Planning Ahead: Ticket Round-Up

Yee-haw! It's time for the ole ticket-roundup kiddos! It's that post that I do monthlyish that takes me hours but you seem to find very helpful. *insert sympathy* 2011 is coming to a closer before you know it and there are a few note-able shows that you should snag tickets for before they're all gone. I like to explain that my mention of a show in this post does not, necessarily, equal an endorsement of the show, artist, venue etc. There will be things I list here that I couldn't care less about if I tried. I, also, do not consider this to be comprehensive. Consider this your virtual highlighter. With that all said, the format is, click on the name of the artist, for the ticket page, click on the name of the venue for the venue's homepage. Oh, also, if it just says "Emo's" that implies the Red River location and "Beauty Ballroom" is the new E. Riverside location. The fun begins after the break.


Wilco - Born Alone video via YouTube

Thursday, Dec. 1st

• Wilco at ACL Live


• MiMOSA at La Zona Rosa


• The Devil Makes Three at Stubb's

Friday, Dec.2nd

• Rachel Yamagata at Parish


• DMX at The Mansion


• Alpha Rev at La Zona Rosa


• MyNameisJohnMichael at Stubb's

Saturday, Dec. 3rd

• Frank Smith at Mohawk


• Big Sean at Emo's East

Sunday, Dec. 4th

• The National / Local Natives at Austin Music Hall


• Cake at Stubb's


• Ume at Stubb's

Tuesday, Dec. 6th

• The Wailers at Antone's

Wednesday, Dec. 7th

• Not In the Face at Antone's

Thursday, Dec. 8th

• The Sea and Cake at Mohawk

Friday Dec. 9th

• Kimya Dawsom at St. David's Episcopal Church


• Digitalism at Parish


• Flosstradamus at Beauty Bar


• Yukon Blonde at Lambert's


• Politics at Frank

Digitalism - 2 Hearts video via YouTube

Saturday, Dec. 10th

• Scratch Acid at Emo's East


• Scarface at Mohawk


• Wild Child at Stubb's


• Craig Finn / Will Johnson of The Hold Steady at Frank

Tuesday, Dec. 13th

• Trampled by Turtles at Parish

Wednesday, Dec. 14th

• The Couch (CD Release) at Mohawk

Thursday, Dec. 15th

• Devin the Dude at Mohawk


• The Pons at Frank

Friday, Dec. 16th

• Man or Astroman? at Emo's


• White Ghost Shivers (CD Release) at Antone's

Saturday, Dec. 17th

• Clutch at Emo's East


• Auto Body at Mohawk

Sunday, Dec. 18th

• Clutch at Emo's

Wednesday, Dec. 21st

• Yip Deceiver at Mohawk


• Tori Amos at Bass Concert Hall

Wednesday, Dec. 28th

• Better Than Ezra / Cowboy Mouth at ACL Live

Thursday, Dec. 29th

• Quintron / Mindspiders at Emo's

Friday, Dec. 30th (My birthday)

• Willie Nelson & Friends at ACL Live


• Christopher Cross at One World Theater (2 shows, 1 night)

Saturday, Dec. 31st

• The Black Angels / Wooden Shjips / Ume at Emo's East


• White Denim / Royal Bangs at Empire Automotive


• Grupo Fantasma at Beauty Ballroom


• All My Friends at Beauty Bar


• T. Bird and the Breaks at Stubb's


• Willie Nelson & Friends at ACL Live

Saturday, Jan. 14th

• Wu-Tang Clan at Emo's East


• Cass McCombs at Stubb's


• Starfucker at Mohawk


• Reverend Horton Heat / Not in the Face at Antone's

Cass McCombs - The Same Thing video via YouTube

Tuesday, Jan. 17th

• Langhorne Slim at Stubb's

Friday, Jan. 20th

• The Toasters at Antone's

Wednesday, Jan. 25th

• The Kills at Stubb's

Friday, Jan. 27th

• Mutemath at Stubb's

Sunday, Jan. 29th

• Twin Sister at Mohawk

Twin Sister - Kimmis in a Rice Field video via YouTube

Friday, Feb. 3rd

• They Might Be Giants at La Zona Rosa


• Blood, Sweat, & Tears at One World Theater (2 shows, 1 night)

