Akon, Gabrielle offer support to Rihanna

By
mcrdj
 – June 2, 2010Posted in: Music News

Hip-hop star Akon and Hollywood actress Gabrielle Union have offered support to Rihanna, who was allegedly attacked by Chris Brown, and have urged her to be strong. The ‘Umbrella’ hitmaker was left with a split lip, a bloody nose and bite marks on her hands after Brown allegedly attacked her following a heated argument.


However, after much of speculation over the incident, Brown has publicly said that he was ’saddened’ by the incident, which left Rihanna needing hospital treatment. Gabrielle Union, who is a mutual pal of Rihanna and Brown, has asked Rihanna to stay strong, and is hoping the high profile case will make people rally against domestic violence.

“I know them both. Unfortunately, no one knows all the facts yet what I think is great about this unfortunate situation is it can get us talking about violence, violence is never the answer. It’s good to get that dialogue started. I wish this wasn’t the catalyst for that it’s never good to use violence as a means to an end,” Contactmusic quoted Gabrielle as saying.

While Gabrielle has asked Rihanna to stay strong, Akon has asked her not to lose positivism in life. “Keep doing what you’re doing baby. Keep things positive! She’s a strong woman. I think she’ll get through it,” Akon said.

Meanwhile, other celebrities like Jay-Z and Jessica Alba have also offered support to Rihanna, who has gone into hiding after the incident.

The 10 Best Moments of Sasquatch Festival

If that island in Lost ever played host to a music festival, it might turn out something like Sasquatch. As one sits and watches bands from a perch on an unnaturally stunning rock face, overlooking the Columbia River Gorge, it’s as if nothing exists between yourself and the edge of the universe but whatever music’s emanating from that glowing chasm of a main stage.

And, like that island, once you get there, the festival gives you some pretty compelling reasons to stick around — including a monster, albeit a cute, red-haired one (the festival mascot), not a scary, homicidal plume of black smoke. Sure, there’s the flabbergasting scenery — loved the child-of-band-member who asked his mommy if what he was seeing was actually real — that draws a sold-out crowd of 50,000-plus to the site, two hours southeast of Seattle at the Gorge Amphitheater.

But it’s all about the lineup, jam-packed with mostly indie faves — a testament to the perennial viability of boundary-pushing music in the Pacific Northwest. And while this year’s festival also featured another MGMT victory lap (amazingly, the crowd sang the synth hook to “Kids” a cappella) and solid, hit-filled sets from My Morning Jacket, Passion Pit, and New Pornographers, these were our fondest memories from Sasquatch 2010, the ones that will make up our festival flashbacks for years to come.

BEHOLD THE VICTORS: VAMPIRE WEEKEND
At the sold-out Sasquatch, bands holding down the headliner spots haven’t necessarily turned out to be the biggest draws. Sure, My Morning Jacket played to a mostly packed house on Saturday, and Massive Attack was overwhelmingly solid on Sunday despite a not-so-full amphitheater floor, but the band drawing the most populous, most stoked, most deserved gathering was unquestionably Vampire Weekend.

And why should anyone be surprised? Contra, their sophomore album, debuted at No. 1 on the charts, and their clean-cut trop-pop is one of the most undeniable sounds of the past few years — and now everyone finally seems to have fallen for it. His band’s sound gushing sweetly and crisply through the main stage sound system as a postcard-worthy sunset bathed the Gorge in a wholesome glow, frontman Ezra Koenig offered up a Jumbotron-worthy grin while cooing the falsetto chorus of set opener “White Sky.”

From then on, it was pure pop bliss, as few among the 20,000-plus main stage crowd could resist giddy, danceable shimmies like “A-Punk” and “Cousins.” Later, the hook of “Horchata” — “Here comes a feeling you thought you’d forgotten” — rang so true. That feeling: Seeing a new member initiated into rock’n'roll’s touring elite.

SELLING THE DRAMA: MASSIVE ATTACK
It’s fair to excuse fans who’d prefer not to go to a darker place while spending hard-earned money to cavort with friends at a festival, but the melancholy journey offered by Massive Attack Sunday night was worthwhile, and well-executed, as far as the music was concerned. Leaning mostly on songs off this year’sHeligoland, the British outfit wove its snakelike, jagged electronica around a stellar lineup of guest vocalists: Martina Topley-Bird (whose take on “Psyche” was mesmerizing, and delivered in a skintight black catsuit), reggae legend Horace Andy (“Angel,” off 1998’s Mezzanine, paired his honeyed pipes with over-the-top guitar riffage), and Deborah Miller (who perfectly handled Shara Nelson’s vocal from the group’s 1991 single, “Safe from Harm”;).

But when giant strips of LEDs displayed politically charged, super serious statements behind the band, things got a bit muddier. Some sequences juxtaposed headlines of the overexposed — Heidi Montag, Spencer Pratt, Tiger Woods — with underreported world news, or counted off grisly statistics about the Gulf of Mexico oil spill or Hurricane Katrina. It managed to stay clear of obnoxious until “Inertia Creeps,” when touts regarding the injustice of American policy regarding the detention of prisoners without charges appeared just as the song peaked, resulting in a hearty cheer, meant for the song, not the statistic. Poor form on the eve of Memorial Day, Massive Attack.

FRONTMAN WITH UPSIDE: BAND OF HORSES’ BEN BRIDWELL
Who knows if he’s been studying the moves of Eddie Vedder on his band’s recent stint as Pearl Jam’s opening act, but Band of Horses singer/guitarist Ben Bridwell is upping the ante with his frontman moves these days, particularly at Sasquatch. With keyboardist Ryan Monroe picking up a few of the singer’s rhythm guitar assignments, the bearded, heavily tattooed Bridwell is branching out, jumping into the photo pit and singing with fans along the barricade and romping around the stage.

It’s not just posing, though. On Monday, when they paired confident, newly-minted tunes from the just-released Infinite Arms like the charming “Compliments” and the twangy “Laredo” with the lilting balladry of “No One’s Gonna Love You” and “Detlef Schrempf,” Bridwell and Band of Horses oozed with headliner caliber bravado. Further evidence: The crowd’s response to “The Funeral,” one of the best songs of the past few years, was forceful and resounding, and almost strong enough to nudge the whole main stage right into the gorgeous ravine below.

MOST UNEXPECTED DANCE PARTY: THE NATIONAL
For those who’ve grown accustomed to putting on National records, pouring a glass of whiskey, staring out a window into the rain, and contemplating love lost, get ready for something new. The Brooklyn band’s Saturday set was pure fire, jam-packed with straight-ahead stormers and refreshingly devoid of the self-flagellating navel gazing that they’ve done so often (but oh so well) in the past.

Whether spitting out cuts from the recently released High Violet (“Afraid of Everyone” and “Bloodbuzz, Ohio” in particular) or uptempo older cuts like “Mr. November” and “Abel,” frontman Matt Berninger commanded the stage like a drunken ballerino, coaxing both a deep baritone croon and an electric shriek while flailing around the stage in a barely controlled stumble. And when he went through a run through the audience, mic in hand, during “Abel,” he was accordingly met with excited, bounding fans, not mournful onlookers, crying in their beers.

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