A Chronological Guide to the Block Party

Hi fellow citizens of the greater city of Montrose,

Tomorrow is the Block party and I thought I'd provide you with a chronological list of who is playing and when. I had planned on making some suggestions but, you know, part of the block party isn't about seeing who you already know are great but hopefully to run into some bands that you've never seen. So I'm skipping that and letting you guys use your mouse to preview the bands. One thing to note about this list - the all day and late night events are all listed towards the bottom.

See you guys tomorrow. I'm pooped from copying and pasting. :\

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11:00 AM

Guy Schwarz (Wake and Bake Blues Jam) - Numbers (Outside)

12:00 NOON

Estudiantes Social Club - Avant Garden (Outside)
The Goods - Avant Garden (Upstairs)
Earnie Banks - Austin Layne Hotel
Trusty Tape Recorder- Numbers (Outside)
Check Other - Mango's (Inside)
Swans Will Attack - Mango's (Outside)
Hero- Numbers (Inside)

12:45 PM

Hueman - Avant Garden (Outside)
The Gold Sounds -Avant Garden (Upstairs)
Phillip Foshee- Austin Layne Hotel
Karina Nistal & Rebel Crew- Numbers (Outside)
Program- Numbers (Inside)
Campfire Stories- Mango's (Inside)

1:30 PM

KAM - Avant Garden (Outside)
Magnetic - Avant Garden (Upstairs)
Dunnock's Ill Advisory- Austin Layne Hotel
GhostTown Electric- Numbers (Outside)
Room 101- Numbers (Inside)
Wild Moccasins - Mango's (Outside)
The Hangouts- Mango's (Inside)

2:15PM

Chase Hamblin - Avant Garden (Outside)
The Ultra Siberian Pant Factory - Avant Garden (Upstairs)
D.R.U.M. - Austin Layne Hotel
World's Most Dangerous - Numbers (Outside)
B Side - Numbers (Inside)
Searching for Signal - Mango's (Outside)
Female Demand- Mango's (Inside)

3:00PM

O Pioneers! - Avant
Garden (Outside)
Desmond Zavala - Avant Garden (Upstairs)
News on the March - Austin Layne Hotel
Hell City Kings - Numbers (Outside)
Mic Skills - Numbers (Inside)
The Mathletes - Mango's (Outside)
O'Doyle Rules - Mango's (Inside)

3:45PM

Sideshow Tramps - Avant Garden (Outside)
Generation Landslide - Avant Garden (Upstairs)
Studemont Project- Austin Layne Hotel
American Sharks - Numbers (Outside)
Co-pilot - Numbers (Inside)
The Annoysters - Mango's (Outside)
Electric Attitude - Mango's (Inside)

4:30PM

Tha Fucking Transmissions - Avant Garden (Outside)
Alkari - Avant Garden (Upstairs)
Guitars - Austin Layne Hotel
Swamp Fox- Numbers (Outside)
Dirty N Nasty- Numbers (Inside)
Poopy Lungstuffing - Mango's (Outside)
Dissent - Mango's (Inside)

5:15PM

Basses Loaded - Avant Garden (Outside)
Dizzy Pilot - Avant Garden (Upstairs)
The Literary Greats - Austin Layne Hotel
Spain Colored Orange - Numbers (Outside)
The Quietist - Numbers (Inside)
Riff Tiffs - Mango's (Outside)
Transmography - Mango's (Inside)

6:00 PM

Piano Vines - Avant Garden (Outside)
Lazlo - Avant Garden (Upstairs)
Lenny Briscoe- Austin Layne Hotel
Come See My Dead Person- Numbers (Outside)
Muzak John - Mango's (Outside)

6:35PM

Eastern Sea- Mango's (Inside)

6:45PM

The Ton Tons - Avant Garden (Outside)
Dead Roses - Avant Garden (Upstairs)
Balaclavas - Austin Layne Hotel
The Vettes - Numbers (Outside)
Delta Block - Mango's (Outside)

7:30PM

Free Radicals - Avant Garden (Outside)
Giant Princess - Avant Garden (Upstairs)
Listen Listen- Austin Layne Hotel
The McKenzies - Numbers (Outside)
Death Hell Battle Tank - Mango's (Outside)
Tambersauro - Mango's (Inside)

