Results tagged “aclfest2009”

Local icon Leslie Cochran collapsed in downtown Austin last weekend, and is believed to still be at Brackenridge Hospital nearly a week later.

Michael Corcoran over at Austin360 managed to get his hands on the contract that C3 made with the city, revealing that the festival producers pay a little under an estimated $100k annually to rent out part of Zilker Park.

• Is it just us, or does a bank robber fleeing by bike—and making a clean getaway-- seem totally out of place in Houston? In the ATX, you might blend-in while riding a bike, but in H-town?
• Look at the 85 comments on this Statesman story on the closing of the Zilker lawn after ACL! This is an issue that Austin totally cares about!
• That Austin Chronicle cover-art of Bob Schneider is actually a self-portrait. Who knew?

Matthew Odam over at Austin360 offers a tasty tip: the Mighty Cone ended up with a little food leftover from the festival, so they're giving it away today, starting at 11 a.m., at their South Congress trailer. "One free chicken or shrimp cone to every customer," says M.O. "No strings attached." [Austin360]

With much of Zilker Park largely submerged under composted sewage sludge and yard trimmings, the city parks department has declared the Great Lawn off-limits through the rest of the month.

As we walked from MoPac over to Zilker around noon on Sunday, it appeared that not too much damage had been done to the park's grass and soil. The muddy patches on the walk into the park seemed fairly mild, and the ground seemed reasonably dry. Our illusions were immediately shattered as we hit the West entrance to the festival, as it looked as though the entire festival grounds had turned into a barnyard or paddock. Festival organizers were throwing down hay (which worked...for about half an hour) to try and mitigate the mud pits, but it was obviously a drop in the bucket. Festivalgoers had two choices: get really dirty, or head back home.

If Saturday was The Day It Rained At ACL, Sunday will surely be remembered for the mud. And the stench—upon arriving it was noted by more than a few fans that the park bore an overwhelming olfactory resemblance to an ill-kept petting zoo. The origin of the odor seems to have been the unholy combination of Dillo Dirt and straw used by festival organizers in a futile attempt to sop up some of the mud slop. Though the mud was deeper and more treacherous in some parts of the park than others, it pervaded; the distress suffered by the $2.5 million Great Lawn was heartbreaking, and it simply stood no chance against the cumulative total of 180,000 sets of feet stamping through it over the three-day festival. In the end, surely to the dismay of C3 and the City of Austin, it looked more like a giant half-melted tub of dark chocolate gelato than a carpet-tight fairway. Nevertheless, the condition underfoot didn’t deter most from cramming in as much value for their entertainment dollar as possible on Sunday.

Photos courtesy Eric Uhlir and Chad Wadsworth.

It started out well enough. The overcast skies cooled Zilker Park's temperatures, and until about 3:30pm, it appeared that the rain was going to hang back and cut everyone a break. But the heavens opened, the ponchos were donned, and it became 'the day it rained at ACL.' Most people took it all in stride, but the windy rain soaked through raincoats, made beer less appealing, and likely thinned the crowds a bit later in the day. One troubling note is that the new lawn at Zilker looked to have really taken a beating by the end of the day - hopefully it is more resilient than it looks given all the time, effort, and money spent to upgrade the park over the past year.

There's a bit of rain, but folks are still catching their favorite acts at Zilker Park.

