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

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

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

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

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

Beardyman mixes ironic themes with dance and dubstep, serving a rich and informed experiment. Oh yeah, and the music is all beatboxing, electronically distorted via trending “live-looping” – sound manipulation applied to the mouth better than auto-tune, if you ask me. This guy will bring something original to the BMI stage; worth a listen. Songs to check out: “Where does your mind go?” and “U R Mine.”

Beardyman: Friday 4:30-5:30 on the BMI Stage

Shortly after landing himself on the Matador Records label, Kurt Vile began to generate a slow buzz in the music community, capturing the attention of Sonic Youth member Kim Gordon along the way. Gordon mentioned in an interview that Vile’s Childish Prodigy had become a guilty pleasure for her, guilty because she listened to it too much. Vile has followed up the 2009 Childish Prodigy release with this year’s Smoke Ring For My Halo, which continues and builds on Vile’s style of music ranging from soft acoustic driven songs to tracks that are capable of bringing the noisy Crazy Horse crunch. Tours with Thurston Moore, Dinosaur Jr, and Bright Eyes indicate that Vile and company put on a show worthy of complimenting some of the best in the industry.

Kurt Vile and the Violators play the Austin Ventures Stage @ 5 p.m. Friday

Is that a glockenspiel, you ask? Yes, a well-placed glockenspiel surrounded by glittery guitars, synth-infused beats, and a vocal power duo. Cults’ sound is reminiscent of Shiny Toy Guns, but with a pop flair. Lovers of MGMT and The Animals may enjoy the organ chords plucked straight from the pulpit. Outfitting for ACL will be interesting as well, considering the female vocalist Madeline Follin wears an anemone-like wardrobe made of balloons in the video “Oh My God.” Songs to check out: “Go Outside” and “Abducted.”

Cults : Friday at 11:45am on the Honda Stage

Miniature Tigers is a treat for the indie-electro lover, the pop guru and the believer of online relationships. IE, the bandmates explored each other’s music so much that guitarist Charlie Brand moved west to make music with drummer Rick Shaler. Match made. Boosting the same genre to which Neon Indian and Crystal Castles have similarly contributed, these tigers may not be so miniature after the festival. Songs to check out: “The Wolf” (featured in “Easy A”) and “Bullfighter Jacket”.

Friday 11:20-12:00 on the Austin Ventures Stage

MP3> Miniature Tigers ‘Gold Skull’

A little bit surprised that this band from Athen’s GA made the cut for this year’s ACL Fest, but definitely glad that they did. This year has seen the band performing on the road in the Bonnaroo Buzz Tour, at Bonnarroo, and with the Drive By Truckers, just to name a few. Quite the year for the Futurebirds so far.

Early Friday at ACL Fest will see Futurebirds going head to head with one of this year’s biggest buzz bands Cults. Two different sounds for sure, and maybe enough time to start of your day with a little of both. My vote goes to Futurebirds on this specific occasion as the live show takes the recorded material and cranks it up tenfold. A little country, a little psych, and a lot of rock. You can bet if Graham Parsons were still alive, he’d be standing in the crowd with cold beer in hand soaking up the sounds of Futurebirds.

Futurebirds Friday 9/16 11:45 on the Google+ Stage

Futurebirds “Megachills” by: wino-strut from HYMNAL on Vimeo.

It’s that time of the year, living in Austin and being one that does a bit of writing about music, that time of year where that question becomes a regular occurrence. “So what do you think about the ACL lineup?” I usually shrug it off with a quick answer, not really having put a lot of thought into it immediately, and drop a few band names that stand out from the get go. So, I figure it’s getting to be about that time that I sit down with the current lineup and figure out what my real thoughts on it are, and share here for all the world to hear.

First off, its ACL Festival. It’s a very “Austin” festival which makes sense knowing the musical history of this city. It’s a festival that appeals to a broad range of music fans, unlike many of the other popular festivals that target a more specific, narrower audience. While Coachella and Bonnaroo have both stretched their outreach in regards to genres while still staying true to their core, ACL is all over the map when it comes to musical styles. Personally, I would rather have a Coachella or Bonnaroo in my backyard, but ACL manages to pull some interesting surprises within it’s broad range of acts.

