So who is this Ice Cream Man that everyone is speaking of these days? Simple answer: He’s a guy who travels the country in his ice cream truck giving away free ice cream at festivals and other events. Local 101x dj Toby Ryan interviewed the Ice Cream Man at this years ACL Festival and got the lowdown on why the Ice Cream Man does what he does. Check it out. It’s pretty cool actually.

101x In Studio – Ice Cream Man (ACL Festival)
Watch Music Videos at Roxwel

photo : michael maly

I have seen Pete Yorn an uncountable amount of times and he without fail always delivers a solid performance. This year at ACL was no exception, yet the disaster which his performance was able to overshadow made it that much more impressive.

With a 2:30 Friday slot time, Pete definitely was not fortunate enough to garner one of the prime spots, but the giant fire which many fans thought would threaten to shut down the set, allowed him the fortune of having one of the most memorable moments of the festival. Not to say that without the fire the performance would have been lessened any, it certainly would not have.

Pete, masked in large white sunglasses, kicked off his first ever ACL performance with (almost literally) a bang, covering Jim Kimbrough’s “I Feel Good Again.” During Pete and Company’s second song, the always crowd pleasing “Life on a Chain,” the large for 2:30 on a Friday crowd began to murmur as clouds of smoke rolled above the vendor’s area. With looks of confusion and wonder, Pete and his fellow musicians played on, making it through song #3, Nightcrawler’s big single, “For Us”, of course not without some nervous yet lighthearted jokes from Pete himself. By the time an ACL staff member came out to make the announcement that the fire was contained, I, and nearly everyone around me, was busy planning an escape route. I find it more than impressive that Pete and his band, the only ones in the vicinity with a really great view of the fire, were able to play through the fire with such composure, while the rest of us were busy cowering beneath our respective freak flags, balloons, umbrellas, and whatever other oddball props we could concoct to make us stand out as unique festival goers.

The rest of the set went off without a hitch. Pete gave a respectful shout out to the fire fighters who were able to get the fire in check in very little time. I don’t believe he even paused to complain about the unbearably suffocating heat that the right-smack-in-the-middle-of-the-afternoon sun brought on. I will take this time to do the complaining and whining for him. Insert screaming, crying, bitching, etc…All-in-all the show was great. Surprisingly one of my favorites of the weekend, a great kick-off to the festival. Highlights for me were Pete’s cover of Peter, Bjorn and John’s “Young Folks” and my favorite song to sing along like a fool to, “Murray.”

Pete, we hope you had a great first ACL, and we welcome you back for years to come.

-Kristin Owen

Mp3>>Murray

As much as my feet and legs hurt, my skin burns, and overall ache begins to set in, I find myself sad that this is the last day of ACL 2007. Anticipating a great day, my expectations couldn’t match the actual experience of the last day of the festival. I started the day with a little Fionn Regan, the Ryan Adams/Dylan-esc folk/rock singer songwriter from Ireland, and what little I heard will have me investigating sir Regan a bit more in detail. I couldn’t stay long, as the most anticipated performance by me for this years festival was quickly approaching. The National were due to take the stage at 1:30 and I had no plans on missing a single note.

Fionn Regan

photo : michael maly

The National

photo : michael maly

photo : michael maly

photo : michael maly

photo : michael maly

photo : michael maly

photo : michael maly

Mp3>>The National ‘All The Wine’

The band was as good if not better than I could have wished, especially it being a festival show and a tad bit warm outside. Friggin hot actually. The guitars sounded great, Matt vocals were spot on, the energy was there, and the addition of a keyboard/viola player added an intense dimension to the songs when they came to head. I couldn’t have been more happy with the show. Now for some hip-hop? I decided to check out Common just to see what the fuss was about, and it was about what I expected, some guy with a mic, looking good, doing a little jumping, getting people all worked up. I don’t know anything by Common, but the show was entertaining and he had a huge audience hanging on his every word.

Common

photo : michael maly

photo : michael maly

COMMON

The music has started and the crowd is HUGE. The familiar rhythms of modern hip-hop reach my ears. What have I gotten myself into? I’m not a hip hop fan by any means, though I own most of the classic albums..I try to understand, appreciate. It’s just not me. Then next thing you know I have my right fist in the air with the rest of the crown for “all mankind” . Rather cliché I fear. The next hour has me dancing hands in the air all the while listening to a diatribe of modern politics from healthcare to the plight of the Blackman…I get it. I sympathize. “You and I can affect the world”. It’s true. And hopefully this 2008 we will.

