Austin City Limits - Day Three

Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears - wow, he's got some pipes. Otis Redding is the most common comparison, but Joe Lewis' voice reminds me of The Hardest-Working Man in Showbusiness, James Brown, if Brown decided to make crunchy, raunchy blues rock. Lewis' energy, passionate voice, and never-a-clean-note guitar playing overshadow the sometimes immature lyrics, and he had the crowd bopping along despite the early hour.

The B-52s - amazingly still at it, still turning out the same infectious pop they ever did. The crowd obviously roared for hits "Roam" and "Love Shack," but the rest of the material kept the audience engaged as well.

Arctic Monkeys - whether the infectious punk pop of "I Bet You Look Good on the Dance Floor" or the murkier stuff from their new album, they were electrifying. It's easy to get lost in how precocious they are and how clever the lyrics are, but the Arctic Monkeys can play. Blazing guitar solos and rapid drum riffs kept the pulses pounding. A major highlight of the whole festival was an extended version of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds classic "Red Right Hand." The Monkeys were faithful to the dark feel of the original but with a punk energy that was all their own. I liked the Arctic Monkeys before but I'm a believer now.

Passion Pit - the Boston-based band kept the audience dancing through their boisterous set. Between them and Girl Talk, a little later, the X-BOX360 stage was party central for Sunday.

The Dead Weather - I missed half the set, unfortunately, but caught a major highlight that was definitely the sexiest moment of ACL - Jack White stepping out from behind the drums to duet with Allison Mosshart on closer "Will There Be Enough Water." The two, just inches away around the same microphone, injectic a bluesy sleaziness only hinted at on the album cut, and White's blistering guitar solos took the song to the next level.

Girl Talk - what a great jam party atmosphere. From 100 yards deep, just a see of hands and people bouncing to Greg Gillis' odd mix of hip-hop, classic rock, and various and assorted other music. The stage was full of people dancing about, while Gillis would periodically climb aboard his table and sometimes just stand there at his laptop to do his magic. Not the headiest stuff in the world, but loads of fun.

Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears Site
B-52s Site
Arctic Monkeys Site
Passion Pit Site
The Dead Weather Site
Girl Talk Site

Austin City Limits - Day Two

Deer Tick - "It's 11:45, so if you think my voice sounds bad normally ..." began lead singer / guitarist John Joseph McCauley III, looking more than a little like Thomas Jane's character from Boogie Nights. Any raggedness in his voice was welcome edge, complimenting their blues, country, and surf-rock-tinged rock. They betrayed their influences by covering Lightin' Hopkins and Townes Van Zandt, but it's hard to imagine either of them closing with Richie Valens' "La Bamba," as the Providence quintet did before being cut-off mid-song for going over their 40 minutes. Even their quiet songs turned loud and anthemic, as exemplified by opener "Easy," with it's snarling chorus "You don't know how easy it is." A great wake-up to the festival's second day.


!!! - the Sacramento group was also struck by the early hour. "We do, like, moody nightclub music - and it's 2:30 in the afternooon," lead singer Nic Offer noted halfway through the set. "Normally we haven't even had our coffee by now." If he was sleepy, it didn't show - he stalked around the stage like a modern-day Mick Jagger, gesticulating rudely with a microphone stand and repeatedly climbing over equipment and jumping into the stands. Between (and sometimes during) songs, the band kept things light by repeatedly shouting "God dammit!" to crack up drummer Paul Quattrone. !!! is a terrific live act; if you're not dancing, there's something wrong with you.

Bon Iver - the first real dud of the festival. I loved For Emma, Forever Ago, their 2008 album, and enjoyed the performance of Justin Vernon and company in Boston last year. In the open festival setting, their spare acoustic music came off as sleepy rather than moody. Two exceptions: anthemic crowd favorite "Skinny Love," amplified from the studio version with extra percussion, and the closer "The Wolves (Act I and II)."


Mos Def - the Brooklyn MC was nearly a half-hour late for his scheduled show, but delivered a solid set of literate hip-hop. He showed a range of talents, drumming, rapping, and singing, freestyling a song ("You feel like you should know this / But I just made it up"), and even breakdancing a little with the dance troupe he brought out for the finale. The set was heavy on this year's strong Ecstatic, and went over well with the fans despite his tardy arrival.



The Decemberists - as has been their modus operandi on this tour, the group played The Hazards of Love front-to-back. If you love this album and you love the Decemberists (as I do), this is exactly as expected - wild and awesome, with band members switching instruments, goofball theatrics, and some of the most awesome and gorgeous songs of the year - "The Wanting Comes in Waves / Repaid" and "The Hazards of Love 4 - The Drowned" to name two. If you find the Decemberists dorky and annoying, nothing about their live act is going to change your mind. The crowd was apparently in the first camp, eating up the set even in its more subdued moments.

