ACL: Day 2

Austin City Limits: Day Two

The festival was more crowded than the day before; everyone that planned on attending made it. It was game day and Austinites wore burnt orange and cheered for their Longhorns who were battling the Razorbacks at Royal Memorial stadium from Zilker Park.

At halftime, TX was up 31-3, Sharon Stone and the Dap Kings have finished their set and Brooklyn’s MGMT was playing a main stage. I walked over to the designated area but it wasn’t long before I met a wall of people and had to stop two football fields away from the stage. All I saw in front of me were the red necks of hipsters who should have put on sunscreen before putting on their fluorescent wayfarers. MGMT’s crowd was as big as the one that amassed at their free show in Williamsburg but this was in Texas for Pete’s sake! It was all too much. I didn’t want to fight the newly American-Appareled rookies from Austin and the veteran hipsters from northern climes. I left soon after Electric Feel for Conor Oberst and The Mystic Valley Band and open air.

After Oberst was Dallas-native Erykah Badu, her natural freshly teased (she left her pick in for safe keeping) and glowing like only a hot, pregnant woman could. But her delicate condition didn’t prevent her from delivering a passionate performance or from proselytizing. Badu cut into her performance when she used the stage as a soapbox for at least ten minutes. She had just started singing Honey when a timekeeper gave her a warning. Badu then ditched the new single in favor of crowd-favorite Tyrone (minus a verse) and she exited on time, dancing all the while to Lil’ Wayne’s A Millie.

Beck, along with Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, were Saturday’s headliners. Both played an amazing set, or so I’ve heard. I didn’t make it to the west side of the park for Plant and Krauss, choosing to stay on the east side for Beck’s entire show. While ACL offers fans a wide variety of acts, one of its biggest drawbacks is that fans have to choose between them. Should I go to Gnarls Barkley or The Raconteurs? M. Ward or Gogol Bordello?

But Beck didn’t let me down. Technically sound, innovative and expansive, his set and the crowd response it drew carried across Zilker’s expanse over to the competing show. “Their [Plant and Krauss] music was beautiful but you could hear Beck because it’s so mellow,” said one ACL attendee who was on my flight back to New York. Well Mr. Plant, Ms. Krauss, you’ll have to excuse the Beckheads. In his defense, you can’t not sing along when Beck—Beck!—is onstage singing Loser or Devil’s Haircut. Just try to keep mum. I double-dog dare you.

ACL: Day 1, Pt. 2

Austin City Limits: Friday, Day One

After flying south with Jakob Dylan (he, sprawled out across two leather seats in first class; me, flanked by two big-boned passengers in coach), I arrived in sunny Austin, TX for day one of Austin City Limits, a 3-day music festival with eight stages, local vendors, makeshift head shops selling custom-made glassware, countless cans of beer, and oh yeah, about a jillion bands.

It was past two o’clock pm and ninety degrees by the time the shuttle dropped me off at Zilker Park and the sweet smell of sun-baked (and lighter-lit) grass was high in the air. I could hear the last five minutes of TK as I walked to Patty Griffin’s show at AMD, one of the four main stages. Fans had claimed their area by planting festive flags and were waiting patiently on picnic blankets and lawn chairs for the singer-songwriter. The flags were everywhere. From American to Australian, store-bought or homemade, the cheerful banners represented the various tribes who migrated to Zilker for the weekend. They also functioned as landmarks for fans that had strayed from home base. (Finding a familiar sweaty face amongst the thousands of other sweaty faces proved to be a difficult task after sunset).

While Mars Volta played a show worthy of their headline status, Hot Chip was also a hot ticket. Their set was Revenge of the Nerds: The Musical. Dressed in white coveralls and thick glasses (my 5th grade math teacher had the same pair), Alexis Taylor totally owned lead geek status. I’d never heard the electropopers before, but I quickly joined the party. Listening to Hot Chip is like going on a Super Mario binge without the guilt of wasting a beautiful day indoors. You find yourself grooving to strange beeps and clicks except there are no Luigi or magic mushrooms, just five Brits who make really cool sounds with strange instruments.

Austin City Limits: Day 1, Pt. 1

I landed in Austin-Bergstrom International ten minutes early--go Continental! Slept the whole flight sandwiched between an Indian man and a big White guy who looked very uncomfortable. His knees pushed right up against the seat in front of him and he had tried to squeeze his wide frame within the arm rests so as not to invade my personal space, but it just wouldn't happen. Poor thing. I was woken up several times by accidental elbow nudging.

Amber, Jason, and I had lunch at Magnolia and now we're back at the casa waiting for Stew God They're napping and I'm trying to wait patiently. Maybe we'll make it to Zilker Park before Vampire Weekend's set is over. I'd love to see if the Columbia alums are making headway with UT students.

More later..much, much more!
Resalin

PS. Jakob Dylan was on my flight. His blue eyes are unmistakable, even underneath a fishing cap. He was sitting in first class, of course, and I passed by him on my way to seat in coach. He was already asleep, sprawled out on two leather seats. One of those could have been mine Jakob!

Do You Want To Be A Canadian Rap Superstar?

Everybody knows who Akon is. The Senagalese rapper has made millions of people smack it on the dance floor. Everyone has heard his nasal, yet surprisingly catchy voice half-sing hooks for American rap stars like Eminem.

But who's the guy rapping with Akon in Dangerous and why does he want me to make his "black snake moan?" His name is Jason Harrow and he hails not from the islands like his dance hall beats suggest, but from Canadia--Scarborough, Ontario even.

Harrow is known as Canada's hip-hop ambassador. Indeed he's worked with artists who are regulars on Billboard charts: Rihanna, Jay-Z, Pharell, and Sean Paul. But while he's earned industry cred for his notable singles (BaKardi Slang, Ol' Time Killin'), Dangerous was my first introduction to Harrow's work. I didn't like it at first because Akon's voice grates on tympanic membranes; everytime I'd hear the single on a top 40 station, I'd turn the dial. But the first time I head Kardinal rapping about "Jessica P" and "trying to give a home girl sex in the city-ti-ty", I knew that there was a reason why Kardinal's Dangerous is No. 22 on the iTunes chart. (I also spent $1.08 for the single). Let's ignore the sexist lyrics and just have fun! Dudeman: Anybody that can use a biscuit as a vehicle in a metaphor has my vote.