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Saturday, October 3, 2009
Live review: STS9
On record, STS9 can be pretty snoozy and obvious. On the California jam band’s latest album, the 15-track ‘Peaceblaster,’ they manage to find 15 different ways of evoking your disinterest in their funky jungle-trance-house-metal amalgam.
Live, STS9 is plenty obvious, too. Barely a second goes by that they don’t push one of your pleasure buttons with great fanfare. And their vapid melodies — essentially, a series of major-key vamps that aren’t developed, but, rather, invoked, massaged and discarded — grow thin over the course of a seven-minute song and downright grating over the course of a 45-minute set.
But, live, one thing STS9 sure aren’t is snoozy. Taking the stage at 7:16 pm amidst a heavy downpour, they quickly banished the rain and the soggy vibes that came with it, seemingly through sheer force of will. Their music wasn’t surprising, but it was amped up to a higher level of energy than they achieve in the studio, which riled the crowd up. (‘Ohmigod, I love this song,’ one liquid-dancing girl said. ‘It makes me feel so sexy!’)
The crowd threw that energy — and a lot of glowsticks — back at the stage, which seemed to rev the band up even more. At around the half hour mark, STS9 dug into a house-music-inspired track that was as electrifying as this band’s synthesis of rock and rave ever gets. The fans — wet, cold and crowded together — danced themselves into a frenzy, doing the muddy grass beneath them no favors at all.
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Live review: Airborne Toxic Event
The Airborne Toxic Event are a band from Los Angeles. They formed in 2006 and have a hit single called “Sometime Around Midnight” that sounds an awful lot like the Arcade Fire. An awful lot.
In fact, there’s a lot about the band that smacks of the Arcade Fire. There’s the name with its definite article followed by an “A” word, five or six more syllables, connotations both literary and base. (Arcade Fire recalls video arcades and the Parisian arcades that Walter Benjamin loved so much; Airborne Toxic Event is both a Don DeLilo reference and, well, a joke about broken wind.) Both bands favor suits or black clothing, melodramatic singing and rolling, epic songs short through with violin and keyboards.
Unfortunately, they’re nowhere near as willfully strange and pretentious as Arcade Fire, and while their energetic sounds seemed to foot the bill Saturday in the pouring rain, it was hard to see them as more than a flavor of the moment. Or maybe it was just that it was awfully hard to take a band seriously when the lead singer says he has no idea how the assembled crowd has every heard of them when anyone with access to MTV2 has seen the video for “Sometime Around Midnight” an awful lot.
Come on, man.
Ricardo B. Brazziell photo
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Live review: DeVotchKa
Colorado-based DeVotchKa have been building a strong fan base for awhile; last year they enjoyed widespread success with the release of their album, “A Mad & Faithful Telling,” having their music included on film soundtracks and making high profile appearances at SXSW and various other festivals. At their Saturday evening set underneath the rain-free Wildflower Center tent, the band showcased its unique blend of Middle Eastern, Latin and American rock sounds and were even joined on stage by an acrobat that climbed two strips of fabric attached to the top of the tent, wowing the crowd with a series of flips and splits.
While the band employs a variety of instruments to achieve their sound, including an accordion and a tuba, they mostly avoid coming across as gimmicky (acrobat excluded). Lead singer and guitarist Nick Urata drove much of the music with his frantically energetic voice, although it was hard at times to make out some of the lyrics. Highlights included “Venus in Furs” and “How it Ends,” big rock songs that fall on the more contemporary side of the band’s sound; coupled with a pretty good light show, the set rivaled the Decemberists, who were playing across the way.
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ACL review: Levon Helm
It wasn’t the Last Waltz, but it wasn’t bad. Levon Helm, whose unmistakable drums and vocals were among the indelible signatures of the Band, brought his own band to town. And, unlike the relatively intimate mountain music ensemble he recruits to play his hometown Midnight Ramble shows at his home in Woodstock, NY, this bunch came loaded for bear.
He had a five-piece horn section, four different vocalists, a B-3 organ, accordion and at least three guitarists. Maybe a partridge in a pear tree (I didn’t check).
The only thing missing was Helm’s twangy, evocative vocals. Although he played drums with gusto, Helm was confined to an instrumental role.
Throat cancer almost killed him a few years ago, but a recent press release from his record company confirmed that Helm is currently cancer-free. Rather, his silence was attributed to “doctor-ordered vocal rest.”
Fair enough, but disappointing nonetheless.
Given how central Helm’s voice and harmonies were to the Band’s recordings, songs like “The Shape I’m In,” “It Makes No Difference” and “Chest Fever” sounded incomplete without him (no disrespect to the vocalists onstage intended).
It was sort of like going to an Eric Clapton concert where Eric sings great, but confines himself to playing the cowbell.
But even if Helm had never sung a lick, he would still be celebrated as one of rock ‘n’ roll’s greatest drummers. He is that rarest of birds, a drummer who swings. Chopping up the time signature, riding slightly behind the beat, playfully tickling the meter, Helm drives whatever group he’s with to play beyond themselves. And at age 69, he still works at it as hard as ever; his kit was set up at right angles to the group, and you could see his back and shoulders flex and knot as he swung the lumber.
Vocalist Teresa Williams’ version of “Long Black Veil” and a Dixieland version of “Deep Ellum Blues” (with Helm on mandolin) temporarily turned the Livestrong Stage into Texas’ largest back porch.
But the highlight of the set, to these ears, was the great (if still lyrically incomprehensible) rock-of-ages slab of music that is “Chest Fever.” With guitarist Larry Campbell kicking it off, and Helm riding the ride cymbal, high-hat and snare for all he was worth and everyone else onstage hitting anything they could get their hands on, it was a big, joyous mess. This listener wouldn’t have had it any other way.
Jay Janner photo
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Scene report: Fashion, Ghostland style
Fans and critics always seem to take notice of what Ghostland frontman Aaron Behrens wears on stage. And for good reason. He almost always brings a dramatic flair to his stage outfit.
I just caught up with him at the side of the stage where Mos Def, currently covering a Radiohead tune, is playing and Ghostland is scheduled to play. Behrens said tonight’s outfit, replete with fringe jacket, is an homage to Hank Williams Jr. and his spectacular Monday Night Football introduction. Classic.
