We’ve got two days of ACL under our belts, and one to go. Today’s lineup
includes several of the shows we’ve been most anticipating (Gayngs,
Yeasayer, the National, the Flaming Lips, just to name a few). But, we’re
getting ahead of ourselves. Rather than tell you the bands we’re looking
forward to seeing, we should be telling about the bands we’ve already
seen. Which leads us to day two in our recap of the awesomeness that is
Austin City Limits. We had to make some tough choices yesterday, since
so many of the bands we wanted to see were pitted against one another
(Broken Bells, Silversun Pickups, Dan Black, Local Natives at one point;
Matt and Kim, DeadMau5 at another). Most of the time we made the
right call, one time we didn’t.
The Black Lips
After hearing some of the wild and crazy stories about the shows that
the Black Lips put on, we of course had to check them out, but this
meant bypassing the Manchester Orchestra, who we’d also heard good
things about. So, we compromised by deciding to hit the first half of the
Black Lips show, and the second half of Manchester Orchestra. Or so
we thought; the best-laid plans never seem to work in these situations.
Especially when you end up liking what you’re hearing. Leading up to ACL,
we’d been told wacky tales of gigs where the Black Lips lead singer Cole
Alexander vomited on stage, guitars were set on fire, public urination —
the works, Iggy Pop-style it seemed. How could we miss that? And, hey,
we knew we liked (loved) that one song of theirs, “Bad Kids,” from the
(500) Days of Summer soundtrack. Luckily (or unluckily?) for us, this was
a tame show. As curious as we were to see something interesting, I’m not
sure we would have known what to do if that had happened. Stage antics
aside, in the end, the psychedelic punk rock sound of the Black Lips won
us over. As did watching the crowd truly rock out despite the sweltering
heat. We were particularly impressed by the girl who managed to hoola
hoop through the entire show in almost perfect beat to the music. That
takes some serious talent. (see pic) By the time the Black Lips finally
closed with “Bad Kids,” we were actually wanting to try the hoola hoop
thing ourselves. But, we were too busy singing.
Broken Bells
After much debate at the end of the Black Lips show, we made the final
call to skip Dan Black, Silversun Pickups and Local Natives in favor
of Broken Bells. We made the wrong decision. Don’t get us wrong. We love
us some Broken Bells. James Mercer of the Shins + Danger Mouse:
What’s not to love? Unfortunately, from the moment they started, the
sound was drowned out for those in the back, and, since most of the crowd
had camped out there early while we were over checking out the Black
Lips, we were out of luck: It was almost impossible to fight our way
anywhere near the front (a recurring theme this year, and crowd placement
is key to a good show in any festival situation). So, between our location,
the oppressive heat and being surrounded by a sea of sweat-drenched
bodies, we actually found ourselves a little underwhelmed by the show. We
repeat, though, we are most definitely Broken Bells fans. In fact, when we
saw them play at Stubb’s earlier this year, we were blown away by the
power duo of Mercer and Danger Mouse. It’s a match made in heaven as
far as we’re concerned. But, a festival such as ACL is not an ideal situation
for hearing a spacey, indie rock band like Broken Bells. All this to say, after
the first few songs, they definitely started to find their groove a
bit: “Vaporize” and “High Road,” on which Mercer’s voice soared out over
the crowd, were a few favorites, as was the surprise cover of the Black
Keys’ “Everlasting Light,” which immediately energized the crowd, as well
as us. And, in a situation like that, it’s a moment like this that makes
sweating with the masses worthwhile. Still, we came away knowing that
the Stubb’s show was by far the winner in this match. And, sadly, we
missed Local Natives for it.