8:05 PM

Giant Battle Monster- Mango's (Inside)

8:15 PM

Bear Claw - Avant Garden (Outside)
Half Nelson - Avant Garden (Upstairs)
Buxton- Austin Layne Hotel
The Hates - Numbers (Outside)
Rusted Shut - Mango's (Outside)

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Numbers Late Night
($12) Beginning at 7:30PM

Antenna Inn
Lisa's Sons
Something Fierce
Satin Hooks
B L A C K I E
Bring Back the Guns
The Jon Benet
Voxtrot

Mango's (Inside) - Late Night

8:50 p.m. Wolves at the Door
10 p.m. Ozeal
10:45 p.m. Endangered Sea Lions

Avant Garden - Late Night ($5)

9:15 p.m.: Orents Stirner
10 p.m.: Tyagaraja
10:45 p.m.: Two Star Symphony
11:50p.m. Antarctica Starts Here

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Throughout the day

Avant Garden (downstairs) - Reprogramm Lounge, hosted by Ceeplus Bad Knives

La Strada - DJs including D Major, Sasha Braverman, Henry Chow, Esteban Torres, Alex C, Fixture, Candice Elliott, DJ Pooks, Shina Rae

Gorilla Show - Cop Warmth undisclosed time and location

The Music Crumudgeon's preview for the Week of October 10,2008

THIS WEEK'S SPOTLIGHT IS ON...

THE WESTHEIMER BLOCK PARTY

Jeez, like you couldn't see that coming!!

Hey c'mon, it's the biggest party for the City of Montrose and you are invited and it's gonna be free. Even the after party at Numbers (while not free) will be pretty bad-ass. So come on down even if it's only for a bit. You don't have to partake of the full buffet but just at least come on down and have a sample. I promise this will leave you more satisfied than Golden Corral ever will.

I'll post my planned route tomorrow where I'll highlight some artists but the Block Party is such a beast that for today I'll just toss you the posters and tourist information below. Click on the map and the stage guide to enlarge to image.

Westheimer Block Party Poster

Numbers After-Party Show Poster

Stage Guide
(Click to enlarge)

Block Party Map
(Click to enlarge)

ALSO THIS WEEK

Friday, October 10

Sideshow Tramps / Buxton
@ The Continental Club
Wow, is this an amazing bill or what? The Tramps are one of the hootinest hollerinest fun bands you can go see. It's like a tent revival with a whole lotta dancing and drinkin'. Buxton meanwhile are one of Houston's premiere bands that combine a heartfelt rootsy sensibility, sharp musicianship, and emotional songwriting that's sure to wow you. Seriously this show is gonna be the shit!

Monotonix / Dizzy Pilot / American Sharks
@ The Mink
Oh wait, this show is also going to be the freaking shit! Monotonix stole freaking SXSW last year with their antic driven high energy rock and roll. Sure the album is good but ask anyone whose seen them live and you'll know that Monotinix is a band to be experienced live. Make sure your upper body strength is up to the task though. The drummer being carried aloft on his bass drum by the audience is almost a requisite part of the show now. As if that isn't enough, openers Dizzy Pilot are one of Houston's loopiest guitar fired bands and American Sharks is now listed by Merriam Websters as a synonym for Party.

Orents Stirner / Alkari / Hearts of Animals
@ Rudyard's
Well,I have to say I wasn't too keen on the vocals on the original Orents Stirner CD - too melodramatic for my taste - but the live performance they have on their myspace works much better in that department and suggests they may be a more interesting beast live. Alkari quietly releases lovely Indie Pop CDs with some very pretty production. For me though, the big deal here is opener Hearts of Animals who's newest CD is a feast of lush low-fi goodness.

Laurie Anderson
Homeland
@ Wortham Center's Cullen Theater (8PM)
I jumped the gun on this one last week but Anderson's Multimedia shows are always an impressive and thought provoking tour de force. SPA brings Anderson's newest work Homeland to Houston which they describe as a "portrait of contemporary American culture [that] explores the current climate of fear and the obsessions with information and security." Coolness! If I had infinite cash reserves and a Time Tuner, I'd be so there.

Cat Power / Appaloosa / DJ FREDster (after show)
@ Warehouse Live
OK let me say it, the last Cat Power album of covers was a bore. Chan Marshall's phrasing is amazing but she's such a good writer that this kind of catalog padding is just annoying. Just sayin'. Anyhow here's your chance to see her Channess live in person. Should be solid!

