This eclectic yearly music festival has its roots in the underground techno scene of the mid-’90s. Since its acquisition by LA production company Insomniac, Audiotistic Bay Area has become a staple of the West Coast festival circuit. From hip-hop to EDM to turntablism, Audiotistic curates a diverse palette of music from artists across the globe in one multi-stage concert experience. The weekend-spanning party is at Shoreline Amphitheatre and features a seriously stacked bill. Performers include Juice Wrld, T.I., Alison Wonderland and Tiësto.

Audiotistic
Sat & Sun, 2-11pm & 2-10pm, $90+
Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View

Tom Waits made the surprise announcement over the weekend that he will join the Oct. 27 Bridge School Benefit lineup, which already includes My Morning Jacket, Queens of the Stone Ages, the Killer and more.

Waits announced the performance on his Facebook page, stating that he’ll be playing an acoustic set featuring songs off of his 2011 album Bad As Me with his band, which includes Les Claypool on bass.

Also on Facebook Waits stated, “I had every good intention to stay home and work on my JD Salinger Halloween mask, but when Neil told me yesterday he was serving burnt cow’s eyes on a flat tire and it’s all gluten free, I invited myself!”

No word on when Waits plans to play live again beyond Bridge School, so this could be the only opportunity to see him live for the near future.

Last week we wrote about the fact that several homegrown Bay Area rappers, including E-40 and Too Short, were oddly absent from the Rock the Bells lineup at Shoreline over the weekend, despite the fact that they performed at the festival’s San Bernadino show a week earlier. It appeared to be a simple scheduling issue, but E-40 thinks it’s more of a conspiracy—as in, an attempt by the City of Mountain View to keep him out of the Rock the Bells lineup—and presumably any show at Shoreline—for the last few years.

“For some reason, the city of Mountain View won’t let E-40 and Too Short perform. They can’t even give us an excuse or nothin’, they can’t say nothin’,” E-40 told Fuse TV in an interview. “They don’t even know why they won’t let us perform…They don’t want us performing on our own soil, man.”

Mountain View city officials said in a statement they have no control over who plays Rock the Bells, and that scheduling decisions are made entirely by festival organizers. Organizers from Guerilla Union and Live Nation, who jointly produced last weekend’s event, confirmed in an email that all scheduling for the show was done on the basis of availability.

The question then, of course, is why E-40 thought he was available when everyone else thought that he wasn’t—and where his notion that Mountain View had deep-sixed him from the Shoreline show came from in the first place. E-40’s publicist initially said he would look into the matter, but did not return a request for comment.

The Vallejo rapper and Mountain View may still make nice in the near future—RTB organizers have left open the possibility that he’ll perform at Shoreline next year.

Click here to view the embedded video.

For five years running now, Rock the Bells has been the South Bay’s biggest rap show. It’s also the strangest megatour of the 21st century; since its debut in 2004, it’s reinvented itself almost every year, and this one is no exception.

With the return of headliner Nas (making his sixth RTB appearance), Common, Curren$y, Immortal Technique, Murs and other festival favorites, there’s a string of continuity, but the addition of acts like J. Cole and 2Chainz, and a whole new set-up for the tour, has led to some controversy, or just plain confusion. Here are answers to some key questions about the ever-evolving hip-hop festival as it returns to Shoreline this weekend.

Is Rock the Bells getting bigger or smaller?

Both, sort of. Rock the Bells has a convoluted history of shapeshifting: after starting out as two SoCal festival dates (summer and fall) in 2004, it went to a single day in 2005, then blew up into a hybrid festival and multi-city club tour in 2006. The next year had three festivals, 15 single-stage shows and 5 two-stage shows across the country. In 2008, organizers took Rock the Bells international in what was probably its biggest year, with 16 festival dates. The next year, it contracted a little, and 2010 saw only 4 dates. Last year had three, and this year also boasts three shows, but all three are two-day festivals. So a much smaller number of cities will be seeing Rock the Bells than in its heyday, but those select cities will have their bells rocked for twice as long. So it all depends on if you’re lucky enough to be near one or not, which brings us to…

Why Mountain View?