The XX
From Broken Bells we wandered down to the smaller Zync stage to catch
the British sensation the XX, winners of this year’s prestigious Mercury
Price. After our Broken Bells experience, we were filled with trepidation for
what this show might hold, especially since we were bypassing Temper
Trap for it. If you’re not familiar with the XX, their sound can only be
described as basic, stripped down and emotionally raw. Romy Madley
Croft and Oliver Sim trade lyrics back and forth, drawing you deeper into
their murky world with each song. The only problem is, the ideal setting for
this exchange is a small, smoky venue with a handful of people — not an
outdoor stage. But, since they’re one of our most favorite bands (we might
repeat this a few times in this blog, please forgive if we do — we have
lots of faves) and we missed the XX three (yes, THREE) times at SXSW,
we were desperate to see them, for better or worse. There was no way
we were missing this show. As luck would have it, since it was a smaller
stage and the band isn’t quite as well known as others playing here (a
shame, really, but it worked to our advantage), we were able to get a prime
viewing spot. The instant we heard the first few chords from the intro track
from the band’s album,
XX, we knew we were safe. The show was going
to be amazing. From “Crystalised” to “Heart Skipped a Beat,” each song
just kept getting better. Including the cover they did of Robin S.’s “Show
Me Love.” The fact that we were surrounded by a crowd that understood
the need to appreciate and respect the band by remaining quiet was also
a part of the success of the show. (We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it
again: a good experience at any concert often lies with the audience. This
was a prime example.) Sadly enough, though barely audible when they
said it, the XX announced this would be their last show for a while. All we
can say is, what a show it was, and thank goodness we finally saw them.
LCD Soundsystem
In a trancelike state after the XX, we literally floated over to the LCD
Soundsystem show to get our dance on. Now, LCD is the perfect example
of a band that’s equally good in a small venue (like Palladium Ballroom
in
Dallas, where they put on a mind-blowing experience a few months
ago) or at a festival of mammoth proportions like ACL. In either situation,
you’re feeding off the frenzy of the crowd, big (huge in this case), or small.
Of course, we had to pass on Gogol Bordello to see LCD, and from the
reports we got on Gogol, we really missed out. But, we’d beg to differ.
Seeing James Murphy can never be considered missing out, especially
when the word on the street is that he’s going to kill off LCD Soundsystem
at the end of this year to focus on producing. So, we’ll take any chance
we can to see him before he ceases to be. His set was a total party after
the raw, emotional experience of the XX. Opening with “Dance Yourself
Clean” everyone, well, danced themselves sweaty. Other highlights
included “Drunk Girls,” “I Can Change,” and “All I Want.” The only
downside we found to the show was the timing of it: 6:30 p.m. It was still
light out. And any fan of LCD Soundsystem knows that an LCD concert
isn’t complete without glow sticks. Luckily, there were plenty of them at the
Dallas show.
Matt and Kim
As difficult as it was to tear ourselves from the party going on around us,
we eventually had to cut out to grab some tacos-to-go and set up shop
at the Matt and Kim show, which was clear across the park. Already high
from the vibe at LCD, we were more than pumped to continue the dance
party, and we were not disappointed. Matt and Kim (comprised of just
two people named Matt and Kim, shocking, right?) walked onstage to
the sounds of Fat Joe’s “Lean Back,” which is a common move for the
Brooklyn band, who have fessed up to being big hip-hop fans. (This was
evident throughout their set, as they covered several rap tunes, including a
well-received cover of Biz Markie’s “Just a Friend.”)
Never before have we seen two people happier to be alive, happier to be
making music, and happier to have that music appreciated and loved. Kim
kills on the drums while Matt plays keyboard and sings. But what the self-
taught duo lacks in musicality, they make up for with
energy — Matt
frequently stands up on his chair, doing pinwheels with his arms or kicking
his legs out behind him; Kim will stand atop her drum set and grab the mic
to give sweet (albeit profanity-laced) shout-outs to the crowd. At one point
in the show, Matt climbed up a tower on the side of the stage, nearly
reaching the rafters. Later, Kim crawled out into the crowd, as she’s
famous for doing, and did a booty dance while audience members
supported her feet. When she spotted “Green Man” — a leotarded
character that originated on the TV cult hit comedy
It’s Always Sunny in
Philadelphia — she tried to get him to similarly crowd surf. (He never did,
blah.) At another point, she passed out non-inflated balloons and instructed
audience members to blow them up and release them simultaneously.
