Schedule Thoughts: Sunday 2015

The grande finale.  Except for this year, when the grande finale bands have already played and we get closed out by some other groups that would normally be 7 o'clockers in other years.  But whatever!  it is going to be great fun anyway.  As described in my notes about surviving ACL, I enjoy taking a slow start to the Sunday shows, which means I am going to miss out on one of my Silver Medal bands in Ume, who find themselves playing at 12:30.  Sorry to miss them, but I think I'll enjoy some football and drinks instead.

Before I get in to the day, I have to admit something.  I crapped all over the Weeknd, and I still think that the majority of the music I've heard from him is lame.  But his new single "Can't Feel My Face," which may have been the song of the summer, is a Michael Jackson flavored jam.  My kids love it, I sing it over and over in my head after the song is over, it is unstoppable stuff.

I mean, what is that thing on your head, man?  I don't know.  But the song is a well-crafted pop hit.

The playlist for Sunday, jam this in preparation for the big day:

 

Sunday:

If I were to go to the 'fest early, I'd likely try to go see Waxahatchee, Ume, and Amason. More likely I'll take my time and show up for the 2:30 slot.

2:30: Lord Huron.  Really nice harmonic stuff, and it is going to be an excellently chill way to start out the afternoon.

3:30: Strand of Oaks.  Sylvan Esso had a good song or two, but I think I'd rather go hear what the rock-tinged sound of Strand of Oaks will sound like in person.

4:30: The Decemberists.  Far as I'm concerned, they should be closing out the night.  I'd much rather hear an hour and a half of what they have to say than the Strokes.

5:30: Chance the Rapper.  Kind of bummed that I'll miss out on the two other key rap acts (Run the Jewels and A$AP Rocky), so this is an OK consolation prize.  Curious if he'll stick to the older mixtape tunes, bring out new raps, or bring his odd jazz band along to play tunes off their new album?

6:30: Of Monsters and Men.  Easy call.   The others playing this slot deserve a 2:30 slot as far as I'm concerned.  

7:30: Hozier.  Slightly pulled here, Dwight Yoakam would be cool to see, but I've been waiting to see Hozier since last summer and will not be denied this time!  I will not!

8:30: I guess I'll go watch the Strokes.  Maybe them for 30 minutes, then go see what the Weeknd is all about?  I wish Disclosure or Bassnectar had that Weeknd slot, hell, I wish just about anyone I was interested in had that slot.  I don't much care about either of these two "headliners."  But maybe I'll be converted on the spot this year.

Quick Hits, Vol. 42 (Tobias Jesso, Zac Brown Band, Raekwon, Blur)

Time to restart up the Quick Hits.  I'll still be getting into other ACL stuff, but I'm listening to other stuff now as well.  First things first, this, right here, is the best.

Little kids in music videos?  Never gets old.  And this is also a great track off of that Mark Ronson album that spawned Uptown Funk.  If you don't feel kind of bad ass strutting around to that track, you need to get it together.

Tobias Jesso Jr. - Goon.  I forget how I added this guy to my queue, maybe through a Rolling Stone review, but his tune remind me heavily of the mediocre 70's John Lennon albums.  His debut got good press and kind words from stars like Adele, leading him to some level of immediate fame.  Not really my thing, but here is the most listened-to track off of that 2015 debut album, called "How Could You Babe."

Also reminds me a little of the Afghan Whigs tunes on the Beautiful Girls soundtrack from 20 years ago.  I liked those songs.

Zac Brown Band - Jekyll + Hyde.  Blerg, this is terrible.  I had heard good things about this guy in the past, but I can't get behind this album at all.  Maybe the Soundgarden-lite sound of "Heavy is the Head" is good, but I don't think it actually is.  I'm just drawn in by Chris Cornell's voice and hoping its good.  But not.  A lot of this is not country-sounding at all but is more soft rock boringness with banjo, or the kind of cross-over banjofied-almost-EDM Avicci makes (see "Tomorrow Never Comes").  I guess the title of the album makes sense.

Raekwon - Fly International Luxurious Art.  Bummer, but I think this establishes for me that Ghostface is the superior of those two ex-Wu guys.  This album has a few head-bobber tunes that are fun enough to listen to, but overall it is uninteresting.

This track, with A$AP Rocky, is called "I Got Money" and explains my point well.  Even though this is the most popular on Spotify from the album, I have to imagine that is just from people searching for A$AP, because it is so terribly boring that there is no way this is a hit.

Blur - The Magic Whip.  A couple of years ago, I went on half.com and bought a couple of Blur albums to figure out what they were about.  I owned Leisure back in high school, and loved it. "There's No Other Way" is a jam, and before I'd heard of Oasis, I thought this was perfect Brit music. Of course, after that, I'd heard "Song 2" but I had never taken the time to listen to their other albums. After reading repeatedly how they were the best thing in the world, I bought 1994's Parklife and 1997's Blur, both of which I put on heavy rotation during an annoying period when my work blocked all streaming.  They are good - I still prefer old Oasis - but it is good music.

I think the same is true about this album, it can be poppy and fun ("Lonesome Street"), or they can go with brooding rock ("Go Out"), or it can be kind of forlorn and tender ("My Terracotta Heart"), but I dig the sound.  The most listened-to track on the album is "Go Out," with just over 4 million listens.

That video is we-e-e-e-e-e-e-ird, but I kind of want some ice cream now.  None of this belongs on pop radio the way "Boys and Girls" or "Song 2" did, but I like the disc and am going to keep it around.

