ACL officially begins today at Zilker Park. The grass is greener, less dustier and maybe even a little damp due to some rain here in Austin. If you have a three day pass or a Friday Day Pass, you will get to see Nacional Records recording artists, Los Amigos Invisibles. They are touring to support their latest album, Commercial.
Los Amigos Invisibles are set to play the Wildflower Stage from 7:15 to 8:15. Let me tell you something people, Los Amigos at night is quite the experience. Often compared to Thievery Corporation, this Latin funk collective in my opinion is the quintessential festival band. People will be dancing. Not everyone will understand the lyrics as they are all in Spanish, but that won't matter. They will still get down.
For those of you not planning on being at Zilker Park today, you have your chance to see Los Amigos Invisibles with Devotchka at La Zona Rosa. Los Amigos Invisibles are part of this Official ACL Aftershow. They are set to play from 10:00 to around 11:00. Both bands are amazing live and together they make for one hell of a bill. It is the best ACL Aftershow of the night without question. You'll need to purchase tickets online and get there around 9:00 PM.
On another quick note, Los Amigos Invisibles will be on KUT's program, Horizontes with Michael Crockett today at 2:00. Be sure to tune into to 90.5 here in Austin or listen online at www.kut.org.
Here's a quick look and listen to one of my favorite's from Los Amigos Invisbles. It is for an older song called "Yo No Se". Enjoy.
Hipsters rejoice! Get out your best American Apparel and Grecian headbands! The Yeah Yeah Yeahs have been officially added to this year's ACL Fest lineup as a Friday replacement for The Beastie Boys. It was a totally predictable move but still a good move none the less. It would have nice to see The Beastie Boys though. I am surprised they didn't go with something more in the hip hop realm, but then again I'm not. I read some online rumors that Jay Z was in line to replace the Beasties, but I didn't see that happening.
Other good news includes the addition of former Tony! Toni! Tone! and Lucy Pearl frontman Raphael Sadiq. His solo music is amazing and has not gotten the commercial credit it deserves. Sadiq adds some much needed R&B flavor to ACL Fest and I couldn't be happier about it. He'll be playing that Friday as well. All good things in my opinion.
Here in Austin, there aren’t too many of us who aren’t familiar with The Steps. They are one of the most polished indie rock bands to come out of Austin. After having won last year’s ACL The Sound and The Jury contest at Antone’s, their national climb to fame is really getting started. Now with their recently released Take It All In EP, music listeners everywhere will get to hear why that is.
One of last year's ACL performers, Silver Sun Pick Ups, have just gone Unplugged. The L.A. based indie rockers are on MTV Unplugged this week where you can check out the videos for "Catch and Release", "Panic Switch" and more. I miss the old MTV Unplugged series. I have mentioned that before in interviews and other blog posts. I'm glad to see these performances online and hope the Unplugged thing makes a comeback online if nothing else. Their Unplugged performance was taped at New York City's Nyehaus. Check out a clip of the Silver Sun Pick Up's Unplugged performance and listen for yourself:
Austin native, Carrie Rodriguez is one of my favorite new discoveries. She is a blue grass or Americana artist with a beautiful voice that plays the fiddle and the guitar. On the week of July 11, you will get to see her Austin City Limits taping re-air on PBS affiliates everywhere. Her performance is paired with one from Jacob Dylan of The Wallflowers and son of legendary Bob Dylan. She performs songs from her latest solo album, She Ain’t Me, as well as songs from her solo debut album, Seven Angels On A Bicycle. She is backed up by her touring band – Hans Holzen (guitars), Kyle Kegerreis (bass), and Eric Platz (drums) with very special guests Gary Louris (The Jayhawks), and instrumentaists Greg Leisz (pedal steel, slide guitar),and Michael Ramos (keyboards).
