popwreckoning

Day 2 – Saturday

A full day off to enjoy the festival and beautiful weather? YES.

We didn’t plan on getting to ACL until 2:00 so Jason showed us around town.

Know the way to a girl’s heart? Take her to the most amazing grocery store she’s ever seen. Central Market in Austin is a place for food lovers, beer lovers, soda lovers, oh and especially cheese lovers. This place seriously has it all. They even had a Boulevard Brewery section!

Well and after you take her to Central Market, make sure you check out the highest point in Austin. It’s beautiful and overlooks the entire river, along with downtown.

Onward to Zilker Park for the fest!

As we were walking in the gates, Lucero’s distinct vocals were blaring over the crowds. We stopped for a minute to catch a song, then walked the distance of the park to the Budweiser stage where Gaslight Anthem were.

I absolutely love Gaslight Anthem, and this was no exception.

This is where I rant about how amazing Manchester Orchestra was: HOLY SHIT! I’ve seen them a total of 4 times now and each and every time they just get better. Opening with “Shout It Out” and even quoting friend/bandmate in Bad Books, Kevin Devine towards the end. The only set that I could actually stay for the whole time and loved every minute of it. Guitarist, Robert McDowell looked into the camera to say hi to his grandmother since the performance would be airing on the internet. Andy Hull then leaned into the mic, “guess what, Grandma? Robert’s drunk!”

Okay, you get the picture. They rocked it.

Walked over to see the end of Silversun Pickups, who were awesome, then on to the Austin Ventures Stage for the majority of the night.

Local Natives blew me away. I knew they were good, but I didn’t expect them to be this good. One of my favorite bands of the day.

The other favorite band of the day? Monsters of Folk, of course. I absolutely love Conor and have since the day I heard a Bright Eyes song way back when.

Opening with their single, “Say Please,” MoF immediately got the crowd involved. Throughout their set, members switched instruments and roles between every song. For their second song, Conor took over. “Soul Singer in a Session Band” moved the crowd in such a way that I haven’t seen in awhile. Beautiful.

Next – LCD Soundsystem! Once again, would have been much better at night instead of 6:30 in the evening. Even still, there was tons of dancing. A perfect warm-up for Deadmau5 who played directly after on the neighboring stage as the sun set.

On our way over to see headliner, M.I.A., Matt and Kim were shutting down their set. They were in the middle of a cover of Mario’s “Just A Friend.”

Halfway through M.I.A’s set (which she was super energized and awesome to see live), we decided to beat the rush out of the park and head back.

We then tried out 6th Street for a bit, which is a whole story on it’s own.

Read Day 1 here.

The roster for the 2010 Austin City Limits Music Festival is official. The Eagles, Muse, Phish, The Strokes, M.I.A., Flaming Lips, LCD Soundsystem, Spoon, Vampire Weekend, and Norah Jones top the bill of 130 acts slated to rock Zilker Park October 8-10. Also performing the ninth edition of this year’s Festival: Band of Horses, Monster of Folk, Deadmau5, Sonic Youth, Gogol Bordello, The National, and Robert Earl Keen.

This year’s line-up is diverse as ever, with something for everyone, and plenty of new talent to discover. Broken Bells, The Temper Trap, Girls, and Miike Snow are all making their first ACL Festival appearance, and getting a lot of attention from fans and critics alike. Ryan Bingham and The Dead Horses, Robert Randolph & The Family Band, Ozomatli, Nortec Collective, and Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue span a wide array of genres, and reflect the flavor of the Festival and the tastes of what ACL fans have come to expect.

The full line-up listed by day is available at www.aclfestival.com. Single Day Tickets are on-sale today, May 18 at 10 a.m. CDT.

Three-Day Passes for the 9th annual Austin City Limits Music Festival sold-out in 14 hours, a record since the Festival’s inception in 2002. A limited number of Three-Day VIP passes and travel packages are still available.

Austin City Limits Music Festival happens October 8-10 in Zilker Park.

The 2010 Austin City Limits Music Festival is generously sponsored by Budweiser, AMD, ZYNC from American Express℠, Austin Ventures, BMI, H-E-B, and Sweet Leaf Tea.