Surviving ACL

So, on the advice of several different people, I thought I'd talk some about how to survive the weekend.  I'll add another post about food options later, but this is just the general message about the weekend.

First things first, let it go.  Just relax, man.  You likely aren't going to get to see ALL the bands you want to see.  You probably won't get as close as you thought.  You are going to have to wait in line.  Someone is going to step on your toes.  You will be hot and sweaty.  That dude next to you will smell.  You will get smoke in your eyes.  Someone with a moronic banner of a wide receiver's face with some witticism on it is going to get in your way during your favorite song.  There are going to be tens of thousands of people in your way for the next three days.  Don't panic.  The point of this whole thing is to have some fun.  Have some fun. 
Let it happen.

Man, that song is awesome.

Once you have that in mind, what to do next?  Here are a couple of pointers from me, for what they're worth:

• Be Friendly.  Tens of thousands of people are in the Park with you.  I think you can definitely have more fun if you are nice to those around you.  Smile and say hi to the people around you. You may meet someone cool, have a fun talk, score a tip about a new food choice or band, whatever. If you bump into someone, apologize and smile.  If you are standing up to watch a show and someone short is standing behind you, offer to let them get in front of you - you can see over them and they aren't just looking at your big dumb head.  My friend Jason is the king of that one.  Pick up your trash.  Don't cut in line.  Don't muscle your way up to the front of a show because you were late.  Just be nice.
• Sunscreen.  Dude, just put some on before you go, and take at least a little with you.  You are going to freaking fry, as there is no shade by any of the stages.  Maybe you can cozy up to one of the fences and snag 10 minutes of shade between shows, but just know you will be in pure sun all day.  And don't bring spray sunscreen, they'll take it away at the gates.
• Chairs.  In my opinion, don't waste your time.  If you need to sit, you have an ass for that.  Otherwise, you are having to schlep those damn things all over the place, and can't sit close to stages, and its just a whole thing.  Unless you plan to camp out all day in a special spot with your buddies and your flag, just leave them at home.
• Booze.  Loyal readers, I know that you think I am super cool and never uncool, but when I sneak in a traveler of whiskey, I am so nervous.  I'm honestly shocked that the people at the gates don't spot me from Barton Springs and just preemptively toss me into the creek.  I must check my pockets for their bulginess about 3,000 times in between parking and the gate.  And I've never been caught yet (knocking on wood).  The thing is, you can buy a traveler of Jim Beam for six bucks at Spec's, which can be mixed with several expensive cokes for a significantly cheaper price than the equal amount of $8 warm tall-boys of beer.  Hell, I saw a dude last year with a handle of whiskey he'd snuck in with a camp chair, so they aren't checking all that closely, but be cool if you are trying to be sneaky.  I've also seen people with gallon ziplocs full of booze, fake-cell-phone flasks, and camelbacks that they somehow got in still full.
• Booze II.  Also, take it easy on the booze.  Even if you are taking an Uber home and have no worries about driving at the end of the night, you will be dehydrated and tired and dumping a ton of alcohol into your system could end badly.  Don't be the guy passed out and getting stepped over all day.  Don't make the people around you suffer through your drunken freakout while they are trying to enjoy their music.  Don't add barf to a crowd.  And for that matter, why get so drunk you forget the show?  You paid to go watch music - you could get hammered at the house for free.  Don't get me wrong, I enjoy some beverages throughout the day, but everyone else there will appreciate a touch of restraint from the rest of the crowd.
• Water.  You are allowed to bring two factory-sealed 1 liter water bottles (uh...) or an empty camelback/Nalgene to fill at the water stations.  You need water, man.  Yes, even you 20 year olds.  You are going to be in Texas heat all day long.  You will sweat it all out and need more.  Don't be dumb.
• Smoking.  The website says that smoking is not allowed at Austin City parks.  This may be technically true, but know that everyone there is going to have a backpack of weed and American Spirits and they are going to smoke everywhere.  You will see three-year-old children rolling joints in the Kiddie Limits area.  You will smell cannabis smoke at the gospel show on Sunday morning.  Cops will see all of this and not care.  There will be a pack of nine 12 year olds in their cheerleading uniforms passing around an eight foot tall bong shaped like Yao Ming, and a cop will walk through their smoke cloud to ask you where you got your taco.
• Gear.  You may need a stack of gear, but I am the type to just want to be free of encumbrances.  If you bring a backpack, they are going to search you at the door and then that hot, heavy blanket is going to be on your back all day long.  Just bring good shoes for standing all day, a cool shirt that is going to breathe as you sweat through it for ten hours, your phone (with an extra battery if you have it), and some water.  Otherwise, leave it at home and life will be simpler.
• ACL Cashless.  They rolled this out last year, it allows you to link a credit card to your wristband.  Please use caution here.  I didn't lose control on mine last year, but I can see the sadness of getting the next credit card bill and seeing twenty $18 charges (2 beers + $2 tip) on the statement.  Also, unless they streamline some since last year, know that it isn't terribly easy to do the scan and pay move.  After you scan your wristband, you still have to interact with a jenky iPad clone to navigate a tip/don't tip landmine screen, usually with your server standing there smiling at you and 850 people in line behind you.  High stress moment.  I was never entirely sure what I did at any given time - the screens seem to reflect all natural light directly into your pupils for maximum confusion factor.
• Rendezvous point.  I have had a hell of a time getting text messages out once the late afternoon and evening roll around and the park fills up.  Also, your phone battery will likely be super taxed as it tries to hunt down a signal and/or re-send the 12 messages you sent your buddy about grabbing one more beer on his way back from the can.  So, plan ahead and just expect that your phone may die and you might need to meet back up with your friend or kid or ride at a certain predetermined spot in the park.  Be careful using the flags that people raise to mark their spots, as those sometimes move and they are also sometimes duplicated.  I had a super annoying conversation with someone via text one time where both of us were "just to the right!" of a pink flamingo.  Too bad there were two pink flamingos on sticks at that show.  it is easy to get separated, so have a predetermined spot to meet.
• Sunday morning.  Now this is just entirely personal preference, but ever since by buddy Chad and I fired up the 2008 ACL weekend, I have enjoyed the relaxed process of waking up late on Sunday morning, hitting up brunch/lunch somewhere showing football, and then getting out to the Fest a little later.  By that third day, unless you are under 25, you are going to be freaking tired and sore.  A little relaxation will do your body good to go out strong on the last day.