Saturday, Feb. 4th

• World/Inferno Friendship Society at Red 7


• Los Lobos at One World Theater (2 shows, 1 night)


• G Love & Special Sauce at La Zona Rosa

Saturday, Feb. 11th

• Thurston Moore at St. David's Episcopal Church


• The Lemonheads at Mohawk

Friday, Feb. 17th

• Loretta Lynn at ACL Live

Tuesday, Feb.21st

• Matthew Good at Antone's

Saturday, Feb. 25th

• Cloud Nothings at Red 7

Wednesday, Feb. 29th

• Dropkick Murphys at Emo's East


• Grimes / Born Gold

Grimes - Vanessa video via YouTube

Saturday, March 3rd

• Big Head Todd & the Monsters at Stubb's

Wednesday, March 7th

• Radiohead / Other Lives at Frank Erwin Center

Tuesday, March 13th

Band of Skulls / We Are Augustines at Antone's

Thursday, May 3rd

• Roger Waters performing The Wall at Frank Erwin Center

Friday, Mar. 23rd

• The Naked and Famous at Stubb's

Saturday, Mar. 24th

• Young the Giant at Stubb's

Sunday, Mar. 25th

• Young the Giant at Stubb's

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Giveaway: This Will Destroy You w/Tactics

I know it's only Tuesday but a lot of you will be away from the internet (gasp) in the latter part of this week so I'm giving you the early heads-up on a show going on at Emo's this Saturday night. You can catch This Will Destroy You at classic Emo's on Red River, tickets are $15-$17 depending on when you buy them but I have 3 pair to giveaway. Not only that, one of those 3 sets of tickets will come with, Tunnel Blanket, the new album from This Will Destroy You pressed on colored vinyl as well as an 11 x 17 poster. To win is simple, all you have to do is e-mail contest@austinbloggylimits.com with "TWDY" in the subject and tell me why you want to win. The winners will be chosen at random on black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving). All 3 sets of winners will get in to the show free of charge and one of the lucky winners will get the prize pack with the vinyl and the poster.


This Will Destroy You - Communal Blood video via YouTube

In what, could be, the most perfect musical pairing to date, Tactics will be playing the support slot at this Saturday's show. The latest release from instrumental rock group, Tactics is the single, Titan. If you think it sounds good on their Bandcamp wait until you hear them perform live. There really aren't very many opportunities left to see shows at Emo's Red River location but this show is the perfect sort of last hurrah. Local bands, with a big sprawling songs, cheap beer in hand that's the way I want to remember classic Emo's.




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Barbarella's 2 Year Anniversary

Well kiddies, the weekend is upon us and there are lots of fantastic things for you to occupy your time with but I'm already focused on Sunday. Our baby sister Barbarella is entering her terrible twos and she's throwing one hell of a party to celebrate. It seems fitting that Glitoris is soundtracking the night, since without Tuezgayz I might have never discovered what a bumpin' place Barbarella is to begin with. This isn't just Tuezgayz on a Sunday though, DJ Harvey will be bringing his New Noise as well.

It all kicks off at 10pm Sunday night and the first 100 people through the door will receive a commemorative T-Shirt to help you remember you were there when the sun comes up on Monday. There's no cover charge but the party is 21+, happy hour is running all night so you can get $1 Lone Stars till it's no longer legal. Grab your best girl, guy, transgendered person, roommate, co-worker, acquaintance, ex-lover, future-lover, frienemy or foe and get your booty on the dancefloor. We won't let you out until your drenched with sweat and you have glitter in unknown places from unknown places.