Don't Fight It, featuring
Dave Wrangler, Piss Heavy, & Young Squaddy
@ Boondocks
Boondocks DJ. Nuff said.

Saturday, October 11

500 Megatons of Boogie / Wicked Poseur / data versus data
@ The Mink
The only band crazy enough to play a show the same night as the Block Party? Yeah 500 Megs would be the band. But you can't argue the guys put on a great bootie shaking show. While the technology is still in it's infancy our reading suggest that the band actually delivers 507.8962 Megatons of Boogie. Wicked Poseur and data versus Data haven't been measured yet but we suspect they could at least match them megaton by megaton. BONUS: If the stars align just right with the UPS truck, Wicked Poseur may have their new 7" available! Wooo!

The entirely unrelated to the block party
"West Fest After Party"
The Flamin' Hellcats / Wasted (Black Flag Tribute band)
2222 Morgan (6PM)
Well, While it starts during our Block Party, technically it is an After Party if you consider how many years it's been since West Fest took over the entire length of Westheimer. Technicalities aside, this started a tirade/flame war between Kerry of Satin Hooks and well just about everyone else on Hands Up Houston which made everyone's day in the office pass much faster than it would have otherwise. Thanks Kerry. FYI - Mickey T (Gorenado) and The Turbo Moto Motorcycle Club are putting it on.

Sunday, October 12

Paul Winstanley with The Nameless Sound Ensemble
@ Art League Houston 7PM (1953 Montrose Blvd.)
$10 General Admission, $8 Students, Everyone under 18 gets in for free.
Damn so I walk in to Dietrich's Coffee the other day and I see a poster and vocally say "Oh shit it's Paul!!!" Ya see, back in the late 80's (or was it the early 90's? I can't remember) Paul Guilford (as he was want to call himself) along with Dave Dove played some of the wildest improvisational music you could shake two sticks at. Fleece Records released one of their CDs (you may still find one at Sound Exchange if you are lucky) and they played some great shows during their time but sadly, Paul's visa ran out and he returned to his native New Zealand. So Imagine my thrill at seeing this poster hanging there. If you like your music joyful and challenging this is going to be your kind of show. oh and welcome back Paul!

Akimbo / Ghost Town Electric
@ The Mink
Akimbo are the heavy mother fucker. Dropping a bass and drum rhythm section in the Jesus Lizard mode and blood strained vocals that would likely make your ears bleed, the band can pack a wallop. You'd figure, after 10 years of delivering a pounding on fans, these Seattle assholes would at least get show some sympathy for their victims but listening to the new album Jersey Shores it's clear they show no mercy. Sunday night's show should leave you crying uncle before you leave.

Rock the Boat: Hurricane Ike Relief Concert, featuring
Pale, Deep Ella, Paris Green, & Morgue City
@ The Meridian
Hurricane Ike Benefit.


Monday, October 13

Margot and the Nuclear So and So's / David Vandervelde / Judgement Day / The Wild Moccasins
@ The Mink
Pretty pretty indie pop is what the Indianapolis collective known as Margot & the Nuclear So So's peddle in and it's a very pleasant and lush set of goods they are selling. For kookiness Oakland's Judgement day will be worth catching. They are a cellist and a violinist who play metal inspired instrumentals. Yeah, like I said kooky but somehow it's kind of charming. But the thing that makes me jump up and down for joy is the Wild Moccasins who are on the verge of releasing their next album hopefully in December.

Tha Fucking Transmissions
@ Boondocks
Oh shit the Transmissions. Likely Houston's most rockin' hip-hop band! Sharp as nails MC's and a rhythm section that's as good as Basses Loaded...oh wait.


Tuesday, October 14

Awesome Color / Paris Falls / Guitars / Bobby DJ
@ The Mink
Holy motherfucker! Awesome Color just hits every primeval chimp node in your brain and keeps pounding until you seizure. The opening line up alone great Booby DJ spins some lovely tunes, Guitars are aces too, and lets not forget Paris Falls whose spin on late era Beatles sounds is a must see but goddamn Awesome Color is the cherry on top of it all! We'll have a short 5 question interview with them on Tuesday just to remind you. Until then, check out this video if you don't believe me.