The Eagles
Muse
Phish
The Strokes
M.I.A.
Flaming Lips
LCD Soundsystem
Spoon
Vampire Weekend
Norah Jones
Band of Horses
Monsters of Folk
Deadmau5
Sonic Youth
Gogol Bordello
The National
Robert Earl Keen
The Black Keys
Broken Bells
Slightly Stoopid
Yeasayer
Pat Green
Rebelution
Beach House
The Sword
Matt and Kim
The XX
Portugal. The Man
The Temper Trap
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes
Girls
Ryan Bingham & The Dead Horses
Local Natives
Gaslight Anthem
Lucero
Devandra Barnhart
Blues Traveler
Pete Yorn
The Soft Pack
Gayngs
Amos Lee
Robert Randolph & The Family Band
Ozomatli
Richard Thompson
Martin Sexton
Manchester Orchestra
The Almighty Defenders
Miike Snow
Mountain Goats
Bear In Heaven
Mayer Hawthorne
Midlake
Foals
Switchfoot
Cage The Elephant
JJ Grey & Mofro
Kinky
Angus & Julia Stone
The Morning Benders
Hockey
White Rabbits
David Bazan
Asleep at the Wheel
Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue
Nortec Collective
The Very Best
Beats Antique
Henry Clay People
Blind Pilot
GIVERS
Dawes
Band of Heathens
Charlie Mars
Two Door Cinema Club
Lissie
Sarah Harmer
Constellations
T. Bird and the Breaks
Chief
Frank Turner
Those Darlins
Carolyn Wonderland
Kings Go Forth
The Relatives
The Ettes
Qbeta
Mynamisjohnmichael
Basia Bulat
Balmorhea
Dan Black
The Jane Shermans
The Kicks
Ponderosa
Two Tons of Steel
Caitlin Rose
SPEAK
Run With Bulls
Maxim Ludwig
Gospel Stars
Heavenly Voices
Wesley Bray & The Disciples of Joy
Jones Family Singers
Ashley Cleveland & Kenny Greenberg
Buddy & The Straight Way Travelers
Ruby Jane Smith
Verve Pipe
Frances England
Jellydots
Elizabeth Mitchell
Okee Dokee Brothers
Tom Freund
School of Rock
Q Brothers

“Do you know what ‘moto’ means?” singer Esau Mwamwaya of the Very Best asked the crowd at DC9 Monday night. (I presume he was asking if we knew what it meant in his native Chichewa, the national language of his homeland, Malawi.) The crowd, smiling back at him, collectively shook their heads. “It means ‘fire’!” Funny you mention something incendiary, Esau, because on a cold Monday night in Washington, the “band” from London figuratively lit a fire under the audience at the sold-out DC9 with their brand of African tinged dance music and turned the club into an all-out dance party.

The opener for the night was the Brooklyn-based duo Javelin. Not sure where they got their name – maybe cousins Tom Van Buskirk and George Langford were good at track and field in high school? These days, I imagine the two must be flexing their muscles carrying all their gear around – a whole table full of electronics including several synths and a drum pad, colorfully painted boomboxes they call “boombaatas” that form large speaker totems, and a collection of maracas and cowbells.

Javelin’s brief but entertaining set of pop / hip hop / electronic music at times lifted lyrics from songs of days gone by like Mariah Carey‘s “Fantasy.” Another example: they commandeered the words from the children’s lullaby “Frere Jacques” and turned into something completely different. Who would have guessed that song could ever be so dancey? And with humorous song titles like “Lindsay Brohan” and “Soda Popinski,” you’d have to smile. My faves from the set were “Twyce” and “Vibrationz,” the latter name-checking Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys and Marky Mark (aka Mark Wahlberg when he was a singer way back when). If you’re going to name your song “Vibrationz,” it’s totally appropriate to give a nod to the only two songs from popular culture that also mention such scandalous quivering.

The Very Best is a trio comprised of singer Mwamwaya and the London-based DJ/production duo of Radioclit (Swede Johan Carlberg and Frenchman Etienne [DJ] Tron). I first became aware of them when the title track of their first official full-length album, “Warm Heart of Africa”, was added to the BBC 6music playlist. The song was an instant hit with me, buoyed by the gaiety of vocals from Mwamwaya and guest Ezra Koenig of Vampire Weekend (who incidentally also cowrote the song) and joyous instrumentation. I was a little skeptical how this live exhibition would turn out when Carlberg first came onstage and immediately broke out a large album full of CDs and popped a disc into his Philips player. Thankfully though, my uncertainty quickly dissolved as the band got going.

For the live performance, singer Mwamwaya alternately stood, danced, and interacted with fans directly in front of Carlberg, who played DJ and assumed additional audience warm-up duty for the evening, waving his arms back and forth vigorously to get the crowd going during songs. For added oomph, they even brought with them two energetic dancers, resplendent in jackets that read “TVB” on the back; Mwamwaya proudly announced that the girls had come “all the way from the UK!” “Julia” and “Warm Heart of Africa” from their official first album were warmly received. So was “Tengazako,” a track from their 2008 free-to-download mixtape that featured an obvious sample from M.I.A., causing everyone in the club to do the gun-toting moves that I have only recently learned are requisite when hearing her “Paper Planes.”

