Considering it had been a few years since I had been to Austin, ACL gave me the perfect reason to go back. Aside from the fact that the lineup this year was great, the band that I had driven over 4,000 miles to see this summer was a headliner, and practically playing in my backyard, there was no way in hell I was going to miss the festival this year.
After getting off to a late start and finally getting to Austin, I stopped and unloaded my extra ticket for some extra cash for the weekend. Unfortunately traffic around Zilker prevented us from seeing Blues Traveler, we made it into the park just after 3, right in time to catch the last few songs of Miike Snow's set. The few songs we actually got to hear were solid, something I'll have to give a listen to later.
After Miike Snow, I needed to stop and get some food in me so I could start getting ready for the Phish. Not that anyone should give a shit as to what I was eating, but Mighty Cone was probably the best food I ate all weekend. Fried chicken, fried avocado, coleslaw, and chipotle sauce in a tortilla? Sign me up, wish that we had these in Houston.
Next up was Pat Green. Who doesn't love some Texas country? Not the crowd at ACL it seems, this was probably the least crowded of the sets I saw all weekend, although it may have just looked that way considering he was on the main stage. He played a good set, mixing both his newer songs (crap) with some of the older fan favorites. I got to sing/dance along to Take Me Out to a Dancehall, so I was happy. Little did I know "if we get a little crazy, blame it on the alcohol" would be a foreshadowing of all day Saturday.
After taking 30 minutes to refuel on food/booze, we headed over to see Spoon. They played a ton of Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, much to the delight of the crowd. All in all it was an incredibly fun set, and the crowd clearly enjoyed the hell out of it. Highlight of the set: Eric Harvey climbing on top of the piano at the end of Underdog, stomping on the keys, jumping down and pushing the piano over. The crowd lapped it right up, and Spoon then closed out the set with a good sounding Black Like Me.
Who to see after Spoon was probably the toughest decision of the weekend. With Vampire Weekend, the Sonic Youth, and Robert Randolph & the Family Band all playing at the same time, I was completely torn as to who to see. After finally deciding on Vampire Weekend, we headed toward the stage, only to find a complete clusterfuck awaiting us. It seemed like three quarters of people in Zilker Park at the time were doing one of two things: either going to see Vampire Weekend, or waiting to see Phish, and it just so happened that these two stages were probably the closest stages in the entire festival. After trying and failing to get close to the stage, we decided to listen to the Vampire Weekend set from a distance. What I heard of the set sound incredible, unfortunately I ducked out 30 minutes into their set so I could snag a spot close to the stage for the Phish.
Phish took the stage just past 8, and I had managed to get a spot Page side (rage side) about 10 rows of heads back from the stage. As soon as the first few notes of Mike's bass from Down With Disease rang out, it was time for liftoff, and I was not touching back down for the next two hours. Coming off of a short break from their summer tour, the boys picked up right where they left off. They played a setlist comprised of mainly the heavy hitters, and very little jamming. was tightly played, and was a great opener. Next up was a funkified version of the Talking Heads' Cities. For me, Cities started the dance party that would go on for the next few hours. After a standard, smoking Possum, Page took the spotlight for a cover of the Velvet Underground's Rock & Roll, which segued into a compact, but always fun 2001. Backwards Down the Number Line gave me the perfect chance to catch my breath and finish my now warm beer. Harry Hood may just be becoming one of my favorite songs, the jam section leading up to end of the song is incredibly beautiful, and never fails to move me to the very depths of my soul. Unfortunately, Trey decided to abort Hood in favor of Light, leaving Hood unfinished and me with a bit of a sour taste in my mouth. Luckily they followed with Suzy Greenberg, which was met with much singing, dancing and elation by both me and the phans that I was surrounded by. Page absolutely destroyed his solo, and this still stands as the highlight of the show to me. They closed out their set with the one song I was expecting not to hear in You Enjoy Myself, considering the vocal jam at the end could put off many new listeners I was not expecting to hear this at a festival but it was a very pleasant surprise. Phish left the stage after the YEM vocal jam, and came back out with an incredibly high energy encore. Cavern including the toe-tapping from Trey and Mike during the chorus, and Trey didn't flub the lyrics! I expected them to end the night after Cavern, but was proven wrong when they started into First Tube. Trey clearly loves playing this song, and being able to see him on stage dancing and jumping around while playing is a joy. Considering where Trey was just a few short years ago, I have been incredibly lucky to have seen Phish four times in 2010, with hopefully 2 more shows before the new year. I am so glad to see them up on stage, having fun, and playing better and better since the reunion in March. It may have not been the best show that I have seen them play musically, but it was certainly the most fun I have had at a show so far.