Rodriguez has also recently made Live in Louisville, a recording she made in 2007 while opening for Lucinda Williams available via her website and shows. It’s available exclusively at Waterloo Records in Austin, TX and at Ear X-tacy in Louisville, KY. It will be released worldwide digitally (only) on November 24th.
In the meantime, I invite you to enjoy Rodriguez performing "Abscence" from her Austin City Limits taping. Listen and discover why she is winning over new listeners everywhere she goes.
The Steps are one of the most polished indie rock bands to come out of Austin in a long time. I first caught wind of them when they won last year’s ACL Sound and the Jury Competition. The prize was a slot to play ACL Fest. Of all the bands at Antone’s that night, they were the best fit for ACL in terms of being ready for the big stage. I admit I wasn’t happy that they won. I was there to support 60 Tigres, a great rock band from Monterrey, Mexico. I felt ACL needed more Latin representation last year (still think that). Ever since that night, I haven’t seen The Steps or heard their music until it came across my desk recently. Since they are from Austin and did put on a great live show, I decided to give it an honest listen with an objective ear.
After all these years of not going to Austin City Limits (ACL) Fest, I finally gave in. It's not that I am not a festival person, because I love music fests. It is just the music fests I prefer have better, faster, more hardcore or danceable music. ACL is also a place where posers and real hipsters alike go to listen to indie rock bands and act too cool for school. I mean, even though they weren't on any signs or promo material, I'd have sworn American Apparel or Urban Outfitters was a sponsor. It was headbands and bandana scarves galore.
Why go then if that stuff bugs me? Why put up with that and the heat? Well because Sunday The Foo Fighters and Against Me were on the bill. Not to mention Texas's own (Christian) rock group Fly Leaf. Sunday was a day where I could bypass the indie rock and see groups I actually wanted to see. I am not saying ACL "gets it" or does a good job of catering to my musical tastes, but Sunday was a good day for non hipsters to check out.
I arrived at ZilkerPark, via the Capital Metro shuttle bus, at around one o' clock. The first band on my list was a local favorite of mine, The Octopus Project. Words can try to explain what The Octopus Project sounds like, but seeing them live is the only way you can know. They are unlike any band I have seen before. Even though they are often labeled as "experimental", they are way past the experimenting stage of their music. Their unique sound is so in tune and polished that they own whatever genre of music they are in. With no vocals and a theremin, they are sure to capture your interest. By the way, I had no idea what a theremin was until I saw The Octopus Project for the first time.
The Octopus Project played a good set, with guest instruments played by a local group of middle school aged kids accompanying them on stage for a few songs. The crowd loved it and cheered, and it was fun to see their reactions. It was evident that many had not seen or heard of them before. One guy next to me was just wondering why they didn’t have a singer. I told him they don’t need one. There were hundreds of other curious faces and looks of bewilderment. They are the quintessential festival band…a must see.
The next band I wanted to see was Fly Leaf, playing across the park over at the AT&T stage. Understand this about ACL and festivals in general. If you don't camp out at the front of the stage early, you will be far away watching from the jumbotron screen. I ended up close enough to see but far enough away to leave easily to catch a show after. I was actually surprised and pleased that Fly Leaf was at ACL. I would have figured they were too metal (even though they are not metal) for this festival. I had never seen them before and loved their set. Fly Leaf singer, Lacy, can sing and scream really well. There was also a larger crowd than I expected watching them, and many were older (as in no one in high school or college aged).
Something else about Fly Leaf, is that they are indeed a Christian rock band. Did C3 know that I wonder? I don't mind that about Fly Leaf. Yeah they don't hide their faith in their music, but it is not too preachy or hitting you in the face with their beliefs either. Lacy did say before singing All Around Me that this song was about Jesus Christ. Good for her. No shame in letting people know where the song's inspiration came from, whether it be JC himself or anything else. There was no shame in their performance either as they rocked liked nobody's business. I only wish I were closer and could have made it to their autograph session at the Waterloo tent.
