Photo: Ashley Garmon

Austin City Limits Music Festival is officially ten years strong, three days long, and considered a holiday by its dedicated armada of 70,000+ music enthusiasts, both Texan and foreign alike. These sojourners come to indulge their passion for music, drink stadium-priced beer, and claim the right to boast, “I saw Pretty Lights at ACL this year! It was ill-tastic.” Of course, they pay their dues dearly in the face of intense heat within the desiccated Zilker Park, pre-sacrificed sick days, and strategic crowd pushing in order to secure a spot front and center to one of eight stages. The festival shuffle endures over 72 hours. Roadways shut down due to foot-traffic, 24-diners make more eggs and hash browns in ten minutes than your mother will in her lifetime, and food carts prop into expansive culinary trailer parks. Not surprisingly, every hipster bum in town advances their resume by starting a new career as a pedi-cab driver.

It is a dirty, loud, and trying holiday, so thank the good lord for the people who sacrifice themselves to pick up trash and bottles in exchange for free merch, tents that blast cold mist, and the diversity of music that is the biggest Christmakah gift in the world. In fact, I’m waiting for the Charlie Brown special on it.

The truth is, we hold the Live Music Capital of the World to high expectations, and it rises to the challenge almost every time. This was my first three-day ACL experience, so my thoughts encompass the best and worst of the fest, but in the context of this ACL alone. Fortunately, I’m not as naïve as the young dude who collided with me on my way to inspect the Foster the People set, the guy reeking of sweat and frustration. He looked out over the thicket of bodies, impenetrable for a quarter-mile to the stage, and asked, “Are all these people here to see just one song?” Yes, yes dear sir they are. Condemned to bob their heads mutely during the whole set until they hear the one song they know, the smash hit of the summer. Sigh. But props for buying your T-shirt and wearing some charming pumped up kicks!

Foster The People: Steve Wrubel

Here’s my breakdown:

Amongst Friday’s highlights, Cults performed one of the best sets on the Honda stage. Vocalist Madeline Follin sang tunes as bright as her yellow sundress, her mass of hair perhaps an influence to every other bandmate, each sporting identically long brown locks. Soaring to every note, “Go Outside” captured the Friday morning shtick of the corporate crowd, apparent when Follin shouted, “why isn’t anyone at work right now?” during the bridge. In the afternoon, Beardyman juiced up his eclectic viewers during his beat-heavy beatboxing set on the BMI stage. He brainwashed everyone into thinking they were hearing dubstep, when he was actually using live looping equipment to insert thick reverberations from his mouth, generate percussive claps, and even overlay sounds of water-drips and ambulances. The wonky Brit even covered Lennox’s “Sweet Dreams.” And, actually, I mean more than covered. He used his full vocal range, sounds of the air between his lips, and the poofs of microphone feedback to reconstruct every layer of the dance party classic. Santigold, my last Friday pick, made their first reappearance at ACL since catalyzing the You-Tube-famed dance mob several years ago. Their crowd was mesmerized by the glitz of their sequined-costumes and dance moves transported from Africa.

The best of Saturday’s line-up occurred within an hour and a half window in the early afternoon. The Antlers poured out their souls to us in performing the high “oohs” of their concept album, “Hospice” as well as a few more recent numbers. Truly, the emotional oeuvre they have achieved has moved friends of mine to tears. For me, their complex show solidified them as a band that transcends the “emo-indie” genre. The Belle Brigade debuted at ACL as well; the warm energy they exuded was the perfect balance to the beautifully tragic void The Antlers left. Their folk-rock sound was made possible by the bluesy performance of keys and guitar played simultaneously by Ethan Gruska, while harmonizing with his sister, Barbara. Later, Fitz and the Tantrums played a show that harkened back to big band sounds of the 30s, complete with tambourine, and treating us to a brilliant “Steady as She Goes” cover.