The Cardinals (Ryan Adams & co.)
@ Verizon Wireless Theater
I get a big meh from Ryan Adams. I dunno once he did the duet with Tina Turner it was all downhill*.

Neil Diamond
@ Toyota Center
I am I said! Fuck yeah. Go Neil! He may not have the mane or the manly chest hair of the Hot August Nights era but ya gotta give it up to the man for penning some very lovely pop songs back in the day.


Wednesday, October 15

A Place to Bury Strangers/Sian Alice Group/Ringo Deathstarr
@ Walter's on Washington
Brooklyn's A Place To Bury Strangers are often classified as shoegaze but to me they sound a bit earlier in their influence by mixing spacey Bauhaus guitars and early New Order beats. Bonus the guitarist makes guitar effects under the name Death By Audio (link). I liked the Total Sonic Annihilation - Sound Kill (Link) NEAT!


Thursday, October 16

Sunburned Hand of the Man
@ Rudyard's
SHOTM may be able to play some lovely straight ahead stuff but for the most part they don't keep things straight for long but almost immediately chart for the most perilous psych waters and despite all the chaos somehow get you through alive.


The Suspects
@ Discovery Green (downtown; free, 6:30PM)
Hey you don't watch that watch this!!!

*Yes it's a fucking joke. :P

Return of The Dead Milkmen

By Adam P. Newton

When treasured bands from one’s youth decide to play a reunion show, the brain is plagued with questions. “Will they suck or will it rock?” “Will my memories be tainted by this experience?” It’s understandable to be nervous. But what happens when an iconic, fun-loving band like The Dead Milkmen starts playing shows again? It just might be cause for celebration and a bit of over-the-top, ribald fun, since this four-piece punk act has always kept their tongues wedged firmly in their cheeks. Thus, since Rodney Anonymous, Joe Jack Talcum, Dean Clean, and Dandrew are out on the roads playing shows again, Free Press Houston decided to talk with the guys about getting back together for the first time in four years.

According to Rodney, “The impetus for the playing again was a combination of cash, boredom, and friendship, pretty much in that order. We got offered a decent amount of money to play, though for years now, people have been paying us not to play. It's healthy to shake up your life every now and then; plus, we all missed hanging out together.”

Sadly though, the band will be both missing and playing without bass player Dave Blood, who passed away in 2004.

“As for Dave, we miss him more with each passing day,” declared Rodney. “He was smart, funny, and wonderfully subversive. We were lucky to find Dandrew, whose playing style and sense of humor closely match Dave's.”

To some, it might be more notable that The Dead Milkmen chose Austin's Fun Fun Fun Fest for their reunion, as opposed to the two other, larger, more notable music festivals in Austin.

“You mean the Armadillo Christmas Bazaar and the Old Settler's Music Festival?” queried Dandrew. “They just didn't see appropriate. To me, at least.”

Joe summed it up by stating, ”It selected us.”

As with all reunion shows, fans are forced to wonder how the band’s material will hold up in 2008, since it’s been awhile since these songs have been in the popular consciousness.

Joe put it best when he responded, “I feel that our songs are still timeless classics, just like they were when we wrote them. It is probably a sad comment on the state of the world that they do hold up in 2008, though I'm still not sure what some of the lyrics actually mean.”

Or, as Rodney puts it, “At this point, I'm banking on the audience being so wasted that they mistake us for Bad Brains.”

Maybe it’s inevitable, but most bands who has been making music for over two decades are going to be peppered with questions from younger acts on how to survive in the music business.

After Dandrew exclaimed, “There's a music BUSINESS?!?”, Rodney replied, “Be polite to EVERYONE. Every soundperson, bartender, and bouncer has a story about the band that acted like a bunch of prima donnas. Don't be that band. No one will remember how well you played that solo, but they will remember whether or not you said ‘thank you’ and ‘please.’”

“Try to retain the rights to your music,” added Joe. “I know people give that advice all the time. I heard that advice a lot, but did not listen. Even if you do not believe in copyright, there is something now known as a Creative Commons license that can protect your music and keep you in control of it.”

At the end of the interview, the discussion focused on whether or not there is anyone on the contemporary music scene that is carrying forth the ethos at attitudes of The Dead Milkmen. Even though Joe asserted, “I don't really know of anyone carrying forth the ethos & attitudes of The Dead Milkmen. It may be that I'm not looking for them,” it was Rodney’s humorous, yet all-too-true answer that carried the day.

