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September 2007
Hall of fame nominations and oversights
The nominees for 2008 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame were announced today and, woefully, Doug Sahm is still not on the list. Shockingly, neither is Metallica, who basically invented hardcore heavy metal.
Five of these nine will make it into the Hall in March 2008: Afrika Bambaataa, Beastie Boys, Chic, Leonard Cohen, the Dave Clark Five, Madonna, John Mellencamp, Donna Summer and the Ventures. Ballots will soon be sent to over 500 voters, but everyone knows Rolling Stone editor/publisher Jann Wenner’s really the one who decides.
Here’s who should make it: 1) Madonna 2) Leonard Cohen 3) Beastie Boys 4) the Ventures and 5) the Dave Clark Five. “Jack and Diane” should’ve made Mellencamp ineligible, but he won’t get in and neither will Bambaataa (too short a career) or Donna Summer and Chic (this ain’t the disco hall of fame).
Notably un-nominated were Randy Newman and Tom Waits, the two greatest songwriters of the past 25 years (sorry, Conor Oberst fans) and the Stooges, Nick Lowe, Gram Parsons and the Monkees, who are all more important than the former Johnny Cougar.
To be eligible, an act must have released its first single or album at least 25 years prior to the year of nomination, which means Stevie Ray Vaughan is a shoo-in next year.
Punk legend Mikey Offender reported dead
The Bravewords Web site is reporting — and former Offenders drummer Pat Doyle confirms — that the great punk bassist Mikey Donaldson (Offenders, DRI, MDC) died in his sleep Saturday in Barcelona, Spain. He was 46. Cause of death has not been determined. He’s survived by a brother and two sisters, who all live in Killeen.
When I moved to Austin in 1984, I hung with the punk crowd over at Voltaire’s. Back then, a lot of kids were identified by the home town’s they came to Austin to escape. You had the Vidor guys — Tommy Pipes, Buddy Boy and Elbo — the San Antonio guys like Jeff Smith and Paul & Gibby, and you had the Killeen guys, who included Davy Jones, Mikey Donaldson, Richard Hayes and Fat John.
The most authentic hardcore band in town was the Offenders, Austin’s answer to Black Flag, with a scary lead singer, a lightning quick rhythm section and a tall, long-haired guitarist who didn’t look punk until he played all those searing notes.
If you were in the Offenders, your band name became your last name, so everyone knew Donaldson as Mikey Offender. He was the baddest bassist in town. The only time I ever “slam-danced,” which is what moshing was called back then, it was to the Offenders. After one song, I was comepletely covered in sweat, some of it my own. Mikey was a big Motorhead fan, and it showed in his Lemmy-like thrashing.
After the breakup of his great San Francisco band Sister Double Happiness about 10 years ago, Mikey had dropped out of the music business and moved back to Killeen, according to reports. It was no secret that he had a horrendous heroin problem in S.F., so maybe he went home to pad his years a little.
He played the Offenders reunion at Emo’s in 2002 and apparently planned a return to music. In 2004, Mikey rejoined his pre-Offenders band MDC, which originally stood for Millions of Dead Cops, but then was changed to various other things that wouldn’t assure hassles from law enforcement. Donaldson played on the MDC comeback album “Magnus Dominos Corpus” and toured Europe with the hardcore pioneers. On an MDC blog, one of the band members called the 2004 version the band’s tightest ever.
When the tour ended in Aug. 2004, Donaldson stayed behind in Amsterdam, where he joined one of that city’s premiere punk bands, the Nitwitz. Mikey Offender was, no doubt, a star in Europe, and he talked about re-forming the Offenders for an overseas tour.
So many of the punk rockers who were my heroes in 1984 have passed away: Biscuit of the Big Boys, Glenn Taylor of the Dicks, Hayes of the Hickoids. And now Mikey.
“Mikey is universally regarded as one of the most innovative and inimitable masters of the bass guitar,” Doyle wrote in an e-mail. “He played his Rickenbacker like it was a out-sized rhythm guitar. Mikey pioneered an aggressive speed-picking style and liberal employment of bass chords that few have been able to emulate in the past 20 years. He will be sorely missed.”
An Austin memorial is in the works.
Willie wins award
From Michael Barnes’ Out & About blog: You may have already heard, but Austin’s own Willie Nelson will receive the first Bridging Divides Award from the University of Texas at Austin Project on Conflict Resolution during an Oct. 19 ceremony at the Frank Erwin Center. … Read about more celebrities with Austin ties here.
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Roky to tape ACL set
After Roky Erickson’s triumphant return to performing with a three-song set at SXSW 2005, he was asked what he wanted to happen next. The psychedelic rock pioneer answered that he wanted to be on TV again, specifically “Austin City Limits.” Well, that’s about to become a reality. “ACL” producer Terry Lickona has booked an appearance by Erickson for early to mid-November, with the final date to be firmed up when a couple of special guests check their schedules for openings.
“It’ll be the last taping of the season, so it should be special,” said Lickona, who added that Roky sent word through his manager that he’s besides himself about the dream gig.
“I had read in the Statesman that Roky’s goal was to play ‘ACL’ and when I saw him at the Paramount (in July), that show gave me the confidence to book him,” Lickona said. Only problem was that the 33rd season, currently in production, didn’t have any openings. But then Erykah Badu’s album was delayed and she dropped out, making room for the Rok. Lickona said the Erickson program will air in January.
In other big “ACL” news, C3 Presents, which has exec-produced the show for five years (under its old CSE moniker the first four), has decided to not renew its contract after the end of this season (which begins airing Oct. 6 with Norah Jones.) “They’ve decided to concentrate on producing festivals,” Lickona said. C3 just signed a ten-year deal to license the “Austin City Limits” name for the annual festival at Zilker Park in September.
More on Roky Erickson
- Photos: Roky Erickson then and now
- Interactive: The essential Roky Erickson
- Video: Roky at the Hultsfred Festival in Sweden
- Under the influence of Roky Erickson
- The best tribute album ever made
- A psychedelic look back
- The Fall and Rise of Roky Erickson
- Rock 'n' roll comeback
- Roky Erickson's 60th birthday party
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It’s never too early to think ACL 2008
If you’re an e-mail subscriber to the official Austin City Limits Music Festival site, you already know that early-bird tickets went on sale today for 2008’s incarnation. The general public might also be interested to know that next year’s festival dates are Sept. 26-28, according to the Web site.
So, not too early to buy tickets (if you’re one of the lucky ones), but way too early to complain about the lineup.
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More on Gary Primich
The Travis County Medical Examiner’s office has yet to release a cause of death pending toxicology tests, but Gary Primich’s ex-wife Tina Rosenzwieg, who found the body, said a drug overdose is suspected. Primich friend Mark Rubin wrote on his blog yesterday that Primich had been dogsitting for Rosenzwieg over the weekend and she came home Monday morning and found Primich.
Rubin also had a lot of great things to say about Primich the man and Primich the harp master.
And speaking of new music …
Check out our colleague Omar Gallaga’s report on Amazon’s new MP3 service.
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New music: Iron & Wine
Iron & Wine (aka Sam Beam) is out today with “The Shepherd’s Dog” (Sub Pop), which earns four stars out of five from music writer Joe Gross. Here’s his review - look for his interview with Beam in Thursday’s XL:
Legend has it that an early title for the first Stephen Malkmus solo album was “Swedish Reggae.” This would have been too cute by at least half, of course, and the album was ultimately self-titled. But you have to hand it to Iron & Wine, aka Sam Beam, and whoever is playing with Sam Beam — on “Wolves (A Song for the Shepherd’s Dog),” he seems to have stumbled upon music that really, no kidding, sounds like Swedish reggae, equal parts folk-rock and spacey dub.
Oddly, this isn’t too surprising. If you’ve ever seen Iron & Wine live (some might remember their fantastic set at ACL last year), you know that the songs can morph into jams with ease. With each record, Beam has added more and more instruments, more and more electric layers to be expanded on or peeled back live. “Shepherd’s Dog” will make those transitions easier than ever.
But his songwriting remains essentially the same. The rhythms are still circular and lazy, the guitar still detailed and lovely, the lyrics still trying to parse love and sing odes to it at the same time, dipping into bizarre images; it’s Bunuel via the Band. Sonically, “Shepherd’s Dog” is pretty far afield from the mumbled acoustic songs on the amazing debut “The Creek Drank the Cradle.” But the evolution has never felt forced — these are the records Beam wants to be making, from the muffled clanging percussion on “Pagan Angel and a Borrowed Car” to the steady hook on the single “Boy with a Coin.” “Resurrection Fern” gets acoustic again; “House by the Sea” reminds you that Beam likes Paul Simon’s “Graceland” as much as the Simon & Garfunkel records that his early work recalled. That is, his next giant leap seems like one small step. - Joe Gross
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Musician Gary Primich dies at 49
Gary Primich 1958-2007
There are generally two types of harmonica players: Ones who have amazing technique, and those who play with intense feeling. Gary Primich was both. The great blues player, whose appearances in Europe brought out harmonica aficionados in droves, died Sunday, ex-wife Tina Rosenzwieg confirmed. An announcement of his death was also posted on his Web site. He was 49. The cause of death has not been released.
“Gary was the sweetest, smartest, hardest-working harp player in the world,” said Rosenzwieg, who met Primich when they were students at the University of Indiana. Although the couple divorced after several years, they remained close.
A native of Gary, Ind., Primich moved to Austin in the mid-’80s after a single visit to Antone’s. He formed the Mannish Boys with former Frank Zappa drummer Jimmy Carl Black but achieved his greatest success as a solo artist. His 1995 album “Mr. Freeze” was named one of the 20 best blues albums of the ’90s by Chicago weekly New City. He recorded eight albums in all for such labels as Antone’s, Black Top, Amazing and Flying Fish.
Although he was based in Austin the past two decades, Primich made most of his money playing overseas, as a solo artist or while touring with bands such as Omar and the Howlers.
“He had established himself all over the world as one of the most technically proficient harmonica players,” said his friend and fellow harp-blower Ted Roddy. “He wrote great instrumentals that leaned toward organ jazz. It was like Jimmy Smith, only on harmonica.”
Funeral services are pending.
Best Spoon Video Ever
Here it is, folks. And no Hunter Darby appearance.
The Constantines: Advertising ‘Brotherhood”
To watch the second season of the Showtime series “Brotherhood,” a tale of two brothers on opposite sides of the law in working-class Rhode Island (yes, it’s based very loosely on Whitey and Ray Bulger), you’d think the show’s theme would be, say, the Dropkick Murphys or something. (You might recall the Murphys’ amazing screamer “I’m Shipping Up to Boston” put to mind-blowingly great use in “the Departed.”) The second season starts Sunday on Showtime.
But no, they go with a minute of the Constantines’ tense, rousing anthem “Draw Us Lines.” The Canadian band has always had two things in its favor -a serious working class vibe (as in they sing about work and its discontents) and an utterly massive sound. Big drums, big vision. And they do fake Springsteen better than the Hold Steady.
Actually, they do fake Springsteen differently. The Constantines’ chords are tougher, the vocals are grittier. Springsteen always sound like he was trying so hard. These fellows sound genuinely hacked off at the world. It’s the sound of the tension and guilt boiling under the surface of everything and everyone in Brotherhood, from the implied violence in Michael Caffee to the knot of guilt and rage that fuels Tommy. It sent me back to the Constantines to see what else I missed. Nice job, folks.
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Interpol: Notes from the no-longer underground
Not too long ago New York’s Interpol were playing small clubs like the 200-capacity Mercury Lounge in the city’s East Village, and Manhattan’s Bowery Ballroom. Last week, however, they performed in front of considerably more people — 15,000 to be precise — at Madison Square Garden. It’s fair to say the last few years have been quite a ride.
The week before the gig, bassist Carlos Dengler (known as Carlos D) said he was trying not to think about it. “I’ll go crazy if I think about it too much,” he said. “My attitude is every show’s a show. What’s to say this show is more important than any other.”
They should have seen this level of success coming. Two years ago Interpol were booked to play two nights at Mexico City’s 7,000 capacity World Trade Center venue, and sold it out. But half an hour into the first concert, the stage started to give way. “Sine waves and ripple effects made the stage bounce and it was frightening,” Dengler said. “After the show our tour manager shut down the operation. So we re-scheduled it in an even larger, venue. And we sold that out too.”
The band is taking a break in New York before resuming their U.S. tour. They play Stubbs on Wednesday (Sept. 26; the show is technically sold out. Details here.) and Dengler said he’s prepared for Austin’s sticky heat.
“We played SXSW years ago — when the group had no label — and I quickly learned you have to develop your own personal ventilation system when you play Austin,” he said “I try to focus on the holes in my fabric.”
Interpol is Dengler, singer/guitarist Paul Banks, guitarist Daniel Kessler, and drummer Sam Fogarino. Rolling Stone magazine described their 2002 debut album “Turn on the Bright Lights,” as “a thing of glacial beauty.” Two years later Britain’s NME magazine said the band’s follow-up, “Antics,” was an album “scored through with a vehement beauty.”
In the early years Interpol drew comparisons with post-punk acts like Joy Division and Kitchens of Distinction, but their sound has evolved over the last few years and today they have more in common with Las Vegas new wavers the Killers.
For a few months in the spring of this year there was speculation that their latest album, “Our Love to Admire,” had been leaked online. But it remained under lock and key until June 21 when it appeared — illegally — on a file-sharing site.
“Downloading certainly isn’t killing the distribution of music,” Dengler said. “It actually negates the need for a record company.”
Perhaps because despite the leak, “Your Love to Admire” still reached No. 4 on the Billboard Top 200 albums chart, the band are philosophical.
“It gives power to unsigned bands,” Dengler said. “If Interpol started today we’d think it was a good thing that everyone could download our songs to their mp3 players. It wasn’t that long ago we had to make tapes.”
The “demo tape” seems so archaic now. But for years churning out two or three song samplers to give away to fans at gigs or foist in the hand of some record company lackey was the way it was done.
Dengler said that the digital music revolution has meant there is no pressure for young bands to conform to anyone else’s wishes. “It’s the democratization of music,” he said. But you still get the feeling that if the illegal downloading of his band’s latest album — their first for a major label — had had a demonstrable effect on sales, he might be singing from a different hymn book.
Interpol’s move to a major (Capitol) did change some things. Before, they seemed as much an art project as they did a band. They would release an album’s worth of 7-inch singles, there were limited edition screen-printed posters, gigs at London’s Institute of Contemporary Arts, and their sponsorship of short film competitions. And let’s not forget the Interpol “spaces” where they would screen the short films, and band collaborators and artists would exhibit their work.
“We still release 7-inch singles,” Dengler said when asked whether the move to major had changed things. “We’re releasing a deluxe edition of the album with special edition packaging. And we still have meticulous design concepts.” But his heart doesn’t sound like it’s in it. “The Interpol spaces are not possible right now,” he said. “Major labels don’t really do things like that.”
Next year Interpol will celebrate its 10th anniversary. Being in a band, albeit a much bigger band, a decade on, still excites Dengler. He’s enthusiastic when he talks about the future and the countries he’d like to tour. “There’s talk of South America,” he said. “We’ve talked about Iceland as well.” Then he starts to sound like the label for which he’s now working: “But there’s very limited time and resources after we’ve played the core markets. You’re exhausted.”
With all this talk of “core markets” it’s easy to forget Interpol is still a great band. The new album is the first they’ve recorded in their home city. A few years ago Interpol didn’t like being lumped in with the “New York scene.” “A New York Scene to me is something that happens before a band blows up and tours the world,” drummer Sam Fogarino said at the time. “We ain’t local any more.”
But there’s a sense that Interpol have come full circle. They are as much a New York band as the Kinks were a London band, the Smiths a Manchester band, or the Beach Boys were Californian. It’s in their swagger, their look, their sound. The album is full of delicious hooks and attitude. And they still look great, too.
“Style is very important,” Dengler said. “Showing up on stage like you’ve just rolled out of bed is not what we’re about. It’s OK for some bands - but that’s their vibe, not ours.”
Maybe it’s just that their “underground” status (that they just about clung on to on Matador even up to their last album), well, suited them.
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Willie postpones rest
After ACL Fest we know all about shows being canceled for reasons of anxiety, exhaustion or being Amy Winehouse, but when have you heard of postponed shows being reinstated because the artist realized he wasn’t that tired after all?
When Willie Nelson sings “I can’t wait to get on the road again,” he’s not joking. Citing exhaustion, the country icon had postponed several dates after Farm Aid on Sept. 9 and planned to spend a month resting up at his home in Maui. After after only a week of recuperation, however, most of the scrubbed dates are back on, starting with Kansas City tonight and going through Iowa and South Dakota before ending up in Las Vegas Sept. 28. “We all thought we’d have a month at home,” says Nelson’s 76-year-old piano playing sister Bobbie Nelson. “But we’re all excited that Willie feels great and the shows are back on.”
Sister Bobbie, who’s been in Willie’s band for 34 years, celebrates the release of her first solo album, “Audiobiography,” on Tuesday. Ten piano instrumentals are bookended by two new Willie originals on the Justice Records release.
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Kanye, 50 and a whole host more breath life into charts
Surprising almost nobody, Kanye West’s “Graduation” (Def Jam) beat the stuffing out of everyone else last week. According to Nielsen SoundScan, the album sold 957,000 during its first six days. Billboard magazine notes that the Sept. 11 release date posted the Billboard 200’s largest sales total in more than two years.
50 Cent’s “Curtis” (G-Unit/Interscope) moved 691,000 sold for the No.2 slot. Kenny Chesney’s “Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates” (BNA/Sony BMG Nashville) sold 387,000 copies for No. 3. (Read our reviews of the two records here.)
Billboard also notes that rhe total for West’s “Graduation” is the largest by any album since 50 Cent’s “The Massacre” opened with 1.1 million copies in March 2005. West’s own August 2005 album, “Late Registration,” was the last album to surpass 800,000 copies when it began with 860,000. The top four titles alone account for 2.2 million units, more than all titles combined on last week’s entire Billboard 200. (The “High School Musical 2” soundtrack occupies the No. 4 slot.)
The “Graduation” and “Curtis” combo marks the second time in the Soundscan era that two albums have bowed in the same week with totals surpassing 600,000 copies.
The last time?
September 1991, when Guns N’ Roses’ “Use Your Illusion II” led The Billboard 200 with 770,000 copies in the same week that the band’s companion album “Use Your Illusion I” bowed at No. 2 with 685,000. This was a mere six months after Soundscan launched in March 1991.
So it’s been awhile.
Also of note (again, according to Billboard), year-to-date digital track sales through Sept. 16 have surpassed the year end total for 2006.
Smashing Pumpkins to play Austin
Smashing Pumpkins have added a Nov. 2 date at the Backyard to their current tour. Tickets, priced at $56.50 each go on sale Saturday at 10 a.m. at www.gettix.net. Billy Corgan and company, who released “Zeitgeist” in July, are touring for the first time in almost seven years.
ACL’s Losers & Winners
Who was the biggest loser at ACL 2007: the White Stripes or Bob Dylan? The Stripes canceled just days before the event, severely disappointing fans who had spent up to $145 (or $80 for a single-day ticket) to see them. But Bob Dylan’s stock dropped because he did show up. Not only was his hoarse vocal performance painfully sad - like watching Ali against Larry Holmes - but his vanity, in not allowing big-screen camera operators to show any closeups, infuriated those who weren’t up close. If you don’t like big screens, don’t headline music festivals with 65,000 fans. Dylan had the whole park to himself and I doubt if he made a single convert. By about the third song, head-scratching young folks were practically running out of Zilker, while hardcore Dylan fans were turned into post-show apologists. I kept thinking of that song “Send In the Clowns,” with its line about “losing my timing this late in my career.” Send in the clowns, throw in the towel or find a great throat surgeon who can work miracles. But don’t embarrass yourself just because touring is more fun than staying home.
And I still think Bob Dylan is the greatest musician of the 20th century.
The winners at ACL were all over the place, from the smallish BMI stage where hit Nashville songwriter Jeffrey Steele proved to be an even better performer to the main stages, where Muse made folks forget the Stripes, if only for an hour and change, and Arcade Fire proved that smart rock can be even more engaging in concert than on record.
I saw only a handful of the 127 acts onstage, but I can’t imagine anyone else hitting it out of the park like Austin’s own Ghostland Observatory. Aaron Behrens, Thomas Turner and their box o’ sound were sensational in every aspect of the word. I had previously only seen them on YouTube and wasn’t particularly impressed, but they really lit it up live. Even at such a young age, the pair know stage dynamics like no other Austin band since Butthole Surfers. To say I was bowled over is an understatement. This duo has the goods to become Austin’s first real major league rock stars.
Tell us: What was the best act you saw at ACL? And, besides Dylan, who was the worst?
ACL taping: Bloc Party
Late Monday evening — only one day after the boys in Bloc Party performed in a Zilker Park heat index that skyrocketed above 110 degrees on the gi-normous AT&T stage during the ACL Music Festival — the South London post-punk band taped a set for the “Austin City Limits” television show’s 33rd season. (Read our review of the band’s festival set here.)
Hundreds of University of Texas students and other Austinites in-the-know were lined up around to block hoping to gain entrance to the show. Unfortunately the studio’s capacity could not admit even half of the Bloc Party fans, a group that appears to be growing with the release of the band’s progressive 2007 sophomore album, “A Weekend In The City.”
“I luuuuvvvv television,” said the band’s firestarter frontman Kele Okereke in his thick British accent after their first take, “Song For Clay.” The air-conditioned environs of the Austin City Limits soundstage made a perfect theater for the up-and-coming indie rock band that had asked for patience the day before during the heat of the afternoon because “we are from a cold, wet island … we’re not used to this (Texas sun).”
And Okereke’s love was reciprocated. Guitarist Russell Lissack, bassist Gordon Moakes, drummer Matt Tong and Okereke killed once they shook off the butterflies in their stomach, which came out as a couple of false starts on songs from their debut “Silent Alarm,” songs that the band has been playing almost every day for the past three years.