I may come back to this in the next month, but those are my thoughts for now.  I'll be back soon with another post about the food action in the Park.

After Show Schedule Announced

http://www.c3concerts.com/latenight/

The ones that sound most interesting to me:

• Leon Bridges on the Saturday night of the first weekend, at the Parish.  That venue is small and ought to be cool for him.
• A$AP Rocky with Danny Brown and Vince Staples at the Austin Music Hall on Sunday night. Garbage venue, but if I don't get to see the show at ACL, and I don't really care about the Strokes on Sunday night, maybe I'll push my luck with this show.
• Danzig on Monday night?  Weird that they are booking non-ACL bands and calling it an after-show.  Ah, no, these are now just called "Late Night."
• Shakey Graves for the Waller Creek fundraiser on Wednesday.  I may actually try to go to this one.
• Band of Horses on the 9th at Stubb's.  I've always liked me some Band of Horses

See anything else in there you are excited about?

Schedule Thoughts: Saturday 2015

The Saturday schedule plays out just about as well as I think it could, with the exception of the one worst portion of the entire schedule for the whole weekend, at the 6:30 pm slot. More on that later, but as observed by Joseph in an e-mail to me, the schedule is going to allow for a good back and forth between the Honda and Miller stages from 2:30 all the way until 8:30, which is pretty choice.  

Looking over at the other side of the park, you could get a similar experience in the pop, EDM, and rap scene, bouncing back and forth between Echosmith, Ryn Weaver, Glass Animals, Misterwives, Twenty One Pilots, G-Eazy, A$AP Rocky, Bassnectar, and Drake. That could be fun, even if the aim demographic for that is about 20 years my junior.  But I'm not taking that path, I'm headed to the other side of the park.

Here's some Drake, looking like Oprah and Obama and a handful of other folks, with his friends who have Tourette's of the fingers.  Let's hope the new album comes out and is better than this mixtape.  For your future enjoyment, here is a playlist for the Saturday bands I plan to check out:

Saturday:
The first few hours are pretty uninteresting to me, so we'll just play the early stuff by ear.  If we decide to get motivated and out to the park early, I'd go watch Echosmith, maybe San Fermin.

2:30 - Father John Misty.  Such a great combination of nice, tight music and well-done lyrics.  I'm excited for him to kick off the day.  A little bummed to miss out on Sol Cat and Vince Staples, but they don't trump FJM.

3:30 - Game time decision likely.  In one corner, you've got the power jam fun of Houndmouth.  In the other corner, you've got the raw, feral power of Shakey Graves.  I think I'm leaning Houndmouth right now because I figure I can see another local Shakey Graves show later.

4:30 - Sturgill Simpson.  Honestly, since I just saw him play, I might have considered skipping him to go see something else, but with the godawful Twenty One Pilots and the uninteresting KOA up against him, I'll just enjoy the chance to sing along with Sturgill again.

5:30 - Walk the Moon.  I've listened to their older music a few more times just recently, and it is growing on me even more.  Tuneful pop, in addition to the killer "Shut Up and Dance" song.  They also cover "Burning Down the House," which is super tight.  I am honestly a little sad about missing Unknown Mortal Orchestra, but I'm pretty sure I'll do Walk the Moon. If you don't want to hear pop rock, go hear UMO do their trippy psych thing, it is good.

6:30 - Here, is where the festival model is broken.  I am so very sad about the entire slate across this time slot.  Two of my top tens, two of my Silver Medals, and I can only realistically enjoy one of them (without traipsing all over the park and hearing a song from each).  I'm almost certain I'll go see Alabama Shakes, as their new album has grown on me and I think their show will be solid.  But that means dissing A$AP Rocky, Jose Gonzalez, and newcomer Rayland Baxter, all ones that I really wanted to go check out.  I'm especially bummed about A$AP.  He did a killer show at Fun Fun Fun a few years back, and I'd like to hear the new album tracks live.

7:30 - TV on the Radio.  Easy choice, even though Bassnectar would be kind of fun to see.

8:30 - Drake.  Part of me wants to go see the spectacle of Deadmau5 and his crazy stage alien ship thing, but I really think I'd be super annoyed and angry about 3 songs in and wish I'd gone to watch Drake croon about his smoothness.  Not psyched about either choice, but this is what we've got.

As an aside, in my schedule from last year, I said that I would likely go see Lake Street Dive over Hozier.  I am a moron.