-Fabian Hernandez

Bloc Party likes tiny stuffed animals, and I liked the Bloc Party.

Bloc Party

photo : michael maly

photo : michael maly

photo : michael maly

photo : michael maly

photo : michael maly

photo : michael maly

photo : michael maly

The Wilco/My Morning Jacket scheduling conflict had me flip flopping until the last moment on which band was going to make the cut. I mentioned how much I miss the hair and I got hair.

MMJ

photo : michael maly

photo : michael maly

photo : michael maly

photo : michael maly

photo : michael maly

Tough decision number 2: Ghostland Observatory or The Decemberists? Home team wins, and so do the fans. I did catch a few songs of The Decemberists set and what I saw was great. Mark another one down on the to-do list.

Ghostland Observatory

photo : michael maly

photo : michael maly

photo : michael maly

photo : michael maly

photo : michael maly

photo : michael maly

Mp3>>Ghostland Observatory ‘Stranger Lover’

photo : michael maly

photo : michael maly

I think that if you speak to anyone that attended Sunday and saw Ghostland’s show, they might tell you it was the show of the day. Look out world, Ghostland is coming your way.

See ya next year ACL.

photo : michael maly

Saturday had arrived and although many attending are still cursing the fact that The White Stripes had cancelled their performance, set to close out this day, I gather that by the end of the day they won’t be much of a thought anymore. Plenty of music to keep you entertained, and although I didn’t catch anything that had me completely blown away, there was some great entertainment regardless, and the late addition Dr. Dog proved a solid way to begin this second day of ACL Fest 2007. The soulful semi-psychedelic rock sounds of these guys from Philly held my attention and has me curious about the recorded material. I hadn’t listened to them much previous, but supporting Wilco and on many a friends recommendations prompted the early start of today with the band.

You’ll find additional thoughts from other contributors throughout the coverage, for some different perspectives on the ACL experience.

Dr. Dog

photo : michael maly

ACL rocker

photo : michael maly

Filling the gap between Dr Dog and Cold War Kids I chose to see what Paulo Nutini was about, and it seemed to be about not much interesting at all. Paulo seemed a little sloppy, maybe the heat was too much, or maybe he had too much of something else? Maybe if watched more VH1 I might get it, but I don’t, and probably won’t…get it. Cold War Kids are always a crowd favorite, and I enjoy them, but the my curiosity bent me over to see the lovely St. Vincent for a few songs, as the recording Marry Me is finding it’s way into high rotation for me recently. Cute as a button, and performing solo, the set would have been more suited for a more intimate environment. She is definitely on the to-do list.

Cold War Kids

photo : michael maly

photo : michael maly

photo : michael maly

COLD WAR KIDS

My first intro to Cold War Kids was on SNL. “Hang me up to dry” to be exact. I was fairly impressed. That’s around the time I was getting into Wolf Parade. CWK had that same raw dissonance and unabashed energy…Ok. Ten minutes and ten dollars on iTunes later I had me some tunes. I listened enthusiastically and took it all in. I liked it. It has the same social commentary political message that so many bands out there are doing (think Muse but toned down and much more subtle). Their use of multiple rhythms and clean simple riffs keeps me going. The music is full and at points reminds me of the din you find in a casino… non-stop though. Lots of cool vocal trickery singing in 3rds fifths and octaves make for beautiful timbre. I will mention they have fallen into this damn falsetto thing that I heard no less than half the male artists use this festival. Frigin Coldplay. It’s their fault. Hopefully it’ll fizzle out. Overall It was an awesome show. I left before the end of the set (a mistake for sure) to find my brother at Blue October and see what all the hype is about.

-Fabian Hernandez

St. Vincent

photo : michael maly

Mp3>>St. Vincent ‘Landmines’

Andrew Bird was definitely one of the highlights of the day, and I think that his performance left quite the mark on a the minds of the fortunate souls that caught this classically trained multi-instrumentalist whose whistling skills are…amazing. Arctic Monkeys were up next, and although the crowd attending was immense and enthusiastic, I couldn’t find any reason to stick around for more than a couple of songs. Maybe the Tito’s Vodka flowing in the media tent clouded my judgement a bit. Doubt it. The Clap Your Hands and Say Yeah performance was more rockin than what I recalled of their Lolla set, and had me scratching my head as to why I don’t listen to these guys more often.