Right after Fly Leaf, it was time to make way to the front of the Dell Stage for Against Me. This was a group I hadn’t seen live before and was really looking forward to seeing. They spent their summer touring with ACL headliner, The Foo Fighters. Not just anyone can open for The Foo Fighters. Dave wouldn’t have it. That being said, I had high expectations for Against Me.
My expectations were totally met. I felt that I could have gone home after their set and been just fine. They sounded just like they do on CD. I say this now but I only began listening to Against Me this summer. Having listened to them online, I find I like their new sound better than their older, more punk rock sound. Against Me is good blend of punk, rock, and alternative….my three favorite genres. They played mostly songs from their most recent album, New Wave. It’s funny because all the hipster type kids were at another stage and the cool kids were at Against Me.I felt at home for the first time at that stage. Check out this clip from their set Sunday:
After Against Me rocked my socks off, I walked across the park to the big AT&T main stage for none other than Gnarls Barkley. I managed to get semi close on the left side facing the stage. Gnarls, Cee Lo Green from Goodie Mob and DJ Danger Mouse, play live shows with a house band consisting of a guitarist, a piano player and bass player. Danger Mouse plays piano/organ and Cee Lo sings. It is quite the musical collaboration. Their perfect blend of hip hop, old school soul and techno appeals to a broad audience.
For Gnarls, ACL was the last stop of their summer tour. What a way to go out, playing for thousands and thousands of people. Cee Lo sounded good despite being a little hoarse from all the touring. They performed all their hits from both their albums, including Crazy, which made the crowd go nuts. It was at that point, with all those people by the main stage, when ACL really felt like the massive music fest that it is. The sun was just about to go down and there was more of a breeze than before. All the fore mentioned elements, combined with Gnarls Barkley’s performance, made ACL even more memorable and it wasn’t even finished yet.
Before the main headliner (The Foo Fighters) came on, there was one more band that was a must see for me. I made my way back over to the Dell Stage to catch an old favorite from my teen years, Blues Traveler. I thought the window to see Blues Traveler live closed a long time ago with lead singer John Popper’s personal struggles and all. I always credit them with building my tolerance and eventual acceptance of the harmonica. Too many musicians think they can play it and cannot, just killing it for me. Popper is the real deal though. On Sunday he and the rest of Blues Traveler proved they still got it.
The start of their set was a memory lane trip right off the bat. They started with a cover of the Cheap Trick classic I Want You to Want Me and their own 1995 hit Hook. Oh the smile that brought to my face. I remember being 15 years old and not being able to get into their Austin show at Antone’s. That sourness I carried with me all these years went away with the beginning of Hook. Popper sounded so good live, almost as good as the CD itself. His adlibbing is the only thing keeping me from suspecting him of lip singing. He was that good. It was also pleasing to see people of all ages in the crowd for their set, as it is a testament to their timeless music that was able to transcend genres even then.
It would have been a perfect experience if not for these two drunk, snobby women spilling beer on my blanket telling me I had issues with my “personal space”. After asking them to theirface if there was a problem, they had the nerve to tell me that I was taking up too much space, when there were empty spaces all around the stage they could have easily walked to. We have all encountered “these types” of festival goers before. I don’t know what made me think I was immune from it.
None the less, Blues Traveler was so great that even those two she-beasts couldn’t take away from my experience. Kudos to the band, as they were on point all throughout the whole set. I wanted to be sure to mention that so people wouldn’t think Popper is a man crush of mine or anything. But lets face it folks, he makes Blues Traveler.
After the ever so ear pleasing set from Blues Traveler, it was time to go back to the AT&T stage for The Foo Fighters. The good fighters of the evil foo (I hate foo!) were set to go on around 8:30 pm. I made it pretty close to the left side of the stage, but still felt so far away compared to how close I get to all the other concerts I usually attend. By then it was totally dark and all the crowd could see was the stage lights and spotlights.