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Live review: Eek-A-Mouse
The sheets of rain pummeling Zilker Park around 5:45 p.m. turned the normally low key Wildflower Center tent into a jam-packed hot spot providing a shoulder-to-shoulder crowd for the beginning of Jamaican reggae veteran Eek-A-Mouse’s set. The band dropped a guitar-heavy rock groove that slid into a reggae rhythm and the bassist called out, “Are you ready for the Ganga smuggler?” Based on the thick haze hanging in the air, I’d say yes. The crowd went wild. And so the tone was set.
The Mouse took the stage clad in green and gold with a green cap he shifted from side to side. Though his guttural vocals were sometimes lost in the mix, he knew how to play to the crowd, leading regular chants of “Ganga, ganga,” and “Weed, smoke weed,” which drew enthusiastic responses. His set included a cover of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene,” a loosely politicized version of “In the Jungle” and, naturally, a slew of his own easy groovin’ material. While the crowd thinned when the rain slowed (and Mos Def started his set on the AMD stage), those who stuck around were with the man all the way. He closed his set exhorting the crowd, “Remember tonight, don’t you drink and drive, but you can smoke and fly,” while his band played a muddy thrash in the background. And when he coaxed them to call his name one last time they chanted right along.
Ricardo B. Brazziell photo
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Live review: Bon Iver
It’s been a while since Justin Vernon released his breakthrough album, “For Emma, Forever Ago,” under the moniker Bon Iver. Vernon’s portrayal of his self-imposed isolation over a Wisconsin winter turned out to be very appealing, and since then he’s released an EP, “Bloodbank,” as well as a side project, Volcano Choir, which he began recording a few years back with fellow Wisconsinites Collections of Colonies of Bees.
The crowd at his soggy Saturday afternoon set was a testament to Vernon’s popularity. Vernon now tours with a four-piece band, a wise move that has allowed the “The For Emma” material to come to life in a more organic way. Feedback and pounding drums punctuated opener “Creature Fear.” “Flume” and “Bloodbank” both benefited from fuller rock arrangements as well, with Vernon strumming away on an electric guitar.
The band was predictably able to draw the biggest response with two of his best songs, “Skinny Love” and “For Emma,” material that, even in an unfocused festival setting, is able to get a lot of mileage from its emotional heft.
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Live review: Henry Butler
New Orleans native Henry Butler brought a little slice of Jazzfest ambiance to the Austin City Limits Festival on Saturday afternoon: Rain pouring down outside the tent, a genuine Crescent City “piano professor” holding forth inside. Any Jazzfest habitue would have felt right at home.
Butler is not as well known as other Louisiana keyboard maestros, such as Allen Toussaint, Dr. John or Austin’s own Marcia Ball. But he is clearly their equal in dexterity and power. Playing with precision and strength at a head-turning velocity (and, at times, hammering the bass registers with the edge of his hand), Butler’s playing evoked an image of a guy with a tackhammer nailing down roofing shingles at 78 rpm.
Through the course of his nearly hour-long set, Butler — who has been blind since birth and began playing piano at age 6 — led a winding tour that featured stops at the blues, soul, stride piano, boogie-woogie, New Orleans R&B and jazz. At times he has recorded them all, to the ongoing frustration of record companies who have tried to market him. After an introductory jazz/soul instrumental workout, Butler worked his way into a jacked-up version of “Iko Iko,” followed by a strutting original, “Jump To the Music.”
A playful little lick on the bass end of the keyboards eventually resolved itself (after taking the long way around the barn) into Fats Domino’s “Hello, Josephine,” while another long blues vamp and singalong took too long to get to its point.
Butler brought things back to earth with a slow and soulful version of Jerry Butler’s “I Stand Accused” before releasing the crowd back to the elements with a peppy take on Billy Preston’s “Will It Go Round In Circles.”
In point of fact, it is Butler’s music that goes round, circling past all the history and stylistic stops of the piano in American popular music (he’s been known to tackle the Broadway songbook, too). An hour was just enough to wet (no pun intended) an aficionado’s whistle.
Ricardo B. Brazziell photo
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Scene report: Random rain quotes
Michael Barnes is Out & About at the fest, asking how people are dealing with the rain:
“Garbage bags. And Tito’s vodka.” - John Semmens of California
Vijay Ravula: “How did we survive the rain? We got wet.”
Shefaly Ravula: “We thought we brought the right gear.”
Vijay: “She didn’t listen to me.”
“My 13-year-old is out there in the put having a safe ‘Woodstock.’ Fabulous experience.” — former Austin mayor Will Wynn
“And you will know us by the trail of mud …” — Jennifer Wijangco of Austin
Clayton Harrell and Sarah Caldwell (in unison): “We stayed in tents.”
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Live review: Federico Aubele
If your ACL set gets rained on — and I mean pouring afternoon rain, not the drizzles that percolated much of the morning — you basically have two options: Push back against the weather by ramping up your intensity or completely ignore the flood.
The first option really isn’t an option for Federico Aubele. His gentle music — a melange of his native Argentina’s tango, Jamaican dub and washes of ambient techno — doesn’t really give him any tools for holding back the storm. You might as well build a levee out of Lego.
Instead, Aubele (on lead vocals and nylon string guitar) and his modest backing band — a drummer, a keyboard player and a woman who sang harmony vocals and a few solo parts — did what they would have done under any circumstances: played 45 minutes worth of gentle, lilting love songs, most from his new album, ‘Amatoria.’
Aubele’s hushed intimacy held up surprisingly well in a festival setting, even as the storm grew fiercer midway through his set. A bigger problem than the weather was the pummeling guitars bleeding over from … And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead’s set at the nearby XBOX360 stage. ‘It’s like a remix,’ Aubele joked about the unintentional mashup of punishing indie-rock and breezy Latin American balladry that resulted.
As if trying to block out the noise from afar, the crowd moved closer and closer to the stage as Aubele’s set went on. Or perhaps they were just huddling for warmth.