Deer Tick Site
!!! Site
Bon Iver Site
Mos Def Site
The Decemberists Site

Austin City Limits - Day One

The Low Anthem - the instrumental versatility of the Rhode Island trio kept the energy high, even as their sometimes quiet tunes threatened to be drowned out by surrounding stages. Lead singer and nominal guitarist Ben Knox Miller started the day behind the drum kit and grabbed an alto horn, harmonicas, and even two cell phones to make ethereal distortions at the end of the mournful "This Goddamn House." Jocie Adams provided harmony vocals and played as much clarinet as bass or guitar, while Jeff Prystowsky wore a huge smile the whole time as he switched between drums and upright bass. The music stayed mostly acoustic, but ranged from the very quiet to barnburner standard "Cigareets and Whuskey," which the trio closed with.

Blitzen Trapper - the Portland, Oregon group plays a loose rootsy rock, and was at its best when tightening up a little - they held the crowd in thrall in the gentle, beautiful "Furr," and in the anthemic harmonies of the chorus to "Big Black Bird." They went the other direction in "Love U," letting the sloppiness all hang out in a fun, passionate raunchy romp. A solid set, but not transcendent.

The Avett Brothers - I just caught the end of this set, but was impressed by the harmonies, alternating between sweet rootsy singing and primal yelling. The music largely veered toward the "rock" side of "roots rock," but they hit some gentler notes, as on "January wedding." I'm intrigued enough to check out a more extended performance later.

The Walkmen - I just heard part of their set before heading off to grab food. It seemed pretty generic New York-style indie rock, though the brass section on some songs was a nice touch.

Phoenix - one of the highlights of Friday. They kicked off their set with "Lisztomania," off latest album Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, and kept the crowd bouncing along with their dancy pop. "This is the biggest crowd we've ever played for," lead singer Thomas Mars announced before just taking a few moments to scan the audience. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, merci beaucoup," he exulted later, as the audience, equally grateful, showered the French band with applause.

K'Naan - the Somalian hip-hop star was really intent on communicating his message from the smaller Wildflower Center Stage - he performed an a cappella version of "Somalia" "so [you] can hear the words." After his quieter numbers, he thanked the audience for listening. It wasn't all low-key material; his boisterous "T.IA." had the audience pumping their fists. His first song, a reggae-tinged number, he wrote less than an hour before going on stage. K'Naan said he felt he had to do it to communicate how far he had come. The audience definitely picked up on his vibe, and I was sorry to have to leave before the end of his set.

Them Crooked Vultures - the much-awaited power trio of Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age), Dave Grohl (Nirvana, Foo Fighters) and John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin) was just as rocking as you might imagine. Homme's casual vocal delivery served as strong counterpoint to his harsh guitar lines, Jones' snaky bass, and Grohl's fierce drumming. "Muscular" is the word that springs to mind; there wasn't a sissy note in the set. After a while it was difficult to tell the difference between the songs, but no doubt that was partially unfamiliarity with the material - this was only the group's second U.S. performance.


Yeah Yeah Yeahs - for all the theatrics - lead singer Karen O came out for the encore covered in a full body suit and the group played with a giant eye behind them - the set was a flat. They rescued things a little towards the end, when Karen O jumped into the stands during "Cheated Hearts" and then followed it with a passionate rendition of "Maps" over Nick Zinner's quiet acoustic guitar, but a bit of a letdown from a band with a strong live reputation.

Low Anthem Site
Blitzen Trapper Site
The Avett Brothers Site
The Walkmen Site
Phoenix Site
K'Naan Site
Them Crooked Vultures Site
Yeah Yeah Yeahs Site

ACL Lineup

To give a flavor for what's coming, here are the bands I'm planning to hit at ACL:

Friday:
The Low Anthem
Blitzen Trapper - Furr is one of my favorite albums of the year
Avett Brothers
The Walkmen
Phoenix
K'Naan
Them Crooked Vultures - really excited to see these guys after the reviews of their Lollapalooza show
Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Saturday:
Deer Tick
The Raveonettes
!!!
Grizzly Bear
Bon Iver - one of my favorite shows from '08
Mos Def
The Decemberists - I was sick and missed them on their latest tour, but I love The Hazards of Love. Not sure if they're going to play that as they've been doing lately or mix it up a bit.

Sunday:
Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears
The B-52s
Heartless Bastards
Passion Pit
The Dead Weather - this will be my first album review!
Girl Talk
Pearl Jam

Intro

I'm Dave. I love music. This blog exists to chart my musical journey.

On the immediate horizon:
I'm going to Austin City Limits at the beginning of October. Leading up to this, I'm going to listen to and review albums by bands that I'm planning to see there. Review style will likely be in flux until I figure out what I want to do. Suggestions are of course welcome!