The Jesus & Mary Chain, Gang of Four, Brand New, Mute Math, Yeasayer, Mates of State, and the Ferocious Few
Shoreline Amphitheater, Mountain View, CA
July 19, 2008

Thanks to our new bff Gabe SonicLiving, Veronica, Gary, and i were able to secure a few free tickets to the Download Festival at Shoreline Amphitheater. The US version of the Download (not the metal fest of the same name held annually at Donington in the UK) has been around for the last three or four years, featuring bands from the Cure, Interpol, and Modest Mouse. This year the lineup featured headliners RJD2 (?!), the Jesus and Mary Chain, freshly reformed Gang of Four, Australian synth pop outfit Cut Copy, and a host of other acts. While not a lineup without merit, the band list raised one critical question: can this collection fill a venue as big as Shoreline? Upon arriving, we got a quick answer ... no. At BFD last year, we had lawn seats but were invited to head down to the reserved seats to fill the holes during Bloc Party as many concertgoers hightailed it after Social Distortion. For this event, no one bothered to enforce any kind of assigned seating. We arrived around 5pm and said a quick hello to Gabe and co., working the SonicLiving booth, before heading over to check out former local act Mates of State. I enjoyed the few songs i saw, and have always held a soft spot for the husband and wife pair since seeing them open for Death Cab way back when. However, it was all too easy to pity the band on stage, considering that the stadium they were performing for was perhaps 10% full. Next up was experimental rock outfit Yeasayer, not a particular favorite of any of our crew so we headed back to hang out at the SonicLiving booth. The place was a favorite of the sparse crowd, thanks in part to the free sunglasses they were distributing. We chit chatted for a while, meeting San Francisco indie duo the Ferocious Few who had set up next to the tent to play some interesting drum/guitar/vocal blues rock numbers. We also texted in entries to show sponsor Seagate's (?!?) contest to win a portable 250GB hard drive. We then headed back to the main stage area to see Cut Copy, taking seats at the back of the first reserved section. Oddly, we were told by ushers that we had to move closer to the stage ... ooooook. Cut Copy were entertaining, although given my recent experience with Yazoo i found myself wondering just what new the Aussies were bringing to the table. As you get older it becomes all too easy to sink into the convenient rebuke of "band X was doing this 20 years ago".

New Orleans alternative rockers Mute Math were up next, but this time i focused again less on the music (a somewhat forgettable alternative radio pastiche) than on whether or not they're a Christian rock band. Conclusion, after much iPhone searching: maybe. We hung out some more at the SonicLiving tent, having hot dogs for dinner. I then got a text from Seagate informing me i'd won a hard drive, an unexpected reward of our trip to Mountain View. Then back to the main stage to see the end of Brand New's set (another alternative outfit that has somehow escaped my ears) before the stage rotated to reveal Gang of Four. I don't know much about GoF, just that they are the godfathers of much of the dance punk now purveyed by bands like the Rapture. The founding members of the group, singer Jon King and guitarist Andy Gill, looked only somewhat worse for age (although chemical enhancements for this performance were highly likely), and were supplemented by David Bowie bassist Gail Ann Dorsey. They played a highly entertaining brand of post punk, including classic single "I Love A Man In Uniform". King strutted manically around the stage, while Gill belted out cacophonous yet rhythmic guitar noise. The set concluded with a slow burning number in which King produced a bat and microwave oven, beating one to the other for rhythmic effect, in a bizarre yet wholly appropriate progression. Again, the sad part of the show was turning around to see the second reserve section and the entire lawn completely empty. This point was mentioned by the next act, the Jesus and Mary Chain, although this is in keeping with the general grumpiness of the Reid brothers. Their set was marred by poor sound, particularly the noisy symphony "Just Like Honey" whose atmospherics were completely shattered. "Head On" was similarly damaged, additionally because William Reid's amp went kaput 2/3 of the way through. "Blues From A Gun" however sounded brilliant, and "Sidewalking" was a definite highlight. We chose to head off to the Palo Alto Creamery for a late dinner after the Reids went offstage, passing on RJD2's odd stint as the festival headliner. Some decent music to be had during the show, but all in all a bizarre occasion held in a veritable ghost town.

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