The festival started in San Bernadino, so it’s no surprise that Rock the Bells launched there this year. A second date, in New Jersey, was clearly meant to shore up that East Coast presence the festival established five years ago with its much-hyped storming of New York City (the reunion of Rage Against the Machine as headliners didn’t hurt). Mountain View’s Shoreline may seem like a strange third choice for a festival that established itself in Chicago, Detroit and Boston. But in fact, NorCal has been a huge part of the festival’s success since 2006—first in Concord, then SF, and, since 2008, at Shoreline. Organizers from Guerilla Union and Live Nation, who co-produced the festival this year, indicated the tour will have a home in this area in the future, as well. “The Bay Area music scene has always had a thriving and diverse hip hop community. Be it music from The Team to Souls of Mischief or Del The Funky Homosapien to 2 Pac and Keak Da Sneak, various sub-genres of hip hop are represented well in this market,” they wrote in response to my inquiry. “This is evident in the success that Rock The Bells has had in the past and what we see doing in the future now that we are holding this event as a two-day festival.”

With Electronic Dance Music still emerging as a genre, Skrillex’s set at Outside Lands last weekend was probably the best free publicity the Identity Festival could ask for going into its return to Shoreline Friday.

When the EDM-focused ID Fest came around last year, the music was mostly still a club phenomenon, at least in the South Bay. But since then, there’s been a lot of epic raving to go around, from Bassnectar’s San Jose show to the I Love This City festival to Skrillex’s Golden Gate debut.

This year’s headliner is Eric Prydz, who I think can be largely credited (or blamed, depending on your point of view) for kickstarting the ‘80s revival, which started bubbling up not long after his 2004 song “Call on Me,” which took the title line (and vocal sample) from Steve Winwood’s mid-80s megahit “Valerie,” drenched it in electro riffs, and stuffed it into the most laughably hypersexual (and yet, still totally hot) music video ever set in a gym.

The Shoreline stop also features Le Castle Vania, who has become a South Bay fave after regular club stops here, and Doctor P (the only DJ who also played I Love This City), as well as Excision, Paul Van Dyk, Hardwell, Bingo Players, Showtek, Noisia, Adrian Lux, Eva Simons, Audrey Napoleon, The Eye and more.

The IDENTITY FESTIVAL will be presented Fri, Aug. 17 at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, 2pm; $60.

This year’s Mayhem Festival was different. It felt different. Gone was the dread of attending a faceless, corporate-sponsored event. As soon as I entered, I felt at ease. Why? Because I didn’t feel like a chump. Let’s face it, most of the time, festivals like this leave you drowned in a sea of bands you couldn’t care less about. With a lineup that included true metal legends like Slayer, Motorhead and Anthrax, that wasn’t the case Sunday.

Overall, the biggest stroke of genius was the traveling keg. Amongst the crowd of concert goers were wheeled carts with a kegs in them, filled with ice. A tall flag with the type of beer they were serving stuck up out of the back of the carts, so all you had to do was look for the flag. It was like a beer beacon.

Musically, there were some parallels to last year’s Mayhem Fest. Instead of questioning why Testament wasn’t on the main stage, the question was why wasn’t Anthrax on the main stage? No matter, though. Anthrax came out with more energy than guys half their age.  Running amuck and sounding incredible, Anthrax’s showmanship was unmatched that evening.

As the sun set, Motorhead took the main stage. Subtle yet effective, Lemmy is the epitome of cool. He doesn’t even have to try. He just is. Dirty, gritty and louder than a 747, Lemmy made it clear that night: “We are Motorhead, and we play rock and roll!” Who are any of us to disagree?

The power of Satan took over as soon as Slayer took the stage. As Scott Ian put it: “Slayer is the music you’re going to hear when you go to Hell.” They had their Marshall stacks set up to look like two upside down crosses –-with fire shooting out of them. They set a standard that night, making me feel sorry for whoever had to follow them.

Which brings us to Slipknot.

I’ve always respected Mick Thomson’s guitar work. The guy shreds, plain and simple. There’s also no denying Slipknot’s influence and ability to get the crowd moving. But headlining? Over bands that have paved the way for them? I don’t get it. There’s no accounting for taste, so take their music with a grain of salt. But they never fail to put on a good show, whether you like their music or not.

At concerts like this, it’s always a t-shirt contest. Who has the most obscure shirt from a band you’ve never heard of? Well, I guarantee I had a shirt no one was wearing: Mr. Bungle. Last year I wore an Eyesores shirt. So, I’m still the undisputed Mayhem t-shirt champion, two years running. 