Andrew Bird

photo : michael maly

Mp3>>Andrew Bird ‘Heretics’

Arctic Monkeys Fans

photo : michael maly

Arctic Monkeys

photo : michael maly

photo : michael maly

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

photo : michael maly

I was so looking forward to the Arcade Fire set, and due to circumstances beyond my control, I ended up catching the first few songs of Muse (photo opportunity) hoping that I would discover what everyone else seems to find appealing about this band. I gave them a second chance as the first experience did nothing for me. Well, second chance given, and I’ll tell you what….the light show was amazing. I did catch the last few songs of the Arcade Fire set, and it appeared that their performance may have been one of the standout sets of the day for those who caught it in it’s entirety. Next time.

Muse

photo : michael maly

photo : michael maly

photo : michael maly

photo : michael maly

  MUSE

Gees it was a workout getting here. After last years show I was stoked at having them headline Saturday. Granted that was due to White Stripes bowing out but welcome in my world none the less… I go back and forth with Mike about Muse. I’m rather impressed, he’s not. I can’t explain it. I’ve stayed up at night trying to understand. I don’t. My second time seeing them confirmed my previous opinion. These guys are incredible! Their music is unwavering and there stage presence great. Their vocals are spot on and have my favorite politically charged album of the last decade. Not to mention “Starlight”. I’ll hold you in my arms. Wow! A great show finishing an amazing day! See you Sunday! Hope you change your mind friend!

-Fabian Hernandez

Arcade Fire

photo : michael maly

Hula girl

photo : valerie@fremin.net

photo : michael maly

It’s finally here, and despite the last minute line-up changes that have many questioning whether or not the festival is going to be worth the pay, the overall consensus is that there is still a great festival experience ahead of us for the next three days in sunny Austin, Tx. The distinct difference between ACL and many of the other Festivals around the country is the variety of music that you have access to on one given day, and the opportunity to catch something unique that might usually be off of your radar. Such was the case for me this day, in the most pleasant of ways.

Heartless Bastards

photo : michael maly

The day started early with a set from Heartless Bastards, and an early indication that the heat was going to be a force to deal with this afternoon, although conditions have been much worse in previous years, the added years to this vessel make it a little less tolerable. Heartless Bastards, although enjoyable, didn’t quite have the punch that I find on the record, and maybe I didn’t give them enough time to find it over 4 songs, but time was tight with a full schedule ahead. I’m sure that there after-party show at The Parish will find them in a more suitable setting. I’m still a fan.

Pete Yorn

photo : michael maly

photo : michael maly

Pete Yorn’s set was briefly interrupted by a small fire that injured a couple of people, and had a few folks heading for the gate for an unnecessary exit. Read report @ Austin.360.

Peter Bjorn & John

photo : michael maly

Peter Bjorn & John

photo : michael maly

photo : michael maly

All whistling aside Peter, Bjorn and John delivered a saccharine sweet performance Friday afternoon. They were humorous, finely tuned and all smiles while the foreign Texas heat gave no mercy. As a nice little surprise there was a Concretes cover they made distinctly their own. The whole show I couldn’t help but think all the songs they played could be on a Brat Pack soundtrack. That could explain why they were dressed like Principal Vernon but a hell of a lot better looking.

sarah padgett

 

M.I.A

photo : michael maly

Peter Bjorn & John like Sprite and like to jump when they rock, and MIA likes a cold Heineken to cool off in the Texas heat. MIA started her own fire during her set by inviting the fans to ignore security and join her on stage, and many took her up on that offer.

I’ll be waiting for that check in the mail from Sprite and Heineken, by the way.

