September 28, 2008
And the winner is...
For my final ACL entry, I present the winner for the best show I attended during the festival:
David Byrne
Runner up: The Black Keys
Honorable mentions go to Gillian Welch and Scott H. Biram.
That's all, folks.
We now - very regretfully - return to regular programming...
28 Sep 22:39 | Link | Category: Austin, Music
ACL, Day 3
- Scott Biram - Biram is an Austin local whose music is a loud blistering dirty heavy can of whupass. I had been told his live show was ten times better than his records. It's true! This was a great show even if it was outside during a nice sunny day instead of late at night in a sketchy dive. I hope to check out his live show more now that I live here. (From the ACL guide: "Biram doesn't croon and strum the kind of pretty, sensitive singer-songwriter elegies that clog the mainstream radio airwaves with cloying melodies, or that commonly end up sandwiched between John Mayer and Death Cab for Cutie on co-ed mix CDs. Instead, he growls, hollers, snarls, barks, stomps and even occasionally yodels his way through the kind of dirty blues that goes down best with copious amounts of whiskey and nicotine in the kind of backwoods juke joints most folks probably wouldn't feel comfortable visiting alone.")
- The Kills - For some reason I'm still not really sold on The Kills, but this show was really good. I enjoyed it far more than their recorded material.
- Gillian Welch (photo above) - I've never seen her live. I wasn't expecting the show to be so energetic. Gillian Welch and David Rawlings are both incredible musicians. She played lots of crowd favorites (Revelator, Miss Ohio, I Want To Sing That Rock and Roll) that all sounded much better live (which I always appreciate) along with a couple of new tunes (plus a short visit from Alison Krauss who was at ACL with Robert Plant). Welch and Rawlings were as upset at having to end the set as the crowd was.
- Neko Case (photo below) - Also very good, but not as fun as Gillian Welch. Neko has such a great, powerful voice that it's always fun to hear her live. She played a couple of new tunes, too -- most memorably a depressing Harry Nilsson song ('Alimony') she said will be on the next album. As always, I was mesmerized by the pedal steel. What's my problem?
- I had to leave at this point to go home and work on school projects & reading (real life sucks) so I missed Okkervil River (not crying any tears but it might've been fun), The Raconteurs, Gnarls Barkley, and more (Band of Horses, Foo Fighters). So it goes.
28 Sep 20:58 | Link | Category: Austin, Music
September 27, 2008
ACL, Day 2
- Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings -- I was late (again) and missed most of it. Argh.
- CSS - OK. Not that great, but then I like their stuff on a song-by-song basis only. The ones I liked were pretty good. Nice for the middle of the day, but certainly not unforgettable. I was amused by the way the singer complained about the heat over and over. "It's so fucking hot! It's the hottest show ever in the universe!" I can relate. She should've been here in August. It wasn't even very hot today... Doesn't it get really hot in São Paulo? (To be fair, the stage was in the sun, and in that weird floral spandex thing she was in - not to mention the pompadour worthy of an FLDS wife - it would've been impossible to cool off.)
- Les Frères Guissé - I've never heard of these guys before, even though I'm a fan of other Senegalese music exports (Youssou N'Dour, Baaba Maal, etc.). These three brothers put on a very interesting and entertaining show that grabbed my ear as I walked by and hooked me. It was a total breath of fresh air.
- MGMT (blurry photo below) - I've been very curious to see this band live. I think "Oracular Spectacular" is such a great album, but I've had a sneaking suspicion these guys will be a flash in the pan (ditto for Vampire Weekend). So I sat in this huge crowd full of obnoxious kids to have my curiosity satisfied. It was worth the pain, I think. It wasn't the greatest show and they have the hipster thing (pejorative) going big time, but I was surprised to find they actually play very well. Some of their songs even sounded better live, which is always a good sign. Andrew VanWyngarden's vocals are better when the producers can pump up the mix and add reverb and effects, but for the most part it was a good show. So I now expect more great albums from them. Time will tell if I'm correct. (The huge contingent of obnoxious young people doesn't necessarily bode well.)
- John Fogerty - Caught a bit of this show. The guy's a legend so obviously it was worth seeing.
- The Black Keys (photo above) - Kick ass show. These guys are amazing. Dan Auerbach is a genius. Definitely the best show of the day. And way too short.
- Beck - Beck's great but I have to be in the right mood. I'm not sure I was in the right mood this time... my feet and back were hurting and I was mostly thinking about dinner and the bike ride home. I didn't manage to get very close to the stage, either, so I enjoyed it but never really got into the show.
