Music: September 2006 Archives

Leave this music festival a day early and you'll end up missing some of the best music of the whole thing. A little rain scared some folks out of town, but those that hung in were in a for a treat of day.

Canadian folk-rocker Kathleen Edwards helped open the slightly damp day with some achingly beautiful vocals. She was scheduled to appear last year but wasn't able to make the trip because of hurricane weather.

Austin's Black Angels carry on the tradition of Texas psych-rock and if you like the sound of the darker side of the Doors you should definitely check them out.

Finland's Husky Rescue had a singer that would win any "cutest girl in pigtails" contest. She had every man within earshot and eyeball range ready to marry her by the end of the band's set. And they played some pretty great music besides.

KT Tunstall, a super talented Scottish singer who really knows how to use all aspects of her guitar, turned in a great set. She created a loop out of pounding on her guitar's body, then proceeded to render "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" to an approving audience.

Jack Ingram showed that a country boy can rock. His guitar work was excellent and much more rock like than cowboy.

The New Bawdville might be a genre the White Ghost Shivers would fit into. Fronted by a very tall banjo player who has an incredible range of goofball expressions, the group has so much fun playing that it is impossible not to be sucked in to their good-time Vaudeville, hokum blues and wacky jazz.

Neko Case rejoined The New Pornographers after her solo appearance last week at the Hollywood Bowl. And English band Muse showed why they headline festivals all over Europe with some mighty rock.

Tom Petty's set was interrupted by a shower, but he made it to the crowd by playing lots of old hits and going overtime. Those who stuck through the thirty-minute long rain delay called his performance "legendary."

All in all another great year at the Austin City Limits Music Festival. Several problems from last year were fixed, chief among them the dust problem. If they could just figure out a way to do revolving stages ala the Playboy Jazz Festival at the Hollywood Bowl, maybe one wouldn't have to end up with blisters on the toes.

That said, the lineup of this festival of music just seems to keep getting better and better. It almost seems that everyone that is happening in the summer and fall can be seen by going down to Texas once a year. See you there next year. Til then, be sure to check out the photo galleries of all three days at dailynews.com.

David Sprague

Centro-matic, from Denton Texas performed some earnest Rock and Roll. "Welcome to the omelette part of the day's festival". They dedicated a song to former Texas Governor Ann Richards, which many groups have been doing this weekend. Richards died on Wednesday.

Murder by Death. "This song, like most of our songs, is about whiskey and the devil". An electric cello helped the Devil come to life in that one. And how can you not love a band that says "We're called Murder by Death. This song is about the Apocalypse."

Ghostland Observatory's frontman Aaron Behrens is sort of like a Jack White on estrogen. Lots of estrogen. The band's music is similar to the White Stripes if it were done entirely on synthesizer. The drummer wears a cape, and Behrens, with pony tails and a pink tight stretchy shirt, hits you with a "what the heck is that" feeling followed by a "Hey I kind of like it" one. They electrified the crowd the most of any band so far and stand to be the next big thing out of Austin, although the middle of America might not be ready for the live show just yet. Behrens has moves that make Little Richard proud, and maybe embarrassed.

I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness had some very Morrisey like tunes, and some great song titles, like "I want to die in the hot summer", which right now in Austin is always a distinct possibility.

Nada Surf, America's answer to Snow Patrol, played "Popular" without being asked and really seemed to enjoy themselves. Aimee Mann, former Til Tuesday singer, also seems very comfortable now well into her solo career.

The Raconteurs, one of the most anticipated groups Saturday, proved they can deliver high voltage rock in a large venue. Jack White was sweat soaked after the first song.

Iron and Wine's Sam Beam, usually a quiet performer, said he wanted to take it up a notch and delivered on the promise. But compared to the Raconteurs, "up a notch" is pretty relative.

At the end of the day, there was a spot in the park where one could hear both Willie Nelson and Massive Attack at the same time, proving why this festival, with its myriad of choices and genres, is one of the best.

David Sprague

One thing can be said for the 5th Austin City Limit Music Festival. It certainly has variety. And many choices have to made as a result.

With 40-some odd bands playing every day for three days, the only way anyone could see everything is have their own private golf cart, preferably one that hovers over the crowd. Getting from A to B to C and back to A can be a tiring process, but the reward is usually excellent music from just about any group playing.