“I pray to Darwin that nobody is out there trying to emulate the DM, the same way that I recoil at the thought of a group trying to be The Byrds. That time has passed. It's time to be something new.”

I concur – something new would indeed be welcome on the scene. And besides, who needs a new version of The Dead Milkmen when the one we have already is still around playing shows?


The Dead Milkmen will be performing a reunion show at Fun Fun Fun Fest on November 8th and 9th in Austin, TX.

Music with Jameson & Lone Star: Quintron/Golden Triangle @ Walters & Exterminating Angels @ Rudz (AKA the show where I piss-off Miss Pussycat)

Well shit. It's not every night you get yelled at by Miss Pussycat - twice at that! Yeah, if you were at Friday's Quintron show you likely saw a very very very angry Miss Pussycat yell at some guy in a polyester shell shirt on the side of the stage then come back and do it again. That was me! So you are probably wondering what that was all about. Well, honestly I'm not 100% sure. My camera has been a bit dodgy on focusing since the fatal Fatal Flying Guilloteens show at the Proletariat nigh a year ago. That means I take a lot of shots to get a few good one and a hella lot of shots if I'm avoiding the flash. Because of this, you will usually see me shoot a hell of a lot of shots for like the first half of a band's set then settle in and only take a few more if there is some amusing action. So, here I am on the side of the stage - or one step down from the stage to be exact - and standing very still there for quite some time taking shots. It's low-light so I'm trying to stay still to not add any jitter to the camera and even go so far as to hold my breath when I click. Since keeping steady is paramount, I notice across the stage are three mixed drinks atop the Leslie speaker there. Oh great I think, I'll use the speaker not a foot away from me as a makeshift tripod (I've done this before by the way) and try to get the shot from there. Well no sooner do I extend my camera out there but across comes an enraged Miss Pussycat. Ok Ok I guess she's touchy about her equipment. Fair enough, I figure and go back to shooting from where I was and boom I get yelled at again. Here is the sequence:

Check it - it's like a Zapruter film!

Back and to the left.

Back...and to the left...

AAAAAAAAAnd...Busted!

Oh Shit I've pissed off Miss Pussycat!
Here she comes!

Now, to be honest, I'm still not sure what particular thing set her off. I wasn't on the stage (and someone at one point even jumped on stage to dance) so that couldn't have been it. It wasn't the picture taking as many people were taking pictures (one guy with an SLR was just a foot away from where I was standing) so that wasn't it. Putting my camera on the Leslie? Maybe but I'd figure the multiple mixed drinks atop the other one didn't suggest they were puritanical about that issue. No, her explanation was that I was "distracting her." OK. I guess standing still just off stage with a polyester shell shirt was possibly freaky and in a room full of dancing people it may have been even off-putting. I'll never know but whatever the case none of this misunderstanding would be funny if she hadn't very graciously apologized after the show after I approached her to apologize for upsetting her and explain what I was doing. She graciously bent over backwards to apologize but whatevs, it's her stage and her reasons are her's and I totally respect that. The lesson here is to find the band before the show and make sure that they know you aren't some nut job but that you are there to cover the band.

But drama aside, what I came to cover was the fact that Pegstar had brought Miss Pussycat and Mr Quintron to town and that meant a great show. Opening was Brooklyn's Golden Triangle who were high on the concept thing. A drummer in a turban, three women wigged out all Go-Go, and a band mixing 60s revebed Fender amp garage rock with femme B52 harmonies. They were high energy, lots of fun, and visually kooky and everyone got a kick out of 'em. If you were close to the stage the harmonies were a but hard to make out but the guitars, drums, and bass alone were great if you dig the garage rock. The greatest garage rock band ever? Nah, but was it fun and people were dancing - that is solid in my book.

That was followed by Miss Pussycat and her puppet show which I've always dug since I heard Free Guitar Lessons for Animals ages ago. Here, for those who missed it, is the Cliff's Notes version:

Evil Witch opens an Art Museum

Trixie and Marsha visit the museum where
Marsha is turned into a statue. Oh No!

Trixie asks Santa Claus for her friend back.

