hear about this or that’ but it got to the point where it’s like, ‘Okay—I’m just a man and I’m only human and I do enjoy the company of a female, so why can’t I write a song about that?’ I learned that I can’t be anything but myself. The thing is, if you want to be true to yourself, you need to do things that appeal to you. I enjoy making music that’ll make people move a little bit, so some songs have a party feel. But I can do that without talking about Bentleys or whatever. I’m just real with myself and I do what I think is appealing and have fun with it.
You were also a film major. Does that affect anything about your music?
It’s not something I’ve been doing but I’m trying to get back into it. When I write lyrics, I always get these ideas and they’re very visual. So I feel like they’d work much better as films than music. And I’ll often be laughing with friends and sometimes we come up with stuff that would really work on film. I suppose I’m really focused on music at this point and I’d want to get myself to a more financially comfy position before I really pursued film.
There’s been sort of a trend of fledgling rappers going to college—Kanye, Cudi, etc.—and then deciding to pursue music instead. What is it about college that repels people and pushes them to pursue music?
I think number one, you’re dealing with many new energies and different types of people and tons of freedom. It can end up being too much freedom. I had so much fun in college I forgot to go to class. If you’re into drinking and partying, it can consume you. And if you’re into rhyming you can do that whenever. I was ditching class and I was drinking 40s and going to my homie’s house and just rhyming. In college you begin who you’re going to become, and I don’t think I was crazy about the direction it was taking me.
So how does your mom feel now?
She’s always been supportive of me. She was worried because I was fucking my life up but now I have my shit together. I also think when I really made it clear that rapping was going to be something I was really going to pursue, she was naturally worried—I think it’s every parent’s worry that their kid is going to end up a bum in the street. But she’s always been behind me and she’s my best friend.
What’s in your studio survival kit?
Alright—I smoke quite a bit! So I guess my survival kit is trees, microphone and an engineer—basic stuff. Writing rhymes has really become a work thing—it’s like going to a job—and I miss the days where I could just sit for hours and write freely about nothing all. It all usually starts with a beat. I listen to the beat and write. The process is very simple and organic. Also when I hear a beat I don’t like a lot of people around in the studio. Some rappers like all of their boys to be there hanging out, but I get paranoid about that stuff. For that reason I don’t even like going to big studios—I prefer to work at the home studio.
But if you could do a dream posse cut, who would you get?
My dream cut would have—Nas, Big L, Big Pun, Biggie and then Stevie Wonder singing the hook. Maybe it’s sad but most of the rappers I’d like to do a song with are dead. I really have a thing for dead rappers, I guess.

REEF THE LOST CAUZE WITH JEDI MIND TRICKS ON WED., AUG. 26, AT VELVET JONES, 423 STATE ST., SANTA BARBARA. CONTACT VENUE FOR TIME, COVER AND AGES. VELVET-JONES.COM. REEF THE LOST CAUZE’S KING AND THE CAUZE MIXTAPE IS AVAILABLE NOW FROM WELLDONEENTERTAINMENT.COM. VISIT REEF THE LOST CAUZE AT REEFTHELOSTCAUZE.COM OR MYSPACE.COM/REEFTHELOSTCAUZE.

4/21 Kanye West @ Sports Arena

4/21 Lamps @ Bordello

4/21 Sky Parade / Moonrats / Warpaint @ Viper Room

4/21 Thee Makeout Party + more @ Que Sera

4/21 HMS Terror (x flash express!) @ Silverlake Lounge

4/21 Right Hand Band @ Pehrspace