Blood Diamonds - Grin video via YouTube

Join myself, ATXHipsters and theGlitoris for the best birthday for a 2 year old that you have ever seen. Oh, and don't forget parking meters are free downtown on a Sunday but with happy hour going all night, you should plan for sober transportation. Draw straws to decide who stays sober. Last but not least, if you have a smartphone, Barbarella is a Tabbed Out venue and that's a great way to NOT lose your credit card at the bar.

Beyconce´ - Countdown video via YouTube

Make sure you RSVP on Facebook and you should "Like" this event on Do512 while you're at it. See you on the dancefloor!

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The Foreign Exchange at the ND

The Foreign Exchange isn't the greatest name for a hip-hop group. They never went platinum, never went jail, never been shot and you probably never heard their songs on the radio. What they do have is great music, thoughtful lyrics and an uplifting message. The story behind their name is simple, all of the beats you hear are produced by a man who goes by Nicolay. He was born and raised in the Netherlands and produced all of the beats for the first album from The Foreign Exchange overseas. He has, since, moved to South Carolina, which is much closer to where you'll find his other musical half Phonte, who is based in North Carolina. Phonte was once part of, the now defunct, hip-hop collective known as Little Brother. Now that you know the history, you should know that this Friday is my first chance to ever see The Foreign Exchange in person and I am incredibly excited. Our friends over at Knuckle Rumler are hosting Nicolay and Phonte at the ND and I think you should be there. It's a Friday night show, so (hopefully) you don't have to work the next morning. As of this moment, you can still get tickets for the discounted advance ticket price but I think today is the last day for that price so act quickly. Once you have your tickets, RSVP on F*c*book so your friends know.

The Foreign Exchange - The Last Fall video via YouTube

Sharing the bill with The Foreign Exchange at the ND Friday night, you'll find Zo!, Sy Smith and Jeanne Jolly. You can expect to hear these artists performing solo as well as with The Foreign Exchange. If, you've ever heard recordings of The Foreign Exchange then you know it's a collective sound, the whole idea of the project is to bring varying voices, styles and minds to one project. Also, did I mention they'll be performing with a live band? Because that's happening. Get your tickets now!

The Foreign Exchange - Raw Life video via YouTube

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Holy Ghost! at the Parish

It's not very often that I get to blog about two awesome shows at the Parish in one week. As you know, I love the Parish and it saddens me that it's being under-utilized. Well, this week they've got Real Estate on Wednesday night and Holy Ghost! on Thursday night. Two very different types of show but also two really great shows. This, Brooklyn-duo's, latest release is a single out on Green Label Sound for the song, I Wanted to Tell Her, which is a brand-new take on the Ministry classic. They also have a full-length, eponymous, album that came out on DFA Records this year, as well as an EP for the song, Hold My Breath. In other words, they have been very busy and they have been on the road a lot. Thursday night's show is going to be an effing party, so if you want to start your weekend early, I suggest you grab yourself some tickets. Or, will you be the lucky person who wins a pair of tickets via Austin Bloggy Limits? All you have to do to win is send an e-mail with "Holy Ghost!" in the subject and your name in the body to contest@austinbloggylimits.com. One name will be chosen at random to have their name on the list with a +1 to Thursday night's show. You will be notified by email on Wednesday afternoon if you HAVE won.

Holy Ghost! - I Wanted to Tell Her video via YouTube

Holy Ghost! - Wait & See video via YouTube

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Real Estate and Big Troubles at the Parish

Alright y'all, I really can't believe Wednesday night's Real Estate show at the Parish isn't sold-out yet. In fact, pause reading the rest of this and click this link for tickets now because by the time you're done reading they may not be available any more. It's a $13 ticket, the show is at one of the best venues in the city and Real Estate are touring in support of their best material to date. Granted, it's only their second album but Days is light-years ahead in terms of production value and the song-craft is as good as its ever been, which is to say pretty great. Don't get it twisted, I love the first album from Real Estate, their songs always sounds so classic but I think this latest release is just the perfect follow-up. The songs are more focused, the production is slicker without losing the do-it-yourself aesthetic and overall it's just very shiny and lovely. Hence my surprise that the show isn't sold-out.