During quieter moments, the band addressed the crowd, explaining how
songs originated (“Good Ol’ Fashion Nightmare,” for instance, was about
Kim’s job as a nanny before she played music fulltime.) Though they didn’t
play a single tune off their soon-to-be-released album,
Sidewalks (which
you’ll be able to read about in a November issue of
American Way), their
first two albums provided plenty of material. At the conclusion of “Daylight,”
the band’s biggest song, the audience roared with appreciation. Famously
fan-friendly, Kim stayed long after the lights had gone up and the house
music had started playing, high-fiving and shaking hands with fans in the
front few rows, the mile-wide smile stretched across her face visible from
our spot several hundred feet back.
The Black Keys Aftershow
We headed out of the festival grounds — stealing quick listens of MIA, she
of “Paper Planes” fame, who was just getting started; and Muse, who were
in full swing with “Uprising” and sounding amazing — en route to legendary
Stubb’s BBQ, where the Black Keys were playing an intimate ACL official
aftershow. The opening act, Foals, took the stage around 9:30 and quickly
won us over with their booming British rock and singer Yannis Philippakis’
proclivity for nimbly scaling whatever speaker/wall/scaffolding was in his
vicinity. Once the set wrapped, around 10:15, the excitement in the crowd
grew palpable for the main event. Everyone in the place seemed hellbent
on getting into the front row, with people pushing forward and up against
each other, squeezing through to get to imaginary friends further up in the
crowd.
When the Keys took the stage at 10:30, the crowd was instantly
enraptured. Dan Auerbach hummed and hawed through
opener “Thickfreakness,” the mostly instrumental funk groove from their
2003 album of the same name that they also opened Friday’s big-stage
set with. In fact, much of the set was the same as that of the day before;
Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney recycled old favorites like “Girl
is on My Mind,” “I’ll Be Your Man,” “Strange Times” and “I Got Mine.”
But the difference in the two shows was the same as having a non-alcoholic
margarita and one infused with top-shelf tequila: Both shows were tasty, but
the second had an undeniable added kick that couldn’t be matched at a
mid-day big-venue show. Everything from the sound to the energy to the
band’s all-business charisma seemed heightened in this small backyard
space.
The duo did mix in numbers we hadn’t heard at the fest like “Stack Shot
Billy,” “The Breaks,” and “Act Nice and Gentle” (a Kinks cover),
which were hits with the crowd. But it was about this time that a scuffle
broke out between two overly excited male concertgoers. The crowd,
packed together as tightly as sardines, parted briefly, watching as the men
traded punches before being quickly escorted out by security. As quickly
as we’d separated, the crowd fused back together, taking advantage of
the men’s absence and moving a few feet closer to the stage. (Thanks
fellas! Hope you enjoyed listening to the rest of the show from the sidewalk
outside!) Onstage, completely unaware of the brawl, the twosome from
Akron,
Ohio, continued to rock.
Once again, Auerbach and Carney enlisted the help of a backing band
for their newer, more heavily produced songs — “Everlasting Light,” “Next
Girl” (which had the crowd screaming and foot-stomping just as it had
at their previous show), “Chop and Change” (from the
Twilight: Eclipse
soundtrack), “Howlin’ For You,” “Tighten Up,” “She’s Long Gone,” and “Ten
Cent Pistol,” in that order). After closing with “I Got Mine,” they exited
stage right with just 15 minutes left until the city-mandated live-music
curfew time of midnight. But the crowd refused to accept that the end was
near and cheered loud enough that even if encores weren’t de rigueur at
concerts these days, they still would’ve earned one. Our fearless leaders
were back onstage in minutes, wowing us with two more tunes —
Brothers standout “Sinister Kid” and “Your Touch,” off 2006’s
Magic Potion.
Finally, at exactly midnight, they waved goodbye once more, and though
we would’ve happily taken five more encores, we wandered out onto Red
River street, feeling woozily intoxicated by top-shelf show we’d just been
treated to.