I never watch this show but it was fun to see how a live taping works and watch young singers have their dreams realized or crushed. Highlight of the show however was getting to sit 50 feet from Britney Spears! Here's a video of the judges walking out. They made us put our phones away after that.
Here's another SXSW video I never got around to posting until now. We were mainly at the Mohawk to see Kool Keith, but I gotta say, Wavves killed it. The kids loved it. It also helped that we had one of the best places to stand in the venue.
Houston rap legend Bun B shot a video directly across the street from our place! This is the coolest thing ever to happen on our block! Could totally walk up and just watch him, no barricades or anything. The music was kind of quiet though, which I guess doesn't matter in the grand scheme of shooting music videos.
One of the Fun Fun Fun Fest aftershows last week featured an experimental hip hop group from Sacremento, California called Death Grips. The intensity of their live show isn't really captured in this shaky iPhone video. But their music and performance is exhilarating and terrifying. Best of all, their dark off-tempo music actually sounds like something new and original.
The venue was cool too. Empire Automotive really is an auto repair shop during the day. I guess they started renting it out for the occasional live show at night. Definitely has an underground warehouse feel to it, even though it's just a block off Red River street, one of the major live music centers of Austin.
You can download Death Grips' mix tape "Exmilitary" for free on their website. Or stream it here.
Austin City Limits Festival is a big deal in the self-proclaimed Live Music Capital of the World, and this is the outdoor music festival's tenth year. We went one year and I hated it: paying $90 a day to be locked in Zilker Park in sweltering heat with 75,000 other people, paying $7 for a can of beer, standing in line for 20 minutes to buy overpriced food. Fuck that noise!
But I also love ACL Fest because it brings tons of awesome artists to our fine city. When they shut down the concert at 10 pm every night and the sun-baked families head home to bed, the musicians are just getting started! They go downtown and play shows in bars and venues. Drinks are cheaper and the weather is cooler and the crowds are smaller and you can get a lot closer to the artist.
The video above is the perfect example of that. I took it last night at Emo's Austin where we got to see Theophilus London up close and personal. To have had that close a perspective at ACL, we would have had to fight through this huge crowd of people, and even then we would still be 10 feet from the stage. Did I mention his ACL set was at 12:30 in the freaking afternoon?
I look forward to ACL Fest every year. I just hope I never have to attend it again.
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| It's been too long since I posted a mix! Here is volume two of AUSTIN TEXAS SUMMER TIME PARTY MIX USA. (volume one here) Mostly indie dance and disco tracks I have been enjoying a lot lately. Hope you do too! |
We saw Rusko at Stubb's BBQ last night. He had crazy stage energy, getting all Richard Simmons and shit. He put on a pretty good show considering he was just DJing his own music. The kids seemed to like it.
Last SXSW post for this year, I swear. Just couldn't stop laughing over this one.
Some more of my iPhone 4 vids...my buddy Dane played drums in this band.
One of my favorite performances of SXSW was !!! The end of this video is awesome. He's all like, "WTF why is there a couch on the dancefloor?"
Walking down the street during the day. It was even crazier at night.
At SXSW you see stuff like random marching bands
All in all, SXSW 2011 was an awesome time. I'm glad the crowds are gone now and we can have our city back.
Been to a bunch of stuff since this crazy party crashed down on Austin, Texas ...trying to press through to the end! Here's some of the video I've taken so far with my iPhone 4.
Fun Do It To It party in an interesting loft on Congress Ave.
Live taping of awards show that was on MTV.
My buddy Adam plays bass in this band.
Scoot Inn last weekend
Scoot Inn last weekend
Scoot Inn last weekend
The East Side Drive In is basically a large, empty lot on East 6th street. Last time we went to a show there was during SXSW 2010. Last night, Big Boi put on a great performance. I love outdoor venues when the weather is nice. No ceiling or walls, just the backdrop of downtown. We were nice and close to the front.
Earlier this month, we went to a cool music festival in a downtown Austin park. Three stages, three days and dozens of bands. We went Saturday. Here's some of my iPhone video.
Here's their professionally produced recap of FFF 2010.
I did my best to take a video, but we were kind of far in the back. It was a great show for Pavement fans, even though I wish they played more hits. But it was entertaining to see all these 30-somethings rocking out to what is essentially a "nostalgia" act. I never was a huge Pavement fan, even though I did like a lot of alternative rock from that decade. But I started becoming more interested in punk rock in the mid-90s. Still, very cool to see the legendary Pavement perform live.
My only complaint is about Stubbs. Shows start way too early and their booze is ridiculously overpriced for a downtown Austin venue. Five bucks for a 12 oz can of Shiner? I guess ya gotta do what ya gotta do.
Went out to see these guys play at ND last night. Really was a great high energy show in a nice small venue. Here are some pictures. Listen to their single Let's Go Surfing below.
A couple weeks ago we had a 5 day mini-vacation and it kicked off with a bang. Began with a taping of The Roots (plus John Legend) at the Austin City Limits studios. Always been a fan of the Roots, especially now that I see them on a regular basis as the house band on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.
Never been to an ACL taping before, so I was surprised that a) they give out free beer before the taping starts, b) they allow photography during the taping (as long as it's not flash). I just had my iPhone, but you can catch a glimpse of what it was like. I happened to be getting some water just before the Roots showed up in the freight elevator. A cop got in my way and told me not to move, so I whipped out my iPhone camera only in time to catch their backs walking in.
After the Roots, we rushed back downtown to have a quick jello shot and to recharge my phone before going to Stubbs BBQ for Chromeo, Holy Ghost!, and Telephoned. I had been really looking forward to this show, but by the time we got there (early, like 10 pm), Chromeo were already half way through their set! WTF! Then I looked at the ticket and it all made sense. 7 am start time. All ages. The place was packed with like 2,000 college undergrads. Anyway, we caught a couple of Chromeo's hits - Night by Night, and Don't Turn the Lights On - and then got out of there right when they began their encore. (I have always hated encores, except in those extremely rare circumstances when they occur organically, but that's for another post.)
After Chromeo we went to Red 7 to catch Questlove of the Roots spinning a DJ set. Must say, the guy is an amazing DJ. He was playing a wide range of hip hop and funk and disco, and he would do these really fucking amazing transitions. Definitely an educational experience, not just from a DJ technique perspective but also from a music history perspective. He would take you on a journey and make these really fascinating connections between songs, like mixing Notorious B.I.G.'s Big Poppa seamlessly into the Isley Brothers' Between the Sheets, which was the sample in the Notorious song. Except it was like on and on like that all night. Here's a crappy video that doesn't come anywhere near to capturing his skills or the energy of the set. We danced for three hours and then I was done.
