Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Tristen Returns to the Mohawk



Tristen returns to the Mohawk Wednesday night in support of her new record, Caves. Tickets for Wednesday night's show are only $10 and it's an inside show, which means Tristen will go on late. I know it's a school night but Tristen is one of my favorite touring acts and if you can make the time to attend the show, you won't be disappointed.



I'm really excited to hear the songs from Caves performed live Wednesday night. This album is a real step forward and truly showcases Tristen's development as a songwriter. This new record is her most beautiful and dynamic to date and you better believe it's going to be on my Best Albums of 2013 list. Duh.

It's handy that Tristen's set starts late Wednesday night because Laura Marling is in town that night too. Surely Laura's set at Central Presbyterian Church will be over before Tristen goes on at midnight. Tickets to see Laura Marling are gonna set you back $20 before fees and the only thing available is in the balcony but for roughly $30 you could attend both shows and see two great sets from two fantastic performers in one fabulous city. If you include all the support acts, it's like getting a micro-festival crammed into a Wednesday night!


Laura Marling - Devil's Resting Place video via YouTube

Speaking of festivals, FunFunFunFest unofficially starts Thursday night. Are you ready to fest?
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Posted by Unknown at 4:11 PM
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Monday, November 4, 2013

Review: Nine Inch Nails for ACL TV



This evening the Austin City Limits stage was graced by the presence of Nine Inch Nails and I was one of the lucky ones in the room. Mr. Reznor was backed by five multi-instrumentalists and two backing vocalists. His guitarist on this tour is Robin Fincke Robert Fripp of King Crimson fame and Tino Paladino was on bass. Lisa Fischer was one of the two backing vocalists, those of you who have seen the film, 20 Feet From Stardom might remember her as one of the Rolling Stones touring vocalists. She has worked with the Stones since 1989.

From very early in the set Mr. Reznor said that he didn't want to bring a Nine Inch Nails show to Austin City Limits he wanted the band to be a bit out of their comfort zone. He also remarked how it was very strange for him to be able to see himself since he is so used to being shrouded by the lights rather than illuminated by them.


Nine Inch Nails - Came Back Haunted video via YouTube

As performers, Nine Inch Nails are damned-near flawless. With more than twenty years of experience they brought an unparalleled intensity to the stage. These are musicians who are used to headlining festivals and playing sold-out arena tours and they brought all of that volume and intensity to an intimate theater space. With a set that lasted an hour and forty-five minutes without a break, Mr. Reznor sweat clear through his all-black attire, which included a pair of dropped-crotch pants.

When he wasn't singing, Trent tended to retreat toward the back of the stage where he stood like a shamen raising spirits; a conductor pulling the song's crescendos piece by piece until the songs reached their orgasmic climaxes.

The set list was heavier on the newest record but tonight's audience, including myself, just wanted to hear Nine Inch Nails. They could have played the Itsy Bitsy Spider for 45 minutes and we would have clapped until our hands were raw. Personally, I spent most of the show on my feet and about half of it with my eyes closed, my chin pointing toward the ceiling as I convulsed to the music.

Set highlights included an incredible rendition of Satellite from the newest LP. I was also really moved by Survivalism, which really worked the crowd into a fist-pumping, screaming frenzy. As far as classics go, singing along to Hurt with 2,000 other people including Trent Reznor became a new highlight for my life.

I know that Nine Inch Nails was a very important band to a lot of people and that many of their biggest fans didn't get to attend tonight's taping. I really wish I could use my words to paint you a clearer picture of what we experienced at the Moody Theater tonight but all I can really tell you is that history was made. I feel incredibly fortunate to have been a part of a very special experience and I still can't wrap my brain around it. You guys, Nine Inch Nails is going to be on your local PBS. The same channel that shows Arthur, is going to have a live performance from Nine Inch Nails.

