1/2 of the quite popular Black Keys, Dan Auerbach has struck out on his own, and my experience with both parties, has me favoring the solo effort from Auerbach. Purely by chance, I happened upon his performance @ the Parish during SXSW 2009, and it still stands as one of my favorite performances this year. The live performance trumps the recorded material, hands down.

Texas’s own Hacienda along with My Morning Jacket’s kit thumper Patrick Hallahan, make up the Fast Five, and it makes 6 reasons why you should check out this performance. What else is really going on around that time? Pearl Jam? Sorry guys, living for the future on this one, and let’s be quite honest. Pearl Jam is going be a people jam. No thanks.

MP3> Dan Auerbach ‘My Last Mistake’

Dan Auerbach: Austin Ventures Stage Sun 7:15

How you pronounce this name, is still a mystery to me, even with the Wikipedia IPA for English system, which I haven’t quite figured out. (pronounced /bo?ni?v??r/^[3]). No matter how you pronounce this band name, which is the work of indie folkster Justin Vernon, the music still sounds as beautiful and haunting as the first time it met your ears.

The 2008 release For Emma, Forever Ago was one of my favorite releases that year. A recording that captured Vernon’s 3 month experience staying in a cabin deep in the northwoods of Wisconsin. The album repeatedly feels cold, isolated, fresh, and lonesome, while all the while comforting. I’ve only had one experience with Vernon in the live setting, and walked away pleasantly surprised by this band that I had never heard of, promising myself a repeat visit. Repeat visit for me happens on Saturday, and I hope you join.

MP3> Bon Iver ‘Skinny Love’

Bon Iver:Dell Stage Sat 5:00

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

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

Sonic Youth’s latest offering The Eternal sees the band returning to the form that crowned them post-punk icons. Raw, dirty, scrappy, and rockin, whilst maintaining their unique and personal sonic sound.

“Sacred Trickster” leads us into The Eternal and the video is a visual homage to some punk-rock history.

Who am I excited about seeing @ ACL Festival??

Post-punk icons, Sonic Youth are still at and haven’t slowed down much since they first hit the scene, quite a few years ago. The band has a new record coming out June 9th, on a new label for them, Matador Records, titled Eternal. What’s gonna be different with the new recording, other than the label? Hopefully not too much, as Sonic Youth are perfectly fine doing what they have been doing for years. Making glorious sonic noise, and doing better than many others that have tried to follow in their footsteps.

Download the first available track and check out two video clips from Later With Jools Holland for 3 songs off of the upcoming release. “What We Know”, “Sacred Trickster”, and “Antenna”.

The band is playing this years ACL Festival, much to my delight, and the tickets are going fast if you haven’t heard. More tour dates after the jump.

MP3> Sonic Youth ‘Sacred Trickster’

Sonic Youth Tour Dates Read more

You heard it right. 3-day passes for ACL Festival 2009 are gone! No mas! Finito! Adios!

Did I say it was going to happen? Probably. Those Pearl Jam guys can still sell some tickets.

Feeling a little panicky? Get over to the ACL Fest website and pick up your 1-day passes. We just posted a short list of bands and the days that they are playing to help you decide.

No times as of yet, and it’ll probably be a little while, but at least you can start planning which days you are going to favor the most of the weekend.

Friday: Beastie Boys, Kings of Leon, Thievery Corp, Mos Def, Lilly Allen, Coheed and Cambria, Andrew Bird, Phoenix, Bassnectar, Medeski, Martin & Wood, Avett Brothers Reckless Kelly

Saturday: Dave Matthews Band, John Legend, The Levon Helm Band, Ghostland Observatory, the Decemberists, Flogging Molly, Citizen Cope, STS9 (Sound Tribe Sector 9), Bon Iver, !!!, DeVotchka, The Scabs

Sunday: Pearl Jam, Ben Harper and Relentless7, the Dead Weather, Sonic Youth, Toadies, the B-52s, Arctic Monkeys, Clutch, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Girl Talk, Passion Pit, Heartless Bastards

thanks to Paige Maquire and Austin 360.com for the tip.  That’s two mentions of Paige in one day..weird.

Well, the 2009 ACL Festival lineup hit the internet when the clock turned April 28th, and as expected the headlining acts previously (purposely) leaked are there. Pearl Jam, Beastie Boys, Dave Matthews Band, and Kings of Leon should guarantee and quick sellout for this year’s event in time when the economy could have an effect on the festival season.

If you haven’t already noticed on the Lollapalooza site, there have been some really cool improvements in regards to the band info and the scheduling features. Facebook linking, video, playlists, artist info. And if it all looks a little familiar to those of you in Austin, it’s because it was put together by DoStuff a.ka. the fine folks @ Do512.com. Good work guys! Looks awesome!