Pure Prairie League - Telluride - August 12, 2015

We spent the last week up in Telluride (gorgeous, highly recommend) and although I had not been there before, I had previously heard about some of their music festivals.  For a town of about 8 people, they get a pretty strong musical presence there in town.  Just over the past two weeks, they've had Dawes, Jewel, and Michael Franti play shows.  Then during the rest of the year they have:

• a massive bluegrass festival (get 'em, Ricky!), 
• the RIDE Festival (Panic, bro!), 
• the Telluride Blues and Brews festival (ah how how how how), and 
• a chamber music festival.

During the summer, they'll also do a free concert series, right at sunset, up in the Mountain Village area up above the town.  The setting was perfect.  Cool weather, a few sprinkles that let up by the time the music started, a gorgeous sunset, and a big grassy hillside for the kids to play around on without bothering us.  We took a growler and some snacks and thoroughly enjoyed the evening.

Oh yeah, and we heard the Pure Prairie League play.  Being that I'm married to an Amy, I was one of the few people there who had any clue who they were.  To jog your memory, here is "Amie."

Beyond that song, which is a classic, I had no clue of any of the rest of their music.  It was pretty, pleasant soft rock in the California-70's-harmony vein just like this tune.  Every once in a while, their slide guitar guy would get fired up and they'd rock a touch harder, but for the most part, this was gentle tunes and the perfect backdrop for us to hang out with some friends.

I also think we lucked out to see them, versus the other acts that bookended PPL, something called "John Wayne and the Pain," (super weird reggae electro) and something else called "Mingo Fishtrap" (funky funk). I can also attest that the people at this show were making use of the newly legal means of recreation there in CO.

Schedule Thoughts: Friday 2015

I was on vacation last week when the full schedule was announced, so I am only now getting the chance to review each day and see the good, the bad, and the ugly about each day.  While this is likely to be a fluid timeline that will likely change in the next month and a half, here are my thoughts about Friday's schedule, along with a tasty Spotify playlist for you to enjoy to sate your appetite.


Friday:
Dude.  Instantly not cool, schedulers.  Literally, three of my Silver Medal winner bands (In the Whale, Leopold & His Fiction, and Talk In Tongues) are scheduled for noon or before on Friday.  Even assuming I can skip out on work that early, that is going to make for a really long weekend to start in the morning on day one.  I mean, come on, man.  Saturday morning and early afternoon are a complete wasteland until Father John, can we petition the White House to spread these guys out?  Of those three, if I'm there that early, I'm leaning towards In the Whale.  I should suck it up and go super early.

1:00 - The Maccabees.  My musical taste must be way off base, as this is another band I've listed in my silver medal grouping, but they've got the dreaded early Friday slot.  If I can suck it up and head over in the morning to see those guys up above, then I'll likely go check the first half of this set, before...

1:30 - Residual Kid!  Yes!  I can't believe I am excited about a band playing the Kiddie Limits stage with a 25 minute long slot!  Whatever!  I'll be the one person there at the Kiddie stage at 1:30 on a Friday afternoon!  Woohoo!

2:00 - Royal Blood.  I mean, seriously.  These guys are in my top ten of bands coming to the Fest, and they're playing early Friday?  Did my review of the Q Brothers hurt someone's feelings at C3?  The more I consider this early line-up, the more I think I've got to just suck it up and go early on Friday.  Sorry to have to miss Jessica Hernandez and the Deltas in this slot, but Royal Blood is kick ass.  How are they not slotted later in the day?

3:00 - not particularly fired up about any of the options here, but would likely do Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors here.

4:00 - Leon Bridges.  He even gets one of the major stages.  I'm psyched to check him out and could care less about the other folks up against him.

5:00 - the first big bummer of the schedule (beyond the earliness of those bands up above) is the battle between Run the Jewels and Moon Taxi.  I really feel like I'll be missing out with either choice, but I expect to do Moon Taxi.

I'll likely bail a little early on that 5 o'clock show to go grab food and another beer on my way to the Galaxy stage to see Tame Impala and get posted up for the Foo Fighters.  My hope is that a bunch of people leave the Tame Impala show to get treated for an acid overdose go to one of the 7 o'clock shows so that I can get to a good spot for the Foos.

6:00 - Tame Impala.  Although I have to admit that I listened to their whole new album a few times today and it has some lags in there that weren't apparent when listening to the first four singles from the new disc.  I believe, but I hope I'm not disappointed.

7:00 - hope that Gary Clark Jr.'s show at the Barton Springs stage (which I assume will be the retailmenot stage from last year) is cranked up enough so that I can hear it over in front of the Galaxy stage.
7:19 - realize that none of my texts have sent for the past four hours, and my phone is almost dead, and my wife thinks I am too.
7:32 - really need to pee, but have no option without giving up prime real estate.  Wish I'd brought Depends to use.
7:55 - get relentlessly crowded by people trying to get up front who claim to need to get to their friends.

8:00 - Foo Fighters!  I'm not skipping these guys for anything.  I really hope they refrain from 20 minute drum solos, but I'm in for whatever they want to do.

Future (Weekend Two only)

Let me start this discussion with a set of bars from his new album's opener, "Thought It Was a Drought."
"I just f**ked your b*tch in some Gucci flip flops
I just had some b*tches and I made them lip lock
I just took a piss and seen codeine comin' out
We got purple Activis, I thought it was a drought."

Wha?  I don't even know how to unpack all of that.  I can tell you that Activis is a pharmaceutical company that makes Botox, an Alzheimers medicine called Namenda, an immunosuppressant drug called Restasis, as well as many other prescription drugs.  However, a search for "activis lean" brings up the fact that they also make a promethazine/codeine sizzurp, which must be what ol' Future is digging on in this song.  Ah, and they have apparently pulled that off the shelves because it was so popular with rappers and Bieber.  That must be the drought he is talking about.  I do know how to unpack all of that!  2.3 million listens.