Real Estate - It's Real video via YouTube

Once you have secured your tickets for Wednesday night's show at the Parish be sure you arrive early enough to catch, support act, Big Troubles. Their album Romantic Comedy is out now and features 10, beautifully written, songs that make me think of 90's-era college-rock, great brit-pop and jangly-indie-rock. There are sing along choruses, beachy guitar sounds and a youthful, disaffected love-lorn vibe permeates the album as a whole. The, limited edition, red vinyl release of the album is sold-out on the Slumberland Records site but I'm guessing they'll have it with them at the merch table Wednesday night, so bring some cash vinyl-junkies. I've taken the liberty of embedding Big Troubles's album in this post so you can get an idea of what you'll be listening to. I feel like they are the perfect support act for Real Estate. This is looking to be a really great show.

Big Troubles - Sad Girls - video via YouTube

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Interview: The Wilderness of Manitoba

Canadian, folk-rockers The Wilderness of Manitoba will be on Austin tomorrow night. They play the Parish in the support slot for Rasputina. If you're a fan of honest, pastoral, roots music packed to the gills with gorgeous harmonies, then you should listen to the latest album from The Wilderness of Manitoba, When You Left the Fire. Or, you can just pick-up the new album down at the Parish tomorrow night. There are still tickets available and if you buy them today instead of tomorrow, you'll save yourself 2 bucks. I had the chance to interview Melissa of The Wilderness of Manitoba, which you can read below the break.

The Wilderness of Manitoba - Orono Park video via YouTube

What inspired the title "Orono Park"?

We worked on this song over the course of a couple of months, in different parks around Toronto and finally finished it while on tour, in Montreal's Mont Royal park. We visited Scott's hometown of Orono, ON before heading home and decided that Orono Park would be a fitting name.


 


Who designed the beautiful album art and what is the medium?

I made the artwork for the album using a variety of media - watercolor paint, hand screen-printed fabric, embroidery and yarn woven on a traditional loom. Then it was scanned and collaged together on the computer. It was, in part, inspired by the idea of loneliness in the wild and Joni Mitchell's song 'Cactus Tree'.





What was the music of your youth? Was your household a musical one?

Some of us grew up with parents who played instruments and wrote songs (one of our songs, 'Evening' was written by Will's mom in the 60s) and I think in general, we were all influenced by what our parents listened to which is a lot of the music that we continue to be inspired by. Bands like Simon & Garfunkel, CSN, Neil Young, Fleetwood Mac etc.




The song-cycle is very wintry, what is one of your favorite winter records?

'Our Endless Numbered Days' by Iron & Wine is a great wintery album that I'm into. The song 'Cinders & Smoke' has a sound, somewhere in the background, that I imagine is a gas stove being lit in a snowed-in cabin.





If you could collaborate with anyone living or dead, who would it be and why?

Joni Mitchell. I feel like I could learn a lot from working with her and I know that she would be entertaining to hang out with - she seems to have such a different perspective on life and music and is a very funny woman (or so I've heard!).


The title, "When You Left the Fire" implies an important life-change. Was this record inspired by a specific event or series of events or is meant to be evocative?

I suppose it's a combo of events and the desire to express loneliness or of an empty, wild landscape. At the time that we made the album, we were spending a lot more time together (some of us were living together) and that led to more writing and arranging as a group so that did affect the sound from the previous recording that we had done and it also affected how we interacted with one another.




Is everyone who performs on the record part of the touring band and/or are there members of the touring band who are not on the record?

The 5 of us are all on the record and touring together - though some songs on the recording didn't involve everyone and sometimes we tour without our drummer, Sean.





