Musical Monday, err Thursday: Oppa GOTR style

Forgive me for the bandwagony style title, but I just had to find a way to nod to one of the most interesting pop music hits of the year, Gangnam style. I also need to apologize b/c whoops, it's already the 13th and I've not posted yet this month... That's 2 Musical Mondays I've missed. APOLOGIES! 

Now that that's over with the real theme behind today's post is the Gentlemen of the Road Stopover Tour. Basically this summer, Mumford & Sons coordinated 4 awesome music festivals nationwide, highlighting the musical history of the four cities. I went with friend to the Bristol, TN/VA Stopover, heard great music, went antiquing, saw more mustaches than I could count, and had a great time!

They even had lovely little photo-shoot opportunities set up, and a mustache on a helicopter!

I'm also doing something new and using only live versions of the song, since that's how I experienced them-slash-now have them on the compilation CD.

HAIM: Go Slow

I was able to see part of their performance at Bristol, but unfortunately not this song. So I'm super stoked to have the live-recording version from the compilation CD. I actually like the live version better than the recorded one, there's a much more 80s synth-tastic vibe and the vocals intertwine into an awesome tapestry of awesomicity =)

Dawes: A Little Bit of Everything

I was also lucky enough to see Dawes play at Bristol and they were great! This is a nice mellow jam about an attempted suicide, regret-fueled binge-eating, & the power of love, you can close your eyes and sway to.

The Very Best: Kondaine

Now after that downer, it's Super-party-dance-time! They look like they're having so much fun and its hard not to catch their infectious smiles and let the beat carry you to at least a bit of shoulder dancing.

Gogol Bordello: Start Wearing Purple

An oldie but goodie. They weren't at Bristol so I can only imagine what this was like live. Seeing the footage from this 2007 concert I'm sure it was pretty crazy!

Mumford & Sons-Below My Feet

One of their newer tracks. I can't get enough of the lyrics "keep my eyes to serve, my hands to learn." While their chord progression remains predictable by now (you can say that about most any rock/pop artist though), it is predictably wonderful and one of my favorite things is shout-singing along to the "Ahhhs," creating and weaving in my own version of harmonies, so it's different every time. Their music also makes me happy in a way few other artists can. Also, this has a brief intro by Joseph Gordon Levitt so if it's not your type of music you can  just watch the first 3 seconds on repeat for awhile =)

Did you go to any great live shows or music festivals in 2012? Or is there any concert that stuck with you for awhile, I'd love to hear about it in the comments, or follow me on twitter for more music updates: @itzbizr