Anyway, I've read about Future for a while, with Rolling Stone continually calling him the best new rapper.  Out of Atlanta, uses auto-tune a ton.  I got to see him play a show at Stubb's during SXSW a year or two ago, and I remember that he spent all of the time in between songs pimping the new album that was coming out the next week or something.  "'Honest,' dat new album, droppin' next week yoooooooooo!!  Get to the stoooooooooooooe!!"  And while I thought his tunes were pretty good, he had the unfortunate issue of the fact that most of his best known songs are ones where he only has a portion.  His best, from that Honest album, is one of my favorite tunes from the past few years of rap - "Move that Dope."  18.3 million spins.

That beat!  Yessir!  So Future only performs part of that - Pusha T and Pharrell each get a turn to kill it - like other tracks "Tony Montana" (ft. Drake) or "Magic" (ft. T.I.), or even other people's songs like Ace Hood's "Bugatti" or Rocko's "U.O.E.N.O." (made more famous for Rick Ross verse about Cosby-ing a girl).  Which meant he got the crowd all hyped up for a huge hit, and then did a single verse and switched the beat to the next thing.  Weak.  When he cranked the beat for "Move that Dope," the crowd went insane, but he did his verse and said the chorus, all in about a minute, and then shifted the beat to another song that he did for 45 seconds.  Disorienting and not very fun.

After seeing that show, I tried out Honest a few times, and other than "Move that Dope," I didn't get it.  Wasn't very original sounding or lyrically interesting to me.  This new album, DS2, just released in 2015, is better though.  Not great - he's not a story-teller, more of the type to grab hold of a phrase ("Blow a Bag" comes to mind) and just pound it to death with some brags about how awesome he is.  "Where Ya At" is a Drake collaboration that is pretty slick, and "I Serve the Base" has a dope ass beat.  "Freak Hoes" sounds like Too $hort.  For reasons I don't understand, the biggest song is called "F*ck Up Some Commas," and is his current most popular track with 22.7 million listens.

As far as I can tell, that entire song is about making money, and the commas bit is about moving the commas in the amounts of money he is getting.  As in, move the comma in $1,000 and you could have $100,000!  Kind of a stretch of an idea. Not a bad tune, but nothing nearly as good as "Move that Dope."  Another rapper talking about serving Katy Perry when talking about coke.  Weird.

Anyway, my experience would tell me that you could skip seeing him, because it will just be an annoying pastiche of his portions of hits, but with two full albums of his own stuff under his belt, he just might make for a better show now.  I don't know.  Good luck all you weekend 2 warriors!

Florence and the Machine (Weekend Two only)

I don't know what is wrong with me, but I clearly recall walking away from the Alabama Shakes show in 2012 to get some food before the Black Keys, and thinking "Eh, Florence and the Machine, who cares." as I ignored her set and got a Mighty Cone or three.  Fool.  I should have gotten up close and personal to hear this thing right then and there.

Her voice is a force of nature.  So lush and powerful and demanding, with a switch that can click it right up into an slight, angelic falsetto.  If it doesn't get your attention, then I can't believe you are really listening.  I think the thing that I previously thought had always left me wanting with them is the music behind that voice.  Not bad music, but just kind of there. Now, after really digging into this music, I think that old reaction was wrong.  This music is good as well - kind of bombastic and over-the-top, but good stuff.  Three albums, including one that just recently came out in 2015.  Their big, first hit is still their second most popular track on Spotify, with just over 73 million listens.  "Dog Days are Over," from 2009's Lungs.

Love the intro to that song, with the light back and forth in the stereo speakers of that mandolin or uke.  Distinctive and cool.  And then the thump and hand-claps of classic 50's rock, it was something new and fun back at the start of the decade.  But their most popular track is off of 2011's Ceremonials, "Shake it Out," with almost 80 million listens on Spotify.

"Regrets collect like old friends, Here to relive your darkest moments, I can see no way, I can see now way...Its always darkest before the dawn."  And then the music builds until it all peaks.  Great tune.
Their new album is really solid as well, I've listened to it a couple of times over the past two days, and its not just the singles.  Here is the hit, "What Kind of Man," with over 23.2 million listens.

I have to say, it was confusing to hear at first, until I figured out that she is saying the word "this" as though it was "these."  She's not talking about some group of inanimate objects when asking about man's love.  Makes me think of the scene in the Matrix when one of the minor crew members is about to die by getting disconnected by the bad guy from the Goonies and she says "Not like dis, not like dis" before she collapses.  Off that new album, "Ship to Wreck" and "Queen of Peace" are also killer tracks.

Now, with hindsight, I wish I'd bought weekend Two passes instead of weekend One.  I'd hate to miss Alabama Shakes, but they are doing an ACL taping on the Friday night of first weekend, so I could have fit everything in, avoided the Strokes, and jammed both Modest Mouse and Florence into the weekend.  Oh well!  I'll just keep listening to her tunes on Spotify!

Schedule is up!

http://www.aclfestival.com/2015-schedule-weekend-one/

Much more to come on this, but my instant reaction is some annoyance.  No surprise there, but I likely won't get to see Gary Clark Jr. so that I can see Tame Impala and be in a god spot for the Foos. Which is a big fat bummer.