What are the high-points and low-points of touring? Is touring the U.S. vastly different from touring Canada?

High points - camping in the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, meeting cool new people, listening to great bands like Other Lives or Rasputina live, trying delicious craft beers like 'Ibita'. Low points - traveling for too many hours at a time, traffic on I-95 from Delaware to NC, Northern Ontario van breakdowns. So far, the difference between touring in Canada and the US is minimal though we are learning a lot of new things about each state that we go to - like the honey on pizza thing that we discovered in Nebraska! - but the crowds are equally friendly and supportive.





As Canadians, what are your thoughts on Ketchup chips?

Sometimes, you crave them but they aren't an every day kind of thing!

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Great Wednesday Shows

It's hard to imagine going out to see a show after spending 3 days at Fun Fun Fun Fest but you know what y'all? I'm going to do the hard thing and go drink cheap beer while listening to bad-ass live music. Keep me in your thoughts. No, but seriously there are a lot of really fantastic musical outfits playing downtown this evening. Personally, I know I'm going to be at the Phantogram show at the Mohawk. Sadly, if you don't have tickets you can't get through the door because this show is sold-the-fuck-out. Should I tell you how great this, upstate New York, band's latest album is or would that just depress you? I guess, technically Nightlife is a 6-song EP not an album but you should check it out whether you can make it out tonight or not. It's on Spotify if you want to hear it before buying it. You can also download a couple of Mp3's over at the Barsuk Records site.

Phantogram - When I'm Small video via YouTube

Some of you may recall the band opening for Phantogram from their set at Austin City Limits Festival. They take their name from the Rugrats favorite cartoon character Reptar. They have an EP out right now on Vagrant Records ridiculously tittled, Oblangle Fizz Y'all. As you've probably surmised this band takes themselves VERY seriously so not talking or smiling during their set. Obviously, I kid their music is fun, energetic and kind of reminds me of 80's band Was Not Was. How's that for an obscure musical reference? Since tonight's show is an outdoor event you can expect Reptar to go on around 8:00pm.

Reptar - Rainbounce video via YouTube

Let's move onto non-sold-the-fuck-out shows shall we? Our old pals from Detroit, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. are back in Austin this week. They played Stubb's inside stage last night, they will do so again tonight but you can also catch a free in-store performance from them at Waterloo Records. Then, tomorrow night, the guys from Dale Jr. Jr. will be hosting a screening of Jurassic Park at, the much beloved, Alamo Drafthouse Ritz. I already scored by tickets for that screening and you should too.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. - Simple Girl video via YouTube

Speaking of Stubb's, Modest Mouse are playing for their second night in a row and would you believe the show is sold-out? Do people really love Modest Mouse enough for them to play Stubb's two nights in a row? Do you know the name of their latest album or when it came out? I really thought their moment was over as soon as they signed to a major label. I bet at least one of you is reading this thinking what a bastard I am and you're ready to proclaim your undying affection for all things Isaac Brock. Well, that's lovely that you're still a huge fan and apparently there are enough people in Austin who feel strongly enough to buy $38 tickets to see Brock and co. at Stubb's for two nights in a row. If they still play Neverending Math Equation and/or All Night Diner then I'm with you in spirit but I'm guessing the sets are heavy on whatever their newest record is called. Seems like the last new one came up in March of 2007 and is called We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank. Can that be right? Are they touring in support of a 4 year old record? Oh, I guess they actually did release an EP post-2007. Can you feel all of the meh oozing from this paragraph?

Modest Mouse - Neverending Math Equation video via YouTube

On the opposite end of the Modest Mouse spectrum you'll find Austin-based folk-pop group, Wild Child. They play Antone's tonight in support of their record, Pillow Talk. I encourage you to keep an eye on WIld Child, their songs have mass appeal and they put on a great live show. Don't believe me? Watch the performance I've posted below and listen to their album embedded below that.