Generally, you can expect a headlining act to play for a significantly longer period of time than their opener. Unfortunately for those of us gathered to see this band at DC9, this wasn’t the case. The two of them were clearly not prepared for such a lively reaction from their Washington area adoring fans and as such weren’t equipped to do more than the eight songs they played us. At the tail end of their set, Carlberg asked the audience what song they wanted, and after some random shouts and murmurings, it was decided that the Very Best’s cover version of Vampire Weekend‘s “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa” would be the tune. After Mwamwaya left the stage, (the crowd didn’t want to let him go), Carlberg stayed behind to spin records, and the audience continued dancing to the pulsating beats on offer. I think if they keep this up, the Very Best could very well be the next global phenomenon.

The Very Best: myspace
Javelin: website | myspace

With the summer fog and windy chill separating the locals from the ill-prepared tourists, day 3 of the Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park had both moments of brilliance and powerful performances across the festival’s seven stages. If you missed day 1 or day 2, check them out now!

Matt & Kim
Almost too happy for their own good, the duo of Matt and Kim bounced through their Casio-infused set including “Daylight” and “I Wanna.”

The Dead Weather
All of the elements were in place for The Dead Weather’s mid-tempo performance on Sunday afternoon. The weather was indeed dead and gloomy and The Kills’ Alison Mosshart’s vocals were bluesy, primal and raw. While Jack White, pulling double-duty on drums and vocals, fits the personality of the band perfectly, he was overshadowed by Alison’s powerful onstage presence.

Modest Mouse
Proving that plaid may just be the new black, Modest Mouse played their set, curiously skipping their most radio-friendly tune “Float On.” While the show was enjoyable, I found that I would rather have a Modest Mouse experience which includes a comfy chair, good headphones and a copy of The Moon & Antarctica.

Loop!Station
Performing their third brilliant set in three days, Loop!Station shared part of their show with performers from the Vau de Vire Society.

Ween
Ween’s hard-core fans were out in large numbers to see the free-spirited absurdist-rockers on Sunday. Filling the spot occupied by Primus at last year’s fest, Dean Ween and Gene Ween (Mickey Melchiondo and Aaron Freeman) showed their cred as gifted guitarists.

M.I.A.
After her bratty reaction to the announcement of Tenacious D as replacement headliners for the Beastie Boys on the final day of festivities, M.I.A.’s performance did little to improve her image. M.I.A. (Mathangi “Maya” Arulpragasam) failed to generate much enthusiasm from the crowd, even after passing out hundreds of annoying toy horns which, coincidentally, sounded just like “boo” when played en masse. It was quite fitting that Street Sweeper Social Club’s version of M.I.A.’s “Paper Planes” was more inspired than her own.

Band of Horses
Shimmering with reverb, the Southern-tinged rock of Band of Horses was filled with warm and moving moments. Song such as “The Funeral” and “Ode to LRC” were part of a well-crafted and rousing set.

Tenacious D
Bringing skits, stunt doubles and shtick-heavy rock, Jack Black and Kyle Gass closed out the final night of the festival. After being named as replacements for Beastie Boys who dropped out due to the throat cancer diagnosis of Beastie’s Adam “MCA” Yauch, The D unleashed their “earthquake of rock” on the Bay Area.

We wish you the best, MCA!

Produced in association with one of Southern California’s premier rock venues, The Casbah, San Diego heats things up on August 28th & 29th with their 25th Annual Street Scene in the East Village (and adjacent to Petco Park).  In essence, it’s the ultimate two-day musical block party and the perfect way to kiss summer goodbye.  So drop those world-famous fish tacos, hop in your car or on your surf board and get in on the excitement.  Last year they managed to score Beck, TV On The Radio, and Cold War Kids, among others, but it looks like they may have outdone themselves for this year (complete lineup here.).  Boasting over 40 bands, the multi-stage street set up features some of the biggest names in indie rock, alternative rock, hip hop and pop today that I’ll probably get into mutliple arguments with myself over which bands to check out.  Here’s a little taste of what to expect, if you can handle all the action:

Friday, August 28th
Black Eyed Peas, Modest Mouse, Cake, Conor Oberst & The Mystic Valley Band, Band of Horses, Girl Talk, Devendra Banhart, Chromeo, Calexico, Matt & Kim, Deerhunter, Holy Fuck, Anya Marina

Saturday, August 29th
M.I.A., Thievery Corporation, The Dead Weather, Silversun Pickups, Of Montreal, The Faint, Busta Rhymes, Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings, Ted Leo & The Pharmacists, No Age, Ra Ra Riot, Los Campesinos!

The show is rain or shine (who are we kidding, when does it ever rain in beautifully sunny San Diego!?).  Doors open: 4pm – midnight, both nights.  For $65 bucks, you can see 20+ bands in one day and it’s totally worth it.  There are also two-day passes, or the option of  VIP treatment if you’re above all that recession talk.  For additional ticket information, go here.  So, come celebrate the end of summer at this killer rock block party.  See you there!

Street Scene: website | tickets