The Foo Fighters immediately came out and owned the stage, giving the people their early hits from the late 90’s. I think they were the perfect headliner for closing out ACL this year. They appeal to fans of many ages, have had lots of radio hits, and are now revered by many as rock Gods. I mean, Dave Grohl was in the most important band of the last century (Nirvana in case you didn’t know).Needless to say they were amazing live. Experiencing them live with all those thousands of people was something else. Sunday night was the only night where literally everyone in the park was at one stage. Friday and Saturday nights people had two headliners to choose from. Sunday it was all about Foo Fighters.
Dave Grohl was hilarious in between songs. The highlight of their set for me was the acoustic version of Hero.That was the sing along song of the whole day, and probably the whole festival. Only the triangle solo could compete with that. Yes, a triangle solo. Grohl was correct in saying we would never have expected that. Nothing says rock festival like the triangle. And here I was impressed with the theremin earlier. What was I thinking?
All in all ACL was a good time. It doesn’t come around every day and the weather in September is beautiful in Austin. Just know if you come next year that you will need a mask or scarf to put over your face. I think I am still coughing the dust I inhaled all day at Zilker. Finally I leave you with a Foo Fighters video interview that Roxwel sent me. Check it out:
Last night I ventured out to Antone’s to see one of my favorite new Latin rock bands from Mexico, 60 Tigres. Hailing from Monterrey (the coolest city in Mexico it seems) , 60 Tigres brought a unique and original sound to The Sound and the Jury competition. They are a good mix of psychedelic and bass heavy funk, with a Latin percussion of course. They also have two singers, their bassist and their drummer.
The bands at the showcase last night were chosen by online fan voting. That being said, it was an amazing accomplishment just to be there. I know that sounds PC and cheesy, but considering the amount of quality competition, being there as one of the top vote getters speaks volumes. I think it speaks especially well of 60 Tigres being that they were the only foreign band in the top group.
Now I knew going into Antone's that they weren't going to win. The odds were against them as they were going against local favorites and other top vote getters. The competition was judges by the in house crowd and a panel of industry judges. There were other factors that were against them also, such as the fact that they sing primarily in Spanish. It is often hard for people sometimes to get into a band at first if they don't understand the language they are singing in.The other factor they were going up against was that they had equipment issues. Luckily for them one of the other bands, T-Bird and The Breaks, were kind enough to lend them equipment.
T-Bird and The Breaks was also the band that went on before them, and up to that point they were the band with the best crowd support. Man did I feel for 60 Tigres after they finished. Hell, even I thought T-Bird should have won if 60 Tigres couldn't. They were awesome and more original than the other generic indie rock bands playing. That's just what ACL needs right…more indie rock.
60 Tigres, like the other bands on the bill, only had about a 20 minute set. Despite their short set, I honestly think they made a good impression on the majority gringo crowd there at Antone's. That is one thing I love about this town. People are open to different types of music and embrace it even. Of course the Hispanics there were going to love them, but seeing everyone else nod their heads and dance (thanks to the beer I suppose) was great to see. 60 Tigres noticed as they made it a point to thank everyone for listening and let the audience know how honored they were to be there.
I hope they make it back to Austin next year so more people can get a chance to see them. They were great live and if you like to dance at concerts, then you'll love 60 Tigres. Having got a chance to speak with them after their set, I got the impression that they want to come back as soon as they can. They loved it here.In the meantime, you can check out their music for free on their website. Click here to check them out, and do check out this video from the show:
Ian is a graduate of Round Rock High School and attended St Edward’s University in Austin, Texas. In 2008 he joined the team at Double Stereo (formerly CD Fuse) as their Blog editor where he reviewed concerts, albums, and did interviews for the popular music site.In January 2009, he became the Editor in Chief for Austin Vida. In 2010, with the help of some of his most talented friends, he launched Red River Noise. "Ian's Music Blog" is also one of the few blogs selected to be a Do512 All-Star.
On any given night of the week he can be found in downtown Austin on 6th Street and the Red River live music district.