Ricardo B. Brazziell photo
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Scene report: Rain getting old already, but Tyler kills
What started off as a fun deviation from the usual sweatathon that is ACL Fest started getting irritating by late afternoon. A music festival suffers when music is not at the top of everyone’s mind and on day two of ACL 2009, the rain dominated.
“I wish (the rain) could have waited a few more days,” said a drenched Melanie Young, 37, about half an hour into a pouring downpour. “I thought I could tough this out. I didn’t think this would be more miserable than the heat but it’s impossible to have fun when everybody is this cold and huddled over.”
Not that there wasn’t fun in Zilker Swamp. Jonathan Tyler and the Northern Lights got a rare ACL encore on the BMI stage with their psychedelic redneck boogie. Dallas native Tyler, a tireless entertainer always covered in sweat by show’s end told the audience, “it’s not that often that the audience is as wet as I am.” Watch for this young band of Jimi Hendrix worshippers. The songwriting’s way obvious, with songs about “Gypsy (fill in the blank) and the like, but this is a pretty amazing live act.
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Scene report: More rain, SEC football and more
As the rain started to really come down around 4:15 p.m., Irish band Flogging Molly seemed like the perfect band to have on the AMD stage.
Walking toward AMD, I observed a jam-packed tent of folks watching Georgia vs. LSU. Sure, some were just trying to avoid the rain, but many were there with the expressed intent of watching the game. Every year, as evidenced by the hats and T-shirts, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of SEC football fans at the fest. It seemed there were more Dawg fans than Tiger fans, which is kind of odd, what with the proximity of Louisiana and the number of residents that usually make it to the fest. Maybe the LSU contingency went to see piano man Henry Butler.
Maybe not suprisingly, the lines for food were almost nonexistent (excepting Hudson’s), as every covered spot at which to eat was spoken for. We bashed on regardless and hit up Restaurant Jezebel’s stand. Amazingly, or not, considering he is always on the grill at his restaurant, owner Parind Vora was actually manning the grill in the rain. Talk about commitment. His attention to detail and quality control paid off, as the chicken and vegetable skewers I had were the best meal I have ever had at ACL Festival.
In terms of clothing options, it seems tennis shoes with canvas are a bad idea, flipflops not as bad as one would think and hiking boots or galoshes coming in as the bet idea. The raingear preferred by diehard of a certain headliner? Clear Dave Mathews Band ponchos.
With the rain still coming down, some people are starting to leave, but more are entering than exiting. The beat (and rain) goes on.
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ACL dropoff point on Stratford Drive closed
The Austin Police Department had to change its ACL Fest traffic plans Friday for a passenger dropoff point on Stratford Drive near Zilker Park.
The road has been closed from Barton Springs Road to Vale Street during the festival. But officers had allowed cars to head east on Stratford Drive, past a barricade at Vale, to drop off ACL-goers at Nature Center Drive and turn around. Officers discontinued that practice Friday afternoon because of congestion and some drivers parking illegally, police Sgt. Jim Beck said.
Now, the only folks who can get past barricades at Stratford are residents who have homes up to Nature Center Drive.
ACL organizers recommend that drivers drop off passengers at the north end of the Mopac pedestrian bridge at Stephen F. Austin Drive. It’s a short walk across a footbridge to the festival grounds. Drivers should enter Stephen F. Austin Drive from the east, according to the ACL Web site.
Click on the icons in the map below.
View ACL parking in a larger map
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Scene report: Neon Indian
Low-profile Brooklyn/Austin band Neon Indian got lucky twice: Once when the Raveonnettes canceled their gig at the last minute due to visa problems,giving them a 1:15pm berth at the xBox360 stage, and once when they managed to avoid any real rain.
A bunch of the crowd, perhaps unaware that the Raveonnettes weren’tplaying, fled virtually the moment the synth-pop/rock quartet started up (an annoying high-pitched synth line surely didn’t help), but everyone who stayed got into the band’s frantic techno groove, which was a nice warmup for !!!, who had a set immediately afterward one stage over.
Extra fashion points to the band’s female keyboardist, who had her hair done up in purple with widow’s peak bangs — a riff, if memory serves, on the old British sci-fi show ‘UFO.’
In any case, band leader Alan Palomo sure won’t stay low-profile much longer.
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ACL live interview: Todd Snider
Todd Snider’s increasingly political songwriting (“Conservative Christian, Right-Wing Republican, Straight, White American Males”) crested three years ago (“You Got Away With It (A Tale of Two Fraternity Brothers)”) and peaked with last year’s pointed EP “Peace Queer.” The 42-year-old singer indulged requests (“Play a Train Song,” “Easy Money”) near the end of his Friday afternoon set on the Austin Ventures stage. “I’ll have a few drinks, thinking about what I want to play,” he says. “I’ll play mostly what I want to play, but I take (requests because) I want to be challenged, too.”
American-Statesman: How’s your ACL been?
Todd Snider: I guess I’d just say that the people who help out are being so nice. It’s easy to get around.
Are you sticking around to see anyone?
I want to see the Kings of Leon and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and that guy who plays with Peter Buck, Robin Hitchcock. But I have to leave (Saturday). I’m going to play Hardly Strictly Bluegrass (in San Francisco).
What do you like about this festival compared to others?
I love Bonnaroo and I’m not knocking it, but I love the diversity here.
The Walkmen drowned you out at first, though. How distracting was that?
I could hear the other bands, totally. But, you know, it’s not a big deal. I’m not the concern. It didn’t bother me because I could hear my sound through my monitor. That’s the hard part about festivals, though, I guess. It just comes with the territory.
You have a birthday coming up (on Oct. 11). You played ‘Greencastle Blues,’ which touches on getting older as a musician and getting into trouble. Has touring gotten old for you? Would you ever quit to take a job selling insurance?
Oh, no, I couldn’t do that. I couldn’t do a different job. Well, maybe, like Spinal Tap, I could be a haberdasher (laughs). Really, I don’t know if there’s something I could do besides this. But if I keep saving money, I might be able to just sit around. It’s an interesting question. How long do you do it? Well, I guess as long as it’s fun.
So, it’s still fun?
