Villanelle. This was the thing I was most excited to catch, and why I went into the park while there seemed to be less than a hundred people in there. This is the band fronted by the son of one of the Oasis guys, so that it sounds a little like if Oasis and Nirvana had made a Stone Temple Pilots song together. And it freaking ruled in person. Maybe a hundred people there to see it, and most of them were dressed up in their weird Twenty One Pilots duct tape and tour t-shirts and woolies, but the dudes absolutely jammed it out. I think my favorite part was the drummer, which became a theme of this day, because he absolutely bashed the living daylights out of his kit. After a song or two, he stripped off his short to show a massive bull skull tattoo that was very fitting. I just found myself grinning like an idiot throughout the show - it was exactly what I wanted it to be. Also, "Placebo" is a jam. Funny moment too, as the rain continued to spit down on us and combine with the smoke effects from the stage, the singer mentioned that it felt like he was back in England.
Aaron Rowe. I had fully intended to watch about half of this one at the BMI stage and then make my way over to Jess Williamson to catch the tail end of her show. But I couldn't walk off from him. Endearingly earnest, both in his songs and in between as he talked to the crowd and acknowledged his sister from Dublin in the audient (awwww!) and the folks stubbornly holding up an Irish flag throughout the show. Very good performer, even if, again, there were less than a hundred there for this one.
Dexter and the Moonrocks. As you can tell, I am a fan of the 90's alt rock renaissance and anyone who will bring that to me. Just before the show, I was chatting up a guy next to me because he had a large lemon-shaped drink holder strapped to his jacket that looked like a clever way to keep your hands free while also imbibing. He asked if I smoked, I told him that I was good and expected to go find my daughter in the crowd later, and he said "aw man, that's so wholesome." I did not have being called "wholesome" on my bingo card, but I guess I am aging into something new. These dudes brought the thunder - pretty straight-forward pummeling rock and roll show - and encouraged a pretty legit mosh pit right in front of me. My memories of a lot of the mosh pits of my youth were not nearly as happy and exuberant as this one was. It made me really happy, just a bunch of dummies smiling widely and bouncing off of one another in time to the music without any jerk trying to take potshots or prove himself. Added to the show IMO. Also, again, the drummer was a freaking maniac.
Calder Allen. To be completely honest, I was a little bored during part of this set. My comparison to Ryan Bingham was holding true and I found myself looking at the schedule to see if there was something else I could hunt down. There was not. But I am glad I stayed, because by the end, he and Charlie Sexton turned the Tito's tent into a freewheeling jam that get my head bobbing. I don't know that I would go see him at a solo show, but he's a good hang in the festival context. Also, the rain finally stopped now, so that was cool.
Audrey Hobert. Exactly what I was expecting and what I needed. First thing, she came out in a ten-foot-tall trench coat, which was hung over her arm in an odd way until she could climb into a ladder and let it fall down to the ground. She then put on a Groucho mask and started playing the banjo while kicking in the first song. She kept it very weird throughout the set - a fake fight with her cousin, a mini-trampoline - but also her songs sounded great. I love her lyrics - "Bowling Alley" is a favorite - and her little spoken asides and self-deprecating bits. She is completely weird, but in these days of perfectly curated stars, I dig it.
Saint Motel. They know how to make an impression, kicking off the set with their best song and getting everyone super hyped up. "My Type" was awesome. Then, it took a while to find that same footing for me. They're an odd band - they got the 5:20 slot at Miller Lite and therefore should be understood as a larger band, and their set was funky and fun, but I feel like if I asked just about anyone I saw today if they had heard of them, the answer would be no. I think they are the perfect festival band - like a Fitz and the Tantrums - where you can dance and enjoy and then immediately forget everything about them.
Geese. I appreciate them for staying true to themselves. They just do not seem to give a rat's ass if you enjoy their show. And for the first few songs, I was like, okay, maybe they are going to try to make music that people can listen to without wishing for death? And then they said, "haha, up yours Jack." I don't get it - they have all the pieces to be a really good rock band. I love when the lead singer sounds like Thom Yorke. Each of the players in the band can be excellent at their instruments - I really liked when they focused on the guitarist and she made some really nice riffs - but then they just get discordant and annoying.
Sofi Tucker. I only saw two songs of this as I tried to get close for Twenty-One Pilots, but I really did not enjoy that experience. 99% sure the dude singer was not actually singing, and while I enjoyed looking at the female singer play guitar and strut around like a model, those songs were just not good.
Twenty One Pilots. I don't generally care for this band. I know the words to a few of the most popular singles, but they would never be a band that I would seek out to hear. But they can put on a SHOW. Lots of explosions and flames, a portion where the drummer crawled up on top of the video screen to the left and played from up there, several moments where the singer jumped onto a large plastic disc in the crowd being held up by the crowd to sing and dance. Also, when you are shoved up into the crowd, for a band where everyone around you knows every word and LOVES it, that makes for a really great show. Before the show started, I was chatting with a kid from Vegas who had come to Austin just for this show, a gift from his parents for his birthday, because 21P are his favorite band. It sounded like a major sacrifice for his parents to spend the money and make the trip, but he was PUMPED to see the show. I'm still not going to go listen to their music on a normal basis, but I will absolutely admit that this was a fun show. Although the young women near me who needed to jump a lot during their favorite songs, where the ground under their feet was a soup of poop, that was not very cool.
Good times! I wish I could have seen the Turnstile show on Friday, but this was a pretty good day of music in spite of the weather.