Santa Claus obliges by getting all Rambo

Resulting in a happy ending
and errrr...puppet gore

After that sillyness, things got to shaking again with Mr Quintron and his Drum Buddy (that's that crazy spinning light machine). Now a Quintron show falls somewhere between a 60's B-Movie teen dance party scene, a church revival, and a dancy version of the Carnival of Souls soundtrack. With two Leslie speakers at either end of the stage (spinning speaker exposed), crazy lights, and his organ dressed up as a car, it was like a junkyard of weirdness put together by McGyver and your crazy uncle. The highlight this night (as with the last time I saw him) was "Swamp Buggy Badass" where Quintron sings about being a badass then goes into the audience to tell you who there is a badass and who there is a motherfucking badass. Of The Kimonos - Major Miller - badass, Gina Miller - motherfucking badass, and Kenny neither (but, in his defense, he was off to the corner). So it was good groovin' silliness all around that had the peeps hoppin' and dancing-up the night and made me lose track of time for my appointment at Rudz.

I raced over to Rudz and got there at 1:30am, I knew I had blown seeing the Anarchitex but maybe I could still catch Exterminating Angels and, as I made my way up the stairs, I was happily greeted by the unmistakable strains of Scott Ayers' guitarwork! Kids, that what you want to go for as a musician - a singular voice that is unmistakably yours. Exterminating Angels for all intents and purposes is Rotten Piece with Scott Ayers and the show was very much like a Rotten Piece show except with the rock cranked up to Ten. I'm not sure who was on the kit but the dude was pounding away while Carol Kelly filled in the bass lines that let Ayers solo with wild abandon while Shawn Kelly ran his vocals through a battery of effects as films ran in the background. Perhaps it wasn't as dancy as the Quintron show down at Walter's but it was no less fun. In fact, I'd probably say this show was a bit more adventurous as at one show you knew exactly what you were going to get but here the players were clearly improvising and taking a few more chances so neither they nor the audience knew exactly what to expect. That's the joy and kick of the Houston experimental community right there - the thrill of the unexpected. Sometimes that modus operandi can lead to god awful performances but when it's works it can be one of the best shows you'll ever experience. This was one of the latter and I was very glad to have made the effort to catch even just the last 20 minutes of the set.

DJs PRKL8R and Ceeplus at Walter's

The Ladies of Golden Triangle

Golden triangle's Drummer
sporting the new look for the fall.

Golden Triangle rocks the Tambourine

Quintron taking everyone
on a sweet booty shakin' ride!

Quintron and his light triggered Drum Buddy

Quintron being a badass

Exterminating Angels ...performing in space!

Scott Ayers (Exterminating Angels)
being a motherfucking badass!

Shawn Kelly (Exterminating Angels)
Ahh yes, I sense your ass is fully kicked.
My work here is done!

LINKS:
More Images in my Flickr (Link)

Quintron and Miss Pussycat on myspace (Link)
Golden Triangle on myspace (link)
Rotten Piece on myspace (Link) - sorry there's no E.A. page at this time.

ACL in Review

photos by Anthony Chapman
words by Johnathon Updegrove

I’ll admit when it comes to seeing live music, particularly festivals, I’m lazy. Lazy in the sense that I show up late to the party, and most of the time it is after it has gone through its popular phase. Typically, this means that everything that I have heard about it, i.e.; the community around it, the potential for great musical discovery, and the overall feel of the show itself, has long ago been purged from it, in order to make room for the one thing killing current music (and honestly, music in general), capitalism.

So, this being my first time to experience ACL, you may understand my apprehension when I heard four of the “bigger” bands consisted of the Mars Volta, Beck, Gnarles Barkley, and the Foo Fighters. Granted, three out of those four deserve all the praise, success, and admiration they garner, in my opinion. However, we must face the facts, all of these bands have been very prevalent on MTV, 104.1 KRBE, and every magazine out there that is more interested in the grooming techniques of the band then they are their musical talents, in the past 15 years. Just so there is no confusion, The Mars Volta is not one of those three bands.

Well, I’m pleased to say, that I was wrong. The Austin City Limits Music Festival, although horribly crowded, still has its independent, almost home town music festival feel. (By the way, the Westheimer Block Party is coming up on October 11th. It’s free and all day. I think you should go, you may like it.)

