From the first minute I first heard the unique sounds of the Cave Singers, blending folk instrumentation and structure with punk inspiration, I was on board. The band returned to Mohawk on Saturday night to give Austin it’s first taste of the newly released material from Welcome Joy in it’s live format. Working within the boundaries of it’s format, the band displays it’s punk inspiration while performing live, applying all the emotion and energy you expect from a great show. The band leaned heavy on the new material which has managed to broaden the appeal with rich textures and a more full sound, for the most part of the set.

According to the band, the tour has been extremely successful, with large crowds, and some packed houses. Catch the band on their few remaining US dates, and look for member Derek Fudesco to be joining his old band Murder City Devils on stage here in Austin @ Mohawk on 10.10.

Our friends over @ Austin Town Hall have a fine review of the show: HERE

For those of you who read this blog much, you are very familiar with the awesome live music photos that our own Valerie Fremin has brought you over the years. Well, Thursday marks the opening of her very first photo exhibit! No Cover will showcase her favorites from over the years. Congrats to her, and I hope that some of you can make it by the exhibit at some point. It could be a quick stop on your walk to or from ACL this weekend, as it’s just around the corner from the Fest.

Date: Thursday, October 1, 2009

Time: 7:00pm – 9:00pm

Location: House Wine

Street: 408 Josephine St

Austin, TX

I am so excited to be having my first photography show this Thursday @ House Wine. Please come by. Have a nice glass of wine and a look-see. John Grubbs will also be showing his music photography.

Complimentary cheeses and other yummies…

There will be super cool music too…

7-9 Mark “GumB” Williams cellist/bassist/looper extraordinaire

9-10 Will T. Massey & Richard Bowden for the “after party” My guys!!!

Peace & Love,

Valerie

photo : valerie@fremin.net

This one seems like a any easy choice for me, as The Walkmen performed one of my favorite sets of live music that I’ve seen all year. Their no-frills, vintage approach to their music and instrumentation has created a unique sound that is complemented perfectly with Hamilton Leithauser’s vocals, ranging from intense immediacy to patient swoon. The band landed on many’s radar with their single “The Rat” from their 2004 release Bows + Arrows. Their most recent release You and Me feels the soundtrack to a soul in constant travel and constant self examination.

The band formed in 2000 with members from Jonathan Fire*Eater, and are based in both New York and Philadelphia. They love their vintage instruments and tour with an upright piano. They play the same time slot as Dr Dog, which may present a problem for some, but not this guy.

MP3> The Walkmen ‘Red Moon’

The Walkmen: XBox 360 Stage Fri 3:30

Phoenix is one of those bands that just got past me somehow. I hadn’t really heard anything about the band until they released the latest Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, and then I happened to catch their SNL performance, purely by accident, sparking my curiosity. Not the usual musical fare for my ears, but there is something extremely palatable and refreshingly upbeat about the songs on their latest release. How can you not find yourself singing along with “Lisztomania”? A song title that was lifted from the term coined by German writer and poet Heinrich Heine to describe the effect that Hungarian pianist Franz Liszt had on his fans.

Phoenix are French. They began as the backing band for the remix of Air’s “Kelly Watch The Stars. They released their first album United in 2000. And you’ve probably heard them while watching some car commercial. Cadillac I believe.

Love this song:

MP3> Phoenix ‘Rome’

Phoenix: AMD stage Friday @ 4:30

The heft of the bill on Thursday night guaranteed a solid attendance, yet with the Psychedelic Furs playing a block away and Ra Ra Riot only 4 blocks down, a sold-out crowd @ Mohawk for Scotland’s Frightened Rabbit proves that success finds it’s way mysteriously sometimes. Weather fitting a welcome home for the band did little to discourage the enthusiastic crowd, many of whom sang feverishly along with front-man Scott Hutchinson as he and band focused their attention on the release The Midnight Organ Fight.

Expect new recorded material from the band early next year.

It’s  been almost a year since the Frightened Rabbit has shown it’s folk-indie Scottish face around these parts, and newly cooled weather and cloudy disposition will certainly welcome the band in suiting fashion Thursday night @ Mohawk. One of my favorite discoveries over the past couple of years, Frightened Rabbit blend traditional folk inspiration with intoxicated tales of life and love trapped in catchy rock tunes.

MP3> Frightened Rabbit ‘Head Rolls Off’

Show starts @ 9 p.m. w/The Twilight Sad and  We Were Promised Jet Packs kicking things off. Tickets are $10 pre and $12 @.

A band I truly love, and those who know me, know I proudly display my liking for the band (t-shirt), A Place to Bury Strangers, have a new album coming out Oct 6th. Exploding Head could quite be one of my favorite rock albums of the year, and the band’s performance slated for Oct 11th @ Mohawk has been carved into my schedule for weeks now.

Check out the video for the single “In Your Heart”

This should turn a few frowns upside down.