First, lets start with the headliners, which every year ACL shows it’s willingness to cater to the general masses, and fails to show much in the way of creativity or adventure. And let’s face it, by the time the headliners hit the stage, unless you have dedicated the last few hours to securing your spot at that stage, there’s no reason to try to navigate the masses for a glimpse at what is happening on stage. My personal opinion anyway, but I’m not much of a fan of the crowds when it comes to enjoying my live music.

Coldplay: Hasn’t this thing about run it’s course yet? If you’ve seen the band in the recent video for “Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall” it looks as if they are trying to slightly reinvent their image, sporting uniform like wear, and Martin a hairstyle that hints at some Canadian with the last name Butler..coincidence? Aside from that “Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall”? The lyrical well seems to have run dry.

Arcade Fire: Speaking of Canadians. This particular group is on…..well, you know. They are hot. I don’t get it completely, but the accolades could go to a worse bunch of folks (see above).

Kanye West: Who doesn’t know the name Kanye West? I can’t personally name one song that he sings, but the man is a brand, and he sells.

Fleet Foxes: Probably the riskiest of headliners, but there is no denying that this sheepish band of Northwestern hippies have made one record that is pulling a small indie label into the mainstream, much like Arcade Fire did for Merge. One of the most thoroughly enjoyable live shows I’ve experienced this year, but will the ACL experience compare? Doubtful. But, for those who have not experienced the band, stick around for this one.

Now, digging deeper into the lineup, I’ve come to the conclusion that this year has a lot more that I’m interested in than in the past few years. ACL definitely has brought in some middle lineup artists that are of definite interest, if because of being a fan, or simply because it’s a rare opportunity to see some of these performers.

Death From Above 1979: Can I get a HELL YEAH! I find it pretty amazing that a two piece dance-rock/noise punk band that existed for a mere 5 years and put out only one album has been selected to play ACL during their reunion. A reunion that has the band playing some of the biggest festivals around the world. Do your research kids and mark Death From Above 1979 down for a must see at ACL 2011.

Elbow: Considered somewhat of a cult band here in the states, Elbow are little more than rock stars in their native UK, and have been building on that status for years. The band’s Asleep In The Back 2001 release still sees regular play time with me, and as I haven’t stayed up on their most recent releases as I should, they have been on that “must see” list for awhile. Time to brush up on their discography, and ink them into the ACL schedule.

Empire of The Sun: Another surprise with this band added to the festival, especially seeing that they haven’t had a release since 2008. I can’t say that I know much of this Australian duo consisting of Luke Steele and Nick Littlemore, other than I am a fan of Steele’s other project The Sleepy Jackson. Specifically the Lovers release. I do know that they have a flair for exotic costumes, and it would seem that the live show will be a visual feast for the eyes.

Futurebirds: Pleasantly surprised to see this relatively obscure band from Athen’s GA making the lineup, but when you are on Justin Gage’s Autumn Tone label, doors might open a bit easier. Country tinged low-fi rock with a punk attitude sounds just right for an afternoon romp in Zilker Park.

The Cave Singers: Been a fan of these guys since the get go. An unexpected sound from this trio with a history of making music more suited for thrashing than the stripped down modern folk with toe-tapping beat that reaches levels of intensity that folk rarely sees. Fresh off opening a leg of the Fleet Foxes tour, the band has had a chance to hone their style of music on the larger stage and for a much larger audience.

Other notables without getting into much more detail, which I will reserve for a more detailed preview of this year’s fest:

Phosphorescent

Kurt Vile and The Violators

Wild Beasts

Smith Westerns

Foster The People

The Antlers

City and Colour

Twin Shadows

Social Distortion

So, now that I’ve put a little time into exploring this year’s lineup, there’s quite a few mid level bands sparkled with some very interesting choices and surprises to peak my interest. Now, since I wrote last year that 2010 might be my goodbye to ACL, the fine folks over at the fest might pass on my request for attendance. This is not a plea or pandering, but 2011 renews my faith in this local festival. Seriously.

And if you want tickets…Sunday tickets are all that’s left unless you want to cruise Craiglist. BUY SUNDAY TICKETS

I’ll have more on recommendations coming closer to the event.

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