I managed to get a photo of the setlist. I asked the girl who snagged it if she would pose with it over her face like I did with the ACL volunteer above the break but she said that was "disrespectful" so I cropped her stupid face out of it anyway. Unfortunately now it looks all grainy but fortunately, you can see what songs they played this evening. Like I said, their set was close to two hours and that's going to have to be cut down to 45 minutes or less for television but you'll feel the electricity through our TV screens on this one, I can guarantee that much.
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Posted by Unknown at 10:55 PM
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Cults at Emo's Tonight



Alright y'all, I know you're bummed that you didn't get to see NIN's ACL TV appearance tonight but that doesn't mean you can't rock 'n roll. Tickets to see Cults at Emo's tonight are still available. I had never heard a song by Cults the first time I saw them and they blew me away. Their music is much lighter and more fun than their name might imply with vocals that evoke Leslie Gore. The first single from their latest album, Static, is one of my favorite songs of the year and the record really delivers on the whole as well.


Cults - High Road video via YouTube

Cults are headlining but the bill for tonight's show at Emo's is a stellar indie line-up from top to bottom with Mood Rings opening and SACCO middling. To be honest, I have never heard of this band SACCO so I think it's really smart to have them play in the middle because Mood Rings are great so people will arrive early and they're obviously going to stay for the headliners. So having SACCO play the middle set will give them more exposure than if they were opening. However, for all I know all of you are really big fans of SACCO and you have never heard of Mood Rings I sort of live in a bubble that way.


Mood Rings - The Line video via YouTube

If Cults aren't really your thing, you might be interested to know that NoBunny is also in town tonight. You can catch them over at Red 7 this evening.

Find out what other note-worthy shows are hitting Austin this month. That show is only $12 and it will take place on the inside stage.




Cults Photo Credit: Olivia Malone
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Posted by Unknown at 5:24 PM
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Thursday, October 31, 2013

Planning Ahead: November

Alright, this post isn't going to include FunFunFun Fest other than to say, that is ALSO coming up and should be your primary focus. I'll have several posts coming up to help you plan for Fun Fest. With that being said, there are several really great shows coming up that need your immediate attention.
I'm giving you very short notice on some of these events and I am going to try to give more comprehensive coverage to a lot of these events in an individual way in the future. However, for the sake of planning I'm going to just get straight to business. There are several cool Halloween shows tonight but for my money it's Crocodiles at Empire or Neon Indian DJ Set at the Belmont. You can do whatever you want but those are my choices.


Neon Indian - Mind Drips video via YouTube

The format of this post is pretty simple. Click the name of the artist to connect with them on Facebook, click the name of the venue to buy tickets to the show.

Saturday, Nov. 2nd


Monday, Nov. 4th


Tuesday, Nov. 5th


Wednesday, Nov. 6th


Thursday, Nov. 7th


Thursday, Nov. 7th - Sunday Nov. 10th


Saturday, Nov. 9th


Sunday, Nov. 10th


Tuesday, Nov. 12th


Friday, Nov. 15th


Saturday, Nov. 16th


Sunday Nov. 17th


Tuesday, Nov. 19th


Wednesday, Nov. 20th


Thursday, Nov. 21st


Friday, Nov. 22nd


Saturday, Nov. 23rd


Sunday, Nov. 24th


Friday, Nov.29th
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Posted by Unknown at 5:25 AM
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Wednesday, October 30, 2013

FunFunFunFest 2013: Are You Ready?

You guys, there are so many great events going on within the next couple of weeks and I'm starting to freak out a little bit. FunFunFun Fest is the big gorilla just around the corner but there are so many events leading up to and surrounding it that preparations are in order. If you haven't bought tickets to Fun Fest yet, I implore you to do so. I know it might seem like a lot of cash up front but the value you get is well worth the cost. No one is telling me to tell you that. It's the truth.

I understand that there are many of you reading this who honestly don't have the time and money to spend on a 3-Day pass and I can understand that. There are still options for you. If you're not on the mailing list for Belmont, you probably should be because you would have a discount code that gives you 20% off tickets. There are also some ticket giveaways floating around here and there. Including one that involves Nordstrom at the Barton Creek Mall. You can find full details on this digital flyer but here's the gist: Small Black is doing a free in-store at Nordstrom on Wednesday, November 6th 4pm. That's one week from today and two days before the official start of Fun Fest. You can enter to win the Fun Fest equivalent of VIP passes and all you have to do is fill out an entry form between now and next Wednesday.


