Fun Fun Fun 2011 Wrap: Ted Leo is my (and many other persons') new hero

Fun Fun Fun 2011 was, well, fun fun fun.  We were there for portions of all three days, then high-tailed it out of town for a much needed vacation out on the West Coast. So -- apologies for the delay -- here's our wrap-up from the 2011 Fun Fun Fun Fest, in my opinion the best festival in terms of the musical experience that Austin has to offer: Excellent and diverse line-up, few breaks, good sound with little bleeding between stages and a chance to get up close without a struggle and to hear the bands rather than having to listen to chit-chat. (Yeah, ACL fanboys, I'm talking about the big group of stoner, half-assed fans that inevitably plop down next to you right at the start of a set you want to see and carry on a series of very loud conversations about important things like mustaches and Cheetos.)

2011 MVD: The Most Valuable Danzig Award

This years nominees for MVD are Glenn Danzig, Ted Leo and Flavor Flav.

Glenn Danzig

Glenn Danzig's 2011 MVD campaign goes something like this:  Come to town, whine, act wimpy in the face of a little sniffle, pout, threaten festival organizer for shits and giggles over things that no other act complained about, piss off your fans, whine a bit more, flip bird to town and fest organizers, leave, get upstaged by a hard-working, veteran, real punk-rocker from his home state.

Ted Leo

Ted plays shows.  Lots of them.  He probably rides in a van with his band and a few others.  He sets up his own gear and takes it down at the end of his show.  I've seen Ted play about a half dozen times.  He always brings it.  Even when he's sick.  Like he was at Fun Fun Fun this year.  Like Glenn Danzig purported to be.  How did Ted respond?  Playing on Sunday, after the Danzig debacle, Ted came out coughing and sounding pretty horse.  Most of Ted's songs demand that he sing with high intensity.  Ted apologized for not sounding his best, then let loose and shouted his songs the best he could, coughing between tracks.  Then he did a little something for the Danzig fans.  Taking a swig of Jameson's and donning a special wig for the occasion, Ted & co. ripped through a mini-set of Misfits tunes.  Crowd went wild.  Band nailed it.  Ted gained many new fans.

Flavor Flav

He's cold lampin' anyhow.

And the MVD goes to ... do we even need to say?

Other Highlights

Ted did put in a great performance, but he was only one of over a dozen acts we caught over the three days.  Not a single one we saw was disappointing.  That said, there were a few undeniable highlights.

• Public Enemy pissing on the concept of a "musical prime" and bringing it as strongly as they did twenty years ago.  For me, it also meant crossing a big name off my concert "bucket list."  Loved watching kids in front of my bouncing up and down who weren't even born when my friends and I wore out Yo! Bum Rush the Show in high school. I was smiling the whole time, but Chuck turned it up a notch when he broke out a verse from "Timebomb."
• Tinariwen coming out on a hot, windy and dusty day in their desert attire and looking totally unfazed as they funked out hard and won over lots of attendees who were unfamiliar with them beforehand.
• tUnE-yArDs' excellent performance of "Bizness," maybe the song of the year.

We were happy to see Okkervil River and The Thermals again, both of whom sounded great, and Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears didn't show poorly for the hometowners.  Just an excellent weekend of music.  Look out for Fun Fun Fun Fest 2012, because if the trajectory holds, it should be, um, fun.

FBtA's Fun Fun Fun Photos: [Day 1][Day 2 ]