Considering the pummeling KFOG has taken in the last few weeks over its morning show catastrophe, perhaps it sees the new Harmony By The Bay Festival as a way to win back some goodwill. The new music event on September 29 at Shoreline will try to fill the void left by the cancellation—after 33 straight years—of Santa Rosa’s Harmony Festival, and is a joint venture between Harmony’s organizers, KFOG and Live Nation. Performers will include The Shins, Tegan and Sara, Kimbra, Alison Krauss & Union Station, Beats Antique, Matisyahu and many more.

In March, organizers of the annual three-day Santa Rosa music festival announced it would not be returning to the Sonoma County Fairgrounds this summer due to financial trouble. However, they left open the possibility the festival would return as early as next year, and wrote in a statement: “Please trust that we have spent many months creatively exploring dozens of promising options in the hopes that we could keep this magical event alive this year. We know this news is a great disappointment to the entire Harmony team and the community at large, and we share your feelings of disappointment. We ask that we work together to move beyond this stage, toward hope and optimism for future Harmony Festivals.”

Apparently, the future is now. This one-day, South Bay version features the same eclectic mix of genres and cultures in its line-up, from the bluegrass of Krauss to reggae legend Jimmy Cliff, with a lot of indie rock in between. Organizers promise “Two stages of diverse music, creative food, crafts, sustainability education, shopping and good vibes.”

Tickets go on sale Friday, June 29, at 10am.

Confirmed Performers:
The Shins
Tegan and Sara
Alison Krauss & Union Station featuring Jerry Douglas
Beats Antique
Matisyahu
Jimmy Cliff
Kimbra
More TBA
The Dirty Heads, The Givers

This year’s BFD had the best vibe the venerable summer festival has had in years. Was it the absence of white-t-shirted bro-bot Sublime fans? Maybe the recent proliferation of fun pop bands on alt-radio? Who knows, but this one was a blast from start to finish.

One of my favorites, and I’ve been going since the very first one. Here are five quick takes on my favorite moments from Shoreline Saturday:

5. Grouplove vs. Kanye West: If there was any band at BFD less likely than Grouplove to take the stage to Kanye’s “Monster,” I didn’t see them. The fact that they did it anyway was hilarious, and in line with their clearly demonstrated mission not to take themselves too seriously. Keyboardist and co-lead Hannah Hooper is a superball on stage, and in general this band looks to create chaos on stage whenever they can. That they write the bounciest pop songs ever is neither here nor there. Back to “Monster,” they really ought to go full bore and just cover it. Another funny nod came near the end of the set when they turned their big hit “Tongue Tied” into Whitney’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody.”

4. Jane’s Addiction vs. Mythological Themes: Still, Grouplove had only the second best entrance of the night. Top honors have to go to Perry Ferrell and company for their bizarre, Divine Comedy-sized opening, which featured girls in white dresses raised to the rafters and chased by flying demons. All this while a snazzily dressed Ferrell smiled that Joker-esque smile and sang “Underground”: “I came back to pay respect/To another fallen angel.”

PHOTOS: View the MetroActive photo gallery.

3. Dirty Ghosts vs. Trends: This San Francisco band was my favorite act on the Local Band Stage (regrettably, I got there too late to see Young Science). Noisy and loud in a way that makes a statement, they remind me of early Sonic Youth, with how they manage to be catchy and dissonant at the same time. Sleater-Kinney fans still looking for a fix (and no matter how great Portlandia is, doesn’t it kind of suck that Carrie Brownstein is going to be busy for the foreseeable future?) need to check this band out. They’re raising a big middle finger to rock that’s gotten too slick and mechanical.

2. K. Flay vs. Milpitas: The best quote of the day came from this unstoppable SF rapper: “BFD, are you ready to take a trip with me? Let’s spiritually go to Milpitas, and go to the mall!” I’m still not totally sure what she meant, but I have to admit, I kind of gave it a shot. No astral projection was forthcoming, but K. Flay’s set was probably the best I’ve heard her do. With the Subsonic Tent’s emphasis on electronica, her backbeats were way pumped up in the mix. A couple of times this messed with the vocals, but overall it blew me away.

1. Wallpaper vs. Sanity: If you’re not yet on the Wallpaper bandwagon, where have you been? Ricky Reed’s live show is, as he described one song, “so stupid it went to the liquor store to get bananas.” He’s just doing mind-bending stuff right now, especially on stage. A lot of credit goes to his partner in crime, singer Novena Carmel. At this show, she rocked pink hair, a polka dot blouse and a keytar. At the end of “Stupidfacedd,” she jumped on Ricky’s back, rode him like a horse, and beat her chest. It was nuts, and yet the only way to cap a set like this one.