Manchester Orchestra

photo : michael maly

photo : michael maly

The road weary (surely they have to be a little by now) Manchester Orchestra despite lacking some equipment arriving because of temporary street closure as a result of the fire, delivered the goods as usual and found a small legion of fans singing and rocking along, even though the bleed over from the Blonde Redhead set was a distraction at times between songs. The boys need to get some rest as they have just been secured to open (only openers mind you) for Kings of Leon on the European leg of the remaining tour. You start the year playing small clubs for 20 people and finish it up playing Wembley Stadium. Couldn’t have happened to a nicer group of guys. One of my favorite performances of the day for sure.

photo : michael maly

QOTSA

photo : michael maly

I have to admit I regret not catching the entire LCD Soundsystem set, but what little I did hear was great, and I’ll be leaving this day with that one regret.

Josh Homme “The Dude”, came to drink and dance with Austin today, and the guys brought the testosterone fueled rock in the way that QOTSA do, loud, heavy, and dirty.

Gotan Project

photo : michael maly

Gotan Project

photo : michael maly

The Gotan Project was a pleasant discovery thanks to the suggestion of someone, and the unique style of Argentinean music mixed with a little electronic mix performed by this band from Paris, France that is suitable for a movie soundtrack was refreshing. I wish that I could do the band more justice with a description, but I more to investigate and I would suggest that you do the same.

Bjork

photo : michael maly

Bjork

photo : michael maly

And then there was Bjork. I have to admit that I haven’t been a fan for years, but armed with lasers, Spiderman like webs shooting from her hands, and the occasional infectious beat, Bjork is a great performer. Someone said that she looks like a kid playing on stage, and I think that’s a great assessment. A big kid frolicking in the sounds and beats of their own mysterious Icelandic Princess dreams and fantasies.

Good night ACL

photo : michael maly

Sure, most everyone attending this year’s Austin City Limits Music Festival are familiar with a lot of the main acts like Bjork, Dylan, The White Stripes, Muse, or even Spoon, but if you have dropped $145 for a 3-day pass, you should make best of this opportunity to see a band you may not be familiar with that just might blow your friggin mind. Some of my favorite band discovery moments have happened @ ACL Festival, and this series of posts over the next week will feature bands that may or not be known by you, but who I am looking forward to seeing, and believe that they are going to be some of the highlight performances for many who catch them at this years festival.

She might appear to the book smart quite girl next door, but St. Vincent, whose real name is Annie Clark, exposes the dark, sexy, harsh realities of love and relationships through her eclectic mix of art indi-pop that bounces, screams, jangles, and drifts beautifully through her most recent release Marry Me. Lyrics like, “I’m crawling through landmines/Just to know where you are/There’s smoke in my eyes/Because you’re burning the ground” spark interest almost instantaneously. A late addition to the Festival lineup this subtle siren, once a Polyphonic Spree-er, is quickly turning heads on the indie-rock circuit with her live performances in which, reportedly is no slack when it comes to making the guitar sing. St. Vincent is currently touring with The National, and will no doubtedly be making herself more well known to most of us over the coming months.

St. Vincent will take the Austin Ventures Stage @ 4 p.m. Saturday 9.15 and will also be playing one of the Hot Freaks! sponsored shows later that evening @ The Mohawk. Marry me St. Vincent!

Mp3>>All My Stars Aligned

Mp3>>Marry Me

The Sonic Itch Music crew is going to be attending this year’s ACL Music Festival in grand fashion, working hard on bringing you the most up to date coverage with photographs of music and festival happenings. Please check back on a daily basis for updates with detailed show reviews popping up during the following week. Hope to see you there, and don’t be afraid to say hi!

Some tunage from some of the artists we plan on checking out:

Mp3>>St. Vincent ‘Landmines’

Mp3>>Ben Kweller ‘Magic’

Mp3>>Wilco ‘Jesus, etc.’

As it is at most large festivals these days AT&T Blue Room Music will be streaming live webcasts of select artists during the ACL Festival this year. Let’s just hope that they don’t get trigger happy with the mute button when an artist might decide to speak his or her mind about something political. I’m still mad at you AT&T and don’t think I didn’t think twice about posting this in support of your webcast but I’m giving you a second chance. I’m not sure which artists are going to be a part of the webcast, so you might want to check the AT&T Blue Room site for information.

For those of you with XM Radio, you can hear the performances as well as interviews with your favorite artists on two of the stations available on XM Radio.