It was quite the change from years past. The dusty fields replaced by a lush green meadow and now, the insistent rain to ensure that heat exhaustion was no longer an issue. A wet day two at the 2009 Austin City Limits Music Festival was never going to dampen the enthusiasm of the crowd, already enjoying Flogging Molly at the AMD Stage despite the relentless downpour during the late afternoon hours. En route to the Xbox 360 Stage for …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead’s set at 5 p.m., we couldn’t help but admire the assorted rain gear, casting color below the grey sky. …Trail of Dead has been around for over a decade, starting out with just Conrad Keely and Jason Reece in the mid-90’s and plying their trade as a six-piece of late. Their catalogue encompasses a few different genres but the underlying aspect is that these guys just plain rock out. Be it ethereal soundscapes, punk thrashers, epic prog-rock, or the occasional tender ballad, …Trail of Dead deliver an amazing live show, two drummers and all. The locals kicked off with “Will You Smile Again?” and what followed was a 50 minute blitzkrieg consisting of choice tracks from the band’s extensive discography. Reece and Keely swapped vocal duties at times, each showcasing his distinct style via “Days Of Being Wild” and “How Near, How Far” respectively. While Keely seemed content swaying side to side, Reece pranced all over the stage like a man possessed, pounding his drums, picking up the guitar when needed, jumping down to the photo pit to sing to his audience, and even playing cheerleader occasionally. The highlight had to be the raucous “A Perfect Teenhood” although we were pleased that fellow Madonna selection “Clair De Lune” was included. All in all the band was in fine form and it is heartening to see them get some love from their hometown. They deserve it.

As mentioned, the weather during 2009's inaugural day of ACL Fest was unseasonably mild and comfortable - we're supposed to be dying of heat and choking on dust, right people? But the breeze and weird, green-colored vegetation beneath our feet only enhanced what was an enjoyable day watching music outdoors.

When festivalgoers look back on the Friday of ACL Fest 2009, we suspect they'll remember it less for the performances than for the fact that this was undoubtedly the most pleasant day to attend the festival in recent memory. The crowds flowed in steadily through the day, making the park easy to navigate until around 5 or 6 pm. Food lines were fairly sedate until the dinner hour, when (as always) they got a little crazy. The new lawn at Zilker was beautiful and wasn't kicking up a speck of dust, making the air notably easier to breathe. And the weather! The breezy, low-80's temperatures had everyone in an amiable mood for the day of performances, which made it easier to accept that original headliners Beastie Boys weren't on the bill due to a saddening cancer scare.

Since the Raveonettes couldn't make it out of Copenhagan and canceled their ACL and afterparty appearances today, Dr. Dog will be filling in as the headliner for tonight's show at The Parish Room. Here We Go Magic will retain their opening slot.

All photos courtesy Eric Uhlir and Chad Wadsworth.

Today's schedule:

12:30 - 1:30p: School of Seven Bells 1:30-2:30p: The Knux 2:30-3:30p: Avett Brothers 3:30-4:30p: Dr. Dog 4:30-5:30p: Coheed and Cambria 5:30-6:30p: Raphael Saadiq 6:30-7:30p: John Legend 7:30-8:30p: Andrew Bird 8:30-9:30p: Medeski, Martin and Wood* 9:30-10:30p: Thievery Corporation*

"We are forced to cancel our Austin City Limits performance and our pre-show at The Parish. We're so incredibly sorry but I'm afraid celebrities and sports are more important to some people. Fuck!"

With all the events, after-shows, parties, and spontaneous outdoor dance parties surrounding ACL weekend, you’d be forgiven for overlooking some of the festival’s incredible (official or not) ancillary events. This is not one of those events to overlook. If you only make it to one show outside of the festival this year, Rare Magazine and WOXY, Austin’s newest internet radio station (which is already endearing itself quite nicely to our community), have made a strong case for this being the one to hit. Of course, we’re referring to the rechristening of the decommissioned Seaholm Power Plant as a live music venue, with none other than the ensemble cast of Toronto’s Broken Social Scene shattering the bottle of champagne on the art-deco columns (figuratively for sure, literally, maybe).

Well, it's hardly an ACL "aftershow" if it takes place prior to the Festival, but Emo's is hosting a performance by School of Seven Bells and Phantogram this evening. Click through after the jump for your chance to win tickets.

We're mostly repeating ourselves here, but read on for more information on this action-packed triple bill at Emo's Indoors along with an opportunity to win a pair of tickets to the now sold out gig.

From our ACL artist preview: "Providence's Deer Tick started out as a one-man band, but have become a quartet over the past few years. Incorporating influences such as Roy Orbison, Richie Valens, and early Van Morrison, the group plays a fairly minimal and gritty brand of rock that is just as classic as it is indie.

