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Friday, October 31, 2008
It’s official: C3 Presents producing “Obamapalooza”
Austin-based C3 Presents is producing Sen. Barack Obama’s election night event at Chicago’s Grant Park Tuesday. The permit, released by the Chicago Park District, was signed by C3’s production guru Dirk Stalnecker.
Although as many as a million people are estimated to be headed to Grant Park for the “Victory Party,” C3 will handle the official bash of 7,500 participants and a ticketed audience of 65,000. That event will run from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. There are no musical acts currently scheduled. The vanatge point of those without tickets will be about 3/4 of a mile away.
C3, which produced the Austin City Limits Music Festival, also puts on Lollapalooza in Grant Park every year. The company recently gave the Chicago parks department $1.6 million for using the park in August for the sold-out Lollapalooza.
Although it was reported in the Statesman and other sources last week that C3 would handle the event, neither the promoters or the Obama camp would confirm until the park department released the permit to the media Friday.
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Review: TV on the Radio at Stubb’s
A band as tirelessly innovative as TV on the Radio shouldn’t play the same songs in the same order back-to-back nights, but that’s exactly what happened Thursday at Stubb’s. The disappointing realization that a facsimile of the Houston show from the night prior was being transmitted — sure, practice makes perfect, but not when it comes at the expense of improvisation — only exacerbated sad but true comments made by a random concertgoer who came only for the opening band the Dirtbombs: TVOTR’s music is cold, dense and lacking in hooks.
Come to think of it, there aren’t many parts to their songs that you find yourself singing over and over in your head. But that doesn’t mean the words and melodies buried in the Brooklyn prog-rockers’ enthralling mix of industrial-strength loops and jazz-funk instrumentation aren’t poignant, because they are. Nor does it mean the show wasn’t any good, because it was.
A frantic, sped-up “The Wrong Way,” from their debut album “Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes,” had co-frontman Tunde Adebimpe likening himself to Barack Obama, when he sang about a new politician stirring inside him. This foreshadowing of change was taken to the next level on the next song, “Golden Age,” from TVOTR’s new album, “Dear Science.” Fellow co-frontman Kyp Malone sang about the utopian future that could result from said politician, while someone disguised as a ginger man cookie — perhaps in homage to TVOTR’s second album “Return to Cookie Mountain,” definitely in homage to Halloween — bounded about onstage.
Subsequent “Cookie Mountain” cuts “Province,” “Dirtywhirl” and “A Method,” with their a capella doo-wops and unified hand claps running up against the seven-piece’s guitar squalls, droning synths and skronking horns, continued to define TVOTR’s brand of music as the shape of things to come for soul. There just wasn’t much soul in the rehearsed way that sound played out.
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Meet Dana Falconberry
“Baby Blue Sky” from new Dana Falconberry CD
Delightful is a word that gets thrown around, but doesn’t always truly fit. The light and flaky crust that supports the deep dish pies of Pizzeria Due in Chicago could rightfully be called delightful. The second season of “Mad Men” could not. The key is the word “light” in the middle of “de” and “ful.” Weightlessness that inspires.
Such is the music of Dana Falconberry, a nouveau Austinite whose “Oh Skies of Grey” album moves Tin Pan Alley to the backwoods, under the stars. While some songs, such as “Love Will Never Leave You Alone” come up and grab you and the strangely familiar “Satin Dress” offers a singalong, the album’s strength is a connective, hypnotic mood. These songs are effortless and natural, and yet important to the singer. Even a clumsy rocker like “Flourescent” doesn’t jar as much change the lighting for a few minutes, like someone who can’t find their keys. Ah, here they are: carry on.
It’s interesting that the 28-year-old Michigan native’s initial artistic discipline was dance. Strange percussive pivots on tunes like “Blue Umbrella” sound like steps and the three part harmonies of “Birthday Song.” are a breathy chorus line.
Call her the new Margo Timmins if you must, but Falconberry’s closer to Gillian Welch in the way she can tie up so much with a banjo string.
A former member of Peter and the Wolf, Falconberry moved to Austin in 2005, after going to Hendrix College in Conway, Ark. Her next Austin show is Wednesday at 9 p.m. at the Mohawk.
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Another chance to ‘Thrill the World’
A news release from the City of Austin:
It’s time to relive Austin’s “deadly” world record “Thriller” performance.
Mayor Will Wynn invites everyone to join the Grand Reprise performance and Victory Lap Saturday, Nov. 1, as part of MexicArte Museum’s annual Dia de los Muertos procession.
Participants will gather at 5 p.m. at Saltillo Plaza (East 6th Street/Comal Street) to prepare to parade west on Sixth Street. At approximately 6 p.m., in front of the Alamo Ritz (E. 6th Street) all zombies will drop, then rise again to move spookily once more in unison, establishing what will likely become an annual “Thrilling” tradition for Austin.
Thanks to 881 dancing zombie Austinites who joined together Oct. 25 Austinites smashed the “Guiness Book of World Records” for the “Largest Group Performance of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” dance.” Participants included cheerfully bloody 6-year-olds to ghoulish grandfathers.
It’s not too late to learn the dance moves. You can learn them in two hours. Go to www.thrilltheworldaustin.com and find the instructional video links.