“Waiting For The 7.18” emerged as one of their strongest cuts from last year’s “A Weekend in the City”; the song highlighted Bloc Party’s unique ability to make danceable anthems from math-rock, 7/8 time signatures and Tong’s bloody-brilliant syncopated backbeats.
“This Modern Love” and “So Here We Are” transcended the recorded versions and became almost spiritual in their melancholy deconstruction of 21st century love. And by the time the band played their coup de grace, “Like Eating Glass,” the typically reserved studio audience was on its feet dancing to the ever jagged guitar crunch.
“Ever since I saw these guys during South by Southwest at Stubb’s a few years ago, I knew we had to get them in here,” said ACL producer Terry Lickona. “It took a little while, but we finally did it!”
Although the ACL television show wasn’t able to nab the video-shy Bob Dylan, other tapings over the weekend included Crowded House, Arcade Fire, Wilco and Regina Spektor. Lucinda Williams will tape a segment tonight. Good luck getting tickets as the ever-elusive radio station ticket-drop announcement was made last week.
Bloc Party’s set list
ACL taping, Monday, Sept. 17
“Song For Clay (Disappear Here)”
“Positive Tension”
“Hunting For Witches”
“Waiting For The 7.18”
“Banquet”
“This Modern Love”
“The Prayer”
“Uniform”
“So Here We Are”
“Like Eating Glass”
“Sunday”
“Helicopter”
Encore: “She’s Hearing Voices
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Not ACL: Norah Jones at Speakeasy
From the Austin Film Society:
JUST ANNOUNCED: Norah Jones is confirmed to perform at the exclusive after-party at Speakeasy, 412 Congress Ave., on Wednesday, September 19th. $25 tickets available at gettix.net or the Paramount Theatre box office.
(The after-party is for Ethan Hawke’s movie, “The Hottest State,” which premieres Wednesday at the Paramount with writer/director Hawke in attendance. More information at the film society’s Web site.)
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ACL after-show: the Black Angels
With Rodrigo y Gabriela unable to make their scheduled their ACL after show at Antone’s on Saturday night, it fell to Austin’s resident psychedelic rock collective the Black Angels to pick up the slack. Antone’s announced the “secret” line-up Friday afternoon, with the Athens, Ga.-based quintet Blue Flashing Light in the opening slot after a strong showing in the Sound and the Jury contest and recent Dallas transplants the Strange Boys the middle slot.
Singer Alex Maas kicked off the Angels’ acid trip of a set with a guttural scream and blast of his guitar sending the rest of the band spiraling down the sonic rabbit hole. The band’s live set is a faithful representation of the bass-heavy, slow burn found on their debut CD “Passover,” a sound made to be absorbed by the gyrating throng of a stadium-sized crowd. Saturday’s modest, festival-weary crowd was split between the dedicated fans packed in close to the stage and the curious onlookers drawn in from the street by the hypnotic drone of “Better Off Alone” and “Black Grease.”
Despite critical acclaim from extensive touring both in the United States and abroad, the Angels are still something of an oddity in their own back yard. In a town that abides every indie-rock fancy that streams out of the garage, Austin’s hipsters are equally confused and captivated by the band’s Can-meets-Velvet Underground sound.
With the Angels, songs bleed into one another, spacey guitar solos extend already lengthy jams and Maas’ reverb soaked vocals blend with the ubiquitous organ drone creating a wall of sound that would make Phil Spector proud. Underneath it all is Stephanie Bailey’s tribal drumming, a rumble of tom-toms punctuated by the occasional crash cymbal. You can’t quite dance to the Black Angels, but you can’t sit still either.
The band’s set was the perfect counterpoint to a day spent bouncing along to the high-energy festival rock of bands like the Artic Monkeys and Muse. After a long day at ACL, it was refreshing just to turn on, tune in and drop out.
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ACL after-show: Queens of the Stone Age
When hard, unforgiving stoner rockers Queens of the Stone Age walked out on stage Saturday night at La Zona Rosa for their soldout ACL aftershow and hit that first chord, an anvil of sound came out of the speakers, and the venue came alive. Devil horns went up — some with ACL wrist bands, some without — as if everyone knew what was coming.
A wall of distortion and screeching guitars shook skulls as the band sped through riffs from under elaborate chandeliers above each band member that sent a shaft of light down on them like the beam of light just before an alien abduction.
Going strong for 10 years — since singer/guitarist Josh Homme left Kyuss after that band’s breakup — Queens show no signs of slowing. The crowd favorite “Feel Good Hit of the Summer” had everyone chanting to the addictive chorus “nicotine, valium, vicodin, marijuana, ecstasy and alcohol” during an exploding marching beat and a searing solo. “My favorite list in the world,” Homme admitted to the crowd.
Before dedicating a song with a particularly thick and numbing bass line to local legend Roky Erickson, Queens jumped into an unrelenting guitar attack on “3’s & 7’s” off their just-released “Era Vulgaris.” Most of the crowd had already committed it to memory.
The beard-friendly Howlin’ Rain went on just before Queens with guitar jamming and keyboard slaps and slides in a slightly psychedelic fuzzy rock way. Dax Riggs (from Acid Bath) and his backing band the Blood Kings opened up with filling, muddy blues/rock vocals packed into every corner of the songs’ soulful, power-chord rock.
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65,000 fans; 65,000 opinions
After almost 36 hours of live music at ACL, the fun has finally come to an end. I walked around Sunday afternoon and evening getting responses from festival goers — highs and lows, best shows and worst, etc. (Note: Most of the interviewing was done before Wilco, The Decemberists, Ghostland Observatory and Bob Dylan took the stage, so those bands are missing from most responses.) This sampling represents a good cross-section of fans from the weekend, but it is just a small group of folks. Use the comments section to tell us what you thought were the highs and lows of the festival.
On a personal note, my favorite shows of the weekend included: Wilco, The National, Del McCoury Band, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Common, LCD Soundsystem and Björk
Matt Gatewood (Austin)
Highlight: Zap Mama
Biggest letdown: Cold War Kids
Chloe Weiss (Austin)
Highlight: Lax security re: bag searches, Zap Mama (“Coolest woman i’ve ever seen, and I picked up some serious dance moves from her and M.I.A.”)
Biggest letdown: Stephen Marley playing same set at fest as he did at night show and Barton Springs being closed
Eden Teagle (NYC)
Highlight: The National
Biggest letdown: The White Stripes canceling — “I think the White Stripes definitely lost some fans this weekend.”
Eric Fuchs (San Antonio)
Highlight: Paolo Nutini
Jake Walker (San Francisco)
Highlight: Robert Earl Keen playing his Christmas song with everyone singing along
Michael Ferguson (Austin)
Highlight: DeVotchKa — “They may be from Colorado, but they play this amazing Eastern European pop and had everyone clapping along. Easily the best I saw all weekend.”
Biggest letdown: “Muse’s pompous political message that was played before their final song. And the fact that I ran into every ex-girlfriend I’ve ever had.”
Navdar Namaky (Austin)
Highlight: “I think half the people at the Common show did not know who they were seeing (due to Rodrigo y Gabriela cancellation), but it was amazing. Arcade Fire was also amazing; it was like what Wagner must have been like in the 1870s.”
Will Cornforth (Austin)
Highlight: Arctic Monkeys
Biggest letdown: Spoon — “They just didn’t pack a punch. There was not enough guitar and too much piano in the mix, and this is coming from a piano player.”
Amanda Watkins (Austin)
Highlight: “James Hunter was excellent.”
Biggest letdown: “They need to hold this thing about a month later. It’s too hot and too big. I’ve been to every one (ACL Festival) and this is the weakest one yet, because of the lineup. They need more unknown bands like the ones KGSR finds.”
Thomas Hunter (Houston)
Biggest letdown: “Too many Longhorn fans.”
Regina Bartholow (Austin)
Highlight: “The fire! I’ve never seen black smoke that high! And Muse rocked, but The Killers were the best!”
Christina Choate (Austin)
Biggest letdown: “We needed skydivers, because they were awesome at Flugtag!”
Don Bartholow (Austin)
Highlight: “I thought LCD Soundstystem was great. I loved the lead singer’s witty banter. They were the band I saw whose CD I’ll now go buy.”
Emily Lesh (Austin)
Highlight: Arcade Fire
Biggest surprise: “The amazingness of the last four songs of Wilco’s set. I happened to be getting food during Preservation Hall Jazz Band and caught some of them … pretty awesome. Other favorites: LCD Soundsystem, The National, Ghostland Observatory
Biggest letdown: White Stripes canceling, Bob Dylan. Annoying new thing: Having to show ID every time you got a beer instead of just showing it once and getting a wristband.
Lisa Genz (Austin)
Biggest letdown: “We were pretty let down by Blue October. They never really got the crowd into it.”
Emil Joseph (Austin)
Highlight: “Paolo Nutini. He sounded just like he does on the album.”
Jamie and Susan Powell (Norman, OK)
Highlight: “Robert Earl Keen, Lucinda Williams. Sunday’s lineup was the best.” This is our third year and it gets better every year.”
Biggest letdown: “But it seems this year is a little more geared to a younger audience. We usually leave by 7 p.m. each day.”
Andrew Taft (Austin)
Highlight: “Not too dusty and not too hot. I’m here to see Bob Dylan”
Biggest letdown: “No jam bands like Widespread Panic or String Cheese Incident.”
Marianna Wilde (Austin)
Highlight: Quens of the Stone Age
Biggest letdown: “Tons of people. Friday was so crowded it was almost not fun. And with White Stripes and the other bands dropping out, I was hoping for a partial refund.”
Jessica Frommert (Austin)
Highlight: Security was easy and hassle-free but still made people feel safe.
Darryn Niebrugge (Austin)
Highlight: “So much easier than in years past.”
Biggest letdown: “Disappointed I missed Cold War Kids and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah.”
Amanda Brown (Austin)
Highlight: “They need to go back to having canned beer instead of draft. Draft beer was too easily spilled. I was really impressed with Andrew Bird and had never heard of him.
Biggest letdown: “I wanted to see Wilco, but my friends stuck by their guns, so we are watching My Morning Jacket.”
Jeremy Luce (Austin)
Highlight: “Arcade Fire was highlight for sure. From where we were sitting it was loud as hell. Blonde Redhead was also top 3.”
Biggest letdown: “I almost slit my wrists when the White Stripes canceled, but saw the end of Muse and they were (expletive) good! Bloc Party was like ‘blah.’” The scheduling of My Morning Jacket and Wilco at the same time.
Jessica Boone (Houston)
Highlight: “I thought LCD Soundsystem was great.”
Biggest letdown: “Not near enough trash cans.”
ACL: Bloc Party
South London indie rock/post-punk band Bloc Party — singer/guitarist Kele Okereke, guitarist Russell Lissack, bassist Gordon Moakes and drummer Matt Tong — seem to be in the good graces of the gods of rock ‘n’ roll. Their first ACL show two years ago turned into an evening scene stealer that ended up being the largest audience they’d played to up to that point. This year’s performance was equally graced as the band’s audience swelled to what appeared to be more than 30,000 people as they raced through the most danceable songs from the two critically acclaimed albums, “Silent Alarm” and “A Weekend In The City.”
Bloc Party’s sound mix suffered from the lack of a sound check until their third song, the new wave/no wave “Hunting For Witches.” Like all good bandleaders, Okereke kept on smiling with his bravest face, amping up the audience’s disposition with comic between-song banter until his band’s mix was clear and strong enough to do all the talking.
Okereke and band definitely played to their strengths; they didn’t waste any time with ballads or down tempo draggers. “Song For Clay (Disappear Here)” and “Waiting For The 7.18” proved to be the strongest audience pleasers of all their new songs. And then the diehard fans packed in like sardines near the front of the stage appeared to almost spontaneously combust when the band played their older hits, “This Modern Love,” “Positive Tension” and their tour de force anthem, “Like Eating Glass.”
Since I initially heard their debut album “Silent Alarm,” I’ve been preaching to anyone who will listen that Bloc Party have the potential to be this decade’s best British rock band, as the Clash and the Police were in previous years. And after this year’s ACL set, I have a feeling that there are several thousand other fans testifying about the euphoria-inducing power of Bloc Party’s gifted musical graces.
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ACL: My Morning Jacket
During My Morning Jacket’s 6:30 p.m. Sunday, AT&T stage set, they finally made me a believer in their big-as-thunder brand of Southern rock. For years I’d yawned when friends tried to turn me on to their various albums, but there was something undeniably powerful about their ACL performance.
My Morning Jacket — singer/guitarist Jim James, bassist “Two-Tone” Tommy, drummer Patrick Hallahan, guitarist/pedal steel guitarist/saxophonist/vocalist Carl Broemel and keyboardist Bo Koster — performed in front of an enormous, kitschy painting of a tropical island; their show also came complete with beautiful Polynesian-looking women standing at various points on the stage, holding pineapples toward the sky.
Frontman James (someone please write in and confirm for me that was indeed a bleach blond wig he was wearing) was in amazing form. His vocal performance possessed all the right dynamic variation and moxie. And his backing band of brothers played so tight they made many of the bands at ACL seem restrained and less powerful.
“One Big Holiday” and “Anytime” sounded even larger than they do on the band’s recent double-live album, “Okonokos.” But it was the crestfallen acoustic ballad “Golden” that took me right over the top of the fence and made me a My Morning Jacket disciple. James’ rendition of the song was utterly heartbreaking and poetic without being overwrought.
Don’t be surprised if My Morning Jacket becomes an ACL Festival regular. Their voluminous rock ‘n’ roll was born to played in arenas and festivals.
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ACL: Bob Dylan
“I respect him and all, but he sounds like a dying goat.” — overheard in the crowd at ACL.
Sunday night, 10:15, the Austin City Limits Music Festival over and done with, and all one can think is, “Well, that was unfortunate.”
Where to start?
The “evil old dude” voice, enjoyable (to some of us) in an intimate setting yet totally baffling to the casual fan? The giant screen that never showed close-ups or even panned over to musicians taking solos? The nuanced music, so completely inappropriate to a field of thousands who responded by, well, leaving in droves (As a colleague put it, “Getting up front was like fighting the tide.”)
Things looked and sounded grim from the first song, the awful crowd pleaser “Rainy Day Women No. 12 and 35.”
The mix was muddy, and it was impossible to tell what was going on if you were in the back, thanks to a giant screen that switched between a full band shot and a half-band shot of Dylan’s side. A lack of close-ups was bad enough, but not panning over to the mighty Denny Freeman while he took any of his gorgeous solos was just rude.
It’s this simple: People started leaving two songs in because they couldn’t see the band. That’s not exactly good customer relations from Dylan’s camp.
Even if you’re charitable about his voice, this music just isn’t built for the big finish. “It Ain’t Me Babe,” fun at Stubb’s, sounded flat and pat from a distance. “Spirit on the Water,” moving in a smaller setting, was a snooze at Zilker.
The band was excellent, of course. These guys are rock solid, and Freeman is a wonder.
The gripping “Levee’s Gonna Break” and the nasty groove on “Things Have Changed” injected much-needed energy. “Highway 61” showed a little burn, and the journalist kiss-off “Ballad of a Thin Man” was appropriately sharp.
But too often, they sounded like what they looked like: a quaint dance band, displaced in time. It’s sad when you hear the amazingly mean “Like a Rolling Stone” and wonder whether Dylan knows how completely “Now you don’t look so proud” applies to himself. Hey, man, you wanna come back and do five nights at the Paramount, you have my money. You wanna come back to Stubb’s, I’ll give you a chance. But in a field at ACL? Never again.
(Photo by Jay Janner AMERICAN-STATESMAN)
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ACL: The Decemberists
The poetic “The Crane Wife 3” kicked off the Decemberists super-rocking show during the 7:30 p.m. sunset slot on the Dell stage with more vigor than to be expected from band that can be so sedate on record.
The audience grew and grew to the point that even the band’s die-hard fans were shocked that so many people were gathering together to watch the soft-spoken, hyper-literate and erstwhile indie rock band.
Undaunted by the sounds of Ghostland Observatory’s dance party bleeding over the hill, the Decemberists of Portland, Ore., played the majority of their 2006 Capitol Records release, “The Crane Wife” including the would-be-a-hit-in-a-perfect-world, “O Valencia” and a sampling of their older and more accessible songs.
The Decemberists — lead singer/guitarist Colin Meloy, guitarist Chris Funk, keyboardist, multi-instrumentalist Jenny Conlee, bassist Nate Query and drummer Jon Moen — were nothing short of spectacular in the festival environment. Meloy appeared completely at ease with their Dell stage headlining performance. Feet firmly planted on center stage, Meloy displayed poise in his vocal performance and prowess on his guitar. With more perforamances like this one, don’t be surprised if the band transcends the indie rock genre and becomes known as a rock ‘n’ roll band for the masses.
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ACL: Ghostland Observatory
Laser shows are usually overrated, like fireworks displays and Quentin Tarrantino movies, but it was cool to see Ghostland Observatory sink their ACL guarantee into a light show that celebrated the year they’ve had.
Last year’s ACL was a coming out for the Austin techo-rock sensations, Aaron Behrens, a pigtailed Dorothy to his Wizard of Oz, Thomas Turner. Since then they’ve become Austin’s biggest rock stars, so why not blow it all on a big hometown thank you. Even as ACL Fest moves away from local performers in favor of overseas hipsters and bearded songwriters from the northwest, it was great to see an Austin act put on perhaps the greatest show of all.
GLO still needs to make a great record, which may be iffy given that Behrens, although a go-go messiah onstage, possesses a screech that usually requires Jimmy Page-like guitar to pull off. And Turner’s time on drums, rather than behind his big board of thumping effects, shows that this band could move well in organic directions.
But for this one-year-old Austin success story, the future’s so bright, they gotta wear shades.
(Photo by Brian K. Diggs AMERICAN-STATESMAN)
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ACL: Wilco
Most voices start to deteriorate with age, but Jeff Tweedy’s has actually gotten much stronger, fuller, more assured and more versatile since Wilco’s early days. His band, which has gone through a number of lineup changes, has also gotten more accomplished, culminating in the tuneful and beautifully arranged “Sky Blue Sky.”
For me, the new album still somehow lacks the immediacy of Wilco’s debut, “A.M.” However, the band closed down the AMD stage with a brilliant set. It not only rocked hard, but was remarkable for the contrast between the mastery shown in endearing melodies, impeccable arrangements and beautiful lead and harmony vocals, and the sheer havoc that erupted around the margins.
The chief instigator of sonic madness was guitarist Nels Cline, who was mostly known only to fans of the avant-garde before joining first the Geraldine Fibbers and then Wilco. Tweedy’s soulful vocal on “Side with Seeds,” from “Sky Blue Sky,” got a blistering answer from Cline. Cline’s frenzied little squiggle on “Handshake Drugs” was the harbinger of a three-guitar blowout with Tweedy and Pat Sansone.
Cline is equally capable of sheer gorgeousness, as on the Neil Young-like solo that spun out on one of Tweedy’s prettiest new songs, “Impossible Germany.”
Tweedy looked alarmingly like Hank Williams Jr. when he first walked out on stage, sporting a scraggly beard, cowboy hat and shades. But the shades and hat came off, and he was low-key and engaging between songs, asking for a show of hands from everyone having a birthday after wishing happy birthday to one fan in the front, and joking about the piece of clothing serving as someone’s place-marker on a pole out in the field.
“Is that underwear?” Tweedy asked. “Is that green underwear? Did it start out as white?”
Tweedy introduced “Hate It Here” by clarifying “It’s not about Austin! We don’t hate Austin at all!” The R&B-flavored song has a lovely melody like Boz Scaggs might have written back in the ‘70s, but Cline periodically seized it and took it more in the direction of John Lennon in a dangerous mood. Sansone played music-hall keyboards that pulled against the country-funk boogie of “Walken,” while Cline tugged at it with edgy lap steel and Tweedy played a raw, percussive blues vamp worthy of R.L. Burnside.
The set had multiple peaks, but Wilco still managed to make the end a real climax with a searing “Casino Queen” (from “A.M.”) that recalled vintage Faces and a dazzling “Outtasite (Outta Mind)” (from “Being There”). Although those older songs marked the pinnacle, I left eager to hear more of the new songs played live.
(Photo by Jay Janner AMERICAN-STATESMAN)
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ACL: Bob Dylan early scene report
A dark sea of listeners swarmed the AT&T stage in Zilker Park on Sunday, as Bob Dylan opened his set with “Rainy Day Women No. 12 & 35.” Right away, crowds pushed forward because there were no zoom shots on the big screens, just group pictures, while the band sounded muddy from a distance. Nevertheless, a gravel-voiced Dylan, dressed in black and topped with a cowboy hat, sang “everybody must get stoned” to a delirious response.
Earlier in the day, rock-ribbed Dylan fans raced to secure the best spots by the stage as soon as the gates opened. One pregnant woman wore a T-shirt that read “Baby’s First Dylan Show.” Still, plenty of people poured out of the park only 30 minutes into the set, as they often do during the festival’s final acts, trying to beat the outgoing traffic.
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ACL: Billy Joe Shaver
One might say, with considerable justification, that Billy Joe Shaver is not overly preoccupied with razor-sharp stagecraft. He is just as apt to use his guitar for a hatrack as he is to pick it up and strum a desultory chord or two. If guitarist Jeremy Woodall is in the midst of a particularly satisfying solo, his boss might just choose to sit back on his haunches, sip some water, and listen appreciatively before getting up to resume his own performance.
Yet there is something undeniably mesmerizing about watching Shaver, who performed on the Austin Ventures stage Sunday evening. Perhaps it’s because he has, among all the ACL performers (with the exception of the gospel singers, among whom he would be very much at home), the clearest appreciation for mortality. Angels seem to hover closer to him than to other artists and he often raises his arms to salute them and perhaps beckon them a little closer.
Shaver’s canon is so well known and so highly-revered that it seems almost beside the point to mention the particulars, but yes, he did perform “Georgia On a Fast Train,” “Ride Me Down Easy” (performed as a bucking honky-tonker, versus Waylon Jennings’ meditative version), “The Hottest Thing In Town,” (“We’re gonna get back to the sinful stuff,” he said in introducing that one), “Black Rose” and “I’m Just An Old Chunk of Coal.”