The first day of ACL was a success, with my personal highlights being Spoon and (obviously) Phish. As I walked out of the venue with a shit-eating grin on my face and a euphoric feeling washing over me from the show that had just ended, I knew I was right where I needed to be. And there were still two incredible days of music to follow.
10 November 2010
17 October 2010
Blackstone Ranger, Suuns & Land of Talk @ The Nightmare, Dallas Texas
This is the first time that I've ever had the pleasure of going to Deep Ellum and I must say, I was thoroughly impressed. Although I did miss the Zombie Walk 2010, there were still plenty of zombies lurking around the area especially when we stopped for dinner at Cafe Brazil.
The Nightmare from what I hear is a new venue...or at least a newly owned venue. $2.50 cans of lone star & pbr were fantastic, and the other beer prices weren't bad at all.
The show got off to a late start and the local opener was an electronic indie duo called "Blackstone Ranger". They have a lot of potential. You know me...I'm a sucker for duos, especially when the drums are artificially manufactured. The girl had a great voice, although it didn't always seem to fit the music and she had interesting synth melodies and even broke out a trumpet for one song. More of that please. The guy sang as well, and played guitar and at points reminded me a bit of Morrissey. I'm not sure how long they've been around but I think they could definitely do something with a little fine tuning.
I'd been looking forward to seeing what Suuns had to offer. (pronounced suns or soons, not sure yet.....there was debate even from Land of Talk's frontwoman) I had heard good things from my friends that caught the show in Cleveland and had checked them out online. I was impressed not only with the perfect amount of noise and melody that they brought to the table but also that they were essentially the backing band for land of talk. Double duty! Check out the video below of Suuns performing 'Arena'. Sorry it's darker than I'd hoped it would be. Also pick up their debut album 'Zeroes QC'. I did and it's amazing.
Land of Talk took the stage shortly before midnight. Elizabeth Powell started the show alone with the title track of their latest album, 'Cloak and Cipher'.
Land of Talk played through a majority of songs from their new album, which I was okay with since it's fantastic and one of my favorite albums of the year. They also played a few of the best tracks from their other albums including 'Speak to Me Bones', 'Some are Lakes', and 'May You Never'.
All in all it was an amazing show and I'm glad Land of Talk finally made it down to Texas and brought Suuns with them.
Thanks to all the Zombies I saw throughout Deep Ellum as you helped make my night even more enjoyable!
The Nightmare from what I hear is a new venue...or at least a newly owned venue. $2.50 cans of lone star & pbr were fantastic, and the other beer prices weren't bad at all.
The show got off to a late start and the local opener was an electronic indie duo called "Blackstone Ranger". They have a lot of potential. You know me...I'm a sucker for duos, especially when the drums are artificially manufactured. The girl had a great voice, although it didn't always seem to fit the music and she had interesting synth melodies and even broke out a trumpet for one song. More of that please. The guy sang as well, and played guitar and at points reminded me a bit of Morrissey. I'm not sure how long they've been around but I think they could definitely do something with a little fine tuning.
I'd been looking forward to seeing what Suuns had to offer. (pronounced suns or soons, not sure yet.....there was debate even from Land of Talk's frontwoman) I had heard good things from my friends that caught the show in Cleveland and had checked them out online. I was impressed not only with the perfect amount of noise and melody that they brought to the table but also that they were essentially the backing band for land of talk. Double duty! Check out the video below of Suuns performing 'Arena'. Sorry it's darker than I'd hoped it would be. Also pick up their debut album 'Zeroes QC'. I did and it's amazing.
