Search by tags ACL 09
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Sibling Rivalry? Not Here.
When we heard that Jypsi, the fashionable quartet from Nashville, were siblings, we raised our eyebrows. Any fights? Any sibling rivalry? Any jealousy? No, no no. While they might not make for good gossip, the foursome makes for great forward-thinking ... -
A Kinder, Gentler State Radio
At times, State Radio sounds like a grown-up, socially-conscious version of Sublime. But that's the influence of the reggae on their music, not any kind of affinity with the 90s party band. True to the meaning of reggae, State Radio - the band with the very ... -
Bands We "Discovered" at ACL
If you’re like me, the typical post-music festival ritual is to 1) shower, 2) plop down in your comfiest spot (preferably with your feet up), and 3) delve into your music downloading tool of choice and seek the plethora of musical goodness that ... -
Pearl Jam Gets Down and Dirty
For a band that supposedly had its heyday in the 90s and has been mired in legal and label disputes ever since, Pearl Jam did not miss a beat on Sunday night as the headlining and final act of Austin City Limits. The stage’s backdrop was the only ... -
The Dead Weather Brings Rock Heaven to Earth
Oh, the drama! The rapture! The masterpiece! Swooning were the masses at the LiveStrong stage at ACL on Sunday evening. The hour was 6:00 o’clock. The sun crept below the trees confining the park. The crowd waited, waited, ... -
Dan Auerbach Brings Honky Tonk Rock to ACL
Stalwart fans endured a test of will by sticking around for Dan Auerbach's set at 7:15pm on Sunday night. Muddy and gross, the ACL's Austin Ventures stage was not a welcome nest for his eager listeners, but Auerbach (commonly known as "one half of The ... -
L.A.X. Sings to the Beats
L.A.X. is a bit hard to pin down, genre-wise. There is definitely an electro/house element but also a pop element, and definitely an R&B element to their music. Credit this to the band's three singers (interviewed above). All told, ... -
Brett Dennen Gives Us the Warm Fuzzies
Anyone not standing at the Austin Ventures stage waiting for State Radio or passing by at exactly the right moment probably missed Brett Dennen's set at Austin City Limits on Sunday. Dennen, who will be appearing on Dave Letterman with Natalie Merchant on ... -
Ghostland Observatory Keeps 'Em Moving
What does a man with Wednesday Adams’ pigtails, a cowboy hat, aviator glasses, and a leather jacket with fringe have in common with a man in a cape trimmed with Christmas lights and a glowing Celtic cross on the back? I don’t know, but add a laser light ... -
The Arctic Monkeys are a Tad Too Chill
Around 4:00pm on ACL's muddy Sunday, the Arctic Monkeys took the AMD stage though a cloud of artificial smoke (and some of the real stuff rose from the crowd). Tens of thousands waded their way across the oozing park floor to hear the well-slotted alt/indie ... -
Here We Go, Magic
Here We Go Magic just may be the best band that you don't know. The quartet from Brooklyn, NY makes funkadelic lounge music with a rich, textured, sound that seems to go with just about anything. Their style is reminiscent of the 70s, but ... -
White Lies Tells the Truth
Credit White Lies for bringing back dark indie-pop music and the keytar. (Well, dark indie pop never went anywhere, but the keytar...that's just bold.) The London-based band plays music reminiscent of The Cure (or, perhaps more accurately, a ... -
Ben Sollee Takes it Easy
When we met Ben Sollee at Sunday morning at ACL, he had just arrived in Austin after driving all night from Lexington, Kentucky. To keep himself awake all night as he drove through the deep, deep south, he sang. Sollee grew up on music the way some ... -
DMB Ignites a Soggy Crowd
Though legendary Dave Matthews and his Band are festival mainstays, whenever they hit one of those massive outdoor arenas they are giving thousands the experience of a lifetime. "Dave! Dave! Dave!" they chanted at the end of a rainy Saturday. The soggy ... -
Flogging Molly Delivers the Goods
The crowds were huge at Austin City Limits – bigger than at any festival we've been to this summer. At one point, on Saturday, the rainiest, most uncomfortable day of the fest, thousands crowded the main stage under torrential downpours to watch a ... -
Mute Math Likes it Hard
The radio loves pop-sensible rock; it’s no wonder then that the radio loves Mute Math, the photogenic rock band out of New Orleans. The foursome has been “rockin’ it up the charts” ever since their self-titled debut in hit in 2006 thanks, in ... -
Henry Clay People Tell it Like it Is
The Henry Clay People is a high-energy rock band from LA. And the fact that they're from LA usually raises some eyebrows. This is, in part, because of their no-nonsense, no-pretense live shows; it's also because of the sheer honesty they exude in a town ... -
John Vanderslice, Poet
Most poets can't sing. Though most do try, while cleaning their houses, or driving their cars or scrubbing their bodies in their impossibly small showers. Just like the rest of us, they try to sing. They test it out. After a few minutes - just like the rest ... -
Picking Up on Cotton Jones
Cotton Jones makes beautiful and dreamy music reminiscent of the blissed-out sixties (or any blissed-out time, really). But Cotton Jones is rooted in the 60s. Formally of the Baltimore-based band, Page France, Cotton Jones' Michael Nau and Whitney McGraw ... -
The Airborne Toxic Interview
The Airborne Toxic Event has had a really big year. In August of 2008, their self-titled album was released; in March, they were signed to a major label, Island Def Jam, and in April, their album broke #1 on Billboard's Heatseeker chart. So yeah, they've had ...