There was also, no surprise, a strong spiritual component to his music—more than any country singer since Hank Williams, Shaver is able to reconcile the sacred and the profane. “When Fallen Angels Fly,” “I’m Gonna Live Forever” and “Jesus Christ Is Still the King” served to remind festivalgoers (and perhaps he himself) that it may be a party, but it’s still Sunday. Or, as he jovially saluted the audience, “If you don’t love Jesus Christ, go to hell!”
ACL: Sunday field report from the M.O.
4:07 p.m. Maybe Common should have been on the bill from the start, his smooth, retro positivity and flow is a huge hit with a gigantic crowd at fest. He has the biggest wave of hands bouncing of the entire weekend. Wicked set.
4:13 p.m. Spotted Joe Gross and his neckerchife talking to KUT folks and sitting next to legendary Billy Joe Shaver, who has a purty lady perched on his lap. Only at ACL.
5:07 p.m. Crew of wet patrons just explained they returned from a trip to the Green Belt, a trip they say does the trick in beating the heat each day.
5:13 p.m. Not much love for Rose Hill Drive from Boulder. Appears to be smallest crowd for this time of day of the fest. Thousands of people are flocking by them, scurrying to stake out a spot for the Ghostland Observatory set.
5:20 p.m. Moment most resembling NOLA Jazz Fest: WaMu tent packed with chairs and busting at seams for Preservation Hall Jazz Band.
5:26 p.m. Beer lines shortest they have been all weekend at this time. People may be losing steam. Bloc party lead singer ended set with “keep Austin weird.” Playing to the crowd? Who knows?
5:31 p.m. Best line of day: stage music following Bloc Party was “We’ll Always Be Together” from “Grease,” which prompted one guy to say, “This song makes me want to kill myself.”
6:01 p.m. Amos Lee seems to be winning over a bunch of new fans with his young white man Chicago blues. Somewhat reminiscent of Blues Traveler or Ben Harper.
6:16 p.m. Just heard someone leaving Regina Spektor saying “I’m tired of Tori Amos.”
6:30 p.m. Chicago resident and alt-country pioneer Jeff Tweedy sporting a cowboy hat. Ha!
7:20 p.m. Some of the new ’70s-sounding tunes from Wilco seem to satiate those who bemoaned the lack of any jam bands at ACL this year.
7:25 p.m. Second Jazz Fest vibe: Wilco throwing a swingin’, nasty, funky New Orleans jam on new tune “Walken.”
7:49 p.m. Ghostland brings the crazy light show from their recent Hogg Auditorium show. People are drawn to the thudding piece of land on the northwest side of the stage which transforms into a gigantic outdoor dance party, or rave, it seems. A few older patrons look a bit bewildered. Also, GLO lead Behrens is trying to compete with Björk and others for most flamboyant. Well, keyboardist Turner has on a cape, so, really, both of them are quite flamboyant.
7:56 p.m. Just as many people are arriving as are departing to see the Decemberists for a hot second on way to Dylan’s set. The two crowds are a bit opposite in terms of average age.
8:13 p.m. It’s not all Ghostland and Decemberists, the Eli Young Band, with its country-blues rock, is rocking to a smallish crowd at the Austin Ventures stage, while Ziggy Marley finishes his grooving and rollicking set to a packed tent.
8:17 p.m. Still, 13 minutes before the set, but it’s obvious Dylan is the big draw for the weekend, as people flock by the thousands to the AT&T Blue Room stage to see the legendary songwriter.
8:28 p.m. The crowd from the AT&T stage as Dylan is about to start stretches all the way to edge of Decemberists set at the Dell stage. Sea of people.
8:32 p.m. Vertigo is not your friend on a night like this. It is so darkened with body mass out here it almost feels like being in the deep of the sea.
8:33 p.m. Dylan is introduced as, among other things, the poet laureate of rock ‘n’ roll. He starts out his set with gravely-voiced “Rainy Day Women #12 and 35” with its sing-along chorus “everybody must get stoned,” which is met with obvious joyous approval. Dylan has set the theme for the night early into his headlining set. This is classic outlaw Dylan, in all black with a white, old flat top, Western-style cowboy hat.
8:37 p.m. A gravelly, and apologetic “It Ain’t Me” for second tune. There seem to be surprisingly few, if any, close-ups of Dylan on the big screens.
8:40 p.m. There seems to be a good share of Dylan fanatics here but also many here who seem to be here because they are “supposed” to see the “voice of a generation.”
8:48 p.m. Early defectors from Dylan set are mostly young folks. One pregnant woman has a T-shirt on with the words, “Baby’s first Dylan show.”
8:52 p.m. Young guy one: “He’s got like 30 CDs. He’s been through, like, a bunch of phases,” he says in explanation of Dylan. Girl one: “Oh, really?” Him: “Yea, I’ve got a poster of Dylan in my room.” Me: “So good.”
8:55 p.m. Hundreds of fans pouring out, not unlike during any night’s headlining act, as Dylan and Co. wail “Levee’s Gonna Break,” which is seemingly one of a myriad musical nods to New Orleans this weekend.
9:00 p.m. Second-biggest reaction of the night comes as a reaction to slowed-down version of “Tangled Up in Blue.” As a counter to the crowd’s enthusiasm, one woman laments a popular criticism of Dylan, “I can understand like one out of every five words. It sounds nothing like the album.” Thousands of others don’t seem to mind a bit.
9:15 p.m. The fans are leaving by the thousands at this point. Many, laughing about the quality of the performance and inability to hear/see the set in such a poor venue for this type of show, seem happy to be able to simply say they saw the legend perform once.
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ACL: Regina Spektor
Regina Spektor is the little Russian Jewish girl that could - the New Yorker singing her strange little immigrant songs to an ever-widening circle of believers. Her album “Begin to Hope” is one of the great sleeper hits of 2006, a strange singer-songwriter affair that’s been building and building and shows no sign of stopping. This is how some albums (and movies and TV shows and everything else in show business) used to work — one person tells another and suddenly an artist has fan base to write home about. She’s just so old school.
So there was something almost transcendent about seeing tens of thousands of fans screaming for Regina Spektor during her Sunday afternoon set on the AT&T Blue Room stage. There she was, in blue dress and knotted strand of pearls, looking for all the world as if she was playing a recital for her grandparents. Everything about her was grand from her piano to her “who me?” persona.
“Better” chronicled a distressing relationship in sharp chords and her high-pitched, Kate Bushy voice. She played “Poor Little Rich Boy” with one hand while she smacked a stick on the bench to keep time. She strapped on a guitar for “That Time,” which turned into a massive sing-along. And, seriously, who can’ty sing along with lyrics like “Hey remember that time when my favorite colors were pink and green / Hey remember that month when I only ate boxes of tangerines/SO CHEAP AND JUICY!” From her boundless smile to her compelling songcraft to those pearls, there’s just nothing about her you don’t want to root for.
(Photo by Brian K. Diggs AMERICAN-STATESMAN)
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ACL: Lucinda Williams
A late-afternoon start with a big yellow sun still beating down couldn’t have put Lucinda Williams in a kinder, gentler, happier mood. But that she was, as she’s publicly declared more than once while her new album “West” slides into the sunset.
So she chose to play mostly songs off a previous effort — the superb “Essence.” No greatest hits, no temper tantrums.
Proof that she is more satisfied with self (and presumably with her fiance) came with a song yet to be recorded. After a jangley opening, “Honeybee” offered an almost childlike, giggling refrain of “Oh, my little honeybee, I’ve got your sweetness all up in my hair … We make quite a pair.”
This is not the love-starved, joyless Lucinda of old, though she still knows how to pull the greasy blues out of nearly every number with strong sides of slide and steel guitars. After a couple of classics (“Riders on the Storm” and “I Live My Life,” the latter from an upcoming Fats Domino tribute), she took the crowd to ever higher ground.
“Get Right with God,” which she introduced as inspired by Dylan’s “Gotta Serve Somebody,” was followed by a pleading, prayerful take on her “Unsuffer Me.” As a punctuation note to her John Lennon-era anti-war shirt, Lucinda raised her hands to the sky and made it clear that it is the current president’s war that simply must end now.
(Photo by Brian K. Diggs AMERICAN-STATESMAN)
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Ben Kweller, Austinite?
Ben Kweller, whose nose seemed to be doing just fine thank you, told the crowd he’ll be spending the next 2 1/2 weeks in Austin recording a new album. So, naturally, he previewed a couple of songs: One called “Old Hat” was a slooow something about loving a “worn quilt.” The other probably will be called “Fight All the Way” and was a faster, anthemic song that managed to get laptops and truckers into the same verse.
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ACL: Midlake
Midlake is probably one of the last rock bands you’d prefer to see in a field on a hot summer day, with sound bleeding over from two other stages. Subtlety in general does not go over well at festivals, and the Denton band’s latest album, “The Trial of Van Occupanther,” is wintery, atmospheric and complex.
Toward the end of the set, singer-guitarist-keyboardist Tim Smith even said plaintively: “There’s a lot of noise at this music fest.” Some in the crowd cheered, and he responded, more plaintively still, “We got a flute here.” Smith’s flute actually could be heard reasonably well on “The Pills Won’t Help You Now,” which Midlake wrote in collaboration with electronica’s Chemical Brothers. Nuances in the arrangement were shortchanged, but the lush vocal harmonies were still marvelous.
Smith has one of the prettiest tenor voices around, and guitarist Eric Pulido, who sings backing vocals, would probably be the lead in another band. “Van Occupanther” also has a low-key instrumental brilliance and craftsmanship that can recall the best of ‘70s California rock, without sounding too retro. A cheer went up when the band launched into the title track from “Van Occupanther,” whose melody soars and dives with unforced drama.
Another one of the strongest songs, “Young Bride,” got a crowd-pleasing introduction: a marriage proposal from one fan to his girlfriend. It was obvious from her body language that she was almost too thrilled to react, but the lack of a verbal response worried Pulido a little.
“Can we get a ‘Yes’?” he asked, and then, as the woman threw her arms around her new fiance, Pulido confirmed: “We got a yes!”
A promising new track from a forthcoming album, “Children of the Ground,” was more kinetic than some of the older songs. And on the closing “Head Home,” Smith sent fans off with both a beautiful melody and a stimulating guitar solo with a little blues in it and a bit of sonic fuzz on it.
(Photo by Jay Janner AMERICAN-STATESMAN)
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ACL: Grace Potter
According to the bio on her website, Vermont native Grace Potter and her band, the Nocturnals, have drawn comparison to Americana and pop icons like Bonnie Raitt, Susan Tedeschi, the Band, Little Feat and even — huh? — Norah Jones. But based on their performance at the WaMu Stage on Sunday afternoon, such comparisons are at dated at best, or at least irrelevant. The set was, rather, a study in hard-rock pyrotechnics, more Led Zeppelin than Lucinda. Potter’s new album, “This Is Somewhere,” covered a lot more stylistic territory, leaving the neophyte listener at something of a loss.
Potter switched from electric guitar to B-3 organ and piano during the course of her songs, sometimes even in the midst of a single tune. Hers is a bell-clear voice, which surfaced occasionally above the sonic onslaught (volume is always an issue in the enclosed WaMu space) in songs like “Ah, Mary,” the crowd-pleasing, set-closing rave-up “Nothing But Water” and “Mastermind.”
There was a certain similitude from song to song: tunes that began simply and then blossomed abruptly into big rock mashups.
Scott Tournet had a fine control on lead guitar, but he appeared to have graduated from the school where guitarists are paid by the note. The first time he and Potter squared off in a guitarslinger’s duel, in “Stop the Bus,” it was exhilarating. By the time the same face-off occurred for the fourth or fifth time, in “Watching You,” a certain familiarity had, let’s say, set in.
Potter is a genuine talent, and the band’s latest album displayed a genuine willingness to push boundaries. This listener hopes her live shows begin to reflect the same inventiveness the next time she journeys this way.
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ACL: Charlie Musselwhite
You can — pun definitely intended — rave all you want about blogs, DIY, My Space and WiFi, but for those of us old coots who wish they made cellphones with little bitty rotary dials, there is something reassuring about Charlie Musselwhite performing against the backdrop of the so-cutting-edge-it’s-bleeding ACL Festival.
Take it from me, there ain’t a new jack bone in the man’s body. From the vintage cobra-headed microphone he uses to broadcast his clean, soaring, supple blues lines to the battered Halliburton briefcase in which he keeps his arsenal of harmonicas, the 63year old Musselwhite has been there and back, playing in Mississippi jukejoints with the likes of fellow harp greats Little Walter and Sonny Boy Williamson, and later, Tracy Nelson and Luther Tucker.
Leading his own ensemble, as he did at the WaMu Stage Sunday afternoon, Musselwhite gave every appearance of being a man having a ball, happy in his element. His set drew largely from his award-winning latest album, “Delta Hardware,” including the light-hearted kiss-off tune “Gone Too Long” and “Black Water,” in which Musselwhite’s searing harp echoed the wails of Hurricane Katrina’s dispossessed.
But the performance also ranged far afield from the new release, featuring a tune from his 1966 debut as well as a rousing version of Eddie Taylor’s “Bad Boy.” He even pulled out a big chromatic harp to essay some back alley samba-flavored blues he discovered in Brazil.
When Musselwhite wasn’t playing or singing, guitarist Chris Anderson (who originally hails from Denmark, go figure) carried a lot of musical water, to considerable acclaim. Chicago and Delta blues on a sultry Southern Sunday afternoon — it’s a recipe Charlie Musselwhite served up to perfection.
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ACL: Common
If Wu-Tang, as ODB once informed us, is for the children, then Common is for the ladies. Which isn’t a knock — a lyrical mack who scans like a feminist even when he’s spitting lines such as “Freaky like the daughter of a pastor/ said I was bait for her to master,” Common, in powder blue golf shirt and ever-present hat, held the crowd in the palm of his hand and rocked their proverbial bells.
Of course his Sunday afternoon set on the Dell stage was a welcome break in a festival known for adult alternative roots folk-rock (Wilco, Indigo Girls and pretty much 80 percent of every stage) and semi-indie darlings (what’s up, Bloc Party?). This was earnest hip-hop live and direct, complete with a full band Common knew how to work with, a DJ unafraid to cut into the mix and the occasional sampled hook (That was Lily Allen’s voice on “Drivin’ Me Wild”) that served as accent rather than foundation. “Forever Begins”shouted out “good music and room to breathe” while establishing his bona fides as a nice guy (“Can’t judge the weave/ my lady had one”).
“Black Maybe” espoused a modernist militancy that broadened blackness to include all of the oppressed. Sure, he’s talking about skin when he spits “When we talk about black maybe/ we talk about situations/ of people of color and because you are that color/ you endure obstacles and opposition,” but he included sexual orientation in his list of the oppressed. (Hey, this is a big step for hip-hop.)
Throwing down his verse from Kanye West’s “Get ‘Em High” reminded everyone just how tight the two Chi-town talents are, while “Drivin’ Me Wild” reminded everyone just how sharp and hooky West’s productions are. He brought up a gal from the stage to rap “Come Close to Me” and he dedicated a juiced-up version of “The Light” to the late producer J Dilla (as well as the ladies). Consider our bells rocked.
(Photo by Brian K. Diggs AMERICAN-STATESMAN)
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ACL: Yo La Tengo
The only thing better than ice coffee to get the last day of ACL started? A good jolt of feedback from Yo La Tengo’s Ira Kaplan. The artfully sculpted squalls that swept through opening numbers “From a Motel Six,” “Stockholm Syndrome” and “Pass The Hatchet, I Think I’m Goodkind” were enough to blast away any lingering fog of fatigue.
Fans had to feel a little indignant at first to see a schedule with Yo La Tengo relegated to a 12:30 p.m. slot. The trio has been around a lot longer and made a lot more great records than most of the headliners, and will probably outlast most of them, too. But artistic justice aside, it was great to see the band early, before the crowd got too thick to worm your way up front.
The group’s certainly not visually flashy, but it’s always thrilling to watch Kaplan wrestling with his guitar in the midst of a feedback blitz, when it seems like the roar is trying to pull the instrument right through the floor of the stage, and him with it.
Drummer Georgia Hubley and bassist James McNew anchored and subtly shaped the mayhem. Hubley, one of the most underappreciated drummers around, is unassuming even when absolutely walloping the kit. She’s also an underrated singer. She may not have a “Rock Star: Supernova” range, but with a tone as pure as rainwater, who needs it? The crowd was silently rapt when she sang the melancholy “Tears Are In Your Eyes,” over skeletal fills from Kaplan.
Kaplan played jaunty keyboards on “Beanbag Chair,” from the new “I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass,” throwing in a few dissonant bars reminiscent of NRBQ pianist Terry Adams. Kaplan and McNew delighted the crowd with their falsetto harmonies on the ‘60s R&B-flavored “Mr. Tough.”
The crowd was amazingly quiet for Kaplan’s long, contemplative, softly shimmering intro to the final “I Was a Fool Beside You for Too Long,” which built and built with hypnotic power until it exploded in a feedback fireball, over which Kaplan wailed “Too long, too long.” After that, most of the afternoon would feel anti-climactic, but Yo La Tengo is at Stubb’s The Parish Monday for longer excursions into both guitar madness and quiet pop splendor.
(Photo by Jay Janner AMERICAN-STATESMAN)
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ACL: The chair crisis
Donna and Jeffrey West, who’ve been coming from Maryland the past four years, were mildly disappointed that the “no chairs beyond this point” signs were set back more than 50 feet from last year’s boundary. They came early Sunday and set up about 100 yards from the AMD stage. “I think they’ve got it backwards,” Donna West said. “It should be chairs in the front and standing in the back.” Jeffrey West added that, despite the set back, they’ll bring their chairs again next year. “It’s still our favorite festival. We just wish we were a little closer.”
(Pictured, unidentified ACL Fest-goers enjoying their chairs. Photo by David Weaver FOR AUSTIN360)
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ACL: The Jones Family Singers
Yes, they did it again: no, “oops” about it. For the third year in a row, the Jones Family Singers — a group of Pentecostal shouters from Bay City — completely wrecked the house that used to be known as the gospel tent.
The Lord couldn’t pony up the sponsorship money, so the stuffy, covered area is now officially called the Washington Mutual stage. But from 1 p.m. until an hour later, it was owned by the JFS, who had a pretty full house waiting for them to start, but then had folks dancing on the fringes as the set peaked with a 20-minute holy ghost workout on “Fall Down On Me,” with its irrestistable “how long can you go” choreography, guitarist Fred Jones Jr.’s sanctified duck walk and a lead change, with Bishop Fred Jones Jr. giving his daughter a breather.
This family of five sisters, two brothers, their father and 15-year-old Ian Wade on drums just keeps getting tighter. At the center of this big wave of praise and love is lead singer Alexis Jones Roberts, whose got the smile to match her volcanic vocals. It was like hearing Aretha Franklin if she stuck to gospel and didn’t go pop.
As always, the group opened with a 15-minute blast of “I Am,” with its crowd-pleasing “Rock ‘n’ roll in Jesus” choreography and Roberts’ continual stoppage of the song to get the crowd — or her muscians — to add something to the jam. But when they slowed it down with the more-churchlike “I Love You,” the crowd stayed with them, instead of wandering off.
Only quibble during a set which had changed little since last year’s at ACL: the group should add a little more religious undertones to their version of the Isley Brothers’ “Shout.” Most casual gospel fans don’t know that “shouting” means dancing at Pentecostal services, so without that context, it seemed as if the JFS were just wringing the crowd with a cheesy number from “Animal House.”
But the Jones Family Singers were still as good as it gets at ACL.
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ACL: The National
It’s tough to pull off a good, solid mope on a hot stage at ACL, but the National did their level best. The Brooklyn band has draw comparisons to Nick Cave (mostly thanks to Matt Berninger’s defeated-sounding baritone) and the Tindersticks (again, the baritone, and Pamda Newsome’s violin), but their sound is more indie rock — songs in square 4/4 time, big, strummy buildups, that sort of thing.
Opening with the wonderful “Start a War,” Berninger tries to salvage a relationship. “Whatever went away, I’ll get it over now/ I’ll get money, I’ll get funny again / walk away now and you’re gonna start a war.” Bummer.
Kind of magnificent in a hide-the-knives sort of way, but tough to pull off at a sweltering festival. Their songs had a tendency to run a bit bland, in spite of Berninger’s nifty croon and his staggering resemblance to Spoon’s Britt Daniel. But vaguely generic songs such as “Secret Meeting” absolutely came alive when Newsome’s violin was thrown into the mix, his lines soaring around the dueling guitars. “I’m so sorry for everything,” Berninger moaned. As the violin crashed against the drums, you believed it.
(Photo by Jay Janner AMERICAN-STATESMAN)
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ACL: Sound Tribe Sector Nine
Santa Cruz, California’s Sound Tribe Sector Nine (STS9) had the jam band aficionados’ bodies moving and grooving to a beat that lasted nearly the entire hour of the 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. Dell stage time slot.
STS9 — guitarist Hunter Brown, percussionist/laptop manipulator Jeffree Lerner, bassist David Murphy, keyboardist David Phipps, and drummer Zack Velmer — worked that groove right around 80 beats per minute wherein hippies just can’t resist doing those free form, spinning dances that yield the appearance of near ground liftoff. There were little pockets of hippie dancers doing their thing sprinkled throughout the several thousand people baking in the sun in front of the Dell stage.
I’m not even going to try to distinguish neither what songs they played, nor their song titles as STS9 is well known for remixing their songs and creating spontaneous ones during their live performances. Sunday afternoon’s set was no different; each song contained polyrhythms that developed from a single moment and then folded back over one another - sometimes after the songs had reached the 10-minute mark.
To the uninitiated, Brown’s guitar lines occasionally bordered on new-age noodling, but to be fair he did a great job of fulfilling the requisite jam band guitar layering and solos under the rhythm without ever sounding terribly cliche.