For me it is. I know people who don’t think it’s still fun, but I still dig it, and I still like to travel. I don’t always enjoy playing because sometimes it’s nerve wracking. Today for some reason I wasn’t nerve wracked, but, you know, every day you’re in a new town and you’re having fun and everyone’s clapping.
You’ve been doing that ‘My name’s Todd Snider and I might go on for 18 minutes between the songs’ bit for a long time now.
Yeah, I sort of go into a trance. You know, it’s funny. I’ve said it before, but not everybody’s heard it before. I always like to get that out of the way before I play. It feels like once I say that part, I can relax.
Even those who know the routine seem to always laugh at it.
I think they’re laughing because I’m saying it…again (laughs). I might say the same thing twice, but I’m not going to come into a town and be like, “Hey, glad to be in town, we stopped over here and got a soup at this place downtown that was really great.” When I talk, I like to think I have a point to make. Sometimes it comes off like a play, I guess, but I don’t want to waste that time.
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Live review: !!!
Who knew, pulsing afterhours club music would work so well on a rainy Saturday afternoon at the park?
A flock of 15-year-olds pushed their way to the front as the Brooklyn-based dance rock outfit kicked off their set, layering pulsing bass, funky guitar riffs and horn punches over an electro-conga groove. As a drizzle escalated into a downpour halfway through the group’s first song, lead singer Nic Offer seemed to revel in the deluge. He worked the crowd with a shoulder shake, hip swivel and furious falsetto. Throughout the set he tossed out ample obscenities, danced scandalously with a microphone and spent a good part of the set on the lawn in front of the stage, even jumping the barrier into the crowd at one point.
Meanwhile the band kept up the dense grooves, which smashed together elements of afro-pop, funk, punk and electronica. And the people kept moving.
Toward the end of their set Offer explained the band’s conundrum. “We’re like moody nightclub music and it’s like 2 in the afternoon. So you might want to close your eyes or something. There’s colors in your eyes.” Then the band shifted into a more downtempo groove with ambient keys while bubbles floated ethereally over the stage. Most likely it was less the tempo change than the fact that buzz band Grizzly Bear was getting ready to perform across the field that motivated it, but a minor exodus cleared the field as the band began to close their set.
Nonetheless, !!! drove it home, with frenetic percussion, blasts of horns and a beat that would not stop.
Jay Janner photo
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Scene report: Los Amigos Invisibles
Venezuelan group Los Amigos Invisibles bring together three words rarely heard in the same sentence: Latin, disco and funk. The group rocked the Wildflower Center stage just after sundown Friday with a danceable groove that could have been George Clinton and Santana’s illegitimate love child. It was a wonder, then, that the crowd was so lethargic. I saw these guys play in the 100-degree heat at ACL a few years ago and the crowd nearly danced themselves into a collective stroke. Under the covered stage it was cool and in the mid-70s, but most of the crowd looked like they were knee deep in cement. A wild pitch bending solo from the keyboard player got things moving somewhat before the band dropped into a tease of ’90s one-hit-wonder Black Box’s “Everybody Everybody,” but for most of the set spectators far outnumbered groove participants.
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Live review: Grizzly Bear
It makes sense that it started raining heavily in the middle of Grizzly Bear’s much-anticipated set: On record, most of their baroquely-arranged songs sound like they’re being rained on. Live, the band goes for a sparer sound, so the rain and the rustle of ponchos being unfurled filled in the spaces.
And there were a lot of ponchos being unfurled — the Brooklyn indie darlings drew a big crowd, though it was clear that many of the people who showed up didn’t know the band’s music all that well; whoops of recognition rose up only for the best known songs (‘Knife,’ ‘Two Weeks,’ “On a Neck, On a Spit’). Then there was the guy standing next to me who explained to the person next to him that Grizzly Bear “are like the Pogues.” (I think not.)
As for the set itself, if you walked in a skeptic who thinks the band has some interesting production ideas but not enough good songs to hang their arrangements on (Daniel Rossen seems to have saved most of his best melodies for his other band, Department of Eagles), chances are you walked out a skeptic, too. The great songs were great — ‘Knife’ and, for sure, ‘Two Weeks,’ on which bassist Chris Taylor really impressed; some weird harmonies that I took for a production trick on the record came out of his mouth without any technical assistance — but too many of the tunes just stood there an did nothing, as did much of the crowd.
When a bunch of people left after the band played ‘Two Weeks’ — the big hit — was it because they had heard what they wanted to hear, or because the rain was starting to come down?
Jay Janner photo
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Live review: Bassnectar
San Francisco electronica group Bassnectar lived up to its moniker Friday night, almost to a fault. The sounds emanating from the Dell stage were deep and penetrating as the sun sank behind the video screens that depicted whirling break dancers splattered in digital paint. Heavy bass riffs from the band’s danceable mash-ups shook the nearby porta potties and rattled the chests of the people waiting in line well back from the stage. The band spun some classic crowd-pleasers from the likes of Grand Master Flash, Pink Floyd and the Cure as well as a few head scratchers, such as a mix of “It Takes Two” (Rob Base) and “Walk Like an Egyptian” (The Bangles). The sunlit rave reached a fever pitch when the band dropped White Zombie’s “More Human than Human” although the extreme level of bass obscured the biting guitar lick that makes that song so visceral. The band brought the level down a few notches for an ambient ending to their set that included a chilled-out remix of Roy Ayers’ “Everybody Loves the Sunshine,” a nod to all the “Grand Theft Auto” players in the crowd.
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Scene report: No wet blankets here
Despite the morning rain, afternoon foot traffic and lines at the Republic Square shuttle (where I am told people can exchange tickets for wristband) have been undeterred. At 3 p.m., the lines heading down Barton Spings Road seemed as healthy as they are every year.
I have heard more than a few fest-goers mention that they prefer rain to blazing heat. I even heard one guy tell his friends, Whatever! It’s raining … stop being a (expletive).” Easy to say now, as we are not getting spit on much, but dark clouds do seem to be threatening.
The music has as much energy as ever, with the Sam Roberts band tearing up a blazing rock set at the small Wildflower tent, a venue that should have more than a few JazzFest veterans on hand when New Orleans piano legend Henry Butler takes the stage.