Other early thoughts:

• Run the Jewels vs. Moon Taxi.  Lame
• Royal Blood at 2 on Friday?  Come on, man.  I don't know if I'll get out there that early.
• Shakey Graves vs. Houndmouth.  Lame.
• Alabama Shakes vs. ASAP Rocky vs. Jose Gonzalez?  Damn you ACL!!!
• Sunday looks kind of lame.

Modest Mouse (Weekend Two only)

Sadly, Modest Mouse is not coming to Weekend One.  Those of us who have purchased Weekend One tickets get stuck with The Strokes (and Alabama Shakes, so not all bad) while Weekend Two people get Florence and the Machine and Modest Mouse (and Future, for that matter).  I know I said I was only looking at Weekend One bands, but when your most prolific commenter feels sadness because you won't talk about the band he is most excited to see for the whole of ACL, you listen and make it happen.  (but with 32 additional groups on Weekend Two only, I'm not doing them all.  I'm only a man, not a machine.)

Modest Mouse is indie rock that became popular without me in the early oughts.  I knew their first hit or two ("Float On" and "Ocean Breathes Salty") and generally liked those songs well enough, but felt intimidated by the rest of the music to the point where I never really gave them a try.  After a concerted effort for the past two full days, I have now listened to their three most recent albums a handful of times each and feel like I get it.  There are three categories I think their songs fall in to: (1) excellent funky rock that is built to be fun ("Float On," "Ocean Breathes Salty," "The View"); (2) more simple, introspective tunes ("Bukowski" "Strangers to Ourselves"); and (3) weird stuff where they let their inner freak out of the cage ("Bury Me With It," "Dancehall," or "The Devil's Workday").

Their most popular tracks are type 1, such as "Float On," "Lampshades on Fire," "Dashboard," and my favorite from their new album (2015's Strangers to Ourselves), "The Ground Walks, with Time in a Box."

Creeptastic video, yo.  With barely over 3 million listens on Spotify, this is about the 8th most popular track from MM, but I dig the funky beat and tight cadence of the odd lyrics. That song is a good time.  And I feel the same way on the other funky, fun tunes in the catalog.

Of type 2, "The World at Large," from 2004's Good News for People who Love Bad News is the top hit, with about 14.2 million listens.  But I think "Missed the Boat," from 2007's We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank is the better tune.  Serious album titles, right?

About 7.4 million listens.  Kind of a Shins/R.E.M.-type sound going on in that track.  It is another good one.  I think that 2007 album is my favorite of these three.

And then comes the type 3's, none of which are represented in the most popular songs on Spotify, and which just throw me off of my enjoyment for the albums.  On the new album, its definitely "Pistol" that fits this bill, which sounds like a bad Ween song.  But I'll give you "The Devil's Workday" to try on for size.

About 1.3 million listens.  Right in between the lovely "Bukowski" and the funky "The View" on the album, with this squealing, toneless annoyance of a song.

But, if you remove those type 3's from their albums, they make good music and would be a ball to see play live.  This would be a good band to get a mixtape of from my sister, like she did with Phish 20-something years ago.  I doubt they'd even play that weird garbage in their shows.  They remind me of the Decemberists, as a group who fires out albums that aren't necessarily built for pop success, and are thick with wordy lyrics and few and far between sing-along hits, but when you dig into them, you'll find something you like.  And by the way, my experience with them only scratches the surface.  

They have 7 other albums from before Good News for People Who Love Bad News (1996's This is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About, 1996's Interstate 8, 1997's The Lonesome Crowded West, 2000's The Moon & Antarctica, 2000's Building Nothing out of Something, 2001's Sad Happy Sucker, and 2004's Baron Von Bullshit Rides Again).  That is a prolific output.  Good band - I'll keep listening to them.

Ranking: Mediocre

These folks have a song that keeps them out of the basement, or a bit of promise that may later be realized, but I can almost guarantee I'm not going to skip any other band to see them.

Lion Babe - pretty tight Erykah Badu thing going on here.
San Fermin - better on my second listen, still not terribly interesting
Sheppard - "Geronimo" is an ear worm, but I doubt I'll do this.
Daughter - Pretty indie.  Probably deserves to be up in the next tier.
Albert Hammond Jr. - Strokes-esque rock.
Amason - Swedish indie pop rock.  Pretty, but doubt I'd go see.
George Ezra - Budapest guy would love to leave it all for you, but I'm not so sure.
Asleep at the Wheel - a classic, but I doubt I'll do it.
Songhoy Blues - I may just decide that their blend of funky stuff outweighs the language barrier and go see. (as of 9/11/15, these guys are no longer listed on the lineup.)
Billy Idol - I remember him as better than he actually is.  Soft rock with a sneer.
Mikaela Davis - somehow makes pretty good music as a harpist.  Still harp-based indie.
Ruen Brothers - Roy Orbison-esque rockabilly?
Classixx - dance EDM.  Maybe coming to fest, maybe not?  Does anyone care?
Years and Years - "King" is great, but I'm not going to go watch them.  The rest of their album doesn't do it for me.
Brandon Flowers - Killer boring.
Nate Ruess - Used to be Fun.  Now not so much.
Con Brio - sexy R&B-ish
Eagle Rock Gospel Singers - first time I have dug on some gospel
Flosstradamus - marginally cool EDM stuff.
Halsey - electronic pop blah.  She graduates out of the No Ways based on that new single.