(Photo by Brian K. Diggs AMERICAN-STATESMAN)
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ACL after-show: Hot Freaks!
Where have all the black-framed glasses gone? The young and shaggy were outnumbered by out-of-town ACLers sporting VIP wristbands at the blogger-curated Hot Freaks! showcase on Friday night — though those two French guys from La Blogotheque screaming drunken tributes to Grizzly Bear helped keep things down to earth.
Despite the Mohawk’s attempts at sophistication (two upper levels roped off for VIPs only), these were good old-fashioned rock shows, complete with a short-lived moshpit and the familiar scent of cigarettes and beer penetrating everything and everyone.
Britishers Art Brut and Brooklyn’s Grizzly Bear took the stage at sister-clubs the Mohawk and Club DeVille, along with locals Brazos and Crazy Sexy Rainbow (White Denim in disguise). Even though they were all part of one big happy showcase, the two stages made for pretty distinct scenes (Grizzly Bear opened the set with a recorder solo; Art Brut’s lead singer played jump-rope with mike cables), and pretty distinct sounds.
Brazos opened up DeVille slow and dreamy (think Rufus Wainwright with pneumonia and drums), followed by Grizzly Bear, who took slow and dreamy to new heights. Their lengthy elegies echoed with layers of synth, clarinet and autoharp; even the up-tempo numbers sounded like lullabies.
A decidedly more energetic Mohawk kicked off with Crazy Sexy Rainbow (who were less than stellar, but hey, they jumped around a lot), ending with Art Brut, who whipped the Mohawk into a relative stir with tongue-in-cheek tributes to male impotency (“I know I can, I know I can/I’m fine when I’m with my own hands”) and funny, straightforward narratives (“I’m considering a move to L.A./He’s considering a move to L.A.”). These against infectious punk(ish) instrumentals, a good bit of drums, plus some small scale crowd-surfing? Good stuff.
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ACL: More scene reports
Good Samaritan or bad businessman? A fella on Barton Springs Road has been satiating ravished fans by selling slices of Papa John’s Pizza for a buck a slice. That’s eight dollars per large pizza; where’s the profit?
Chris Conley of Forth Worth has been to ACL Fest the past four years and says the organization seems to improve every year. “The fire on Friday was a drag, but the response was impressive,” says the military veteran with first response training. “The cooperation by the crowd and the swiftness of the organization prevented a bigger tragedy. Conley liked the widened “no chairs” zone this year. “It just makes for a better overall flow. We could get around from stage to stage a lot easier.”
Barton Springs has kind of turned into a head shop. One person had an interesting way to advertise her wares. Sitting behind a table filled with glass pipes, she said, “Get your ACL commemorative paper weights here.”
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ACL: Bob Dylan fan club
By 7 p.m. Saturday night, the line for Bob Dylan’s performance that evening stretched around the block all the way to Interstate 35. Most people arrived in the few preceding hours, but two fans had been hanging out in front of the popular outdoor venue since 4:30 that morning.
Kait Runevitch and Caroline Schwarz are co-directors of the Bob Dylan Fan Club (www.thebobdylanfanclub.com). “Bob asked us to start it about two years ago,” Runevitch said. “We met him after a gig and he said, ‘I love seeing you girls out there at every show,’ and said he needed a fan club.”
At 25, the Humbolt County resident says she’s a veteran of about 275 Dylan shows, starting in 1997. She and Schwarz came to ACL for Dylan, but picked up three days passes anyway, checking out Asleep at the Wheel, the Rev. Horton Heat and Mofro on Friday.
The two said they slept in sleeping bags on the street most of the early morning, heading back to the hotel for breakfast. “Most people thought we were homeless,” Schwarz said. (This seemed odd, given their clothes and hair, but they said they changed into summer dresses a few hours before the show.) Both said the Stubb’s staff was very pleasant, letting them use the bathroom whenever they needed.
Runevitch and Schwarz planned to take in the Sunday show before heading back to California for work on Monday and rejoining the tour later in the fall.
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ACL: Bob Dylan at Stubb’s
It’s not that Bob Dylan is the voice of a generation. Lots of people are voices of their generation. (President Bush is as much as President Clinton.)
It’s when you can be a voice for a couple of generations — that’s when the story gets interesting. That’s why folks feel compelled to compare Dylan to Yeats or Picasso, Bergman or Basho — the dude holds up. He’s been the most creative man in popular culture (’65-’66, duh), he’s been truly awful (hello, “Down in the Groove”) but 40 years on, 20-year-olds are finding things in his work that speak to them. That said, the crowd at Dylan’s seriously soldout Stubb’s show Saturday night were closer to AARP status than high school age.
Coming off 20 days rest and sans opening act, Dylan’s craggy voice took a song to find purchase. Since that song was “Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat,” nobody really minded. (Smart move, Bob.)
Of course Dylan’s band is stellar, but a word must be said about Denny Freeman, who may very well enter the pantheon of great Dylan guitarists along with Mike Bloomfield, Robbie Robertson and Mark Knopfler. (G.E. Smith, we’ll never forget you.) Freeman’s solos are perfect for the reinvigorated-yet-senior Dylan — lyrical without being corny, nuanced without sounding fussy. No wonder Dylan let him solo after nearly every verse of every song.
It was a night of serious song rethinks, per Dylan tradition. “It Ain’t Me Babe” turned from a demand into a plea. “On the Horizon” featured a signature, gestural Dylan harmonica solo. “The Levee’s Gonna Break” became a high-octane rocker with Dylan on organ and plenty of spiky Freeman. “Summer Days” became a long swingy blues.
Dylan doesn’t really have a jammy, anything-goes guitar epic in the live set, at least not this one — No “Sister Ray,” no “Dark Star,” no “Marquee Moon.” Instead, he has “Tangled Up in Blue,” one of his most mutable songs. Perhaps reflecting its multi-angled narrative, Dylan has approached this song more ways, rebooted it more times, than perhaps any other in his catalog. It starts as a low key drone before building to a strange, swinging epic. A masterpiece every time it’s played.
For those who find Dylan’s current voice exhausting or simply too gnarly, I’d point them to “Ballad of a Thin Man,” which has transformed from a snide kiss-off to a lecture from the Devil. This is Dylan the nasty, veteran con man; no wonder he’s dressing like Roman Grant from “Big Love.”
And then “All Along the Watchtower” lets everyone pretend to be Hendrix. Thank you, good night!
The Set List
Bob Dylan (Sept. 15, 2007, Stubb’s)
Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat
It Ain’t Me Babe
Watching the River Flow
You’re A Big Girl Now
The Levee’s Gonna Break
Spirit on the Water
Cry Awhile
Tangled Up in Blue
Workingman’s Blues #2
Honest With Me
Beyond the Horizon
Most Likely You Go Your Way And I’ll Go Mine
Nettie Moore
Summer Days
Ballad of a Thin Man
Thunder on the Mountain
All Along The Watchtower
(Dylan closes the Austin City Limits Music Festival at 8:30 p.m. Sunday on the AT&T Stage. Look for our review of that show here and in Monday’s American-Statesman.)
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ACL: Muse review
As Meg White was resting somewhere far, far away from the dust and allergens of Zilker Park, nursing her anxiety (we hope), English modern rock band Muse was holding its own in the Saturday evening headlining spot that the White Stripes dropped out of just days ago.
Beginning their 8:30 p.m., AT&T stage performance with melodic feedback and waves of white noise squall, Muse — vocalist/guitarist/pianist Matthew Bellamy, bassist/vocalist Chris Wolstenholme and drummer Dominic Howard — wasted no time winning new fans and making the crowd forget that the White Stripes were a no-show.
The band played fantastically spot-on versions of their rock radio friendly hits from the 2006 album, “Black Holes and Revelations,” as well as a healthy sampling from their entire four-album discography. Bellamy’s guitar and piano virtuosity provided some of the most entertaining moments of this year’s ACL Fest. He seamlessly switched between shredding his guitar with tone that would make 1960s guitar legends green with envy to playing a grand piano on stage left like only a classically trained musician can. All the while Wolstenholm and Howard were holding down the low end with equal skill and proficiency.
And there was no doubt that the audience was satiated. I witnessed one young woman doing the centipede to Muse’s prog-rock-meets-metal-meets-alternative rock anthem, “Knights Of Cydonia.” People don’t do the centipede on worn down, beer-soaked grass unless the music is very inspirational.
The band also played a devastatingly cool version of “Map of the Problematique,” displaying their penchant for creating epic music that is grandiose in scale without being pretentious.
Muse’s set included several of the coolest stage moments of ACL 2007 witnessed thus far: best use of the video screens, coolest drum riser (it was more than six feet tall) and the best use of time absent from the stage before an encore. The band re-emerged after they played an archival John F. Kennedy speech about freedom and government that uses secrets to spread tyranny; the moment drew as much applause as the music. It was one of the only politically potent polemic deviations during this year’s fest.
The band lost a bit of momentum about midway through their set with a couple of arty ballads. But they pulled everyone right back in with their radio hit, “Starlight.” During the melodically thunderous song, a woman who appeared to be in her late 50s danced ecstatically as if she were a teenager again. Witnessing simple moments of unadulterated musical bliss — like that one woman feeling so free — makes all the dust, odd smells, allergens and claustrophobia-inducing crowds feel worth the trouble.
(Photo by Lauren Winterfeld FOR AUSTIN360)
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ACL: Arcade Fire review
“Arcade!” chanted half the crowd, while the other half added “Fi-ya!” It’s hard to imagine a band better suited to headline a night at ACL then Montreal’s majestic, rhythmic collective Arcade Fire. With six enormous neon pipe cleaners dividing the 10 or 11 players onstage (it’s hard to get an accurate count because there were so many arms flailing all at once), the band was gloriously hypnotic at times, but just as biting, as on the bleak song dedicated to “Governor George Bush.”
Singer Win Butler’s sprawling songs drew wild syncopation, especially from keyboardist Richard Parry, who crashed a cymbal, a motorcycle helmet, whatever he could smack around, when he was overcome by the rolling beat. Multi-instrumentalist Regine Chassagne was a focal point onstage, often acting out lyrics (a tad pretentious) as were the two violinists, so deep in musical communication.
This tribal avant garde group was so into it that it was as if White Stripes were on the other end of the park and the Canadians had something to prove. After each herky jerky symphony, the emotionally, physically spent band would take about a minute to decompress.
Even though the volume level could’ve been stronger, A. Fire was powerful, whether they were doing their pounding Eno bit art rock on “Neighborhood #2 (Laika)” or bringing Appalachia to Arcadia on the infectious “Keep the Car Running” from the new, second album “Neon Bible.” Three young women next to me were having a near-religious experience during that latter number. They represented the committed element of the crowd. Just as many seemed to be merely curious; it was strange to see so many folks filing out during “Neighborhood 3- Power Out” at the one hour point of what could be the best set anyone plays at ACL this weekend.
But it had been a long and hot day and it was time to go home. Power out.
Arcade! Fi-ya! Arcade! Fi-ya! The chants went on for several minutes after the too-short 80-minute set.
(Photo by Jay Janner AMERICAN-STATESMAN)
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ACL: Wikipedia conversation of the night
Girl One: “You can’t get your ribs removed! Can you? Wouldn’t that, like, hurt your body.”
Guy One: (confidently): “Yeah, you can. Marilyn Manson did it.”
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ACL scene: Flags and armadillos, bikes and boys
On the whole, the locator flags at ACL are less elaborate than the ones seen at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. But one group that’s a veteran of both festivals turned up for Cajun band BeauSoleil’s rollicking set at the WaMu stage with a pole topped with a metal armadillo sculpture bedecked with Mardi Gras beads. The armadillo wore a rubboard painted with the years of Jazzfests attended. Multi-colored metallic ribbons fluttered and a variety of objects dangled, including a voodoo doll and fake butterfly. Runner-up: the pole fluttering with multi-colored feather boas, one supporting a blinking blue light.
A bicycle is certainly a pleasant way to get to and from Zilker Park for ACL — even if finding a parking place for it mid-afternoon Friday was like finding a spot for your car at the mall the week before Christmas. Then try finding it again at the end of the night, when it’s dark away from the once-crowded bike racks and you’re only sort of sure which distant railing you hastily locked it to seven hours earlier.
But riding home after the last show was a delicious way to cool off and wind down, and instead of trudging along in the shuttle line, I was spinning through the neighborhood behind Zilker — until I was flagged down by a couple teenage boys, asking me for directions. They weren’t lost, however.
“We live here,” one said. “We’re trying to tell these girls how to get here.”
“Where are they?”
“Barton Springs.”
I started trying to explain the route I’d taken, but one of the boys jammed his cell phone in my hand and said: “You talk to them.”
I started asking exactly where they were on Barton Springs, but the girl interrupted and said with exasperation: “We KNOW how to get there.”
I handed the phone back, and the boys thanked me. As I rode off, one of them called after me again, so earnestly: “Thank you, ma’am,” apparently suddenly realizing that maybe I’d been heading somewhere.
I hope the girls turned up.
(Photo by David Weaver FOR AMERICAN-STATESMAN)
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ACL: Aterciopelados
It was a good thing Colombia’s Aterciopelados played last on the WaMu stage Saturday. Almost any act that followed them would have had a hard time equaling their rapturous reception. Also, singer-guitarist Andrea Echeverri was able to cajole the crew into letting the band play past the scheduled end of the set, gratifying fans yelling “Otra! Otra!” (“Encore! Encore!”) so loudly the tent seemed like a soccer stadium.
Judging from the shouts whenever Echeverri said “Bogota,” and the fervor of singalongs to older tunes, the crowd included plenty of fellow Colombians who’d been following the band since Echeverri formed it with bassist-producer Hector Buitrago in 1993. But you didn’t have to understand a syllable of Spanish to enjoy Aterciopelados’ joyous rock infused with everything from reggae to traditional vallenato. The group’s versatile percussionist doubled on a variety of Colombian flutes, and even something that looked like a toy keyboard crossed with a hookah and emitted a piping sound.
Echeverri is a wonderful singer, with a satiny alto and refreshingly unadorned style. She’s also a natural-born rock star, even though her manner is unassuming, and her imposing cheekbones and severe eyebrows give her an austere look — until she smiles. Mostly, she was all smiles, even when introducing songs with a serious message, such as “Don Dinero” (“Mr. Money”), a deceptively ebullient number from the new “Oye.” “We all like money,” Echeverri said, “But it’s terrible. Dangerous.” “Cancion Protesta” (“Protest Song”) turned anger into positive energy.
Playing an acoustic guitar plastered with metallic speakers that gleamed in the spotlights, like the gold spangled heart decorating her aqua tunic, Echeverri beguiled the crowd with natural charisma, her most casual gesture starting a wave of clapping or singing or pogo-ing. She smooched the microphone and beamed at the crowd’s response to “Luz Azul,” with its fluid guitar lines. The band’s punk-injected hit “Bolero Falaz” had most of the crowd singing lustily in Spanish. It would have been a perfect set-closer, but its momentum just got the band and crowd jazzed for those precious 10 extra minutes.
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ACL: Ocote Soul Sounds
The WaMu tent is typically a place to try to cool off, but Ocote Soul Sounds turned the place into a steam bath Saturday afternoon, and nobody seemed to mind. Bodies wriggled and swayed ecstatically in front of the stage, and the hypnotic grooves even got the chair people up on their feet.
Ocote, an offshoot of Austin’s Grupo Fantasma and Brooklyn’s Antibalas led by Adrian Quesada (Grupo) and Martin Perna (Antibalas), brings funk and Latin elements together with the trance-inducing polyrhythms of afrobeat. The inspiration of the late Nigerian legend Fela Kuti goes beyond the propulsive undertow in the nine-piece ensemble’s long jams. As in Kuti’s songs, the circular melodic themes are often conveyed by the horn section. When Ocote deployed its combination of two baritone saxes and trumpet, the percussive yet sinuous horn lines were as compelling as any vocal trio.
When Perna switched from bari to flute, a more sultry, Latin vibe prevailed, but even the chillest numbers set the dancers in motion. The set was heavy on instrumentals, such as “Look Sharp,” which featured especially tasty guitar from Quesada and kept subtly raising the rhythmic ante. But “Pescador,” a Columbian song from the sophomore album “The Alchemist Manifesto,” due in 2008, featured group vocals, as did the closing “Machete.”
Perna, showing an affinity for another side of Kuti, introduced “Machete” as a cry for change — to eradicate the “weeds of Republicanism … the weeds of gentrification.” The burning number had fans dancing with even greater fervor, and right in the middle of the crowd a few break dancers let loose, one guy somehow finding enough space to gyrate on head and hands, legs waving in the air to the beat.
With Perna and one contingent based on the East Coast, Ocote Soul Sounds has made few appearances in Austin. It seriously needs to become a more regular attraction — and if someone could put together a mini-festival with Ocote, Antibalas, Grupo Fantasma and Grupo offshoot Brownout, that would be well worth the price of a single-day ACL ticket.
(Photo by Jay Janner AMERICAN-STATESMAN)
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ACL: Dancing in the streets
You don’t have to be booked at the festival to make an impact. The Rattletree Marimba and Lannaya had dozens of fest-goers dancing on Barton Springs Road both Friday and Saturday nights. Look for a big turnout when the impressively melodic collective plays Friday, Sept. 28, at the Copa, 217 Congress Ave.
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ACL: Houston’s Blue October
Just so you know in advance, this is gonna be a rave review. Yes, we hard-bitten critic types pride ourselves on our flinty independence. Ordinarily, that is. But in the case of Blue October’s crowd-pleasing (what’d I tell ya?) set at the AMD stage on Saturday afternoon, this particular hard-bitten critic was being fed song titles and other bits of vital ephemera by the mom and dad of brothers Justin (guitar and vocals) and Jeremy (drums) Furstenfeld.
If you think I’m gonna dis a couple of hard-working kids in front of their doting folks, well, let’s just say my name isn’t Michael Corcoran.
In any event, bragging on Blue October isn’t much of a stretch. Since they emerged on the scene from Houston in 1995, the brothers and their three compatriots have established themselves over the course of five albums as a live attraction to contend with.
Justin Furstenfeld, in particular, is a born front man. Watching him stalk the edge of the stage during the charmingly titled “Drilled A Wire Through My Cheeks,” it was evident he was a magnetic presence. His performances of “Let it Go,” “Calling You” and the insanely catchy “Into the Ocean” were equally compelling.
Ryan Delahoussaye also deserves particular mention, as he filled in with aplomb on fiddle, mandolin and keyboards — sometimes simultaneously.
If the band’s lyrics are not infrequently dark, their music and performance brims with energy and a contagious enjoyment that it is almost impossible for performers to feign.
“X Amount of Words,” with its trippy loops and effects, the whiplash overdrive of “Chameleon Boy” the breakout hit (and set finale) “Hate Me” helped round out the set.
Mr. And Mrs. Furstenfeld, let’s just say your boys (and their mates onstage) done good.
(Photo by Brian K. Diggs AMERICAN-STATESMAN)
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ACL: The Arcade Fire and Muse scene
Sometimes even the privileged have to stand in ridiculously long and unmoving lines. Twenty minutes before Arcade Fire took the AMD stage, more than 200 VIP/artists/all-access wristband wearers waited to get onto the stage viewing area (capacity: 50). — Michael Corcoran
Meanwhile, Matthew Odam reports from the Arcade Fire/Muse showdown:
8:40 p.m.: A much bigger exodus leaving from headliner Muse than there was last night for Bjork. Especially quite a few of the Indigo Girls holdover fans from the previous set at the adjacent stage. Muse, with its lights and video screen, are certainly putting on a headlining worthy show.
8:54 p.m.: Odd: They are driving their fans wild, yet until a few months ago I had never heard of them. It reminds me of ’90s rock played through 21st century instruments, if that makes any sense.
9 p.m.: Who wins when the White Stripes back out? The Arcade Fire, who are losing very few fans to the gates or Muse.
9:04 p.m.: I don’t know if Muse is much bigger than I thought or if it was the printed schedule having Stripes on it or if some people still don’t have the Internet, but the crowd is much bigger and more exacitable at Muse. Maybe it is Radiohead and I just don’t recognize it.
9:14 p.m.: Thousands pouring out from both shows. Slightly more than usual, in my opinion.
(Photo by Jay Janner AMERICAN-STATESMAN)
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ACL: Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
Much has been made of how indie posterboys and DIY darlings Clap Your Hands Say Yeah are faced with the challenge of transcending the bubble of buzz that lofted their debut album into the stratosphere two years ago. Their new album, “Some Loud Thunder,” is a determined riposte to all those half-whispered questions about whether there was life beyond the blog.
But less has been written about how much unalloyed fun these five guys from the Right Coast are to watch onstage. Bolting onstage, they flung themselves into their set (via “Heavy Metal”) with a punkish intensity and a bracing enthusiasm.
I’ll grant you that frontman Alec Ounsworth’s adenoidal whine (reminiscent of David Byrne — yes, he’s heard it before) isn’t an immediately acquired taste, but it becomes part of the sonic landscape within a few songs. In any event, since he writes all the lyrics, composes nearly all the music and co-produces the new album, he isn’t exactly dispensable.
Splitting the difference between their two discs, the band moved with efficient dispatch through “Foreign Land,” “Satan Said Dance” (the first big crowd-pleaser) and “Over and Over Again (Lost and Found).” Dance beats and washes of trancelike synthesizer competed with punching-bag drums and emphatic guitar to yield a mixed pallet of sound. There were some jarring juxtapositions: “Over and Over Again,” which is nothing if not a pretty little melodic machine, clashed glaringly with the dirgelike, forboding “Yankee Go Home.”
The band ended the way they began, with a punchy, upbeat 21st century honky-tonk track with the unfortunate moniker “Upon This Tidal Wave of Young Blood.” Even Cole Porter would have a hard time making that title sing, but CYHSY seemed happy just to leave ‘em dancing.