Small Black - Breathless video via YouTube

The thing to keep in mind with Fun Fest is that you're not only getting the festival itself, you're getting the Nites and the The Nites are Free. With most music festivals this means you get to see one of the bands from the festival performing downtown, with Fun Fest you get to see bands that aren't even playing the festival at clubs downtown free with your festival wristband. For the first year ever, this includes some of the heavy-hitters from the comedy stage like Sarah Silverman at the State Theater and Jenny Slate at the Mohawk. Honestly, I feel like the Nites events alone are worth the festival price this year. I mean, Chelsea Light Moving is playing Red 7's inside stage with Merchandise as a support act. That shit is FREE. Bob Mould is DJing the Belmont that same night. What?!? Friday night of the fest all they're telling us is there is a "Special Guest" playing the Mohawk's inside stage at some point after midnight. Whatever your wildest guesses are, might be true.

I'll be helping you to plan out your days and your Nites starting next week but before we get this shit poppin, you have to get your ticket situation handled. You don't want to miss the fest and I don't want you to miss the fest. Let's do this!
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Posted by Unknown at 3:32 PM
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Thursday, October 24, 2013

Don't Miss the Opener: Giraffage



I'm sure there is some name for the specific sub-genre of electronic that Giraffage creates but I'm really bad at remembering all of those sub-genres of sub-genres of electronic music. To me the bones of the music is R&B but it's buried under woozy, wobbly synthesizers, scattershot beats and the vocals are processed until they're barely recognizable. My first introduction to Giraffage was through his collaboration with XXYYXX on the track, Even Though. There is also a Teen Daze remix of that track, if you throw Mister Lies in the mix you'd have four of my favorite electronic/electronic-adjacent contemporary artists.

Giraffage is in town both Saturday and Sunday night supporting Phantogram. Tickets for the Saturday night show are sold-out but you can still buy tickets for the Sunday night show.


Giraffage - Close 2 Me video via SoundCloud

I don't mean to diminish Phantogram by featuring Giraffage more heavily. The last time I saw Phantogram they were fucking phenomenal and I'm sure the same will be true on this visit to Austin. If you're a vinyl collector, like I am, you'll want to pick up the newest EP from Phantogram at the merch table. It's a limited pressing and will only be available on this tour.


Phantogram - Black Out Days video via SoundCloud

I mentioned XXYYXX above the break, you can catch a set from him at FunFunFun Fest in roughly two weeks. If you haven't bought a ticket for FFF yet, you really need to try and get on that shit. Fun Fest is not just a clever name, it is literally fun. Also, if you were thinking of buying your 3-Day Pass online you might want to consider heading to your favorite record shop for that pass instead. If you buy a 3-day pass at participating local record shops before then end of October, the fest will buy you a $20 record by a festival artist. So, while purchasing online may be handy, it won't get you a free record.
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Posted by Unknown at 4:25 PM
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Wednesday, October 16, 2013

ACL Festival 2013: The Aftermath

Alright y'all, it's Wednesday. Everyone else has posted their beautiful photos and they've told you who performed their favorite acts of ACL Fest 2013. I've been working and watching TV. So, let's break it down. This was the first year that ACL was two weekends and the first year that there were no single-day tickets. It was also the first year the festival turned into coitus interruptus transforming downtown into its own rogue off-shoot festival. It was actually pretty great now that I think about.


Kendrick Lamar - Poetic Justice (Explicit) ft. Drake video via YouTube

I posted a Kendrick Lamar video above the break because I feel like for the purposes of a music festival setting he gave the most satisfying performance. Lamar performed with a full band and he was the only person on stage with a microphone. He controlled the massive audience who sang along, participated in call and response and cheered at all the perfect moments and he did all of this with hardly any verbal directives. Kendrick Lamar gave a performance worthy of a headlining spot at any festival. Of course we may have to wait for him to get another album or two under his belt before that happens but his energy, his presence and his overall performance really impressed me.