Disciples of Christ

Oh, thank you Internet for this beautiful thing.  If laughter is good for the health, then this just extended my life by a good twenty-three minutes or so.  Christian rap.  And if the most popular track on Spotify is representative of the three (3!!!) full albums of music available, then this is actually kind of perfect early 90's rap.  That tune, called "To Da Dome," is a fine pastiche of beats jacked from other people - I hear "Atomic Dog," jacked from half of the artists at this time and "Fantastic Voyage," as used by Coolio.  On top of that, one of these rappers sounds just like someone, but I can't put my finger on it.  One of the crew cut rappers from "Pass the 40?"  No.  Dangit. Their Wikipedia entry says that two of them were attending Oberlin College on a football scholarship before forming the group.

Boom.  I only find one real video out there, so here is their fourth most popular track, which leaves behind that classic rap sound and goes for some Bell Biv Devoe new jack swing instead.

Weak, man.  Stick with the sweet old school rap.  Oh no, and then there is their second most popular track on Spotify, which leaves both of those styles behind to do some serious rocking and rolling, yo.

The name of that song, no lie, is "Hip Hop Body Slam Hard Rock Holy Spirit Jam."  It's like an 80's Japanese Nintendo programmer was asked to name the song without listening to it. They even bite "God Gave Rock and Roll to You."  These dudes are bold.  If Bill and Ted had a favorite rap song, this is definitely it.

Oh no!  The ACL website shows that this is not the same Disciples of Christ!  What a bummer. Instead, we are getting "One of the most exciting gospel female groups in Texas," who apparently have zero presence on Spotify.  Their only presence on YouTube appears to have been filmed with a flip phone inside of a shoe box.

On top of that, it looks like there is some intrigue regarding who to contact for booking!  I sure hope the ACL folks contacted Arlene and not Shay.  Fraudulent contact!  Maybe Shay can get us hooked up with the rap DOC group? 

Candice Jackson 2 months ago

This is a fraudulent contact, do not call Shayb1217, she does not represent Disciples of Christ. If you are looking to contact Disciples of Christ call Arlene Bell 281-608-5551 God Bless

 · 

ShayB1217 6 months ago

If you want to contact this group call Shay at 817-668-6592.. Disciples of Christ Gospel Houston Texas

The Last Bandoliers

Tejano alt-country rock?  Did I really just type that?  You listen and tell me what this is:

Kind of BR-549, kind of Bottle Rockets, kind of The Mavericks, also super creepy to watch people's mouths that closely when they sing.  The way their tongues lay in their mouths is foul.  1,520 views on YouTube, 1,438 listens on Spotify.  Literally no one has heard this music, but it is honestly pretty catchy and kind of fun.  Hating on rock music with a conjunto accordion is like hating on music with a banjo.  You've gotta be some sort of monster.  They have one EP available on Spotify, named The Last Bandoleros.

According to their website, they are a San Antonio-forged Tex-Mex/Pop-Rock outfit.  They also note that their sound is "1 part Tex-Mex, 1 part Brit-Pop and 2 parts Country/Rock."  I don't know what to do with that information.  From the looks of their website, the creepiest of the dead-tongue singers in that video (bottom left for most of the video) appears to no longer be part of the group.  I'm sure their video focus group helped them clean up the act.  None of their other singles crack the thousand listens mark, so I've just chosen this one, which has a touch of Louisiana in that squeeze box play, and more rock and roll flavor.  "Take Me To It"

Damn, son.  That breakdown jam in the middle is solid.  Looks like MC Heavy Tongue was the drummer, but in recent pictures on their site, he is no longer around.  Based on that live video, they look pretty fun to go see.  I'll keep that in mind when the schedule is released.

Waters

Pretty solid alternative rock with a touch of pop.  Reminds me of those tuneful alt rock bands from the mid-90's and early oughts that took the reins from Matchbox 20 and All American Rejects and then handed off to OK Go and Foster the People.  Two albums available on Spotify, with 2015's What's Real being vastly superior to 2011's Out in the Light.  No song from that 2011 album shows up in their top ten on Spotify, so I think people may agree with me on this.  The most popular track, with just over a million listens, is the lead track from What's Real, called "Got to My Head."

If you own a panda (or other odd animal) costume, there is a 78% chance that you will be featured in the video for some small-time band at some time in your life.  I'm investing now in one with the hope that someone comes calling soon.  I may get a kangaroo too, in case panda has already been played out.  Their second most listened to track is the title tune off of that album, "What's Real," with almost 600k spins.

Trippy, bro.  This is good music.  Rock enough to have an edge but pop enough to be tuneful and fun to jam out with for more than just a single.  Might just go check them out in October.

Kali Uchs

Saw something on YouTube calling her the "West Coast Amy Winehouse," and I suppose that fits better than anything I could come up with.  Not terribly interesting with the three songs she has available on Spotify.  Most popular out of those is "Lottery," with barely over 900k listens.

I get it that there is some throwback going on here, but its a pretty watered-down musical thing compared to the bad-assery of Back to Black.  Her second most listened-to track on Spotify is "Know What I Want," with about 430k spins.

A little reggae/Caribbean flavor on that bass line.  Kind of whatevs about the whole package.  She may be fantastic, but I doubt I'd even listen to a whole album of this stuff, much less go see her play.

Luis Coronel

I mean, I feel like a jerk even trying to review this music.  Uh, traditional Mexican music? Loads of synthesizers and some synth tuba in the top track, "Tenerte."  5.3 million listens on Spotify.

Even the commercial that played before the song just then was in Spanish.  The Internet is so smart!  Homeboy looks 12.  I have no clue what he is saying.  His second-most-popular song (Mi Nina Traviesa) sounds like it is talking about his cabeza, and is heavy on the accordion.  Here is one with 14 million views on YouTube (but only 2.3 million on Spotify), which is a ton compared to other artists I have been reviewing.  This is "Escapate."