(Photo by Jay Janner AMERICAN-STATESMAN)
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ACL: A taste of Cross Canadian Ragweed
In the first couple years of ACL, collegiate country acts were a booking staple. This year, Cross Canadian Ragweed had to hold down the curve ballcap set almost by themselves. Their set Saturday at the Austin Ventures Stage was barely different than when they play in the clubs, which worked well on the country rockers but didn’t serve Jeremy Plato’s sensitive vocals on “Soul Agent.” The band played some songs from their upcoming “Mission California” album out Oct. 2.
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ACL: Decemberists after-party at Maggie Mae’s?
We’ve heard rumors on the street that the Paste Magazine party tonight at Maggie Mae’s might include an appearance by the Decemberists sometime between 11 p.m. and midnight. If you have any inside information or make it to the show we’d love to hear from you. Leave your tips and/or reports in the comments below.
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ACL: Strangers united in sports
All sorts of dudes are walking around the festival asking each other college football scores. LSU, Texas, Michigan, Arkansas, Nebraska, Southern Cal. guys are on hand-held devices following football scores and the MLB pennant race. Kinda funny but also interesting to hear the opiate of the masses, sports, unite in conversation so many strangers.
Also, some people are still whining and wondering how the fest did not book a huge act in place of the Stripes.
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ACL: Out & About in the field
“Sure it was hot,” said Sarah Banks from Seattle. “But I just got back from Granada, Spain, where it got up 122. I tell you, the air-conditioned toliet (in the VIP area) is a godsend.”
“They are tightening up on sneaking in,” said Jackson Davis, a graduate of Anderson High School, “but it’s still possible with the buddy system and a loose wristband.” (Editor’s note: Davis paid for his ticket!)
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ACL: From the inside
Quiet(er). Cool(er). Old(er).
Wearing a bit more fabric.
Otherwise, the festers hanging in the artists village and the VIP compound differ almost not at all from the uncredentialed masses out on the Zilker fields. We hear this changes later in the evening as the free booze interacts with dehydration and exhaustion, but at 7:30 p.m., the mood is mellow unto somnambulant. The only excitement rattles around the Tito’s vodka tent.
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ACL: Scene of Steele
One of the most pleasant surprises Saturday was the totally rocking set from hit Nashville songwriter Jeffrey Steele. Although he’s known for writing hits for Rascal Flatts (“What Hurts the Most”), Tim McGraw (“The Cowboy in Me”) and Montgomery Gentry (“Gone”), Steele ended his set with “Swamp Thing,” which sounded more like Led Zeppelin than anything resembling mainstream country music. The crowd loved it.
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ACL: Andrew Bird
Sometimes you get thrown in the deep end. I had never seen Andrew Bird before catching his set Saturday afternoon at the AT&T Blue Room stage, but what I learned about him beforehand sounded intriguing: a sparkplug of the ’90s swing boomlet as part of the Squirrel Nut Zippers-turned-experimental music wunderkind. Songs with titles like “Yawny at the Apocalypse” and “A Nervous Tic Motion of the Head To the Left.” Ten albums, give or take, including his latest, “Armchair Apocrypha.” And, intriguingly, whistling apparently figured heavily in his musical repertoire.
Well, the guy can dadgum sure whistle—a piercing, pure, multi-tonal wonder of a whistle that can carry the weight of a string section or a saxophone.
As for the rest, Bird and his two bandmates are unquestionably versatile and mecurial, able to turn on a musical dime (one of the musicians doubled on keyboards and drums, sometimes simultaneously). Bird himself is adept on violin, guitar and even xylaphone (what is it with xylaphones at this year’s ACL?!).
But I could never find a way to ground myself inside Bird’s music. One song, “Simple X,” featured abrupt and seemingly arbitrary changes in tone, tempo and key. Another, the aforementioned “Nervous Tic,” featured a flurry of lyrics that seemed to skate across the icy surface of the melody. Bird’s often cryptic or downbeat lyrics, sung in a voice eerily reminiscent of David Byrne, seemed daunting, although audience members swayed along happily to the beat.
Other critics have described Bird and his music as “opaque,” “off-kilter pop” and “inscrutable,’ so perhaps I’m in good company.
But so were the fans that flocked (sorry, couldn’t resist) to Bird’s performance. Their appreciation of Bird’s superior musicianship seemed to make questions of accessibility suddenly irrelevant.
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ACL: the football report
One of the biggest cheers of the day out at Zilker Park was heard when the Longhorns finally pulled ahead of pesky University of Central Florida. The noise from the AT&T Oasis sounded like a headliner taking the stage. More than 150 people were waiting in line to get inside to watch the game on the big screen. But if you were a Texas Ex, you could go right in through a separate entrance - the Exes were having a private game-watching party. Which shows that music isn’t the only entertainment with a velvet rope system.
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ACL: Cold War Kids
Fullerton, Calif.’s Cold War Kids — lead vocalist/guitarist Nathan Willett, guitarist/vocalist Jonnie Russell, bassist Matt Maust and drummer Matt Aveiro — have been touring behind “Robbers and Cowards,” one of the most hyped-up albums of anyone playing at ACL 2007. Unfortunately the band’s 3:30 p.m. AT&T Blue Room stage performance suffered from a sound mix that emphasized vocals, drums, and absolutely nothing else.
As the band began its first song, the audience had swelled to at least 30,000 strong. The hottest part of the day had arrived and you could just smell the skin cancer cells cooking under everyone’s beads of sweat. By the time the band played their final notes, the audience had shrunk to half that size.
But it wasn’t because of Cold War Kids lack of verve or performance acumen, because they definitely had their act together. The songs were tight and creatively spun. And the band was comfortable working the big stage; you would never know that only a year ago they were playing small indie rock clubs.
The reason the Cold War Kids’ set didn’t translate to the audience as well as it should have came down to two things that could have been controlled: the heat and the sound mix.
Today’s heat reignited the argument for pushing the festival back to October or November. Shoot while we’re thinking out loud, why not hold it in December when Austin still has plenty of sun.
Now to the sound: The Cold War Kids’ performance was hindered by a lack of vocal compression. Good sound people use rack mountable vocal compressors to squash the super high volumes in the mix and to likewise increase the levels of quiet vocal deliveries. The sound person for the Cold War Kids appeared to have a tin ear because their mix was absolutely awful: all vocals, drums and piano. Further, the band’s lead vocalist could definitely take a lesson in dynamics from the same place he copped many of his other influences (Jeff Buckley, Radiohead). Willet’s voice was all bombast; his literary lyrics held less sway without the flashes of subtlety found on the band’s albums.
The band’s two singles — “Hang Me Up To Dry” and “We Used To Vacation” — and all of their other swampy, blues-infected, Southern rock sounding songs could have been so strong. Sadly, the band’s 60-minute set was mostly shaped by just six unfortunate words: time for a new sound person.
(Photo by Jay Janner AMERICAN-STATESMAN)
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Second fire was at Bjork show
As some have posted in our comments, the second fire that broke out during day one of ACL was during Bjork’s set. Statesman photographer Deborah Cannon was up close to the stage and saw the speaker fire, which was quickly put out by staff.
Much of the audience didn’t even realize what had happened, thinking Bjork had left the stage and returned for an encore. No one was injured. Read V. M. Black’s review here.
(Photo by Jay Janner AMERICAN-STATESMAN)
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ACL: Dax Riggs
I have a confession to make: I have a bit of a man-crush on Andy Macleod’s drumming. I wanna gay-marry the way that dude improves every band he plays with. Currently the touring drummer for Dax Riggs, I’ve seen him with obscure New York rockers Endless Boogie and with more-famous-but-more-musically-obscure guitar thinker Neil Hagerty (late of Royal Trux). And, oh, yeah, he also does time as the touring bassist for Modest Mouse. The man works hard.
You might remember Dax Riggs from the band Deadboy and the Elephantmen (or his metal band Acid Bath). While the two-person version of Dax Riggs has all sorts of fans, I’ve never seen them, so I can’t say whether Macleod improved them, frankly. But like any good rock band, 75 percent of a blues band is swing and pulse. Now, there’s not a lot subtle about Macleod’s bash and pop, at least not with Riggs, but he knows where the pocket is and he can explode out of it at will, a bit like Keith Moon, but more bald.
Riggs’ main asset is his voice, the sort of growl that passes for soulful to indie kids used to terrible singers. This isn’t a knock; Riggs’ voice is a tough and vigorous instrument, his guitar playing the sort of earthy, bluesy raunch that ACL fans just love. “Demon Tied to a Chair in My Brain” sounds both musically and lyrically like Roky Erickson (as if you couldn’t tell from the title) while “Radiation Blues” was dedicated (in a negative manner, that is) to the current administration. If bluesy guitar grime equaled votes, the administration is right to be worried.
(Photo by Jay Janner AMERICAN-STATESMAN)
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ACL: M.I.A.
American hip hop, United Kingdom electro, Jamaican dancehall, grime, Ragga and Brazilian baile funk were all blended into her DJ’s sampling soup, creating a music so unique that it had people dancing before they even realized their bodies were moving. And if the sound mix had been better, it’s very possible that the festival organizers might have shut down her performance based on its sheer explicit revolutionary nature and capacity to cause a riot.
With a phenomenal DJ that was cutting up polyrhythmic records like a razor on butter, M.I.A. raced through nearly a dozen songs that spoke of revolution, sexual liberation, female empowerment and cultural freedom.
When she vamped up her track “20 Dollars,” the samples of gun blasts echoed the polemic racing from her mouth. I’m gonna have to give you a little taste for you to fully understand how this young woman was obliterating the mic:
“With your feet in the air and your head on the ground/Try this trick and spin it, yeah/Your head’ll collapse if there’s nothing in it/And you’ll ask yourself, ‘Where is my mind?’/War war war/Who made me like this/Was it me and God in co-production/My devil’s on speed dial/Every time I take the wrong direction,” she sprayed with a high-pitched hiss in her upper vocal register.
Now, keep in mind this was just one verse of one song from her set — and every song was equally as venomous. I had never heard M.I.A. before this year’s ACL Fest. Now I’m a fan for life.
Toward the end of her set, the audience’s collective consciousness took over and about 100 people crossed the proscenium and joined M.I.A. on stage for a straight-up dance party. The beefy security guys were scrambling to make sense of the moment as M.I.A. encouraged the spontaneity. You didn’t know if someone was going to get hurt while everyone was having so much fun. The audience’s dancing was filled with lust and sweaty sexual tension. M.I.A. and her backup singer knowingly winked at each other as the stage literally rocked. The moment was filled with danger and barely controlled chaos. And it was utterly beautiful.
(M.I.A. will be back in Austin for a show Nov. 3 at Hogg Memorial Auditorium. Tickets, which are $25, go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, Sept. 21. Details here.)
(Photo by Brian K. Diggs AMERICAN-STATESMAN)
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ACL: Young Love
At 12:50 p.m. on the dot, Young Love - a.k.a. Austin’s favorite emo son Dan Keyes - performed his new band’s dance music for an enthusiastic 2000-plus audience in what felt like 2000-degree heat.
(Now I’ve got to come clean with you right off the bat: I’m a Dan Keyes fan. My old noise-pop band Schatzi used to play shows with Keyes’ old post-hardcore rock band Recover in indie rock clubs all around the country. We’re bros’. But that said - here comes the straight dope.)
Keyes’ front man charisma and reluctant-yet-assured star power had the teenage girls pressed in tight at the front of the stage. His revolving member band’s current incarnation included Recover’s rock solid bassist Ross Tweedy and guitarist Robert Mann. Although the songs and genre are still fresh for the players in Young Love, they possessed a cocksure quickstep in their delivery of tracks from their 2007 debut “Too Young to Fight It” that only cats that have played together for years — since childhood actually — possess.
And for a band that should’ve been playing at night under a disco ball and strobing colored lights, Young Love pulled off their no-man’s land, afternoon time slot very well.
Unfortunately either “the party” or “the road” had taken its toll on Keyes’ voice; during Young Love’s money-shot single “Discotech” his voice was breaking up in parts of the chorus.
Keyes rocked a beautiful black and gold Fender Strat during “Underneath the Night Sky,” peppering the verses with a staccato lead that was infectious. Although he spent the majority of the set working the stage from end to end, unemcumbered by the guitar, enticing the audience to cut loose and have fun.
Young Love’s set closed with “Find A New Way” which you might have heard on MTV or any number of television show soundtracks. Keyes’ pop craft and songwriting sensibilities were spot-on. And apparently much of the audience approved, because instead of seeking shelter from the heat, they stood right in the middle of Zilker Park at the Austin Ventures stage and danced their little kooky dances. And accordingly when Keyes dropped out his vocals during the songs climactic bridge, the audience members that knew the words sang right on cue.
(Photo by Brian K. Diggs AMERICAN-STATEMAN)
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ACL: Raul Malo
Raul Malo’s mid-afternoon set on the Dell stage Saturday started out as slow and sticky as Cuban molasses. Well, it made sense, in a way — it was way too hot to mambo. Aided by Austin’s own Ephraim Owens on trumpet, Malo and his band seemed to feel their way through “Every Little Thing About You” and a dreamy, twangy pop take on the Ray Price chestnut, “My Shoes Keep Walking Back To You.”
Malo and company finally seemed to lock into gear with their third number, a silky pop take on “Cold, Cold Heart” that was as delightfully revisionist—though in a wholly different way — as Norah Jones’ take on the same tune.
Moving steadily into tropical latitudes, Malo unlimbered his big voice for “Dance the Night Away,” “Besame Mucho” (the former a nod to his old bandmates in the Mavericks) and a long, steamy number called, appropriately, “Sway.” In the course of things, Malo transformed his personal corner of Zilker Park into an al fresco supper club.
Saving the best for last, Malo concluded his set with a nod to last year’s headliner with a cover of Van Morrison’s “Bright Side of the Road.” The upbeat, big-hearted tune, which Malo covered on his “Acoustic Nashville Sessions” album a couple of years back, perfectly suits Malo’s sunny persona and his swinging arrangement sent the crowd off in a buoyant mood.
(Photo by Brian K. Diggs AMERICAN-STATESMAN)
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ACL: Dr. Dog
- Video: Dr. Dog live at ACL Fest
Philadelphia’s Dr. Dog, a late addition to the reshuffled Saturday schedule, primed the early arrivals at the AT&T stage with a stimulating set that spun a wide variety of styles into an idiosyncratic roots-rock blender.
None of the five-piece band’s songs followed a straight trajectory. Just when keyboardist Zach Miller seemed to be channeling the Band, bassist Toby Leaman, guitarist Scott McMicken and guitarist Andrew Jones started harmonizing like late-period Beach Boys, while the rhythm section continued to pack a serious wallop. Funk-rock morphed into Squeeze-y pop into Bowie-esque space-rock and ended with a head-banging crunch. A Cheap Trick-y a cappella chorus led into a big rock finish. R&B balladry, funk-rock, Primus-like weirdness, Cracker-crisp quirkiness, boogie, blues and jazzy dissonance all swirled into the mix.
“My Old Ways,” which set many hips to twitching, turned hard rock into bouncy bubble-gum pop without ever going to sweet, and wound up slamming again. “The Girl” started out with a metallic blast but went all late-Beatle-esque, then sweetened into a lush, ELO-like chorus with layered vocals. (No wonder Beck got a notion to do a remix of this one.)
Despite the dizzying array of genres, none of the songs sounded cobbled together or forced. Unlike many jam bands, Dr. Dog has the level of musicianship to sustain its improvisatory leanings. Jones’ solos arose organically from the tunes and were notable for their melodic logic and succinctness. The riff he played on “Worst Trip” could have turned into a song in its own right.
Dr. Dog could easily get by on instrumental prowess alone, but McMicken and Leaman are also fine lead vocalists. McMicken has a more supple, R&B/pop voice, Leaman a more gravelly rock sound, and with Jones chiming in, three-part harmonies were the splendid icing on the cake.
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ACL: Austin’s Sound Team
Pre-announced last shows can be dangerously self-conscious affairs. A band says “this is it, folks” and suddenly the band members think they need to go out with a bang. The performances might be fine, but there can be an ugly air of showbiz around the whole thing, with multiple guest stars and a self-important vibe (“The Last Waltz,” I’m looking at you).
Sound Team, who stated last week their Saturday show on the AMD stage would be their final performance, managed to avoid this entirely by simply playing the best set they could. They’ve probably played better at other times, they’ve certainly played worse, but this was the last blast and they went out with the straightforward dignity of rocking out. (As it were.)
Their look was certainly haphazard. Singer/guitarist Matt Oliver looked patrician (yet sweaty) in a seersucker jacket, bassist Bill Baird was decked out in an orange jumpsuit, and everyone else rocked the jeans and T-shirt look. “You guys are crazy for standing in this,” Oliver said to the crowd (presumably meaning the heat, not their music). Well, this is your last show, dude. Everyone loves a victory lap.
In between Oliver mugging for the video cameras with his guitar, the band leaned on the mid-tempo rockers, various combination of guitar and keys driving their platonic indie-rock. “No More Birthdays” seemed to get the most love from the crowd, but it was the massive “TV Torso” that we’re clearly going to miss. A two-chord vamp blown out into a jam reminiscent of ’70s Krautrockers such as Can, this was as powerful as the band gets — big noise, big rhythms, big finish. Then it was over. “Good bye, bye, bye,” Oliver said. Now, as Bono once said, time to dream it all up again.
(Photo by Jay Janner AMERICAN-STATESMAN)
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Saturday at ACL
It’s definitely hotter out there today. Don’t do what the lead singer of Dr. Dog did and wear a knit cap, which he admitted was a bad idea.
UPDATE: We hear from the field that it’s getting breezier, which helps.
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Notes from the A.C.
The action has been surprisingly tame in the artists compound. But the bartenders, who work as long as there are folks who want to drink (closing at midnight Friday) say the real craziness begins Sunday night. “It’s gonna be sick” said one ‘tender. What happens Sunday night is that all the ACL staffers, who’ve been on their best behavior for three long days, can finally cut loose. Their party starts when Bob Dylan says “thank you, Austin, good night.”
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Secret aftershow
If you miss Raul Malo’s set at the festival this afternoon (he is, after all, up against UT football) you’ll have another chance tonight at 11:30 p.m. Malo’s playing an unannounced set at the Continental Club’s upstairs room.
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ACL: The Steps
- SoundCheck: Listen to The Steps
What a way to kick off Saturday at ACL! The BMI stage is usually the domain of singer songwriters, but Austin’s great teen hopes, the Steps, rocked like they were headlining Wembley Stadium. Guitarist/ singer Will Thompson displayed a Roger Daltrey-worthy screech on “Carousel” and his cousin Sam Thompson threw out serpentine leads on slow builder “Velvet Prison” and “Miss High Heels,” but it was the rhythm section of Z Lynch on drums and bassist Stephen Ross that gave the Steps their strong footing. Good name, great drummer — they’re ahead of the game even before you consider their sturdy songwriting. One thing young bands are saddled with is that critics are prone to spending the set trying to figure out who they sound like. But even limited with the standard guitar/guitar/bass/drums lineup, the Steps are truly original. OK, set-closer “Cold Floor” was a rip of “Loose” by the Stooges, but if you’re gonna steal, it helps to have good taste. This was a filler-free 30 minute set that throbbed on pure passion and the audience- many of whom mouthed the words- really soaked it up. A cool breeze blew across Zilker when the band opened with “Belle.” A refreshing start to a day that promises to be even hotter than yesterday.
(Photo by Jay Janner AMERICAN-STATESMAN)
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May the force be with them
ACL Fest artist liason Darcie Fromholz got chills at 11 a.m. Saturday, just like she does every morning of ACL. The theme from “Star Wars,” which organizers blast when the gates open, does it to her every time. “You stand on that stage (AT&T) and hear that great symphonic sound as the people come in and start running across the park, and you just think, ‘OK, here comes another one. Get ready.’” The leaders of Charlie Company (better known as C3 Presents) are big “Star Wars” fans, being of that age when the George Lucas film had impact on so many kids. C3 meetings are presided over by a plastic Yoda and when you call C3, the “on hold” music is a disco version of the “Star Wars” theme.
(Photo by Jay Janner AMERICAN-STATESMAN)
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ACL: Bjork
A barefoot Björk positioned the trajectory of her atmospheric re-entry just sharp enough to land in Zilker Park for the 8:30 p.m. headlining set on the AT&T stage. Wearing gold sparkle leggings and a shiny gold and black dress that only she could get away with — her jet black Icelandic mane tossing to and fro — Björk was a sight of undeniable beauty. The electronic white noise squeals, bleeps and Timbaland-produced beats created an euphoria-inducing dance party that flowed straight from her soul into the hearts of all those within a half-mile radius.
The trippy little queen of electronica with the enormous voice and the gravity-bending growl began her Austin campaign with “The Dull Flame of Desire” off this year’s more-hits-than-misses album, “Volta.” A cold chill shimmied down the hairs on my back after her first few notes. (Correct me if I’m wrong, but Friday evening’s performance was Björk’s first return to Austin since her late ‘80s show with her first band, The Sugarcubes. They played a now-legendary gig at the Back Room back in the day, helping define the genre characteristics of alternative rock before there was such a moniker.)
Björk’s hits, new and old, began to fire out in succession: “Hunter,” “Pagan Poetry,” “Hidden Place.” A couple of the misses from “Volta” sent some audience members right out the door. Shortly after, her emotional landscape “Joga” drew the Björk die-hard fans even closer to the stage.
Other high points in the set: the cut-and-paste beat heavy remixes of “Army of Me” and “Hyperballad,” and the neon-robed all-female brass orchestra that doubled as her choir when they weren’t blowing fire. Further still, the snare-heavy revision of “I Miss You” helped transform the song into a tribal-like shuffle that translated clearly to the still-packed audience.
Björk didn’t offer much in the way of stage banter, but that was quite all right with everyone from where I was standing. True to Austin’s keepin’ it weird factor, clouds of smoke engulfed me during the set; an aging hippie said, “this is freaky … and I like it” as a green laser emanated from center stage and beamed through a splitter, up over the audience, into the sky and beyond.