!!! (pronounced chick-chick-chick) also proved that you can have a dance party in on a rainy afternoon with their hyper-energized set.
Bon Iver and Levon Helm should fit the soggy but spirited mood well at 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. respectively.
Update: At 3:41, the rain returns. Does not look terribly promising. Fans still flocking in nonetheless.
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Live review: Felice Brothers
The multitudes were soggy but, well, multitudinous. “We’re not used to playing for so many people,” exclaimed one of the Felice Brothers, surveying the poncho-ed horde in front of the Dell Stage Saturday afternoon. “Holy (expletive), that’s a lot of people. Give yourselves a hand!”
Obviously, the acclaim drawn by the trio of brothers from upstage New York in their short but prolific recording career (four albums in four years) preceded them.
Onstage, they revealed a more muscular and assertive sound than their albums hint at. A fiddle and accordion scraped and sang in alternating harmony and counterpoint, while David Turbeville’s drums modulated from a rustle to a rumble, depending on the song.
A product of the same environment that bred the Band and Bob Dylan (and yes, those comparisons must get tiresome, but, guys, there are worse touchstones), the brothers borrow some of the same back-hollow imagery, with its antecedent roots of murder, strong drink and hardscrabble origins that Dylan and Co. have often employed. “Frankie’s Gun” (that rarity, a singalong murder ballad), “Murder By Mistletoe” and “Greatest Show On Earth” are all replete with images of violence, sometimes juxtaposed against flashes of natural beauty and human frailty. “Put a pistol in my hands if we’re going out to dance,” they sang at one point, epitomizing the tension that illuminates many of their songs.
Softer moments and onstage good humor balanced the bleakness of some of the folk-noir numbers. “Cooperstown” was a wonderful mood piece that followed the shade of Ty Cobb through a ghostly ballpark. And the band was perfectly capable of rendering a heartfelt Woody Guthrie-style paean to brotherhood called “Take This Bread” and following it shortly thereafter with a song introduction that ran thus: “This is a song about weird sex in the back of a limousine. A big, white limousine.” Take that, Woody.
Jay Janner photo
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Scene report: Rain greets ACL fans
The much-anticipated rain greeted undeterred ACL goers Saturday morning. Fans at the west entrance got their afternoon off to a rocking start as the Henry Clay People finished up their set with a high-energy, nearly spot-on cover of T. Rex’s”Bang a Gong (Get It On)” on the Xbox 360 stage.
Nearby on the AMD stage the Virgins turned a set of bouncy, shiny dance rock. (The band is from New York, but from their music you’d swear they were from East London). Lead singer (and former model) Donald Cumming struck a few Jagger-esque poses during the band’s song “She’s Expensive.”
The festival grounds were surprisingly clean; most of the main areas were free of litter as I made my way around this morning. Beer vendors looked forlornly at the teeming masses streaming past them, more interested in a chicken cone than a cold one. The rain slowed to a polite drizzle for the Mimicking Birds on the Austin Ventures stage. The band’s moody indie rock mirrored the gray skies over Zilker Park, but was a little too gloomy for me.
The swampy, bluesy sounds of Albeta Cross drew me across the park to the Livestrong stage. The band has a Neil Young, folk-rock feel with powerful drums and heavy bass riffs. The band kept a sizeable crowd gathered even as the rain picked up around 1 p.m. and finished up their set with a song titled “ATX,” a nod to the city where the band spent three months recording their latest album. Alberta Cross’ gritty, plodding Southern rock was the perfect soundtrack for an overcast, rainy morning at the festival.
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ACL live interview: Sarah Siskind
Nashville singer songwriter Sarah Siskind was one of two female artists to take the BMI stage Friday, delivering her promise of “from-the-gut” autobiographical indie originals.
The 31-year-old performer charmed her crowd during her ACL debut. Siskind, who just released her sixth album, “Say It Louder,” said that passion has been driving her in a new direction lately.
“I’ve gone through a lot in the last couple of years emotionally,” she said. “I went to Florida a couple of months ago and wrote nine new songs all at once. I’m really trying to hone in on who I am as a whole person - exploring that in music. I’m definitely searching.”
Siskind has been playing music since the age of 4 and writing songs since 11.
“I communicate through songs much better than I do by talking to people,” she said. “It’s self healing - a way to work through things.”
When asked by ACL to play this year, Siskind jumped at the chance. She fell in love with Austin during her SXSW stay last spring.
“I love the energy and the laid-back kindness here,” she said. “I took a look at the lineup, and felt a real sense of honor and pride at being asked to be part of it.”
Siskind didn’t have much time to enjoy the city this time around. She is playing Cincinnati tonight and continues her tour of the East Coast and the South during the next few weeks, with additional stops in Ohio, Indiana, Florida, Tennessee and Kentucky. While she jumps from state to state, the artist will continue songwriting, continue reflecting.
“I feel right now like it’s happening for me,” she said. “Other people tell me that my songs help them realize things about themselves. I write music to express things from my life. When those songs connect with fans, that’s a gift. That’s as good as it gets.”
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Scene report: Free compliments
Does the gray, drizzly weather today have you down? Have you got the “it’s the first properly rainy Austin City Limits Music Festival and I have no poncho” blues? Do the overcast skies have you feeling more Elliott Smith than Airborne Toxic Event?
Then Cedar Park High School students Garren Gibson and Evan Lafosse, both 16, have just the ticket for you. As part of a community involvement project for a leadership class, the pair have had the bright idea to position themselves outside the main entrance to the festival and issue “free compliments” to passerby.
“Nice shades! Hey, I really like those shorts! Totally dig your style,” said Lafosse to a smiling festivalgoer.
Gibson and Lafosse started at around noon. They chose to launch their project at the festival but have plans to do it again in other locations.
“We just want to make people’s day generally brighter,” said Gibson. “There’s so many people in the community who could use just a little pick-me-up, so we’re out here to make people feel better. It looks like we picked a good day for it.”
And so far, the reactions from festivalgoers seem chipper, as the two have become a popular subject for pictures.
“Some people take it different ways, but normally they love it,” said Lafosse.
