Austin City Limits Day 3

Last night I attended my first high school football game since…well…I was in high school! And in Texas this overbearing football father thing is for real! I swear I heard a kid yell from the field in full Texas twang “I don’t want yo life!” Dammit! Why can't I date a girl that's willing to cover her body in whip cream??? This would've completed my night! Well thankfully I could ignore most of the drama that was happening around me as I was mainly there for the halftime show to see the bands play; you never know which of these band nerds will be the next up and coming artist at SXSW! Talk about getting your research in early! Plus I’m fairly certain one of these kids might actually be mine, so we’ll just call it, me getting in some much needed father/son or daughter time.

I’m also pretty sure that ACL artist Bear Mountain is a product of this high school band culture, and yes if you are keeping score at home, they are yet another act with the word bear in it’s name! They come on at 11:15 and are a decent starter band that utilizes synths and drums along with the lead singer’s high pitched voice to create a mix a of 80’s soul and pop music in an attempt to get you dancing. If nothing else, you’ll at least see the girl that’s still drunk from last night dancing off beat to them; and that’s always good for a laugh.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Y14pjkXDKQ

Around noon, scoot on over to see Kristin Diable and The City if you wish to sit and ease your way into the day by listening to some good music. Simply put, she has an amazing voice; the kind that you want to hear singing right before and immediately after you lose your virginity. It’s both sexy and powerful, and honestly she could sing about Cheerios and you’d think it was the best thing you’d ever heard in your life.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAnMwcU88OM

***D'Angelo has backed out since this was written but you still need knowledge***

All of this to this point is way too early for me but my advice for you is to grab some lunch until 3:30 when you will see the comeback of D’Angelo. He was sadly linked to the  Neo-Soul label back in the 90’s but in reality, if it weren’t for his battle with alcoholism, he might’ve been the next Al Green. When he came on the scene, RnB had basically blended into and became hip hop, so yes his music actually acted as sort of a rebirth of soul but it was a bit bigger than that. He wasn’t simply recreating what he grew up listening to, he was evolving it.  Everyone immediately rushed to call him the next Marvin but Marvin got really socially conscious there for a while and D’Angelo (much like Al) always kept it sexy and all about the ladies. Even when he was really singing about herb like he did in the song Brown Sugar, ladies still went crazy because they thought he was singing to them..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtZWO3HgRdA

Hopefully he doesn’t do what most soul acts do at these festivals and that’s to try and “rock” it up a bit by having unnecessary guitar solos. There will be plenty of that from the other shows, so please give us what we want, music that will make our girlfriend’s panties drop. And he certainly can do that but hopefully when this happens our girls will be in the room with us and not him!

Next up is Franz Ferdinand, the indie wonders of 2003 whose hit Take Me Out had MTV falling in love. That song is great but I feel like this band was similar to the Strokes, in that we were just happy to hear any kind of music that had guitars in it again. So we instantly fell in love with whoever provided that for us and at the same time was able inspire us to move. I think I will pass on Austin’s wet dream of the Handsome Furs and Spoon collaboration in the way of the Divine Fits. Well, ok, I like wet dreams so I’ll probably pop in for the last part of their set. Their music is groovy pop rock and their song Would That Not Be Nice is their best effort.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=los6obvBbqU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NqbhygoDSA

Toro y Moi’s music sounds like it would be fun to dance to live but when you’re actually there it just falls kind of flat, so I will be passing on that short little guy in favor of The National. They are the exact opposite of Toro in that their recorded material sounds pretty boring; and the fact that Matt has a baritone voice doesn’t help matters either. You would typically associate this kind of music with a glass of warm milk, something that you would use to help you fall asleep. But something happens when they take the stage, these musicians (and they are just that) remember what it’s like to rock out! This will definitely be one of the better shows of the day, so dont miss it. If you are not familiar with them, check out Mistaken for Strangers.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGmfOsdla2Y
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHaln2drAdc

Tame Impala is a band that adds a refreshing surfer rock element to the traditional psychedelic music that you are used to hearing. Their song Elephant is a direct rip from Deep Purple and The Beatles but it’s a fun song. Solitude is Bliss and Mind Mischief are more progressive songs that help set them apart from the typical tie dyes that sway around while plucking guitar strings. I would head on over to the Atoms for Peace stage after a while because even though these guys are good, psychedelic music eventually all sounds the same.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wycjnCCgUes

Now I won’t waste your time debating who you should see out of Phoenix, Atoms, or Lionel Richie but just know that you can’t go wrong with any of them. Phoenix and their French pop music, which I’m sure you’ve heard in at least 3 indie films recently, can be fun. And who knows, maybe Daft Punk will join them on stage again like they did in New York! What’s a festival without a Daft Punk rumor? Atoms for Peace is a Thom Yorke and Nigel Goodrich(producer) side project and I am sure that they will play some songs off of Thom’s first solo project as well. And maybe another member of Radiohead might join them on stage for a quick acoustic version of one of their songs. Clearly I’m reaching here but whatever this is fun! I’ll pop in Lionel’s final 30 minutes in the hopes of hearing All Night Long and possibly hooking up with that daughter of his that looks like a chipmunk!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PB94FfYc3yM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpVfF4U75B8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyQVjGdJ60g

Enjoy everyone, enjoy!