After an hour and 10 minutes, Björk and band left the stage only to return for a short encore that included “Declare Independence,” the climactic centerpiece from “Volta.” Confetti rained down on the stage as Björk chanted the “higher, higher” bridge that exploded into the “Declare Independence” chorus, inducing the audience to lose themselves in the dance right along with her pixie-like self.
(Photo by Jay Janner AMERICAN-STATESMAN)
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New auditory fashion at ACL
One guy at the AMD stage came up with a new variation of the T-shirt-as-headgear look. He tucked the sleeves of his shirt into the sides of his baseball cap, and stuffed the collar into the back of the cap, leaving open loops for his ears to stick out. They probably ended up a little sunburned, but that’s a small price to pay for sonic purity.
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ACL: The Killers
The darkness glittered with the screens of phones and Blackberries, and I wove through a horde of people at the AMD stage texting each other, photographing each other, and then animatedly comparing text messages and photographs. Peering around, it suddenly struck me — everyone watching the Killers was the same age. Was there some kind of curfew in effect for everyone over 30?
After three songs, I realized it was just the Hiphugger Principle. People who lived through a fashion trend the first time around generally sit out the revival, so if you were born before 1980, you’re probably pretty much already done with the portentous swaths of synth that are the Killers’ stock in trade. The Las Vegas band can’t seem to make up its mind whether it wants to be the Cure, U2, Bruce Springsteen or maybe the Alarm, but it does have a consistent predilection for those keyboard sounds that are the sonic equivalent of the cloud of smoke that, naturally, cloaked the group by the end of its set.
Singer Brandon Flowers has the kind of powerful voice that was just made for stadiums, but it didn’t always seem to command the attention of the crowd. “This River is Wild” and “Uncle Johnny,” from the Killers’ sophomore release “Sam’s Town,” aimed for weightiness but edged more toward pomposity. They didn’t get the fans hopping like the new-wavey “Somebody Told Me” and “Smile Like You Mean It,” from the 2004 debut “Hot Fuss.” The end of “Mr. Brightside,” another catchy, jittery hit from “Hot Fuss,” created a major exodus for the exit or other stages. Those who left missed “Read My Mind,” the strongest of the new tunes, and the sight of some couples improbably swing dancing to “All These Things That I’ve Done,” as the synths swelled even louder and Flowers emoted over and over: “I got soul but I’m not a soldier.”
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ACL: Gotan Project
There’s not a lot of evidence that the Gotan Project are big believers in casual … well, anything really. Their set included a bandstand for a string section, everyone wore white suits or gowns, and they generally looked like exactly what they were — Parisians refusing to acknowledge that there was heat, that they were outdoors or that they were anywhere other than an ornate ballroom.
The 10-year-old combo blends Euro-style beat science with Argentine tango, which means samples rub up against nylon string guitar, accordian mixes with thudding bass, and live strings amplify sampled orchestrations. It was the civility of 1951 meeting the thrum of 2001; they got along famously.
Putting the band on at 7:30 on the Dell stage was most appropriate. Of the moment yet aiming for a timelessness, exotic yet calming, the music served as a balm for exhausted, overheated fans. You could dance to the rapping and sampled beats, but you could also chill to the strings. As the evening went on, the set became more thuddy and less delicate, the ballroom turning into the South American club. To paraphrase the New Pornographers, the Gotan Project can sing me Spanish disco anytime.
(Photo by Brian K. Diggs AMERICAN-STATESMAN)
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Out on the field with the M.O.
More scene reports from Matthew Odam, the man who seems to be everywhere:
Paolo Nutini and Ray Benson shared the stage for a little Q&A in the media area. Nutini will be opening for legendary rockers Led Zeppelin soon, and admits he has trouble wrapping his mind around it. “It’s insane,” Nutini said. “That’s the problem … I know I’m gonna be there, but when I get there I don’t know what I’m going to do. The heat’s on.” Asked about his nerves before playing, Nutini admitted there’s only so much you can do. “I get nervous at anything, to be honest. But nothing you can do about it. You’re nervous, you’re nervous, you’re nervous, then you’re on.”
The sage Benson, who was complimentary of Nutini’s music, offered a little advice for the young Scotsman. “You just get on stage and you do it.” ….
One anonymous attendee from New York was heard to say, “I had heard Texas was hot, but this is ridiculous.” …
After the soulful Joss Stone said how hot her little bare feet were, we got our first drops of rain, for which everyone seems very grateful. Barefoot and dressed in a slight, silky blue sundress, the young soul singer from the UK has got to have the lead in the category “most disarmingly beautiful and charming artist” thus far …
Dinner lines are out of control. There was a run on Wahoo’s fish tacos. They are all gone.
(Photo by Brian K. Diggs AMERICAN-STATESMAN)
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ACL: Crowded House
Crowded House’s first new album in more than a decade, “Time on Earth,” is rather subdued, recorded as it was in the wake of drummer Paul Hester’s 2005 suicide. On the AMD stage Friday, the reunited band proved less mischievous and extroverted than in its late-‘80s heyday, but there was no loss of energy or edge, and joie de vivre was still in evidence.
Frontman Neil Finn is generally tagged as a pop guy, thanks to a classically clear, sweet, deceptively powerful voice and a knack for memorable pop melodies. Fans only familiar with the band’s big Top 40 hit, “Don’t Dream It’s Over,” may have been surprised by the meatiness of Nick Seymour’s bass lines, or the heavy Les Paul face-off between Finn and new member Mark Hart on “Locked Out.”
The group opened with the jagged “Mean to Me” and soaring “When She Comes,” two older tracks that never got significant airplay. There were obviously plenty of fans who knew all the words, however. Finn took advantage of a well-rehearsed crowd by puckishly breaking out “Weather With You” when a stray cloud favored the assembled with a breeze and a few raindrops, and orchestrating a full-throated sing-along with an easy gesture. “Let’s summon up some rain,” he joked. “A light rain - just a gossamer rain.”
The new “The Heaven I’m Making” got a jazz-funk infusion from Hart’s keyboard solo. Another new one, “Transit Lounge,” suffered a bit from too-tight adherence to the recorded version, right down to the flight announcement that introduces it on the album. Crowded House is always at its best when the arrangements leave plenty of room for Finn’s unassumingly spectacular voice, as on the gorgeous coda to “Don’t Dream It’s Over,” featuring Finn’s son Liam on acoustic guitar.
(Photo by Jay Janner AMERICAN-STATESMAN)
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ACL: Mighty Clouds of Joy
Mighty Clouds of Joy is one of the quintessential groups in the history of gospel music, but the first half of their set at ACL Fest was quite ordinary. “The Temptations of Gospel” were wearing T-shirts and kicking out pretty generic growling fare for a crowd that didn’t know any better.
There’s great gospel music that fills the soul, and there’s a bunch of empty exalting that’s just filler. The Mighty Clouds were trafficking in the latter, digging up a cover of “Love Train,” when they seemed to even be boring themselves.
The group, led by original belter Joe Ligon, finally caught a groove around the half-hour mark and drove it home hard core. An octave-leaping falsetto take on “Walk Around Heaven All Day” was spiritually invigorating, if not a tad too drawn out.
There’s no denying that there was a lot of talent on the WaMu stage Friday night, but the Mighty Clouds’ set could only be characterized as disappointing.
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ACL: James Hunter
If James Hunter weren’t such a great singer, he could undoubtedly have enjoyed just as successful a career in comedy. The guy is flat-out funny, even when the mic’s not on. Before his set on the Austin Ventures stage, he rolled his eyes in the direction of a neighboring stage and its deafening techno bass assault, and then pretended to plunge a drumstick into his own chest, grimacing in melodramatic agony. When the racket finally stopped and cheers roared from afar, he bowed to his own audience and mimed gratitude for the applause, earning a big round of laughter and cracking up his band.
Hunter introduced a classic by the 5 Royales, “Baby Don’t Do It,” as “an absolutely filthy blues song .. this was their breakthrough from gospel to filth.” While the lyrics were not so very naughty, Hunter’s vocal was as classy yet unreservedly sexy as old-school R&B greats such as Bobby “Blue” Bland and Solomon Burke. The combination of his blazing guitar work and powerhouse voice had a couple of college-age guys grinning at each other in wonderment.
Hunter’s breakthrough third album, “People Gonna Talk,” including the rumba-infused “Riot Goin’ On,” is a remarkably engrossing trip back into the golden era of soul music, but still doesn’t fully prepare fans for the full live experience. The tone and suppleness of Hunter’s voice are marvels, and he has a whole arsenal of tricks as well, from a searing falsetto to a thrilling scream to the ability to roll consonants that aren’t usually rolled, like a reggae singer. He’s also a tremendous guitar player - both rhythm and lead.
Hunter’s ace, sax- and organ-charged band was clearly having as much fun as Hunter and the crowd. Hammond B-3 player Kyle Kohler beamed like he’d died and gone to heaven, even before Hunter singled him out for a particularly soulful, crowd-pleasing solo on “No Smoke Without Fire.” The set ended too soon for Hunter, who couldn’t resist messing with the crew’s timekeeper, claiming he was owed more time, before shrugging and telling the willing crowd, “He’s bigger than us.”
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ACL: Queens of the Stone Age
Metal does well in the heat. Well, maybe the outside of your car is a little uncomfortable, but metal-the-music is perfect for big, sweaty crowds outdoors. Queens of the Stone Age’s metal is a little weird, but not so weird that it fails to fulfill metal’s basic requirement at these sorts of gigs: large chords and larger drums propelling the largest possible grooves.
The groove thing is a little weird. Metal is not known for making you shake what your proverbial mama gave you, but that’s been Queens’ raison d’etre since their debut 10 years ago. Queens conceptualist/guitarist/singer Josh Homme wanted a metal that, well, girls would like, a metal that updated Led Zeppelin’s undertow and made it a little more robotic.
Again, all of this works pretty well in the heat, especially the enormous drums — drums that recalled vintage industrial rock as much as metal, drums which gave voice and power to an exhausting day. In other words, the pounding in your dehydrated head was echoed nicely on stage. Never have drums that hit that hard sounded so humane.
It was also a little frustrating that Queens didn’t stretch out and get epic more often. As much as they’d like to be a song-band, they’re a groove band. They’re at their most powerful when they’re at their most orbital. “Burn the Witch” could have been twice as long (and why don’t more hard rock bands use pedal steel?). It was sweet that Homme called “In My Head” a sing-along, but we don’t see Queens to sing along; we see them to be ground into a fine (yet sexy) paste by the weight of their ovoid riffs.
(Photo by Jay Janner AMERICAN-STATESMAN)
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ACL: Amy LaVere
Utterly engaging. How else to describe Amy LaVere’s set in the early afternoon Friday, when the sky was still gray with smoke. I’ve since misplaced my notebook, but let’s see if I can recall the highlights.
First of all, Memphis native LaVere is a little woman who plays a big standup bass, then switches to a Dan Electro electric. Her sound is a little bit Bobbie Gentry, if Ms. “Ode To Billie Joe” played bass for Southern Culture On the Skids. She and her other two bandmates did a song called “Killing Him” (Didn’t Make the Love Go Away,” then asked the sign language interpreter to show her the signs again after the song.
LaVere’s compelling version of Bob Dylan’s “I’ll Remember You” showed her to be more than a sasssy country chick.
Wish I had a few more details, but all I can say is that I enjoyed every minute of the set. If she doesn’t become a star, well, then I don’t know anything at all.
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ACL: LCD Soundsystem
White Stripes vs. Arcade Fire? Whatever.
You want this festival’s real musical Sophie’s choice? Try M.I.A. and LCD Soundsystem. Two acts at the top of their respective games, ultra-modernist dance music with exactly the same audience playing at exactly the same time. Hey, these things happen, but one of them couldn’t have played against, say, Jesse Malin?
LCD Soundsystem singer/head cheese James Murphy even made a comment about it from the AT&T Blue Room stage. “This is sad for us, because we really like her. Sorry, Maya. Hope you have a good set.” (She did fine, James.)
In fact, Murphy, whose media persona can run to the surly side, seemed downright jolly and friendly. He thanked the crowd for hanging out during the heat (“you’re working a lot harder than we are”) and chatted about the stages sponsor (“when I was playing in a punk band in 1983, I thought someday I’ll make it and bring the rock with five bars of receptions. Everyone gets a free iPhone!”). He mentioned the party for his wife’s birthday at Red 7 on Friday and urged everyone to stop by the 300ish capacity club and generally seemed genial and funny.
Oh, yeah, the music. Murphy uses a full band to translate his wiseacre techno into something blistering on stage. With guitar, bass, samples and an insanely hard-working drummer, the songs turned thinker, more ovoid. Murphy played the ringleader braying here and singing there, shouting out his homeland on “North American Scum” and lamenting (or is that celebrating?) that slow slide into middle age on “All My Friends”. He channeled his inner Bowie on the wonderful “Get Innocuous” and the blippy grooves becoming something larger and tougher, but still majestic — this was dance rock that didn’t skip on either term.
(Photo by Jay Janner AMERICAN-STATESMAN)
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ACL: Joss Stone
One word suggested itself repeatedly as Joss Stone strutted her stuff (there is simply no other way to describe it) on the AT&T Stage Friday afternoon. That word was “ebullient.” Other adjectives quickly suggested themselves — “effervescent,” for instance. And “buoyant.” Onstage before a huge crowd, Stone looked to be having every bit as much fun as you’d expect a 19-year-old to be having in a similar situation.
That’s the thing, though — Stone’s age keeps getting in the way of an objective appreciation of her talents. She’ll be bantering along onstage in her toffee-flavored English lilt and then she opens her mouth to sing and the lost child of Irma Thomas comes belting out. It’s more than mere mimicry, but Stone doesn’t seem to have had enough miles on her life odometer to access the raw emotionalism of her soul-drenched music. Whatever, the effect is mesmerizing.
Capering barefoot across the stage with coltish enthusiasm, Stone worked the crowd like a pro, punching the air for emphasis, doubling over in the heat of a musical moment, channeling the energy of her large band to her own ends.
Most of her material was drawn from her latest album, “Introducing Joss Stone” (the title notwithstanding, it’s her third disc). That release seems a transitional effort, designed to transition Stone from the Memphis/Stax classicism of her first album into a more contemporary, urban R&B groove — less Carla Thomas, more Beyonce.
Whatever. There was plenty of sweat and soul in evidence onstage, however, from the playful “Baby, Baby, Baby” to the 10-minute workout that grew out of “Super Duper Love (Are You Diggin’ On Me)” to big ballad show stopper “Music,” and the Greek chorus call and response of “You Had Me.”
In all, Stone’s performance was consummately professional and entertaining and genuinely — say what you will about callow youth — soulful as all get-out.
(Photo by Brian K. Diggs AMERICAN-STATESMAN)
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ACL: Peter Bjorn and John
Sweden’s Peter Bjorn and John used their 3:30 p.m. Dell stage performance to prove that their infectious 2006 hit “Young Folks” was no fluke.
Using traditional rock elements and working the stage with the comfort of a band that has been on tour for two years straight — the band played 15-plus shows in Austin alone in March — vocalist/guitarist/harmonica player Peter Moren, vocalist/keyboardist/bassist Bjorn Yttling and drummer John Eriksson played the tightest afternoon set witnessed yet.
Even though there are multiple songs on their third album “Writer’s Block” that are just as strong and catchy, the thousands of shoe-tapping hipsters and families with chairs were all waiting to hear “that song with the cool whistling.” “Young Folks” finally appeared as an anchor midway through their set.
Two of Peter Bjorn and John’s tour mates — Melanie Draisey and Mark Keen of the London rock band the Clientele — came on stage to pump new life into the ubiquitous pop hit. Draisey sang the verse and chorus arguably better than Victoria Bergsman does on the original album version, while Keen’s quickstep bongo groove was a spot-on rendition of what could’ve proved to be a difficult task in the hands of a less proficient player.
“I was a little nervous,” said Draisey backstage after the show. “That was only the third time I’ve ever sang the song (with them).”
Nervous? Pppfff. Couldn’t tell.
(Look for the Clientele to perform their psychedelic rock at Emo’s tonight during one of the numerous post-ACL shows. And don’t be surprised if Peter Bjorn and John return the favor and join them).
(Photo by Jay Janner AMERICAN-STATESMAN)
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ACL: Blonde Redhead
Fifteen minutes before the start of Blonde Redhead’s set Friday afternoon at ACL, the backstage was almost entirely empty. There were about three of us standing around waiting for the New York trio to take the stage. At Lollapalooza, the last time I saw them, the backstage area was packed well over 20 minutes before they started.
Here, the backstage area filled up about 15 seconds before they broke into their first song. Which illustrates the difference between ACL and Lollapalooza really nicely. At Lolla, VIPs want a good sightline for these atmospheric rockers. Here, they really need to see the last possible seconds of Pete Yorn and Bela Fleck (who seems to have turned into the Frank Zappa of bluegrass; or was he always like that?).
Seemingly locked into passive-aggressive combat with their monitor mix, the trio nonetheless pulled off a solid if low-key set. It’s tough to sell their kind of textured rock in a festival setting, especially in merciless heat better suited to, say, reggae. Or volleyball.
Guitarists Amedeo Pace and Kazu Makino seem to set the bands rhythms as much as Amedeo’s drummer brother Simone. Their parts weave and out of each other, looping and delaying one minute, cascading the next, Makino’s girlish voice keeping pace, breaking off and filling in the melodies, especially on tracks from this year’s album “23.” I warmed to the album (which I initially filed under “Blonde Radiohead”) after seeing B.R. explore the songs live. In front of sweltering fans, the atmospheric synth parts, samples and loops concretizes, becoming something more kinetic. When Amedo plunged ot the ground at the set’s end peels of feedback streaming out of his amp, you were reminded that, even if they are built for dark clubs, there isn’t much music like these guys at ACL; we’ll take what we can get.
(Photo by Brian K. Diggs AMERICAN-STATESMAN)
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EMS statement on ACL fire
Austin-Travis County EMS has issued this news release:
At 2:34 p.m. today, Austin-Travis County EMS Communications received word of a fire with injuries at the ACL Festival in Zilker Park. EMS, Austin Parks and APD personnel were already assigned to the Zilker Park event. Multiple additional EMS and fire resources were immediately assigned to the incident, located very near the AT&T Stage.
ATCEMS and other medical personnel already at the ACL event immediately began to treat the most serious injuries. EMS Medic 201 arrived at the incident some eight minutes after the first 911 notification at 2:42 p.m., and immediately reported two patients with critical injuries. A second ambulance arrived at 2:47 p.m. The two critical injuries were transported to Brackenridge Hospital Trauma Unit with significant burns.
A total of four patients were identified, evaluated and transported; the two critical burn patients, and two additional patients with less severe injuries. The four victims names have not been released, however it has been confirmed all four were involved wit the ACL Fest operations and were not patrons.
As of 4:35 p.m., STAR Flight helicopter is transporting the two most seriously injured patients to Brook Army Medical Center.
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ACL: Cincinnati’s Heartless Bastards
Under a ridiculously hot sun in the middle of a sky that appeared to shimmer from the heat, Cincinnati’s Heartless Bastards — vocalist Erika Wennerstrom, bassist Mike Lamping and drummer Kevin Vaughn — played like old pros undaunted by the heat as sweat dripped from their fingers and faces.
Wennerstrom possessed a skilled polish in her voice that was note perfect. She rocked a heavy-as-thunder sounding, golden Gibson Les Paul. The women in the audience appeared especially inspired; it’s always heartwarming to watch a short-stature female rock with more verve and power than all the boys around her, and Wennerstrom’s guitar and spirited, soul-stirring vocals carried in the breeze across Zilker Park.
The piano intro to “Into The Open” created an elegiac elegance that worked as a unique contrast before the band kicked in with the rock. The band’s version of their song “Onion” proved popular with the audience, too. But for me, the set’s highpoint came in the closer, an amped-up rendition of “Runnin’” from their acclaimed 2005 album, “Stairs and Elevators.” Although Wennerstrom is still considerably young, she has that unspeakable, nearly indescribable something special in her delivery, presence and songwriting that suggests she will be in the rock ‘n’ roll game for a long time to come.
(Photo by Brian K. Diggs AMERICAN-STATESMAN)
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ACL: Joseph Arthur & the Lonely Astronauts
In the midst of a sun-drenched first day at ACL, Joseph Arthur and the Lonely Astronauts brought a bit of urban grit and emotional dusk to the Dell Stage. It’s no surprise that this one-time protege of Peter Gabriel employed a full palette of sounds and shadings, from distorted guitars to falsetto vocals to syncopated percussion during the course of his dozen-song set.
Born in Akron, but now residing in Brooklyn, where his abstract art career absorbs whatever creative juices music does not claim, Arthur only began employing an onstage band in 2006, but he has adapted to the format handily. The Lonely Astronauts witched mood, tempo and tone from propulsive, brooding rock that echoed Lou Reed (at least to this listener) to the balladic simplicity of “September Baby” and melodic, loping “Too Much to Hide” to the vaguely martial air of “Mexican Army.”
Lyrically, Arthur specializes largely in tales of folks at the end of their respective ropes (although the tender “Precious One” and the KGSR staple “Honey and the Moon” are conspicuous exceptions). “In the mirror everything’s reversed,” he sang at the top of his set, “Every day you feel a little cursed.” No summertime pop sentiments, perhaps, but compelling, regardless.
Arthur and band (and the supple dexterity of guitarist Jen Turner deserves special mention here) ended their hour-long set with the jagged juxtapositions of “Star Song,” featuring Arthur on a fancy double-necked guitar. “I didn’t bring this thing all the way from Brooklyn not to play it,” he asserted. And play it he did…
(Photo by Jay Janner AMERICAN-STATESMAN)
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Fire at the ACL festival grounds
Two Austin City Limits Festival service employees, critically injured in a fire earlier this afternoon, were flown to Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio. Two other injured employees were treated at Brackenridge Hospital.
Sending a shock wave through an otherwise peaceful, if hot and well-attended festival, a column of black smoke billowed above ACL’s festival grounds at 2:30 p.m., as a fire erupted in a service recreational vehicle and spread to two 18-wheelers behind the beverage vendor tents between the WaMu and AT&T stages on the north rim of the field.