Land of Talk took the stage shortly before midnight. Elizabeth Powell started the show alone with the title track of their latest album, 'Cloak and Cipher'.
Land of Talk played through a majority of songs from their new album, which I was okay with since it's fantastic and one of my favorite albums of the year. They also played a few of the best tracks from their other albums including 'Speak to Me Bones', 'Some are Lakes', and 'May You Never'.
All in all it was an amazing show and I'm glad Land of Talk finally made it down to Texas and brought Suuns with them.
Thanks to all the Zombies I saw throughout Deep Ellum as you helped make my night even more enjoyable!
11 October 2010
Potential second great metal album of 2010
Intronaut - Valley of Smoke (2010)
Check out the link above to head on over to metalsucks and stream the latest record from Intronaut. 'Valley of Smoke' appears to have what it needs to be the second great metal album of 2010. "Only Second?" you ask? At this point in my life, I'm highly selective and 90% of metal released is mindless music that is stealing from music that was written better 15 years ago. Hrmm, perhaps I sound a bit old but that's just how it is. The other album you should get your hands on is 'After' by Ihsahn. It came out earlier this year and it's fantastic.
Anyways, 'Valley of Smoke' comes out tomorrow and if you pre-ordered this bad boy like I did, you'll be most likely receiving an awesome shirt as well.
Please, do yourself a favor and pick this up from cmdistro.com. If you don't really need the physical disc or vinyl, then head over to amazon.com or Itunes. I'm sure they'll both have it.
Check out the link above to head on over to metalsucks and stream the latest record from Intronaut. 'Valley of Smoke' appears to have what it needs to be the second great metal album of 2010. "Only Second?" you ask? At this point in my life, I'm highly selective and 90% of metal released is mindless music that is stealing from music that was written better 15 years ago. Hrmm, perhaps I sound a bit old but that's just how it is. The other album you should get your hands on is 'After' by Ihsahn. It came out earlier this year and it's fantastic.
Anyways, 'Valley of Smoke' comes out tomorrow and if you pre-ordered this bad boy like I did, you'll be most likely receiving an awesome shirt as well.
Please, do yourself a favor and pick this up from cmdistro.com. If you don't really need the physical disc or vinyl, then head over to amazon.com or Itunes. I'm sure they'll both have it.
03 October 2010
Avia Hotel - The Woodlands, Texas - AVOID THE BAR!
I'd like you to tell me where you see Bourbon in this drink? And how this looks anything like the advertisement which was supposedly Bourbon on the rocks. Isn't that false advertising?
And here's the original ad that made me want to order the drink in the first place.
How is that the same at all? I was just really disappointed. I won't be spending any more time there, that's for sure. Nor will I be recommending it to anyone.
And here's the original ad that made me want to order the drink in the first place.
How is that the same at all? I was just really disappointed. I won't be spending any more time there, that's for sure. Nor will I be recommending it to anyone.
30 September 2010
16 June 2010
19 May 2010
Just a couple things.....
I hope to expand more on this later:
R.I.P. Ronnie James Dio - So glad I got to see you on tour with Heaven & Hell. At 66 years old you tore it up! You gave me hope that I can keep rockin' for many many more years. We'll miss you!
In a different kind of R.I.P.....
R.I.P. ISIS - you knew you'd hit your musical plateau and decided to leave on a high note. I can respect that. Good luck in your future musical endeavors.
R.I.P. Ronnie James Dio - So glad I got to see you on tour with Heaven & Hell. At 66 years old you tore it up! You gave me hope that I can keep rockin' for many many more years. We'll miss you!
In a different kind of R.I.P.....
R.I.P. ISIS - you knew you'd hit your musical plateau and decided to leave on a high note. I can respect that. Good luck in your future musical endeavors.
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