Patrick Caldwell photo
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Live review: Deer Tick
Like fellow Rhode Islanders the Low Anthem, Deer Tick are part of Bob Dylan’s family tree, so much so that at times during their Saturday morning set, they seemed to be direct descendants of the Hawks, with drummer Dennis Ryan trading verses with lead singer/guitarist John McCauley, who was in full rock-star mode, donning oversized white sunglasses, drinking a 24-oujnce can of Lonestar and commenting on how the 11:45 set was the earliest he had been out of bed in a long while.
The set started strong, with songs culled mostly from their most recent album, “Born on Flag Day.” Opener “Easy” kicked off with big chords; McCauley’s nasally, half-asleep voice gave some character to choppy ballads “Little White Lies” and “Houston, TX.” A pumped-up cover of Lightning Hopkins’ “Shotgun Blues” was a highlight, but the band lost steam toward the end of the set as other members of the band took the lead and a cover of “La Bamba” fell flat.
Jay Janner photo
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Tonight’s Live at Seaholm lineup announced
The mystery has been solved.
Live at Seaholm organizers have announced tonight’s music lineup. Check it out:
Moonlight Towers: 9:30 to 10:30 p.m.
Solid Gold: 10:50 p.m. to 12:05 a.m.
DJ Reflex: 12:15 to 1:30 a.m., then 1:30 a.m. to ??? in the VIP area
Gates — located at Third Street and West Avenue — open at 8 p.m. and only folks with wristbands will be allowed in until 9 p.m., when walk-ups will be admitted if there’s still room. Wristbands from Friday night can be used again this evening.
The party is free. Enjoy!
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Scene report: Let it rain, let it rain
Cheers greeted the first downpour of the day, at 2 p.m. just as !!! (ironically, the band whose name looks most like raindrops) took the Livestrong stage. The ACL audience, which has endured 108 heat and dust storms in the past, is not a bunch of wimps. The attitude early on is “bring on the wet stuff!”
We’ll see if they’re still thinking that way tonight.
By the way, the initial downpour lasted only 10 minutes.
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Scene report: Broken Social Scene, a night of subtext?
Am I the only one from last night who thought that, despite the pretty sweet set of anthemic rock put on by the trimmed-down Broken Social Scene, frontman Kevin Drew might have been a little less than stoked to be in Austin?
Early in the show, he made it clear that the Canadian band was doing this “for the love.” A sweet sentiment that sounded couched in a little sarcasm, however. A few songs later he mentioned how it took him 15 hours to get to Austin, letting us know that he went to great lengths to be here, and also probably hinting to the fans that they should be appreciative, damn it!
Any doubt I had about the champagne-swilling (at least that’s what the bottle looked like) Drew being somewhat passive aggressive were removed by the fifth song when he asked the crowd what they thought about their city, their state, their country! As people’s cheers kind of died, he asked, “Yea, how’s that whole ‘Yes, we can!’ thing working out for you?” A sardonic nod to Obama and America’s ongoing healthcare reform. Drew, possibly realizing his passive-aggresiveness had lost the passivity, then joked, that it was only the fifth song and we were already talking politics.
To be honest, the crowd didn’t seem to mind. With the addition of some local horns near the set’s end, the band sounded great, their epic sound backed by the amazing stacks of the Seaholm Power Plant, a perfect pairing.
Scenes from the Seaholm Power Plant:
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Live review: Them Crooked Vultures at ACL Fest
So maybe it just comes down to getting the reps. When you consider that hard rock supergroup Them Crooked Vultures sprang into being over the summer and only crossed the dozen total performance mark (minus practices, of course) while partaking in three Austin City Limits-related shows this week, it’s not surprising that there’ve been quite a few rough edges fans have done their best to overlook while foaming at the mouth over the still-new band’s star power.
If Friday’s barreling thunder revue performance at Austin City Limits festival was any indication, the band (made up principally of Dave Grohl on drums, Josh Homme on guitar/vocals and John Paul Jones on bass/keys) has benefited greatly from three shows in as many days with each member’s parts linking together more smoothly than the night before.
There’s still a problem of songs like “Scumbag Blues,” “Mind Eraser, No Chaser” and “Reptile” sounding for the most part like Queens of the Stone Age (Homme’s main gig) weirdo riff rock cross pollinated with the ultra low end rumble Jones brought Led Zeppelin and not venturing too far from that template. Not a bad recipe for starters, though, and when all three (plus multi-instrumentalist Alain Johannes) locked in there wasn’t a harder rocking act going anywhere in the 512 area code.
But the real fruits of this group will come when they start venturing forward musically as a group, rather than refashioning their already established musical identities. It’ll take time for that to happen, but what’s cool is that ACL and Austin-area crowds got to see some of that progression up close and for a few handfuls of moments it was riveting stuff.
Jay Janner photo
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Scene report: Fans prepared for the rain
The perfect day was followed by the imperfect storm. The drizzle hit today just after the gates opened at 11 a.m. and by the sea of raincoats, ponchos and umbrellas pouring down Barton Springs Road, absolutely no one was surprised. “Rain or shine” means the show goes on and nothing’s changed because of the weather except that there’s water in the air.
Where irrigation has been a problem in years past, as 65,000 pairs of feet on the parched fields kicked up dust, the concern today could be drainage, if the predicted three inches of rain fall.
One schedule change tomorrow finds Brett Dennen swapping time slots with State Radio because Dennen has a plane to catch. Brett now plays at 3:30 p.m. on the Austin Ventures stage, with State Radio following at 4:45 p.m.
Gotta go, Deer Tick is covering Townes Van Zandt’s “White Freightliner Blues”!
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Scene report: Such a deal: $2.50 ponchos on Barton Springs Road
Kimberley Weaver of Texas Coolers was selling packs of two rain ponchos for $5 at her stand next to Chuy’s. Weaver cleaned out the Dollar Tree for her stock.
Weaver was in a good mood considering that she lost five hours of business yesterday when police cracked down on vendors who didn’t have the required temporary use permit. She received the citation at 11 a.m. and sent an employee to the Texas One building for the right paperwork. After waiting for five hours and paying the $50 fee, Weaver’s employee was back and they were open for business at just after 4 p.m.