K.Flay, also known as former Stanford student Kristine Flaherty, returned to her Bay Area roots Saturday at Live105’s BFD 2012, pirate-themed extravaganza headlined by Jane’s Addiction, Silversun Pickups and Garbage the Shoreline Amphitheatre.

Flaherty found her hip-hop muse as an undergraduate student at Stanford University. Since then, she’s created a reputation as unique as her musical tastes. Flaherty’s show translates well with fans of both hip-hop and rock since her music, while rooted in hip-hop, often moves into other genres.

At the Subsonic Stage, one of three side stages at Shoreline, she switched between rapping, live mixing and sampling and pounding on a drum alongside her drummer.

In conversation, she carries a professional, scholarly demeanor as she riffs on everything from her new-found interest for Pantera and Metric to her studies on The Farm in Palo Alto.

“I try to give everything a chance to understand why it has been successful,” Flaherty says.

Growing up, Flaherty was surrounded by a variety of music. First from listening to her father’s classical records to repeating Liz Phair albums alongside other strong female leads in music during her teenage age. Though her strength is hip-hop, that until recently was almost exclusively male-dominated, many of Flaherty’s musical roots originate from strong female leads. Most recently, Metric’s “Youth Without Youth” caught her ear.

“The thing that I like about Metric is that they are pushing boundaries,” Flaherty says. “I like that they are trying to do some things electronically—there’s a new wave feel to the track. It’s a little bit of a throwback.”

Flaherty first arrived to the Bay Area from the suburbs of Chicago as a dual major in Sociology and Psychology at Stanford University.

“I’ve always been interested in domains that have both a very technical side and a little bit more of a philosophical side,” Flaherty says of the two studies, which include both technical statistics and human interaction theory. “I think I always liked that dichotomy, which is probably why I like music, too. I like the technical parts and also being a weirdo on stage.”

Flaherty dabbles in a variety of genres and can hold down a conversation but found that her true strength lay in hip-hop because it lent her the best structure and freedom to write songs that expressed her personality.

“The ability to really manipulate words and to write something as if it was a puzzle was really cool to me about rapping,” she says. “There’s a lot of opportunity for wordplay, rhythm and experimentation.”

While Flaherty continues to expand her career into new areas with a U.S. tour and festival stops, including Boonaroo in Tennesse thise weekend, she advises to all who are just starting out in music to just learn as much as possible.

“The more you know, the more you empower yourself to make things happen when other people don’t necessarily believe in it,” she says.

More information about k.flay, along with a free download of her most recent E.P., Eyes Shut, can be found below at her official website. http://www.kflay.com/

More photos from BFD.

The Morgan Hill mafia will invade BFD this year, when Mike Garmany and James Mellow (better known to many of his early fans by his real name, Grant Averill) will both be playing the Local Band Stage at Live 105’s annual music festival.

Garmany will be performing with the Holdup, whose first two records both debuted at #1 on iTunes’ reggae chart, and who have been in rotation on Live 105 with “Young Fools,” their sorta-cover of Peter Bjorn and John’s “Young Folks.” Mellow will lead his electro-pop group Young Science, who got onto the airwaves last year with “Liquor Store,” the single from their debut EP. Both do production at Garmany’s Morgan Hill studio, where Mellow just completed the first Young Science album.

“We’ve been super good friends since we met in junior high,” says Mellow, taking a break from work at the studio. In fact, he says he picked up his first instrument back then, the bass, just so they could be in a band together. That one never went anywhere, but they do have a hip-hop/R&B collaboration now called Twin City, for which they released a free 17-song mix tape.

In light of all that, it’s a little remarkable that neither their professional collaboration or personal connection has anything to do with the fact that they’re the sole representatives of the South Bay on the BFD lineup this year.

“It was absolute coincidence,” says Mellow. He knows dozens of band are vying for the attention of Aaron Axelsen, the Live 105 DJ who picks the lineup for the Local Band stage, and who first played both Young Science and the Holdup on his Soundcheck show. Many seem to try to figure an angle that will get them noticed, but Mellow thinks Axelsen’s continued success comes from his straightforward approach: “He just has to like your music. That’s it.”

Axelsen says both Young Science and the Holdup are hard-working bands with great songs, who embody what he wants to showcase in the Bay Area scene. “People ask me all the time, ‘How do I get on the radio, Aaron?’” says Axelsen. “I just say ‘look at what Young Science is doing.’”