Ready to get your Fun Fun Fun Fest on? Or maybe you can make it, but love you some free rock n roll? Get out tonight for 3 offerings at 3 different venues, and a ton of bands for FREE: Details….

The Helio Sequence
presented by Toyotal Matrix and Mike’s Hard Punch
w/Til We’re Blue or Destroy, The Great Nostalgic
Plus, avoid festival lines and pick up your tickets here!
Date: Thu Nov 4th 2010
Venue: Club De Ville 9:00pm

Austinist presents Local Music Is Sexy
w/Bill Baird, The Weird Weeds, Watch Out For Rockets, Markov, Botany, Amasa Gana, Sleep Good, Mutual Benefit, Dana Falconberry, Rayon Beach, Sally Crewe
Date: Thu Nov 4th 2010
Venue: Mohawk (both stages) 9:00pm

Saviours + Inquisition
w/Pack of Wolves, HOD, Naw Dude
Date: Thu Nov 4th 2010
Venue: Red 7 9:00pm

Originally, when I picked the band Wavves to write about, I was prepared to spend more time on an artist whom I felt has had a bit of train wreck of a quick career that might be teetering on the edge of his musical existence. What I found is a guy who was shot onto a world stage rather quickly all as a result of some noisy California psych rock record recorded in his parents back yard, and despite some ugly moments is a guy that I can like. You can comfortably say that Nathan William’s is Wavve, and William’s journey in the world of music has been a slingshot trip that almost came apart completely in 2009. Just as things were rolling full steam ahead for Williams, the buzz literally took it’s toll and a complete breakdown in the middle of a festival show brought the band to many’s attention.

Fast forward to 2010 and Wavves have a new record, a few new band members and new sound that reflects a more mature songwriter. With the help of producer Dennis Herring, Williams has crafted a record that embodies the original careless noisy attitude, delivers it all in softer musical package, but never backs down from exposing the raw bits of emotional turmoil that have been there since the beginning.

Self loathing aside, there’s a sunny side to Wavves, and here’s to seeing it in full force on Sat at Fun Fun Fun Fest

Wavves plays the ORANGE stage Sat @ 3:30 p.m.

MP3> Wavves ‘Idiot’

Why make it complicated with your lyrics when all you have to say is..”I wish he was my boyfriend”? Drop that in the middle of California Beach Boys inspired low-fi pop and it has to be a winner.

Surf pop gospel is what the Myspace page says with a lean towards easy breezy. Expect California girl Bethany Cosentino to be checking out the local organic gluten free options for food, while she brings a little West Coast to Central Texas.

Best Coast plays the ORANGE stage on Sunday 11.7 @ 5:10

MP3> Best Coast ‘When I’m With You’

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

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?

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’

Bradford Cox and Co. are at it once again, shifting gears and throwing curve balls, while managing to keep us very interested. Halcyon Digest sees legal on Sept 28th and the band brings it’s cryptic rock to Austin for Fun Fun Fun Fest 2010.

Up close and personal with Cox in this video for “Helicopter”

Aside from the fact that there are legions of MGMT fans out there who might want to see this, myself not included in that group, there are two reasons I’m posting this video:

1. The band is one of the headliners for this year’s Fun Fun Fun Fest, and I’m always willing to do my part to promote what is one of the coolest music festivals in Austin, if not the entire universe.

2. I found the video on the Death + Taxes magazine’s website, and this is what I found to be awesome:

Now this is just weird, and kind of depressing. Those Brooklyn buzzers MGMT have released a video for “Congratulations” off of their mediocre album of the same name. In the video, we find the duo taking a stroll across the desert outside of Las Vegas with a weird creature that’s somewhere between Jim Henson, a duck and an acid trip.

They just called the album mediocre. Awesome. If you don’t subscribe to this Death + Taxes magazine or read their site, you, my friend, are missing out some goodness.

now the freak show called MGMT

Well, maybe not like a sieve, but I’ve always wanted to use that term. More like a drippy faucet.