Meanwhile, the drizzling rain has not hurt the secondary ticket market, as scalpers were getting $150 for an $80 one-day ticket.
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Live review: K’naan at ACL Fest
Near the end of a nearly life-affirming set Friday evening at the Austin City Limits Festival, Somali world rapper/poet/singer K’naan asked the crowd for their “permission to set this joint on fire.” It was a turn of phrase, of course, but the cheers showered upon the charismatic singer throughout the show suggest they wouldn’t have much minded if K’naan had in fact pulled out a drum of gasoline and a match and set the stage ablaze. Honestly, it’s about the only way things could’ve gotten any more combustible.
You want to know how unhinged and effervescent this cat is? A round 2 p.m. word got out that he was doing an impromptu special guest set for the children and parents at the Austin Kiddie Limits stage. After some talks and glad handing in the media area (including a meetup with weirdo rappers The Knux that got this mind spinning about collaboration possibilities) the guy found time to write a new song (working title “Baby, Baby”) five minutes before his 5:45 p.m. set and (Why the hell not?) started his show with it as hearts fluttered to still-drying lyrics about swimming oceans, cursing mountains and crossing deserts to reach a special someone.
And that’s how it went for a too-brief 60 minutes; K’naan and his four-piece band spinning through straight-ahead world pop, rap and funk workouts with lots of stop-off points in between, like some mad scientist’s rendering of Wyclef Jean, Youssou N’Dour and OutKast’s Andre 3000 with the showmanship of any of them.
The entire exercise was a highlight, but two passages stand out; a mid-set run through the tearful recollection “Fatima” that benefited from a sparse arrangement (ie, minus the canned horn section on the still-newish “Troubador” album) and a set-closing two-take presentation on “Wavin’ Flag,” once as an almost spoken word slow burn with the audience supplying the chorus and last as a full-band-fueled celebration of life and freedom that most Sunday sermons couldn’t touch when it comes to winning over new believers.
Amazing. Simply amazing.
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Keith Carper memorial Nov. 17
Hal Ketchum’s bassist Keith Carper, a Virginia native who moved to the Austin area 21 years ago, died of a heart attack Sept. 22 at his home in New Braunfels. Carper, who also played with Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Tish Hinojosa and others, was 50.
His friends are putting together a memorial show at Gruene Hall Nov. 17. Here are more details.
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Live review: Blitzen Trapper at ACL Fest
Sometimes the best thing you can say about a band is they’re perfect for their particular time and place. On Friday, as the first afternoon of this year’s Austin City Limits Festival was picking up momentum as bodies streaming through the gates, Portland’s Blitzen Trapper were the perfect band in the right place.
As the sun made one of its first real charges through the clouds on the day, there were guitarist/vocalist Eric Earley, Erik Menteer (guitar, keyboard), Brian Adrian Koch (drums, vocals), Michael Van Pelt (bass), Drew Laughery (keyboard), and Marty Marquis (keyboard, vocals) tossing off story packed lyrics and pitched melodies like were penny candy.
Chief among these was “Furr,” the title track from its 2008 album and one of the sunniest singles of the past year that drew some of the biggest smiles from the crowd and the principals on stage. Soon after, though, was the almost sinister and, yes, Dylan-esque “Black River Killer,” which added just enough intrigue and pathos without coming off as a full-on downer for the just-arrived masses.
Through their hour-long set the six piece displayed enough skill and craft to earn them a spot higher on the bill in coming years (and later in the day) than what they’re enjoying now. When that happens, it’ll be deserved but the absence of a day setting band like Blitzen Trapper perfectly serving its purpose will be missed.
Larry Kolvoord photo
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Live review: The Walkmen
The Walkmen first truly ascended to lofty creative heights with 2004’s “Bows + Arrows,” an effectively driving rock album with one of the decade’s best singles in the energetic “The Rat.” But they took a swerve with last year’s “You and Me,” a slower, darker, more atmospheric record which, at least on first impression, migh be a hard sell in the blazing afternoon of an outdoor festival.
Their solution seems to have been two-fold: limit the number of songs off “You and Me” in the set list, and play the songs they do play very fast indeed.
Fortunately, it paid off, leaving the Walkmen — in their second ACL festival performance — with one of the afternoon’s better straight-ahead rock shows. “You and Me” standouts such as “On the Water” and “Canadian Girl” were delivered with a greater speed and blistering vocals courtesy of singer Hamilton Leithauser. The crooner occasionally opened his mouth so wide he resembled one of those snakes that unhinges its jaw before consuming an animal much larger than its head.
The remainder of the set was taken up primarily with highlights from “Bows + Arrows,” including a rollicking version of “The Rat,” and choice cuts from other previous albums, including a brilliant version of “Louisiana” with an engaged live horn section. Audience members were even treated to a new song from the band’s forthcoming sixth studio album, an ersatz alt-country number with an ambling charm that suggests the Walkmen aren’t done reinventing their wheel just yet.
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Live review: The Greencards
Most bands will pepper their performances at large outdoor festivals with token acknowledgments of their love for whatever their current city may be — among live music clichés, the popular “We love you Cleveland”-esque shout-out is among the most pervasive.
But when the Greencards go out of their way to express their delight at returning to Austin, as they did on the intimate BMI stage on a cool Friday evening, you get the sense they really mean it. Partly that’s because the progressive bluegrass trio — made up of Australians Carol Young and Kym Warner and English musician Eamon McLoughlin — was formed here in 2003 before uprooting to Nashville in 2005. And partly that’s because their jam-heavy, joyous set had the genuine sense of fun and camaraderie that all the best homecomings have.
The Greencards’ 45-minute set featured a number of instrumental jams, but the band successfully avoided the dangerous trap that is the self-indulgent jam by keeping their performances brief and energetic. As each member of the band took a brief period to solo, with McLoughlin’s robust fiddle-playing a consistent highlight, an already trusting audience grew more engaged, and hand-clapping and occasional shouts of approval became de rigueur.