• Sumatra aftershocks begin.
• Ken Lay Lewis steps down from Bank of America. No tears were shed.
• GOP leader doesn't like math or statistics.

The footage above was shot outside Daily Juice's parking lot after ACL 2008, where a spontaneous dance party riot broke out before cops shut it down. This year, they're throwing an official dance contest at the Barton Springs location on Saturday at 2 p.m., the winner of which earns a $100 gift card. Bonus points if you outlast one of the hula hoopers you'll see at the festival grounds—they're trained for this stuff.

If recession woes, work, or other reasons are keeping you from attending this weekend's Austin City Limits Music Festival, here's some good news. While it won't be quite the same as standing in large, sweaty crowds, having to leave in the middle of one act to catch another one that might be better, or hearing echoes from the other stages, you will have the option of watching parts of the festival from the comforts of your office/home: Hulu will be livestreaming acts starting at 1pm Friday-Sunday. Of course, they won't be streaming the entire fest, but their planned acts include Thievery Corporation, The Dead Weather, John Legend, Andrew Bird, and more. [Hulu Blog]

You might not have heard of Dublin's Bell X1, but in their native Ireland, they are superstars with two #1 albums who now headline festivals and arenas. After significant American touring, though, fans are starting to take notice, as are satellite radio and late-night TV. We suspect it might further pique your interest that most of Bell X1 were originally (in a different format) a band called Juniper, who featured one Damien Rice on vocals and guitar. When Damien left to pursue his folkier style, Juniper became Bell X1, and they've both gone on their separate paths to stardom. Bell X1 play ACL this weekend to support their 2009 Yep Roc disc Blue Lights On The Runway, which mixes portions of their traditional rock sound with electronic textures and some longer, more serious tracks than on past albums. We recently emailed vocalist Paul Noonan to ask him about musical influences, Oxfam, and touring.

Let's spare ourselves too much talk of bands that have been around the block for a decade or more, and take a look at some bands we may still be talking about ten years from now. Some you may have heard, some you may have heard of, and some this weekend may provide the perfect opportunity to discover for the first time. Basically, if we had to come up with a list of two acts every day that you absolutely must check out, especially those that are still mired in those not-standing-room-only (and potentially right up-close) daytime slots, this could be the list.

A full decade into their careers, Versailles, France group Phoenix have hit a career high point with the release of this year's Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. A concise, catchy blend of the potential they've always shown, the record was crafted over an extended period of time, and it shows. Songs like "Lizstomania", "1901", and "Girlfriend" mix a modern production sheen (courtesy of Philippe Zdar of Cassius) with melodies that are completely unafraid of going pop. The results aren't exactly indie, yet given the lack of American radio outlets for this type of thing, Phoenix are a pop-rock band in an era where there simply aren't many contemporaries for them.

When Nickel Creek decided to go on indeterminate hiatus, fiddler and singer-songwriter Sara Watkins did what anyone high on the fumes of early success might do -- she launched a solo venture.

Brown University isn't the first place you'd think of when hearing about a new Americana band full of banjos, fiddles, and pump organs. But that's the point of origin for The Low Anthem, a recent signing to Nonesuch Records who have toured with Bon Iver and Elvis Perkins in support of their reissued disc Oh My God, Charlie Darwin. The album features everything from quiet folk pieces to stomping blues numbers, along with a Tom Waits cover and a healthy dose of weighty lyrics about mortality. We recently emailed The Low Anthem's Jeff Prystowsky, who responded between shows on a lengthy European tour.

Watch Black Joe Lewis perform "Sugarfoot" live on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.

Since his 2000 debut, San Francisco-based singer/songwriter John Vanderslice has earned consistent critical praise for his work. His strong lyrical themes coupled with beautiful production aesthetics have found an audience both in the US and Europe, where Vanderslice is touring this fall. Vanderslice recently phoned us from California to discuss his latest work, 2009's Romanian Names, which he'll be showcasing at the ACL Festival next month.