Welcome to Weekend Two! I'll actually be out there for Friday of Weekend Two, running it back so that one of my kids can go watch Conan Gray and SZA and the wife can check out the Chicks. Should be a good time! Praying for cooler temps and alive grass!
I keep hearing people, especially young people, say that the lineup is bad or weak or whatever. But after pushing through the full lineup of bands, I've got to disagree. It reminds me a little bit of the 2015 lineup, where the headliners weren't my favorite thing, but the next few lines had some top notch stuff (Alabama Shakes, Sturgill Simpson, Tame Impala, The Decemberists, TV On the Radio, Gary Clark Jr., Father John Misty). And so again, while many of those headliners are not my top choices for what I'd want to see, I'm digging a bunch of those second-tier bands who will make up the core of the weekend for me. We're going to have a great time!
A few prelude thoughts before the hour-by-hour thoughts:
- The comments for each band are those "One Liner" things that I added to my reviews. It helps me to remember who they are (sometimes) and provides some detail on the kind of music they play. Every once in a while they make me giggle too.
- Honestly, sometimes those one liners are freaking hard to write. Some of this music is super crazy forgettable and I just can't come up with anything useful to write. "uhhh, another R&B lady with a pretty voice?"
- I've made each band name a link so that you can go read the full review and listen to some tunes if you are unswayed by the One Liner.
- The first column in each box is the stage where the band is playing (in case you thought I was just playing a weird word association game).
- They don't start as early for weekend two as they did for weekend one - nothing before 1:15 this week, where they kicked off at 12:30 for weekend one. You get ripped off for 45 minutes of tunes!
- Interestingly, now that I am making these schedules, I am realizing that second weekend is better than first weekend. The bands on Saturday are absolutely better, but even this Friday lineup is stronger for WE2 than WE1. You get Phoenix, Wet Leg, Twen, Blondshell, and Early James, but you're only missing out on Kevin Morby and Zach Bryan. I guess some would feel like they are missing out on Carly Rae Jepsen...
A playlist of the tunes for my selections...
Here we go:
1:15/1:30
Honda | Happie Hoffman: The Cantorial Soloist for Temple Israel in Memphis (?!?!) |
Tito's (1:30) | The Huston-Tillotson University Jazz Collective: The Huston-Tillotson University Jazz Collective |
American Express: | Twen: Really great indie rock band from Nashville |
I doubt I'll make it to the park this early, but for real, Twen would be worth it. I really enjoyed listening to them and think they are getting the shaft by being in this super early slot. The other two hold no interest for me.
2:00
Miller Lite | Blondshell: Tasty indie rock that reminds me of Lucy Dacus |
BMI (1:45) | Early James: lues rock magic from another dude in Dan Auerbach's stable |
Barton Springs | DCarr: Awful rap garbage |
Tito's (1:30) | The Huston-Tillotson University Jazz Collective: The Huston-Tillotson University Jazz Collective |
T-Mobile | BKTHERULA: Atlanta rapper who can't seem to find the beat |
A set of short sets - most of these artists are just getting 30 minutes to wow you. Not sure why, well, with the awful DCARR I'm sure it is because he has two songs and they both suck and so there won't be much to do after he has done those two raps and then tries to cover Eminem or something. I also don't care for BKTHERULA, so I'm apparently not in love with the rap stuff today.
On the other hand, both Blondsheel and Early James are good finds. Again, I think they are getting shafted by having this super early time slot, but I really enjoyed both of them. Good choice either way. If I must choose, I'd choose Blondshell.
2:30
Honda | Wet Leg: Excellent indie rock ladies with some danceable jams |
Tito’s Tent | Sarah Kinsley: Alternative pop with some catchy tunes and good lyrics |
Kiddie | Q Brothers: Possibly not the worst Kiddie Limits band, if you believe Joseph |
American Express | Noah Cyrus: Miley's little sister |
Cold blooded, man. Wet Leg is the choice - no brainer for me because I've wanted to see them for a while, but I would have enjoyed seeing Noah (since I know I will miss her during weekend one) and even think that Sarah Kinsley is worth a view. Tough hour right here!
3:15
Miller Lite | Vacations: Woozy indie guys turned pop rockers from Down Undah |
BMI | Dro Kenji: Bad AutoTuned R&B-ish stuff that likely kills on TikTok |
Barton Springs | Glaive: Awful electronic "hyperpop" rap thing |
T-Mobile (3:30) | Teezo Touchdown: Auto-tuned R&B oversharing terribleness |
Weak hour. Three of the four are things that I would never want to see. Just bad stuff. But Vacations would be a solid pick either way, they have some good tunes.
4:00
Honda (4:15) | Jazmine Sullivan: Fantastic voice used for R&B powers |
Tito’s Tent | Genesis Owusu: Ghana/Aussie rapper/singer with a little funky flair |
Kiddie (4:30) | Lucy Kalantari & the Jazz Cats: Jazzy scat-a-rat gal for the Kiddies |
American Express | Conan Gray: Male Olivia Rodrigo? Great songwriter either way. |
Owusu is a surprisingly solid rapper, but I know very clearly that I'll be at Conan Gray. That was one of the two things that my daughter most wanted to see on the poster. I hope he sings the National Anthem.
5:00
Miller Lite | Arlo Parks: British indie pop singer with a lovely voice and smooth delivery |
BMI | Lily Rose: Odd marriage of country and R&B/rap-ish vocals from a lesbian in Nashville. Quite a pile of contradictions |
Barton Springs | L'Imperatrice: Funky French groovy pop |
T-Mobile | Benee: More indie pop that sounds like lesser Billie Eilish |
Meh? All four of these are fine - none knock me out, but I guess if I saw L'Imperatrice during weekend one then I might angle the girls to Arlo Parks for this one? Or just go back for some more foreign exchange grooving.
6:00
Honda | Phoenix: Discofied pop rock Frenchies with that "Lizstomania" song |
Tito’s Tent | Purple Disco Machine: More 80's redux synth music, but with a little disco flair thrown in |
American Express | Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats: Soul revival masterminds who will hurt you with their live show |
Tough call on this one! Being that I will have seen Nathaniel Rateliff three times in the past few months by the time weekend two rolls around, I'd probably prefer to go see Phoenix, but we will see what the ladies want to do at this juncture.
7:00
Miller Lite | Omar Apollo: Great singer with pop music in English and Spanish |
Barton Springs | Lucky Daye: Classic R&B guy with a great voice |
T-Mobile | Billy Strings: Absolutely kickass bluegrass with a jammy side by killer musicians |
I don't even care that I will have just seen him a week before, I just want to revel in the excellence that is Billy Strings. The other two have wonderful voices and all, but give me the expert instrumentalists over the R&B or pop any day of the week.
HEADLINERS:
Honda | SZA: Alternative R&B gal |
Tito's | |
Lady Bird | The Chicks: One of the finest country bands of all time |
Even though I likely will have just seen them the week before, the wife's main consideration for going with me this day is to see the Chicks do their thing. So, I expect that the kiddo will go with friends and a mom over to see SZA while we head the other way to catch some angry anthems about infidelity.
No comments:
Post a Comment