One of the performances that I wish I had been able to enjoy a bit more at ACL this year, but despite being up against some heavies in the same time slot, Local Natives brought the buzz.

A little afternoon picnic, turn into food fight, turn into night jam complete with girls in their underwear. What else does a guy need?

Bear Hands, Bear Hands, Bear Hands..only takes so many times hearing a band’s name, until you finally cave in to the deluge of emails and name drops by people. I haven’t spun this track enough times to come to my final conclusion of whether or not I like it, but you can decide for yourself. Sounds like something the kids will dig though.

The band has their debut full-length Burning Bush Supper Club set for legal next week, but you can give it a run through over at Spin.com and read a bit more about the band and the pending..drop. Did I just plug Spin?

Bear Hands take a swipe at Austin on 11.12 inside at Stubbs following the Dr. Dog show. Bears and dogs. How about we throw in a wolf for fun?

MP3> Bear Hands ‘Crime Pays’

While the idea of being anywhere near 6th street close to the Halloween madness isn’t one that I would normally entertain, Colour Revolt have the pull to get me out into the potential mess. The band had me at their debut EP, and the first time I saw the layered guitar intensity live. Undergoing some serious lineup shifts, Jesse Coppenbarger and Sean Kirkpatrick have survived what would have taken most bands out of the picture, and recently produced some of their best work. I didn’t take to the change in sound, found on the latest release The Cradle, immediately but as most great records do, it revealed itself over time. Looking for some good old fashioned guitar driven rock and roll that feels from the gut? Buy yourself a ticket in advance and get a free download of The Cradle.

Colour Revolt @ Mohawk with White White Lights 10.29 @ 10 p.m.

MP3> Colour Revolt ’8 Years’

Deerhunter is that band that I don’t find myself completely immersing myself in their music like I do with a lot of bands that I like, but I’m always so damn curious about what Bradford Cox and Co are going to churn out when they drop a record. Oddly enough, when thinking about writing this, I realized that I own most of their catalog, but their recorded material isn’t the push for recommending them live. I’ve caught the band on several occasions, and each time I see them they always impress.  Maybe it’s the unusual appearance of Cox, or his love/hate relationship with media and at times fans and the industry, or maybe it’s just because they are really good live. The recorded material which tests the listener at times, shines so much better in the live setting.

Deerhunter play the ORANGE Stage Sun 11.7 @ 6:40

I wish I had more to say about the headliners on this evening of music at Emo’s, but I’m just not that familiar with We Are Scientist. I do know a bit about Athen’s Twin Tigers, and enough to recommend that you get to the show earlier enough to check out this band. The band’s debut album Gray Waves was released earlier this year on the Old Flame Records label, and the band has been busy touring most of the year, including dates with Deerhunter, Dead Confederate, and Interpol to say the least. Noisy, loud, shoegazey, and all great to experience live.

One of my favorite lyrics from an album this year, and it’s from a song that they don’t play live..check out “Feathers”

Twin Tigers @ Emos 10.28 w/We Are Scientist and Rewards

Just as the excitement was starting to swell with me in regards to Fun Fun Fun Fest 2010, and mostly because of this band, Devo cancels their tour including their Fun Fun Fun Fest appearance. Due to an injury suffered by guitarist Bob Mothersbaugh, the band is forced to stop the show. Severing a tendon in your thumb is a pretty good reason for a guitar player to not be able to go on with the show. Speedy recovery Bob.

Aside from losing one of their big headliners, the fest also recently lost the Dum Dum Girls due to a family emergency. A member of Crocodiles is married to the frontwoman of the band Dee Dee who is the member having to deal with the emergency, so they have canceled the rest of their tour as well.

Sounds like ACL a few years ago…how will the funster festers bounce back?

Hopefully, if you were ACL this year, you caught the California folk trip sounds of Girls on Friday afternoon. If not, the single that they just set loose from their upcoming EP titled Broken Dreams Club titled “Heartbreaker” will give you a good idea of what you missed on that sunny afternoon.

The EP is set for release on 11.22 and band front-man Christopher penned a personal letter announcing the forthcoming recording.