However, this is not going to be an article kissing the ass of the people who run ACL, nor an article that will be an experiment in the most creative ways to plug an upcoming music festival of our own. So I’m going to pull back to something I mentioned before, the possibility of musical discovery.

There is one obvious thing that you realize within five minutes of walking through the gates, besides the massive amount of humanity and horrible air quality (side note: walking around with a bandana across your face does not make you hate Screamo any less). Okay, so three obvious things that you realize, the third being, that you are going to find out about new music. There are over 130 bands at this festival. I don’t care how in tune with the underground music scene you are; you are going to be surprised at least once.

Everyone’s experience will be different, but I’m the one writing the article so here is the few that I found.

The Black and White Years: At first glance this band is aptly named. Each of the members are either wearing Black, White, or both (yes, I realize that statement is hypocritical with what I mentioned in the second paragraph, but seeing a live show actually requires you to, well, see). However, once they start playing, it really doesn’t matter what they are wearing. They have an almost electro Clash feel, fitting in nicely with the dance rock genre that I so love. They also mix in the garage rock sound of the 60’s as well, to create a sound that is delightfully refreshing yet familiar. Throw in a lead singer whose chops could rival Robert Plant, and you have got yourself a very good band, which just happens to be local to Austin.

Speaking of Robert Plant, he performed at ACL as well, teaming up with Allison Kraus. This is the reason why you won’t be seeing a Beck review here, at least from me. Both acts shared a time slot, so unfortunately, I had to choose. Being the classic rock whore that I am, I wasn’t going to miss the opportunity to see a God amongst men (and I missed John Fogerty earlier). That, and Beck’s crowd was at least a half-mile back from the stage (a phenomenon that both he and The Foo Fighters experienced that weekend).

Back to the show though. Plant’s and Kraus’s voices mesh surprisingly well, but that’s not where the mash up stops. Their backing band managed to bring the two styles of classic rock and bluegrass together quite gloriously. Trust me; you haven’t lived until you’ve heard a fiddle being played like Jimmy Paige. It made for an all around good show, and it was pleasing to see that Plant still had his microphone tricks up his sleeve.

Surprises go both ways though. When I heard there was a band by the name of We Go To 11, I thought my wildest dreams had come true. I was thinking a Spinal Tap tribute band, maybe even one that would have taken the original style and created new music. What I got was a trio, who decided that their shtick was to play loud, horrible metal (and by that I mean their skill, not musicianship) in which they will play the “verses” at half speed, and the “chorus” at double speed with tremendous amounts of double kick. That and they are high school kids. I wish that was a joke. To paraphrase the ACL program, “none of the band members know how to drive yet.”

Then came CSS, a band who I had heard before. But there is a difference between hearing and seeing, as stated previously. Granted what I have heard was only in passing and while conversing with my friends, but they had always been a band I had wanted to find out more about. So, really CSS was a surprise to me. Their high energy new wave like show even had my head bobbing to the music, a rare notion for bands that I don’t know the words of their songs by heart. Not to mention that their lead singer interacted with the crowd so well, a rare trait in most live acts today.

Finally, there is Teagan and Sara. The Canadian duo manages to keep a very poppy sound, while still being careful to not become generic. Their harmonies are pitch perfect (pun intended), but the best part of their act was their humor. They had a tremendous rapport with the crowd, keeping us entertained while instruments were switched, and even when they screwed up their own song (which led to an interesting factoid about the details of their birth, involving a “sucking reflex”). At the same time, it never took away from the musical portion of their act. Many bands today attempt humor at shows, many with much success, but it’s typically an action to compensate for their musical talent. Teagan and Sara are a rare breed, a band that is very good both live and recorded, that is not afraid to poke fun of themselves as long as it keeps the crowd entertained.

I wish I could sit here and tell you that this show was amazing, that I was blown away. I wish I could give you a tag line like “Thumbs up!” or an “Astounding, fruitful experience” to be on next year’s poster. Unfortunately, I’d have to be ten people to be able to cover enough of this festival to be able to comfortably say something like that.
What I can say is that is was fun. There were no big promotions, not much hoopla. Hell, even the four bands I mentioned at the beginning managed to still keep their sets insanely fun, even if you are not a fan of their music. It just felt like you, the band you were watching, and probably 150,000 of your closest friends. It was like a gigantic party, which for a festival of this size is very…surprising.