Here is the performance and channel schedule:

BROADCAST SCHEDULE for XMX – XM 2 Schedules and line-ups are subject to change. Saturday, 9/15, Noon-Midnight ET Crowded House Bela Fleck Asleep at the Wheel Spoon Joss Stone Bjork Steve Earle Stephen Marley Damien Rice Arctic Monkeys Sunday, 9/16, Noon-Midnight ET Muse The White Stripes Arcade Fire Indigo Girls Rodrigo & Gabriela Lucinda Williams Bloc Party Regina Spektor Amos Lee BROADCAST SCHEDULE for XMU – XM 43 Schedules and line-ups are subject to change. Saturday, 9/15, and Sunday, 9/16, Noon ET Ben Kweller The Little Ones The National Yo La Tengo Wilco Sound Team Ghostland Observatory Bloc Party Arcade Fire My Morning Jacket Wilco

Sure, most everyone attending this year’s Austin City Limits Music Festival are familiar with a lot of the main acts like Bjork, Dylan, The White Stripes, Muse, or even Spoon, but if you have dropped $145 for a 3-day pass, you should make best of this opportunity to see a band you may not be familiar with that just might blow your friggin mind. Some of my favorite band discovery moments have happened @ ACL Festival, and this series of posts over the next week will feature bands that may or not be known by you, but who I am looking forward to seeing, and believe that they are going to be some of the highlight performances for many who catch them at this years festival.

This is one band that despite the recommendations of others in the industry, whom I completely trust their recommendations, I put off a little too long. The latest release on Fat Possum Records by the band called All This Time has been spending plenty of time in the player over the past few weeks, and just keeps rockin my little ass. Heartless Bastards are a 3 piece rock outfit from Cincinnati Ohio who are quickly creating quite the buzz for themselves on the modern rock circuit. My quick assesment of the sound is Cat Power minus the Chanel add a little Jack Daniels, with a whisper Patti Smith passion and grit, accompanied by great fuzzy rockin guitar sounds. Citing influences like T Rex, Bob Dylan, Sonic Youth, Otis Redding, Shel Silverstein, Rolling Stones, Aretha Franklin, Brian Eno, Johnny Thunders, Billie Holiday, GBV, Elliot Smith, Ray Charles, Pixies, Breeders, David Bowie, Iggy and the Stooges, Flaming Lips can only lead you to believe what you might be in for this weekend.

Heartless Bastards take the AT&T Blue Room stage @ 1:30 Friday 9.14, so get there early and get your festival weekend started right. You can also catch them Saturday night at the Parish for one of the official ACL after party shows.

Mp3>>All This Time
Mp3>>Valley of Debris

A lot has happened over the past couple of days in news that concerns us music fans in Austin, Tx and here is a quick update:

• The White Stripes have canceled a good portion of their tour, including their ACL Festival performance and after party @ Stubb’s on Sunday the 16th. C3 has filled the gaping wound by sliding all of the acts already scheduled to perform on the AT&T Stage up a slot making Muse the headlining act for the evening, and adding Dr. Dog to fill the 12:30 opening. Muse had quite the attendance at this years Lollapalooza, and they have quite the growing fan base these days. Word is..that their performance is well suited for the festival stage.
• The much anticipated Sunday performance of The White Stripes @ Stubbs that has been canceled is now to be replaced by a performance by Cold War Kids and Austin’s own Ghostland Observatory. Show the Cold War Kids some love as they were the opening act for The White Stripes on the current tour, and now find themselves tourless for quite awhile.
• Rodrigo Y Gabriella have canceled their ACL performance as well and their time slot is to be filled by Common.
• St. Vincent has been added to the festival lineup and will be taking the Austin Ventures stage @ 4 p.m. on Saturday 9.15. I’ve heard and read good things about her, and am extremely curious about the live performance.

• Austin’s own Sound Team is calling it quits after the ACL weekend. Band members get older, responsibilities and priorities change, and we lose a great local band. Good luck to the guys in future endeavors.

Mp3>>Cold War Kids ‘Hang Me Up to Dry’

Mp3>>Sound Team ‘The Fastest Man Alive’

I love me some National if you haven’t already figured that out, and the anticipation of their performance just a few days away at ACL Festival 2007 has me plain giddy. If you haven’t checked these guys out yet, don’t waste any more time, just do it, you’ll love it.