Sunday served several notable performances as well. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. dazzled us with neon quilted jackets, stunning harmonization, and a power-pop sound to rival the speed of the Winston Cup racecar driver himself. Elbow summoned the rain in their incredibly attuned performance, straight from the UK. At one point, they even called for the crowd to raise their hands towards the stage, wiggle their fingers, and touch the shoulder of the person standing in front of them. In this act of unison, headman Guy Garvey exclaimed, touch is “one of the best things about love!” and we believed him. Second to last slot of the night, Empire of the Sun gave a rare and electronically infused show with digital imagery, Cirque-Du-Solei inspired costuming, and stage dancers dressed a swordfish. Vocalist/lead guitarist Luke Steele ascended to the stage like a bird in flight, with a sculpture of feathers adorning his head.

Empire Of The Sun: Dave Mead

After listening in on the buzz about this year’s festival, I’ve decided that ACL has become a microcosm for a noticeable climacteric for present-day music. The word “climacteric”, though sometimes used to describe the start of menopause in women, means a major turning point or critical stage. It literally comes from a Greek word that means: “rung of the ladder”.

That said, what does this climacteric mean for where are we now? We are in a music world that embodies not only DJs, but digital beat-boxing DJs. It applauds avant-garde costuming, facilitates one man named Kanye to grasp us from a vacant stage, and 15 members of Arcade Fire to sweep us into the realm of shared patterns from our childhood. ITunes’s specification of genre is approaching the obsolete – this climacteric signifies a genre blurring, especially when indie-alt and electro-experimental cannot classify the sound of Twin Shadow. ACL doesn’t just mean discovery of the new and viewing of the known, but a climbing of rungs to a quickly changing state of both live and recorded music. ACL provides comparison from Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition” to Coldplay’s “What If”; themes that bridge decades continue as the presentation, digitization and reconsideration of music evolves.

Kanye West: Dave Mead

Arcade Fire: Jack Edinger

At this critical intersection of genres, creativity, passion and overall newness in sound and image will be what pushes music through this climacteric into uncharted territories. This is an exciting time for holiday-like festivals like this, as well as for artists who are envisioning new sounds and sharing them with us. If only we can brace ourselves to deal with the overweight chair-sitters arranged in labyrinths of beer-holding apathy yards from the stage, we can start the climb.

I’ll see you at ACL next year.

photo: Steve Wrubel

Not nearly as frightening as the name might suggest, UK’s The Horrors kicked of a U.S. tour early this month in support of their most recent release Skying, that will find them taking to the beloved Parish stage in Austin on 9/21. If you’ve had your fill of the electronic bleep blip, dj riddled, get so friggin happy scene, like myself, The Horrors inspire memories of Bauhaus, Peter Murphy, and even Echo and The Bunnymen at times. It’s okay to wallow in darkness every now and then. That’s why we have Prozac.

The Horrors w/The Stepkids opening things up at The Parish. Doors @ 8p.m. TICKETS

MP3> The Horrors ‘Moving Further Away’

The Horrors US tour:

9/21 – Austin, TX – The Parish
9/23 – St Louis, MO – The Firebird
9/24 – Minneapolis, MN – Triple Rock
9/25 – Chicago, IL – Lincoln Hall
9/27 – Toronto, ON – Lee’s Palace
9/28 – Montreal, QC – Cafe Campus
9/30 – Washington, DC – Black Cat
10/1 – Asbury Park, NJ – ATP
10/2 – Philadelphia, PA – World Cafe Live
10/3 – Allston, MA – Brighton Music Hall
10/4 – New York, NY – Webster Hall

I have been in quite the Yuck mood lately, and that’s a good thing. Something about the band’s sound reminds me of a time years ago when bands like Sebadoh, Superchunk, and Sonic Youth dominated the modern rock scene.

Check out this episode of Room 205 featuring Yuck performing “Milkshake’ visually hinting at that time as well.