WIld Child - SIlly Things video via YouTube

Pillow Talk (full album available now) by WildChildSounds

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FunFunFun Fest Wrap-Up

Alright y'all, I procrastinated on this yesterday but it's time to put the 6th edition of FunFunFun Fest to bed. I did a wrap-up of day 1 at the beginning of day 2 and it got out of hand, so I'm going to try to keep this write-up a bit more concise. I bore witness to many great artists and I'm not going to run them all done. Think of this as the USA Today of festival write-ups.

So, let's start with the highlights, shall we? The award for best set from an up-and-coming act, definitely, goes to Purity Ring. I was predisposed to enjoy their set based on my love of the 3 tracks they have floating around the internet but I really had no expectations of their live performance. When an artist's music is electronic you never know what you're going to get. It could just be one person cueing up backing tracks, which was the case with MNDR or you could be seeing a live band, essentially doing covers of the electronic compositions. Purity Ring gave us something that fits between those two areas. It was just two people, one of whom was mostly just doing the vocals but it was incredibly powerful. The gentlemen twiddling knobs was using some sort of homemade contraption that I presume was wired to an MPC. It had various, brass pipes welded together that would cue different sounds depending on which part of the pipe sculpture he struck. He was also manipulating the vocals live, sending phrases off into different directions and generally tweaking the hell out of them at key moments. The singer had a bass drum on her side of the stage, which she would dramatically strike on occasion but she was mostly tasked with having a strong, beautiful voice. The cheers and applause from the crowd grew more emphatic at the close of each song in the set. By the end of the set the crowd was densely packed and roaring with excitement. You could tell the audience was completely awe-struck with the performance and I feel very pleased that I was able to be there for the whole thing.

The aware for best set from an established artist goes to M83. Again, I knew I was going to like this set. I love M83's last three records and I have seen them perform before so I know they are strong performers, the wildcard was the crowd response. I wasn't sure if my enthusiasm for M83 was an anomaly or if there were a lot of people excited to see them play. Well, around 5 o'clock on Saturday when I was jammed into the crowd with cheering people, I realized I wasn't the only one excited for M83. I couldn't see the edge of the crowd in any direction and people cheered at the opening notes for the majority of the songs. I was surprised that the newest single, Midnight City received one of the biggest reactions. Generally speaking, when an artist has been around for a long time it's the older stuff that gets the biggest reaction but Midnight City is such a monster single that the opening squelches sent the crowd into a frenzy. I truly feel as though M83 could have played a headlining time slot, as opposed to a dinner time set. Conversely, I feel like Passion Pit could have played a dinner-time set but that is none of my business.

The award for best frontman goes to Teri Gender Bender of Le Butcherettes. She had so much stage-presence, energy and enthusiasm I wanted to cheer, scream and smile all at once. Their set started at 1:30 in the afternoon on the final day of the festival and they put it all out there. She stalked the stage, she mugged for the crowd, she jumped into the photo pit, she leapt from the drum risers and she did it all in the cutest little dress. She was like a female, mexican, punk-rock version of a young Mick Jagger. My favorite of all of her stage tricks was the way she would stalk to the edge of the stage and sing to the crowd without the benefit of a microphone it was incredibly powerful and she even did it for the folks watching from the side-stage platform. I had heard Le Butcherettes played some incredible showcases at SXSW and I look forward to seeing them play again.

The award for most intense dance-party of FunFunFun Fest goes to the back-to-back sets from Flying Lotus and Diplo. Their styles are so different from each other but they can both throw-down like no others. Flying Lotus' mixes would build into absolute chaos with layers of beats and noise that crescendo into a frenzy and then he would completely clean up the sound and leave you with a simple beat. Diplo used his signature blend of samples from indigenous cultures mashed up with modern pop references to make the crowd go bananas. The last time I saw a set from Diplo was during SXSW 2008 and I can definitely see a huge progression. He is a master at working the crowd both with his music choices and shouting directives into the mic at key points in the set. The result of these back-to-back sets was pure, ass-shaking magic.