I think both Depeche Mode and The Cure had great headlining sets. I think The Cure designed a smarter setlist than Depeche Mode but both acts gave spot-on performances. Whenever you see legacy artists there is always the fear that they will be past their prime but that was certainly not the case with either of these bands. When a band plays a festival they have a certain obligation to play their most satisfying songs. In other words, give the people the hits, give them all the hits, give them hit after hit after hit, then play that early song or B-Side that the superfans will orgasm for. Then play the hit that EVERYONE knows the words to. This is the responsibility of the headliner of any music festival. It's a tough gig and not every band can pull it off. First of all, you have to have a lot of hits then you have to be willing to play said hits, even if you are personally sick of them. Depeche Mode's set was largely hits but they mixed in a few ballad-y numbers and/or brand-new stuff that lost the crowd in places. I know it's unfair of me to expect a band to not play new songs but I feel like that's what the club show is for. I know, I know, Depeche Mode are too big for a club show but there is a HUGE band equivalent to the club show, which is the small arena tour. When people are paying specifically to see you at a small arena, play whatever the hell you want but for the festival setting, don't make a setlist just put your greatest hits by your feet and play it from start to finish.

So, can we talk about Sunday now? I went out Saturday night to see Braids at the Mohawk. I had changed and showered and all of that and I got in my car to head downtown. It was already raining pretty hard and as I snaked through downtown all the people I passed looked like deer in a grocery store. Just looking like they didn't know how they got there or where they were going but they knew they wanted to get the fuck outta there. Everyone was hopelessly trying to flag down cabs that were already full of people because they don't know how to fucking tell when a cab is for hire. IT'S NOT HARD TO TELL Y'ALL! So anyway, I found a parking spot a block from the Mohawk, got inside the venue, got my Kindle app open and read on my phone while Braids set-up. At this point, I am pretty much exhausted but when they started (1am) I was re-awoken and SO happy that I decided to see them perform.

On the walk back to my car, I noticed some people taking a photo from the overpass that looks down onto Waller Creek. So, I stopped to check it out and the water was higher than I'd ever seen it. I didn't get home until shortly after 2am and when I fell asleep the plan was to get to the festival as soon as I woke up. Mr. S. woke up before me the next day and started seeing photos of the park on his phone. He showed me the photos as we both contemplated skipping the final day, then we got the notice that the festival had been cancelled. Mr. S. rushed out the kitchen and grabbed a pair of scissors and cut my wristband off before I even got out of bed.

Not gonna lie, after seeing those photos of the park I was psyched they cancelled the last day of the festival. I was tired from the Braids show, I was slightly sunburnt and generally hungover on life. I am "bummed" that I "missed" some of the bands I was hoping to see but since I'm a spoiled twat I've already seen most of the bands I was looking forward to anyway. As a huge Radiohead fan I was looking forward to seeing Atoms for Peace but as a huge Red Hot Chili Peppers hater, I wasn't really interested in seeing Atoms for Peace. As a human being, who lives on Earth, I was looking forward to seeing Lionel Richie but as a person who has lived 31 years without seeing Lionel Richie, I'm ok with it.

Mr. S. was pretty elated that I wasn't dragging him to face the hoarding masses and his first thought was, "Now we can go see PEEPING TOM at the Marchesa!" So, of course we went to a see a British film from 1960 that inspired Psycho. While we were off getting culture in a dark room the hive mind of the city conspired to create a SXSW-esque rogue off-shoot of ACL Fest. It was very exciting and I feel like I took part even though I didn't actually go to any of the shows. We stopped in to shop at End of an Ear and I talked with Dan about all of the pop-up shows I had heard about. Another shopper heard what I was saying and asked for more info, it was weird tweeting to someone's face but it was also really fun. Dan said the store was Record Store Day busy. The restaurant where I work posted some of the highest single shift sales in the company's history. In other words area businesses were flooded with would-be festival goers. Unfortunately, the food vendors who already prepped enough product to feed the festival itself were left holding their proverbial dicks on Sunday.

