Coachella Band Preview: Bleachers

Okay guys….it’s a week and a half til Coachella! Who else is stoked besides me?! Even if you’re not going, that live stream is a cool way to spend your weekend (I’ve done it! Ha!). That being said, these band preview blogs are coming to an end. This will be my second to the last post before the festival. I felt like I’ve put this one off for a while for one reason or another. I guess it mostly comes down to the fact that Jack Antonoff is a badass and I felt like I could write so much about him (I condensed this post though). So in case you didn’t already know, this one is about Bleachers.

Bleachers is an indie pop band from New York City. This side project band was started by producer, musician, singer, songwriter, Jack Antonoff. He’s literally a “Jack” of all trades.  His older sister Rachel is also a well-known power house in her respected profession (fashion designer). They’re a talented family, but back to Bleachers.

Bleachers started when Jack was on the road with his former band Fun. of “Some Nights” and “We Are Young” fame. He kept his music making a secret until he eventually dropped the single “I Wanna Get Better” in 2014 along with launching a website, social media, and tour dates. Bleachers debut album, Strange Desire, was released on July 15, 2014. For the following year or more, Bleachers toured in support of the album.

Last summer Bleachers’ second album Gone Now was released and Jack and the band went on tour again promoting the new music. As part of the tour, Jack had his childhood bedroom recreated in a trailer that fans were allowed to enter and listen to the album before its release in June. Jack wanted fans to be able to understand where the new album came from as it was inspired by his youth. Spending time in his bedroom was a huge part of that.

When you think of indie pop music, Bleachers fits that stereotypical vision. The music is happy and upbeat, but still offers that indie sound put together by Antonoff. He records most of the music himself in studio. He brings friends on the road to accompany him for the live shows. He also provides the vocals for the band.

I first heard of the band in 2014 when “I Wanna Get Better” was getting radio airplay (me listening to the radio…weird! I know!). “Rollercoaster” was another song I also got familiar with around the same time due to the same reasons. Bleachers isn’t a band I got into more than their popular singles, but I still think they’d be fun to see at Coachella. I feel like an indie pop band fits the mood of the festival and I probably wouldn’t see Bleachers other than at a festival or at a concert where they’re not the only band being featured.

Bleachers plays Friday. It’s Antonoff’s first Coachella as Bleachers. For me there’s not many bands, I’d like to see that day. The Neighbourhood is definitely my first choice, but checking out Bleachers would be a great option. Bleachers isn’t listed highly on the bill, but I feel like they’ll play later in the day on either the Main or Outdoor stage. I think most people are familiar with the band and would head to see them if they don’t overlap any other favorites. That’s how they would be for me too, but with a small list of acts I’d like to see on Friday, Bleachers is a very viable option. If you’re planning on seeing them or casually dropping by, here’s the tunes to listen to this week:

1. I Wanna Get Better
2. Rollercoaster
3. Don’t Take the Money
4. I Miss Those Days
5. Hate That You Know Me
6. Wake Me
7. Wild Heart
8. Goodmorning
9. Shadow
10. Take Me Away

25 Years of Lollapalooza

For the last two years since this blog’s inception, Coachella has been a primary subject from January through April. It started because I attended Coachella last year and I had an overwhelming excitement for my trip to Indio that I wanted to preview all of my favorite bands who were playing the festival. I decided to preview bands again this year because of the solid response to last year’s posts. Coachella has become this blog’s sole music festival focus. It’s also one of the most popular and well-known festivals in the world, but especially in the U.S. The United States has plenty of other big, well-known festivals as well. One of those festivals is coming up this weekend and is celebrating its 25th year. It’s called Lollapalooza and its home base is at Grant Park in Chicago, IL. I’m lucky enough to be working at the festival this weekend and I’m excited to also be able to experience all that Lolla has to offer.

The first Lollapalooza happened in 1991. It began as a touring festival created by Perry Farrell who came up with it as a farewell tour of sorts for his band, Jane’s Addiction. The festival grew in the 90’s as an alternative rock, grunge festival, which were two popular music genres during that decade.The festival toured from 1991-1997 but ceased to exist in 1998 as the tour failed to find a headliner. The decline of alternative rock is also credited for the festival’s cancellation that year.

In 2003, Jane’s Addiction got back together. Farrell decided to revive the tour. It planned to go through 30 cities in July and August that year, but ultimately had to cancel some dates due to poor ticket sales. The tour again was planned for 2004 but low ticket sales due to high ticket prices caused its cancellation. In 2005, Farrell teamed with Capital Sports & Entertainment (now known as C3 Presents) to produce the festival. It was that year that Lollapalooza became a destination festival in Grant Park. Lollapalooza 2005 spanned over two days and featured 70 acts on 5 different stages which generated a crowd of 65,000+. After returning to much success in 2006, Chicago Park District and Capital Sports & Entertainment signed a 5 year deal that would keep Lollapalooza in Chicago through 2011. After the 2008 festival, the parties again agreed on another deal that would keep the festival in Chicago through 2018. This year’s festival will be the first time that the event spans over 4 days. The 4th day was added in celebration of the festival’s 25th anniversary this year.

Since 2011, the festival has expanded beyond Grant Park to countries in South America. Lollapalooza festivals started up in Chile, Brazil, and Argentina in recent years. Last year the festival even made its way to Europe with an appearance in Berlin, Germany. Many up and coming artists have graced a stage at Lollapalooza before their popularity increased such as The Black Keys, Passion Pit, Manchester Orchestra, Haim, Foals, Frank Ocean, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Fun., Tame Impala, and MGMT. As one of the most well known festivals in America in recent years, along with Coachella, Bonnaroo, and Austin City Limits, Lollapalooza has consistently attracted solid lineups and high-billed performers. This year’s headliners include Lana Del Rey, Radiohead, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and LCD Soundsystem. While not the most incredible set of headliners Grant Park has ever seen (but to each their own of course!), this year’s performances will surely be memorable since each headliner knows how to put on an incredible show.

When it comes to my history with the festival, it actually goes further back than Coachella. Lollapalooza was one of the first music festivals I had ever heard of. During the 2nd semester of my freshman year of college in a Music 101 class, one of my friends mentioned the festival. He was also the first to introduce me to the band Vampire Weekend, who played the festival a year earlier. I remember him saying that he would love to attend Lollapalooza that following summer. Up until then, all I knew of festivals were the Vans Warped Tour and the now non-existent, Bamboozle, so later that day I looked up Lollapalooza to find out who was playing and what kind of festival it was. At that time in my life, I didn’t know many of the bands playing. Now I can look back at the 2008 lineup and shake my head over what I didn’t know in the spring of 2008.

Since my love for indie/alternative music grew in 2011, I’ve always considered Lollapalooza as a prominent music festival in the United States, making the opportunity to be a part of this year’s festival that much greater. The festival weekend begins in 2 days and I head to Chicago in less than 24 hours. I can’t wait to experience this festival and see what Chicago has to offer. Hopefully this 25th anniversary will be legendary!