The video starts with some serious drama!  And then the accordion kicks in and its on.  I guess.  Is this a hot song?  His arm motions in the video make me think that he is really feeling it, like Backstreet Boys back in the day when they are being serious about their love. But the background music doesn't sound serious or angry enough.  I have no clue what is happening.  He is super tough and can take out two big bodyguards, but apparently has the driving vision of a 90 year old with double cataracts, if he couldn't get out of that weak blockade trap.  C'mon Luis!

Rankings: Better than Mediocre

This is the third section of the bands for me.  These are good enough to where I am interesting in seeing them, but not so good that they will trump seeing other bands.

Ben Howard - super chill surf rock
Brand New - pop punk with an almost screamo edge
Sol Cat - funky almost-psych rock
Rhiannon Giddens - Beautiful voice over rootsy blues.
Misterwives - Reflections is a disco jam, but beyond that?  Maybe a fun show.
Waxahatchee - I dig "Under a Rock," but not sure how far the 90's revival sound will take me.
Strand of Oaks - Indie rock that hits pretty hard.
The Suffers - power soul.  Dig it.  "Make Some Room" is tight as hell.
The Strokes - garage rock classics
The Wind and the Wave - covers and pretty good originals.
Alt J - passable alternative rock.  A few good singles, but the rest leaves me confused and bored.
American Aquarium - Americana
Echosmith - "Cool Kids" music.  Otherwise, a-ight.
Drew Holcomb - Nicely done Americana folk.
William Clark Green - country with a mix of Steve Earle and Nashville
In the Valley Below - indie pop rock.
Vance Joy - Riptide guy makes other pleasant rock
Sylvan Esso - "Get Up, Get Down."
Milo Greene - Pretty stuff.  When we're older, can I still come over?  But the new album isn't my thing.
Maggie Koerner - killer voiced bluesy rock
Jessica Hernandez and the Deltas - swaggering lady blues
Boom Forest - nice Americana indie folk

Jidenna

Holy hell.  His bio says that he coined a new term for his style of hybrid rap/R&B, called "swank." Oy.  Only two songs available on Spotify, but the top one has over 17.5 million listens, so this is some sort of a hit on the radio stations I don't hear.  That song, "Classic Man," is a sing-song rap over a beat that sounds very much like something Iggy Azelea rejected when choosing her track for "Fancy."  I mean, the same kind of synth sounds, the "hey, hey, hey, hey, hey" thing, its pretty close.  Why doesn't is say "muzzzahonnabee" in the first few bars?

He sounds kind of like somebody, I can't come up with it right now, but here's the video, maybe you can recall.  Shaggy?

That beard is illegal in 49 states, man.  Nice to see hipster-ism crossing the race barrier.  He also has a remix with Kendrick Lamar available on Spotify that is a nice addition.

Look, "Fancy" was hot, its got a great beat, so who am I to mess with this guy?  I've listened to that song like 5 times now, and it's pretty tight.  The other song on Spotify attributed to him is actually a Janelle Monae song about doing yoga called, wait for it, "Yoga."  "Let your booty do that yoga."

When she very nicely looks into the camera and asks you to "get off my areola," I had to laugh out loud.  Catchy tune, but Jidenna's portion of it is pretty weak.  We shall see what else he releases before the 'Fest.  Based on just one song, I'm interested but not yet sold.

Alina Baraz

Generally boring slow jam R&B.  A little more rap-sounding than pure chill electronic, and a little more R&B-flavored than rap.  This falls right into one of those cracks in my musical love, and does nothing for me.  Here is "Fantasy," which is her most popular by a long way with over 10 million listens on Spotify.

So whispery!  She has one EP (2015's Urban Flora) and a single or three available on Spotify.  Her songs sound indie electro, but her voice and tone sound like the hook of rap songs.  Pretty voice, but I'm not going to see her play live.

FIDLAR

Lo-fi skate punk.  One album, two EPs, a few singles, and a lot of damn fun.  The opening track to their full length (2013's FIDLAR) is called "Cheap Beer," and with zero irony, they just chug right on through a two minute blast of "I DRINK CHEAP BEER, SO WHAT, F*CK YOU!"  It's kinda awesome.  Elsewhere on the album, they get more melodic and go lean just a touch into the pop realm, but you wouldn't seriously call this pop punk at all.  Grimy and raw, they barely crack 3 minutes on any song.
The most listened-to track on Spotify is "No Waves," from that 2013 album, with almost 2.6 million listens.

That video is super OK.  Made me laugh.  And the track is good too - loose but driving, feels like you should pogo and spill drinks on people.  "Cheap Beer" is their second most listened-to track, but I'm going to break out this other one that I thought was pretty good. Here is "Awkward," clocking in with just over a million listens on Spotify, and winner of the best cover art award.

Reminds me of The Pixies and Sum 41.  "I'll probably end up f**kin' up and make it super awkward!"

And just because this one is called "I Just Want to Die (ft. the Los Angeles Fire Department)," I feel like we all need to watch it together.

That tune is not on any of the album/EPs available on Spotify.  Sounds like 80's new wave.  Kinda funny.  And overall, I dug jamming these dudes for the past two days.  I got really busy at work and was too lazy to look up the next band to hear, but they are a fun blast of do-it-yourself sneer.  We'll see how the schedule works out, but it might be fun to go see them tear things up.