But it was Young’s voice, a smooth lilt that nonetheless, on striking performances of new songs — like “Fascination,” the title track off their 2009 album — and old favorites veered into surprisingly powerful moments of darkness and tragedy. It’s the Greencards’ greatest secret weapon, and though they had to contend with the sound bleed that’s long been endemic to the BMI stage, they performed admirably and enthusiastically, with the kind of tight and energetic playing a band can only have when — yes, genuinely — they’re awfully happy to be back home.
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Live review: Parlor Mob at ACL Fest
During a radio interview on Friday afternoon, prior to their set at the opening day of Austin City Limits Festival, the members of Parlor Mob talked about the direction of their in-production sophomore record, partially recorded in San Marcos. The unspoken desire to advance the band’s bluesy, proto Zeppelin sound in a new direction was a topic of some discussions, to which this reviewer can only say “Thank God.”
Tha’s because The New Jersey band might somehow have more Led Zeppelin in its DNA than Zepp workhorses Them Crooked Vultures, who count Zepp bassist John Paul Jones as a member.
Put it this way, when you can describe a band as Wolfmother only less cerebral, there’s a problem.
Before I hammer too hard, it bears saying that if Zepp, Blue Cheer and Lynyrd Skynyrd are your musicial paragons, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with what Parlor Mob does. vocalist Mark Melicia can caterwaul like few this generation and guitarists Dave Rosen and Paul Ritchie came a few furlongs within something Jimmy Page might’ve churned out circa “Presence”.
But after 25 minutes I’d had enough and was weighing fleeing to see either The Walkmen or Dr. Dog, neither of which I’d had the slightest interest in heading into Friday. Good luck with that next record, guys. You’ll need it.
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Scene report: Reckless Kelly
Hometown favorite Reckless Kelly took the Austin Ventures stage Friday night, making its fourth appearance at the Austin City Limits Music Festival.
Familiarity doesn’t breed contempt as far as high-energy root rock band members are concerned. They can’t get enough of the local music festival.
“How could we miss this — it’s right in our backyard,” said instrumentalist Cody Braun. “All our friends in other bands love coming to Austin to play ACL. That creates a special kind of energy. It’s a great place to play.”
It’s been an exciting two years for the band. In June, the group nabbed an American Music Association nomination for best duo or group. And in 2008, the band won Country Band of the Year — a bit of an odd designation for the group — at the Austin Music Awards.
Reckless Kelly hit Austin Friday after a gig Thursday night in Denton. Saturday night, they’ll play the legendary Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival in San Francisco.
The three-day stretch is typical for the band. Despite the fatigue of a hectic schedule, Reckless Kelly’s members are excited about their current work in progress — a CD honoring hard-country Idaho musician Pinto Bennett.
“This new album is giving us a chance to get back to our roots, something we’ve been wanting to do for years,” Braun said. “We’ve been around Pinto and his music all our lives. These songs will be about Pinto and the Motel Cowboys, but it’s definitely a Reckless Kelly record. There are some rockers on there, too.”
At Round Rock’s Dell Diamond in June, band members Cody, Willy Braun and Jay Nazz presented the Miracle League with checks totaling $30,000, money earned from the first Reckless Kelly Celebrity Softball Jam held in April.
The Braun brothers and Nazz are still jazzed from their philanthropic venture and plan to repeat the event next year.
“We got very lucky in that all the bands that played did it for free,” Braun said. “We got the idea when we were with friends at a ballgame at Dell Diamond and we thought it would be great to get a bunch of bands together to play ball and follow it with a concert for charity.”
Reckless Kelly will make a tour run of the southeast coast in November and then start work writing songs for a new record. Braun said the bad is also talking to Joe Ely about doing songs together for a new Ely release.
Roy Mata photo
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Scene report: Bright Light Social Hour
Bright Light Social Hour — the band that beat out 1,500 other bands in the Sound and the Fury contest, earning the right to play the Austin City Limits Music Festival — took the Dell stage this morning and began playing to a sparse crowd.
People passing by gravitated over to the field to watch the band, drawn by the music. By the final two songs, there was a cheering crowd.
“It’s their energy that’s making people come over here,” said festival-goer Martin Gilliam, 24. “I never heard of them before, but they’re good, and I like them. I’d buy a CD.”
Gilliam’s comments are a testament to the idea behind the Sound and the Fury contest — taking 1,000 or so unknown bands, letting people vote online for their favorite and giving that band a once-in-a-lifetime chance to jump-start a music career.
Members of Bright Light Social Hour include two Westlake High School grads, singer and bass player Jack O’Brien, a member of the Class of 2003, and singer and keyboard player AJ Vincent, Class of 2005.
Dell started the contest three years ago to celebrate independent spirit, said Susan Kittleman, Dell’s ACL liaison.
“We like to celebrate people’s passion and music,” she said. “So much music is heard online these days. This band got over 11,000 votes, earning them the spot at the festival.”
The 24-year-old O’Brien was one of the founders of Bright Light Social Hour five years ago. He describes the band’s music as funky indie rock.
“We want to give (indie rock) some soul again,” Vincent said.
O’Brien and Vincent, fresh from their performance, were still wired and a bit awestruck at their participation in the festival. They won the final nod from Dell at a contest at Antone’s late Tuesday evening.
“We’ve been coming to ACL for years, and now we are playing it.” O’Brien said. “Most festivals play only the artists who are selling the most records. But ACL does it right — they work to get the best artists.”
“They get all kinds of bands,” Vincent, 22, added. “They know not everybody wants to hear the same kind of music over and over.”
Along with the ACL gig, the group won $1,500, a Dell Studio XPS laptop and the use of a publicist for the weekend.
The band starts a tour in November and will soon be recording a full-length analog CD.
Will the music be what the band likes to do best — catchy autobiographical clips?
“We always write the music that comes from us naturally,” O’Brien said.
Bright Light Social Hour is focused on putting together play dates for the upcoming tour and finding the financing to record that album.
“We want it full-length, well-produced and well-funded,” O’Brien said.
Both band members are well aware that they are at the heady start of their career, and they seem to have a good idea how they want it to progress. Where will they be in 20 years?
“We want to be like the Rolling Stones, still putting on shows, but putting them on because we love the music and not because we’re hungry,” Vincent said.