The newest video from the band for “Apartment Story”

Mp3>>Slow Show
**

Sure, most everyone attending this year’s Austin City Limits Music Festival are familiar with a lot of the main acts like Bjork, Dylan, The White Stripes, Muse, or even Spoon, but if you have dropped $145 for a 3-day pass, you should make best of this opportunity to see a band you may not be familiar with that just might blow your friggin mind. Some of my favorite band discovery moments have happened @ ACL Festival, and this series of posts over the next week will feature bands that may or not be known by you, but who I am looking forward to seeing, and believe that they are going to be some of the highlight performances for many who catch them at this years festival.

The guys in Manchester Orchestra have had a full year already touring constantly and watching their audience grow by leaps and bounds. The guys have already made their way through Austin at least 4 times this year if not more, and I have had the privilege of catching 2 of their performances which have left me emotionally moved and looking forward to the next opportunity to see these on stage once again. Led by front-man Andy Hull, who crafts guitar driven rock songs that flirt with spirituality and the darker side of emotions that we sometimes resist, the band pours their hearts and souls in to each performance with undeniable enthusiasm for the songs that they recreate on stage. With the announcement of handling opening duties for Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and Kings of Leon well into October and the most recent performance on The Late Show with David Letterman, one can only believe that these guys have much more in store for us in the future.

Manchester Orchestra play the Austin Ventures stage @ 4 p.m. on Friday 9.14. Hope to see you there.

Mp3>>Alice and Interiors

The mighty rumor mill is churning out word that The White Stripes have dropped out of the ACL Festival and the afterparty at Stubbs. I’m not sure that this has been confirmed, but the rumor has hit the street, is spreading like wildfire, and is quickly making some very unhappy folks out there. Guess the Arcade Fire is going to have quite the crowd at their performance now. It will be interesting to see how the crew @ C3 are going to fill this gaping wound.

Mp3>>The White Stripes ‘The Big 3 Killed my Baby’

Also if you haven’t heard, Rodrigo & Gabriela cancelled the remainder of their shows for September which includes the ACL performance, and Common will be filling the spot.

Update: It’s official, The White Stripes are out of ACL and not playing any dates until mid October. C3 has shifted the scheduled bands on that stage up a time slot, making Muse the headliner on the stage for the evening, and have added Dr. Dog to fill the 12:30 opening.

Sure, most everyone attending this year’s Austin City Limits Music Festival are familiar with a lot of the main acts like Bjork, Dylan, The White Stripes, Muse, or even Spoon, but if you have dropped $145 for a 3-day pass, you should make best of this opportunity to see a band you may not be familiar with that just might blow your friggin mind. Some of my favorite band discovery moments have happened @ ACL Festival, and this series of posts over the next week will feature bands that may or not be known by you, but who I am looking forward to seeing, and believe that they are going to be some of the highlight performances for many who catch them at this years festival.

I’ve been a fan of The National since I first heard the Alligator recording, and this years release Boxer has secured them as one of my favorite bands currently with this latest release being, quite possibly my pick for record of the year. This group from Brooklyn likes to keep it in the family with two sets of brothers in the group, adding the tall mysterious stranger Matt Berninger to front the band in the most appropriate of ways. The brother sets piece together beautiful melancholy atmospheric tunes that compliment Matt’s boozy poetic lyrics that detail the simple and easily forgotten pleasures of everyday existence dealing mostly with relationships and love. The sounds of The National are at home in a dark smoky bar that has a history capable of filling a book with tales and stories that could entertain us for years, and hopefully that is what these guys will be doing for us in the future.

The National play The AT&T Blue Room Stage Sunday 9.16 @ 1:30 and also will be playing with Blonde Redhead @ Emo’s Saturday night with show starting @ 9:30.

Mp3>>Apartment Story

Mp3>>Brainy

You heard it right, the great Bobby Dylan is going to grace the Stubbs Waller Creek Amphitheatre stage during this years ACL Festival weekend. Dylan will play Stubb’s Saturday night 9.15 with doors opening @ 8 p.m.. Tickets for this treasured event will go on sale 9.12 @ 10 a.m. available only on-line through stubbs.frontgatetickets.com. Chances are these tickets will be gone in a matter of minutes, and chances are you’ll find them on craigslist selling for some ridiculous amount by some greedy piece of trash cashing in on your love for music. Enjoy the show.

I do have to hand it to those guys over at C3 Presents who manage to throw one well of a party called ACL Festival.