The award for best performance from a band I have seen many times before is to be shared between Girls and Ra Ra Riot. Their performance styles are so different but they are both so great. Ra Ra Riot always perform like they are having the time of their lives on stage and that energy is contagious. You can't watch a performance from Ra Ra without a huge smile on your face unless you're a complete and total dick. Girls are less enthusiastic but their songs are so gorgeous it makes up for their lower energy. Also, this was my first time seeing them perform with back-up singers and that added a really nice texture to their sound.

The award for in your face haters goes to tUnE-yArDs! I tried to tell people who were hating on the record that it's a much different and more powerful experience in person but they had to hear it in person before they became believers. Merrill converted many haters and preached to the choir of painted-faces in the crowd.

The award for talk of the fest goes to dust, Glen Danzig's soup needs and Ryan Gosling. These were the things that seemed to have the most chatter both online and in real life. I contributed to chatter on all of these topics and choose not to delve into them any further.

The award for sets are heard great things about but didn't attend goes to Trash Talk and Black Lips. I heard both sets were absolute madness in the best possible way but sadly I was not there for either one. Isn't that always the story of festival attendance?

The award for oh yeah, they're awesome goes to Spoon. Having seen them perform on many occasions, including their Austin City Limits Television taping I had planned to skip their headlining set at Fun Fest. However, through a series of circumstances I ended up watching their performance and was reminded of why they are local legends to begin with. Great songwriting, spot-on performances, lovely stage decor, it was magic.

Obviously, I saw many other great sets throughout the weekend but I'm not going to recount them all. FunFunFun Fest is, by far, my favorite music festival with a centralized locale and I look forward to how they top this year's fest next year. I, like many of you, was hesitant of the move to Auditorium Shores but I think it went off without a hitch. Sure, it was a longer trek to get from the Orange stage to the Black stage but it was nice to have more vendors and having more space made the walking part easier because the crowd density wasn't as intense as it had been at Waterloo Park. Did you have fun at the fest? Who would you award with what?

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FunFunFun Fest Wrap-Up: Day 1

Had a great day 1 of FunFunFun Fest yesterday. I feel acclimated to the festival's new home at Auditorium Shores. It's a much larger space allowing for a lot more vendors and a lot more walking if you're trekking from the Orange stage to the Black stage. Luckily, there isn't a whole lot going on over at the Black stage that is of interest to this blogger. Or, more accurately, there is nothing going on at the Black stage that I would rather see than what is going on at the Blue and Orange stages. I rode the, never reliable, Austin city bus to the festival arriving before the first acts hit the stages. I ran into friends and contemporaries and then rushed over to the Orange stage in time to catch TV Torso's terse, energetic set. Lead-singer, Matt Oliver has moments where he sounds like Spoon's Britt Daniel and I'm ok with that. I just adore their songwriting and when they perform live they are, incredibly, on point.

After TV Torso I caught an outstanding performance from Nashville's, Canon Blue. Their set was so dynamic, with a couple of straight-ahead rockers mixed in with textured syncopated tracks and even a spoken-word/rap song. After their set I ran into, the lead Canon Blue and conducted a brief video interview.

Canon Blue - FunFunFun Fest Interview video via YouTube

I was back at the Orange stage in time to see a raucous performance from Cloud Nothings. Their bass was too loud, their performance was messy and it sounded absolutely perfect. You can only get away with their brand of highly-energetic, sloppy garage-rock when you are as youthful as this Cleveland 4-piece. Their recordings sound like shit, which is why they are lumped into the "lo-fi" scene and like most other bands in that group hearing the songs performed live is much more impressive. I could see several people in the crowd checking their line-up to learn the name of the group they were watching because the set was so fun, energetic and captivating they wanted to be sure to remember the band's name. I could see them fitting, perfectly, on a bill with Smith Westerns and Real Estate.