The fire turned into a guessing game for thousands of music fans who were on the concert grounds at midday. They weren’t sure what was burning, but many surmised it was one of the concession stands. Black smoke rose above the tree-dotted northeast corner of the park where the WaMu Stage is flanked by a food court and a beer “tavern.”
“Around 2:30, I heard some popping noises,” said Courtney Powell, who was watching Pete Yorn on the AT&T stage. “You’d see a little smoke, then two cops went running in that direction.”
“It all took place in a working area for employees only in the back perimeter,” said Troy Officer, emergency services coordinator for the festival. “No patrons were ever in danger. The crowd was great, assisting officers setting up emergency tape. The immediate area around the fire was cleared within minutes.”
EMS officer Mike Elliott said two people heard a noise in an RV parked in the service area and that when they opened the door of the vehicle they were engulfed in flames. He said it apparently was a flash fire and not an explosion.
Three fire engines and EMS crews arrived on the scene near the Town Lake Tavern beverage area near Lou Neff Road. Austin Fire Department spokeswoman Michelle DeCrane said that emergency personnel arrived six minutes after the first unit was assigned, or nine minutes after the first 911 call was received.
A hazardous materials team also arrived on the scene and set up monitors, but the slight wind from the south shifted the smoke away from the audience.
Crowds cleared a path on the service road for the fire trucks, which rolled quickly toward the blaze. Organizers stopped the music and cleared half the area in front of the AT&T stage, pushing people to the south.
Elliott said that although music fans were drawn to the area of the fire, “the crowds obeyed extremely well” when told to move back. He said advance planning by all the safety and security agencies involved enabled the response to be as “good as could be expected” considering the 65,000 people on the Zilker Park grounds.
By 3:10 p.m., police tape had been removed from most of the scene, and the music resumed.
The Barton Springs Road entrance gates were packed with arriving fans at 2:30 when the fire broke out. It was taking about 20 minutes to get into concert area at that time and the lines did not slow after the smoke was spotted. Fire trucks sped past those in line along Lou Neff Road, which was closed to all but festival staff, artists and media.
While the fire interrupted Pete Yorn’s set on the AT&T Stage, music continued on the seven other stages spread around the Zilker Park soccer fields. Many fans were just arriving to catch Crowded House or Joss Stone on two of the bigger stages.
No early crowd estimates were available, but festival organizers expected 65,000 to be on the grounds before Bjork’s closing set at 8:30 p.m.
Blue skies dominated the afternoon as temperatures reached into mid 90s. Festival goers who walked at midday to the park through South Austin neighborhoods and along Barton Springs Road from downtown got to the gates dripping with sweat and drinking water, which was sold along the roadways by homeowners and other vendors.
The sixth edition of the festival continues today with headliners Arcade Fire and Muse (in place of the canceled White Stripes) and closes Sunday night with Bob Dylan.
Click here to view more photos.
(Writers John T. Davis, Matthew Odam, Ed Crowell, Marques G. Harper, Tony Plohetski and Mike Elliott contributed to this report.)
(Photo by Jay Janner AMERICAN-STATESMAN)
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ACL: The Gospel Silverstones
Although they’ve got “gospel” in their name and referenced Jesus throughout their set early Saturday afternoon, Austin’s Gospel Silvertones are more soul group than religious. The dominating instrument was the funky bass, but with three exceptional lead singers — Jason Ford, Warren Stallworth and Brian Murthy — the group was able to pull off the stroll between secular and spiritual.
The set dragged at times, such as during an overlong version of “Stand By Me,” and the bluesy “I Recommend Jesus” went nowhere, but when the Silvertones were cooking, as on “He Will Make a Way” and the set-closing “Praise the Lord,” they had the crowd lapping it up like thirsty kittens. Folks were dancing during a jazzy cover of “I’ll Take You There” and they never sat down.
The Gospel Silvertones have a great story to go with the music. They all met at the Salvation Army shelter, where they started a Sunday afternoon jam session, finding sweet salvation in their songs of praise.
(Photo by Jay Janner AMERICAN-STATESMAN)
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ACL: More from the M.O.
The unofficial snarky, sarcastic t-shirt battle is off to a roaring start. The early lead went to a young man with a t-shirt on that read: ‘You looked better on MySpace.’ Not to be outdone, about an hour later, a boy was seen at the Joseph Arthur set sporting a t-shirt of an undeniable one-upsmanship which read: ‘I listen to bands that don’t even exist yet.’ Hilarious. Pitchfork would be proud.
Despite reports that the weather would hover in the merciful very low 90s, it feels pretty dang hot out here early today. With hundreds of fans piling in by the minute, the handheld battery-operated fans-for-one are a big hit already. Shaded tree space has been occupied for hours by chair people and those looking to find some respite from the heat, but hide as you may from the sun, the humidity is unavoidable. I smarlty wore my board shorts, so a mid-day trip over the restorative Barton Springs will most likely be in order.
Frozen bandanas, a wide-brimmed hat, and constant hydartion are the keys this year, as with them all, at ACL Fest. And somehting tells me the Digital Oasis will be offer many fest-goers as much heat relief as internet access.
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ACL: Homer Hiccolm and the Rocketboys/Sound & the Jury winners
I have seen the future of rock ‘n’ roll and, sorry Bruce Springsteen, it ain’t any longer you. Rather, it’s Brandon Kinder, the young lead singer of Homer Hiccolm and the Rocketboys, who took the Dell stage first thing this morning. Kinder managed the neat trick of plugging both the band’s forthcoming EP and their My Space page in the same sentence, before the band plunged into “Heartbeat.”
The six-piece band from Abilene were the ultimate winners — from among 600 entrants— of the “Sound and the Jury” talent search. Entrants could be “judged by a jury of fans, critics, wannabes, cousins, dogs…” according to an ACL press release. The six finalists competed onstage at Antone’s Wednesday night and the Rocketboys emerged triumphant, winning the chance to play for thousands, or at least two or three hundred, festival early birds.
Before going on, the band members stressed how important a strong online presence and a dedicated, wired-in fan base were to young bands everywhere. “I don’t think either one can replace the other,” said Kinder of touring vs. virtual promotion, “It’s so easy to make music on your own now, so live shows are what makes a band legit…”
That said, the Rocketboys made a strong showing, with original titles like “Secrets and Numbers,” “Old Dahlonega” and “Everything Ascending.” A locked-down rhythm section complemented a chiming twin-guitar attack, with harmony vocals, piano and even a tiny xylaphone for texture.
The contest, which was also sponsored by Dell, enabled the band to court a whole new segment of fans. “I just want the intensity that we put into our music to be conveyed,” one said. “What we look for is the connection to the audience. We care about our music and we want the audience to have the same good experience.”
(photo by Jay Janner AMERICAN-STATESMAN)
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Reports from the ACL field
From on-the-scene Matthew Odam: First keep it weird sighiting: man dressed as Jesus carrying a sign that reads “Jesus against war.”
From pipes to sno comes and vintage clothing, Barton Springs Road is chock full of vendors looking to make the early buck.
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Notes from the A.C. — No. 3
Former KGSR morning man Kevin Connor is headed back to the airwaves, but this time it’ll be at KUT. Connor confirmed backstage, where he’s running things for ME TV, that he’ll co-host “Folkways” beginning Sept. 29.
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Notes from the A.C. — No. 2
Dang it feels good to be a gangsta. Among the amenities in the VIP Grove, where much Tito’s handmade vodka will be served this weekend, is that you can have your bandana dipped in peppermint water. Ice water would’ve been fine, but I guess the peppermint is just to inform everyone how bad the rest of your body smells after a few hours in the grooving fields… There’s no recommendation that rings as true as from a publicist who isn’t repping the artist. Ken Weinstein on NYC’s powerhouse Big Hassle Media says his early Friday pick is Amy LaVere of Memphis. That’s where I’ll be at 2:40 p.m.
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ACL after-show review: a journey with Gotan Project at Stubb’s BBQ
It’s no surprise to discover that Gotan Project producers — Philippe Cohen-Solal, a Parisian, and Swiss-born Christoph H. Muller — both have backgrounds in film. If there’s one word that best sums up the electro-tango outfit’s stunning performance at Stubb’s last night, it’s cinematic. There was no introduction or pre-show banter. The stage was a blank slate, with the DJ equipment and even the grand piano draped in white. The musicians, also clad almost entirely in white, entered in a swell of sound which flowed seamlessly into a dramatic tango, traditionally orchestrated with a string quartet, piano and the accordion-like bandoneon supporting a hauntingly seductive female vocal.
Solal and Muller worked the back of the stage while Gotan’s guitarist, the Argentinian Eduardo Makaroff, stood stage right allowing the ensemble to take center stage. But as each song blended into the next, all of the musicians were at points obscured, as visual projections flashed across the stage in a dream-like sequence. Fluttering flags gave way to galloping race horses. Highway signs pointed us toward Buenos Aires while a fire dancer spun through the desert. All of which, coupled with the highly dramatic musical arrangements, created the illusion that we had somehow collectively stepped into the soundtrack of some strange roadtrip movie that just happened to swing through a BBQ joint deep in the heart of Texas. This sensation was heightened a few songs into the show when the electric bass and drums appeared not on stage with the rest of the ensemble, but as massive projections that hovered on the screen behind the band. When the group repeated this effect 20 minutes or so later, bringing Argentinian rappers Koxmoz onstage for their cameo on “Mi Confession,” not in person, but as 30-foot Jumbotron projections that bounced over the stage and commanded the set, the crowd was fully enraptured, screaming wildly.
The band played for over an hour and a half, including a 20-minute encore, with Cohen-Solal addressing the audience only once, close to the end of the group’s set. From the strobe-light punctuated Public Enemy samples to the furious piano and guitar solos that emerged from and dipped back down into languid grooves, the show felt more like some sort of journey than a concert.
And we were merry travelers indeed.
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Notes from the A.C.
Michael Corcoran is taking one for the team and reporting all weekend long from the “artists’ compound,” otherwise known as the “air conditioning” at Zilker Park. His first report:
Who knew that the “C” in C3 Presents stood for cancellations? We’ve had three big’uns at this year’s fest: the White Stripes, Amy Winehouse and Rodrigo y Gabriela. I’m wondering, what’s worse: the White Stripes not playing this year or the Raconteurs playing last year?
Tell you the truth, I don’t get the White Stripes bowing out. Meg White has “acute anxiety”? OK. Why doesn’t Jack “Jimmy Page Jr.” White just play with a drum machine with weak batteries? The W.S. wimping out is like the Yankees forfeiting a game because Jason Giambi can’t make it.
Even though the Pixies aren’t playing again this year, there’s no reason folks can’t “Gouge Away.” Austin Java Company on Barton Springs Road is charging $25 to park there for the fest. Meanwhile, other restaurants, closer to the gate, are charging $20.
Things have been made harder for the DCP (dreaded chair people) this year. At the main stages, the area where chairs are allowed is at least 100 yards from the front, which should give the fest some added mobility this year.
All right, it’s all about to start. Check back for updates (i.e. latestest cancellations.)
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Goodbye, Sound Team
“Is Sound Team really breaking up?”
That was THE question buzzing around the sold-out La Zona Rosa on Thursday night as people streamed in to hear Alright Tonight, Sound Team and hometown heroes Spoon.
Billed as Austin’s next big thing, Sound Team followed Alright Tonight with an intensely wonderful performance. They didn’t mention a breakup (if they did, we didn’t understand what they were saying). But Spoon’s Britt Daniel confirmed it during his set. So, yes, Sound Team’s Saturday ACL Fest appearance will be their last (12:30 p.m. on the AMD stage).
Spoon as always was in top form, this time with new bassist Rob Pope, and a horn section, of course. Highlight of the night: Britt’s closing acoustic version of “Me and the Bean” from “Girls Can Tell.”
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Zilker is buzzing
If you’re heading out to the ACL Fest today, you might want to bring some bug spray. Mosquitos were having a good time at the Zilker Park grounds on ACL Eve (or, Thursday night). Seems a small price to pay for cooler, wetter weather.
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Win a pair of Friday night ACL VIP passes
Update: We have a winner. Congrats, Meghan! See the answers below.
The Austin360 crew has a pair of Friday night Austin City Limits Festival VIP passes we’re just dying to unload.
Dying, we tell you.
But we’re not about to give them to just anyone.
So … scour our ACL page (or Thursday’s XL, if you prefer) to find the answers to these five ACL questions.
1.) Which film did Friday night headliner Bjork star in? “Dancer in the Dark”
2.) Can you bring your bike inside the festival grounds? No
3.) Who performs at 2:30 p.m. Sunday on the AMD stage? Robert Earl Keen
4.) How much did one-day passes to the inaugural ACL Fest cost back in 2002? $25
5.) What’s the name of Raul Malo’s first solo album? “Today”
Send your answers — you’ve gotta have all five — along with your name and a daytime phone number to us by 4 p.m. Thursday.
Good luck!
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Nope, it’s still Muse at ACL and Ghostland at Stubb’s
NME is reporting that Muse will take both of the White Stripes abandoned slots this weekend, Saturday at ACL and Sunday at Stubb’s. Only the first part is true, as you’ve read here.
(Ghostland also plays ACL, on Sunday, right before the Stubb’s show.)
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Waterloo and ACL will open airport outlet
Austin City Limits and Waterloo Records & Video store are opening an outlet Friday at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (that’s day one of ACL Fest).
A press release on the effort says the store will be located past the security checkpoint, across from Gate 15. Rachel Loy will perform at the grand opening, which begins at 9 a.m. Friday and includes a ribbon cutting by Terry Lickona, producer of Austin City Limits, and John T. Kunz, owner of Waterloo Records & Video.
From a press release:
On sale at the store will be thousands of CDs and DVDs from both Austin City Limits (ACL) Fest and Waterloo Record’s broad collection. New West Records’ acclaimed series Live From Austin TX, featuring performances culled from the archives of the ACL television program and including never before broadcast footage, will be available. Music and video may be previewed in the store via numerous iPod and CD listening stations, plus an Internet music info kiosk. Additionally, ACL and Waterloo gear and clothing will be offered. The store is complete with Austin ambiance as the familiar ACL studio backdrop is re-created in the store along with monitors showing past episodes from the series. Live music and CD releases will be featured on Fridays from 1-3 p.m.
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Stubb’s box office opens at 2 p.m. Saturday
The Stubb’s box office will open at 2 p.m. Saturday to start disbursing tickets for that night’s Bob Dylan’s show.
Three-day ACL wristband holders can get in and out of the festival during the day. Single-day wristband holders cannot.
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Kaiser Chiefs cancel dates — but not ACL
Well, here’s a band not going the Winehouse Stripes y Gabriela route. Scottish rockers Kaiser Chiefs have scrapped almost all of their North American tour, but will keep their date Friday at ACL Fest. We were starting to think ACL stood for Another Cancelation Listed. The only other American show still on the schedule is Sept. 29 at the Beacon Theatre in New York City.
The band said the other shows were pulled so they can “concentrate on recording new material.”
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Road closures during festival
Some information from the city Parks and Rec department about road closures during ACL Fest:
ACL event street closures include:
• Barton Springs Road from Robert E. Lee Road to South MoPac Boulevard.
• Stratford Drive from Barton Springs to Nature Center Drive.
• West Fourth Street from Lavaca to Nueces streets.
• San Antonio Street from West Cesar Chavez Street to West Fifth Street.
• West Cesar Chavez Street from San Antonio to Sandra A. Muraida Way.
Event parking will not be available in Zilker Park or area neighborhoods. Beginning Friday, motorists should be aware of heavy pedestrian traffic in the area. All pedestrians entering the event will be routed in the closed lane of traffic on the south side to the ticketing area. Pedestrians will be split (those with visa bands and those without) near the park entrance.
Festival attendees will then either be routed to the event or to the ticketing area. Pedestrians entering the event from the MoPac Boulevard side will be routed down the hike-and-bike trail to the Robert E. Lee intersection to be directed to the event via the above route.
Park Police will be stationed at Robert E. Lee diverting traffic through the park road off Robert E. Lee. Cars will be sorted by resident and nonresident. The right lane will be designated for residents of Zilker and Barton Hills neighborhoods, who may use the right lane to access Robert E. Lee. Residents will be able to use Robert E. Lee to go east on Barton Springs Road during the festival weekend.
For alternate transportation routes or a list of scheduled events for ACL go here.
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Bob Dylan tickets going, going, gone …
Tickets for his Saturday show at Stubb’s went on sale at 10 a.m. and they are sold out (1,000 tickets were sold during a presale through Dylan’s Web site).
Details at Stubb’s site.
And single-day ACL tickets are sold out for Sunday, when Dylan will close the show. There are some single-day Friday tickets left. Details here.
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White Stripes release statement
They explain their show cancellations, including this weekend’s ACL Fest and after-show at Stubb’s.
“Meg White is suffering from acute anxiety and is unable to travel at this time,” the duo said in a posting on their Web site. “We hate to let people down and are very sorry.”
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Muse will take White Stripes slot
The White Stripes have canceled their Saturday ACL headlining gig and Stubb’s show on Sunday.
ACL producer Charles Attal cited medical reasons for the cancellation. Attal said Tuesday afternoon after rumors about both U2 filling in and Friday headliner Bjork canceling that Muse, who were scheduled to play right before the White Stripes, will move into the open slot.
A sort of domino effect will happen, with all the acts on the AT&T stage Saturday moving forward. The new schedule:
- 2:30-3:30 p.m.: Augustana
- 4:30-5:30 p.m.: Stephen Marley
- 6:30-7:30 p.m.: Damien Rice
- 8:30-10 p.m.: Muse
And Dr. Dog will fill the 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. slot.
One wonders whether this will solve the audience-splitting problem created by the Arcade Fire/White Stripes conflict.
And Ghostland Observatory and Cold War Kids will be playing the Sunday night show at Stubb’s previously occupied by the White Stripes. Tickets go on sale at 5 p.m. tonight. Check out stubbs.frontgate.com for ticket information.
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Willie in Times Square: It’s a Family Affair
Willie Nelson calls his band of kindred spirits the Family, but at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York City Monday night it was a family band with the DNA to prove it. Onstage with Willie, all at one time, were daughter Paula on vocals, sons Lukas on guitar and Micah on percussion, sister Bobbie on piano, her son Freddy Fletcher on drums, plus Susan Tedeschi, Derek O’Brien and Dahr Jamail on guitar and Mickey Raphael on harmonica. It was a Willie set like I’ve never seen before, with Willie, Lukas, Tedeschi and O’Brien trading leads on “Texas Flood,” a truly rocking version of Billy Joe Shaver’s “Georgia On a Fast Train” and a medley of “I Saw the Light” and “I’ll Fly Away” that had the throng of free-booze-swilling New Yorkers raising their index fingers to the heavens.
A post-Farm Aid benefit for the Sustainable Biodiesel Alliance (co-founded by Willie’s wife Annie) and hosted by Willie’s Maui neighbor Woody Harrelson and Daryl Hannah, the show was loose, even by Willie standards. The 74-year-old American folk hero even played a big, red electric guitar on a few songs, though “Trigger” needn’t be jealous. The set didn’t even open with “Whiskey River” (it came third), but with a couple of songs from Paula and her teenaged brother Lukas, who is becoming a monster on the electric guitar.
After a cluster of offbeat selections, Willie would always rein it back in with a hit like “You Were Always On My Mind” and “On the Road Again,” and everybody in the house, including political comedian Stephen Colbert in a red, white and blue leather jacket, would swoon. “Here’s one for Waylon,” he said before starting “Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys,” attracting “yee-haws” as authentic as the designer bags on Canal Street.
Willie has cut his hair to shoulder length, but he let it all hang out on Monday. It was probably the best set I’ve ever seen him do, perhaps because you got the feeling, as songs were called out and improvised, that Willie could handle anything musically that came flying his way. His dextrous guitar-playing was adventurous, intuitive and his singing was right there where it’s always been. It was a night to marvel at a true, pure musician. I had a blast.
There were, no doubt, many in the well-heeled crowd who had never seen Willie Nelson in concert before. If they were expecting the Deathbed Willie of the tabloids, they were rejoicefully wrong.
ACL autographs
Waterloo Records will have its usual tent with signing sessions, including LCD Soundsystem and Joss Stone on Friday; Raul Malo, Kelly Willis and Zap Mama on Saturday; and Regina Spektor, the National and Robert Earl Keen on Sunday.
Go here for the full schedule.
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Comfort at ACL
(Editor’s note: AT&T sent new text numbers for ACL updates and the scavenger hunt; they’re updated below as of 11 a.m. Tuesday.)
AT&T sends this press release:
Fans looking to cool off can head over to the AT&T Digital Oasis and the AT&T Experience Zone. These are the ONLY tents at ACL that are air-conditioned and open to the public.
While they cool down, fans can watch the live AT&T blueroom Webcast on plasma TVs (www.attblueroom.com/music), make free local and long distance calls, charge their phones, download and create their own ringtones, surf the Internet, and check e-mail. They can also take a free battery-powered misting fan out to the shows with them.
AT&T is setting up a large screen so that UT Football fans can watch the Central Florida game starting at 2:30 p.m. at Shady Grove (1624 Barton Springs Road ).
Those with wireless service from AT&T can rely on expanded wireless coverage at Zilker Park. AT&T has deployed a portable Cell Site on Wheels (COW) that will provide additional wireless coverage and capacity to festival-goers. All fans can sign up for ACL text messages on aclfestival.com and by texting ACL to 21234 to receive late-breaking ACL news, insider info, sponsor freebies, and more to guide them through the ACL Fest experience. Fans that complete a 5-step scavenger hunt on-site at the Festival by texting HUNT to 21234 will be entered to win prizes like an iPhone and a Dell/AT&T mobile broadband computer.
For those who can’t make it or missed their chance to get tickets, AT&T blue room music ( www.attblueroom.com/music) will give front-row access to the festival through daily, live webcasts of big-name performances.