“A friend of mine once told me that all great art is inspiration and then just a lot of hard work. He’s a famous artist and used to say this to people who would ask him for the secret to his success. As a band we’ve come to learn that this is true. We’ve been welcomed with open arms by so many of you over the last year or so that in turn we’ve spent all our time fulfilling invitations to play live everywhere around the world. Each time we thought we should give it a rest we would get another offer we just couldn’t refuse – who wouldn’t want to go to Japan and play with The Smashing Pumpkins, or Julian Casablancas in the south of France?”

“It’s true that when you give love you will receive love and it was only because of the love that we’ve received from our fans that we have been able to drastically improve the quality of our work. This record is a letter of intent, it’s a snapshot of the horizon. We took the money we’ve made on tour and worked with the kind of equipment and musicians that would have been too expensive for us in the past. All of us have something to say and give and this is what happens when we show a little interest and support in others. We couldn’t have made this record without you. So this is our gift to you, our way of saying thank you for giving us the chance to work at the level we’ve always wanted to and a taste of things to come.”

“We really couldn’t have done this record without each one of you. This isn’t Girls all grown up, but it’s certainly the next step up from Album. This is Broken Dreams Club – a record from our hearts to yours.”

MP3> Girls ‘Heartbreaker’

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From the settled dust of one festival and on to another, one that I enjoy quite a bit actually, Austin’s Fun Fun Fun Fest.

While  I generally tend to stick to more traditional arrangements of rock music, and not so much focus on the band’s of the ever growing popular electronic dance scene, I have a little secret. I used to be an electronic dance music fool, who has spent his fair share of time on the dance floor shakin some serious ass. It’s true, but the details are to remain a secret.

One particular artist that has caught my attention, and that I can listen to and appreciate what they do is Spain’s Delorean. Sure, there are some aspects of their sound that ring familiar to some other current artists, but the true heart of what the band does is pure pop electronic joy that just makes you want to dance. Will it make me dance at Fun Fun Fun Fest? Probably not, but if so, you won’t be witness.

The band built it’s reputation by taking over the Barcelona club scene, eventually lending it’s talents to remixing the xx, Cold Cave and Franz Ferdinand. On the heels of it’s third album Subiza, Delorean are reaping the rewards of a burgeoning electronic dance scene, and a few years of hard work.

Delorean play the blue (looks blue, maybe green?) Stage Sat Nov 6th @ 6:40

MP3> Delorean ‘Real Love’

Nick Simonite

WARNING: Lengthy post ahead

I have to remind myself that last year, I said the same thing to myself, and probably to a few close friends, but this time it just might be true. It’s not because I don’t love many aspects of what ACL stands for and what it brings to the community and many music fans from all over the world, because that would be disrespectful to much of the music community that I respect. I just think that our relationship, which holds many a dear memory, has run it’s course. These things happen. Things change when you get older, and well, we grow apart.  Although the idea of severing the relationship a year before your 10 year anniversary, and our 9 year, seems a bit thoughtless on my part so don’t call this final.

I can remember the days when I just attended the festival as a fan, and not as a writer. Or maybe I should change that to blogger, because if I were truly a serious writer, my devotion to bringing you every little detail of my experience year in and year out, would be more devout. Probably because there might be a paycheck involved, and not that dollars inspire more, but when there are priority shifts in life, sometimes they do. Not necessarily inspiring creativity, just inspiring more focus.

But, it was good this year I do have to say. There were moments that moved me to tears. In pure joy and in utter disgust. But isn’t how relationships are? You take the good with the bad.

I’ll have to admit, that when the lineup was first revealed, I was a bit put off. I won’t state the obvious reasons, because I think if anyone who reads this blog would be smart enough to figure that one/two/three reasons for that. Old/who cares/and let’s pull from the easy popular sell. But the middle ground was pretty damn sweet after taking a long look, aside from the fact that most of the bands, I had already seen this year as they had been through a few times already, but such is the burden of living in the great city of Austin, Tx. Bore. But it presented a great opportunity for a base of music fans who might not have the opportunities that I have been granted, to see some really great middle ground acts that are doing some really good things. Read more

The National have a new version of “Terrible Love” and 7 more unreleased tracks available on the expanded edition of High Violet out Nov 22nd. Some behind the scenes action of The National boys in action.