So, if you haven’t been keeping score, Fun Fun Fun Fest leaked 3 artists for this year’s event last week. Keeping it real with the old school as Funx3 Fest is great at doing, rapper Slick Rick and hardcore punks Suicidal Tendencies were 2/3 of the initial leak. Introducing something new and fresh, the 3rd artists leaked last week is LA’s Best Coast, who’s surf/pop/gospel is promising to keep it easy breezy.

And that brings us to today. The day that finds us with more sweet leaks from the Funx3 Fest, featuring Dirty Projectors (yay!), Yelle (oh, they’re French), Snapcase, The Gories, and Cap’n Jazz.

Surely the leaks will keep on a comin, and if you pay attention here, you’ll get more info on the bands that we are really excited about, and maybe a few that need a closer look.

“I’m not crazy, you’re the one that’s crazy!”

Our favorite local fest has dates for 2010. The Transmission Entertainment powered Fun Fun Fun Fest is set to deliver you another great event featuring a splendid blend of old school, new hipster, and chuckles this fall. Mark the calendar for Nov 5th, 6th, and 7th, and start penning your wish list…I’ve got mine in the works already.

Follow the Fun Fun Fun Twitter for updates

Fun Fun Fun Fest has been setting the bar for “fun” in a music festival/event for the past couple of years, and with SXSW looming in the near future, I find myself looking forward the fall of 2010. March has somehow lost a bit of it’s appeal and luster.  For those of you who haven’t made it out to Fun Fun Fun Fest yet.. shame, and here’s what you have been missing…

For those of you not familiar, Get To Know In 7 is a quick 7 question interview that I come up on the spot when I have the opportunity to chat with a member of a band. Usually a band that I’m really digging at the time, and the questions aren’t the usual interview questions. Sure they might seem a little simple and dumb, but the answers can be interesting. I had the opportunity to present the 7 to both members of Twin Tigers and Dead Confederate, two bands that hail from Athen’s GA, when they were in town for Fun Fun Fun Fest a few weeks back. Read more

It’s been just over one week since Fun Fun Fun Fest 09 closed down, and left us with one of the most memorable festival experiences this year. These are the last images we left with on that wet and sloppy Sunday.

I wasn’t that familiar with Mission of Burma before, but the band’s set felt pleasantly familiar, and took me back to a time that I wish still existed.

As much of a fan I have been of Lucero’s for the past few years, I had all but given up hope that the band was capable of delivering a set in which Ben Nichols voice would last to the end, as well as the band remaining sober enough to play the songs to some recognition. I was pleasantly surprised to find them in great form, along with a horn section in tow, breathing new life into the road worn veterans who still deserve their day in the spotlight.

Crystal Castles set seemed interesting enough, but I was unfortunately distracted. Photo access issues that arose late in the day, were the only setback for the festival.

I haven’t really invested much time in the music of Of Montreal, which I should remedy, but the live shows are always an experience, fan or no fan. You can always count on great costumes, plenty of extras, feathers, and plenty of color.

Due to unfortunate circumstances, Valerie was forced to shoot from the crowd, but managed pretty well.

There was a conversation that I had with a friend of mine who was more than excited about the resurrection of the Detroit band Death, but had concerns about how good their show could be so long after their time in the 70′s.  Death quickly swept away any concerns when they took the Orange stage on Saturday night.

Arriving a bit late to the park, the band’s late start for their set didn’t upset any of the huge crowd of curious fans, many of whom weren’t even born before 1980. The band played tight and furious, to a the constant chants of “Death!” coming from the audience, an audience the size of which the band rarely if ever had played before. “Keep On Knocking” set the pace and “Politicians In My Eyes” closed out a set that had each member of the band grinning from ear to ear while receiving congratulations and high fives as they excited the stage. Well done Death, and well done Fun Fun Fun Fest.