ACL 2009 Preview: Friday (Day One)

The actual first day of the festival is loaded with good music. Just writing this preview has been taxing. Imagine how 9+ hours of music will be!

12:30-1:30

On many days, you won't see too many big crowds until the more well-known indie bands start playing mid-afternoon sets. This year, you very well may see some volume earlier in the day when the buzzy School of Seven Bells kicks off their set at 12:30. Their debut album, Alpinisms, got a pretty nice review (and a score of 8.0/10) from Pitchfork, dropping comparisons to atmospheric outfits like My Bloody Valentine and Cocteau Twins and the production on Depeche Mode's Violator album. Allmusic.com also cites MBV and the Cocteaus as influences, in addition to Medicine and Siouxie and the Banshees, and gave Alpinisms a high rating of 4½ stars. Just to cement the Cocteau Twins connection, Robin Guthrie made a great remix of album closer My Cabal, which was good enough to make it on the ACL2009 compilation CD I burned for Rachel in anticipation of the weekend and is one of my favorites from the disc.


School of Seven Bells - My Cabal

1:30-2:30

This slot is a duel between Blitzen Trapper and The Knux, a well-regarded hip-hop duo from New Orleans who apparently put on a great live show. Given that we'll be seeing the former the night before, plus we don't want to overload on indie rock, we're leaning toward The Knux.

2:30-3:30

The 2:30 slot features a band I haven't heard of (The Avett Brothers), an old alternative band that I've known about for a long time but don't really know (Poi Dog Pondering), and a band that plays spacey electric jazz jams that may or may not translate well to an outdoor festival (Medeski, Martin & Wood). We'll probably stop in at a few things during that slot and do some people-watching.

3:30-4:30

Philadelphia's Dr. Dog pulls from the familiar bag of "B" influences -- in their case, primarily The Beatles, The Beach Boys and The Band. Their 2005 single The World May Never Know is another good one from the compilation CD. They're up against The Walkmen, who (like Blitzen Trapper) we'll have seen the night before. I'd call that one a game-time decision.

4:30-5:30

Another tough decision. Phoenix, in the blue corner, just released a great album, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. It got pretty uniformly great reviews, and that's because the sound is rocking, melodic, and mainstream-ready. 1901 has even found its way into a car ad. In the red corner is Austin legend Daniel Johnston, the slightly-nutty, rather grubby, Mountain Dew-addicted, frog-drawing DIY pop superhero who, despite living nearby, rarely plays here in town. What to do? This has to be another game-time decision. We might have to split this one right down the middle.

5:30-6:30

This is the ultimate example of the bounty that is Friday at ACL 2009. No fewer than four intriguing acts are playing in this time slot: Bassnectar (experimental electronic), Raphael Saddiq (neo-soul singer who has traveled far from his roots in new jack swing icons Tony! Toni! Toné!), K'Naan (Somalian hip-hop) and Robyn Hitchock & the Venus 3 (latest project from legendary frontman of The Soft Boys). Can we see all four? Please?

6:30-7:30

Break/dinner-time! John Legend (not that exciting to me) and Thievery Corporation (good but plays every f---ing year at ACL) highlight this hour. Probably the best time to grab a beer and a chicken cone.

7:30-8:30

Andrew Bird has put out some interesting music. The singer-songwriter-instrumentalist's last album, Noble Beast, was great. Wikipedia notes that he's proficient at the violin, whistling, guitar, mandolin and glockenspiel. Glockenspiel! How cool is that! This should be a good, relaxing set that hopefully will allow us to catch our breath so we can gear up for the final hours of day one.


Andrew Bird - Imitosis

8:30-9:45

Okay, so they aren't the Beastie Boys, but the Yeah Yeah Yeahs are still a pretty good day one headliner. Karen O might be a bit dippy in her interviews, and perhaps their early material bit off a big chunk of early 80s New York City no wave, but each of their albums have been solid or better, and their latest, It's Blitz!, is one of the better new albums I've heard this year. We've never seen them live, but I have a good feeling they'll put on a fun show.


Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Zero

And ...

Just in case you haven't gotten enough, and if you have the stamina of an Olympic marathon runner, indie rock web-radio icon WOXY.com, who just relocated to Austin, along with Rare Magazine, is putting on a very cool show at the Seaholm Power Plant, just across the river from ACL and Zilker Park, headlined by Broken Social Scene. The free show starts after ACL is done for the night and runs until the wee hours (4 AM). 4,000 people will be granted access. According to the Futurist blog on WOXY.com:

The decommissioned Seaholm Power Plant has been virtually out of reach for all Austinites since its construction in the 1950’s. For years, the Art Deco building has held a great deal of mystery to passersby due to its looming presence and restricted access. But things will change in October as Rare Magazine has been given the keys to the Seaholm and will host the first large scale public event to take place at the power plant on the nights of October 2nd and 3rd. WOXY is proud to present the first night with one of our favorite bands. VIP guests and attending artists will encounter an unrivaled experience, as the industrial mammoth is turned into a lounge and green room, complete with DJ’s, dance floor, and bar.

Sounds amazing, but can we last that long?

Broken Social Scene - Almost Crimes