One of my favorite performances as this year’s ACL Festival, which hopefully I will expound on soon. Still playing catch up from some crazy sickness.

Thanks to the talented Mary Rehak for these.

If you haven’t indulged in the sounds of Deer Tick‘s latest release The Black Dirt Sessions, you probably owe yourself a bit of heartbreak. John McCauley’s hard as concrete vocals strewn across country tinged rock that says good-bye more times that might feel comfortable until you realize you’re on that familiar road that takes you home. The live show promises the potential for confetti and spilled beer. I guess we’ll see on Wednesday night @ Emos. Brian Williams digs it.

Get TICKETS

MP3> Deer Tick ‘Piece By Piece and Frame By Frame’

My love for Lucero goes back a few years, maybe even a few years before I started writing this blog. A love that had me witness a band skimming the dirty skirt of success, barely keeping it’s head above water, and at times seemed to go under for what appeared to be the last time. Somehow, as I had almost written them off, they seem to be experiencing a new breath in life, and the attention and success that they have been fighting for, bloody knuckles, broken hearts, smoke filled lungs, and whiskey soaked words still in tact.

Whether or not you are familiar with the sounds of Lucero, if you have experienced nights of the hardships of love, drank yourself to the floor, or feel a special connection to that guitar that you have tucked in the corner, this is the band for you. Guaranteed is a country tinged rock-n-roll romp complete with sing-a-long and quite possibly the uncontrollable urge to throw that $8 beer into the Saturday afternoon air. The damage will be done early Saturday, and might just set the bar pretty high for the rest of the day.

Lucero: Saturday 10.9 @ 2:30 p.m. on the AMD Stage

MP3> Lucero ‘Swallow The Knife’

While Austin’s Psych Fest first couple of years in existence saw minimal success, the 3rd installment of the Austin based music and art fest, organized in part by members of Austin’s own Black Angels, seems to have grown into self as a festival that is here for the long haul. To recapture those moments, or to see what you may have missed of the 2010 edition, Alta Real Pictures is putting together a DVD shot in HD to be accompanied by at live audio CD and limited edition vinyl, all to be released sometime soon.

The Reverberation Appreciation Society and Laced With Romance vintage are hosting a Halloween rock n roll costume party @ The Mohawk on Oct 30th which will double as a screening for the Psych Fest 3 film.

A costume contest hosted by KUT’s Laurie Gallardo, loaded with cool prizes like Fun Fun Fun Fest tickets, gift certificates to Laced With Romance, VIP Psych Fest 4 tickets, Hoboken Pie pizza vouchers, and more. And of course there will be plenty of mind bending rock n roll.

And start planning for the 4th edition of Austin Psych Fest by marking your 2011 calendar for April 29 – May 1st.

Now, the trailer…

AUSTIN PSYCH FEST 3 TRAILER from oswald james on Vimeo.

If there is one “must see” band for this year’s ACL, whether you have heard them or not, it’s The National. This success of this band has been a slow, creeping, sleepy giant, that will end up being bigger than many of us who have fallen in love with Matt Berninger’s bar room poetic, character driven lyrics, had ever anticipated. The band has been riding the success of their 2010 release High Violet which finds Berninger expanding on his previous urban based character wrestling with the everyday situations in more detail than we can recall of our own, pushing boundaries and delving deep into his dark psyche. And while it might be easy to make the case based on Berninger’s lyrics, the band proves itself as relevant and powerful in High Violet, subscribing to the vision and being as much a part of it as the one that we might look to as it’s leader. Bigger stages await this amazing band, who will surely continue to move us into our own thoughts with their sounds and sites.

MP3> The National ‘Bloodbuzz Ohio’

This is the headliner for Sunday, nevermind those guys growling out some dusty “Hotel California”.

The National: Sunday 10.10 @ 7 p.m. on the Honda Stage