Updated: ACL/AKL/FMM2: The quick-so-I-don't-forget-it-all recap
See a bunch of pictures here.
Thursday:
We fly. We read. We drive from San Antonio (cheaper than flying into Bergstrom). We growl at traffic. We eat and have adult beverages (those of us who are adults) at Chuy's. We sleep.
Friday:
We collect our wristbands. We see:
Uncle Rock: Full band = good! First time we've seen him with the full rock experience, and it is terrific. He is good solo too, and remember that he's coming back to Northampton early in 2009.
Q Brothers: Energetic, friendly, a little underwhelming overall but still a good time.
Jambo: Like last year, incredibly likable, fun bluesy rock; now, if that record would just officially come out...
Vampire Weekend: Hot! And by hot, I mean the temperature was high and we no longer had the shade. Kids and I watched four or five songs; Dena stayed for all of them. I kinda don't want to like them, but am forced to do so.
Anthropos: These guys were good. They raise money for music education in the Austin public schools and put on a pretty sweet set.
Paul Green School of Rock All-Stars: Man, those kids shred. Too loud for the AKL stage, I suppose, but hey, there are earplugs available. Crazy good.
Mates of State: We saw one of their acoustic shows last fall at the Iron Horse, so we'd gotten to see them with at least one cellist; this time, they had another cellist and a violinist too on some songs. I love them, and this was a really good set.
And then back to our hosts' house, who graciously hung out with our kids while we went out to Guero's. Mmm, queso.
Saturday:
Old 97's: I've seen them a ton; Dena had, rather shockingly for having lived in Austin for three years, never seen them. They are one of my favorite live bands, and this show didn't disappoint.
AKL stage for something, though I don't remember what - maybe Big Don? (He was fun if uneven.) I don't remember what was in this timeframe. I'll look at our pictures.
Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings: Good lord, they were good. Jones, a former corrections officer, is a force to be reckoned with -- powerful, hilarious, engaging. And what a band! This one was awesome.
Family Music Meltdown 2: Great lineup, energetic crowd, fun sets -- all in all a great time. Thanks to Stefan for co-presenting it and thanks to Super Pal Universe, Mr. Leebot, Telephone Company, Laura Freeman, and Joe McDermott and the Smart Little Creatures! (Plus a thanks to Uncle Rock and the Jimmies for each doing a special surprise song!) (And happy birthday to Camille!)
Sunday:
Breakfast at Kerbey Lane Cafe with our kind hosts. Hooray for the Paris, Texas Platter, featuring migas (with more queso!) and their awe-inspiring gingerbread pancakes. That's innovation in breakfast menu technology there.
Then coffee (no room for food) with a friend from law school at the new Progress Coffee in east Austin. Great little spot with tasty coffee.
Jimmies: This was the first time we'd gotten to see a closer-to-full-length set from these guys, having had a couple of songs at Stink in Brooklyn and one the night before. Man, they're terrific. Great songs (knew that already, and the new ones are good), and a high-energy, funny, and just plain fun show.
Nicole Atkins ("special guest" at AKL): Sweet little set.
Neko Case (from a great distance): Dena and I saw her in the last few months at the Calvin, so this was a little less intimate an experience, but she's still a solid performer with amazing songs.
Okkervil River: This is when I realized what the wristbands we had were good for (watching shows from the side of the stage!), so we watched this from basically right by the monitor sound board to stage left, which was (a) really close and (b) in the shade. We don't have this CD but will be getting it; fun poppy guitar rock.
Gnarls Barkley: We watched from the side of the stage again, this time on a platform suspended at stage right. That meant there were some light rigs between us and the performers, but it was still just. plain. awesome.
Monday:
Dena bought new running shoes. I went to my alma mater with the kids and chatted with one of my favorite profs there. We also went to the Texas Natural Science Center for a few minutes of paleontology geeking out. And then we sat on planes for a very long time and got home late.
More to come. Maybe. Also you should listen to the file in the post right below this one.
Updates:
1. Other coverage at Zooglobble (scroll through), Gooney Bird Kids (again, scroll), and Warren, who has pictures from AKL and from the Family Music Meltdown 2. Also discussed at The Retta Show. And: here (with some brief video).
2. Pictures are up here.
3. Things I wish I made it to on the kids' stage: mr. RAY (just didn't get there in time), more of Buck Howdy & BB (saw a couple of songs - fun, though I really prefer non-prerecorded backing music, though I understand the necessity).
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