The day started with strains of the Cotton Eyed Joe as performed by Asleep at the Wheel wafting out of the park as we approached the front entrance.

First up was the melodic rock of Guster, whose lead singer imparted band festival wisdom to the crowd. "Whenever you are playing a festival, mention the name of the state as often as possible" said Ryan Miller, vocalist for the group. And sure enough, he did his best to mention Texas between several songs, and even dropped it into the lyrics of one.

Tristan Prettyman was delightful, with a silky smooth country/folk voice. Stars, the Montreal band got political, announcing to the crowd that "your long national nightmare will be over January 20th, 2009."

Gnarls Barkley seemed to be the band that everyone wanted to see Friday, mostly because of their hit this summer "Crazy" which seemed to be played on every radio station recently. And Cee-Lo (Thomas Callaway)and Danger Mouse(Brian Burton) did not disappoint. They followed their band members onto the stage, all dressed in white lab coats and broke in with a cover of Thomas Dolby's "She blinded me with science". The women in the band a distinct look of Robert Palmer girls.

Danielia Cotton was excellent, closing her soulful set with a rocking cover of AC/DC's "Back in Black." Gomez, the spanish sounding but British based band, probably turned in the most solid sets of the day.

Perennial Texas favorite Jimmie Dale Gilmore charmed the crowd with his very distinctive voice and excellent songwriting. With lyrics like "You can not stay, but you can not stay away" delivered in Texas Twang that leaves you wanting more, what's not to like.

So day one ended with crowd favorite Ray Lamontagne, who had the most people singing along that I heard. Van Morrison turned in one of his best performances. And it was off to rest for day two, Saturday, which promises to be very diverse indeed.

David Sprague

Today is the first day of the Austin City Limits Music Festival, one of the big four festivals in the country.
The event features 130 bands on eight stages during three days and draws 65,000 people from across the US. Bands come from all over the spectrum, from Willie Nelson to Gnarls Barkley, from Van Morrison to Muse.

Check back beginning Saturday morning for live updates, asides, and commentary about the festival.
And be sure to check out the daily photo galleries available on the home page of dailynews.com.

David Sprague

John Fogerty's concert at the Greek Theatre was a testament to the relevance of an incredible library of songs that have stood the test of time. From the rocking "Travelin' Band" to the timeless tune about that riverboat queen "Proud Mary," the show had the majority of the audience up and dancing at various points during the show. I could complain about various audience members who are typical of an L.A. crowd but I won't because, for the most part they were lively and energetic.

The 25+ song set consisted of the proverbial classics such as "Bad Moon Rising" and "Have You Ever Seen The Rain." which he described as a happy song at this stage of his life instead of a sad song as it was apparently written about the turmoil going on in CCR at the verge of the group's breakup. A pleasant surprise was the the resurfacing of the fairly obscure "Ramble Tamble" from the 1971 album "Cosmo's Factory." I tell you the changing tempos from upbeat to slow rocking are what make this song such a great live nugget.

And of course he played well-known solo works such as "Old Man Down The Road," "Rock 'n Roll Girls" and "De Ja Vu All Over Again," where he compares the Viet Nam war to the war going on in Iraq.

Aside from the plethora of incredible songs let's not forget the band. They were incredibly tight and the sound was clear. There's nothing worse than not being able to decipher what's being sung or said. My husband and I sat on the side terrace of the theater in the back and we could hear every word and note as clear as day. Aside from John, one star really shined and that was well-known drummer Kenny Aronoff, known for playing with countless famous musicians, most notably John Mellencamp. I was incredibly stoked to find out that he was going to drum for John once again. His fast-paced drumming style is incredible to watch. He never misses a beat and he proved that on this night. A testament to the incredible workout he gets during his non-stop two-hour performance was the presence of a big white towel to wipe off all the sweat from two hours of non-stop high-energy drumming. At the end of the show he held it up as if to say "I surrender" and thank you for letting me set the rhythmn tonight.

In a nutshell: It ROCKED!!

photo by Tom Mendoza/Daily News

John performs is next show tonight at the Santa Barbara County Bowl
Tickets available at www.ticketmaster.com.