How does a dance/rock punk duo that existed for only 5 years and put out only 1 album score a prime spot at one of the biggest music festivals? I don’t have the answer to that question, but it surely will be worth investigating this current resurgence of interest in Death From Above 1979. Some of you might remember the small riot that took place at Beauty Bar this past SXSW? Death From Above 1979 was the band playing during the incident. Spurring small riots and landing prime spots on big festival stages…the year you reunite?

Only problem with this gig is that it conflicts with Elbow…arrrggghhhh!

Death From Above 1979: Sunday at 5:30 on the Honda Stage

LITTLE GIRL REHEARSAL from DEATH FROM ABOVE 1979 on Vimeo.

A little grunge, a little duet, a little blues, little hurricane offers an intimate conversation between folk narrative and the rough edges of county blues. They hail from San Diego and the two band members are ironically ahead of their time in their sanctification of retrospect; they met online over a love of vintage equipment and “down and dirty” blues music. Think the naked guitar riffs of Cream plus the vocal clarity of the Local Natives. The sound seems a cousin of the White Stripes, but racing within the lines of a stripe of its own. Check out the songs “Get By” and “Give Em Hell.”

little hurricane: Sunday at 12:20pm on the Austin Ventures Stage

How many more lyrics ornate with “la-da-da’s” and “ta-da-da’s” can we take in filling the space between decorative triangle pings and bouncy drum beats? The Beatle’s certainly started this “revolution,” and it apparently has yet to end. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. will convince any listener that their head will still bob and soul be tickled when pried by the mechanisms of indie pop. Their charm lies also in their curious formation. Josh Epstein called up a complete stranger, Daniel Zott, after seeing his show in Detroit. They trialed an initial project together, and the magic it produced propelled them with enough momentum to charm the audience of ACL. The Beatles would be proud, and probably “la-la-dee-dah-deefend” the songs “Simple Girl” and “Nothing But Our Love.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.: Sunday at 1:30-2:30pm on the Honda Stage

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. – Morning Thought by Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.

This is one band that is high on the list of  “must see” this weekend’s ACL Festival. Elbow is that band that you fell in love with years ago, yet somehow manages to sit quietly in the background only to give you that reminding poke that they are still making great music years later. A band that has achieved little more than cult status in the US, they have maintained a solid following in the UK, continuing to record award winning albums that chart well. The band’s most recent release Build A Rocket Boys demonstrates a band’s necessity to grow it’s music as they grow in years.  Beautifully layered multi-instrumental progressive rock perfectly accented by Guy Garvey’s image evoking lyrics and recognizable vocal style. A rare opportunity to see a band riding a lengthy wave of success in an arena of turn and burns.

Elbow: Sunday at 5:30 on the Google+ Stage

Seattle band, The Head and the Heart is a gem in a brimming jewelry box; they’ve toured extensively with big names such as Vampire Weekend and The Walkmen, and aired on Conan with their debut album this year. Soulful, bright, think updated optimism of The Mama’s and the Papas with Beatle’s-worthy harmonization. Songs to check out: “Lost in my Mind” and “Sounds like Hallelujah.”

The Head and the Heart: Sunday 1:30-2:30 on the Google+ Stage

An acoustically harmonic duo with a sound that morphs folk rock into a resonant power pop theatricality, Los Angeles siblings Barbara and Ethan Gruska command both ear and the car window. They conjure archetypal image of driving down an endless highway on the West coast, hair blowing in the wind, sunglasses reflecting clear skies. The Belle Brigade speaks to generations that revere Simon and Garfunkel and generations that embrace the philosophy of The Fleet Foxes. Songs to check out (in your car, obviously): “Fasten You to Me” and “Losers.”

The Belle Brigade: Saturday 1:15-2:00pm on the Honda Stage

The recent wildfires around the Austin area have devastated the land, the communities, and the lives of many. Tomorrows East 6th Street benefit is one of many ways to help out with rebuilding these lives and communities, and is an easy one. Just visit your local haunts on East 6th and your money spent will go to a great cause.

