rock the garden.

Rock the Garden at the Walker, with Bon Iver, Cloud Cult, The New Pornographers, and Andrew Bird


I'm so out of practice with writing reviews, but I'll attempt anyway. Rock the Garden was placed smack in between the Walker and the Sculpture Garden in the middle of the street. It actually seemed like a really small space for 7,500 people. Overall, I had a great time and was really glad I went. All of the bands put on solid performances, though I wish I could see some of them in other places.

Bon Iver

This was a really good set. Although you can hear the quality of his voice on record, the beauty of it comes across so much more live. My complaints have nothing to do with music, but were circumstantial. First of all, it was 4:30, the sun was beating down with no respite, and I just couldn't stop thinking about the heat. It was also hard to reconcile such intimate songs in a decidedly non-intimate setting. I would love to see him in a smaller club.

Cloud Cult

I don't have much to say about these guys since we took a break sitting on the hill and I wasn't paying attention. Next!

The New Pornographers

This is one band that has stood the test of time with me - the last (and only time) I saw them was five years ago. Silly things have gotten in the way of me seeing them in the meantime, so I was super excited to see them again. It ended up being the highlight of the night, partly because I just like them that much, and the setting suited their music really well. I think at this point, most people (myself included) had just enough beer in their system to happily sing along with the music (such as "The Bleeding Heart Show." So good!). The sun was still out, though not as strong, and everything just worked together to make it an awesome time.

Andrew Bird

This boy is so supremely talented, and his whistling is unsurpassed, but again I was bothered by both venue and circumstance. First of all, there were minor threats of storms so they had to take a ten minute break, which broke up the flow of the set. It also seemed like the point of the night where the drunk were just getting drunker, and more annoying, and that didn't jive well with Mr. Bird's music, either. Don't get me wrong, he put on a great show as well, but it just reminded me that I should really see him a theater sometime.



Other thoughts? There were many well dressed and attractive people there, so that was fun. The lines for any sort of food were ridiculous, though. Which is why my friends and I smartly decided to drink instead and go to King and I Thai for dinner later.


In other news, I made a new muxtape in honor of summer. CLICK!