27 Sep 23:53 | Link | Category: Austin, Music
September 26, 2008
ACL, Day 1
As promised (not 'officially', but through e-mail to several of you) here is my very brief report from the first day of the 2007 Austin City Limits Music Festival
- Vampire Weekend -- Fun, but disappointing. Like having someone blast their records really loud in front of a huge crowd. Technically fine but I like bands that do something different or take it to another level live. But not bad. They had strings for 'M79' and it was fun to sing along to 'Walcott' and 'A-Punk' (hey! hey! hey! hey!)
- Del tha Funkee Homosapien - Fantastic show; the crowd really got involved. A-Plus even treated us to some '93 til Infinity'. Good stuff.
- M. Ward - I was worried about this one, but I'm glad I took the risk and skipped Gogol Bordello. It was very energetic, and the songs (often so mellow and nuanced on the albums) translated wonderfully to the venue. Matt's guitar work is simply incredible.
- David Byrne (photo below) - Highlight of the day (possibly the festival; we'll see). I can't say enough good about this show. (I managed to get a spot in the front few rows, which helped.) Byrne is a legend and genius who never disappoints. I don't know how he does it. No one knows how to put on a show like he does. Very few musicians understand how much movement and visuals contribute to the show. Musically, Byrne always tweaks the songs and takes them to new levels live. He started out with 'Strange Overtones' from the new Eno-Byrne album. It's a great tune, but the live version was different from - and I think better than - the album. He followed up with 'I Zimbra' (one I've never heard live), belted out a stirring rendition of 'One Fine Day' (from the new album), and then completely shocked me by doing a version of 'Help Me Somebody' from the first Eno-Byrne album. A cool song from a legendary album... Byrne did the vocals of the crazy preacher guy sampled in the original and somehow made it work. He also did the creepy 'I Feel My Stuff' from the new album, three of my favorite 'Remain In Light' tunes, and 'Life During Wartime'. It was a total shame that the show had to end.
- Antibalas - I love afrobeat, so I thought it was a great show, but sadly I only caught part of it because it overlapped with Byrne's.
- Manu Chao - The crowd really got into this show, and Manu does a good job of revving people up when their excitement starts to fade. I've always felt that his albums can get quite repetitive. The show was no different, but it was still a great way to end the day.
26 Sep 23:59 | Link | Category: Austin, Music
September 25, 2008
Austin City Limits Music Festival
I've been so busy this week I haven't had time to chill with anyone or check my e-mail (or, for that matter, eat or sleep or do laundry). So if you're going to ACL and I don't know about it, call/text me.
I don't think I'll have time to stay all day on any of the days, but I have a 3-day pass so I'll be there for a while each day. I'm thrilled that I can bike to and from the event, even though it's a pretty decent jaunt.
No decision on exactly which shows I'm going to check out, but here's sort of a tentative schedule. I will definitely be seeing David Byrne on Friday, and probably Manu Chao. On Saturday I'll almost certainly go to MGMT and The Black Keys. I don't know which ones are must-sees for Sunday. Scott Biram and Neko Case probably... Okkervil River maybe not (last time I saw them live it was very underwhelming). Dunno about the others . We'll see how I feel by then... and how much reading and homework I need to catch up on.
25 Sep 23:04 | Link | Category: Austin, Music
August 24, 2008
UT to UT
You may (or may not) have noticed the complete lack of posts for well over a month, both here and on the private blogspot blog I started. I've had good reasons for neglecting the online world. Some of them I'd rather not write about. Others I really should mention, like the fact that I recently transported myself and all my shit... er, precious belongings... about 1500 miles from UT to UT. That is, from Salt Lake City, Utah to the University of Texas at Austin.
I'll be living in Austin for at least the next two years, working on getting a master's degree in information studies from the School of Information at UT.
I'm excited to begin my work in the program. (Classes start in a few days.) I expect to be extremely busy, so this blog's activity level will probably stay quite low. I'll try to do a better job of posting odd or interesting links and maybe posting some thoughts about life in Austin, but don't be surprised by long silences.
I still tend to reply to e-mails in a (relatively) timely manner, so that's probably the best way to keep in touch. Oh, also, I have a new cell phone number, so if I didn't send it to you already, fire me an e-mail or IM and I'll give it to you.
24 Aug 22:46 | Link | Category: Austin, Site/Life News