The ‘East 6th Street Bastrop
Wildfire Relief Benefit’ is being promoted in a very general way so
that we can all come together as a business community, yet each
participate in whatever way we feel comfortable. The idea is simply
to let as many people as possible know that whatever business they
choose to go on Wednesday September 14th, they will be
able to contribute to the relief fund.

Participating businesses include: Cheer
Up Charlies, Shangri-La, Birds Barbershop, Fast Folks, Violet Crown,
East Side Kings, Way South Philly, East Side Show Room, Sputnik, Papi
Tino’s, Rio Rita, The Brixton, Volstead, Nuevo Leon, The Eastern,
Trailer Perk, Regal Ravioli, Liberty, Grackle, Graze, La Pearla,
Gypsy Lounge, Miso Hungry, and Bijou Tattoo. An awesome list!

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Phosphorescent, the moniker under which Matthew Houck records these days, should receive a warm response from fans at this year’s ACL Fest. Making friends with Texas legend Willie Nelson certainly doesn’t hurt, especially when you’ve penned a tribute album for said legend. Titling your latest album Here’s To Taking It Easy bodes well with the mentality of Austinites as well.

Having to work within the confines of a 45 min set is the only drawback that I can find about this pending performance as Phosphorescent are definitely capable of putting together a performance that feels like a never ending party in your backyard with your closest friends. Don’t be surprised if you catch me singing the words to “Mermaid Parade” with cold beer in hand and a huge smile on my face..

Phosphorescent: Saturday 2-2:45 on the AustinVentures Stage

Austin’s The Calm Blue Sea recently had their self-titled album reissued by Austin’s own Modern Outsider Records on Aug 2nd. While mostly an instrumental piece, the album does feature one track with minimal vocal tracks titled “Literal”, and today IFC premiered the video for that track. Directed by Paul Beck who animated Richard Linklater’s films “Waking Life” and “A Scanner Darkly”, the video combines real film footage accented by cartoon heads and blotted out faces.

Beck on the video:

“As I was making the video, listening to the music, I wanted images in the video to challenge the viewer by asking, ‘Are we living the good life?’” Beck asks. “‘Are we living the nightmare?’ ‘What character are we?’ ‘What tabloid-media-mash up comforts us through the long night?’”

The National playing live in Austin..YES! Playing at the Austin Music Hall…BOOOOOOOO! Once written up in a magazine article during SXSW a few years ago as “the place where good music goes to die”, the Austin Music Hall is one of my least favorite venues in town. You would think that spending the millions that they did on the remodel, something decent would have resulted, but not the case. Either way, its the National and they are bringing indie darlings Local Natives along for the ride.

Dec 4th is the date and tickets will be selling HERE.

If you haven’t bought into the idea that the sounds of the 80′s New Wave have permeated much of today’s modern music, then Twin Shadow will surely change that. It’s a good thing though.

Operating under the Twin Shadow name, George Lewis Jr. weaves hazy electronic tinged pop tethered to R&B rhythms, that feels at home in the current music climate and would coexist nicely in the 80′s pop scene. Twin Shadow’s most recent released full length titled Forget, produced by Grizzly Bear’s Chris Taylor set legal last Oct, but is still garnering attention.

Twin Shadow is currently smack dab in the middle of it’s Clean Cuts Tour which features a clean cut for each city on the tour, except Austin…boo.

Twin Shadow: Saturday @ 1 p.m. on the Google + Stage

TWIN SHADOW “SHOOTING HOLES” from Yours Truly on Vimeo.

The fascination with nostalgic imagery, memories, and items indicative of retro throwback has inundated realms of social media, graphic posters at Urban Outfitters and the ambient music of Apple commercials. If it’s cute, it’s good, right? Michael Lerner, singer, drummer, and the one man behind Telekinesis compresses this sentimentality into his pop-infused reflection, creating a sound that applauds its place among its culture, but still laughs on the joy ride with you. Plus, the man knows how to wield his fingers on the electric guitar. Songs to check out: “Car Crash” and “Please Ask For Help.”

Telekinesis: Saturday 11:45am on the Google+ Stage