I took a short break in the media area after Cloud Nothings. I was just sitting at one of the picnic tables with my boyfriend when who should stroll up to the table behind us but Mr. Ryan Gosling. As you may remember from coverage of Austin City Limits Festival, Terrence Malick is shooting a film that has something to do with music festivals or concerts in general so while Christian Bale was spotted at ACL, FFF gets the Gos. Personally, I think that's a huge upgrade. The Gos chatted with Thee Oh Sees who were seated at the table behind us along with Coomers from, now defunct Austin band, Harlem. It was funny to watch all of the people surreptitiously taking cell phone photos and looking generally in awe. He sat next to me after they finished that scene and chatted a bit more off camera, he was very nice and oozed with charm, as one would expect. He was spotted all over the festival throughout the day along with co-star and on-screen love interest Rooney Mara. That's enough about the Gos for now, you can keep up with all of the sightings over at Ryan Gosling at Fun Fun Fun Fest.

I headed back to the Orange stage in time to hear a few songs from the Heartless Bastards who were putting on a clinic for the younger bands on how to shred at a music festival. Erika from the Bastards has such a powerful voice and when you match that up with the power of their rhythm section mountains are moved.

Following the Bastards was the punk-energy of, Portland Oregon's, The Thermals. They had the crowd moshing, crowd-surfing, clapping, fist-pumping and losing their shit. The drummer from The Thermals jumped up from his kit a couple of times to run to the front edge of the stage so get the crowd hyped. At one point he actually jumped into the photo pit to try and participate in the mosh pit from the other side of the barrier. They had great energy on stage and great stage banter, they could use some new T-shirts though, theirs looked pretty yellowed and hole-ridden.

Black Joe Lewis followed The Thermals and they brought some serious rock. It wasn't the sort of quick-fire punk that I heard from The Thermals but it was certainly a long journey from the more laid-back approach to soul that I first heard from them. Don't get me wrong, they still play soul-inspired music but now it's a roadhouse soul with a lot more Blues overtones. I was completely impressed, especially considering how many times I've seen Black Joe Lewis in the past.

As the sun set I caught a high-energy set from Okkervil River. Like Black Joe I've seen them perform many times but unlike Black Joe's set there weren't too many surprises. I don't mean that to be a criticism, there is something to be said for consistency and their closing trio of Our Life Is Not A Movie Or Maybe, Lost Coastlines and Unless it Kick is always a crowd-pleaser. Actually, that's an understatement that trio of songs brings the motherfuckin' house down, especially at a hometown show.

I was very excited to see Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, whom I hadn't seen perform since their first album was released. Their set was a blend of old and new, almost alternating precisely with the even numbered songs on the set list being the new ones. Like most people in the crowd, I was most excited to hear the songs from their debut. The band sounded great and they definitely showed less stage-fright than when I saw them several years ago but the vocal mix was not ideal. I'm not blaming the sound-techs though because I suspect the lead singer was backing away from the mic on the harder to hit notes and/or singing with less force when he was less sure of himself.

I almost forgot to mention that I saw Big Freedia and part of Spank Rock's sets. Both of which were absolutely filthy, fun, amazing. My only critique is that Big Freedia needs to tour with risers so the people in the back of the crowd can see her dancers shaking their asses. It's truly the most amazing thing I have ever seen in a live-music setting and needs to be enjoyed by all.

The close of my day was with Four Tet who had an amazing light show and did an outstanding job controlling the crowd with a set that built into a throw-down dance party. He was followed up by a, more hype than substance, set from Public Enemy who had a tight live band paired with a lackluster lip-syncing Flavor Flav. Chuck D was on point and the songs were absolutely chaotic in the best possible way but after so many fantastic performances it sort of seemed like a bunch of people on stage trying to get a paycheck and Chuck D.

This got really wordy and for that I apologize, now I'm off for Day 2! See you at Auditorium Shores!!
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