Bloggy's FunFunFun PicksPicksPicks

Unlike some other festivals that occur in the city of Austin, of which there are many, FunFunFun Fest groups their stages by genre. Or at least they are loosely gathered with a common thread amongst the artists. That is one of the reasons I'm not going to do the typical make sure you check out _______ at FunFunFun Fest post. The other reason I don't want to do that sort of post is, I feel like I always appreciate FFF more a few months after it's passed when I hear a song by a band I really like and I realize I saw them at the fest already. In otherwords I recommend you leave yourself open to checking out new artists who you may not have heard of and making notes of who impressed you. For myself, I probably won't be spending a lot of time at the Black stage, not 'cause I'm a racist or anything it's more because I'm not a person who listens to a lot of punk and/or metal so while I can appreciate that the bands on that stage have talent I won't be venturing to that side of the park very often. If you want to hear Bloggy-bands at FFF Fest I'd hang out in the vicinity of the Orange stage, hopping over to the Blue stage every now and again. With that all being said there are a few artists who I, personally, MUST see for the first time. There are also a handful of artists who I have already seen, whom I look forward to seeing again.

Memphis band Magic Kids is one whom I have yet to see and look forward to catching for the first time. They play the orange stage at 12:50 on Sunday so I'll have to drag my ass out of bed in time to get on the bus and into Waterloo Park before they go on. Unfortunately that means I'll have to miss, at least part of, Indian Jewelery's set on the Blue stage at 1:00p on Sunday but alas that's festivals for 'ya. At least at FFF Fest I can easily move between the Blue and Orange stages.


Magic Kids - Superball video via YouTube


Another artist whom I'm excited to see for the first time is Dominique Young Unique who will be performing on the Blue Stage at 4:50pm on Saturday. I feel like all you need to know about Dominique is that she is young, sassy, and filthy. This video should pretty much sum things up for you.


Dominique Young Unique - Show My Ass video via YouTube

The last artist(s) I want to mention whom I have not, yet, seen perform live that I look forward to seeing is Israeli punk-band Monotonix. I was extremely surprised to see that they will actually be performing on the Yellow stage, which is generally where the local acts and/or comedic acts perform. I'm hoping they don't burn it down before the Master Pancake Theater guys do their thing. This video of their performance at the Mohawk from a few years back should give you an idea of what you might expect from one of their performances.


Monotonix - Live at the Mohawk video via YouTube

As far as artists I've seen in the past who will be appearing at the festival here's some videos I shot so you don't have to read anymore. See how I look out for you. Also, if you want to see my "customized" schedule for FunFunFun Fest feel free to check this out.


Delorean - Seasun video via YouTube


Best Coast - Sun Was High (So Was I) video via YouTube

Weird I thought I had a lot more videos of FFF artists whom I had seen in the past but apparently not. See y'all at Waterloo Park!

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Magic Time

I don't know about you but I'm really liking what I've heard from Memphis band, Magic Kids. I knew, vaguely, in the back of my mind that they were coming to Austin at some point and I sort of thought I had missed it. Lucky for us, the show isn't until Aug 3rd. Then, upon further inspection I noticed that Here We Go Magic are playing Austin the very next night. So, obviously, this means it will be perfectly acceptable for you to wear any and all Harry Potter, or Lord of the Rings crap you've got kicking around your apartment. Calling it up, Tuesday and Wednesday August 3rd and 4th will be magical times here in Austin Texas, magical times indeed.


Magic Kids - Hey Boy video via YouTube


Now, both Magic Kids and Here We Go Magic were in town during SXSW 2010. I know, I wanted to see both artists perform but I only ended up catching Here We Go Magic. Ironically, I had already seen HWGM but have yet to see Magic Kids. This changes next month though, tickets for that show at the Mohawk will set you back $10 if you buy in advance, or $12 at the door. Sorry for the faux-video(s), which will probably get pulled from YouTube and probably should BUT I like these songs so...


Magic Kids - Summer video via YouTube

I won't be needing any faux-video to show you Here We Go Magic. As previously mentioned I did see HWGM at SWSW 2010 and I had seen them on tour with Grizzly Bear the previous fall. In a lot of ways it was like seeing two different bands. Their sound has shifted pretty dramatically between albums. The sound is much bigger now but there's still the same great songwriting at the music's core.


Here We Go Magic - Bottom Feeder video via YouTube

I suppose it's unfair to compare a live recording with a studio recording but Tunnelvision is my jam from the previous LP so I'm sharing it here with you now. I find it's best to hear with headphones and/or really loudly so you pick up all the different textures that get added and subtracted. Keeping in mind, of course, that even a decent sounding YouTube video pales in comparison to hearing this on vinyl or even CD, obviously.


Here We Go Magic - Tunnelvision video via YouTube

You'll have two chances to catch Here We Go Magic while they're in town, as they'll be performing a free in-store at Waterloo Records as well as their headlining show at Emo's. Tickets for the August 4th show will set you back $10.

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