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Get yer Bob Dylan tickets here …
Go to bobdylan.com, click on “on tour,” and scroll down to the date for Stubb’s. A “pre-sale” is under way. You need the password, which is to the right of the date (it’s lasmanitas). We just did a test run and could have bought 4 tickets …
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ACL Fest: You be the critic. Submit your picks!
Statesman music critics Michael Corcoran, Joe Gross and Parry Gettelman detail their ACL Fest game plans here. Each of our critics determined his or her must-see acts, along with a couple logical break times. But did they get it right? Are you on the same page or is your festival itinerary completely different? Submit your own ACL Fest picks in the comments box below.
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Dispatches from Farm Aid: First sweat
125th Street and Lexingtom in Harlem was overrun with youngish fans of Guster, Matisyahu, Derek Trucks Band and other acts playing early at Farm Aid in New York City’s Randall’s Island on a hottish, but balmy Sunday afternoon. Billed “A Homegrown Festival,” which will no doubt lead to countless Willie Nelson puns, this year’s Farm Aid ties in with the new boom in organic and family farm foods in big cities. Manhattan’s corner delis have changed dramatically in the eight years since I’ve been to NYC, going for more health-conscious fast foods than before.
Farm Aid 2007 is the first major festival to serve only local, organic and family-farm foods at its concession stands.
The lines for buses to Randall’s were about a quarter mile long at noon, but moved remarkably fast — about 30 minutes from the end to on the bus — and the ride from Harlem was only 10 minutes. One thing you’ve gotta love about Manhattan is how they know how to get the lines moving.
Still getting settled in at the overcrowded and chaotic media tent, with all the tables filled by outlets you’ve never heard of. Willie’s kids’ band 40 Points just played a cover of the Band’s “King Harvest (Has Surely Come),” a nice way to get this whole thing started. And although Asleep At the Wheel isn’t playing, their “Miles and Miles of Texas” boomed out over the loudspeaker while the Ditty Bops were setting up.
Among the acts scheduled to play later include Farm Aid co-founders Willie, Neil Young, John Mellencamp and their recent partner Dave Matthews. Plus, there’s Counting Crows, Ray Price, Merle Haggard, Billy Joe Shaver and more.
Billy Joe Shaver just finished a three-song set of “Georgia On a Fast Train,” “Live Forever” and “If First You Don’t Succeed” to polite applause. “They gave us ten minutes, but we made the best of it,”
The bad (and sometimes good) thing about big benefit concerts like Farm Aid is that bands play very short sets, and often with pared-down instrumentation. The Allman Brothers were a big draw, but their set was about as long as they usually spend tuning up. They played just a couple songs before ending in the guitar tornado flurry of a “Whipping Post,”-ian superjam, “Statesboro Blues” and “One Way Out.” The Allmans are one of the few bands that sounds better in the back as they do in the front, with their twisting, twirling sound seeming to gain power with more air underneath it.
The worst thing about the show was the lights shining into the faces of the audience. What’s the point of that? Walking forward, you couldn’t see where you were going.
You’ve never seen a food court quite like the one at Farm Aid in New York City on Sunday. Tofu hotdogs and Afghanistan saffron Flatbread are typical choices, and the slogans above booths include “Eat Your Zip Code,” “In Dirt We Trust” and “Let Byproducts Be Bygones.” One bus has a sign that says “this runs on recycled vegetable oil.”
In the media tent was a surprise at the interview table: producing legend Phil Ramone, with his latest protege, the awfully cute new country-pop singer Danielle Evans.
An early evening crowd favorite: an unannounced:accoustic set by Willie Nelson, Dave Matthews and Warren Haynes. Downside is that the show’s now more than an hour past schedule.
Which act seemed to be the biggest draw: Dave Matthews, who pulled off an acoustic duet set in front of about 40,000 people, about 80% of them on their feet. The test of a true artist is that they can be as good on an acoustic guitar as with the band behind them. Matthews, who resembled “Entourage” agent Ari Gold with a stubble, was better stripped down than with his band of virtuoso jammers.
Bob Dylan to play Stubb’s
Bob Dylan and his band will play an ACL aftershow Sept. 15 at Stubb’s. Doors at 8 p.m., show at 9 p.m.
The $55 tickets go on sale Wednesday at 10 a.m. online only through stubbs.frontgatetickets.com.
For more information visit www.bobdylan.com or www.stubbsaustin.com.
Read our Dylan concert primer here.
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Rodrigo y Gabriela cancel American tour; Common to fill ACL slot
Hip-hop superstar Common will replace Mexican guitar duo Rodrigo y Gabriela at the Austin City Limits music festival, according to C3 Presents principal Charles Attal.
Rodrigo y Gabriela announced Friday afternoon that they were canceling the remainder of their September tour dates, citing exhaustion.
C3 Presents, the producers of the ACL fest, have not yet determined a replacement for Rodrigo y Gabriela’s sold-out Antone’s show. Those with tickets are asked to call Frontgate Tickets at (888) 512-SHOW (7469) for refunds.
The news about the duo was posted on their Web site Friday afternoon and confirmed by their publicist.
The tour is scheduled to resume in October.
Fans might recall that this is the second time the duo was unable to fulfill an Austin date. Their much-hyped appearance at SXSW this year was canceled because of Rodrigo Sanchez’s visa problems.
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ACL box office opens Monday
The Austin City Limits Music Festival box office will open at 3 p.m. Monday across from Zilker Park. Hours and details here.
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ACL Fest: Meet the Bands - Kaiser Chiefs
Austin Music Source: How would you generally describe your music?
Kaiser Chiefs: Popular songs performed by a British rock ‘n’ roll quintet.
How do you plan to cope with Austin summer heat? Will it cramp your onstage style?
We’ve dealt with the Texan heat a few times before. There are no tricks, just try not to die up there.
What other bands are you looking forward to seeing at the festival?
I like the Rodrigo y Gabriela CD, but I’ve never seem them live. I hear it’s a really good spectacle, so I’ll try see that. We’re friends with The Little Ones too, so they’re on the list, along with Wilco and Bjork.
What’s the last CD you paid full price for?
I don’t think any CDs are full price any more, are they?! But it was probably the Chemical Brothers new album, ‘We Are The Night’. I love it.
What’s the one thing you can’t live without on your tour bus/van?
Daylight and a driver.
When you think of Texas music, who or what is the first thing that comes to your mind?
I guess it would have to be the blues, with a folky story-telling sort of solo singer-songwriter thing. You know what i mean, right?
Do you have a celebrity crush you’re willing to reveal?
I saw Isla Fisher in a film today. She’s nice.
What’s the one song you’ve always wanted to cover but never have?
If there was any particular song we wanted to cover, then we could just go for it. We’ve done a few this year already for various events and radio programmes. The Move - “Flowers In The Rain,” The Beatles - “Getting Better” and also Marvin Gaye - “I Heard It Through The Grapevine.”
What’s the one thing you want to make sure to do before leaving Austin?
Get a massive steak dinner with mashed potatoes and a peppercorn sauce.
Kaiser Chiefs are scheduled to play in the AT&T Blue Room from 7:30 to 8:15 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 14.
Web site: kaiserchiefs.co.uk
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ACL Fest: Meet the Bands - Guy Forsyth
- Soundcheck: Listen to Guy Forsyth
Austin Music Source: How would you generally describe your music?
Guy Forsyth: Part storytelling, part late night voodoo drum sex ritual.
How do you plan to cope with Austin summer heat, will it cramp your onstage style?
God no, I sweat buckets on stage playing in Norway.
Math problems make me sweat. For a short festival set I am not worried about it at all but to enjoy being in the throng on the field my buddy Sifu Pickens has it figured out. Bring a soft-sided six pack size cooler filled with just ice and about six dish towels. Soak the towels in the ice and put one on your shoulder and one under your hat (you are wearing a hat, aren’t you?) and when they get warm, change them out with a new set of towels from your bag.
What other bands are you looking forward to seeing at the festival?
Dylan, White Stripes, The Decemberists. The Coolest Band I Never Heard.
What’s the last CD you paid full price for?
Carolina Chocolate Drops, “Got a Ramblin’ Mind.”
What’s the one thing you can’t live without on your tour bus/van?
Patton Oswald
When you think of Texas music, who or what is the first thing that comes to your mind?
Family
Do you have a celebrity crush you’re willing to reveal?
I am still hung up on Jessica Rabbit.
What’s the one song you’ve always wanted to cover but never have?
“16 Shells From A Thirty-Ought-Six”
What’s the one thing everyone should do before leaving Austin?
Hear some music by someone they have never heard of.
Guy Forsyth is scheduled to play on the BMI stage from 6:40 to 7:20 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 16.
Web site: guyforsyth.com/
(photo by Kelly West AMERICAN-STATESMAN)
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ACL Fest: Meet the Bands - Sound Team
Austin Music Source: How would you describe your music?
Matt Oliver, vocals/keys/guitar: Wild. Too wordy for its own good. A band that plays songs, or tries to anyway.
How do you plan to cope with Austin summer heat? Will it cramp your onstage style?
I won’t wear my tux this year. I will wear my tuxedo-print T-shirt this year.
What other bands are you looking forward to seeing at the festival?
Dylan, everyone else besides whoever’s playing at the same time as us.
What’s the last CD you paid full price for?
What’s a CD?
What’s the one thing you can’t live without on your tour bus/van?
Cassettes.
When you think of Texas music, who or what is the first thing that comes to your mind?
Bob Wills. Willie Nelson at Stubb’s. Trail of Dead at Emo’s. Blind Lemon Jefferson (Texas music license plate).
Do you have a celebrity crush you’re willing to reveal?
I have a crush on Maggie Cheung.
What’s the one song you’ve always wanted to cover but never have?
“What Goes On,” VU.
What’s the one thing everyone should do before leaving Austin?
Barton Springs, but it’ll probably be closed.
Sound Team is scheduled to perform on the AMD stage from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 15.
Web site: myspace.com/soundteam
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Sound off: Surviving ACL Fest
We’ve gathered the best advice we’ve received from festival veterans and Austin360 users on how to work within the official guidelines and enjoy ACL Fest in our ACL FAQ. But did we miss anything? Once again, we’re putting the call out to experienced festival goers. Is there anything you’ve taken to ACL that significantly improved your experience? What do you plan to pack this year? Any other general tips for Austinites heading to the Fest? Please share your advice and stories in the comments below.
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ACL Fest: Meet the Bands - Patterson Hood
Austin Music Source: How do you plan to cope with Austin summer heat, will it cramp your onstage style?
Patterson Hood: I cope by drinking LOTS of water and LOTS of very cold beer. I used to drink the blood of teenaged runaways in the summer, but my wife found that really creepy and made me stop.
What other bands are you looking forward to seeing at the festival?
Wilco, Dylan and MMJ, Is Centro-Matic playing? If so, I never miss them, they’re my favorite band on Earth. Wilco’s new album really knocks me out so I’m definitely going to catch them. I really like the new White Stripes album.
What’s the last CD you paid full price for?
Bought the first volume of STAX box set at the STAX Museum recently. It was pretty full priced. Been buying the Sly and the Family Stone reissues and they are beyond incredible. “There’s a Riot Going On” may be my new desert island favorite.
What’s the one thing you can’t live without on your tour bus/van?
Besides beer, my trusty iPod loaded with sweet soul music. That’s about all I can admit to in a family newspaper. I like to read a lot too.
When you think of Texas music, who or what is the first thing that comes to your mind?
Centro-Matic, the Drams, Honky, Jon Dee Graham, Billy Joe Shaver.
Do you have a celebrity crush you’re willing to reveal?
No one I’ll admit to.
What’s the one song you’ve always wanted to cover but never have?
PJ Harvey’s “This is Love.” I recently co-produced Bettye LaVette’s next album and wanted her to cover it but she didn’t like it. I wanted to cut it with a sort of early ’70s Stevie Wonder kind of feel. Maybe DBT will cut it sometime as a Bside or something.
What’s the one thing you want to make sure to do before leaving Austin?
Evita’s Botanitas. I LOVE Austin.
Patterson Hood is scheduled to play on the BMI stage from 4:40 to 5:20 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 16.
Web site: pattersonhood.com
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ACL Fest: Meet the Bands - Midlake
Austin Music Source: Generally, how would you describe your music?
Guitarist, Eric Pulido: the softer side of rock Drummer, MacKenzie Smith: Soft rock! Or rock with a light touch. Or….70s inspired rock n roll, with a folky softer side.
How do you plan to cope with Austin summer heat? Will it cramp your onstage style?
Pulido: What onstage style? Smith: Ah, it’s hard to complain about the heat when your only job is to play music. Just put some water and beer up on stage and we will be fine.
What other bands are you looking forward to seeing at the festival?
Pulido: Crowded House, Bjork, Bob Dylan, Wilco and many more. Smith: I am really upset I am missing Bjork on Friday. We will be at another festival in the UK until Sat. I want to check out Bob Dylan, The White Stripes, Arcade Fire, Andrew Bird, Regina Spector, etc…lots of great bands.
What’s the last CD you paid full price for?
Pulido: Rufus Wainwright, “Release The Stars.” Smith: Does iTunes count? I bought Rufus Wainwright’s new album, “Release The Stars.” Great record. I am going to go buy the new Feist album.
What’s the one thing you can’t live without on your tour bus/van?
Pulido: My iPod. Smith: Bottled water. iPod. The 20 question ball toy thing. We call it the devil ball. It is way too smart.
When you think of Texas music, who or what is the first thing that comes to your mind?
Pulido: Square dancing when I was in elementary school.
Do you have a celebrity crush you’re willing to reveal?
Pulido: Bjork Smith: Evangeline Lilly from “Lost.” Rachel McAdams. Larry David. Tim and Eric from “The Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job.” (adult swim)
What’s the one song you’ve always wanted to cover but never have?
Pulido: Doobie Brothers - “What a Fool Believes.” Smith: “Big Shot” by Billy Joel.
What’s the one thing you want to make sure to do before leaving Austin?
Pulido: Go to Waterloo Records. Smith: See my girlfriend.
Midlake is scheduled to play on the Austin Ventures stage from 4 to 4:45 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 16.
Web site: midlake.net
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More on Carter Albrecht
If you’ve been following the puzzling case of Dallas musician Carter Albrecht, shot dead Monday morning by his girlfriend’s neighbor, there’s a good story in the Dallas Morning News that contains a version of the events from Albrecht’s girlfriend.
Albrecht’s funeral will be Friday at 2 p.m. at Parkway Hills Baptist Church in Plano. His band Sorta will, of course, not play Saturday’s scheduled festival at Cheatham Street Warehouse in San Marcos, but if you can’t make the funeral, Cheatham Street would be a good place to toast his memory.
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Biopics that might not make you want to throw things at the screen
Biopics are an inherently sketchy enterprise. Capturing the charisma of known historical figures is tough sledding for even the best directors. I love Michael Mann more than most, (except maybe this guy,, but even I (we?) thought he could only do so well with “Ali” without having the actual Muhammad Ali in the ring (peace to Will Smith).
They’re the Siren song of filmmaking. Filmmakers must know they’re going to smash on the rock every time, yet they keep coming back for more.
That said, I will be front and center for the following:
“I’m Not There”
You know, for those of us who a) want to be Dylan and b) have thing for Cate Blanchett, this is a total win-win in a weird psychosexual way that we don’t like thinking about all that much. I suspect she was cast not just because she’s a great actress, but because she was the only human being who could fit into those clothes. The ballad of Dylan ‘65 was a ballad of a thin man.
“Control”
Look, even if it’s terrible, it’s a biopic about Ian Curtis. They have my money already.
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ACL Fest: Meet the Bands - Nicole Atkins and the Sea
Austin Music Source: How do you plan to cope with Austin summer heat? Will it cramp your onstage style?
Nicole Atkins: Lots of drinking, parasols and perhaps a hand fan.
What other bands are you looking forward to seeing at the festival?
My Morning Jacket(!), Wilco, Andrew Bird and Queens of the Stone Age!
What’s the last CD you paid full price for?
The Staxx Singles Box Set when we were in Memphis a couple days ago.
What’s the one thing you can’t live without on your tour bus/van?
Headphones and our licorice rope dispenser.
When you think of Texas music, who or what is the first thing that comes to your mind?
Cotton Mather!!!
Do you have a celebrity crush you’re willing to reveal?
I used to have a big one on Jack Palance back in the day.
What’s the one song you’ve always wanted to cover but never have?
“Whiskey Tango” from CAN.
What’s the one thing everyone should do before leaving Austin?
Hit up the Best Wurst cart!
Nicole Atkins is scheduled to play in the AT&T blue room from 11:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Sept. 16.
Web site: myspace.com/nicoleatkins
(Photo by Jennifer Tzar)
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ACL Fest: Meet the Bands - One Mississippi
Austin Music Source: How would you describe your music?
One Mississippi: A car crash while “The White Album” blares on the stereo.
How do you plan to cope with Austin summer heat? Will it cramp your onstage style?
Bikram band practice
What other bands are you looking forward to seeing at the festival?
Spoon, the Broken West, the Stripes.
What’s the last CD you paid full price for?
The new Stripes record.
What’s the one thing you can’t live without on your tour bus/van?
Pro Football Weekly.
When you think of Texas music, who or what is the first thing that comes to your mind?
ZZ Top.
Do you have a celebrity crush you’re willing to reveal?
No.
What’s the one song you’ve always wanted to cover but never have?
“Bohemian Rhapsody.”
What’s the one thing everyone should do before leaving Austin?
Walk the Greenbelt.
One Mississippi is scheduled to play in the AT&T blue room from 11:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Sept. 14.
Web site: myspace.com/onems
(Photo by RockPark photography, courtesy of myspace.com/onems.)
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Sorta’s Carter Albrecht shot to death
Sad news comes from Dallas where Carter Albrecht, keyboardist, guitarist and singer for rising alternative country band Sorta, as well as Edie Brickell’s band, died at the scene of a shooting 4 a.m. Monday in the White Rock Lake neighborhood of Dallas. Albrecht, 34, was shot in the head by a neighbor who believed Albrecht was trying to break into his house, according to police. After an argument with his girlfriend, Albrecht had been pounding on the neighbor’s door when he was shot.
Just weeks ago, Sorta was named Best Overall Act by readers of the Dallas Observer; Albrecht had taken Musician of the Year honors three years previously. The group was scheduled to play the Hill Country Mess Around in San Marcos Saturday with Todd Snider, Carolyn Wonderland and other acts.
“I had been waiting so long for find a musical mate like Carter,” says Austin’s Charlie Sexton, who called the keyboardist his right hand man. “When I was playing piano next to Carter playing organ, it’s the most relaxed I’ve ever been onstage.” Sexton called Albrecht a natural musician who could figure out his parts “n about two seconds.”
Funeral services are pending. No charges have been filed in the shooting.
ACL Fest: Meet the Bands - Raul Malo
Austin Music Source: How do you plan to cope with Austin summer heat? Will it cramp your style onstage?
Raul Malo: Drink plenty of beer, and no, it won’t cramp my style, I’m Cuban!!!
What other bands are you looking forward to seeing at the festival?
Whoever is on after me … !!
What’s the last CD you paid full price for?
I don’t remember, but I’m sure it was something recorded before 1965 …
What’s the one thing you can’t live without on your tour bus/van?
Petroleum.
When you think of Texas music, who or what is the first thing that comes to your mind?
Canada.
Do you have a celebrity crush you’re willing to reveal?
Willie Nelson.
What’s the one song you’ve always wanted to cover but never have?
“Feelings.”
What’s the one thing you want to make sure to do before leaving Austin?
Pay my tab at the Continental.
Raul Malo is scheduled to play on the Dell stage from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 15.
Web site: raulmalo.com
(Photo by Jay Janner AMERICAN-STATESMAN)
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ACL Fest: Meet the Bands - John Ralston
Austin Music Source: What other bands are you looking forward to seeing at the festival?
John Ralston: Cold War Kids, Bjork, LCD Soundsystem, Wilco, Arcade Fire. Yo La Tengo. Peter, Bjorn and John. I saw them at SXSW and they were wonderful.
What’s the last CD you paid full price for?
Neil Young, “Live at Massey Hall.” It also is wonderful.
What’s the one thing you can’t live without on your tour bus/van?
We have a collection of motel room keys that line the ceiling of the van like so many omens.
When you think of Texas music, who or what is the first thing that comes to your mind?
TOWNES VAN ZANDT, of course.
Do you have a celebrity crush you’re willing to reveal?
Not really. But my wife is bored and so she is watching me type this interview.
What’s the one song you’ve always wanted to cover but never have?
“Love Will Tear Us Apart.”
What’s the one thing you want to make sure to do before leaving Austin?
I still haven’t seen those bats.
John Ralston is scheduled to play on the BMI stage from 4:40 to 5:20 p.m. on Friday, September 14.
Web site: myspace.com/johnralston
(Photo courtesy of myspace.com/johnralston.)
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Dorham’s “Epitaph”
After this article ran Aug. 27, I received an e-mail from UT Jazz Ensemble founder Dick Goodwin, who said he received a phone call from Kenny Dorham in early 1972. The tumpet great, who co-founded the Jazz Messengers in 1954, told Goodwin he was planning to move back to his hometown of Austin and he asked if he could play in the Jazz Ensemble. Dorham said that he knew he shouldn’t compete in college jazz competitions but thought he might have something to offer! “Indeed, it would have been a great experience for our students and for the community to have had him involved in the program,” Goodwin wrote. Unfortunately, kidney disease took Dorham a few months later and he was unable to return.
But Dorham lived on in the Ensemble in one of his most beautiful compositions, “Epitaph,” which was played at a number of times in concerts and at festivals.
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Subject for Further Research.
What does it say about me that my two of my favorite full-length albums from this year, Grinderman’s self-titled album and LCD Sundsystem’s “Sound of Silver,” are total mid-life-crisis albums?
Or
What does it say period that two of the year’s best albums, Grinderman’s self-titled album and LCD Sundsystem’s “Sound of Silver,” are total mid-life-crisis albums?
Seriously, I’ll be thinking about this for the rest of the weekend and on into Labor Day.
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