The biggest pop-up show of the night was Atoms for Peace at ACL-Live, which was streamed live on the ACL Fest YouTube page. People lined-up outside the venue for hours in the hopes of receiving a wristband, which secured entry to the venue. The Mowglis played an acoustic set for fans in the parking lot across the street from the ARCH and encouraged fans to bring donations to the show.

What happened Sunday was a distillation of everything I love about this city. I saw a rare 35MM print of a film, a pop-up music festival happened, loads of people shopped at local businesses, Lionel Richie sang in some rich cunt's living room, someone said "Kale is so over" while shopping at the flagship Whole Foods. This city was everything at once and you still shouldn't move here, unless I can rent out your condo/townhome/duplex in the '04 cheaply. If that's the case, we should talk. Or if you're a celebrity who wants to be my friend. You can move here too, looking at you Elijah Wood.

You can already buy tickets for next year's ACL Festival, which promises to be two weekends again. The real buzz about tickets for next year is the re-availability of single-day passes. Do you think the "Best of the 80's" trend will continue next year? Are their any contemporary acts with enough hits to headline next year? Has anyone really read this far into this post? I'm going to say, yes, no, no and Wilson Phillips.

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Posted by Unknown at 3:52 PM
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Sunday, October 13, 2013

ACL 2013: Buckshot Sunday Night

By now you're already aware that ACL Fest has disintegrated into a series of pop-up shows happening throughout the downtown area. Here's a quick rundown to help you keep things sorted out.


Atoms for Peace - Ingenue video via YouTube

  • Atoms For Peace | ACL Live
  • Franz Ferdinand | Infest
  • Divine Fits | Parish
  • Noah and the Whale | Empire Auto
  • The Lone Bellow w/Red Baraat | Belmont
  • The Mowglis with Smallpools | Lambert's
  • Lance Herbstrong | Amplified Austin

The biggest show of the night (so far) is Atoms for Peace at ACL-Live. It only costs $10 to get in but you can't get in. Basically, I went to a movie that started at 2:00pm without any knowledge of any pop-up shows. When I got out 1000 people were already lined-up for several blocks snaking around the W Hotel building. As I write this wristbands have been strapped to wrists, those people can "come back" at 8pm with a $10 bill and they'll get in the show. It's like that now.

HOWEVER, there is a positive upshot to Atoms for Peace doing their show in the same venue that ACL TV tapings happen because as it turns out, they are streaming tonight's set live! Keep an eye on the ACL Festival YouTube page.

Franz Ferdinand have a similar $10 ticket situation in a club whose name I hate so much I'm just going to call it, the space Antone's occupied most recently before their move to E. Riverside. If you're not reading this from a line with a wristband, you're already not getting in. It is all-ages though, which is worth noting I guess?

Let's talk about some shows I wish were going on. How about White Denim with Tame Impala at Emo's or MS MR at Antone's again? Is it weird that they're not using those spaces to anyone else? How about Neko Case at the Broken Spoke? Shuggie Otis in the Elephant Room? I know beggars can't be choosers but so far none of these pop-up shows have inspired me to do anything other than laundry, Homeland and Ben & Jerry's.

If we're being honest, I wish this scattershot demon child of ACL Fest is how the festival actually was. A ridiculous scavenger hunt where the prize is a special, intimate music moment in a club with a band. Oh, wait, we already have a festival like that...
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Posted by Unknown at 7:46 PM
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Thursday, October 10, 2013

Review: Local Natives for ACL TV



When the decision was made to move tapings of Austin City Limits Television to a brand-new studio in a high-rise, luxury hotel building downtown (gasp) many people were worried that the magic might be lost. As someone who has been lucky enough to attend tapings in both locations I can assure you that the magic of ACL TV isn't the building, the set, the lighting or even the stage. The magic of an ACL taping is being a part of history.

It's the fact that this performance is part of a larger canon of performances. Performances by legends and performances that made legends. Performances that anyone with a television had access to. Nowadays you can watch a band's performance moments after it's taken place, or you can even stream them live from across the globe and that's cool and that's interesting but in a way it exists in a vacuum. Austin City Limits is special and the artists who give the most magical performances on the Austin City Limits stage are the ones who understand the significance of this 39 year tradition.

