As good as day one is, day two is arguably right up there with it. Thankfully there isn't anything early in the day that we really feel like we can't miss, so we'll be able to sleep a bit and have a relaxing and rejuvenating morning.
1:15-2:00
Early this decade, The Raveonettes were quite the buzzy band, perhaps not quite up there with the Strokes and the White Stripes, but not that far behind. Apparently, well-known Rolling Stone editor David Fricke saw them at the SPOT festival, gave them a rave review, and the hype started building. Well, they never really broke out, but they have put out good rock/pop that has consistently received decent or better reviews from the usual suspects. Their last album, 2007's Lust Lust Lust, was perhaps their best regarded. Another album drops next week, so they'll be playing plenty of new music at the festival on Saturday. Those who like the hallmark indie sound of sweet classic pop with a modern delivery (the name "Raveonettes" is a play on the famous girl group The Ronettes and the Buddy Holly song Rave On!) should go check them out.
The Raveonettes - Love in a Trashcan
2:00-3:00
Rock has been around for a good 50 years, and there have been lots of oddly-named bands. One artist famously named himself after a symbol that you can't even pronounce. Similarly, another band just threw together a bunch of punctuation marks and instructed listeners to pronounce it however they see fit. That band, !!! (often referred to as "chk chk chk"), plays a blend of electronic and rock that's often been labeled as "dance punk." Whatever you call it, its energetic, hooky and lots of fun. Personally, I think their sound would be better suited to an after-dark slot, but it should still be a good show. They go up against Irish new-wavey rockers Bell X1, which is where we'll be heading if the exclamation points disappoint.
!!! (Chk Chk Chk) - Heart of Hearts
3:00-4:00
Brooklyn's Grizzly Bear put out one of my favorite tunes of the year, Two Weeks off their latest album, Veckatimest. Sure, the video's creepy and the vocals are a bit haunting, but it's one of those songs that you can't get out of your head after a few listens. Perhaps no artist comes into ACL with as much hype and momentum. Even unlikely celebs like Jay-Z and Beyoncé have been spotted rocking out at their shows. Plus, they just collaborated with Michael McDonald! How cool is that? It'll be interesting to see whether their moody, operatic multi-part harmonies translate to a live setting. If not, there's always The Airborne Toxic Event.
Grizzly Bear - Two Weeks
4:00-5:00
Not the most exciting hour. I've heard a bit of Citizen Cope and it doesn't really do much for me. Henry Butler is an old-school New Orleans pianist, so that might be fun. The other option is Flogging Molly, who play "Pogues-y" Celtic rock. I've only heard a little of them, but that one might be a fun show as well.
5:00-6:00
This hour features one of many toss-ups. Bon Iver gets much love from picky indie-friendly tabloids like Pitchfork, but I only know a few of their songs and wonder a bit whether they'll be any good live. On the other side of the coin is Austin's ... And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead. We were supposed to go catch "Trail of Dead" at the SpoonX3 mini-festival this past Spring, but they had to cancel. And while I don't know much of their music, Allmusic names lots of my favorites among their influences (Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr., Television and Mission of Burma), and their albums have consistently been well-received, especially 2002's Source Tags & Codes. Plus their name is so long that their box on the ACL schedule actually goes over the 6:00 line! That's something, right? If Trail of Dead wasn't from Austin and therefore likely to play here on a somewhat regular basis, I'd go see them for sure. This one's a classic game-time decision.
Bon Iver - Skinny Love
... And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead
6:00-7:00
Another tough decision between two totally different artists: Mos Def and The Levon Helm Band. Alternative hip-hop or roots rock icon? Sets by old-school reggae toaster Eek-A-Mouse and sensitive singer-songwriter John Vanderslice also overlap into this hour. We'll probably want to see some of John Vanderslice, who starts at 6:40, but the rest of the hour is up in the air.
7:00-8:00
And for the final dilemma of the evening, both DeVotchKa and The Decemberists play at dusk. The former plays an ecclectic blend of punk and folk with a hint of Romani, Greek, Slavic, Bolero, Mariachi, cayenne and allspice. We were supposed to see them once, but I got sick and we skipped the show. I suspect their live act is entertaining. The latter play folky baroque-pop, and just put on a good show in New Jersey for my sister. They've been at ACL in the past, but we've missed them. If you have any idea of what we should do, please help!
DeVotchKa - How it Ends
The Decemberists - Sixteen Military Wives
So that should just about wrap up our day. The final slots on Saturday are filled by Dave Matthews Band and the overrated Ghostland Observatory, neither of which hold all that much interest for me, although GO frontman Aaron Behrens looks like he could be the president of the Thomas-Builds-the-Fire fanclub. Plus, after Thursday and Friday, I'll probably be pretty exhausted by 8. Gotta rest up for Sunday, right?
No comments:
Post a Comment