Students that have found themselves scouring Craigslist for 3-Day ACL tickets, and wrestling with the idea of shelling out $250 + for those tickets, get one chance to purchase them for $135 next Wed. Sept 16th @ the H.E.B. in Hancock Center on E. 41st. Get there early, as the sale starts @ 10 a.m., and I’m pretty sure that there might be a few people there. You’ll need to bring cash (no credit cards) and your student ID! Very important.

So, it snuck up on me a bit, but the 2009 edition of ACL Festival is not far away my friends. This year has been a record year for the festival, selling out of 3-day passes almost 2 months quicker than any past years, and achieving a complete sell-out a month before the festival. To what do we attribute this success? I lean to believe it has to do with a little band named Pearl Jam, who still have maintained a rabid following all these years, a bit to my surprise, but I’m sure that The Dave Matthews Band had a hand in achieving the record sell-out as well. Just seeing the name Dave Matthews on my blog, feels wrong.

So, as the next few weeks creep along, I’ll be talking about the bands that I think should be on your list of bands to check out. You know it’s getting to be that time of year, when the frequency of the question “so, who are you excited about seeing @ ACL?” increases daily. To be quite honest, I haven’t put a whole lot of effort into the thought process, as the months pass leading up to the event, are spotted with dropouts and add-ons, disappointing some. The cancellation of Sonic Youth, would be one specific case that I’m completely down about. Does the addition of Dirty Projectors or the Yeah Yeah Yeahs soften the blow? Not really. It’s Sonic fuckin Youth! I don’t care how old they are, they still rule, and always will.

Before I get into specific bands a preview at a quick glance:

Indie Hipster bands that will draw massive crowds and will be the talk of the blogs:

• Phoenix, Fri 4:30 on AMD West: They are French, they been plugging along for a few years now, and seem to have found the audience finally. A blind booking for SNL put them on the map instantly. More on these guys soon enough.
• Grizzy Bear, Sat 3:00 on Dell: Does anything really need to be said about these guys now that hasn’t been said. Get there early and beat Jay Z to the front of the stage.
  
• Passion Pit, Sun 5:00 on XBox360: Their performance last year still has fans reminiscing. I honestly don’t know much about these guys, but on first listen, I might just keep it that way.
• Dirty Projectors, Sun 5:00 on Dell: Ooooh, hipster kids will wish human cloning was legal right about then. Hell, some of them might even give it a try.
  
• Girl Talk, Sun 7:00 on XBox360: From uptown suit to downtown DJ. It’s a guy with some computer equipment and a turntable I’m guessing. What does a DJ do on a big stage towards the end of a festival for thousands of people? Dan Auerbach fear not.

WTF?, Why?, and Who (made this decision)

• Prescott Curlywolf, Fri 11:45 on XBox360: Are there any bloggers in town that even remember who this band is, and when they were somewhat popular in Austin? Doubt it, as the band saw their peak sometime in the mid-late 90’s. I can think of at least half-a-dozen currently active Austin bands that could fill this spot. Are they about to make some huge comeback? Doubt it.
• Poi Dog Pondering, Fri 3:15 on Wildflower Center: Hmmmmm. I didn’t really realize that they were still kicking it around. Another band that seemed to find it popularity at it’s peak, quite a few years ago.
  
• Reckless Kelly, Fri 7:15 on Austin Ventures: I’ll give it to them for maintaining some form of popularity, but they play after Robin Hitchcock? Is there some redneck revolution occurring that I’m not aware of?
• The Scabs, Sat 7:15 on Austin Ventures: Maybe there is a theme here? Austin bands headline Austin Ventures stage? I can understand that. But the Scabs? I get it! You sing dirty songs to chics who like to dance to your music, and make their boyfriends uncomfortable or possibly horny?

No surprises here:

Kings of Leon (festival whores), Yeah Yeah Yeahs (soon to be festival whores), Ghostland Observatory (got to stick with what works), Arctic Monkeys (most boring festival band next to Vampire Weekend), The Dead Weather (being Jack White guarantees your spot on a main stage at a festival).

Now, it sounds like I’m full of piss and vinegar, but not the case. I’ll have a ton of great things to talk about in regards to 2009 ACL Festival coming in the next few weeks. I can’t wait to sink my bare feet into that luscious looking grass. Who wants to join me? We can have a grass party.

stay tuned…………..

That’s right folks. The supergroup consisting of Josh Hommes (Queens Of The Stone Age, Kyuss), John Paul Jones (Led Zepplin duh!), and Dave Grohl (do I really need to?), that has twitter all a flurry every time they step on to the stage, and has the blog scene itchin and burning for more, has joined the ACL Festival lineup. Them Crooked Vultures go head to head with Andrew Bird on Friday, just before the recently added Yeah Yeah Yeahs (so so what) and Kings of Leon (bitchin bros) close out the first day.

There is talk of an official aftershow on Oct 1 @ Stubbs and, get this.. an ACL Taping. Shows how quickly you can move to the head of the line if you bring along an ex – Led Zep and ex – Nirvana.

Unfortunately, ACL Festival is completely SOLD OUT!

MP3> Them Crooked Vultures ‘Elephant’ Live @ Pukkelpop