Local Natives definitely understood that they were joining a legacy with their performance tonight. They were appreciative, they were humbled and they damn near flawless. Thanks to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and VIEWER LIKE YOU, you can be a part of the special moment that was committed to tape this evening, in your very own living room, in the very near future.


Austin City Limits Television - 90 Second History video via YouTube

I have always considered myself an early adopter of Local Natives, turns out I was about a year late to the party. Regardless, the first time I saw them in April of 2010 I immediately recognized that they were a band on the rise. The essence of their greatness is simple: rhythms and harmonies. I know, I know, those are the basics of music, which is why they're such a killer band. Local Natives showcased their three part harmonies with stripped-down arrangements of songs from Gorilla Manor and they exhibited their stadium-ready song-craft with the songs from Hummingbird. In the three years since I first saw them, Local Natives have honed their craft, they've shuffled their line-up and with tonight's performance they proved to me that they have the chops to be a band that I will still pay to see a decade from now, which is saying a lot these days.

If you're planning to attend ACL Festival tomorrow, you can catch Local Natives at 4:30pm. Keep an eye on your local TV listings to watch tonight's performance at home.
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Posted by Unknown at 10:43 PM
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ACL Fest 2013 Preview: The Rest

Alright y'all so here's the deal, I didn't go to ACL Fest last weekend but I am going this weekend. It's going to be a hectic few days for me but let me lay it down for you real quick-like here at the top. If I were a bad-ass, I would be at Zilker Park at 11:30am tomorrow in time to catch Wild Nothing on the Samsung stage. I would jump from stage to stage seeing at least one band per hour until the final note from Depeche Mode finished resonating then I would head downtown to see Savages at the Parish. If you're up for that, that's what you should do because that would be fucking baller.


Smallpools - Dreaming video via YouTube

Here's how I expect things are actually going to go. Tonight, catch Local Natives' set for ACL TV at the Moody Theater. Tomorrow, wake up at 5am to be ready for work at 6am. Wait tables from 6am until 2pm or 3pm-ish, change shoes, stash my apron, grab my festival bag and catch the next available bus. By about 4pm, I hope to be in, or at least very near, the festival itself. That means I MIGHT be able to catch the last song from Smith Westerns but I'll actually head toward the Bud Light stage because I'm drawn to shitty domestic light beers. Also, Pinback's set is scheduled to happen from 3:30-4:30 so, hopefully I can catch that window and Pinback will be my first official festival set.

Bands I'm bummed about missing because I will still be serving pancakes and coffee Friday afternoon:
  • Wild Nothing
  • FIDLAR
  • Widowspeak
  • Savages
  • Thao & the Get Down Stay Down
  • Court Yard Hounds
  • Jimmy Eat World
If I'm being real with you, I don't really give a shit about Jimmy Eat World but if I did, I wouldn't be able to see them tomorrow. No offense to Jimmy or his fans, I just never had a moment with them. If you're planning to make a full weekend of it I'll re-post my highlights from last week below with a bit more rambling after that.

Friday, 11 October 2013


Saturday 12 October 2013


For you total bad-asses, after you're done listening to The Cure Saturday night you need to get directly to the Mohawk to catch Braids on the inside stage. I REALLY want to see Braids Saturday night but I have a feeling I'm going to be too worn out.

Sunday 13 October 2013


Last week, I had a conundrum, trying to choose between Shuggie Otis and Atoms for Peace. Lots of people who saw Shuggie last week said he was disappointing but I also read some feedback that said his set got progressively better. So...I still don't really know which way I'm leaning. While we're thinking about Sunday, let's not miss White Denim ok? I know that since they're from here we tend to take them for granted but we shouldn't because they are REALLY fucking good. Not only that, their newest record might be their best LP yet and their last two were pretty hard to top.


White Denim - Pretty Green video via YouTube

And with that, I probably won't be back at these keys until after the festival. You can follow me on Twitter if you want me to flood your feed with my rude comments about people and things that I have different feelings of hate for.

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Posted by Unknown at 5:17 PM
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